"Talking"

'Thinking'

A/N: this chapter contains graphic descriptions of mutilated bodies, so if you aren't good with that, I suggest you skip the two paragraphs after Dash says, "I think I'll be fine."

Chapter Ten

Dash woke up to his alarm blaring next to his ear. He grumbled, and snuggled further into the back of the couch, and ignored the alarm. He laid there for another minute or so, before reaching blindly for his phone on the coffee table. He looked at the phone, squinting from the brightness, and turned off the alarm. He sat up on the couch, and rubbed his hands over his face. He stood up, and walked into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. After getting the coffee brewing, he walked upstairs to get his shower.

He entered the shower, and let the stream of water hit his back for a few minutes. 'I wonder why that guy was so protective over Danny.' Dash poured shampoo into his hand, and rubbed it into his hair. 'Yeah he was pretty weird and wimpy in high school, but he doesn't seem like the type to cheat, and it seems like he could handle himself pretty well in a fight now.' He washed the shampoo out of his hair, and began washing his body. 'I suppose he's just one of those jealous types.' He rinsed the soap off his body, and turned the water off.

He grabbed his towel and dried his body and hair off, and stepped out of the shower. He wrapped the towel around his waist. He walked to his bedroom, and paused when he passed the full length mirror on his closet door. 'I should start going to the gym again.' he thought, rubbing his stomach. 'I hope he's not one of those jealous types. They are very annoying to deal with.' He opened his dresser and pulled out some underwear.

He out on his underwear, and got dressed. He went downstairs, and grabbed his phone. He looked at it, and found it at twenty one percent. 'Shit. I'll have to charge it at work.' He put it in his pocket, and went into the kitchen. He poured himself a cup of coffee. He didn't have to be at work until 7:30, and it was 6:30 now, so he had some time to sit and relax before he had to leave.

Dash sat down after preparing his coffee, and was about to take a sip when his phone rang. He sat the mug down, and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He looked at the caller id, and groaned. He answered the call and held the phone up to his ear. "Hello?"

"Dash! The chief wanted me to tell you that you need to go to another murder scene immediately."

"What? Where?"

"An alley between the Pizza Hut and McDonald's on Fifth. You know where that is?"

"Yeah. Are you with him?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Tell him I'll be there in about ten minutes."

"Okay."

Dash hung up, and stared at his coffee. 'So much for relaxing before work.'

Dash pulled up the street next to the entrance of the alley, and turned the car off. He looked at the alley, and saw people crowding around the entrance, which was taped off. He got out, and walked to the alley. He pushed through the crowd, and ducked underneath the tape. He saw the chief talking to another officer, and walked over.

"Dash. Thank god you're here. This is crazy." the chief said when he saw him.

"What happened?"

"There was another murder, and I'm not sure whether or not there's another killer in the city, or if Phantom has completely lost it."

"Can I see?"

"Sure, but it's gruesome. We've had three officers get sick."

"I think I'll be fine."

The chief shrugged, and led Dash to the bodies, which were still in the position they were in when they died. Dash was confident that he would be fine, but nothing could have prepared him for what he was seeing. There were two bodies, the one that still looked human was on its knees, with its hands clasped together, like it was begging before it died. The head was only held onto the body by a thin strip of skin, and was dangling on the back of the body. There was a hole through its chest that looked like it was melted out of the body.

The second body was hardly a body, the arms and legs had all been cut off, and were laying in a pile next to the rest of the body. The face had been melted, and the torso looked like an animal had dug away pieces of the flesh. Dash looked at the wall over the dumpster, and almost vomited at the sight. Nailed to the wall, were two penises, and written underneath the them in blood was the word "rapists".

Dash covered his mouth and nose with his hand. The smell was sickening. And so was the sight. He turned around, and left the alley, the chief close behind. Once he was out where the air didn't reek with the smell of rotting bodies, he took a deep breath, and knelt over, trying to concentrate on not throwing up.

Once he was sure nothing was coming out, he stood up straight and turned to the chief. "This doesn't seem like something Phantom would do." Dash said, breathing in deep.

"Yeah, but you never know. We haven't found any witnesses, but we're going to put an announcement on the news to see if anyone knows anything." the chief said. "Why don't you go home for the rest of the day. You don't seem to be doing good."

Dash was about the refuse, but he thought about the sight of the bodies, and almost lost it again. "Yeah that's probably a good idea." He walked to his car, and got in. He started the engine, and opened a window, breathing in the air as he drove home.