Is there a Doctor in the House?
"Ok, this is what I've got so far." Takeru said looking at the circle of people sitting around him. "Number one, he is only, as far as I can tell, killing the Digidestined. I looked into a few other recent murders, but none of them tie-in with the pattern that we have been seeing."
"But
what about Daisuke?" Sora interrupted. "He just disappeared, they never found
the body. If he was killed by the same person then they may be able to change
the way they kill people."
"But
why?" Taichi added, "Why would a person kill someone one way and then go kill
three other people differently?"
"That
is a good point," Jou said walking into the room.
"Jou!
Where the hell did you come from?" Koushiro said now standing up.
"Yeah,
you scared the shit out us." Hikari said, and then looked at her brother who
was eyeing her curiously. She gave him a look that said 'Don't be a hypocrite'
and then looked back to Jou.
"Sorry, I was at a class. It went late. But don't worry, I've been standing here for a while; I heard it all." He walked over and took a seat in the circle. Then added, "Maybe Daisuke knew about it and committed suicide." A brief pause, they all looked at each other in thought. "Or maybe he is the killer." They all looked at each other for a moment and then broke into thunderous laughter. There were several shouts of 'Oh, that's a good one' and 'Now way', as well as 'Oh my god, I can't breath'. Then as quickly as the laughter started, it stopped. The room was totally silent, no one moved. They all sat looking at each other.
"You
don't think…" Hikari started.
"No
way, not a chance in hell," Both her brother and Takeru said in almost perfect
unison.
"Your
right, it's a stupid thought."
"So,
then it is possible that he is killing other people besides the Digidestined?"
"Absolutely,
we have no proof that he isn't"
It
was a late day at school. Jou was gathering up some supplies for a medical
experiment that he was conducting for extra credit. It was going very well,
getting all set up in the lab this was his last trip back to the supply room.
Going over his list he saw that he had test tubes, alcohol burners, all his
needed chemicals, his protection, and an analysis sheet.
"Your
just forgetting one thing," He said aloud to himself. "Matches." A little
annoyed he returned to the supply room. He couldn't believe that he had
forgotten something as simple as matches, but they were a crucial part of his
experiment. He couldn't heat the chemicals with out lighting the burners, and he
couldn't light the burners without the matches. Upon returning to the supply
room he found the door wide open, Oh great, someone else has probably
already gotten them. And just my luck, it'll have been the last box…, he
thought to himself. He looked inside. It was empty. The room was small only
about twenty-feet long and about six-feet wide. The walls were all covered with
shelves, so that takes about two to two-and-a-half feet away, making it about
five-feet in width. There were not many places someone could hide. But still,
no one was in the room, and he could not remember leaving the door open.
He
walked in and down the long hallway like room. He began to feel very nervous
but shook the feeling away saying to himself, "It's only your imagination…" But
was it? He had a feeling that he was being watched. He turned around only to
see…no one. The room was empty; the hallway out side the room was empty. Most
of the school was empty. It was his imagination. With that in mind he went to
work looking for the matches.
Digging
through the box labeled "Matches" he found nothing. A few rubber bands, some
paperclips, a box marked "Highly Flammable", but no matches. He began looking
along the floor in front of the box, getting down on his hands and knees he
began looking intently under the shelves. He started humming a little tune to
himself. He was so into his music and the task at hand that he didn't even hear
the door shut. He didn't hear the footsteps as the figure walked down the room.
There
was a sudden pain in his head. And then it was in his back. He opened his eyes
to see that he was now laying face down on the hard, concrete floor. He touched
his hand to his forehead; it came back with a large amount of blood on it. He
realized that the pain in his back, which was still there, was a person.
Whoever it was, was sitting on him; keeping him on the ground with his weight.
"Hello,
Jou." A voice came from behind him. "Did you thing that you'd escape? Did you
think that you would get off while your friends were dying all around you?"
"Who
are you?" Was all Jou managed in reply.
"You'll
know soon enough, but for now I have work to do." Jou felt a sharp pain in the
back of his neck. He did not need anyone to tell him what it was. He knew that
it was a knife, digging into the skin in the back of his neck. He felt it hit
the bone; he cringed in pain. The knife began to trace down the spine to the
midpoint between the shoulders. There it stayed for a few moments while it
drilled deep into the bone. He could feel the blood running down his back like
sweat. The knife traced the back of his shoulders grinding along the bone every
inch of the way. Every inch Jou thought was more painful than the last. After
what seemed like an eternity his attacker spoke again. "You know, out of all of
them, you're the one that I really don't have any regrets about killing." He
paused "I wont go into details, you'll know in a matter of minutes anyway." He
pulled a feather out of his coat pocked, along with his list, and quietly
crossed the name "Jou" off, then continued with his work. What happened next
Jou was not prepared for at all. He took a piece of cloth and stuffed it in his
mouth, gagging him. Then he took the knife from his bloody back and rammed it
through is elbow with all his strength. Jou screamed in pain, but the cloth in
his mouth muffled the scream. He did the same to his other elbow and then both
his knees. He completely disabled him. Tears were now flowing from Jou's eyes
and mixing with the blood that was now running down his face. He thought that
the pain could not be any worse. Then his murderer was pouring something over
his back. It stung, the smell of gasoline was in the air. The figure pulled a
box of matches out of his pocket, struck one and said, "Seeya in hell, Jou."
Then he laughed a slow and childish laugh, "I've always wanted to say that."
The match was dropped on his back; immediately he was in flames. The figure
turned to go and as he was leaving Jou saw his reflection of him in a mirror
that was laying against one of the shelves. He couldn't believe his eyes, the
pain was terrible, the smell of burning flesh was in the air, but he didn't
care anymore. He saw the killer. Before he left the room the figure turned and
smiled. Then Jou blacked out.
