The Flash: Silent Whispers
Chapter Five
"Honestly, I say we leave this to Gary," said the police officer as he exited the car. He switched on his flashlight and aimed it at his partner's face, who winced in response.
"Let's just get this over with, see what the disturbance is," replied the second officer. The two of them approached the abandoned apartment complex.
"I'm telling you, this is some teenagers playing a prank on us. It's literally impossible to have any sort of "disturbance" here. Place looks like it went to hell years ago," remarked the first officer, shining his flashlight at every crevice. Moss creeped up the decaying concrete and the small buildings themselves looked like they would shatter at one touch.
The two of them circled around the complex, eventually running into each other at the back of the place.
"What did I say? Place is as dead as a-"
Before the officer could finish, they heard a light groan. It seemed to be coming from within the building they were in front of. Both of them exchanged a look, before gingerly walking closer to the broken glass door.
"Is someone there?" asked the first officer. They were met with another weak groan. They ran inside the building, only to be met with a horrific sight.
"Oh Christ," whispered the second officer. In front of them was a man who seemed to have been crucified to the wall with knives. Two of them were stabbed into the wall through his shoulders, and one was through his stomach. Two more knives were stabbed through his legs.
As the first officer moved closer, he noticed something even more disturbing. The man's mouth seemed to have been sewn shut. The first officer quickly rushed to his aid, attempting to slowly get the knife out of the man's shoulders.
"Wait!" exclaimed the second officer. The two of them stopped in their tracks, and stared at a blue and orange jack-in-the-box on the ground next to the body.
"What the hell?" asked the first officer, as they began to examine it.
"SAY CHEESE!" said an automated voice, as the box sprung open and knives flew out from every direction, stabbing both police officers in the neck as they fell to the ground, drowning in a pool of crimson.
The door creaked open, as August limped into the living room. He was clutching an ice pack to his lower abdomen, wincing with every step as he walked up to the kitchen, hoping he hadn't woken his wife up.
"August!" he heard someone yell. He turned around as Natalie rushed up to him, taking his face in her palms and scanning for bruises.
"Joe called and told me what happened, why didn't you call? I've been waiting for the last 2 hours! I didn't know when you were coming back, I-"
August broke down into tears, burying his face in Natalie's collarbone. Tears began to form into Natalie's eyes too, as she patted him on the back and sat him down on the chair behind him.
"It all happened under my watch. I was in the same car as him. Right fucking next to him. And I let him and Murmur get away," ranted August, through gritted teeth. "If only I wasn't so bad at my job, maybe I'd be worth something,"
"Hey, not this song again. You've been on the force for years, August. You've solved a litany of cases and helped countless people. You know you can't let this stop you," reassured Natalie.
"What if I have to? What if the more I keep doing this, the worse things get?" asked August. Natalie put her arms around him.
"As far as I know, you're unstoppable," she smiled, putting on a lab coat.
"You're going?" asked August.
"Working an extra shift at the hospital tonight. I left some fish in the fridge for you if you're hungry," said Natalie, giving him a kiss on the forehead.
"I'll eat it later. I need to work out the connection between Trickster and Murmur," said August, a newfound look of determination on his face, as he wordlessly got up and headed to his desk in the bedroom.
Natalie wanted to say something, but instead sighed and took her keys, leaving the house.
Barry stared at a printed photograph of Trickster's livestream, his fists clenched. Anger and guilt swirled around his head, everything had gone down on his watch. He was supposed to be on top of things.
"Fastest man alive…" he muttered, putting the photograph down. He turned his attention to pieces of shrapnel from the car engines that were used as makeshift bombs.
"How did James even come in contact with Murmur in the first place? And why is Murmur even working with him? None of this makes any sense," thought Barry. He held up a composite sketch of Murmur.
"Why do you kill? What makes you want to do it?" he said, grumbling as he focused on the shrapnel again.
"James studied mechanical engineering. There's no doubt that he made the bombs, and while we were busy with him, Murmur planted them. But why is he doing this?" Barry asked himself.
"Found anything?" asked Joe, walking in with two cups of coffee. He handed one to Barry, who gulped half of it down in one sip.
"Nada. God knows where the two of them are right now. Why would the two of them even align themselves together?" asked Barry. Joe sat down on the chair, gesturing to Barry to sit down.
"You know, ever since you were a kid, you've been asking questions. Why does February have 28 days? Why does cold water taste sharper than warm water," chuckled Joe.
"You've always been trying to…make sense of things. Trying to appeal to reason," he continued.
"I guess it's partly why I took this job. Trying to make sense of what seems senseless. Crime scenes, they're always like a jigsaw puzzle, but jumbled up. I guess I like to sort out the noise and put the puzzle together," replied Barry.
"But sometimes, Bar, you just can't find any reason. Not everything is explainable, nor does everything have to make sense," said Joe. Barry narrowed his eyes.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Right now, you're trying to make sense of why two absolute psychos are working together. What ails them, why would one choose to work with the other? What's the reason?" asked Joe.
"And you're suggesting that there is no reason? Two polar opposites just came together to cause chaos," replied Barry.
"Chaos is meaningless, reasonless. Murmur and Trickster's actions may not even have any reason. All that matters is that they want to cause chaos," answered Joe. Barry pondered.
"It's like how my mom's death was either a break in gone wrong, or what everyone else believed: That my father killed her. Whoever broke in had no reason to stab her, and yet they did," said Barry.
"Maybe you always trying to reason with the unreasonable is why you're still investigating her death?" suggested Joe. Barry quickly turned to him.
"What do you mean?" he asked, stuttering. Joe sighed and walked up to the whiteboard, revealing Barry's secret investigation board. Barry cleared his throat and walked up to it.
"This is from years ago!" he exclaimed.
"Barry, listen to me. It's been 15 years since everything. You need to let it go, for your sake," replied Joe.
"And accept what? That my dad just decided to murder my mom? Out of nowhere he suddenly felt the need to do so?" exclaimed Barry, flustered. "It most definitely not my father, so who was it? It couldn't have been a break in gone wrong, you saw the evidence! A break in but nothing is stolen, or a husband murdering his wife for no reason?" continued Barry.
"And what about the impact velocity at which the man drove the knife through her? He didn't do it in a hurry, like he was there for something else! He took his time with it. He stabbed my mom and made sure she felt it! Whoever he was wanted her dead!" raged Barry. Joe put his hands on his shoulder, before bringing him in for a hug.
"I'm not saying I disagree with you Bar. I didn't agree with the verdict either. But it's been a decade and a half. At some point you need to accept that it was either your father, or a meaningless killing," explained Joe.
"So that's it? I'm supposed to reduce my mother's murder to a "meaningless killing?" As if it meant nothing?" asked Barry.
"Barry, that's not what I meant-"
"I know exactly what you meant, Joe," interrupted Barry, snatching his coat from the chair and walking out of the lab. He raced down the stairs and out of the empty precinct, into the dead of night.
The Flash zoomed down the streets of Central City, finding himself unable to stop. Anger, dread, confusion, everything seemed to blend into each other as he narrowly dodged cars and buildings.
"I need to find Jesse, and I'll comb every inch of this city if I have to," he told himself, dashing underneath bridges and behind dark alleyways. Before he knew it, however, his legs seemed to have taken him out of Central City.
But he still didn't stop. Barry continued to run despite his legs beginning to ache. He found himself unable to stop, and he began flashing back to that fateful night.
Barry began to see the street he was walking on, just seconds before his memory seemed to jump cut to him inside his house. He remembered the puddles on the street and the dark sky above, the moon being obscured by heavy grey clouds.
Suddenly, he saw a color. A color that didn't seem to fit into the environment. It was but a mere flash of color, but Barry instantly realized it was something he hadn't pulled out of his memory in decades. A bright light.
A bright yellow.
Flash found himself lose his footing as he tumbled down onto the street, nearly getting hit by a truck.
"Watch where you're goin'!" shouted the driver. Barry blinked as he zoomed away from the scene, running up the side of a tall building. As soon as he reached the rooftop, he took note of his surroundings.
The buildings were far larger than the ones in Central City, and one building with a massive globe stood out from the rest.
"The Daily Planet? I'm in…Metropolis," whispered Flash. His memory flooded back to him.
"There was something else that night! A yellow blur?" thought Flash. Just then, he heard someone zoom in behind him.
"What brings you here?" asked a deep voice. Flash chuckled as he turned around, watching a man in red and blue descend down onto the roof. His red cape fluttered in the wind, and the red and yellow "S" on his chest seemed to illuminate the night.
"Good to see you again, Superman. I just ended up running here," replied Flash.
"One of those nights, huh?" asked Superman. Flash nodded, as Superman put a hand on his shoulder. The two of them walked up to the edge of the roof, sitting down at the ledge.
"So, what's got the fastest man alive in a slump?" asked Superman. Flash sighed.
"Long story short, I failed at my job. My job and my other job," lamented Flash.
"I heard about the happenings in Central City. I don't know how much this is going to help, but it's not your fault," reassured Superman.
"People keep telling me that, but it was my job to make sure things don't go south. Now there's two killers on the loose, and I don't know where to start," ranted Flash.
"I get the feeling," replied Superman. Flash cocked his neck towards him, and Superman chuckled.
"Believe me, there's times where I've failed too. Regardless of the powers I have, sometimes I have to accept the fact that I'm not God," said Superman, looking out at Metropolis.
"I just feel like, with these powers that we have, we're… we're like Gods. And I just can't stand letting people down," replied Flash.
"No one's meant to be like a God, my friend. It's just our job to protect people, and we're people too. You're only human, you're allowed to mess up as long as you learn from your mistakes. And I know you will," reassured Superman.
"Thanks, honestly. Things are getting bad in Central City, man. Not quite Gotham, but I daresay it's getting there," said Flash. Superman chuckled.
"Hey, if there's one thing we can be proud of, it's that no matter how bad things get, it'll never be as bad as Gotham," laughed Superman. Flash laughed with him.
"You know, when I found out about my…powers, I was just a kid. It was my parents who treated me like a human rather than a God," remarked Superman. Flash raised an eyebrow.
"What I mean is, it's all about perspective. My parents chose the right one," finished Superman.
Flash nodded, and all of a sudden it was as if a metaphorical lightbulb went off on his head.
"Perspective!" he exclaimed.
Before Superman could respond, the two of them heard an explosion below them. A woman with blue hair and electricity shooting from her body was hovering down the street.
"Livewire," groaned Superman. Flash squinted at her.
"She's a danger to civilians, especially with all that electricity shooting out of her," said Superman. Before he flew down, Flash stopped him.
"I have an idea. Evacuate everyone from the street," said Flash. Superman nodded, as the duo zoomed down to the ground. Superman flew through the streets, making sure everyone got to a safe space.
The Flash ran down and faced Livewire.
"I was expecting the boy scout. Who are you supposed to be?" she asked, snickering.
"Just a visitor," replied Flash, smirking. Livewire shot out bolts of lightning at Flash, who rushed away and managed to dodge all of them. He then began running in a circle.
He had built up enough of electricity, as he stopped running and shot out a massive bolt of lightning at Livewire, who was sent flying back.
"AAARRGHH!" shouted Livewire, who had been overloaded by electricity. As she was depowered, Superman zoomed in from the sky, punching her in the air and slamming her down to the ground.
"Well, that was fun," said Flash, as he and Superman stood over Livewire's body.
"I should probably be getting back. Thank you again, for the reassurance," said Flash.
"Anytime. If you ever need anything, I'm just a run away," said Superman, smiling, as he shot off into the sky. Flash chuckled as he rushed away from the scene.
Patty walked into the precinct, only to see August slumped over his desk. He was sleeping on a large stack of papers, with some folders on the floor.
"Rise and shine," said Patty, lightly shaking August. August grumbled and raised his head, blinking hard, before groaning.
"Spent most of last night trying to find some clue about where the two of them could be, but got nowhere. Just brilliant," he lamented. That's when the duo noticed a fuming captain Singh walk in.
"Murmur struck again. And this time there was a nice surprise left for the officers who found the body," said Singh, showing them what seemed to be a video recording of the two officers being murdered by the deadly jack-in-the-box.
"Apparently an anonymous caller reported a disturbance in the area. When the responding officers went missing, another unit was sent to check, and they found their bodies. Along with this recording on the scene," explained Singh.
"Oh my God. Speaking of which, we swarmed Jesse's apartment. It's been absolutely picked clean, and no one has been seen going in or out," said Patty. Singh sighed, as his phone began to ring.
"It's the mayor," he said, walking off. As soon as he did, Barry rushed in with Joe.
"Sorry we got late. Someone…took too long to get their coffee," said Joe, emphasizing "someone" as he eyed Barry.
"Gang's all here. While we're here, we got no new news on Murmur or Trickster's whereabouts," informed August.
"About that, a friend gave me an idea," said Barry, pulling out the photo of Trickster from his livestream. Patty noticed that Joe was grinning from ear to ear as he looked at Barry.
"It's all about perspective. So I enhanced the image and zoomed in on the reflection in Trickster's eyes. Look," said Barry, enthusiastically.
"Are those…string lights on the window?" asked Patty. But then she looked closer.
"Barry, you absolute genius," whispered August, pointing at the very faint outline of a Ferris wheel that seemed to be situated outside the window.
"And just our luck, there's an abandoned carnival in the Wells district, right near the docks. And there's a Ferris wheel," said Joe. August's eyes lit up, as he and Patty rushed to inform the lieutenant.
Joe got a notification, as he read it and groaned.
"What is it?" asked Barry. Joe showed him the notification.
"Murmur strikes again! Fifth killing in a month. Article by, oh. Iris West," read out Barry.
"I know it's her job, but can't she at least use a pseudonym?" said Joe.
"She'll be all right, trust me," replied Barry.
"They're sending a unit to the carnival, Joe. Be ready in five," said August, grabbing his coat and running out of the precinct. Joe turned to Barry.
"You wanna tag along?" he asked.
"Honestly, I've had my fair share of police work. Think I'll stay back in the lab for this one," chuckled Barry. Joe put his hand on Barry's shoulder.
"I'm proud of you Barry. And hey, I'm sorry about everything I said last night. You know I didn't mean it," apologized Joe.
"I know, Joe. Now get that son of a bitch," replied Barry. Joe nodded and rushed away. As soon as he left, Barry raced out of the precinct via the back entrance, changing into his suit and making his way to the carnival.
He reached the carnival, which looked like it was ripped straight from a zombie movie. Not a single thing seemed to be moving, and there were no signs of life except for the overgrown moss. It was as if the whole place had been stopped in time.
"It's over, Jesse!" exclaimed Flash, running around the carnival. All of a sudden, he felt himself on a tripwire. He fell straight on his face, tumbling into a stall as it crashed over him.
"Nghh…dammit!" groaned Flash, lifting the rubble and getting up. Just then, a flurry of arrows shot out from the stall next to him.
Time seemed to slow down as Barry noticed the arrows, inches away from his face. He quickly dodged, but one of them pierced his leg.
"AAGH!" shouted Flash, falling to the ground and clutching his leg. He pulled the arrow out and stood up, but as soon as he did, he felt lightheaded and fell to his knees again.
Flash looked at the tip of the arrow and noticed a green substance on it.
"Poison tipped arrow…perfect…" groaned Flash, fighting off the wooziness and standing up.
"Not poison tipped, my friend. But just enough to weaken you…" said Trickster, stepping out from between two stalls in front of him, chuckling to himself.
Barry could barely stand up as he tried to fight the dizziness, blinking hard as he looked at the Trickster, who had a devilish grin on his face.
"Come and get me Flash, if you can."