6 months later...
I ran out of breath, I sat down on the bench closest to me and I chugged on my water bottle. I passed the test, but unfortunately, there wasn't any opening for a detective in the department, I did get an increase in pay after qualifying for the SWAT team. 18 more murder cases with the same MO, different time spans between each body, none of them correlated with each other. The county passed it over to the State, State passed it over to the FBI. Six months ago, nobody knew what was happening, now that's the only thing in the news: Starman, as they called him, a superhero name for a serial murderer with no motive, the irony. The suspect list went from young to old, from white to black, and from military to academic background. It's a never-ending cycle of dead-ends. The sun is barely up. I got up and I jogged some more. The weather is alright, though the sight isn't. I stopped my run when I saw the fountain. It was bloody. faceless heads adorned the five corners of the hexagon-shaped fountain. All with their faces ripped off and all with their eyes wide open. Nobody in sight, just heads left in a grotesque carnival-like fashion. I walked around it and I saw written in blood on the pavement;
The fury of the demon instantly possessed me. I knew myself no longer. My original soul seemed, at once, to take its flight from my body; and a more than fiendish malevolence, gin-nurtured, thrilled every fibre of my frame.
Was the Starman drunk? I took my phone out and I called the task force. I looked back up and I saw those eyes staring at me, they're not. I'm just seeing things, as always. It didn't take 10 minutes for the task force to arrive.
I got in the locker room and I already changed into my uniform, I just needed to leave my jacket in the locker and put my vest on. I slid into my vest and strapped it. I grabbed my black patrol cap from the top shelf and I put it on. I have never worn this before. Just as I closed the locker door, Greg jumped me. I didn't flinch. "How did that not work on you?" He asked, deflated at my subpar reactions.
"I could hear you breathe into my door," I said.
"It could have been a ghost," He laughed as he sat down on the bench. "Catch," He said as he threw a small box at me, I caught it. "Open it," He said. I did. They were tactical gloves. "Try putting them on," He said. I did, it fits snugly. "How does it feel?"
"Good," I said as I rolled my hands into fists. "Thanks, Greg," He got up on his feet and we got out to the parking lot. We got in the car and I sat on the passenger seat.
"You're welcome, consider it a 'fuck you, why are you still my partner' gift," He said. I rolled up my sleeves and I strapped the velcro on the gloves, tightening it. "By the way, did you hear about that 'fountain of death' business?" He asked, "6 heads with no face at the park. That poor fuck who reported it must've been scared shitless," He said.
"I reported that in," I replied.
"That was you?" He asked.
"Yes,"
"You're emotionless, so you probably shat normally," He said as we drove out. Not even five minutes into the patrol, we got a call from dispatch telling us to go to the mall, someone reported multiple bodies. Another day another task to handle. "Can you believe this shit?" Greg muttered. We parked the car in front of the mall, and I saw that girl again. That pretty girl with a teal streak on her hair.
"Go first, I'm gonna grab the tape," I said as we both got out of the car, I grabbed the shotgun and slung it on my shoulder. I went to the boot and I grabbed the yellow police tape. I closed the boot and I went to Greg. The girl saw me, her eyes went wide and then she waved.
"Where are the bodies?" Greg asked Sam.
"Inside, follow me," She said, we followed her inside and we saw the fountain adorned with six headless bodies. The bodies stared at the fountain, missing flesh the shape of a star on each and every one of those bodies' backs. "I came in to open up shop and I saw this. "I don't know where the security guard is, probably sleeping, like always, so I called you guys first," She looked at me. I sighed. Greg had his notepad out and was writing down a statement from Sam. I saw Greg talking to the radio, he must be calling for backup.
"Greg, I'm going to find the guard," I said. When I looked back, I saw four more officers coming in. "Secure the perimeter,"
"Sure will," He said. I went towards the employee-only door on the other side of the atrium, and I saw that there were no writings, not like the killer at all. I got inside the corridor to the security room and I could smell it—that faint smell of iron. I grabbed the shotgun and I cocked a round in the chamber. I raised it up and I turned my flashlight on.
"Anyone here?! Police!" I shouted. No response. I got to the door at the end of the corridor, I could smell that stench. Blood. Coming from that room. I went to the door, and I laid my back on the wall. I took a deep breath and I shot the door knob off. I entered inside and I saw the white uniform of a rent-a-cop, clad in blood. His face was red with blood and one of his eyes was placed on the desk. I poked his body with the shotgun and I took my right glove off, I placed my hand on him. He's dead but still warm, freshly dead, not even for 5 minutes. The killer couldn't have made it out. I grabbed my walkie, and I called them in; "All available personnel, the killer is still in the mall, do not let anybody in or out!" I shouted into the receiver. I pumped the shotgun and I looked at the monitors. No one has gone out through the exits. I looked at the dead security guard, he didn't die because his eye was taken out, he died of a slit in the throat. I looked at his pistol holster, it was empty, "Killer has a gun and a blade, proceed with extreme caution,"
"Luna, what's your location?" Greg asked through the radio.
"Security room," I said. It didn't take 2 minutes for him to arrive with the girl behind him.
"You're officially the most hated officer in the force right now," Greg said as he closed the knobless door behind him. "You just ruined poker night,"
"Poker night can wait, I'm looking at at least a four-man team right now," I said. I looked at Sam behind him and I saw her eyes widen.
"I'm leaving her with you, report if you see anything on the screen," Greg said, he looked around and saw the dead security guard. "Poor bastard," He mumbled before leaving. I sat the shotgun down and I closed the door after him.
"Luna Loud, right? The same one that bought a guitar," She asked me.
"Yeah," I replied. "The same one,"
"Now that explains your peak arms," She said. I didn't look at her, my eyes locked onto the screen, watching as the other officers entered door after door. "I actually had a huge crush on you," Something felt wrong.
"What?"
"That made this harder to do," She said. I turned my head around but I wasn't fast enough. She stabbed me in the neck with a syringe, I pushed her back, and the syringe stuck on my neck. "Stop fighting Luna!" She shouted as she got up and tackled me to the floor. What the fuck did she inject into me? She pinned me down onto the floor and she wrapped her hands around my neck, choking me.
"Get off of me!" I tried to shout as her choke became harder. I struggled to breathe. I couldn't move my arms. My body felt numb. My tongue won't move.
"Shhhhh... It's going to be alright, in a few seconds you won't be able to do anything," She kissed my forehead. "Don't worry, we won't kill you, I'll keep you safe and sound, Luna." I need to call for help. I can't move. "That's a fast-reacting drug," She said shocked as she took out the syringe. She took my cap off and she placed it on her head. "Aren't I cute?" She asked me. She stood up and she grabbed me by my hair, making me kneel up. "You're fucking heavy," She sat my chin on the desk, propping me up. My face looking at the screen. I heard her grunting behind me, I tried to move my eye back, but I couldn't see what was going on. "That security bastard was heavy," She said before pulling me backward and dropping me on the chair. I still can't move. She turned the chair around and now I'm facing the door. "You know, I shouldn't have kidnapped you this early, but when opportunity knocks, you just have to grab it with both hands,". She opened the door and 4 men dressed in robes came in. "Dad, I caught the moon," Sam hugged the tallest man in the group.
"Good one Sammy," The man patted her head. He looked at me, he reached his hand into his robe and he took out a dagger. "She'll make do as the cold moon," he said before slowly caressing my face with the blade, from the top right of my face all the way down to my neck. I can't feel it. My eyes could only look around in panic, strobing for help. "You should be honored," he said as he wiped the blade on my shirt. "You can keep her for the time being, go to the compound, you won't be able to go outside of the wolf's lair after this."
"Can't I keep her forever?"
"No, we need her for the final piece,"
"Can't we keep her alive after the piece,"
"We can't," The man said, and Sam sighed. "Leave a note for her friends, they'll see her soon,"
The man left leaving me in that room with three of the robed men, Sam, and the dead guard. They grabbed my wrist and cuffed them with my own cuffs. Sam pulled me up and threw me onto the floor. "I can't keep you long, so I'll make sure I enjoy you," She said. The men grabbed me by my arms and threw me inside a wooden crate. "See you later, Luna," Sam said as the lid sealed me inside the crate.