Darkness consumed everything. Pitch black within the office.
Until shimmers of light peaked through from a doorway. Then it opened with a soft creak. The silhouette of a suited man with greased, shining hair. Light cast its shadow onto the carpet. He laughed from some comment down the hallway and continued to move within the room. Placing a glass of alcohol down onto a table, he sighed.
A click of a lighter. He froze. Turning his head to see the dull flame flicker in the darkness of the corner. It moved up to a cigarette. He could see the embers burning away. The gray puff of smoke.
“Senator Turner. Good evening.” The man in the shadows said.
“Who are you?” He moved towards a cabinet.
“The gun you’re looking for is right on top of the cabinet you’re moving to. I took it out for you. Go ahead and shoot me.” The man took another drag of the cigarette. “They say this is bad for you. I don’t know. It makes me feel collected. What do you think?” He shut the lighter.
“Sure.” The senator grabbed a hold of the gun. “Just why are you in my office?”
“Answers, answers, answers. That’s all anyone wants now a days. I’m looking for someone, senator. A certain girl. I think you know who. Now, I don’t want to be here but her father is quite worried. After all, it’s a dog eat dog world out there.”
“I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
The unnamed man smacked the table. Senator Turner flinched. “I won’t ask twice. You’re afraid of the man I know. He’s given me orders, and that includes using any force I deem necessary. You don’t want that. So, let’s get off to a better start. You’re James Turner. I’m Marcus Kane.” He grabbed two glasses on the table and took hold of the whiskey bottle next to them. Slowly, he filled the glasses. Marcus took a swig and breathed out, refreshed.
“Good stuff. I want things, Mr. Turner. Not just the girl. But, you know of where the cure is traded off. The trade routes. I want the locations, and the names of the suppliers.”
James cocked his head. “That’s a strange request. But, I’m not going to give it to you.”
Marcus rose from his seat. Bang. Bang. Bang. Three shots rang out. The smoke of James’ gun rose into the air.
Marcus kneeled to the floor, holding his hand to his wounds. Laughter. He began laughing hysterically. Standing up slowly.
“You know better, senator…” He stepped forward, James dropped the gun and stumbled backwards.
“I’ll tell you! She often hangs out at that detective’s house. Preston Royce. And the trade spots are at the White Crossroads, Allen Railway Station, and the Greenwood. Just, please. Let me go.”
Marcus unbuttoned his shirt. Dropping the bloodstained white fabric to the floor. He showed his fangs, and the bullets were expelled from his pierced skin until they clanged to the floor. “That wouldn’t be any fun, senator. The kill is the last act of the hunt. Without it, the hunt is meaningless. My fourth kill in a week and no one even knows what I’m up to… The wolf will have its day, senator. The wolf will have its day.”
He let out a snarl, and the sound of his transformation reverberated in the room. Bones crunch. Hair grows. A growl.
A blood curdling scream and blood splattered onto the wall.
It was an overcast morning in early October in the city of Chicago. News of the senator’s death had already spread like wildfire throughout the entire city. The citizens were gripped with fear, not just at the fact that the man was killed, but how he was killed. Senator James Turner was unrecognizable when he was found by his secretary the night before. His limbs were torn from his body and mangled; his torso ripped to shreds. While nobody knows who could’ve done it, one thing was for sure: this wasn’t the first time.
Detective Preston Royce walked down the streets of downtown Chicago that were fairly quiet during such early hours. A lit cigarette hung from his mouth and the brim of his light brown fedora covered his eyes.
This wasn’t the first time he was called in to look at a case like this. There had been a strange rise in murders recently. The victims themselves didn’t seem to have anything in common with one another, except for one thing: how they were killed. It was simply gut-wrenching. Their bodies were all mauled in quite a disturbing way, usually including bite and claw marks, and each and every time Detective Royce saw the crime scene, he would be overcome with a sense that the assailant wasn’t human.
Detective Royce came to the entrance of Senator Turner’s office that was located more or less in the center of the city. At the immediate outside stood several freelance reporters and journalists with cameras and notepads in hand, eager to get some insight on the latest scoop. The door leading inside was covered with yellow police tape, but the reporters looked eager to crouch underneath it and go inside. When Preston approached them, one turned and regarded him with a sudden question.
“Detective! What can you say on the murder of Senator Turner?” he shouted out.
This in turn caught the attention of the others, causing him to be raided with a barrage of queries that he hardly knew the answers to. He had had plenty of experience dealing with nosy reporters like these. He simply ignored them and ducked under the police tape without a word and continued down the dimly illuminated hallway inside.
Preston knew what to expect. He had already heard countless stories about how torn up the senator’s body was and how it was just atrocious. There were a few whispering emergency-response doctors inside whispering worriedly to themselves when he came in. They simply turned to him and shook their heads in defeat. The policeman standing in front of the office door regarded the detective with a sad nod and opened the door from him to step inside.
The stories were accurate as usual. Blood was splattered on three of the four walls. Shreds of human flesh were scattered here and there and had been soaking in now dry sanguine puddles. The detective wasn’t very surprised that the officials had left the body there. Everyone was so desperate to find out who this serial killer was that they wanted Preston to have all the evidence that could possibly help him.
Of course, there was no way Preston was going to look through a dead body like that.
“Joe, get this poor man out of here,” he called to the police officer behind him, who responded by signalling to the paramedics to come in and take the body away in a covered stretcher. “I want the autopsy report as soon as you’re done,” he told them.
Once they left, Preston sighed and looked around the room after taking a long drag from his cigarette to calm his tense nerves. This was now the fourth victim of “Chicago’s very own Jack the Ripper,” as the killer was popularly called. First was John Brown, the mayor of Maywood, then Keith McArthur, the police chief from Bridgeview, a little-known reporter by the name of Kyle Lancaster, and now James Turner, the senator from Chicago.
So the first question Preston wanted to answer was, why these four men? What did they have, know, or see that made them a target for murder?
The next question Preston needed answers for was, how? After scanning each crime scene for any kind of clues, he’d always come up blank. No fingerprints, no other human DNA, nothing. He also wanted to know how they were killed and, more importantly, what kind of sick bastard would do it four times over.
Even though Preston knew he would come to another dead end with this case too, he sighed and placed his detective briefcase on the senator’s desk. It contained all his necessary forensic materials that he used when analyzing a scene.
First, he took a few samples of the dried blood from different areas in the room. He also collected some of the bits of flesh left on the ground. He then dusted a gun that was left on the floor for fingerprints. He doubted that only the senator would’ve touched it, probably in self defense, but it was worth a shot. After that, which took about two hours or so, Preston was getting ready to leave when he noticed something next to his briefcase on the desk. It was miniscule and an odd thing for his eyes to catch, but he felt compelled to get a closer look at it.
In horror, he picked up a small tuft of white hair-- no, fur.
He stared at it in complete shock with his adrenaline rushing, not able to believe his eyes. What on earth was that doing there? The implications almost made him nauseous.
“Detective?” the office called from the doorway. “You said you were on your way? I need to get this room cleaned up soon, the smell’s starting to make me sick.”
In a rush, Preston jammed the hair into a sterile bag and dropped it into his suitcase before shutting it tight and turning to face the cop.
“Yeah, I’m all done in here Joe,” he replied, lowering his hat down again over his eyes.
“Any big clues this time?”
Preston hesitated for a second, then shook his head.
“Damn it,” the officer replied in disappointment. “We better watch our backs.”
Preston walked by him silently.
“Yes we should, Joe,” he replied. “You go home now and get some rest. Thanks for sticking with me this time.”
With that, Preston emerged into the now growing crowd of journalists outside who again asked him question after question. It only frustrated him more that he didn’t know the answers… And now there was one more question he needed answered…
What had left that fur sample there?
Alexa was relatively bored for most of the day. She told Preston she was a student at the University of Chicago, but that was not true. Lexi was on the run from something. Her past that walked wherever she went. Like a shadow tracing her steps. And recently, the things she feared had reared their fangs. Four dead in a week. The cops could blame some animal, or some man as a sadistic maniacal serial killer. Lexi knew better. Someone was after something, and she was positive it was her. Although, the intensity of the killings and the timespan. It didn’t quite make sense to her, but for the time being it didn’t matter.
Tonight, Lexi planned to surprise Preston Royce. A man six years older than herself. Big, strong, attractive. She couldn’t put her finger on why she connected with him so well. But, the night she met him in the bar… Everything changed. She jumped him like she was hunting prey. He wasn’t even what she was, and that is a problem in her home. But she ran, so she could do as she likes. And, Alexa likes Preston. Sometimes more than likes.
It saddened her that she lied to him, but it was for the best. And after tonight, Lexi couldn’t take any more risks. She’d hit the road for good. Leaving Preston behind after six months together made her ache. But, she didn’t know what else to do. He was in danger for as long as he was in contact with her.
So, Alexa decided to surprise him by saying she had a class late at night and wouldn’t be able to see him. Then, use the key to his house and wait for his return. Give him one last night of heated passion. When she was a child, Alexa’s mother always told her that different people could have chemistry with many others. But, there was always one that she would have a spark with.
Her mother was wrong. This wasn’t a spark. It was a goddamn fire.
Alexa dressed in tight-fitting jeans that hugged her body well. Her top was a navy blue tank top that squeezed around her snugly, revealing her cleavage and some of her stomach. But, to have fun she wore a black hoodie over it all. With the hood up, hiding in the closet of his bedroom. Waiting for the right moment to strike. She wanted to scare him, get his blood flowing…
In a few moments, the handle of the front door jiggled and Preston stepped in. He was clearly tired, as he had spent most of the rest of his day in his office studying the DNA samples he had collected. Most importantly, he had been studying the tuft he fur he found on the senator’s desk. To him, it was undeniable proof that some kind of animal was in the room, but what kind of animal committed multiple murders? It was possible that bears were getting agitated all over the country and suddenly attacked people aggressively. Of course, that was not plausible as no window had been broken in the senator’s office. So then why was it there?
There was no way he could know, and he just wanted to sleep on it. Alexa wasn’t around anyway as she was apparently taking a late class at the university. With a sigh, he took off his trench coat and came into the living room where he sat down on a recliner and pulled out a cigarette and lit it, part of his routine for getting ready to sleep.
Once he reached the butt, he dropped the cigarette in an ashtray and got up to finally head to bed. He had his trenchcoat tucked underneath his arms and he went up the stairs quietly and came into his room, where he approached the closet to hang up his coat.
Patience was key. She knew all of Preston’s habits by now. And smoking before bed was one of his less than good ideas. Alexa breathed somewhat heavily, feeling the heat of the excitement culminating all in that moment. She paced herself, regaining some composure and breathing quieter. Lexi heard him come into the room and his footsteps towards the closet.
Stay quiet, she thought. Her hood up, and the bedroom was still mostly dark so her face was hidden well. Lexi could feel his body getting closer. An unspoken connection, a link that allowed her to feel him. His warmth. A smirk played upon her lips.
With a sudden push, she slammed the closet open and leapt out at Preston. She was too fast for him to do anything. Her legs wrapped around his waist and squeezed tight, while her arms moved to wrap around his head. The force of the impact causing them to land on the bed.
“Whoa!”
Preston was so caught of guard, he was half convinced that the serial killer had just pounced on him. After a few seconds of staring at his assailant’s hooded face, he made it out to be none other than…
“Alexa!” he said in shock. “What are you doing home?”
After a brief moment of struggle, struggle that Alexa could tell excited Preston. His heartbeat and her own had quickened. She breathed heavy, re-gathering herself a little before smiling devlishly down at the detective.
“Hmmm. I wasn’t really in class, handsome.” She leaned down and kissed him gently on the lips. Slowly tracing soft kisses down to his neck before she aggressively nibbled his ear.
“I wanted to surprise you.”
Preston smiled as she kissed his neck and bit at his ear. This was just what he needed after a tough day on the job.
“This is certainly a pleasant surprise,” Preston replied, letting her continue to plant soft kisses all over his body. “You have no idea how stressed I am right now…” But he stopped there; he didn’t want to think too much about the case right then. With a grunt of effort, he reached up and pushed Alexa onto her back, taking the dominant position.
He reached down and pulled the hood off her head, revealing her flowing, blonde hair that he had come to love so much.
“Let’s see what you’ve got in store for me…” he whispered, staring deeply into her eyes.
She laughed at his comment, but wasn’t surprised that he was stressed. It was these murders. And that only saddened her, and right now she couldn’t have that. Lexi squealed in surprise as he pushed her onto her back.
Staring back into his eyes, she smirked. Alexa used her abnormal strength and easily rolled him onto his back, straddling his waist. She unzipped the hoodie and quickly removed it off of her to reveal her small tanktop, with no bra underneath. “You do seem tense baby…” Lexi leaned back down and kissed him constantly on the neck as her fingernails clawed down his shirt, unbuttoning it.
“I’m going to do the work, you relax.”
“I’ll at least do you the favor of getting that shirt off you,” Preston said as he reached forward and grabbed it at its hem. “It looks far to small for you to be wearing.” He pulled it upward and over her head, and he simply took a few moments to just stare at her body in awe, that almost glowed in the light of the waxing gibbous moon outside the window.
FADE TO BLAQ
Alexa sat on the edge of the bed, while Preston was washing up in the bathroom. She looked at him a few times while slipping on her boots. She brought a spare pair of clothes. Keeping on the same pair of tight jeans she knew he liked so much, but not such a skimpy tank top this time around. A form-fitting long-sleeve black shirt. Not quite like an underarmour long sleeve but close.
It looked like she was ready to go somewhere, her bag next to her and her keys.
Preston came out of the bathroom, still drying off his face from shaving. That’s when he noticed her bag and her keys next to her, like she was in a hurry to go. They didn’t live together, but he actually didn’t know where Alexa was staying exactly. He had assumed it was somewhere near the campus. Alexa had always said her apartment wasn’t much and she always preferred to go over to his house.
“Leaving so soon?” Preston asked, tossing the towel back into the bathroom.
Alexa didn’t answer his question right away. Grabbing onto her keys and jingling them in her hands. She looked him in the eyes and stood up. Looking down and playing with her keys. He didn’t even say anything, but he was making it hard for her to go.
Instead, she gently traced her hand down from his cheek to his chest. Pushing him onto the edge of the bed where she sat on his lap.
Arms wrapped around his neck as she smiled. “If I asked you to leave here and come away with me, would you?”
At first, Preston didn’t understand her question. But when a moment of silence crept in between them, he realized she was being serious. He pulled away from her in surprise.
“What are you talking about?” he asked, confused.
He couldn’t deny the strong connected between Lexi and him, but her asking him a question like that was so sudden and so unexpected, that he didn’t really know how to deal with it.
Lexi tried to keep him close, but he pulled away. Her hands idled, restlessly trying to find some place to put them.
She took a deep breath. “I’m leaving. And I want you to come with me.”
“Where?” Preston asked, still very much confused. “And why so sudden? What’s going on?”
“Anywhere but here. Let’s go to San Francisco, California. Somewhere far. I’ve just been here for so long. I need to get out. You should too.”
“Alexa…” he said, thinking she was hysterical or something. “I can’t just leave out of nowhere. I’m in the middle of some big murders right now. The city needs me. Are you trying to elope or something?”
Alexa reached out and pulled him close. With animalistic passion, kissing his lips. She stopped and hovered in front of his face, staring into his eyes with her beautiful, yet unusual violet gaze. A serious look on her.
“I want to marry you, Preston Royce.”
Preston’s stomach fluttered with butterflies when she said that. It was so sudden, but everything inside him told him that she was the right one for him. But slowly, he tried to calm down her surging hormones for a second before getting close to her and staring back into her deep, violet eyes.
“I want to marry you too, Alexa Green...” he said. “But… I can’t leave. Not now…”
He turned away from her. His face was visibly pained.
“They need me…” he whispered.
She was desperate in trying to close the distance between them. Alexa had to find a way to bridge this gap. But, there was nothing to reconnect them.
“You can retire… Someone else will take your place. They’ll be fine, this is how… This is how the world works. Please, I want you to come with me, I need you to come with me.”
Preston looked at her incredulously.
“Retire? Lexi, I’m 29, I feel like I’ve just started my career. Why are you so set on leaving right now so suddenly?”
He frowned, trying to think of what she might be thinking.
“Is it the killer that’s bothering you?” he asked, coming to closer. “If you’re worried that you’re hanging around me, then I’d understand if you want to go by yourself… But I have to stay here, even if it’ll cost me my life.”
Finally he paused as his eyes caught something. It was the jacket she was wearing…
He froze and a look of horror came over his face. There was no way… Could it be her?
“You…” he breathed, backing away from her slowly, not believing what could possibly be going on. “That fur on your coat…”
Alexa only shook her head at his words, ready to tear up at any moment as her eyes became puffy and sensitive. Then, that look of horror crossed his face. She looked back at him confused when he stood up and backed away.
A quick glance at her coat and it all made sense. She was confused, but then it clicked. Was she framed? He thinks she’s the killer!
“No… Preston, please listen to me. I know what you’re thinking. Believe me, trust me it wasn’t me. That fur you saw in the office,” She stopped, realizing she said too much and brought even more suspicion on herself.
“I just need you to believe it wasn’t me. It’s hard to explain, but believe me when I say WE are not safe. You or me. We need to leave… Please!”
“Don’t get near me!” Preston nearly shouted. “Just get it over with and kill me…” He looked away from her, shutting his eyes tight to avoid letting tears slip out. It was too painful to look at her now.
“Preston!” She cried out. “I wouldn’t kill you, I couldn’t kill you. I am in love with you, don’t you understand? You need to believe me, you have to…”
Preston paused and peeked one eye at her. That’s when he saw the pain and the fear-laden eyes too. She looked to be just as in a bad place as he.
“Why then…?” he asked. “How did you know about the fur…?”
Alexa wanted to tell him everything. She opened her mouth several times to speak, but no words came out. The void between them filled with agonizing silence.
“I… I can’t. I have to go.” Lexi looked ready to burst into tears. Although she still held herself together. Grabbing her bag and rushing out the door of his bedroom.
Preston wouldn’t allow her to just leave like that without giving him any answer. He hadn’t been any closer to solving this case, and she was… the love of his life. He couldn’t get over the feeling that if he let her leave, he’d never see her again.
“Lexi, wait!” he shouted. He ran after her and managed to catch her by the wrist.
“Please,” he begged desperately. “I need answers…”
Lexi turned in surprise from his force as he caught her wrist. She looked into his eyes as he pleaded to her to tell him what was going on. Then it happened.
A shiver-inducing howl belted out from outside. So close, and it boomed throughout his house. Fear glimmered in her eyes as she looked at him. The lights went out shortly after. She looked down at the ground in the darkness of the hallway.
Glass shattered. The sound of glass fragments clattering against the floor. At this point, Preston would be able to feel Alexa’s body temperature rising. Her skin was steaming hot to the touch. She breathed deeply before releasing a heavy sigh of reluctant determination.
She looked up to him. Eyes turned golden-yellow. “Goodbye...” Were the only words that came from her mouth. Alexa grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him down to the ground hard, with extreme force that seemed unnatural in comparison to her size.
Then she hopped over the stairway and rushed for whatever fate awaited her.
Everything that happened in those few short moments were too much to comprehend. Before Preston knew it, a bloodcurdling howl echoed from outside… then the lights went out… then he remembered Alexa’s skin getting too hot… and her yellow eyes that seemed to glow in the dark… then he remembered being thrown to the ground out of nowhere, with such force it made his vision blurry.
“A-Alexa...” he managed to croak out weakly before losing consciousness.
Until shimmers of light peaked through from a doorway. Then it opened with a soft creak. The silhouette of a suited man with greased, shining hair. Light cast its shadow onto the carpet. He laughed from some comment down the hallway and continued to move within the room. Placing a glass of alcohol down onto a table, he sighed.
A click of a lighter. He froze. Turning his head to see the dull flame flicker in the darkness of the corner. It moved up to a cigarette. He could see the embers burning away. The gray puff of smoke.
“Senator Turner. Good evening.” The man in the shadows said.
“Who are you?” He moved towards a cabinet.
“The gun you’re looking for is right on top of the cabinet you’re moving to. I took it out for you. Go ahead and shoot me.” The man took another drag of the cigarette. “They say this is bad for you. I don’t know. It makes me feel collected. What do you think?” He shut the lighter.
“Sure.” The senator grabbed a hold of the gun. “Just why are you in my office?”
“Answers, answers, answers. That’s all anyone wants now a days. I’m looking for someone, senator. A certain girl. I think you know who. Now, I don’t want to be here but her father is quite worried. After all, it’s a dog eat dog world out there.”
“I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
The unnamed man smacked the table. Senator Turner flinched. “I won’t ask twice. You’re afraid of the man I know. He’s given me orders, and that includes using any force I deem necessary. You don’t want that. So, let’s get off to a better start. You’re James Turner. I’m Marcus Kane.” He grabbed two glasses on the table and took hold of the whiskey bottle next to them. Slowly, he filled the glasses. Marcus took a swig and breathed out, refreshed.
“Good stuff. I want things, Mr. Turner. Not just the girl. But, you know of where the cure is traded off. The trade routes. I want the locations, and the names of the suppliers.”
James cocked his head. “That’s a strange request. But, I’m not going to give it to you.”
Marcus rose from his seat. Bang. Bang. Bang. Three shots rang out. The smoke of James’ gun rose into the air.
Marcus kneeled to the floor, holding his hand to his wounds. Laughter. He began laughing hysterically. Standing up slowly.
“You know better, senator…” He stepped forward, James dropped the gun and stumbled backwards.
“I’ll tell you! She often hangs out at that detective’s house. Preston Royce. And the trade spots are at the White Crossroads, Allen Railway Station, and the Greenwood. Just, please. Let me go.”
Marcus unbuttoned his shirt. Dropping the bloodstained white fabric to the floor. He showed his fangs, and the bullets were expelled from his pierced skin until they clanged to the floor. “That wouldn’t be any fun, senator. The kill is the last act of the hunt. Without it, the hunt is meaningless. My fourth kill in a week and no one even knows what I’m up to… The wolf will have its day, senator. The wolf will have its day.”
He let out a snarl, and the sound of his transformation reverberated in the room. Bones crunch. Hair grows. A growl.
A blood curdling scream and blood splattered onto the wall.
It was an overcast morning in early October in the city of Chicago. News of the senator’s death had already spread like wildfire throughout the entire city. The citizens were gripped with fear, not just at the fact that the man was killed, but how he was killed. Senator James Turner was unrecognizable when he was found by his secretary the night before. His limbs were torn from his body and mangled; his torso ripped to shreds. While nobody knows who could’ve done it, one thing was for sure: this wasn’t the first time.
Detective Preston Royce walked down the streets of downtown Chicago that were fairly quiet during such early hours. A lit cigarette hung from his mouth and the brim of his light brown fedora covered his eyes.
This wasn’t the first time he was called in to look at a case like this. There had been a strange rise in murders recently. The victims themselves didn’t seem to have anything in common with one another, except for one thing: how they were killed. It was simply gut-wrenching. Their bodies were all mauled in quite a disturbing way, usually including bite and claw marks, and each and every time Detective Royce saw the crime scene, he would be overcome with a sense that the assailant wasn’t human.
Detective Royce came to the entrance of Senator Turner’s office that was located more or less in the center of the city. At the immediate outside stood several freelance reporters and journalists with cameras and notepads in hand, eager to get some insight on the latest scoop. The door leading inside was covered with yellow police tape, but the reporters looked eager to crouch underneath it and go inside. When Preston approached them, one turned and regarded him with a sudden question.
“Detective! What can you say on the murder of Senator Turner?” he shouted out.
This in turn caught the attention of the others, causing him to be raided with a barrage of queries that he hardly knew the answers to. He had had plenty of experience dealing with nosy reporters like these. He simply ignored them and ducked under the police tape without a word and continued down the dimly illuminated hallway inside.
Preston knew what to expect. He had already heard countless stories about how torn up the senator’s body was and how it was just atrocious. There were a few whispering emergency-response doctors inside whispering worriedly to themselves when he came in. They simply turned to him and shook their heads in defeat. The policeman standing in front of the office door regarded the detective with a sad nod and opened the door from him to step inside.
The stories were accurate as usual. Blood was splattered on three of the four walls. Shreds of human flesh were scattered here and there and had been soaking in now dry sanguine puddles. The detective wasn’t very surprised that the officials had left the body there. Everyone was so desperate to find out who this serial killer was that they wanted Preston to have all the evidence that could possibly help him.
Of course, there was no way Preston was going to look through a dead body like that.
“Joe, get this poor man out of here,” he called to the police officer behind him, who responded by signalling to the paramedics to come in and take the body away in a covered stretcher. “I want the autopsy report as soon as you’re done,” he told them.
Once they left, Preston sighed and looked around the room after taking a long drag from his cigarette to calm his tense nerves. This was now the fourth victim of “Chicago’s very own Jack the Ripper,” as the killer was popularly called. First was John Brown, the mayor of Maywood, then Keith McArthur, the police chief from Bridgeview, a little-known reporter by the name of Kyle Lancaster, and now James Turner, the senator from Chicago.
So the first question Preston wanted to answer was, why these four men? What did they have, know, or see that made them a target for murder?
The next question Preston needed answers for was, how? After scanning each crime scene for any kind of clues, he’d always come up blank. No fingerprints, no other human DNA, nothing. He also wanted to know how they were killed and, more importantly, what kind of sick bastard would do it four times over.
Even though Preston knew he would come to another dead end with this case too, he sighed and placed his detective briefcase on the senator’s desk. It contained all his necessary forensic materials that he used when analyzing a scene.
First, he took a few samples of the dried blood from different areas in the room. He also collected some of the bits of flesh left on the ground. He then dusted a gun that was left on the floor for fingerprints. He doubted that only the senator would’ve touched it, probably in self defense, but it was worth a shot. After that, which took about two hours or so, Preston was getting ready to leave when he noticed something next to his briefcase on the desk. It was miniscule and an odd thing for his eyes to catch, but he felt compelled to get a closer look at it.
In horror, he picked up a small tuft of white hair-- no, fur.
He stared at it in complete shock with his adrenaline rushing, not able to believe his eyes. What on earth was that doing there? The implications almost made him nauseous.
“Detective?” the office called from the doorway. “You said you were on your way? I need to get this room cleaned up soon, the smell’s starting to make me sick.”
In a rush, Preston jammed the hair into a sterile bag and dropped it into his suitcase before shutting it tight and turning to face the cop.
“Yeah, I’m all done in here Joe,” he replied, lowering his hat down again over his eyes.
“Any big clues this time?”
Preston hesitated for a second, then shook his head.
“Damn it,” the officer replied in disappointment. “We better watch our backs.”
Preston walked by him silently.
“Yes we should, Joe,” he replied. “You go home now and get some rest. Thanks for sticking with me this time.”
With that, Preston emerged into the now growing crowd of journalists outside who again asked him question after question. It only frustrated him more that he didn’t know the answers… And now there was one more question he needed answered…
What had left that fur sample there?
Alexa was relatively bored for most of the day. She told Preston she was a student at the University of Chicago, but that was not true. Lexi was on the run from something. Her past that walked wherever she went. Like a shadow tracing her steps. And recently, the things she feared had reared their fangs. Four dead in a week. The cops could blame some animal, or some man as a sadistic maniacal serial killer. Lexi knew better. Someone was after something, and she was positive it was her. Although, the intensity of the killings and the timespan. It didn’t quite make sense to her, but for the time being it didn’t matter.
Tonight, Lexi planned to surprise Preston Royce. A man six years older than herself. Big, strong, attractive. She couldn’t put her finger on why she connected with him so well. But, the night she met him in the bar… Everything changed. She jumped him like she was hunting prey. He wasn’t even what she was, and that is a problem in her home. But she ran, so she could do as she likes. And, Alexa likes Preston. Sometimes more than likes.
It saddened her that she lied to him, but it was for the best. And after tonight, Lexi couldn’t take any more risks. She’d hit the road for good. Leaving Preston behind after six months together made her ache. But, she didn’t know what else to do. He was in danger for as long as he was in contact with her.
So, Alexa decided to surprise him by saying she had a class late at night and wouldn’t be able to see him. Then, use the key to his house and wait for his return. Give him one last night of heated passion. When she was a child, Alexa’s mother always told her that different people could have chemistry with many others. But, there was always one that she would have a spark with.
Her mother was wrong. This wasn’t a spark. It was a goddamn fire.
Alexa dressed in tight-fitting jeans that hugged her body well. Her top was a navy blue tank top that squeezed around her snugly, revealing her cleavage and some of her stomach. But, to have fun she wore a black hoodie over it all. With the hood up, hiding in the closet of his bedroom. Waiting for the right moment to strike. She wanted to scare him, get his blood flowing…
In a few moments, the handle of the front door jiggled and Preston stepped in. He was clearly tired, as he had spent most of the rest of his day in his office studying the DNA samples he had collected. Most importantly, he had been studying the tuft he fur he found on the senator’s desk. To him, it was undeniable proof that some kind of animal was in the room, but what kind of animal committed multiple murders? It was possible that bears were getting agitated all over the country and suddenly attacked people aggressively. Of course, that was not plausible as no window had been broken in the senator’s office. So then why was it there?
There was no way he could know, and he just wanted to sleep on it. Alexa wasn’t around anyway as she was apparently taking a late class at the university. With a sigh, he took off his trench coat and came into the living room where he sat down on a recliner and pulled out a cigarette and lit it, part of his routine for getting ready to sleep.
Once he reached the butt, he dropped the cigarette in an ashtray and got up to finally head to bed. He had his trenchcoat tucked underneath his arms and he went up the stairs quietly and came into his room, where he approached the closet to hang up his coat.
Patience was key. She knew all of Preston’s habits by now. And smoking before bed was one of his less than good ideas. Alexa breathed somewhat heavily, feeling the heat of the excitement culminating all in that moment. She paced herself, regaining some composure and breathing quieter. Lexi heard him come into the room and his footsteps towards the closet.
Stay quiet, she thought. Her hood up, and the bedroom was still mostly dark so her face was hidden well. Lexi could feel his body getting closer. An unspoken connection, a link that allowed her to feel him. His warmth. A smirk played upon her lips.
With a sudden push, she slammed the closet open and leapt out at Preston. She was too fast for him to do anything. Her legs wrapped around his waist and squeezed tight, while her arms moved to wrap around his head. The force of the impact causing them to land on the bed.
“Whoa!”
Preston was so caught of guard, he was half convinced that the serial killer had just pounced on him. After a few seconds of staring at his assailant’s hooded face, he made it out to be none other than…
“Alexa!” he said in shock. “What are you doing home?”
After a brief moment of struggle, struggle that Alexa could tell excited Preston. His heartbeat and her own had quickened. She breathed heavy, re-gathering herself a little before smiling devlishly down at the detective.
“Hmmm. I wasn’t really in class, handsome.” She leaned down and kissed him gently on the lips. Slowly tracing soft kisses down to his neck before she aggressively nibbled his ear.
“I wanted to surprise you.”
Preston smiled as she kissed his neck and bit at his ear. This was just what he needed after a tough day on the job.
“This is certainly a pleasant surprise,” Preston replied, letting her continue to plant soft kisses all over his body. “You have no idea how stressed I am right now…” But he stopped there; he didn’t want to think too much about the case right then. With a grunt of effort, he reached up and pushed Alexa onto her back, taking the dominant position.
He reached down and pulled the hood off her head, revealing her flowing, blonde hair that he had come to love so much.
“Let’s see what you’ve got in store for me…” he whispered, staring deeply into her eyes.
She laughed at his comment, but wasn’t surprised that he was stressed. It was these murders. And that only saddened her, and right now she couldn’t have that. Lexi squealed in surprise as he pushed her onto her back.
Staring back into his eyes, she smirked. Alexa used her abnormal strength and easily rolled him onto his back, straddling his waist. She unzipped the hoodie and quickly removed it off of her to reveal her small tanktop, with no bra underneath. “You do seem tense baby…” Lexi leaned back down and kissed him constantly on the neck as her fingernails clawed down his shirt, unbuttoning it.
“I’m going to do the work, you relax.”
“I’ll at least do you the favor of getting that shirt off you,” Preston said as he reached forward and grabbed it at its hem. “It looks far to small for you to be wearing.” He pulled it upward and over her head, and he simply took a few moments to just stare at her body in awe, that almost glowed in the light of the waxing gibbous moon outside the window.
FADE TO BLAQ
Alexa sat on the edge of the bed, while Preston was washing up in the bathroom. She looked at him a few times while slipping on her boots. She brought a spare pair of clothes. Keeping on the same pair of tight jeans she knew he liked so much, but not such a skimpy tank top this time around. A form-fitting long-sleeve black shirt. Not quite like an underarmour long sleeve but close.
It looked like she was ready to go somewhere, her bag next to her and her keys.
Preston came out of the bathroom, still drying off his face from shaving. That’s when he noticed her bag and her keys next to her, like she was in a hurry to go. They didn’t live together, but he actually didn’t know where Alexa was staying exactly. He had assumed it was somewhere near the campus. Alexa had always said her apartment wasn’t much and she always preferred to go over to his house.
“Leaving so soon?” Preston asked, tossing the towel back into the bathroom.
Alexa didn’t answer his question right away. Grabbing onto her keys and jingling them in her hands. She looked him in the eyes and stood up. Looking down and playing with her keys. He didn’t even say anything, but he was making it hard for her to go.
Instead, she gently traced her hand down from his cheek to his chest. Pushing him onto the edge of the bed where she sat on his lap.
Arms wrapped around his neck as she smiled. “If I asked you to leave here and come away with me, would you?”
At first, Preston didn’t understand her question. But when a moment of silence crept in between them, he realized she was being serious. He pulled away from her in surprise.
“What are you talking about?” he asked, confused.
He couldn’t deny the strong connected between Lexi and him, but her asking him a question like that was so sudden and so unexpected, that he didn’t really know how to deal with it.
Lexi tried to keep him close, but he pulled away. Her hands idled, restlessly trying to find some place to put them.
She took a deep breath. “I’m leaving. And I want you to come with me.”
“Where?” Preston asked, still very much confused. “And why so sudden? What’s going on?”
“Anywhere but here. Let’s go to San Francisco, California. Somewhere far. I’ve just been here for so long. I need to get out. You should too.”
“Alexa…” he said, thinking she was hysterical or something. “I can’t just leave out of nowhere. I’m in the middle of some big murders right now. The city needs me. Are you trying to elope or something?”
Alexa reached out and pulled him close. With animalistic passion, kissing his lips. She stopped and hovered in front of his face, staring into his eyes with her beautiful, yet unusual violet gaze. A serious look on her.
“I want to marry you, Preston Royce.”
Preston’s stomach fluttered with butterflies when she said that. It was so sudden, but everything inside him told him that she was the right one for him. But slowly, he tried to calm down her surging hormones for a second before getting close to her and staring back into her deep, violet eyes.
“I want to marry you too, Alexa Green...” he said. “But… I can’t leave. Not now…”
He turned away from her. His face was visibly pained.
“They need me…” he whispered.
She was desperate in trying to close the distance between them. Alexa had to find a way to bridge this gap. But, there was nothing to reconnect them.
“You can retire… Someone else will take your place. They’ll be fine, this is how… This is how the world works. Please, I want you to come with me, I need you to come with me.”
Preston looked at her incredulously.
“Retire? Lexi, I’m 29, I feel like I’ve just started my career. Why are you so set on leaving right now so suddenly?”
He frowned, trying to think of what she might be thinking.
“Is it the killer that’s bothering you?” he asked, coming to closer. “If you’re worried that you’re hanging around me, then I’d understand if you want to go by yourself… But I have to stay here, even if it’ll cost me my life.”
Finally he paused as his eyes caught something. It was the jacket she was wearing…
He froze and a look of horror came over his face. There was no way… Could it be her?
“You…” he breathed, backing away from her slowly, not believing what could possibly be going on. “That fur on your coat…”
Alexa only shook her head at his words, ready to tear up at any moment as her eyes became puffy and sensitive. Then, that look of horror crossed his face. She looked back at him confused when he stood up and backed away.
A quick glance at her coat and it all made sense. She was confused, but then it clicked. Was she framed? He thinks she’s the killer!
“No… Preston, please listen to me. I know what you’re thinking. Believe me, trust me it wasn’t me. That fur you saw in the office,” She stopped, realizing she said too much and brought even more suspicion on herself.
“I just need you to believe it wasn’t me. It’s hard to explain, but believe me when I say WE are not safe. You or me. We need to leave… Please!”
“Don’t get near me!” Preston nearly shouted. “Just get it over with and kill me…” He looked away from her, shutting his eyes tight to avoid letting tears slip out. It was too painful to look at her now.
“Preston!” She cried out. “I wouldn’t kill you, I couldn’t kill you. I am in love with you, don’t you understand? You need to believe me, you have to…”
Preston paused and peeked one eye at her. That’s when he saw the pain and the fear-laden eyes too. She looked to be just as in a bad place as he.
“Why then…?” he asked. “How did you know about the fur…?”
Alexa wanted to tell him everything. She opened her mouth several times to speak, but no words came out. The void between them filled with agonizing silence.
“I… I can’t. I have to go.” Lexi looked ready to burst into tears. Although she still held herself together. Grabbing her bag and rushing out the door of his bedroom.
Preston wouldn’t allow her to just leave like that without giving him any answer. He hadn’t been any closer to solving this case, and she was… the love of his life. He couldn’t get over the feeling that if he let her leave, he’d never see her again.
“Lexi, wait!” he shouted. He ran after her and managed to catch her by the wrist.
“Please,” he begged desperately. “I need answers…”
Lexi turned in surprise from his force as he caught her wrist. She looked into his eyes as he pleaded to her to tell him what was going on. Then it happened.
A shiver-inducing howl belted out from outside. So close, and it boomed throughout his house. Fear glimmered in her eyes as she looked at him. The lights went out shortly after. She looked down at the ground in the darkness of the hallway.
Glass shattered. The sound of glass fragments clattering against the floor. At this point, Preston would be able to feel Alexa’s body temperature rising. Her skin was steaming hot to the touch. She breathed deeply before releasing a heavy sigh of reluctant determination.
She looked up to him. Eyes turned golden-yellow. “Goodbye...” Were the only words that came from her mouth. Alexa grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him down to the ground hard, with extreme force that seemed unnatural in comparison to her size.
Then she hopped over the stairway and rushed for whatever fate awaited her.
Everything that happened in those few short moments were too much to comprehend. Before Preston knew it, a bloodcurdling howl echoed from outside… then the lights went out… then he remembered Alexa’s skin getting too hot… and her yellow eyes that seemed to glow in the dark… then he remembered being thrown to the ground out of nowhere, with such force it made his vision blurry.
“A-Alexa...” he managed to croak out weakly before losing consciousness.