Chapter 1
The patter of rain hit the late night streets of New Gem City. A light dewy mist filled the vacant streets. Brick buildings line up and down the streets their dimly lit lanterns threatened to go out in the soft breeze.
A young couple walked the street in the rain hiding under their umbrella and laughing. "What do you want for dinner? We still got the stuff to make spaghetti?" Asked the woman. "Well we got everything but we still got to go pick up Sally. She's been with her grandparents for the weekend." Said the woman bringing up their young daughter. "We're getting her tomorrow morning. Probably going to take her to see Jacob tomorrow." "Tomorrow? Isn't that Jacob's wedding day. Is she still going to be the flower girl?" "She should be." They bickered about their plans with the family.
The couple walked further down the street carring the conversation on. When a man exited The Blount Street Falls Apartment Center. A luxurious brick building 15 stories tall. Standing on the top was a stone statue with a lantern in her hand holding a staff with a green emerald radiating with light encased in gold bars. The statue itself was added on a few years after the building was built and sold by Tom Likenholt the City Mayor who then sold it to some rich guy over in Solumont's Diesel Puff City.
"Lovely night is it?" The man asked as the couple walked by. "That it is besides the rain it's nice" The woman said with a kind smile. "A nice night it is. To paint the town red." The man said mysteriously as he walked in the opposite direction humming a tune to himself and tapping his cane as he walked.
"Did that man seem a little strange to you Ed?" Asked the woman. "He seemed respectful and a bit strange yeah." Replied Ed. "A bit strange? Sir, madame you have no idea the amount of strange." The man popped up between them without making a sound as a cold steel blade of a Butchers knife was against the womans throat.
With a sudden and smooth motion the man slit the womans kneck as blood gushed and spewed from the wound. Splashing her husband with her blood as he looked in horror at what the man did.
The wife's body hit the ground with a hard thud as her lifeless body bled from her kneck soaking the ground. The man turned in an instant looking at her as he heald her body in his arms tears streaming down his face mixed with the rain falling from the night sky as thunder clapped and lightning spread amongst the sky. Alluminating a figure. The man who had walked out of The Blount Street Falls Apartments had slit her throat with a Cleaver and looked at the man with a maniacal smile as he pushed his rimed glasses up on the bridge of his nose. "Nice night tonight sir? I see your wife has fallen ill? And dear Sally? Well I'll make sure she is well attended to and lives a life without you in it."
The man got up from his wifes body and ran away trying to get away effortlessly his body screaming out to him to stay but his heart knew he had better chances of surviving if he ran to live another day.
"Run all you want. You can't hide. I am the Ghost of Gem City, the Reaper who walks the night." The man had laughed as he slowly stalked after his victim.
Running was all the man could do. He had noways of fighting back, he could not fight never has in his life. He was at a big disadvantage here. Not sure if he could live. He tried every door on the street all of them locked as he banged on the doors and cried out for help.
His eyes red from tears, his heart beating like a trumpet and his throat hoarse from running. He ran further down the street splashing through puddles. He ran for as long as his legs could carry him. Seeing an ally he ran for it hoping to loose the mad man if he ducked down it off the main streets.
They turned the corner briskly as they ran into a dead end. Cowering in fear they backed up against the stone wall that blocked their path. Their breathing uneasy. They looked around relentlessly looking for an escape route.
A shadow steadily creeping up from the entrance of the ally cast from the lanterns. Steadily the shadow got closer. A creepy manical laughter rang out softly in the dewy night like a eerie charm of bells signaling the end of life and the ever embracing feeling of death.
The figure stood petrified by fear. Watching the shadow get closer. Their breathing growing shallow with fear.
The shadow entered their line of view to reveal a man of medium build wearing a fine dress suit and Fedora with circle rimmed glasses wielding a cleaver. They approached the figure backed to the wall their eerie manical laugh filling the ally.
"Nowhere to run now sir. You seem to have found a slight inconvenience with your back to the wall. In mean time do tell that the Ghost of New Gem City sent you." The man said in a calm, deep yet gruff voice.
"Pl-please let me go. I-i got a family, children. I'll do anything. You want money? I'll give you that, my house. Anything. Just let me go back to my family." The young man begged for his life with his back to the wall.
"Pleading? Sir there is nothing i want more than to see the life fade from your eyes. Watching your body go cold and limp. That is what i desire from you." The man brought down his Butcher's Knife swiftly plunging it into the young mans chest. Again and again he did this. Blood splattering his face. As he finished and wiped his brow pulling out a rag and wiping his blade clean of the blood.
"An eventful night for you my good sir. How the sight of your blood brings me so much joy. If only i could enjoy the feeling of watching you die endlessly. Pity it lasts only a few minutes. Don't you think?" The man said in a calm voice with a hint of joy. A mad glint in his eyes as he watched the man bleed out in front of him clutching to his chest while choking trying to stop the bleeding. Slowly but surely the life faded from his eyes.
With a flick of his cleaver he threw the blood off and stuffed it into a pocket in his jacket. Turning to leave he says. "Another offering to my god" he walks down the path leaving the ally. Leaving the scene of his gruesome murder, the body still laying mangled beyond recognition. Yet still it twitches as it settles on the ground. Lifeless the blood soaking and staining the concrete of the ally.
