Murder & Opportunity
Today was like any other day. No, not like other days, today was especially beautiful. The sun shone with such vigor you could almost forget the crisp autumn air. The falling star cast its stunning red glare over the earth almost in spite of the situation it saw.
A string of grisly murders had haunted this small town for a little over a year. Today was supposed to bring about the end of that, and seeing God’s cruel gaze cascade light over them, the leader of a small group only 5 strong couldn’t help but smile bitterly. Shouldn’t this scene be for a happy event? He wondered, I guess life isn’t like the movies. The young man’s eyes sharpened, and his smile fell as he addressed the man standing opposite of them with obvious disdain.
“For the last time Chris,” He drew out the words slowly, his voice lowering threateningly, “Turn yourself in.”
The man called Chris smiled wickedly and chuckled, eliciting shivers from those standing around the lead as he spun around animatedly. His smile only broadened when he saw this, seemingly taking pleasure in their stricken expressions,
“You wound me so, dearest Val,” Chris astounded in a clearly mocking theatrical tone, “Turning even my own sister against me, when you have no evidence”
“Crazy bastard,” Val, Valentine by birth, scoffed in distaste and muttered.
“Is it truly I who has gone crazy, or the world?”
The Madman was clearly enjoying his theatrics, and the effects they had on his audience. The entire group had known he was sick, but seeing it so comically expressed would shake even the most prepared party. His aforementioned sister, Dawn, covered her mouth in horror and bit back tears at the macabre display. Only Valentine kept his eyes narrowed with grim determination as he pulled his father’s revolver from the inner pocket of his coat and centered on the prancing figure. Chris stopped on a dime, his crazed smile reverting to a small sneer.
“So it comes to this, Val? If you thought that would threaten me, you’re dead wrong,” He Turned his back to the group and spread his arms as if to hug the entirety of the forest in front of him, “The perfect completion to my artwork, I will take my bow-”
BANG
Chris looked down briefly at the blood spreading across his gray graphic t-shirt and uttered a brief, “ah,” before falling, like a puppet with its strings cut.
The group stood there for a while, staring blankly at Chris’s corpse, before turning away one by one. First was Zeke, whose sister had been the second victim in Chris’s art piece; he didn’t forget to spit at the corpse before leaving. Then was Oliver, who’d recently discovered the corrupt nature of his Sheriff father. Following him was Autumn, who had been unfortunate enough to fall in love with a murderer. Leaving Val, Dawn, and Chris behind. Dawn finally broke down, the tears spilling over as she lost her only brother. Valentine coldly returned the pistol to his coat and took a breath. There was still a murderer in this town, but at least they wouldn’t kill again. He took Dawn by the hand and led her away from the scene, comforting her with a complicated expression on his face. The air was still as Chris lay frozen on the ground.
None of them are the focus of this story however, for unbeknownst to them they had left but one observer in their wake, a wolf. The wolf was clearly unwell, its skin sloughing off slightly at the spine and the usually white parts of its eyes a deep yellow. It hobbled towards the carcass lying plainly just out of the trees. It had no concept of why this cadaver was made such, for It was a wolf. The meaning behind the human’s howls were lost on its flea-ridden ears. It only saw one thing, an opportunity. This host would obviously soon reach its end, and the forest had run out of wolves. The mangy wolf collapsed just a few feet from the empty body. The gooey flesh at the back of the mutt’s neck writhed with life, and It emerged.
