20XX/10/04 – Evening197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXL6Ko8WRzR
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Liz looked up at the abandoned building on Maple Street. The brittle façade of the dark gray walls was smeared with graffiti, amidst it were several other stains whose origins couldn’t be defined upon first glance. Maybe that was for the best, as she wasn’t sure whether she wanted to know how they came to be. It wasn’t a particularly high building, definitely smaller in height than the one the newspaper agency was located in. There were three, maybe four stories; it was hard to determine from the outside alone. While most of the windows still seemed generally intact, a lot of the glass was covered in cracks and Liz could spot more than a few holes in some of it. There also seemed to be bits of stone missing in the walls and one particularly wide stretching crack gave her an uneasy feeling. The way it coiled upwards across the old stone until just below the rooftop made her question how safe it was to set foot inside.
The low rumble of thunder in the distance pulled the young woman out of her thoughts. “Out of all the places, you really had to go and choose this one.” She scoffed, a hint of discomfort accompanying her voice. 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXfNa3Aplwk
The man beside her shrugged. “Well, it is the scene of the crime. What better spot for a rendezvous besides this one?” He didn’t seem to be concerned about the potential collapse of the structure in the slightest. Liz on the other hand didn’t quite agree with his carefree attitude. “I’m beginning to think you really have a death wish. That or you’re just so bored with your life that you have to chase danger to get some weird kick out of it.”
“On the contrary, I quite enjoy living. And I’m not bored in the slightest either. How could I, when I have such a pretty and intriguing assistant as yourself by my side, Ms. Glaze?” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVScYidDlCm
Ew. Disgusting.197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdKDPaVdgI
Leon chuckled as he cast her another one of his charming smiles, she was beginning to think were his trademark expressions. Liz sighed. “I still think it’s not the brightest idea to meet up with a serial killer in an abandoned building. And at night at that.” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4cRjTSJv2y
“I mean, I can’t just invite them to have tea with me, can I? I doubt they would show up in a public place like a café.” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdUm209rEjB
“What makes you think he’ll show up now? After all, this could be a trap too.” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOhwIwOpfhv
“Well, it’s not, so-“ 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡltDjJHFJ7D
“But he doesn’t know that!” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQN50MUha9V
He turned towards her, casually slipping his hand into the pocket of his black coat. “You really worry too much, Ms. Glaze. They’ll show, I can guarantee it. Just trust me on this.” Now that, that’s exactly what worries me.
Despite her opinion, there was distinct confidence in his voice, as well as something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Liz had already noticed it on their long walk the day before, but despite his goofiness and all-around weird act, there also was a more businesslike and serious side to Leon. She didn’t want to admit it but during those rare times he seemed sharp, almost competent. There was a certain spark in those deep blue eyes that almost made her believe in the nonsense he spouted. Maybe that was why she had agreed to go along with his mad idea in the end. Irritated at herself, Liz quickly turned away. She couldn’t afford to look into those blue orbs for too long. It was too dangerous.
“Let’s go then.” She spoke quickly, causing Leon to perk up. 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQOfPNwwnLS
“Can I take it that you decided to put your trust in me?”197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQN5Pznm5rh
“Jury’s still out on that.” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtt1KNyMVEH
Without waiting for his response, the brunette headed inside. She quickly found herself surrounded by darkness. Although the sun hadn’t completely set yet, the dark clouds in the sky had swallowed the last bit of light, intensifying the autumn darkness hanging over the city. With the few windows there was even less light inside the old building and only the loud shut of the big metal door told her that Leon had followed her. 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1hnoEjBw0y
“There must be a light switch somewhere.” She heard his soft voice behind her. It took her eyes a few more seconds to adjust to the darkness but soon she could discern the blurred outlines of the hallway in front of them. Carefully she took a few steps towards the wall where she proceeded to run her hands along the cold stone walls, in hope of finding said switch. The scrambling noise behind her told her that Leon had started to do the same on the opposite wall. A few seconds later Liz found something that felt like a switch. A clicking sound could be heard as she pressed it and soon after several fluorescent bulbs started to light up one after another, illuminating the corridor in a cold static light. Talk about creepy.
“Aha! Well done, Ms. Glaze! This is much better.” Leon exclaimed from the other side, clapping his hands together. 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9XGTAqGyEO
“I’m not so sure about that. With the lighting this looks like one of those creepy psychiatric wards straight from a horror movie.”197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvHlnVAT6Ms
“Not quite. If I recall, this building was once a hospital.” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg6GAzrHytM
Great. Definitely much better. What next? You’re gonna suggest that we-197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUzTtEV07U6
“Let’s split up and look around a bit.” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡygVgshCEeZ
I hate being right sometimes. “You’re kidding right?”197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3N4fYdP9x
“No, why? It can’t hurt to know the layout of the building.”
Liz shook her head, banishing all thoughts of hers that had suggested this man could be reliable and trustworthy in the slightest. “Splitting up is like the dumbest thing to do. In a horror movie, once the group decides to split, people start dying.” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiG3wju6fhf
“Hm, is that so?” he asked, rubbing his chin in thought. “I never saw a horror movie, so I had no idea.” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxKNCh70lWS
“Wait, you never- Why?” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPYtdRsYkD7
“They’re scary.” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡii2aP01MaZ
“Yeah, that’s kinda the point.” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjyr6yJGtXi
“Well, why would I want to scare myself? Seems pretty idiotic to me. Anyways, let’s stay together and check out this floor then.” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj42LxiHnPF
How can you be scared of horror movies but not get the creeps from this place? Liz thought but kept her mouth shut as she followed her partner along the hallway.
They came across several doors that had been painted a clean white a long time ago, but were now soiled with scribbles and stains. Some were locked and the ones that weren’t led to sparsely furnished rooms. A round table, a few chairs, a wardrobe and a hospital bed seemed to have been the general interior of the patients’ rooms. A few sported an additional painting or two, but all in all Liz thought they had a rather sad feeling to them and she was glad to not have been a patient here back when the hospital had still been operating.
At one point during their search Leon spoke up. “Say, why do you keep saying him?”197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡva7RRtdz3H
“Huh?” the brunette responded from across the room. She had just opened the wardrobe of the room they were currently inspecting and had found it to be empty, just like all the others had been before.197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlOq8V7cQKX
“The Paper Cut Killer. You keep referring to them as a male. Although we haven’t established their gender at any point.”197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKezFTsbNjQ
“Oh. Well, I don’t know. The way the victims get slashed again and again - to me it just seems like a very male way to kill.” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtVqVGQGPJA
The officer remained silent for a while before he responded. “So you think a woman couldn’t commit crimes like those?”197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZGkQSmbWJC
“I never said that. It just seems unlikely to me. I’d say we women prefer more, let’s say, graceful ways of committing a murder. Like poisoning, for example. No blood, less of a mess.”197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVtEG5bZXZ2
“Hm, poison, I see. Is that how you would kill someone Ms. Glaze?”197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO7Dpi32H03
“Eh?” Liz hadn’t expected that question and so she stared at her partner blinking. Then she let out a laugh. “Me using poison? Nah, I wouldn’t.”197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV4kuzUEyBC
“How would you do it then?”197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVZs5J6j0d
“I don’t know. I’m not a murderer after all, so there’s no reason for me to kill someone.”197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHscD03Ef6
Leon smiled at her answer. “Yeah, I guess so.” Maybe it was the cold fluorescent lighting but something about his smile seemed off to her. Like there was something eery hiding underneath it. The brunette shook her head, shrugging it off as a fabric of her imagination.197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qyTdTAXk9
The two of them continued their search on the upper floors but their findings stayed the same. The journalist wondered where the actual operation and treatment rooms were located. Probably behind the locked doors. Not like she was especially keen on exploring them, but it definitely would have helped ease her mind to know where exactly the potentially dangerous instruments like scalpels were being kept.
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Unbeknownst to the two of them a pair of eyes kept their watch on the old building. Hiding in the shadows of the big old tree in the middle of Maple Street the figure lingered near the junction box liable for the electricity of several buildings in the street. The cold autumn wind kept sending the fallen leaves on the ground flying and made them dance through the air. It would have been a beautiful sight if it wasn’t for the dark clouds in the sky that had started piling up more and more, by now forming an ominous black wall. The growling thunder resounded through the empty streets, a clear messenger of the imminent storm. Taking a glimpse at the sky, the figure pulled the hood of their long black rain jacket over their head. They weren’t thrilled about the prospect of getting drenched by the rain but they couldn’t afford to leave either. Not now. Not when their presence could be the decisive variable in the equation to determine the outcome of what was about to happen. Another gust of wind hit them in the face and their body shuddered from the cold. Or maybe it wasn’t as much the cold as it was the anxious feeling that caused the goosebumps on their skin. Their eyes fixated back on the two silhouettes behind the broken glass windows and as they opened their mouth the wind carried the quietly mumbled words away into the night. 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡArHRI8bp02
“I’m sorry Liz…”
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The thunder is coming closer. Liz noticed while she stared out of the window at the black clouds. 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ08pjKsQMTE
“Something interesting outside?” Leon’s voice resounded beside her. 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡApAN8bu99P
“I think there really is a storm approaching outside…” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfdP91OENu6
“Hm? Oh, yeah, it seems like it. Makes for an extra spooky atmosphere, doesn’t it? Is that the kind of weather they have in your horror movies?” He chuckled. However, the young woman didn’t respond and instead kept staring through the stained glass. “Ms. Glaze?” Leon raised an eyebrow. The last time the brunette had been this quiet she had been mad at him, otherwise she barely ever kept her thoughts to herself like that. Even though he had only gotten to know her for a day, he knew for a fact that she loved nothing more than to make snarky remarks and take jabs at people at whatever chance she got. He had been on the receiving end of them more than a few times already. That’s why he didn’t quite know what to make of the sudden somberness she displayed and it would be a lie to say that it didn’t worry him at least a little. 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg8d2xUbSwS
In a tentative motion Leon reached out his hand, gently placing it on her shoulder. Startled by the sudden touch, her body jerked and her head snapped in the officer’s direction.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” The sudden harshness in her voice surprised him and he quickly withdrew his hand. “Oh, uhm… I just thought that- Are you maybe scared of thunderstorms, Ms. Glaze?” Although he stumbled over his words, he seemed generally concerned and Liz didn’t quite know how to react to that. A bit embarrassed she turned her head away. “S-so, what? You thought to comfort me or something?” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbCvmGYVzCm
“Well, ye-“ 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfIfULgVFd
“There’s no need. I’m not. I’m not scared of thunderstorms.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, as the feeling she got during a storm didn’t reach as far as to deserve to get called fear. It was more like an inner agitation, some kind of turmoil, a restlessness that plagued her. Yes, storms made her unsettled, but she certainly wasn’t afraid of them. 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzWvZ3Ot11A
For a few moments Leon studied the brunette, not entirely convinced by her words. But to her surprise he didn’t inquire any further and instead suggested for them to continue their exploration. Something she quietly thanked him for, albeit she would never say as much.
They made their way through the hallway of the third floor, Leon walking in front while a slightly dejected Liz followed. An awkward silence hung above them, but it didn’t take long for the officer to speak up again. “I’ve got an idea!” He exclaimed as he spun around. 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1fU2Dsg76Z
“To make you feel a bit safer.” The pair of gray eyes that looked up at him showed visible confusion, but he didn’t pay them any mind and went on to explain his stroke of genius. “I’ll just hand you my gun!” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdqKFy9EOcs
“Excuse me, what?” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0nhQsn6nFg
“My gun! If you carry it and we get attacked by the killer you can just shoot him.” Already while saying the words Leon reached inside his jacket and pulled the weapon out of its holster. Swiftly he turned it around in his hand, presenting it to Liz. The brunette stared in bewilderment, switching her focus between him and the gun. It took her a few attempts to form any words. 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF6SviwHhvc
“Are you stupid!? You can’t just hand your police gun to a civilian!” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSRaKnhSI3a
“Sure, I can. Don’t worry, I’m sure you won’t have to use it. It’s just to make you feel safe.” He reached out a bit further, almost pushing the gun into her stomach. Liz made an exasperated sound but eventually took the weapon from the man’s hand. and proceeded to stare at it. The hard metal felt cold on her skin and it weighed heavy in her hand. 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLFHGYZ7aH1
“See, that wasn’t so hard, right?” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZwhAvGuztk
“You know I could shoot you right now.” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGwdhIcIO2y
“Oh, you wouldn’t. You like me too much.” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoOx0fkA246
God, he really is an idiot.197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG2FlqCiNEh
Leon chuckled and turned his back on her. He took a few steps towards another one of the “white” doors. Reaching out, he placed his hand on the handle. But just as he was about to push it down he heard a clicking sound behind him.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Leon. Or should I call you the Paper Cut Killer.” 197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkFbPRruATo
The man’s lips curled up into a sly smile. Slowly he turned around and looked straight into the barrel of his own weapon. His weapon - in the hands of his partner. His weapon - that was pointed directly at him.
“Heh, now that’s interesting.”
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I always say, I always say that it's the last time197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlA6KVYk9q0
A promise I can't keep197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2I4ehId4A5
I always say I'll get a grip and it'll be fine197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKhnNsWKN70
But I lie straight through my teeth197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQecqlITtQ
Against The Current - Weapon
