I was going in. I'd been there before and I'd survived it so most likely I would survive this again.
There were some stories of a Tall man stalking through the woods. A group of young adults 18 or 19 that went traipsing into those woods one night and they saw something that scarred them for life. The group were bruised and severely cut and some were reported to be in extreme pain. One young man had a strange cut on his hand. The cut was so severe that he almost lost his hand. His hand had been appeared to be pierced through by a small drill. Another woman lost her eye. Another one had teeth marks on her arms and hands.
They spoke of small cloaked figures snarling and biting and clawing everything within their reach. Then.Then they would ramble on and on about the spheres that zoomed through the treetrees threatening to slice their skin to pieces.
They of course all survived but their mental state was greatly altered. Many of them had themselves admitted under psychiatric care. I hope the therapy helped them but something told me that that experience would haunt them their whole lives. The tall man they screamed, the tall man has returned.
At first I thought he was just a myth to keep people out of the woods but over time as I followed these stories I have come realize they are all quite true. Some are highly eexaggerated but the truth remains the same: The Tall Man is real.
Each of the Deaths that have occurred I've seen him there at the crime scene watching over the police and there work as they examine the damage of the strangely mutilated bodies. One man by the name of Carl Mars had a huge gaping hole in his back that looked like a bazooka had gone through him at close range. The hole was too big for any bullet to have formed. He's killing these people I know it and he enjoys it. He likes the fact that nobody can see him and that nobody will ever find him. Some people don't even have a face let alone a name to accuse him with.
He isn't associated with any local establishment except one: The Mortuary.
Everyone says that Morningside Mortuary has been here forever but I know its it's only been there roughly ten years. It appeared out of nowhere but everyone I know and everyone I've talked to claims its always been there.
He has that effect on people. He makes people remember things that never existed. He can create memories of things that never happened. He can twist reality to his advantage and then he can confuse you into thinking that the reality you've known is nothing bit a dream.
I'm smarter than that. I see the unseen, I notice things others don't and I look past all the lies people tell one another.
I was heading into those woods which was home to all sorts of monsters. There are goblins, wraithes,vampires, gargoyles, dragons,bogarts, ghosts and even a few zombies. Every single fear known to mankind I believe is in those woods. All the things people want to forget are probably hidden in those trees. If you were to hide a body in there most likely no one would ever find it again. A perfect drop off for any unwanted corpse.
A serial Killers paradise.
However there are very few murders in Talisman so having murders of this severity and grusomeness is rather unheard of.
The Talisman Times must be having a field day.
Then another man was found dead with a small hole drilled into his head. The wound went straight through his brain all the way to the other side. Very little blood but the place was a absolute disaster, walls were smashed in, all the windows were shattered and then there was the yellow ooze on the floor.
Every cupboard was open and every bookshelf was overturned. There was a obvious sign of struggle, a desperate fight for survival occured in that home. You could smell the sweat, the fear and the death. The smell of death is a familiar smell for me. I wish it wasn't but ever since I started this job I've lost a few things along the way, one of which was my wide eyed Innocence. This job was the beginning of a great career but it was the ending of my innocent days. Those years of Innocence were far behind me. All those crime scenes and photos of bodies. All that reading of death certificates and research on how the criminal mind works made the tough self sufficient woman I am today. I no longer skip to work I march into my office with a immense confidence of my purpose in life. I know I'm doing something worthwhile. I know I'm helping rid the world of injustices by solving these crimes.
I'm not in this for the money. I may seem like a hard ass but in truth I have a heart beneath this tough exterior and stern decorum. I do care about humanity. I do care about people even though they don't care for me much. Hey I don't take it personally. People have their own problems, I have mine these are two separate issues. If you have a problem with me that's not my problem its yours. Just stop blaming your problems on me. Take responsibility for your problems and just deal with them yourself. Don't include me in your drama. If I wanted to be part of a soap opera I'd be auditioning for the part of the lonely detective. I'm not in the mood for games and I never will be. So don't think you can play my emotions like a flipping flute. I'm not some instrument you can control. I'm a human being with a soul and a individual mind of my own. I have a extremely strong will as well. So if this tall man thinks he can give me orders to obey he has another thing coming and its it's going to be my fist in his face.
So here I am in those woods just about to enter the hornet's nest. I could die in here but I don't care. There are worse things out there than death. I'm not afraid of getting my boots dirty . I always wear boots. I have boots for every occasion. The rest of my outfits look like their from a clothing line called Spies R US.
I'm very Kim Possible in my style of clothes. I'm fashionable but sporty and I love camouflage prints. I also appreciate London Fog coats .
I knew I couldn't stay in one place too long here. I had to keep moving but I had to make sure he was here so I could speak with him.
I don't know really why i was venturing into these woods. I had a dream that the tall man had entered these woods.
" Would you like to die today Magenta? Oh yeah sure that's the highlight of my day. I love venturing into monster infested places. It's a great hobby of mine. I just like to risk my life on a regular basis just to see if I'll survive. Gee will I survive this one?
Probably not. That tall man will probably drag me to another dimension and rip out my brain and use the rest of me as spare parts for his zombie army. Yes maybe he'll study me first. Examine my insides maybe. Who knows what horrors await me but I'll just have face them. Ill have to face this new monster eventually so I might as well do it now." I thought to myself out loud.
" Death becomes you my darling. Death will overtake you. Death will claim you. I will make sure of it".
A gravelly voice whispered in my mind or was it coming from behind the bushes up ahead. I couldn't tell.
" Do you think you can defy death small human? What of your investigation into those deaths? Did all your arduous work and endless research prevent their death's? Why couldn't you save them? Could it be that your strong mental capabilities you speak so highly of may be failing you?"
" Get out my head!!! I can feel you prying into my brain. Peering into my private life and private dreams. You don't belong there! Begone from me monster!!"
" I am no monster. I take a few unwanted bodies and your kind go on mad killing sprees hopefully to end your bitter resentment towards one another. You kill in the name of peace. Then those people you lock up they kill without thought or even the slightest remorse. They take the lives of innocent people, people who are simply minding their own business staying at home, walking on the streets, playing on the sidewalk. There are far greater evils on this planet than I, believe me. Yet still you have the audacity to call me a monster. Perhaps you should reflect upon the history of your kind. "
The bushes rustled and a towering shadow swept over the bushes.
" Such a ugly and bloody history full of torture and burning flesh and cries of agony. Yet people think my methods are cruel and that I am a heartless creature of darkness. "
" Isn't that what you are? Those deaths they were all because you weren't they? You mutilated those bodies for your sick pleasure. "
Out of nowhere he appeared tall and oppressive as ever.
" Why did you come here? You're like a babe in the woods so tender and innocent. You are nothing more than a child, you come with no weapons, yet you think you can fight me and win.
You are defenseless and unarmed yet you come here to challenge me".
" No I haven't come to challenge you and I haven't come to fight you. I just came to find answers. I just want the truth nothing more."
' I told you to stay out of my way yet you defy me. I'm afraid to say my dear but you will die."
" I'm not defying you. I don't care if you kill me. Just tell me where those bodies are and I'll leave you alone".
" I will tell you nothing of their whereabouts . Those bodies belong to me now they are no longer your concern. You want to know where they are you will know soon enough when you join them."
His bony hand dug into my shoulder and furiously and with great strength .
" Wow. You have quite the iron grip there." I calmly commented
He was smirking with his determination but his grip loosened slightly.
His eyes became wide with some strange sadness.
" You really don't fear me do you?"
" If I did I'd be running just like those group of kids you scared away last month".
" Oh so you know about that? Alright I'll admit that was my doing. It was just to scare them mind you not to kill."
" Why protect this forest? What are you hiding from? Why do I always see you at the crime scenes?"
" I'm not protecting anything. Those bodies hold some value to me. I need them for the future. I do not hide. I'm simply staying here for the time being until I find what ...
I am searching for."
" What are you searching for?"
" Why do you care? it's none of your business about what I do and what my plans are! "
" Perhaps not but if you've lost something I'm very skilled in that department . Perhaps I could be of service to you".
" I want to kill you and you offer to help me, a murderer. I want to drain the very life out of you and crush your bones with my bare fist yet you want to assist me . You are very foolish girl".
"Stop calling me girl. Its called compassion dumbass. You should try it sometime. It might bring a little color to those cheeks. Kindness is hard to come by its it's still exists regardless how cruel the world can be. There's still people who care, people like me. "
" Don't you want to kill me?" he seemed to purr those words to me.
" I never intended to kill you. If I wanted to kill you I would have brought a weapon with me. I just came for answers. Its It's nothing personal . Now who caused the deaths of those people? "
" It wasn't me. Somebody else was there before me."
" So you didn't kill them?"
" I could have but I didn't.I waited for them to die and then when they were dead I took them."
" So you did nothing?"
"I interfered once but I regretted it. It was a creature that was stronger than I was. It bit into me. It had a million arms and no face. It looked like some human's sick nightmare. It's the one doing all this. "
I noticed his hand was cut and the cut had yellow liquid coming out the wound.
" Your blood was at the crime scene. So You're actually telling the truth. I thought that evidence would incriminate you but instead it proves you were there. Your blood is in the bathroom floor at the school. What brought you there?"
" I was looking for someone but I found that creature instead. I frightened that poor man he stumbled and he pulled out a knife and stabbed me. Then that creature got him. It took one deep inhale and his bones were gone. He sucked them out in a mere few seconds . "
" There was no knife at the scene . What really happened? come on don't lie to me. Out with it!"
" Very well. The creature attacked me he bit into my side. He broke a few ribs but I rerecovered."
" Then why is your hand still bleeding ?"
' Good point my strength is fading. I can feel it weakening my strength little by little. The temperature in my blood is dropping.dropping.If it continues it maybe the end of me ".
" How can help you?"
" Help me hunt that creature and capture it so I can make an antidote out of its poison."
" What of this someone your looking for?"
" I Will look for them ....later. This is far more imoprtant."