The ReaperA Story by Megan -A bit of a long read- I would describe this as a horror story, and would not recommend it for young readers, or those who are disturbed by graphic/gory details, etc. Demi Whiters " January 6, 2008 " 7:15 AM
Darkness, that is what I could see. Cold, that is what I felt. My head was pounding, it felt like someone had played baseball with my brain, the pain intensifying as I attempted to open my eyes. Biting my lip in an effort to hold in the groan, I forced my eyelids open, looking around for a brief second. A dim, flickering light bulb hung above me, the faint light shooting through my aching eyes, assaulting my mind with fresh pain. I heard a sharp intake of breath and I froze, my eyes closed. “Oh my God...Demi?” The voice said, the very familiar voice of Jake Reynolds, my life-long friend. “J..J...” My voice was scratchy and rough and I tried swallowing to wet my throat, but found that my mouth was just as dry. I groaned in pain and frustration, opening my eyes and looking towards where his voice has come from. “Jake?” I moved my hands to push myself up and heard the rattling of chains. I immediately grabbed my wrists, “No...no!” I whispered, feeling the cold shackles, “God, no!” I cried out, sitting up. I regretted it instantly as it felt like my skull was going to split in two as I did so. I jerked on the chain, hearing it move across the ground, then feeling it pull tight as the wall it was attached to resisted. “Demi.” Jake said again and I looked around, trying to see him. “Where are you?” I questioned, grabbing my head as I waited for an answer. “Do you have a chain attached to your ankle?” He asked after a second of silence. I felt down my leg, fingering the cold metal wrapped around my ankle. I pulled slightly and heard the chain rattle. “Yeah...” I said, trying for the life of me to sound half as calm as he did. “I think you are attached to me.” I heard him say as the chain moved and my leg was slightly tugged at. “Yeah, seems like it.” I said, closing my eyes for a second, “Jake, where are we?” “I dunno, Demi..I really don't. I wish I did.” He said, clearing his throat. “How can you be so calm?!” I questioned after a moment, wondering if he actually had someone play baseball with his head, the way he was acting wasn't normal. Not at all. “Well, if he was going to kill us, he would have done it already, right?” “Uh, how many horror movies have you watched?” “Demi, this is not a movie. This is reali--” He was cut off by the sound of metal on metal, followed by footsteps. The lights all flickered on and I winced at the sudden brightness. After a few seconds of my eyes tightly clenched closed, I opened them again, instantly wishing I had kept them closed. Old, dried blood was splattered across the floor and walls, smeared along the cool tiles in the patterns of dragging. Bloody chains hung from the ceiling, sharp hooks on the ends of some. I shuddered inwardly and quickly turned my attention to Jake, who sat back against the wall, his neck encased in a metal collar that was hooked into the wall by a short chain. His face was bruised and a small amount of dried blood caked his shirt. His eyes were looking towards me, but I could tell that he wasn't focusing on me, but on something behind me. I hesitated for a moment, chilled by his look of horror, then turned, looking at the wall behind me. “Oh..my..God..” I gasped, my eyes widening at the sight of the shredded body that hung there. Strips of flesh hung off the body, dried blood clinging to it. The form was un-recognizable as male or female, but it was definitely human. The face was sliced across, and the poor souls eyes were permanently stitched open, the eyes staring straight ahead, the mouth was open, a long metal spike protruding from between the lips. “Sorry, we didn't have time to get rid of our last guest before you two checked in.” A male voice chuckled and I tore my eyes away from the body and looked towards where the voice had come, “I hope you don't mind.” He grinned, his cold blue eyes staring straight into mine. My heart was pounding, a feeling of utter panic filled my mind and I recoiled, scooting back, eyes wide. He smirked at my reaction, stepping towards me, walking slowly. My lower lip trembled for a second and I kept scooting away, but ran into the wall behind me, pressing myself against it, the fear that drove me overpowering my other senses. He crouched down in front of me, grabbing my chin and forcing my face to look at his. “W-w-who are yo--” “Shh..” He said, putting a finger across my lips, shaking his head. “Leave her alone!” Jake cried, voicing the words that my mind was screaming. The man turned his head halfway and glared at Jake. “Get away from her!” “What are you going to do about it?” He snarled, standing and walking towards Jake, stopping at his feet. “Scream at me?” He laughed, looking towards the other man that stood by the door. “If I see you touch her again, I'll kill you.” Jake said, his voice laced with rage. “Well, we can't have that, now can we?” The man said, “James, if you would be so kind.” “No! What are you doing?! Get away from me!!” Jake screamed, his words followed by agony filled screams, screams that didn't stop for a few moments. “Jake! Leave him alone!” I knew I was screaming as I got to my feet, but I could barely hear myself over Jake screaming and the man laughing. I took a step forward, but had my feet ripped out from under me as the chain that connected me to Jake was pulled tight. I screamed in pain as my head hit the tiled floor. /Oh...God.../ I thought, my hands holding my head. The man moved just as I sat up again and I could see Jake, and I burst into tears at the sight. Blood drained from the holes where his eyes had been, bits of flesh hanging from around them. Jake's hands were trembling in front of his face, I took in a deep breath and wiped away my tears, eyes slowly moving to look at the man who had cut out Jake's eyes. He was sitting there, smiling as he admired his handiwork, the short knife pointed downward, the fresh blood dripping off of it. “You monster!” I screamed at the man, this James, climbing to my feet, my fists clenched in anger, fear replaced by the urge to claw this man's eyes out. “I'll kill you if you touch him again!” Both men laughed, then the blue eyed one walked over to me with a cruel smile twisting his lips upward. My hand flew before I could stop it, striking him on the left side of his face, moving his head slightly. His eyes narrowed and his smile vanished, his lips now a hard line of rage. His right hand hit me so hard I fell to the ground, crying out in pain as I gingerly touched my face. He reached down and grabbed a fistful of my hair, angrily jerking me upwards. I stared straight into his eyes and it felt like my heart was going to explode as it thundered it's way around my rib cage. His upper lip curled back in a sneer and he let me go, dropping me to the floor. “You're going to watch this.” He hissed, motioning at the other man, who smiled sweetly at Jake, whose head whipped around from side to side as he tried to figure out what has going on from the sounds. “This'll only hurt... a lot.” James laughed, standing and walking to the door, pulling it open and wheeling in a few things, a tool box, a long table with shackles on it and a larger tool box. “No!” I screamed, sitting on my knees, my head pounding as I watched what James pulled out of the small tool box. He held up the whip, the end was frayed and wrapped in the frayed ends were small and medium sized bits of metal, the brown whip was stained almost black from the amount of blood on it, chunks on flesh clung the the metal and I shuddered at the thought of how much pain that whip could cause. James then pulled out a long, curved knife, placing it on the table with the five shackles on it. Next he pulled out a ring of keys, un-chaining Jake from the wall, pulling him to his feet. “What are you doing?” Jake asked, putting his hands out to feel around him. James didn't answer, just wrapped a long chain around Jake's wrists, hooking them to a hook that was hoisted up so that Jake's feet didn't touch the ground, all his weight supported by his arms. “Let him down!” I sobbed, crawling towards where Jake was. “Ah ah, no, stay over here.” The blue eyed man said, pulling me back towards him. My hands grabbed at the ground as I was pulled backwards, but it was useless. “Jake!” I screamed, “No!” My words were lost in the hiss of the whip and the scream of Jake as the metal bits buried themselves into his back, then were ripped out as James grunted with the effort. Blood splattered across the floor as the whip snapped back, Jake's shirt was torn, strips of fabric now stained with blood. “No!” I screamed again as the whip flew forward again with the flick of his wrist. Jake screamed in agony, again and again as the whip bit into his flesh, ripping open his back. I was sobbing, covering my face with my hands, trying to drown out the screaming. “I said,” The man behind me snarled in my ear, “ to watch this.” He jerked my hands away from my face, pulling them down roughly. James had stopped whipping, now just stood there, watching Jake's body quiver as he sobbed in pain. His back was covered in bloody and gaping cuts, the blood oozing from the cuts as he hung there. “Jake..” I whispered, tears coursing down my cheeks as I watched in horror as James dropped the whip and picked up the knife, tapping it along Jake's leg, “No, please, just leave him alone!” I sobbed, trying to wrench myself away so I could get closer to my friend. “Stop it!” The man commanded, pulling me against his chest and holding me tightly. “If you keep acting like this, your time will be a hell of a lot worse!” Just the thought froze my mind. I had a low enough pain tolerance level, I couldn't imagine enduring that much pain, let alone more. With a sob of frustration, fear and sadness, I stretched out my arm for Jake, struggling against the arm that held me back. “Please...” I started, but then Jake screamed again as the bottom of his foot was sliced open, “No!!” I sobbed, screaming at James for him to stop, but it was like he couldn't hear me. Or, that he didn't want to hear me. “You see...we will do..whatever we want and you can't stop us.” He whispered in my ear, grabbing my chin and turning my head to face him, “And nothing you do will save your little friend” He chuckled, turning my face back towards Jake. James had sliced all the way up Jake's right leg, the fabric of his pant leg was blood stained all the way down. “Please!..stop..” Jake gasped out, swinging there as James walked to the other side, pressing the knife against the bottom of Jake's foot. “Too much pain, Jakey boy?” James laughed, jerking the blade quickly across the bottom of the foot, smiling as Jake began screaming again. “No! Leave him alone!” I sobbed, covering my ears with my hands, still unable to drown out the sound of my best friend's screaming as James cut across his upper left thigh. It was more torture than I could bear, listening to him scream. “Stop it! Stop! Please, just stop!” I screamed, my hands shakily wiping away my tears, staring straight at Jake's blood as it dripped onto the floor. “And now, for the grand finale..” James said, lowering the chain that Jake was attached to, dropping him to the floor, where he collapsed with a gasp of pain. “Come on, Jake, let's go.” “Wh-w-where are we going?” Jake questioned, his face wrought with pain as James pulled him up. “A little help, Anthony..” James said, looking expectantly at the man behind me. Anthony let go of me, and I stood there, frozen as I watched them. He walked over to the table with the five shackles on it, unlocking them with the key that hung from a hook on the table. As they opened, I realized that scattered across the tops of all of them were long, thick spikes, long enough to completely bite through the ankles, wrists and, as I watched in horror, the neck. The spikes that were lightly scattered across the collar for the neck were thin, save for the large center spike. “Wh-where are we going?” Jake groaned as the hoisted him up onto the table, arranging him so that he was in the correct position. They removed the chain connecting Jake and I, tossing it onto the floor. “No!” I finally voiced, panic filling me as James looked at me with a cool look. He smiled and held down Jake's foot, slamming down the spike anklet. Jake's body arched in pain and a harsh scream came from him. “Shhh..” Anthony said, holding him down. James moved to the other foot and closed the anklet closed, grinning down as Jake screamed again. Anthony grabbed his arm, stretching it out before closing and locking the shackle on his wrist. Jake's free hand reached out for anything to help relieve the pain, but it was jerked down and shackled in place. I was sobbing, my hands running through my loose hair as panic filled me again. “Any last words?” Both men laughed, staring down at Jake. I couldn't breathe, my heart was pounding. No..they were...going to kill him, and I would be alone. Alone with both of them. I couldn't even begin to imagine the torture in store for me. “No..” I whispered, then screamed as they quickly closed the collar around Jake's neck. His body convulsed and blood flowed out of his mouth and then he was still. “Jake!” “Jake is gone.” Anthony said, turning towards me and leaning back against the table, staring at me with a smile, “So, now, poor li'l Demi is all alone.....ahh, so sad.” He walked towards me, smiling more. I was sobbing, but I backed away, my eyes fixed on his as I moved. “Why are you doing this?” I gasped out, wiping away my tears, just to have them replaced by new ones. He smiled, his blue eyes shining. “Because, people like you and,” He pointed at Jake's body, “him..you're doing nothing with your lives. So, you might as well give us some enjoyment in ours.” I knew he wasn't lying about enjoying it, I remembered the smiles, the laughter. The smile plastered on his face scared me more than anything at the moment, I could easily imagine him contemplating all the ways he could make me scream. I took a step back as he kept advancing, but I knew I couldn't escape. My mind was reeling as I looked around, panic filling me. Pure terror was growing as I ran into the wall, my fingers reaching back, touching the dead flesh of the body behind me. I shuddered and moved away from the body, going as far as my chains would allow me to. Anthony stopped right in front of me, a grin on his face. James walked into my line of vision, holding a knife in each hand, a rather calm look on his face. “Please, no!” I begged as Anthony stretched out his hand for my arm, pulling me towards him. I tried pulling away, but his grip around my forearm tightened and he jerked me forward, away from the wall. He easily pulled me across the floor to where James stood, my feet dragging and trying to slow down the progress. “No!” I shrieked as James handed Anthony the knives, then grabbed my arm. “Hush..” Anthony silenced me, standing in front of me with the tips of the knives tapping along my jaw line, smiling as he looked down at me. “James, hold her still.” James moved so that he was behind me and he lifted my hands above my head, holding my wrists between his two hands, pressing his nose against the side of my neck for a moment, a smile moving his lips as he felt me try to move away. “W-what are you doing?”I stammered as Anthony dropped to his knees before me, putting one of the knives down and running a slow finger down my thigh. All that separated his finger and my leg were my thin black leggings, and he pressed the knife against my thigh and dragged it across, slowly cutting both the fabric and my skin. I exhaled sharply, then gasped as he cut across, I could feel the cut burning as he ran his finger along it. He pulled the cut fabric down, pulling it down and off of my leg, my left leg now completely bare. He did the same thing with my right leg, then ran his fingers from the bottom of my skirt to my ankles, then pressed the knife gently against my thigh on the right side, then jerked down with a harsh movement, slicing open a jagged cut, causing me to scream as he smiled up at me. “Please, stop!” I grimaced as he pulled the knife away, looking up at me with a grin of pure pleasure. “Why?” He questioned, pressing the knife to my left thigh, cutting a long cut down over my knee, then across, making a cross design on my leg. “Please....” I sobbed, biting my lip as he pressed the knife again, carving something into my skin. “But..” He laughed, “That's how I like my women, cut up and bleeding.” With a horrified look, I kicked at him, catching him at the jaw with my bare foot. He stood up quickly, yanking me away from James as he grabbed my arm. “Are you sure you want to be acting like that?” He asked, his face calm. He was holding my left arm in his large hand, his eyes staring straight into mine, laced with ice as he waited for my answer. In response I brought up my right arm and raked my fingernails across his hand as I pulled back. He laughed at my feeble attempt and tightened his grip, my arm screaming in protest as he held on. “Now now, Demi...” He grinned, his look cold, “if you're going to attack someone,” He dropped the knife, “go for the face.” With his now free hand, he struck me with more force than I thought anyone possessed. My head snapped to the right, a sickening scream erupting from me as I stumbled in an attempt to stay standing, his grip on my arm tightening more, the bones being smashed as he looked at me with a grin, “Care to try again?” I was looking towards the ground, tears running from beneath my closed eyelids, “Demi.” Anthony said, putting two fingers under my chin and jerking my face upwards so that I would look at him. “Look at me.” I shook my head, eyes still closed. “Now!” He bellowed, his harsh tone making my eyes fly open, my gray eyes staring straight into his blue ones, my lower lip trembling. “Are you going to try again?” He asked with a small smile, I was in shock at the changes in his mood, from beating me to asking me if I was going to hit him again, simply, like asking me if I was going to eat more pie or something. I looked up at him, swallowing hard and shaking my head. “Good girl.” He snorted, letting go of my arm. “Now, there is something that we have been dying to try with you.” He had turned away and James was busy with my chains, pulling me away from the wall, turning me so that I faced the wall opposite the door. He hoisted me up slightly, my arms spread apart, feet barely touching the floor. I heard someone come up behind me and felt the back of my shirt being tugged on, then the slicing of the fabric, leaving my back bare. A large hand ran along my shoulder blades and then James spoke, “Better than the last one, that's for sure.” “Good.” Anthony said, stepping in front of me, “Scream if this hurts..” He grinned, running a finger along my jaw. I glared at him, then screamed as a needle was shoved through the skin on my lower back. “Ah, come on, it's not that bad.” He laughed, watching me as more and more needles were shoved through my skin, all the way up my back and along my shoulders. I was biting my lip so hard I drew blood, pitiful whining sounds reverberating my vocal cords. “Arm's too?” James asked, and I could feel the tip of a needle on my upper arm on the right side. “Mmm..why not?” Anthony smirked at me, gently patting my face with his hand, “Here, I'll show you what's going into you.” He stepped out of my line of vision for a moment, then returned with a needle the length of my longest finger. He held it up to my eyes, waiting for me to inspect it. It was straight until halfway in, where it curved upwards into a thin hook. I looked at the dull end of the needle, where a thin cord ran through it, the cord was long and rested on the floor. “I...wh..what is the cord for?” I stammered, wincing in pain as another needle was shoved through the skin on my arm. “Oh, you're clever, I'm sure you can figure it out.” Anthony grinned, stepping behind me. “No!” I cried out, struggling, my feet scrambling on the ground. “Easy there..” James said, pushing the final needle through the skin on the back of my left hand, “Ahh..perfection.” He laughed, stepping away. “Please! No!!” I screamed, trying desperately to see and at the same time wishing and praying that they wouldn't. “Here, you pull that half.” James said, and I felt tugging on my back. “No!” I screamed, but it was too late. Agony rippled through me as my flesh was split open, the needles out of me, clattering to the ground behind me. I screamed in the pure shock of all that pain, my body quivering as I tried to suck in air, my chest heaving. “Ah, now, that wasn't too bad, now was it?” Anthony laughed from behind me, footsteps walking towards me. He was in front of me, smiling as I lifted my head to focus my eyes on him, tears slowly trickling from me as I blinked a few times, trying to bring his face into focus. “How was it?” I leaned my head to one side, clearing my throat. “It was horrible..” I gasped out, drawing in a shaky breath. “Well, let's just say that this time was better than the first time we tried it, trust me..” He laughed. “Yeah..she died after a few minutes.” James chuckled, stepping in front of me as well, “But, see, we got it all worked out.” He grinned at me, then looked towards Anthony, a wondering look in his eyes. “Grand finale..” Anthony said, nodding. /What? Oh..no../ I thought, remembering what James had said right before they had killed Jake. “No!” I pleaded, but my words fell on deaf ears as both men stepped out of view. I heard the clicking of the locks as they were opened, the sound of the spikes being torn from Jake's body, then the sickening thud as they must have rolled him onto the floor. A pair of hands were on me, un-chaining my wrists, then my ankle. “No, please!” I screamed as I tried to crawl away, but someone grabbed my legs and dragged me backwards, over Jake's body. I screamed as I was hauled up onto the table, slammed down hard, hitting my head. My mind spun, and I could hear Jake talking, the memory of what he had said earlier, “Best friends forever. You know what that means?” He had smiled at me, his green eyes dancing, “Together forever.” “Together...forever..” I whispered, then screamed as I felt my leg being stretched out, 'No! Please, no!!!” The anklet was closed, the spikes deep in my leg, the agony causing my body to arch, “No!” I sobbed, clawing at Anthony's arm as James pulled my other leg into position, “No!” the spikes were shoved down before I could finish screaming my plea and another gut wrenching scream erupted. “Please, please no..” I was staring at Anthony with a pleading look when he pulled my arm towards the shackle, I tried resisting, but he was much stronger than me, yanking my arm to the shackle and closing it before I could jerk away. He locked it with a grin, then repeated the task on my left arm. Now I was shackled to the table, my body screaming in agony as I tried to move, the spikes buried deeply in my skin. “Any last words?” Anthony asked, putting his hand on the top of my head and leaning down, his eyes smiling. “Please, just..stop..please..” I murmured, tears running down the side of my face as I closed my eyes. I felt his lips brush across the tip of my nose and I opened my eyes, just as he slammed the collar closed. My body panicked, trying to draw breath, my mind was shutting down, convulsions wracking my body. Memories flew through my mind, and I saw the faces of everyone I loved, but my eyes were locked open, staring into Anthony's face. It faded to darkness and then...silence. Death had come, I was in peace at last.
January 25, 2008 " 3:19 PM - Detective Brand " Notes
Arrived on the scene January 25, 2008 at 3:19 PM. Scene was in a large abandoned barn on the outskirts of Westcliff, Colorado. There were three bodies in the main scene, two female, one male. One of the female bodies had been there for quite some time, the flesh already shriveling up and drying out. Closer examination of the female body showed that there was an 'R' carved into the chest, and what looked like a 'e' but the rest was cut away. The other female body was fresh, examination shows that the skin on her back was ripped open by something that we didn't find on the scene. Carved into her leg is the name “Reaper”, most likely what was carved into the chest of the other female victim. On this female victim, cause of death is marked as near decapitation. On the male victim, there is no such mark nor any names at all, but there is little doubt that “the Reaper” is the murderer in this case too. Male victim was, like the others, tortured extremely before death. Cause of death is marked as near decapitation. Murder weapon is unknown at this point.
Lydia Marcus " March 6, 2008 " 1:27 AM
He stepped back, away from me, leaving me crying, my legs tightly closed now as he looked down at me. I brought my hand up and wiped away some of the tears as I considered what he was going to do next. He had turned away from me, and I sat up slightly, pulling my ripped shirt over my chest, my cheeks burning as he turned around again and his eyes danced over my exposed body. He was holding a thin black cord in his hand and a long silver needle in the other. “What are you going to do?” I questioned, pulling the blanket over my bare legs, moving as far from him as I could. He didn't answer, just climbed onto the bed and grabbed my chin. “Hold still.” He said, holding the needle up to my face. I shook my head and his grip tightened and his eyes narrowed. I froze, whimpering quietly as he pushed the needle through my bottom lip and up through the top, running the cord through them. “No! Stop!!” I said, screaming in pain as I moved my lips, but he didn't, just pushed the needle through my top lip and down, slowly sewing my mouth closed. “Mmmff!!” He hit me as I struggled, flailing my arms against him. “Stop it!” He snapped and hit me again, and I fell into darkness.
March 6, 2008 " 3:49 AM
I opened my eyes, the sound of a TV playing filled my ears and I listened to it for a moment, trying to figure out what was on. I went to open my mouth to ask my dad what was on when I has the sick realization that I couldn't open my mouth. It hurt to even try and I tried to reach up to see what was keeping my mouth closed but found that my arms were tied down by something. Slight panic was beginning to eat at my brain, the feeling intensifying as I clenched my eyes closed for a few seconds, then opened them, noticing that there was no change. This wasn't a dream, and memories began filtering their way into my brain, and I started crying almost immediately. Rape.... the man... where was he? My eyes moved shifted from side to side as I tried to look around me, but I couldn't turn my head. The noise in the background stopped, the TV was turned off. I heard the heavy clunking of footsteps and a tall man stepped into my view, his features were lost in the darkness, but it quickly faded as a few lights came on. I looked above me and found myself looking at my own reflection. I studied myself for a moment, the ropes were tied around my arms and legs, also one around my hips and another around my chest. /Oh my God.../ I thought, my eyes fixed on the mouth in my reflection. Small stitches ran from my right cheek bone, sloping down and across my lips, then up to my left cheek bone, the black cord giving me a sinister smile. /What is going on?!/ My mind screamed, my vocal cords made noise but I couldn't open my mouth. My fingers clenched together to make fists as my mind raced, my palms sweating as the man bent over me, touching my arms. He grunted, standing straight up and walking to my feet. I couldn't lift my head, but I could see his hands in the mirror above me. He felt my foot, squeezing my toes. He let go, disappearing from view, and then I heard the sound of clattering and I wondered what he was getting, a feeling of dread settling in the pit of my stomach. There was a whirring sound and I realized in horror that it was a saw, and he stepped back into view. He walked to my feet, revving up the saw before running it across the toes on my right foot. “Mmf!!” I tried to scream, my body trying to get away, but the bonds not letting me. /No no!!/ My fingernails dug into my palms as he repeated the procedure on my left foot, completely removing my toes. My eyes rolled back into my head as he put the saw up against my ankle, the whirring blade slicing down, cutting through my ankle. Pain shot through my body, my eyes locked on the reflection of myself, staring at the blood pooling out of my bleeding stump of an ankle. My mouth was trying to open, the screams pressing at me, the pain from the stitches being pulled at and the saw whirring away at my right ankle. /STOP IT!!!!!!!!!!!/ I wanted to scream, but I couldn't, the blade bit through my ankle like it was soft butter, completely removing my foot. The pain was overwhelming, and shock began eating at my brain. My hands began shaking as he moved to my left ankle, pressing the saw against it. Tears were flowing freely down my face, and I began screaming, the pain intensifying as the stitches began ripping out of my lips and letting sound out. My left knee was being cut off when I was able to open my mouth to scream fully. It must have shocked him because the saw shot up my leg and split my thigh almost in half when I screamed. My eyes began closing, and I kept screaming, but it seemed like it wasn't very loud to me and I tried to scream louder, but it didn't work. Darkness was filling my vision and things seemed to not hurt as bad, and then I couldn't see anything and everything seemed still.
Detective Brand " Notes " March 10, 2008 " 8:17 AM
Arrived on scene, March 10, 2008, 8:17 AM. Scene was in a car shop in Florence, CO. Upon first entering, the most overpowering thing was all the blood. It was everywhere, splattered across the floor and walls. Body wasn't found, just decapitated head, laying on the work table. Mirror's have been added to the ceiling, apparently the Reaper wanted the victim to see herself while being cut up. Murder weapon was a round saw, found on the floor. We know that it was the Reaper because the name was carved into the victims forehead.
Andy Ham " May 15, 2008 " 3:19 PM
Come on, just reach out and grab the phone....just do it!!! I told myself, wincing as I rubbed my right hand, the fresh wounds aching as my thumb ran across them. My cell phone sat on the table before me in a small cage, only my hands could reach it, I couldn't lean forward because of the metal chain around my neck. My hands could easily slip under the rim of the cage, but spikes set on the inside of the cage made retrieving my phone difficult. Just...do it quickly. I kept telling myself, stretching out my left hand with a slight tremble, my fingers carefully sliding into the cage. The rim began lowering, slowly at first and I reached out with a sudden panic, my fingertips brushing against my phone and pushing it towards the opposite rim. I cried out in pain and anger as it slipped farther away and a spike buried itself in my hand, pinning me to the table beneath. “No!!” I snapped, pulling lightly against the spike, finding that it hurt a lot worse to move it around in my hand. My phone rang again, vibrating across the table and back over to were my fingers could barely touch it. I winced and stretched out my hand, trying to grab it. No luck. With an angry sigh I waited for the cage to lift itself and then I would try again. I wondered, as I sat there, who was calling me. The cage began lifting, the spike out of my hand and I reached for my phone, hitting it and knocking it across to the other rim, where the cage began lowering again, spikes headed for my only chance of rescue. “No no!!!!” I yelled, trying to lean forward, fighting against the chain around my neck, my fingers stretching uselessly across the table, not even able to touch the phone. The spikes came down, the sickening crunch of my phone being smashed and my wrist being pierced came and I screamed as renewed pain shot through my arm. The cage lifted a few moments later and I pulled my hand back, examining it as it shook in front of me, the blood running down my arm and dripping onto my pants. “Now that's just too bad, isn't it?” A voice said from the corner and I tried turning my head to look at the speaker, but couldn't see anything. “Who's there?” I said, my voice sounding terrified and squeaky to my ears. The man didn't answer and I heard footsteps, getting closer to me all the time. They finally stopped and I could see the covered stomach and chest of a man, and my eyes went upwards until I could see his face. I didn't recognize him, but his green eyes seemed to know me. “Who are you?” I asked, but he didn't answer this time either. It must have sounded strange, because I could have been asking so many other questions..like where I was, for example. Or what he was going to do to me. He gave me a small smile and turned around, and I heard the startling noise of what sounded an awful lot like a nail gun going off, twice, and the dull thud as the nails hit wood and buried themselves deeply in. I shook my head, not even believing that this man held a nail gun in his hand when he turned around. But there, in his right hand, was a black nail gun, his finger danced lightly on the trigger and he tilted his head and looked at me. He wouldn't, would he? Why would he? But then again, why would he not? Panic ate at me and I fought against the chain, my wounded hands coming up and pulling on it, trying to loosen it. “No..” I said, it sounded a lot like the plea that it actually was. “Please..” He came over to my right side, grabbing my arm with one of his powerful hands and pulling it straight out, pressing the nail gun against my palm. “PLEASE!!!” I yelled, but he didn't listen. One nail, then another, straight through my hand. I screamed, more in shock than in pain, but he didn't stop with the two nails. I tried pulling my arm away, but I couldn't, he just held on with a iron like grip. I was struggling, flailing around in the chair, kicking my legs and swinging my other arm, but nothing helped. Two nails, straight into the curve of my arm, shooting through my elbow and wrenching another scream from my very soul, or so it sounded. “Please, stop!!!” The nail gun was pressed against my shoulder now, and through my wild eyes I could see that his finger was pressing the trigger in. It seemed like it was happening in slow motion, the first nail digging into my skin made my whole body flinch, the second nail shooting into me from a little bit of a distance as the gun bounced off of my shoulder as the first nail was shot. “God, please, stop! Just stop it!! Please!!!” For a moment I thought he was going to, he drew back and looked at me, but then he walked to my left side and did the whole thing over again. By the time he was done with my arm, my throat was sore from screaming seemingly unheard pleas and the begging that I had been doing. I closed my eyes, tears running down the sides of my face as I took in shallow breaths, hoping..praying..that he was done. There was a loud grinding sound and my legs were being elevated. Oh no... They kept going higher and higher, until they stuck straight out. He pulled off my shoes, tossing them into the corner of the room and he pressed the nail gun to the bottom of my right foot. “NO!!” I screamed as the nail gun went off three times. I arched my back, my hands trying to make fists, but that just added to the agony that flowed through my veins. I stopped moving, it hurt too much to continue on fighting. The nail gun was pressed against my left foot and three nails were shot into me. I started moving again, screaming at him to stop. “Just two more.” He said quietly, I almost didn't hear him, but I stilled for a second to see exactly where he was going to be adding more metal. He looked up at my face, which was twisted into a mask of pain and he actually smiled. I opened my mouth to curse at him, but all that came out was a scream as a nail was shot into my kneecap. “STOP IT!” I screamed, clenching my eyes tightly closed as he shot another nail into the opposite knee. So much pain..I didn't think that anyone could take this much pain and still be alive, let alone conscious. He stepped back for a moment, looking down at his handiwork, I knew I must have been bleeding all over the place, and that I should stop moving, but my limbs seemed to have a mind of their own, flailing around, trying to find out how to get the nails out of my skin. I ground my teeth together as I looked up at him, all the questions pressing at my mind, but none of them coming out of my tightly closed mouth.
May 15, 2008 " 3:36 PM
I let him sit there for a moment, glaring up at me. I couldn't tell if he wanted to speak or scream, so I just stared down at him, examining the wounds that I had inflicted. It hadn't taken long, and I regretted doing it so quickly, should have drawn it out, made him suffer more. Well, nothing to be done about it now. I turned around, setting the nail gun down on the table spread out before me. I didn't have many tools to work with now, and I frowned as I looked around and what I had. I thought that I had this all planned out, but it was too quick. Andy groaned and I glanced over my shoulder at him, drumming my fingers on the table, I looked forward again, picking up a long syringe and staring at the small jar full of transparent liquid sitting a ways back from the edge of the table. Sulfuric Acid. I could easily just pour the whole thing down his throat, or I could inject him with it and see what happened. I could guess at what would happen, the acid would eat through his veins and then his muscles. I very carefully pulled some of the acid into the syringe, turning and looking at Andy. His eyes were focused on mine for a moment before they shifted to the needle in my hand. “What are you going to do?” He said, his voice was stiff, and pain filled. I didn't answer him, just walked over and pushed the needle through his skin. He screamed instantly, I think more of the shock of having a cold needle shoved through his skin than anything else. I cleared my throat, pressing the acid into his arm, pulling the needle out slowly. His arm spasmed for a moment before he started screaming, arms flailing, fingers of his left hand curling, pressing against the nails in his palm as he tried to scratch at his right arm. The more he moved, the more pain he was in, screaming and flailing around, much like a fish out of water, his mouth opening and closing as he gasped for air when his voice ran out. I frowned, tilting my head to the side as I watched him. His right hand tried to make a fist, but his fingers kept hitting the nails and he ground his teeth together and turned his head from right to left, tears running down the side of his face. I turned and carefully lifted the jar, walking over to him. He started shaking his head, as his eyes widened and focused on the jar in my hand. “N..n...no.” He stammered as I walked closer. I bit my bottom lip as I stared down at him, holding the jar right over his mouth. His mouth opened to beg some more when I tilted the jar and poured the entire contents, about six ounces of sulfuric acid, straight onto his face, most of it going down his throat, the rest splattered across his face. The reaction was instantaneous. His body arched and his skin started turning dark shades of red, blood coming to the surface. His arms and legs stiffened and then began moving, slowly and then faster, his hands coming up to grab his face, screaming as the acid ate through his neck. Blood flowed out of his mouth and his fingers twitched as his body trembled. And then all was still. I sighed slightly, staring down at the bloody mess before me, then turned and began cleaning up.
Detective Brand " Notes " May 16, 2008 " 1:23 PM
Arrived on scene, May 16, 2008, 1:23 PM. Scene was in Penrose, in the basement of a small house on the outskirts. Identification of the body is not possible at this time, apparent cause of death is sulfuric acid, which was poured on the victim. Victim is male, approximately twenty years old. Several nails have been shot into the body, postmortem. There was no name carved into the body, but on the door that leads to the basement. The name is 'REAPER' and is carved into the wood several times on the door. At this present time, no links between the victims have been made.
Kasie Black " May 24, 2008 " 3:15 PM
I was coming out of the hazy darkness, my mind was waking up. I groaned, opening my eyes and looking around. I was moving, the close walls of the cage I was in were vibrating slightly. “Uh..hullo?” I called, sitting all the way up and clutching the bars. I screamed instantly, letting go and looking at my bleeding hand, staring at the flesh that was sliced cleanly away from it. “Kasie?” I heard a voice from under me, and I looked down, trying to see who was talking. “Yeah..?” I groaned, sitting back against the cage wall, the bars cold against my shoulders. I suddenly remembered who I was with before I was here. “Meg?” I heard a slight commotion under me and a sudden scream of complete terror. “Meg?!” I said, scrambling to my knees, trying to figure out what was going on down there. “No! No no no, please!” Her voice cried out and then there was sobbing, “Please!” She pleaded, “God, stop!!” “God doesn't exist here.” A rough male voice said and the sound of a harsh slap came and Meg screamed. “No! Not..no..I--” Her words were gargled and cut off by the sound of the cage rocking as something heavy was thrown against it. “Please!” She called again after a moment, but I could barely hear it, it was a whisper followed by the sound of flesh being bruised and bones being crushed with the rough kicks and punches. “Meg!!” I screamed, grabbing onto the bars with both hands, crying from the pain that shot through my cut hand. The cage stopped rocking and it was silent for a moment. A pair of footsteps came and a man came into view. He looked up at me, his blue eyes harsh. He gave me a toothy grin and ran his blood covered hand over his short blond hair. “Hello, Kasie.” He laughed, walking a bit away from me, “Sorry about your friend, she wasn't on the agenda, but she saw us take you and she wouldn't leave us alone, we just had to take her with you.” He motioned to his scratched up arm, “Put up quite a fight too.” He shook his head. I took in a deep breath, thinking of all the times that Meg had defended me when we were younger, and had been defending me all through our teenage years. “You monster! I hate you!” I finally voice, my scream coming out as a mostly choked off cry. “You can hate me all you want.” He smiled, “Doesn't change a thing.” He walked over to a small control box and pressed a button. The cage I was in started moving away from him and I glanced behind me to see where I was going. Water. Tons of it. That is where I was headed. “No! What are you doing?” I shrieked, looking towards him. “The cage you are in is a modified shark cage,” He pushed another button and I began to be lowered towards the water. “Let's see how long you can hold your breath.” “No!” I screamed, panic filling me as the water got closer to me. “Let's start off with..twenty seconds.” He smiled at me as the water began filling the part of the cage that I was in, bloody water creeping up from below me. “No! Please!!” I sobbed. I clung to top of the cage as the water got higher and higher. A few seconds before I was covered I took in as deep a breath as I could, sinking below the water. One-One Thousand My body was relatively calm, my mind was slowly panicking as more time went on. Five-One Thousand My mind was fully panicked now and I clutched to the bars at the top of the cage. Ten-One Thousand My lungs screamed for air, burning more and more as I denied it to them. Fifteen-One Thousand /Hold on..hold on..just../ I told myself, but I couldn't. I opened my mouth, water rushing in, I closed it quickly but I had already gasped for air. Seventeen-One Thousand Help me! Oh, God, someone, please! I couldn't hold on any longer, and my mind slowly counted. Nineteen-One Thousand Twenty-One Thousand I was up, out of the water. I started coughing, water spewing out of my mouth. I started sucking in air as quickly as possible, trying to get as much as I could. “Good! Shall we try thirty seconds?” The man asked, grinning as I looked at him, shaking my head. “N-n-no, please!” I sobbed. “No!!” I screamed as the cage was lowered again. I shook the cage, clutching the bars. “No! No...no! Pl--” The water was over my head, I hadn't taken a breath. Water rushed down my throat and my body gasped for air, but found none. I flailed around, trying to get free, trying to get air into my lungs. My body was falling limp, my feet no longer kicking as strong, my hands were outstretched to the surface as I fell against the bottom of the cage. Darkness crashed in around me.
Anthony " May 24, 2008 " 3:29 PM
I couldn't believe it. This girl, this Kasie Black, she hadn't lasted the thirty seconds. I laughed as I pressed the button to pull the cage from the water, shaking my head in disbelief. Amazing....the last girl had gotten into the forties before completely panicking and giving up and taking in all that water. I pulled her limp body out of the cage and laid her on the dock, crouching down next to her. With a slight frown I pinched her nose closed and pressed my lips to hers, blowing air into her lungs. I repeated it, then began chest compressions. I couldn't think of why, exactly, I was doing this. Saving her. She was already dead, why not let it rest at that? But as I was saving her life, I began to think of all the ways that I could take it away again. If James had been here, well, we would have had a great time toying with her. He was always the one that came up with the great ideas of how to “properly” torture a victim, toying with their emotions as well as their bodies. I could only hope that I would do as well in his absence. Ahh, there, water came spewing out of her mouth and she began sucking in air. She looked at me with a wild gaze, her mind slowly comprehending what had just happened. “You..what....why..”She stammered and I sat back with an impatient glare in her direction. She froze, staring at me. “Are you going to speak or just stutter?” I snapped, grabbing her arm and pulling her to her feet next to me. I towered over her, my six foot three frame bent slightly so that I could easily hold her. “You saved me..” She whispered, and I could tell from the mix of emotions on her face that she thought I had done it out of..remorse, or something. Weakness. Done it out of weakness. “Yeah, drowning is too quick a death for you. You need something..that takes more time.” I smiled at her, dragging her now very unwilling self towards the house set up against the dock. “Come on..” I sighed, more impatient now then I ever had been. “No! Let me go!!” She screamed at me and tried to pull away from me. I halfway turned, bringing my left hand up to slap her harshly across the face, holding her arm tightly with my right hand. “You are going to come with me and you are going to cooperate with me.” I said, my voice calm. She was holding her face, staring at me with shock, but mostly it was a look of pain. Her head must have been pounding by now, from the lack of oxygen and the slap that I had just given her. Oh well, her own fault that she was being difficult. She took a step forward as I did, then followed behind me quietly. All these people were the same, rough them up a bit and they'll do whatever you want. I pushed her into the house, shutting the door behind us and locking both locks with the key that I slipped into my pocket. Time and experience had taught me to never leave the key hanging on anything. Keep it close to you and your victims will stay within your “little version of hell” as James and I began calling our workshop up in Westcliff. Ahh how I missed those days. But anyway, back to the task at hand. “Come on.” I said, pointing down a hall to a large open room with a metal table in it, standing against the wall. “On the table.” I said, watching her out of the corner of my eye to see if she would actually do it. There was blood on the table, probably spooked her...but perhaps not, she had heard what I had done to her friend and she had experienced first hand what I could do. But that was with a machine, there is nothing better than good old fashioned torture. Knives and needles were neatly placed in the drawers that pulled out from the wall and I grabbed my favorite knife, the long, curved blade was shining from its fresh cleaning a few days ago. I turned to face her, holding the knife in front of me as I walked towards her. She was laying on the table, looking up at the ceiling. As I got closer, I could see her chest rising rapidly as she heard me get closer, I could see her lower lip trembling as I placed the knife down next to her. “Hands.” I said quietly, moving to the end of the table. She slowly lifted her hands up over her head towards me and I must admit, I was a bit shocked that she was actually cooperating with me. I chained her hands up above her head, but left her feet unchained. I inspected her body, running my fingers along the pale flesh of her arms, then the soft skin on her stomach. I stopped at her waist, a thoughtful look on my face as I let my eyes travel down her legs and then back up to her face. She looked like she had just caught the idea that I could, in fact, rape her. I almost laughed at the expression of utter terror on her face, a look that twisted into disgust as I pressed my finger right below her navel. I did laugh at that, “I'm not going to rape you.” I said, chuckling to myself as I picked up the knife and tapped it against her stomach. “But in the end, you might wish that I had.” I studied her arms, then pressed the knife against the flesh covering her elbow and cut across quickly, frowning a bit as she didn't scream the way that I had expected her to. Shrugging slightly I cut from her wrist down to her elbow, watching the blood the oozed from the cut. She winced in pain, but still..no scream. In one final act, I carved the 'R' into her arm, waiting for her to make a noise. She didn't. Slight annoyance touched my brain and I pulled back, looking down at her. “Did I hit you a bit too hard there, Kasie?” I frowned as she looked at me with a blank stare. It was like this had no effect on her...With a sigh, I put the knife down, turning and walking over to the drawers, pulling out the bottom one. The machete that I pulled out was long and rather old, but it was still sharp. I walked over to her, took one look at where on her stomach I wanted to hit her, then focused on her face as I lifted the blade over my head. She didn't react much, just closed her eyes, tears sliding down her face as she took in a deep breath. No fun..no fun at all. I shrugged and slammed the machete down, cleanly slicing her almost in half, barely held together. Her body jolted slightly for a moment and then was still. I stood there for a moment, staring down at her. With a look of disdain, I unchained her and rolled the table to the front door, opening it and taking her out onto the dock. I loaded her body in a plastic meat bag and placed it in the boat, taking her out to the middle of the lake and dumping her there. I didn't add weights, why bother hiding her body? It would float to shore, maybe some little kid would find it. I laughed, heading back to the dock to clean up.
May 26, 2008 " 3:17 PM " Detective Brand " Notes
Arrived on the scene May 26, 2008, 3:17 PM. Body washed up on shore. Normally would not be called in on such cases, but this one bears the sign of the Reaper. A single 'R' carved into her arm, like the previous victims. Victim was cut nearly in half before being placed in a plastic meat bag and released into the lake. No weights of any kind were placed with the body, looks like the Reaper wanted us to find the body. Victim is a young woman, approximately eighteen, no sign of identification on the body, will have to look more. There are three female victims of the Reaper and two male so far. From the looks of the evidence, the Reaper only tortures using instruments such as knives and whips. So far there has been no rape with either the female or male victims. Not sure why, but we know that it fits the profile.
Peter Reynolds " June 13, 2008 " 5:20 PM
“Andie?” I asked, looking towards the woman that had been brought down the stairs and left in a heap a few moments ago. “Andie Whiters?” Saying the last name brought a pang to my heart as I thought about the young Demi Whiters that had been with my brother Jake so often before they disappeared. “What?” She spoke, and I blinked, focusing on her again. She was sitting up and I smiled at her as I caught the faint glimmer of recognition in her eyes. “Peter?” I nodded. “What.....why are...where am I? And why are you chained up?” She groaned quickly as she moved her arms and I frowned, noting the rings pierced through her skin. “Well, I'm not sure where we are...haven't exactly figured that out yet, but as soon as I do, I'll let you know.” She didn't look very amused so I quickly kept talking, “I'm chained up because that's how he wants me to be.” “The man that brought me down here?” She questioned, and I nodded again. “How long have you been here?” “Probably two days...Not quite sure though.” “You're still alive.” I half smiled and she sighed, “Ahh...dumb statement.” I opened my mouth to answer when I heard the door open and then footsteps on the stairs. The man walked in, his eyes fixed on Andie, then he looked towards me, not even showing any emotion. Just as all the other times he had come down and tortured me. I looked towards Andie and frowned, wincing mentally at the thought of the torture that the man held in store for her. I was unsure of the fact that she could handle the whippings or..whatever he had planned for her. He walked over to her, grabbing a knife on his way. “No! Just leave her alone!” I cried out, biting my lip as he turned and glared at me while reaching out with his other hand and pulling her to her feet. He didn't speak, just turned his attention back to Andie and pushed her back against the wall, where she cried out in pain as her arms hit the solid surface. He pressed the knife against her upper chest and sliced a clean cut across, then down. She opened her mouth and gasped for air as he pulled the knife away, looking into her eyes. He frowned and let her go, watching her as she slid to the ground, her arms wrapped around her stomach as she looked up at him. He stood for a moment, knife pointed down as he studied her. There was a look of, well, of recognition in his eyes as he watched her. She lowered her gaze and stared at the floor, biting her lower lip as she waited for him to do something more to her. He half smiled and grabbed her arm again, pulling her with him up the stairs and into...whatever was up there. It was silent and then she started screaming, pain filled screams, terrorized screams. Whatever that monster was doing...it hurt. A lot. About twenty minutes later he brought her down again, shoving her against the wall. “You're never getting out of here.” He said, turning and walking back up the stairs. It was quiet and then the heavy locks closed and we were trapped. Again. “Andie..” I said quietly, wishing that I had some way to comfort her, or do something...talking usually didn't help at all. “Peter.” She responded after a moment of silence, looking up at me. I winced as I saw her bloody face and the blood that wet and colored her brown hair. “I....” She started weeping at that point and I frowned. “It's okay, Andie...we'll get out of here. You'll see.” She didn't respond. A few hours passed and then the locks were opened and footsteps on the stairs again.
Andie Whiters " June 13, 2008 " 8:19 PM
Peter looked towards me as the man entered, and I noticed that the man didn't even pay attention to Peter, just looked at me. It was like he didn't even exist to the man, who stood there, examining me. I knew I must have been a sight, the six metal rings that were pierced through my skin on each arm, the bloody cuts that covered my upper chest and the dried blood in my hair. My clothes were not neatly pressed against me anymore, thanks to him. My eyes wouldn't meet his, so I turned my attention to the room behind him. A long handled ax leaned against the wall by the stairs, a few tables were set up neatly around the room, some covered by bloody knives and whips. I swallowed and looked up at the man after a moment of him just standing there, staring at me. “Look at this list.” He said, holding a paper down in front of my eyes. I scanned the names and addresses on it. All of my friends and some of my family were on it. “Lydia Marcus”, “Andy Ham”, “Kasie Black”, “Jake Reynolds” and “Demi Whiters” all had a thick red line through them. “What...what did you do to them?” I asked, glaring over the paper at him. He laughed, moving the paper and folding it up, putting it in his back pocket. Demi and Jake and been missing for five months, Lydia for three, Andy for one and Kasie for only a few weeks. “They're dead. Just like all the people on this list are going to be.” He snorted, his eyes showing his amusement with the look of mixed emotions on my face. “Would you like to know how they died?” I started shaking, my breath coming in short gasps, “Would you like to know how the rest of them will die?” He turned away from me and I got to my feet, grabbing the wall behind me to help steady myself. He glanced over his shoulder and fixed me with a cold glare, and I paused, but only for a moment. “What do you think you're doing?” He barely got the words out of his mouth before I was attacking him, fists flying. It caught him off guard, causing him to step back. I wasn't going to let this monster kill anyone else. Without hesitation, I started punching again, and with a scream of pure rage I kicked at him, knocking him back against the wall, where he fell to the ground. My arms ached, the metal rings pulling at my skin as I bent over to grab the ax that I had seen. I clutched the long handle in between my bloody hands, staring down at this man, the one who had caused me and so many people I loved so much pain. “What are you waiting for?” Peter called, “Kill him! Andie, kill him!” Time slowed, my palms felt sweaty as I locked eyes with the man as he looked up at me. “You're never getting out of here.” His voice said in my mind. “Kill him!” Peter's voice cried. “You're pathetic.” “Andie Whiters? More like Andie Whimpers!” “You'll never be able to do anything.” the childhood taunts played in my mind. “Kill him! Kill him now!” “Never getting out of here!!” His voice screamed in my mind. “Kill him!”
The man sat up, laughing. “All your friends. Consider them dead. Poor little Andie, can't even defend herself.” His eyes danced as he watched me. “I took away the only pure part of you left, and you didn't do anything. Because you can't do anything.” “Kill him, Andie! Do it! Do it now!” Peter screamed as the man got to his knees. “Can't.Do.Anything!” The man hissed, stretching out his hand for me. “Shut up!” I screamed, swinging the ax up over my shoulder and then down, hitting him in the neck. “Shut up!!” I screamed again, jerking the ax out and sending it crashing down into him again. His blood was warm and wet as it hit me, spraying over my face and across the floor as I pulled the ax up again, and then down. Over and over. Again and again. I was screaming and I let go of the ax after I brought it down one final time, sobs wracking my body as I bent over, holding my stomach. I dropped to the floor, rocking slightly. I opened my eyes, looking at the body, tears running down my blood covered face.
June 14, 2008 " 1:47 AM " Detective Brand " Notes
Arrived at the scene, June 14, 2008, 1:47 AM. The main scene was down stairs, in the basement of the house. Upon first entering the house, noted that it looked well kept and clean. Stairs leading down the basement were behind two heavy doors with what looked like heavy bolt locks. Stairs led straight downwards at a sloping incline. Would make it difficult to take bodies up or down. Main scene was a large room, a few work tables set up, blood covered instruments on each. Upon closer inspection of one of the tables, it was covered with curved needles with thin cord wrapped around each. Body was, at first look, unrecognizable as an individual from the neck up. The murder weapon was a long handled ax that protruded from the man's head, bits of skull were scattered across the ground by the body. Wounds from the ax covered the man's chest and neck, head was almost completely removed. Victims from this man, Peter Reynolds and Andie Whiters, can give testimony to his acts of torture. This man does, in fact, look like the Reaper Killer.
Six Months Later
James Disk " December 16, 2008 " 3:19 PM
The grocery store was warm, a nice change from
the chilly conditions outside, and I looked around the frozen food
section, following a young girl around with my eyes. She was thin,
and rather pretty, but that wasn't why I was here. I looked around
for a brief moment and walked up to her, smiling. “Hi, My name's James, but you can call me JD.” I said, turning so I could look at her fully. “Hi, my name's Allison.” She smiled cautiously at me and I kept talking, trying to ease her out of her shell. “I'm new in town, can you recommend a good book shop?” Ahh...bingo! Her eyes lit up as she started talking about the best bookshops in town. “My brother, Will, would argue with me about this, but the store over by the old movie theater, that's really the best one.” “Oh, you have a brother?” “I
have two, William and Jesse. Obnoxious and overbearing...the typical
older brother.” We both laughed and she continued, and I asked her
occasional questions, mostly about the landscape, and then the
questions turned more personal, asking her about her family and where
she lived. She seemed quite animated as she spoke about her family,
and I learned all sorts of things, things that I wasn't here to get
information on, but things that could end up being useful.
Phone Conversation " “JD” - “Reaper” - December 17, 2008 " 7:28 AM “Yes?” “Reaper, it's Anthony.” “Did you find his family?” “Yes, his niece was very open about it.” “I'm sure you will thank her for that later.” “Yes, I am sure I will.” “Family. Tell me.” “His brother, Sam lives here with his wife, Anna, daughter, Allison and sons, Jesse and Will.” “How about you drop by for a visit.” “Yes sir.” “And then leave them the note that I gave to you. You know in what manner.” “Of course.”
William Brand " December 17,2008 " 3:35 PM
It was dark in the basement, or where ever I was, I couldn't really tell. It smelt the basement, the sweet cinnamon apple spray that my mom only sprayed downstairs to, in her words, keep up with the 'teenage boy smell'. Jesse and I had laughed, trying to reassure her that we were the cleanest boys that went to our school. She didn't believe us, so she kept spraying. I turned my head this way and that, looking for a clue as to where I was. Aha! A crack of light from under a door. It had to be the door to the stairs because both Jesse and I had thick curtains over our windows. I began struggling with my bonds again, fighting against the rope around my wrists. My fingers curled up and brushed against it and I sighed through my gag, realizing it was useless. I stopped struggling and concentrated on what had happened previously. We had all been sitting in the living room when the phone had rung and Jesse had raced to get it, he must have thought it was his girlfriend. The doorbell had sounded a few minutes later and Allison had gotten up to get it. A split second later the back door shattered and Allison gave a muffled yelp. My dad got up and ran to the back door. “Anna! Call nine-one-one!!!!” He had screamed and a feeling of utter dread filled me. /Jesse../ I moved as if I was in slow motion mode, getting off the couch. Allison screamed and the sound of a scuffle had come and I was running towards her, surrounded by the screams of my family. For the first time, I cursed living so far from anyone. “Get away from her!” Both my dad and I yelled at the same time, me concerning Allison, my dad towards my mom. I was in the hallway that Alli and her attacker were in and I took a deep breath, or tried to, but it was more like a shallow gasp as the man holding her fixed his piercing gaze on me. His blue eyes were burning with intensity and, well, hatred. But not a simple hatred, but an utter contempt of everything that he saw. It was quiet, save for Allison's occasional whimper, but I didn't quite register what that meant as I repeated my previous statement. The man laughed, bringing my rage to a full boil, but I took a step forward, only to be dragged backwards. “Allison!” I yelled, but I can't remember what happened after that. It was a dark patch in my memory. I had closed my eyes, small tears running down my face as I remembered. Light was suddenly shining on my face and I opened my eyes, grimacing as light flooded the basement and I could see my surroundings. Jesse was in a chair across from me, his arms tied behind his back, much like mine were, and between us was my dad, hanging from the ceiling by his arms. I looked up, seeing that his hands were tied together and then the rope was attached the the ceiling somehow. I tried to talk around my gag, but I couldn't. Jesse's eyes met mine, he looked so afraid. A man walked into the room, swinging a baseball bat between his hands, looking like the people did with their canes on old musical programs. He tapped the end of the bat against my leg and I glared at him and he laughed, turning and swinging the bat again as he walked towards Jesse. /Leave him alone!!/ I wanted to scream, but it came out as a muffled hum when I tried to say it. I returned to trying to get free while the man walked around in a circle around my dad. He took the bat and gripped it with both hands, putting it back behind his head. He froze for a moment as my eyes went from the bat to his face and then to my dad, but then he moved, and in one swift action he slammed the bat into my dad's side, the cracking of ribs seemed like the crashing of a waterfall in my ears, even though it was barely loud at all. Again and again he slammed the bat against my dad's body. I was screaming at him, but I didn't think he could hear it over the snapping of bones. Tears were running down my face, blood was spraying all over the place when he finally stopped, spinning around and slamming the bat into Jesse's face, knocking him over. Jesse spasmed for a moment before lying still, blood pooling under his head. /NOO!!!/ I was screaming at him when he turned to me, putting the bloody bat against his leg, the blood dripping off of it and running over his shoe and onto the floor. Another man stepped into the room behind him and walked over to me. “He'll deliver the note.” A moment of confusion struck me, but I only had a second to think about it before a knife was slammed into my chest. First once, and then again and again. I couldn't breathe, my eyes wouldn't close, I was frozen. Darkness danced at the edges of my vision, the knife was slammed into me again, the crinkling of paper could be heard and then I was falling backwards, hitting the ground.
Phone Conversation " Detective Skinner " Detective Brand " December 18, 2008 " 6:41 AM
“This is Brand.” “John, it's..it's Derek Skinner.” “Derek? What's going on?” “I have some bad news about your family..” “What's happened?” “I'm sorry, John..but..Sam and the boys have been found murdered.” “They..what?” “John, there's more.” “What?” “Anna and Allison are missing..and..there was a note at the scene. It said..it said 'Detective Jonathan Brand: I told you. Reaper'. John..the newspapers said you got this guy.” “We did! I..Andie Whiters killed the Reaper. He's dead!” “Well, I read up on the Reaper, this matches his profile. It's horrible, John, I can't even stand it..I...” “Derek..” “Look,
John, we've been together since we were kids, we went to police
academy together...is there anything, anything at all, that I can
do?” “The case can always use another pair of hands, another set of eyes. It's open to you if you want it. I already talked to the chief about it.” “I'll be on the next plane.”
Detective Brand " December 18, 2008 " 1:18 PM
“Look, John, you don't have to.” Derek said to me moment before I had walked into the autopsy room. I should have listened to him, I really should have, but I couldn't stop myself from walking in. Sam lay on one table, covered in bruises and cuts, his nose was crooked and he hadn't properly been cleaned yet and I looked away, rubbing my face with one hand as I closed my eyes. After a moment, I looked around again, not able to look at Jesse's smashed face for longer than a brief second and then I came to Will. Will was always my favorite out of my niece and nephews, I couldn't explain why, just something I saw in him. He was so unlike Jesse, even though they were twins. “This one --” The coroner began. “William.” I interrupted, looking up at the woman, who couldn't have been anything more than a few years older than me. She smiled gently at me and continued. “William..he was killed last, almost an hour after the first two.” She motioned to the Jesse and Sam. I shook my head gently, looking down at William's peaceful face. The coroner spoke of how he had been killed and I almost started crying right there, but stopped myself as Derek walked up behind me. “John.” I turned around and looked at him, clearing my throat as I did so. “This was found with Will.” He handed me a photograph of a piece of paper, where the writing was very clear, so there was no mistake as to what it said.
Detective Jonathan Brand:
I told you.
Reaper
“Do you know what it means?” Derek asked and I stared at the photograph for a moment before looking up at him. “I got a note like this, several months ago, right before the man we thought was the Reaper had been killed. All it had was a red “R” as a signature. It said....Detective Jonathan Brand: Watch your Family...I think that was it.” I felt miserable, “I didn't even do anything with it because I thought we had gotten the guy.” “It's not your fault.” Derek said almost immediately and I shot him a look as if to tell him that it very much was my fault and he shook his head. “No.” “I want to help in this investigation.” I said and he nodded. “It's still open to you.”
Anna Brand " December 21, 2008 " 5:08 AM
Allison was pressed up against me, gripping my hand tightly as we sat in the cage in the relative silence. It was dark all around us except for the single light on what looked like a lamp that sat a few feet away from us. “It's going to be okay, Alli.” I whispered, kissing her gently on the forehead, squeezing her hand tightly at the same time. “No it's not, mom..they have dad and Jesse and Will..how can you say it's going to be okay?” “We don't know what happened to them, we can't lose hope for them, or for us, okay?” She squeezed my hand, leaning her head against my shoulder, nodding silently. It was quiet, the only sound was our breathing until there were footsteps, getting closer and closer. Allison clutched my hand, her fingers smashing mine as the footsteps stopped and a few lights came on, illuminating our surroundings. We were in a cage set back against a railing on a large flat platform. In front of us was a few feet of empty floor, and then there were several tables and desks set up. Stairs came up and opened up a little ways off, and I could barely see the opening because of the darkness that surrounded them. Another light came on, set back among the desks and I saw a man sitting there. He turned and looked at me, his blue eyes shining right into mine as he smiled, standing and walking over towards the cage. He pulled out a ring of keys and tapped the key against the bars, watching me. With every clink I winced slightly and he grinned as he noted my reaction. “Hello, Anna.” He said to me, then looked towards Allison. “Hey, Alli.” He smiled sweetly at her. “JD?” She whispered, “Why are you doing this? Where are we? What are you going to do?” He laughed, shaking his head. “I'm not JD, my name's Anthony. You are in Colorado. And....we haven't decided what we are going to do with you, Alli, but it's time for your mother to come with me.” He said, putting the key in the lock and turning it, opening up the door. I shook my head, “No, I'm not leaving her.” “You will if you want her to survive through this night.” Anthony said, his voice sounded calm, but I could hear the anger laced through his words. He stepped into the cage and pointed at me, then gestured with his finger for me to come towards him. “No, mom, don't leave me.” Allison said, gripping my hand. He turned his withering gaze on her and frowned, taking a step forward. “Let go of her.” He said, and I let go of Allison's hand, fear gripping me. “It's
okay, Allison.” I said, swallowing hard as he got closer to me. “Go down the stairs.” He said, pointing before turning around and closing the cage, locking the door. I walked slowly towards the stairs, heading down. He followed behind me and I could hear his breathing as his feet fell. I could hear Allison, crying for me. I was afraid, not for me, but for what he would do to her when I was gone. “What
are you going to do to her?” I questioned, glancing over my
shoulder at him. It must have surprised him slightly, because he just
stared at me for a moment before answering. “Are you going to kill her?” “That is a very likely possibility” He said and I looked away, tears filling my eyes. We neared a hallway and he pushed me forward as I paused, staring down the well lit hallway. There were two doors at the very end, and several doors that were along the wall to my right. He pushed one open and motioned for me to go in and I did, very slowly. Another man stood in the room, he was standing with his arms crossed, his tanned face was looking away from me, his curly black hair was a bit wild looking and his green eyes moved to focus on me. His jaw worked as he studied me, as if I had annoyed him or he was angry with me. “Now...as you're going through this...just remember, it's all your brother-in-law's fault. All of it.” Anthony said, and I turned my head to glare at him. “Just because he is doing his job well enough that he is close to catching you two?” “If he is close to catching us, you can hold onto the hope that he will come and save you and your precious Allison, now can't you?” The other man spoke and Anthony laughed. “Yes, you can hold onto that hope. I'd like you to meet my friend and colleague, Noah.” Anthony said to me, pointing at the other man. He nodded in a somewhat friendly manner and I just stared at him. “You're not going to get away with this.” I said, trying to sound as brave as I could, trying to sound somewhat like my brother-in-law. “Watch us.” Noah smirked, grabbing my arm and pulling me past Anthony, out into the hall. He led me to a pair of swinging doors, shoving me through. I tripped and fell on the concrete floor, hurting my hands and I sat up with a cry, wincing as I brushed them off. He grabbed my arm, pulling me up. “Now, the last person that I was with...well..it was much too short. Couldn't enjoy the emotions, you know? So this is going to take a while.” He set me on my feet, walking around in a circle, studying me as he went. “I had this plan..a grand idea, if you will. I think it'll work too.” He grinned and pulled me to a table. I had begun resisting, but he just pulled harder, gripped me tighter and hurt me more. He pushed me against the table and strapped me down, pulling the table so that it was vertical and then he walked around me again, looking down at me. He grabbed my right hand, pulling my arm tight and he turned so that I couldn't see his face, my arm held between his hand and his hip on the left side and he touched my finger. I had begun to ask him what he was doing when there was a sickening snap and pain shot through my arm. I screamed and tried pulling away, but he just gripped tighter as he broke the next finger on my hand. “Stop!!” I begged as he grabbed my thumb, bending it back. I was crying as he let go of my arm and I lifted it to look at the fingers, all bent back so that they stuck out at odd angles. I began cursing at him, using language that I would have killed my children for using. He seemed to ignore it for a few moments before his hand came up and slapped me across the face, cutting off my words with a sharp gasp. “Stop it.” He was irritated with me, and I just glared up at him, freezing as his gaze turned from angry to any icy cold glare. He turned and picked something up off of the table and turned back to me, holding the wire cutting tool up in front of his face. “For every time you cursed at me....” He grabbed my left hand and pulled it over my body, gripping it so tight that it seemed like my bones were going to snap under the pressure. He peeled one of my fingers out of my fist and put the tool around the tip of my pointer finger. “NO!” I screamed, trying to pull back, every time I pulled, he lowered the tool, making it so that he would cut off more and more of my finger. I stopped moving, my eyes frozen as he slammed the tool closed, removing over half of my finger. My mouth wouldn't work, no noise would come out as I shook, my eyes wide open and then I screamed, and it seemed like it wouldn't stop, just screaming over and over again. Apparently he wasn't used to women screaming around him because he frowned and took a step back, holding the tool in his hand. He narrowed his eyes at me as I seemed to quiet down and he grabbed a strip of cloth from the table and wrapped it around my head, stuffing it into my mouth. “Stop. Screaming!” He snapped, shaking his head in an irritated manner.
Noah " December 21,2008 " 5:31 AM
She wouldn't stop screaming, it wasn't good at all. She was somewhat silent as I stared down at her, my eyes narrowing as she glared at me. Her words were muffled, but I could still tell she was not happy with what was happening. Well, not that I could blame her, but still, I couldn't handle the screaming. I shook my head again and grabbed her left arm, twisting it and watching it bend, waiting for it to resist. It did after a moment and I kept bending, amid her screaming I broke her arm, the bone pressing against the skin in a very sick manner, and I touched the bone, and she twitched, trying to get away from me. “Anthony!” I yelled and the door swung open and he looked in. “What?” He questioned after a few seconds of just looking in at us. “Do you care to help me?” I asked and he grinned, stepping in. I knew I didn't even have to ask, the glimmer in his eyes answered any questions I might have. I knew very little about Anthony, other than what the Reaper had told me. He had worked for the Reaper for several years, mostly with a man named James Disk. Beyond that, I knew nothing. I didn't really know why I was working for the Reaper, it had surprised me when he had shown up and talked to me, but I didn't really think I was good enough to help him. Anyway, that's beside the point. Anthony walked over and looked down at Anna, then moved his gaze up to meet my eyes. “Whip her?” He suggested, biting his lip as he looked down at her. She shook her head, but we both seemed to ignore her. “In here?” I motioned around to the room and he nodded, pointing at a chain hanging from the ceiling. We hoisted her up onto it, tying her hands together and lifting her so that her feet didn't touch the ground. I grabbed a whip and snapped it in front of me, grinning as it gave a sharp crack. Anthony stepped back and I moved so that I could easily whip the woman in front of me, pulling the whip back behind me and then sending it forward, snapping against her back. Blood began dripping onto the floor after a while, and she was sobbing as I pulled the whip back one final time. I dropped the whip and walked over to the table, picking up the note that the Reaper had told us to deliver with Anna and I folded it neatly and put it in her pocket. “I'll take her.” Anthony said, and I turned to nod at him as he moved so he could take her down. She collapsed onto the floor, not moving at all save for the gentle shake as she inhaled through her tears. Anthony knelt down behind her and quickly ran the knife across her throat, she bled out after a few moments. “Help me take her to the car.” He said, looking down at her.
Detective Brand " December 22, 2008 " 3:19 PM
I couldn't believe it. I thought...well..obviously, I had thought I could have saved her. Anna Brand, my wonderful sister-in-law, was dead, lying on the sidewalk in front of my house in Colorado Springs. There was a note with her, in her pocket, that the officers found when they searched the body. Usually I would have done it, but I couldn't handle staring at her. Now Allison was all alone, I couldn't believe that either. The note said:
Detective Jonathan Brand:
“Death” never dies.
Reaper
It was just like the one I had gotten when Sam and the boys had been killed. “John.” I heard Derek Skinner talking to me but I didn't respond, just stared at the ground between my knees as I sat in the chair in the police station. “Jonathan.” He said again and I looked up, rubbing my eyes gently. “Yeah?” My voice sounded weak and I frowned as he sat down next to me. “Have someone else take the case.” “Derek, this is my family that he's killing. I'm not going to walk away, I need to get this guy. I need to see him thrown in a cell for the rest of his life.” I knew I sounded bitter, but I was. More than I think anyone will ever know. “Then I'm going to help you.”
Anthony " December 25, 2008 " 3:15 PM
I was sharpening my knife, admiring the shining metal with every stroke that was pressed against the smooth metal of the blade that I so often used. The girl was crying, curled up in the corner of the cage. She had been weeping ever since we had taken her mother away from her. I glared in her direction, wishing she would just hush and give me some peace and quiet. She didn't, she might have started sobbing more. She was sometimes silent in her tears, but at other times..times like this, she was loud and obnoxious. I slammed the knife down and pushed my chair back, storming over to the cage. “Will you just stop?” I snapped, grabbing onto the bars and staring at her. “P-p-please!” She sobbed, “Just let me go..” I grinned at her, shaking my head. “Why would I do that?” I pulled the door open and stood in the doorway of the cage, my hands hanging onto the top, my body leaning slightly in. She stood up, stepping in front of me and looking up at me. She was much shorter than me, which wasn't surprising. “Please.” She said again, her eyes wide, looking almost like a cartoon character's. “Where would you go? I wouldn't suggest running.” I questioned, adding on a light warning that I knew she wouldn't listen to. Well, I could never be accused of not warning her. I stepped back, out of the cage, putting my hand on the door. “You can come out, just don't run.”
Allison Brand
/Don't run?/ I thought, staring at the man, this Anthony. / Yeah right.../ I would wait until he turned away and then I would be gone, down that hall and then, hopefully, out of here. I stepped out of the cage, looking around me as I wiped my tears away, fear replaced with determination as I watched him. He studied me for a moment, his blue eyes taking in every feature of my face. I looked away from him, looking down and trying to stay calm. “Don't run.” He said again, and I looked at him as he turned and walked back to the table, going back to sharpening his knives. I counted to ten, staring at him before I turned and ran for the hall. Down the stairs at the fastest speed I could manage, tripping over a small cage at the bottom of the stairs. I fell to the ground, then scrambled up, running across the flat and empty floor to the hall, my bare feet making rather loud noises as I ran. The hallway, it was right there! Hope lit my face as I got inside the hall, running towards the doors on the other end. A side door opened and a man stepped out, right in front of me. He was tall and well built, his skin was tan even though it was December. He had short black hair that was curly and a bit unruly, as if he had just gotten out of bed. He had a look of mild shock on his face for an instant before he reached out and grabbed me. “No!” I screamed, “Let me go!” I kicked at him, catching him between the legs with as much force as I could manage. He took in a sharp breath in the same instant that his hand came down and across my face, knocking me to the right. My mind spun and I shrieked as my face began to burn. “Anthony! What the hell is this?” The man bellowed, dragging me next to him, out of the hall and towards the stairs. Anthony appeared at the top of the steps, a knife in his right hand. “I told her not to run.” He chuckled, shrugging as he turned, walking away from us. “So..you like to run, eh?” The man said, pulling me up the stairs. “How about you play a little game with us?” He motioned at Anthony and himself. “G-g-game?” I stammered, looking directly at the knife held in Anthony's hand.
Noah
I followed her line of vision and laughed, “Yeah, a game.” I pushed her between Anthony and I, “You run, we look for you...like..a game of 'life and death hide and go seek'.” I grinned as she looked at me with horror in her eyes. It was fun, toying with people like Allison. They were so easy to scare, never having had to deal with anything like this. Anything like me. “And what will you do when you find me?” She asked, her voice small and her eyes wide. “Well, who knows? That's the best part of the game.” I smirked, walking over to her. “But..you can't play like that.” I gestured at her bare feet. “Anthony.” I said, grabbing Allison's shoulders and holding her against my chest. Anthony knelt down in front of her, grabbing her foot and pressing the knife against the bottom of it. “What are you doing?! No!” She screamed, her body squirming in an attempt to get away from us. “Hold still.” Anthony grunted, trying to hold onto her other foot, the knife wavering under her kicking foot. He exhaled, pressing the knife against the bottom of the foot, jerking across the flesh. Another scream erupted from her as Anthony let go of her, forcing her to stand on her cut and bleeding feet. “There we go.” I let go of her shoulders, “Now, you see that hallway?” I pointed towards the hall from where we had come only a few minutes ago. She nodded, “I'm sorry, didn't quite hear you..” I pushed her forward a bit and she gasped, stumbling slightly. “Yes, I see it.” She said, straightening as I smiled, turning her slightly, telling her what to do. “So, run down that hall and out the doors.” I handed her a ring of five keys, “Unlock the main doors and run, go hide.” I pushed her towards the stairs, “I'll give you five minutes.” I said, grinning.
Anthony
The look of pure terror on her face, the sparks of pain in her eyes, it was priceless. Allison stared at Noah for a moment before turning and running down the stairs, gasping in pain as her cut feet pressed against the steps. “You would th ink that she would have asked which key opened the door.” I laughed, checking the clock that sat on the table. “Would have saved her time.” “Indeed.” Noah said, pulling the covering off the table by the stairs. I let out a low whistle, walking over and admiring the tools set on it. Daggers were neatly placed in rows on the right side, arrows and a bow were in the middle and on the left were two machetes, the tips were flat, the edges sharp until halfway in, where they turned into jagged, saw looking points. I ran my finger along one of the arrows, picking it up and admiring the head. “You've got some nice tools.” I said, looking towards Noah. “Mmm...yes
I do.” He smirked, strapping on a belt into which he pushed a few
daggers, then he picked up a machete, holding it in his right hand. I
looked at the clock, smiling as I turned back to Noah. “Ready or not, here we come..”
Allison
I couldn't run anymore, my legs were burning and my feet screamed in agony with every step I took, the snow biting into my cuts, freezing my hands as I pressed against it. I didn't know where I was, I couldn't see anything but trees. Big pine trees. The sun was shining, but it did me no good, didn't even warm me up. Sucking in a deep breath, I got to my feet and took off running again, clenching my teeth to keep from screaming. It must have been five minutes by now, I had to find a place to hide. There was no place to hide, unless I hid behind a pine tree's trunk. It didn't sound like the best plan, but I had to hide. I ducked behind a tree and slid to the ground, breathing heavily. I closed my eyes, trying to calm my nerves and slow my breathing. My heart was pounding and I pulled my knees up and to the side, hoping that I was hidden well enough. I thought about my family, knowing that they were probably all dead by now, everyone except for my uncle. Uncle Jonathan, maybe he would come and save me...but I doubted it. These men..they were going to kill me, I was pretty sure of it, and there was nothing I could do. Maybe..maybe I could run, just run and run until I found a road and then...well, no..I was in the middle of a forest, and I didn't know my surroundings. I didn't have a coat, there was snow on the ground, I was barefoot and my feet were bleeding. There was nothing I could do.
Noah
Anthony chose the bow, taking only a few arrows with him. I knew he was deadly with the bow, his aim was perfect, even with a moving target. We were outside now, the sunlight shining down on us. It was cold, as it was every December in Colorado, and there was a thin layer of snow on the ground and the girl's bloody foot prints made a clean path to follow. I smirked, walking next to the prints, studying the way in which she ran. Here she had fallen, crawled for a bit, then gotten up, running some more. I stopped, following the path with my eyes, seeing it stop a few feet on. Had she really only gotten that far? I pointed towards Anthony and then forward and he nodded, walking towards the trees. I walked slower, trailing behind. Anthony's feet made crunching noises on the snow and I listened for the girl, waiting for her to run. It wouldn't surprise me if she came out of hiding and started begging for her life. That is what had happened with all the previous girls, they came, offering to do whatever I wanted just for their lives. I guess it had never occurred to them that them dying is what I wanted.
Allison
I could hear them now, the footsteps on the snow. They were getting closer, and panic gripped me as I opened my eyes, not daring to even breathe much as the footsteps got louder. I clenched my eyes tightly closed, taking in a deep breath before standing and running, as fast as I could, away from the man. I didn't know who it was, but I wasn't going to get killed sitting there when I could at least be trying to escape. My heart was pounding in my ears as I ran, tears running down my face as my feet ached and my mind played all the possible ways for me to die. The Reaper was immortalized in the news for the sick and disturbing ways that his victims died. These men seemed to work for the Reaper, the note that they left with my brothers and my dad was signed the Reaper. Maybe they were just sick copy cats, but I couldn't really think of that at the moment, I was ducking under a tree branch when a whistling hiss came and my leg screamed in pain. I fell to the ground, screaming as I looked at the arrow sticking out of my leg. “No!” I gasped, grabbing the shaft of the arrow and pulling at it slightly. It hurt..but I had to get it out of there. With a scream of pain I pulled the arrow out, throwing it on the bloody snow. My pants leg was now ripped and bloodstained, and I scrambled to get up and ran, but tripped and fell, climbing up against the tree. Another arrow came and pinned my right shoulder to the tree, burying itself deep in the tree behind me and I couldn't pull it out. I wasn't strong enough to break it, so I was stuck, crying as I waited for the men to come. Anthony stepped into view first, the bow held in his hand. He looked a little disappointed and I couldn't understand why, he had gotten me, hadn't he? I wiped away some of my tears, staring as the other man stepped in front of Anthony, holding up the machete and pointing at me. They spoke in low voices and I couldn't understand what they were saying, but then the man turned and looked at me. “Aww, poor dear, perhaps we should put you out of your misery..?” He laughed, walking a bit closer. He was talking loudly, most likely so that I could hear him. I shook my head, my fingers wrapped around the shaft of the arrow, feebly pulling at it. “Don't you think so, Anthony?” “Mmm..I definitely agree.” Anthony said and I shook my head more. “Please..no...” I gasped, watching as the man lifted his hand that held the machete, back over his shoulder and then brought it forward.
Noah
The machete left my hand, flying towards her, and she screamed for a split second before the machete pierced through her chest, pinning her to the tree. Blood flew out of her mouth as the blade bit through her body, and in a few seconds she was gone. Anthony looked at me, a look of barely hidden wonder in his eyes. “Impressive, Noah. I can see why he's interested in you.” “The Reaper?” I asked, glancing at the body of the girl, her head now hanging to her chest. “Yes, Reaper.” Anthony said, following me as we walked over to the body. “And why is he interested in you?” I questioned, hoping that I didn't sound as rude as I thought I did. “I'm not quite sure.” He replied, then turned his attention to the body. “How do you want to deliver this to the good Detective?” “He lives in Colorado Springs...but he is in Denver right now, we can easily deliver it to his house. We've got the note as well, the one we have to give to him.” I said, jerking the machete from her body, pressing my hand against her shoulder to keep her from collapsing.
Detective Brand " December 26, 2008 " 5:18 PM
Such a Christmas present..finding the body of my niece on my front step. At least I wasn't the one that stumbled across it, I'm not sure if I would have had enough sense to call it in. I am still in enough shock as it is. I thought I could have saved them, but first Anna and then Allison, it was heartbreaking as I thought about it. There was another note, this one made me more angry than any of the other ones.
Detective Jonathan Brand:
Give up yet?
Reaper
“I'm going to get this guy.” I said for what seemed like the millionth time as Derek walked up to me and sat down across from me at the other desk in my office. “Yes. We are going to get him.” I looked up at him expectantly and he pulled a file from the drawer in his desk. “Alright, fingerprints this time. Match up to an Anthony Owens and a Jason Thatcher.” “Have we found them yet?” “Looking now.” Derek said, thumbing through the file. “Shouldn't be long.”
Anthony Owens " January 7, 2009 " 3:15 PM
It was slightly cold in the room, the bare walls and the two way mirror added to the chilly appearance of the room. A metal table sat in front of me and I leaned back in a short chair. Across from me sat Detective Jonathan Brand, he had finally caught up with one of us. I almost laughed as I studied him, his haggard appearance, from many nights spent sleepless in search of his family, and in search of us. We sat in silence for a few moments before he spoke, his voice was quiet and I had to strain a bit to hear him. “Anthony Owens, correct?” “Yeah, that's what people called me.” “Also going under the alias James Disk?” “I did that once. One time.....and that was for your niece, alright?” I watched his face as he ground his teeth together at the mention of Allison. His eyes narrowed and he looked up at me, opening the file that sat before him. He pulled out a few pictures, throwing them down in front of me. I glanced them over, recognizing most of them, but a few I did not. I fingered the pictures that I didn't recognize, the girl and man in them I had no recollection of, and the picture of the girl that sat alone, looking like the picture of perfection. “You
tortured all of these people, and you killed most of them.” He said
it like it was fact and I shook my head. “Andie Whiters. Peter Reynolds. Lydia Marcus.” He looked at the pictures, turning them around so that they faced me, “If you didn't, who did?” “Aren't you the famous detective? You tracked down and got the Reaper.” I laughed, leaning forward, “I'm sure you can figure it out.” “Your companion, the one from whom you stole your alias. James Disk.” He said and I nodded, crossing my arms. “But why did you kill these people?” “Reaper told us to.” “You don't look like the kind of man that would torture and kill someone just because someone told you to.” “He said that they ruined his quiet evening.” I shrugged, “I didn't ask questions, that's not what we are supposed to do.” “You killed eleven people and tried to kill two more just because they disrupted your quiet?” “No, detective, we killed four people for disrupting the quiet, I killed one for being there when she shouldn't be, then we killed your family. And James tried to kill two people, but, as you say, he is dead now.” “And..you think that's okay?” “The killing?” “Yes.” “To answer, it's not just 'killing'...it's torture. It's the pure enjoyment that it gives us.” “You and James?” “I will admit, James and I had some enjoyable memories..but..he broke down and became a common criminal. He raped someone. What kind of a man rapes someone? Common.” “And you are not common?” “Detective Brand, you have seen what I have done, what we have done..do you think of us as common?” “Then what are you?” “The Reaper and I are upper-class murderers. We torture, we take life. I can only dream of one day being as high class as Reaper.” “High class? You know what I call guys like you are 'Reaper'? Sadistic son's of a --” “Detective.”
The door opened and a deep male voice spoke into the room, “We've
got the other one.” Brand looked down at me, then walked to the
door.
Detective Jonathan Brand " January 8, 2009 " 1:25 PM
“We got them, Derek.” I said, smiling for the first time in months. “Confessions out of both of them.” “Not to be the bearer of bad news, but the Reaper himself is still out there.” He responded and I frowned, “But if he wants to find you, he will find you.” “Just lock these two up, their court dates are coming. We've got some work to do, ends to tie up, all that.” “Of course, John.” I could tell that he wasn't pleased, he knew that the real Reaper was out there, and so did I, but surely he wouldn't do anything..right?
January 21, 2009 " 7:18 PM
A few murders began appearing, one here, another there, but pretty soon it looked like the Reaper was killing again. We couldn't track him very well, his killing methods seemed different, more messy, not as controlled. Not thought through. We finally cornered him in what seemed to be his apartment, but he wouldn't let us in, just kept yelling about shooting anyone who came close to the door. He seemed afraid to me, and that didn't quite match the profile that I had in my mind of the Reaper, but it had to be him. He was standing in front of a window, shooting down into the parking lot below him, mostly hitting cars, but a sniper got a shot finally and took him out. We searched his apartment, found many newspaper clippings and random photographs of the different victims that I had found in my investigation. The only ones missing were the ones of my family, but maybe Anthony and Noah had worked on their own on that. Even the slightest doubt of mine was pushed away when we found the journal. Written of all the murders that had been committed in this area that bore the Reapers name, detailed descriptions, we had finally stopped him.
February 16, 2009 " 3:18 PM
“Detective Jonathan Brand.” A voice chuckled from behind me and I opened my eyes, leaning back in the chair. “I must admit, reading about my capture in the papers was quite sensational. Little teasers about all my murders, my how you must have had the press in a feeding frenzy.” “Who are you?” I questioned, wincing as the light came on and the brightness momentarily blinded me. I was staring into the face of a middle aged man whose black hair was graying at the sides. His face was common enough, but his eyes terrified me. In those dork orbs was an overwhelming sense of calm mixed with incredible hatred. “Who am I? Why, Detective, you don't recognize your crowning achievement? Capturing me was the greatest thing in your career. Too bad you shot me to death, isn't it?” He frowned, his eyes sparkling. “What do you want with me?” I said, trying to move my arms. “I want to tell you a story. Not just any story, but my story. Interested?” His face looked animated as I nodded, “Good. We'll start at the beginning. If you have questions, just wait until I'm finished, please.” He looked satisfied when I nodded and he began his tale. “I was born on July 14, 1963 to Anna Black and Jim Scotts. My mother was married to Marcus Black, but she was a very..naughty..woman. My father, Marcus, would often hit her. Just for the hell of it. On my seventh birthday my mother had to go to the hospital to have another baby, this one by a man named Lawrence Whiters. My baby sister was born seven years and three minutes after me. Her name was Skylar. When I was seventeen I heard my father come home in a drunken rage. He beat my mother, I remember her screaming, 'No, you can't have her!' to which my father had screamed back, 'She's your daughter, must be a w***e just like you.' I was laying in bed, staring at the ceiling when my father raped my ten year old sister.” He paused, thinking, “I can still hear her screaming. When I was twenty, my father beat my mother to death and he was taken to prison for a life sentence. They left Skylar in my charge. We lived in relative peace, she went to school and was a good girl. When I was twenty-two I came home from work and found my sister in bed with two boys and she was,” He cleared his throat and I could tell that he was angry about this fact, “being done in two places. I was furious! I couldn't even see straight, I was so angry. I screamed for the boys to go and they had fled, leaving my naked, trembling sister in bed before me. I didn't ask questions, I just took my belt off and began hitting her, she was screaming for me to stop, but I wouldn't I just kept hitting her. “ 'Should I sew your damn legs closed?!' I remember screaming, dropping the belt and straddling her, slapping her across the face. 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Will, I'm sorry!' She had sobbed and I finally stopped hitting her. I dragged her to the bathroom and turned the shower on, full hot, and shoved her in. 'You even touch the cold and I'll beat you again!' I had warned her, storming out of the bathroom. I just couldn't believe it, how could she have done this to me? I paced around the kitchen for a few minutes before I went upstairs and pulled he screaming body from the shower. 'Go to your room.' I ordered her in disgust, turning away. My sister hung herself that night. I buried her in the backyard of the house, under the large tree. Two days later, I moved to Denver and began a new chapter in my life.” He took a sip of water, then continued. “I had been living in Denver for three weeks when the first opportunity for an experiment began. That was the night that I first killed someone...that was the night when I discovered I detested rape and anything like it.” I frowned as he spoke, and he laughed lightly, “Detective, you wanted my story, this is it.” I nodded sharply and he continued speaking, “Now, where I found her is not important, just the acts that followed are important... Let's see, we were in her apartment, and I was standing right behind her, my breath was tickling the back of her neck, her muscles were tightening on her shoulders when my hand came up and brushed against her back, moving her hair away from her right shoulder. It was a dark blonde and came almost to her waist, scented faintly of strawberries. She started trembling when I put my hands under her shirt, lifting it up slightly to run my fingers along her spine. 'P-p-please..” She started, but I silenced her by putting my hand under her chin and tilting her head back so that it leaned on my shoulder and I could look into her baby blue eyes. I couldn't deny it, she was beautiful. Her body was pressed against mine, and I knew that she could feel what was happening, her body stiffened as mine did. I half smiled and ran my fingers slowly up her stomach, lifting her shirt up over her slim frame, tossing it on the floor. She pulled away, but I caught her arm, roughly pulling her towards me again. She was turned around so that I could look fully into her face. She looked only slightly afraid of me and I gave her a small smile. Her stomach tensed as I pulled her closer to me, my hands pressed against the soft flesh that tightened as she held her breath when I buried my nose against her neck. She brought her hands up and pushed against my chest, trying to get away from me. I laughed lightly at her feeble attempt, gripping her wrist tightly in my left hand, pulling her over to me again. She opened her mouth to scream and I put my fingers against her lips, shaking my head. “ 'Ah ah ah..' I chuckled, turning her around so that her back was against my chest and I pushed her against the wall. I wasn't completely sure what I was doing, having never done this before with someone who wasn't willing to have me. I stripped off my shirt, pressing naked skin against naked skin, my chest tightening as the cooler air hit it. She whimpered as I pulled on her hair, pulling her tighter against me, my left hand came up and rested on her stomach, fingers gently pressing into the flesh. “ 'Just leave me alone...' She whispered, tears running down between her breasts to hit my hand that rested on her stomach. I pulled her head back, using her hair as a handle and I cleared my throat, my mind wondered for a moment what it would be like, then I turned around, her body pressed against mine, moving so that she was under me, legs tight together, pushing me away from her. I grunted and pushed her legs apart, falling heavily onto her, my face scarce centimeters from hers. “ 'Just..don't move.' I said harshly, preparing both her and myself for what was coming. I didn't like the tears that were running down her face, the tremble of her lips. I shook my head, brushing the thoughts out of my mind as I positioned myself, staring down at her face. Her eyes were wide and she wouldn't stop trembling. I cleared my throat again, hesitating for a long second, just looking into her wide eyes. I closed mine and moved against her body, wincing at how tight it seemed and the harsh gasp that she let out. I winced again as I pushed harder and she began sobbing, her entire body shaking as I moved again. She brought her hands up and scratched at my back, drawing blood with her nails as I pulled back, looking down at her. 'Look at me.' I said and she shook her head, keeping her eyes closed. 'LOOK AT ME!' I thundered at her and her eyes flew open, staring straight into mine. I could have handled terror or pain, anything but the sadness that dwelled in her eyes. I cleared my throat again and pushed up and off of her, standing up and looking down at her.” His eyes narrowed slightly as he thought about this particular memory, “It wasn't fear....not even hatred. Just sadness, utter grief for what I had taken from her. It was something that I could not use, not against her. I reached down and grabbed her arm, pulling her up and shoving her against the wall, then grabbing her hair and dragging her towards the kitchen of her apartment, she started screaming, but I covered her mouth quickly, lifting her up when I started walking, my hand clamped over her mouth. She was screaming more as I grabbed a knife from the kitchen counter, pressing the sharp edge against her bare stomach, her body was arching against mine and I had a hard time controlling the way the blade sliced, and I ended up with blood all over me. It was disgusting...” He chuckled, watching my reaction. “I dropped her to the floor and watched her bleed out, savoring the slight emotions that danced across her face as she realized that help wasn't coming for her. It is the most vivid memory of killing that I possess.” “You seem to have a very...” I started, but he cut me off. “Detective, wait until I'm finished, please...” He smiled when I nodded again, and then he kept talking, continuing to weave his tale. He spoke of several other murders he had committed, and then he came to the part that I had been waiting for, the part that explained why he started using others to help him in his killings. “I picked the people, I let them pick the tools that they used to kill them. I'm not tough on them, they were all becoming very good in the art that they chose.” I opened my mouth at this point and he held up a finger, moving me to silence once again. “Anthony and James, they were brilliant in what they did, unfortunately James began killing and raping, something that I detested, as I have told you. Noah was relatively new to my game, but he was just as good as many of the others. You look like you have a question, Detective...you may ask it now.” “How did you get them to kill for you?” I said after a moment, trying to choose my question carefully. “You make it sound as if it was simple, choosing them and getting them to follow the rules that I had laid down for these murders.” He laughed, “But I can see where your question is coming from. Anthony and James were foster children in a house that was right next to mine, and they began coming to my house to help me, they were about sixteen at the time. That was ten years ago... They began to show an interest in several of the books I had in my home, and we began a friendship that had lasted up until you began killing them off. James became distant from us last year, and then he broke down. It was quite sad, actually. And then Noah, he had started off doing small killings, which had gained my attention as his killings became more and more intense in the ways that the newspapers began reporting them. We slowly started talking and he quickly got an interest in my game and became a power player in it. And now, all of them are dead, and here you sit, staring at all that's left of me. I'm getting old, I can't continue this on, but...perhaps she can help me.” He motioned behind him and I looked up for the first time, spotting a small form by a table, her blonde hair was pulled back into a messy bun and her torso and arms were covered by a black shirt, and her hands touched the knives as she arranged them on the table before her. “Detective Jonathan Brand, this is Juno, and she will be helping me tonight.” “Helping you..what?” I asked, swallowing hard as he stood up, and my head tilted back so I could look at his face as he spoke. “She is going to watch what I do to you, and will assist me in any manner that she deems necessary.” He grinned and I swallowed the cold lump of fear that rested in my throat, my eyes looking forward. I must have been missing for several hours by this time, surely Derek would be looking for me...someone must come. But then again, how long had we searched for Anna and Allison, and we never found them. No one was coming...this was it. The end of the road. “Please, Will...” He turned and fixed me with a cold gaze, a small smirk growing on his lips as I stared at him, struggling against my bonds with renewed energy. “Do you think that by simply saying my name, it will change my mind about how you die? Need I remind you that I don't really have any qualms about killing anyone, and no one has been able to stop me yet..” His eyes lit up with an eerie gleam and I didn't know what to say. He pulled a needle off the table, looking it over. “Some people say that needles don't hurt as bad as a knife or something like that, but it's amazing what a simple needle can do.” He walked over to me, untying the rope that held my arms. “Put your hands forward.” “What?” “Put your hands forward!” I slowly brought my hands up and he grabbed my right wrist, moving so that it was held between his arm and his hip, pushing the needle up, under my fingernail. The pain that followed wasn't from the needle simply being there, it was from him twisting it, moving it from side to side in agonizingly slow motions. “Stop!” I shouted as he moved to the next finger, repeating the motions. I bit my lip, telling myself that Anna and Allison had endured more than this, Sam and William and Jesse had all gone through worse, I could hold my tongue and not give him the pleasure of hearing my whine in pain. By the time he was on the thumb of my right hand, my lip was bleeding I had bitten down on it so hard, and I was shaking in pain. “God, just stop!!” I narrowed my eyes and bit my lip again, focusing on Juno, who stood behind the table, staring at me. Her expression was easily read, she considered me to be a wimp, someone who couldn't handle the pain that was dished out on me. I looked away, staring at my bleeding hand as Will moved to the other side, grabbing my left hand and beginning the procedure all over again. “Stop it!!!” I begged finally as he finished with my hand, and he let go, staring at me with a look of disgust. “You can't even handle it, can you, Detective?” I wiped blood off of my chin with the back of my hand and stared up at him, my eyes trying to meet his, but I couldn't handle the intensity burning in them and I looked away. “What do you think, Juno? What would be the next step?” “Well..” She said, speaking for the first time, stepping around the table and coming towards us. “A knife, here and here.” She motioned in slashing motions at my shoulders, “Then nails, here and here.” She pointed at my hands, “And then we continue from there.” Will picked up a curved knife and admired it for a moment before stepping towards me. “No! Someone help me!!!” I bellowed, trashing around in the chair, the rope that held my shoulders back was keeping me from moving much, but I tried, not even able to move my legs as he kept walking closer to me. There was a sudden banging at the door, and it didn't register for several moments what that meant. “Open the door!” A voice shouted, and the banging continued. Derek...my old friend..was it really him? “Go, Juno. I'll be fine.” Will said and Juno rapidly walked to the steps that led downwards and she disappeared from view. “Now, Detective, we will see just how good of a police officer your friend is. You'll be dying..and he can either let you die and capture me, being a good cop, or...he will save you and let me go, proving that he is a good friend. Who do you think he'll choose?” He laughed, and plunged the knife into my chest, knocking the chair over backwards with the force. The door burst open, but I couldn't look to see Derek come in, I could only stare at the knife that was protruding from my skin, and I could feel the wetness of blood as it pooled beneath me. “Derek, get him! No! Get him!!” I stammered, moving my hands in the direction that Will was going. “Leave me, get him! He won't stop...he...won't..stop...” Derek was kneeling down beside me and my vision grew hazy as he stood up, pulling out his gun. “Don't move! Get on the ground!” He said, aiming the gun at someone that I couldn't see, “Freeze, or I'll shoot!!” Two gun shots rang out, and that was the last thing I heard before darkness filled my vision and silence crashed in around me.
Detective Derek Skinner " February 17, 2009 " 8:27 AM
I kept kicking myself for letting this happen, I shouldn't have let John go alone...anywhere. The Reaper was out there, we both knew it, but he continued to live his life like he was never in danger. Something about him that I admired and hated in the same breath. What had happened that afternoon..it was still a blur in my memory. I remember firing two shots, and the Reaper fell to the ground, and when I crouched back down to John he was already unconscious, and the blood pool under him was growing. I had called for an ambulance and what seemed like eons later, they finally arrived. “Come on, John, stay with me..” I kept saying, panic eating at me as the seconds crawled by. And now, several hours later, hours spent sitting in the hospital waiting room and drinking cheap coffee, John was gone. At least we had gotten Reaper, at least we had closed the case.... “Detective?
There's someone here to see you.” I looked up as Mindy opened the
door to John's office, looking in at me. “Hello, Detective Skinner, my name is Juno...”
- Fin. © 2012 MeganAuthor's Note
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MeganCOAboutHello, my name is Megan. I'm a small town girl from Colorado with some big city dreams. . I haven't written in a long time, though I've been putting more and more time into it. I started writing whe.. more..Writing
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