I idly spun around on my chair while my mind went over the same scene over and over. State rep whose limbs, ears, nose, even fingers were cut off. Then they were mailed to the police station. Everything was such a mess that it was nearly impossible to tell what and why it happened.
It was quite possible, even likely, that the murderer would develop into a serial killer. Background info on Cheter didn’t reveal much—he didn’t seem to have any serious enemies, nor did he seem involved in shady business. Well, any more than normal politicians. Only time would tell.
“Hey, Derek, it’s half past eight.” I jumped, my spinning becoming disjointed. When I opened my eyes, I came face-to-face with Reggie the janitor.
“Oh,” I said, shaken out of my thoughts. “Alright, I’ll be out in a few minutes.” Reggie nodded and turned away. I looked at the clock. 8:21. Talk about lost in thought.
I grunted, lifting my body to its feet, and started packing my bag. Laptop, thermos, lunch bag, and phone. I clicked myself out of the building, and walked across the dark parking lot to my car. It was going to be some more fast-food tonight.
Say what you will about Subway, but their meatball subs are the best, unequivocally. Midway through the drive home, I gave in to temptation and unwrapped the food, savoring a bite at a red light.
Half an hour later, I reached my apartment. The elevator ride always took a while, but the view of the city was worth it. I tossed down my food, filled a glass of water, and began eating next to my wall-sized window.
The sky was dark, lit up only by human civilization below. Massive buildings stretched far into the distance, the silence of the happening below painting an almost ethereal sight. The air had begun to chill in preparation for winter. Hopefully there wouldn’t be snow.
As I finished my food, a flash caught my attention. The sky was getting brighter. Instead of day’s blue, or night’s black, it was growing white, so much so that it started burning.
I managed to tilt my head in confusion before it enveloped my entire vision, and then I couldn’t see anything. An incessant buzzing filled my head, like static. I must have fallen out of my chair, because a sharp pain sparked up my back. I lay immobilized on the floor, able to do nothing but spasm.
The next thing I knew, it was daytime.
I ended up being late to work. It was already past nine when I locked my car and walked into the building. Nobody ended up complaining, though, probably because I was usually the last to leave.
I was hesitant to go to a doctor after last night—sure, I would if I passed out again, but I doubted it was anything serious. Exhaustion, maybe.
Dexter, another detective, stopped me before I could reach my chair. “Derek!” he greeted.
“Dexter, what’s up?” It wasn’t common for someone to attempt to socialize with me.
“You’ve been working on the Cheter case, right?” He continued before I had a chance to respond. “There was another body found. It’s downstairs.”
I almost couldn’t believe my ears. Another body, right after Cheter. A serial killer! My good mood must have leaked out, because Dexter snorted. “Don’t get too happy. He probably made a mistake, killing so fast after his first.”
I nodded my thanks, then hurried downstairs. The body I was looking for was easy to recognize. Same cuts as Cheter, although this one had been pieced together already. I looked closer, taking in each wound and comparing it to Cheter.
Apparently, he’d already been ID’d. Griffin Smith, a bartender with no local family. His body, or pieces of it, were found in his apartment this morning. I looked through the photos of the crime scene, noting the separation of each body part. There were no signs of a struggle, nor was there a broken lock. I’d have to check for any connections between Smith and Cheter.
I opened my eyes and made eye contact with him.
Eye contact? I did a double take, jumping away from the corpse in surprise. Smith followed my movement, turning his head to look at me. And then something shimmered into existence in front of me, like a hologram.
You have unlocked skill Necromancy.
+100 XP
You have re-animated a human corpse. One being now subjugated.
Before I could react appropriately, footsteps sounded down the hall. Panic hammered at my chest, and I quickly covered the body up. Seconds later, the door opened.
“Denise, hi!” I smiled.
The lady’s eyes landed on me and she gave me a frown. “What's up with you, Derek? Not molesting the bodies, I hope?”
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
I laughed awkwardly and maneuvered myself in front of the table holding the body. “Of course not, why do you ask?”
“You seem a little more anxious than normal. And energetic.”
I cleared my throat, trying to regain my normal composure. “Just the Cheter case. It looks like another serial killer.”
“Ah, makes sense. You and your murderers. Well,” she continued, “I just forgot my bag, I’ll be out in a sec.”
Less than a minute later, Denise was gone. I surveyed the halls cautiously, then closed the door. Holding my breath, I whipped back the blanket to the corpse. Its eyes stared into mine, unblinking.
I shook my body around, and still it followed me, unwavering. Contrary to one might expect, I wasn’t fearful, just surprised. And curious. “Stand,” I commanded, tightening my grip on a pen I’d picked up.
With a crash, the thing’s upper torso and head crashed to the floor, then it laid there, unmoving.
Subjugated being #1 dealt fatal blow.
Subjugated being #1 killed.
+50 XP
“Ouch. Sorry.” I probably should’ve thought that one through. Something without legs or arms couldn’t really stand. With a cautious kick to confirm it was dead, again, I hoisted the corpse up to the table and re-arranged it.
Next, I brought my attention back around to the holograms. Remarkably, they’d almost faded away when I wasn’t focusing on them. The first notified me that I’d unlocked a skill called necromancy, and that I’d re-animated a corpse. The second told me that the same corpse had died.
I probably should’ve been freaked out, but I wasn’t. It felt like I was someone else, like I was watching a movie.
For the rest of the day, I kept working at the Cheter case. Since it was so big, I had to brief some of the officers, but other than that, we didn’t make much progress. I did some work on my other cases, but most were cold. I didn’t really care, though. My mind constantly wandering, going back to that morning, replaying and examining it.
That night, I was itching with curiosity. I worked until almost everyone had left, and then went back downstairs.
There were a couple of other bodies being held, a young man and older woman. I made it a point to look around the room before I took them out, probably out of nerves than anything else.
The man was handsome. He’d died from poison or something similar. I’d try it on him first. Though, I didn’t really know how to do it. The first time was pretty much a fluke.
In an effort to recreate what happened before, I stood near the corpse, closed my eyes, and focused on the conditions of the man’s death. The only information I got was from his file, since I wasn’t on the case.
Still, it was enough.
You have re-animated a human corpse. One being now subjugated.
+50 XP — Level Up (Skill Necromancy)
As soon as the same blue-ish, transparent screen popped up, the corpse opened its eyes. It looked at me much the same way the other one had, but instead of staring, it turned away and regarded the rest of the room.
I was scared and excited, but mostly curious. This time, I’d brought my gun and was ready for the slightest bit of danger. “Stand,” I told it.
The corpse obeyed immediately, moving its legs and straightening up like a robot. Then it stood still and stared ahead.
“Do a jumping jack.”
Again it listened, almost like a machine would when it programmed. Spreading its legs, it moved its hands up, but then started shaking. Its hands flopped down uselessly, and it collapsed.
As soon as it hit the floor, it tried standing back up, but seemed not have the strength. I watched, intrigued, as it rose a few inches, fell, then tried again. It repeated its movements at least five times before I understood why.
I’d given it the order to stand, and then to complete a jumping jack. It must have been trying to fall back on its last order now that the jumping jack was done.
“Stop,” I said. The corpse froze, then crumpled to the floor. “Stand once you have enough energy to do so.”
I pulled out my phone and started the timer. Ten seconds passed before it moved, standing up shakily. I paused. Could it get stronger? Could a corpse get stronger? Stupid question, but a valid one right now.
“Once you’re able to, do a jumping jack.” Judging from before, a jumping jack pretty much took all of its energy. I’d left the timer going. It had taken ten seconds to gain enough energy to stand, but how long for a jumping jack?
Thirty seconds, apparently. A holograph also appeared in response to my other question.
Subjugated being #1 has leveled up.
Strength, agility, and intelligence have increased.
Would you like to assign subjugated being #1 a name?
A name? I could go with his original one, but that seemed...wrong.
“Bob,” I said. Nobody could go wrong with Bob.
Subjugated being #1 has been renamed to Bob.
I checked my phone. It was almost nine o’clock, and I was starving. I glanced at Bob, and he stared back.
“Bob, lay back down and act dead.” He crawled onto the table with noticeably more fluidity and speed than before. I walked over and looked at him, making sure he was arranged alright. Satisfied, I locked up the room and gathered my stuff.
During the drive home, I started feeling a little anxious. From stress or tiredness, I didn’t know. By the time I opened the door to my apartment, a headache was hammering at my temples. I swallowed a couple of ibuprofens and laid down, yet it just kept on getting worse.
When I tried forcing myself to fall asleep, memories of the day surfaced. The strange holographs, corpses coming back to life, they were all impossible. They couldn’t be real. They were imaginary. I started panicking, stood up and stumbled into the bathroom. The light turned on, and I hissed in pain.
I chucked my phone out the bathroom door, turned off the light, and dropped into the tub. The curtain wrapped itself around my body, and I curled into the fetal position. My headache was blaring louder than ever, yet I was getting dizzy. The last thing I remember was crying, both in pain and confusion.