Our Last Dance [ONC 2021]

Chapter XIV ~ Killer on the Loose

Icarus was a fool to think that I wouldn't get out. This had been my aunt's house, the place I had lived in for quite a while. On rainy days, I used to explore the house and all its secrets: hidden passageways, windows that couldn't be locked, vines that crawled up the outside walls in such a way that you could use them to climb down a balcony. The door never stood a chance at keeping me locked up.

After Icarus left, I quickly got dressed and climbed down the window, careful not to tear my dress. Even though it seemed foolish to purposely become the victim of a serial killer, I wasn't such an idiot to come completely unarmed, and as I climbed down, you could see the moonlight dimly being reflected against a dagger strapped to my thigh.

As soon as my feet hit the ground, I started running, only stopping briefly when I came across the rose bushes. Since my aunt's passing, they had grown a lot, now covering an area almost as big as that of a small library. I picked a single flower and pinned it in my hair, before leaving the dim lights of the house behind me. Before the cold streets of London could surround me, only one thought went through my head: I'm sorry Icarus. We'll see each other soon. I promise.

I wandered through those streets until I heard the faint sounds of a party. People laughing. Soft music playing. It led me towards a square surrounded by houses. The ground was mostly covered in grass and many of the dancing people had thrown off their shoes. I continued walking and soon I was standing the middle of Soho square, surrounded by the moving bodies. There were lanterns everywhere from which the candles gave of a flickering light. Most of the people were wearing masks, in an attempt to impersonate a masquerade ball like they were given in Paris. This was nothing like it, but I liked the idea.

It was clearly an illegal dance party, so if anyone saw anything, they would never go to the police with it. It was the perfect place for a crime.

Icarus and I had been to these kinds of parties before. Most of the time, they only lasted a couple of hours until the cops showed up and dispersed the party goers. This didn't just mean that you had to dance as much as possible before the end of the party, it also meant that the killer had to find a new victim fast. If he's even here, the voice in my head helpfully added.

Luckily, the voice in my head was soon proven wrong. When I spotted him, he was standing among the crowd on the side, watching over the partying people. A few girls tried to get him to dance, apparently oblivious to the fact that he was a serial killer. He declined. He was dressed in all black, a mask hiding his entire face except for his eyes. He was almost unrecognisable, if only it wasn't for his cape. It followed him like a dark shadow. L'ombre de la mort, your glory days come to an end tonight.

Why I thought I could take on a serial killer on my own? I don't know, but I did. Well, I tried to.

As soon as the killer appeared on the scene, I approached him, stumbling as if I were drunk. I did my best to get noticed by him, making as much havoc as I could while walking past him. It seemed to work, because when I left the square, I noticed a shadow following me.

Just like that I lured him away, to another one of London's many squares. It was cornered by houses, but everywhere the rooms were dark. The only things that illuminated the small gazebo in the middle were the few lanterns scattered across the square. I sat down on one of the wooden benches, ignoring my pursuer as he sat down across from me. Slowly, he took a knife from underneath his cape and as I was contemplating whether I should do the same, he started talking.

'I'm sure that you've heard of me, my lady. I'm also sure that you've read what those awful papers have written about me. I'm also fairly sure that we both know what is going to happen next, and that there is no way to fight it.'

He spoke with a deep voice. One that was clearly not his own. It was that kind of a voice that gave you goosebumps every time you listened to it. Mysterious, that was the word. His voice was as mysterious as he.

'Why do you kill?' I tried to change my voice as well, not really knowing why. Perhaps it was the mask I was still wearing that gave me the feeling that I should be mysterious too. 'You have killed a lot of people, haven't you? How many? Did you commit all those murders yourself, or is there more than one l'ombre de la mort?'

He chuckled. 'So many questions. You really are a curious girl, aren't you?'

I ignored his remark and continued firing questions at him. 'Why is it, that these murders have been going on for nearly twenty years, but you only seem to be that old yourself?' I raised an eyebrow at him, though I wasn't entirely sure he would notice through my mask. Then finally, I asked the only question I really needed the answer to. 'Who are you?'

He just laughed again before responding: 'Your worst nightmare.'

Now it was my turn to laugh. 'Oh honey, you have no idea how bad my dreams can get.'

It all occurred in only a few seconds, but in those few seconds everything seemed to happen in slow motion. He lunged for the knife, but I pushed it off the table. At the same time, I grabbed mine. Half a second after, I realised that I didn't have a plan B. Another second later, he had forced the dagger from my grip, and we were running.

He knew the streets of London as well as I did, even better maybe. It had been decades since I had visited this part of town and with every street, with every turn he was gaining on me. There was no denying it: he was faster than me.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. How had I ever thought I could go and catch a serial killer by myself? Especially without any good planning. The least I should have done was plan an escape route, but even that had seemed unnecessary until five minutes ago.

My legs were aching and, in the end, the inevitable happened. I tripped and the killer caught up with me. He pulled me to my feet and immediately pushed me into a dark alley.

'Well, that was a fun chase,' he chuckled. Over the ringing in my ears, I could him removing the dagger from his belt. Then, the frightening sound as he cut through the air with it.

Meanwhile, I was still sitting on my knees in the alley, my back turned to him. This is no way to die, at least have some dignity. I got up.

'If I'm going to die, at least explain something to me. At least tell me why, so that perhaps I will not feel that my death is completely unjustified.'

It got him to shut up. My head was still facing away from him, but I could hear him coming closer.

'I'm not an egoist, you see. I would never do something so horrible just for my own gain. It's just to help a dear friend of mine. She needs your blood, and then your life. That is the only way she will keep breathing. I can't stand having to lose her. You understand that, don't you?' He sighed and I could feel his warm breath in my neck. 'So just don't resist, okay? Then this will be so much easier.'

I didn't want to comply. I didn't want to give this murderer what he wanted, but as he turned me around, I accepted my fate. My eyes were closed. Nobody would know I hadn't wanted to look my death in the eye. Once they found me, my eyes would be closed anyway.

I thought of my corpse, lying here in the alley, covered by roses as the sun rose. Would I awaken again, just like I had done all those times before?

He removed the mask I was still wearing, slowly dragging one of his fingers across my face. It made me shiver and I had to try my best not to swat his hand away. My hair had come loose along with my mask and I was grateful for the sense of security it gave me. If only time would freeze at that moment, I could have hidden behind my locks forever. 'Don't worry, dear. Before you know it, you will be standing in front of the gates of heaven.' Again the sound of the dagger.

'Bold of you to assume I'm going to heaven.'

He struck. I raised my head in anticipation of my death. He missed.

Or at least I thought he did. It stayed silence for a while, the only sound being his sharp breaths. When I opened my eyes, he was backing away from the alley. His eyes were wide, captured in shock. He let out a sting of curse words, before looking me straight into the eye. 'Stop looking for me.' With that, he turned around. He ran for it.

I was left behind, still shaking a bit.

What on earth could I have done to frighten a serial killer like that?