Cassiopeia

The start of an enigma

Sunday second November 1958

Life is fragile and fleeting, as a rule, humans no matter how strong and intelligent they become are inherently weak, just a flick of a knife and the opening of one vessel is enough to send them to become one with the earth. Some are fortunate in that death is painless, to die in your dreams is mercy upon your body and mind but this is rare. Humans at the core are rotten and weak and this will never change, no matter the skin blood is the same, red and bright oozing in volume as it dribbles down or spurts in quantity. Earth's scream is muffled in his throat as the sound of a gun is heard, he can't see as the body the gun was aimed at falls to the ground, his vision is painted red and his eyelashes clump together. The spurts of blood and matter obscure his vision but he has no choice over what his limbs want to do as his knees give out, the soil underneath him wet from the rain of the morning. Earth's body is warm, an inferno raging inside as if his skin was being caught on fire, he can't help but sigh as a gun is positioned at the back of his head, it's cold as it makes contact with his clammy skin giving one moment of relief before the trigger is pulled.

Earth wakes up with a scream, the frame of his small bed creaking as he sat up abruptly trying to get oxygen back into his lungs, he had stopped breathing for a moment his brain shutting off subconsciously. He brings a hand to his forehead; it's raging hot to the touch and wet from sweat making his eyes burn from the salt. By now he's used to this, his movements practised and requiring no thought as his hand reaches towards his bedside cabinet, opening the first drawer to get out a box of cigarettes, his hands tremble as he tries to light one but by now he can do it with his eyes closed, the first inhale already doing its job of calming his raging heart down.

He takes the glass filled with whiskey already prepared from last night downing it in one go, it doesn't hurt his throat anymore going down like water, it's routine now since three months ago, wake up drenched and terrified, drink a glass of whiskey and have a smoke and then go to work. Earth's used to it, he knows that no matter what happens the nightmares will plague him every night, he can never forget that night, instead, he is cursed to relive his mistake every day the whiskey and cigarettes don't diminish the pain and the memory, but they numb his brain and that's enough for him to keep going for now. The clock on the wall opposite his bed reads just past five in the morning, he thought as much as it was still dark outside the window but no matter if he had a nightmare or not he would have still woken up early today as the sound of his telephone dial rings in the opposite room.

His apartment is merely composed of three rooms, the walls thin and cracks present, the ringing sounding as if it was inside his own bedroom. Earth sighed before rising up to pick up the call, it was a Sunday which meant two things, no one ever calls Earth if not work-related and two, his colleagues usually wait when it's a working day until he goes to the police station. This leaves the only possible answer as to what the call is, something bad has definitely occurred.

"Earth, I'm really sorry if I woke you up at this ungodly hour" Louis's voice transmits to the telephone, the tiredness in his voice evident.

"I was already up Louis don't worry, tell me where I need to meet you," Earth said, he can't help but smile as Louis on the other end gushes about how good of a detective Earth is to already know that something was up, it wasn't genius it was just pure logical thinking, nothing ever good happens on Sunday Earth knows well.

"Anyway, we need you on Alpha street as soon as possible, there has been a murder" Louis had barely finished saying the last word when Earth put the telephone down rushing to get changed as quickly as possible.

Alpha street was your typical bleak part of the city, apartments upon apartments looking the same as they are stacked upon each other, windows all closed not trusting even a shiver of an opening in the night, it was easy to climb walls with the right motivation. People continued to pass by continuing on their way probably to go to church, it was Sunday after all, funny how no one paid attention to the gathering of officers around a still body, prayers were for only the selected Earth thought and not everyone fit the bill.