Blade of the Knife

The silence pierced the air as the tinnitus in Richard Hill's ears sang a high pitched song as he laid in his bed, breathing like he was in a gas chamber. The veteran laid still on his bed, as if he had been cryogenically frozen in place, barely moving his chest as he inhaled. He heard a faint creaking from the lower level of his house after his front door made a click from the lock being turned, and a slow swoosh as it was opened. He heard slow tip taps on the wooden floor, knowing that there was an intruder in his home. Richard moved at a moderate pace, making sure to not allow any noise come from his movements. He shimmied from his bed to the door of his room, barricading it with whatever he could. He made his way over to where he had left his phone, and dialed 911, making sure it was so silent he could hear a pin drop. "Nine-one-one, what's your emergency?" A voice appeared in the speaker of the phone.
"Help me." Whispered Richard into the microphone of the Android.
"Could you describe your problem?"
"Someone's here. They're inside." He said meticulously with speed.
"Could you give me your location, and also who might be in your house?"
"I live on 26 Ape Len road, in Wasouth Creek, Colorado."
"Ok, responders should be on there way. Can you describe the intruder?"
"No, I was in my bed when I heard my front door be unlocked and opened, then I heard the creaking of the floor as they walked around the main level and-" Richard dropped the phone to the floor as he heard the sound of his bedroom door being forcefully opened. He turned around, face to face with masked person.
"Hello? HELLO? IS ANYONE THERE?" The voice from the phone called out.
"It's nice to meet you." The person said to Richard as they towered over him. "I'd like you to meet my little friend. He's been dying to meet you too." They took a kitchen knife from the sheath of their black belt and ran a gloved finger over the blade which glistened from the moon light entering the window. "It's your turn." They rose their hand, driving the knife into Richard as he let out screams of agony. The responder on the other side of the phone listened in horror as the unidentified person tortured what was left of Richard, before they picked up the phone and spoke into it with a smooth tone, "Why hello there. I don't think he needs the police anymore, bye bye." They pressed the end call button, cutting the connection between both lines, leaving the responder horrified to what they had just listened to. The masked person grabbed their knife and retreated into the forest from the house, making sure to not leave a trail and to leave fast enough before the police were able to track them down.

The sirens which whirred grew in volume as the police cars approached the house. The officers exited the vehicles, seeing the front door wide opened. They drew their weapons, ready for someone to attack them. They slowly crept towards the front door, waiting, just waiting for a threat to their lives. Step by step they inched closer to the wooden door which had red paint chipping from it, their weapons locked and loaded with ammo. There was a rustle from the shrubbery next to the porch they were about to climb. They unloaded their guns into it, only to watch a bird fly away. "Well that was dumb." One of the officers mumbled, getting the others to respond by making a *shh* noise.
They continued their approach to the door, peaking in the windows. "It looks all clear." whispered one.
"We don't know that yet," whispered another. "We haven't searched the entire place." They continued their campaign into the house using their flashlights to illuminate the unseeable portions. The dust floating in the air reflected the light, making the house seem older, and abandoned.

The officers declared the first floor all clear, making their way to the staircase to the next level. Every step they took on the stairs was amplified as the stairs released deafening creeks in the dead of night. The wooden clacking of their shoes echoed off the walls, reverberating in their ears as they kept their guard climbing the never ending steps. They reached the top, and were met by a few doors. Splitting up they each conquered a room, leaving the cracked open bedroom for last. They found no one in the bathroom, nor the guest bedroom. They didn't even find anyone in the laundry room. After searching high and low in the rooms they congregated in front of the bedroom door, listening carefully for noise. "Is that whimpering...?" One of them whispered.
"I think so." They pushed the door open and saw a mutilated body lying on the floor. Soft groans were coming from a hole in what looked like a face.
"Oh my god are you ok?" One of the officers ran up to the body as the others searched the room. The body made a slight groan before it went silent and stopped having a rhythmic rising and fall. The skin was slit what looked to be thousands of times. It was pulled back to reveal the flesh, muscles, and bones which resided behind it. Blood had stained the white carpet as it continued oozing from the now decaying body. The officer who spoke grabbed the trash can that was placed next to the door releasing vomit after seeing the horrific sight. The body's eyes were pushed into their sockets, letting blood fill where they once were.
"Whoever did this, they're sick as hell. And not in a good way." They called for an ambulance to pick up the dead body and began a forensics test to try to find any traces that could link to the killer. All of the various tests they attempted came back negative with no potential suspects to who skinned Richard Hill alive. The only thing that was concluded from the searching that it was done with a knife, the same knife that was used to kill Denise Walton.

A few months prior another murder had been conducted. Denise's body had been miss shaped through similar means to how Richard's body had been destroyed. She was skinned letting everything trapped in make it's way out of her body. It was in a similar fashion to how Richard had been murdered. They heard an intruder in their home and tried to barricade themselves in, then the responder on the phone heard the blood curdling scream, followed by the smooth voice saying that the murdered person doesn't need the police. "What are we gonna do about this?" An officer said to the detective.
"Who wants to die?" The detective replied getting a shocked reaction from everyone. "Here's my plan. We create a setup. With one of you." He left a pause for everyone to digest that they could be put in harms way. "And when the killer comes, we shackle 'em and bring 'em to the station to be locked up for life." He watched as everyone let a sigh of relief that they wouldn't have to die. "So...who's it gonna be?" Everyone stood still even though they knew there was minimal risk of them dying. "It's gonna be like that eh? Enie menie miney mo. Catch a tiger, by the toe. If he hollars, let him go. Enie. Meanie. Miney. Mo." His finger stopped pointing at the newest officer that had joined the team. "You. You will be the one who we will get the killer. Be prepared and ready to call. We need to be able to get there within the blink of an eye. Get some rest now. You never know when they're gonna strike again." The detective said as he walked out of the room.
"Oh my god I hope I don't die." The terrified newcomer said.
"You won't, trust me. He's amazing when it comes to keeping us alive. We have never had a police casualty since he joined the team." The officers left the room, along with the newcomer who was still trembling.

Months had began to pass and more people had been murdered by the knife killer. Each and every victim having traces of previous victims to the killer. Every body mutilated in the same fashion. Their skin peeled back like an orange. Blood oozing everywhere. And their organs free to roam the world. "Alright what else can we do besides waiting?" The still newest member asked the detective.
"Wait even more. It'll happen at some point. And when it does, we'll be ready to take their ass down."
The days continued on, until one night the newbie heard noise coming from inside their house. They reached for their uniform, lowering the speaker of their walkie talkie before uttering the words, "Knife in house." They locked their bedroom door and returned to the uniform listening for any response. None. They tried again, and again, but nothing. They began to panic. The steps were slowly getting closer to their locked door. Then suddenly there was a knocking. "H-hello... W-whose there?" They heard a scratching come from the door as they pressed their ear against it to listen for any indicator of who could be outside. They heard a thud, anticipating officers had arrived and taken out the killer. Suddenly they felt a sharp pain in their feet, and the glowing smile on their face faded as they looked down. They saw a metal object retreating to the other side of the door as blood oozed out of their feet. Suddenly the pain kicked in and they fell to the floor. The intruder managed to get the door open.
"Why hello there." The voice said before opening the door to reveal themselves.
"It's you." The officer said with a breathy voice as they scrambled to get to their uniform. The detective continued to enter the room revealing himself.
"Yes, tis me! I've been watching closely. Remember earlier today when I patted you on the shoulder before you left?"
"Y-yes." The officer said while still in agony getting ever so close to their uniform.
"I used my scissors to cut the wires of your walkie, so there was no way of escaping your death." He gave an evil grin.
"B-but you-"
"I know I'm the detective. Why do you think everything comes back negative? I can easily mess the results so they show no traces leading back to me. You see this here knife? I call it Natas. Satan backwards. Because your going to hell." He drove the knife down to the now disabled officer as they were able to reach for some pepper spray. The knife pierced the heart of the officer as the detective stumbled back. They both shrieked in pain.
The officer grabbed their gun, aimed it at the detective saying, "If I'm going down, you're going down with me." They unloaded the weapon causing the detective to fall to the ground. The two of them continued bleeding out on the ground until they had died.

"Oh my god!" An officer said as they went into the bedroom of the newbie.
"I knew it. That detective seemed way too sure of himself."
"Well there's nothing we can do now sadly."
"At least the knife murderer is off the streets."
"But sadly we now have a fresh officer off too."
"Nothing we can do now besides report the deaths and move on." The officers who were at the house called for an ambulance to haul the dead bodies away, cleaning as much as they could before leaving the house and letting others take care of the house.