(ON HOLD) The Cult | EW CULT AU

the happy beginnings.

it has been days since nikki went missing. nikki scars was a highly wanted criminal, committing several acts of murder and "marking bodies," with a strange symbol, carving it into her victim's chest. she let them bleed out and die while strapped to a table in her current hideout. she was infamous for her killings, and would hide anywhere accessible to weapons, making her hard to find. she had killed someone from the police force, the partner of her victim getting a nice look at her. several photos of nikki have also been leaked on the internet, since she was also a cult leader worshipping someone she likes to call "billy."

Tord looked over every bit of evidence and clues showing where Nikki could be hiding next. She never uses the same place twice, so no one ever comes back to the scenes where crimes took place. Some people think Nikki doesn't really exist, and all the people killed were suicidal or it was a ghost, or someone claiming to be Nikki. Other people actually visit the murder sites, and attempt to "summon" Nikki, as if she were a demon herself. They're not wrong.

Tord had joined the police force as a detective, searching everywhere and anywhere for clues. He had a personal attachment to Nikki, having known her when they were young. He remembers her acting strange at some point, then hearing from the news that she had committed murder. If only he had seen it sooner. The once nice and innocent girl he knew turned out to be a cold-blooded killer, leaving her tortured victims to bleed out while they scream and beg for mercy. And Nikki loved every bit of it. She was known to be a sadist herself, also showing signs of being a masochist, a rare deal.

Tord ripped a picture of Nikki from the cork board he had, red strings keeping everything together. He thought about what could've happened to her. Why had she done this? Did someone make her? Did she decide on her own? Tord pondered while he touched his left cheek near his eye, which had a second band-aid on it. Tord had an encounter with Nikki a while ago, her having tried to attack Tord and cut his cheek. He still had another band-aid on his right lower cheek, the injury which he wishes not to discuss.

A knock was heard on the door, snapping Tord out of his thoughts. He dropped the picture on his desk and opened the door. It was his longtime friend, Edd, who had been in the police force, and had been involved with Nikki's case for a long time.

"Hey Edd, it's been awhile."

"Yeah, kind of has. We barely speak anymore, I missed you."

Tord gave him a light playful punch on the left shoulder.

"Dude, stop talking like that, there's people in the hallway. You're making us sound gay!"

Edd chuckled. "Nah bro, you're my homie. Home slice. Dawg."

"What the fuck are you saying?"

They both laughed, and Edd soon pointed behind him. 

"Well, I know you've been thinking about Nikki a lot. When you gonna ask her out?"

Edd wiggled his eyebrows, nudging Tord. He laughed sarcastically.

"Haha, very funny Edd. You know how I feel about people like this. She's awful, and I'm not letting her get away again. Upon closer investigation on the pattern of her killings and markings, she makes a sacrifice almost every Thursday, usually at 8:00 at night. She chooses places that aren't really isolated, are still in town. I'm guessing her real hideout is somewhere in the woods."

Edd sighed deeply. "Why is it always in the woods? Why not underground, or something?"

"Don't know. Hey, I think you might be on to something!"

Edd made an unamused face, then got a coat from a nearby coat hanger. It was black. "I'm going to go home with the others. Please come back soon, I don't wanna worry about my friend being killed."

"Got it, same to you. I don't want you or anyone else to die. Not even Tom."

"Well, aren't you so kind?"

Tord chuckled. "Nah. The only one allowed to kill him is me. But, he's your friend, sooo..."

They both smiled and said their goodbyes, Edd closing the door behind him and leaving Tord to his investigation. Tord sat down on his chair, moving closer to his desk and looking at everything again. He had mapped out all of Nikki's previous killing sites, all really close together. He connected the dots and lines with his finger, slowly tracing the red string connecting the red tacks. He started where the news of Nikki's first murder was, all the way to her last killing from last Thursday. Tord thought intensely as he traced. His eyes widened as he realized the only possibility.

The next killing site was near his home.