Belle Stone

Part 28

Silence. Nobody spoke or even made a sound. What they heard made their bones shake out of fear. Nobody was resistant to the power and the superiority of the scream. Just a few feet away from it you die. A couple a kilometers away and you freeze. Every square inch of your body tenses up and every single hair on your body raises. You can't move or speak because you might be its new victim. Although the mind didn't know what that scream could do the body could feel it.

After a while, the silence was broken by one brave person. A woman in her mid-fifties, fearless, aware of the closeness of death and not afraid of it, calls the police:
"Hello, police. I think there has been a murder. There was this terrifying scream coming from somewhere out of sight. I think it came from behind the trees. You must come quickly. I don't know if the killer is still here or not. It has been very quiet for a long time now. Maybe it's waiting for another victim. People here are very scared. You must hurry."
"Okay, okay ma'am. May I get the address?"
The woman hurriedly tells the address and hangs up. She smiles quite satisfied with herself. A hero among the sea of cowards.

The police came right away. They started investigating the separated, isolated part of the park. The place behind the trees that people go to for some alone time. That was where the noise was coming from according to the people that were there.

As they stepped into it they sensed a weird smell. That scent trail leads them along the way. Rustling through the leaves and branches they step on something mushy. A soft tough piece of flesh. Unrecognizable to the eye as a piece of human flesh. The stench has become stronger now. They are barely able to keep their food in their stomach. A few more steps forward and they spot something white sticking out of the ground. They approach it cautiously. One of them picks the piece up slowly with his gloved hand. It is very hard and sharp. It almost cuts through the thin fabric. There are drops of red liquid covering it. Assumingly, blood. This was a fraction of a bone. Human bone. It didn't take them long to find the body. The bits and pieces of the skull and flesh were scattered everywhere making a clear path towards it. The ground soaked in as most blood as it could painting itself red.

The sight wasn't as bad as the smell. It pained the insides at the first whiff. The slow increase in the power of the stench didn't help them adapt to it.  Their stomach couldn't hold up anymore. They could feel their insides turning. The stomach acid slushing around. It was getting worse by each second. They couldn't control it anymore so they gagged. Food came all the way up to the root of their tongue but they swallowed it back down again. Which left a horrible bitter taste that pricked the throat.

The headless body wasn't that gruesome to see. Through the neck, you could see down the throat but the flies were already swarming around it. So, the view was blocked. Apart from that, the body was fine. The clothes were drained in blood only from the bottom. A few drops were on the front. There was a white glow around the ground of the body whose pale skin almost blinded. Not a drop of blood was left in it.

The phone in the pocket of the victim started to ring. Because it was part of the evidence, they couldn't answer it. They just copied the number to their own phone and called it back.
"Hello. Who is this?"
"Who is this?! You called me."
"This is the police."

Getting a call from the police right after she phoned her son made her panic. This couldn't be just a coincidence.
"Oh, sorry. Is there a problem? Is my son okay?"
The woman said trying to sound as calm as she physically could. Dread filled the young policeman's face. This is the mother of the victim that laid headless in front of him. He took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. The air caught between his teeth leaving a whistling sound to pierce through the silence.
”I am afraid he is not."
"Why? What happened?"
The panic increased, making the heartbeat rise. Her breath quickened as she clutched the phone tighter to her ear. Her fingers turned white from the pressure.
"Your son is dead."