Eviscerate

Prologue

The wind was warm and dry as it slashed against my face through the open car window, gently ricocheting off the rusted black doors of the volks wagon. But despite the semi infernal conditions of the weather, a long shiver racked my nerves. I clenched my jaw and fists until the slight shaking finally ceased, keeping my eyes glued to the scorched landscape of rural Arizona. I heard a low grunt of contemplation beside me, and the sound of a finger pad tapping against the side of the wheel, "You seem a little tense, Abend." My dark eyes never moved from the seemingly endless expanse of patchy dead grass and stone hard sand,"this field of work can get a bit intense sometimes, Leon" I replied to the policeman as he drove. He grunted again, most likely not entirely satisfied with my answer, but I returned to my distant mental status. After about another half an hour of driving, I was beginning to wonder what I was expecting to find in this vacant desert. Then there was a sudden bright flash of light, and I mean bright, and a sickening thud which resonated from beneath the car. My still focusing gaze shot to the rear view mirror. A man lay in the street. And when my eyes finally adjusted, my chest was empty. Of lungs, heart, everything. My blood ran cold. Despite the eyeless sockets and slashed features... I recognized him. There was a yell and a crash, then everything went black.

I awoke to the feeling of pressure on my arm, but my eyes didn't open. My body was barely jostled to a semi cognitive state, so I still wasn't able to form a proper sentence when I heard the calling of my name. When the pressure left my arm I emitted a temporary sigh of contentment, until a powerful force shoved my back and I was suddenly crashing against the cold wood of the floor, "Ah!" I exclaimed as my forehead collided with the hard floor. I began to coil in fetal position with a pained groan, "What- what the hell Lex?!" The tall woman before me glared down at me. My partner Alexis Engel. "Take a shower and get dressed," she says, "you have a meeting over video chat with the director of the task force in a half an hour." Before I could ask a single question, she was out the door and preparing to make coffee. "Hurry up, Alex!" She shouted from the kitchen. Another groan passed my lips as I shifted to a standing position. Wearing a semi formal gray shirt and black jeans, I greeted the director on the screen. "I apoligize for the short notice, Detective Abend, Detective Engel," his pixelated green eyes meeting ours as he spoke, "but this is quite urgent." I nodded in understanding. He seemed to be stalling  with hesitance, then he finally spoke. "It has recently come to our knowledge that the previous case  you solved.. had complications," he stated, "and we believe that the man we have behind bars is a false claimer." Lex's mouth dropped. "how?" It was the only word that I could find in my thoughts, but couldn't quite escape the mental realm. The directors gaze seemed to avoid direct contact with my own as he spoke, the wall behind Alexis and I suddenly intensely enthralling to the directors glazed orbs "the murders are persisting, but he has a new strategy. The signature carving is still the same, its just he's moving out of state. He kills at least one person in each state every day, gradually moving north east. That is all of the information we have currently accumulated, and now we are relying on you two to solve this case." I grunted in thought with a slow nod, Alexis flashed a glance at me then back to the director. "We hope to not disappoint, Director Crowley."

"Thank you, Abend. Really, if anyone knows anything about this pervert.. it's you two. Just keep in mind, everything you know about this entire case could be a complete lie. Good luck." And the meeting was over.