The cannibals

chapter 1 : Joyce

3rd October 2013

The sky is dark. Is it night or evening? I wonder.

Faint voices: "Joyce! Joyce!"

The voices echo through the dense forest. I drag my body towards them.

I pant. My body has already started to give up. I take in a deep breath and use my loudest voice.

"MUM!! MUM!!"

The voices are clearer now, "JOYCE!!"

. . .

5th July 2017

Morning.

"I'm alright, mum. But I won't be if I'm late for work."

"Make sure to call me once you reach the lab, okay?" mum said in her calmest tone, but I could feel the tension from the other end of the call.

It has become a ritual for me to report to her every time I go out and come back to my apartment. Crazy, I know, especially since I am now 29 years old. Not all 29-year-old women report everything to their mothers.

But then again, not all 29-year-old women are kidnapped for seven months.

The following day, 11:27 a.m.

Rays of sunlight peeked in through the gap between the leaves of the trees. Within the forest walls, it was more chilly.

*Echoes of chirping birds*

I walked past the yellow tape that screamed, "Caution - Do Not Enter." It was eerie to see the way a beam of sunlight highlighted the crime scene.

There wasn't a single drop of blood. Only a neatly slaughtered head detached from its body with its face destroyed using something heavy -a big rock I assume - lying beneath the pile of dry leaves.

"The weapon must have have been similar to a kitchen knife - but much bigger and sharper, "I muse.

"And why is that?" Officer Byles asks.

Officer Byles - Nathan Byles outside of work- also happens to be my high school friend.

I point at the victim's neck.
"He has been slaughtered in one go. Look at how clean the cut is," I explain.

"Chief! We found an arm detached from its body at the edge of the forest", another officer called to Officer Byles.

Back at the forensic lab:

"Did you find anything, Joyce?" Officer Byles asked as soon as he entered the lab with his team members.

"The arm does not belong to the victim whose head we found in the middle of the forest, "I say. "But our second victim's arm is detached from his body using the same weapon that has been used to behead our first victim."

"The killer is the same person in both cases, and we have more than one victim," concludes Samuel, one of Byles' team members.

"Bingo."

. . .

*Indiscrete whispers*

His eyes are fixed on his master as his master whispers into his ear.

Dressed in a black robe, the master hid his face under a black hood.

The disciple nods and bows to his master with utmost respect before leaving.

. . .

"Joyce, let's grab a drink after work?" Byles offered.

"Sure, Nathan, but promise me we won't talk about work. Every time we drink, you bring up all the cases."