Killer on the Hunt (Part 1)

*next morning*

I fluttered open my eyes when I felt the warm sunlight kiss me good morning. I got out of my bed and finished off the daily routine. I walked to the kitchen and prepared egg toasts for myself— it'd always been my breakfast as far as I could remember, since that was only dish I could cook. My mom, well...she never had time for me so she was never there to cook me breakfast or dinner, I always had to buy takeouts for dinner. 

I stuffed the egg toast into my mouth and casually sat on the couch ans switched on the T.V. 

"Not the boring news again.." I thought and was about to switch to the next channel but 

something caught my attention. 

I began listening carefully to what the reporter had to say: "Two victims of assumed murder in the city of Blueburn reported last night at 9:45 pm. Victims were found in a forest close to an orphanage soaked in blood. The forensic reports said that the victims had their hearts and livers missing and stitched skin with signs of brutal torture. There are no witnesses to the murder discovered yet. It seemed as if the victims tortured themselves and committed suicide since  no fingerprints or evidence of external force was found, but the cops are still suspicious.The police urges the citizens to stay at home until further notice and immediately contact the police if they notice any suspicious behavior in the neighborhood." 

They presented censored photographs of the victims' bodies but that was more than  enough to make me feel nauseous. My eyes wandered to the background of the pictures and something caught my attention. 

"The field..the grasses..." 

I felt a knot in my stomach and adrenaline rushed to my brain, "I-Isn't that the forest we were in yesterday?! What if...we were.....instead of them..." 

I felt my world go upside down at the thought of our bodies being torn down and our organs being taken out mercilessly, in the place of those innocent victims. I began imagining the worst case scenario that could take place since the orphanage was THIS close to the forest. 

Anxiety plagued my chest and I began questioning if it was right of me to come here. 

"If we were an hour late to go home...we would have also been killed.." I thanked our luck for saving our lives but at the same time, I could assume how dangerous the man was and how close he was to kill us. 

I was lost in my own panicking thoughts when the doorbell rang. I tried to calm myself down and got up to see who was at the door. 

"Hi." Hazel greeted me cheerfully.

I smiled at her and invited herself in. 

"What's the occasion of coming here?" I asked her. 

"Why? Am I not allowed to come here without a reason?" She smirked playfully, "But..I did come here for a reason. The director wants to talk to you. He asked me to bring you to his office." 

"Why, though?" 

"Who knows?" She shrugged. 

"Okay, just give me a minute." I nodded and finished up my toasts.

We headed out and made our way to the director's office. We approached the door of his office. I could see his name plate on the door in large golden fonts which read, "Mr. Ryan Smith" 

Hazel gently knocked on the door and it soon swung open. We were greeted by a kind and young face in a black suit beaming at us. I'd expected the director to be a man in his 50's or 40's but this man seemed like he was in his late 20s and he gave off a really professional and sophisticated vibe.

"I assume you're Rai?" He smiled and extended his hand for a handshake. 

"You're right." I manage my best professional smile as I shook his hand.

"Please have a seat." He said, "And, Hazel, you can take your leave now." 

Hazel nodded politely and left the room before flashing an encouraging smile at me as if to say, "There's nothing to worry about." 

As soon as she left, I sat down across from the director who still had a small smile on his face.

"Do you know why I called you?" He asked me. 

"For investigating about the murder case in which I am involved." I replied with a stern expression.

"Yes, you are right. I'll ask you just one question, did you murder them?" His smile dissipated from his face and was replaced with an intimidating gaze. 

I knew he was trying to force out the 'truth' from me. Trust me, he could get the truth out of someone with that level of intimidation. 

"No. I had just woken up and gone to my mother's bedroom to find out why she wasn't awake yet. That's when I saw my mother with my sister's body on the floor. And she committed suicide before I could stop her." I replied, not at all fazed by his tricks. 

"That seems legit. But how would you explain the death of that police officer?" 

My stomach dropped. I didn't know what to answer. I was startled by how off-the-topic the question was. 

"So you did murder him. You know you could get severe punishment for attacking a civil officer, right?" He sighed. "Why did you do it?" 

"I-I did it to protect myself..." I looked down at my feet. 

"Protect yourself? Was he going to harm you in any way?" He asked.

"He pointed a gun at me." 

"Well, that settles it. The cops are tearing the town apart to find you out. They think the murder case of last night was your doing." He shook his head in disappointment.

"What?! But that's sheer lie!!" I slammed down my hands on the table in anger.

"Relax. It's not an issue. I can easily get you out of this mess. It wasn't appropriate for a cop to use deadly force on you so your mistake is on the lesser side. He wouldn't have been excused for his actions even if he was alive. I just wanted to know if you were actually involved in any of this and I got just what I needed." He takes out a recorder from his pocket and smiles. 

"Wha-? Why would you record that?!" I looked at him, flabbergasted.

"Just in case they ask for evidence that you were innocent. The truth is always found when the accused is unaware of his surroundings." He smiled slyly.  

I smiled back in relief, "Thank you...I guess?"  

He stood up and extended his hand for another handshake, "Until next time?" 

I got up and shook his hands with a smile. I bid him goodbye and leave the office pondering over how strange and successful the man was.