Hell's Detective: Murder

by N. J. Bamford

  "Really," Ann exclaimed softly, walking up to him and looking seductive, "What kind of questions? I was here at the hospital at the time of the attack, so I wouldn't know of anything."

  "That wasn't what I was going to ask you about," Officer Abraham corrects, his suspicions combining with slight panic, "Let's talk in your room for privacy."

  "Is it that serious? Well, then, Let's go inside."

  'Why do I feel like I'm going to regret this,' he thought as they go inside the room, Ann placing the I.V. stand by her bed, "It has come to my attention that you have been in contact with several student residents in the last several months."

  "Yes," Ann answers as sits on her bed, crossing her legs, "I was asked by Mr. Chaplain to be visited by the students while they were learning how to be doctors. I saw nothing wrong in doing that."

  "There is nothing wrong about that. They need the experience before they can become fully licensed doctors and nurses. Not many people would do that."

  "Well," Ann laughs warmly, "I'm not one of those 'many' people."

  "Have any of the students that had visited you showed signs of strange behavior? Such as strange conversations or prying information of your personal life?"

  "Well... not that I can think of. I was only asked about my diagnosis and treatment plans. Nothing out of the ordinary. I did tell them how my family has been very supportive of me... Do you think it was one of the students that attacked my husband?"

  "We have several suspects in custody as we speak, but we need more evidence to pinpoint which one assaulted your husband. If you have anything to tell me, now will be a good time."

  "I don't know what else I could tell you, Officer. I didn't see anything strange with any of the students or even the hospital staff. Perhaps if you asked the doctors that were with them, they might know something."

  "My fellow officers and I are going to, but I do have one more question to ask you before I go."

  "So soon? Well, I guess you have a job to do and all, but I was hoping that you would keep me company for a little while longer."

  “This isn’t a social meeting, Mrs. Utgama, for I am on duty.”

  “No one else is here to see otherwise,” Ann gets off the bed and places her hands on Officer Abraham’s chest, lowering her voice, “I’m certain that you can spare a few minutes comforting a poor sick woman who is so worried about her family-”

  “Please refrain from touching me and answer my question,” the police officer states seriously as he takes her hands off him, “Sexually assaulting an officer is a federal offense.”

  “Fine,” Ann sighs in irritation and turns her back to him, “What is your question?”

  “You said that Oswald Chaplain, the chairman of Mauri Louisa Memorial Hospital, was the one to ask you to participate in the medical student resident program here in Jamerson General Hospital, correct? A hospital that he has no authority over?”

  Ann stays silent, refusing to answer the question. It seems that Officer Abraham has hit the nail on the head on the culprit.

  “It’s best that you be honest with me right now,” he continues, serious, “How did you really get on the volunteer list? How are you manipulating the students to commit the murders? Also, how did you know my name when we had never met before?”

  Ann doesn’t answer. A moment later, she turns around with a dark, sly smile on her face. Officer Abraham’s suspicions grow and he is on full alert. He curses inwardly for not bringing his radio to call for backup. She may be an ailing woman, but that doesn’t mean she can’t be dangerous.

  “Do you have any children Officer Abraham,” Ann suddenly asks, “In my culture, a family is expected to have many children. The more children they have, the higher the chance of the family being prosperous and passing their genes to the next generation. If one child dies, there are others to preserve the family line. A family with only one child is considered a weak and foolish family. If the child dies, and the parents have no other children, the family line dies.

  “When I first got pregnant,” she moves closer to him, “I was ecstatic. My first child, the first in so many to come. I was disappointed upon her birth that she was to be my only one. Cancer robbed me of any chances of having more children. The doctors claimed that it was a miracle that I had made it through my pregnancy and not passed the disease to my child. My dear little Maria. She means the world to me, my little miracle. I was so grateful she was spared frommy fate.

  “However, she is a girl and, unless her future husband allows it, she can not pass down our family name. Men are such prideful creatures, so I know that they would never do anything to threaten their family name. Even my own husband refused to hire a surrogate mother for us to have more children with. He loves me too much for that, even if it means the end of our family line.”

  “So adopt a kid or a dozen of them if you want more,” Officer Abraham states, not sure as to where this is going, “There are millions of orphans all over the world looking to become a part of someone’s family. Problem solved.”

  “No,” Ann glare at him viciously, as if he had suggested something vile and hideous, “The orphans have not one ounce of my family blood in them. I will not raise someone else's’ leftovers and care for their family lines. Those children should be cared for by their sires, learning their family history and cultures. The fact that they were thrown away by their sires makes me sick. How could anyone throw something so precious away?! How could anyone be happy with only having one child?! Such people have no right to live!”

  “And you manipulated the medical students to go on a killing spree against families with one child because of your cultural standings,” Officer Abraham nearly spits in disgust, “You’re such a hypocrite! You only have one child yourself! What makes you any different from the families you had your followers murder?!”

  “Those families had chosen to only have one child when they could’ve had more,” Ann sneers, “I wanted to have more children I want to care and raise those children. That’s what makes me different from them. Won’t you agree?”

  She places her hands on his chest and he suddenly feels strange. He can feel his anger for Ann slowly draining away and being replaced with an anger for the families with only one child. He shakes his head and tries to move her hands, but Ann grabs his wrist in a surprisingly strong grip with one hand as her eyes take on a strange glow. What’s going on? What is she doing to him?

  “Jumping the gun early, aren’t we?”

  No sooner were those words spoken, Officer Abraham feels himself back in control of his emotions, Ann’s influence lifting off him like steam. Ann jumps back and hisses before running out of the room. Officer Abraham turns to see Jenne, Ellisaüch, and Lilia in the room.

  “Wha… he tries to say, but sways to his knees as his consciousness leaves him, Lilia catching him before he falls to the floor.

  “I’m going,” Jenne states and leaves the room, Ellisaüch watching her go before helping Lilia to place Officer Abraham onto the bed.

  “Aren’t you going with her,” the social worker asks, “The Ash had been removed from him already.”

  “You obviously think I’m a lzay Hell Watcher,” Ellisaüch grins evilly, “I have eyes everywhere. And when they lock on my prey, they won’t let it get away.”

  * * * *

  Jenne runs after Ann and ignores the medical staff she bumps into, following her down several hallways and up the stairs to the roof. She finds Ann kneeling on the ground, convulsing violently. Slowly, the private detective walks up to her.

  “Very clever of you to use a cancer patient to hide in,” Jenne states, “The stench of sterilization chemicals from chemotherapy covers up the smell of the Ash to the point even someone like me can’t detect it. Had you left things be and not open up shop here, you might have avoided this outcome.”

  “Wretched Half-Breed,” Ann snarls, her voice a mix of different tones that makes it difficult to determine who or what they once belong to, “I will kill this w
ench if you- Help me- Why can’t I have more children- I’ll destroy you!”

  “How pitiful,” Jenne shakes her head in disappointment, “You possessed so many people and devoured their souls that you own shattered remains are being lost in the remains of the their souls. I’m surprised that you were able to remain coherent enough up to this point, and the fact that you were able to remain in your host without either transforming or abandoning the host tells me that you are a powerful and ancient Carrier of the Damned.”

  “Heh,” Ann smirks, “Flattery won’t help you save the human. She’s mine to do with-why as I pleased. You can’t do anything in your condition.”

  “You mean with Maria? So I can assume it was you that filled her up with Ash as either a means of distraction and weaken me, or you wanted her as a host and got interrupted. I’m putting my money on the latter, as it is too late to save Ann.”

  “W-what?”

  “You didn’t think I would notice? A demon, even a Half-Breed like myself, can tell when a human is about to die. The closer they are to their time of death, the easier we can read them. The doctors that first diagnosed her didn’t do it right. She has leukemia, not breast cancer. Since leukemia can appear at any time, and can spread cancerous cells to different areas of the body, it’s hard to detect it unless you know where to look for it. Judging from the stench of death rolling off of Ann’s body, I would say she is to die at eight forty-nine A.M. tomorrow morning. Anything I do at this point will accelerate the process and give her a quick death.

  “Now then,” Jenne’s body explodes in flames as she changes into her Half-Breed form, “I’m normally not one to rob a family of their final moments with their loved ones, but considering that both Marius and Maria are indisposed for a long while and won’t awaken in time, I’m willing to make an exception.”

  “W-wait,” the Carrier raises a hand in fear, “Half-Breeds can’t kill a human unless in self defense! What would the Reapers say?!”

  “I don’t see any nearby. Do you?”

  The Carrier screeches in fear as Jenne lifts her scythe to stab her. Suddenly, black and purple particles pour out of Ann’s mouth, nose, eyes, and ears before shooting towards the private detective Like a wave of locusts. Jenne smirks as flames surround her, burning the mass of particles until the particles screech and fall to the ground. Ann’s body falls unconscious to the ground, but is quickly caught by Raiden.

  “You’re late,” Jenne states lightly as the flames die around her.

  “Sorry,” Raiden replies as he lifts Ann into his arms, “Bad traffic.”

  “Get her out of here.”

  “You can’t take it out on your own,” Raiden protests as the particles rises and solidifies into a sickly green humanoid creature with a belly so bloated that it looks ready to explode. Its limbs are long and thin, the fingers bony and sharp like talons. It has no neck, the head only having a mouth full of so many sharp teeth its face is set in a large horrific smile.

  “Go,” Jenne shouts and Raiden doesn’t hesitate. He carries Ann down the stairs as the Carrier screeches. She blocks the Carrier from following them, blocking a swipe of its hand with her scythe. The Carrier wraps its fingers around the scythe’s handle pulls both it and Jenne around and throws them into the air. Jenne flaps her wings to right herself and dodges another swipe. She lands several feet away and the Carrier lets loose a powerful scream that sends shockwaves at her. The private detective wraps her wings around herself to block the shockwaves, the impact of each one pushing her back and hitting with enough force that almost breaks her bones.

  ‘Fuck it’s strong,’ Jenne thought, struggling to not be pushed back as she grits her teeth, ‘It’s practically nothing but Ash working with the will of the original Damned, yet its power is off the charts. I have to end this before it gets another host and I lose it.’

  Spotting a plastic spine board to her right, Jenne uses her tail to launch it at the Carrier. The Carrier stops her scream to knock the spine board away, looking back to find the Half-Breed gone. Before it can look around for her, a sharp pain pierces its side and it screeches to the heavens. Jenne has stabbed the Carrier from the side.

  The eyes of her scythe glows as it devours the Ash from the Carrier. The Carrier screeches as it feels its energy and form slipping away. It twists its hips and slaps Jenne away, her scythe still embedded in its’ side. The private detective rolls into a crouch before dodging another swipe. She twists around and the blade of her tail slices the Carrier’s forearm off, making it howl in pain and grasp its’ bleeding limb. Jenne grabs her scythe to devour more of the Ash, wincing in pain.

  ‘Damnit,’ Jenne curses inwardly as her arms shake, ‘I’m still exhausted from saving Maria earlier, and there is so much Ash left. How can this thing have so much? How many souls has it destroyed and devoured over the years?’

  “I won’t let you-save me-they can’t be-Enough,” the Carrier screeches before letting loose a stream of incomplete sentences, then lets loose a strange noise that is soon followed by several loud cries and pounding feet.

  “Aw fucking great,” Jenne groans loudly, trying to hold onto her scythe tighter, “Backup’s coming.”

  * * * *

  “Raiden,” Lilia greets as said police detective walks in quickly with Ann, “What’s going on? Where’s Jenne?”

  “She’s fighting the Carrier on the roof,” Raiden answers as he places Ann on an empty bed, “I need to get back and-”

  They suddenly hear several loud cries and they look to see several nurses, patients, and medical residents crying out and heading to the stairway. They ignore Lilia and the other as they pick up scalpels, needles, and anything else they can get their hands on along the way.

  “How many people has the Carrier infected,” Lilia exclaims in shock.

  “Too many,” Ellisaüch answers grimly, “The hospital staff has been infected with Ash. They’re heading to the Carrier to kill Jenne and anyone that gets in their way.”

  “Shit,” Raiden curses, “I told her that she was in way over her head.”

  He runs for the stairway, but the medical staff turns to attack him. He grabs a nearby I.V. stand to block them and knock their weapons away.

  “Lilia,” he calls as the social worker runs past them and up the stairs, chains shooting out of the floor to block the entrance after she passes.

  “We need to extract the Ash from them before it takes complete root into their souls and begins their sinification,” Ellisaüch reminds him, using her chains to subdue several medical residents, “Damnit. At this rate, my outfit will be beyond repair.”

  “Quit whining and help me,” Raiden yells angrily, “What the hell is it with women and clothing?”

  “What the hell is it with men and sports?”

  * * * *

  Jenne ducks another swipe from the Carrier, holding on as tight to her scythe as she can as it twists and turns. Her arms are shaking badly from exhaustion, trying to extract the Ash from the Carrier and finish it off. She knows that she is reaching her limit, and the impending threat of the Infected is looming closer. If this did not end soon. . .

  The door to the stairway suddenly bursts opens and Lilia runs out in her angelic form, silverfan in hand. The Carrier turns towards her, only to scream as the social worker stabs its other side with her fan.

  “Together now,” Lilia yells, her fan extracting the Ash.

  Nodding, Jenne uses all of her remaining strength to extract as much Ash as she can, Lilia following suit. The Carrier screams and struggles against both of them, but its’ energy and consciousness are diminishing rapidly. It gives off one final shockwave scream before its body glows bright and both Jenne and Lilia are sent flying back from the energy it releases. Jenne skids back while Lilia uses her wings to stop herself, both young women looking at the Carrier in shock.

  Standing before is... what can only be described as a skeleton with a thin covering of skin. It stares up at the sky, as if looking for something. The skin th
en slowly melts to the ground and the skeleton falls apart, shattering upon hitting the ground. The remains of the skeleton gets stuck in the liquid that was once skin on the ground, melting into the liquid that slowly dissipates away.

  “It was so old that there was nothing left of the human or the Damned it once was,” Lilia said in awe as they examine the spot the Carrier once stood, “I’ve never seen anything like it before in all my centuries.”

  “It survived all this time by possessing other people and turning them into Damned while spreading the Ash everywhere,” Jenne adds, “That’s how it got away with it for so long, and why it had so much Ash in itself. I feel like I was extracting Ash from forty Damned all at once.”

  “Same here. I don’t think I’ll be doing this again any time soon.”

  “By the way, where is Raiden?”

  “Shoot,” Lilia jumps to her feet and runs for the stairs, “He’s downstairs with the Infected.”

  “Is Ellisaüch down there too?”

  “...Yeah. Why?”

  “He’ll be fine.”

  * * * *

  “What’s taking them so long,” Ellisaüch whines as she extracts the Ash from several medical staff members with her chains.

  “Just keep working,” Raiden yells in frustration, “How many more Infected are there?”

  “My eyes counted two hundred and seventy-six Infected. We’ve taken out eighty-nine.”

  “Damnit.”

  Chapter 11

  “Why do I have to be grounded for a whole month,” John whines as he sits right across from Jenne at the kitchen table, “Rich and I didn’t drink!”

  “But you did sneak in with fake I.D.s that would’ve locked you both up in jail,” Jenne points out angrily, arms crossed, “Had it not been for me, both of you would’ve spent the night there until Richard’s parents and I bailed you out or waited for the police to get sick of your whining to let you out. Then, you both would go to a hearing and the least they would’ve sentence you would be community service. You would’ve been lucky the judge didn’t sent you to juvie.”