Both preoccupied detectives did not notice a large and shadowy figure whom had been shadowing them ever since they had left The Kingsbury Conundrum. The abnormally large silhouette of the mystery stranger now ominously stood silent where they had been only a few seconds before, at the covertly concealing dark alleyway exit. He had keenly been observing their efforts at surveillance for a while now and looked on in amusement as the two detectives where swallowed up by the dishevelled homes distorted shadows. The shadowy figure silently stood there with one hand clutching a brown paper wrapped bottle of unknown alcoholic contents whilst the other was placed casually within his large pocket.
The rain unrelentingly assaulted the unknown and sinister silhouette as he stood there like a statue, motionless and undeterred from the rains aggression upon his massive frame. He was deliberate in his stillness and his circular spectacle lenses then brilliantly lit up with a fires reflection because of nearby and newly burning transient’s fire. This new fire was contained within an old rusty and holy bin and had been ignited by an old and frail homeless man whom now eagerly sat near the new flames to keep himself warm. The old vagrant then noticed the distinctly welcoming smell of alcohol which was emanating from the preoccupied, silent and massive shadow that clutched an unknown bottle within his large hand.
The motionless shadowy stalker ignored the old nearby vagrant as he silently beckoned to him for some of his precious nectar because he was far more interested in watching the two detectives cautiously go around the side of the dishevelled home. The sinisterly unseen character then finally moved as he took a deep breath in before then taking a satisfying drink from his chosen bottle of secret poison. The old vagrant desperately licked his dry lips as he saw this and as the alcohol permeated the surrounding air, he then started to slowly crawl towards the shadowy stranger and gestured with his frail hands in an effort to plead for some charity.
After a moment the grim and hulking mass of the concealed stranger then turned and simply starred silently with his ominous, owl-like round eyes at the feeble old vagrant whom struggled to make out any discernible details on the man’s shrouded body. After a few moments of yet more quiet pleading the old frail man finally relented and got the unspoken message and then reluctantly crawled back to his warm fireplace sanctuary to whimper about the harshness of life. The shadowy man’s attention was now refocused back upon observing his elusive quarry but the detectives had disappointingly disappeared around the back of the shadowy old home, angering the stranger as he looked up and down for his escaped quarry. The old vagrant then curiously noticed that the shadowy man’s head moved up and down a few times, as if it where sad that it had lost sight of something important to it and could not believe its bad fortune.
Then the head of this stranger then frighteningly and abnormally turned around like an owls and starred right at the horrified old vagrant as he felt himself falling into the venomous gaze of its bizarrely piercing eyes. These menacingly reflective eyes where now focused wholly upon its new quarry, a vulnerable quarry that would satisfy its insatiable desire for violence and unrelenting aggression for the anger of losing its two previous undercover victims. The vagrant instinctively knew only then that this was not a man at all but something else entirely, a maddening thing of unknown origin and a creature from the darkest places in the blackest of nights. The scared vagrant then started to feebly beg and pathetically plead for his life as its frightful gaze now focused directly upon him, causing panic to instantly fill the old man and pumping what little adrenalin he still had left frantically around his trembling body.
The slowly nearing strangers burning spectacle eyes then came ominously closer as it slowly lifted its massive hulking hand which contained the valuable poison that the vagrant had so desperately pleaded for not so long ago. The massive indiscernible silhouette of the stranger then finally stood over the cowering man by the fire as the rain continued to lash down upon the both of them and lightening lit up the dark turbulent skies above. The desperate old vagrant continued to plead for mercy by crawling towards the shadows leg and squinted because he could still not see any discernible detail upon the beastly dark abomination that now towered over him. There was no mercy to give however as the hellish abomination revealed its true horrifying self to the petrified man and brought the glass bottle crashing down upon his fragile skull with such tremendous force that it shattered both the glass and the man’s skull in equal measure!
The unholy abomination stood silently over its broken victim and eagerly watched the blood and newly expelled brain matter slowly coalesce upon the cobbled streets under the persistent rain. It satisfactorily watched as the bloodied macabre mixture then quickly dispersed and diluted before finally filtering into a nearby filthy street drain where it disappeared from all sight. The shadowy abomination was intensely dissatisfied at how easily the weak and putrid flesh had given up so easily on that most precious of things, life. It then obediently looked up as it heard the owl’s distantly morbid call which always sailed upon the unholy winds that surrounded its frightful flight. The dark abomination marvelled as its feathery doom bird master circled high above the dilapidated house of the infamous Chicken Freak, causing a distortedly hideous grin to then appear upon its undiscernibly dark and twisted face.
Meanwhile around the back of the dishevelled home both detectives discovered a large collection of noisy chicken’s that where contained within a small group of rusty cages in the centre of the neglected garden. After a few moments of investigating the rusted cages that where packed with all variety of squawking chickens, the preoccupied Merlyo then eagerly motioned to his partner to come and see something that had caught his interest around the side of the shadowy building. Merlyo knelt down and pointed to the just visible light that was coming from below the home and through a tiny but filthy window that illuminated the interiors concreate basement area. A curious Zalewski then looked in and saw a somewhat limited view of the grey basement area which was surprisingly littered in a multitude of feathers.
As he moved his head in order to get a better view of this secretive interior he then he saw a large, bald and heavily overweight man whom was shockingly wearing nothing at all except a cheap imitation chicken mask, a worn dark leather apron and a pair of brown leather gloves. The bizarrely dressed man was unwittingly displaying his bare naked ass towards the two covertly watching detectives and possibly pleasuring himself with one of his gloved hands as his obscure movements unnervingly indicated this. The rough looking woman whom they had both seen earlier at the Kingsbury Conundrum was now standing before this large male and scantily dressed in nothing but a provocative black feathered corset, black panties and some torn back stockings. She was awkwardly dancing in front of the strangely dressed man whilst brandishing a large cleaver as the presumed sacrificial chicken frantically flapped its wings by her feet.
The tied up chicken struggled upon a thick wooden chopping block and almost instinctively knew that its time was almost up within this world as the dancing woman teasing revealed the cleaver every now and then. Both eager detectives then jostled for a better view of the bizarrely macabre spectacle that was taking place before them, adamant that they see as much as they could of this shockingly maddening view. They both then keenly noticed a dried dark and smeared substance that went down a central rudimentary drain on the basements floor, between the two strange characters and there sacrificial chicken.
Presumably this was the sacrificial blood of the chickens unfortunate brothers and sister before it, silently confirming the long term madness that was currently taking place within this dungeon of depravity below. This basement was macabrely walled by old rusty cages similar to the ones in the neglected garden and all were packed with live chickens that chaotically squawked as they saw their fellow beloved chicken being slowly prepared to be sacrificed by the maddened pair of twisted individuals. Merlyo then whispered his excited thoughts to his preoccupied and slightly disturbed partner “This Chicken Freak is
the Mad Butcher for sure! Look at how insane he is! Zalewski, there are some corners of the world that have bred the most terribly awful things and they must be fought!”
A troubled Zalewski heeded the wise words as he continued to observe the mesmerizing death dance of the hideously old woman whom now alarmingly showed her true age within the better lit basement. The singular bulb that dangled precariously from the flacking ceiling added a full twenty years to her age, secretly petrifying the young detective whom had regular night terrors involving an faceless old hag whom strangled him from within his sleep. The disgusted Zalewski then turned around to see an already eager Merlyo making his way tentatively towards the door whilst beckoning him to follow him. The determined Merlyo then whispered to his hesitantly reluctant partner “Back doors open! Come on!” before both men then cautiously entered the dark and damp home with their weapons primed.
They soon discovered that they had entered through the old kitchen back door and noticed that the home was no longer a home at all but more of a transient drug den judging by all the drug paraphernalia that was haphazardly scattered around the neglected kitchens dirty floor. Broken bottles and smashed plates littered the floor in what used to be a beautiful kitchen, although it was hard to see such beauty after the long years of continual abuse. Cupboards where open and furniture vandalised as a single lone rusted tap dripped dirty water into a cracked filthy sink at a frantic rate. This dripping sound secretly caused Merlyo some concern as he immediately thought that the Lady of the Lake was making her familiarly unwanted presence known before the clumsy Zalewski accidentally nudged into him from behind and broke this quickly developing apprehension.
This timely intervention by his partner forced him back into reality whereby he embarrassingly realised that it was simply nothing more than a tap dripping water. They both then crept around the kitchen quietly and investigated the shadowy area until a large rat suddenly scurried out of some trash and startled the already alert Zalewski. This caused him to instantaneously aim both his twin silver gleaming pistols towards the frightened rodent and Merlyo smiled as his alert partner trained his skilled crosshairs down upon the hairy interloper. The cautious Zalewski then instantly lowered them again and gave Merlyo a sarcastic smile in return, leaving the rat to continue on its unrelenting quest for sustenance.
Both detectives then quickly acclimatized to their new environment after this intrusion and proceeded to silently secure the upper area of the dilapidated home room by room. They both noticed rain water pouring through the broken tilled roof and into awaiting and strategically placed buckets which littered the area in all manner of odd locations. The ingenious makeshift drainage system was loosely held together by rope and weed veins that had long ago invaded the derelict property like some invasive species that’s tentacles had crept into every nook and cranny in order to save the home from a water grave.
Whilst Merlyo cautiously made his way down to the basement area whereby he knew the two suspects where, Zalewski was finishing securing the upper floor by looking into the last derelict room whereby he suddenly caught the odour of something curious. He though he smelt the distinctive odour of rotting flesh and turned to voice his concern to his partner but he had already hastily descended the rickety staircase in order to get to the basement whereby the infamous Chicken Freak was performing his macabre ritual. Zalewski then tentatively decided to investigate the room by himself and looked inside its shadowy interior as he carefully pushed open the loosely held together wooden door. The neglected room barley had any floorboards left and one side of the open wall had long ago crumbled which was now allowing wind and rain to freely reign within its borders.
The alert Zalewski had an overwhelming sense of dread as he looked into the vacant room until he noticed a something familiarly attractive, a colourful Shadow magazine that had both been carelessly left long ago for the elements to destroy. These enticing bits of crime fiction literature had been discarded upon the far side table which was nearby where the absent wall used to be and was almost too irresistible for the detective to pass up. The discoloured collectable was only accessible by the flimsy and rotten floorboards that unevenly lined the unstable floor and so he then decided to risk obtaining it as he put his silver pistols away into his shoulder holsters so that he might better balance himself before proceeding.
He then carefully started to slowly walk in across the most secure looking floorboard as it creaked and strained under his newly added weight. He tentatively made his way carefully across the solitary wooden beam and paused as he neared the halfway point of his quest and curiously noticed something rather peculiar through the corner of his ever alert eye. He stood there motionless within the centre of the room as the rain and wind swirled around him because he noticed that his efforts were being keenly observed by a large shadowy man whom was staring right at him from across the dimly lit street outside. The room’s gapingly vacant wall now provided a perfect viewing platform for any individual upon the street outside to see the precariously standing detective as he wobbled from side to side and struggled to keep his balance. This shadowy man’s round spectacles ominously gleamed with a fire of a nearby vagrants dwindling fireplace that was quickly extinguishing due to the bad weather.
The curious Zalewski thought that he must be mistaken about the mysterious stranger whom appeared to be looking directly at him and so he squinted his eyes in a vain attempt to get a better view of him but no matter how much he tried he simply could not see any discernible details upon the sinister stranger’s shadowy face. The preoccupied detective then ominously heard the sudden and loud ruffle of feathers coming from directly behind him and this alarming sound was then immediately followed by the rickety old door he had entered through, slamming loudly shut behind him.
Suddenly the wind and rain picked up its ferocity as leaves and trash now also started to swirl around him and the alarmed detective momentarily lost his balance as some of the supporting rotten wooden beams finally gave way. He could now see that the ruined kitchen lay below him with all of its sharp and disused drug paraphernalia lying dangerously upon the floor. Once he had regained his precarious balance upon the single slippery and rotten wooden beam, all the other wooden beams surprisingly gave way and fell into the awaiting kitchen below, further destroying it and adding yet more danger to his own grisly impact if he should fall. He rolled his eyes in contempt and became annoyed at himself for being so foolish as to risk this entire covert operation for a single bit of crime fiction which he speculated would probably not even be readable anyway.
He looked again for his prized bit of literature but it was now strangely absent from the rain soaked table which now only contained droplets of rain water, the same water that was now mercilessly swirling around him. He then once again heard the loud ruffle of feathers coming from directly behind him so he slowly and carefully turned around and was greeted by a disturbing sight from the blackest of nightmares. Lightening illuminated the old peeling wallpaper that lined the three remaining walls and showed that within one corner it had long ago been bizarrely coalesced into a cocoon-like structure which had a huge, sightless gaping cavity within its centre. This blackened cavity was dripping with a dark green slime and emitting the flow odour that he had initially detected prior to entering the room and the confused detective wondered how such a peculiar object could have formed.
He then desperately tried to keep his balance as the wind, rain and leaves cruelly lashed his body until he saw something flinchingly move from within the cocoon’s blackened hole. To his horror he then saw two huge circular and white owl eyes suddenly open up and focus directly on him with an extreme precision which caused the frightened detective to remain deadly still upon the solitary rotten wooden beam. The inhuman and otherworldly malevolent eyes filled him with an intense dread and he stood there petrified and motionless until the creature then suddenly flew out of the hole with such unnatural speed that he barley glimpsed the speedy massive winged beast.
/>
The doom bird frantically fly around him, shedding feathers as it did so and scratching at his flesh with its razor sharp talons until it then ceased its unprovoked attack and landed next to the closed door behind him. The bloodily scratched and terrified Zalewski then put all his desperate efforts in to balancing as he keenly surveyed the deadly drop that may await him if he fell. He then carefully turned around slowly upon the slippery wood to get a better view of the elusive winged beast that had so cruelly just attacked him. As he tentatively looked at the shadowy door whereby it had landed he saw a maddening sight that he speculated may not be real. It was some sort of bizarrely huge and dark feathered owl that was salivating an unspeakable slobber from its hidden beaked mouth. As he attempted to get a better view of the bizarrely frightening sight through the rain and wind, the creature then closed its unnatural eyes under a shimmering blanket of concealing darkness which mysteriously appeared to envelop it.
To his shock this shimmering blanket of darkness then metamorphosed into an oddly humanoid shaped figure which quickly became more defined as time passed. Soon the detective could see that the shadowy mass was now wearing a black inverness cape, concealing red balaclava over its unseen face and a large black slouch hat. The disbelieving detective could now not believe his untrustworthy eyes as he precariously wobbled upon the wooden beams because the creature had apparently taken the physical form of his favourite radio show and magazine hero, The Shadow.
He then vocalised his concern for his mental state as he awkwardly smiled at the newly formed humanoid figure “Seriously? You have got to be kidding me!” All of a sudden the humanoid shadow entity then abnormally glided effortlessly across the singular wooden beam and towards the startled detective, only revealing its true and grotesquely hidden face that had been blissfully concealed when it was upon him. As it grabbed the petrified detective with both its gloved hands and pulled him towards itself, he came to realise that it was not The Shadow at all but the malevolent, ancient hideous and tendril-faced alien god from his Weird Tales magazines called Cthulhu!
The Noir Evil Page 43