Part 6

Lucas and Oscar made their way through the filthy alley. He was amazed at what a mess the alley was, but then, his eyes adjusted to the darkness. They were careful to stay close to the walls of the buildings, although Lucas found it necessary to keep his eye on the alleyway ahead of them in case they had to make a quick move to get away from some unseen danger.

He did notice a little bit of light coming from behind the dumpster that was on the opposite side of the alley from them, but he found it of little importance.

Oscar noticed a little of it, too. He said, "There's a light behind the dumpster, but I don't think it's enough to come through the hole that we need to go through."

Lucas nodded. "Just keep walking. I'll lead us into the other end of the alley."

"OK," Oscar said, "You know I don't like those dark places."

"Shhh," Lucas said. They continued walking, and Lucas said, "I see the light of the dumpster there, about fifty yards down the alley."

"OK, let's go."

Lucas took his right hand off his revolver, he held it over his head and said, "Stop!"

They heard someone run towards them, and they both ducked behind the trash dumpster. A moment later, they found a young woman hiding behind the dumpster across from them. She was in her twenties, with really short hair and a very irritated look on her face. It was Shelley Hauswirth.

"What do you want?" she asked, "What's going on?"

Oscar said, "We should be asking you that?!"

She frowned. "What do you mean? I haven't done anything!"

"We were in the neighborhood and thought we'd stop by for a visit," Oscar said, "that's all."

"What's all?"

"All of this," Oscar said, indicating the whole scene with his hands.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"We received a clue that the killer lives around here, so we came to search for clues."

"What clues?"

Oscar pointed to the dried blood on the wall of the dumpster, "He was here."

"I was here," Lucas said, "but nobody came with me."

"What?" Oscar asked.

"He was here, but he's gone now."

"Oh."

"You OK?" Oscar said.

"Yeah, thanks," Shelley said, "Just needed to hide from the murderer."

"I wouldn't worry about hiding from the killer, I'm pretty sure you're safe." Lucas calmly stated.

"I'm pretty sure I'm not," she said, "He might still be out there!"

"Maybe, but I doubt it," Lucas said, "I'd know if there was a killer in this town."

"How do you know?"

"Just... Just cause. I have that feeling, you know?" Lucas responded.

"That's good," Oscar said, "But we don't have time for 'just causes'."

"I'm just saying," Lucas said, "that there could be one out there, hidden, waiting."

"There probably is," Oscar agreed, "It was nice talking to you, Hauswirth, but we have an investigation to get to."

"Of course," Hauswirth said, "Anything I can do to help."

Oscar and Lucas left the young woman there, and Oscar said, "Let's go."

They continued down the dark alley. It was so dark, Lucas Searchlight wasn't enough to see their way.

"Stop," Oscar said, "We can't see anything, we should head back."

"No," Lucas said, "we can't be giving up so easily."

Oscar said, "Why are you now so determined?"

"Because," Lucas said, "I'm not giving up, and neither should you."

They kept going, and a few minutes later, Lucas said, "Stop here."

Oscar followed Lucas' gaze, and stopped at the end of the alley. A young woman sat against the dumpster, her back to them, with a plastic bag over head. She wore a ratty blue dress with a lot of holes in it and no shoes. Her feet were grimy. She had long dirty blonde hair, and she was extremely bruised. She looked like she had been beaten badly.

"No one needs to know we were here," Lucas said, "We'll just get a few clues and be on our way."

"Lucas, we can't just leave her here." Oscar scolded.

"Look around," Lucas said, "There's hardly anyone here."

Oscar looked around. He said, "We should help her."

"No," Lucas said, "if we take her with us, it could put her in danger."

"She's in danger already," Oscar said, "By staying here, she's just a bit safer."

"No, Oscar, I can't. If I do, they'll know we were here. I can't let them find us."

"Lucas, we're cops," Oscar said, "Why would they question us?"

"Because, Oscar, they know I'm a vampire. They'll assume I'm working with the killer." Lucas confessed, tears running down his face.

Oscar said, "The fuck?"

"It's just for a little while, until we can get out of here," Lucas said, "If we leave her to fend for herself, she'll be safer."

Oscar said, "I can't believe you're leaving her to fend for herself, given what you just said about them suspecting you. Also, how the hell are you a vampire?" Oscar asked.

"I'll explain on the way," Lucas said, "Come on."

The pair of them walked down the dark alley, away from the young woman. They were so dark, their lights didn't reveal them. Oscar's mind was still lingering on how Lucas said he was a vampire. They kept walking, not noticing the man watching them from an alley. He saw them, but they didn't notice him.

"I thought you said this was a dumpster," Oscar said, "This is a door, Lucas!"

"I know," Lucas said, "But it's dark as a cave and no one can see us." They walked past the dumpster. The man said, "Hey!" Oscar turned around. It was the masked man.

"Get rid of the light," he said, "Or I'll have to hurt you."

Oscar put away his light.

"Good," the man said, "Now we can talk in the dark."

Oscar said, "Why have you been following us, and who the hell are you?"

"I haven't been following you," the man said, " You've been following me."

"What?" Oscar said, confused.

"Yeah," the man said, "I've been following you since you left the station."

Oscar frowned, "Who are you?"

"I'm the man you're searching for, except... I'm also not the man you're searching for... I'm... Something more... Special."

Oscar said, "What?"

"I'm... I'm..." The man said, "I'm... Nothing. I have no name."

Oscar said, "How can you have no name?"

"Because, I'm a figment of your imagination." The masked man responded.

Oscar said, "What do you mean?"

"I'm a figment of your imagination," the man said, "I am what you make me."

Oscar said, "What the hell?"

"Exactly," the man said, "Now, go ahead and continue searching. Continue searching for the man you've been searching for."

Oscar said, "But you're the man we're searching for, why are you asking us to continue searching if you're right here?"

"Because," the man said, "I know you're going to find me before you find him... Or her."

Oscar said, "What makes you say that?"

"Because," the man said, "I'm your figment."

Oscar said, "Are you?"

The man said, "Yeah," and laughed, "If you didn't think I was real, you'd hit me with that flashlight right now."

Oscar said, "You're a ghost?"

"Something like that, yeah."

"Can you... can you leave me some kind of message, that I might be able to find you again?" Oscar asked.

The man said, "Maybe."

Oscar said, "Why?"

"No reason."

Oscar said, "Okay."

The man said, "Remember," and vanished, "If you find the killer, if you find a way to stop this happening, turn yourself in. They won't torture you. You're a cop. You have rights. They won't break you."

Oscar said, "Yeah, thanks."

Oscar and Lucas walked away.

"What was that?" Oscar asked, "I didn't get his name."

"Yeah, well now you can see that I'm not the killer, so that's good." Lucas smirked.

The pair of them kept walking down the dark streets, until they reached the end, where a white sign was posted. The sign read: "The end is near. The reaper draws near." The sign frightened Oscar and Lucas.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Oscar said, "And who the hell's reaper?"

"Oh, I get it," Lucas said, "It's talking about the Grim Reaper."

"Yeah," Oscar said, "So?"

"So? I'm a vampire, I've never heard of the Grim Reaper." Oscar looked at the sign.

"Actually, I think you'll find that very funny," Oscar said, "Because at this point in time, I think the Grim Reaper's laughing his head off."