Part 7

A bullet train rumbled through the city. It raced through a tunnel, slicing through buildings and lawns, until it reached an open airfield. Two trains raced side by side, speeding towards the edge of town.

The driver of one said, "I don't see any towers."

The other driver said, "I don't see any buildings."

"We must be close," the driver of the first train said.

"Yeah," the driver of the second train said, "I think we found the right train." Suddenly, the two trains collided, sending both off the edge of the rail and into the valley below. The impact sent both men flying through the open air. Both men crash onto the hard, rusted train tracks.

The men slowly got up. One of them said, "We made it... Just in time."

The other said, "I think you're right," and looked at his watch. "We're 2 minutes early."

"Perfect," the first man said, "Let's do it."

The men stood at the tracks. They looked at the east side of town, where the sun would soon rise. "I don't think you're going to make it in time gentlemen," both men turned around to find a masked man appearing behind them. "You are going to be late," the masked man said, "If you want to make it to the meeting on time, you'd better run."

The two men turned around. "What the hell?!?" The masked man then pulled out a hunting knife, and began racing towards the men. The men raced away, until the masked man was almost within arm's reach. Then, the man behind the masks raced ahead, and the knife plunged deep into the man's back.

"No!" the victim shouted, "I don't want to go!"

Then, the knife plunged into the other man's back. "I don't want to go!" the victim said, "Please, don't make me go!" The knife moved forward, until it was almost out of the first victim's back. "Don't make me go!" the first victim said. Then, the knife plunged into the man's chest.

"And don't make me go!" the second victim said. Then, the knife plunged into the first victim's heart.

"No!" the first victim cried, "Please, don't make me go!" The knife plunged into his chest, and then into his heart.

"No!" the second victim cried. The masked man picked up the first victim and threw him onto the train tracks, he then turned towards the second man. "Run," he said, "Run for your life." The man began running, and the knife raced towards him.

"Please!" the second victim pleaded, "I don't want to die!"

The knife raced towards the man, until it was almost through his chest. Then, the victim dived sideways, slamming into the knife. The knife snapped in half, and both pieces of metal flew away. The victim collapsed onto the tracks, and the man raced away. Both men lay on the tracks, bleeding. "Thank you, gentlemen," the masked man said, disappearing into nothingness.

At that moment, the sun rose over the eastern mountains. It sent a ray of light over the open field, illuminating the two men on the tracks.

Eventually, the police were called - Lieutenant Oscar Polifka and his assistant Lucas Lumen were called to investigate the scene.

"Well," Polifka said, "This looks like a job for the Grim Reaper."

Lumen frowned. "I think you're right, sir," he said, "I do find it weird though that he's killing males now, do you think he grew bored of just killing blonde women?"

"I don't think it has anything to do with being male," Polifka said, "It has to do with being human."

"What do you mean?" Lumen asked.

"Well, if you were to think about it," Polifka said, "A reaper is an angel that God eventually takes a shine to. They die, and go to heaven, so to speak. So, if he's going to heaven, then he's not supposed to kill. It's not his nature. Male or female, it doesn't matter. It's a sin."

Lumen nodded slowly. "Sir," he said, "I guess you're right. I mean, it's just another weird thing this killer's done, it's not like we haven't seen a stranger."

"That's true," Polifka said, "But, this killer's going to keep doing these weird things, and the worst part is, we have no leads. Other than the general location of where he lives"

"Well, we know that this guy's a sadist," Lumen said, "That always makes things harder.

"Yeah, especially with the cops," Polifka said, "The cops are a dime a dozen. Whoever kills a cop is sure to get a pass from the media, and from the prosecutors. All we need is a good profile of this killer, and we might actually catch him. Now, we need to get these two to a hospital. I'm sure one of them is going to die if we don't get them to a hospital soon. Take care of them, Lucas. If you need more help, call the state Troopers."

"Yeah, sir," Lumen said, "I will. And, Lieutenant?"

"Yes?" Polifka asked.

"Thanks."

"No problem," Polifka said, "Now, let's get these two to a hospital, before one of them dies. "

Moments later, a nurse raced through the only hospital in the town of Grim, and rushed over to the two victims. She looked at the two victims, and frowned. "What have we here? Two males, both stabbed multiple times. I'm going to need to run some tests, but I'm not too optimistic about their chances. I suggest you stand by."

Moments later, the nurse had left, and a doctor had appeared. "The same tests," the doctor said, "But I'm hoping for better news."

"It's useless, sir," the nurse said, "We can give them the best medical care in the world, but eventually, they're still going to die."

"Yeah," the doctor said, "Unless..."

The doctor raced to one of the victims, and pulled a small box out of his pocket. "It's a defibrillator," the doctor said, "This should hopefully stop them bleeding to death."

"It's a bit dangerous," the nurse said, "They could end up putting the heart back into..."

"We're professionals," the doctor said, "We know what we're doing."

The nurse shrugged, and began wheeling one of the victims out of the room. The doc raced to the second victim, and began pushing the button. A small light lit up beneath the button, and the doctor pushed the button. A small jolt raced through the victim's body, and he began twitching violently.

"Amazing," the doctor said, "I don't know how this works, but with a bit of luck, this should put them into a coma, and stop the bleeding... for now."

"What happens if they're already dead?" the nurse asked.

"It shouldn't matter. These two were already dead, they just hadn't realized it yet."

"Yeah," the nurse said, "We should get one of the cops to check their vitals, just to make sure."

"Good idea," the doctor said, "And we'll need to get their IDs and information, just in case."

The nurse wheeled one of the victims into a nearby curtained-off area, and began pulling information out of his wallet. "Name's Scott Mason," she began, "Age twenty-three. From West Virginia."

The doctor raced over to the curtain, and began pulling information out of the other victim's wallet. "Name's Dan Erickson," he said, "Age twenty-four. From Colorado."

"Do we know how they knew each other?" the nurse asked.

"Train conductors," the doctor said, "On route to their next pick-up location."

"Oh, I see," the nurse said, "well, that explains how they knew they were on the same train."

"Separate trains, actually." the doctor corrected.

The two men were wheeled into different curtained-off areas, and the doctor told the nurse to make certain they didn't bleed to death, before leaving the room.