The Moonlight Killer

Chapter 1- The lost peace.

The Moonlight Killer

Chapter 1-The lost peace

The year was 1854. It was early winters in England. Nights were darker, colder, unusually silent and eerie. Women were afraid, men were circumspect, protective. Moon would light the streets at night but, the light was feared as if, it was the devil itself. Not because of the light itself, but of what it meant. Entire London, was under an eclipse.

It were the full moons. People would lock their doors, windows, and kept any form of offence they had, primed. But, the claim was fate. It seemed unchangeable, unavoidable. Any venture against the treachery seemed futile. No one saw, heard, or sniffed anything until it was too late. And who did, crossed the boundaries far beyond our reach to the otherworld.

It had been four months, the trail did not seem to end. The efforts were made since the first claim but, the returns were unworthy. Nothing seemed to work. The patrols did not see anything, did not hear anything. It was like, the entity was unmatched.

People started to seem skeptic towards the expertise of the detectives, police, and other bodies responsible for their protection. The crowd started to turn towards black markets, illegal form of selling bodies to buy weapons and, the exploits seemed almost justifiable. They turned to anyone, or anything who, or which could clinch their safety in any form. This led to people believing less on protective bodies, more on weapons they should not have in the way they did, and themselves. Police lost trust and significance, detectives lost relevance. It was all a massacre.

The words of claims in London were all along the lengths and breadths of England. Every ear heard in one way or another, readers saw it in papers, fear grew, the police patrols were strengthened, people found even more ways to corroborate their safety but, all of it, meant nothing.

It was already four and next was on the nearest full moon. It almost, turned to a matter of chance. Every full moon, people would shiver, tremble, and lose themselves in fear. Every attempt of protection would be tried, every way of ingress would be locked, every medium of offence would be primed, the patrol units would be increased every time, but the returns, would be, null. Even the mightiest close their eyes when they meet death. These were, normal people.

It was a game of "Who would be next?". People prayed for their close ones to not meet this dreadful end. People met and checked on everyone, even their enemies before every full moon, as, they might never see each other again. Neighbors hugged each other, had brunch together just. To life each other up. People wanted the night to end, trembling with fear and, if they and their loved ones were not the hunted, the news next day was dreadful but at this point, not a surprise.

The murders were mostly by the neighbors as after the end of the night, people checked on each other's family. People opted for more politics than ever before, became selfish, the uplifting before the night was a show and, the real colours were hidden. The news were published on the evening papers under the headline "Another claim" and the body count was printed with quite, a big font. The papers added fear, gossips even more so, and the light of the full moon was the most frightening phenomena people saw for quite a brief time.

Every murder was the same method of kill. A slit on the throat of the first victim in a house, and the body was dragged near the main entrance as if, the murderer wanted to show it. The other occupants met the same fate. The victims normally were small families. It seemed like a family of more than three members were safe or now. The crimes were four on number but, the body count was seven. First, a family on the western side of central London, a husband and his wife. Second, a family on the opposite, a mother and her daughter. Third, near the outskirts, a single man aged 24. And fourth, a seasoned couple.

Every murder was similar, eerie, and had no clue or indication of the kind of human who did it, no clue. On the nearest wall near the entrance where the bodies were laid for display, a creepy, poetic message would be present, written with the blood of the victims. It went like-

"The moon was full, shined bright last night,

The sacrifice was made,

Another herd met their fate

Another will when, the moon shines great.

Who will be next?"

They rhyme rang through people and the entire country and, the measures were topped. But, the murders, were flawless. It was like, there was no escape. Another full moon, another family.

The killer, the unknown entity, who managed to strike fear in the hearts of withered England, was named by the people, "The Moonlight Killer". The search was initiated since the first claim. Who ever the killer was, needed to be caught. Lives were at stake, people were afraid, police were shaken. However, this was only, the beginning.

The last claim, the entity, apparently out of generosity, wrote a cryptic message, decrypting which seemed, impossible. It was at first, assumed to be some sort of clue. Maybe about who they were, or about the next location, or, about the purpose but, it was for now, unconceivable. Brains were hired but, the results were null. Maybe it was a decoy. No one knew. Another full moon was on its way.

To be continued...........