The Odd Cases

Case 2: Invisible

They crawl through the darkness, creeping towards you when you're walking through an empty hallway. They hide from the light to keep you off your toes. If you're paranoid, you're closer to being safe than most people. There are only a few of us that know they exist, let alone, know how to fight them. There weren't any witnesses to question this time.
I was alone in my apartment, eating breakfast at midnight. My gun rested in its holster on my chest. I saw a shadow in the corner of my eye and turned my head. Nothing there. The room became much colder. The hairs on my neck stood up and I tied my robe to warm up. My breath was visible. Another shadow moved. I pulled out my gun. "C'mon, I'm itching to see something bleed!" I said.
BANG
I aimed my gun at the door. BANG
I pulled back the hammer and tensed my muscles.
BANG
The door swung open to reveal The Bunnyman. "Come with me! We have to go, now!" He yelled. I ran and followed him out the door, grabbing my hat on the way. Ted opened the passenger door to the car and sat in the seat. I stared at him. "What're you doing?!" He yelled. "We have to go!"
"I don't have my license." I replied.
"Apparently, red lights mean stop and not speed up-"
"Well, I don't have one! You think a guy like me is gonna get a license?"
"If we get pulled over-"
"Oh, my god." Ted took the wheel, and started driving. We sat silent for ten minutes. "Hey," I said. "Where are we going?" The Bunnyman looked at me. "I don't know, but they are in your home AKA this city. So, in order to survive for now, we're leaving."
"Nope, stop. Explain."
He stopped the car. "They're souls that've been tainted in Loran. Sometimes, they're called The Kaijen."
"Who's Lauren?"
"Lo- Ran. The place where all souls go to rest, or whatever. They're tainted with betrayal, in life or in death."
"You've been talking with the kids, haven't you?"
"Are you doubting me, right now? They're teaching you magic! They enchanted your gun to kill evil spirits! And you don't think there's an afterlife?"
"Technically, it's an ancient language that the original society used to reshape reality, but yeah, I guess I get your point. Anyways, you said it yourself. My gun kills evil spirits. So, let's go kill them."
"It won't kill them."
"Why's that, then?"
"They're not evil, they're tainted. If they were inherently evil then you could, but they're not."
"Is anything inherently evil?"
"Politicians."
We pulled in to my newly rebuilt office building that I can barely afford, and walked up to my office. Jimmy, Tara, Vickey, and the kids were all sat in my office. Oh, Vicky was the clown girl. She's very skilled with a sniper rifle, combat trained, and likes long walks on the beach. I mean, not too long. Like maybe a few minutes. Otherwise, it would be tiring instead of relaxing.
"Howie," Vicky acknowledged my existence. How polite of her. "I guess you didn't bother to get dressed for work today." She sat back"I asked you not to call me that," I replied. "Don't get any ideas, either. If I had time to get dressed, I would have." Vicky eyed me suspiciously, then turned her head. "What was he doing when you grabbed him?" She asked impatiently. "Um," Ted looked at me, obviously confused by her question. "Does it matter?"
She glared at him until he cowered an answered. "Fine, Jesus! He was eating cereal." She turned her intense glare on to me. I let out a deep sigh. "Here we go."
"You're not sleeping, are you? You can't live like that, Howie-"
"Don't call me that."
"You have to sleep, sometime"
I stared at her. "Well I can't sleep right now. We have work to do, don't we Teddy? The Kaijun or whatever."
"The Kaijun have always been around."
One of the kids piped up. "What?" I said dubiously. "They're always around, they're harmless. Sometimes, when you're made aware of them, you'll notice them more often but they couldn't hurt a fly even if they wanted to." I glared at Teddy. He shifted his eyes to the ground. "Sorry, boss."
"It's fine, Teddy. I'd rather you tell me, even if they're not dangerous." I sighed. "I'm gonna go home, then"
"You should go to sleep." Vicky said.
I laughed. "How am I supposed to sleep on a mattress made of rocks?"
"You could always sleep on my mattress." I turned my head to Vicky, smiled, and winked. "Maybe I will sometime." Her eyes widened as her face turned blood red. "That's not what I meant, you pig!"
I returned to try to sleep. I never could in my house. My apartment never looked welcoming. Maybe it was the fact that I never dusted. Or the bookshelf with no books. Perhaps, it was the desk that was never clean. But, that night there was something a little more wrong with my apartment. On my bookshelf that never had a book on it, there layed an envelope. It had my initials on it.
I ripped the letter open. It read "come see me" and the return address was the prison just outside the city limits. I knew exactly who had sent for me. I decided to take a walk out there that night. Better sooner than later. I walked through the gates of the prison and requested to see the one, the only, Bernie Oswald.
"Visitor hours ended a long while ago. You're gonna have to wait." I almost turned tail and left but a voice stopped me. "Let him in." The guard led me through to the visiting room and sat me in the chair across from Oswald. A table sat between us. "You so much as move out of line and I will shoot you." The guard said. I barely noticed. I was too busy staring down Oswald. "Detective Walters," he said, finally acknowledging my presence. "What brings you to see me?" I glared at him. "It's Howard. Don't play dumb, Bernie, it's not a good look on you."
"Excuse me?"
"The note on my bookshelf. You said come see you. Now, tell me what you want before I lose my patience."
Oswald simply say back in his chair. "If I had sent for you. If. It would be so I could memorize the details of your face. So that, when I leave I'll know exactly what to look for. Or to spit at you."
I blinked. "When you leave? You've got three life sentences, no parole. You're never leaving. Oswald just smiled. "Be seeing you soon, old friend." Oswald motioned at the guard. He walked over and pointed his gun at me. "Time's up." I grabbed his gun and unloaded it. I glanced back at Oswald. "Be careful not to overstep your boundaries, Bernie."
I walked over to Vicky's house and knocked on the door. She opened it and glared at me. She was wearing a towel and her hair was wet. "So why is it you live all the way out here, anyway?" I said. She looked me up and down. "Aren't you going to come inside?"
"Don't you want me to, at least, enter the house first?"
I smiled and she blushed again. "That's not what I meant, dammit." I walked inside. Her place was very different from mine. Everything was tidy, she had dozens of books. "So, where's the bed?"
She laughed. "Good one, you're sleeping on the couch."
I approached her. "C'mon, sweetheart. Pretty please?" My lips engaged hers as her hand grasped my chest. Then she pulled back. "Couch." She said.
I groaned. "Fine, but no sex for you, lady."
"I don't want it from you, anyway."
"I don't know, I think you've been making it pretty obvious that you want me. Earlier, you said I could always sleep on your mattress."
"The key word is sleep. Not screw."
"And then you asked if I was going to come inside."
"Inside the house. Not- well, you know."
"Is that all?" I smiled, she laughed. "As a matter of fact, it is." She replied. I lied down on the couch. "What're you thinking about?" She asked. I sat up. "Nothing," I lied. "You should go to sleep." She walked away and I slept like a baby.
"Where is he?!" I awoke to see a blinding light in the sky. It was a light bulb. I sat up and turned my head to see Jimmy angrily screaming at Vicky. "He's not at his house." Vicky looked worried. "Is he at work?"
Jimmy rolled his eyes. "I think I would've noticed him at work."
"Maybe he's just working." Vicky suggested. "He seemed pretty off last night." Jimmy stared at her. "Did you write that note? I thought it was.."
"What note?"
"I have to go see Oswald. If anyone is involved in this, it's gotta be him."
I smiled. "Leave it to you, Sherlock. Some gumshoe you are. Figured out what I'm investigating but can't even see the guy you're looking for is right next to you." They just carried on talking. "Hello?" I stood and snapped my fingers. "Guys, you're really starting to freak me out." I reached for Vicky's arm but I went right through her. I looked down at my hands. "Oh my god. I'm dead." I reached over, grabbed a plate from Vicky's rack, and smashed it. I turned to face my friends. They looked just as confused as I felt. "No," I felt the table. "I'm worse than dead. I'm cursed! Dammit!" I punched the wall in frustration, warranting more confused looks from my friends. I looked at Jimmy. Perfect. I went out to his car and waited. He drove us to the prison. He took a deep breath before opening the car door. He approached the guard at the front gate. "I'm here to see Mr. Bernard Oswald." The guard led him down a dark hallway, as I followed close behind. He sat Jimmy down in the same chair I sat in. A table sat between them. "Make even a single move out of line, and I will shoot you."
Bernie adjusted his glasses.
"What can I do for you?" Jimmy glared at him. Atta boy. "Howard is missing. We can't find him. I know he came here last night, so just tell me what you told him." Bernie frowned. "Detective Walters has gone missing?" Jimmy smiled and threw a nasty right hook at Bernie. The guard aimed his gun at Jimmy, and I put my gun up to his head.
Bernie chuckled and signaled the guard, who put his weapon away. Bernie kicked the table into Jimmy, knocking him on to the ground. Jimmy groaned and spit up blood. Bernie stood over Jimmy with his foot on his neck. "I could let you walk out of here, right now. And you'd still never be able to see Detective Walters again." He reached and grabbed Jimmy's gun. "Thank you, you've served your purpose." Bernie turned, shot the guard, and stomped Jimmy's leg. "Goodbye," I shot Oswald, wounding his shoulder. He ducked behind the table. "Ah! Detective Walters!" He snapped his fingers. "So ends your misery. Your friends can see you again, now, how about some gratitude?" I shot at the table. "How's that for gratitude?"
He stood up and shot at me. "I'd get out of here if I were you. This isn't the type of thing you survive." He kicked the wall down. "Farewell, Detective!" I shot him in the knee. He limped as fast as he could. I ran to Jimmy. "Hey, c'mon, it's time to go." I said picking him up, and carrying him out of the hold in the wall. We approached his car as the prison exploded. Flames erupted from the building and filled the sky.
"So, you let him go?" Vicky said impatiently. She was sewing up Jimmy. "After everything you went through the first time, you let him go?"
"You weren't there." I replied. "He's been planning this. He wanted to make sure there was no one alive so he wouldn't have to run from police. They don't really hunt dead men."
"Which is why he blew up the prison. That's a lot of bodies. Not everyone would be accounted for. But why turn you invisible?" Jimmy said.
"Maybe he knew people would come looking." I replied.
"Why not just kill you at the prison? Why all the extra planning?"
"He went toe to toe with me once and lost. Maybe he wanted an easier target."
"I take offence to that. Ow! Watch the needle."
Vicky stopped. "You're good, Jimmy. You'll be fine. If he doesn't want anyone to know about his existence, doesn't it stand to reason that he would come for us?"
I paused. "Yes," I smiled. "But that means we know he's coming. Have you guys seen Ted?"
Vicky and Jimmy looked at each other and shook their heads. "Great." I said sarcastically. "He's drinking again. Take us to Maclaren's."
I walked in to the bar. It smelled of piss and booze. I couldn't tell which was which. I cupped my hands around my mouth. "Theodore Canton!" I looked around. "Over here,"
I approached Ted at the bar and sat on the stool next to him. "Hey, buddy."
He rolled his eyes took a shot. "Don't call me that. You know I know you can't stand me. No one can anymore. Another!" He said.
"Rum and coke, please," I said. "Teddy, you know it's kinda jarring. Some people can't handle it. It's not their fault." He broke the shot glass and turned to face me. "This wasn't my fault! I didn't ask for this, Howard! Not once, not one time did I ask for this!"
He stared at the bar. The bartender handed him another shot, and gave me my drink. We both drank. "Ted, I'm gonna be retiring fairly soon. Probably within the year. When I do, I want to put you in charge of this operation."
Ted looked up at me. "Not Jimmy?" I shook my head.
"Jimmy's my best friend and a hell of a detective, but he's not cut out for this. I finally convinced him to join the force after I retire." Ted nodded. "I'll do my best." I glanced at him. "Before you do that, Teddy, Oswald got out and I could really use your help bringing him in." Ted glared at me. "What do you mean? He's out?! That bastard isn't rotting in a cell?" I hung my head. "Listen, Ted, I know I screwed up, okay? But we have to put him away."
"No, Howard, he'll just get out again and again."
"What do you propose I do then?! I'm not hearing a ton of answers on what to do about a magic weilding serial killer."
"I think... A more permanent solution is needed." I stared at him.
"I'll do it. There's no guarantee he'll stay down forever but I'll do it."
"I can do it, Howard."
"No, it's gotta be me." We walked out of the bar and got in the car with Jimmy and Vicky.
"Everybody ready?" I said. "The office may very well be trapped. So, if anyone would like to get out, now is the time." Nobody budged. I smiled. "Good. I would've shot you."
We pulled up to the office. "If we survive, we should really start calling those clients back." I said. Ted looked up. "We have clients?"
"Ted, people call in all the time."
"Not a single one of you has ever informed me of this."
"Sorry, thought you knew."
"They turned my electricity off months ago, why have we not been taking clients?"
"Didn't think we needed the money."
"Howard, how do you keep the lights on? There's no way you could sustain a second job with your sleep schedule."
Everyone started to leave the car.
"Ted, let's go. What's the hold up?"
"I think I left my smokes in my other pants, I'll catch up."
Jimmy, and I approached the front door of the office. I opened the door and walked in. Nothing exploded which was a good sign. "Detective!" Oswald called us from upstairs. "I've been waiting."
We walked up the stairs. Oswald sat on my desk wearing a seemingly expensive, brand new suit. He had a double barrel pointed at us. "No demons this time, Oswald?" I asked.
He chuckled. "I do hate to get my hands dirty but I felt this needed a more personal touch. You've gotten in my way for the last time, Detective Walters." He raised the shotgun. "Really, Bernie? Really? I find that hard to believe."
A gunshot came through the window, hitting Oswald in the shoulder. Vicky was stationed on the building opposite ours with a sniper rifle. Shocked from the hit, Oswald pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Jimmy dropped to the floor. "No!" I ran towards Bernie and kicked the gun from his hands. He stood up and swung at me but I ducked. He kneed me in the chest. I felt my ribs crack. I punched him in the stomach and the face, but he was too strong. He lifted me by the throat. "Say goodbye, Detective." A figure approached from the stairwell. A pair of bunny ears revealed themselves. Oswald turned his head. "Theodore?" I pulled my gun from its holster and shot Oswald in the wrist. Ted jumped at Oswald and took him out of the window. They landed on the pavement. They both layed still for a second. The drop had temporarily incapacitated Ted. Oswald stood and composed himself. As Ted tried to stand, Oswald grabbed him and threw him at Vicky. He hit her directly and knocked both of them out. I frantically tried to grab Jimmy and get out of there. "Howie?" I looked up to see the child with a skull for a face. "Listen, you've gotta get out of here. The bad man is here, you have to go." I looked up and he was gone. His sister stood where he was. "Dammit, go with your-" Oswald grabbed me by the throat. He squeezed tight. I gasped for air and I saw the little girl burst. A blinding light filled the room and then disappeared. Oswald let go. I could barely breath. He walked from the stairwell to the window. The window that had previously been broken but now was repaired. Oswald looked out of the window. I creeped up behind him and pushed him out of the window. He fell flat on his face into the pavement. I cocked my gun and emptied it into him from the window.
I looked to the top of the building across the street. Ted and Vicky weren't there. "Wow," A voice approached from behind me. "So, that's how it ended. I've been waiting on that one a long time." I turned around to see a man with a skull for a face.