The black night covered the town, as faint yellow-orange street lamps and the white lights of the flat wide building were the only sources of light in this desolate area. A flagpole flying proudly, the American flag stood in front of the building. A blue sign reading:
𝙹𝙴𝚁𝙸𝙲𝙷𝙾 𝙲𝙾𝚄𝙽𝚃𝚈 𝙲𝙾𝚁𝙾𝙽𝙴𝚁 - 𝙼𝙴𝙳𝙸𝙲𝙰𝙻 𝙴𝚇𝙰𝙼𝙸𝙽𝙴𝚁
𝙳𝚁 𝚁. 𝙰𝙽𝚆𝙰𝚁, 𝙲𝙾𝚁𝙾𝙽𝙴𝚁
was across the road, positioned so drivers could clearly see what the corresponding building holds.
The blue sign also had a large, white, round symbol on it containing a landscape with a large dark green pine tree in the foreground, with hints of light green in its leaves and a cow and various stacks of hay tied with black rope on the pale green grass. There were other dark green trees in the background, some blue mountains beyond and the sky was pale yellow. The letters surrounding the picture read:
• • • 𝙲𝙾𝚁𝙾𝙽𝙴𝚁 • • •
𝙹𝙴𝚁𝙸𝙲𝙷𝙾 𝙲𝙾𝚄𝙽𝚃𝚈
Surrounding the flat, wide building was a forest of thin, black trees.
In the dead silence of night, there came from the building, a loud rattling and thudding.
Inside the building, the main lights were all off, only shadows covered the white walls and silver metal vents.
A big, severed hand bangs open a vent door in the ceiling, he tests the swinging metal, then swiftly jumps onto a white security camera, right under the vent.
Dr. Kinbott tells me I should get out more.
Thing skilfully rubs a large wad of black gum on the lens, then hops onto the floor, landing flat on his big palm.
Says I need to open my mind to new people and experiences. He's ignorant to the fact that Kochō ruined 'people' for me.
Thing quickly scuttles across the smooth floor and up a thin, white, metal pipe.
But who am I to argue with his professional clichés?
The top of the pipe had a white rectangular switch board with three buttons:
Green: OPEN
Yellow: STOP
Red: CLOSE
Thing promptly presses the green button, allowing the large, white, metal door to lift up.
The space was just enough for his pale Master in black to duck through, black slate in hand.
Thing then presses the red button and slides down the pipe.
"While I do the autopsy, you find the files of the monster's other victims and make copies." Saturday orders curtly, the pale lighting making him appear ghostly, and more deader than ever, while also giving him an equally dark, handsome, and merciless Grim Reaper image.
Thing taps loudly.
"Don't pout." came the curt, cold order. "Your scalpel skills are questionable."
Thing crawls slowly down the long metal table, towards his master, as the pale young boy in black unrolls his black bundle of investigative equipment: perfectly clean silver utensils of various small scissors, different sized saws, tweezers, files and small knives.
"Do you remember my 13th birthday, when Uncle Fester gave me that cadaver?" the boy asks cooly, adjusting the black cloth slightly on the metal surface of the tray right beside the table.
"You sliced right through that man's carotid." the boy says accusingly to the big pale severed hand in front of him.
Thing gives a resigned tap with his thumb.
Saturday sighs deeply.
Thing quickly scuttles off the tall metal table as Saturday proceeds to open a metal refrigerator door.
It contained a dead body of a bald old man,
"No." the boy quickly slammed the tray shut.
He opens another door, revealing another dead body, the frosty mist bellowing out of the refrigerator.
"No." he inhales appreciatively. "Magnificent hematoma." he adds with relish. The metal door slams shut.
Thing scuttles out of the room. He pushes open and enters a room that had two black rectangular signs with white writing, one on top of the other, it read:
PHOTOCOPY
ROOM
PLEASE KEEP CLOSED
Saturday opens another metal door. "There you are." he says coldly, pulling out a pale corpse of a man. It was the tramp from the forest, with short bloody wounds on his wrinkly forehead.
The boy swiftly pulls out a black voice recorder device. "Thursday, 7:23 p.m. The body is that of a 50-year-old male." he spoke cooly and calmly in his deep, smooth voice.
In the photocopy room, Thing presses a button on the large white photocopier and the machine whirs as it goes to work.
The severed hand taps a forefinger impatiently on the exposed plastic, the heavy lid lifted, as a paper flies out. He places another paper onto the copier.
Saturday lifts up the white cloth covering the naked corpse.
"Lacerations and defensive wounds appear on both hands." the boy had one large, pale, black nail polished, long fingered hand holding the rectangular recording device to his luscious lips and the other holding up the white cloth. "What remains of the chest and torso indicates a frenzied attack. Subject has been almost entirely disemboweled." he speaks quickly into the device.
Thing precedes to tap anxiously on the copier, then scuttles to the window as he hears the sounds of a vehicle approaching. The half open venetian blinds creating straight shadowed lines on the pale hand.
The severed hand separates a gaping hole in the metal blinds with his forefinger, the rest of his fingers holding down the blinds beneath.
After confirming, he lets go of the blinds and slides down the white drawer, the yellow light of the vehicle casting a warm glow in the room.
Saturday peers inside the long tray, and sharply notices the man's missing foot, torn away violently by a beast.
He moves the device under his chin. "This is curious. Subject's left foot is missing. It appears to have been chewed off at the ankle." he briefs curtly, examining the severed ankle as icy mist continuously pours out of the end of the tray.
Thing quickly scuttles out of the photocopy room, pushes open the door to the morgue and scuttles inside. He stops under a metal bench.
"Have you seen a left foot anywhere?" questions his Master, obsidian eyes piercing through him.
Thing starts tapping frantically and moving erratically.
"Calm down. Who's coming?" inquires the pale boy, glancing quickly towards the door.
Thing slides his second and third finger against the floor before scuttling off.
With an annoyed expression, Saturday quickly slides the tray back into the refrigerator and slams the metal door shut.
The inside door of the building opens and two figures step in. One a tall, tan, middle-aged man. The other a thinner and equally tall grey haired man.
"Appreciate you coming back to the office, Doc." the Sheriff, in his coat and wide brimmed hat says to the man with grey and white hair and a thick beard.
"No problem, Sheriff." the man says curtly, taking off his coat and folding it over his arm. "Whatever I can do to help."
He pushes open the door to the morgue as the two walk inside.
"What if whatever or whoever is responsible for these killings...In all my years, I've never seen injuries like them." comments the doctor in his suit, vest and tie.
A clattering sound was heard.
The pair walk past a standing skeleton of a human.
"I thought you should see this before I issued my report on the latest victim." the man steps next to a refrigerator with a transparent glass. "It's a real noodle-scratcher." the refrigerator contained a severed foot with a missing big toe and half the second toe, in a large jar filled with clear, preserving liquid. A yellow sticker on the glass with black lettering read:
HAZARDOUS
CONTENT
The sticker also had a black nuclear sign on top of the writing.
The doctor opens the clear glass door and the Sheriff pulls it to the side.
The grey haired man stares intently at the jar, the white bone and red meat showing clearly in the missing big toe and half missing second toe.
"The killer cut off two toes from the victim's left foot." the doctor had a slight Indian accent. "Best guess, they used a surgical saw." he comments, his left arm leant against the vertical metal supporting the refrigerator, the ring on his fourth finger glinting brightly.
The pair look at each other.
"The final autopsy report's still pending." he concludes.
The Sheriff looks back at the foot.
"Minute you're done, send it straight to my desk." he orders.
He looks back at the doctor, motioning with his head. "Media blackout on the toes." the dark blue, golden trimmed badge on the front of his hat and jacket glinting brightly from the light emitted from the refrigerator.
The man nods curtly. "Sure thing, Sheriff." he moves his hand lower on the refrigerator.
"Been a busy couple of weeks, huh?" he asks to the Sheriff's back as the grey haired man moves to go out of the morgue.
She turns around to face him, stopping next to the white human skeleton next to the door with a removable skull top.
"At least I'm going out in style. Friday's my last day." he says loudly, smiling broadly and flashing his straight white teeth.
The Sheriff gives a brief nod, his expression solemn.
"Happy retirement, Doc." he replies quietly.
"Gonna surprise Mrs. Anwar with a four-week cruise." the doctor states proudly to a wry chuckle from the Sheriff.
"Excited to trade rib shears for Mai Tais." the man points with his finger.
The Sheriff turns around to face the Doctor once more. The man was overworked and tired, and it showed on his features. He gave Dr. Anwar another polite smile.
The Doctor motions with his eyebrows.
"See yourself out. I'll lock up." he states simply.
The Sheriff opens one of the two heavy white doors and walks out.
Dr. Anwar grabs his coat, which he had laid on a counter and looks around, not noticing the slight movement of the white door, with a round window and the block of grey painted under the silver, metal handles.
He furrows his eyebrows in thought and walks over to the large metal refrigerators containing the investigative corpses. He thought it was odd that one of the doors in the very bottom row was open ajar.
He leans down and pulls open the metal door and slides out the tray...
The man comes face to face with the corpse of a ghostly pale teenage boy with perfectly sculpted features on his sharp face: a tall nose, thin black eyebrows and luscious frozen lips, shiny raven coloured hair and deep mesmerising obsidian eyes, dressed in all black.
"I don't remember this one coming in." he mutters strangely to himself while frowning at the deadly pale face.
He pokes a rigid cheek.
"Full rigour. You've been dead a while. Guess you won't mind waiting another day for me to cut you open." he comments, smiling with his eyebrows crunched together.
He pushes the tray back into the refrigerator and closes the metal door, then stands up straight.
The doctor stalks swiftly out of the room, closing the door as he does so.
Thing opens the top half of the skull belonging to the complete human skeleton and climbs down its ivory white bones.
The pale, severed hand opens his Master's metal compartment and scuttles next to his rigid head.
The boy head gives the slightest of movements towards the hand.
"Five more minutes." he requests, cool mist surrounding the edges of the metal tray he was lying on. "I was just getting comfortable." his soft, deep voice had an edge to it as the boy gives the faintest of satisfied smirks.
Thing quickly scuttles out.
☟☟☟