I brushed the loose dark curls from my face before I tried to focus on keeping my hand steady as I applied my burgundy lipstick. I peered up at the mirror, noticing the way my black latex dress gleamed in the bathroom lights. Mackenzie appeared behind me in the mirror a minute later, still dusting the baby powder we used to get this dress on me off of her own clothes.
She grinned as she took in my look exclaiming, "You look amazing!"
I chuckled, "Thanks."
"Chris isn't going to know how to act when he sees you."
I rolled my eyes muttering, "Oh, hush."
A knock on the door stops our conversation short as Mackenzie goes to answer it. I check my phone, seeing that I should call Chris and let him know that I was ready to go. Peeking out of the bathroom I saw Mackenzie waving goodbye to Kamaria before shutting the door as the other girl turned to go. She turned around, thumbing through a leather-bound book, looking confused.
She glanced up at me, sounding slightly concerned as she asked, "What is this?"
I gently slid the black book from her hands and instantly knew what it was. "I asked Kamaria if I could borrow this. I just didn't expect it to look so old."
"What's it about?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but I do know that she said that her brother got it from the cult that worships Jack the Ripper." I explain as I take a seat on my mattress, flipping through yellowing pages of swirling texts and crude drawings.
Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Are you serious? That's fucking creepy. Why do you want to read something like that?"
"I think it might help me prove that Chris is innocent."
"Do you think this cult could have something to do with the murders?"
"Maybe, but I'm still not certain. It could be them, the cop, or...it might be Chris after all."
She frowned, "But he's the last person you want it to be, isn't he?"
I glanced down at my red nails as I nodded. Just considering the possibility that Chris could be a murder had my chest aching. I would hate to think that I had been helping him commit these crimes somehow by telling him about that cop being after him.
The sound of my phone ringing on the end of my bed pulled my focus back.
Mackenzie grabbed the cellphone to read the screen and held it out to me murmuring, "Speak of the devil."
I shake my head at her and answer the call, but as soon as he spoke, I knew something wasn't right.
"Amber, you're going to kill me, but I can't even get out of bed. I got another one of these fucking migraines. I don't even know why, but I'm getting them all the time now."
All my thoughts about the plan to go spy on Hudson took a back seat as I asked, "Do you think you should see a doctor?"
He sighed heavily, "I think I might have to."
"Alright, well don't worry about our plan, I'll take care of it." I reassure him.
"You can't do that, you shouldn't go by yourself. If Hudson really is the one committing these murders, you'll just be putting yourself in danger." He argues in an urgent voice.
I shut my eyes and let out a deep breath before finally saying, "Okay, you have a point."
"If I end up feeling any better soon, I'll call you and let you know."
"No, it'll be alright. We'll get to the bottom of this another way. You need to just rest."
Once I had gotten off the phone and then explained to Kenzie what this night out was supposed to be about, I announced, "I'm still going regardless."
"Without Chris? But that isn't safe."
I bit at the inside of my lip as I considered what else I could do, and then I got an idea. "You and Cody can go with me. You two will just have to wait outside for me and I'll send you texts to let you know what's happening."
"Cody went out with Blake and a few other guys, remember?"
"Son of a bitch." I curse under my breath and then Lea steps in the room. "She can come then."
She stopped in her tracks as she scanned what I had on. "I can come where? What the hell are you wearing?"
I glanced down at the time on my phone, I needed to be leaving. I sat my hat on my head and pulled on my overcoat saying, "I'll explain on the way, let's go."
Mackenzie didn't hesitate to throw on her own coat and grabbed Lea's arm to pull her along with us. I gave Lea the rundown of what was going on and for a moment she was silent as she appeared to process all the information I had given her.
As we stepped off the campus grounds, she shook her head muttering to herself, "This is absolutely insane."
Thankfully though, she didn't turn around and head back inside like I feared she might. She still asked me countless questions as we made our way to the train station, but I didn't mind. It kept me from freaking out. I was still secretly worried about what I was going to do. What if I actually saw something happen? How was I going to handle the situation on my own?
By the time we reached London, I was feeling extremely anxious, but I knew that I couldn't back out now. I lead the way to the Torture Garden, my stiletto heels clicking loudly against the pavement as we approached.
I pulled my friends aside a few buildings away from the venue and told them, "If I don't answer after twenty minutes, come look for me."
Mackenzie was clearly nervous, but she nodded regardless.
Lea though, finally decided that she had to put in her two cents as she questioned, "Why exactly are you doing all this to help Chris? You barely know each other and yet you're risking your safety for him."
"Because if I don't do it, I don't think anyone else will." I state and she opens her mouth to retort, but I cut her off, "I don't want to fight about this, just make sure to keep an eye on your phone."
"Well, good luck." She surprises me by hugging me tightly and murmuring, "This dress is sticky."
I chuckled as she let me go and made sure to hug Mackenzie as well before heading off in the direction of the club. The large tan building was much more intimidating now that I was by myself, but I put on a brave face and got in line with the rest of the people outside of the building. They were all giddy and chattering happily. This was a fun event for them and I found a small part of myself wishing that I could feel the same way.
After I paid my way in, I was guided to an area where people could change and have their belongings held as they went into the party. I turned in my coat, revealing my outfit to all these strangers. None of them seemed to pay me any mind, some of their looks were much more elaborate and risqué, so I wasn't really much to gawk at compared to them.
I made sure to text Kenzie that I had gotten in alright, before I went towards the sound of thumping base down a dimly lit hallway. The inside of the Torture Garden was a wondrous sight. Near the back of the large room, there was a stage with someone performing something with fire, but I wasn't focusing on that. I knew that I had to somehow find Hudson among the growing crowd. I wove my way through groups of dancing people, a bit shocked to see that some were already running around nearly or totally naked.
The spinning and flashing neon lights made it hard to truly make out anyone's face and that worried me. How the hell was I going to find that cop in all of this? I gazed around until I spotted a staircase and decided that I might have a better chance of spotting him from the higher vantage point.
The atmosphere was much calmer up here, but the sound of a wail of pain instantly changed my mind. I scanned the masses of people below me, trying to somehow miraculously spot Hudson's head of long stringy hair. I found myself wondering how he even got to be an officer with a hairstyle like that. Another even louder shriek broke me out of my focus as I whipped my head around to see if I could spot the source of the noise.
I saw a girl strung up to a cross, but she was gagged, so it was highly unlikely that it had been her. My eyes darted around the room until they finally landed on another girl in a mask strapped to a bed that resembled a surgical table. Her exposed flesh was bright pink with red welts running up the back of her thighs. Even as she shouted again, her eyes rolled back in her head. I became lost in the sight of her bound to the table, trembling slightly on her hands and knees. She was dancing on the razor's edge of pain and pleasure, it was truly hypnotizing.
Something about BDSM had always fascinated me, but now seeing something like this gave me a whole new sense of curiosity. I had been so caught up in watching this woman that when the cane that struck her back, it caused me to jump. My gaze shifted to the person giving her this treatment and then a sense of coldness blew over me like a gust of wind.
Chris stood towering over her, looking like some sort of divine deity.
I sucked in a gasp of air that remained trapped in my throat and blinked a few times to make sure it wasn't a trick of the light. A flurry of emotions came over me, but confusion and anger were the strongest. Part of me wanted to march over to him and demand why he had lied to me. I remained rooted to the spot despite my urges, watching the way the dominance he had over her transformed him into something I didn't recognize. My heart pounded as I waited for the moment that his gaze would lift to find me gawking at him.
His tall form looked sleek and dangerous in what appeared to be a black long-sleeved leather zip up top along with some black PVC pants and heavy boots. He also had a solid black military officer's hat perched on his head, his hair underneath it appeared slicked back other than the few pieces that had fallen onto his forehead somehow. Something about his dark makeup gave him an animalistic appearance and I had to push away countless thoughts I had about the look.
The only thing that kept me from running out of this place was my need to know if Chris actually was the Ripper's copycat.
My jaw tightened as I continued to watch the scene between Chris and the masked woman. He seemed to be showing her absolutely no mercy as he delivered blow after blow to her abused skin. Was this the real Chris? Had he been the monster we were seeking out all along? I turned my eyes from the sight for a moment to gather my racing thoughts, but another thing caught my interest.
Hudson was on the outskirts of the crowd watching Chris's actions. The man's gaze was solely on Chris, but I still wondered if he had spotted me here as well. I felt vulnerable standing out in the open like I was, so I snuck behind a pillar that was close by. I could still see them both from where I hid, wondering what the hell I was going to do now. I felt like a mouse trying to hunt two large hungry cats.
I knew that I was in over my head, but I couldn't just leave this situation behind without being certain of who the real criminal was. I took in a deep breath to attempt to calm my nerves and continued to observe them. It was clear to me that this was only going to get harder to figure out from here on out.