The Girl With Metal Claws

Falling to Rise

ELLIOTT

43 Joseph Street was possibly the shadiest area in the city of Wellspring. Bars, gambling dens, abandoned houses and secretive people. Elliott had his coat on with a beret to make him look older than he already was.

He knew his way around because the two years he had been working with George, he was familiar with every street, hideout and corner of the city.

Elliott knew that if the serial killer was smart enough, he wouldn't go to the same places to hunt other victims because he'd know the police or detectives would be watching over those places.

So Elliott decided to go with his guts and patrol over similar areas which were more prone to be the next crime spot.

Fred has asked him to follow through the places he suggested but he wasn't listening to Fred's orders. Elliott never liked doing so.

Elliott tucked his hands in his pockets, looking around while walking. He could see a bar two blocks away. There were bouncers outside the bar too, chatting and being alert.

Elliott had to be careful.

He took out his phone from his back pocket and held it in his ears. Then he started pretending to have a conversation with someone. That way he could look less suspicious and might get away from the people outside the bar.

"Where are you? I can't find the bar you told me to meet in. These streets are too confusing." He pretended to be on his phone while walking rapidly past the bar without dragging attention.

"Stop." The voice of a guard, posted outside the bar, called out. Elliott squinted his face in disappointment. His million-dollar acting got shut off in a moment.

Because he was a new face in those streets so, him, attracting attention was common.

He turned around to face the guard.

"Where are you going?" The guard said.

"To Big Beef Bistro. But I can't find the bar, can you show me the directions?" Elliott continued his act as he said the wrong bar name to make himself believable.

"You mean Big Beaver Bistro?" The guard said, uninterested. Elliott nodded.

"You new here?" The guard said, scanning him.

"I'm meeting a friend," Elliott said, with a small smile. He was hesitating inside because if the guard asked for his ID, things would be complicated.

The guard looked at him up and down suspiciously and then huffed.

"After two blocks, take a left. Go." The guard said. Elliott nodded once, trying not to show the relief on his face. He turned back around and started walking, pretending to analyse the streets.

Suddenly, someone walked up to him and put his arm around his shoulder.

"On second thought, let me escort you there." Said the guard, walking with him.

Panic took over Elliott for a moment. If the guard follows him to the bar, he'd catch his lies. Then he'd be made to confess his business there and in the meantime, he'll also be made to expose George and the illegal detective agency.

As they walked together, closer and closer to the bar by each step, Elliott felt the guard's suspicious eyes on him. A pit formed in his stomach, he had to escape.

He thought of Jack and tried thinking like him. Jack was a great escape artist and Elliott wished he was there with him.

"Almost there," the guard said, mocking Elliott. The guard's grip on Elliott's shoulder got tighter. He was definitely going to get him arrested if the guard found out he was underaged

Elliott could see the Big Beaver Bistro at a distance. They were about to take a left when suddenly, a shrill scream of a girl came from the right side of the road.

Everyone around, including the guard, got alerted and people started running towards the girl's voice. The guard hesitated for a bit but then ran to the right side, taking Elliott with him.

They reached the area where a crowd was already gathered. The guard let go of Elliott and fished through the crowd to see what was going on.

This was the opportunity for Elliott to run but instead, he followed the guard to look at what happened.

As he reached the middle of the crowd, Elliott stopped short at what he saw. A person sitting with his back leaned on the wall, dead. Deep scratches and blood all over his body, his eyes were open wide.

A woman was gasping and crying, standing in front of the dead man, she looked traumatised.

"What happened?" Someone from the crowd asked.

"The woman came out from a bar and was walking back home when she noticed the body. She screamed for help." Another person replied.

Elliott looked around cautiously as he stepped out of the crowd. He was right. The serial killer was here and might be anywhere around the area.

Elliott wouldn't miss this chance.

He ran towards the opposite side of where the body was found. As soon as he saw an alley, he walked in and pulled out a knife that he had in his backpack and hid it in his clothes.

If he had to die today, he wouldn't die helplessly.

He continued to walk through the alley, having his alert eyes trace every corner, shadow and even rooftop. He kept his walk silent but fast-paced.

That's when Elliott reached Willow Street. Empty and abandoned. With just one dim streetlight and the moon, he tried sticking to the shadows of the dark lanes.

That's when, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a dark shadow pass through at a distance and enter the passage on his right side.

Elliott flinched a little, fear tugged at his sleeves. Quickly, he sent the emergency signal to the agency from his phone and activated one little tracking chip, which Fred had given him. He put the tracking chip on himself that'd help the agency to know his location.

Gathering up all the courage he had, he exited the lane to enter the passage the shadow disappeared in. He had no idea what was waiting for him inside the passage, but he was thrilled. He lived for it.

He placed his hand on his knife as he entered the dark passage. The light was barely falling on the path ahead but he decided to keep moving with hushed but fast feet.

A minute into the passage, his breath hitched in his throat. He was looking at a dark figure moving deeper and deeper into the passage.

The closer Elliott looked at the figure, the more humanlike it looked. It was the serial killer, it had got to be him, Elliott thought.

A black hood completed hid his entire body and his wide and tall frame. The figure had a laid back but alerted walk.

There was no way Elliott could fight or confront him face to face so he decided to put his knowledge to use.

Elliott stopped following the serial killer and entered an alley that connected the passage he was into, to the next passage. He ran quickly through the alley and ended up in the next passage. That's when he started dashing through that passage.

"If that man is in passage A and I'm in passage B then, as far as I know, there must be another alley that'll take me back to passage A faster than he can reach by the pace at which he's walking," Elliott murmured under his breath, trying to convince himself than he can do it.

Without wasting another moment, Elliott ran through passage B and reached the alley that would get him to the passage the serial killer was in. All his plan was based on his assumptions and he relied on them.

He quietly moved through the alleyway to reach the mouth of passage A. He seized a good look at both sides of the passage to make sure the criminal wasn't there yet and then put out his bait.

He took all the little tracking chips he had and scattered them on the floor of the passage, he assumed the criminal would pass through. That was his only hope to get a lead and save his life.

He wasn't sure if the criminal had already run away or he was about to cross the place Elliott was in. So he got back into the alley and hid in the shadows, waiting for him.

His breath was heavy and desperate from the adrenaline.

In another minute, he heard a rustling noise from the passage. Elliott moved his head a little to catch the dark figure walking at the same pace he had last seen him in. He couldn't see any of the criminal's features. He could only see the figure walking forward.

Just then, the dark figure walked over the tracking chips scattered on the floor without even noticing.

Elliott peeked his head out and he could've bet that he saw a faint light of the tracking chip glow on the feet of the figure.

His plan worked. Now he just hoped the chip stays stuck on the criminal's feet. It was a risky bait, but that was the best he could've done.

Nevertheless, Elliott started following the figure again. Praying that the chip doesn't come out or break. Suddenly, passage A came to an end. Elliott could see the light pouring into the dark passage from the main road at the end of the passage.

Finally, he'd be able to see the dark figure under the light.

As the dark figure kept walking towards the light, suddenly, in a blink of an eye, the figure disappeared.

Elliott shook his head and tried focusing, but the figure was no longer there. He ran to the ending of the passage and looked right and left. He was standing on the footpath of the empty main road.

Gone.

He thought about walking to his right and try to find the person again but suddenly, his legs seized and he couldn't move.

He felt a shiver run through his body as she felt someone's presence around him. His body went completely still as he turned around and fixed his eyes on the pair of eyes that were watching him watching him.

On the opposite side of the road, under the streetlight, a girl stood. Her gaze steady and fixed on Elliott.

Her eyes were lifeless, her skin looked grey, her face pale as death. Blue hospital clothes covered her thin body and her shoulders were hunched over. She was barefoot. Her thin fingers were clutched tightly to her clothes.

She looked unnatural. Her appearance made every bit in Elliott wither in horror.

He couldn't move. His whole body was screaming with fear and helplessness. He could feel his heartbeat slow down and his vision blurring.

She was still. Her white hair was scattered all over her face.

Elliott refused to give up just yet. He gathered up his strength and moved his feet just a little. He needed to survive, he...

The tiniest hint of a smile tugged on her lips and Elliott's body gave away.

He fell on the floor, squinting and groaning in the pain that travelled through his body. His eyes could just see the dark sky above him.

Soon, everything blurred out as he felt his body parts going numb.

Slowly, his eyes shut. His mind sunk into the silence of the empty road.