The Girl With Metal Claws

Make Them Laugh

ELLIOTT

Elliott had been walking all morning again. A camera dangling from his neck, an almost empty bag pack and an unsteady will. He wasn't too sure of his luck that day.

The whole week he has been walking distances and looking for clues anywhere he could. But he had no luck. But what scared him more was the constant feeling of being watched, wherever he went.

He shut off every opening in his room before sleeping, but his restlessness never left him. He didn't get a wink of sleep in three days.

As he walked through the empty streets of Edgar locality, the fourth-place he had visited since morning, he realised that the situation was worse than it looked.

Asami didn't stop, neither did her murders. It only grew like wildfire, engulfing everyone around her in flames.

Suddenly, Elliott spotted a police car parked in front of a shabby looking house. At the sight of people coming out of the house, Elliott quickly hid against a wall.

A woman and a kid came out of the house and stood in the corner while two policemen dragged another man in his 40s out of the house. The man was resisting and yelling while the woman wept, not protesting.

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! LET ME GO!" The man screamed and tried yanking the policemen away but they didn't speak a word. They were doing what they were told to do.

"JUST HEAR ME OUT. I JUST RETURNED HERE THIS MORNING. HOW CAN I MURDER SOMEONE YESTERDAY?" The man tried his best to resist but he was handcuffed. Soon he was pushed inside the police car and they drove off. After that, it was silence. The woman fell to her knees, wailing.

Elliott turned away from that and took to the allies as he ran to the other side. His feet were cautious as he entered the next street.

Suddenly, a buzz spread across his body and his feet slowed down. He looked around at the shabby apartments staring back at him, empty. His steps were being counted, he was being watched. And maybe, he knew who it was.

He kept moving forward, holding back his urge to give in to the sensation taking over his body like poison. He started hearing footsteps running his way. Quickly, he backed away behind the freeloader carts. He hid there till he saw three policemen running to the right of the street. One of them had a walkie talkie.

"To the left, backup needed." The policeman said. They were calling for backup to the left but they were running away to the right. Once they left, Elliott got up and started heading left.

For a fact, he knew that the streets had many openings to hide so he took the chance.

He ran, keeping his eye out for anything. The streets had spots of faint blood marks and things broken and scattered all around. This locality was a victim of her.

Suddenly, his feet came to a stop as he saw the marks of dragged blood smudged across the streets leading to three bodies lying close to each other. Their faces couldn't be recognised anymore and their limbs were ripped apart. The lifeless bodies looked calm. Like after everything they've been through, they were finally put to rest.

Elliott shook his head, he couldn't look at the sight in front of him.

He walked towards the body nearest to him and kneeled. The bodies stunk and were rotten, the blood around them had already seeped into the pavement. But he reached out and his fingers touched the body's neck. No pulse, no heartbeat but only the cold skin stinging Elliott's fingers. He shut his eyes and backed away.

He could hear the police siren wailing through the streets and realised he couldn't stay any longer. He started clicking pictures for evidence.

Suddenly, he spotted something through his camera. On the wall on which the third body was laying against, a small black symbol was carved. Elliott walked towards the symbol, he had seen it before.

It was.. her symbol. The circles, the lines, the protection sign. It was hers. Asami.

He touched the wall, running his fingers along the lines of the symbol and his eyes snapped up. He could sense something strong around him. The presence felt so powerful that Elliott didn't think twice before he got up and started walking towards it.

Away from the bodies, he unconsciously broke into one of the abandoned apartments of the street. His heart was pounding but he was calm. He felt light-headed but he was gasping hard. He would've run if he could.

He walked up the stairs, stumbling, till he stopped on the corridor of the second floor. He rushed into the corridor, pushing open every door he could find in his way. But they were all empty.

He pushed open the door of the corner most room. He stopped short. He was gasping hard like the air was cut off his system. The fear rose his spine as he saw her sitting on the window sill. Her feet dangled out of the window and she wore the same blue clothes.

"You..", Elliott said slowly.

He stood by the threshold staring at the back of Asami's head. She sat still, so calm like she wasn't even there.

Elliott was furious after all that he had seen. He knew that the one who was the reason behind the gory murders was right in front of him but he was speechless.

Silence.

"Hi," she said in a scornfully cold voice. Elliott didn't hold himself back.

"How could you do all this with a straight face? How could you kill people and then watch over their bodies with no shame, no remorse, nothing?" He said, gathering the courage to step forward.

"You're a sadistic psychopath but you'll get nowhere with this," Elliott was slowly walking towards her. His hand dug into his back pocket and he took out a pocket knife. He was thinking of a way to restrain her. He was too out of control to think of the consequences.

"There will be a day when you'll lay dying and the world will laugh at you. They'll celebrate your death." He said the ruthless words with no hesitation. What he was feeling was pure hatred, which was unlike him.

She sat as still as a rock.

"But don't worry, you won't live to see that sight. Before that I'll-", Elliott raised his hand clutching the knife aiming directly for her. He wasn't thinking but thinking wasn't the plan.

His hand swung into motion and the knife was just about to stab her when suddenly a force flew in and struck Elliott's body. He got thrown back crashing into a wooden table against the wall. He fell on the floor, grunting with pain and suffocation. He crumpled on the floor, his knife was nowhere to be seen.

That's when he heard it, Asami's laugh. She was chuckling but the voices sounded multiple. Maybe because he was having a concussion but the only thing he could make out of it was how humane it sounded. How natural it felt.

Her laugh stopped.

"You talk of ideals Elliott but you know nothing about them." She spoke, her voice creeping up his skin. "I can see through you. You don't feel sorry for those who lie dead. You step over them."

Elliott got to his knees trying to stand up. His head was storing her words, carving them deep in his brain. Her words never left his mind, they spoke louder than his thoughts.

"I'm not-", he tried speaking.

"Come here," she said. He slowly got back to his feet and started limping over to the window.

He stood beside her, his fear had already dissipated. He looked at her ash pale face wearing a grim smile. Her eyes were focused on the street below, she wasn't blinking either breathing.

Elliott shifted his focus to the street below. When he saw it, his eyes went wide with disbelief. The three dead bodies that were lying on the street from earlier were being packed up by the workers in bags and tossed mercilessly into a huge dump truck. The police were standing by, watching it happen. Two people were cleaning the blood off the street as nothing happened. Like no one died.

"The world has no morals. They'll toss you aside once you die," her voice felt like whispers as he realised how close he stood to her. He couldn't back away, it was too late. "Till the day you die, make people laugh."

The sound of her echoing laughter took over Elliott's mind till that's the only thing he could hear.

He didn't realize when he left her behind and walked out of the apartment and started running. The clouds were darkening the sky and the dump truck and police cars were leaving with the dead remains of people.

He knew she was watching him but he didn't care. He wouldn't let her have that hold in his mind because she was making him think of things he shouldn't. She was making him see things her way and it was scary.

He ran, further and further away.

~

"They'll dispose the bodies themselves," George said, running a hand through his white hair. They were all gathered in the basement.

"Why would they do that?" Nish asked, fidgeting with her fingers.

"Because they can't give the bodies back to their families if they have any," George added.

"A lot of people are getting murdered and the police are unable to do anything or get any leads in this case. The people are losing trust in the police and detectives altogether." Fred said, his eyes intense. "That's why the police are disposing the bodies and destroying evidence so that lesser deaths are reported in the news and the people get put to rest. Or else, if these people started acting up against the police and officials, it'd be a great deal of a headache for them."

The others nodded in understanding but no one spoke a word. It really was unfair. And Elliott knew he should blame it all on Asami but he was hesitant. He just.. couldn't.

"Get to work," Gabrielle announced, dragging everyone's attention. She was pointing at the TV screen.

The news channel was showing the Westwood Central Police Station and a commotion was going around it. Jack took a closer look and then turned to the others.

"We have to go," Jack said walking to the closet, "Elliott, you're coming."

Elliott nodded. Gabrielle stood up and picked up a red book from the table. Then she tucked a piece of paper inside the pages of the book and handed the book to Elliott.

"I need you to meet someone." She said.

~