Reaper

Knock Knock

The chilly night howled through the open window on the 3rd floor of a drowsy apartment on Brooklyn Boulevard. David Andrews was fast asleep on his brown faux leather couch. He had come home so tired that he didn’t even have the energy to drag his sore legs to bed. The moon had been out for quite some time, leaving only the street lamps to guide the weary traveler home. Something about this city didn’t feel right that night. It was as if something sinister was prowling the dark alleyways in search of some helpless prey.

“Help! Help me! Please help me!”

A desperate cry followed by full fisted knocks on the ebony door made David stir up with a start. It was so dark inside his apartment that for a moment he thought he was still dreaming.

“Ohh God! No….”

There was no mistaking now. It was the terrified cry of a middle-aged man, who sounded like he was nearly out of breath.

“Who’s there?” David switched on the flashlight on his cell phone and jumped off the couch. He was still in uniform, except for his cap. “Is anyone there?” he shouted out once more, but there was no response.

He hastily slipped into his shoes and went for the door. As he reached for the metal doorknob, he felt an icy chill run through his fingers and seep into his body. Holding his cell phone in front, he twisted the lock inside his palm and carefully opened the creaking door. The darkness outside was so blinding that even in the bright glow of his phone’s flashlight only half of the corridor was visible.

“What the hell happened to all the lights? I swear it’s that blasted caretaker slacking off again,” he mumbled to himself.

He looked around cautiously and then glanced at the time on his phone. It was 3 am. No wonder none of the other residents cared to open the door. Even though he knew better than to wander the streets in that darkness, he couldn’t shirk off his duty. David was a cop in the Brooklyn Police Department and, unlike most of his other squad mates, he took his oaths quite seriously. It was his responsibility to protect the civilians, no matter the time or the place. Although he would have liked to dismiss this incident as a bad dream and go back to sleep, his heart wouldn’t listen. And so he locked the door from the outside and set off to search for the man whose cries he thought he had heard. He followed the long dark corridor to the elevator and pressed its steely button. The power had been out for several hours now and the elevator was as dead as the lights in the corridor. There was only one option left, to head down the stairs.

David narrowed his eyes on the path ahead and focused his gaze as he slowly made his way down the wooden staircase which creaked under his shoes. It was an old apartment building in desperate need of repairs, but no one really bothered to spend the extra cash. As he reached the foot of the stairs, he was surprised to see that the front door was wide open and the watchman was nowhere to be found. Just his gray cap with the dull brown company logo was lying on the chair.

Suddenly, he heard a horrific cry and at once rushed outside the building, towards the source of the sound. He was sure that it came from the dark maze of alleyways overlooking the apartment.

“Sir, are you alright? This is the Brooklyn Police Department!” David shouted as he reached for his gun. With the Glock 18 held firmly between his sweaty fingers, he felt bold enough to enter the alleys. In his years of police training he had often read reports of chain snatchers and robbers mugging people in the alleys after dark. However, what puzzled him was why the man had run back outside after knocking on his door. Could he have been dragged outside by the assailant? If that were the case, then there had to be multiple armed assailants in the area. No robber or small-time criminal would follow a victim inside a building and drag him outside. This seemed like the work of a gang. Perhaps some d*******l or k********g had gone wrong.

“This is Officer David Andrews. Requesting backup at Brooklyn Boulevard. Suspected gang violence,” he spoke into the radio after some initial hesitation. His superiors had cautioned him about calling backup without confirming the situation, but his gut told him that he was going to need assistance.

The sound of 6 gunshots fired in rapid succession rang out with a deafening noise. David instinctively ducked behind a dumpster. “Multiple gunshots fired. I repeat multiple gunshots fired. Requesting immediate backup at my location!”

Before he could get a response from the other end, a bloodcurdling scream escaped from the shadowy alley. He felt his heart race inside him as beads of cold sweat streamed down his smooth cheeks. There was no time to wait for backup. He had to act quickly!

Steeling his failing nerves, he breathed out a puff of cold air and sprang back to his feet. Pointing his gun and cell phone forward, he yelled in his most assertive voice, “Brooklyn Police Department has you surrounded now! Drop your weapons and come out with your hands in the air.” Backup had still not arrived and there was not a soul in sight, but he decided to take his chances with a bluff. At every step he felt the stifling darkness around him thickening. Even the street lamps were all out. His teeth chattered as an unnatural coldness cut through his uniform and brushed against his skin.

“Come out with—”

David’s words were pushed back into his drying throat as the light from his phone flashed on the mutilated corpse of a middle-aged man wrapped in tattered clothes. It was clear from the man’s stitched attire and dirty unkempt beard that he was most probably a tramp. Blood was still oozing from his chest, which had been shredded by some long and sharp weapon, something akin to a meat cleaver or scythe. In his left hand was the revolver still smoking from the gunshots which had just been fired. After making sure that there was no one around, David crouched down to examine the man’s wounds and check whether he was still breathing. He put his fingers on the man’s neck, but there was no pulse.

He was about to check the wounds when he caught a glimpse of a shadow jump across the walls. It was immediately followed by the gnashing of teeth. He flicked around and fired his gun at what seemed like a deformed child with bony limbs whose skin had been peeled away due to some infectious disease. To his great horror, all his shots missed and the creature lunged at him from the shadows. Before he could react, it had already dug its fangs into his heart. David’s eyes gleamed with horror as the night closed in on him forever and his limbs went limp.

“Dispatch to Officer David! Backup is on its way. What’s the situation there? Please report!”

The radio on his shoulder kept making announcements, but it was all too late. David’s disemboweled corpse now lay beside the first victim.