Undying Devotion
The Red Room

Driving had been uncomfortable, but the last thing she was going to do was hand over the keys to a man who had called her car a metal beast and asked how to ride it. Yep, that happened. Right now he was fascinated by the electric windows. Consistently pressing the button to reel his window up and down, it was like she was babysitting a toddle.

“If you don’t travel by car or boat, what do you travel in?” She asked curious.

“Horses.“He responded. Okay, that seemed pretty normal at least. “Dragons, sea turtles, Hippogriffs, whatever we can tame really.” He added.

Nope, not normal. If she hadn’t been to the fairy tale world he was describing she wouldn’t believe it, honestly she was still having trouble with the idea.

She pulled up into the parking lot that lay at the back of the station. As she expected, Masie was already waiting for her. Though she was fully suited up which struck her as odd. Turning the engine off her blood ran cold as Jessie and Desmond exited the building with their gear in hand as well.

Stepping out of the car her eyes were wide with worry. “Another?”

“We didn’t bother calling you as we knew you’d be driving in. We just got the call like 10 minutes ago.” Masie glanced between Shannara and Arion, clearly wanting to ask questions but they had no time.

“Text me the details, I need to get Arion signed in and processed as a civilian consultant.”

“We’ll meet you there.” Jessie nodded to them both, eyeing Arion strangely before heading to the van to load it up.

Desmond waved hello before darting off after his supervisor. Masie was reluctant to leave, Shannara could see the way that it was itching away at her. With a heavy sigh, Masie jogged after her two teammates, leaving Arion and Shannara alone in the parking lot.

“Come on, let’s make this quick. Our briefing on my attempted abduction will have to wait sadly.” She told him as she led him into the station.

It didn’t take her long to get Arion registered, though when his DNA and fingerprints were taken she was careful not to have them taken off to the lab. She wanted Jessie and only Jessie to have those on file at this stage. She really didn’t want the CIA on her case again so soon. Though she was sure she would be seeing them again real soon, if any of them had survived last night that is.

Back in her car, she glanced over at him. “You’ve been awfully quiet about all this.”

“As much as I would like answers, everyone seems quite grim about this crime. I would rather not delay your efforts more than I already am.” His sincerity taking her by surprise.

She felt her heart clench as he generally looked saddened by this ordeal. She had found that he had spent most of the night reading through her case files. When the officers had mentioned things about the other girls, Arion had answered completely on point. It had helped of course, since she was signing him on to be an aid to the case. She had claimed that he was a profiler on the paperwork, someone she had met in Newyork and had called in to help with this case.

“Is it true that there is nobody this time?” He asked.

“We’ll replace out soon enough, though just the idea is unnerving.” She responded while putting her foot on the gas pedal a little harder.

Arriving on the scene she was surprised to replace that they were outside a small inn on the outskirts of town. She couldn’t help but wonder if this place could be the killer’s base of operations, she had surmised that the culprit could very well not be from this town. So then, why choose this town?

“These are dwellings for travelers?” Arion asked.

She nodded, his questions were always of this nature when addressing her. With others, he appeared to not ask something that any normal human would know. He was at least clued in that much. Why was she even rolling with this at this point? Oh, that’s right, he was a supernatural being that could snap her neck in a second and probably make it look like an accident.

He put her on edge, but she surmised that it would be best to keep him close where she could keep an eye on him. Grabbing her kit from the back seat, she suited up. She put the gloves on and covered her bun with a hair net. She handed him a fresh set of gloves and booties.

Staring at them curiously he looked to her for answers.

“Crime scene procedure. Gloves on at all times, and shoe covers when you enter the room. I took a sample of your hair and blood at the station to help rule out DNA contamination.” Though in truth she also wanted Jessie to test and match it with the evidence that likely flagged her for the home invasion.

“And to make sure that I am also not the actual killer.” He added without looking at her as he slipped the rubber material over his hands. “When we return to my realm I will be taking those back.”

She glanced at him with a raised brow, so he knew that she was cautious about him, interesting. But also that he would retrieve any trace of himself, she hadn’t missed the use of the term we either.

“If you were not suspicious of me I would be quite concerned. But I will prove myself worthy of your trust.” As he finished putting on the glove he looked up with a smile before motioning for her to lead the way.

“If you touch something, only do so after it has been documented and tagged.” She walked to the room with the officers standing out the front.

“Got it.” He responded.

“Morning Detective.” An officer who looked rather pale in the face greeted them. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m doing much better, thank you. Though you appear to be looking a little green in the face.” She commented with a frown.

“I couldn’t stomach it, the smell.” The officer shivered. “It’s times like these I do not envy your work.” He stepped aside to let her in, Arion close on her heels. His little lanyard with his Id around his next and no one questioned him.

Inside Desmond was snapping pictures while Masie, with a very displeased look on her face, was swabbing the blood for samples.

“Watch your step,” Jessie commented grimly as they both entered. “Floors pretty slippery.”

The room was completely covered in blood, though covered was an understatement. It was completely saturated, the red liquid oozed and dripped from every piece of furniture around them. If it weren’t for the smell and the slightly browning areas one might even say the room was painted in it. Her eyes remained focused as she felt as though she had entered another world. The walls, ceiling, floor, bed, and even the windows were coated with blood.

By the looks of it, the perpetrator had hastily done this, a mop and bucket full of the sticky red substance was off to the side close to the only part of the wall that hadn’t been hit with the makeshift paint. “Was he caught doing something in here?” She pondered aloud.

“The clerk behind the desk called in a break-in, the room next door complained about noises from next door, this room. But the clerk hadn’t rented it out, when he couldn’t get in he called the police.” Masie explained.

“Did anyone-” Shannara began to ask but was cut off with Masie shaking her head.

“No one saw anything... again.” Masie sounded defeated.

“Surveillance?” She asked.

“All cameras were down in this section of the inn. Have been for the last couple of days. Clerk hadn’t gotten around to replacing them yet.” Desmond’s own gloomy voice joined the conversation. “Honestly it’s too much of a coincidence to not be deliberate at this point.”

“The blood appears to be human and from at least 3, maybe more people.” Masie lifted a testing vile up and gave it a gentle shake. “At least from preliminary samples, I will run them to see if they match any of the victims back at the lab.”

Shannara nodded, stepping deeper into the scene she cringed as her feet slightly stuck to the tacky floor. Not a single piece of tile or carpet was untouched by this menace.

“What was the perhaps behind this?” It didn’t seem very artistic, was this the copycat? Not something she felt she could discuss with anyone but Arion at this stage. And this was not the time to bring it up.

“It feels ritualistic...” Arion spoke drawing all their attention.

Shannara raised a brow at him, she hadn’t expected him to speak up in front of the others “How so?”

“If this is the same killer that has been so meticulous thus far, why keep the blood and for what purpose? Most religions or cults often use blood as a gateway, it is the life-giving fluid that can be used for many things... or so they believe.” He added as the other gave him strange looks.

Masie smirked and let out a half laugh. “This guy is good!” She exclaimed causing Shannara to roll her eyes.

But she couldn’t deny that he had a point, “Demonic?” She pushed watching his reaction closely.

He eyed her with a raised brow, knowing full well her meaning. “Could be, though I would say it’s rather primitive.”

“Or rushed.” She pointed out.

Trudging through the mush she entered the bathroom which was seemingly untouched. Emptying out the bin beside the sink she filled the small metal cylinder with water and returned to the red room.

“What are you...” Jessie couldn’t make heads or tails of what was in her mind.

“Do you have a sponge?” She asked.

Masie retrieved a large yellow cleaning sponge from her pack and handed it over. The others looked on in complete wonder.

“You documented this wall?” She asked Desmon.

“Yeah, but let me take a few more snaps if you’re going to mess with it.” He responded.

She nodded waiting for the sound of his camera to cease she filled her sponge with the water she had gathered. Lifting it to the wall she squeezed the sponge allowing the water to escape and run down the wall, taking the freshly spread blood with it in streaks. She repeated the action a few times until the blood washed away revealing a symbol beneath it. A symbol that had been there for a while and had dried and stained the wall.

Stepping back to admire and study her work, she glanced at Arion. “And now?”

“Defiantly demonic.” His face was stern and his jaw rigid as his eyes were locked on the bloody symbol.

“Why drip the water and not just wipe it off?” Masie asked.

“The symbols are painted in blood as well by the looks, older than the stuff in the bucket. If she had wiped, there would be a chance that she could wipe the symbol off with the outer coating.” Jessie’s mouth was a gap as he shook his head. “You amaze me, as always.”

“This room, it’s a cover-up then.” Desmond concluded for them all.

“Indeed, I don’t believe he expected to be discovered like this and rushed to cover it up.” She smiled.

“Why the smile?” Arion asked confused.

“Because this means he was sloppy,” Masie answered for her.

“Check every inch of this room, I want every clothing fiber, every hair, every fingerprint, all the blood analysis. I want to know who was in here and why.” This was it, this was their chance! Maybe their only one. “And don’t forget the bathroom.”

The others took over from her and began cleaning the walls to reveal the rest of the symbols. This was the break they needed, this was the reason for his killings. All they needed to figure out was what it meant and how they could use it to figure out his next move.