I kept up
With the prophecy you spoke
I kept up with the message inside
Lost sight of the irony
Of twisted faith
Lost sight of my soul and its void

- Unforgiven- Creed, My Own Prison

Elijah pressed one palm against the entrance of Alicia’s apartment, huffing and puffing, feeling his heart constricting painfully in his chest. After running down a few streets that she might have taken, he grudgingly admitted that his efforts were in vain. Not only did those broad streets twisted, turned and diverted into several small lanes that gave birth to rivulets of dark alleyways, but Alicia could have hidden in any of the many crumbling buildings that lined the dusty roads. She probably knew all the nooks and crannies of Eaeshore at the back of her hand- secret hiding places that the Eaeshore map would never be able to capture and thus, Elijah was beaten.

However, not all was lost. During the tedious blind chase, his mind took on a logical journey as well. Mentally, he ran over all the clues and evidences that he had gathered and dissected all the conversations that he had with the different players that he placed on the sidelines to see which one was the star quarterback he was looking out for, in the ironic sense of course.

Alicia could not have done it alone. If she was that involved, her name would be brought up at least once in the course of their investigation. It was a fact, from the state of the victims were in- the lack of signs of struggles - that the killer most probably knew them personally. Only two were left in the game and Elijah wanted to see which line he drew in his mind connecting the both of them to everyone else would grow bolder and most distinct.

Going back to Alicia’s house to look for more clues to help him out would be the most logical thing to do. Even the most meticulous of all killers would slip up and leave behind a clue, or as what Isaiah said, the bridge. The plank of a bridge between the killer and his pursuers. The board that they could use as a blueprint to build others so they could finally cross over to the other side.

And wish desperately that they would not lose themselves in the realm controlled by the killer’s warped mind.

She split maybe after seeing pulled up at the apartment or something, he could not be sure. But one thing he knew was that she left in such a hurry there would not be enough time for her to obliterate all evidences of her partaking in the blood of the innocents. Elijah would find the ashes and from the ashes, he would nail her guilt down or absolved her completely. In actual fact, he just wanted to see the link between her and the real killer for himself. The link that eluded him still.

When his breathing was calmed, he straightened up and entered her apartment again, closing the door gently behind him. Starting with her dustbin, one of the best place to start digging into the dirty linens of anyone’s lives, he extracted each rubbish he came across with much care and patience as he knelt down on the floor, scrutinizing any that seemed to be of interest, which was not very time-consuming since there was nothing much that seemed out of the ordinary. Soiled cotton pads colored beige and crimson from cosmetics, snacks’ wrappers, unwanted junk mails and assorted knick-knacks flitted in and out of Elijah’s sight. Soon, the dustbin was empty but its surroundings were all cluttered with the previous garbage in its bowels.

He sighed, feeling defeated again and his pupils casually slanted to his left and at once, those sharp ocean-blue orbs spotted something he had missed earlier on. Amidst a clump of cotton wool was an innocuous torn piece of white paper, no bigger than half the size of his palm. He picked it up and stared hard at it, knowing at once it pointed unerringly to Alicia’s guilt.

Elijah pocketed the note and rummage through the refuse scattered on the floor again but found no other connecting pieces. Clenching his jaws for a second in frustration, he struggled up, feeling pins and needles diffusing all over his right calf, hindering fluid movements and annoying his tolerance. He shook his right leg to shake off the bothersome momentary paralysis and tiny jolts of electricity shot through his leg to his entire system, forcing him to be still for a while but soon, his leg felt as supple and active as before.

He turned her wardrobe inside out and even lifted up her mattress to see if she could have hidden anything else of interest inside and underneath respectively but his efforts yielded no positive results, unless one counted stale air and dust as major evidence. Staring at the mess he had created, his mind was thrown into a disarray again and he decided to check out the other suspect’s house before it was too late. However, at the last moment, he spotted an answering machine being smothered by a stack of fashion magazine just next to red colored corded phone. Removing the magazines, he studied the answering machine’s screen and saw that there were still undeleted messages that he could pry into.

After going through three rounds of the café owner ranting at Alicia for being lazy and pretending to be ill, wasting his time and money and four rounds of some people from the telephone exchange asking if she was all right with working night to morning shifts again, Elijah took note of her second work assignment and was about to just switch the whole thing off. However, the eighth message arrested his attention immediately, confirming the hunch he had- a hunch he was not terribly too enthusiastic in seeing it right- urging him into immediate actions. It was cut off abruptly, most likely because she had answered the phone eventually.

"Hello… Ally? Pick.. pick up…"

A heaviness settled in his heart when he knew he should be impartial and cool. His whole life, he had been nothing by apathetic yet, this person spoke to his heart with his stutters and tedious speech. The way he fumbled and swallowed his loss. He was the only person in the case that Elijah was truly sympathetic towards.

Or rather, Eddie.

***

Elijah, a.k.a. Eddie, stepped inside the school’s internet café for the second time. It was packed with more students than previously. Danny, was wiping the counter top slowly but meticulously, stopping in mid-swipe to rub intensely at a certain spot. Elijah did not wish to arrest Danny in front of the five students at the various stations. If anything, he wanted to talk to Danny first.

For he felt like they were kindred spirits. Spirits pushed over the edge by loss. He had an intuition that Danny’s loss was more than just the death Lenny. If he had killed Lenny, the loss would be expected.

It must be something else. The forlornness he heard in Danny’s voice told him something was very wrong with him.

He went up to the counter and gazed at Danny blankly, thinking of all the students he must had killed- his friends. He was in cahoots with Alicia, maybe even the mastermind. Observing Danny physique, Elijah thought it matched the shooter who had landed Isaiah in a coma.

Sensing his presence, Danny looked up and his brows arched. He did not seem surprise and only gave "Eddie" a sweet, sad smile.

"I... know… you will …come again. I told you so … so much last time…"

"We have to talk." Elijah stated. Though there was the strange heaviness in his heart, there was no reflection of it in his voice which sounded even cold to himself. Devoid of compassion, he felt, at that moment, he had already successfully divorced emotions from any effective outlets or vessels.

"Not… not here… can… can I bring… bring you to a place?" Danny asked, his soft brown eyes hooded and peered with much fright at Elijah who nodded. Danny set the cleaning rag aside and walked over to the side of the counter, flipped up the detachable part of the surface and smiled shakily at Elijah.

"We… we can go… go now…" Danny indicated towards the door and Elijah motioned for him to walk first. He would follow behind.

As they were about to leave, Elijah heard a croaky, sinister voice shrilling from behind him.

"Hey kid! Where do you think you’re going? I don’t pay you to just whisk of with a stranger!"

Danny paused for a moment and Elijah almost bumped into his back. The snail-paced young man then gave a soft chuckle before he turned and flashed a rude gesture at the owner.

"I’m… I’m not coming… coming back." He replied, resolution dragged out in his speech. Elijah did not turn to see the owner’s reaction but he heard the vulgarities being hurled at Danny who had already resumed walking out.

And cringed, thinking of all the abuses the poor boy must had suffered through to create such a monster.

***

Elijah followed Danny’s direction until he reached a building in a lonely corner that he would never thought had existed. To reach it, one had to be vigilant for a sudden, narrow inlet from a shadowy lane that seemed deserted. If Elijah thought that Mrs. Sanders stayed in the poorest part of Eaeshore, the area they were in must be a replica of some hellhole from war-torn rouge states.

However, that was no war-torn area. The buildings were crumbling, assaulted by neglect. Most of them were abandoned and from his recollection of the paths they took, Elijah remembered passing by a long stretch of road with nothing on both sides but brownish orange earth heated by the sun and the sparse, withering trees. For a town that seemed bordered by forests at almost all unconceivable perimeters, the barren wasteland was an eye-opener.

Because of the break in familiarity, Elijah felt the ramshackle neighborhood they were in was like a leprosy patient in the past eras, hidden in the attics of foreboding mansions; deliberately kept away from sight and memory until they expired due to loneliness and abandonment or the gnawing malady. Divorced from the main body like some diseased limb, the neighborhood was left to shrivel and die.

Danny indicated with his non-cuffed left hand to a spot beneath the dilapidated factory. "Park… park here..."

Elijah wordlessly obeyed. After pulling the car to a stop, his eyes glazed over with something almost regretful about the area he was in. Once, it must had been bustling with life. Once, it must had been at least pretty.

"E… Elijah? I… I heard… heard your name… from the bug… heard… heard some static last night… and I… I know… you will find… out sooner… sooner or later…It’s… it’s very careless of you. Two… two strangers in town at the… the same time as Eddie. When Alicia pointed you two out to me… I… I recognized you immediately. You… you look better with your blond hair. Brown… brown’s not your color. You… you can’t hide the iciness in your eyes though. It’s always… always there." Danny whispered so softly and suddenly that Elijah almost missed his tedious speech. Since he was found out, Elijah pulled the wig off his head and shook his stifled locks free.

"Why are you so willing to be arrested by me?" Elijah asked, not comprehending Danny’s compliance given that he had resorted to attempting to kill Isaiah and him just to prevent discovery.

"Can… can I tell you a story? You must… must keep very quiet." Danny asked like a shy child, afraid of having his heartfelt request rejected. Elijah nodded, still staring straight ahead.

"This… this place was once… once designated… for some… some development. The land… land was cheap… and Eaeshore then… was very beautiful. However… it was already… a lackluster… area to begin with. The factory… factory we are… at… belonged… belonged to two very… kind souls. These… these two people had… had a dream… they… they wanted to stir something… they wanted to help the poor people in Eaeshore. Eaeshore was crawling with… with people living like rats… but… but there was nothing that… that can be done… plans were made… but… but jobs were not coming…the people… were still… still so weary of strangers.

They… they converted this… this factory into… into a help house and rallied… many people to their cause. They helped all sorts of people… drugs addicts, convicts, teenage girls who… who got knocked up… they were always lacking funds but somehow… they get by. One night… they… they were held up… they were supposed to meet their beloved son for dinner. He wanted… wanted to see his mom and dad and so… so his aunt brought him there. He didn’t know what happened… but… but when he arrived, all he saw was his parents being stabbed many times… many times over… and over… and over… and he could not help. He was so small. His aunt… his aunt stopped the car and refused to go nearer but she flashed the headlights at the attackers. They… they got scared I guess… or… or something… for they ran and she called the police… . Who cares… his parents were already… already dead. They didn’t… didn’t kiss him goodnight that night… and never will they again… only… only 8… he was only 8."

"He… he must be in severe trauma… and she… she wanted to take away his memories! Wanted… wanted… to… they put… paste these… things onto my skull and… something… something must have gone wrong! I didn’t… didn’t forget… I screamed… and screamed…. And… my speech… became… became like this… slurred… slow… . People… people laugh at me…. And everyday… I remember… .

I grew up… I’m smart… the only slowness I have… is… is the trying way I talk… but I… I can still move fast… I can still… think fast… . One night… I hear voices… voices in my head. Maybe it’s the convention… I don’t know… something… something he said… spoke to me… he said… it’s the vermin that caused all these troubles… it’s…. it’s the pests! The… germs of our society. He said… the world was supposed to be pure… and we’ll always be struggling… struggling against the insidious virus that threaten to kill goodness. They… they did kill goodness. My parents… they…. They were so good… they… they were the best…"

Elijah turned to him at that point, "Who’s…."

"Shh… another sound and I won’t… won’t talk… . Where… oh… yes… my parents… they were the best. But the virus killed them! We… we have to nip the viruses in the buds. First by sacrifice… then… then by mass purification. The sacrifice will… will make us strong… strong. And we’ll do it in such a way… no… no one will know. We take the spirit of ‘Mein Kampf’ and adapt… adapt it to our… thoughts… . It’s a revelation… to us… but not the full revelation… The voices… they called. I have… have to obey…

So… the voices taught me what to do… and… and I do… I… can’t help but do… the voices promise me… that… that my parents will come back… they didn’t die… they’re just… sleeping… waiting until I finish the sacrifice and… and they’ll wake… and come… and kiss me goodnight…

Until the voices told me to kill Lenny. Lenny’s a Jehovah’s Witness. His… his thinking was already tainted. A person’s thoughts is like his spiritual blood. So, his soul’s tainted. He’ll never think like us… he must be killed. An infidel he is… . I killed Lenny. He didn’t… didn’t even see it coming. He thought… he thought I asked him over… over to watch a new video… . But… but Lenny’s dear to me… I love Lenny… he’s my best friend… he listens and he don’t judge. Yes, he tried… tried to taint me… but…he’s… he’s someone I feel is good but the… the voices say he’s bad! BAD! I have to kill him! I have to! I didn’t… didn’t like it… I…

I just… just wanted it to end quickly. Eliminate the… viruses I’m… supposed to eradicate. My parents will… will come back… and I’ll lay in their arms… and say I’m sorry… and they’ll hold me in their arms and say… say they forgive me…

That’s all I got to say. Now, I keep silent on my past. You… you can send me to the police. I can’t… can’t take it anymore. My… my parents are not coming back… are they? I… I killed Lenny… I did…"

Elijah breathed in deeply and saw, from the corner of his eyes, a sparkling tear trickling down Danny’s cheek. Voices. Could he had heard the same baleful voices that the first killer heard? Or maybe the first killer told Danny much falsehood until Danny’s mind, already fragile and tottering towards insanity day by day, finally collapsed? Was it even the first killer that chanted the lies to Danny in the first place, mingling his words with Danny’s inner voices?

"How did you kill all of them?" Elijah asked, quiet with the disturbing knowledge weighing on his mind, pressing on his chest. Danny’s lips quivered.

"I called… called Alvin… he… he didn’t… know… that… Shelly was dating Lenny behind… behind his back… Lenny… was fooled… thinking she had… broken up with Alvin. Lenny… told me… he and Shelly were going to… to this cafe… I brought… I brought Alvin there… and he… he was so angry… so angry in his car… we drove to a quiet place so he could… could rant… he rant… and rant and he made my head hurt. Alvin’s always full of himself… he… he… always… I don’t know… he’s irritating… never noticed me… preparing the syringe… and I stabbed it into him. Too much insulin… killed him… . I left… no one knew… they thought it was an accident… a suicide… my… my first kill… not a sacrifice… he’s killed because he… he knew a little too much… . Voices said… no chances must be given… so he’s dead."

"Sandy? Lenny?" Elijah pressed on though in a softer tone. Danny’s hands clenched into tight fists and his voice sobbed with sadness.

"Same way… I… I killed them by… seeing them on… on innocent pretext… spiked their drink. They… they died very painlessly… I… I saw to that… I wished… wished they’re not viruses… that they… they could be converted to our side… made to see our point of view… but… but… they can’t. The voices said they can’t be…"

"Where did Alicia tie in all these?"

"I… I don’t believe the voices… at first… thought I was going crazy… but Alicia came to me out of the blue… I seen her in high school but never… never talked to her before. She came up to me and told me she knew… knew about the voices. She heard them too… . She helped me… transport the bodies… and… and made the calls… I just kill… she handles the rest… I don’t know… I don’t know…"

"Danny… did you kill the priest and Shelly?"

"Yes. I did… the priest… I don’t know him… I lured him… lured him to the cabin… said my friend had broke a leg and…needed help and I… I killed him but he struggled too much. I think… I think that meant the sacrifice’s… not… not right. Shelly was beginning to suspect Ben. She… she told me in confidence… and… and Alicia told me… that Shelly must be eliminated because she’s a slut… I told her… the voices had a list… a list in Alvin’s thesis… it’s out of the list… but Alicia said it didn’t matter… as long as we eliminate… so I did. I told her… I followed Ben to the cabin. She believed me…. And when we entered… she was shocked by the blood and the dead body. I garroted her with a guitar string from behind… and… and it’s… it’s so funny. I don’t even play the guitar. The guitar string came… came from Lenny’s guitar which I burnt. He used to strum the guitar beautifully… I said his playing soothe my mind so he’ll play…" Danny’s voice died off and his head hung low.

"I’m… I’m sorry." He muttered after a brief pause.

"The voices, Danny. How did they sound like?" Elijah asked but Danny was still. He just stared at the floor. "Did the voices taught you each and every step? Danny?"

There was no response. Danny was lost in his own nightmare, speechless from the horror he realized he had unleashed.

"I have to take you to the police, Danny. But I think you’ll be fine. You’re very sick. You need help. You parents will forgive you, you know that, don’t you?"

Elijah waited but Danny was too far gone. Having confessed, Danny probably felt absolution of some kind and sunk deep into his mind, finding that corner where he could be safe.

Despite all that Danny had done, Elijah only felt a strange sort of pity for the young man. And he was sure Danny told him all he knew. But Danny did not know much. Danny’s confession, heartfelt and genuine, left much questions in Elijah’s mind.

He drove them both to the police station and called Stern out to arrest Danny himself. He told Stern that Danny confessed to the killings and Stern was shocked, dropping his receiver in the process. After Elijah unlocked the handcuffed that bounded Danny to the door handle and then cuffed both his hands together, Stern, who had hurried out of the station with his partner, helped to extricate the zombie-like young man and read him his rights.

Elijah watched the process with surrealism. As Stern led Danny into the station, Elijah went back into his car and drove away.

He believed what he had heard from Danny but he could not believe it to be real truth. It was only from Danny’s perspective. It was only Danny’s truth.