Chapter 17

I sat down on the bed, not sure what to do.

Competing?

With him?

Perhaps I could have been a little more considerate but I meant what I said. She shouldn't be seeing him, especially not after that. I mean, move in? What was he thinking? And as if she would ever accept the offer. She wouldn't, she just wouldn't.

I got up from my bed and walked out of my bedroom, making my way to hers. I tried turning the doorknob but the door was locked.

"Y/n?"

I said, though I got no response. I tried calling her name again but she just wouldn't answer me. I knocked on the door a few times before she finally decided to speak.

"Alastor, can you just.." She paused for a moment.

"Can you please just go away?" She asked. How were we supposed to resolve our little conflict if she wouldn't talk to me?

It was clear she didn't want to talk to me but I could still make an effort.

"Y/n, I just feel like-"

"I don't want to speak to you right now, Al. I'm just..not in the mood." She said.

"Well, when will you be in the mood? When will you decide to speak to me?" I asked as I heard footsteps come to the door. The door unlocked revealing her.

"Can't you please just listen to me for once?" She said with visible tear marks on her cheeks.

I didn't realize that my actions left her crying.

"Oh dear..I-" I paused. What was I to say?

"I'm sorry." I said, my voice faltering.

"It's fine, just-" She tried to shut the door as she spoke. As she did I stopped the door with my foot.

"Let me shut the door." She demanded, looking me in the eyes. I didn't say anything, just pushed the door open. She stepped back a little bit.

"Al?" She said, I pulled her into a hug which made her surprised.

"I'm sorry." I said, she didn't try and push me away though. In fact, she accepted it.

"I didn't realize that I made you cry, that what I did made you that upset." I said.

"I hope you know, that's never what I intended to do." I said.

"Why fight with him? I don't get it." She said.

"Look," I said, pulling away from the hug.

"You know I don't like him, I've made that quite clear." I said with a small chuckle.

"But I do like you. You're.."

"A very dear friend of mine." I continued.

"And I know that Caleb is your friend, I can't do anything to change that." I said.

"If you want to be around him that's your choice, and I won't try and interfere." I said, I went to go walk away, to leave her be, but she stopped me. She grabbed my hand.

"Alastor." She said, just barely louder than a whisper.

"Yes?" I said, turning around.

"All I want is for you to listen, to hear me when I'm telling you something." She said, placing both hands on mine.

"And that's what I'll do, darling." I said.

"And to stop with whatever it is that you're doing with Caleb. Look, you both mean the world to me. And-well, honestly? I think it's childish and petty, I mean, you both are adults and you're acting immature. Both of you." She said, arms crossed.

"You gonna tell that to him too?" I said with a chuckle.

"In due time. I don't really want to speak with him right now for..obvious reasons." She said.

"Well, I hear you loud and clear. No more silly, childish, petty, or immature antics. I promise you." I said.

"You promise?" She asked, I raised up one of her hands and kissed it.

"I stay true to my word." I said, letting go of her hand.

~~~

Time passed as it soon became dusk, the sun no longer out. I thought about my killings while I lay down in bed. Caleb had interrupted my search earlier so I had no one at the moment.

Another thing was Y/n. I would have to wait until she was sleeping, or maybe get her out of the house? No, no, I don't think that'll work. I was running out of ideas fast. I had no ideas and no targets. My thirst for blood was contained and suppressed for now, but I don't know how long I'll be able to keep it like that. As much as I'd like to get rid of Caleb, that scum, It would draw too much attention to me. I do work with him, after all. Not to mention how Y/n might react. Sleep was now out of the question as I lay in my bed, staring up at the ceiling. Just thinking. I thought about going into Y/n's room, to see if she was up, but I chose not to.

I didn't want to wake her if she was already sleeping. Inviting her into my home might have been a mistake. So long as I want to keep my killings a secret, anyway. Her being here has my options limited. It won't be easy but I'm willing to try. Perhaps I could try to convince her to take back her old job. I mean, it would definitely help with the predicament that I seem to be in. With her away during the evenings, it would give me enough leisure to get ahold of targets and get them down in the basement without them being seen by her. God forbid she tries to go back down there, though. I'd certainly have some explaining to do. Maybe I should quit bringing them down there. Maybe I could stop burying the bodies as well, digging graves for those vile people, as if they even deserved them, gets tiring.

Sure, playing with them before the kill is fun, but is it really worth the risk?

Hm..

After my long night of thinking, I didn't even realize the light shining through the window, it turned morning without me realizing or getting any sleep. Yet, I didn't feel very tired.

"Ah, good morning." I said. I walked down the stairs to find her sitting down at the table, reading the papers.

"Oh, morning. Hey, come look at this." She said, piquing my interest. I walked over to see what she was talking about.

"They found somebody in the woods not that far from here, heavily disfigured. Coppers think it might be one of the missing people but they aren't too sure yet. The body is pretty decayed too so it makes it a bit hard to tell." She said, my heart dropped.

"May I see this?" I asked, she nodded and handed it to me.

"It's crazy. Not even a week back in town and this kind of stuff is happening." She said.

"Mhm.." I mumbled.

"Did they find any evidence as to who might be the killer?" I asked, scanning over the page.

"No, they haven't. It's terrible though, I hope whoever did it gets caught." She said as I fully read the page.

"Police were informed just two days ago that a body had been discovered buried in the woods. Due to environmental elements and the state of decay that the body is in, police have not yet been able to identify the victim. Though, the police speculate that the victim may be one of the missing civilians that they haven't been able to locate. Police units, and chief, have swept the scene several times but have had no luck finding anything that might identify the victim or killer. They have not found anything so far but have said that they will keep at it until they catch the culprit of this heinous crime. Michael Hayes, new chief of police, has revealed that search dogs would be brought in looking to see if there is anything they've missed or to see if there are any other bodies. Police highly advise that people are careful when going out, especially at night."

I recognized the victim as one of my own which sparked panic in me.

"Al?" She asked as I turned my head to face her.

"You okay?" She asked as I nodded.

"Yes, it's just.."

"Horrible, I know. How could someone just do that? It's inhumane." She said as I set the papers back down on the table.

"..Agreed." I said.

She walked over to the sink and began doing the dishes that were left over from the night before. I still stood at the table, glaring down at the papers.

"Alastor.." She said, causing me to look over to her.

"Yes, my dear?" I asked, keeping my composure even though my mind and heart were racing.

"I'm gonna wait a little while til' I try and get another job. With a killer out, I don't know, I'm scared. If I'm out late, the next body that's found could be mine..I don't wanna risk it, you know?" She said as I walked over to her.

"I understand, wait as long as you need to. But I won't let a thing happen to you, so long as I can help it." I said, it seemed to calm her down.

"Thank you." She said with a smile that I returned.

"Well, I should be on my way to work now. I'll see you after, dear." I said, she waved goodbye before I left.

I wouldn't say trembling, but my hands were definitely a bit shaky as I walked to the station. I suppose it was inevitable, it was bound to happen eventually. I just didn't know when they'd find them. They've only found one so far but there's no doubt in my find that they'll find more. For now, I'll have to put my killings on hold. They're on high alert. So, unless I want  to be caught, I'll have to hold off. I guess I don't have to worry about finding some way to hide my killings from Y/n, though. Not right now, at least. Today, I took a special route and passed by the woods where the body was found in. There was police tape, two cars, and officers there.

When I got to work, I did my broadcast as usual. But this time, I also talked about my kill that was discovered. I was nervous a little while talking but that feeling gradually slipped away as I spoke. When I was done, Alex came over to talk to me.

"Hey, Alastor." He said as I turned my head.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's a shame what happen with that person. You think it was a one-time thing, like a personal murder or do you think there's some killer running around?" He asked.

"Well, you've read the papers, didn't you? I guess we'll find out." I said as he nodded.

"I hope it's not the latter, I think I'd sleep better knowing there's not a serial killer moseying around." He said, arms crossed.

"Ah, wouldn't we all?" I said with a chuckle.

...

..

.

Just a week later, six more bodies were found. All of them, my own kills.

The chief of police gave a small speech to the concerned citizens.

"I know this is all very frightening. But we are working very hard to find the bastard that did this. This does seem like one person has done all of this, so yes, we are looking at a serial killer. Two out of the seven victims have been identified and we are trying to identify the rest. My sincerest condolences go out to the families and loved ones of James Allen, beloved reporter, and Louis Buchman, owner of the Starbell Diner.

And of course, my condolences also go to the other victim's families that we haven't been able to identify yet. If you have anything that might be related to this case, missing people that could be victims, if you have seen anything suspicious, or if you know of someone that you think could be the killer, please do not hesitate to let us know.

Thank you."

I sat there listening to him in the crowd of people. The people around me, whispering and talking. A few of them spoke about ex-lovers that could be the killer but of course, none of what they were saying was true. It kind of surprised me that he decided to give the speech now, seeing as though it was getting a bit late and they've advised people to stay in by the time it reaches nightfall. But, then again, there were other police officers there, it wasn't just him so that probably gave him and the people solace. Not like the killer would strike now, even if it wasn't me, it would be plain stupid to do so.

"You know, the chief of police just went out there and gave a speech about that killer running around." I said, I paused when I made it over to the sitting room.

"Oh, Mimzy." I said, they were sitting down drinking tea.

"Alastor, so nice to see you. It's been a little." She said, setting down her cup and giving me a hug.

"Yes, it's been about a week." I said as she laughed.

"Do come sit with us, we were actually just talking about that." She said, her tone shifting into one I couldn't recognize.

I agreed and sat down with the two of them. We talked for a little while, some of it was the fear that "We" have been experiencing due to the killer. Y/n's fear is justified, she has no idea about any of this. But Mimzy and me, well, there's no cause for concern. Not any for being the next target anyways. Now I've got the cops to be worried about. Everything is over for me if I get caught, absolutely everything. I've been careful with every one of my killings, but there's still a chance that they'll find me out. That chance has kept my heart racing, even if it's just a little.

As it grew later and later, Mimzy decided that it was time for her departure.

"Oh, would you look at the time? I should get going." She said.

"It's real late out.." Y/n said.

"Al, would you be a doll and walk me home? With the killer out and all, well, quite frankly, I'm nervous to walk home by myself." She said. I looked over at Y/n as she gave me a nod, signaling me to go with Mimzy. When we started walking, Mimzy had an earful for me.

"What have I told you, Alastor?" She said, latching her arm onto mine as I walked with her.

"You've gotta be careful, you're in the papers now! They're going to find out." She said.

"The killer is in the papers, not me." I said.

"You know what I mean. Al, I'm worried. Maybe you should just give it up..." She said.

"You know that I can't do that." I said.

"And if you go to prison? What will you do then?" She asked.

"I won't get caught, I'm not going to the big house." I laughed.

"This is serious. You can't be so sure..not all of them are idiots." She said.

"Look, I'm taking a break while things cool down. I'm no idiot either, Mimzy. I won't get caught." I said as she sighed, her grip on my arm lessening.

"I just can't help but be worried." She said as I put a hand on her head.

"Everything will be okay." I assured her.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

HELLO MY LOVELIES! <3

I'm back with a new chapter! I know it's later than I wanted but I'm glad I was able to get it out. In any case, I hope you all enjoyed!

I also wanted to draw a few little sillies for this chapter along with a drawing of Alexander so you get the idea of what he looks like.

(Alex)

NOW FOR THE SILLIES I DECIDED TO MAKE

(Colored ver)

Anyways, as I said before, I hope you enjoyed

Word count: 2649