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-:- Le chapitre commence…

"I always wanted to be a detective…"

Three years…of solitude and gloom in L'asile de Agate, the murder raged on. The killing of twenty-five men, thirteen women, and six children had been remembered by the thoughts of the terrified citizens. The killings were different from the ones before. In the pat the assassins were easily caught, and been exterminated by the town square. No one could find the person responsible yet.

However…Alayna dedicated herself to find that person. The only one who mattered to her was Rosette, innocent Rosette that had been killed in the most horrid of ways. Rosette's family had moved to England three days after her funeral. Alayna never seen the face of the murderer, but the voice was stuck in her mind forever. It was like a tainted sinister whisper crawling in her ears, and the warm breath brushing the hairs on it.

Being fifteen, Alayna committed herself as a secretive detective, trying to find the assassin anyway possible. Once she'd find him she would kill him…or it. She never went back to school, although she was home-schooled by her mother. She became fanatical, and had her own twisted ideas. Much has changed of the childlike whiny girl into a sadistic with lack of remorse.

She was too cruel to be with anyone, and didn't befriend with anyone anymore. She became alone, only thinking of ways to hunt him downand to have her revenge for Rosette.

She noticed there was clues of victims that have been killed repeated over. There were observations of their body parts being torn apart, they were killed outside, and they had this unusual mark on the forehead scraped by a knife or a weapon. It looked like a cross with a 's' around it. However it wasn't getting her closer to the person, so she must try harder. I always wanted to be a detective, she thought.

"Alayna, could you please help me with the dishes?" Alayna was in her room sitting at her desk, ignoring her mother's plea. She was looking up paperwork of her past reports from her detective work. She apparently was the only brave person who considered this a job, either that or an idiot. She assembled a lot of specifics and put in separate folders.

She stretched her arms, trying to ease the pain in her back. In the solitude, she wore nothing but a light sleeveless dress ripped and torn. Along with it were purple striped stockings above her knees. She grew her hair longer, and her face became so pale.

"Mom, I don't have to time!" Alayna blurted, as if annoyed all of the sudden. She didn't hear a reply back, so that must mean she didn't care. She looked at the door with a wicked look on her face. She grabbed her overcoat, and went out her room. As she entered the kitchen she showed up at her mother's back, while she was cleaning the dishes.

"Where are you going now, detective?" Alayna smirked, as she rocked herself back and forth. She saw her mother peeked back at her for a glance, and sighed. Alayna was bare-footed again; her mother would sometimes find her with no shoes. A deep silence came between them, however Alayna wanted to break it.

"Uh...just going to look around." Alayna chuckled as she turned away, and headed for the front door. She ambled slowly, taking her time. She sensed something at the door, and she had a bad feeling about it. It could be the killer waiting for her to release the knob. When she was at least two inches away from the door, she stared at the locks carefully. She released each one, expect for the last one. She glanced at it dreadfully, her hand shaking. She touched the ball of the lock, and slid it across slowly. She did it, and now for the doorknob.

"Honestly, if you're going outside...then go!" The shock of her mother opening the door wide open was the same exact feeling of her encountered Rosette's corpse. She remained normal, and didn't show it to her. She headed outside in the cold breeze, while she heard her mother closing the door as she left. Alayna's feet were so bitter now, but she cared less…no she couldn't.

She headed back inside the house, and quickly got on tennis shoes. Now she was off…but to where? Two hours from now, Alayna had been doing her business as a detective. She walked to random residences asking people had they seen anything strange. There was no luck so far. Soon she grew tired, and sat at a cold bench in the park. She thought of the clues from the victims again, and who will the next be?

"Why can't I find him? Is he that good? God help me." Alayna moaned, as watched her breath exhaled a visible cloud. She closed her eyes, and started walking again.

Alayna headed into the town square where not much people showed up. It was mostly a ghost town, not as lively when she was child. The gray sky made it seem so gloomy and alone, while the wind howled of cold breezes. She looked around the stores, and caught a glimpse of Le Janiour Kette, a common bookstore. She could start her detective work again, if she felt like it. She stared at the knob, and then twisted it. She was surprise that the door was completely open and vulnerable.

She entered the warehouse with a bare expression on her. She looked around the store. It was filled with books of history and antiques along with it that were tossed aside and destroyed. Why would Kent do that? She questioned, as she twirled back, and gently closed the door. She walked away, until she met herself in a reflection. At one glimpse there was that young pretty girl ready to see the world turned apart into a lonely freak. She shrugged, and sauntered on.

"You're always stalking me...it's annoying." Her heart stopped, but it remained calm. A few years ago, she would be scared, but her twisted mind wasn't falling for it anymore. It was he or it, however it was, it was the person she was looking for. His voice was like a slithering whisper that followed the winds.

"How long...will you been doing this?" Alayna wanted the question him, to hear what he'll say. She waited, standing in the middle of the road. Unsurprisingly, there was no one walking this path. It was just he and her alone.

"I don't know. You know when I meet someone; I can clap the beat of the heart in a high rhythm. This is so interesting that yours is steady." The reply gotten to Alayna a little, the voice was so smooth and serene; it was if he was one step ahead of her. But, she didn't dared let it showed. She started to walk away, before any more of his words came back. She walked more…she didn't hear any more voices from him.

Suddenly she saw a person from a beer outlet. It was the owner of the Le Janiour Kette, and he was holding a brown bag full of alcohol. Alayna frowned, and headed toward him. He was young, with big glasses lopsided, and with a casual outfit.

"Ah! Alayna, I found you."

"Did you do the research Kent?" The man nodded, perhaps of drinking too much. She shook her head, and looked on.

"Oh! And, I found interesting information of that killer of ours."

"Bon, we need it. Hey, did you know that you left your door open?"

"What are you taking about? I locked it." Alayna shook her head. Soon a worried look befell on Kent as they headed back to the bookstore. She shifted her head to see any traps ahead of behind from him. When they got there, Kent eagerly twisted the knob, and the door came flying open.

"What happened, why?" Kent plummeted down the floor, grabbing her misshapen books and broken statues. She looked around with less care, and rolled her eyes over Kent's complaints. She stepped over papers and scattered glasses, until something caught her eye. It looked like a research papers of an article with a dark looking man with an ominous smile. She picked it up, and showed it in front of Kent's face.

"Who is that?" She blurted.

"Oh, that was the person I was talking about earlier. I think that is the killer. His name is Louis Henri IV, and was born in Fécamp, France. He was believed that he was an evil spirit. He was killed when he became seventeen, but many believe he came back, and started a killing game." Alayna observed the paper more with a serious look, and noticed that he was born on 1879. She looked back at Kent, and narrowed her eyes like with feline ferocity.

"You expect me to believe this? I believe in logical not imagination." She threw the papers at his face, and headed out the door. A few minutes later, she came straight home. She got out her keys, but the door was already unlocked. Soon a concerned moment crossed her mind, and then she closed the door. She took off the jacket, and walked toward to the kitchen.

Her eyes widen when she glared at a red smear on the wall. Alayna slowly walked to the kitchen, and then it was déjà vu once again. The mother's body parts were torn apart, and that annoying symbol craved on her head burned Alayna's soul into fire. There was blood still leaking over the floor, soon the blood reached Alayna's shoes.

"Aww, is baby going to cry now?" She followed the voice farther into the kitchen where she saw a man sitting on a chair, while playing with a bloodied dagger. His face…it couldn't be—it can't. She was in shock, just staring at his face. The man had lengthy dark hair with pale skin, also smeared with blood. He stared at her with the most ghastly smile, and yet he was so young probably only nineteen. He wore dark formal clothing.

"Tell me are you Louis Henri IV. Are you?" He nodded, and bowed down to her.

"Very good detective Alayna, you found the killer. What are you going to do now?" Alayna just stared at him, stilled shocked. He started to walk pass her. Soon they were at side by side each other; she could feel his warm breath on her. He was probably waiting for her to strike, to kill him for all he's down. She turned her head to face him, and they both frowned. Abruptly, he started to amble, and Alayna just let him go.

"Do you know that your heartbeat is pounding fast?"

"In the depths of impenetrable darkness, I will see light in the very littlest of solitude." He smirked at her pity.

"I'm always one step ahead of you." She twirled around, and then he was gone. She could feel the horror inside him. She could sense the evil in him. There was no way she could deal with something like that, but she would face him again. This time she would be ready, or she hoped. What was he? Why did he always leaving me to suffer? Why did he not kill me? Those were the thoughts of a detective…in a world of suffering and darkness. Alayna.

-:- Le chapitre II:…"He's always one step ahead…"