Crystal stirred on the cold cement ground. Standing up, she recognized the grimy walls and dirty lamp shade. Rubbing off the dirt from her clothes, Crystal looked around the tiny room.
“Richard?” she called out as she stepped over to the rickety table and picked up the Black Queen chess piece. As she examined the chess piece, she noticed a small, beat down door. “That wasn’t there before…”
Walking around the table, Crystal approached the door cautiously. As she pushed the door open, she turned her head. To her astonishment, she was no longer in the dark, dainty room.
Standing in the center of a grayish wasteland, life seemed devoid in every direction she looked. Dark, gray clouds blotted out the sun and rotting trees were scarce. The air even seemed lifeless and still.
“Where am I?” asked Crystal as she walked aimlessly. “Richard? Richard!” she called out nervously before she stepped on something hard.
“Ack!” Crystal nearly toppled over as she backed up.
Partially covered by the loose soil, the top of a human skull stuck out of the ground. Nervously, Crystal knelled over and pulled the skull out and examined it.
“This…this looks like a child’s skull…” said Crystal as she noted the small size. She got up and walked toward a small hill. “I have a bad feeling about this,” muttered Crystal as she scaled the hill.
Reaching the top of the hill, Crystal looked out into the horizon. Her stomach lurched at the horrible sight, dropping the skull.
“My God…”
The child’s skull rolled down the hill and stopped beside a decaying body of a young boy. The corpse was not the only one, however. Hundreds of scattered bodies littered the ground; most were skeletons with random bones missing from their set, others were bodies still decomposing, all at different stages.
“Why are all these bodies here?” asked Crystal aloud as she wondered through the boneyard, careful of where she stepped. As she passed a decomposing body of a young, ebony child, she immediately recognized the victim.
“Emily Rosa…,” muttered Crystal as stopped and hung her head. “Of course…these are all of the victims of Nathanial…” Crystal turned and looked around. As she caught a glimpse of several of the victim’s faces, she concluded this as fact.
“You will join them…if you are not careful…,” muttered a gruff voice from behind.
Jumping from shock, Crystal nearly fell as she turned around, looking for the source of the voice. “Who said that?” called out Crystal, instinctively going for her Sig, though to her displeasure, her gun was missing.
A small pile of bodies shifted to Crystal’s right. Catching the movement with her peripherals, Crystal turned and raised her fists. To her surprise, the corpse of Richard attempted to stand on its own. His skin was a sickly gray and parts of his body had rotted off.
“Richard!” said Crystal as she quickly approached Richard and assisted him as he nearly fell. “You’re alright! I was looking for you,”
“I’m alright for a dead man,” said Richard weakly as he used Crystal as a crutch in attempt to walk. “Thank you…,” he said as Crystal laid him beside a decaying stump.
“No problem,” said Crystal as she sat beside Richard. She looked over at him. “This is a graveyard, isn’t it?”
“That’s right,” said Richard as he fumbled through his trench coat for a cigarette, but couldn’t find one. He sighed in annoyance as he looked around. “This is one dull place…Every mystery of these bodies are solved. It’s obvious that this is Jack’s doing,” said Richard.
“Yeah, I found several bodies that match confirmed murders that Nathanial committed.”
“Naturally. You can’t walk five feet without tripping over a stiff,” said Richard as he turned his head toward Crystal, which cracked unnaturally. “What are you doing here? You’re not dead already, are you?”
“No,” said Crystal as she brought in her knees and wrapped her arms around them. “I’m not dead, but my case is.”
“Oh, right, right…You don’t have any leads, do you?” asked Richard.
Crystal shook her head. “We do, but I’m not sure if they will lead anywhere,” she said with a sigh.
“What’s your lead?”
“Well, we believe that Jack has a partner…”
“Partner, huh?” asked Richard as he leaned back, which his body seemed reluctant to do as it creaked unpleasantly. “Yes…A partner isn’t what I’d expect. But who would he work with? Who would work with him?” asked Richard to himself.
“My ex-boyfriend thinks it’s someone called ‘The Ghost’,” said Crystal as she rolled her eyes.
“The Ghost…” Richard chuckled as he looked at Crystal. “I think that’s a good lead.”
“Really? Why?”
“Because you don’t have any,” stated Richard as he shrugged his shoulders. “Take any lead you can, even if it seems like it won’t go anywhere.”
“Hm…Maybe you’re right…”
“Crystal…”
“Yes, Richard?” asked Crystal.
“Wake up, Crystal.”
“What?”
