No Man's Face

Chapter 4 Mortal Manifestation

Six people are dead, and two of them are officers who I really know well. I just can't stop thinking about what happened; the killer kept saying lies on the screen, and those words, I just can't place well the idea. For all night I analysed the message, and I kept re-reading the message to understand it more clearly.
The first verse is simply sending a message to everybody, announcing that killing has just begun.

The second verse is already old because now the killer has claimed two victims, so he was planning to kill only three. That means there could be two killers, or they are just trying to mess with our heads.

In the third verse, I was thinking, does it mean there is someone who is lying? If so, then who?

I left that aside and continued with the others.

The fourth verse, reading it, said There were acquaintances who were hanging, but great ones escaped." Acquaintance: does it mean the killer is being helped by someone?
But it said they were hanging, so they are already dead. Is she maybe one of the victims?
Or maybe... I don't know anymore; my head was spinning, and I felt lost.

Continuing with the fifth verse, which I don't understand, what does he mean?

And finally, in the sixth and final verse, I couldn't help but think about the outcome—who is the next victim and why is it happening. In the last phrase, I felt a moment of stress because it seemed like it was saying that my choice could kill someone. But who and when?

I was in my office. I was about to call Brooke, but I forgot that she was called in a place. If I recall correctly, it was in an abandoned factory. They said they found drugs and something like that. I started to read the message again; this time I tried to connect with the scene of the crime, from the killer message and statement to the possibility of a next victim.

An hour has passed, and I think I finally understand everything that was happening. I was about to conclude my theory, until my phone rang. I grabbed it, and it was officer Conrad Delaware.

If I remember right, he and Bertrand and James came here together in the police department not too long ago. I didn't bother to check on their history, but when I did, something was off because it was like they never existed at all.

Aside from now, Conrad was panting; he then said that the killer was there with them. I asked where, and when he responded, I dropped my phone in disbelief because Brooke was there.

I ran and ran to the building they were in. I smashed myself in and called for Brooke and Conrad. I was afraid, I felt hopeless, and I was trying my best to find them both.

I then found a room with a sheet covering something behind it. I pulled aside the sheet, and behind it there was nothing but a wall written in blood saying they were in the storage room.

I ran and ran and finally arrived at the storage room. It was empty. I went in the middle of the room and there was nothing. Darkness is the only thing present here.

Until a ray of light shone to the exit door, I went there and I heard another light turning in. It was behind me.

There was a silhouette of a person behind that light. I couldn't see his face at all. The light turned off, and he vanished. Another light, this time beside me, appeared, and the mysterious man appeared there. It was the same; I couldn't see his face at all.

Two red-pierced eyes appeared looking right at me. My heart was beating intensely. He may be the killer, but I finally came to my conclusion. So I pulled out my gun and tried to make him stop.

He looked at me, tilted his head, and indicated that behind me was another room with a big glass window, where in the other room was what I saw. Brooke tied up to a chair with blood coming down from her side. I was about to lose myself. I almost pulled the trigger, but instead I hesitated. Even if I can't see his face, the expression of its eyes says it all. He was smiling, but the smile didn't feel like he was having fun. He was smiling because I was here.

"Why are you doing this?"

He was looking at me, checking every detail.

I yelled, "SPEAK!

From which he finally opened his mouth.

He finally spoke.
With a deep and sinister voice

"The world is certainly different; it has changed a lot."

He wasn't giving me a clear answer.
I asked a question.

"Are you perhaps imitating this so-called No Man's Face?"

"Foolish child, why should I imitate someone if I already am".

He was speaking nonsense. I was about to ask another question, and then the lights flickered intensely.

Every time the light turned off, he silently moved without lifting a finger, and he was right in front of me. Even up close, I still couldn't see his face. Only his eyes, my legs started to shaken, I lost my composure and dropped to my knees, my eyes were glued to the ground, I was frightened, I couldn't lift my muscle at all, I was helpless, I couldn't save anyone, I'm about to lose Brooke, while I was on the ground, pulled his hand towards me, right where my neck is; his hand was cold as ice.

He gently pulled my chin up so I could see his face, even though it's still not possible to see his face clearly . I didn't know what to do.

"Poor little detective, it's not nice when you can't do anything, but do not worry, there's a reason why I'm here. That's why I chose you as the protagonist of this so-called game. Now is time for you to shine, because this time you will choose who will be leaving. Do you see right there?"
He pointed at the exit door, where it suddenly opened.

"That door is where Conrad ran out; you can tell from how bloody that writing was. So here is the gun that they enjoyed using at those poor victims; there is only one bullet. That door I modified so that when an intense sound is heard, it automatically closes, so it's really sensitive with sounds, so if you pull the trigger, BANG, the entire place will be sealed, there will be no way out, and poor Brooke will be left with no medical care, so she will slowly die from blood loss, but it doesn't matter, since you can be famous for finally killing the No Man's Face, a legend that turned into reality. You can find someone else even sexier than this; don't worry, I'm not going to dodge your little bullet; I'm going to walk in a straight line, so it's easy to kill me, and yes, the gun is loaded".

Why would he tell me this?
Before everything could commence I asked.

"In your statement, you said, They enjoyed using those poor victims. What did you mean by that?"

Oh, I taught you to finally understand it. You are a detective, the protagonist, the hero, and you're supposed to know the secret. Oh wait, you did, but you are still convinced that is me, don't you?"

I had my theory. I just couldn't believe it. Is he really telling me that the killer is Conrad?

"Not only Conrad but also the other so-called innocent officers, Mr. James and Mr. Bertrand, really taught me they could outrun me".

I was connecting the dots when suddenly he stood up and walked to the door.
Was he lying, or is it telling me the truth?
If I don't do anything, he will escape and kill Conrad, but if I don't do anything, Brooke will die. Was the killer telling the truth?

I closed my eyes and thought through it. I was once again lost in thought. I lifted my gun and pointed at him, and then...

My mind was working, I was connecting every dots, time felt was slowing, it gave me time to think, and I finally concluded my problem. This was my choice; I was still aiming at him, but I dropped my arms down, I didn't shoot, I pulled out the bullet, and I left the killer running away. I looked at the door and I said, Did I make the right choice? I finally stood up and ran at Brooke. I could finally enter, where I untied her and hugged her tight because I was glad that I saved her. Soon the police came in.