Elysium Dreams

Three

"Hello my lovelies, just in time," Xavier gave us a grin as we walked into the morgue. It smelled like Pine-Sol and my stomach gave a small flop. I grabbed a mask and put it on, trying not to gag on the smell.

"Did you find anything?" Lucas asked him.

"Loads," Xavier looked at me, "don't you dare break your streak. You have never yakked in the morgue, don't start now."

"It is not the morgue, it's the Pine-Sol," I informed him.

"Pine-Sol makes you yak?" Xavier gave me a skeptical look.

"Yes, it also triggers migraines. Why the hell is it so strong in here? Why not use bleach?"

"Because it is coming from the body," Xavier told me.

"That's just weird," I responded.

"Isn't it just?" Xavier gave me a look before grabbing something and handing it to me. It was a small brown bag. I wasn't big on dignity, but I wasn't going to toss my cookies in the thing. I held my breath instead.

"Why would you douse a body with Pine-Sol?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know, which is why it is so weird. There is nothing in Pine-Sol that would speed up decay and it isn't like this guy is looking to speed it up anyway. It won't work as a human preservative either," Xavier shrugged.

"Oh God," I gagged. I knew why it was covered in Pine-Sol. I left the room, motioning the others to follow me.

Outside, in the hallway, I took a deep breath. After a few more, I felt a little less like throwing up, but still not up to talking. I put my head between my knees and breathed.

"Are you alright?" Lucas asked.

Xavier fell to work, his fingers began lifting my eyelids; a flashlight appeared in his hands and blinded me for a moment. His fingers moved to my mouth and nose, opening both and looking in them. I pushed him away.

"Stop that," I finally told him.

"You look like you are going to pass out."

"If you had migraines and a nose as sensitive as mine, you'd look that way too," I said staring at Xavier and trying not to gag. The smell was still overwhelming. So much so, that it made me realize the purpose of the hideous floor cleaner. "The Pine-Sol is there to keep the wildlife at bay. There were no animal tracks within fifty feet of the body. It's barely spring in Alaska, where are the scavengers? The large birds looking for a snack? The wolves? The bears? Avoiding it like it has plague because it smells so badly."

"Bears eat car seats because of the formaldehyde," Lucas informed me.

"Yes, but it smells like a termite mound. I cannot imagine they would be attracted to Pine-Sol, and they certainly are not going to eat anything covered in it."

"I hadn't considered that. She may have a point," Xavier looked at me. "We need a zoologist."

"Pine-Sol smells worse than a dead body?" Lucas asked me.

"In large quantities, yes. Pine-Sol will give me a migraine and it certainly doesn't smell like food. I imagine it doesn't smell like food to the predators and scavengers around here either."

"Decomposing, half-frozen bodies smell like food?" Lucas continued.

"Not to me, but I'm sure it does to other animals. I think it smells like death, personally."

"Stop you two, I will take that under advisement. So, I also discovered that he torched the skin on the tops of the feet and on the hands, then peeled it off instead of taking it off with the knife. He did something similar around the lower genitalia and face as well, burning it off instead of trying to skin it. However, aside from that, the rest of the skin was removed with delicate precision. He rarely went too deep or moved the knife so that it exited the skin prematurely. The victim didn't lose much blood and there was evidence of searing, meaning he knew how to do it and kept the knife very hot. It reminds me of the Predator kills from the movie, only without all the dripping blood."