The Scarlet Knife

Prologue

The night’s winds whispered in my ears. It was a high-pitched whistle in the darkened silence. My black leather jacket kept my arms just warm enough, even though the material was practically frozen. My shirt was a thin grey fabric that was easy to move in, and stretchy dark leggings covered my legs. I could just barely make out a moving figure in the distance, my vision slightly impaired by the red mask I wore.

         The leaves crunched as we both ran through the forest. The man, oblivious to me, stopped to catch his breath. Perfect. I jumped behind a tree to hide.

         I took out my blade; I had attached it to the inside of my thigh like always. My name was misleading. I didn’t use a knife. I used a dagger. One made of stainless steel, with a scarlet handle to match my mask. I took out the vile of crushed flower. Digitalis to be exact, or Witches’ Gloves.

         Out of the corner of my eye I saw the man move. He was about to leave. Well that just won’t do. I picked up a rock. Threw it. And that was enough for him to pause. He turned around and caught a glimpse of my shadow. The nerve he had to smirk and walk towards me. He was only making my job easier. I could see danger in his cold grey eyes. The same danger I had seen in them countless times through out the years. I had been observing him, incase my suspicions were wrong. They weren’t.

         “Hello? I know you’re here. Come on out, I promise I don’t bite.” He said as gently as he could. But I knew the truth. He did much more than bite.

         “Now now, there is no need to lie Dominic,” my voice was soft and sweet. But there was a mocking tone laced into it. “We both know you do much worse than just bite.” I started to walk out from behind the tree. Taking my time. “Dominic I don’t like when people lie to me. So let’s just be honest shall we? You killed her. I want to know why.” My voice hardened. His breath caught as my face was revealed. The mask I wore giving me a new identity.

         “I- I don’t kn-know what you’re t-talking about.” He stuttered out. Again with the lies.

         “Now why can’t you just make this easy?” I walked towards him. He didn’t move. He just trembled as if frozen with fear. “You injected her. She was just a baby. Only six years young. You meant to enhance the speed of her legs, but instead you enhanced the speed of her heart. You messed up, she died.” I gripped my dagger, dragging the sharp tip across his uniformed chest. Not enough to hurt him, just enough to scare him.

         “I d-didn’t mean to!” He really didn’t. But there was more to this.

         “No, you didn’t,” I agreed. “But you tried again, and another little girl. Age eight. Died on your account. And again and again! Four kids suffered because you just couldn’t give up could you? And you didn’t care. You just tossed them aside. Because they didn’t matter to you. A few missing children wasn’t anything to fret about. Right?” I applied more pressure to the blade. Leaving a scarlet line on his skin. He winced.

         “It was my job.” He chocked out, a sob caught in his throat.

         “Well that’s just too bad.” Before he could respond, I kicked the back of his leg, making him fall. I took my dagger and slashed his upper arm. Then did the same to his chest. He screamed, I ignored it. He won’t suffer for long. I took out the vile. Placed some of the substance on the tip of his tongue. Then placed a thin chain around his neck.

         I walked away. In a few hours he would be gone. Someone would find him; there would be a news report. SCARLET KNIFE STABS AGAIN.