The Phantom Killer

The following story is set in an alternative universe.

2038

The city of Grifyn had fallen under quite a panic over the last 3 weeks due to a serial killer on the loose. It wasn't a common normality but has happened before. A while has passed since the last crazed person stalked the streets. That was about 4 years ago. The suspects gender was unknown but police believed it was male. It usually was. Some woman killed but their percentage was low.

It was late at night a little past ten the crime scene was horrid just like the others had been but Detective Tepper and Detective Hosk had seen worse. Hosk pulled out a cigar to have a smoke. It was something he to help calm him down. They saw what was once a beautiful young woman most likely a college student now laying dead on the sidewalk near an alleyway and old apartments. She was blonde, her hair in a ponytail some of it was in the pool of blood that oozed out of her neck. The young victim was on her stomach with her right eye open, it was creepy to see.

The woman had a long red dress with matching red heels. She had no identification. Likely it was stolen by either the suspect or someone else. Whatever struggle the woman went through her dress was still smooth. She looked to be in her early to mid -twenties. She had been a true beauty who probably lived a good wealthy life before it was taken away from her. She had been killed by five stab wounds. Four on her back and one on her neck. The neck wound was likely what killed her. She was the the sixth victim of the elusive killer. Police were desperate to stop this madman from killing again. That was the motive the first time but they failed.

They had questioned people if they had seen anybody suspicious around or heard anything. They would have checked hidden camera footage if there were any but the killer was smart, he only attacked in areas were there weren't any. Either it was a coincidence or this guy had a strong sixth sense.

It had been a long for Tepper and Hosk but they did their duty now it was time to head home and let the coroners do their job. Some regular cops still hung around to keep onlookers back. Trying to catch serial killers with multiple victims was always stressful. But it was a job both detectives were determined to do. They'd done it before. Grifyn was a big city with lots of hiding places. Finding this sneaky killer wouldn't be easy.

Several blocks away from the crime scene was a man lurking in the shadows that he so much enjoyed. He was the killer. And he had stolen the woman's purse. He had everything. Her makeup and identification card he didn't care for but her money and credit cards he did.

That was one reason why he killed her the other his insatiable bloodlust. It was going to be fun using her money for his own selfish purposes. After another bloody kill, the man had worked up an appetite. He'd be back on the streets to kill again soon. He enjoyed the thrill of stalking people and putting an end to them. He was a predator to the core with no sense to quit.

He was never in the military but was good at being stealthy. And he was very strong and good self-defense. He was taught by his dad how to box. Life started well for him but ended badly. At age 18 his biological dad died and his mom turned to drugs and alcohol. She no longer cared much for him only herself. It was her way of trying to get over her husband's passing. And by that, she hooked up with several men who had drug and alcohol problems. All were abusive to him some even physical.

This led to his grades going down. He regularly got in trouble by pulling pranks or getting into fist fights with other students and winning every fight. He was a big talker always talking back to teachers and making a scene which is something he had never done before. He loved the attention he got since he rarely got it at home. His mom was too busy being an addict and a whore. Even if she did show up at his school when he got in trouble she'd put on a fake persona of being a loving mother but as soon as she was alone with him she'd smack him and threaten to kill him.

He wasn't afraid of her but was tired of all the abuse and decided to run away from home at age 19. He had to learn to survive on his own by stealing. He'd break into homes and steal food mostly but he did steal some clothing and other valuables. He had some friends in school who were nice enough to tolerate his sudden destructive lifestyle of no longer caring what's right and what's wrong. He had envied his friends because they had good homes and loving people to come home too. He secretly hated them and hoped one day he wouldn't see them again. And one day and onwards he didn't.

People asked around for him even calling his home questioning his mom. She'd say she couldn't find him either and he probably ran away which she hoped was true. She didn't blame her son for his father's passing but she had no love for him anymore. Yes, it was cruel but that's how she felt.

It was weird to him that his mother would do that to him after years of being so loving. Sometimes he'd cry because of her sudden change. She didn't do it right away it took some time for the abuse to develop. She became depressed before sinking into a life of drugs and alcohol. He missed his father dearly who was killed on his way home from work in a traffic accident. The cause was a drunk driver. That was only a year ago.

His mom was eventually busted by the police as they had gotten suspicious of her and why she lacked concern for her son's whereabouts. They searched her home, saw drugs and liquor bottles everywhere, and arrested her. Even a boyfriend of hers was arrested. Police and volunteers including his friends looked for days, weeks, months but he was never found.

For awhile, he just stole things from people. It wasn't until after he savagely stabbed a violent homeless man who was probably on drugs or mentally unstable harassing him and physically assaulting him. He used a knife his dad secretly gave him for his 14th birthday and taught him how to use it. Overwhelmed with adrenaline and emotion, unlike anything he felt before he became a deadly killer of others. The homeless man had been his only male victim all others were female mainly college students. Two had been prostitutes.

He didn't normally rape his victims but with the two prostitutes, he did. He ambushed them from behind knocking them out and then taped their mouths and hands before having his way with them then kill them before stealing their purses. He called himself the " Phantom Killer" because that was what he was like, a phantom. He appeared quickly out of nowhere then he was gone after doing his dirty deed. It only took him a minute or two to kill. He described himself as more just a phantom. He saw himself as a savage beast who couldn't wait to gorge itself in a bloody feast or even a hellhound who couldn't wait to sink its teeth into fresh souls damned for eternity. But he figured the phantom part was better than the other descriptions so he pushed them aside and stuck with the phantom alias.

He would go on to kill 3 more people before finally being caught by an undercover sting operation. He attacked what he thought was another prostitute only for it to be an undercover female cop with enough protection underneath to protect from knife stabs. The female cop was good at martial arts and fought back. After a brief struggle, he was apprehended. He was sentenced to death which eventually came to be six months later in 2039.

His execution was lethal injection. During his trial, he had blamed his mom for turning him into a monster. He explained everything she and her boyfriends did. He showed remorse despite saying he enjoyed every kill he made but said if he were ever free again he'd probably be unable to resist killing again or if he was around other prisoners he'd probably kill them too. Killing the homeless man was understandable because it was self-defense. Everything else obviously wasn't. He knew it was wrong before he killed all those woman and did it anyway. So despite his "remorse" he was sentenced to death for the 9 women he killed. In the six months before his death, he locked in a cell alone from other prisoners so he wouldn't be tempted to kill them.

Before his execution his mother who was now sober while locked up herself was beyond belief that her own son was the notorious killer. She was never able to watch the news or listen to it on the trial by radio but was informed by a prison guard what was happening regarding her son.

She didn't anything she was told at first until she was shown a newspaper with her son's mugshot. She had remorse and regret for how she treated her son and what he became because of her. She had cried several times and hating herself for what she did and wanted to die. Shortly after his execution, she killed herself using a shank to stab herself. Prison guards found her four hours later in a pool of blood.

Detective Tepper and Hosk were relieved the so-called " Phantom Killer" was no longer a threat the public after his arrest. It had been their idea to have undercover female cops act as bait. Several of them had gone out posing as college students or prostitutes. They didn't know if it would truly work. They just got lucky with one female cop who was in the right place at the right time.

But they knew darn well it was only a matter of time before another killer emerged. They only hoped it was a long time until then. They even hoped to be retired by then but those chances were slim considering they were only in their thirties and still had many years to go. Retirement was not an option yet. Vacation sounded like a winner.

The chief of police was willing to grant them time off it if they requested it. They talked about where they should go but couldn't decide on a destination. They didn't know if it should local which included other states, international, or even intergalactic. They decided to just stay local at home and spend time with family. They enjoyed 7 days off of work doing recreational activities and watching movies or going out to eat.

Even the citizens were relived they can go out again without fear of becoming another potential victim of the phantom killer. They knew a new killer was inevitable but for now they would enjoy life to the fullest.