Page 21 of The Madness Within

“Tomorrow, I will meet a survivor. No names. No recordings. But if what they say is true… We might finally be getting a look behind the curtain.”

Click.

Recording ended. Silence returned.

For a second, I let myself breathe. I felt like me again, until I heard it. A floorboard above me. But I lived on the top floor. I froze. Listened. Counted the beats of my own heart.

Nothing.

Maybe I was paranoid. Maybe I’d been staring at death too long, and now it’s staring back.

Later that night, I lied on my side, eyes half-opened, heart still racing. My fingers traced the scar on my cheek, a reminder of what happened when you let your guard down.

Sleep came in pieces.

Someone was out there.

Watching.

Waiting.

And they were not done with me yet.

Chapter Six

??The Deeper She Digs

Ember

It was raining again. Because of course it was.

New York smelled like blood and rot when it rained. I waited at the edge of 6th & Delancey, hood up, gloves on, mic off.

The survivor said no names. No recordings. Just “listen.”

I spotted them, a figure hunched under a broken umbrella, face shadowed, twitching like they’re hearing things I couldn’t.

I walked up slowly. Careful. “You’re the one who sent for me?”

They nodded once. Eyes darting. “He said you’d come. He said… he said I could tell you… before he finds me again.”

My gut coiled. “Who?” I asked.

The man breathed shallowly. “He made them scream. Made themconfess. Said he was doing God’s work… but the Devil came to watch.”

“Are you talking about The Scale Killer?” A name I came up with for my own investigation.

The man whimpered. “No.No. This is something else. He doesn’t kill for justice. He kills because helikesit. He…” He leaned closer, lips trembling. “He told me what he did to your mother.”

I froze. Ice in my veins. “What did you say?”

The man clutched his jacket, like the memory was stabbing through his ribs. “Said she fought. Screamed your name when he cut her open.”

The world spun.

“Where is he?” I choked out.

The man didn’t answer. Because a second later, his head snapped back. Apop.Then asplat. Blood hit my face like hot rain. His body hit the pavement.

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