The Conclusion of Life

The Art of Murder Final Interval: The Conclusion of Life.
''He's a demented sociopath, but he's not insane. He's not psychotic. Everything he's done was for revenge. As many times as he might deny it in his mind, he did it for revenge. He was driven to terrible lengths, yes, but the thing that remained was a need for vengeance. A sociopath with a thirst for brutal vengeance, not a Psychopath with a thirst for innocent blood. Unlike...''

Alchemy had followed the address on his phone to a remote two story, two bedroom home on the outskirts of town. Sort of secluded, the last house or building he saw was three miles back. Dirt road to their house. He needed to be quick. He realized whoever the police were chasing would give him a few precious minutes, but it wouldn't be long until they got officers to the doctors' house. He wouldn't care about a plan, or setting up, or being discreet, or being clean. He would kill them, mark them, and leave, then hunt down Taylor.

He wondered how exactly he would get to Taylor, but like he always told himself, it was counter-producttive to anticipate a coming event that was pointless to anticipate. He stepped out of his car. He had no weapons or any tools on him. he did however make a quick change of clothes, and slowly advanced towards the door. Two lights were on in the house, he could hear the TV on in the distance. The door was left unlocked. This was going to be easier. Much, much easier. He slowly and quietly made his way through the entry way. On the right was a stairway up, on the left straight ahead was the hall towards the living room. He assumed it was the living room, as he saw the TV down around the corner. To his left was the dining room, with a beautiful white tablecloth on the table and a nice chandelier. He took the step up the stairs...then realized it would certainly be more efficient to eliminate whoever was downstairs. He quietly advanced, at the end of the hall was a closet, on his right a sunroom, on his left the kitchen and living room. A man was sitting on the couch, and just looking at the back of the head, Alchemy figured it was Martin. He looked around in a kitchen. There was a knife holder, a corkscrew, there were some tongs as well. He opened a cabinet and found some heavy-duty garbage bags and zipties. he grabbed a garbage bag and a ziptie and slowly made his way towards Martin. Sitting on the couch, Martin was completely unaware of Alchemy, and...at weakness sitting down.

alchemy pulled the garbage bag up, and that was when Martin saw the reflection in the TV. He stood up and Alchemy threw the bag over his head. He yanked and pulled against martin's face as hard as he could, and Martin yanked around and wrestled with Alchemy. Martin slammed into Alchemy, yanking the bag off and grabbing the knife. Alchemy pulled him onto the ground, flipping him around and sitting in a full mount. He began to strangle Martin, and Martin gripped the knife. While he was being strangled, he flung the knife at Alchemy's face, slitting the entire mouth open. Alchemy, though in intense pain, retained his grip, which was when Martin slashed at his face yet again, this time slicing across the face. Alchemy refitted the trash bag around Martin's head and began tying it. Martin kicked Alchemy in the testicles and threw the murderer off himself. He got back up, and Alchemy felt his hands around his face. His hands were immediately sticky with blood. Alchemy grabbed the corkscrew off the counter before being shoved and pushed down onto the ground. Martin struggled to get his bag off, dropping his knife, and Alchemy quickly stood up and stabbed Martin in the hand, slamming the hand down in the table, and securing the hand by screwing the tool into the table. Martin was screaming in the bag, and lifted his fist, punching Alchemy directly in the face. Alchemy quickly pulled the large ziptie around Martin's throat, and, amidst Martin's violent struggles, pulled the bag as tight as he could before pulling the ziptie, locking the black garbage bag onto Martin's head. Martin began struggling with the bag, not being able to breath, and Alchemy used the moment to slam uppercuts into Martin's chest, bringing him to his knees. He then grabbed Martin's shoulders and slammed his knee into the doctor's head. Martin fell to the floor, struggling to get back up, and Alchemy kicked his elbow, breaking it. Martin couldn't find the air to scream. He was fading. Alchemy then began yanking the bag against Martin's head while banging his head into the floor, and then checked the pulse. It began to get slower and slower until finally stopping. Alchemy sat there for a moment, before smiling and grabbing the knife.

At this moment, Amy Lambert had already called the police, and was told they would arrive in ten minutes. Only four had past.

Mendez was in pursuit of the murderer, or so he thought, when he crashed his car into the police car he was chasing. The murderer's car slammed into a pole, and the driver hit the steering wheel before airbags deployed. Mendez yanked out his 9mm sidearm and aimed it against the door of the murderer's car. He slowly advanced, not waiting for any tricks, before realizing it was Taylor. His mind raced, but immediately he screamed at Taylor "Why the fuck did you run?" He screamed this, all the while dragging the dazed Taylor from the car and slamming him into a wall. "I lost the fucking trail cause you ran!" He banged Taylor into the wall, expecting a quick answer, but Taylor was still dazed.

"You left your girlfriend to die! All those men to die!" He then realized...if the cops hadn't been able to stop Alchemy, that running probably saved Taylor's life. But one question remained.

"Why did you leave your girlfriend? Why the fuck did you run?"

Taylor finally was able to stare and cough out: "My life was at stake. I would've gone to fucking jail. And I'm going to go there now when this is over."

"What?" Mendez said, overly puzzled.

"Yeah, I left her. I ran because...." he paused...thinking of an excuse. "I thought you were him." It was a good one.

Mendez accepted the answer. Terrible as it was, he would've died in there if he didn't run. The girl though, and those officers, as far as he knew wound up dead, and Taylor confirmed this.

"He killed everyone. Shot the guard in the head right in front of me. I ran. I didn't think...he could kill twenty cops."

Mendez was in shock. Alchemy was inhuman. It was impossible. It was just fucking imposs-His mind stopped when he noticed the blood on Taylor's hands. He questioned Taylor: "And the blood on your hands?"

"I...tried to save the life of the guard. It was too late."

Mendez knew Taylor was lying. Tried to save his life how? By holding the bullet wound at the head? Bullshit. He was preparing to reach for his gun when the operator phoned in yelling it was an emergency. He pulled his gun out but ran to the car, yelling at Taylor to "Stay there!'

"Operator, what's going on?"

The operator said "We've got an emergency call from Dr. Amy Lambert. The killer is currently in her house, and may have killed her husband. You need to get over there fast."

Taylor, at this moment, contemplated using his gun to kill Mendez. It was easy. Kill him, and drive off. Drive right out of the fucking city. So he did.

he aimed his gun and shot Mendez in the head before Mendez  had time to finish thinking should've fucking kept my fucking gun at him..Should've fucking shot him.

Taylor stared at the body, and Mendez had been able to turn his head at Taylor, expressing on his face that exact thought, While Taylor, in his mind, said ''Yeah, you should've, fuckface. But you didn't.'' And Mendez was dead before he hit the ground.

The operator cried into the speaker "Detective! Detective, are you okay? Mendez! ANTHONY!!!"

"Fuckin' piece of shit." Taylor said as he looted Mendez's body of ammo. There's more to this killing thing than I thought...the adrenaline rush...better than fucking Heroin. He could see why Alchemy chose this path, and now wanted nothing more than to kill someone else. There was a woman and her young daughter watching, as well as two others who just turned the corner of the street. Taylor quickly aimed his pistol at the woman first.

She shrieked, realizing he was aiming at her, and the last thing she saw was a flash of light. The woman's daughter screamed at the sight of her mother, bullet wound in the head, bleeding all over the place. And Taylor took yet another shot, this time at the daughter. The little girl was crying over her mother's lifeless corpse, and then she was hit. She took a fall right onto the body of the mother. The two onlookers screamed and ran, and Taylor took yet another shot.

Chapter 2
MIzuku and Detective Barry were the closest people to the scene, seeing as how they were already in pursuit of the suspect. they missed his trail, however, just outside the city limits. Which was when the Operator phoned into all units, and started screaming about Mendez.

Barry was driving. Tears were already streaming down his face, but his expressionless look was focused on the road. Mizuku had a much more sorrowful expression on her face, while her mind raced as to just who killed him. If it wasn't Alchemy, who was at the Lambert house...then- She stopped all thought and phoned in.

"Operator, where's the location?"

"It's the only house on Brightforest drive, it is at the end. Hurry!"

Barry began speeding towards the location, and Mizuku said "Mendez...is..."

Barry yelled "Not now!" His tone sounded angry. Mizuku understood. But right now, she didn't want to go after the killer at the Lambert house, even if it meant Lambert died. She wanted to kill whoever killed her boyfriend.

Barry understood as well. He felt guilty at yelling at her, he did know that Mendez was involved wtih her...but he couldn't deal with it. He needed to stay focused on saving Lambert's life. He sped down the road and just made the turn onto Brightforest by an inch without decreasing speed at all. Mizuku felt like puking already...but it wasn't the driving, it was because of Mendez.

Alchemy had finished gutting Martin, ripping out his large & small intestines. He smiled, as he dragged it up the stairs. Amy had already begun barricading her door with a bookcase, and Alchemy had figured this. Luckily, he exited through the study room's balcony window which connected to the Master Bedroom. Watching her frantically place items against the door, he smiled and tapped on the window with his knife. Amy looked to her left at the balcony door, and immediately all blood rushed out of her head. Alchemy quickly slammed his fist into the door, unlocking it and opening it. Amy looked on in horror as this disfigured horrific murderer stepped in the door. His mouth was slashed, his cheeks split. Deep cut across his face, and bloodied hands. The Alchemy that was of her nightmares, not the nice, *cured* boy she let out of the institution. The three nights before releasing him she dreamed nightmares of these moments. Moments where his bloodied face and hands stood over dismembered or disfigured bodies. Each body always had the marking on the forehead, the latin word "Caedes". The night before his release, she had a dream where he was standing over her brutally torn but still alive and conscious body, When she looked around and saw Alchemy's dead body lying next to hers, she saw the girl he had described to her, Kate, standing over her body. The nightmare ended when he was released and she thought nothing of it.

Alchemy had pulled out a long object...it was...an intestine. She fell onto the ground, trembling, and quickly punched at her head. Then he dragged her screaming, kicking body, and began wrapping her with Martin's intestine. She was shrieking as this slimy bloodied intestine was wrapped around her body tightly. It felt like a wet snake sliding around her body, constricting it. He flipped her over, and...like her dream, she saw Kate instead of Alchemy. For split-seconds, the person standing over her flashed between Kate and Alchemy, every time she blinked it changed. Then she was flipped over again, placed face down on her bed, and Alchemy wrapped the large intestine around her neck. She realized that in horror, that he was going to kill her with Martin's intestines. He began pulling violently at her throat...when the intestine snapped.

"Fuck!" He yelled. "Make no mistake, Amy. I'm going to kill you for what you did to Alchemy."

Alchemy gagged her with the broken intestine. her tongue flopped against it. The taste of it....The taste of...it. Amy realized the madness of Alchemy...and the madness of herself. Her dreams and nightmares had caused her to believe what was going on, and Alchemy had finally developed a completely different personality. His mind was absolutely torn, flashing between these two personas. There was no control.

"Kate died, and you kept me locked in a room. Asking me the same fucking questions...over and over.  I still hear them..." He said, Picking up the knife. "Alchemy was utterly destroyed after what you did. You are a monster, and now you will die."

He slowly began approaching her when he heard the door bust in.

Kate Immediately told Alchemy "Run. Get out of here. Don't worry about her."

"Police! Surrender now!" Mizuku yelled. "We know you're here! Don't hurt the doctor and come out with your hands up!"

Barry had already taken pre-emptive to come running up the stairs with his gun drawn. Kate quietly got onto the balcony and around the corner, just as Barry reached the top. "Barry! Wait for me!" Mizuku yelled. Barry ignored her, slamming into the door, which was barricaded. "Fuck!" He yelled. Mizuku came up the stairs. "What's wrong!?!?!" She said.

"Door's barricaded!"

"I've got an axe in the car!"

"Shit. Alright, be careful!"

Barry turned to the door. "If you harm that woman, I will shoot you, do you hear me, Stevens?!??!"

Kate ignored him, going around into the bathroom window while Barry kept banging on the door. Knife in hand, she slowly approached Barry, who was completely unaware until he saw Alchemy slash his throat with the knife. He looked in surprise, feeling his own blood spray from his throat. As he fell to the ground, he saw Alchemy circle around him, and stab into his back before taking his gun. Alchemy walked across the hall and hid in the other room. Mizuku had just grabbed the Axe from her car's trunk.

Taylor knew where Amy stayed, because he had been invited there before to discuss Alchemy. He decided not to dwell on that event though, as felt somewhat guilty because Amy was adamant of exactly what he wanted people to believe. She was such a stupid bitch. He left Twenty people dead back at the crash, shooting at whoever he saw before pulling out in Mendez's car. He had pulled down the road, pistol gripped in one hand, driving with the other. He turned at dark curves, and the images of the dead bodies he left flashed around him during each curve. He was hallucinating, and he shrugged it off, before seeing an image of Kate directly in front of him and crashing his car.

Mizuku burst in through the door, yelling up to Barry that she was coming. She didn't bother to check corners, she expected Barry to still be alive, not realizing the full picture of the situation...That there was a smart murderer in the house. As she made her way up the stairs, she found the body of Barry.

No...no... no no no....NO! Her mind raced. "shit...shit, shit, shit!" She turned around, with her gun ready. She began stepping down the stairs, while Alchemy from across the hall watched her through the crack in the door. As she made her way down, she turned around and made her way into the kitchen. She discovered the eviscerated and suffocated body of Martin, plastic bag suffocated and missing his guts. The black garbage bag covered his face, locked on with a tight ziptie, tightened around his throat. his Hand was nailed to the table with a corkscrew. She felt like puking again, looking at the brutal, bloody scene. She remembered Mendez, and kept her cool. She then heard a single creak at the top of the stairs. Him, she thought. She drew her gun, waiting for another step. but there was not one. She aimed her gun waiting for somebody to come running down the stairs. She thought again of Mendez, and needed to keep the thought from her head. Remembering him...made her remember she was pregnant. Fear stripped her. But then she remembered she had left Amy. She needed to make sure she was still alive. Gun and axe in hand, she began her way around the corner and up the stairs. Clear. She slowly ascended, listening intently for any sounds until she made it to the top. Then...

Taylor had stumbled his way through the road, losing his way but following distant lights on, probably from the house. He attempted to keep his mind clear, when he kept seeing Kate. Kate would be staring at him, right in front of him, her ghostly face ominously watching. He kept his eyes closed and kept moving straight. when he opened them, he noticed a police car and a sedan at the house, as well as an SUV parked.

''SUV's hers...Police car and Sedan...? Alchemy's here... are the police? ''

He didn't care. Whoever was left would be his next victim. He realized going through the front door was a mistake, so he went around back. He didn't notice the shadow of Alchemy staring at him from the balcony, he didn't notice the silhouette of Alchemy jump onto him until it was too late. The two began a quiet struggle, to the point where they were both, hands wrapped around eachother, were rolling around in the dirt. Neither of them spoke during the confrontation.

Mizuku however heard the smack of Alchemy hitting Taylor, and knew that it meant the killer was outside. She quickly started breaking through the door, Breaking into a book case and through the door, which she kicked down. She climbed over and made her way towards the figure on the bed, who she realized was Lambert. She didn't notice what Lambert was tied up with until she removed the gag and felt it with her hand.

What the hell is this...Is this an... was the thought that raced in her mind before she screamed out. It was loud enough for Taylor and Alchemy to both hear, but Taylor was the less distracted one, using the advantage to flip Alchemy around, mount him, and begin strangling.

Amy was gasping now that the intestine was out, and Mizuku finally puked up. after recovering, Amy screamed "Get this shit off me!!!"

Mizuku obliged, undoing the intestine and releasing the Doctor. Mizuku exclaimed to Amy "Stay here. I'm going to check that out."

Amy screamed to her as she left the room "Don't leave me here!!!" But Mizuku had a more important task. She ran down the stairs and out the door. Hearing a conversation the two were having.

Taylor said to Alchemy "You know man..." as he tightened his grip around his throat, "Whatever you thought about killing, you were right. It helps a lot more than any drug, or your fucking cutting."

Alchemy's sight was blurring. He couldn't breath and was slowly dying.

"Don't worry, I killed your detective. He's not after you anymore. Did you kill Kirsty like I wanted you to?"

He looked at Alchemy for a moment. "No, you didn't, did you. You got fucking soft! What the fuck?!?!" He banged alchemy's head into the ground. "But you're willing to dismember Catherine into a million fucking pieces! All she did was come up with idea to rape Kate. All she did was blackmail her with the evidence. But I got to have the fun."

Alchemy's eyes widened as his grip was lessening and he was getting....sleepy.

"I fucking beat her, cuffed her, made her scream. I pulled hairs, made it as painful as I could. I stuck a hot poker up her fucking cunt, before I cummed into her-"

Alchemy's blood instantly boiled. His grip tightened, and he flipped his wrists around Taylor's throat. He yanked Taylor's head right into his, breaking both their noses. They both got up and began struggling. Alchemy screamed at Taylor: "I'm going to fucking murder you for what you did to me. For what you did to Alchemy."

Taylor's eyes widened, as the face of Alchemy's appeared to actually be Kate's. "I'm fucking insane. We're all fucking insane!" Taylor screamed. Alchemy slowly stepped towards him, Knife in hand. Taylor reached for his gun.

Mizuku at this point had opened the door and taken her shot.

Epilogue
Dawson and Wilkitz pulled up in their car, with a SWAT team and thirteen police cars behind them. Dawson quickly jumped out of his car, rushing towards the scene. He missed the body in the dirt on his left, and ran straight to Mizuku standing up against the door. She was gravely shaken. She refused to speak to him, or anyone else. Several officers rushed inside, to find Amy Lambert in her room, panicking in the dark. They calmed her, asking to know what happened. She could only tell them what she knew...what she had experienced. They also found the body of Martin, and had secured the location.

Wilkitz and Detective Peters examined the body. Mizuku mumbling a few meters away about shooting him...

"Gunshot wound to the head, scars around the forehea-" Wilkitz was shocked. Ultima...Caedes.

The last murder. Mizuku then turned to Dawson.

"I came out and fired...I hit him, and he fell. The other one I shot, and he ran into the woods..." Tears were streaming down her eyes.

Dawson spoke to Peters. "Stay with her." he looked at Wilkitz and several SWAT officers. "let's go that direction."

They walked in a straight line for about a half mile. Sergeant Dazic spoke up. "Sir, with all due respect, he could be anywhere."

"No." Dawson said. "He's right here."

Wilkitz checked over the body. "Single gunshot wound to the stomach...wasn't what killed him." He checked his body. "Single gunshot wound to the head."

Dawson shined his light on the forehead. "Ultima...Nex."

Wilkitz looked at him and said "he would've carved that into his skull, before he killed himself with the gun."

Dawson asked "What does it mean?"

Wilkitz paused for a moment...and finally said:

"The Last Death."

Alchemy's final thought flashed to the night Kate committed suicide. She was in her backyard, crying about Alchemy, and about what happened, and that nobody would believe her. She knew if she told anyone...they would know she consented to what Taylor did. She didn't resist until...

She couldn't bear it. She looked to her left and looked at Alchemy. He was bleeding, on his knees, carving into his head. "It's over."

She stepped up the stool as he readied his gun. She immediately imagined him, in the asylum room, in his bed, cutting himself with a broken piece of glass, crying for her to come to him.

"Come with me." She said. And jumped.