The Case of Edward Charleston Wickman

''On October 1, 2012 a young male named Edward Charleston Wickman left the Psychiatric hospital he was residing at and did not return. Since then, authorities have been keeping an eye out for him, for Wickman experiences often schizophrenic episodes that can result in harmful or murderous tendencies. Reports say that Wickman was in the hospital for brutally mutilating his family dog and throwing its innards onto the street and sidewalk from his window two-stories up.''

''Possible locations that Wickman may be at or on his way too are his parents' home where he was staying before put into the institution, at 1055 Hallow Street. Another at 1620 Oval Boulevard, where his girlfriend Jane Owens and her family currently live. As of this time, Wickman may be anywhere in Scarborough and surrounding areas. Please help the authorities and your fellow Mainers by keeping an eye out for a tall young man, about eight feet tall, with dark hair, grey eyes and a scar under his left eye.''

Doctor Rowan Peters read the article with no emotion apparent on his face. He had been Wickman's private doctor for the full two months Edward was in the facility and, had quite frankly, seen his escape coming. Edward, thought Peters. He found it odd he referred to his patient by his first name. He had never done that before...

Peters put down the newspaper and rested his arm on the table in front of him, picking up the cup of coffee he had bought and let go cold while getting too invested in the articles. Perhaps he'd go visit Mr. and Mrs. Wickman after he was done at the diner; he had been in contact with them lately, giving them updates on their son's condition because they were not allowed into the institution. A shame he could't give the nice couple any good news. In fact, Edward's condition seemed to get worse and worse as the days went by.

"Oh, great," Rowan overheard one of the men in the diner say to another. "A recent string of robberies plague the city, and now we have some murderous lunatic on the run? What else is gonna happen before this town shapes up?" Rowan looked down at the newspaper again, staring at the picture of the insane Edward Wickman. The most notable feature about Wickman was his unnaturally slender and tall neck. Then of course the deep scar under his eye... Yes, thought Rowan as he drank the last of his coffee and got up from the table, he'd go visit Mr. and Mrs. Wickman.

When Rowan got to the porch of the Wickman House, he saw the door was cracked open slightly. Still, he rang the doorbell as to not intrude. There was no answer. He rang the doorbell again and again their came no answer. Eventually, Rowan opened the door and slowly walked in, finding the silence in the house eery.

"Richard?" Silence was the only reply given to Rowan's question. "Annie?" Silence.

Everything seemed to be fine. A perfectly normal household, filled with pictures and memories of a family that had once been happy. One picture that caught Rowan's eye in particular was one of Edward. His neck looked normal again, not so tall. And the scar was gone. The picture must have been taken before he got it. Though, he did look almost exactly the same as when Rowan was speaking with him only a few days prior.

Shaking his thoughts away, Rowan focused on the situation at hand. Making his way to the kitchen, he entered it and was met with a smell. An awful, dreadful, disgusting smell. Even more disgusting than the smell was the scene that accompanied it. Mrs. Wickman lay sprawled on the floor, her neck slashed and a pool of blood under her. Sitting at the table was Mr. Wickman, slumped over on the shiny wooden surface, a knife planted in the back of his neck and blood seeping down his back and shoulders.

Wide-eyed and horrified, Rowan reached into his pocket and dialed 911.

"There's been a murder at 1055 Hollow Street!"

Rowan almost instantly knew who was the culprit behind the murders. His name was Edward. The doctor noticed something on the table, and went to examine it. A blood-stained note, reading:

"I knew you were going to come here and see this, Doctor. The Dark Ones told me. Do you like my handywork? I'm quite impressed with it myself, to be honest. These are the first two of six the Dark Ones have ordered me to eliminate from the Earth. The other three will be Jane and her good-for-nothing parents and the last is a surprise. Can you guess who it is? See you soon, Doctor.

Edward."

Wasting no time, Rowan slipped the note into his pocket and ran to his car. Getting in, starting it and driving off towards Jane Owens' house he passed the police on the way. When he got to the Owens house, he feared the worst when he saw the door slightly cracked open. Rowan barged through it and was greeted with the sight of Mr. Owens with knife wound to his chest. Many wounds to his chest. On the couch, in the living room, he saw Mrs. Owens with her eyes gouged out and a slash to the throat. Dead. Both of them.

Knowing where Jane's bedroom was already from meeting her from time to time to ask about Edward's past, Rowan ran up the stairs and down the hall. The door to Jane's room was slightly cracked open. Rowan entered and saw two things; one that he expected and the other he did not. Jane was dead. There was no apparent wounds, which lead Rowan to believe Edward had strangled her. One arm was dangling off the bed that the body lay on, and the other was resting on the bed with the upper half resting on her chest and her hand clasped over a black, leather-bound journal.

Rowan sat down on the bed and took the journal, looking at Jane's corpse before turning his attention to the journal. He opened it and was met with the words:

"I've heard voices..."

Rowan quickly learned that this was the diary of Edward Charleston Wickman. It told the tale of Edward's descent into madness through single-paragraph entries, all the while hearing voices from beings whom he called "the Dark Ones." The last entry was made that same day, only a few hours before Rowan had discovered the murders. It explained that Edward had fled to a forest north of Scarborough, and how he expressed that he wished Rowan would come looking for him.

And Rowan planned to do just that. He called the police again, informed them of the murder and then made his way to his car. The sun was setting, casting a red light upon the town. Under any other circumstances, Rowan would have thought it beautiful. But the red sky only showed to him an ominous sign that more blood was to be spilled that night. Eventually, Rowan made it to the border of the forest that Edward had ran too. Night had fallen completely, but Rowan was determined to end this once and for all. Grabbing a flashlight and scolding himself for not bringing a weapon with him, he got out of his car and walked into the black forest.

After searching for a while, Rowan came across a note. He walked to the tree it was pinned to and read it:

"You've come, Doctor. I'm glad, and so are the Dark Ones."

Rowan continued to search, becoming paranoid of every sound he heard in that dark forest. He came across a small brick building, knowing that there had to be something in there, he made his way into it. No letter. Not anywhere in the building. Rowan turned a corner and saw something that would scar him for the rest of his life. A tall man in a suit, his legs and arms were choppy and grey and his face was completely featureless. He ran out of the building as quickly as he could, and continued out for as long as his stamina could sustain him.

What in the name of Hell was that?

There was no way it could be Edward. It wasn't possible. That thing behind him was no Human. No Human at all. Suddenly the flashlight went out. The doctor hit it, but it wouldn't come back on. He was no completely in the dark with that... creature behind him. So, not knowing what else to do, Rowan ran, desperately searching for a way out of the forest. But he would never find one. Not before that evil creature that had once been Edward Charleston Wickman, now under the complete control of the Dark Ones, got to him.