In Another Life, In Another Time

The smell of death was heavy in the air. As he entered the room, he realised that nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to witness. The hall in which he now stood had been decorated for a birthday party, as to whose exactly that remained unclear. Just ahead of him was a small gathering of people, a mix of forensics and standard officers. Stepping further into the room one of the officers broke away from the group towards him. The officer extended his hand, which he shook. They both then faced the room with him saying “So, what are we looking at?”

“It appears to be a mass suicide sir.” He waved his hand gesturing to the scene. “Do we have an idea as to who these people are or why they did it? Also don’t call me sir, it makes me sound old.” The officer smiled “Sorry detective and not at the moment, we’re working on it.” A moment of silence enveloped them as they watched the others each looking for any clue that could help them understand the puzzle before them. He moved to step away when the officer caught him by the arm. “Just a bit of warning, this is bad, really bad. There are kids involved.” The detective mournfully sighed. “Right” was all he could say. The officer released his arm and he moved further into the party room.

There were tables around the room, each with a differing number of people sat at them. Food and drink in various stages of consumption sat before them. It was clear they had been here for a little while. The smell in the air and from the state of the food it was clear that decomposition had set in. As he passed one of the tables, he turned, spying four bodies together, two adults and two children. Despite the officers warning it did little to help ease his heartbreak. What could compel people to do something like this? Adults doing such a thing he could partially understand, situations and beliefs all factored into something like this but, children? They had no choice in the matter, none whatsoever. He could feel the fire in his chest. Pushing these thoughts aside he tried to remain focused, keep his eye on what mattered.

A call echoed across the hall, “Detective.” He turned to see the officer who had greeted him upon his arrival and by his side a woman. Making his way over he looked at the woman, he had not seen her before but based on the white body suit she wore she appeared to be a member of the forensics team. “What have you got?” The woman pulled back her hood and lowered her face mask. “Detective” she greeted. He nodded in acknowledgement. “We are certain that the cause of death is poison, which one is another matter. We have examined a number of the bodies and have found no external wounds that would cause death. Each of the corpses has burst blood vessels in the whites of their eyes and in other areas around their body, indicating a haemorrhagic agent.”

“Why would they choose to do that, surely there are much easier ways to go?” She nodded in agreement. “You’re right on that one, as to why, well only they could answer that for you with certainty. If I had to guess I would say that it is either one of two things, either this was all they could get in the quantity required or for some religious belief or another, they believed they had to die like this.” Nodding thoughtfully the detective turned to look at the officer “Is there anything else?” The officer nodded, “Yes, up on the balcony above the entrance we found a camcorder. It appears to have been placed there to record this event.” As he said this they turned, taking in the scene.

Nodding the detective replied “OK, lets have a look at this camera and see if we can’t get some idea as to what happened leading up to this.” The officer took the lead with the detective following closely behind. At the end of the hall, beside the stage was a door. In the dim light it was easily obscured. They made their way through and into the corridor leading to the back of the building. Towards the end of the corridor, the officer turned right and opened another door. It was a small office with a couple of screens. “This is the security office. Unfortunately the camera’s haven’t worked for some time but one of the other offices managed to get the VHS machine working. All you need to do is press play and it should show you what happened.” He thanked the officer with a nod. The officer nodded back and then closed the door.

Sitting in the old and dusty office chair, the detective leaned forward and pressed play, the tape whirring to life.

The beginning of the tape is scrambled with static, the sound of people talking can be heard. As the image clears it shows that the camera is being carried by someone and is watching the main entrance as people enter the hall. Dressed in their finest attire, most of them greet and smile at the camera, some also waving. They seem happy.

Did they know what was going to happen?

The tape then cuts to people sat at the tables talking, people mingling and stood throughout the hall, music playing in the background.

If he didn’t know any better, he would have said this was a standard family birthday party.
The camera pans around settling on a man. He appears to be in his late forties to early fifties, brown hair speckled with hints of grey. He is stood laughing and joking with a man and a woman. He spots the camera focused on him, smiles and waves. The person behind the camera waves back, the film wobbling as they do so. The camera then begins to pan again around the room. Static replaces the image and most of the audio is simply crackling and popping.

Leaning forward once more the detective paused the video for a moment. What was that? There was someone talking but it was difficult to make out. He rewound the tape and let it play again, this time leaning closer to the screen with the volume significantly raised in the hope of making out what was said. “Stay with me” the voice raspy but clear. Jumping in shock he placed a hand to his chest, his heart thumping. After taking a moment to calm himself he replayed the words again in his head. “Stay with me” he repeated.

Rewinding the tape once more to see if he could make out anything through the static, he lowered the volume and leaned back once again. The camera panned around the room and then the image faded followed by the familiar static. Pausing the video, he stared at the screen, scanning to see if anything can be made out through the wall of static. As he continued staring the static seemed to retreat and in it’s place was a picture. It looked to be an angel but not of the angelic kind. A grim portrayal. It was faceless, tall and skinny, it’s skin dark, almost black. It had four arms the lower two stretched out wide as if welcoming for a hug, the upper two were raised upwards above it’s head as if revering something only it could see. Large wings unfurled from it’s back but these were not adorned with soft white feathers, these were thick and leathery.

At first he paid it no mind, thinking it was the quality of the video and the static. But frame by frame it’s head lowered, followed by it’s arms until it was facing towards the camera directly at him. Eyes wide and speechless, the detective could do nothing but stare. The creature began moving forward, slowly at first as an animal would when stalking it’s prey. Then it reared backwards, once more standing upright and screamed, the shriek high in pitch and tortured. The sound was unnatural, cruel in nature. Then it was gone. The thing had vanished and he was once more staring at static. As much as he never wanted to see that thing ever again, he found himself rewinding the tape. Reaching the man smiling and waving, he pressed play. This then was followed by the camera panning and then static.

He watched, waiting for the thing to show itself. The static cleared and the tape continued, with no sign of the thing or it’s aura of hatred. What the hell had that been, was he imagining things, was this place and what lie in the other room getting to him? He was a seasoned detective, some of the things he had seen were on similar levels to this. Maybe after all these years his mind was fraying, collapsing under the mental strain of all the things he’d seen, even some of the things he’d done.

Rewinding he got to the man smiling and waving but as the camera began to pan away once more, he hit pause. Not sure how he had missed this the first time or those after, he saw a woman, sat off to the side at one of the tables. She wore a pale blue dress and a vacant look on her face. Sitting all alone, she stared forward at what the detective assumed to be the table or something on it. Not knowing why he found himself staring at her. A pair of hands came into shot, resting on her shoulders, the fingers long and spindly, they were dark in colour. The hands attached to elongated arms. As his breathing began to quicken he was confident he knew what they belonged to.

She turned her face towards the camera, slowly, almost in an effort to not provoke a response from the thing. Her expression now one of terror. His eyes meeting hers. He didn’t know how long he stared at her, how long they stared at each other. Unconsciously moving closer and closer. His forehead a hairs width from the screen. Eyes focused, continuing to stare at the woman with her staring back. He became aware of a soft breathing behind him. Something was stood in the room with him but he couldn’t look, held in place by forces unknown. The breathing had moved to his left ear by whatever was now leaning over him. Following the soft breathing, then came a whisper “Help me.” The voice, undeniably female. Now seemingly released from whatever had taken hold, he jumped forward, hitting his forehead on the screen, followed with him spinning around in an effort to come face to face with whatever was in the room with him.

As he turned his foot twisted and he lost balance. Falling, he hit his ribs on the side of the desk, landing awkwardly onto the floor. Groaning in pain and rubbing his side he now had a clear view of the room. He was alone. The room was small and there was no way whatever it was had managed to leave before he could catch sight of them. He needed some fresh air, a break from whatever the hell was happening in here. Pulling himself upright, he stood shakily, rubbing his ribs before making his way through the door and into the small, dimly lit corridor.

As he neared the end of the corridor, reaching the door to the main hall he paused. The sound of laughter and chattering could be heard. Not entirely sure of what he was hearing, he stood uncertainly, his hand resting on the handle. Deciding to take a peek, he gently pushed the handle, opening the door and peaking through the crack. Eyes widening in surprise he looked out into the hall. People in smart clothing stood talking and laughing, others sat at the tables eating and drinking. A song he couldn’t identify playing through the speakers. Knowing what he was looking at but not wanting to admit it to himself he pulled the door closed.

Thoughts flooded his mind trying to provide some logical reasoning that could explain what he had just seen. None of which was successful, they all came back to the same illogical conclusion. It was the birthday party. The birthday party. But how was that possible he thought to himself, for a start they’re all dead. The sounds of laughter and partying a clear defiance to his internal statements. Deciding that he couldn’t remain stood here forever, he needed a plan. The best one he could think of would be to keep his head down and make his way through the crowd as quickly and quietly as he could, doing his best to remain unnoticed. All he needed to do was to reach the door and he would be out of there.

As he began to open the door, the music stopped. The detective paused, door slightly ajar. Something was happening, but what? The sound of someone tapping a microphone echoed throughout the room. “One two one two, hello, can everybody hear me?” The sound of people cheering and whooping was the response. “It’s great to see that everybody could make it here for little Amelia’s birthday. Happy birthday Amelia, can everybody give Amelia a cheer?” Cheering echoed again throughout the room. “OK ok, now that we’ve done that, it’s now time to welcome our new guest.”

Still with his hand resting on the handle, the detective stood, head cocked and listening. Who was this new guest. Was he referring to an actual person or, and he hoped with everything he had that this wasn’t the case, was he referring to that thing? The speaking continued “Now without further ado, please welcome the detective!” Startled, his beating heart pumping heavily in his chest. Me? “Come on now detective don’t be shy! Don’t keep us all in suspense!” Pushing the door cautiously open, it gently swung aside to reveal the room. Everyone stood staring at him, smiles and grins painted on their faces. He took a couple of steps further when the room erupted into a round of applause with cheering and whooping filling the air once more.

Turning his head right towards the stage he locked eyes with the speaker. It was the man from the video who smiled and waved at the camera. His specks of grey, glimmering in the light. Apparently this was the person in charge, the leader. With a beckoning wave, the man called to him. “Please come up detective, we want to hear some words from the man himself.” Unsure of what else to do, he made his way up the small set of stairs and stood by the man. The lights above providing an irritatingly bright glare made him shield his eyes to look out at the crowd of people. The man beside him stood with his arms extended wide as if waiting for a hug. The detective turned and gave the man an incredulous look. With a sigh the man lowered his arms and placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, the grip tight. “This has been a long time coming detective, you’ve searched for us for so long and now, well now we finally meet face to face. What do you have to say?”

“I er.. where am I, what is this?” Laughter, quieter now, rippled through the audience. The man with the microphone stepped forward. “Don’t laugh folks, the detective here is my guest of honour, our guest of honour.” Turning to look at the detective the man continued. “I must say that after all this time that I’m hurt” he said placing a hand mockingly over his heart. “I’m hurt you don’t know who we are detective. I mean you’ve been following our escapades pretty closely. Let’s start with an introduction shall we?” Not giving him any chance to respond the man continued. “My name is Ira. Ira Bradbury and this here.” His arm outstretched to the audience. “Is my family.”

The detective stumbled backward wrenching himself free from Bradbury’s steely grip. “Is that meant to mean something to me because it doesn’t.” With a mocking smile Ira replied, “Not by itself no, but I assumed you were a smart man detective, I thought you may have been able to put the pieces together. Apparently I was mistaken. Let me help you. “Maria Peters, Dante Schuler and Lorelei Stubbs. Does that ring any bells?” They did, he knew those names well. They were all victims in cold murder cases. All the victims had died exactly the same way as the people who now somehow stood before him, wondering how he had not made the connection sooner.

Eyes widening in realisation. “It was you. You killed those people.” With a slow clap, Ira raised the microphone speaking not just to the detective but to the crowd. “Yes, we did. And we killed a lot more.” Bradbury was about to continue when he was interrupted. “But why, why did you kill them, why did you kill yourselves, we had no idea about any of you.” Ira looked at him for a moment, his steely gaze sending shivers up his spine. “To prove ourselves, our commitment. Look around at where you find yourself. We are the chosen. Able to live forever, a moment in time embracing each other for all eternity. This is his gift, our reward.” Noticing that Bradbury had mentioned a he, was this other person the true ringleader, if not Bradbury then who? “Who are you talking about” he spat.

The mocking smile had never left his face. “I’m sure our benevolent benefactor has made themselves known to you,” he said raising his arms upward in reverence. He then dropped them once more and continued speaking. “They must have otherwise you wouldn’t be here. Like us, you have been chosen, your commitment to finding us despite when all hope was lost, the leads dead and everyone else had given up. But you didn’t, you still tried” he said pointing at him. “You did everything you could possibly think of. We’ve been watching you, keeping a close eye on your activities and movements and I must say on behalf of everyone here. We are impressed. In another life and another time, you could have been a part of our family from the beginning. With a glint in his eye he finished with “Better late than never.”

Credit: Gabriel Carr

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