Rue: Perdido Part 1

Land Of The Dead

People always complain about the smell of wet dog in the car. I doubt ever will again. A dead man on a hot day on real leather is far worse. Rick was fidgeting in the back seat; fumbling with his hat, inspecting his nails, and untying/retying his shoes. He was understandably nervous. We knew that his mayoral nemesis hadn’t tried to have him killed. Instead, things were even worse.

Someone was scavenging bits and pieces of the dead in order to bring to life people like Sgt. Johnson. Johnson was dealt with now at least, having found justice at the fiery fingers of those he stole from. His passing though, hadn’t helped us much. All we knew was that the source of this misery was in Cairo District.

Rue: Dead Heat Part 3

Dead End

I had never liked Sergeant Steve Johnson, even before he stated his intention to shove me headfirst into a crematory furnace. He patted a hefty gloved hand on the chain link conveyor belt.

“So, Rue, are you going to lay down and roll in like a good boy or am I going to have to carry you?”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to carry me Steve. After all, I had intended to get answers today before dying, not after.”

Rue: Breakfast

My egg had dribbling of yellow, milky snot leaking from its center. I poked at it absently, feeling my stomach cower in disgust. Hoff was happily stabbing his crusty hunk of toast into the phlegmy eye of his own egg. He munched away cheerily, looking at me from across the table.

“What is it Morgan? The Broken Killings are over. It’ll only be a matter of time before The Revolver Saint’s brought to justice. Pieprzak’s giving you a vacation, even.”

I wiped off my fork with my napkin and started shoveling in my hash browns. They were greasy but good and hot still. That made a huge difference. I waited until I was done with my mouthful before answering Hoff.

Rue: The Shattering Part 6

Walking Cast

“What are we doing here Rue? I’m not interested in a trip down memory lane.”

I tossed down a pair of ProTabs and felt the little bits of fear from earlier embedded in my spine melting away. I cracked my neck and adjusted my coat. The ofuda, Japanese exorcism papers, I had fashioned prior to visiting Ms. Hamasaki were starting to crinkle up inside my pocket. I sighed and started to straighten them out.

Rue: The Shattering Part 5

Splintered

When my eyes adjusted, I realized that it because they didn’t really want to see what I was surrounded by. Even through my revulsion, I had to smile. She was almost prettier than I had expected. Almost. Her voice had been sweet and there was no reason to doubt that the honeyed threats came from an equally sugary source. She wore a black kimono with fluorescent pink butterflies adorning, folded reverse for the dead. Her red lipstick was stark against her pale skin and white hair. Her eyes were red. Not fake contacts red. They were red pink like an albino.

Rue: The Shattering Part 4

Twisted

Captain Pieprzak was yelling. I wasn’t listening. I was still reading the case file he was raving about taking away from me. He had said something earlier about taking my badge as well after infuriating the E.F. and the Revolver Saint’s owner, Falci. I was rereading my notes, reading about the old victims, reading about how forty young women, thirty-nine of them prostitutes, had been tortured to death. I was reading their pain, their inexperience at the world’s oldest, dirtiest profession. I was reading about how all of them that had turned to prostitution had done so within three months before their death. Most importantly of all, I was reading about how the corpse on the floor of Kari Ellington’s apartment wasn’t some random john that had scooped her up for a nice night of joint shattering. Instead, I was reading about how he had been found about to deposit the traditional semen all of her corpse, how the Revolver Saint put three bullet holes in him, and how no one yet knew his identity.

Rue: The Shattering Part 3

Beatification

Just as painfully revolted by maggots or rot or age or as some people are, The Revolver Saint revolted me. East Fredricksburg had commissioned the white and red Kevlar wearing vigilante after the initial Sleeper attacks. When the wall first fell, The Revolver Saint had appeared in ragged priest garb, blasting away at Sleepers assaulting a church. The battle caused such a commotion that East Fredricksburg snatched up the conquering hero and poured money into an advertising campaign. Compliance levels shot through the roof as thieves were hunted through the streets and left in a pool of blood by the city’s new hero.

Rue: The Shattering Part 2

Fragile

I take a lot of pride in my ability to research things that no one else knows about.  I look through newspapers and figure out how other events tied into the cases I'm working.  Once Amy died she started letting me in on the fact that most things I used to think didn't exist, sure as hell exist and are plenty hungry out there.  So I made it a point to cross reference books of mythology, demonology, occultism, and fairy tales looking for some of my suspects or victims.  I was coming up dry on this one though.

Rue: The Shattering Part 1

Snapped

 (Snipped before the jump due to a crime scene.  No sense subjecting folks to it if they aren't ready.)