Diary Of A Dead Man

Crack! Aaah!

My jaw clenched and I nearly bit through the leather strap as Chuck slowly let up the tension allowing the joint to seat back in its socket. He let go of my arm and the searing pain reduced to a pulsing throb. I spit out the belt, panting heavily, and pulled my arm into my chest as Chuck wrapped the sling around my neck. 

"Forgive me if I don't bleed for you," He said gruffly, "If I fell sixteen stories, I'd be thrilled to have a dislocated shoulder."

I tried to smile through the agony, "Yup, lucky me." I grimaced as he secured my arm in place. 

Escaping the casino had been a slow, painful ordeal. It was rough business jogging back to my car with an arm out of the socket, and driving to the gym with one arm was no picnic either. By the time I pulled up to the warehouse the first light of dawn was creeping through the sky. Luckily for me, that was my uncle's favorite time to work out. So, I crashed his early morning routine, and he fixed me the only way he knew how... Indelicately.

The procedure done, Uncle Chuck got up and walked over to a cooler sitting near his desk, "how fast do you think it'll heal?" He asked as he pulled out an ice pack and threw it to me.

Catching it with my good arm, I gently pressed the pack to my aching joint. "No idea. Hopefully not long." 

Chuck picked up the diary from the chair where my crumpled uniform lay. "So, what else did you see in there?"

Staring blankly ahead, I tried to suppress the shame I felt for my relapse, the taste of whiskey still lingering on my lips.

"Just the diary and the victim profiles," I said, leaving out the part about Bal-Zabul's influence over me. "There were hundreds of them."

My uncle watched me closely, I'm sure he suspected something was off, but he didn't push it. "Hmm... Alright well, I'll read through this and see what ol' Chase has for us."

I started to stand, "Make it quick, I need to get that to the Chief."

"Hold on there cowboy," Chuck crossed the room and pushed me back into the chair. "It looks like your mojo needs time to kick in, and you've been running all night. I got an old cot in the back. I'll read, you catch a few winks."

He walked out and returned a few moments later, unfolding an old military surplus cot in the middle of his office.

I wanted to argue, but I was so tired I couldn't muster the energy. "Fine, but then I take it to McKinney," I grunted as I stretched out over the musty canvas. "There should be enough to get a search warrant at least." 

Chuck sat back at his desk and set to work on the diary, while I settled into a fitful sleep.

Under the rays of sunlight peeking through the office window, I slowly drifted off to sleep amid the usual anxious twitches firing at random through my battered limbs.

It felt like I barely closed my eyes, however, when I was roughly shaken awake again.

Groggily I pushed myself up on my good arm, "wuzzup?" I grumbled.

"Get up kid," Chuck said, holding out a Styrofoam cup. 

I swung my legs off the side of the cot and took it, smelling the dark roast within. Blinking sleep out of my eyes I looked up at the clock on his wall and saw it was nearly eleven in the morning. I'd been out for three hours.

I gently rotated my shoulder and flexed the fingers of my injured arm. It was still sore, but I could move it, which was something. I shook off the sling as I drank.

"Chase is either an idiot or a fucking genius to write this shit down," Chuck said, thumbing through the pages. "Either way, this helps." He pulled up a folding chair and sat near the cot, waiting for me to perk up. "Got something here you need to read," he said holding up the diary.

I frowned as I leaned forward and took it. The page he had it opened to was dated nearly a year ago. I set down my cup and read:

"Today, Waylon took us to meet the boss. He said we were going to level up our game. We didn't go to the casino as usual but instead drove out to a mansion, it was the Mayor's house. Some Jeev's looking guy let us in and took us downstairs to the basement where Gambal was waiting for us, and he wasn't alone.

Finally, I got to meet them, the Order of the Black Pyramid. They all wore hoods, so I couldn't make out their faces, but I don't care about that anymore. 

What they did to me... what they showed me... I've never felt anything like it. I see clearly now. Good, bad, none of it matters, it's all a lie. We are a terrible mistake, a cosmic joke. The only remedy for the offense that is human life is our extinction. The best I can do now is take out as many people as possible before I go. 

When they finished with me they brought out some cattle, a few women, a couple of kids, and I think a man or two. It's all a blur now. Strange to think how nervous I was at first as if their lives mattered in the slightest. Honestly, once we started, the experience was pretty fun. No more boundaries or stupid rules. Nothing in life matters, so why not enjoy the ride? After all, people are just things for me to use before the final darkness takes me.

When it was over and I met the Dark One, Bal-Zabul, it was as natural as breathing. I could almost pity this worthless world, they have no idea what's coming."

I looked up at Chuck, his face, stone, "it goes on and on," he said, "it's some sick shit. This whole 'Dark Ones' thing freaks me out." He took the book from me and flipped to a later page, "But this... This is the most important part." 

I read it. Rather than a standard diary entry, it was a calendar reminder marked for a week from today with the address to the railyard underlined in red. I snapped my attention back to my uncle, "Train cars... They are keeping people in train cars!

He nodded.

The sense of urgency returned, flooding my tired limbs again. Grunting I got to my feet and grabbed my uniform from the chair beside me. "I need to get there, I have to find them."

Chuck stood and gently touched my good shoulder slowing me down. "Remember what I said, you need to be smart."

I tried to shake his hand off, but he tightened his grip, "You're no good to that girl if you die before you can find her."

I slouched and stopped pulling away, "I can't leave her there for another day." 

"We won't," Chuck said, "Follow through with the plan. Bring what you found to the Chief, and let's do this as a team, alright?"

I knew he was right. fighting my impatience, I grudgingly rummaged through my pocket until I found the burner phone. I texted the Chief what I had found along with the photos of the victim profiles. He responded with an address and told me to meet him.

I quickly finished dressing and grabbed the diary. Chuck walked me out to my crookedly parked car. 

"Try not to piss him off alright?" he said seriously. 

I got into the driver's seat and turned the key, "I'll do my best. Be ready, once I get McKinney on board, we need to move fast."

Chuck closed my door and I pulled out of the parking lot.

***

The meet-up spot turned out to be an abandoned barn on the southeast end of the city near an old decommissioned airfield. Once more I parked off the side of a dusty road a few miles away from my destination and ran through an overgrown field to reach my target.

Now I understand why all the comic book superheroes kept to dense urban cities... way easier to get around that way.

With each foot fall my shoulder throbbed painfully, slowing me down even with the talisman's power. Nevertheless, I reached the dilapidated barn fairly quickly. I lept to the roof and slid through a hole in the shingles to perch up in the rafters and scanned the room with my senses. It was empty, I was alone. 

For several agonizingly slow minutes, I waited until, finally, the sound of a car pulling up reached my ears. Mckinney walked through the broken-down barn door, looking as irritable and red-faced as ever.

I lept from the beam and landed a few yards in front of him, making him jump and draw his weapon. His shoudlers slumped when he recognized me.

"You need to start using the damn door," he growled, stowing the pistol. 

"I'll take it under advisement," I said impatiently as I crossed the barn, "You wanted evidence? this should get your foot in the door. It Implicates Gambal, and the trio for starters. We need to move fast," I held out the diary.

McKinney took it and looked it over, but something was off. His body language was wrong.

I knew this was his first real lead in months, a break in the case that could end the corruption plaguing his department. It was a light at the end of the tunnel, he should be happy, or at least hopeful. Instead, he looked angrier than usual. 

Before I knew what was happening he dropped the book and decked me across the face. Though it didn't hurt, I stumbled back taken by surprise. He followed up, grabbing my lapel and pulling me toward him.

"You piece of shit!" he howled, "I warned you! No bodies!"

Confused, I grabbed his wrists and peeled his hands off easily. I'll give it to the old man, he was brave. I broke his grip like he was a child, but he still stared me down as if he had a fighting chance.

"What are you talking about?"

He struggled against my grip, but couldn't break free, "Don't give me that shit, Chase was just found ripped apart in his hotel room."

I blanched, let go of his arms, and stepped back in shock. "I didn't kill him!" 

"You keep saying that," McKinney spat, "but that's two deaths near you in less than a day." 

I wracked my tired brain trying to process what he was saying. Why would Chase be dead? Unless it was them... unless they knew.

"Chase was alive and in one piece when I left," I said, unable to hide the anger in my voice. "Read the damn book, he was in a fucking death cult. What the hell do you think they would do to him when they found out he was compromised?"

McKinney blinked, and his angry expression faltered. He hadn't expected that. He swore under his breath and started pacing in fretful circles.

I knew how much easier it would be for him if I were the killer. It would be a lot more palatable than what we faced now. but it wasn't that simple and he knew it. He glanced between me and the diary, his mustache twitching as he mulled everything over. 

"I can't use the book," he grumbled.

"Why the hell not?"

"Because I'm not a damn cop anymore," he said, without meeting my eyes. "When Chase was found this morning, city council canned me. Enzo is acting Chief now."

The bottom dropped out of my stomach. "It's Gambal. He knows what's coming, they're tying up loose ends..."

McKinney snorted, "No shit."

We stood across from each other, stewing in our frustrations.

With McKinney out there was no legitimate authority left to bring the diary to. We weren't going to get a warrant now, and there was no chance a disgraced former chief could rally an outside police agency for help. Leaking it to the news would take far too long. I needed to act now. If I was going to save the girl, I was on my own... Maybe.

My uncle's voice floated through my head... "Be smart."

I bent down, picked the diary up out of the dirt, and held it out to McKinney again.

"This says there's these creeps are doing business in the railyard. I think that's where they keep their victims before they get... distributed... I don't plan on letting that happen. I'm going after them with or without official police help. But I'd prefer it if I wasn't doing it alone."

He glanced between my face and the book and I watched the cogs turn in his head.

McKinney was like my uncle, was like me. He hadn't resurrected the Black Cats and dammed his career for no reason, the man believed in what he was doing. The odds had been stacked against him, yet evil was afoot and he had been taking action this whole time. People needed saving, he wasn't going to say no. 

McKinney sighed, "How many victims?" 

I shrugged, "Can't know for sure, maybe a few hundred. Including Annabell if we're lucky." 

He swore again and spat into the dirt. After a pause, he took the diary from me and flipped it open. "If we do this you realize we will most likely be killed or arrested?"

I raised an eyebrow and looked down at my attire, "Buddy I boarded that ship a while ago."

He chuckled darkly. "Fuck it, it's not like the badge was doing me any good anyway." 

The corners of my eyes crinkled as I smiled, "Eh, they're overrated."

He scoffed, eyeing the talisman on my chest, "I can't believe I'm doing this," he said as he pulled out his cell phone.

"Who are you calling?"

McKinney lifted the phone to his ear and walked toward the barn door, "Men as dumb as us."

He stepped out and left me to stand alone in the middle of the empty barn.

After a few minutes in the quiet, I started feeling the nervous muscle twitches again. With no one to distract me and nothing to do, anxiety had time to creep into my chest once more. My heart skipped a few beats and my breathing shallowed. I closed my eyes and tried to control my emotions. 

When I opened my eyes again, Leo appeared in my periphery. 

"Tell me this is going to work," I said. 

"What, you want a guarantee?" he asked. "You want me to say that all will end well and the good guys will triumph?"

I didn't answer him. My left arm spasmed as the scar on my shoulder throbbed. 

Leo walked out ahead of me, looking around the empty broken-down barn, "If I said no, would you walk away?" 

I clenched my fists and slowly shook my head without looking at him. 

Leo smiled, "Then it's going to work out just fine."

We stood together and waited as McKiney finished his call to rally what little help there was to hunt down monsters. I took a shaky breath.

"I'm coming, Annabell."