1 The start

The pounding in my head continued to erupt with each movement I made. I cracked open my eyes and I layed in my bed in clothes I don't recall going to bed in. The clothing I went to bed in was basically my underwear and an oversized t-shirt but now I laid in bed with my shoes on, jeans, and the white t-shirt.

Lately this seems to be the routine that has been happening throughout this passed month. To make matters worse there are nights where I'll awake somewhere not in my home with dark crimson stains splattered across my clothing, but these memories only appear in small clips and then I'm back to sleep.

It frightens me that I don't seem to have control over my own body and the station isn't making it any better. For the passed month there has been an increase cases at work that is connected to a mass serial killer on the loose, but the bodies only seem to correspond to the days my memories are gone.

Getting up and rubbing my sore body I walked to the bathroom to grab some pain meds then got into the shower to wash away the grimy feeling I had acquired during my late night trip.

Gathering my things I put on my best suit, grabbed my notes, binder and proceed out the door to my car.

The drive to my work place was stress inducing because I had a strong feeling that another body would have been discovered this morning or will be later in the day.

Upon entering the office I could tell the mood was stretched tightly.

"Sir was there another body discovered?" I spoke up breaking the sour mood, my voice causing the air to still.

"Ah! Tyler! Yes it appears so, but this time it wasn't like the rest so we aren't certain if it's the same person from the others." He rubbed his chin with a puzzled expression.

"How was it different this time sir?" I sat down and took out my notebook, pen and paper ready to write down every word that came from his mouth.

Taking out photo's of the crime scene he laid them down in front of me. "Compared to the other sightings of the person this time they weren't wearing all black but this time they wore a pale masquerade mask with jeans, black shoes and an oversized white shirt. Including how the victim was found everything is different."

Looking at the photos I could point out how strongly this crime and the others were vastly different. Just like Mr. Jackson stated the criminal wore clothing that was strikingly different but also they way the body was left. Before the bodies would be torn beyond reconitions with almost no way to identify them, but this time the body was left in pristine condition almost as if they weren't dead but only asleep and would wake up at any moment.

"Sir how did this person die if I might ask? From these pictures it doesn't appear that the body has any wounds. Was it perhaps poisoning? If so why would they leave them like....like this?" At this point I had started to mumble to myself getting more and more lost in thoughts as my mind wondered.

"-ler, TYLER!" Mr. Jackson's voice yanked me from my thoughts.

"Yes sir! I'm sorry I got lost in thought." I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly.

"It's alright now to re answer your questions. From the toxicology screening that came back and the examination done on the body it seems like the victim just....passed away, but upon even closer examination there was not a single ounce of blood left in the victim's body and the reason as to why they looked completely find was due to an silicone like substance that replaced the victim's blood." Mr. Jackson rubbed his face as he sighed heavily.

"Do they have any clue as to what the substance was? If the body was drained and then filled like that then it must have taken more than a day, correct?"

"No, strangely it doesn't appear like that. The victim was last seen the afternoon on the same day that the body was found. Meaning this bastard must have a complex hideout that is fully capable of handling the draining AND filling of a grown woman in only a couple of hours. With this the killer must be extremely confident it their ability to walk around the city, including the fact that they must know the area well."

"If that's the case sir then they must also know the patrol patterns as well in order to be able to move that comfortably." Thoroughly writing down all the obtained information I proceeded to pack my things in to my bag.

"Where are you going Tyler? " Mr. Jackson glanced up from the picture when he noticed that I was packing.

"To the scene of the crime sir I need to gather more information, as well as look around for any potential witnesses that could be too frightened to speak up to cops."

Nodding his head in a court gesture he went back to observing the pictures and notes scattered throughout the table.

Leaving the office I walked towards the parking lot, when I got out to the parking lot my speed increased. Getting into my car I gripped the steering wheel and laid my head down gently and tried to calm down my breathing. The notes flashed through my mind.

'The clothing, it was the same as to what I was wearing when I woke up. I....I have to find the mask.' Starting my car I proceeded to my house. When I got to my house I tore it apart. I looked in my room, my bathroom, kitchen, laundry room, and the living room. I looked under the couch, in the cabinets and even in my dryer and washing machine but no mask. Collapsing onto my bed I breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's has to be a coincidence, it must be." I mumbled to myself as I began to drift of. Noticing I was getting tired I forced myself to get up, I walked into my disheveled kitchen and started preparing coffee. When it was done I practically inhaled the coffee into my system. Pouring a second cup I took the notes I had wrote down at the office and sat down in my living room going over every single detail.

I woke up on my bed with my notebook opened and a single sentence etched onto the paper.

"It wasn't a coincidence."