12 Man Eating Flower

UDI Lab

Elena was leaning back on the sofa in the lounge provided for employees to rest. Her forehead was full of bead size sweat and her back was drenched by the sweat. She waved her hands, trying to cool herself down a little as she felt the air conditioner was not enough to cool herself down.

She felt so hot because she wore the medical gown for almost an entire day - it was so suffocating. God knows how she wish to put the gown off but unluckily she could not. So, she could only endure it because batch of cadavers came after a massive train accident that occured in Long City, a neighbor city located only 30 kilometers away from Imperial City.

The autopsy should be done by the local labs but, because the number of victims was too staggering, over 100 people so the labs from Long City needed assistance from other labs in Imperial City.

And one of the (un)lucky labs that was assigned by the police department to help examining the cadavers was the UDI Lab.

...

Today's Morning

The morning at UDI lab was peaceful. There was no corpse to examine so Elena and her seniors leisurely sat and talk some gossips - only Drey who kept silent and sighed helplessly once in a while. Curious because this senior of hers suddenly was not interested in gossips, Elena asked him. "Senior Drey, what happen to you?"

Drey didn't reply. He only exhaled his deep breath feebly and leaned his head to Thomas shoulder who was sitting beside him. Elena looked at him in confusion and turned her head to look at her seniors, asking for a hint. When Key was about to explained, they heard Drey murmured under his breath. "The chief is an evil. How could he sent me last night? He's cruel and evil."

Hearing the sentence, Elena was even more confused. Fortunately Lily who was sitting beside her kindly explained. "Last night, there was a homicide at the villa in the city's outskirt and our head sent Drey to the crime scene."

Elena nodded in comprehension. "Ooo... So that the reason why my senior become so dispirited."

Drey finally spoke after being a silent man for the whole conversation. "Last night our chief called me. He gave me the address of the villa and ordered me to go there. Did he know how tired i was? I worked overtime and when i was at home and was about to have a beauty sleep, he called me to go to that d*mn place to assist medical examiners from other lab until dawn. Do you know what i feel right now?I'm so dead tired."

Elena was silent as she had no intention to console her senior. She thought of something and asked curiously. "Will i also go to the crime scene?"

Key nodded. "Yes. You will."

Elena exhilarated when she heard Key's confirmation. She always wished to go to crime scene. It would definitely be a thrilling experience like what she saw from some crime movies.

Everyone could see the sparkle in her eyes, they didn't bear to extinguish her spirit because they acted like her too in their early years - only now they felt numb and unwilling to go to the crime scene because it required more energy than working in the lab. Drey was about to say something to smother her inflated spirit before the other three glared at him menacingly. Key then continued speaking. "Actually you could go earlier but your professors treasured you by too much. So they only allowed chief to let you go to the crime scene after six months. You've been working here for five months so there's only one months left for you to experience that."

Elena nodded again. She shifted her focus and inquired Drey about what he saw last night. Then, Drey explained as his face suddenly became pale and he swiftly closed his legs and covered his crotch with his trembling hands. "Last night was too terrible... definitely, without a doubt was too terrible. When i investigated the corpse, there was something missing."

"What missing?" Now, it was Thomas who asked curiously. He knew Drey so well because they had been together since their college. Drey would only acted that way when he witnessed something that was truly too terrifying.

"I saw something down there missing." Drey shifted his line of sight to Thomas crotch. Everyone seemed to understand his hint - only Thomas flushed red in embarrassment when he realized his crotch was being stared by the others. He really wished to smack Drey on the spot. Why didn't he pointed his crotch instead of him?

"The p*nis is missing? was it like a man eating flower case last month?" Elena had a photographic memory. As she realized that part was missing, her mind worked fastly and the similiar case from last month emerged in her mind.

"Yes, because some details are too similar." Drey explained further.

"Elaborate it Drey." inquired Lily, representing everyone's request. Their curiosity was evoked when they related the case last night to the man eating flower case. The case was infamous that it made police to mobilize the best corps. Unfortunately, they had not got a clue, not even once. So for the past month, this case seemed unsolvable that it attracted public curiosity.

"The p*nis is missing. There were antemortem¹ injuries all over the body. The wounds were deep enough, probably only few millimeters from the bones. There was an X-shape wound that covered chest area. The cut in the crotch and other wounds were clean and precise."

Key was the first to respond. "I think the murderer must be someone who was familiar with knife works."

Lily interjected. "The murderer might be a chef, butcher or even someone like us, a doctor."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Indeed, the murderer must be proficient in knife works. Elena was about to ask another thing when the door suddenly opened by Chief Blair. Then, he grimly announced. "Everyone, be prepared. There would be more than 15 cadavers come to our lab."

Everyone stunned. They incredulously looked at the chief, hoping what he said just now was an illusion. To their dismay, the Chief Blair nodded, beckoning what he said just now was a truth.

Before they could lament their fate, Chief Blair looked at his watch and clapped his hands, urging some lazy human in front of him to move faster. "Hurry up...hurry up. The ambulance will come in three minutes."

"Hah?" everyone was dumbfounded. Why is it so fast? Should their beloved chief give them some time to prepare?

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1) Antemortem injuries are those injuries a body has received before death. For detail explanation, you can visit https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/antemortem-injuries