Prologue: Inside the basement

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S GONE! How the fuck is he gone, we had him trapped in the Martin residence. The Special Forces had the damn house surrounded there's no way he's just gone!"

Police chief Kreffle felt his blood boil and his veins bulged, if anyone saw the man they'd think he was having a stroke.

Police chief Kreffle had been chasing Kira for weeks and the 'Kira Killings', labeled by the public, were his most pressing case. The city was in a state of chaos and something like the killer simply being 'gone' was just incredulous

People will begin to doubt whether the police are really making a difference, whether it's safe to step outside with the presence of what is currently the world's most wanted serial killer. To add to that, more innocent civilians will be put at risk and that was the bottom line.

Kreffle's anger boiled over and he felt like tearing his hair out.

"TELL LEO TO GET IN HERE, RIGHT FUCKING NOW!" The police chief roared, as he slammed the telephone into it's base.

//

4 days later, Cedrick yawned and trudged out of bed, as distant whispers of a tranquil dream escaped his waking body. He'd been having grievous nightmares every night since the death of his family. Presently, he was still in grief but he slept better than before.

No doubt he missed the warmth he used to feel from the other side of the bed, but those days were over. All because of that man. Cedrick felt himself begin to get hot with rage as the thought of that man entered his mind, but he took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

Sighing Cedrick rubbed his eyes and started to get ready for the day.

He fixed his sheets and made his way downstairs and ate some cereal. He switched on the news whilst he ate and saw that people were speculating on the disappearance of Kira.

It had been almost 13 days since the death of his family, that is to say it had been almost 13 days since Kira last struck. Usually the period between his murders wouldn't exceed 9 days. Clearly something had happened.

Cedrick saw Police Chief Kreffle being interviewed and he denied any involvement in the disappearance of Kira.

Society was teetering on the brink, with riots and protests happening all over London, due to the incompetence of the police. It should be stated that crime rates had increased by at least 40% due to these outbreaks and the whole country was effected, by the actions of one man.

All it would take is one more spark, and everything would crumble.

Cedrick flicked off the TV and finished his cereal. He then did a thirty minute workout before brushing his teeth and taking a quick shower.

He made sure to use mouthwash after showering, to ensure his teeth would remain healthy throughout the day.

He turned to a portrait of his family and gave it a goodbye kiss...

"You'll never know how much I love you all. Mum, Dad, Maggy, Caleb. I just don't know how I can move on... Now that- now that you're gone." He sobbed.

"I hope that, wherever you are, you're happy huh? You're in a h-happier place..." His sob turned into a loud uncontrollable wail, his heart poured out of his eyes and he fell to his knees, utterly defeated.

But after a few minutes he rose up, for Margaret and Caleb he would live on, he knew they would want that.

It was a brand new day, a Friday to be precise, and there was much to do.

But first... Cedrick had someone to visit

"I'll be back before you can say Snugglemuffins." He mumbled, kissing the portrait once more before he moved on.

Cedrick was not pressed for time as he'd been allowed a two week leave from work, due to his extremely hardworking nature, and the fact that his whole family had been slaughtered. However he started work again tomorrow, which meant that it was time to tie up loose ends. 'The police are looking for him too, I will wrap things up today.'

Cedrick opened the basement door, and descended the basement stairs, he switched on the basement lights and what met him was the result of his descent into madness.

What met him was the man he kept inside the basement.

"Good morning, John. How are you?"

John didn't answer.

"Well John we've been at this for four days and, I just want to know why, you know." Cedrick said as he approached the man, who was bolted to a metal table, his arms outstretched.

He put on a pair of gloves and an apron and grabbed a bucket which he placed beneath both of John's hands.

John was stripped of his clothes save for his undergarments and his complexion was pale, so pale the man looked like the blood had been sucked right out of him, Which wasn't entirely untrue. He had several bruises and cuts on his body and his teeth were littered on a tray just beside the table.

On top of that an untreated bullet wound on his right shoulder had gotten infected and his right arm felt numb. Despite all this John had tubes hooked up to his body, feeding him so he didn't suffer malnutrition, and his wounds were lightly bandaged just so he didn't bleed out too much.

"I want to know why you killed my wife and son John, why you killed my Mum. John when you take someone, when you take a life, it is the ultimate evil. I know, because I've done plenty evil but killing is the only thing that's really stuck. The only thing that got to me. Killing consumed me once, once it was all I knew. But when I came back from the war, I met someone and she showed me the value of life, and she smiled at me. She knew what kind of monster I was, but she smiled at me and it saved me. After she gave birth to my son I realised I had something to live for again so i-"

"Shut the fuck up! I'd rather be tortured than hear this bullshit again."

Cedrick glared at John and after a moment he gave a quiet chuckle. "John, you're going to die today."

"Heh, I may have failed to kill you, but that's okay. I can see it in your eyes. You're already dead." He grinned, but then began to cough violently. When he caught his breath he continued. "It's all you live for now. Your death. I've been there too, You're in horrible pain right? Find it hard to get up in the morning? Hard to eat? Hard to even move? You're at a point where you have no ambitions, nothing to live for anymore, You feel like dropping dead. And you don't understand... How much joy that brings me."

Cedrick quietly watched as John spoke and after a moment he laughed. "I'm afraid that's where you're wrong John, I have one more ambition in life, and that's to kill you. You and all those like you. You're what I live for John. The only thing that'll bring me joy in this sorry, twisted world is wiping your kind off the face of the planet."

John didn't reply. He didn't have to, because he knew that even in this Cedrick felt empty. The damage had been done.

Cedrick inspected a tool rack hung up on the wall and picked out a pair of rusty scissors. They were the only ones he hadn't made use of yet, so he decided he'd test them out. Honestly speaking Cedrick knew that what he was doing was wrong, but he paid morals and ethics no mind. 'What morals did this man follow when he decided to kill 21 people including my wife and son!'

"Haha! You don't know how loud that b**ch screamed when I choked out her son, She begged for me to stop. Even as I shot your family dead she wouldn't stop wailing." John groaned, slightly wincing as his gums started to bleed again. "But I made sure to take my sweet time with her..." He wheezed and gave a dry chuckle.

Cedrick's expression darkened and anger overtook him as he slowly made his way to John, it took every bit of his will not to hack the man into pieces. Cedrick planned on killing him, but he'd savour the moment for later in the day. John grimaced and braced for the pain, his screams would leave a professional chorister stunned, but they didn't penetrate the walls. No one was coming, and no one ever would be.

At 6:00 Cedrick decided he'd leave it at that, he cauterised John's left hand using a blowtorch, which incited a few more screams.

Although Cedrick wasn't going to work today, he was out of milk so he had to go shopping. Cedrick left the blowtorch on the tray next to John, took off his aprons and gloves and left, locking the door behind him.

The second Cedrick closed the door, John began to move, his left hand which was now more of a stump, rattled as he tried to slide it through the metal casing around his wrist. His thumb had been cut off at the base, and although it wasn't much, it was enough. He pulled with all his might and the pain was unimaginable, but he barely managed to slide it through, all the blood served for a decent lubricant.

John quickly recovered, the pain still lingered but he ignored it and looked to his right. The tray with the blowtorch was still there, and it was within arm's reach. He swung his left arm over to his right side and dragged the tray closer till the fingers on his right hand could just reach it. He could barely move his right shoulder alone, the bullet wound had been left unattended and his arm felt so weak. He almost dropped the blowtorch as he tried to grab it, but he managed to get a decent grip of it.

Now came the hard part, he flipped the blowtorch over so it was facing toward his wrist and he immediately turned it on.

The intense heat managed to melt the metal that trapped his wrist but not only was it burning him as well, the molten metal slowly began to drip and sear his flesh. What John aimed to do was impossible. Melting the metal restraining him, that would proceed to burn his wrist, while holding a blowtorch with an already injured arm.

Holding the blowtorch on its own was an arduous task, but managing to still hold it whilst receiving severe burns from both the blowtorch and red hot metal was as fruitless as telling a fish to fly.

In the end, John couldn't endure, and the blowtorch fell to the floor, and John roared in anguish. But as luck would have it, this wasn't the end for John. Although he had been unable to completely melt the metal that trapped his wrist, his efforts had softened it enough to slowly remove his hand.

The remaining metal burnt his hand as he dragged it through, but victory was in sight, he couldn't stop now. Once his hand was free, he removed the tubes that were hooked up to his body and reached down to grab the blowtorch.

Now he had to melt the restraints on his waist and ankles, this part would be far easier. He just had to melt the parts that were connected to the table and then he could remove them. He couldn't do this earlier though due to his limited wrist movement.

There were severe burns on his wrist and his hand was black and charred, the flesh and skin peeling off. He grimaced at the sight but pressed on, if he was gonna die, then why not reunite Cedrick with his family before he kicked the bucket.

After removing his restraints, John stepped off the table on shaky legs, he slowly walked to the First aid box Cedrick used, to keep him alive.

He opened it and properly bandaged himself, wrapping up his hands and right shoulder. He took a few painkillers, maybe a few too many, and then he grabbed the blowtorch and made his way to the basement door.

The lock made use of a key so he melted the hinged of the door until he could bust it open using his own strength.

He knew Cedrick usually didn't take too long to return when he went out, at most 2 hours, and it'd already been 30 minutes. Knowing he didn't have too much time to prepare, John quickly gathered some weapons. 'I'll kill that bastard if it's the last thing I do.'