Rhodes

The Final Suspect

It was dark that night. The forecast called for fog, but the fog never came. I was there just to supervise. My arm was still in a caste so if something bad did happen I wouldn’t be of much use. We had the hounds ready. Every available officer was ready to go in.

I was the one who blew the whistle. I was the one who gave the command. I was the one who let the dogs out into those tunnels in search of answers and in pursuit of justice.

The storm shelter was the product of a different time. It was connected to a cave system that was used by early settlers to store their food and supplies while the town was being built. When the town of Birchwood was destroyed, the survivors took refuge here before being rescued and relocated to Rhodes.

Since then, it’s been used as a gang hideout, a homeless shelter, and a smuggler’s den. Urban legend even claimed that it was used for the underground railroad but that would be absurd for a town this far north.

As the officers cleared more and more of the tunnel, I followed in behind them. The shelter had a musty smell. Moss and mushrooms lined the walls and crevices. The distinct smell of rotting flesh permeated the corridors. I put face to the smells as we passed dead mice and even the ravaged carcass of a deer.

“Macdonald!” Simmons’ voice echoed. I walked over to where he was. He held up a discarded and water logged book. “Could be evidence.”

I looked through it. It appeared to be a hand-written folktale. The ink was smeared and it stained the pages making it unreadable. But one image stood out. It was the image of a man in an iron mask howling up at the moon.

I discarded it into a plastic bag. It could be evidence but I had my doubts. The pathway was beginning to open up into the cave system. I got out the map I had in my pocket. Like most things in the area, this cave system was meticulously tracked. Every corridor was on the map and each person had a copy.

Deeper and deeper we ran. The dogs started barking and sniffing and leading us along the way. Eli sunk behind the pack to where I stood. He had his own map. One that laid the cave tunnels over a map of the woods and surrounding area.

His fingers were wrapped around a pen, keeping track of our movements. As we followed the dogs, we were heading to where the cave ran under the casino. It made sense. If the murderer had crossed paths with Alice Penderton on her way from Siren’s Song, it made sense that the killer’s lair would be nearby. I also hadn’t shaken my suspicion that Balthazar had something to do with it.

“This corridor.” Eli said as we hit a fork in the road. The dogs headed east and the officer’s followed. The corridor we had been on hit this corridor at a ninety degree angle. “We’re heading towards Siren’s Song now.” Eli said. “But if we went the other way we’d be making a straight shot towards the graveyard.”

I didn’t pay much attention to Eli’s words. What concerned me was catching this criminal post haste. It had been several days since Penderton’s death. The longer it took to catch the killer the harder it would be to connect any suspect to the murder.

The corridor opened up with feint torchlight flooding in from a cavern. We followed the light into the cavern to find a well lit room. Torches lined the walls to reveal archaic etchings in the stone. Juxtaposed with the ancient corridor was a slew of contemporary crates. Each one filled with money, cards and poker chips. It didn’t take a master detective to deduce that this was used by the casino as a means of storage. There were other trinkets as well such as jewels and mining equipment.

It was at that moment that I heard it. We all heard it. A blood curdling scream echoed through the halls. I was coming from another chamber. The dogs were let loose. The officers moved in a panic towards the scream. I on the other hand, I froze. I heard that scream before. That pained scream was the same one that was let loose by my armored attacker. He was here. We had him.

There was a small hallway that led into the next room. It was lined with the same velvety carpet that covered the floors of the casino. A few officers gathered around part of the hallway.

“We have a live one!” Simmons declared. I pushed myself through the moving crowd. The officers were carrying on, trying to get a glimpse of our armored friend. When I arrived at the survivor, I was surprised to see Balthazar himself.

He was a bloodied mess and barely breathing. He coughed and hacked. An officer called for a medic. I checked his pulse. Even though he was still alive for the moment, there was no way he was surviving this trauma.

“I found it.” He coughed out. “Twenty years ago I found it. Kept it safe. But now he’s loose.” Balthazar choked on his final words.

“Who is he?” I asked. Balthazar breathed his last. His eyes rolled to the back of his head. I stood back up and looked at the wall. It had a crack in it. The back of Balthazar’s head was fractured. Judging from the scene, the killer had stumbled into Balthazar and slammed him into the walls.

“You don’t think he’d-” Eli started.

“He must be talking about the corridor.” I said. “Our killer must have ran into him just a moment ago and decided to kill the witness.” It made sense to me at least.

Another scream caught my attention. The sounds of dogs barking and yelping in pain permeated through the hall. I followed after the noise. I could here my officers yelling. “Stand down! Freeze!” They were yelling. Then there were gunshots. The echo of bullets on metal followed soon after. Then more screams, more bullets, more ricochets.

Eli raced ahead of me. A body flew into him, knocking him off his feet. The offending officer writhed in pain. Eli picked himself up and raced into the room. I checked to make sure the officer was alright.

“Impossible.” He muttered. “Impossible.”

“Stay here.” I grabbed my gun and snuck into the doorway. I might not be able to fight but I’d be damned if I didn’t at least try to contribute.

The truth doesn’t matter in this instance. Whatever or whoever he was, this colossus was impressive. Metal covered his entire body. It shimmered and reflected light, just like the pieces I found on Ms. Penderton and in the Birchwood forest.

He towered over my men. He had grabbed Simmons on his head and held him up by his hair. Eli jumped in with a discarded baton and smacked the Colossus over the back, splintering the weapon. The giant staggered and slammed Simmons against the wall. He then backhanded Eli, knocking the man over.

He grabbed Simmons around the throat and started strangling him. His cold hazel eyes peered into the young officer’s green eyes. I aimed my revolver and steadied my hand. I unleashed a bullet from the muzzle of my gun. An instant later, the projectile hit the monster on the head. He stumbled into the wall and dropped Simmons.

It was then that the beast took a good look at me and I at it. We sized each other up. As we did, another officer bludgeoned it with a crowbar. The Colossus quickly turned and smacked the weapon out of the officer’s hand. His metallic palm then slammed into the officer’s chest, knocking the breath out of him.

I shot him again and the bullet bounced on his armor. It was armor. I could tell that much. In fact, it did bear resemblance to the armor that was in the casino above. The key difference was the head. Whereas the rest of his body was shimmering steel, his face was covered in a rusted iron. It had facial features identical to the torture masks used back in darker times.

He moved like a lumbering beast towards me. He smelt like an odd mix of pocket change and a hospital’s burn ward. The aroma caused me to step back but the monster’s steps were far greater than mine. He clutched me around the collar and he hoisted me up. Mt head hit the ceiling, just barely. I kicked with my feet in an attempt to pull him off me.

Eli jumped on his back and put him in a headlock. The suspect dropped me as he staggered backwards. He reached his hand up and grabbed Eli before throwing the man over his shoulder and slamming him down through a table.

Jasper emptied his gun into the beast’s torso, gaining his attention. The monster lumbered over to him. A few officers that had been on the ground grabbed the Colossus’ feet. He dragged them along for a few paces. Then a volley of bullets peppered his back, causing him to stumble. Jasper stepped out of the way as the Colossus hit the bullet-riddled pillar. The pillar collapsed from his weight and a chunk of ceiling fell on the monster.

“Anyone who’s hurt, get out of here!” I yelled.

“That goes for you too Macdonald.” Eli said

The monster picked himself back up. It gave a blood curdling howl as it lumbered towards us. On its way, it picked up a leg from the broken table. But a new smell had joined its aromatic orchestra. A bit of gasoline had spilled onto its body. It gave me an idea.

“I have an idea.” I said. “Follow me.” On my way out, I grabbed the gas can.

Most of the officers had already scattered. I began leading the group through the cavern. I had most of them split up and head back out. The rest of us kept straight towards the mausoleum.

“A dead end?” Simmons said as we were forced to stop.

“Hold up.” Eli said. I fired my revolver at the pursuing creature to make sure he was still following us. Eli removed a rock and a secret passage opened up. Eli and I were probably the only two people present who knew about this. It was all according to plan.

We were now in the family mausoleum for Sir Daniel Miotal-who if the legends were to be believed was in fact the same creature pursuing us. Either that or someone who tried to recreate the legend. That much didn’t matter. What mattered was justice for Penderton, Balthazar and whoever else this giant may have slain.

Jasper and Simmons worked on opening the doorway so we could escape. I stood at the ready with a gas can in hand. As the monster stepped in I splashed it in the eyes. I threw the can and ran for cover. I shot the metal monstrosity. The bullet sparked, igniting the beast.

He looked like a golem of fire as he screeched in pain. Eli grabbed my wrist and threw me outside into the graveyard. He held a stick of dynamite in his hand. He must have grabbed it from the mining equipment. He threw it underhanded at the Colossus. The fiery giant caused the stick to explode. The blast took out part of the tomb’s wall and the whole thing collapsed on him.

I caught my breath as I laid back down. It was over. It wasn’t until I laid in the damp ground of the graveyard and looked up at the stars and moon that I realized just how much my heart had been racing.

No one could have survived that. The fire alone would have eventually cooked him alive inside that armor. Add to that the collapsed stone and he was surely dead. It was hard to find a body. The mausoleum was filled with cadaverous remains, some of them well preserved and mummified. We did find a lot of steel scraps and the iron mask. But that was it. It was over.

I still can’t say in confidence whether that beast was in fact the creature of legend or if it was created by Balthazar. Journals found on the premise indicated that Balthazar had at least utilized the monster on a handful of occasions. One of the journals even described the torturous process that made him.

But that didn’t matter. To this day there has not been a single sighting of the Birchwood Colossus. There’s nowhere for it to have run. Nowhere left for it to hide. I might not be able to say with confidence what exactly it was that we fought but I can say that the beast is dead. Justice was served, in an unsatisfactory sense. The Colossus’ victims could rest easy knowing that much.

And I rest easy knowing that I’ve never come so close to death as I did in those days. Truly, it was the strangest and most dangerous chapter of my life. I hope it remains that way.