A storm brewed over Argon City that morning, ravaging the city with rain and thunder.
"Extinguish the flames!" The officers urgently led the firefighters to the Sinforth Cafe. Arriving at the scene, Stephen raised his arm to block the immense heat from the blazing fury in front of him. In the midst of the flaming fury, one of the officers ran up to another. Stephen eavesdropped on the conversation, only to hear the distressing news. "Did you manage to find the lady that dispatch talked about?" the officer asked the other.
"No, they said that it was a violent break-in. We have to wait till the flames subside before we can get in there and find her."
Stephen could already assume the worst from their singular conversation.
"Mrs. Offner!" Without any delay, he rushed into the burning building. Using his Artifact, he made a gravitational barrier around him to direct the harsh flames away. The heat was still unbearable to the point where he was sweating bullets. He prayed for some miracle that she'd be alive, but his hopes were soon to be shot down.
He saw her corpse in an unruly position, tied up. Her flesh and bones were semi-turned to charcoal, and her face was in utter distress. You could tell it was her because the special ring her late husband gave her was still on her finger. "N-No way..." It seemed as if she were purposely tied and burned alive.
"M-Mrs. Off-"
He felt the vomit projectile out of his mouth. He fell to the ground, covering his mouth. Vomit seeped onto his hand until he glimpsed Mrs. Offner's corpse again, causing another splurge of vomit to pour out of his mouth.
"Stephen, get out of there, now!" He felt a hand grab him. It was Jonathan, his best friend on the police force. Jonathan dragged Stephen out of there before tossing him onto the sidewalk. "Are you okay, Stephen? You looked like you were going to die in there!"
"Mrs. O-Offner is..." Stephen's voice was starting to break down.
Jonathan didn't realize Mrs. Offner died in the tragedy that was taking place. He knew Stephen's favorite cafe was the Sinforth Cafe, and he was very close to Mrs. Offner. So he could only feel bad for Stephen for witnessing her death. "Hey, man. Take a deep breath, okay? We must stay strong, as the killer is still near." Jonathan puts his hand on Stephen's back to comfort him before pointing at the red rose in a bubble made by an inscription. "See the evidence bubble? That's a red rose. A signature sign that the Red Rose Killer was the one who did this. Let's stop that killer together, Stephen!" He held a determined look in his eyes, ready to boost Stephen off his feet anytime.
Before Stephen could say anything, Jonathan's radio turned on. Listening to the orders carefully, he turned it off and looked at Stephen. "It seems we just found another murder from the Red Rose Killer! Let's get there quickly!"
They ran with haste, thunder drowning the sounds of their footsteps urgently splashing in the rain. But the more they ran, the more Stephen's heart sank. "T-This direction... no, I highly doubt it." The closer they got, the more Stephen denied it. He tried denying it more and more, even though he was just meters away.
He was one block away.
He was 10 steps away.
He was there.
It was the alleyway Miranda and he would meet up at. His eyes exasperated at the realization of where he was. He rushed past Jonathan, nearly knocking him over. When Stephen ducked under the crime scene tape, he saw her.
The corpse of Miranda.
Her expression was in shocked agony, and her neck had a visible mark of strangulation. Her head was twisted back, as if her neck had been forcibly snapped brutally during her murder.
"No way..." Stephen stood there, staring with eyes focused on the sight.
"Sad, huh? Poor girl had no chance. It looks like she was killed with brute force, and not instantly, too, judging by her wounds and her face..."
Her body also showed many bruises and broken limbs. The wall was splattered with blood, and things in the alley were knocked over. It was a sign of struggle and an overwhelming death.
Stephen's eyes glanced over to the red rose on the floor next to the crime scene; his pupils dilated as his lips trembled. The red rose constantly flickered in his mind, over and over like a repeating dagger that constantly jabbed at him.
Stephen approached Miranda's corpse, his fingers violently trembling. "No, she's not dead. L-Look, s-she can still be healed! W-We just need a priest from the church to come here and-"
"Stephen, are you serious? She's dead. The first responders also determined that she has no chance of living; she doesn't have a pulse."
"I swear, please just call a priest, God, anyone! She can still be saved, trust me!"
"I told you, she's fucking dead, why are you trying to push it any longer-"
A firm grip is felt against his coat, yanking him. Jonathan's eyes widened in surprise. It was Stephen's grip, and his eyes were bloodshot with rage. "I SAID SHE CAN STILL BE SAVED!"
"SHE'S NOT DEAD, SHE'S NOT DEAD YOU BASTARD!"
To Jonathan, this was the first he had ever seen. He never seen Stephen break his composure like this, nor go into a raging fury.
Stephen rushed to Miranda and quickly pulled out a healing potion. "Come on, call someone! Call the paramedics!" Picking up Miranda's corpse, her backwards head dangled before Stephen shoved the healing potion in her mouth. "Drink, Miranda, drink! We can save you still, see, it's working!" The contents of the potion slipped out of her mouth as he tried to get her to swallow, but her body was limp, and her skin was cold.
Jonathan couldn't say anything in the shocking scene. Miranda's eyes were lifeless and motionless when the raindrops trickled down her face. As Stephen let the last drop of the potion drizzle out of her corpse, he tried to shake her in an attempt to make her swallow it. "Drink it, Miranda! Remember when you said we'll be together from now on? When we'll explore things together!" He kept shaking her corpse, her head bobbing back and forth, lifeless. "I said fucking wake up, Miranda! Wake up!" he screamed with all his heart, his mind hyper-focused on hearing or seeing the slightest signs of life. He roared and continuously roared as if the world would change for him. He felt water trickle down his face, and his vision got blurry, but he couldn't tell if they were his tears or the rain. He just kept pushing until he saw something he wanted.
His intense focus was shattered, though, by Jonathan's hand on his shoulder. "Stephen, I'm sorry, but... she's long gone by now."
Jonathan's words were like a gun shooting a million bullets into his heart. And so, his mouth quivered as his grip on Miranda trembled. His breathing hitched before he could feel his tears only intensifying. Placing her corpse on the floor, he set his head on her body and released an agonizing cry.
When the skies roared with thunder and rain streamed through the streets, Stephen's anguish was the loudest thing that day.