Confrontation (Part 3 - The Cliff)

[Wellesly – Western Area, Amestris]

Lieutenant Colonel William J. Barns was assigned to investigate the mysterious death of Lieutenant Donovan. Based on all the clues and leads he found, he decided to come to Wellesly first, and he was standing exactly on the cliff where Donovan died. However, he was all alone there because he didn't like much company while working. It was afternoon, but due to clouds in the sky, partial sunlight was touching the region. He was standing at the edge of the cliff from where Donovan fell, and he was looking down at the spot where Donovan's body was found. While looking down, he thought, "So weird, why a military officer like Donovan would come all the way here, and jump off from the cliff. Why did he even consider taking his own life?"

And then suddenly, he heard some noises from the bushes behind. William quickly pulled out his gun and pointed in the direction of the noises. He saw something was coming out of the bushes. He thought it to be some wild animal, but it was a man in his forties with his trekking gear, and he was with two girls who were 11-12 years old. And as soon as William saw the girls, he put back his gun. In the meantime, the man saw William standing near the edge of the cliff. "Wow, there is already someone here," The man said while panting.

Then he walked past William, to the edge of the cliff and looked at the city along with the two girls. "I should have brought a map with me before going for trekking," He looked at William and smiled.

"You could have just come by car if you wanted to enjoy the view," William said.

"Then this view would have been less satisfying," The man responded.

"Do you come here very often?" William asked.

"You can say that," The man replied.

"Are you aware of the incident which took place here some days back?" William enquired with a little hesitation due to the presence of the girls.

The man turned around and looked at William. "Do you mean Lieutenant Donovan's death?" He questioned.

William was shocked at hearing the man's reply. He narrowed his eyes and put his hand on his gun. "How do you know his name? That hasn't been revealed to the press," He asked.

Now the two girls turned around with perfect sync, and they started staring at William with their big eyes without blinking. William got uncomfortable because of the way the girls were staring at her. So, he gulped and looked back at the man, and before he could say anything, the man informed, "I even know how he died, in fact, I can tell you with detail. Wait I can demonstrate you," and he grinned.

Now William was terrified and sweat started appearing on his forehead. His heartbeat rose instantly. He quickly pulled out his gun and pointed at the man even though there were two children standing beside the man. But in the meantime, both the girls turned around and jumped off from the cliff. Williams's eyes were widened. It was so unusual and it happened so fast that William had no time to even shout, "STOP." And when the girls jumped off the cliff, the man said, "That's how he died."

William's reflexes kicked in and he rushed toward the edge to look down the cliff. He saw the two girls stuck at a rock, few meters down the edge. They were still breathing, and their head was bleeding heavily. The man though didn't look down the cliff like William did. Meanwhile, William informed while he was panting heavily, "They are alive, we can still help them."

But the man replied calmly, "Hmmm, even I had the chance to help Donovan. But I didn't do that."

William gritted his teeth and looked at the man. "I am going to save them no matter what," He said.

Then he again looked back down the cliff, but he was shocked to find that the girls were no more at the spot where he saw them. "WHAT? Where are the girls?" He shouted.

And suddenly he heard some voices. "We are here, Lieutenant Colonel William J. Barns," The girls called simultaneously.

William slowly turned his head while his whole face was covered in sweat and he saw the two girls standing at a distance with a smile on their face, and most importantly they were not hurt. He couldn't understand what was happening. He was unable to comprehend whether it was real or he was having a bad dream. He turned around and pointed his gun at the man. "What is happening?" He asked.

"Let me show you something worse Lieutenant," The man replied.

And suddenly, William heard a cry which sounded very familiar. The cry was coming from the place where the girls were standing, but when he looked in that direction, instead of the girls, he saw his wife standing there and crying. "H...H…How?" William stuttered.

Meanwhile, his Wife called for him while she was sobbing, "Please save me, Will."

And then suddenly a man came from behind, from the bushes and placed a knife over her throat. William's eyes were widened. He said, "No", and before he could make a move, the man slit his wife's throat. And soon after that, she fell on the floor with her bleeding throat while the man disappeared behind the bushes. William rushed toward his wife and he was about to hold her, she disappeared into thin air. William was unable to understand what was happening. He looked around and only found a seven feet plus bulky man standing at the edge of the cliff. It was the same man who met Lieutenant Donovan at the cliff, before Donovan jumped off the cliff. He turned to look at the man properly and asked, "Who are you?"

"You can call me Big John, and I am the one who killed Donovan," The man answered and continued, "I appreciate your determination Colonel William, but you have involved yourself in something which will definitely kill you if you don't back down."

William was not afraid of Big John after witnessing far more horrific things just a few moments ago. He looked directly into Big John's eyes and replied, "I am not going to leave this case, just because a filthy street magician asked me to."

Because of William's fearlessness, a big grin appeared on Big John's face. He laughed and said, "Wonderful. Now I can get some real fun."

Things got more confusing for William. He enquired, "What are you talking about?"

John stopped laughing and answered, "As I already told you, I am the killer of Lieutenant Donovan. You just need to catch me and put me in jail. Isn't that fun?" And he smiled.

"Are you crazy?" William yelled.

But, John replied calmly, "Crazy is a rude word, you can say hmmm…quirky."

William pointed his gun toward John with a pissed off face and said, "Fuck you, I am not going to play this stupid game. You are going to die right here, right now."

He then shot 3 bullets one after another toward John, and all the bullets hit John. John started bleeding from the bullet holes in his chest. He fell on his knees and started groaning in pain, holding the area where he was hurt with his hands.

"You sick bastard, you really shot me?" John groaned in pain.

William walked near him, stood properly and looked down at the large man. "People like you are a danger to the society, it's necessary to put you down," William said.

But suddenly, John stopped groaning and started laughing loudly. He looked up at William. "I was just having some fun," He smiled.

He then moved his hands from his chest, and magically all the bullet wounds had disappeared. There was not even a stain of blood or torn cloth. Watching that, William shot two bullets at John's head, but John was not hurt at all. It seemed as if he was invincible. John stood up and looked down at William. "Let me give you a head start," he grinned and continued, "I have played this game of cop and convict lots of time with many detectives like you, and all of them either went to asylum or they died. And unfortunately you are the cop this time, so be careful."

Then John slowly walked past William, and while he was going, William replied while facing his back, "Don't worry, this time the cop will catch the convict. I will find you wherever you may be."

For which John said, "How can you find someone who doesn't even exist?" And with that John disappeared into thin air.