Chapter 1 – An Unexpected Development

The blood dripped from the knife, fresh from the throat of it’s victim. It pattered to the ground as its hooded owner stood over the body, watching the last signs of life vanish from the soon-to-be-corpse’s eyes.  The cut hadn’t been as clean as it usually was, but this had been an…unexpected development.

The knife’s owner mulled over that fact quietly as they waited patiently for their victim to uphold their part of this one-sided bargain and draw their last breath.  Unexpected, yes that was true, but not unfortunate. This had been part of the plan all along hadn’t it? It just happened sooner than expected.

A frown formed within the shadows of the hood.  This would prove to be somewhat of an inconvenience, as it was a divergence from the plan.  Then again plans rarely go accordingly, and they were no stranger to improvising. It would just require a little more work. In the grand scheme of things this…inconvenience, was a relatively minor one. It could be dealt with.

Shaken from their musings by the rattling of the victim’s last breath. The knife’s owner looked up to see the corpse growing cold.  The bargain completed, they knelt and wiped the blood from the knife on to the victim’s shirt, returning it to it’s rightful owner.   

Yes, this development could easily be accounted for.  Satisfied with this conclusion and the body at their feet.  The knife and it’s owner silently turned and walked into the night.  There was no point in disposing of the body. It would be weeks before anybody would find it and by that time, it would make no difference.  Besides the masked reaper smiled, it would feel good to have their work seen.