Color Me Deadly (Zprimal x SketchyEquine)

Rosaline Marks was a senior, and she was at the top of her class. She would be graduating the upcoming spring with a degree in Forensic Pathology. Guess you could say she saw dead people. Hundreds of dead people from aborted fetuses to 100 year old ladies who died in bed. But what she really wanted to do was solve murder cases.

The young woman sat calmly at her work bench as she watched her professor work on the cadaver. The victim was 21 years of age. Death by blood loss resulting from a sliced jugular artery. The woman had evidence of sexual assault prior to death as well as all the makings of a rape case. This poor girl went through a lot before she died, and the worst part of it was that she was a classmate of Rosaline’s. Seeing a familiar face on the table burned fury through Rosie. This is why she wanted to solve murders- she could get justice for girls like Sammy.

Rosie took notes meticulously throughout the lecture, then afterward she pulled her instructor aside. “Sir, can I spend some time with the body? I think i would be a big advantage for me if I can solve this murder. After all, I’m hoping I can get hired to work on crime cases. Please please please?” She teasingly pouted at the man and stuck out her lower lip playfully. She knew all of her professors well, and as a result they were often likely to stick out their necks for her. I guess it kind of pays to be the teacher’s pet.

The professor agreed and Rosaline grinned to herself as she pulled on a pair of nitrile gloves and grabbing ahold of a small, metal dissection probe. She then took a seat on the chair the professor had previously occupied and got to work. She carefully examined the neck wound with unwavering green eyes. Her fingers feeling along the cut that had stripped the life from the young college woman.

Very little examination had been done on this body, so the work that Rosie did would likely yield finds that had not yet been reported. As Rosie carefully touched and probed the cut, she noted in her notebook. ‘Sharp edged murder weapon- no serrations.’ She nodded, checking the depth of the would. It was shallow, but the slight variations in depth indicated that the murder weapon had a short blade. She had seen a case like this before.

The Scalpel was what they called him. He was known for raping woman then opening up their pretty little necks with a surgical scalpel. It was always college aged, good looking women, and he didnt leave behind evidence. Now considered a serial killer, they hunt for the scalpel was ongoing. No incriminating evidence had been found for any of the possible suspects. In other words, this killer still lived near town, and he was still killing. He had to be stopped, and Rosie wanted to be the one who did it.

"... and remember, you are strongly advised to travel in groups in light of the recent events," Felix Kyle reminded them as they left the laboratory after what was the last lesson of the day. He had been granted authority to help in forensics by the police, with the supervision of their own forensics team, of course. They had collected what they had needed and today was the last day before they had to send the body back to prepare for the funeral.

Felix was in his mid-thirties, single, with above average height than his male peers. He had an athletic frame thanks to his practice of morning runs before the day started. For now, his face was covered by a surgical mask as he had been close to the body. He watched as the student named Rosaline walked forward before enquiring if she could examine the body. "You may, but know that this does not earn you extra marks and the body should be returned in one piece for the family to mourn." He turned away from her, "The undertakers will be arriving soon to take the body, probably in about," He glanced at his watch, "Thirty minutes. See that you are finished then."

He worked on packing up his own belongings and returning the laboratory to its original state. There was nothing of forensic value to be gained from further examining the corpse, but he assumed she wanted to have practical knowledge of what to look out for. "It is probably best to leave this in the hands of authority, just in case you end up embroiled in a case for altering evidence." It did not take him long to pack up, leaving him with little to do outside of observing Rosaline probing the body.

"You aren't finding anything new are you?" Felix enquired, his gaze lingering on her appearance. "I'm actually surprised that you would go ahead and touch the body of your classmate. But I guess not being squeamish it helps." He sighed and allowed himself to relax in his chair while he waited. "Is there anyone you are going back with today? I believe the school has sent out an advisory for students like you to travel in groups by email already. Isn't there that psychology student who is always waiting for you?"

"Yes, a short blade. You may want to check the victim's nails too in other scenarios, there may be skin or material underneath if they attempted to claw their way out. This one doesn't appear to have signs of struggle at the point of death. No indication of bruises on the wrists or legs." The body was covered with a thin sheet of blue synthetic fabric, similar to that of hospital gowns, which concealed a number of bruises on the victim's chest. "No signs of other possible causes of death."

“I’m not altering the evidence any more than you were, sir. Not to mention I’m only two months away from working in a lab myself. I can be trusted with these bodies, and you know it. I’ve got the highest mark in your entire class this semester.” She looked up at the young professor and cocked one of her eyebrows at him, almost challenging him to disagree. After all, the way he was watching her so closely now was a little unsettling to Rosie. Why didn't he trust her to be careful with the body? Was it just because he believed it was a conflict of interest?

She swiveled in her chair and looked at him, raising one eyebrow at him as he asked her about walking home with someone. “Yeah. I got the memo. It seems a little over the top though. Thousands of women go to school here. Chances are no one is going to come after me.” She gave a shrug as she stood and disposed of her gloves in the waste bin nearby before crossing the lab to lean against the desk near the professor. “You don’t honestly think I should be worried, right? Isn’t being scared of a murderer kind of cliche for someone who wouldnt have a job without cases like this?”

Rosie shrugged once more before stooping down in order to grab her backpack and she slipped her notebook inside it along with the notes on it. “Yes. She was a classmate, but it’s been awhile since the last victim. Even if the murderer was actively looking for girls at this school… I don’t think I would fit into his MO anyway. I’m not a pretty little blonde like this girl. The girl before was similar. I honestly don’t think a forensic pathology student is at a whole lot of risk here.”

She sighed and pulled on her coat before the backpack. Outside it had been snowing all afternoon. Rosie was definitely looking at a rather chilly walk back to her car once her and her profesor parted ways. “But… Yes. I think Laura and I will walk together. She usually waits for me in the lobby. While I’m not worried about it, I think she is.” She nodded before heading towards the door. “Have a good night, Mr. Kyle.” She waved over her shoulder at him before exiting the lab and heading upstairs to the main part of the building. There, she met up with Laura and they started walking home.

Though the conversation was friendly enough, Rosie just couldn’t get her mind off of Sammy’s body down in the lab. She would be calling her tech friend that night so see if he had any recommendations.

Felix chewed the inside of his cheek, "Yes. But if anything happens to the body, it is on me." He shrugged, visibly relieved that she stopped her prodding. "She was your classmate. It's not like she was someone on the other side of the state. She was in the same classroom as you. So, I think you could be taking things too lightly, but that's your issue." He was not in charge of convincing her to take care of herself. The school had done their part and notified all staff and students, which was expected. Security would also be increased with more security guards, but never quite as drastic as those with the threat of open violence.

He could briefly feel the drag of his pupils going up into his head as she went on about how improbable it was for her to be targetted. If only she knew. "Yes, yes. Good night." He would have waved, but instead, he sagged in his chair. He was looking forward to a quiet evening at home once his obligations were done. He glanced at the body, his expression betraying zero guilt as he lifted the sheets and draped it over her head. He did not need to see the face of his last victim. While he had minutes to spare, he swiped through his emails, including several who sought a consultation session with him tomorrow.

They found her under a bridge, across the state. She was out with several other students, celebrating their entrance into their final year. Little did they know that she had planned a scare for them, as well her own private celebration with an unknown individual. She vanished one morning, sneaking out to be whisked away, only to call the others as they were searching for her to tell them they should go on ahead with their journey. That was the last time she would be seen alive.

It took them long enough but when the body was finally handled, he returned to the staff level to collect his backpack. Only a few individuals were left, the lights dimmed as the usual hubbub of voices had long died down, only for the sound of someone's mechanical keyboard to be clacking furiously somewhere in the back of the office.

The journey home included a short detour to a grocery stall which he frequented and was acquaintances with the owner. The neighborhood he lived in was quiet, the house and land he owned were, in his opinion, nothing short of excellent. Dinner was prepared quickly, lemon chicken with sweet potatoes. Where one may have been insecure eating by oneself, he found it deeply enjoyable. It was hard to miss something he never really had the chance to appreciate.

Rosaline glanced over her shoulder to see the professor look at the body one last time. He showed some sort of interest in this body that she didn’t think she had seen before, but she could only assume that it was remorse seeing as he had taught Sammy the rules of the game, and now she was one of the bodies on the table. Yes, Sammy had been a classmate, and that was exactly why Rosie showed so much intrigue into her case. She wanted justice for her acquaintance, and the only way to do that was to find out who had done this to her that fateful night. Not to mention solving this would be a huge leg up for her career.

It was almost always some sort of secret affair with cases like this. A young girl wooed away by a man who made a whole lot of empty promises. Maybe all he offered was the best sex of Sammy’s life, or maybe it was more complicated like an offering of money or paying some sort of debt. Whatever it was, it had been tempting enough to drag Sammy away from her own party and wound up getting her murdered. “What was so tempting out there, Sammy? God, I wish you could tell me.” Rosie mumbled to herself as she began shuffling up the stairs.

Once at the upper level, Rosaline rounded the corner of the staircase and there sat Lauren- her good friend and an excellent psychology student. “Hey, girl!” Lauren called out, bringing a smile to Rosie’s lips. Lauren had always been bubbly and eccentric. One would never expect upon meeting that she was obsessed with dark minds and cruel individuals. Lauren wanted to work with the criminally insane- to pick their dirty minds until she understood why they had spilled someone else’s blood. Perhaps the common interest in murders and crime is what drew Rosaline and Lauren together but now the pair were damn near inseparable.

Rosie plopped down on the communal sofa next to Lauren and set her bag down before leaning her head back. “I'm quite sure I’m the most annoying thorn in Professor Kyle’s side. The man treats me like an honest to god nuisance. I show interest in his case and he treats me like an annoying child. I’ll tell you, Lauren, I’m the highest ranking student in his class, but you wouldn't think it by the way the man talks to me.”

“He may hate you, Rosie, but Felix Kyle is hot as hell, and if he weren't so strange I’d be trying to fuck your professor. He never seems to want to talk to me either, though. Believe me. I’ve tried. It wouldn’t even be a conflict of interest considering I’m not one of his students.” The bubbly blonde teased as both the young women stood, exiting the building and heading toward the parking lot.

Rosie’s eyes fell upon Mr. Kyle as he also headed towards home, but in a different direction. He was indeed attractive, and younger than a lot of the professors on campus. She had a feeling he just might be popular with his students. A lot of girls felt empowered sleeping with older, important men. On a college campus a profesor was the most important part. One who was younger and good looking like Felix would be a perk. Rosie, however, had never taken any interest in sleeping with her professors. She got her grades by working hard, not by giving out sexual favors. Perhaps that was why Kyle disliked her so much? He might have thought she was either a dirty girl, or he was disappointed to find she wasnt dirty enough?

Yes, a fair amount of girls on the campuses would enjoy sleeping with their older male professors. He had witnessed it several times whether it be just hearing about it, intuition or first-hand as girls attempted to get closer to him. In the latter, it was obvious what they wanted from him, but he did not give easily. Perhaps it was the sense of accomplishment they felt when they finally got him to open up to them that they lowered their guards completely. Sammy was one such case, though he would be insane if he tried a target so close to home again. He enjoyed the look of confusion and fear on their faces as realization finally dawned upon them, but by then it was already too late, they have already been whisked away, held captive to his whims for weeks at a time.

Rosaline was a possible target. Not too high up on what he would like. She was a tad too smart and he was not looking to prove how good he was. No, he was looking to live a quiet life, outside of the fact he was a serial killer on the run, that could not be helped. He glanced over to the fridge where he had prepared an excess of ingredients for cooking. Once he was finished with his dinner, he went down into the basement which was secured by two sets of locks. With the bag of prepared ingredients, he began his descent down the steps.

He had a visitor who demanded his attention. Down into the basement he went, the lighting here contrasted with the deep shadows that were cast by the various furniture in the basement. He reached the bottom of the steps, on his left he was greeted by a several viewing ports into what could be another room. He called it the birdcage, except it did not keep birds, but oh did its captives sing for him whether they willed it or not. Already he could see her through the one way mirrors as he unlocked the door leading into the room before it locked behind him. A biometric scanner with a passcode failsafe. "I'm back." He announced. There were three main rooms here, the living room and kitchen area, the bedroom, and a bathroom for all his captive's needs. Obviously, the room was fireproof should the girl get any ideas. Another common place they would look would be in the kitchen for weapons, knives especially, but he was sufficiently trained in self-defense to be confident in approaching them just like that.

"I hope you didn't get too lonely while I was out today." His tone was light and without a trace of malice as the set the ingredients into the fridge. A brief examination of the kitchen told him all he needed, to be wary or not of the girl today. His victims would normally avoid standing near most pieces of furniture such as the sofa, bed or tables, and walls; it made them easy to trap. The bedroom tended to be avoided as well after he revealed his true colors to them. One by one, he would ingrain terrible memories into their minds of how they were spread upon each inch of the birdcage, until they were truly broken and accepted that their existence had transitioned from person into plaything.

Rosaline and her friend went home together that night. They spent the evening talking about how odd Professor Kyle was and how school was going. They were typical college girls most of the time. Yes, they both studied very dark, cruel parts of human nature, but they themselves were not dark and cruel. The world had yet to break them. They could still see good in things, and they didn't suspect a thing. However, there was something very sinister happening not too far away in college town.

***

Destiny was never the brightest young lady. At 18, she had barely gotten her diploma from high school, and she really had no business going to college. Luckily for her family image, however, she had gotten into a fairly prestigious university with the help of her father’s money. Destiny’s old man was the CEO of a medical engineering company, and he was one of the wealthiest men in the county. It wasn’t hard for him to write the dean of students a personal check and have her paperwork slipped into the admissions office. It also wasn't hard for him to buy her her own large house just outside of town to keep her ‘focused on school without the distraction of roommates.’

Little did the man know, that house would mean the life of his daughter. She had been whisked away by a handsome stranger at a party in the night and she never came back home. There were rumors that Destiny was living with the man somewhere and shagging him day and night to rebel against her father and the expectations he had for her. Others thought there was something much more cynical at play. Either way, they had found no body, and nobody had heard from Destiny or the strange man since. They had no suspects either, despite the constant pressure on authorities from her father. The case was growing cold.

No, Destiny was not dead. Instead she was holed up here in Felix’s basement. Her body in a state of emergency as a result of the constant manipulation and emotional strain her current situation had on her. He had hurt her countless time, but up until then her life had never been on the line. She took him for a sick freak, but she was completely unaware that she was in the hands of one of the most wanted serial killers in her generation’s lifetime. As far as destiny could tell, he was just a rapist and an abuser.

Curled up in the fetal position on the bare mattress, Destiny trembled as sobs wracked her body. She was always crying if she were awake and alone these days. Her spirits were so broken that she was unable to retain the energy for much else. It only got worse when he fucked her- exhausting her body further with the brute force he extruded onto her. There were bruises and welts on her flesh from her punishments just for being a human. He would hit her and threaten her within an inch of her life often, but seeing as he was using her for sex she was less afraid that he would kill her. After all, if she was dead he would be back to being alone.

She shot up out of bed when the door opened and got to her feet. The young girl ducked behind the wall and out of sight as he rounded into the kitchen, only emerging when she saw that he had food. Almost instinctively her stomach began to rumble in a primal desire to have something to eat. She quickly wiped her tears away onto her arm as she looked to him. Showing him weakness had never proven to be beneficial for Destiny. Although she was feeling a whole lot of weakness these days. Too weak, even, to try and rush him in violence at the door these day.

“I-i’m hungry, sir….” She almost whimpered.

Felix frowned as she approached from behind and voiced that she was hungry. "Did you not make use of the ingredients in the fridge?" He gave the contents of the fridge a second glance to realize that yes, his suspicions were indeed true. He sighed, "Youngsters nowadays..." Entitled beings who were coddled from birth. From ideology down to personal life skills, all these were ignored as there was never a need for them. While he had used force on her, it was only to make her submit to his whims. But if she thought he had beat her within an inch of her life, then this generation is long lost. Not that he cared too much about such topics.

He crossed the distance between them in a blink of an eye, his wide strides covering the distance easily. He cupped her cheek tenderly, not even a hint of the depraved acts he had performed on her the day before, an almost familial touch. And then the touch was gone and he returned to preparing the ingredients. "I can make dinner for you. But I've got a better idea, let's make dinner together. That way you'd be confident in feeding yourself when I'm not around." He beckoned for her to come closer from the edge of the kitchen into his arms. "Come on." He set the cutting board down along with tomatoes and the chicken.

Once she was close enough, he pulled her before him, trapping her between the bench and his body. "Here, hold the knife tightly." He placed the handle into the palm of her hand, almost taunting her to attempt to make an attack. His hand wrapped over hers, guiding her to prepare the ingredients. It was a simple activity, if not for the fact that he had her in the exact same position in last evening. Pinned against the counter as she attempted to take a glass of water. His hands over hers, waiting for that tension as she remembered the night before.

He pressed her against the side of the counter, his length pressing into her back as the knife they held sank deep into the red flesh of the tomato. He said nothing, only watching for her reaction. His knee parted her thighs as the time passed in growing silence, then, "How long has it been since you begun your stay?" He pressed against her again as the ingredients were ready, his lips brushed against her ear. "Two weeks. You said you were on the pill then, didn't you?" He placed the knife away, forcing it out of her hands. "That's right, Destiny. It's not safe now," Fingers trailed over her soft, and flat belly, meant to unnerve her, "Is it?"

"Let's prepare dinner. You must be famished." He released her at last, "Please watch, I expect you to be at least be able to cook a simple meal such as this once you're done."

All the young woman could manage to do was shy away from the man as he approached her so quickly. Since she had been there she had quickly learned that it was never good when he came up to her. Every time he did she either got hurt or grabbed, and there wasn’t a moment of that that Destiny enjoyed. Even as he touched her gently, the young girl choked back tears. She didn’t dare to say anything to him in fear of being punished, but the truth was that Destiny had not cooked the food because she did not trust the man. What was stopping him from slipping poison or drugs into her drink that would make her a more cooperative victim come the next time he decided to rape her?

She did, however, finally approach as he laid out the cutting board. Destiny had grown up very privileged, so she had never been one to have to cook for herself, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t function at all around the kitchen. She already knew how to cut up things, yet she didn’t dare fight her kidnapper when he insisted on helping her. Pinned there, between the counter and the man, the weight of the knife in her palm was tempting. All it would take was one well aimed stab and she would be free of him. However, a man who couldn’t defend himself would never have allowed her to get that close to anything she could kill him with. Felix was capable.

She choked back a sob as he pressed his penis into the small of her back. That familiar bulge was more terrifying to her than she ever thought the male genitalia could be. After all, this wouldn’t be the first time he forced her to take it. He had fucked her in whatever way he had wanted, and he had seemingly enjoyed it even as Destiny had cried and begged him to stop. A young girl who used to love to spread her legs apart now wanted no piece of it, so as he worked her thighs apart she felt tears begin streaming down her cheeks. Would he take her just like that? While he was instructing her on how to prepare a meal? However, feeling his hand on her stomach made Destiny fall into a silence as she stared straight ahead.

When Felix pulled away, the woman whirled around toward him with fury in her eyes. “What the hell is wrong with you, huh?!” She cried out as she slammed the knife onto the counter. “Is this some sick way of telling me you’re going to get me pregnant?!” She shook her head, tears falling down quickly now. “No. I won’t. I don’t want to have a baby! I don’t want to have your baby! You’re a rapist!” She screamed at him as she subconsciously pressed her upper thighs very tightly together.

Felix laughed despite her actions. There it was. "I was merely making you aware that such a risk exists, should you continue provoking me." Which she has. He turned away, making to prepare her meal that she was apparently incapable of preparing. "You'd best go prepare the bed now, I prefer if everything was kept in a condition for a civilized person to live in." He had purposely made it so that the interior of the basement was such, enough to resemble the living space of the house built on top of it, minus the windows.

He paid her words no further attention and proceeded to cook up the meal she had needed. She would learn eventually, as many before her have. She had claimed she won't carry a child. That was no longer up to her. This generation, in particular, was especially promiscuous thanks to the advancement of birth control. Ways to rid themselves of the consequences of their careless actions. While this was what he had observed, he was not necessarily against it, after all, it was this exact carelessness in who they slept with which made his selection of females to take from much wider. He set her meal on a plate, laced with a particular drug, the same one he used the first time he brought her here. It tasted like salt, but there was already seasoning in the food. Administered correctly, the consumer would experience a surge of euphoria and libido, as well lowered inhibitions. He was not sure if she would be able to detect it since this was the first time he was giving it to her outside of her arrival here. "Your food is ready." He said, setting it on the dining table before moving over to the sofa to take a seat.

Destiny crossed her arms over her chest as he spoke to her stubbornly, and finally spoke up. “No baby deserves to have a father like you.” She muttered. “So I hope you at least have the sense to use a condom while you rape me from now on.” The bubbly bimbo let out a sigh before looking to the bed that he had instructed her to make. Nothing good ever came from him while he was here. “You want me to make it so you can fuck me on it, dont you? You know. Civilized people don’t get kept in a basement against their will, so I really think that you should lower your expectations of me.” She retorted as she walked into the bedroom and haphazardly flipped the blanket up at the corner such that it laid…. Mostly flat. It could hardly be considered a made bed, but obviously Destiny didn’t give a shit whether or not it looked nice. This was her prison- it might as well look like it.

Destiny turned back and laid her eyes on the plate of food that he set out for her. She bit down softly on her lip and sighed. She was very hungry, but not because he had not provided her with food. In reality, the young woman was on a hunger strike. She would rather waste away than do what he wanted of her. She had known of the ingredients in the fridge and how to prepare them, but she had chosen not to. It was easy enough to ignore raw ingredients in the fridge, but now, as the aroma filled the air around them, Destiny could feel her stomach twisting in knots and willing her forward to take a bite. Destiny could feel herself salivating: so much so that it threatened to cause her to drool as though she were a mutt staring at a hotdog on the street.

Her eyes followed him as he took his leave to the sofa. The woman gulped and let her eyes fall back to the food. She knew better than to eat it. It was no different than accepting a drink from a stranger. If it differed at all, it was because this was more dangerous. She knew for a fact that this man had malicious intentions. He had hurt her before, and she had no doubt that he would do it again. Yes, she was hungry and had been whining before for a meal, but that was mostly in hopes that he would leave her alone to go grab something. This had not been the case. Now, with a meal set out in front of her, she was stuck between a rock and a hard place: Stay hungry or potentially at poison. Destiny picked up the plate, gulped, then dumped it down the garbage disposal and grinding it up before the man could stop her. “No.” She said solemnly.