2.

Six days later the remains of Celesta McKinnin were positively identified as being amongst those at the cut mass grave. However once again, the stakes had been raised. Following the discovery of the mass grave, some sixteen mutilated corpses had been discovered lying in back alleys and out of the way places around Victoria. The tone of the media now was, hardly surprisingly, just about hysterical. Stories with bold headlines like "POLICE POWERLESS", "KILLERS STRIKE AGAIN" and "VICTORIA, CITY OF DEATH" were being run daily. There was talk of the provincial government declaring a state of emergency, and questions were being asked in the national parliament.

Forensics had identified the tyre marks at the mass grave as coming from a design intended for vans. Police units were now quietly checking out all vans they came across and tyre replacement depots had been advised to contact the Victoria police department if they came across anything suspicious. An APB had also been put out on Zena Quirinus, however her name was being held from the press for fear that some harm might come to her before she could be arrested and interrogated. Everyone working on the case was painfully aware of the possibilities if word of the mass grave hadn't gotten out to the media the first night it had been discovered. It was felt that there might have been a chance to catch some of the cult members disposing of bodies that very night. The realisation that a valuable opportunity had been fumbled made the police much more close mouthed, and police media liaison officers were refusing to divulge many details about the case for fear of tipping off the cults.

Victoria Police and RCMP now had numerous patrols out at night in an effort to catch, or at least dissuade, the killers. It really wasn't enough, but they were doing what they could. Having Major Anderson's military police protecting the mass grave site made things easier on the manpower front, but the case just kept escalating. Shaw and Collon had taken to patrolling the streets for several hours at night in an unmarked car. Though they both knew that their chances of finding something were less than encouraging, it made them feel better to spend a few hours out on the street trying to get a feel for these sadistic killers. The three nights that they had gone out so far had only produced bodies, found in various dark alleys and other quiet nooks. It was approaching 10pm as the two detectives drove down a largely quiet street.

"This is getting us nowhere", Collon remarked as she drove the car. "We should pack it in for the night, after all, we've got to get back to it in the morning."

Shaw nodded tiredly. Neither of them had taken much time off since the case had begun, and the fatigue was beginning to show. "Okay, let's finish off this street, and then we'll head back to the station." They cruised down the last of the street and then Collon turned the car in the direction of the station. Shaw picked up his radio in and prepared to radio in their intention to return to base when a message came over it.

"All units in the vicinity of the Crompton industrial park, reports of screams inside Enkland Corporation Compound. Informant night watchman."

"We're not far from there", said Collon. "We might as well check it out." Shaw nodded in reply and called in that they were responding. Collon turned on the beacon on the dash, but left the siren off, no point in alerting any criminals that they were coming. They sped down the dark streets of Victoria and were driving through the open gates of the industrial compound. They pulled up by the night watchman's hut. The door was open and light streamed out. Shaw called in as they got out of the car. "MC1 to base, arrived at Enkland Corp Compound, proceeding to investigate."

"Roger MC1, advise if assistance in required."

Collon walked up to the watchman's hut. "Okay where's the night watchman?" She went back to the car and got out a torch, as did Shaw. They then both began to head towards the main factory building. As they did a strange sound emanated from some storage sheds off to their right. It was a sort of sucking slurping sound. Both detectives immediately drew their service pistols and clicked off the safety catch. They changed direction towards the sheds and began to move away from each other so as to present less of a target. Scuffling sounds continued to emanate from between two of the huts. They approached cautiously then sprang around the corner, Shaw moving into the open and Collon leaning around the corner to cover him. They both saw a shadowy figure leaning over the sprawled figure of a man in what looked to be the remains of a security guards uniform. In the torchlight it was evident that blood was everywhere.

"Police!" Shouted Shaw. "Remain still and keep your hands in the open."

The figure started briefly, then turned slowly towards the two detectives. They could now see that that shadowy figure was actually a slim woman in her twenties with short spiked blonde hair. She was wearing casual clothing covered with spots of blood. The corpse of the night watchman she knelt over was split open at the chest. As she looked at the two detectives she casually wiped blood away from her mouth and gave a bloody toothed smile which Shaw and Collon both found unnerving. "Well, well", she said, "if it isn't the pigs."

"Stay where you are!" Collon shouted. "Don't move! We've got you covered."

"So you have", the woman responded, the smile still on her face. "It's a fair cop guv'nor. You've got me bang to rights."

Shaw and Collon's weapons did not waver. "I am arresting you for murder", said Shaw. "You do not have to say anything, but anything that you do say may be taken down and used in evidence against you in court. Do you understand?"

"Oh yes", said the blonde woman. "I understand a great deal. I just don't think that you do." With that the woman rolled to the right and quickly onto her knees. As she did so she snatched something and threw it towards Shaw. Collon and Shaw fired a shot each, then Shaw gave a grunt and fell spinning away from the woman, his torch falling to illuminate the space between the two buildings. The blonde woman cried out in pain and slumped forward. Collon snatched her radio from under her jacket. "MC1 to base, urgent assistance required, officer down, I say again, officer down." Then she dropped the radio. Dimly she was aware of the dispatcher acknowledging the call and ordering all units in the area to her location. She glanced over to where Shaw lay and was relieved to see that he was still breathing.

"Awww, the poor piggy fall down", said the voice of the blonde woman. Collon swung back to where the woman had fallen to see her rising to her feet. "That hurt you know", she said and pointed to two red splotches in her lower abdomen. "Aren't you supposed to fire warning shots or something?" She smiled her bloody toothed smile again. "You know, I think that a feel like some pork."

Collon felt frozen and suddenly dazed. The way this woman looked at her, the way her eyes seemed to hold her. The glint in them seemed so attractive as she started to walk forwards, holding an arm out towards her. It would be so nice to take that hand and go with her. It would be nice to be with her, and her smile was so sweet, apart from the blood - Collon fired her pistol and kept firing until there were no bullets left in the magazine. The blonde woman spun like a top and then was flung back as the bullets impacted into her body. She fell to the ground, blood flowed from her wounds, swiftly at first, but quickly stopping. Collon let the arm holding her pistol slump down by her side. What had happened? She'd never felt so odd like that before. Her head swam and she leaned against the side of one of the huts. She looked towards the blonde woman's body and was amazed to see her sitting up. The woman looked at Collon, her face filled with malice.

"Didn't I make it clear to you that getting shot really hurts?! You're really ruining my night." The woman slowly got to her feet. "I'm going to make you...", she stopped as the wail of sirens approaching became audible. "Hmm, looks like it may be your lucky night instead." She gave one more bloody toothed smile and disappeared into the dark. Collon slid down the side of the hut as her head swam and uncontrollable trembling began to set in. She couldn't make head nor tail of what she'd just been through. All she knew was that people weren't supposed to get up and complain after you'd fired an entire clip into their chest. Collon was still sitting there trembling when the first patrol cruisers arrived.

DI Cornell arrived at the hospital not long after midnight. He found Inspector Starr and Major Anderson already there. Starr wore RCMP uniform and Anderson was no longer in his fatigues, but a crisp uniform bearing the usual red MP brassard. They both looked altogether too fresh for this hour Cornell thought. He had been roused from an early night with his wife by a phone call advising that Shaw and Collon had been taken to hospital following a run in with a suspect in the case. He was aware that he probably looked the least like a police officer of the three, and this was his town dammit. Two uniformed officers waited as well, Staff Sergeant Drescal in his Victoria Police uniform, and Senior Constable Evans in RCMP uniform. It was evident from the casual way they talked to each other that that the temporary union of Victoria and Mounted Police was going well.

"Okay, someone want to bring me up to speed here?" Cornell asked after a grunt of greeting to those present in the hospital waiting room.

Staff Sergeant Drescal stepped forward. "DS Shaw and DC Collon were cruising the streets last night when they responded to a report of a disturbance at the Crompton industrial park. Not long after they arrived DC Collon reported an officer down and dispatch sent everything we had to spare to the scene. When units arrived on the scene they discovered DS Shaw lying unconscious with a head injury of some description. DC Collon was found slumped against a storage hut, apparently in a state of shock. Both were evacuated here by ambulance. Also at the scene two bodies were discovered. One appears to be that of the site security guard, and was found at the same site as Shaw and Collon. The other is that of an unidentified male and was discovered later in the container storage site. Both men had been butchered pretty much like the others. We recovered Shaw and Collons pistols. Shaw had fired off one shot, and Collon had emptied her entire clip."

"So who did they shoot?" asked Inspector Starr.

"Buggered if I know", was Drescal's response. "Constable Evans here works in ballistics, Andre, tell 'em."

"Well we started going over the crime scene, and we located the firearms. Then we located the spent cartridges. Then we tried to locate some impact sites for the bullets, and we couldn't. As far as we can tell so far, every round hit something, which was no longer there. Now there was an awful lot of blood splashed about the place, so it's possible that some of it was from whatever they were shooting at, though forensics will have to confirm that one way or the other, and as you all know they're pretty stretched just now. The other thing is that we've only found one other set of shoe prints, and there's no obvious sign of anything being dragged away. We'll know more once we've had a chance to make a thorough examination of the site."

"Thanks for your report", DI Cornell said. "Let us know anything else you turn up."

Drescal and Evans nodded and took their leave.

"Come on, let's get out of the foyer", said Major Anderson. "The hospital's put aside a room for us."

There was a general murmur of consent, and they followed the major through to the room. "Apparently they use this as a waiting room for the next of kin of people involved in fatacs. As soon as I got here I organised it for us."

"Do Shaw and Collon have any next of kin here?", asked Starr. "With everything that's been going on I never thought to ask."

"Shaw's married with two kids, but she's a College Professor on secondment to a University in Toronto for twelve months. Apparently they decided that she and the kids should move down there for the duration of the contract. He'd been going there every chance he had until this case came up. Collon on the other hand is single, and she's got no family here. She moved here two years ago from some town in Alberta to join the department, I gather that much of her family is still there. I'll get onto their respective next of kin just as soon as we know how they're doing. Speaking of which, I gather no one knows how they're doing or has spoken to them?"

"Afraid not", said Major Anderson taking a seat. "I was the first one here, and they told me that it was going to take a while to assess them, though it was unclear if Collon had any physical injuries or not when she came in. They said that they'd let us know when they had some idea what was what."

As it turned out they didn't have long to wait. A doctor came in to update them on the condition of their injured comrades.

"Well, it could be a lot worse", she said. "Mr Shaw received a blow to the head, from which he lost consciousness. He has regained consciousness, but is still pretty groggy. He looks to have a concussion, though we can't say how badly thus far. We'll want to keep him in over night as a minimum for observation and some more tests. Considering the laceration and bruising at the point of impact, he's lucky not to have a skull fracture."

There was a general murmur of relief. "How about Collon?", asked Starr.

"She's not too bad", said the doctor. "She has no physical injuries, but she's badly shaken. She appears to be in a state of mental shock, and I'm afraid that we haven't got much out of her thus far. In fact we've given her a sedative to help her get some sleep. We'll keep her in over night as well. I'm afraid that you won't be able to talk to them tonight, as neither is really in a fit state to talk. We'll review them both in the morning, and let you know how things are then."

"Thanks doctor", said Cornell. The doctor gave a tired smile and went on about her business. "Well, I guess that's that", Cornell said with a yawn. "We should probably leave and let them recuperate."

"I concur", said Major Anderson. "I've also taken the liberty of assigning a couple of my men to the hospital while our friends are here."

"Isn't that a break with protocol?" asked Starr.

Major Anderson raised placating hands. "The Attorney General authorised the mobilisation of Military police as auxiliaries to civilian law enforcers about an hour ago. Your Commissioner and Commandant respectively are probably being notified as we speak. I do mean auxiliaries too. As I said before, we're here to support your actions, not take over."

"Well this is shaping up to be an interesting night", Starr said. Cornell and Anderson just nodded.

Three days later both Collon and Shaw had been released from hospital. They sat in a large meeting room at Victoria Police Headquarters, which the members of what had become known within police circles as 'Taskforce psycho', used as a briefing and coordinating area. One wall was devoted to smiling photos of missing people, many of which were accompanied by far more grim photos of their mauled remains lying at a crime scene or on a coroners table. Under each set of photos were a few notes. Many of those whose remains had been recovered were only identifiable by fingerprints or dental records. Another wall contained photos of suspects. There were a few blurry security camera print outs there, several photos of Zena Quirinus taken from her abandoned apartment, and of course several frames taken from the ATM security camera.

Sitting in the room with Shaw and Collon were DI Cornell, Inspector Starr, Major Anderson, Jane Green, Paul Grenski and, presiding over the gathering was the Victoria Police Commissioner, Gavin Henshaw. "I've read your reports", began the Commissioner looking at Shaw and Collon. "As has everyone else here. I must say that your reports were not very informative." The Commissioner had a deep booming voice, which many found intimidating. He was a man with a large frame and had deep grey hair with a matching beard. His presence at this meeting was unusual to say the least. It was yet another indication of how uncontrollably this case was escalating. It was evident to all in the room that they were still virtually powerless to apprehend those responsible for the horrific crimes being perpetrated on the streets of Victoria. "Can you give us your reports?"

"I'll start", said Shaw. "Sir, DC Collon and I were patrolling the streets when we heard about a disturbance at the Crompton industrial park. On arrival at the scene we found the night watchman's hut to be unattended and proceeded to investigate the grounds. We heard a sound from behind some storage sheds and moved to investigate with all due caution and with our weapons drawn. I rounded the corner with DC Collon providing cover. Once around the corner I saw a female suspect kneeling over the butchered body of who I believed to be the night watchman. I identified us as police officers and then both DC Collon and myself ordered the suspect not to move. Following this I arrested the suspect and read her her rights. I had just finished this when the suspected rolled suddenly to the right and DC Collon and I discharged our weapons. After this I lost consciousness. I was later advised in the hospital that I had been struck in the right temple by the security guards metal wristwatch with great force, which had caused me to lose consciousness and sustain a concussion."

Shaw leaned back in his chair and looked towards Collon who took up the narrative in the same formal tones. "Both myself and DS Shaw discharged our weapons when the suspect moved suddenly, and the suspect fell to the ground at about the same time as DS Shaw, after having thrown some object at him. I made an urgent assistance, officer down call over my radio, and was about to attend to DS Shaw, when the suspect got up and expressed dissatisfaction with being shot. At about this time I began to feel disorientated. The suspect then approached me and I discharged my weapon until I had emptied the magazine. I then believe that the suspect again fell to the ground bleeding before, once again, rising to her feet. The suspect once again expressed dissatisfaction at being shot and began to advance upon me. At this time the sound of approaching sirens began to be heard and the suspect left the crime scene. I vaguely recall other officers and ambulance officers attending me, but have no distinct memory after the suspect had fled the scene."

"That's all very formal and correct", said the Commissioner, "but it doesn't tell us a lot. In your report you describe the suspect as a white female in her early twenties, about a hundred and sixty centimetres, thin build, short blonde hair, wearing a light blue top and blue denim trousers. Again, a nice formal description, but it doesn't flesh things out much for us."

Inspector Starr raised her voice in support of the Commissioner, "That's right, why don't you take this opportunity to tell us something about the way this woman behaved, your impressions. Christ, you've both been cops long enough to know this. What's the problem with you two? This woman must have shaken you up some, because you two don't seem to be behaving quite right."

Shaw looked as embarrassed as a man with no expression on his face can, and Collon looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Well Sir", said Shaw after a pause, "she was utterly unfazed by our appearance. In fact she was, well, sarcastic. Now I haven't had a weapon pointed at me that many times, but every time that I have I felt distinctly unhappy about it. This woman wasn't, she acted as if we were pointing squirt guns at her. Then there's the way she moved. Damn it, she moved fast! Now she didn't move like the Flash or anything, but she moved a damn sight faster than I thought she would. Apart from that she knocked me cold and gave me a concussion by throwing a wristwatch at me, and this after Annette and I put two rounds into her." Shaw looked distinctly unhappy and looked around the table. "This bitch was something unusual. I still can't believe that she did that, knocked me out with a wristwatch!"

The various faces around the table turned towards Collon, who, by the expression on her face looked as if she'd rather be somewhere else, started to add her own impressions. "Yeah, she was fast all right, but both of us nailed her. For God's sake I could see blood coming out the front of her shirt from the puncture sites! Then the bitch got up and told me that getting shot really pissed her off! God damn, err Sir", this last directed to a stony faced Commissioner.

"Where did the round hit?" asked Major Anderson. "She may have been wearing a vest under her top. If it was one of the flimsier ones, it may have stopped the main force the bullets, but punctured the skin."

"And if she was on some sort of hallucinogenic, she probably wouldn't have felt that you'd just bruised the living shit out of her for hours to come", suggested Inspector Starr.

Collon sat stony faced and answered, " Yes, I'm sure you're right. I'm sure that the remainder of the magazine that I emptied into her chest also lodged in the vest resulting in superficial bleeding, and probably some localised bleeding from the failure of the poor quality vest."

There was a moment of silence around the table, and then Jane Green spoke up. "Yes, well, at the scene where Brian and Annette were found, we found blood traces from four people. We've identified one of the samples as being from the security guard, and one as being from Brian. The other two were from the other victim, a businessman here from the U.S., and the remaining sample, which was also rather generous I might add, is presumably from our suspect."

"Hang on", said DI Cornell, " I don't think that Shaw and Collon are up to date on the latest case developments." Both Shaw and Collon shook their heads. "Okay", resumed Cornell, " our exciting friends have changed tactics again. We've got businessmen, and others, men generally, vanishing from pubs and clubs at night. Friends of the missing people largely, describe a group of up to seven women working the clubs as whores, encouraging punters to come 'back to their place', and then all those who do are never seen again, alive anyway. I'm sure that you can guess that two of the descriptions fit young Ms Quirinus and the suspect that attacked you two."

"Do two of the others match the photos from the Quirinus ATM photo?" asked Shaw.

There was a general chorus of nods about the table.

"Figures", said Collon bitterly.

"Cornell will provide you with copies of the witness statements and descriptions of the so-called prostitutes later", said the Commissioner. "What we need to do right now is focus on what we're facing." The Commissioner looked like he had a bad taste in his mouth. "I might as well tell you now, the Attorney General, and I'm speaking national, not provincial, is planning to contact the U.S. authorities to request assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation." From his tone of voice, this was clearly a most distasteful prospect.

"Well, that can't be too bad", said Major Anderson. "Let's face it, we're between a rock and a hard place. I thought that we'd all be happy to get another opinion here." There were nods and words of agreement.

The Commissioner looked at Major Anderson sadly. "I don't think you all understand what I mean. The Attorney General means to call them into Canada with full police powers."

There was a sudden babble of confused words as those present expressed their dismay. "But that can't be right", said Inspector Starr. "U.S. authorities have no jurisdiction within Canada, how can they do such a thing?"

"Have you looked at the papers, or seen the news lately?", asked the Commissioner. "The press have made the connection between Yuckon Territory and here. We have well over two hundred people dead or missing! The Prime Minister is being asked about martial law and states of emergency. Good Lord, this thing is out of control. Ottawa would do virtually anything to get this situation under control, and hang the precedents it sets." The Commissioner rubbed his eyes with one hand; he suddenly looked very, very tired. "People are dying out there. Right now there are several people walking the streets who will be murdered this very night, and thus far we have been virtually helpless. God in heaven, is it any wonder the Prime Minister and Attorney General are willing to grab at nearly any straw? I think not." There were a few moments of silence as the Commissioner visibly attempted to regain control of himself.

In this pause Paul Grenski spoke up. "I suppose that this might be an opportune moment to let you all know what we have discovered by analysis of the remains of the deceased." The others readily agreed. "Well I have to tell you that the results of our autopsies are, quite frankly, unbelievable. We've run autopsies on about one hundred and twenty bodies so far. We've found a number of common themes in the remains. The victims all sustained heavy blows consistent with blows from a person with a closed fist. There are also tears on the remains consistent with, well, a person with razor sharp claws attached to their fingers."

There were some uneasy mutterings around the table.

"It gets worse I'm afraid", said Grenski. He took a deep breath and continued. "Detailed analysis shows that the cause of death is severe blood loss, though in many case the actual heart has been removed from the chest cavity. There is ample evidence to show that humans have gnawed upon each and every one of these corpses. Thus far we have managed to make casts of twenty-two different bite marks upon various remains. This is to say that there is definitely cannibalism at work here, many of the bite marks occurred prior to death. There are also a large number of marks consistent with the bite of a large snake, these sites being surrounded by an awful lot of tissue trauma. The cherry on the cake here is that, apart from the claw type marks, there is no evidence of the use of sharpened cutting implements. A cruder method of tearing, requiring great strength, has been used. This is to say the least, bizarre."

"How strong would a person need to be to perform these sorts of mutilations?", queried Major Anderson. "The only suspects that we have so far are young, slim females. I hardly think that these young women would possess sufficient strength to inflict these traumatic injuries. I suggest that the women are being used as bait. They lure their victims to a place of ambush, such as with the disappearances and murders in the street, or they go back to the victim's home, where they subsequently let their accomplices in. In any event, it's clear that it's a quite sophisticated operation we're dealing with. Surprisingly so considering all the evidence that we're amassing, it suggests that our perpetrators are insane to a frightening degree."

"That's an interesting theory Major", remarked Jane Green thoughtfully. "But how do you explain the single assailant Collon and Shaw ran into? By all the evidence available, this single female was successful in butchering two men, and then subduing two armed officers, on her own."

"I'd suggest that this woman had help, but that her accomplices had already departed the scene, possibly with vessels containing the blood they had removed from the two victims. I think that our friend had remained behind to loot the bodies, a theory backed up by the fact that DS Shaw was struck by the dead security guards watch. I'm not saying that this woman wasn't unusually strong or fast, but I believe that these factors can be explained by my suggestion that she was under the influence of some rather exotic drugs. Drugs that may be used by members of this cult in their pre murder rituals."

That led to speculation about the nature of the supposed cult, and the drugs that they might use. Furthermore it led to discussion on where these theoretical drugs might be obtained, and it was decided that Inspector Starr should liase with the drugs squads via CSIC, in an effort to trace the perpetrators via their drug supplies. Following this the discussion bogged down over the possible locations of a new body dumping site used by the cult, and the meeting broke up in a rather confused and disorganised manner, which held none of the firm sense of purpose previous meetings had ended with. Shaw and Collon felt some unease at the tone of the meeting, and quietly arranged to meet at The Queen's Arms, a tavern they and other members of the detectives section frequented from time to time. Before the day was out Paul Grenski and Jane Green had also quietly caught up with Collon and Shaw, and arranged to meet them at the tavern.

Later that evening Shaw walked into The Queen's Arms. He discovered that the other three had already arrived and laid claim to a booth off to one corner. An Irish band played folk songs from a small stage on the other side of the pub. Shaw went to the bar, ordered a pint of dark ale and then joined the others in the booth. After a brief moment in which greetings were exchanged, Shaw took a seat and looked around. It was clear that the others had already knocked back a few, several empty glasses sat on the table before them. Well, he certainly could relate to that! He took a long, thirsty pull from his glass. Once he had finished Green spoke up.

"Well we thought that we'd all wait until you'd arrived", she said. "Now we can begin, and I might as well start. I think that we can all agree that there is more to all of this than the Commissioner, Inspector Starr, or Major Anderson suspect. We four have had the closest - interaction, with what has been going on. This isn't just some bunch of religious freaks who are out of their minds on drugs. This is something else. The forensic evidence I've been coming up with makes no sense. Footprints that lead to solid walls, or show that the perp jumped, but have no corresponding evidence to show where they came back down, or if indeed they ever did come down." Green shook her head and then downed the remains her scotch and coke at a gulp. "Then there are the hair, blood and skin samples that we've managed to obtain from various crime scenes, including yours." This last directed to Shaw and Collon. "At first glance they appear human, and mostly they are human, but the DNA isn't quite right, the DNA strands are wrong! They look like human DNA up to a point, then suddenly there's all this, how do I put it".? Suddenly there's all this DNA gibberish at the end, almost as though someone tacked on something extra to an existing DNA structure, which is impossible. I know that samples have been sent to the main RCMP forensic labs in Ottawa, and they're wetting themselves over this. The people I've been talking to over there can't decide whether to crack open the champagne at the discovery, or to shit themselves at the implications." She waved over to a waiter. The others waited silently as she ordered another round of drinks. Once the waiter had taken their orders and then returned with them, she paid him telling him to keep the change, and continued.

"You're going to need a stiff drink when I tell you about the blood samples. The blood samples have been found to be exceedingly photophobic, at least as far as sunlight is concerned. All the samples that we got, and incidentally all the samples from Whitehorse, of perpetrator blood have been destroyed. It seems that any exposure to sunlight for more than a few minutes causes the blood cells, even dead blood cells to rapidly break down into their constituent particles. Nobody knows why, and you can bet that the boys down in the Ottawa labs are keeping this quiet, though I suspect you'll hear a request shortly for all biological evidence samples taken in this case to be sealed in opaque containers. The skin samples seem to be somewhat more resilient, but they also appear to deteriorate when exposed to sunlight."

They all sat pondering this, taking sips from their glasses, for a few moments. Then Grenski spoke up. "As I said indicated before at the meeting, these bodies are a bloody mess. The thing is I can positively confirm that these poor bastards were ripped limb from limb by human hands, the goddamn handprints are bruised into their skin. The people who did this, based on the pathology that I've seen, are exceedingly strong and have razor sharp nails. Also contrary to the bait theory advanced by the Major, the bruising and local trauma consistent with gripping hands and so forth definitely shows that the killers had small hands. The scary thing here is that hands that size just shouldn't be able to exert enough force to cause that much trauma." He sat back and ran a hand through his hair. "A large number of the victims have had their chest cavities ripped open and the heart removed. The pathological evidence is conclusive that these people were alive when this occurred. This is a pretty impressive feat when you consider that no knives, saws or even rib cutters were used. The sternum and ribs were just smashed in and the heart torn free." Grenski looked down and stared into his drink for a moment. "We're dealing with inhuman monsters here, no doubt about it."

Collon drained her glass and pushed it away from her. "You're right. We're dealing with something inhuman here. That blonde woman, I emptied an entire clip into her, and Brian got another round into her. Then she got up, she fucking well got up, with blood pissing out of the wounds - at least to start with anyway.  Then she told me that she didn't like being shot! She didn't either, you could see it hurt a lot, but she still got up. The thing of it though, is that I almost didn't get those shots off. After she knocked Brian down she really focused on me, and God damn it, when she did that I lost myself. All I could think of was how wonderful she was, it was almost sexual, and I've never been attracted to another woman. Then there was her smile, it was so enticing, until I noticed the blood on her mouth, and - and the fangs. The god damned, mother-fucking whore had fangs in her mouth that were dripping blood. That's when I fired everything at her I had." Collon looked up at the others, there were tears in her eyes. "And that monster, that creature, slowly got back onto it's mother fucking feet and looked at me like it was saying how dare I fight back." She looked at Green. "Jane, I swear, this thing was not human, and I think that's why you're having a hard time with your forensic evidence, why all of us are having such a hard time with this case. You know, I think that the cult idea has some merit, but rather than a cult, in which you're dealing with a bunch of fanatics, we're dealing with something much more nasty, we're dealing with a group of monsters who are well organised, and who regard people as prey." There was silence around the table as the group digested this. By the expressions on their faces they didn't much care for it. The silence around the table stretched for a few moments before Shaw finally broke it.

"Well just what the hell are we dealing with here?"

Green gave a drunken giggle; she was pretty far into her drinks by this stage, and then spoke. "It sounds like we've got vampires. What else fits with what we know, these things are supernatural in nature, they have to be to able to keep getting away with what they're doing."

Collon picked up her empty glass and stared into it as she swirled the ice dregs about. "I think Jane's right. That monstrous woman I shot. I'm sure she was one. There was blood all over her mouth and chin. She clouded my mind when she talked to me." She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "The question now is, just what the hell are we going to do about it?"

No one had a satisfactory answer.

The next day at police headquarters both Shaw and Collon looked decidedly the worse for wear. However it was not a day without progress. After reviewing the latest round of missing persons reports, now being sorted by a couple of detectives borrowed from the Vice Section, they were able to get a few suggestions approved. Firstly they were able to get approval for all officers active in Victoria to be issued with heavy calibre firearms. Major Anderson was instrumental here, as he was able to arrange for weapons to be provided from the armoury at the nearby army base. The argument concerning the lack of effect of Collon's weapon against her assailant was persuasive. Combat shotguns with solid bullets, rather than the regular shot, were one of the first items to be issued to the beat cops. "Lets see one of these whacos try getting up again after they've had a couple of gaping holes blown through them", remarked Major Anderson when the decision was made. "Or better yet, how well they can cause a ruckus without a head!"

There were further reports from the RCMP labs in Ottawa. Several of the bodies had been shipped there for more detailed post mortem and forensic inspection. Reports that reached Paul Grenski, and which he brought over to the station, confirmed that in each case tissue death was resultant due to ischaemia related to massive haemorrhage. In most cases one or more sites could be located upon corpses, which appeared to be sites where large hypodermics were inserted in order to allow blood drainage. Biopsies of these drainage sites showed localised cellular damage that were consistent with fluid being drained from the site under high pressure. Grenski translated this to mean that the victims had quite literally had the blood and other body fluids rapidly sucked from them. The most interesting aspect of the detailed post mortem reports was that they conclusively demonstrated that the majority of trauma caused to the remains, specifically the bites and other mauling, had been inflicted after death. A lot of effort had gone into examining the various bite marks, and the report showed that they were abnormal. Which is to say, that though human mouths caused them, the biters had an abnormal dental development, the most striking of which was a pronounced development of the forward incisors into enlarged sharpened teeth. As if to head off speculation the report went on to admit that there was a certain similarity between the placement of the drainage sites, and the spacing of these deformed teeth, but categorically dismissed the idea that they could have caused the actual wounds themselves. The report also stated that even on the small sample of bodies sent to Ottawa for further investigation, it was evident that there were drainage sites of several differing sizes within the sample group. It was also clear that several different humans, with the same abnormally developed dental structure, had been responsible for the mauling of the bodies.

This really set the cat amongst the pigeons, as various detectives and uniformed officers began having heated debates about the nature of 'the cult' and it's members. Even the normally standoffish military police officers became involved in the debates. No one went as far as Collon and her friends had in private, however it was evident that there was a growing realisation amongst the ranks that there was something inherently unnatural behind these murders and disappearances. When army armourers arrived in large military lorries full of the high powered combat shotguns, Victoria, Royal Canadian and Military Police were all in the line to be issued the weapons. Several trucks also arrived full of body armour blazoned with police insignia. The Provincial government had broken open the budget and purchased enough military grade body armour to equip every law enforcement officer currently active in Victoria, with plenty to spare. This too was rapidly issued. The arrival of this, and other new equipment did much to improve the morale of the police. For the first time in weeks the morale of the police was sky high. That was when things really got out of hand.

Patrol was called to The Starhouse not long after midnight. The Starhouse was a nightclub catering to the cities irrepressible youth; those who believed that they were invulnerable and thought that they would live for ever. They were wrong. Patrol had been called because the manager had left the premises at about eleven o'clock in order to get some takeaway. When he had returned about forty-five minutes later, he had discovered all the doors locked, though it was evident that the music and lights were still on within. He had attempted to get in, only to find all entrances barred from within. In frustration he had called the police.

Collon and Shaw arrived at about two a.m. The night dispatcher had phoned each of them at home and told them to get down to The Starhouse as soon as possible. Collon had picked up Shaw on the way, and they had raced to the club with lights and sirens blaring on their otherwise unmarked police vehicle. The dispatcher had given them the basic details of the situation at the club, but hadn't actually advised them as to how the matter related to their case. At the scene were several patrol cars, with officers representing Victoria, Mounted and Military Police. Also present were three fire appliances and two ambulances. The flashing beacons, combined with the muted sounds of dance music coming from within the club created an eerie atmosphere. The combined force of police were setting up barriers and pushing back a small crowd of curious partygoers who had evidently intended on patronising the club in question. The first thing that Shaw noticed was that all the officers on the scene were wearing their body armour, and a few had their high powered military weapons pointed towards the obvious points of egress. Shaw and Collon were already wearing their own body armour, though they hadn't donned the helmets, and had their combat shotguns in the car.

Staff Sergeant Drescal, a formidable figure in flak jacket and helmet, approached at a trot, a submachine gun hung on it's strap over one shoulder.

"Brian, Annette. I'm glad you got here so fast", he said without preamble. "We're about to force our way in through one of the side doors. We've got the fire boys ready to bust open the door."

Shaw nodded as he and Collon fished their Kevlar helmets from the car. "How's this relate to us?", he asked as he strapped his helmet on.

"Out the back", said Drescal, jerking his head in that general direction, "there's a severed human arm, and what looks like bloody drag marks lead inwards. The interesting thing here is that all the entrances appear to be sealed from the inside, and there's no obvious sign that they've forced their way out from anywhere else."

Collon chambered a round. "I assume that you've called for additional backup?"

"You better believe it", Drescal replied. "Let's go." The Staff Sergeant lead them through the barriers and down an alleyway to the club's back entrance. Sure enough there lay a severed arm, and bloody drag marks clearly indicated that a body had been dragged behind the closed doors. "The manager says that they usually kept a bouncer out here at the service entrance to stop punters from sneaking in. That's probably his arm." Standing a little way from the grim remains were four military police officers and three firemen. The MP's looked grimly determined and held their weapons at high port, the three firemen looked distinctly uneasy, and clung to their axes tightly. As they joined this small group Drescal looked to the firemen and said, "Let's go". The firemen immediately attacked the door hinges with their axes and in a few moments the double doors fell outwards. The firemen stepped back, and Shaw glanced down. The doors had been locked by the simple expedient of inserting a metal bar between the release bars and bending it around tightly enough to make the doors immovable. The muted sound of dance music suddenly increased to a dull roar as soon as the door went down. The four MPs cautiously led the way into the buildings interior their assault weapons swinging from side to side to cover all angles. Not far within the building were the remains of the bouncer. In addition to losing an arm, his throat appeared to have been torn out, and his eyes were gone. In the harsh fluorescent light that illuminated the back area of the club, he looked an unnaturally pale colour. Shaw, Drescal and Collon brought up the rear of the police probe, and they too cautiously entered the building. As they entered, the wailing sound of approaching sirens could just be made out over the music. The backup would obviously be arriving anytime.

They gingerly edged their way past stacked boxes of chips, kegs, and the other paraphernalia that the back room of any club or pub would have. The door to the manager's cubicle hung open, but apart from the usual office furnishings it was empty. Shortly they found themselves at the door that lead into the main dance area. Though the door was supposed to open towards them, they found that the door wouldn't budge. One of the MPs hurried off, and returned with the nervous firemen, who rapidly demolished the door. As the door came down, the throbbing rhythm of the music became uncomfortably loud. Brightly coloured lights flashed through the now open portal. As the firemen fell back the MPs stormed through, swiftly followed by the Victoria officers. What they saw stopped them in their tracks. The place was a charnel house, bodies hung by their heels from the balcony of the clubs upper level. Dozens of mutilated corpses lay sprawled on the floors, and others were tied by the arms to fittings on the walls. On the wall above the main dance floor a message in brown hue was written, it said "Hi Piggy. Look forward to seeing you all soon."

"Oh fuck", said one of the MPs. They spread out and began to slowly and methodically search the club.

3.

NIGHTCLUB MASSACRE!

Victoria: Panic grips the Capital of British Columbia following the brutal massacre of over one hundred and fifty people at The Starhouse nightclub last night. Police responded to a call from the club manager in the early hours of this morning, arriving on the scene to find the nightspot barred from within. Three fire appliances were called to the scene as authorities were forced to break in. Inside was discovered what police have described as a hellish scene. As this edition goes to print authorities are still recovering bodies from the crime scene under scenes of strict security. Military Police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police are present in force, increasing speculation that Federal Agents and armed troops are to be dispatched to strengthen law enforcement agencies attempting to bring Victoria back under the rule of law.

Police spokespersons have confirmed that the gang involved in the recent abduction murders occurring in Victoria, dubbed 'Abduction Inc' by some media, are believed to be responsible for this atrocity. Law enforcement officials have refused to release details of those killed or specific details pertaining to the mass murder, however unconfirmed reports suggest that the eldest son of the Lord Mayor of Victoria is amongst the victims. Mr Jean Nichelle, the Lord Mayor, has been unavailable for comment, but a strong police presence at the Mayors official residence has leant credence to these reports.

Page 2: Starhouse interior described as charnel house.

Page 3: Governor promises emergency measures to legislature.

Page 4: Prime Minister silent as Opposition calls for State of Emergency.

Page 6: Death Cults, could your child be a member?

Page 10: The FLN 230 Assault Rifle, police firepower to be increased.

Return to Essay Index 2