The Purple Butterfly is the symbol for a European gang who has been getting away from the Scotland Yard for years. That all changed when one of the gang member was found dead in a junk yard.
I got a call about eight in the morning. I rolled over in my bed and picked it up. I saw it was Wilson, but I was already tired from the night before. I didn’t answer and rolled back over to sleep some more. Sadly, this was cut short when George and Wilson came walking into my room shouting at me in different ways about the new case they have. I sat up, stretched, and finished by standing up. I walked into my kitchen with them still shouting at me. I proceeded to make myself coffee along with Wilson’s. I went back into my room with them standing in the living room starting to calm down. I’m surprised that Mrs. Barnaby has not come upstairs and given a noise complaint. I got dressed and we proceeded out the front door. I said goodbye to Mrs. Barnaby, called for a cab, and we were on our way to a new case that was in central London.
George went over what the body looked like and how they believe it was killed. I asked “What does Heather think?” George came back with a snarky remark, “ Heather hasn’t seen it yet. I didn’t want her to touch it till you got there.” I smiled at the thought of me being able to get first dibs on the body. “Very well then. Tell her we are on our way.” We made a few turns before reaching the agency’s building. Wilson and I followed George through the building and down the stairs towards Heather’s lab. When we got there George turned around and warned us to be careful and not to touch anything. I huffed as though he insulted me. “Why, on Earth, would I want to touch anything?” He gave me nothing, but a roll of his eyes and opened the door. I stepped in with Wilson when Heather called out to us. “Hello detectives.” I looked around ignoring her, mainly because I didn’t really see her till now. Normally she is gone when we go inside the lab. I nodded so that way it didn’t seem like I was ignoring her, but I had to get my hands on that body.
I continued to eye it from the fifteen feet of space between me and the table. “Can I see it?” I asked Heather with an urgent tone in my voice. She returned with the happiest smile in the world like I just asked her to marry me, which was odd. “Of course you can detective!” “Sher! You know you’re not allowed to touch!” “Sher? Is it short for something?” “No, now to the body!” I walked over to the body, threw the sheet off of it and began looking at the body when I noticed a purple butterfly on his neck. “Wilson come here.” James made his way over to where I was. “What is it?” “What do you make of this?” I pointed to the half burned off purple butterfly tattoo. “Is that? A purple butterfly tattoo?” “Yes, but why is it half burned off?” George interrupted my thinking. “When a group member leaves, they burn half the tattoo off. We’ve been tracking the purple butterflies for years. Sadly, no luck in capturing them. But we have seen people turn up with the half butterfly.” With this information, my theory concluded that the agency had no idea who they are dealing with. I continued looking at the tattoo to see if there was anything else. I found a date next to it and took a picture of it. “Hey Heather.” “Yes Sher?” “Let me know if anything else turns up. On the body I mean.” “Of course detective.” “Actually I’m a consultant detective, but thank you for your time.”
I left the building as fast as I could with Wilson right on my heels. “Slow down Sher!” He continued to yell this at me till we got in another cab. “What is going on Sher? I almost lost you back there.” “Sorry Wilson. I just needed to get out of there.” “What’s going on Sher?” I told the cab to take us back to the apartment building. When we got there Wilson and I headed inside. “We need to do more research on the Purple Butterflies.”  We started our research and concluded that there was nothing to be found on them. We decided to head back to Scotland Yard to see if they had any records.
“What do you mean there is nothing on them?!” I got upset quickly at the fact that nobody in the building has done their job on filing records of the past occasions in dealing with the Purple Butterfly gang. “We’re sorry sir, but there is nothing on file about the Purple Butterflies besides that the gang members have plain purple butterfly tattoos and the leaders have the date they joined.” I left with Wilson in a huff. “At least we got something Sher.” I nodded in agreement. “The guy on the table had a date next to his butterfly tattoo. So, I’m guessing he was a retired leader.” “Maybe so, but that still doesn’t give us any answers yet Sher.”
We went back to the apartment and sat down for a bit. That’s when George called Wilson. He answered almost right away. “Hello Detective, how can we help you today… Yes, alright I’ll tell him.” I looked over to James as he turned around slowly, his expression in a confused face. “Well, what is it James?” He hesitated slightly, “There’s been more killings of the purple butterfly gang.”
We rushed to see all the bodies that were found in the same place before. However, this time there were twelve of them and they hung up, like clothes to dry. I stared in silence, bowed my head and said a simple prayer, wishing them safe journey through their travels to their next life. I turned to James and with an instant reaction he looked back horrified. I told him, “Why don’t we get them down and let them rest. They must be tired from hanging around.” With a snap of my fingers myself, James, and few other police officers were helping to take down the bodies and laid them carefully on the ground. I took a look at the one I was taking down and saw the scar on his chest. I looked around at the others and saw the same. “Take off their shirts.” “What do you mean take off their shirts?” The detective once again asking dumb questions.  “Take their shirts off. They have markings on their chests.” The bodies were instantly stripped of their shirts. I grabbed Wilson and we headed to the fire escape of the building next to us. “Come now James, I believe we need a better view of this.” He followed closely and the moment we got up there and looked down at the bodies, his expression changed. “My God. Is that?” Wilson said with a hesitant voice. I looked down at the bodies as well and read what they said. “Well James, looks like he’s back…” “Yes seems like it, but what are we going to do about it?” I looked at him puzzled by what he just asked.  “Well as I always say James, the game is on.”

I had awoken to the sound of knocks on my door. They were fast and angry. I got up with the least bit of interest to find out who it was. I opened the door to find Detective George, with a tired, but angry expression, with Mrs, Barnaby, with a worried look upon her brow. “It’s alright Mrs. Barnaby. I’ll take it from here.” She went back downstairs without any questions as to why the detective was so angry at the door. He stepped in without even being invited and immediately took the request chair. I awoke James from his slumber and we both sat down to hear the detective’s story. “It’s my wife. She’s disappeared.” He went on about how he woke up without his wife next to him and a strange note that read, “If you want her back, you’ll look to the north of a build, but south of a sign. Signed, a lonely.” I pondered at this trying to figure out what it meant. He then said he found a picture of her tied up behind a building with a timer around her neck. “I don't understand this. Why would someone take my wife?” “Perhaps it was to get back you, but it any case the game, as it were, is on.”
I walked outside with James and George and called for a taxi. When we arrived at George’s house, I had a look around.. I asked where his bedroom was, which as of now was the scene of the crime. He directed me upstairs and to the room. I stayed in the room while he went back downstairs to James.. I looked towards the dresser, closet, and bed.. I made sure to look thoroughly. “All her things are still in place. Doesn’t look like anyone has touched them.” I said out loud to myself. “What’s this?” I noticed something under her pillow and grabbed it.. It was another note. I took it downstairs to show George. ‘Did you not see this?” “No, where did you find it?” I handed it to him hoping the situation would seem brighter. It was a note from his wife telling him that she got a raise at her job and was going to visit her sister. “She never mentioned this. Do you think that the note on the table was her way of scaring me?” James looked at the notes side by side and commented “No, look Sher the writing doesn’t match. One is more cursive while the other is printed.” George looked more worried by the minute. I saw something on the back of the note from our esteemed kidnapper. “James let me see that.” “Uh, sure Sher.” He looked more confused.
I took the note from him and held it under the light and sure enough, there was a name. “James take a look at this. What do you think?” I gave it to him and he did the same as me. “What does it mean Sher?” I turned away from him because I didn’t know what it meant. The detective asked to see it and followed James’ movement. “For art thou Romeo, there is no Juliet. So he’s a Shakespeare person? So what?”
“Shakespeare! Of course!” “What Sher?” “Don’t you see James?” They shook their heads in confusion. “Shakespeare is a playwright. He worked with theatrics. Ah this is just too brilliant!” They both looked even more confused. “The kidnapper took her to a theater where live performances are made. What is the upcoming play?” The detective looked puzzled for a moment then had a look of shock. “It’s something about a sacrifice to the gods. Some old play in celebration with the Greeks and Romans.”
“Sher what does all this mean?” “It means,” I said with a laugh, “that the game is on.”

 It’s finally Saturday November 12th. James is out getting groceries. We’ve been out of everything for weeks. I stood in front of the closest to my chair and played my violin. I’ve been working on a song for weeks now as well. I’ve rarely eaten and James has been going out a lot. I saw James finally return with the groceries and an upset look on his face.
“Everything alright James?” “I had a bit of a falling out,” “With what?” “I don’t want to talk about it.” I chuckled at the thought of a 23 year old man having a falling out in the middle of a store. “Don’t go laughing at me. You’re the one with all the issues Sher. I would never expect a 24 year-old man to act like a child.” “Nonetheless James, I’m still one of the best detective consultants in this country.” James shakes his head at me. We both start laughing at each other which is ended by a knock on our door. James answers, “Oh Mrs. Barnaby, how can we help you?”
“There is someone downstairs for Sher. Should I let him up? He says he has a mission for you.” “Yes please. Thank you Mrs. Barnaby.” Wondering who it was James stays near the door. We were both worried about whom it was. We expected it to be another woman trying to get with one of us. I have no interest in being in any kind of relationship, my only love is my work. James, however, jumped at any chance of finding his love.
“Hello?” James and I both looked over to the voice in the doorway. It was a young boy, who looked no older than 10. James and I looked at the boy in curiousity. “Come in. What’s your name?” James asked. “My name is Edward. Edward Collins.” I looked at the young boy in astonishment. The Collins family is one of the Aristocratic families here in England. “May I ask what the son of the esteemed William Collins, is doing here in urban London?” “Yes, I am here because there has been a theft of sorts.” “What was stolen?” James was just as curious as I to know why the boy would come to us instead of his personal guard. “My father’s broach sir. It’s worth 3.6 million dollars.” The Collins broach had a raven with a rose wrapped around it.  “Where was your guard when it was stolen?” “They we were in the dining hall. My father threw a party last night, in hopes of gaining allies and more men for his guard.”
This all seemed strange to James and I. I asked if we may accompany him back to his home so we can look over the area of theft. When he agreed, we swiftly got into a cab and arrived to his home shortly. When we arrived, the boy’s father was at the front door.
“Edward, who are these people?” “Hello, my name is Sher and this is my colleague James. I am a detective consultant for the Scotland Yard. Your son called upon us to help with a recent theft of your infamous broach.”  William gave his son a stern look, then relaxed. “Alright, come in please. We have very little to discuss. Mostly, since there is nothing report besides that is was stolen last night, during the dinner party i threw.”
We hurried inside and took a small tour around the area, in which the broach was kept and stolen. “There is only one way in or out and cameras within the entire room. If you wish to see the footage, the security room is down the right side of the hall, last door on the left.” “Thank you sir. James why don’t you go to the security office and review the footage. Call me if you find anything of interest. I will stay here and figure out all possible ways in and out of this room without being spotted and without leaving too many openings to a camera.
James followed Edward to the security room. I stayed inside the room and tried to find anything that could be of use. There were eight cameras in total. One on each wall and one in each corner. There was no possible way not being seen. My phone rang and I answered.
“Sher you need to come see this.” The call ended before I had a chance to speak. I walked down the hall to the security room and knocked. Edward opened the door for me. I stepped in and watched the screen that James was looking at and zooming in on. “James, what did you find?” He rewinded the footage and hit play. “Watch the door.”
I watched carefully as a figure appeared. The man was in a Collins guard’s uniform. James paused the footage when the figure looked up at the camera. “Can you try and make the resolution any better?” James fixed the image to a clearer one and looked at me with concern. “Is that?” “My God. How did he get out prison?”
“Well James it would seem that the game is on.”

This morning started off a bit rockier than I would have liked it to have been. I woke up on the floor of my apartment living room. I had a pen in my hand and James laying behind me. I turned over to see that his eyes were a bit puffy and red. I remembered that he was upset last night and I attempted to help him. Sadly though, I have no memory of anything after that.
I slowly got up due to the dizziness in my head when i felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I took it out and answered, still tired from last night. “Hello….?” “Hello? Is this Sher?” “Yes, may I ask who is calling?” “It’s Heather…. We met a few days ago…” “Ah, Heather. May I ask why you are calling me at 5 in the morning….?” There was no answer to my question, but there was certainly something wrong. I could hear her sobbing over the phone. I instantly told her to keep me on the phone and went to find a cab. I asked for her address and told the cabbie where to go.
  When I got there and approached the door, it looked as though someone had broken in. I entered cautiously when I saw a man standing over a woman who appeared to be Heather. “Heather?! Step away from her, you bastard!” I ran over to him and pushed him off of her. “Run Heather and don’t stop! Call George!” She did as told and ran off. The man though got back off and I fought him as best as I could. When I realized I couldn’t beat him with pure strength, I grabbed a vase close to us and hit him on the head with it. “Take that!” He instantly dropped to the floor motionless. His head tilted ever so slightly that I could see the anchor tattoo on his neck. “What is a sailor doing here in central London?”
I walked away only a few steps, when I heard Heather and George running down the hall. I called out to them. However, when I turned around the man was no longer on the floor but by the window. I watched him as he turned and laughed at me then jump out the window. Every thought ran into my mind, but the main question was: “who was that man? Why did he have an anchor tattoo on his neck?”
I stared questioningly out the window, where the man escaped. “Sher! Is everything okay?! What happened?!” “No questions right now detective, Heather was just attacked and may be in danger, we should get her to a safe place right now and question later when we are certain she is okay.” Heather blushed, she seemed baffled that I, Sher Holmes, the descendant of Sherlock Holmes, My father, had a heart. “What?” I stared back at Heather confusingly. She quickly turned away and smiled. “She can stay with James and I till this settles down.”
We returned to my home on Barker Street. James was finally up. The time seemed as though a lot has happened. The entire living room and kitchen was cleaned, he was dressed more appropriately and his hair was combed. Did George tell him of our coming? I thought it would have been funny to see James half dressed still passed out on the floor. I laughed to myself at the thought while looking at James. I snapped out of it when I realized he was looking back at me. “Morning James, glad to see you’re doing well.” George said. I hated when the detective was over. I was always nervous that one day he might find something to put me in a cell for at my home. I’m not, what they say, certified to do experiments. For instance, before I met James, I raided a grave for the eyes and brain of a corpse. I wanted to test and see if the brain’s left over electromagnetic pulse could still produce the same effects with the eyes as it would when the human is alive. Sadly, that one failed every time I tried.
“Yes, I’m doing just fine George. Hey Heather, welcome to our home!” “Our home…?” “Yes, Sher and I share this flat. We thought it would be better since we work together constantly and this way he doesn’t get up to his old tricks like bugging other people for money when he needs food.” James, Heather, and George all laughed while I sat in my chair, staring out the window behind me.
“Sher? Is everything alright?” I turned to see Heather kneeled down next to me. I responded with a simple nod. “I didn’t get a chance to thank you.” “Thank me?” I was confused. No one, excluding James, has ever thanked me for something. “Yes, thank you Sher for saving me.” “Of course Heather, but you must be more careful from now on.” She nodded and smiled like a little kid. I smiled for a moment then turned back to look out the window.
This man was bugging me. I couldn’t help thinking of his face. I had to find out what happened and how he got there. I knew it was an inappropriate time to start questioning her. So, I decided to wait for my chance. Everyone turned and looked at me while I stood from my chair. They’re looks of anticipation hit me hard. Without realizing I was speaking out loud, I said: “The game is on.” I turned and stared out the window, my eyes widen as I saw him. The captain who placed mutiny in his own hands.

I ran out of the apartment as fast as I could with everyone right behind me with concerned looks on their faces. By the time we reached the street he was gone. I looked around frantically, searching for the man I had just seen. “SHER! Whats going on?! Why did you just run out of the building like that?” “HE WAS HERE! HE WAS RIGHT HERE!” I replied quickly to the detective. “Who was here Sher?” James tried to calm me down, but it was no use. I was much too upset to be taken lightly at this point. “The man who attacked Heather. He was right here. I saw him James. I saw him.” I huffed from running and took in a few deep breaths before looking around again. I needed a sign of where he was. I noticed a poster on the other side of the street with the same anchor symbol as the man's tattoo. I walked across the street to get a better look at. James was right beside me reading it out loud. “Boat races, seven o’clock, at the docks in Northern London. But what are all the symbols for. There’s a butterfly, an anchor, a sword, and a skull….?” I looked over the poster quietly while James was still talking. I tried my best to focus on the anchor, but my eye caught attention to something inside the anchor. A name that read ‘Old Sally.’ The name of a ship over at the docks.
“James would you kindly keep your voice down, we don’t want to draw attention to us. George please take Heather back to our flat. She should not be outside with this maniac on the loose.” “Yes, of course Sher. Come on Heather, let's go.” “Tell me if something happens okay Sher.” Heather smiled and waved goodbye as they went back to our flat. James looked at me like i lost my mind. “What James?” He chuckled and I gave him a look of curiosity as to why he is laughing at me. “You’re being nice. Thats new.” I rolled my eyes and brought the attention back to the poster. “We should go to the docks and see what this whole thing is about.” “Right!” We started towards the docks.
When we got there, there were all sorts of boats. Each boat had a flag. On those flags were symbols that matched the ones on the poster. “James, we should split up to make this go faster. You head down that way and I’ll head this way.” “Alright Sher. Make sure to come get me if something happens or if you find anything.” “Same to you.” We headed off in our own directions. I was quick to find the boat we were looking for. I didn’t bother going and getting James because I saw someone through one of the windows on the side. The person inside looked like he was the man we saw earlier. I quietly got on board and tried to take a closer look. He turned and saw me and rushed out the door to the main deck. I chased him down as fast as I could. He pulled a dirty trick on me by tripping me and i fell into the main hold of the boat.
My head was spinning, but I could tell we were moving. We stopped shortly after I had awaken. I looked around me for anything that I could use to escape. I heard someone approaching from above and pretended to still be asleep. I heard laughter. “Your friend must be very worried about you detective. Unfortunately, he’s not going to find you.” He laughed at me. A captain with mutiny on his hands. He went on to tell the story of his old crew and how they tried to take some of his “treasure.” “I fed them to the sharks. No crew, no thieves.” He laughed once more. “And soon you shall join them.” He walked away and I could hear another boat approaching.
I could hear the engine of the second boat getting louder and louder. “SHER!!” James shouted. James, you idiot! I thought. I got up and saw some rope from an old net I could use to get out. I grabbed the rope and tried to get out. When i reached the main deck I saw James being held by the Captain. “James, you idiot.” “HEY! That’s no way to say thank you to someone who is trying to save you.” “I don’t need saving James.” The Captain started laughing. “You two are ridiculous. What are you guys together or something?” “WE ARE NOT GAY!!!” We both said in unison. He laughed some more. I glanced over the Captain’s shoulder to see George approaching slowly with his gun drawn.
“I wouldn’t be laughing. In fact, I would put my hands up if I were you.” “And why should I do that detective?” He laughed more, but stopped when George put his gun against his head. “Because they aren’t alone.” George said angrily. The Captain let go of James and raised his arms. “Good one detective.” The Captain sneered at me and I scoffed at him. “Let’s go James. George I believe you can handle this.” He nodded. James and I got onto the other boat and left with George following us.
“We should get home and tell Heather it’s alright now.” We arrived at our flat and headed inside to see Heather and Mrs. Barnaby talking. I walked upstairs while James stopped to talk to Heather. “Heather, everything will be okay now. You can go home.” “Thanks James. Tell Sher I said thank you?” “Of course.” I watched Heather leave and head towards her house. James came up shortly after. “We did good Sher.” “Yeah, I guess we did James.”

“It can’t be him.” I rushed out of the house with James and we headed over to to the prison. We entered and we asked for our IDs. We handed them over and continued inside. We asked to speak with Mortimer, a man from years ago that was arrested for five murders and six attempted murders. Luckily we got him before anyone. When the guards came back they said, “He’s not here!” I looked down in disbelief. How could he escape. It’s impossible. Why did it have to be him? These thoughts ran through my mind like crazy.
We thanked them for their time and headed over to his usual hide away. When we got there, it looked as though it was burnt to a crisp. What in the world is he trying to hide? I looked over at James who was just as baffled as I. “Sher, look…” He pointed over to a column that had not disintegrated as easily as the rest. On it were some pictures of different people of both genders. One had a red ‘X’ over top of it. “Isn’t that Mr. Anderson from the coffee shop we go to?” I looked up in realization, turned on my heel and quickly ran off with James. We didn’t bother calling a cab. We ran the 2 miles to get back into our area and made a few turns before making it to the coffee shop. When we got there, there were policemen everywhere, Ambulances were lined up with people on stretchers and Mr. Anderson on one as well. We walked over to him in hopes he could tell us what happened, but he was called dead before we got the chance to say anything. James was in shock and I was as well. We were too late. I looked around because knowing Mortimer he likes to watch his prey suffer before he attacks. We went inside where George was found sitting at the bar. Apparently he was there to get a cup before the incident.
“Are you alright George?” James asked. “Yeah, just a bit shaken up.” He said wiping away his tears. “Mr. Anderson was the closest thing I had to a dad. He took care of me when I was just a young boy and kept me out of trouble many times. Why couldn’t I see it…? The danger that walked into this door…. Why couldn’t I see it…….?” George rested his head in his hands visibly upset by the tragedy that occurred here. I turned around and walked out. I couldn’t bear to see the detective in such a distraught manner. I was upset too, but it was uncommon for me to actually show my feelings. At the exact moment I stepped out the door, my phone rang. I got my phone out of my pocket and answered. “Who is this?” I heard laughter followed by; “Hello Sher, long time no see. How’s James?” “Mortimer.” “You guessed it! The GREAT Sher Holmes gets a prize. And what prize might that be? Well let’s call it a game, shall we?” Then two men started running at me and before I had a chance to get anywhere they grabbed my arms and started dragging me towards the building across the street. How is nobody seeing this? Why is nobody seeing this? Is everybody in on this? I continued to have this questions run through my mind. Luckily I had the genius plan to leave my phone on the ground after I quickly changed the background to an arrow that was pointing at the building they were dragging me into.

James Point of View
I walked outside in search for Sher. When I saw his phone on the ground I began to panic. HE NEVER LEAVES HIS PHONE ON THE GROUND. WHERE IS HE?!??!?!? I then saw the arrow pointing to the building across the street and ran over with George behind me. I was going to save my best friend, no matter what!

Sher’s Point of View
I laughed as Mortimer’s henchmen tried to torture me with sad and pathetic variables of nonworking equipment. Mortimer laughed as he said “Your pathetic friend and the detective are trying to save you. Isn’t that funny. You’ll be dead by the ti-” He was cut off due to James running inside the room. “MORTIMER! HOW DARE YOU KIDNAP SHER!” James was mad beyond belief. His eyes were bloodshot and was in tears at the thought of me being tortured. He’s the best friend I could ever ask for. “James! Watch out!!” I yelled at to James, but it was too late for him to react. George had already stepped in the way and shot his gun up and into the ceiling. The two men rushing towards him backed off immediately. “YOU IMBECILES! GET THEM!!” Mortimer tried to gain control of them once more, but to no avail. James quickly untied me and George proceeded Mortimer. “Sorry Sher, but this won’t be the last time that I escape.” “We’ll see about that Mortimer, you’re going into maximum prison.” George replied. James quickly took me out of the building and called for help. The paramedics brought a stretcher for me to sit on, a blanket, and some food. I tried to push off the blanket, but James insisted that I needed it. I looked at him with tears in my eyes and I have no idea why I’m crying at this point. All I could say was “He’s gone…” “I’m know Sher.” James hugged me and comforted me til we got home and I was put in bed. We never found the Collins Family Broach during the investigation, but we got a call from the Collins family and wealthy amount of money for finding it two days later in the rubble of what used to be Mortimer’s hide out.
This will not be the last time Mortimer escapes and I knew that very well. I do not believe in accidents or coincidences. There will be another time. I stared out my window from my chair in the living room with James in his chair. We were both very tired, but I couldn’t help but feel sad for losing Mr. Anderson. For not only had he been like a father to George, but to me as well. Every time I got into trouble as a boy, Mr. Anderson was always there to help me. “Come now Sher, we must be on our way.” “Yes, James.” We were going to his grave to say our final goodbyes. But I knew this would not be the last time I talked to Mr. Anderson. May he rest in peace.

We rushed straight to the Theater. In order to go in, however, we had to buy tickets. We bought our tickets and went to find the correct stage. When we found it We went inside to the backstage area and were immediately presented with security guards. George showed his badge and we were allowed in. We looked around, but we could not find his wife. When the final scene approached we saw her being lifted up from the floor, tied up and gagged. George was mad beyond anything. He was so pissed off about his wife being on stage like that. He sat and waited, however, how long he could wait was what was more worrying. He looked ready to kill anyone who got in his way of his wife.
We watched the scene play out as normal. Till the final scene became a bit more uncommon. A stranger with a mask entered upon stage left and walked to center stage with a sword that was obviously real. The other actor that was on stage with them noticed this too and improved his lines. He kept saying “No, please do not take her. For thou shalt be your savior my dearest.” His character was the husband of the woman who was to be sacrificed. He tried his best to stop the man in the mask but to no avail. He was struck down and impaled by the sword. George immediately changed into a costume and grabbed a sword. He rushed right out onto stage and held his sword up. “You dare strike down that of a brother. Have at thee.” George swung his sword at the mask man. He ducked and lunged and George pivoted and parried. It’s a good thing George knew how to fence. George lunged at the man’s leg in hopes of stunning him. He faked left and went for his right leg. Direct hit. One leg down, one more to go. He faked right and hit his left leg.
We watched carefully as his wife started to untie herself. James grabbed a costume and went out into the audience to retrieve the boy had been impaled by the sword. George hit the man’s hand and the sword went up out of his hand and into George’s. He held the blades in an X across the man’s throat. One resting on each of the man’s shoulders. “Fore I have defeated ye. Do not come back you foul beast.” And with that the curtain closed and the cheering of the audience began.
George quickly finished untying his wife and held her while she cried. We called for back up and they arrived within short notice. “Grab the man in the mask and take him.” I said to them as they arrived. James walked over to George and his wife. I walked over to the actors that were gathered around where the boy’s things were. One actor who had been on the phone with the boy’s doctors said, “the doctors said he will be okay.” A sigh of relief went over them. “Excuse me, But do any of you know who that man is?” “We’ve never seen before. We assumed he was a last minute extra or understudy.” “Thank you.” I turned and left, I grabbed James and we followed the man in the mask out of the building.  I stared him down while he was put into the police car. He stared directly at us, his mask still on. “I hope we never encounter him again.” I nodded to James in agreement. We decided to go home and start working on making sure George’s wife was okay. We baked her a cake with her favorite flavor of frosting. We delivered it to her house and went back to our flat. “James do you ever wonder…” “Wonder what Sher?” I was silent for only a  moment. Within that moment the entire world stood still while I spoke.

“What a normal life would be like?”

“James, let’s go. These men should be allowed to rest in peace by themselves.” He nodded in agreement and we left. We took a cab home and sat in our flat. “Sher, what are we to do about him?” “Who?” “Marks…” “Oh…” I honestly had no answers at this point. I was more worried about what he would do next over what to do now. “Sher?” I stared out the window behind me while I was sitting in my chair when I felt a presence next to me, I looked over and saw that it was James crouching down beside me. “Are you alright?” I shook my head in response because I knew if I had said anything that it would be difficult for me. “James…” He hugged me and I sat there awkwardly hugging back. James has always been there for me. No matter what, if I were to fall apart one day, I know he would be the one to help me get put back together.
“Sher, you can tell me if something is wrong. You don’t have to hide what you feel from me.” He looked at me with a worried expression and I smiled back at him. That all ended when there was a laugh from the front door. We both looked over and saw him standing there laughing. “You know if you two keep doing this people are gonna think you’re getting married.” It was Marks the leader of the Purple Butterflies. “We are not gay Marks. Stop trying to make that a thing.” “Well, sorry. You two just look so cute together.” He laughed more and I could see the frustration in James’ eyes. I knew what he was about to do. I grabbed his arm and he looked at me. I shook my head at him and he calmed down. I was upset too, but we couldn’t get ahead of ourselves. I look over through the window again while James invited him in and made him a cup of coffee. The best thing we can do now is distract him till George and his men get here. While James was over by me crouched down beside me I had messaged George of what was going on and He instantly replied to get him to stay here. Idiot! Of course he has to stay here… That detective can be really idiotic. I thought to myself while looking out the window. “Expecting anyone Sher?” I shook my head.
Marks stayed here for a while. I looked over at James who was now sitted in front of me because his chair was taken from him by Marks. I grabbed the coffee from him. Even though he made it, I didn’t want anything happening to him. “Sher, come now. Do you still not trust me?” “Why should he? You show up at our home and now steal my chair.” “And? I’m a guest!” “But you are no friend! You come into our home and take whatever you please. You are ungrateful and rude! Plus you killed your own men!” “What? My… men are… dead…” “You didn’t know?” I finally asked. The sadness and confusion on his face was pure. But then who would frame him? “So, you didn’t kill them?” “No, I saw them all just last night. I had no idea that after I sent them off on their way after a day with me that they would die…” Maybe the bodies weren’t killed by him, but then a message to him… “Do you have any enemies that you know of, that would do this then?” “Sher… I’m a gang leader… Of course I have enemies, but none that would do this.” I shook my head in disbelief at the thought that I was wrong and blamed him. It’s a good thing the detective didn’t show up yet.
I heard my phone go off with a name “Marks Woods…” I looked over to the man sitting in James’ chair. “Hey Marks? What’s your last name?” “My last name? Why?” “Just a question.” “Oh, well it’s kind of embarrassing. It’s Skeets. Marks Skeets” I replied back saying the man with me is named Marks Skeets not Marks Woods. “Do you know a man named Marks Woods?” “Yes. He’s an ex-convict that worked for me.” “Well he’s wanted again. He’s the one who killed your men. Do you know where is hideout is?” “Yes, I do. Let’s go pay him a visit.” We left the flat and got into Marks’ car. We drove off to Woods’ hideout. When we got there, the place was destroyed. We found bodies everywhere. Marks pointed at one and said, “There he is.” I followed his line of sight and saw a man sitting on a throne looking chair at the end of the table that was in the main area. The man was covered in ash and had burns covering him. My guess was that something happened inside his group and decided to kill everyone with a fire. Everyone had the same marks on them as he did. I shook my head at the smiling corpse. “Sick bastard. I knew I should never have hired him.” “I’m sorry Marks… I honestly thought it was you who killed your men.” “Sher you should know this now. I disbanded the Purple Butterflies. That’s why I had them with me last night. I was done being a gang leader and nobody else wanted my position so we disbanded the gang.” I looked at him and he was smiling with tears rolling down his cheeks. He was finally free of the gang that took everything he had to stay alive. “It’s okay Marks. You’ll find something better to do.” And with that we turned around and walked back to the car.
Marks dropped us off at our flat and he left. I haven’t heard from him since then. I hope he’s doing alright. As for James and I… Well let’s just say he was really happy to have his chair back. He’s such a child. I smiled and sat in my chair and once again was caught mesmerized by the outside world. I looked down to the street and saw Marks Woods, the smiling corpse that I saw, standing on the sidewalk looking up to me and smiling. A car drove past and he was gone. I knew in my head that wouldn’t be the last time I saw him.

James seemed eager to get us on our way. He grabbed my arm and pulled me out the door. I waved goodbye at the confused Mrs. Barnaby. She waved back and shook her head at us. I assumed it was because we were two grown men acting like children or it was because of the marks we left behind on the floor from James pulling me along. Either way, we were on our way to see Heather.
“What is it that’s so exciting for me to see?” “The hair that we found on Jack belonged to a dead woman.” He smiled like an excited little boy going through his Halloween Candy and founda full sized candy bar. Which is weird for him. I stared at the window looking out onto the world that we called home as many buildings passed by. A dead woman? But how? I continued to ponder at the thought of it. We arrived shortly and headed inside.
Heather greeted us when we stepped through her lab. “Hello Sher. Welcome back James.” she laughed a bit. I looked over to where Jack was, still laying on the cold observatory table. I walked over to him and bowed my head giving a small prayer to his travels in the underworld. James pulled me back over to where he and Heather were. “Alright Heather tell Sher what we found.” “Alright, well Sher. There were some weird things about the hair.” “Such as?” “Well one it was bleached and dyed. The red is not the real color of the hair. Second the hair follicle at the end matches that of a dead woman.” “Who does the hair belong to?” I asked cautiously. “It belonged to Sarah McCoughlin.” James said. I swear if he had a tail it would be wagging really fast with his excitement going. Heather and I looked at each other in confusion. She obviously had no idea about what was going on with him either.
“Anyways. The real killer is still out there Sher. You must find her or him.” “Alright I will. Can I leave James here with you? He seems to be having a field day here.” “Yes alright, be careful Sher.” “I will.” I walked out the building and started heading home. I was stopped by a few tourists who needed directions to the ferris wheel and the Queen’s palace to take vacation pictures. I told them where it was and was on my way home again. I was stopped by a woman with dark brown hair tied back in a bun and wearing glasses down to the tip of her nose. “Excuse me, but are you Sher Holmes?” “Who is asking?” “Oh, I’m Margaret Loving. I’m here to take Sher somewhere on orders of my boss.” “Sorry, but I will not be going anywhere with you.”
With saying that I turned around and saw two men about twice the size of me standing in my way. “I’m sorry, but you can’t say no. You see, my boss is extremely interested in you and has asked me to bring you with us alive.” I turned back around to face her and see a car pull up behind her. “How alive is the fun part. Boys will you please help Sher Holmes into the car?” With that they both grabbed my arms and lifted me off the ground to carry me to the car. They shove me in and Margaret sits next to me. “Where are you taking me?” “To someone who needs you Mr. Holmes.” “Why are you taking me?” “Like I said. My boss needs you Mr. Holmes. He needs your help.” “But why me?” “We are not the bad guys here Sher. We didn’t kill those people, but someone in our organization did.” “Wait. What organization?” She lifted up her sleeve to reveal a diamond with a bat wrapping its wings around it. “Bat Diamond? This must be serious.” “It is” She taps on the window that divides us and the driver. “Go faster please. we must get there.” I can almost instantly feel the car speed up.
We get to a building within minutes and she helps me inside. “Here let me see you to our boss. He’s very excited to see you.” I follow her through the maze of hallways until we reach a door. She knocks twice and lets herself in. I wait in the hallway till I hear her scream. I run inside and see a woman standing over her boss with a knife and a jar with two eyes in it. I stare in disbelief. “Sarah what are you doing?! Are you the one doing this? Why?!?!” Sarah laughed at her questions. “Are you all idiots? Can’t you see? Men only see what they want. They will never see the true beauty of this world!” “But why are you doing this?” “Because you idiot! I’m going to rid this world of its devastations! I’m going to rid this place of all the nonbelievers!” She laughed more and I quickly ran up to her and grabbed her arms wrapping them against her back. She pushed me off and started lunging at me with the knife in her hand. I blocked her and pushed her off a little too hard and she went straight through the glass in the window. I tried my best to grab her, but it was too late. Margaret looked over to me with tears in her eyes and hugged me after looking down at the lifeless Sarah. “Come now. We must go.” She nodded and I helped her and everyone else out of the building.
When the police arrived we gave our statements and they let us go. I saw James running up behind a few of the police officers. He pushed past them and ran straight to me and hugged me. “I’m so sorry Sher! If I had known, I would have gotten here faster.”  He sobbed into my shoulder. I had no idea why he was upset, but I’m glad he’s alright. “I’m okay James. Let’s just go home. It’s been a long day and I want some rest.” “Alright Sher. Let’s go.” We started walking towards our house when I stopped. James looked over to me with a questioning look. “James…?” “Yeah Sher?” “I hope our lives stay the same.” “Me too Sher, me too.”