My Short Story: Königsberg's Killer

Hello! I am Surajrocks99 and welcome to my story blog. And I don't mean my story of my life but just a short story that was created for a competition in my school. It didn't win unfortunately but I thought it would be nice to put my short story here for all to see and read. I hope you enjoy reading my tale!

Jason walked through the bleak, narrow streets of Königsberg. He took out a lighter and burnt an ancient receipt to warm himself. Citizens walked past without noticing him, in their hurry to get to their destination. Jason was going to a location described in the letter. When Jason searched for some information in a library, he learned that the place became haunted after the Nazis came to power. After the original Jewish owners were forced out and sent to a concentration camp, anyone who lived inside the building got plenty of misfortune. Rumors began to circulate from people who lived nearby saying that they heard screaming from inside the building, and conspiracies were made.  

As he thought about what might have happened, he reached the spot where the letter told him to come to. He convulsed in the miserable Russian weather, as he watched a person approached him. The man continued walking towards Jason, until he stopped on a mosaic that spread along the floor in front of him. The man beckoned for Jason to come to where he was standing and asked him a question.

“Do you understand why you are here tonight?” the man said.

“No.”

“In that dilapidated building that stands over there, there lies a hidden scroll. We intend on acquiring it before midnight.”

“What’s inside the scroll? And what do you intend to do with it?”

“That is none of your concern, Jason. All that you need to know is that a message was written on it and when we uncover the truth, we can alter history forever. We could sell it to some intelligence agency or archeology union and become wealthy. This discovery could change our lives!”

Jason considered this. The man claimed that he would get a profit but judging on his expression he probably wouldn't. He believed that the man chose him because of his qualities. He had fast reflexes and could make quick decisions. He also knew some basic self-defense, quite useful if he got cornered by his enemies. Jason decided to walk inside the building and find it quickly. Jason stepped forward but the man tutted and appeared to press a button. Immediately, the mosaic began to rumble and opened to reveal a grim, dark passageway. There was a ladder lying along the wall. The man beckoned Jason to enter first. Jason walked to the ladder, grasped the rungs and began to climb down into the darkness.

He soon reached the bottom. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he noticed that the area had numerous corridors that spread out in all directions. He began to search for the scroll. He turned on his flashlight. He dashed into the corridor that was straight in front of him and to his left were a cluster of rooms. He counted them and found that there were eighteen. He picked the thirteenth number and pushed open the door. The door screamed as it slammed open. Everything was covered in a layer of dust and Jason noticed that there was a light switch on the wall. Jason thought of it as a good omen and turned it on. However, instead of the light tubes that were lined across the ceiling turning on, a board slid open from a secret compartment hidden within the wall. Inside it lay a cylindrical metal tube. Jason grabbed it and began to sprint towards the exit. He decided to keep the scroll for himself. He thought that he should get the reward. The man was waiting for him by the exit. He appeared concerned and gave him a water bottle. Jason thanked him and drank some of the refreshing liquid inside. Suddenly, he had an idea. He looked for a sleeping powder packet that he took from one of his science lessons. It was inside his pocket, and he poured it into the water. He shook the bottle and returned it to the man. The man drank some of the water as well. Jason watched as the man began to get drowsy and suddenly, he fell flat on the floor. An alarm began to ring. He panicked and began sprinting for the exit, yet it closed before he reached it. Sighing gently, he decided to read the message before attempting to escape. He slid it out of the container and unraveled the paper.

The person’s body was horrifying; he had a face that eerily resembled that of Joseph Stalin and the flesh was peeling off him. He was holding a metal bat in his hand. He swung it at Jason’s head, and he clattered to the ground. He shut his eyes and the final thing he ever heard was this,

“The empires are returning.”

The message was solved. But it was lost to history.