Checkmate

The patrol was at night, near the southern Queens district, my area of choice. Despite the fact that this city never slept, I found the pockets of silence in the alleyways comforting. My astethic.

I think it was the contrast. Yes, the contrast from a busy day, full of light and noise...to a calm night filled with nothing.
Silence was my drug. Darkness made it better.

I kept my head on my shoulders, though. It was no joke to be patrolling these grounds without some thought to where you went. I knew Queens well, but the nightly walk of it always was disorienting.

I never cared about the posters I had seen on every lampost. The morning meeting that always featured him, the nightly news always droning on about him endlessly until I fell asleep on my couch with them humming in the background.

The Chess Master. That was the name everyone gave him. Or her. We had no idea what gender this serial killer was, but that only it had a method of killing that involved some sort of game of chess.

Every victim was from Queens. Every victim was found near a chessboard with a losing game. All black pieces, one white piece. The piece was always the king, toppled over and stained with a splot of the victim's blood.

It seems I was the only one on my squad that wasn't afraid of him.

The killer had about fifteen bodies to his name that night. Some people in the office suspected that he would kill only sixteen out of sheer irony. I was on patrol to prevent the next victim from being caught. Simple duty. Just look for stragglers on the street and tell them to go home.

That's what made me run around Queens all night. And that entire night, I didn't see a single soul on the streets. Not even the usual bums. Not even the men we paid to patrol around here.

I noticed that even some of the usual cars and cabs on the side of the road weren't there. People that usually parked there every day where nowhere to be found. At first, this creeped me out.

But then I realized that these were paid parking places. Of course no one would be here at night. Of course.

I kept walking around the usual path, losing myself in the thoughts and the silence. It was such a quiet night.

Too quiet.

I'm not sure what triggered it, but I felt suddenly...off. Like something was wrong. My walking slowed down as I reached into my pocket to retrieve my phone. Maybe I could go ahead and report a quiet night. I felt nervous for some reason. It was the kind of nervousness you felt when you were lost. Or when you were in the wrong place.

I dialed the stations number.

And for a split second, I thought about hanging up. Am I really calling them because I have cold feet?

But then no one answered.

I looked at my phone in cofusion, making sure I had hit the right contact. The office never missed a call.

This was wrong.

I don't remember them wishing me good luck tonight, or telling me to be careful. To watch where I walked.

All I remember is feeling a slight prick on my shoulder. Then absolutely nothing at all. When I woke up again, I was in a chair. My legs and arms were strapped stiff. I could only move my head and hands. Nothing else. There was thick tape wrapped around my mouth and head.

I immediately began to struggle against the bonds, but it was pointless. These were strong ties. Well made.
There was also this...pull on my eyelids. My head felt muddled and heavy. I must be reeling still from the drug I was given. It lingered and made my thoughts basic, unable to think clearly for more than a few seconds at a time.

I began to panic. I was sweating from the struggle already, and my efforts only made it worse. I wasted all my energy after what felt like hours.

Something opened a door behind me. Footsteps against the concrete made me try to turn my head, but I was exhausted. The figure stepped in front of me, a table the only space between us.

"Hello, Miss Montoya." The figure said, his voice low, "Welcome to the game."

He pushed a table closer to my chair. I stared down at the chess board. It had been ages since I touched a chess piece.

I looked around. No one else was here. No trace of bodies. No trace of blood. No way to know where I even was.
The figure stepped a little into the light, a confused expression on his face.

"Expecting someone? That is strange." He tilted his head down as he moved his pawn forward two spaces,

"The station told me that only one volunteer would be sent to me tonight."

He looked at me, expectantly. I was shaking in my bonds.

"Your move."



[X](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS4HL4U4EB336G813DAH-Uw)