Karl stood above the stove, grating cheese in preparation for dinner. As he finished, he let out a quiet sigh and moved over to the other side of the kitchen, reaching for the pizza dough that had been settling for almost three hours.

As he picked it up, his sister, Emilia, yelled from across the house, causing him to drop the dough. “Karl! Another body has been found!” He rushed into the room where she sat, hugging a stuffed rabbit tightly. 

“Another one?” Karl asked, crossing his arms and standing beside his sister. The television showed the brutal scene of the most recent murder, a boy, no older than thirty, with a deep slash mark going from one eye to another, dozens of deep cuts, and the worst part: a deep and bloody pit above his heart, which was removed.

It was horrendous, and was eerily similar to a killer from their home country of Germany. It had only been a month since they had moved, and already, it seemed as if this place was just as terrifying as the last. He grabbed the remote from Emilia and switched to another news station, which was surprisingly covering the same murder. 

In Germany, the killer had been dubbed ‘The Heart Collector’, and was a widely-known name across their hometown of Heidelberg, and even across bits of the Baden-Württemberg state. The killer had a common calling card: slashing the victim’s eyes and carving out their heart, but not before letting them die a slow and painful death from blood loss.

“Karl, I’m scared. Do we . . . do we have to move again?” She asked, looking up at him with big eyes. He felt guilty, it was his job to keep her safe, not have her scared in her new home. He had wanted her to feel safe and comfortable in their new city, but obviously, it wasn’t working so far. After all, their single father had died due to The Heart Collector, but maybe it was for the better, since he did find great amusement in verbally abusing the two of them whenever he had even a shot to drink.

“No, Emilia, we don’t. I’ll keep you safe, I promise, OK?” He offered her a comforting smile and chuckled. “You scared me so badly that I dropped the dough. How about we go out for dinner at that pizza place down a few blocks?”

Emilia happily agreed, happy to be away from the topic, but as they were walking there, a man stopped them with a cigarette. “Hey there, pretty lady, would you like to dump this man of yours and have a nice night out with me?” He flashed a crooked and disgusting grin.

Karl pulled Emilia past the man, but not before discreetly taking a picture of him. He couldn’t have his sister’s heart. No one could. He would protect his sister, even if he had to take a heart or two in the process.