You've Been Tagged

You’ve Been Tagged
By Mark Schmoyer

© 2011 by Mark Schmoyer All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by means-electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other-except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without prior written permission.

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Thank you to my family for their support, for my Mom and Lindsay for editing, and for all my fans on Wattpad.com! Couldn’t have done it without you! And to my amazing sister, who loves me dearly.

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3:15 pm, September 9th It was Friday and I was sitting at my computer, checking my email and sipping a glass of soda. I just got home from Prackersburg High School, my school. Feeling lazy, I minimized the browser tabs and leaned back in my office chair, closing my eyes. Yes, this 16 year old was looking forward to an uneventful weekend. I stood up and walked over to my dresser. My room was my favorite place to be. It wasn’t too small, or too big, but a comfortable size. My bed was tucked in the back left corner, with my dresser a few feet to its right. My desk sat at the end of my bed, and across from that on the right side of my room was my small closet. The walls were a light blue, and posters of bands, athletes, and pictures of my friends and I littered the wall space. I passed my mirror that hung next to my closet, and saw my reflection out of my peripheral. My hair was messed up. I sighed and took a step back so that my whole body was visible in the glass. I didn’t look too bad actually. Almost 6 feet, with blue eyes that girls adored, curly red hair that could be a handful at times, and an over all lovely face. Well, at least that’s what the girls said. I didn’t bother to fix the strand of hair that refused to join the others, it would only come undone in a few hours anyway. I forgot why I was going to my dresser and sat back down at my desk. My laptop was open, and my phone was next to it. Nothing interesting was happening in the online world, so I started to shut the laptop’s lid. Before the screen went dark, an email notification from Google Chrome popped up. Feeling a little excited, I clicked on it, and an email
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from my Facebook account showed up. It read, "Dear Chase Mitchels, Unknown has tagged you in a post on Facebook." I re-read it. Unknown? How is their name Unknown? Who are they? How in the world am I friends with them? I didn’t remember accepting any friend requests in a while. Curiosity and frustration got the best of me and I clicked on the link provided. A new window filled my screen and Unknown’s profile came into view. As expected, their profile picture was a blank face. Their wall was completely deserted except for the 'post' I'd been tagged in. I read the post, and then gasped. It read, "In 24 hours, Chase Mitchels will be dead.” This couldn’t be real. Facebook wouldn’t have allowed this. This had to be a mistake, or a joke, or a glitch or something. Right? I mean, this couldn’t be true. I quickly clicked the chat bar to see if he was still online, but only my friends were. Trying to calm myself down, I clicked on their info. Empty. No photos, notes, comments, friends other than me, and they didn't even play Farmville! There was nothing on their site except for my death status. I sat back. How did they become my friend if I didn't confirm them? My wall showed no signs of me ever accepting a friend request. An idea entered in my mind. What if somebody that I confirmed as a friend a long time ago erased all their info and pictures and etc, and changed their name to 'Unknown', and decided to have a little fun, at my expense? It was plausible. I searched through my friends list, and all my closest friends were still active. I couldn't remember all of my friends of course, but of the ones I knew who might try to prank me like this, all were still active. I shook my head, and took a deep breath in. This was just a mistake. Some idiot somewhere was bored and decided to make themselves laugh so they made this status...but how did I become friends with him? That was the part that didn’t
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make sense. Who could’ve accepted it if I didn’t? Oh, it was probably my little brother, Riley. He's a pain in the butt sometimes. He probably saw that I had left my account open once, and decided to make me mad by accepting a friend request and then not telling me. Stupid siblings. But what if it was real? What if there was some killer that really existed and I really was going to be dead in 24 hours? What kind of person did this? What would cause a person to want to kill another person? And would I be killed sometime before 24 hours was up, or exactly in 24 hours? I blinked. What am I saying, none of this was true. I clicked on, "Send Unknown a message.". I typed, "Alright dude, I don't know who you are, and I don't really care. The jigs up, stop being a jerk and tell me who you are. And if I know you, trust me, I'm going to beat you so bad that you wished you never born." Wow, what am I, seven? That sounded way too cheesy. I wanted them to be scared, not amused. I re-typed that last line. “If I know you, I’d better not run into you anytime soon. I don’t like people playing these types of jokes on me.” Not much better, but they'll get the point. I hit send and closed Facebook. One minute later, I received another email, from Facebook. Unknown had messaged me back. After I read it, I knew this was no joke. "Hello Chase. I'm looking forward to getting to know you. And don't worry who I am. Trust me, you don't want to know. In 23 hours and 50 minutes, you'll be dead anyway. My advice? Start running."

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3:25 pm, September 9th "Dad, how is that NOT creepy? They’re going to KILL me!" "It's a prank, can't you see that?" After I had stared at my computer screen for several minutes, dumbfounded dazed and confused, I had ran downstairs and told Dad, who was reclining on the couch. He seemed unconvinced that something serious might be happening. "I didn't tell you what they messaged back.” I told him what I had received and he didn’t say anything for a minute. Then, "Chase, somebody wants to scare you and they're succeeding. Nobody's going to kill you." “But what if someone really is? Shouldn’t we do something about this?” He pondered it. “I’m not sure if those messages alone are enough for anything to be done about it.” “Come on!” Dad seemed to be acting very strange. Why didn’t he see this as real? “Chase, you’ll be fine. I doubt anything will come from them.” A frustrated sigh escaped and I walked away, retreating into my room. As much as I didn't want to do it, I pulled out my laptop and opened Facebook once again. I clicked on Unknown and opened up another new message. "Unknown, why are you doing this? How can I believe you? How do I know you’re not just some dork behind a computer screen?" Once more I hit send and the message was on its way. I didn't bother to stick around and see how soon they would reply. Instead I went downstairs and sat on the couch for some TV time. I wanted to clear my head and zone out.
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Maybe Dad was right. This was probably nothing and in a few hours it would be dismissed as a not so friendly practical joke or dare. Dad came over to me and said, "I'm going to run some errands. Your mom is picking up your brother from school, so she'll be back shortly." "Alright." The door shut and suddenly it was quiet. The TV was on, but my sudden fearful thoughts drowned it out. An uneasy eeriness filled the room, and it started to scare me. I stood up and didn’t move for a moment, trying to convince myself that nothing was wrong and that I was being paranoid. Nothing was wrong. But I still couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being watched, that I was isolated and alone, unprotected and vulnerable. I went back onto my room. I crossed over to my window, which was across from my desk, and pulled open the shades, letting some light in. I walked over and pulled the laptop lid open. One new email. I hovered the mouse over it for a second, and then opened it. "Do you believe now?" What? What did it mean? I left the screen up and went to sit down on my bed. I collapsed and shut my eyes. Why would anybody want to do this to me? I mean, what could I have done? And what did “Do you believe now?” mean? Believe what? What does somebody believe in? Usually a religion, a faith. Or belief in themselves? Belief sometimes comes after an event, such as 9/11. Americans thought that their country was invincible until a homeland attack shattered their beliefs.
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But did this have anything to do with what was happening to me? Or was I over analyzing it? I was thinking too much. It had nothing to do with any of this. It was probably something really simple. I opened my eyes and walked back over to my laptop, sitting down in my chair again. “Do you believe now?” the message dared me. Believe what? Suddenly I heard a gunshot, and milliseconds later my glass window shattered, followed by the screen of my laptop being yanked away from the keyboard, leaving my laptop in two pieces. The screen showcased a rippling effect caused by the bullet. It all happened in one second. My heart rate sky rocketed, and my hands started to sweat. My legs started to bounce and my knees shook. I dared a look out my window, but obviously didn't see anything. I heard another sound, this one of an object flying through the air. Before I could think, or much less react, an object crashed through what was left of my window and landed on my rug, surrounded by jagged glass shards. I immediately jumped away and hid my head in my hands. After a few moments, I realized it was not a bomb. Cautiously walking over, I saw a rock with a piece of paper tied to it. I removed the string, and smoothed the paper. A note. "You should believe now that I’m not joking. Only 23 hours and 25 minutes remaining. What are you going to do?"

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3:45 pm, September 9th “Hello? I need help! My window and laptop were shot by a sniper only a few minutes ago! And before that, I was sent death threats by this same person! ” I was getting frantic. The 911 operator on the other side replied, “Okay, take a deep breath. Can you do that for me?” I breathed deeply, and a little bit of the panic left. But it came back immediately when the operator started talking again. “Now, what happened?” “Somebody wants to kill me! They’ve been sending me creepy messages and then they just shot my laptop and my window! I don’t know why they want to kill me!” “I’m going to send somebody over, but until they get there I need you to try and calm down. Panicking won’t accomplish anything except hasty and unwise decisions. And don’t go anywhere. A police officer will be over soon.” “Okay, okay.” I breathed heavily again. “Good, good. Now, what is your name?” “Chase Mitchels.” My breath still came in short bursts. “Alright Chase. Where do you live?” “45 Copper Lane.” “Chase, Sergeant Detective Michael Daniels will be there in a few minutes. Is anybody else there with you?” “No, it’s just me.” Saying that reminded me I was alone. Fear crept in. “Just hang on until Detective Daniels gets there. Can you do that for me?” “Yeah, I can.” “Excellent. It won’t be long.” “Thank you.”
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The operator kept talking, but I hung up. I knew they usually preferred to keep the caller on the phone, but I didn’t want to talk. Instead, I collapsed in a chair. Before I could exhale, my cell phone rang. The sound of my ringtone surprised me, and my body jerked in shock. If it was possible, my heartbeat quickened. I pulled out my phone and looked at the number. It was restricted. I dropped it on the floor and let it ring. Eventually it stopped. Silence. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back. I wouldn’t have to wait long, I told myself. Daniels would be here soon, and then they would find who was doing this and I could stop worrying. My phone buzzed on the floor. I leaned forward and looked at the screen. A new text message. I scooped up my phone and searched for the number. It said, “Restricted”. Against my better judgment, I opened the text message. Three simple words glowed at me. “Answer your phone.” I deleted it instantly, and immediately regretted it. I should’ve kept it for evidence, maybe the police could’ve tracked or traced it. Dang it! I wasn’t thinking clearly at all. I didn’t have long to dwell on it though, because my phone rang again. Restricted number. I held it in my quivering hand, and slowly answered. “Hello?” My voiced shook. A pause. Then a deep marbled male voice, masked by a disguise. “Ah, hello Chase. So nice to finally talk to you. How have you been? Not that I really care.” “Who are you?!” “Oh but Chase, you’ve already asked that! Be original! Ask me why I’m doing this. Ask me why I chose you. Ask me how I’m going to kill you. Because those are the questions that you really want to know.” “I don’t want to know any of that!” “Well, I’ll tell you anyway.”
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“I’d rather you didn’t.” “Shut up, kid! Did I tell you to talk? Remember, I have the power here! I can kill you whenever I want.” “Then why didn’t you just a few minutes ago in my room?” “Ah, there is the ever important question. Yes, I could’ve killed you easily. But I didn’t. Know why? That’s rhetorical. Because I like to have the power. I like to control how a man acts; I like to see him run when maybe no one is chasing him. When a man knows that he can be killed at any instant by an “unknown” person, his will is broken and is so much more easily controlled.” Frozen. My nerves were frozen. What was he talking about? “Y-y-you won’t get away with this!” Great, that sounds so non-cliché. “The police are coming over right now, and they’ll get you!” “Hmm, how trivial. We’ll see what happens. I hope they believe you!” The line went dead. I took my phone away from my check and looked at the screen. Call ended. Two knocks at the door. I jerked my head up and stared at the door. I asked, “Who is it?” “It’s Sergeant Michael Daniels, here to talk to Chase Mitchels.” Finally. “Yeah, I’m coming.” I walked over to the door and opened it. Daniels struck me as a prototype detective. Long light brown jacket, notepad in hand, and the overall look of somebody who spent their whole life studying and identifying crime. “Hello, I’m here because of your call concerning…” he checked his notes, “a shooting and death threats?” I nodded. “Yeah, yeah, this way. Let me show you the
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evidence.” I had to stop saying these cheesy lines. I led him upstairs and into my room. “My laptop was shattered by a sniper.” I opened my door and showed Daniels my destroyed window and laptop. “See that? Somebody shot it!” Daniels didn’t say anything. He walked over to the window and peered out the hole. Then he walked over to my laptop, snapped on thin elastic gloves, and picked it up, inspecting the rippled glass. “Where are the death threats you mentioned?” He asked. “They were on my Facebook profile! Which I can’t access now because my laptop is destroyed…but they should still be in my email! And there was a text message, but I uh…deleted it accidentally.” He looked at me with disbelief, eyebrows arched. “You deleted it?” “I was stressed and acted quickly without thinking,” I defended myself. Daniels took out a plastic bag from a hidden pocket in his coat and carefully placed the screen in. Then he pulled out another identical bag and dropped the other half in. With both of them zipped, he held them both in one hand and said, “Well, I’ll take it back to the station, but this isn’t enough to open a case on. I’ll need to ask your neighbors and see if anybody saw or heard anything, and eventually I’ll have to read those death threats.” “Alright. The shot was loud, somebody must’ve heard it.” He started down the stairs, with me following. When we got to the front door, he turned and said, “I’ll ask your neighbors in the next few days, and then I’ll give your family a call shortly. Have a nice day.” And with that, he left, and it his place, an intimidating quietness filled the house.
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Silence. I hated silence. It scared me. But what Unknown said earlier scared me the most. He wanted to control me? What did he want me to do? Where did he want me to run too? Why was he so crazy? Wait, this is exactly what he was talking about, exactly what he wanted. He wanted to control my actions, and control my thoughts. He wanted me to be scared. He liked it when I'm scared and don't know what to do. Suddenly, I wondered where Mom and brother were. Dad said they’d be home soon. I got worried. What if Unknown got them? What if he wanted ransom money? Wait, no, that didn't make sense. Why would he want ransom money if I was going to be dead in a day? I sat down on the sofa and didn’t move. Time seemed to drag on forever. Jingling at the door. My heart went up a notch. I tensed on the couch, prepared for anything. The door swung open.

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4:15pm, September 9th "Chase, are you home?" It was Mom. Thank goodness, it was only Mom and Riley. "Mom, I'm right here." I eased my body a little. "Oh, honey, you look so tense! What’s wrong?" "You’ll never guess what's been happening to me today." I recounted my tale to her. Mom had this distant look in her face, a glazed over expression. Her gaze wasn’t on me either, but somewhere behind me. "Mom, you ok?" "Yes. No. I don’t know, I just can’t imagine who would do this." She finally turned to me, and I saw a trace of tears. "So you believe me?" "What do you mean? I don't really have a choice. I can't risk NOT believing you." "Dad didn't believe me. He said it was a prank, and that somebody just wanted to scare me. But then again he left before my laptop was shot apart." "Your father didn't believe you? I wonder why not.” Mom’s voiced didn’t have wonder though. Did she know something I didn’t? "Oh you know Dad, not believing anything unless he has, 'hard evidence and proof'. But even when his sons life is in danger?" Riley had been just standing there, until he said, "Why is he doing this?" I replied, "I don't know, Riley. He said he liked having the power, liked having control of people and their actions." Mom asked, "But why you?"
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I had no answer. "When is Sergeant Daniels supposed to ask our neighbors and give us a call back?" "He said, 'shortly', whatever that means. And I forgot to tell him about the phone call." "What? That was pretty serious!" "I know, it just slipped my mind!" I started to get agitated. "How? How did you forget about that?" "Mom! I don't know! But I'll tell him about it when he calls next." Mom grabbed the phone. "I'm calling right now." she started dialing. "Mom, he only left a few minutes ago! He won't even be back yet!" She didn't listen and called anyway. "Hello, I'm looking for Sergeant Daniels. Is he available?" I approached Riley. “Riles, did you accept a Facebook friend request on my profile without telling me?” He looked up at me. “No, I didn’t.” “You sure?” I gave him an eye. “I didn’t, I promise!” He sounded disappointed that I would ever even think he would do something so preposterous. “Alright, I believe you.” I patted him on the shoulder. Back to my room. I went over to the window and gazed out. You could see all my neighbors’ houses from my window, and there were trees lining each house. I tried to reason where the shooter must've been, but I had nothing. My cell phone rang. I pulled it out. Restricted caller. I didn't want to answer
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it, but I didn't want to NOT answer it either. It rang twice, a third time. Finally, I answered. "Hello?" "I was getting worried that you might not pick up. I'm so glad you did." "How did you get my number and why are you calling me?" "Well, you can find anything on the Internet. But I didn’t find your number on the World Wide Web. In fact, I'm not going to tell you how I got your number, because this is much more fun. And calling you is the only way I can contact you, remember? Your laptop is hardly in working order." "You’re sick, you know that?" He chuckled. "Actually I'm not. My doctor just recently said that I'm in excellent condition. And my dentist commented how pearly white my teeth were." His humor was not amusing. "The cop believes me. You're going to get caught." "Ah yes, good old Sergeant Daniels." How did he know his name? "And I'm not going to tell you how I know his name either. The best mysteries are those that are never discovered, am I right? Of course I am." "You’re nothing but a power-hungry maniac who likes to screw with peoples lives." "Well, two out of three ain't bad. I wouldn't classify myself as a maniac. Perhaps a little untwined, or a tad unwound according to some, but maniac is a touch strong." "I'm hanging up." His voice got serious. "I wouldn't." "Why not?" "...oh, trust me, you don't." "Unless you tell me why not, I am ending this call."
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Pause. "Do you like your face, Chase? Because if you do hang up, I will trigger the bomb that I implanted into your phone, and your cheek will be on the wall." I yanked the phone away and prepared to throw my phone out the window, but when I looked out, I held back. A group of ten year olds were playing basketball outside the house of our neighbor. I couldn't throw it past them, and I wouldn't put it past Unknown to kill innocent kids. I put the phone back to my ear. "Funny how things work in your favor sometimes,” came the malicious voice of my stalker. I didn't answer. Instead, I pulled the phone away from my face and started to frantically search for the bomb. I heard him laughing on the other end. "You’re not going to find it, Chase! Nobody will!" I gave up and conceded. "What do you want me to do?" I asked in a defeated voice. "Nothing. I just want to make sure you know that I'm in total control of your life. You may hang up now." The line went dead.

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4:37 pm, September 9th Mom got through to Sergeant Daniels, and yelled at him until he finally agreed to come back over and interview the neighbors right away. He would also re-dial the restricted number and try to find the bomb. While Mom was calling, Dad had come back home, and we filled him in on the new details. While we waited for Sergeant Daniels to arrive, Dad gathered everybody and we sat in the living room. Time for a talk. Dad got it going. “What are we going to do about this?” “Personal bodyguard?” Riley wasn’t helping much. But he’s only seven, so it didn’t matter. “Dad, I have no idea. Once Daniels gets the statements from our neighbors, then a case will open and they’ll find this guy.” Mom suddenly looked worried. “I asked Sergeant Daniels on the phone if anybody had called reporting a gunshot, other than Chase. And he said no.” She glanced at Dad, then at me. “That’s not possible, it was so loud! How could anybody NOT hear that?” I was starting to panic. If nobody heard a gunshot, how was a case going to open, or even worse, would anyone believe what had happened? I tried to calm everybody down. Well, mostly myself. “I’m sure people have, they just haven’t been put through properly, or Daniels just hasn’t received the notices yet.” My parents exchanged looks. “We’ll see when he gets here.” “You don’t believe me now, do you? You saw what happened to my laptop. How else could that have happened?” “Chase, we didn’t say that we didn’t believe you! It’s
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just that if there is no witness, it can’t legally be proved. There is no case without witnesses.” The sound of a fist on wood broke the conversation. “That’s him. Go answer the door Chase.” Mom gestured to the door. I got up and opened the door for Daniels. “Sergeant Daniels, thank you for coming back so quickly.” Mom shook his hand. Not that he had much of a choice. I walked around them and sat back down. “Yes ma’am. Now, what can I do for you?” “There have been some more strange things happening since you left!” “What things?” “Chase, you tell him.” Daniels turned his attention to me. “I’ve gotten two phone calls from this guy. One right before you came and one right after my Mom got home.” He seemed interested. “What did he say?” I recited what I could remember back to him and included the part about the bomb in my phone. He reacted to the bomb part. “A bomb threat is very serious. When go back to the station, I’ll take your cell phone with me back to the station and see what we can find. Now, what was the main reason you called me?” “To ask our next door neighbors if they heard anything. You know, gather witnesses?” “Alright, I’ll go question your closest neighbors.” He headed for the door. “And when I’m done, I’ll stop back in and give you the final review of what’s going to happen, and what ISN’T going to happen.”

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He left, and nobody said anything for a minute. Riley piped up. “What do we do now?” “We wait until he comes back. Then we’ll know what to do.” I gulped. I hated waiting.

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5:04 pm, September 9th This time Daniels knocked only once. Mom dashed over to the door and hastily let him in. "So what's the verdict?" Mom asked. “Verdict? Mom, we're not in a courtroom,” I stated. Mom shushed me, while giving me a death stare. Daniels sighed deeply then said, "I'm sorry, but none of your neighbors were home at the time." “None of them, not even one?” Mom asked. “No ma’am.” “Where were they?” “Apparently there was a conference for all the parents and teachers at the middle school.” “There was? Are you sure? Riley goes to middle school, and I didn’t get told about this!” Riley pulled out a paper from his backpack. “I was just about to give this too you.” It was the reminder for the conference. “Why are you just giving this to me now?” Mom’s anger turned to Riley. “I forgot.” Riley’s face became very sad. “Ma’am?” Daniels cleared his throat, drawing the conversation back to him. “Sorry,” Mom apologized. “So what does that mean?" Dad questioned. "It means that unless Chase's phone does have a bomb in it, I can't open a case." I pulled out my phone and handed it to him. "Could you redial the number now?" He groggily took my phone. He seemed tired, like he just wanted to get out of here. "I guess. Was it your last received call?" "Yeah." He found my call log and redialed the restricted caller.
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It rang once. Then an operator, "I'm sorry, the number you are trying to reach is no longer in service." "He called me from that number!" This was irritating. "Alright, alright, but no evidence. All I can do now is scan your phone at the station. Until I get the results though, I can't do much." Dad had another question. "How long until we'll hear from you?" Daniels looked worried. "Unfortunately, these tests take a few days." "A few days? I could be dead in 20 some hours!" I yelled. This cop was no help whatsoever. "I'm sorry, it's the best I can do." Daniels was fidgeting. He wanted to leave. "You know what, I'll keep my phone and take my chances." I snatched it out of his hands. "Chase, perhaps it would be better if you didn't have your phone. Then he wouldn't be able to call you." Mom was trying to reason with me. "He'd just call our house phone, or call Dad's cell! No, I'll keep it thank you. However, what should I do when he calls next?” Daniels raised his eyebrows. “What makes you so sure he’ll call again?” “I don’t think he’s going to leave me alone until this is over.” He nodded. “Well, try and write down what he, I’m assuming they’re a he, correct?” “I’m not sure. The voice sounds very techno, as if it’s being distorted.” “Not surprising.” Daniels pulled out his notepad and jotted something down. “Anyway, try and write what they say as accurately as possible. Keep some documentation. Other than that, asking questions to figure out his identity is worth a shot, but highly unlikely that they’ll work.” “He’s very stubborn. He doesn’t even like it when I talk.”
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“Probably because criminals with these types of profiles are highly obsessive with something. Whether it’s the person they’re stalking, an emotion such as power or revenge, or an item such as money, their sole focus is on that one thing. In your case, I’m guessing either emotion, or the person. To early to tell now though.” “But why would somebody be ‘obsessed’ with me? I’m just a common high school kid! Nothing special!” Daniels shook his head. “I can’t answer any of that now. Hopefully that’ll become clearer down the road, if this continues. If it doesn’t, then you won’t have to worry.” Silence. Daniels coughed. "Well, other than your laptop, which I'll present and see if it's enough for a case, there's nothing I can base anything on yet, as I’ve said. I'll notify you by phone if a case can be opened. Mrs. Mitchels, Mr. Mitchels, Chase." He nodded to all of us, and then left. "That is the worst cop ever. Seriously, he didn't even TRY to help us." Frustration started to bubble over. "Chase, there was nothing he could do. All he could base a case on is your word." "And my laptop and window! Isn't that enough?" Dad interjected, "He said he'd present it and see if it was sufficient." I calmed down. Surely my computer would be enough. Right?

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5:33 pm, September 9th The figure was waiting, trying to decide whether to call his victim or not. The figure was built, very muscular, but not exceptionally tall. He had experience in weapons and arms, and his victim knew it. Power. Control. These were his favorite words. He loved to have his finger around a person, and squeeze when he wanted to, and choke when he desired. He craved power, it drove him. It gave him strength. That’s why he would wait 24 hours to kill his victim, his prey. 24 hours was enough time to drive the victim and his close relations crazy with fear, worry, stress. He smiled to himself. He loved the way it felt, the way it made his blood flow and his mind race. Revenge. Another critical word, along with hate. Revenge drove a man past ordinary lengths. Hate and love. The two emotions that caused humans to endure tremendous obstacles and withstand oppressive pain. He took out his phone and attached the number scrambler to it, then activated the voice distorter. The victim’s number was on speed dial. He would be talking to his victim often. It rang only once before it was answered. “What do you want?” “Well don’t we sound happy.” “I’m the only one talking. Therefore, it is just me. Get your grammar right.” The victim was getting cocky, proud. The figure couldn’t allow that. His victim needed to know that he was powerless. “Chase, you do know what I can do to you, right?” “Yeah, but you won’t. I still have over 22 hours left. You won’t kill me before then.” Furious! How could the victim talk like this?!
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“Shut up Chase! I won’t kill you, but I can put you in excruciating pain. So much pain that you’d wish you were dead. But you won’t be, not until your clock reaches 3:15pm, on September 10th.” “But I haven’t done anything to make you inflict pain on me.” “Not yet, but don’t test me. I have a short temper.” “And you’re accusing me of being cliché!” Victim’s shouldn’t talk like this! The audacity of his victim. “Chase, I don’t like the way you’re talking to me. Will I have to teach you another lesson?” Nothing. His victim was scared. He could feel it. “No, I understand. But the police are working on opening a case. You will be a wanted man in a matter of hours.” “The police are so juvenile. It takes them weeks to find a reason to start an investigation, then after a few days, they close it due to ‘lack of evidence.’ Please, the police can’t help you.” “We’ll see.” The victim hung up. He was enraged! Victims never hang up on the killer, the hunter. It’s a sign of defying authority! But he would be patient. A warning was in order, nothing more. He had a plan, a glorious awful plan. He would have to wait a few hours to execute it though. But he would wait, he had too. Breathe. Calm down. He steadied himself. He grabbed his sniper rifle and started dissembling it, piece by piece. Slowly, so not to hurt anything. Once it was all taken apart and spread out on the floor, he started meticulously cleaning and polishing each individual component. It kept him at peace, it gave his mind something to do, to focus and zone in on a single
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task. He felt better. This was his victim. The victim was helpless. He smiled to himself. He enjoyed this. * * *

I had hung up first. How stupid was I? Something was going to happen, I knew it. Oh why oh why did I ever act like I was confident. The whole time while I was talking, I was shaking. My knee couldn’t stop bouncing, and I had to hold my right hand steady with my left hand. Somehow, I was able to keep my voice from stammering. I don’t know why I thought acting cocky would be a good idea. I thought maybe I could outsmart him and act like I had the power. Which I knew I didn’t. But maybe it had worked. I definitely had rattled him. He was obsessed with having control, I knew that much. Pretending that I had some power myself seemed to disrupt his intent of calling. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea. My cell phone buzzed. A new text message. Restricted number. It read, “Don’t ever hang up on me again, Chase.” Screw confidence. I was scared.

27

5:55 pm, September 9th Every few minutes, I checked my phone to see if somebody was calling me. Each time though, my screen showed no missed calls, texts, or voice messages. Unknown had gotten to me. He had me looking over my shoulder, checking my cell phone, looking out my window, all which proved he had control over me. And I hated that. I was sitting on my bed, mulling over everything that had happened. I tried to turn my detective brain on. Who WAS this guy? I’ve asked him a few times, but he’s never given me a straight answer. If I could get his name, I could give it to the police, and they could search it. Then I’d know more about this guy. Suddenly a thought hit me. Where was the bullet from the shot? I didn’t remember seeing it after my laptop seemingly exploded. I walked over to my desk, and sat down in my chair where I had been when it was shot. I didn’t see anything. I shuffled the papers on the surface, scanning, searching with my eyes and feeling with my hands. Where was it? Maybe it fell. I ducked underneath and swiped the rug with both hands. All I felt was the carpet’s pattern. Where in the world was it? I wanted to find it. Not so much to turn in for evidence, but mostly for the sake of knowing something concrete for once. Everything else turned up vague, shallow, and unclear. I need to know something for sure. I need to know, yes the bullet is right here, and yes, for once, it’s certain that I know that Unknown shot my laptop with a real bullet. No trickery, clichés, or mysteries. All I knew for certain that was somebody wanted to kill me. “Chase, it’s time for dinner.” Mom tried her best to sound normal. “Alright, I’m coming!” I got out from under my desk and walked out my room, through the living room, and into the kitchen. Mom, Dad, and Riley were already sitting there. Macaroni and Cheese aroma filled the room. I pulled out my chair and seated myself.
28

We held hands, and Dad said a quick prayer. “Dear God, please protect us tonight. We pray that Sergeant Daniels, his staff and chief will be able to open a case. Please give us all peace, and I pray for whoever is doing this. Convict him of his wrong, and if it’s in Your will, nag him to turn himself in. And bless this food. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.” We unlocked hands and Mom began serving the food. Nobody said anything. Soon everybody had food and we started eating. No one even looked up. We were all concentrated on eating, and eating only. Riley tried to get a conversation going. "Chase, how do you get girls to like you?" I smiled. He was always looking for tips on getting the girls. "Well, you've just got to be yourself and not worry about the right clothes or anything." He looked at me strange. I chuckled once. "Just kidding. You've got to be rich and popular and hot to get the girls it seems nowadays." "Alright, well, I'll spike my hair and see if that helps." "You do that." My cell phone buzzed. My heart jumped. I checked my phone. It was a text message from one of my friends, Jesse Battle. I ignored it and my heart calmed down a little. Mom asked, "Who was that?" "It was from Jesse. He wanted to know if I could hang out tomorrow. I'm saying no." Mom nodded. We finished eating, and I excused myself back to my room. I wandered over to my chair and sat down in it. Then I noticed something on my bed. A piece of paper wrapped around something.
29

I picked it up and an object slid out from the paper. It was the bullet. I nearly jumped. The paper had something typed on it. "Hope it helps your 'case'. Although I really doubt it." I rushed over to my window. It all looked the same. How did he get in my room?

30

6:19 pm, September 9th Mom hung up the phone. She looked worried. Dad walked over and I was right behind him. “Well?” Dad asked. “He was able to present our case sooner than expected, but, like he said, he was turned down because of a ‘lack of evidence and witnesses.’ He suggested that we just stay at home for a few days and not go out unless it’s necessary.” I stopped. Lack of evidence? Isn’t that what Unkown had said on the phone about an hour ago? Is it possible…no, that’s crazy, never mind. Daniels is just an awful cop, not a sadistic killer. Besides, Daniels was nervous and anxious around my family, not cocky and terrifying like Unknown was. I shook my head. Man, Unknown was really getting in my head. “So I just stay at home and wait until the time table passes? What if he decides to kill me afterwards? I’m not going to feel safe just because 24 hours has passed.” Dad replied, “I know, neither would your mother or I. We’ll think of something. Maybe we’ll hire a private investigator or something.” He looked me in the eyes. “You’ll be safe, I promise.” “Alright. Oh, and see if this will help.” I pulled out the bullet, and held it out for my parents to see. “I found it on my bed, along with this note.” I gave both items to Dad, and he looked them both over carefully. “I’m assuming he came through the window, but I didn’t hear him at all.” Mom looked scared. “He came in our house? And we didn’t even know it?” Dad tried to comfort her, “He was only able to get in because Chase’s window is shattered. The doors are all locked, and I’m about to go around and lock all the windows. Chase, you’re sleeping in Riley’s room tonight. Grab some stuff out of your room and put it in Riley’s.”
31

I left and went into my room. Pillows, a blanket, and my iPod all went in a pile to be transferred into my brother’s room. I walked out of my room and entered Riley’s. He was sitting on his bed, reading a comic book. “Hey Chase, you sleeping in my room tonight?” He smiled. “Yes, Riles, I am.” I returned the grin. “Yay! Sleepover!” He bounced on his bed. “No all nighters, understand?” “I know!” I dropped my stuff on the floor and set up my spot on the rug. When I was done, Riley asked, “Chase, could you read me this comic? You read it so much better than I do.” “Sure.” I climbed on his bed. “Which one are you reading?” “Spider-man!” Figures. “Alright, scoot over. Let me get my narrator voice ready.” I cleared my throat, and then made horse sounds with my lips. Riley started laughing. “Alright where were you?” He turned to the beginning. “I wanna hear the whole story!” “Okay, let’s see.” I began reading from the start, and threw in sound effects, different character voices, and whatever else would make him laugh. He would giggle, then hush quickly so not to miss the next part. He was enjoying himself. I tried to enjoy it too, but I still knew what danger I was in. But I tried to hide my fear in front of Riley. He needed to know his big brother would be okay, and that I wasn’t scared. As I read, he slumped closer to my body, so eventually
32

his head was lying on my chest. Every time he laughed, I could feel it in my body. And every time he would sharply inhale at an intense moment, I could feel his body tense up. He was scared of what would happen in a comic book, and I was frightened because of what might happen to me in reality. It’s a good thing he didn’t realize the extent of my situation. The end came and I finished it dramatically and with a lot of hand gestures. “There you go bud, Spider-man always wins.” I handed the comic back to him. “The good guys ALWAYS win, right Chase?” I hesitated. “Yes, the good guys always win. Someway or another.” “So your bad guy isn’t going to get you, right?” Those innocent eyes pierced my heart. “Nope, he’s not. I’m going to be just fine.” “Yay!” He threw his arms around me in a bear hug. I hugged him back, and a tear came out of my eye. I couldn’t let Riley see that bad guys win. I wouldn’t let Riley see the bad guys win.

33

6:41 pm, September 9th Mom, Dad and I were all sitting in the living room, when there was a knock at our door. We all shared a glance, then Dad got up and went over to the door. I heard Dad say, “Well, this is a surprise.” Dad moved aside and in walked Sergeant Daniels. “Sergeant, what are you doing here?” Mom stood up. He took off his hat and said, “I came back because I would like to offer my condolences for your case not being accepted. I am truly sorry. And I wanted to know if there was anything else I could do to help.” We were all very confused, especially me. I thought this cop was a joke. It seemed that he didn’t really try to gather evidence, and that he wouldn’t present our case very well to the chief. Maybe I was wrong. Mom asked, “Do you have any ideas on what we can do to secure our safety more? I mean, we can lock our doors, but Chase’s window is broken, and anybody could just come in. Speaking of which, if you have time, Chase found something on his bed that might be useful.” I looked at Dad, who gave the bullet and note to Daniels. I recounted the tale and Daniels listened intently. “Hm…this is interesting. I may be able to take this back to the lab and see what kind of gun this guy bought based on the bullet. I could even search to see where that type of weapon is sold and ask some questions.” He turned to me. “I’m going to call the chief again and see if this changes anything. I’ll be right back.” He flipped out his phone and walked into the kitchen, out of sight. Pretty soon I could hear his muffled voice. My cell phone buzzed. I pulled it out and saw a new text message. From restricted number. I opened it. “Say hi to Daniels for me. He’s such a nice cop. And don’t expect much to turn up from the bullet; I wouldn’t
34

purposely give you anything useful, would I?” I looked at the sent time. Zero minutes ago. I jumped up and ran over to Dad. I showed him and Mom the text, and then quickly looked into the kitchen. I saw Daniels pacing and heard him say into his phone, “Chief Sawyer, I believe this is enough evidence!” He sounded irritated. He seemed sincere now, when earlier his body language showed nervousness and anxiousness. Weird. Maybe he’s bipolar or something. Poor guy. He hung up and came over to us with a disappointed face. “My superior said that I could scan the bullet, but unless something substantial came back, a case couldn’t be opened.” “So if the bullet comes up empty, there’s still no case?” Mom questioned. “Correct.” I held my phone toward him, with the text facing him. “Would this help any?” He snatched the phone and read the text. “When did you get this?” “While you were on the phone.” “I wonder how he can be so sure that the bullet won’t provide anything significant.” Daniels seemed to be talking to himself. “I don’t know, but can you use this text?” “I’m not sure. The number is restricted, and I tried calling it before, which didn’t help. I could try and trace it, but I won’t be able to unless my chief gives the ‘okay’”. “Which won’t happen unless this bullet proves useful.” “Which this guy has said won’t happen.” Daniels finished our joined thought process. I nodded. Daniels was growing on me. He seemed
35

heartfelt now. Dad said, “So you’ll take it back to the station and do your tests?” “Yes, and once results come back, I’ll call you. Hopefully it won’t take too long.” Mom walked up to Daniels and shook his hand. “Thank you so much for coming back. We really appreciate it.” “No, thank you for letting me help more after this afternoon. I don’t know what gets into me sometimes.” Nobody said anything. This was the part where Daniels was supposed to leave. Finally he spoke up. “Well, I’ll be in touch.” He shook hands with all of us, and then left once again. We all looked at each other, and none quite knew what to take of what just happened. Dad shook his head. “Well, as strange as he may be, he’s trying to help, and that’s all that matters.” I guess I agreed. Hopefully he would get results soon. “Well, your mother and I are tired after today. We’re going to lie down until Sergeant Daniels calls back. Are you going to be alright being alone for a bit?” “Yeah, I’ll be fine.” They retired to their bedroom, and then it was just me. I wandered into the kitchen and pulled out a cup, filled it with some fruit punch, then searched for a snack. I just ate, but I was hungry again. Blame it on a growing body. I found a granola bar in one of our cabinets. It was peanut butter chocolate mix. I didn’t know we had this kind. I broke the wrapper and popped half the bar in my mouth. I started thinking about how Daniels changed in only a matter of hours. It was truly weird. But I tried not to think about it too much. Hmm…this granola bar tasted strange.
36

7:20 pm, September 9th There was nothing to do. The rest of my family was in bed; Daniels wouldn’t call back for a bit, maybe not even until tomorrow morning. The television was uninteresting, I had no computer, and I didn’t feel like playing any video games. Maybe I would just read. That sounded good. Not a book, but a magazine or newspaper, something simple, yet still distracting enough. I searched our coffee table for anything Dad may have left behind. There was a Readers Digest on the top, and I scooped it up. I always loved the puzzles in the back. I turned to them, and was pleased to find that the word search hadn’t been touch. Even better, this was the type where after you discover all the words, the remainder letters spelt a 10 letter word. I loved those. I found a pen and got comfortable. The category was animals. This would be easy. Panda, rat, giraffe, elephant, and lizard all fell to my pen. Hippo, dog, platypus, and coyote were soon to follow. Pretty soon there were only two left, eel and octopus. My eyes searched, and soon ‘eel’ was circled. One left. Fluttering over the letters, I saw, O-C-T-O-P-U…and S! Done! Now to see what was spelled out with the leftover letters. I jotted down the letters in the upper hand corner of the magazine. H-E-L-L-O…hello? It was supposed to be another animal! I kept going. C-H-A-S-E…Chase? What? It spelt, “Hello Chase”. I dropped the magazine and pen on the floor while jerking backwards. I swiveled my head around looking for something, anything! What? Where was he? Was he even in here? I curled up on the couch, waiting, looking. I realized my current position was pretty useless incase anything happened, so I picked up the Readers Digest again. Nothing looked suspicious. I checked the date on the front. September 3rd. Last week’s issue. That made sense, Dad always
37

kept the old issue until the new one arrived. So how did the word change from an animal to “hello chase”? I felt the page again. It seemed thick. I ran my finger along the edge, and at the corner, I was able to separate one page from another. Somebody had glued a different page on top of the original puzzle. I tried to pry the top page off, but it ripped, and the bottom page was ruined. What was the real answer? Wait. The answers. On page 84. I quickly flipped to that page and found the answer for the word search. Rhinoceros. That was the real 10 letter word. How had Unknown gotten my family this particular copy? I stared at the clock on our wall. The seconds ticked down, and bingo, it was 7:30. 19 hours and 45 minutes until the deadline. Why was he constantly sending me these little signs? He called me three times, sent me text messages, left a note on my bed, and now this? He seemed, and I hated to say it, but he seemed obsessed with me. Like I was an ant in his ant farm, and if the ant didn’t obey his every will, he would go crazy. Although I was pretty sure he had already crossed the insane line. I already knew he was infatuated with power and control, but it seemed like it was also with me. Or maybe he was just overcome with the thrill of the chase…literally, the chase of chasing Chase Mitchels. I only wish I knew more about Unknown. I didn’t even have a proper name for him. But I couldn’t ask him for anything, not even his name. He might freak out and do something…But what would he do if I decided to stand up to him? Would he totally flip? Would he decide to kill me right then? Was it even worth a try? Maybe it was. Maybe he would do the opposite of what I thought he would do. He may just
38

crumble and realize that I wasn’t the right person to stalk. Maybe I would try standing up, stop giving in to everything he said. But would I have the courage?

39

7:45 pm, September 9th This day needed to come to an end. I didn't care that it wasn't even 8, I wanted to go to bed. Riley's light was still on, so I knew I wouldn't be waking him up. I walked into the bathroom, brushed, flossed, and used the mouthwash that tasted like new shoes. My teeth were all prettied up, and I was ready to go to sleep and not wake up until absolutely necessary. Suddenly all my energy left my body. My legs gave way and I collapsed to the floor. I hit the tile, and then tried to pull myself up. I couldn't move my arms. My legs were paralyzed as well. I tried screaming out, but no sound was omitted from my vocal cords. The granola bar! I was frozen to the floor, and all of a sudden a wave of extreme tiredness swept over me. My eyelids felt like a bag of bricks, and it took all of my power to keep them open just a sliver. But it was useless. My eyelids shut, and then my body was unconscious on the floor of our bathroom. * * *

The figure, also known as Unknown, crept through the shattered window. He landed softly, without creating a sound. He was in his victim’s room. He looked around. He had been here earlier today, but this trip was much more important. Looking around, the figure

40

saw pictures of his victim when the victim was a child. For a split second, the figure felt shame. But it passed without a second thought. The figure knew why he was here. To wield the ultimate power. The power of controlling a human life. There was nothing like it. The living room light was still on, as well as the bathroom light. The figure crouched low, and then proceeded slowly through the living room towards the bathroom. It was dangerous for the figure to be here. If the parents or even the brother heard him, he might have to kill them, which would be unpleasant. One of the figure’s main reasons for tormenting somebody was for the hurt that his victim’s family members would feel. Killing them would just relieve them of the pain. He moved without making a sound. The carpet under his feet made a cushion, and any sound was absorbed by it. All the way to the bathroom he stalked. He arrived, and carefully pushed the door open. There was the victim, lying on the ground. The victim was breathing normally, which was good. His victim still had plenty of time to live! The figure put both his arms under his victim’s armpits and dragged him so he was sitting on the toilet seat. The figure then removed rope and tape from his pockets and began to tie the ankles and wrists of his victim. After that was completed, the figure taped his victims mouth shut. Even though his victim was unconscious, in all the good movies the killer tied and taped his victim, and the figure loved being cliché. Finally, the figure placed a bag over the head of his victim and he was ready to leave. The figure slung his victim over his back in the fireman's hold, and the figure proceeded out of the bathroom and into the living room again. It was still empty. Into the victim’s room the figure crept, not making a single sound. The rope that the figure had left was still there. Grabbing the rope, the figure tied it around his victim’s waist.
41

The figure heaved his victim onto the sill, and then very slowly, pushed him off, while still holding the free rope in his hands. The figure braced his feet against the wall, and then cautiously lowered his victim down, until the body gently hit the ground. The figure let go of the excess rope, and climbed down the ladder he had used to enter. Once the figure hit the pavement, he grabbed his victim’s body and walked to the street. The figure’s car was there, a Ford Escape. He popped the trunk and placed the body inside. The figure went back for the ladder, and set the ladder in the back seat. The figure stepped in the driver’s seat, and drove away. Kidnapping was a tricky thing. Usually a ransom note followed a kidnapping, but the Mitchels family knew that a ransom note would never come. Since the police couldn't declare someone missing until after 48 hours, Daniels would be of no help whatsoever. The Mitchels family would be going crazy, not knowing what happened and not receiving any help from the cops. The figure smiled. Perfect. * * *

Riley wondered where Chase was. He stepped out of his room, and said, “Chase? Where are you?” No answer. The bathroom light was on. Riley poked his head in. Nobody was there. Why would Chase not be in the bathroom, yet leave the light on? He was frightened. Riley ran to his parents room, and threw open the door. They were lying on top of the covers, sound asleep. He shook their legs and when they sat up and looked at him, he yelled, “Chase is gone!”

42

8:56 pm, September 9th I was walking down the street. Nobody was around, the town was deserted. Darkness swallowed the town. Silence thundered in my head. No bird dared chirp, no dog dared bark. The town I was in was small, yet with a variety of shops spread out across the main square. As I walked down the main street, I saw an ice cream shop, a bookstore, coffee shops, jewelry stores, among others. Where was I? This was not my hometown. Yet I felt like I wanted to live here. It had a warming aroma. It welcomed me, invited me, and urged me to rest in one of its houses. But why was it so silent? I continued down the street, and saw a figure ahead. I wondered who would be out when everybody else was tucked away in this strange town. As I got closer, the outline of the figure revealed an average height man, who was built and muscular. I stopped when I was a foot away from him. He lifted his head and looked in my eyes. His face reminded me of a friend, a comrade. Did I know this face? Maybe not. But who did it remind me of? A light clicked in my head. I knew who this was! What was he doing here? It wasSuddenly, the figure pulled out a knife and stuck it in my gut. He held it there and placed his hand over my mouth. I crumbled, and fell to the ground gasping for air, any air. My breath became short and rapid. Blood seeped out of the wound, and I felt my life slipping away. The figure let go of the knife, and casually turned and left, without looking back at me. My vision blurred, cut in and out, and then abandoned me entirely. A breath, another. Then nothing. Pure silence.
43

*

*

*

I woke up with a start. Sweat dripped off my forehead, and my body was scorching hot. I had been killed. No, it was only a dream. A very realistic dream. In which somebody I knew had stabbed me. Who was it? I recognized him in the dream, but my mind couldn’t remember. The face drifted out of my memory, and was lost forever. Where was I now though? I sat up. What was I lying on? I looked down. A park bench. What? Why wasn’t I home? I tried to recall what happened last. I was brushing my teeth, and then I lost my strength. I had gone unconscious, and now I’m here. I must’ve been kidnapped. But why? Why kidnap me? I lifted my head and surveyed what was around me. It was the town in my dream. Exactly the same. Except now there were actually people around. I groaned and pushed myself up so I was sitting on the bench. Ugh. My head hurt. What time was it? There was a bulge in my pocket. I stuck my hand in and pulled out a cell phone. Not mine, but a new flip phone. I assumed this was so that my parents couldn’t call me. But I could still call them, or call 911, right? I flipped it open and the clock showed the time as 9:11 pm. I had been out for almost an hour. Before I could dial a number, it started ringing. I knew who it would be, so I answered right away. “Was I too boring in my home?” The garbled voice laughed. “A change of scenery was in place.”
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“Why? And where is this?” “Just because, of course. And you’re in the pleasant town of 'I'm not going to tell you!' Ha, why would I? It's boring if you know all the answers." "What’s keeping me from calling home, or calling 911?" I challenged. "Would you care to find out?" Was he bluffing? I mean, he usually told me the consequences. "You’re bluffing." "Bluffing what?" He sounded very confident. "Whatever you're going to do!" "As I said, feel free to find out." Neither of us said anything. Did I have the guts to try it? "Fine. I won't call them. But how am I going to eat or anything? I don't have any money, and I what am I going to do here?" "Check your right pocket." I jabbed my hand in my pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. The voice continued, "That’s $200 in cash for you. Use it as you like." "How do I know it's not counterfeit?" "Because why would I want you locked up in a jail cell? If you were in jail, or even in holding, you would feel safe! You would rather be in the police station or out here in the open, where anything can happen." He was right. Being with the police sounded a whole lot better than sitting on a park bench in the middle of a town where I didn't know the name. And talking to a killer on a phone that wasn't even mine. “So you’ve given me money and placed me in a
45

random town. What do you expect me to do? This doesn’t make any sense!” “You’ll find something to do. I promise.” He hung up.

46

9:22 pm, September 9th ~At
 the
 Mitchels
 house~
 
 
  “You
 can’t
 do
 anything
 because
 it
 hasn’t
 been
 48
  hours?
 That’s
 ridiculous!”
 Mom
 was
 on
 the
 phone
 with
 the
  police.
 And
 like
 every
 other
 time
 today,
 they
 weren’t
 helping
  much.
 
 
  She
 was
 silent
 while
 the
 other
 side
 responded,
 then
  she
 sighed
 and
 thanked
 them.
 She
 hung
 up
 and
 held
 her
  face
 in
 her
 hands.
 
 
  Dad
 came
 up
 and
 hugged
 her.
 He
 whispered,
 “It’s
  going
 to
 be
 okay.
 Somebody
 will
 find
 him,
 or
 he’ll
 call.
 I
  mean,
 there
 are
 pay
 phones.
 He
 can
 call
 us.
 We
 just
 have
 to
  wait.”
 
  “Where
 is
 the
 phone
 now?”
 
  “You
 just
 hung
 it
 up,
 remember?
 Keep
 it
 there,
 the
  batteries
 are
 pretty
 much
 dead.”
 
  Riley
 was
 sitting
 on
 the
 couch,
 worried
 about
 where
  I
 might
 be.
 He
 ran
 up
 to
 Dad
 and
 asked,
 “Chase
 will
 be
  alright,
 won’t
 he?”
 
 
 
  Mom
 and
 Dad
 replied
 simultaneously,
 “Yes.”
  Riley
 felt
 a
 little
 bit
 better.
 


  Suddenly
 all
 the
 lights
 went
 out.
 It
 was
 dark,
 and
  everybody
 was
 worried.
 What
 had
 happened?
 Mom
 tried
  the
 phone
 again.
 Nothing.
 
  “The
 battery
 died,”
 she
 said
 out
 loud
 with
 growing
  concern.
 
  Dad
 attempted
 to
 turn
 on
 the
 TV.
 No
 response.
 The
  cable
 box
 was
 blank,
 and
 none
 of
 the
 lights
 would
 turn
 on.
 
 
  Mom
 and
 Dad
 looked
 at
 each
 other.
 Now
 they
 were
 
47

both
 worried.
 
  The
 power
 had
 gone
 out.
 
  * * *

I had walked to the center of town to search for a computer or pay phone. I wouldn’t call my family from my new phone, because Unknown was probably tracking it. But there was no way he could guess what public phone I would use. First though, I had to get change. I entered the nearest coffee shop. The place was deserted. Perfect, I’d get out of here quicker. I approached the front counter. “Hello there. I was wondering if you could give me some change for this.” I pulled out three one dollar bills. “Sure. What type?” “Quarters please.” The cashier was around 20, a few years older than me. She took my money and opened the cash register. She placed the bills in their rightful spot and scooped up 12 quarters. She dropped the coins in my hand and as I turned to leave, I remembered something. “Could you tell me what town I’m in?” She laughed. “You don’t know what town you’re in? How did you get here if you didn’t know where you were going?” Uh…hadn’t thought about that. “I have short term memory. My parents told me we were coming here a few weeks ago, but I obviously have forgotten.” “Where are your parents? You walk into a shop asking for change and you don’t know where you are? Sounds to me like you’re lost. Incredibly lost.” “No, my parents are in the car outside.” The employee
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glanced outside. There was an old couple in a truck parked by the sidewalk. “Those are your parents? Kinda old.” She looked at me questionably. “Yeah, well, they decided to have one more kid in their old age. What can I say?” I shrugged, trying to sell the act. “Why’d they send you in? Why didn’t your parents do it?” “They said I had young legs. Plus I had to get out of there anyway. They tend to argue a lot.” She eyed me suspiciously. “If I ask them where we are, they’ll start bickering again about my short term memory loss. My dad wants me to see a specialist, but my mom says we don’t have the money. Then the words will get harsher and the voices louder, and if I try to put on headphones, then my Mom will yell at me asking why I’m not paying attention…” “Alright, whatever! You’re in Fahlstown. Enjoy your stay.” Then she turned her back on me and tended to the coffee makers. “It’s pronounced Fails-town?” She gave me a dirty look. “I know.” Awkward silence. “Well, thank you. Have a good day.” I left, and soon was back outside. Fahlstown? It didn’t ring a bell. I didn’t remember once hearing that name. I needed to find a map, so I could get a more general idea where I was. But should I call my home first? I probably should. Maybe my parents had heard of it. I just needed to find a pay phone. What type of place would have a pay phone? A bus terminal? Maybe a gas station? Or possibly even a library. But I had no idea where any of these places would be.

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A map. Back to Plan A, acquiring a map. This was my priority. Banks were closed at this time of night. Maybe somebody could help me. There was a man walking ahead of me. I sped up and when I neared him asked, “Excuse me, sir, can you tell where I can find a map and pay phone?” He gave me a puzzled look, but pointed behind me and replied, “Uh, yeah. The Freedom gas station on Logan Street. Turn around and when you get to the end of the road turn left on Logan Street. You’ll see the sign.” He continued on his way. I thank him and followed his directions. The red and white sign was visible immediately after I turned and looked for what I was looking for. Ah! There was the phone! And below it were the maps! Finally, something going my way during this horrid day. I snatched a map up while reaching for the phone. I stuck in 4 quarters and heard a dial tone. I immediately punched in my house number. One ring, then an operator’s voice said, “We’re sorry, but this number is temporary unavailable.” What? Unavailable? Maybe it was the phone. After I looked up the number under settings, I dialed the number of my new cell phone. My cell rang. So it wasn’t the pay phone. Something was wrong at my house. What had Unknown done?

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9:48 pm, September 9th I hung up. So it was on my parent’s end that wasn’t working. Calm down. Nothing serious had happened. I decided to call the police again. “911, what’s your emergency?” “Hello, I’m lost and I think I’m being stalked.” “Alright, are you in any immediate danger?” “No, I’m not now. But I might be soon.” “You said you’re lost? Do you have any idea where you are? Or where you were last?” “All I know is I’m in Fahlstown. And I live in Prackersburg. I have no idea how far away from home I am.” “Okay, you’re not that far away from Prackersburg. I’ll contact…” I cut her off. “Could you call the Prackersburg police? And see if you can talk to Sergeant Daniels? He is a friend of ours. Tell him that this involves Chase Mitchels.” “Chase, is that your name?” “Yes ma’am.” “I’ll see if I can contact Sergeant Daniels. Do you have a number that I can give him? Preferably an easily accessible number.” “Yes, here.” I told him my number, but was getting impatient. “I got it. I’ll have him call you as soon as he can. Do you need any other assistance? Are you somewhere safe?” I looked around me. A bank seemed pretty secure. “Yes, yes ma’am I am. Just tell Daniels to hurry please.” “I’ll call now.” “Alright, thank you again. Bye.”

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I replaced the phone in its cradle and went out the front doors of the bank. There was a bench along the side, and I sat down on it. My legs were tired, my body was worn, and my mind was exhausted. I had been running on adrenaline all day, my stress level was sky high, and my brain had been on overdrive constantly. In a weird way, I was sort of glad that I had been sedated. It had given me at least a little bit of rest. Why had I wanted Daniels to call me? Why did I trust him? I had my doubts the whole time while I was in my house. Maybe that was it. At home I felt more secure, but out here, in a town that I didn’t know, I needed somebody. And since my family was unreachable, Daniels was the next option. Dang it! I had forgotten to ask the operator about my house. I wanted to know what had happened, if anything. I would just ask Daniels when he calls. I closed my eyes, holding the phone in my hand. I was slowly falling asleep, when the cell rang. I immediately answered it. “Daniels? Hello?” A voice not belonging to Daniels answered. “No Chase, I’m sorry, but this is his partner, Damian Hunter.” Who? What? “Where is Daniels?” “He’s away working on your case. I was briefed on your case and am ready to offer any assistance.” “Were you told that I was kidnapped and am currently in Fahlstown?” “I was only told where you were, not that you were kidnapped. What happened?” “Well, all I remember was that I ate a granola bar, and then a little while later I passed out in my bathroom. Then I woke up on a park bench.” “And what has happened since then?”

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I recounted the phone call, then my encounter at the coffee shop. I ended with my 911 call. “So now I’m talking to you and am very confused.” I had no idea what was going on. He took a second before replying. “I’m going to come to you and pick you up and take you back home.” “Alright.” “Where should I meet you?” “Um…I don’t know. I haven’t really looked around at all. How about you call me when you’re close and I’ll see where I am?” “No, definitely not. I don’t want you to be wondering the town mindlessly. Find a library, find a bookstore and just stay there until I call you. Okay?” Hunter’s voice was very defiant. Bossy much? “Okay, fine. I’ll be waiting.” “Don’t try anything crazy.” “I won’t.” He started to say “Bye” when I remembered something. “Mr. Hunter, do you know what happened to my house? I can’t get through to my house phone.” “I haven’t heard anything, son. I’m sorry.” “Okay. Come quickly.” I ended the call and sighed. Where could I go until he called? Exploration at this point still seemed dumb. Ah right! The map I had! I pulled it out and glanced around for somewhere to go. My stomach growled. Some food would be good. I saw on the map a cluster of nearby restaurants, but decided that might be to weird, a 16 year old coming in and paying for dinner with cash. How about a grocery store? Yes, there were some of those too. I located the nearest one and started walking in that direction.

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*

*

*

The figure saw him. Not his prey, but somebody who was becoming a bother, a disruption. The figure had to eliminate him. He had no chance. The figure slid the honed knife across the man’s throat while covering his mouth. No sound was made. The figure let the body collapse to the ground, and walked away. Sergeant Michael Daniels was dead, and out of the Figure’s way.

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10:29 pm, September 9th I bought some food with the cash, and like Unknown said, it wasn’t counterfeit. I ate on the same park bench I woke up on, and was currently sitting there. Hunter hadn’t called yet, and I was getting nervous. How far away was I? The 911 operator said it wasn’t going to be long, yet it had been almost 45 minutes and I hadn’t heard anything. I had been sitting for a few minutes with my eyes closed, when I suddenly felt a tap on my leg. I jerked my eyes open and was surprised to find a girl, about Riley’s age, sitting next to me. She looked over at me and said, “Excuse me, sir, but you’re on my bench.” I was confused. “What do you mean?” “This is where I sleep. I’ve slept on this bench for the past year, and I’ve grown quite attached to it.” “Where is your family? Your mom and dad?” “I don’t know.” She shrugged and continued to penetrate my eyes. “I’ve never met them.” “What do you mean?” “I was told that I was put up for adoption at birth.” “Who told you this?” “The orphanage I was at.” “Why aren’t you there now?” I was surprised. Why wasn’t she there now? “I ran away.” Man, she wasn’t giving very detailed answers. “Why did you run away?” “Because they were mean to me.” “Oh…”
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Neither of us said anything. Then she asked again, “So could you find another bench please?” “Sure, sure.” I stood up and began to walk away. I took a few steps, then turned back around and looked at her. She was still staring at me. “What’s your name?” She paused, and then answered, “Juliet Madyson.” I reached in my pocket and pulled out $80. I held it out for her. “Here, take this. Get some food, some clothes or something.” “Thank you sir. And what is your name?” “Chase Mitchels.” “Nice to meet you.” “You too.” I pivoted and left her. * * *

I found another bench away from Juliet and settled in. She was a strange girl that was for sure. Yet she reminded me of Riley in a way. I missed him. Back to the present. I needed to get somewhere to wait for Hunter. Where? He said a library. A library would not be open, though. How about a convenience store? I opened my trusty map and soon located a store title “Stop ‘n Shop” not too far away. There was a phone symbol next to it. Perfect. Only a few minutes and I would be there. I stood up and started off in the direction the map told me to go. As I was walking, I heard running footsteps behind me. I slowed down, and waited for them to pass me. Seconds ticked and they didn't pass. I heard the running steps settle down to a steady walk. I took off running. I didn't know who was behind me, and I had no interest in finding out. I was gaining ground. Soon
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the other person’s footsteps were inaudible. I slowed to a walk again and glanced behind me. Nothing. I sighed and looked back in the direction I was going. Juliet Madyson was standing in front of me. I jumped back and yelped. She started laughing. "You scream funny." "Were you following me?" She nodded. "Why?" I asked with annoyance. "Because you're my only friend here Chase. I thought maybe you would be my friend." "Weren't you ever told not to talk to strangers?" This girl was very different. I wasn’t sure if I like it or not. "Weren’t you told the same thing?" She got me. "Well, yeah, but I’m older than you, and I’m in a slightly different situation than you.” “Really? What are you doing here?” Should I tell her? “I’m just in a bit of trouble.” I tried not to reveal too much information. She never broke eye contact. “What kind of trouble? Can I help?” “Nothing much. Just something little. And thanks for the offer, but I’m afraid not.” “Oh…I see. Where were you going?” So many questions. “To a store. Somebody is going to pick me up there and take me home.” “So you’re lost?” “Something like that.” She took my hand. “Can I come with you? I’m hungry.” I thought about it. Hunter wouldn’t be too much
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longer. “Sure, come on. But we’ve got to hurry.” As we walked, Juliet started to sing. How could she be happy when she was sleeping on a bench with no family, and was abused by her orphanage? “Juliet, can I ask you something?” “Sure. What?” “Well, I was wondering…” Before I could continue, my cell phone rang. “Hold on a minute Juliet.” I answered it. “Hello?” “Chase, it’s Hunter. Where are you? I’m about 15 minutes away.” “I’m on my way to “Stop ‘n Shop”. I hope you know how to get there, because there’s no way I can offer directions.” “I can find it in my GPS. Just get there quick. I’ll call you once I’m outside. When I do, just come out and I’ll be in a blue Honda Civic.” “Alright. See you in a few.” I hung up and Juliet asked, “Who was that?’ “The person who is picking me up.” “Oh…What were you going to ask me?” “Nothing.” 15 minutes, and I would be safe. I hoped nothing would go wrong.

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11:12 pm, September 9th “Thank you sir!” Juliet finished paying for her food and rejoined me by the slushie machines. She started eating her sandwich and smiled when she swallowed the first bite. “Yummy! This is so good!” She giggled once than continued to chow down. I had my eyes on the clerk. He kept on glancing at us with a weird look. I told myself it was only because we were young, and with no parents. Well, I wasn’t young, but we were both out pretty late. There were others mingling around, but they all looked like drug addicts and drunks. Come on Hunter, come on. I suddenly thought about Juliet. What would she do once I left? “Juliet, are you going to walk back to the park when I leave?” “Yup.” “But it’s dark out! I don’t anything to happen to you.” She couldn’t be serious! “I sleep in the open every night. I think I’ll be fine.” I said nothing. Would she be okay? Maybe Hunter could help. “Juliet, I think I’ll have the person who’s picking me up drop you off also, okay? “You’re so nice! Thanks!” I finished filling up my slushie container and proceeded to the checkout. The clerk punched in the code. “$2.77 is your total.” I handed him a ten and I accepted my change. Juliet came up behind me and we both walked to the front doors. I had told Hunter I’d be inside, but standing outside seemed just as a good.
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I kept my eyes open for a blue Honda Civic. I could hear Juliet munching away on her sandwich. My pocket buzzed. Hunter was calling. I opened it up and said, “I’m outside waiting.” “Alright, I’m a block away.” The line went dead and we waited. And waited. Time crawled and no car resembling a Honda Civic arrived. Finally, a blue Honda Civic pulled into the parking lot. The driver’s door opened and a man stepped out. He was about 6 foot and was very muscular. He had short brown hair that and a beard that matched his hair color. He reminded me of Daniels in the way he presented himself. He looked trustworthy. I needed that. "Chase?" he pointed at me. I nodded and walked over, with Juliet at my side. He gestured to her, and asked, "Who is she?" "Her name is Juliet Madyson. I met her and she needs a ride back into the center of town." He sighed. "Chase, I came here for you, and that's it. I can't be driving people around." "It’s on the way back! Right in the middle of town, come on." He weighed the options. "Fine, whatever, but no farther than the center. You're in danger Chase, and the sooner we get you home the better." "I understand. I just don't want Juliet to get hurt either." "Well, come on, get in the car." I settled in the front seat and Juliet slid in the back. Soon the engine was revved and we started to leave.
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Soon we were back where Juliet and I had first met. She started to get out, but before she totally left, I handed her a piece of paper. "Here, this has my phone number on it. Tomorrow at 3pm, call this number.” "Okay, but why then?" "Just because." "Alright! Thanks so much Chase! And thank you for the ride, Mr. Driver!" Hunter looked back at her and said, "You’re welcome. Now Chase and I really have to be going." "Bye Chase! I hope I'll see you again sometime!" "Me too Juliet. Bye." She shut the door, and we saw her walk to a bench and sit down. Hunter started the car and we were off once more. "Try and get some rest Chase, it's not a long drive, but any sleep would be good." I leaned the seat back and closed my eyes. At first sleep eluded me, but after a few minutes, my body relaxed and the weariness that had been building up washed over me. I let the sleep sweep my body and soon I was asleep.

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11:37 pm, September 9th I woke up with a start. Somebody yelled. Who yelled? I shook my head. My eyes adjusted to the sudden light. I heard gunshots. What was happening? The front windshield shattered in front of my eyes, and the glass fell into our seats. Hunter! I looked over at him and he had a determined look on his face. He was gripping the wheel and trying to keep us from going out of control. "Hunter! What's going on?" I screamed at him. He didn't take his eyes off the road, but answered shortly, "Somebody is shooting at us." "Obviously! What happened?" Before he could answer, another shot landed in the hood and smoke started to seep out. We were losing speed, but the car was in danger of blowing up. "Chase! Get out!" I threw open my door and dove out, attempting a somersault when I landed. My back hit pavement and rolled over until I hit the railing on the edge of the road. Where was Hunter? It was dark, I couldn’t see much. My eyes adjusted and I saw him on the other side of the street. I looked over towards the car. It continued to fly down the road, until the road turned. The Honda flew straight and crashed through the guide rails, diving off the side. I suddenly realized that we were on the edge of a mountain. The car plummeted down through the air, my heart pounding. I could've still been in there. An ear splitting explosion ripped the air, illuminating the darkness. I stood up and looked over the side. The car had exploded in mid-air and was now a fireball! I tried to guess where it would land. The fire lit up the area around it, and I was glad that no houses were there.
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However, the mountain was covered with greenery, a forest. As soon as it was close enough, a massive forest fire would erupt. As I pulled out my phone to make yet another 911 call, I heard Hunter talking. I walked towards him, and I heard him say, "Yes, a forest fire." He lifted the phone from his ear and covered the phone. "It’s my chief." He resumed his conversation, and I sat down again, storing my phone in my pocket. My hands and legs started to shake. I tried to stop it, but I couldn't. I had never been this scared before. This was the first time my life had actually been compromised. Before, Unknown had purposely missed, or not harmed me. This time though, I easily could’ve been killed. Either a bullet hitting me, or being in the car when it turned into a missile. Hugging my knees and setting my head on my kneecaps, I concentrated on my breathing. In. Out. In. Out. My pulse started to regulate and the shaking calmed. A hand nudged my shoulder. I looked up. Hunter was done talking on the phone. “You okay?” I nodded. I took one more deep breath, and then asked, “What happened?” “Well, you fell asleep and I was driving. Everything was fine, when suddenly a bullet hit the driver’s door and more followed. You then woke up, and you know the rest.” “Wow. Thank God no one was hit. We could’ve been killed!” “I know. It was a close call.” A pause. I questioned the obvious. “What do we do now?” “Well, I asked the Chief to send an escort, and she sent out the call to the nearby fire stations about the fire.” “How long until the ride gets here?” “I wouldn’t expect much longer than 30 minutes.”
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“And until then…?” “We wait.” Yet again. * * *

We were sitting on the side of the road, and Hunter was on his phone once again. I was still deep in my thoughts when he hung up. I hadn’t been listening to any of his conversation, but he started talking to me. “I’ve got some good news. Kinda. Because of what just happened here, a case can be opened. Somebody is going to your parent’s house to tell them you’re all right, and about what we’re going to do to help you stay alive.” “Am I going back home?” “No, we have to take you back to the station to debrief you before we can let you back home. But your parents will be there so you’ll get to see them also.” “What about my brother?” “He’ll be there too.” Finally, something good would happen. I’d be safe in a police station and I’d get to see my family. Juliet Madyson came back into my mind. I wondered if she was alright. “Hey Hunter.” “Yeah?” “When this whole thing is over, and if I’m alive, could you help out Juliet, the girl that I met in the park? I feel bad that she’s so young and homeless.” “There are a lot of people like that Chase. You can’t help all of them.”
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“But I could help this one.” He didn’t reply for a few seconds. “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll see what I can do.” “Thanks.” Ringing. It was my phone. “Hello?” “Why hi there Chase. It’s been so long since we last talked.” I mouthed to Hunter, “It’s him.” “Put it on speaker.” I complied and I heard Unknown say, “I would love to talk with the new cop you’re with. A Damian Hunter, yes?” How did he seem to know everything? Hunter spoke up. “I’m here.” “I hope you didn’t like your car too much.” “Who are you?” “Really? You too? Chase, I can understand asking, being the helpless and weak victim, but seriously? Hunter, come on.” “What do you want?” “Again! I’ve been through this before. But I guess I’ll comply one last time. I want to show the act of ultimate power. Controlling another mans life.” “You sick person.” I asked, “What did you do to my family?” Hunter hushed me. “So Hunter, what are you going to do to stop me?” Unknown either didn’t hear or ignored my question. Hunter started to reply, but I spoke over him. “What did you do to my family? I couldn’t call them!” Again, it was as if Unknown didn’t even care that I
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was there. “Hello? Crazed stalker? Answer!” Why wasn’t he talking to me? “Chase, calm down! I can’t hear what he’s saying!” Hunter gave me a glare. I quieted. Unknown’s voice continued, “Well, enough of this conversation. Good day, or night, gentlemen.” And with that, Unknown hung up. “Why didn’t he answer my question?” I almost yelled. “Chase, I had asked him something while you were freaking out, and he was answering me. Plus, he probably couldn’t even hear what you were saying.” “So? I want answers!” “I know what happened to your family, why you couldn’t call them.” “You do? Why didn’t you tell me before?” “Because I just found out a few minutes ago when I was on the phone. I was about to tell you, but then he called.” “So tell me!” “Their electricity just went off for a couple hours, and their phone was dead. The whole block lost power.” Was it true? Was it really that simple? A dead battery? I consciously calmed my breathing. They were fine. They were fine. At least for the moment.

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12:12 am, September 10th The figure was glad. Chase had physically escaped without a scratch. Sure, he was mentally and emotionally unstable, but he was physically fine. Just like he had planned. The figured had used be-be pellets instead of live ammo, and had made sure to trigger the explosion after he had seen Chase dive from the car. It was a pity about all the wildlife that would be destroyed, but hey, the figure was trying to ruin a life. The figure could see Chase clearly. He could see the fear in his eyes. So much had happened to him in so little time. There was still 15 hours left until the figure would kill Chase. Should he give Chase a break? He’s been running all over the place, worrying, sweating, wondering what was going to happen next. Maybe the figure would lure his victim into thinking it was all over, and the victim was safe. A false sense of security was always good. * * *

Hunter’s cell phone was between us, the light barely bright enough to see each others faces. "So tell me about yourself before," he gestured with his arms around us, "all this happened to you and your family." I guess it wouldn't hurt to share a little bit. At the very least, it would get my mind off what was happening. "Well, I'm 16." Suddenly I remembered. Today, September 10th, was my birthday. I was now 17. "Today’s my birthday actually. I'm 17." "Really? Happy birthday, Chase." My birthday reminded me of what I was doing before 3:15, September 9th.
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*

*

*

2:30 pm, September 9th "Mom! I just want a few friends over, not my whole school and their parents!" Mom was trying to invite everyone I knew over for a birthday party. I didn't even want it to be called a party. More like hanging out with presents and cake. "But if you invite Cody and not his brother Jake, won't that make Jake sad?" "Not if I tell Cody not to tell Jake." "That seems very mean." "Mom, Jake is...well he's a little weird. And besides, I hardly know him!" She sighed. "It’s your party. Make up a list of friends you want and I'll send out invites." "How about I text them? Save me some embarrassment." "If you want. But I need to know by tomorrow how many are coming Monday." "You’ll know. It won't be many, trust me." Mom left my room and I took out my phone. I sent out a text to five or six of my closet friends. Then a name popped in my head. Britt Ryland. The girl that I had wanted to talk to for a year. The girl that made me nervous whenever I saw her. I wanted to invite her badly. But would her she being the only girl invited be weird? I wouldn’t invite her. That would just get me a lot of teasing from my friends and my brother.
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I’d talk to her eventually. * * *

Reality came back to me. I shook my head. I was still on the side of a road with a cop sitting next to me and a killer lurking somewhere close by. “You okay?” Hunter looked at me sincerely. “Huh? Oh yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” He didn’t press the matter and I didn’t offer any more information. But I started to reflect. Life can be so short. I wished I would’ve asked her. Yesterday I was too scared to ask a girl to come “hang out with presents and cake” and now, my life could’ve ended on several different occasions. Life was precious. I made a promise to myself. If I made it out of these next 15 hours alive, I would ask Britt Ryland out on a date. I wouldn’t be afraid of taking a risk anymore. I had no guarantee that tomorrow would be here. I just hoped I would still be alive in 15 hours.

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12:30 am, September 10th “What’s taking them so long?” Hunter had stood up and was pacing in front of me. Every few seconds he would check his phone and glance at the road for any sign of headlights. I was getting worried too. Maybe Unknown had done something to stop the escort. Maybe he had blown up that car as well! Or killed the driver before they could get in the car. Maybe he… There was light to our left. Headlights. A car. Hunter and I both took out our phones and shone the light towards the car. The vehicle responded, slowing down and then stopping next to us. The front window closest to us rolled down and a face popped out. “You Chase Mitchels and Damian Hunter?” “Yes,” Hunter responded. The person’s head disappeared back into the car and while the window was winding up, he said, “Climb in.” Hunter and I scrambled into the backseats, and I immediately felt safer. The fellow in the passenger seat turned his torso and looked at us. "Hey guys. I'm Trevor Cain. Your driver is Stephen Paulson." Stephen glanced at us through the rearview mirror, and waved with his hand. Trevor continued talking. "Chief told us you were in trouble and needed a ride back to the station. Are you guys alright? We brought a first aid kit." Hunter waved him off. "We're fine. Just get us back to the station quickly."
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Trevor smiled and sat normally in his seat again. "That's what we're here for. It'll be about a half hour to get back." I spoke up. "What took you so long to get here? We waited forever!" Stephen answered this time. "There was a massive accident that had us stuck for about 20 minutes." "And you couldn't sound your sirens or anything?" “Possibly, but it wouldn't have helped any. There was no place for anybody to move in order to let us by. It was a small one way road. All of the cars were packed together." I sighed. Whatever. The important thing was that I was on my way to safety. Maybe I would see Daniels and he would have a lead on my case. That's were he was now. Hopefully he had found something. Maybe he had even found out who Unknown is. I didn't dare try and fall asleep again. I had no desire to be woken up again by gunshots and explosions. If they were going to happen again, I wanted to be awake this time. Hunter started talking to Trevor and Stephen about what had happened. He was using cop lingo, and I had no desire to hear what happened again, so I zoned out. Just staring at whatever was directly in front of me and not thinking about anything. My thoughts kept on coming back. I pictured my family, and how I would soon see them. Maybe I could call them quickly before they left for the station. I tapped Hunter on the shoulder. He stopped talking and looked at me. “Um, do you think it would be all right if I called my parents before they leave for the station?” “Sure, you can try. They might already be on the way over.” I pulled out my phone and Hunter resumed his conversation.
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Punching in the number, I leaned back and waiting for an answer. It rang, rang, rang, and rang. No answer. After half a dozen rings, the machine picked up. My dad’s voice stated a quick message, and then came the beep. “Hey Mom and Dad, it’s Chase. I’m in a cop car heading to the station. So I’ll actually see you before you get this message. So um…bye I guess.” I flipped the phone shut and returned it to my pocket. The three cops had finished their discussion and silence filled the car again. Trevor remembered something. “Oh yeah, chief wanted me to radio her when we got you.” He gripped the dashboard radio and proceeded to speak into it. While he was doing that, I asked Hunter, “Your chief is a woman?” He nodded. “Yes, Mrs. Kristen Myrene. She’s been chief for a few years now. Believe it or not, but she does a great job. She has good judgment and can be pretty tough when she needs to be.” “I’ve never heard of a woman police chief before. Except for on the show Psych, but that’s TV.” “Well, treat her with respect, okay? She’s still our boss.” “I will.” Everybody fell silent and time drifted by. Twenty minutes trudged by. Stephen abruptly broke the silence, “Only a few more minutes.” Finally.

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1:11 pm, September 10th We pulled into the parking space, and we all got out. It was still dark, but the front of the station was visible from the flood lights installed in the ground by the stairs. The building looked pretty standard. Nothing special about it. Stairs led up to glass double doors, and windows were symmetrically placed on each floor of the building. The station looked to be several stories high. I followed Hunter up the steps and through the doors. Once we walked in, I started looking for my family. However, the station was bustling with officers, criminals, witnesses, and staff. I kept close to Hunter as we both trailed Stephen and Trevor. They led us through the swarm of people and down a hall. We turned left and descended down a flight of stairs. Instead of the congested public area, we were now in the more private back rooms of the station. On each sides of the hall were conference rooms, and occasionally a bathroom. “Where are my parents?” I asked to nobody in particular. Nobody answered, and before I could ask again, Trevor and Stephen stopped and opened the conference door to our right. I walked in after him, and saw a beautiful sight. There was Mom, Dad, and Riley, all sitting in leather swivel chairs around an oval wood table. They saw me, and I saw them. I ran to them, throwing my arms around whoever touched me first. It was Riley. Fast little kid. We all hugged, and I think I heard Mom ask me if I was alright, and Dad tried to say something that I couldn’t hear over Riley yelling. It was all pretty crazy. My escorts stood to the side and watched silently. After a few minutes though, I heard a voice say, “Alright, we have to get started.” It wasn’t a voice I knew. In fact, it wasn’t even a male voice.

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I released my family and looked around. At the far end of the room, seated at the head of the table, was a woman. She was average height, but had steady and intimidating eyes. Her light brown hair and dark blue suit completed her professional look. “Uh…hi.” I waved. “Hello Chase. I’m Kristen Myrene, the Chief of the Prackersburg Police Department.” She came towards me. “The PPD…” I chuckled to myself. “Excuse me?” Myrene asked. “Oh, nothing.” She was now in front of me, and extended her hand. I shook it and then she motioned for everyone to take a seat. Our group was Mom, Dad, Riley, Myrene, Trevor, Stephen, Hunter, and I. We all found a chair and made ourselves comfortable. Then all eyes went to the chief. “Well Chase, I’ve heard you’ve had quite the eventful day,” she started out. I nodded. “I haven’t had much down time, that’s for sure.” “I can imagine. Before we really dive in, I wanted to offer you some water or juice. We cannot offer any food sadly, but if you’re thirsty, we have some beverages available.” I considered it. “I’ll have some apple juice please.” She dismissed Trevor to fetch my drink. He departed, and Myrene got down to business. “Now Chase, obviously you’ve been through a lot in the last ten hours, and I’m sure you would like to forget most of it. However, being the subject of the crime, and being our only witness besides Detective Hunter, debriefing is necessary.” “What is debriefing?” I questioned. “Basically it’s an account of what has happened to you
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so far. You’re just telling your story. A staff member will ask you questions about what happened to you, and not only does it give us the facts, it also allows you, the victim, to decompress by sharing. The sooner we get started the better also. Your memory will be fresher and the details will be more accurate.” “Alright. Why do you need this exactly?” “It allows us to collect evidence, suspects, locations, etc. Instead of you coming with us everywhere while the memories are getting further and further away, we write it all down and take the folder with us.” “That makes sense.” “I will warn you though; the process may take a few hours, especially in your case. Usually a lot less has happened to a victim when we debrief them.” “Could Sergeant Daniels debrief me? I know him and it might be fast because he had already started a case about me.” “He introduced himself as Sergeant?” Myrene’s voice had suspicion in it. “Yes, Sergeant Daniels he said.” “Technically he is a Sergeant, but usually he goes by Detective. Not sure why he told you Sergeant. Anyway, to be honest, nobody in the station has heard from Daniels for a couple hours. I was actually going to ask you if you knew anything about his whereabouts.” Mom and Dad reacted in shock with me. “You don’t know where he is?” Myrene shook her head. “No, and I’m assuming you don’t either. “Well, because of Detective Daniels absence, I was going to have Detective Hunter debrief you. He won’t have to ask you any questions about the car explosion and such, because he was there. So it’ll save a little bit of time.” She focused on Hunter. “Read whatever Detective Daniels has on this case before starting. Then just add it on to the end.”
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“You got it chief,” replied Hunter. “Good. Then we’ll get started. Detective, start when you’re ready.” He didn’t reply, instead he turned to me and said, “I need to get my laptop and Detective Daniels files. I’ll be right back.” He swiveled and departed. As Hunter was walking out, Trevor came in with my juice. I accepted it and sipped it. The cool, delicious liquid gave me momentary happiness. “Could we stay here with Chase while he gets debriefed?” Mom requested of Myrene. She thought about it. “Yeah, I guess that’d be fine. Just don’t interrupt the questioning for your own questions. This process is long enough.” “We won’t,” Mom assured her. “Then my job here is done, at least for the moment. It was a pleasure meeting you, even under these unfortunate circumstances. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchels. You too, Chase and Riley.” She shook our hands once more and then left. Trevor and Stephen left with her. Now it was just me and my family. "We’re so sorry that we left you downstairs all alone. We should've realized..." Mom started. I stopped her before she continued. "I know. But it wasn't your fault. Just be glad that I'm back now." "We are." Riley started talking to me, telling me stories about who knows what. While I was listening, I saw Dad's face start to contort, and he slowly hunched over in his chair. What was happening? I didn't say anything because I didn't want Riley seeing what was going on. I had one eye on Riley, and one eye on my parents. Dad started to quiver. Mom noticed, and touched his shoulder. Dad whispered something into Mom’s ear. Mom’s face was
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suddenly painted with alarm. She snatched Dads hand and pulled him out of the conference room. They disappeared into a room somewhere along the hall. "-and then the penguin jumped on top of the llama!" I jerked both eyes and my attention back to me little brother just in time for the end of his latest story. "Wow, that's pretty crazy!" I said generically. He nodded back profusely and smiled. "Can I have some of your juice?" he eyed it suspiciously. "Sure." My concentration was back towards the conference room entrance doors. The hallway was empty, but now I saw them come out of whatever room they were previously in. Dad looked normal again. He and Mom were holding hands as they walked back into the room with Riley and me. "Everything okay?" I asked mom. "What? Oh yes, your father just has some stomach pains recently and has caused him to throw up. Nothing a trip to the bathroom won’t fix." Mom seemed to brush it off. "Are you sure Dad should stay here then? I mean if he's sick?" "Oh no, he'll be fine." I didn't think that Dad was fine, but I didn't press it. I knew something weird had just happened with my dad.

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1:44 am, September 10th Hunter had been debriefing me for about 20 minutes now, and we still had a lot to go over. "Alright, so after you ate the granola bar that you felt was poisoned, what did you do?" Hunter asked. I continued my account, and Hunter typed up notes and facts as I talked. I had a feeling we'd be here for a while. * * *

The figure had eyes everywhere. He could see Chase clearly. It was amazing what modern technology let you do on a laptop these days. The figure was watching Chase answer questions about his adventure. Little did he know it had just begun. The fun hadn't even started yet. The figure grinned to himself. In a way, the figure thought, he was doing the world a favor by killing Chase. The sad thing was that nobody would realize it when Chase was murdered. Murder always caused law enforcement and courtrooms to overlook the subtle messages. Pity. Nobody would see how Chase was actually the villain and HE was the HERO! Instead, it would be reversed! Chase being the innocent victim of a horrendous crime and he being the ruthless and heartless killer. The court system could be pretty messed up at times. But it wouldn't stop the figure. He wasn't in it for himself. It was for the good of society, saving some kid from a horrible future. Plus, revenge on the figure’s father. It would be so easy for the figure to kill Chase now. A single bullet, strategically shot to the vitals in the chest. But the game wasn't over. Playtime was still in full swing.
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The figure reflected momentarily on what had led him to this point. As a child, he was abused, forgotten, and hurt, both emotionally and physically. His father was cruel and hurtful. Ironically, that’s how the figure would be seen also after he killed Chase. The man whom the figure hated the most now manifested himself in the figure. However, the figure was doing a good deed. His father had ruined the figure’s childhood, and the scars were still visible. The figure’s mom had left him. Some say that her death had been accidental, but the figure, the mother’s son, had seen what had really happened. The figure’s dad loved his wife, but sometimes love and compassion can be replaced with rage and disgust. The figure’s dad would one moment love his wife with an undying commitment, and the next transform into a completely different personality and contempt would fill his heart. Doctors would later discover that the figures father had DID, dissociative identity disorder. Whenever the father would switch into his alter ego, the emotions towards his wife would reverse. This happened one night, and everything forever changed. The figure would never forget it. * * *

“Can we take a break?” It had been about 45 straight minutes of asking questions and my mind was not enjoying it. “One minute.” Hunter shut the laptop lid and took a sip of the drink next to him. “How old are you?” I asked. He gave me a puzzled look. “Twenty-five. Why?” “Wow. How did you get to be a detective at such a young age?” That was impressive. “Hard work. Plus, I busted a high profile criminal on my first case.” “That’s one way to do it I suppose.” “Yeah, I guess. Alright, we should get back to…”
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“Do you have any siblings?” I wasn’t ready to continue yet. “I have two younger half-brothers.” “How old are they?” He seemed fidgety. “I don’t remember anymore. It’s been a while since I last saw them. Now back to the debriefing…” He opened his laptop again. I started to say something else, but the sound of the door opening behind us stopped me. “How is it going?” It was Myrene. Hunter shrugged. “We’re moving along, but still have a lot to go over.” She nodded. “Well, unfortunately I have some terrible news. We’ve found Detective Daniels.” Everybody brightened up. “Well that’s good news!” I said. She cleared her throat. “Correction. We have found Detective Daniels body.” The air was still. Heavy. Oppressing. Hunter stood up defiantly. “What do you mean, body? He’s dead?” Myrene slowly nodded again. “What happened?” Dad cut in. She turned to him. “We’re not sure. All I can say is that a professional killed him. We found his body with no murder weapon around, and nobody heard any cry or scream.” “Where did you find him? His body?” Hunter again. “It was…he was found in the basement of his house.” “How did the murderer get in? Any broken windows or picked locks?” She shook her head. ”No point of entry has been found yet.”
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“Any suspects?” “Right now we have to assume it’s the same stalker who is after Chase. Daniels was the only one working on the case. It was his only assignment.” Hunter looked distraught. “Chief, can someone finish debriefing Chase? I need to follow up on this.” He seemed not to plead, but insist. Myrene considered it.“I can get someone else to finish. But once Chase is done, you will be needed back here. Now that Daniels is dead, we’re going to need you to complete it.” “Thank you, chief.” Hunter left the room in the hurry. Myrene now turned to us. “As you may expect, this is going to slow down the process for your family. We now have murder on the rap sheet for our mystery criminal. Especially the murder of a police officer is even worse. So I’ll get another officer to finish your debriefing, most likely Cain or Paulson. In the meantime, just sit tight.” She left. I started straight ahead. This day kept on getting crazier and crazier. Daniels, dead? Really? The only person who had a head start on my case was gone. * * *

The figure was busy. But he had just seen the police chief deliver the disturbing news. Chase looked shaken, as did his family. Hunter had left. The figure started humming to himself. He was glad.

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2:50 am, September 10th Stephen Paulson had been assigned to me to finish the debriefing. Now though, it was hard to think about my day when my mind was filled with Daniels. What happened? Why did Unknown have to kill him? Did this mean there was a chance I would be killed also before the time was up? What if Unknown decided to break his own rules? The only redeeming characteristic of Unknown was that he didn't seem like the type to go against his word. Which also meant when the time came, it would be very difficult to escape. Hopefully he would be in custody by then. "-walked where?" I was daydreaming. I had missed the entire question. "I'm sorry. What did you ask?" Stephen sighed. "I know that you have had 12 traumatizing hours, but if we could just finish this, you could go home and finally get some rest." "Yes, yes, I'm sorry. It's just what with Daniels and all..." "I know. Do you want to talk about that first? It might clear your mind of it." "No, it's okay. What did you ask?" He repeated his question. "After you woke up and had the conversation with, as you call him, 'Unknown', where did you go?" I answered him, but as I talked, I could see Riley starting to get exhausted. He was watching a movie on my Dad’s Smartphone, but he was tired of it and started to doze off. I was actually surprised he lasted this long. When I ended my reply, I faced Mom. "You can go home if you want with Riley. I'll call you when I'm done." "No, we're not leaving you alone again."

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I waved with my arms. "I'm hardly alone." "But still…” "How about this," I offered. "Dad stays here and you take Riley home. He looks beat." Mom looked at dad. "What do you think?" He pondered it. "Well…I think as long as one of us stays here with him, it'll be fine. How about you take Riles home, and I’ll bring Chase home after." "Are you sure?" Mom was still worried. "Yes." Dad and I replied simultaneously. She complied. Mom nudged Riley and took his hand. Mom hugged me, making promise nothing would happen to me, which I did. Then Riley gave me a bear hug and we told each other, "I love you.” They walked out, with Riley waving to me. I faced Stephen again. "Sorry. I won't make any more interruptions." "Thank you. Let's just bear down and get this done." "Agreed." * * *

The figure wasn't growing impatient, but time was precious. Chase caused a few interruptions which slowed down the process, but it was minor. Everything was still on schedule. The figure hadn't talked to his victim on the phone in a while. That depressed the figure. He so enjoyed those conversations. Maybe even lived for them. That seemed right. The figure would probably be captured after he killed Chase. Correction. The figure would allow the police to capture him. He had no use of his life after Chase was dead. That was the figures most treasured mission. Chase Mitchels. Even the name brought chills. He knew Chase so well, yet hardly knew him at
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all. The figure thought about when he would be with Chase right before the 3:15 deadline. The figure would tell him the shocking news, the horrifying story, the tale that Chase surely wouldn't want to believe, but would have no other choice. The evidence would be overwhelming. Chase wouldn't be able to deny it. It might be hard for the figure to relive that time again, but it was dreadfully necessary. It would break Chase before his death. The figure smiled a pure evil grin. The people around the figure returned his smile with one of happiness, mistakenly assuming the figures was one of happiness too. No, the figures smile was one of anticipation. The glorious wait could not last forever. And when it ended… * * *

"Alright, only a few questions left, and then we'll be done." I smiled. Finally. "Go on." "After the car flew off the side of the cliff, and before we came to pick you up, what happened?" I recounted the conversation Unknown had with Hunter and me, mostly with Hunter. "After that, we just kind of sat there, not saying a whole lot. Then you guys came. And here I am." Stephen typed some more down, the shut the lid. He then looked me in the eyes and said, "Another part of debriefing is offering professional therapy for the victim. The first visit is paid for by us, so it’s risk free if you would like to try it out." He pulled out a business card. "Here is the name of the psychologist. If you decide to attend at least one session, call this number," He pointed to the phone number on the business card, "and tell them that Chief Kristen Myrene is paying for the first session. He'll know what to do then."
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I accepted the card and looked it over. The man’s name was Christopher Aundry. The picture of him was, honestly, kind of ugly. I pocketed it and thanked Stephen. "If you remember anything else, or have any questions, call my cell. I wrote the number on the back of the card. Until then, nice to meet you Chase." he shook my hand. "You too, Mr. Mitchels." He and Dad exchanged a firm handshake. Dad asked, "What should we do?" "Go see Chief Myrene's office. Just go out the way you came in, and once you hit the main floor, walk to the very back of the floor." "The very back?" I was surprised. He shrugged. "She likes her privacy." Dad thanked him, and Stephen left. "Need anything before we go?" Dad held the door open for me. "Nope. Let's get this over with. I want to get home."

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3:15 am, September 10th It was exactly halfway through Chase’s final day. 12 hours ago, the figure started this thrilling adventure. How fast time flies. It seemed just like a few minutes ago when the figure tagged Chase in the status. Halfway done, and 12 more hours of fun for the figure. * * *

I glanced at the clock on Chief Myrene’s wall. It read 3:16 am. 12 hours in, 12 hours to go. I took my eyes off the wall and back to Myrene. “Now that the debriefing is done, hopefully things can get moving quicker. I’ve contacted Detective Hunter, and he should be here shortly. Until then…” Before she could finish, a siren ripped through the air. The lights dimmed and hidden bulbs on the ceilings start to flash red. People in the halls suddenly stopped their casual milling and immediately rushed to their personal desks. The hallways were instantly cleared of all people, and a group of five or six uniformed officers rushed down them, supposedly responding to the emergency. I looked back at the chief, who was strapping on her weapon and snatching her radio. "What's happening?" I had to yell over the siren. "I'm not sure, but stay here until I get back. Don't go anywhere." She looked determined, yet suspicious at the same time. Myrene left and mimicked the path of the cops who had gone before her. "Dad, do you know what is happening?" He shook his head. "I have no idea. We can only hope
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that it's nothing to serious." I slumped down into a chair behind me, and shut my eyes. I just wanted to get home. I opened my eyes and saw dad sit down. The door to the Chief’s office suddenly opened and in rushed Hunter. He quickly realized that the chief wasn't there and quickly questioned, "Where is the chief?" "She heard the sirens and everything and then grabbed her gun and radio and ran down that way." I pointed in the direction she has left. "She told us to stay here." He looked at both of us. "I have a feeling this distraction might be a tactic to get you two alone. Come with me, we're going to find out what's going on." He motioned for us to follow him. I was a little scared. "But the chief told not to go anywhere." "That’s true, but she hasn't seen what this guy is capable of. I have, and I don't think this is emergency is a coincidence." He opened the door and Dad and I were right behind him. Most everybody who didn't rush to the location of the emergency were typing on their computers and communicating with people through the radios in their hands. Hunter picked up the pace. We jogged, almost ran, to keep up with him. He went down some stairs and through a door which required a security pass. We ran to the end and through another secure door. He opened it and when we stepped in, I saw the chief surrounded by a group of officers. I looked around, and immediately knew where we were. The cells. All around us were prison cells, each cell an exact replica of the one before it and after. A cot on a metal frame, a sink, and a crude toilet. They were on either side of me, with a
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bare hall running through them. One thing was weird though. All the cell doors were open, and nobody was in them. I could only assume for now, but it seemed as if somebody had released all the prisoners. I looked for a way of escape, and I only saw the emergency exit door, which required a security pass. However, the door was now open, and several bullet holes surrounded the handle and the lock. Myrene saw us. "What are you doing here? I told you to stay in my office!" Hunter stepped forward. "I told them to come with me. I have a feeling keeping them alone in your office was worse than them being down here with half a dozen officers." She waved it off. "We have a problem here. Somehow the prisoners released themselves, probably with help, and then assaulted the officer on duty. He is now being driven to the hospital and should be fine, but the prisoners seemed to have grabbed his gun and fired into the door." "How come we didn't hear the gunshots?" I asked. "This whole area is soundproof. It keeps staff upstairs from hearing the prisoners yelling and shouting when they get disruptive in their cells." Ah. Smart thinking, except for a time like now. Hunter walked to the partially shattered door and examined it. "We don't know how the prisoners got out of their cells?" Myrene shook her head. "No damage on any of the locks on the cells. My only guess is that somebody let them out." Hunter walked out the door and shut it. A minute passed, and the he walked back in. "Those bullets weren't fired from inside here. Somebody shot them from outside." "How do you know?" an officer asked. Hunter pointed directly in front of the door. There were
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a few wood splinters lying on the concrete. “The wood shavings are inside. If somebody was shooting from where I am,” he stood directly in front of the door, “then they would be outside. Also, if we follow the line of fire we should be able to find…” he trailed off and slowly walked towards the wall opposite the door. He was slightly hunched over, and I envisioned Sherlock Holmes for a second. He reached the wall and bent down, his hand sweeping the ground, his eyes scanning for what he was searching for. His hand stopped, and he picked up something. I couldn’t see it, but when he stood up, he held out his palm, with the object on it. It was a bullet. “If somebody shot the door from inside, how did a bullet get so far away from the door? No, we can safely say that somebody outside let the prisoners out.” “But, why?” another officer said. Nobody answered. Myrene pointed to a woman nearby. “Lisa, get me a list of all the prisoners we were holding and their criminal record. Detective,” she motioned to Hunter, “you get that bullet down to forensics. Maybe we can find what model gun fired that.” She dismissed everyone, and Dad and I followed Myrene back to her office. “Detective Hunter, before you leave, would you join us for a minute?” Myrene gathered us together. She looked at all of us and then said, “Right now, we have to assume that whoever is after Chase is responsible for this. I’m not sure why, but he must have a reason. Detective, scan through the criminal reports for anything unusual, or anything that looks useful. Why he would want to release all the prisoners is strange. One person, a comrade, companion, or partner I would be able to understand, but why everyone?” Dad raised a question. “Am I allowed to take my son home?” Myrene sadly shook her head. “No, unfortunately
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protocol forbids anybody leaves the building when something like this happens. I can situate you in a conference room with a phone and a television for the moment. But when a security breach like this happens, nobody is allowed to leave the premises. We need to determine who was near the area of attack and ask questions to those who were on shift, and so forth. I’ll try and get you out of here as quickly as possible, but it still may take a while. I really am sorry you had to still be here when this happened.” She led us back upstairs. The first person Myrene saw, she called over. “Louis, get these two gentlemen a room where they can have some privacy, and not too close to all the noise.” She turned and walked to her office. “Follow me.” Louis started off and we followed.

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3:41 am, September 10th The room Louis situated us in was a small conference room. A smaller table was in the middle, with a phone in the middle. In the top right corner a small table held a TV. I was currently meddling with for a viewable channel. So far, no luck. Along the left wall was a two person couch. Dad called Mom once we were alone, and although she was worried, Dad convinced her to go to bed. Riley was already asleep. I was beginning to become tired myself. None of the channels were amusing or clear enough, and it was almost 4 in the morning. I fought the urge to sleep though. Last time I closed my eyes, I woke up in an exploding car. I left the TV on the only channel that was visible and plopped on the couch. It was the news. Some reporter was sharing a ground breaking story, but I didn't care enough to listen. Dad stood up from the chair he was sitting in and turned down the volume. "Why don't you try and get some sleep Chase?" "I'm paranoid now. You heard what happened the last time I dozed off." "This is a much different situation. You're safer here," Dad assured me. "What just happened was not safe." "No, but in order to get here, to us, they would have to come through the cops in front of us." I sighed. I was pretty exhausted. "Okay, but no promises." I stretched out and shut my eyes. My mind wouldn't shut off. I tried to blank out my mind, but thoughts and images of today's events all blurred together into unrecognizable pictures in my head. Slowly, yet surely, my whirring brain steadied and
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after about 10 minutes, my tiredness overtook my adrenaline and sleep took me over. * * *

Yes, the figure was responsible for the police station break-in. The figure did shoot the door and release all the prisoners. As the figure saw it, he had let the captives free, which wasn’t a bad thing. The Bible said it! The book of Isaiah says, “He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners”. That’s just what the figure did. So it wasn’t wrong! It was even sanctioned by God! The figure wasn’t a bad person; he was only seen as bad because of the previous circumstances. The death of his mother in particular. The figure reflected, relived the moment in the past. It was actually a very heart-breaking scenario. The figure’s father had no control; he was unaware of what he was actually doing. The figure’s father switched into his alter ego, his evil personality. The figure couldn’t stop his father once the figure’s father started. It was impossible. The figure’s father started beating his wife, maliciously and unmerciful. The figure shrunk in the corner, not daring to make a move. The figure’s father was usually a very kind and nice man, but now he was cruel and hateful. Blow after blow landed. The figure closed his eyes, not wanting to watch. The sounds were still emitted, and the figure started to whimper. The figure’s father started spewing meaningless words, phrases that were unclear and indiscernible. The figure’s father hit her once more, twice, then stood back and snarled. The figure opened his eyes and saw his father walk away defiantly. After the father left, the figure cautiously crawled over to his mother. She was lying on the ground, barely breathing, eyes closed and heart beat threateningly slow. The figure cried next to his mother, holding her hand. The figure’s father came back in the room. However, this time, the father was back into his normal state of mind. The figure’s father saw the figure next to the mother and shouted, “How could you? You killed your mother!” The figure tried to
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explain, but it was futile. The figure was a child, and the father was powerful and all knowing. The figure’s father called 911 and the mother was taken to the emergency room. She would die a few days later from internal bleeding. After that, the figure was moved from orphanage to orphanage. Nobody ever came to adopt him. Who would adopt a child who had killed his mother? NOBODY! The figure never left the orphanage for the next six years. Then, having enough, the figure ran away. The orphanage never bothered to report it, and the figure expected nothing less. The figure was homeless, moving from town to town, scrounging for food and living in the same clothes. Scraps of meals and cardboard boxes were his life savers. Then, one day, the figure met someone, and that someone saved his soul. They sheltered the figure and cared for him. Then that someone, the rescuer, revealed who they really were. And it shook the figure’s world. * * *

Water was all around me, I was drowning. The current was pulling me under, and I for some reason I couldn’t remember how to swim. I flailed my arms and only succeeded in splashing water violently. There was no land in sight, and my body weight was dragging me down. I looked at the water. It was black. I was in a black body of water. I didn’t stop to contemplate it. I kicked my legs, but my feet felt like bricks. A noise. Faint, but I knew what it was. A motorboat. I screamed at the top of my lungs, “Help! Over here! Help me!”
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However, no sound came out. I was mute. I tried again. Still nothing. Silence. I saw the motor boat. It was shimmering white, with a female driving it. I waved my hands and splashed the water, hoping to catch the driver’s attention. It was futile though. The speedboat sped by less then 10 yards away from me. It disappeared into the distance. The water continued to pull me under, but this time, instead of fighting, I gave up. I stopped resisting and let the tide pull me under. * * *

“Chase! Wake up! Are you alright?” My eyes flashed opened. I jerked, and fell off the couch I was on. I propped myself up and whipped my head around, looking for danger. “Chase! Look at me!” I focused my eyes on Dad, who was talking to me. “Are you okay? You were starting to sweat and move around strangely while you were sleeping.” I shook my head. A dream. No, a nightmare. But still not reality. But it was the second dream where I died. Although in the last one, I gave up. What did it mean?

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4:02 am, September 10th I was shaken up. The water was fake in my dream, but felt real because of the sweat on my arms and forehead. Dad was sitting next to me with his arm around me. I had another glass of water in front of me, but I hadn’t touched it. Water was not what I needed. My “death” in this dream had been different than the last. I was stabbed last time, this time I drowned. One murder and one a lack of swimming skills? Since when couldn’t I swim? Swimming was one of my favorite things to do. Why did I suddenly lose my ability to keep myself at least afloat? My thoughts were interrupted when the door opened and in walked Hunter and Myrene. “Find anything?” Dad asked. Myrene answered, “The bullet we found was fired from a Glock 17 9mm. That type of firearm is not administered to anyone on our force, however it is still real easy to purchase. We’re running searches on Glocks that were bought within the last week in our zip code. Again though, it’s also more likely that our bad guy bought it illegally, which is nearly impossible to trace.” Hunter picked up from there. “As for the prisoner list, not much came up. Most of the detainees were common criminals, nothing severe on their record. And then we found two prisoners who were in the process of being transferred to a maximum security prison. A woman Terri Johnson, 51 years old, was found guilty of fraud and placed in prison a year ago. She then broke out and killed seven people in the next months. We only recently captured her here in Prackersburg. No one knows why she started killing after she escaped.” Hunter pulled out an 8 by 11 photo of Terri Johnson. “Our other convict, Brandon Damen. 29 years old, charged with breaking and entering, assault, and possession of illegal drugs. In other words, he robbed a bank, injuring the bank teller and the watch guard, and then used that money to buy marijuana, cocaine,
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heroin, and any other drug he could get his hands on. A drug addict on the highest level.” A picture of Brandon Damen was also displayed. Both pictures were on the table. I got up off the couch and sat down in front of them. Neither of the faces looked familiar. “Do either of their faces ring a bell?” Myrene questioned. I shook my head. I looked a Dad, and saw the same response. “Nope, don’t know them.” Hunter gathered up the photos and stuck them back into his folder. I thought of something. “Weren’t there any security cameras down there?” Myrene nodded. “Yes, but we were having maintenance done on them right before that.” “Where’s that maintenance man?” I asked. Myrene turned to Hunter. “Find that man.” Hunter left quickly, and Myrene addressed us. “You shouldn’t be here much longer. An hour at most.” Then she left again. * * *

The figure was with the convict that he broke out. They were both sitting in the one room apartment the figure was renting for the 24 time period. Only one of the criminals meant anything to him. The other was just more problems for the police. The one with him was the woman. She was sitting on his right. The figure spoke. “It’s good to see you again.” Terri Johnson turned to face him. “It is. It has been a
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long time.” “Are you proud of me?” “I am.” There was silence. Then the figure leaned over and kissed the woman on the cheek. “I missed you Mother.” She held the figure’s head in her hands. “I’ve missed you too, son.” * * *

Myrene came back in only 15 minutes later. “I’ve been able to push things along, and you are now free to leave.” “What about our family’s safety?” Dad was worried still. “I’ve promoted an officer to Detective, and later tonight I’ll have her make hourly rounds by your house for the next hours. Her name is Sophie Richards. She’ll report anything unusual or suspicious straight to me, and if deemed necessary, action will be taken. If you see or hear or even suspect anything not right, call me at this number.” She handed Dad her business card. “It’s my direct cell phone number. Don’t hesitate to call it. Detective Hunter’s cell phone number is on the back. I hope this night goes without a problem, but you know how to contact me.” She shook Dad’s hand and mine, and then we followed her out. I trailed Dad to our car.

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4:41 am, September 10th We arrived safely, for once, back home. Mom was waiting for us when we walked in. "What’s happening?" Mom looked tired, stressed, and worried. Dad shrugged. "Other than what I told you on the phone, not much. A new female detective will be drive by our house hourly to see if there is anything strange. But as for us right now, sleep is probably the best option. It has been a stressful, nerve racking day. Anything to calm us down would probably help." I dared not sleep. Three times a charm didn't apply in my situation. Twice was bad enough. I had no desire to see how else I could die. No, sleep was not my best option. "Mom, Dad, I do not want to go to sleep." I told them both of my dreams. Dad knew of my second one, but Mom was clueless to both. Mom was surprisingly calm when I was finished. "You know what, it could be a side effect from whatever was in the granola bar that knocked you out. It probably hasn't worn off yet." "That's true." I agreed. "Well, if you're not going to go to bed, then we won't." "Are you sure, I mean, you can if you want." Dad looked at Mom. "Honey, why don't you go? I'll stay down here with Chase." She hesitated. "Chase, are you okay with that? I can stay up if you like." "No Mom, Dad’s right. Go to bed. It'll be light in a few hours anyway." "Alright. But if you are getting tired Drew," she addressed Dad, "then wake me up and we'll switch."

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"I will Steph," he replied to Mom. Mom walked up the stairs and I soon heard her room door close. I smiled at Dad. "You’re not going to wake her up, are you?" He grinned back. "Nope." * * *

Terri Johnson saw her assignment. The assignment was driving down the street, the only car within sight. Terri waited in her own vehicle, hidden in the shadows of a dark alley. Terri was stalking her assignment. The assignment’s car whizzed by, and Terri pulled the car out behind it. Terri sped the car up until her car was tailing the assignments car. Just as the assignment’s car went through an intersection, a tow truck flew in front of the assignment’s compact car, halting the progress instantly. At the same, Terri hit the brakes, and gently tapped into the bumper of the assignment’s car. The assignment was trapped. Terri stepped out of the driver’s side, and approached the driver’s window of the assignment’s car. The door opened and out stepped the assignment. She was the same height as Terri, about 5 foot 6. Terri had a few years on the assignment, but it didn't matter. "What are you doing? Nobody is out this late! Explain yourself!" Terri remained calm. "What are you doing out this late?" The assignment was flustered. "I'm a cop, it's my job! Now what are YOU doing here, ruining my car?" "Doing my job," was the steady answer from Terri.
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And the Terri punched the assignment in the jaw. The assignment fell on the ground, gripping her mouth. The assignment reached for her gun, but as she did, the concrete millimeters from her hand exploded in shards. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," warned a raspy voice directly behind the assignment. It was the figure. "I didn't even hear you step out of the truck," said Terri. The figure dared a quick smile. "I'm silent." Then the figure swiftly hit the assignment on the head with the butt of his Glock 17 9mm, knocking her out. "Swap clothes with her, and continue with the plan. Keep your cell phone on. I'll take her back as soon as you have her clothes." Terri dragged the assignment away from the figure and towards some privacy. Terri replaced the assignment’s cop uniform with her own street clothes and soon Terri was suited like a civilized officer. Terri pulled the assignment back to the figure, and together they lifted the assignment into the passenger seat of the figures truck. Then, together Terri and the figure hooked the crashed cop car onto the hook on the back of the tow truck. Once that was done, the figure re-entered the driver’s seat and drove away, a cop car dragging behind and a female cop in the passenger seat. Terri didn't waste any time. She climbed into her original vehicle and drove towards the home of Drew, Stephanie, Chase, and Riley Mitchels. Terri was now masquerading as recently promoted Detective Sophie Richards. * * *

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Dad and I were doing something to pass the time and distract our thoughts. We were playing our favorite card game, Uno. We always played a 5 game series each week, and we decided there was no better time then now. In the middle of one of our games, there was a light knock on the door. “Hello? Are the Mitchels home? It’s Sophie Richards from the Prackersburg Police Department.” Dad left his cards facedown on the table and walked over to the door, opening it. “Yes, hello. I thought Chief Myrene just said you would be driving by, not actually stopping in.” Sophie smiled. “She called me just a few minutes ago. Apparently there has been some new development in your case, and she told me to stay by your house instead of just checking up on you. So now, I’ll be sitting in my parked car a block away from your house. Here’s my number, and if you need anything call me.” Dad accepted her number and said, “Okay, but if there is a new development in my family’s case, shouldn’t I know about it?” “The information hasn’t been confirmed yet, but once it is, I assure you, we will let you know.” Dad nodded. “Alright, well, thank you.” Sophie left, and Dad closed the door. “She looked oddly familiar,” I thought out loud.

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5:12 am, September 10th The figure was happy. No, content. His mother was with him, and his plan was working splendidly. When the figure was contacted by his mother only a few days before she was captured by the Prackersburg police, the figure had been confused. The figure saw his mother die when he was a child. How could she still be alive? The figure’s father killed the figures mother! How did she survive? When the figure’s phone rang not more than a week ago, the figure thought nothing of it. But when the figure answered, the voice on the other end shook the figures mind. The figure thought back to the conversation on the phone. “Hello? Who is this?” the figure asked. “Son?” The figure didn’t reply. The figure knew that voice, but how could it be true? It was the voice of his mother. The mother who had until now, the figure thought was dead. “Son, are you there?” “I-I-I’m here.” His voice stuttered. “This must be a surprise to you.” “Yes. It is. “I’m sorry it’s taken so long for me to talk to you, to let you know I was alive.” Her voice was kind, nonthreatening, and soothing. “I’m not sure I believe you’re alive.” “If I’m an imposter, ask me a question only your mother would know.” The figure held his palm over the speaker. What would only his mother know?

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“What was the last birthday present you gave me before you…” the figure didn’t finish. “It was a Sherlock Holmes detective kit.” She knew! “What was in the kit?” “A magnifying glass, fake powder, and a few short Sherlock stories.” “I don’t know who you are, but you obviously aren’t my mother. You forgot something.” The female voice responded, “There was usually a pair of handcuffs included, but they weren’t in your kit, so we called the company and they sent us a pair, along with a Sherlock look-alike hat. “ It was her! “Mother, what happened?” “It’s a long story, and over the phone is so impersonal. When can we meet?” The figure snapped back to the present. It was September 10th, and he was on a mission. * * *

“Ha! Victory is mine!” I threw my last card down in triumph and smiled at Dad. Dad sighed and shook his head. “Well, good job son. Three straight games won by you. That’s impressive.” “Yeah I know I’m the best.” I was having fun, forgetting the stress of today for at least a few moments. While Dad cleaned up the cards, I turned on the TV. "Chase, keep the volume down for your brother and mother." I lowered the volume and sat down on the couch, remote in hand. I started scrolling through the channels, looking for anything good that would be on at this early in the morning.
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Dad finished putting the cards away and came up next to me. "You want anything to drink?" "Yeah, do we have any orange soda?" "I think so." Dad retreated into the kitchen. I finally found something good to watch. It was "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King". I loved this one. Dad returned with two orange sodas and a bowl of chips. He placed the bowl on the table in front of us and handed me my drink. "What is this?" dad said as he took a sip of his drink. "The Return of the King." I popped open the lid to my soda. "Do I like this one?" "Yes you do." He got comfortable next to me, and concentrated on the screen. * * *

Terri Johnson, who was posing as Sophie Richards, sat in her car, and was thinking back on how her son had reacted during their first meeting. Terri was sitting on the bench in the park, the bench closest to the swings, just like her son had said. Now she was waiting for her son to appear. How would he react when he saw her after all these years? Would he be forgiving and thankful that his mother was alive, or bitter and angry that she hadn’t contacted him until now? There was no way of knowing. Terri saw her son. He was still about 100 yards away, but she recognized him immediately. He hadn’t changed a bit. He still looked exactly the same way when he was a kid, only now he was obviously older.
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Terri’s son was now only a few steps away. He stopped in front of her and stared down at her. Terri gazed back into his eyes, and after a few seconds, he sat down beside her. Neither of them looked at each other. Instead, both of their eyes were fixed on the swing set, where a mother was pushing her young son. The child was giggling wildly and the mom had a smile on her face. “I thought you were dead.” His voice had no emotion. “They told your father that I died in the hospital, and he told you. But that’s not the truth. I was hurt badly, but they were able to keep me alive. I was released in a week.” “Why did they tell dad that you were dead?” She sighed. “The authorities figured out that you didn’t have anything to do with my ‘murder’. They knew your dad had abused me so they decided that instead of me living with your dad until I could file a divorce, they would tell your dad that I died, and it was easier to believe. I mean, your dad assumed he had killed me. So the police and hospital staff let him think that.” “Why was I never told that you had lived?” “We were worried you might tell your father. However, that became a mute issue after you were put into an orphanage. I couldn’t find you after you ran away, and then I got into some…trouble.” “How did you find me?” The figure, Terri’s son, looked at his mother. “I saw your picture in the newspaper after your accomplishment. It’s not everyday somebody does that.” “It was all part of my plan.” “Plan?” “It’ll start September 9th.” “What is it?” Terri began to grow anxious with excitement. Terri’s son smiled, “I think you’ll like it.”
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The figure then told his mother the plan. After explaining it, he looked in his mother’s eyes and said, “I would like you to be a part of it.” Terri smiled. “I would be honored to help.” Reality! Terri looked around her. Her thoughts about the meeting vanished, and she refocused on her current job. It was dark, and dawn was fast approaching. Terri loved her son. Even though the public and the Mitchels thought differently, Terri would always love and adore her son.

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5:53 am, September 10th The movie was at my favorite part. Legolas kills an entire elephant and the crew by himself. It was one of the best scenes of any movie, and I was really getting into it when there was a knock on our door. Suddenly the fear of the unknown came back. Who was it? What did they want? Why were they here? I glanced over at Dad as he got up to answer the door. He kept glancing back at the TV to watch the movie, but he finally reached the door. There stood Sophie. “Oh, you again. Uh, what can I do for you?” Dad asked, surprised. "The threat we received earlier turned out to be true." "What do we do?" "You don't do anything. Just don't answer any phone calls. In fact, unplugging your phone is probably a good idea. Do that as soon as we're done talking. I'll be watching more closely on you guys. I'll stay in contact with headquarters and keep you updated on the situation." Dad nodded, and closed the door. I came up to him. "What did she say?" "Well, she suggested we unplug the phones, which seems a little rash, but I guess they have their reasons." Dad unplugged the kitchen wall phone, and I turned the ringer off on the phone in our living room. Next, both our cell phones went off. I went back to the couch and continued watching the movie. Dad sat next to me again, but something seemed to be troubling him. I lowered the volume. "What’s wrong Dad?"
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He shook his head. "I don't know. I just feel uneasy about this." "Well yeah, I would too. You have a lot to feel nervous about." "No, not in general. More specifically. Like, for some reason Sophie gives me the chills." He looked off into the distance. "I think she's doing a good job." "Not her performance, but her face, her eyes. I feel like I know that face, like I’ve seen those eyes before, but I can't place it." "Yeah I kinda felt that way too when I first saw her,” I agreed. Dad shrugged it off. "I'm just too high strung." We turned back to the movie. * * *

The figure stood behind the real Sophie Richards. She was tied to a chair in the middle of the figure’s rented apartment. She wasn't hurt...yet. If she didn't co-operate, things could change very quickly. And not in her favor. Sophie’s head hung against her chest. The sedation the figure gave her was wearing off. She would wake up soon. Her head stirred. She flexed her arms and legs, and after realizing that she couldn’t move, slowly raised her head. Her eyes adjusted to the brightness, and she turned her head searching for her captor. “Don’t be so naïve. Why would I tie you loose enough that you could escape? I assure you, unless I wanted you to escape, you are not getting out of here.” The figure’s voice was soft, but threatening. Sophie stopped her pulling and tugging. “Who are
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you?” The figure sighed. “You too? What are the chances that I’m actually going to tell you? Pretty close to zero is my guess.” “Alright then, why did you kidnap me?” “Now we’re getting somewhere. I will tell you that it’s necessary. For what, that is still the mystery that you need to solve.” “I’m going to assume this has to do with the case I was just assigned, the Mitchels case. So I can also assume that you are the “Unknown” that is stalking Chase.” “Is that the name they’ve given me? How sad, they can’t even properly name a criminal.” “We don’t know your name! Otherwise we would call you that!” “Valid point. The chances of your getting my name, however, are also very slim.” “Can we at least have this conversation face to face?” “How about not? I would like to keep my privacy. However, I do have something to ask of you.” “So now you’re asking me? Such a polite killer.” “Think of it more as a command that can’t be refused.” “And if I do refuse?” The figure paused. He smiled to himself. “Would you like to find out?” * * *

Kristen Myrene was on her phone, trying to call the Mitchels. Only answering machines. Why were their phones off? Had something happened to them?

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Kristen punched in Sophie Richards’s mobile number. * * *

The cell phone rang in the figures pocket. “Ah, it’s for you.” The figure pulled the Sophie’s phone from his pocket and held it next to her ear. “Just like we rehearsed.” The figure commanded. Sophie, with a fresh cut on her arm, nodded and the figure flipped open the phone and placed it on Sophie’s right ear.

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6:31 am, September 10th Chief Kristen Myrene ended a very unusual conversation with her new detective, Sophie Richards. Sophie sounded worried. Not much, but enough to be noticeable. Kristen couldn’t concentrate on that now. She had too much work to do. She passed the worry off as nervousness from Sophie’s first high profile case. * * *

The figure patted Sophie on the shoulder. “Good job detective, you’ve done a good job so far. I’m fairly certain that your Chief bought your little show, at least for the moment. I’ll leave you alone now.” Sophie started to say something, but the figure was already walking away. He walked into the bathroom and closed the door, locking it. The figure splashed water on his face and then slowly dried the water with a nearby towel. As he finished, his eyes settled on a photo next to his toothbrush and toothpaste, the only items on the sink. This picture was the only one the figure had ever kept. The figure picked it up and cradled it in his hand. It was a picture of his daughter. And he saw her today for the first time since she was born. Her name was Juliet Madyson. The figure trailed Chase while he was in the town alone. The figure saw Chase befriend his daughter, and watched them closely until Chase and Juliet had walked to the 7-11, where they were picked up by Hunter. The figure name Juliet, and when she had introduced herself, the figure knew who it was.
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How the figure missed his daughter. Maybe when he escaped from prison, he would find his daughter again and together they would run away and live happily ever after. But that was for later. The figure couldn’t lose focus. The figure unlocked the door and walked out. * * *

The movie ended and now I was halfway through an episode of “House”. I didn’t understand half the doctor lingo, but the show was amazing anyway. Dad was reading a book and paying no attention to the TV. I munched on the chips and enjoyed the humor of Hugh Laurie. * * *

The figure prepared to call his mother. If everything was still on schedule, then in an hour, maybe two, Terri would be in the Mitchel’s house, earning the trust of the family. It would just take a little helpful nudge. The figure was getting excited. He had to be patient. The plan couldn’t be rushed. It was planned perfectly, and starting a section early would not help, in fact, it would hinder the wonderful process the figure carefully mapped out. Terri’s number was on speed dial, and within a few moments, the figure was talking to his mother. “How is it?” the figure asked. “It’s going fine,” Terri replied. “Are you sure?” “…don’t you trust me?”
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“Of course I do.” “Then stop worrying. I know you’re excited, but keep calm my dear. Just let the plan take its course.” “I know.” “Rest a bit. You’re going to need it.” The figure hung up. The figure was looking forward to the next few hours.

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7:14 am, September 10th The sun was just beginning to wash its light over the sky. The birds began to chirp and the darkness was replaced with an orange tinted sunlight. The “House” episode ended, and I was getting sick of TV. Dad was still reading pleasantly, so I left him sitting there and walked into the kitchen for food. I scrounged through the fridge and cabinets searching for what my eyes, and stomach, desired. Ah, Pop Tarts. As I toasted my breakfast, I started to feel uneasy. What if Myrene wanted to contact us? Wait, that didn’t make sense. Why would she tell us to turn off our phones, and then want to call us? I guess Myrene would call Sophie, and then Sophie would tell us. That made sense. It still felt weird though, not being able to receive information, or call for help. “Dad, do you think we should turn on the phone, just for a minute, to call the Chief? Just to make sure there isn’t anything we should know?” “That’s why Sophie is here. She’ll tell us anything we need to know.” “Are you sure? I mean, not being able to call anybody, or anything?” Dad looked at me, “It does seem strange yes, but they’re professionals. I’m sure they have their reasons.” A dinging sound emitted by the microwave told me my Pop Tarts were done. * * *

Terri heard the conversation between Chase and his
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father. The bug she had planted was working beautifully. She heard everything. Father and son were starting to become uneasy, and nervous. That was normal under the circumstances, but as long as they didn’t act on it yet, the plan would be fine. It was amazing the amount of trust that civilians have in the authorities, people they’ve never met. If a cop tells you to do something, it’s done without a second thought. Incredible. Become a police officer, and you win the trust of everybody. However, Chase was getting suspicious. Would they have to push the plan ahead if Chase got to be too much of a bother? Terri dismissed the thought. It would all be fine. She was actually thinking about the moment when everything would be revealed, and the Mitchels would find out the truth. The truth about themselves. * * *

Officer Sophie Richards sat, unable to move.. She already tested the strength of the ropes despite what her kidnapper had said. Unfortunately, he was right. She wasn’t escaping. She tried to look around to see where they were, however, her captor was smart. He positioned her so she was facing a corner of the room. She could only see where two white walls met each other. There were no clues or indicators as to where she was. There wasn’t even wallpaper to identify this room later by. When she attempted to turn her head, she felt a jolt of energy pierce her neck. Until that moment, she was unaware of the loose collar on her neck. She could only guess it was
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movement sensitive, and therefore prevented her from looking around her. But that was before. She was desperate for a way of escape. She heard the man leave the room a few minutes ago. As far as she knew, she was alone. And now was her chance. If she could fight through the quick shot of pain when she tipped her backwards, then she could get the knife that she kept in her boot. The man took her gun and obvious weapons, but had forgotten to pat her down. That might save her life. She inhaled deeply once, twice, then with her feet pushed against the wall and her chair fell backwards. A short scream escaped her mouth, but after a few seconds, the pain mostly passed. She stuck her right leg in the air, and the knife tumbled out, landing next to her. Her hands were tied together behind her. She squirmed and wiggled until her hand had grasped the knife. Carefully, but quickly, she the blade out. She hurriedly started sawing at the ropes, and she could feel them start to give way and loosen. Just a little more. FREE! Untied! She pulled her arms from underneath and released the collar, letting it fall to the ground. Soon her feet were free and she stood up, looking around her. She was in a standard hotel room. Two double beds, a TV, a small table with two chairs and a bathroom. Her chair sat in the back right corner. Both beds looked like nobody slept in them, and there were no suitcases or clothing of any kind in sight. There was no evidence of anybody staying here. Sophie walked into the bathroom, and saw only tooth paste and a toothbrush. The brush was still wet from the last use, but why would he have his toothbrush here, and nothing else? Maybe he was a neat freak. She left the bathroom and went back to the beds. She
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ran her hands over them, feeling for anything the man may have left behind. Hopefully even a weapon. There was a noise at the door. A handle jiggled. She was struck with fear. The handle turned, and the hotel room door swung inward.

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7:56 am, September 10th I was bored. Now, it was totally light outside, and the paper had been dropped off. Dad went out and got it, and started brewing coffee while reading the news. What to do, what to do. * * *

Sophie Richards ducked behind one of the beds. She heard the door open and then heard something being wheeled in. She dared a look. It was a housemaid. Sophie stood up. “Excuse me, where is the nearest exit? I need to get out of here. Now.” The housemaid was short and on the plump side. Long straight black hair framed her Caucasian face. “Why? What’s the matter? You need to check out.” The maid seemed flustered. “I’m a police officer, and I was brought here against my will. I need to leave here immediately.” The maid whimpered. “You were kidnapped?” Hysteria was in her voice. Sophie slowed down. “Yes, I was. And I need to know how to get out of here.” The maid started to cry. Sophie placed a hand on her shoulder. “What’s your name?” “Mary.” “Mary, I need to know where the nearest exit is. If I can get out of here safely, I can arrest the person who did this. Can you help me?”

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Mary nodded. Sophie had to calm down the maid, so she used a calm and re-assuring voice. “That’s good, that’s very good. What the name that this room was registered under?” The sniffling stopped, at least for a moment. “Chase Mitchels.” Surprising choice. “Alright, now I need to know how to get out of here fast.” “Take a right outside this room, and there’s a door that opens to stairs. At the bottom of those stairs is an exit.” “Thank you, thank you. And if the man comes back here, don’t come in to do your cleaning. Tell everyone that this room is not to be disturbed, even if he calls for help. Stall. Understand? There’s no reason that he would hurt you. Remember, act natural as best as possible. I’ll be back soon with back up.” Mary pushed her cart out of the room and left. Sophie waited until Mary was gone, and then ran up to the back of the door. She grabbed the map that is mandatory for each room, and followed the directions of both Mary and her map. To the right, through the door, and down the stairs. Seemed simple. Sophie made it through the door, and started down the steps when she heard the door behind her open. She whirled around and saw her nightmare. It was her kidnapper, with a gun. * * *

The figure got into his room right as Sophie reached the door that led to the stairs. He saw right away that the room was deserted. He snatched his mask and ran towards the same
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door she just entered. He knew all the escape routes for this building; he knew where she would be going. He now was aiming his gun at Sophie, and pulled the trigger. He wasn’t fast enough. The bullet shattered concrete wall, and nothing more. She already started galloping down the steps. He raced after her, pistol in hand. He couldn’t let her get away. * * *

I was in the living room searching through our movies when I saw Riley. He rushed over to me and pulled out Toy Story 2. “I wanna see this one!” He held it up for me to see. “Good morning to you too kiddo. You want to watch this one? Alright, I can’t think of anything better. I’ll get it set up.” I powered up the DVD player. “And I’ll get breakfast!” He bounded into the kitchen, and I heard him say, “Hello Daddy! I’m going to watch Toy Story 2!” I smiled. Oh, Riley. I entered the DVD into the player, and skipped ahead to the menu. I sat down on the couch with the remote and waited for Riley to come back. * * *

The figure stood at the door and watched Sophie Richards run. It wasn’t worth it to chase her in the city. A masked man with a gun running after a woman would attract too much attention.
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However, now that Sophie had escaped, the plan might be forced up. It would still work. It would. It had to.

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8:39 am, September 10th Riley was entranced by Toy Story 2, and I was getting wrapped in it myself. I had forgotten how much I loved this movie. It was weird. I felt peaceful, yet nervous at the same time. I was peaceful because nothing happened for quite a while. But I was nervous because nothing happened for a long time. That couldn’t be good. * * *

The figure was back in the hotel room, contemplating his options. He decided to call Terri. “Hello?” “It’s me.” “What’s the matter?” “Events may force us to move up the plan.” “What events?” “The cop got away.” Silence. “How?” The figure recited what happened and Terri listened without saying a word. When he was done, Terri asked, “When did you want to start the plan?” The figure paused. “Now.” *
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*

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Another knock at the door. Dad answered, and it was Sophie, yet again. “Hello again. What’s the problem?” She got right to the point. “Chase, come here.” I left the couch and went towards her. “Give me your phone.” My phone? “It’s not on. Why do you need it?” “Give it to me!” She held out her palm and I obeyed, giving her my Blackberry. Without missing a beat, she disassembled the back and carefully inspected it. “What is it?” Dad tried to catch a glimpse of what she was looking for. She stopped abruptly, obviously finding something. “Get me a cooking pot and its lid, NOW!” I didn’t hesitate. I pulled open the cupboards and grabbed the first one I saw. I handed it to her and she dropped it in the pot, putting the lid on top of it. “Do you have a trash can? The bigger and stronger, the better.” She was very serious. “Follow me.” Dad started towards the front door. “Chase, open the garage door!” He and Sophie went out the door. I went over to a basket on the counter containing Dad’s keys, and I found the garage door opener. I pressed the button, and quickly darted outside. Sophie ducked under the garage door and quickly spotted the trash can. It was our largest one, and constructed of tough plastic. “Perfect,” she said. She dragged it out of the garage
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and away from the car, and ran with it into the middle of the driveway. She opened the lid and placed the pot inside. “Do you have any bricks? If so, get me some!” Dad rushed into the garage and grabbed a few bricks, with me following. We both brought them back to Sophie, and she set them inside, surrounding and on top of the pot. All three of us dashed back and picked up more bricks. This time, Sophie closed the lid, and the remaining bricks went on top of the can, on the lid. “Close the garage door and get back inside, NOW!” As Dad sprinted to close the garage door, Sophie and I retreaded into the house. Dad soon joined us. Riley tapped my back. I whirled around. “What’s going on?” “Nothing, go back and finish your movie.” “Who’s she?” He pointed at Sophie. “She’s a policewoman. Your movie is playing.” He shrugged and went back to the living room. We all crowded around the window of the front door, waiting for something to happen. “I’m guessing there’s a bomb in my phone.” I commented. “Yes. You had received that threat earlier today, but for some reason he decided not to blow it until now.” “How did you know he would set it off now?” Dad never took his eyes off the trash can. “In the cells where he broke in, we found a scrap of paper with a note scribbled on it. It said, ‘A literal Blackberry Torch’. We could only assume one thing.” A minute passed and nothing happened. Two more. Three.

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Nearing the fourth minute, I loosened up. Maybe he meant something else. Or maybe it was something totally unrelated. Maybe… A muffled explosion sounded outside.

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9:10 am, September 10th Dad, Sophie, Riley, Mom, now awake by the blast, and I all stood outside, circled around the trash can. Dad was holding Mom, who was a wreck. Riley wrapped his arm around my waist while Sophie was addressing the neighbors who came to see about the noise. I looked at the trash can. The explosion was surprisingly small. Instead of tearing the entire container to shreds as I expected, the can looked fine. Inside, the bomb had not disrupted the bricks either. We removed the pot and looked inside. The phone was shattered, and scratched the interior of the metal pot pretty badly. The lid was the only damaged part. Wherever there hadn’t been pressure applied by a brick, the bomb had shoved the lid upwards. It was now totally warped. I looked up and saw the neighbors leaving our driveway. Apparently Sophie convinced them to depart with some police jargon. She came towards us, and addressed us. “I talked to Chief Myrene, and she told me that until we’re assured of your safety, I will be staying with you inside your house, as long as you comply. I promise it will be for your best interests and protection.” Mom and Dad looked at each other, and they both nodded. “Please do. It would make us feel better in fact.” “Good.” Sophie changed subjects. “Your neighbors obviously heard what happened here, and while they had some questions, I told them only what was necessary to know.” We all went back inside. However, the mood was drastically different. We all sat at the kitchen table, except for Riley, who was asked to leave for the time being. Sophie made eye contact with each of us. “The explosion, although mostly harmless when contained, could’ve killed Chase if it was detonated while he was talking on the
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phone. That was its purpose, to be remotely set off while Chase had the phone on his ear, next to his head. The consequence would’ve been death.” The silence from my parents and me was almost as deadly. She continued. “It seemed that ‘Unknown’ was pretty low key for a while there, but now that the deadline is nearing, he may be revving for the final stage of his plan. While we are all clueless to what this is, we can be certain that these next six hours before his deadline will be the most dangerous…by far.” “So what do we do?” Dad held Mom, who was starting to sniffle. Sophie replied with a distraught look on her face. “The obvious is not to go anywhere. Stay at home and stay together. Now, there is a chance that the deadline will pass and there will be no action on Chase’s life, but that doesn’t mean the threat has passed. Until the culprit is behind bars, this situation will not be over.” No one said anything. I was surprisingly calm. This whole thing was about me. It was my life at risk, my family that would be hurt. This whole thing revolved around me. But why me? Not to say that I would rather have Riley or Mom or Dad targeted, but why even this family? Why this town, this state? What did Unknown have against me personally? What if it wasn’t just against me? What if he had some grudge against my whole family, for something that happened in the past? But if that was true, then what could it be? What could be that bad? * * *

The figure was waiting for the signal from Sophie. Then he would face the Mitchels, the scum that deserved the
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consequences. The figure’s body was buzzing with energy and anticipation. He was pacing in his apartment, his hands interlocked behind his head. Spread out on the floor was the equipment he would need. And on the bed was the most important component. His Glock 17 9mm pistol. It was freshly clean, ready for use, and what this whole plan came down to. The figure’s whole plan may come crashing down, but as long as his weapon was with him. He wouldn’t fail. He would. Not. Fail. * * *

The real Sophie Richards was in a taxi, being escorted back to the Prackersburg station. Even though she had no money, her officer badge was enough to convince the driver to take her there. Luckily, her kidnapper hadn’t taken it from her. She ripped off a section of her shirt and tied it around her arm, covering the cut. * * *

At the Prackersburg Police station, an officer was helping a girl through processing. She was originally caught in a town called Fahlstown, but her file said that she had family in Prackersburg, so she was brought back here. An officer from the Prackersburg police met them and said, “I’ll take it from here, thanks.” The other cop nodded and left. “Hi, I’m Tori. What’s your name?” The officer squatted to be eye level with the girl. The girl replied, “Juliet Madyson!” with a smile on
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her face.

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9:37 am, September 10th Sophie was still in the kitchen talking on her phone, receiving instructions for the next hours. Our family moved into the living room and was currently all seated on the couch, not doing anything. Riley was playing in his room, but the rest of us sat like statues on the sofa. After a few moments of silence, Dad turned to me. "I know you haven't said a lot about what has occurred so far today, but if you want to say something, now's a good time." I shrugged. "There’s nothing really to say. I mean, this whole day has been a nightmare, and it's not gonna get much better, but it's not like I'm going to feel sorry about myself. I'm not scared." Mom leaned over and hugged me, with tears in her eyes. "I don't want anything to happen to you." "Nothing will." I said, but only to comfort her. I couldn't promise anything. * * *

Terri was in the kitchen, supposedly talking to the chief. At least that's what she told the Mitchels. She was actually talking to her son. She called his phone, let it ring three times, and then hung up. Before she went in to address the family, she heard Chase say, "I'm not scared." It surprised her. She stopped. He wasn't scared? Even after all that her son had done to him? And he still had this attitude? This boy would be harder to break then they first
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anticipated. * * *

The figure halted his progress when he heard his cell phone ring. He didn't move. It rang once. Twice. Finally, a third time. It didn't ring again. It was time. Time for redemption, revenge, exposing the secrets and revealing his purpose. It was time to shatter the lives and of the Mitchels and end the life of Chase Mitchels. The figure left the apartment and walked the block to the Mitchels house. When he saw it ahead of him, his nerves tingled and his hand started to quiver. He let it. He didn't have to hold back anymore. It was time. * * *

The real Sophie Richards arrived at the police station. She jumped out of the car and she ran inside. She ordered the first officer she saw to pay the cab driver. Her frantic state persuaded him to obey. Sophie ran down the hall, not bothering to answer the shocked looks on her colleagues faces. She burst though the doors of Chief Myrene's office
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and before her anger could manifest itself, surprise and confusion replaced it. "Detective Richards, what happened?" "It doesn't matter. Chase's family is in danger!" * * *

Sophie told us what the Chief said. A break in the case led Detective Hunter to a location where a suspect lived. They would question them and get back to Sophie as soon as possible with the results. Well at least they had a suspect. That was good. Suddenly there was a noise from outside. The back door. Sophie's face contorted into concentration. She placed her pointer finger on her lips, motioning silence. She removed her gun from its holster and cautiously crept towards the back of our house, towards the back door. She motioned for us to stay seated, as she disappeared from our view. There was a minute of silence, then the clatter of the door being thrown open. Then Sophie’s voice was heard. "Hands in the air, NOW!" A few unidentifiable sounds. A figure came into our view, with its hands in the air, and face covered by a mask. Sophie was behind him, both arms extended and holding the gun to his back. They stopped a few yards away from us, and Sophie ordered, "Get down on your knees, scum." The person obeyed, and their head sagged against their chest.

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"Why did you bring him in our house? That's Unknown, isn't it." mom yelled. "Yes it is." "Well take him out of here!" Sophie looked at us, and her face changed. Gone was the police officer, and in it's place was a murderer. She holstered her weapon and stepped back. "No." Sophie said. The figure stood up, and stood next to Sophie. Uh oh.

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10:10 am, September 10th Chief Myrene and Sophie Richards were in a squad car, speeding toward the Mitchels house, with the lights and sirens carving a path for them on the road. Behind them, three other squad cars followed. As Myrene drove, Sophie prepared her weapon and gave more detailed instructions to other cars through the radio. “As far as we’re concerned, he’s armed. He has a partner, who at this time is unknown. Both are considered extremely dangerous. Lethal force is permitted. If possible, we would rather capture this piece of filth, but kill shots are allowed. Proceed with caution. Don’t underestimate this guy or do anything to set him off.” The car sped up, and nerves were tense. * * *

“What are you doing?” Mom was yelling now, obviously scared. Sophie didn’t reply. Dad calmly and steadily stated, “You’re not Sophie Richards.” She smiled. “No, I’m not.” “Who are you then?” I could tell Dad was trying not to let fear into his voice. “My name is Terri Johnson. I’m the woman who was one of the escapees from earlier this morning.” “Yes, I remember the name. So where’s the real Sophie Richards?” “She’s fine.” Before Dad could say anything more, the masked
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figure held up his hand, and nobody said a word. Then he softly said, “Time to get started.” He slowly reached back with his hand and pulled on his mask, inching it down, until it was fully off his face. Then he dropped it on the floor. It was him. * * *

The four cars screeched to a halt in front of the Mitchels house. Myrene jumped out and started shouting orders. “Parker, you and Howard set up a perimeter. Jackson, Smith, and Ranson, lock your weapons on the front door. Lewis, get on the radio and be prepared to call in the S.W.A.T. team. Evans, hand me that megaphone. Richards, call Detective Hunter and tell him to get here ASAP!” People flurried around and got in position. Evans retrieved the megaphone and gave it to Myrene. She turned it on. “This is Chief Kristen Myrene from the Prackersburg Police Department. You are surrounded. Come out of the house with your hands up and this will be much easier.” No answer. As expected. “I’m not going to take a risk. Lewis, order the S.W.A.T. team now. Richards! Did you talk to him?” “No ma’am, there was no answer!” * * *

It was him. The man who I wouldn’t have guessed, but
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now made perfect sense. Everything clicked in my head, and my emotions morphed from initial shock, to understanding, to fear. This man had stalked me, turned a normal Friday afternoon into a whirlwind of terror, pain, and fear, and now was standing in front of me and my family, admitting panic to everyone in the room except for Terri. * * *

Back at the Prackersburg Police Station, Juliet Madyson was being processed smoothly until she heard an officer say to the person next to them, “Sophie found the culprit in the Chase Mitchels case.” Juliet stopped. She had met a Chase Mitchels last night! “Excuse me sir, did you say Chase Mitchels?” The officer looked at her. “Uh, yes.” “I know a Chase Mitchels! I met him last night!” The officer and his friend glanced at each other. “Chase WAS in Fahlstown last night.” The second cop pulled out a picture of Chase and showed it to Juliet. “Is this who you met last night?” She giggled. “Yes it is!” Tori, who was processing Juliet, asked, “What did you and Chase do last night?” “He gave me some money, and then we walked to a store where I got food, and then a nice police man drove me back to where I sleep, and Chase went with the nice police man.” “So what? She met Chase, that doesn’t mean anything, does it?” “I’m not sure yet.”
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*

*

*

The killer looked at me with and evil happiness. An emotion that is usually associated with crazy murders. It fit this guy’s profile now, but before I never would have thought of him this way. My stalker, the villain, the figure, was Detective Damian Hunter.

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10:46 am, September 10th Hunter seemed to tower over us. Nobody moved. The moment he removed his mask, Mom yelped, Dad inhaled sharply and I didn’t make a sound. “Detective Hunter!” Dad exclaimed. Hunter grinned sinisterly. “How observant! Now we can skip over the dreadful introductions.” “I thought…” Before I could finish, he shushed me. “Where is the littlest child? Riley? I don’t see him.” None of us replied. “Riley, come on down! Mommy and Daddy want you!” Hunter’s voice echoed through the house. I heard movement upstairs, and then the steps announced the arrival of my little brother, Riley. Riley came up to Mom and Dad and said, “What do you want?” Hunter answered instead. “Riley, sit down next to your parents please.” Riley looked back at Hunter, and smiled. “Hey, you’re the policeman that helped Chase! But why aren’t you wearing your uniform?” “Well Riley, I’m not wearing it because I’m not a policeman, and I’m not here to help Chase.” Riley looked confused. “Then why are you here?” Hunter stared at me, his eyes digging into my heart. “I’m here to kill Chase.” * * *

Chief Myrene’s phone jingled.

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“Kristen Myrene,” she quickly answered. “Chief, we have a girl who was just admitted who apparently met Chase while he was in Fahlstown. Her report states that she has family in Prackersburg, but doesn’t say who.” “And…?” “She might have seen the person who dropped Chase off last night.” Myrene contemplated it. “Keep her available. I’m not sure if she’s useful now.” “Will do.” Myrene hung up, and snatched the megaphone again. * * *

“What do you mean? Kill Chase!” Riley started to cry. “Oh hush, hush. You won’t have to watch.” Before anything else could be said, a female voice filled our ears. “This is Chief Kristen Myrene of the Prackersburg Police Department. Come out with your hands in the air. The longer you stay in there, the worse this will get.” Hunter turned to Terri and flatly said, “Get them off my back.” She nodded, and then grabbed Riley by the back of the collar. She dragged him toward the front door, with his eyes overflowing with tears and wails escaping his mouth. Mom stretched to hold him, but Hunter kicked her arms back. Dad stood and faced Hunter with a determined look in his eyes. Hunter gazed right back at Dad with the same ferocity,
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and calmly ordered, “Sit down.” “Don’t hurt my boys.” He stayed standing. “And I won’t hurt Riley, if you sit down. If you continue to stay standing…” Dad resumed his seat on the couch, but kept the stare on Hunter. Mom and I watched Terri pull Riley out the front door. * * *

Not thirty seconds after Myrene used the megaphone, the front door began to rattle. “Don’t fire unless I tell you too!” The door opened, and Myrene immediately recognized Terri Johnson, the convict they were looking for, and Chase’s little brother, Riley. “Put Riley down, Terri!” Myrene yelled, with the help of the megaphone. “Don’t try and come inside, unless you want four dead bodies, Riley here being the first. All of their blood will be on your conscious. Back…off.” Then the two of them disappeared back inside. Sophie came up next to Myrene. “We could approach from the back, and they wouldn’t know it.” “Maybe. We have no idea what’s going on inside.” * * *

Terri came back in with Riley unhurt, aside from the crying.
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“Pull back those shades,” Hunter said, pointing to the shades covering the kitchen windows facing the street out front. Terri sat Riley down directly in front of the window, in plain view of the cops outside. She then pulled her gun and set it on the table beside Riley. I got her point. I just hoped the police would.

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11:30 am, September 10th Hunter started the talking again. “Now, I’m sure you are all curious to why this is happening to you. Why would I, a former police detective, want to stalk your son and kill him? The answer is simple…revenge.” “What did we ever do to you?” Dad insisted. “What did you do to me? I will tell you.” He got in Dad’s face. “You, Mr. Mitchels, were at one time my father. You beat your wife, my mother, and nearly killed her. She lived, however, and that is her right over there!” He thrust his pointer finger at Terri. My dad was also Hunter’s dad? And was once married to Terri? And had almost killed her? No way. That’s not possible. Dad would’ve recognized Terri and Hunter once he saw them. I voiced my reason. “Hunter, if my dad is your dad, why didn’t he recognize you and Terri when he first saw them?” “I would let your father answer, but he doesn’t remember. You father suffers from DID, Dissociative Identity Disorder. He has two personalities. You’ve only experienced one, because he takes his pills to keep him from switching over to his ‘other’ self.” I swiveled my head to Mom and Dad. “Mom, did you know?” She solemnly nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me? Dad, do you remember being in your ‘other’ self?” Dad replied, “It wasn’t necessary for you to know. Fortunately, I haven’t been in my alter personality for many years, since you were born. But now that he says it, I realize that…he’s right.”
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“Actually, Dad,” Hunter spat this word out with disgust, “you have been in your alter ego a few times.” “No I haven’t!” Dad insisted. “You are wrong. How else would I get into Chase’s Facebook, or have the snack with the knockout chemical in it, or the readers digest with the creepy word search? That wasn’t me! That was you! In your altered state of mind, I convinced you to do all these things. And you, being evil, agreed to.” “No I didn’t! I didn’t do any of that!” Dad’s voice rose. “So you say, but you never remember anything you do in your other self! So how would you know? You are the main reason of your son’s death, accept that fact,” countered Hunter. “I won’t let you kill him.” “Then I’ll kill you too.” A dead silence filled the air. “Oh come on! Be happy! We’re all family here!” Hunter threw his hands in the air. “You’re sick, you know that?” I snarled at him. “Chase! You said that already! I’m not sick, I’m perfectly healthy! Can’t you see that?” “I see a man, no, a creature who has no value for human life. I’m not related to you at all.” “But you are! You’re my brother! Well, half-brother, but that’s a minor detail. Both you and Riley are my brother! And Terri here is your step-mom! Isn’t that exciting?’ “She’s not my mom. Never will be. And you will never be my brother, or Riley’s. You’re just a twisted person, nothing more.” Hunter sighed. “I guess I can’t force you to say it.” Then he suddenly pulled out a gun and put it to my head. “On second thought, yes I can.”

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*

*

*

“No, we can’t make a move! They’ve got eyes on us. They can see what we’re doing right now!” Myrene was on the phone talking to the head of the S.W.A.T. team. “What do you mean, watching you?” The male voice questioned. “Terri Johnson, who escaped earlier today, has a gun to the head of Riley Mitchels, the younger brother. They’re both staring out the window right at us. If I so much as wave, we could have a young child’s blood on our hands! I’m not willing to risk that.” “What do you suggest then?” “…I don’t know.” “You said that there was a girl who met Chase last night, correct? And has family here in Prackersburg?” “Correct.” “Get her over to you. This is a long shot, but maybe she knows something about your criminal.” “Will do.” Then she hung up. * * *

The gun felt stiff against my head. I’d never experienced anything like this before. I was scared, yet calm at the same time. If I’d learned anything about Hunter today, it was that he always kept to his plan. “You’re not going to kill me. It’s not time yet. Not even close. And you would dare kill me before its 3:15. That’s not who you are.” We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, until he finally pulled the gun back and stuck it in his waistband.
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“It’s not worth killing you over. But don’t worry, your time will come.” * * *

Myrene made a quick decision. She called the station and ordered, “Get her here now. We’ll see if this helps any. I’m not optimistic, but I’m willing to try anything now.” The reply was yes, and Myrene ended the call. Her full attention turned back to the house. She was on edge. She had no idea what the suspect was doing inside there.

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12:22 pm, September 10th “Wait, I’m confused. I know how you were able to do everything in my house now, but when we were driving back, somebody was shooting at us, and then you talked on the phone to who I thought was Unknown. How did you do that? You were clearly with me then!” I wasn’t sure how that worked. “Ah, Chase, how right you are! How did I do that? Well, the shooting was pretty simple. I set up the sniper rifle after I kidnapped you, and set up a marker on the side of the road for me to know when to remotely fire the rifle. And to eliminate the risk of serious injury, or death, I used rubber bullets pellets. Somewhat amateur, but it got the job done. “But the window shattered! Rubber bullets don’t break glass!” “They do when they’re shot from the type of rifle I used.” He grinned. “You’re insane. But I still don’t know how you talked to…yourself!” “That was trickier.” He paused for effect. “You know how you were upset that Unknown didn’t answer your questions? It’s because it was a recording. I pre-recorded Unknowns voice, with pauses for responses, and timed it out perfectly. That I also set off remotely, from my phone. I knew exactly what I had recorded, so I knew how to answer, how long to make my answer, and when the conversation was going to end. So when you asked your questions, he didn’t reply because I didn’t record answers for them.” “So you planned out and timed an entire conversation with yourself? Why go to all that trouble?” “Because logically, how could I, Detective Damian Hunter, be Unknown if I was talking to him on the phone? It’s call a diversion, a false scent, a lie!” “So let me see if I got this right.” I took a breath before continuing.
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“You were my dad’s son, and Terri was your mother. So my dad and Terri were once married. You saw my dad, in his alter personality, abuse and almost kill his wife, Terri. You were obviously separated from my dad, and Terri disappeared. You became a detective, and you told me that you solved a big crime that got you promoted quickly. This whole time you were either following my dad’s life, or you randomly came across him.” Hunter cut in. “I was following him.” “Alright. So you followed my dad’s life, and you trailed him through his second marriage, my birth and Riley’s. For some reason, you waited until now to start ruining his life. You could’ve stalked my dad when he was first married, or when he was a bachelor even. You waited until I was 17, and decided to pursue me, not my dad?” Again he interrupted. “Because a father, and mother, would rather die then see his loved ones die in front of his eyes. Why kill the heart, when you can kill the soul?” I continued. “So you convinced my dad while he was in his other state to aid you in your plan. He got into my Facebook account, planted the food, the puzzle and all that. You kidnapped me, I wandered in Fahlstown, and then you drove me back. The car exploded, you talked to yourself, and then I’m guessing you also released all the prisoners? How am I doing so far?” Hunter nodded. “Keep going.” “One of those criminals was Terri Johnson, your living mother. You implanted her into your plan, or she was part of your plan the whole time. Anyway, your mom posed as Sophie Richards, and she spent the morning with us. You detonated my phone, without harming me oddly enough, and then you came here, and now you’re going to gloat and kill me.” He mockingly applauded me. “Very good, Detective Chase Mitchels. You forgot one thing though. I also killed Daniels. Good partner, but unfortunately, he had to go. Tragic, but necessary.”
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This guy was a nut case. “Tragic, how is that tragic, but killing me not!” “Daniel’s sins didn’t affect me.” “But mine did?” “You were born to this,” he glanced at Dad, “monster.” “I’m the monster? Look at yourself. Holding us captive and murdering without a second thought. You’re the monster.” Dad spoke incredulously. “You may be right, but remember, you created me. And then you decided to beat the woman who was my mother!” Hunter yelled. His suddenly loud voiced silenced all of us. Hunter’s breaths were starting to come in short bursts. He turned his back on us, and calmed himself down. * * *

Hunter’s heart was beating, pounding. His adrenaline started to funnel through him while Chase was re-telling his plan. Was he a monster? Most people who saw him now would agree with that. Only a monster would kill, kidnap, murder and destroy like Hunter was doing now. But he wasn’t a monster. No, he was just a product of unfortunate situations in his house. Not a monster. * * *

Terri Johnson hadn’t been watching the events taking place behind her, but something was happening in her. The plan, when first brought to her, was brilliant, magnificent, lovely.
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Now though, when she heard the conversations and identifying the emotions behind each word, she felt different. Sure, revenge was sweet, and the Mitchels definitely deserved this, but now it seemed a little…extreme. No, she was wrong. She thought back to the day when she was abused. Anger fueled her body again. She hated the Mitchels.

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12:59 pm, September 10th Kristen Myrene saw the car approaching them. It was a squad car, containing Juliet Madyson. The car parked, and out of the driver’s and passenger’s side came two officers. One of them opened the back seat door and a little girl came into view. She looked around seven years old, with curly, bouncy red hair. Her face was beautiful, but her clothes were completely opposite. Jeans that were spotted with holes and were inches short. A ratty sweater that looked two sizes too big. But beyond the appearance, Myrene could see that this girl was something special. It made her wonder how she got dragged into all of this. What did a child have to do with this? She approached the vehicle, and shook hands with the two officers, Shawn Rodgers and Erik Ludwick, respectively. Then she knelt down to eye level with Juliet and shook her hand. “Hello Juliet. My name is Kristen Myrene, but you can call me Kristen. How are you?” She shrugged. “I’m okay. What’s going on?” Juliet’s gaze wondered away from Myrene and towards the scene behind her. “Well, that’s kind of why you’re here. You met Chase in Fahlstown, didn’t you?” A smile came over her face, and she nodded, red hair flying. “Yes I did! I like Chase. Where is he?” “He’s in his house. But I need to ask you some questions about when you met him. Think you can answer some simple questions for me?” She agreed without a second thought. “All right, just follow me back here.” Myrene stood up and led the two officers and Juliet towards her squad car. She had compiled a list of questions while waiting, and
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they were still sitting on the hood of the car. * * *

What was Hunter doing? He hadn’t turned around yet; he was still standing with his back to us. I saw Terri tense up. “Damian, another car showed up.” He still didn’t move. “What is it doing there?” She walked over the window for a better view. “I can’t tell. Seems like just more cops.” “Keep an eye on it.” He finally faced us again. “What are you going to do with us?” Mom whimpered. “You haven’t done anything wrong. Only he has.” He fixed his attention on Dad. “Then leave the rest of my family alone. Kill me, and get your pitiful revenge,” said Dad. “That does seem like the simple answer does it. Only kill who’s responsible. But that’s not good enough. I need more. You, and then a little something more just to get my point across.” “Oh your point will get across. In fact, I think we all get it without you killing anybody.” He didn’t reply to that, instead, he started a new subject. “You know what the percentage is for the son of an abusive father to abuse their own family? High. Very high in fact. The way I see it, I’m not only ridding the world of the cause of this cancer, but also the offspring that could carry it on.” Mom was appalled. “If you think that just because my husband did some dark things in his alter personalities past, that means that Chase will do those same things, you’re
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incredibly mistaken! You’re insane!” “I think we’ve already established that, Mom,” I commented. “Smart mouth. Well, won’t do you much good in a few hours anyway,” Hunter shot back at me. “So tell me, how long did this ‘devious’ plan of yours take to plan?” I asked Hunter, desperately trying to stall. “Why do you want to know?’ “I just want to know how much time you wasted on me, when I’m not even your true victim. I mean, this whole thing sort of revolves around you and Dad, so…” “You were easier to keep tabs on. I mean, you kids do nothing but text, spend time on your computers and game consoles. If I get access to a child, I get access to the whole family. It forces your parents to do something about it.” Terri cut in. “They have her, Damian, they have her.” “They have who?” Hunter walked over to the window, standing beside Terri. Mom, Dad, and I all looked at each other. Who? * * *

Hunter’s emotions flipped. Hatred and intense focus on a single goal melted away, and a lucid, intimidated, scared feeling swept over him. They had Juliet! Why was she here? What had happened? What did the police want with her? She didn’t do anything! “I have to know why she’s there” he whispered to Terri. He didn’t want the Mitchels to see him vulnerable, like he was now. His weakness, his kryptonite in a sense, was his daughter, the girl whom he loved with his whole heart. He
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couldn’t be a monster if he had these emotions for his daughter. “Find out why she’s there.” Hunter wiped a single tear from his eye and willed the feelings away. He took a moment to compose himself, and then walked back over to the Mitchels. “Who is it?” Chase spoke. “Somebody important,” was the stiff reply from Hunter. * * *

I could tell that whoever it was impacted Hunter in a critical way. And that she just might be the person to save us.

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1:42 pm, September 10th "Did you see anybody or anything when Chase was put on your bench?" Myrene asked Juliet. "Nope. I was somewhere else." Sophie jotted it down on a notepad. "What did you-" the next question was interrupted by the sound of a door opening. Each cop was suddenly on high alert, eyes and attention unwaveringly fixed on the movement. It was Terri with Riley again. Terri spoke, "What's going on out there? I see new faces and now a little girl? What's the meaning?" Myrene didn't bother with the megaphone for her reply. "Just questioning a witness, nothing more. Why? You know her?" "No, I’m just curious to your sudden interest in children." "I think you do know who she is. Why don't you tell us?" "I’m telling you, I don't know her. Just make sure you don't try and come in here." Terri yanked Riley back inside and the door was closed. But Myrene knew better. If neither Terri nor her accomplice had known who Juliet was, they wouldn't have bothered to ask about her. * * *

“You’ve still got an hour and a half. What are you going to do in the mean time? You’ve spilled your awful and glorious plan, and to be honest, I think you didn’t plan something right. I mean, if you could’ve timed it so that right
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now was 3:15, then that would’ve been perfect. But seems like you messed up.” I gave up on being scared. I accepted the fact that I might be dying today, but at least I wouldn’t be fearful anymore. “It seems like you want to be killed early.” Hunter glared at me with steady eyes. “Just thinking out loud,” was my reply. “Well, lets just say that some events were suddenly…out of our control.” “Like Sophie Richards escaping?” Shock caressed over his face. “How did you know about that?” “I figured it out. I mean, Terri here obviously switched places with Sophie, and I don’t think you would’ve killed her. You had to keep her alive so when the Chief called to check up, you could just force her to answer. Pretty simple. The only thing that could’ve pushed your time table forward would be police getting a hint on what you were doing. And since Sophie’s the only cop that knew, she obviously told them. And the only way that could happen is if she was no longer in your control, thus she escaped. Too bad you couldn’t catch her. Would’ve kept your timing right. “Oh, and I see her standing right there.” I pointed out the kitchen window, where I could see the squad cars and officers, one of them being Sophie Richards. “You know, you have a quick mind. If I wasn’t going to kill you, you would’ve been just like me, a great intellect with a mind for solving problems. You could be a great criminal.” A glimmer entered Hunter’s eyes. * * *

Myrene’s phone buzzed in her pocket. “Hello?”
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A familiar male voice responded, “This is Wayne Matthews, head of the S.W.A.T. team that was deployed. I assume you have the situation under control?” “Yes sir.” “Good. Here’s the game plan. I’m gonna park a block away and come alone. A few minutes later, I’ll send someone else with a smoke grenade. That might be our only option now.” “Affirmative sir.” “I’m assuming you’ve scoped out the area for snipers?” “Yes, and unless you get permission to use someone’s house, there isn’t anywhere.” “Affirmative. We’ll arrive in a few minutes.” “See you then.” She hung up. Myrene was skeptic that anything other than a miracle could save the Mitchels right now. * * *

Terri stood up at looked out the window intensely. “Damian, someone else just arrived. I can’t tell who they are, but it’s a man, and he’s talking to the Chief.” Hunter once again approached the window, and immediately recognized the man. “That’s Wayne Matthews! He’s one of the commanders for the S.W.A.T. team. Kristen must’ve called them. Can’t they take a hint?” He was getting annoyed. “What should we do? They obviously aren’t taking our threats too well.” Hunter pondered for a moment, and then said, “They don’t know who I am yet. Maybe that’ll scare ‘em more.”

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He went for Riley, but then stopped. He paused, then turned and pointed his gun at me, commanding “Get up. I’m taking you. You’re a bigger target, less chance of them taking a shot at me.” “No.” “What?” He was furious. “I’m not going. I’m staying right here.” “I will kill you now if I have too. I’m totally fine with ending this early.” “I don’t believe you.” He walked towards me until he was directly in front of me. He held the gun down at this side, next to this leg, with the muzzle facing the floor. “You don’t?” Then he suddenly yanked his arm up and fired.

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2:13 pm, September 10th Myrene and Matthews were talking, when suddenly a gunshot ripped their conversation apart. Every officer started scrambling and Myrene and Matthews drew their weapons and aimed at the door. Myrene took the megaphone, and yelled, “Terri! What happened in there? Is anyone hurt?” A minute passed by and no response. * * *

I was shaking. He hadn’t shot me, but had carefully aimed directly outside my right ear. I wasn’t harmed physically, but all my determination and courage had been shattered. “Believe me now?” Hunter growled. I stood up without answering and walked towards the front door, with Hunter behind me. He had the gun against my head and was prodding me forwards. I opened the door, and saw all the police with their guns and rifles aimed at us. Hunter shouted from behind me. “Hello all!” * * *

Everybody was in shock. It was Detective Damian Hunter! He was their criminal, the man who killed his own partner! “Detective…I mean, Damian, put the gun down!” Myrene tensed up considerably.

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“Course I will! Here, let me just obey your every wish.” He didn’t move an inch. “You really think I was going to? Don’t be naïve and stupid. Now, I know this may come as a shock to you all, but right now, I need you to listen. Can you do that for me?” Matthews replied this time. “What do you want, Hunter?” “Oh hello Wayne. I need you to take your S.W.A.T. team somewhere else. I bet there is some other crime that is more important than this. I’m fine with Myrene’s group of monkeys here, but S.W.A.T. never was my favorite branch. So leave.” “What was the gunshot we heard? Is anybody hurt?” Myrene asked. “It was a warning. Nobody is injured…yet. But I’m not afraid to take action if the situation calls for it.” “No one needs to get hurt Hunter!” Matthews again. “Well, somebody does. But unless you’re gone in 5 minutes, you’d better call an ambulance.” “No need to do that Hunter!” “Well, there might be a need to if you’re still here! Now leave.” Hunter drew back inside. * * *

“Sophie, radio in to the station that Detective Hunter is our suspect. I don’t want anybody trying to contact him with information about this case!” Myrene then turned her attention to Matthews. “Well?”

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“I’m going to leave, but stay in contact with me. I’ll come as close as I can, but we don’t know if he has eyes on the outside yet. If he does, then we’ll know soon enough.” “Are you willing to take the risk that he does have somebody watching? Then somebody could be killed!” “Well there isn’t any evidence suggesting another partner. Until recently, we thought he was acting alone. So why add another partner?” Myrene didn’t reply. “Okay. I’ll keep you updated,” she finally said. As Matthews left, Juliet came up beside Myrene. Myrene started thinking. What was so important about this girl? Obviously there was something, but she didn’t know what it was. An idea entered her mind. It might work. However, it would need Juliet’s co-operation. Myrene squatted down again and looked Juliet in the eyes. “Juliet, I’m going to need you to do something for me. It may seem scary, but it’s going to help Chase. Do you want to help Chase?” She nodded. “Good. Now, I’m going to need you to trust me and do exactly what I say. Think you can do that?” Another nod. “Good. Then here’s what I want you to do…” 2:39 pm, September 10th, present year. Hunter and Terri were sitting at the table, discussing something. Riley was still sitting there, and he hadn’t made a sound for an hour or so.

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Hunter stopped talking and said to Riley, “Go sit over there by your parents.” Riley quickly, but silently, got up and ran over to us. He jumped Mom’s lap and hugged her. Suddenly, there was a lot of commotion outside. Terri and Hunter got up from their chairs and stared out the window. All the attention that was fixed on them now turned to the little girl. I couldn’t see exactly what they were doing though. “What are they doing? What’s happening?” Hunter started to panic. “I don’t know,” was Terri’s reply. Hunter ran away from the window pointed his gun at me. I obediently stood up we walked to the front door. He threw it open, and with me in front of him, started shouting, “What are you doing?” Now that I was outside, I could see what was happening. Myrene had her gun aimed at the girl, and another female cop was pulling out her handcuffs. The girl had her hands in the air, but didn’t seem scared. And I knew the girl. It was Juliet Madyson! Why was she here? “What are you doing?” Hunter insisted again. Without taking her eyes away from the girl, Myrene replied, “Why does it matter to you? This is unrelated to you.” “I want to know! Tell me now!” “We just got a call in that there was a body found in Fahlstown, where Juliet resides as a homeless girl. Not far from the body was a knife, with fingerprints belonging to Juliet. We have no choice but to take her back to the station. Sophie, cuff her.” Sophie took a step towards Juliet, but a loud cry from Hunter stopped her. “Don’t touch her! Do not lay a hand on her!” “Sophie, cuff her!”

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“No! Don’t touch her! She’s my daughter! Get your hands off her, or everybody in this house dies!” “Your daughter? Juliet, do you know this man?” She shook her head. Hunter was furious. “I’m her father! Don’t touch her, she’s not yours!” Myrene nodded to Sophie. Sophie placed the cuffs on her yanked her into a squad car. Then, Sophie opened the driver’s door for another cop to get in. In a few minutes, the car was gone, and Sophie and Myrene stared at us. “No! You’ll pay…you’ll pay.” Hunter violently pulled me back inside. * * *

Myrene thought she may have let it go too far. But now at least she was out of this environment. Hunter’s daughter? He’d never talked about his family before. If Hunter made it out of here alive, she just might let him see his daughter. Although she was oblivious as to whom her father was. Maybe it would be better if she never knew. * * *

Hunter’s mind was very simple. Search and destroy those who were against him, protect those who were close to him. A natural thought process. But he took it too far.

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When he saw his daughter been cuffed and lead away, something in his mind snapped. The process of protecting and destroying melted into one. Suddenly everybody had to die. Everybody, except Terri and Juliet. Everyone else was involved some how in the abduction of his daughter and need to be destroyed. Logically, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to see his daughter again. She was taken away, driven to a place where it would be impossible to get back. Everybody would know who he was, and the odds of him getting through the front door were close to none. So instead, kill everyone who was responsible. * * *

Hunter threw me back on the couch. He was fuming and was pacing in three step intervals in front of us. Juliet was his daughter? That was unexpected. So did that mean that Juliet and I were somehow related? My halfbrother having a kid? Hunter was scaring me now. Before, he had been meticulous and careful in everything did, but now he seemed undone, like a wire had been cut in him. Now unpredictable, no longer driven by precise movements and calculated risks. He was a wild man whose daughter had just been taken away from him. He was an animal. It was clear to me. The only thing that kept him sane was his daughter. Hunter halted his pacing and spoke to all of us. “You’re all going to die.”

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3:00 pm, September 10th

Myrene radioed to Matthews. “Wayne, the 24 hours for Chase expires in 15 minutes. I want you here now. I don’t care what he does, bring your squad and be prepared to take the house immediately.” “Affirmative. What type of force are we allowed?” She didn’t hesitate. “Whatever is necessary to keep the Mitchels safe. Lethal force is permitted.” “Yes ma’am.” Myrene was getting nervous. She had no doubt that Hunter would go through with his threat. She just hoped she didn’t wait too long to take action. * * *

“What? Why all of us? It was only going to be me!” I said. “Plans have obviously changed,” Hunter snarled at me. “Damian, come here,” Terri’s voice was calm. Hunter joined Terri at the table, and they talked in hushed tones. No more than a minute passed when Hunter suddenly stood up, knocking the chair backwards on the ground. Hunter started laughing. Not a pleasant laugh, but a malicious chuckle. He stuck his pointer finger at Terri and said, “She’s scared. She doesn’t want me to kill all of you! I wonder why.” Then he glanced at Terri, “Would you like to join them over there?” “No! Of course not! It’s just that the more people we have to kill, the longer we’re going to be here. And also, it’s not part of your original plan! Do you really want to stray from
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it?” “Forget the plan. This is the plan now, whether you like it or not.” I stole a glance at the clock on the wall behind me. 3:08. * * *

Terri didn’t like the personality of her son. This wasn’t like him, making hasty decisions and turning his back on the carefully mapped out plan. It just wasn’t right. She didn’t like it. Not at all. But she wouldn’t get in his way. She wanted her exhusband to pay, and if killing Chase was the solution, she was fine with that. Killing others wasn’t part of the original arrangement, but unless she wanted to get killed also, she would stay out of Damian’s way. * * *

“Chief Myrene, I have ordered my men to surround the house and be on high alert for any signal. It will take a few minutes until they are in position, but once they are, I estimate that 30 seconds, tops, until the house is secure.” Matthews stood next to the Chief. “Good. Take me through the plan.” * * *

Hunter drew his gun and held it limply at his side. “What are you doing?” I said.

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Hunter didn’t answer. Instead he started breathing deeply, slowly, methodically. He ran his hand through his hair and took a sharp breath in. He closed his eyes, and then opened them. His eyes looked at me, then behind me. I knew what he was looking at. The clock on the wall. “It’s 3:15, Chase. It’s time for you to die.” * * *

Matthews just finished outline the mission when Myrene glanced at her watch. 3:15. She held up a hand. With a solemn face, Myrene said, “The time table is up.” “What’s going to happen?” Matthews replied. “He’s going to kill Chase. Tell your men to go, go now!” Matthews barked in his radio, “Go, go, go! Alpha team, go first. Delta, you second. Beta, follow behind. Lethal force is permitted!!” Myrene started to pray. * * *

“But first, I’m going to start with the kid here.” Hunter reached for Riley, and Mom started crying and yelling. “No, no!” Dad stood up and punched Hunter. Before he could connect, Hunter twirled away from Dad’s arm and hit him in the back of the head with the butt of his gun.
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“Damian, not him. He’s a child. He has nothing to do with this.” Terri’s voice was worried. “I don’t care!” He pushed Riley until he was down on his knees. Tears started streaming from his eyes and I started to cry too. “Damian, don’t kill him! Kill me first! Please!” I begged the killer. “Shut up! Everybody shut up!” Hunter aimed the gun for the back of Riley’s head. A split second before he pulled the trigger, Terri jumped up and gripped the gun, yanking it upwards. Several shots fired, hitting the ceiling and walls. “Run, get away from here!” Terri yelled as she wrestled with Hunter for possession of the weapon. I ran over to Riley and pulled him away, following Dad and Mom towards the front door. * * *

Terri fought hard, but Hunter had the strength. He kicked her in the knee, and then a punch to the face dropped her to the floor. She was finished. * * *

I heard Terri gasp, and then heard her hit the floor. * * *

Hunter struck his mother, sending her to the ground. He quickly pivoted and thrust his arm out, gun aimed at the back of Chase.
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He fired. * * *

Terri saw her son rotate to fire his weapon, and kill Chase. With a final burst of strength, she stumbled to her feet and dove in front of the shot. A burst of pain exploded in her chest. Her vision flashed with bright lights, and her stomach felt like it was on fire. Her eyes closed. She landed hard on the floor. She didn’t bother trying to open her eyes. She knew it was over. But she had saved Chase. For the first time in her life, she felt a peace wash over her. She had done something right for once, she had saved a life. Her heart stopped beating. * * *

I heard a gun shot behind me, and expected a bullet to strike my back. Instead, I didn’t feel anything. Mom threw open the front door, and Dad and Riley ran out. Before I left, I peeked back behind me. I saw Terri on the floor, not moving, with Hunter staring down at her, a shocked expression on his face. I tore my eyes away, and sprinted away from our house. * * *

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From outside, Myrene heard several shots. She yelled to two officers, “Follow me!” then took off towards the front door. She was half way there when the door opened and out came the Mitchels. “Let’s go, let’s go!” Myrene let them all pass her before running inside. * * *

Hunter stood over his mother shocked and surprised. What had she done? She was dead now! Hunter heard noises behind him. He knew it was the police, and in a matter of seconds he would be handcuffed. “On your knees now! Drop the weapon!” a thundering voice behind him commanded. As a single tear dripped from Hunter’s eye, he collapsed on his knees, and released his grip on the gun. It was over. And his mother was dead.

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3:47 pm, September 10th Hunter was taken away, and Terri was wheeled away in an ambulance, with a white sheet covering her face. A crowd gathered behind a barrier of caution tape and many were taking pictures, wondering what was going on. A few cops were standing near them, making sure peace was enforced. “In a day or two, we’ll have to bring you four down to the station for debriefing and questions. We’ll call you when we’re ready.” Myrene was addressing my family and me on the street outside while cops mingled in and out of our home. Mom and Dad held Riley and me, and we were all glad to be alive and together. Myrene finished talking and Dad nodded. I remembered something. “Ms. Myrene, what’s going to happen to Juliet? Did she really kill somebody?” She shook her head. “No, she didn’t. We just wanted to know how she connected to this whole thing. And as for her future, I’m not sure. Probably be put up for a foster home or placed in an orphanage. Hopefully word of her being the daughter of a murderer doesn’t get around.” Orphanage? No. “Mom, Dad, can I talk to you?” We walked a few feet over, and I said, “This may seem very…odd, but could we adopt Juliet? I think Riley and her would be great friends, and she hated being in an orphanage. If she was put in one again, she would just run away and be wondering the streets again.” “But she’s the daughter of a man that tried to kill us!” Mom reasoned. “I know that, but just like I didn’t do anything, Hunter still wanted to kill me. Juliet is innocent of anything her evil father committed. She deserves a better life than her dad made for her. Please Mom, at least think about it. Don’t think about what Hunter did, but think about what Juliet could do.”
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Mom and Dad looked at each other. “We’ll consider it. It’s a big commitment.” “I know it is. Thanks.” We rejoined Myrene and Dad questioned, “How long will they be in our home?” “An hour at most. Until then, I suggest you get something to eat. I bet you are all hungry.” Myrene fished in her pocket and pulled out her wallet, handing us some money. “Oh no, I couldn’t accept that,” Mom said. “I insist. After what you have been through, you deserve some relaxation. And now you can truly relax. It’s all over.” Myrene’s face allowed a soft smile. “Well, thank you very much Ms. Myrene.” Dad humbly and graciously accepted the money. “I’ll have Sophie drive you, and she’ll wait there until you’re done.” Myrene called Sophie over. “I think she should join us. She is partially responsible for us being alive now,” Mom offered. “Only if you want me too,” Sophie politely answered. “Of course we want you too.” “Alright then, we’ll get going. Follow me.” Sophie led us to a squad car, and we all climbed in. Mom was in the front, while us boys sat in the back, with me in the middle. As we drove towards our undecided destination, Riley rested his head on my shoulder, and said, “The good guys won, didn’t they Chase?” I put my head on top of his and said, “Yes, they did Riley.”

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Epilogue One month later. Mom, Dad, Riley, and I all walked in to our house, with our family’s newest addition, Juliet Madyson, soon to be Juliet Mitchels. Mom and Dad agreed that adopting her would be good for her, and they were still getting over the fact that her father was a murderer. She and Riley had grown close quickly, and were always together. I had a feeling they would stay best friends long into their adult lives. Mom still seemed shaken at times, but all signs of what happened on September 9th and 10th were gone. A cleaning service came and removed the blood stains on the carpet and Dad fixed what was broken by the gunshots. As for me, I was still a little paranoid. I deleted my Facebook account and changed my phone number. The memories would always be with me, and I doubt they would ever leave. I worked up the confidence to talk to Britt Ryland, and had even asked her on a date. She said yes. We hadn’t heard anything about Hunter except he plead guilty and was in prison. We didn’t care for any more information. Our family was together and even though we had been rocked and changed forever, we came out of it stronger. The good guys won.

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