Categories > Original > Horror > Stranger
Formatting in this one is a little off but that's ... whatever.
Chapter 1.
Samantha Moreno let the breeze consume her senses. It was about seventy degree's outside and she was in absolute heaven. Peering off the small balcony in which she had been studying, she watched the people on the street below. They were almost like ants, scurrying about to get things done quickly... too consumed in their daily routines to really even bother to notice anything else; like the lovely afternoon sun and the cool breeze that permeated. Her thoughts began to drift to a dream she had experienced the night prior and she smiled, it had been such a long time since she had been graced with the pleasure of such things; everything, lately, consisted of stress and confusion. Looking down at the notebook before her, she groaned; idly wondering if it should be this hard to write a damn article. Chief Lavaroe should have known by now she hated spur of moment narratives, especially on cases that she had no part of; she supposed that it was just as well though, being as it was just generally a part of her job. Sighing heavily, she decided to let it settle in her mind for a while before irritating herself with the task... there was about a week to do it anyway. All she could gather from the information that was supplied to her was that a teenage boy had broken into a home of one of his neighbors who in effect caught him and started to run after him. The kid had been running away and ended up running /out /of his own damn shoes. Samantha chuckled to herself silently at the thought of the police officers finding the lad barefoot; holding onto a camera, cell phone, and cash. His own gym shoes were going to be his ultimate downfall; it was no doubt that one of the so called experts in the lab would be able to tie the shoes to the young man. Sam laughed at her pun before realizing that this one just might be easier than she thought. It's a short story, sweet and with an almost clear ending... the kid was being held at Lake county jail, and had a $30,000 bond; when he was arrested he was under the influence of some sort of substance, making it all the more a simple trial. Deciding that just working on her laptop would be more effective, Sam dragged herself into the apartment and brought it to join her on the balcony. She started by pulling up the template that she used to use when she was a cop herself, thankful that she never deleted /anything /from her computer.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS POLICE DEPARTMENT
BURGLARY REPORT
Victim
Jonathan Smith
1600 block Brentwood Drive
Suspect
Zachary Darnley
332 Yorkshire Drive
Notes:
Suspect lost shoes while running
Suspect under influence of alcohol or drugs
Victim's belongings recovered inside Darnley home
Camera
Cell phone
Money
Supplemental Information:
A call was dispatched Monday, the seventh of May to the 1600th block of Brentwood Drive, Mundelein; after a neighbor [Jonathan Smith] of a 17 year old Zachary Darnley, came home to find the young man burglarizing his home. Mr. Smith, proceeded to chase the minor down only to lose him, but was able to clearly identify the burglar to be Mr. Darnley. While running, Mr. Darnley ran out of his own gym shoes, one being found in the yard of the victim and the other on the street. When police arrived at the home of the suspect, they found him barefoot and under the influence of some type of substance; the cell phone, camera and money were recovered inside the Darnley home and the barefoot teen was taken into custody. He will be held at Lake county jail, bonded at $30,000, to await his Wednesday trial.
Dutifully, Sam finished the report and saved it to the hard drive. Sighing, she looked out to the street again. It was such a peaceful day, one in which she had wished wouldn't be ruined by work... but then again, she knew if she got it done, she could better enjoy the rest of her weekend off. The thought made her smile as she got to work on the casework that she had to look over. Over the hours that she spent on her work, it had gotten so dark outside that she was forced to go inside to finish her next case. This one was about a woman, Lisa Stebic... wife and mother of two, correction... soon to be /ex/-wife of one Craig Stebic. Samantha remembered when this guy was brought in... he swore he had last seen her on April 30th. The two shared a home together in Plainfield, and when the home was searched, there was nothing incriminating found. Looking over the files, Sam read on that the cars, a 2004 Saturn Ion, and a 2002 Chevrolet S-10 pickup were impounded as part of the search; being possible evidence. Though the police that were working on the case kept saying that Stebic was not a suspect, it was easy to tell just from the reports alone that someone thought he was. It seemed as though the police were trying to coerce a confession but, nothing has come of it. They searched for her on mother's day, how sweet, Samantha thought to herself. The family was actually offering a $20,000 reward simply for information on her whereabouts. Idly, she wondered herself if the husband had anything to do with it... they were going through a divorce after all. Writing her thoughts on the case, she put the file away and walked into the kitchen to cook something. About five minutes into her free-time, the telephone beside her started to ring; she answered.
"Hello?" She mundanely posed, to whoever was on the other line. After a second of non-response, she started to get irritated. Again, she posed the same hello, with a bit more venom behind the word. Then there was breathing; heavy almost like someone was purposefully doing it to scare her or just to be heard. Letting out an irate groan, Samantha slammed the landline down and continued to cook her dinner.
No less than two hours later, as she sat on the couch lazily flipping through the stations, the phone rang again. Sam glanced over at the clock above her fireplace to see that it was well past midnight and wondered who the hell would be calling her this late. Picking up the phone again, she almost exhaustedly breathed out a greeting. Like the previous call, there was only a thickening silence followed by breathing and a click of the receiver. /Fucking teenagers/. She mused to herself as she decided that the television wasn't really helping her relax... perhaps a nice bath would. Dragging herself sluggishly up the stairs, Sam walked into the bathroom and turned on the tub water; filling the basin with steaming water and soap. She looked in the mirror for a long time before disrobing to step into the waiting water, the lines that bordered her eyes, and lips seemed to present to the world a tired and worn out woman. Perhaps she should retire? She laughed at the thought, she was only in her late 30's, and quitting now would be pointless right? She had been through worse, the Melrose murder case alone was damaging. To see all those women... all those families that wanted a grievance for the crimes that man had committed... she looked in the mirror once more before sliding the material off her shoulders and sending it to a puddle on the ground.
"Buck up solider," she spoke to herself. "All you need is a little time to yourself to think." She slid into the water and let out a content gasp at the heat that now cradled and engulfed her body. Things would be okay... they had to be.
~*~
She awoke moments later, feeling her body being dragged across something smooth... like a marble or laminate flooring. Her eyes slowly came into focus to see the ceiling moving above her and it only took a second to realize that /she was the one that was moving... someone had their hands around her ankles and was pulling her across the floor. Her head was spinning, and it felt as though she had been hit hard with something, she reached her hand to her head to feel a warm and wet substance. Blood. Letting a groan escape, she looked towards her feet at her captor..."What do you want with me..." she called out just above a whisper, only to earn a dark laugh from the man who was pulling her to his idea of a torture session most definitely. /
"In due time, Samantha... you'll know soon enough princess." Again, she passed out.
~*~
Samantha awoke to the sound of her cell phone ringing far louder than she wished. Groaning, she flipped the cursed thing open and mumbled a less than happy greeting into the speaker. She had undone the landline because she had received three more calls like the previous ones during the night... so what she heard on the other line of her cell phone undoubtedly caused her to sit upright in her bed and awaken almost fearfully. Breathing... heavy and steadily... this time followed by a subtle dark laughter and low whispered words.
"You're next, Samantha..."
Chapter 1.
Samantha Moreno let the breeze consume her senses. It was about seventy degree's outside and she was in absolute heaven. Peering off the small balcony in which she had been studying, she watched the people on the street below. They were almost like ants, scurrying about to get things done quickly... too consumed in their daily routines to really even bother to notice anything else; like the lovely afternoon sun and the cool breeze that permeated. Her thoughts began to drift to a dream she had experienced the night prior and she smiled, it had been such a long time since she had been graced with the pleasure of such things; everything, lately, consisted of stress and confusion. Looking down at the notebook before her, she groaned; idly wondering if it should be this hard to write a damn article. Chief Lavaroe should have known by now she hated spur of moment narratives, especially on cases that she had no part of; she supposed that it was just as well though, being as it was just generally a part of her job. Sighing heavily, she decided to let it settle in her mind for a while before irritating herself with the task... there was about a week to do it anyway. All she could gather from the information that was supplied to her was that a teenage boy had broken into a home of one of his neighbors who in effect caught him and started to run after him. The kid had been running away and ended up running /out /of his own damn shoes. Samantha chuckled to herself silently at the thought of the police officers finding the lad barefoot; holding onto a camera, cell phone, and cash. His own gym shoes were going to be his ultimate downfall; it was no doubt that one of the so called experts in the lab would be able to tie the shoes to the young man. Sam laughed at her pun before realizing that this one just might be easier than she thought. It's a short story, sweet and with an almost clear ending... the kid was being held at Lake county jail, and had a $30,000 bond; when he was arrested he was under the influence of some sort of substance, making it all the more a simple trial. Deciding that just working on her laptop would be more effective, Sam dragged herself into the apartment and brought it to join her on the balcony. She started by pulling up the template that she used to use when she was a cop herself, thankful that she never deleted /anything /from her computer.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS POLICE DEPARTMENT
BURGLARY REPORT
Victim
Jonathan Smith
1600 block Brentwood Drive
Suspect
Zachary Darnley
332 Yorkshire Drive
Notes:
Suspect lost shoes while running
Suspect under influence of alcohol or drugs
Victim's belongings recovered inside Darnley home
Camera
Cell phone
Money
Supplemental Information:
A call was dispatched Monday, the seventh of May to the 1600th block of Brentwood Drive, Mundelein; after a neighbor [Jonathan Smith] of a 17 year old Zachary Darnley, came home to find the young man burglarizing his home. Mr. Smith, proceeded to chase the minor down only to lose him, but was able to clearly identify the burglar to be Mr. Darnley. While running, Mr. Darnley ran out of his own gym shoes, one being found in the yard of the victim and the other on the street. When police arrived at the home of the suspect, they found him barefoot and under the influence of some type of substance; the cell phone, camera and money were recovered inside the Darnley home and the barefoot teen was taken into custody. He will be held at Lake county jail, bonded at $30,000, to await his Wednesday trial.
Dutifully, Sam finished the report and saved it to the hard drive. Sighing, she looked out to the street again. It was such a peaceful day, one in which she had wished wouldn't be ruined by work... but then again, she knew if she got it done, she could better enjoy the rest of her weekend off. The thought made her smile as she got to work on the casework that she had to look over. Over the hours that she spent on her work, it had gotten so dark outside that she was forced to go inside to finish her next case. This one was about a woman, Lisa Stebic... wife and mother of two, correction... soon to be /ex/-wife of one Craig Stebic. Samantha remembered when this guy was brought in... he swore he had last seen her on April 30th. The two shared a home together in Plainfield, and when the home was searched, there was nothing incriminating found. Looking over the files, Sam read on that the cars, a 2004 Saturn Ion, and a 2002 Chevrolet S-10 pickup were impounded as part of the search; being possible evidence. Though the police that were working on the case kept saying that Stebic was not a suspect, it was easy to tell just from the reports alone that someone thought he was. It seemed as though the police were trying to coerce a confession but, nothing has come of it. They searched for her on mother's day, how sweet, Samantha thought to herself. The family was actually offering a $20,000 reward simply for information on her whereabouts. Idly, she wondered herself if the husband had anything to do with it... they were going through a divorce after all. Writing her thoughts on the case, she put the file away and walked into the kitchen to cook something. About five minutes into her free-time, the telephone beside her started to ring; she answered.
"Hello?" She mundanely posed, to whoever was on the other line. After a second of non-response, she started to get irritated. Again, she posed the same hello, with a bit more venom behind the word. Then there was breathing; heavy almost like someone was purposefully doing it to scare her or just to be heard. Letting out an irate groan, Samantha slammed the landline down and continued to cook her dinner.
No less than two hours later, as she sat on the couch lazily flipping through the stations, the phone rang again. Sam glanced over at the clock above her fireplace to see that it was well past midnight and wondered who the hell would be calling her this late. Picking up the phone again, she almost exhaustedly breathed out a greeting. Like the previous call, there was only a thickening silence followed by breathing and a click of the receiver. /Fucking teenagers/. She mused to herself as she decided that the television wasn't really helping her relax... perhaps a nice bath would. Dragging herself sluggishly up the stairs, Sam walked into the bathroom and turned on the tub water; filling the basin with steaming water and soap. She looked in the mirror for a long time before disrobing to step into the waiting water, the lines that bordered her eyes, and lips seemed to present to the world a tired and worn out woman. Perhaps she should retire? She laughed at the thought, she was only in her late 30's, and quitting now would be pointless right? She had been through worse, the Melrose murder case alone was damaging. To see all those women... all those families that wanted a grievance for the crimes that man had committed... she looked in the mirror once more before sliding the material off her shoulders and sending it to a puddle on the ground.
"Buck up solider," she spoke to herself. "All you need is a little time to yourself to think." She slid into the water and let out a content gasp at the heat that now cradled and engulfed her body. Things would be okay... they had to be.
~*~
She awoke moments later, feeling her body being dragged across something smooth... like a marble or laminate flooring. Her eyes slowly came into focus to see the ceiling moving above her and it only took a second to realize that /she was the one that was moving... someone had their hands around her ankles and was pulling her across the floor. Her head was spinning, and it felt as though she had been hit hard with something, she reached her hand to her head to feel a warm and wet substance. Blood. Letting a groan escape, she looked towards her feet at her captor..."What do you want with me..." she called out just above a whisper, only to earn a dark laugh from the man who was pulling her to his idea of a torture session most definitely. /
"In due time, Samantha... you'll know soon enough princess." Again, she passed out.
~*~
Samantha awoke to the sound of her cell phone ringing far louder than she wished. Groaning, she flipped the cursed thing open and mumbled a less than happy greeting into the speaker. She had undone the landline because she had received three more calls like the previous ones during the night... so what she heard on the other line of her cell phone undoubtedly caused her to sit upright in her bed and awaken almost fearfully. Breathing... heavy and steadily... this time followed by a subtle dark laughter and low whispered words.
"You're next, Samantha..."
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