ã€ŠA Trail of Bloodã€‹


 Chapter 1: Fellas, I Swear It Wasnâ€™t Me

    He slams his fists on the table causing me to flinch. Sweat flew at tangents from his wrinkled forehead and furrowed eyebrows. He wore a black polo shirt a size too small. It''s so tight that it put all his muscles on display, almost as if trying to intimidate me. The room was made to make you feel more uncomfortable than you''ve ever been. A faint smell of dried blood filled the air airing an ominous vibe.

    "We know it''s you. There''s no point in stalling, just confess." His umber orbs stared down my soul. A deep scar spanning across his right cheek to the corner of his lips made his threatening demeanor much more terrifying.

    All I know is that I''m a suspect of a murder case, how they came to the conclusion was a mystery to me. I''ve never even been around a real crime scene let alone commit one.

    "I''m talking to you here." He waves his fingers in front of my eyes. "Don''t try to play the insanity card, we know you''re sound of mind." he glowered.

    Insanity card? This guy is the one who''s out of it. I just zoned out because everything was happening too fast. It''s not an everyday thing where you''re put in handcuffs, and dragged outside of your local grocery store. Then thrown into an interrogation room where two people is standing in front of you trying to force you to confess. It''s just like I am the protagonist in a movie where I''m wrongly accused of murder and I run away until I can prove my own innocence. Like in ''The Fugitive''. Only worse, I don''t even know who''s murder case I''m being accused of.

    "I have no idea what you''re talking about. I never murdered anyone." I answered, shaking my head. My hand was starting to tremble. If this is a dream it would be the weirdest dream I''ve had in a while. Ever since the dream where I argued with my dog, Oreo, about the new toy I brought him and how he doesn''t like it and then he threatened to leave the house... Nothing topped it since. Leon wouldn''t stop laughing at me for days. Just looking at my face he''d remember that and almost choke from laughter. To this day he''d randomly remember and then he''d laugh like a maniac.

    I blinked, my mind reluctantly returning from the whimsical labyrinth of a dream that had taken me far from this tense interrogation room. Detective Cains''s penetrating gaze seemed to probe deeper, while Rains''s silent, intimidating presence made the atmosphere feel even more claustrophobic.

    The silence that followed my denial was so profound that I could hear their breathing. Cain''s menacing stare seemed to stretch endlessly, punctuated only by the faint sound of his fingers drumming impatiently on the table. Each tap echoed through the room like warning bells, underscoring the latent violence simmering beneath his barely controlled exterior. His face contorted into a disdainful grimace. "You''re a psychopath, huh? Only a psycho can have such an innocent look and zone out like that because they don''t feel an ounce of remorse." His creased brows complimented the mixture of anger and bewilderment in his eyes. "Do you even realize what you''ve done is wrong?"

    Finally, the woman standing quietly behind him stepped forward and placed a firm hand on Cain''s shoulder, "I''m Detective Rain and he''s Detective Cain. And no we''re not siblings." she broke her silence pulling back a little so he''d calm him down. I would laugh at that lame joke ¡ª if it was even meant to be a joke in the first place but I didn''t. I''m scared. All I do is rot in my room writing, eating, or sleeping. I didn''t do anything. Why am I being questioned?

    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.Cain crosses his arms and breaks eye contact with me. "You think it''s time for jokes? I doubt you''ll make it as a detective." he chided, eyeing her with derision.

    She gave him a curt, sidelong glance, then swiftly opened the folder in her arms, pulling out a document with a fluid, practiced motion. "Are you familiar with this book?" She slides ''A Symphony of Murder'' on the table.

    I nod my head. What are these dumb questions? I''m very familiar with this book. I mean I wrote it. I know they know that. "Yes." I answer with a raised brow.

    Cain crosses his arms; the frown on his face turns into a sneer as if he''d just solved the greatest mystery of all time.

    "That means you''re the killer."

    I place my handcuffed hands on the cold, metallic table, the clink of the chains echoing in the silent room. My palms are sweaty, and my heart races as I look up, meeting their eyes with a mixture of desperation and determination. "Look, I swear it''s not me," I plead, my voice trembling slightly but filled with conviction. "You''ve got the wrong person. Yeah, I wrote the book but I never murdered anyone. Someone might have used my character to murder someone and frame me." That''s the only plausible explanation. I never thought someone would read my book and decide, ''Sounds cool let''s try it in real life''. Please tell me I''m just living through a horrible nightmare.

    Detective Rain nodded thoughtfully, her hand finding its way to her hip as she brought the picture close to her eyes. Her expression was inscrutable, framed by a curtain of dark hair that fell in loose waves around her face. The room''s dim light glinted off her badge, the only hint of authority in her otherwise casual demeanor. She remained silent for a moment, weighing her words carefully before finally speaking. "That''s a possibility, but for now, you''re the main suspect," she declared firmly, her voice betraying none of the doubt that flickered briefly in her eyes. I watched her closely, trying to read the thoughts behind her hazel eyes as they scrutinized me.

    Cain grabs the chair across the table and tosses it to the side leaving him space to lean on the table. His large calloused hands splayed out pressing into the table with a menacing force. He then leans in, his rough, scarred face coming uncomfortably close to mine. The network of scars¡ªdeep, jagged, and rough¡ªetched across his cheeks and forehead, marked his face His dirty blond hair, cut short but unkempt, framed his hardened features. I look to the side trying to avoid eye contact.

    The scent of him¡ªa blend of sweat and something sharper¡ªhung in the air, intensifying the oppressive atmosphere. His eyes, cold and unyielding, locked onto mine with a steely gaze. The bulk of his presence, combined with the intimidating angle and the sheer proximity, made it clear that he intended to unsettle and dominate me.

    His hands turn into tight fists. "That''s not a possibility. I''m telling you, I worked here for over a decade. My instinct is that of tigers. I know these types of murderers. When they feel bored or guilty they end up writing a novel of their own crimes."

    I''m sick of this guy and this stupid power play. They haven''t even presented any proper evidence against me. I mean it''s not like they''ll find any because I didn''t do it. Is the warrant they showed me earlier even real? "Do you have any actual evidence against me?" I queried. I''m almost certain they just want to threaten me and push me to confess so they can just close the case.

    "It''s circumstantial evidence but we can still interrogate you," Cain states; crossing his legs as he pulls a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. Is he seriously about to smoke in here? In this small, windowless room?

    They''re trying to pressure me into giving a false confession. Well, they got the wrong guy. I watched too many crime shows to fall into their mediocre mind games. I''ll be doing the questioning here. This type of harassment should end in a lawsuit.

 Chapter 2: Please Help?

    I put my elbows on the table; stippling my fingers together. My wrists were still bound in the cuffs which dug into my skin with every movement. "When did this murder happen? If it was after the release of my book which I''m certain it is then you can''t even hold me here." I found myself randomly thinking of Cumberbatch''s Sherlock Holmes and my accent turned British before I''d realized. Jokes on them; I''ll be the detective here. No wonder so many serial killers get away with murder or get caught too late when we have detectives like him working on cases.

    "Forensics are still working on it. But it''s estimated he died between eleven and one am four days ago." Rain states; sending me a blank stare. Her eyes search my face as if she was trying to ascertain whether my features give off killer vibes. I mean I heard I had killer looks but I¡¯m certain they meant I was good looking or whatever.

    I rest my back on the chair; another sigh escapes my mouth. The only evidence they seem to have is the book. Thankfully It doesn''t seem like I was at the wrong place at the wrong time when a murder occurred like what happens in movies. If so then they would''ve shown me some CCTV footage. Or what if I am but they''re trying to get me to confess before hand? What can I do about that though? I don''t even know who the victim is.

    "I didn''t do it. Please find the right guy and contact me right away. I want to know who this psycho is. Release me from the handcuffs." I extended my arms to Rain who seemed to have the keys hanging from her belt. I put on a tough exterior but I feel like I might have a mental breakdown in any second now. I want to get out of here. I''m not going to let them brainwash me into giving a false confession.

    "You can''t leave yet we can keep you here for three more hours." Cain states pulling a lighter out for his cigarette which he kept spinning around his fingers. I''m certain he isn''t allowed to do this here but he doesn''t look like a person who follows rules. Ironic right?

    I look straight into his eyes. "I''m telling you, I didn''t do it." I enunciate each word so he''d understand. It seems like he''s too set on me being the killer that his mind is completely closed of from any reason or logic.

    He poofs out a circle of smoke holding back on a cough. "Rain please go get me a glass of water." She nodes nonchalantly as if she''s lived this moment a hundred times before. She puts the envelope on the table and leaves the room.

    He''s treating his juniors like servants. I already hate this guy. What type of detective has such bad manners? He''s not even asking me about my whereabouts on the night of the crime. Aren''t detectives supposed to ask these types of questions first?

    Cain drops his cigarette on the ground before crushing it. "You know what I hate the most about this ugly world? Scum like you." He intoned and stood up looking down upon me with his chin up before heading towards the door. I didn''t bother to follow him with my eyes until I heard the door lock.

    He locked me inside with him.

    Before I could ask him why, his fingers wrap around my collar and he tugs, strangling me with his grip. He pulled tighter on my collar and I felt the air get forced out of my trachea.

    "I didn''t do it." I managed to mumble with some of the remaining air in my lungs. My nerves are all on guard, ready to receive the pain he looks like he''s about to inflict on me.

    It seemed like he noticed he was suffocating me and loosens his grip just a bit. His right brow raised, "It seems like you have high pain tolerance. Most psychos like you do." he quips, tightening his grip again.

    "Are you threatening me?"

    His lips turn into a sinister smile. "Hell yeah I am."

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    I couldn''t help but guffaw. This must be a dream. It''s really like one of those detective movies you watch in a cinema with your friends. This type of stuff doesn''t happen in real life. Leon is going to think I''m crazy if I tell him about this.

    "You think it''s funny, eh?" His knuckles crash into my jaw. Electricity shot through my mandible threatening to shatter my molars. I held my jaw with the palms of my hand and massaged it carefully to ease the pain. I''ll need to get a scan. I''m positive I must have suffered a concussion with the force that radiated from my jaw. I glare back at him.

    This definitely isn''t a dream.

    He really might have fractured a bone on my face.

    "Cain stop it right now!" A voice that sounds like detective Rain''s raged through the intercom.

    Cain clicks his tongue and let go of my collar but not before pushing me. My poor ten dollar shirt is beyond repair. I think some hormones took over as my jaw doesn¡¯t hurt as much now but I¡¯ll have one real bad headache later on.

    "This stupid junior ordering me around." he murmers under his breath. Little drops of blood dripped from his knuckles. I''m not sure if it''s my blood or his. He loosens his wrist and cracks his knuckles. "You know I read your whole book." He confesses, eyeing me and sending cold shivers down my spine. "I''m gonna make you confess today. Before you have the chance to commit the rest of your murderous schemes."

    His eyes glowed with fiery determination which I admired, but again, he''s got the wrong guy.

    "Even if you knock my teeth out I won''t confess to something I didn''t do." I blurt out.

    A moment of dead silence. A little fear grew in my heart. He took longer than before to blink and the expression on his face softened for a second before all the muscles of anger contracted together. His eyes fumed as the chagrin built up inside him. He''s like a ticking time bomb.

    He swings his shoulder in preparation, "Forget prison. You''re so dead today." he croaks.

    "Cain don''t do it! Stop right this instant!" A different voice came through the intercom. Cain drops his fist but they were still clinched. The veins on his arms look like they''re about to

    burst. The throbbing pain in my jaw increased in intensity so I rubbed it with my palms again which helped sooth it just a little.

    The man breathes a sigh of relief that he''d managed to stop this insane hound before it was too late. I mean I was already punched once so it was too late anyway.

    "You know you''re recorded. If there''s even a scratch on him it''ll be a confession under duress! You''re complicating it further! Open the door this instant. I sent Rain to get the keys. If we get the master keys before you open, I''ll add another week to your suspension." this person was definitely Cain''s superior but he seems to be too lenient on him.

    Cain grabs and twists my collar one last time, "You''re lucky we have to obey the law." he spat before pushing me away and heading towards the door.

    A man wearing a navy blue suit walks in and helps me off the ground. "You can leave." he says simply.

    Cain''s jaw drops and he turns to face the man. "What do you mean? We can hold him for at least two more hours!" He exclaims with raised brows and wide eyes.

    The man narrows his eyes at Cain. He had the ''Are you stupid?'' look on his face. "What''s the point? With that bruise on his face anything he says could be considered under duress." He shrugged his shoulders.

    Cain sighed, crossing his arms, "I didn''t even beat him that hard. We can say he just fell." I choke on laughter and Cain shots me a death glare.

    "Get out of my sight right this instant." The man returns Cain a death glare more intense than the one he gave me and Cain shuffled away with fists by his sides. His boss pulls out a brown handkerchief and wipes his forehead from temple to temple and lets out a sigh of relief. If I had the patience for it I would''ve sued them for the mental and physical torture they put me through. Although it was only a punch but if they didn''t intervene who knows what Cain would''ve done to me. He''s almost as dangerous as the people they throw in jail for assault.

    He turns to face me, "You, Cameron Rose, don''t leave the city without permission from us." and before I could respond he walks away.

    How did it end up this way? I''ve lived as an ideal citizen all my life and here I am being falsely accused of a crime I didn''t commit, and out of all crimes it''s murder. I mean they could''ve framed me for burglary or something but they choose murder. I walk out of the room and look around searching for the way out.

    I felt a hand on my shoulder.

 Chapter 3: Finally Free... I Guess?

    It''s my best friend Leon Hunt.

    "Cameron! Didn''t I tell you writing crime novels would get you in trouble someday? Someone is copying your novel!" He slapped my arm with a fake stern look on his face as the corners of his lips quivered. He burst into laughter.

    I frowned. I''m about to be thrown into prison and here my best friend is laughing his ass off. "What''s funny about that?" I crossed my arms, "And I know they just showed me the photos."

    Leon catches his breath, "I kept telling them there''s no way it would be you but they insisted on interrogating you."

    Interrogation? They treated me like I was a war prisoner. "That wasn''t an integrotion room... it was a torture chamber." I pointed at the bruise on my jaw, it''s probably a hundred shades of purple by now. I fixed the collar of my shirt.

    Leon shook his head with a crooked smile on his face, a finger scratching his temple, "Out of all the other detectives they let Cain do it. I can''t believe this." He looks around then whispers in my ear. "Sue the shit out of the department."

    I waved my hand dismissively; I like to avoid confrontations and lawsuits as much as possible. Besides suing them would probably be bad on Leon, they''d blame him for not convincing me to not take legal action.

    A random thought that crossed my mind during the interrogation came back to me, "Leo, You know when you''re showering or right before you sleep how you sometimes think of scenarios and how you''d react?" I asked.

    "Yeah." He narrowed his eyes at me.

    "That''s exactly what happened. I thought if I was being interrogated for a crime I didn''t commit and beaten up like those people in movies how would I react? I heard they call this feeling jouska. When you think of scenarios that didn''t happen."

    Leon stopped in his tracks and shot me a dirty look, I mean, he was just practically laughing at my situation a few seconds ago. He can''t stop laughing when I joke about it. That''s not fair.

    "Is this what you''re thinking when you''re literally a murder suspect."

    It''s not my fault that I''m in this crazy situation. I don''t know what to think. I cope using jokes and laughter and he should be used to it by now.

    "Hear me out. So I thought I''d try to act cool like the people in the movies and say something like ''Even if you torture me near death I won''t confess to something I didn''t commit.'' And guess what."

    "Here you go again. Enough with the jokes."

    I raised my chin in the air while a smirk formed on my lips, "I actually said it." I cross my arms continuing to walk ahead; I could feel Leon''s glaring at the back of my head as if I were a mad man.

    "You feel so cool huh?" he smiled, shaking his head. I''m happy I have a friend I can joke around with like this. If I didn''t then I don''t think I can easily get through things like this. They''ll find the real criminal and take care of him. Then my name will be cleared and I can go back to my normal life.

    "Totally." I wave my hand, "Besides that, why didn''t this Cain guy lose his job yet? If he keeps beating up suspects won''t he lose his credibility?" I wonder if I''m the first person he beat up like that; I doubt that because the room kind of reeked of the smell of old blood. How many people did he coerce into giving false confessions? What if one of them is in death row right now? I shiver at the thought even if I''m falsely found guilty I doubt killing one guy would land me in death row.

    The flat screen in front of the police front disk was turned on but no one was there to watch. It''s such a waste of electricity. It seems like they have brought someone to comment but I missed the introduction so I have no clue who he is. He seems to be a respectable figure to say the least.

    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    "Yet another incident of hate crime has occurred. To pile up on the countless racist and discriminatory incidents that occurred this month.What do you have to say about this?" the news anchor begin leaving the floor to the man in the blue suit.

    He adjusted his seating position then cleared his throat. "Well, Authorities seem to be undermining the scale of the problem but they have to address it soon as the pressure has been increasing on them. It seems that not only the police has been failing to protect us but our whole justice system is. Everything needs to be reset. It''s not working at all. We need to fix the inherent problem with our system if we want to even have hope in maintaining peace and prosperity in the near or far future. To do that we need to establish clearly what this problem-"

    "Cameron are you listening to me?" Leon shook my shoulder.

    I bring my attention back to him pretending to have been paying attention. "Ah, yes where were we?"

    "Cain was has been my superior for three years. He doesn''t do this often but when he does, he makes up for it so they let him off the hook with community service and suspensions. I know it makes no sense. I think he''s a parachute."

    It''s unbelievable that to this day people are still being hired through nepotism. We''ve barely advanced as a society and it''s sad.

    "Do you guys have any other suspects?" I asked. I can''t possibly be the only one they have. If so this criminal managed to get rid of every single trace of himself and it''s making my blood run cold. I can''t believe someone is cowardly enough to make someone else take the downfall.

    "Until now they only came up with your name. But I think it''s probably one of your diehard fans."

    That makes the most sense or maybe some one with a grudge against me and the victim so he decided to murder him and frame me as it''s most convenient way to get rid of the both of us.

    "Most probably. Or someone with a grudge. What type of fan does this though? He must be crazy if he can''t differentiate between fiction and reality."

    We finally got out of the police station. The wind is chilly and an eerie ambiance blended in with each blow that hit my brittle bones.

    "He made your story into a reality though. So in a weird and twisted way he is your best fan." Leon raises an eyebrow, his chin between his index and thumb as he stroked his imaginary beard. "Who would have a grudge against you though? You''re like an angel." he says bluntly but I can''t tell if he''s being serious or just teasing me.

    "Hey? What do you mean angel stop making fun of me. And I mean if there was a fan like that then he should take responsibility, why should I serve a sentence for him?"

    He chuckles and slaps my back. "We''ll find him don''t worry." he reassured me with a small smile plastered on his face,

    It would be nice if they would find him but it''s not only me who doesn''t trust the police or their abilities. They have the capability, at least most of the time. The problem is with the mentality that has been ingrained into them since their trainee days.

    My hand turned into a fist of determination, "I''ll find himself and teach him a lesson."

    Leon nods. He shoves his hands in his pockets; the wind is biting cold. "I''ll help you. For now keep eye on your surroundings, if he''s really just trying to frame you he might try to put some incriminating evidence on or around you."

    "I will."

    "Take care. I''ll go back before I get in trouble.See you tomorrow." he goes back inside. It''s really late but he still has to work. I guess they''re busy because they might have a real psycho serial killer on their hands.

    The moon is high in the sky. I would say it''s about midnight. Clouds casted their shadows on the ground and I mistook them for figures of people in the darkness. My eye caught something moving behind a tree in the distance.

    A person?

    In the blink of an eye the figure disappeared behind the sea of trees. I rub my eyes and looked back again but there was nothing any more. I shook my head. I''m probably just imagining things again. I almost trip over my feet as I descended down the stairs of the police department but I managed to grab hold of the

    handrail just in the nick of time. I rub my hand on my pants as you never know who or what touched this rail. Unfortunately, I don''t have my little hand sanitizer on me so that was the best I could do for now.

    They didn''t keep me for long but this warrant business is a pain. I mean they could''ve just taken me in for questioning in the morning. I wasn''t going to run away anyway. It''s not like I would''ve imagined this happening to me in a hundred years.

    "Cameron Rose stop right there."

 Chapter 4: How Do I Get Rid of a Crazied Stalker?

    It''s him again.

    "Detective Cain don''t you have anything better to do than harass me, an innocent man?" I cross my arms with a raised eyebrow. Can''t I obtain a restraining order against him? I have a feeling this won''t be the last time he harasses me.

    He smirks, "When I find evidence I''ll be the one to throw you in jail myself."

    "Good luck because I''m a law abiding citizen who never did and never will murder anyone." I shrug my shoulders and turned around to walk away.

    Cain clears his throat, "You better watch your back and hide your tracks well because I''m on to you." He gives me the ''I''m watching you'' gesture with his fingers then pulls out a cigarette and goes back inside.

    What type of person goes inside when he wants to smoke? He''s so inconsiderate and messy. If he wants to harm himself he should do it outside so others don''t have to experience passive smoking effects.

    These detectives probably think I''m some sort of murdering psychopath. All the ideas I used in the novel were built on the personas of real psycho killers like Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy so it makes sense why they come to the conclusion. But I don''t only write crime novels, I mean if they read ''Days gone by'' with that flawed logic of theirs, they''ll probably think i''m just a little kid with trust issues; if they read ''Back in the Day'' they''d think I''m some kind of sentimental teenager suffering from an extreme case of unrequited first love.

    A taxi passes by and I stop it; They didn''t even have the courtesy to give me some taxi money or drop me off after snatching me from the grocery store. Thankfully I have my wallet on me. My neighbors who saw me get arrested are probably making up the greatest rumours about me. They always seem to have some crazy story about me. For some time they even spread a rumour that I''m a vampire because they almost never see my during the day. By tomorrow I''m going to be the talk of the town. For all they know I could''ve been arrested for shoplifting.

    The taxi ride was silent, something I''m grateful for. I hate when someone tries to make conversation with me because I''m too awkward and I don''t want to make them feel bad by replying dryly so it just ends up being an uncomfortable ride.

    I pulled out my wallet and gave him some extra tip which he accepted with a wide smile before driving away.

    My next door neighbour Julia popped her head out of her window. "Cameron! What happened? I saw you getting shoved into a police car." she asked. She didn''t have a concerned look on her face rather it was more like... Curiosity?

    "I was arrested."

    She rests her elbow on the window pane, "For what?" She continues to probe. Her brows raised with curiosity while a smirk begin to form at the corner of her lips but she caught it and fake a look of concern.

    Can''t she take a hint? I know she saw me get arrested but I don''t want people to think I might be a murderer. Some of the elders already believe I''m a vampire and try to avoid me at all costs. One time an old man who lives just a few houses down saw me walking down the crossroad got frightened and started running frantically. He fell and fractured his wrist. It''s not my fault but I feel like I''m responsible.

    "It was a misunderstanding."

    She sighs. I''m not going to tell her because I know she''s responsible for half the conspiracy theories about me.

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    "Oh I''m glad you''re out now. See you around." she sends me a fake smile before closing her window. What a pain she is. I''ve never meet someone faker than her in my life. She pretends to be nice to get information out of you then use it to gossip. I heard she even blackmail some of her old neighbours with their secrets. But she''s truly just a sad soul. She lost the closest people to her in a fire. I try to tolerate her as much as I can.

    I always hide my spare keys in my flower pot and not under. Genius right? But now I can''t be too sure of the copycats intelligence or intuition so I can''t risk having a spare key outside. I dug it out of the flower pot and used it to open the door.

    Oreo tackled me to the ground. She''s a samoyed and is the friendliest dog you''ll ever meet. She''s always saying hello with those tail wags and eyes that sparkle like stars. She''s a furball of happiness. An exuberance that needs to sprint all over the place but if she senses just a little sadness emanating from you, she''ll do her best to make you laugh. She''s like an ethereal springtime with sweet emotions.

    Her white fluffy fur almost suffocated me to death. Poor girl must be really hungry. I took of my shoes and slid into my slippers. The kitchen floor was painted with dog food. Oreo had knocked down the container. It took nearly thirty minutes to clean it up. I poured Oreo her food and headed to the living room.

    Instant relief washed over me as a slumped into my couch. I turn on the TV and flipped through the channels mindlessly.

    "A man in his thirties was found dead in his apartment. Forensics have determined that he died of blood loss. He was found in his bathtub in a pool of his own blood. It''s been established that the man suffered greatly in his last moments as many arteries in his brain had burst from the severity of the pain. Yellow and purple flowers were scattered on his blood all around his corpse which was dressed in a black suit. The crime was described to be the work of psychopath as not a single piece of genetic evidence or physical evidence was found indicating through planning. No main suspects have been identified as of yet but police are investigating a possible suspect, the author of ''A Symphony of Murder'' as a crime occurring in his book has an uncanny resemblance to the crime committed by the murderer. Whether it is him or a fan of his book police suspect that they have a serial killer on their hands."

    This made it to the news much faster than I thought. Thankfully they didn''t mention my name but now everyone who knows I wrote this book will spread the news. I adjust the pillow under my head as I mindlessly watched the rest of the news.

    "Breaking news. The man has been identified as the Doll-maker. Newspaper clips of his victims, mummifying agents and preservatives have been found in his apartment. His DNA matched the stored DNA of the Doll-maker. The serial killer that has been terrorizing the country for two years. Countless girls have fallen victim to this serial killer and their bodies where found so well persevered that many of their families still believe they''re alive. Even with the morbid, macabre nature of the crime, the people of the internet are calling the man who managed to track down this infamous murderer and stop him from committing further crimes a hero. He''s been given the nickname Gladiolus which is a flower and based on the symbolism being heroism. We''ll read you some opinions that many people seem to share."

    "How dare the police call him a serial killer when they couldn''t even track the actual serial killer that killed so many young innocent ladies? Gladiolus is the vigilante we needed this whole time. I hope he''s never caught and continues to get rid of people like that doll-maker."

    "He''s my hero. I used to fear for my life when leaving my home knowing that I may fall victim to the doll-maker but now, because of Gladiolus I can let my guard down just a little."

    "To the people saying he should''ve handed him to the police instead you guys need to understand how complicated our justice system is and that there is a possibility that a he may be able to get away with it. I''m glad he took care of it with his own hands and rid us of that monster for good."

    People are so relieved that the serial killer was finally found that all of them are having visceral reactions. I''m glad he was removed from this world so he can''t terrorize his victims anymore but at the same time we can''t have people going around and administrating justice on their own. I shuffle through the channels but grew bored as there was no new news. My eyes lids are starting to feel heavy now. I turn off the TV and dragged my feet to my room upstairs.

    My closet was open and my favourite boots are laying on the floor in front of it. They''ve been mutilated. I can''t bare to look at them so I kicked them to the side.

    Oreo just won''t learn to stop ruining my shoes but I''m too tired to discipline her, not like she ever listens anyway. I collapse into the comfort of my bed and before I realize, I''d fallen asleep.

 Chapter 5: Codes Are More Fun When Nobodies Life Depends On It

    My muscles felt extremely sore. As if I''d worked out at the gym for hours the night before. This keeps happening to me every so often nowadays. I press on my thigh and it hurt with stiff soreness. I massage them and avoided moving a muscle on my arms or chest as much as I could. There might be something wrong with me medically. It makes no sense to feel so sore when I didn''t even work out. So I did what anyone would do.

    I googled my symptoms.

    I just never seem to learn from this bad mistake.

    Chronic exertional compartment syndrome, Claudication, Dermatomyositis, Fibromyalgia, Lupus... the list goes on and I''m on the verge of hyperventilating because I have no clue what any of those mean and they all sound scary. Except I knew about Lupus. ''It''s never lupus''. At least that''s what the cantankerous but brilliant Dr. House taught me. House was better than Grey''s Anatomy and I''d fight anyone on that.

    Maybe this was a side effect if the sleeping pills I got recently. I''ve had trouble falling asleep so I bought them about two month ago and this pain started about two weeks ago.

    I close the webmd tab before I have time to look at the rest of the scary deferential diagnosis''s. Oreo jumps on the bed with his squeaky toy and starts terrorizing my ears with this screeching mess. I never regretted buying something more.

    I sit up on the bed and the pain almost doubled in intensity. I need to consult a doctor as soon as possible. I hope it''s nothing serious.

    Tomorrow is my deadline for submitting the next chapter of my story "Into the Night sky" but I haven''t finished half the chapter yet. My editor is going to kill me.

    At least I don''t have to move too many muscles when typing on my laptop. After washing up, I grab a bowl of corn cereal, poured some chocolate milk and brought it back to my room. I pull my laptop on my lap and read the last sentence to reorient myself inside my story. Between spoonfuls of the cereal and typing my heart out I found myself writing the last sentence. Hitting that send button felt like literally lifting a weight of my shoulder, at least until the next weeks weight is chucked back at me.

    I throw on a hoodie and grabbed Oreos dog leash and she, on instinct, runs down stairs to the front door and claws the door. I opened it before she could damage the wood more and I followed her outside.

    My mailbox was open. All the flyers and envolupes where scattered on the ground. What seems like a large paper, no cardboard was shoved inside. I almost never check my mailbox until it''s about to overflow and it seems like someone who knows that fact about me wanted to make sure I do check this time. A white card with blood red writing. Random letters of the english alphabet were put together in a seemingly haphazard manner.

    "Yzoiqy gtj yzutky sge hxkgq euax hutky haz

    cuxjy vokxik euax nkgxz. Cnu''y zu hrgsk cnkt boizosy zgqk znkox uct robky? O yngrr zgqk payzoik otzu se uct ngtjy. 2029,09,11."

    It seems to be some kind of code. I researched a bunch of different codes for writing mysteries before. This wasn''t one of the obvious, weird, but cool ones. I remember there was a type where you slide the letters one space or more ahead of its original order. So if it was one space up, A would be a B. Therefore writing the word apple in code would be bqqmf. The problem would be to figure out how many spaces he slid the letters and whether it''s up or down the alphabet.

    My phone rings.

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    I felt a little panic. This almost feels like the perfect time for the murderer to call me and watch me from afar like in those horror movies.

    "Let''s meet in the cafe we usually go to." he intoned without even saying hi. It''s Leon.

    I shrug of the feeling of being watched. "Perfect timing I have something to show you as well." I said and he hung up. He needs to work on his phone manners because it''s getting out of control.

    Oreo closes the door and ran up to me with a wagging tail and her tongue sticking out. She drops to the ground and started doing impression of a corpse; it was something Leon had taught her to do when she''s hungry. She makes it look like I don''t feed her but last time I took her to the vet she said Oreo''s on the verge of being obese and that I need to stop giving her so many snacks. I pet her and she wagged her tail in circles with a Sammie smile.

    Oreo and I have a mutual understanding; it wasn''t there at first. Back when she was fresh from the pound, just less than a year old, she was too shy and used to flinch violently if you try to pet her. It was alarming at first because Samoyeds are know to be friendly and social dogs. She must have been abused at some point so I wanted to get her out of that miserable cage.

    It took several month before she opened up to me but after that she gave me all her heart. She''s smart and all but will never learn stop chewing things. So many of my furniture and shoes have chew marks and the front door is clawed beyond repair. I have to replace every shoe I own and the carpet multiple times a year. Leon kept telling me to take her back and get a lap dog, but no way. She''s too cute and in a few months had become family. She leaves my stuff alone if I buy her raw-hide bones and frozen marrowbones. She always hogs the couch in the day and my bed at night. Four walks a day means she''ll let me sleep at night. In return she adores me, cuddles up while I write my stories and goes wolf mode on any intruder that comes near my house.

    I''ll walk her later. I go back inside and put the collar away. I filled Oreos food bowl and patted her head before putting on my coat. I grab the mysterious code, a pen and a notebook before closing and locking the door after me.

    It''s still early in the morning and the grass lining the side ways glimmered with the sparkles of morning dew. After walking a few blocks down, the caf¨¦ came into sight.

    I could see Leon from outside. Of course like he does eighty percent of the time he has a toothpick in his mouth for absolutely no good reason. He always has a bag of candy on him but he hates that they stuck to his molars so he started carrying toothpicks with him but now it''s become a habit.

    He''s practically glaring a hole into the paper he''s holding.

    The doorbell ringed to signal a new customer and a little girl sitting with her dad waved at me. Cute. I send her a little smile then headed towards my friend.

    I slump in the chair in front of him. "Look he''s taunting me." I slide the card on the table towards Leon. He jumps a little and settles back down when he realized it''s me.

    "What''s this?" He asks as he inspected the paper.

    I rest my chin on my palm. "What does it look like I know? You''re supposed to be the junior detective here."

    "What if it''s just some stupid joke?" Leon picks up the paper with his sleeves. Trying not to leave any fingerprints. I forgot about that and now my fingerprints are all over it. I mean they said they couldn''t find any fingerprints at the crime scene itself so doubt he would be careless enough to leave fingerprints on this code if it''s really from him.

    "I doubt that. This never happened before I have a bad feeling about this code thing I think it''s connected to the doll-maker murder."

    Leon nods, "I''ll get permission from Cain and send a copy to the forensic department."

    "Why do you need to get permission from this Cain guy? Do juniors not even have the authority to send a piece of evidence for review?" I honestly don''t like having to lesson to authority like that. My literary agent and publisher are already giving me a hard time I can''t imagine having someone as stuck up as Cain as my boss.

    "They won''t just work on anything we send for investigation so we need permission from the main detective on the case." He explained and picked up his phone, dialling a number. "Hey Det.Cain. Someone just sent Cameron a coded written message is it okay to bring it in to the forensic team?" he pauses and I try to pick up what he''s saying on the other side of the phone but it was too loud in the caf¨¦ to hear it. "Why?" Leon runs his fingers through his hair with his eyebrows shaped like checkmarks. "What if it isn''t just a distraction? What if gives us a clue to the real perpetrator?"

    "He hung up on me."

 Chapter 6: I Didnt Sign Up For This

    I chuckle and took a sip of the lemon juice he ordered me. "I''ll just crack it myself."

    Leon throws his phone on the table. He has a habit of accidentally breaking things when he''s angry. "I know you''re smart but you know it''s really hard to decode such messages in real life."

    I smirk. Decoding is a specialty of mine; I never got the chance to test it in real life though."One of the only things I felt comfortable googling was coding. I mean if you checked my google history you''d really think I''m a serial killer."

    He laughs and swirls his straw around in his pineapple juice, his usual drink. "Aren''t all writers like that?" He stabs a little pineapple piece at the bottom of the cup. "I mean that kinda proves you aren''t a psycho at least because psychos don''t need google to plan a murder."

    "So you''re saying I''m a murderer but not a psycho?" I joke but he didn''t laugh. Either I have a terrible sense of humour or it''s on another level that Leon just doesn''t understand. He says terrible jokes all the time but I always laugh so as to not make him feel bad. Why can''t he reciprocate? It''s making me upset.

    "You know that''s not what I meant." I frowned and rolled my eyes. He''s so inconsiderate. If anyone has the right to laugh about this situation I''m in then it''s me and I have him a chance to laugh with me but he decides to only laugh at me.

    I pick up the pen and twirled it around my thumb. I need help cracking this code if I want to crack it in the shortest amount time possible. We need to find out what this code is pointing towards. "You got time? Two is better than one when cracking codes." I asked.

    He rests his back on the chair and nods, "Sure let''s do it. When I get some more experience with the police, I''m planning on retiring soon and becoming a private investigator. Some practice on decoding would help."

    I laugh, he''s a detective so he should know that this doesn''t happen normally. "I doubt normal criminals throw in codes every now and then when committing crime."

    I heard private investigators are either extremely rich or quite literally the opposite. Leon loves taking risks and gambles but I don''t think dropping his job for something he hasn''t thought through is a good idea. I would try to advise him against it but knowing him and his hard head he might take it up as a challenge and insist on doing it further.

    "This guy for sure isn''t your normal criminal. Criminals aren''t normal anyways" he picks up the code.

    I mean all criminals are abnormal but it''s rare to see a criminal plan so much like this. It''s not just the plan I''m of the crime itself, but also the codes.

    "What do we do now?" Leon asked.

    I rip out a page from my note book and hand it to him. "Write the alphabet in order. Then right below align the first letter with the next letter."

    "I don''t understand. So you mean that B is A and B is C?"

    "Exactly, but I doubt he''d use the first two slidding digits so you start with A is C and do the next seven slidding digits."

    "This is some complicated stuff couldn''t he just send this without coding it?"

    I pull my chair to the side so I can look at the code with him."He probably wants us to play around or to waste time."

    "Way to put pressure on me. On both of us."

    Three hours passed and we have yet to decode it. I started from the ninth sliding digit and I''m on the sixteenth one.

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    "How''s it going for you? I''m reviewing the fifth one now." Leon asks.

    "Why are you so slow?"

    He frowns with a pout."Hey it takes a lot of concentration."

    I look back at the whole code. Trying to find out if something in the middle could give out the answer instead of trying to solve it based on the first word. "Now when I think about it the O is most likely an I. Right? I can''t think of any other one letter word. If we were even close about the type of code he''s using anyway."

    Leon grabs the code and inspects it intently. "Wait, that makes a lot of sense. Right now I is M and so if I slide it two letters forwards I is O."

    I sigh,"So it was the seventh sliding digit this whole time? I wrote until the sixteenth for nothing."

    He glares at me, "It''s not my fault you decide to use logic from the beginning."

    "I can''t believe we''re this dumb." Is shake me head the grabbed the pen again. "Whatever lets first make sure it''s right before we get too happy."

    Leon takes a sip from his drink then grabs his pen as well, "Fine you decode the first two lines and I''ll decode the rest."

    "Sticks and stones may break your bones but words pierce your heart. Who''s to blame when victims take their own lives? I shall take justice into my own hands. 2019,09, 11."

    Leon throws the pen on the table and it bounces near the lady sitting next to us. "Oh come on he didn''t just make us crack a code to a code." He fumed. The lady turns around and glared daggers at us. She looked like she was about to eat us alive. I apologized and picked up the pen.

    "This date is probably the most significant part." I explained handing him back his pen. "And Leon please stop doing this what if you poke someone in the eye." I warned.

    "Oh shut up."

    My mistake again. It''s so hard dealing with people that can''t handle being called out. Leon''s a perfectionist and loves to take on challenges. He''ll never stop until he beats others but it isn''t out of trying to be the best strangely enough. He just likes to keep challenges going.

    "So someone used hurtful words? Victims take their own lives?" He pondered the meaning of these words.

    "I think it''s a bully and his victims committed suicide."

    Leon looks to the side then nods, "Makes sense but what about it then. What''s with this date?"

    "No clue." I said, scratching my temple.

    Leon taps on the table and points at the paper,"I''m thinking it''s either the day the victims committed suicide if they died together but I think it''s more likely got to do with the bully himself."

    "Like his birthday or something?" I asked.

    "Maybe." Leon suddenly snaps his fingers, "Oh wait. I remember a few years ago two teens hung themselves in their dormitories. Someone has been harassing them both online. I was shadowing detective Cain at the time so I remember. Someone who was being blackmailed by the man who drove the teens into suicide decided to get rid of him but the man killed him in alleged self defence. He got arrested and charged with manslaughter because they couldn''t find evidence that suggested self defence. I think he got four years with the possibility of parole after two."

    "Makes sense." I nod with my index finger and thumb around my chin.

    "Do you know if he being released in the coming week?" Leon asks.

    "Aren''t you supposed to be the detective here?" I laugh.

    Leon scratches the top of his head, "He''s probably going to be murdered the day he''s released."He points at me, "Wasn''t a victim in your book hung using the wire of his keyboard?"

    I nod,"Yes and he was also a malicious online bully and blackmailer."

    "This guy is literally searching for the real manifestation of the stories characters and turning your story into reality."

    "I think he wants a detective figure on him too. I didn''t use codes in the story but I think he''s using them so someone has a chance to stop him." I inferred. "Now Cain has to listen. He should put that guy in witness protection or something."

    Leon shook his head, "He''ll refuse again."

    "Why?"

    "He said even if he wanted to he can''t really do something right now because he can only put witnesses under witness protection."

    "I mean I know there''s other ways to protect people in his situation."

    Leon sighs in frustration, "Well I don''t really care what happens to him because the guys are a piece of garbage anyways but I just wanna catch the culprit."

    I close my note book and placed my elbows on it,"What do we do then? If they''re not willing to help then this guys as good as dead." I asked.

    "Let''s try to find him ourselves."

 Chapter 7: Hacks, Snacks, and Mishaps

    "Do you have a plan?" I asked.

    He strokes his imaginary beard and then snaps his fingers. "Yeah, I have an idea."

    "What is it?"

    He picks up his pen and his mini notebook and shoves them in his back pocket. "Let''s go."

    We walked for fifteen minutes before we reached a creepy abandoned building. It''s about 3 stories high and moss seems to have already invaded the majority of the building.

    Leon walks towards the back and I followed him. I have a bad feeling about this place but he seems to be familiar with it. There is a rusted metal door in the side of the building.

    Leon picks up a crowbar conveniently hidden behind a nearby box and pried the door open and then threw the tool to the side.

    "He should be here around this time." Leon whispered.

    The door opened to a staircase that lead to the basement. It was dark but let up with small flickering lights.

    Leon put a finger to his lips to warn me of speaking as he took a careful step. His feet trim led as he tried to tip toe on the stairs.

    He was suddenly at the bottom of the stairs on his stomach.

    I''d stepped on his shoe lace and he stumbled to the end of the staircase.

    He groans in pain as he stood up with a hand on his back. He runs his back as he bit his lips then he turns to look up at me with daggers shooting from his eyes.

    I shrug my shoulders and descended the stairs. It''s not my fault that Leon never ties his shoe laces. He''s fallen a hundred times before and never listens to my advice about tying his laces. I mean even little kids know they should tie them even if they don''t know how.

    Leon slaps his back and rolled his shoulders maybe that eased the pain of the fall. He points down the hallway which was riddled with more flickering white lights. "His stuff are usually at the room at the end of the hallway but he may have ran away because of what you did."

    I have no idea what he''s talking about but whoever we''re looking for seems to be someone that can help us track the next victim. I pull out my phone and turned on the flash light. "Let''s go see."

    We slowly push open the door. The creaking sound made us nervous so we just slammed the door open.

    Someone was facing their computer completely immersed into the contents of the screen that they didn''t seem to notice our presence. A disk to their side, filled with random stuff from books to phones to a bunch of USBs and strange devices.

    "I caught you." Leon whispers and crosses his arms.

    The women was wearing glasses that reflected the blue light of the screen which had a bunch of weird long codes. A beanie covered her head with blue headphones above. The faint sound of intense rock music played. It seems like even if we scream near her ears she wouldn''t be able to hear us over the loud bass pounding on her eardrums. Mine would rupture if I were her.

    Leon walks towards her and snaps his fingers in front of her eyes. "Hey you''re here again Viola."

    She blinks and slowly turns her head to face Leon who had a smirk on his face. She abruptly presses the shutdown button on the computer. She takes off her headphones and adjusts her beanie to cover her more of her forehead before she shoves her hands into her pockets.

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    Leon leans his back on the disk and crosses his arms, "You know detective Cain told me to keep an eye on you and to arrest you if you try to hack, wiretap or doing anything illegal again." He intoned.

    "And I''ve stopped doing all that now I only fix phones and get rid of viruses for people."

    Leon wags his finger left and right, "You know that''s not true."

    "It is."

    "Even your body language is yelling ''I''m lying''. Your hands in your pockets and covering your forehead like you just did, they''re signs of someone trying to deceive others."

    She tittered, "That''s some bullshit science." She snickered.

    "I know you still do it. I send someone undercover. Let me get straight to the point. I''ll ignore it if you do me a small favour and i''ll continue ignoring it if you could help with more small favours in the future." Leon offered.

    She was slack-jawed. A small smirk formed on her face. "So basically you want me to hack stuff?" Leon nods with a straight face and she laughs. "How ironic. A detective telling me to break the law." Leon begin tapping his feet impatiently and she took the hint. "As long as it''s not hacking a governmental website I''m down." She appeased.

    "Well I need you to find someone for me. I don''t care what websites you hack or what not but I know you can do it."

    She nods and leans back on her chair placing her hands behind her head, "What''s his name?"

    "Yeah about that, you''re on your own. All I know is that this date is significant to him" he pulls a folded up paper from his front pocked and hands it to her. A copy of the code we solved. "He''s an internet bully who drove two poor teens to commit suicide."

    She unfolds the paper and nods as she inspected the contents. "Alright I''ll do my best."

    "We need his information and residence as soon as possible. He might be the next victim." I add and she gives me the up-down look. I doubt she was checking me out rather wondering since when I''ve been here.

    "Okay we''re waiting on your call." Leon turns on his heels and heads outside. He shoves his hands in his pockets and played with some coins in his pocket. "I''m hungry let''s go grab something to eat"

    "Alright."

    We ordered a kabab from a street vendor on the way and sat down to eat on a bench. Leon gets really grumpy when he''s hungry so I avoided talking until he finished his food.

    His phone rang.

    Leon swallows the half bitten tomato piece and then clicks his tongue."It''s that jerk Cain." He spat.

    He listens with tight lips, "Alright I''ll be there soon."

    Right when he hangs up another incoming call appeared on the screen.

    It''s Viola maybe she already found a lead. He answers and put the phone on speaker, "Better be good news." He interjected.

    "His name is Tom Grey and he lives in an apartment complex on Silver road. The date you mentioned is the day the two teenagers committed suicide. This man has been bullying them and sending them lots of insults. Since they were already in a bad place they couldn''t handle his constant abuse." She explained as if she was reading an essay.

    "Alright thank you." and he hang up.

    How can we trust the information she gave us so easily. I mean yeah she probably wouldn''t play us since Leon threatened to hand her to the police, but I can''t trust her so easily.

    Leon shoves the last piece of the kabab into his mouth. "Cain needs me right now. Wait until I''m done with him. We''ll go together after."

    I shook my head. We can''t wait any longer. "Then I''ll visit him myself for now. We can''t afford to be late. We should at least warn him."

    "Alright be careful though." He picks up his stuff off he table then got up. He waves a small goodbye before heading towards the bus station.

    I finished up my food and cleaned up the mess we made on the bench. A squirrel came and picked up some of the food that had fallen to the ground before it ran away.

    The trash was divided like usual according to the material but a plastic bottle was sticking out of the food waste box. Is it so hard to throw things in the right place? The plastic recycling bin was empty at that.

    I slap the dirt of my hands then picked up my phone. I search up the directions towards the mans house, Tom, and boarded the bus heading closest to where he was.

    I kept drifting in and out of sleep until I reached the destination. The bus stopped just a few blocks away from the aforementioned apartment.

    As soon as I stepped out of the crowded bus I extended my arms and stretched them out. I yawn escaped me mouth.

    "Help!"

    I was in the middle of my yawn so I wasn''t sure I heard it right. I abruptly stopped yawning and focused on my ears.

    "Thief!"

 Chapter 8: Hero for a Day, Stitches to Stay

    I spot the source of the screams. She was being robbed in broad daylight.

    A man is trying to snatch this lady''s purse. He''s wearing a black baseball cap that covers his face. The lady is holding onto her bag for dear life as if there might be gold or diamonds in that bag.

    I run towards them and slap the mans hand away. I stood in front of the lady shielding her as I took hold of the handle of her bag. I felt his grip loosen a bit and I use it as an opportunity to knock him down. He stumbled over his feet but gets up quickly and makes a sprint for it. I look back at the women who was now hugging her bag as she stared ahead in shock. Her eyes wide and her mouth slack jawed. The man is sprinting with all his strength and in the spur of the moment I decide run after him.

    He kept looking back at me as he tried to shake me of his tail but i guess the adrenaline was kicking in and I wasn''t feeling tired at all.

    The thief runs into an alleyway. I follow and suddenly felt a sharp pulsating pain on my forearm. He slashed me with a pocket knife. When I look up he was gone. I could see his the top of his head as he jumped the wall and landed on the other side.

    I searched for the nearest store with a bathroom to wash off the blood. Luckily one shopkeepers was nice enough to allow me in without forcing me to buy anything like they usually do. I look at my reflection in the broken mirror. I was sweating a ton and the marks were all over my shirt.

    My arm was still bleeding. I heard it takes about seven minutes for bleeding to stop so it''s normal for now. I''m probably going to need some stitches. I roll up my sleeves and clenched my jaw as I tried to endure the pain. The water washed all the impurities out of my wound. The majority of the fresh blood washed out of my shirt but some, which had begin to dry, just wouldn''t budge no matter how hard I rubbed. It''s stained now. I gave up and made my way back to where to women was.

    She was clenching her bag and looking around with concern etched into her face.When she spotted me she jogged up to me with a grateful smile.

    "Thank you young man!" She looks at my arm which was still bleeding even though the flow has been reduced. "Are you hurt?"

    I hide my forearm behind my back and forced a polite smile, "It''s just a small scratch."

    She pulls my arm and inspects it, "It''s huge! Let''s go to he hospital and get it cleaned up." She demands and rugs me towards a car.

    I reluctantly allowed her to drag me, "Its okay I don''t like going to hospitals."

    She let''s go of my hand and grabs the keys to her car. "I would disinfect it for you but I''m sure it needs stitches. Get inside the car." I stare at her and she stares back. I gave up and complied.

    She turns on the car and reversed out of the parking slot,"Put on the suit belt. Where are you headed?"

    "I was going to visit someone in the apartment we were in front of." I made sure the seat belt was secured before I awkwardly started spinning my phone around my hands.

    "Oh I know the tenants their who are you visiting?"

    "Tom Grey."

    She nods as she maneuvers her way through the streets, "Is he a friend?"

    I shake my head. "I just need to talk to him."

    It didn''t take more that twenty minutes before I was done. The doctor disinfected the wound and gave it seven stitches.

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    "Alright, you''re heading to that apartment right?"

    She already drove me here there''s no need to trouble her further. "You really don''t have to drive me back."

    "It''s okay i live in that apartment so that''s where I''m heading anyway."

    I smile. "Thank you."

    When we reached the parking lot back near the apartments she parks her car and pulls an envelope.

    "Here take this as a token of my appreciation for standing up for me against that thief."

    Is she offering me money? I mean I appreciate that she''s trying to help but that''s a little offensive. "I can''t accept that I only did what anyone else would do."

    "That''s not true. It''s rare to find young men like you nowadays; people only care for themselves."

    "I still can''t accept that."

    Her eyes were downcast. She played with the zipper on her bag. "You know why even though I''m weak and old I still struggled and risked getting stabbed or killed just to get this bag?" She questioned. I didn''t answer and she continued on, "It''s not money or identification."

    She dugs out her wallet and pulls out a picture of a man in his early twenties. "Its because of this."

    She breathes in deeply and released the breath, choking on suppressed tears."It''s my son. This is my favourite picture of him. He died while serving the country."

    My expression softened and I try to think of a way to somehow comfort her. "I''m sorry to hear that. He''s a hero."

    She sniffles and wipes hear tears with a tissue. "If you are then you''ll accept this from me. You remind me so much of my son. He was as selfless as you are, humble and righteous." She grabs my hand and places the envelope in it.

    "Thank you." I hesitantly accepted.

    She tells me the apartment number and heads to the elevator. I slowed down so that she could get on the elevator herself. There''s a homeless man laying down near the entrance who asked her for money but she ignored him. When I was sure the doors of the elevator were closed I gave him the envelope. He starts to thank and pray for me with every prayer under the moon and I nod with a smile before I entered the building.

    The apartment is shabby but seems to be newly renovated. It was filled with cheap items. From the little plastic plants on the tables to cheap door locks that look like they would shatter if I where to reach them.

    I search for room thirteen. Where Tom Grey lives. Then I found it. I knock on the door and their was no answer.

    Is he dead already?

    I start to panic and pounded on the door a little harder this time. Was I too late? I didn''t have to chase that thief and waste my time.

    The door unlocks and a sour faced man peaks his head through. "Who are you and What do you want do you want?" he spat with a disdainful look on his face.

    I clear my throat. "My name is Cameron and I''m he author of Symphony of Murder."

    His brows raise with interest and he opens the door and stands outside. "Oh the book that someone is copying?"

    "Yes."

    He was wearing his pyjamas and he reeled of the smell of alcohol. He scratches his belly. "What business do you have with me?" he queried.

    I pull up a photo of the code on my phone. "So the culprit send me a coded message and it seems like you''re his next target." I explained holding up the code to his face.

    He narrowed his eyes with a frown, "Why would I be? I never murdered anyone or made girls into dolls."

    Never murdered anyone? Manslaughter is still murder without malice. "You know that''s a lie."

    His eyes widen. He realized I actually know what I''m talking about. He looks to the side, his frown deepened and his lips protruded. "That was a case of self defence it doesn''t count as murder!" he emphasized the ''self defence''.

    I shrug my shoulder. "That doesn''t personally matter to me it was handled by the law. I''m just here to warn you because I don''t want my book to be a reason people die. Even if it''s bad people."

    "You fucking asshole!" He grabbed me by the collar.  His breath was laboured with enmity. He raised his fist to my face getting ready to collide with my bones.

    I squeezed my eye shut trying to prepare mentally for the impact.

    He was about to punch me but then abruptly stops. Without moving his head he snuck a look at the camera which was placed at the end of the hallway. It glowed red.

    It''s recording. One problem, it''s a cheap kind that can only record what it''s pointing at.

    And It''s pointing away.

 Chapter 9: A Moonlit Murder

    He swayed in the bitter cold room. A breeze snuck it''s way through an open window. The stench of decomposition violated my nose whenever the wind stopped blowing. Darkness enveloped the figure in the air. The only light was that of the moon; it shone through a window and lit up the carpet right below him. The moonlight contrasted that of the day but somehow give a similar vibe. Dead skin cells floating in the air were highlighted by the light of the moon.

    The flowers under his corpse, purple and yellow covered with drops of blood. They swam in a little pool of the vermillion liquid. His feet, deep crimson and purple with the coagulated settled blood.

    My eyes travel up.

    His heart hung out of his chest.

    Subcutaneous tissue spewed out of his severed heart. It''s pieces swayed the opposite way as the body. The arteries where chopped off. Those hose like appendages were covered with dark crimson. They come out of the body like a ghoulish, lurid display of art. The colour of the heart muscles was fading into grey. Blood dripped down on the flowers as if each drop can control its own time and space. The flowers where covered in his blood like droplets of dew.

    There wasn''t much blood so it seems the heart was carved out after he passed away but that didn''t make the scene less gruesome.

    Again, the same scene as in my book.

    The keyboard wire was tight around his neck. Somehow that thin wire was able to handle the weight of his body. There was no chair or any stepping tool.

    A murder.

    I mean it has to be if his heart is on display like this.

    He was hanged. Then his heart was pulled out.

    When the scene registered in my mind I felt my stomach turn violently. I tried to suppress my gag reflex but it was to no avail. My dinner decorated the carpet in a mix of my stomach juices. I wipe my mouth with the sleeve of my shirt. This mess is going to take forever to clean. Other than the fact that their is a horribly mutilated body hanging from the ceiling I can''t believe I had to make things worse like this.

    "Cameron call the police! You, please leave the room." Leon ordered as he observed the scene in front of him with utter horror. There was not much blood but the eerie ambience of the room causes chills to travel up the spine of any witness.

    Leon locked the room so as to preserve the crime scene and joined us downstairs in the lobby as we waited for the police or arrive.

    The forensic team arrived first and Leon allowed them upstairs but there was still no sign of the lead detective showing up anytime soon.

    Out of the five forensic workers that came in with white hazmat suits two just come down with their bags full of evidence and the left for their labs.

    Cain walks in and comes straight up to me. "Where were you between ten pm and twelve am?" he questioned almost getting into my face.

    "Me?"

    "Then is it me? You''re the suspect here just answer the question."

    "I reached home at about six pm then I slept. At one am Leon called me and we went to check on him." I recounted exactly what happened but what''s the point? It''s not like he''s going to believe me even if theirs CCTV evidence as proof.

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    "Why would you check on him at one am? Can''t you wait till tomorrow?" His blank eyes stared me down like an arrow. Frankly o think he can convince anyone that they commit a crime and they''d believe him even if they''re completely innocent. For some reason I''m not all that scared of him here but I''d got to admit that I was about to soil myself last time in the interrogation room. Maybe my calm demeanour tricked him into thinking I''m not scared.

    "Wait a second here. My husband used to be a detective and I know you''re doing something really suspicious here. You haven''t even seen the corpse and it hasn''t even been taken to the morgue how do you already know the time span in which it could have occurred." The lady from yesterday butted in to call him out. She maybe biased because I helped her out but she''s telling the truth.

    "Oh and who might you be, old lady?" Cain snuck a look at his notes pad. "Ms. Keanu, Well nowadays there''s something called a cellphone. Have you heard of it?" he said sarcastically as he drew the outline of one in the air, goading everyone with his rude and disrespectful remark. His expression turned blank. "I called the forensic team and based on the amount of rigour mortis this is the time span. Of course after the autopsy well have more accurate information but for now we''ll have to work with what we have."

    "It was my suggestion. I kept calling the victim''s phone but he wouldn''t pick up. I had a bad feeling about it so I called Cameron so we could go check up on him." Leon joins in and explained the situation to Cain but of course he''s not going to listen to anything that may suggest I''m innocent. He keeps going overboard and it seems like no one can control or is even willing to try to control him.

    "Im asking you. So you don''t have an alibi?" He sneered. "You''re in trouble." He intoned and crossed his arms.

    Ms.Keanu butted in to vouch for me, "No it can''t be that man. He would never do such a thing." She asserted.

    Cain eyes her with one raised brow. "Do you know him?"

    She nods. "Yesterday he helped me and put himself in danger. Such a man could never take someone''s life."

    "So you''re covering for him?" He jeered. His classic rude face, eyebrows raised, mocking eyes and a contorted face as a whole. His face is so punchable.

    She eyed him. It was quite for a moment. It seemed like the most intense stare down battle occurred between occurred between Cain and the lady. "You can check the CCTV I don''t care but I''m warning you. You got the wrong person for sure." She shrugs.

    "The wires of the CCTV cameras have all been cut." Cain states dryly as he flipped through his notes. He knew it was going to happen so it was no surprise.

    She couldn''t help smile a little and I doubt she even realizes she''s smiling like that. For some reason that''s upsetting me cause it makes it seem like she thinks I''m the actual guy and wants to cover up for me regardless. "Then you don''t have any evidence to prove that young man did it?"

    Cain narrows his eyes at the lady yet again, "Then do you have evidence that proves he didn''t do it?" He asked.

    Ms.Keanu rolls her eyes and took a seat on the sofa in the lobby. "Stop harassing him. I''ll sue you if I hear that you keep bothering him." She threatened. I felt a little happy that she stood up for me.

    "You don''t even know him." He mumbled as he rubbed his crinkled forehead.

    "Well I do now. He''s like my son." She smiles at me. Her crow feet where much deeper than I thought.

    "Ms. Keanu you don''t have to do this for me." I chuckled nervously. Grief is making her see her son in me so she wants to strand up to him for me but I don''t need her help.

    Cain shook his head, his eyes gave Ms. Keanu is a pitiful look. "Poor lady fell for his act. You know psychopaths are extremely charismatic. Luckily, I''m immune to such emotional traps and charms. I''m done questioning you for today. Please give me your contact information in case we need to ask you some follow up questions."

    Cain started walking away then he motioned for Rain to follow. "Rain. I need you to get me a warrant to search his house. He''s bound to be hiding something there. I''d force my way in if that was legal." She nodded then they left together in a car.

    The last thing I remember from yesterday was Tom trying to punch me. After that I remember nothing. This usually happens when someone tries to beat me up but not always. It''s a weird type of isolated amnesia for any event which could be even remotely traumatic. I''ve had it ever since I could remember. I don''t recall how I even got home but I know that I got home at around six.

 Chapter 10: Faked Alibi and Real Friendship

    There was a knock on my door.

    It''s seven in the morning.

    I look through the eye hole to see who decided to mess with a sleepy Cameron. I''m extremely grumpy around the time I wake up.

    It was Leon. I could see him smiling like an idiot. I wonder what''s got him so excited and impatient that he decided to come visit me so early in the morning. I unlock the door and let him in. I yawned as I walked towards the living room.

    My back almost split in half. Leon smacked me with the strength of two bigfoots.

    "What''s wrong with you?" I raved, trying to rub the pain away.

    He held his stomach in laughter which turned into a bellow. He slapped his knees. "Hey! You should''ve told me about it!"

    "What?!"

    He wipes off a tear as he tried to gain back his composure, "Your Alibi! No matter how embarrassing it is, it''s still a solid alibi!"

    I blink at him, "I don''t have a clue what you''re talking about."

    He walked towards my couch and plopped down, "Someone said they saw you entering a hotel so I checked the cameras and captured you entering at 9:34 and leaving at 11:57 this gap proves your innocence." He explains and leans back with his arms on the pillows.

    What in the world is he talking about? I''ve never been such hotels.

    "Who said? I didn''t do anything like that. I slept at home the whole night."

    He snorted, "Yeah right."

    He''s unintentionally gaslighting me. Do I sleep walk or something? I stayed home last night. I''ve never even been to a such a hotel before. Is he trying to fake me an alibi?

    "What? Are you fibricating me an alibi?" I crossed my arms with a smirk.

    "Alright. I got you. I got you." He prevaricated then sent me a wink with the smuggest grin on his face before he guffawed.

    He thinks he''s in a detective novel or something. You can''t easily get away with faking stuff in the real world. I don''t know how to feel about this. To have a friend who''s ready to risk his job and even going to jail for you; that''s something I''d always thought would never happen in real life. I''ve never had any loyal friends. The ones I were loyal to never paid me back; They sometimes betrayed me instead. But if he''s caught, I don''t want to be the reason he loses so much. He''s such a stupid nut. I plopped down next to him and Oreo jumped on my lap; I petted her.

    Leon rubbed his earlobe. "You know if we didn''t find your alibi you were probably gonna be taken into custody again. Cain is so desperate to jail you that he thought of fabricating evidence against you. Now he can''t even get a search warrant against you"

    Well this Cain guy doesn''t have an ounce of conscience so I wouldn''t put it past him.

    I punched his shoulder and send him a small beam, "Thanks man."

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    He returned a smile, "For what? I only did what I''m supposed to do."

    "Learn to accept a sincere thank you." I chided him. He does so much for me but I''ve barely done anything in return. The least I could do is thank him.

    He chuckles, "You say thanks a lot I don''t know when it''s a sincere or courteous one."

    I wave my hand in the air, "Forget it. By the way, Do you think he''ll follow the book exactly or put his own twist next time? I mean some of the cases in my book are hard to come-by in real life." I pondered, my finger twirled on my temple.

    "I think he''ll probably continue killing until we catch him through the codes. I really don''t understand his motives or if he''s just a senseless serial killer that wants to be a vigilante. Well it can''t be considered the work of a serial killer yet, not until a third victim appears having died by the same motus opprandi. I mean the first victim deserved to die anyway but we can''t have a serial killer lose like that we can''t be sure if he''ll only target bad people."

    I grab the hair brush off my coffee table and tried to fix Oreos fur. "He doesn''t seem like he wants to frame me yet. He just seems like he wants to outsmart me or something of sorts."

    "He probably has an obsession with your detective in the novel and wants to see if he can trick you or not." Leon grabs the TV controller and turned it on.

    "He''s taking it too far. Now people are gonna blame writers like me but it''s really the fault of this maniac."

    He shuffled through the channels in the speed of lightning, I don''t even know if he has time to choose something he likes when he does that.

    "I mean if that''s how it works then every mystery writer or even the readers must have murdered at least one person at some point." he shrugged as he continued to switch the channels. "Oh." he pointed at me with the remote control. "If he decides to come to your house and drop off another card then he''s screwed. Cain ordered a bunch of CCTV cameras to be placed around your house."

    I shake my head and rolled my eyes. "I mean he''s invading my privacy but if that''s what it takes to prove my innocence then so be it."

    "Hey do you have a pain reliever? I have a killer headache right now." Leon asked. He had his hand on the top of his head.

    "It''s in the medicine cabinet on the second row to the right."

    He grabs a cup of water and heads to get the medicine.

    This is the second time he asks me for pain reliever. He never used to get headaches like this. He must be really stressed these past months if he keeps getting such strong headaches.

    I spent the whole day watching TV. In what felt like minutes, I look outside and the sun was already going down in a sea of red, purple and yellow hues. These colours reminded me of the blood pool decorated by the yellow and purple flowers. I shake the image out of my head and opened my PlayStation.

    We played until midnight before Leon decided to go back home.

    I opened the medicine cabinet and took a sleeping pill. It seems like every was shifted around. I told him exactly where the pill he wanted was but he had to go and mix everything up.

    I gulped down some water until the uncomfy scratchy feeling in my throat subsided.

    Oreo started scratching on the back door. Every time their is a nice breeze outside she demands to sleep in her dog house in the backyard. I let her out and locked the back door.

    I slump into my bed and sleep overtook me in a matter of seconds.

    <hr>

    Eyes followed me.

    Eyes that where just a void of darkness; Like a blackhole, they sucked you into the abyss of despair. The owner of the eyes came closer to me but only the eyes where visible. The rest of the face was blurry but I could make out a sneer with vampire-like teeth. It turned into a smirk then that turned into wicked laughter.

    I started running away and found myself in the middle of a forest. Suddenly, the figure was in front of me. I turn on my heels as fast as I could and almost slipped on the muddy ground covered in withered leaves. The figure teleported in front of me again. No matter what direction I headed it always found a away to block me. The beat of my heart against my rib cage was so strong it felt like I had a drum in my thorax. I grabbed a rock and hurled it was all the strength I could muster in my arms but it just went through the figures.

    I kept running and running. Nothing. Nothing would work to get rid of this monster. Those voids that threatened to steal the light from my eyes.

    I realized one thing as I was running.

    I need to face it. That''s the only way I could escape this horror.

 Chapter 11: Someone is Playing Games With Meâ€”Again

    A night mare.

    My phone rang. The calming piano piece I set as my ring tone has turned into the equivalent of a screaming squirrel. I answer so as to stop this figuratively deafening sound and rest my poor ears.

    "Yo, Cameron. Yesterday at one am you were wearing a red hat, navy shirt and blue trousers when you left at night, right?" Leon just can''t seem to stop interpreting my sleep. Every morning it''s either a phone call or a knock at the door. I''m like a sleeping volcano. I don''t know when I might explode next so he should stop interrupting my precious sleep time.

    I yawned and turned the phone into speaker mode. "I mean yeah, how did you know?"

    Oh wait, Cain put cameras here... My every move is being watched. Hairs stand on the back of my neck at the thought of someone watching me sleep. I sat up in bed trying to make sense of what Leon''s attempting to explain to me. Why is the fact that I went out at night and what I was wearing significant? Okay maybe that type of information might help to prove the crime but that''s if I was gladiolus, which I am not.

    "After you left someone in all black came and searched for every single one of the cameras and cut all the wires in them." Leon explained. "He did it so skillfully and stealthily that we couldn''t extract any useful informations out of him at all. He has skills that matches that of secret agents." Leon''s voice was laced with awe. He, rightfully, couldn''t wrap his head around the fact that this gladiolus guy practically doesn''t exist. Not a finger print. Not a piece of hair. Nothing. It''s almost impossible to not drop a DNA evidence accident. Especially with someone like gladiolus who committed various crimes. It''s almost like he''s a ghost. I shake my head and returned to the train of thought of earlier.

    I recounted the memory. I couldn''t sleep despite taking a sleeping pill. I had suddenly started to crave a glass of milk but it was done so decided to go to the twenty-four hour grocery story near me to get some.

    "I felt strange yesterday. I went to buy some milk but I don''t remember actually buying it but it''s in my fridge." I said as I opened the fridge to confirm that I wasn''t just having another absurd dream. I''ve had this strange type of amnesia for sometime now. When I am thinking about stuff, I completely forget my surroundings and can do tasks that I''ve done hundreds of times before mindlessly.

    Leon chuckles, "You probably zoned out like last time. Remember when you where so in the zone that you ran into a street pole?"

    "Don''t remind me of that."

    I mean it''s probably because I was walking around with sleeping pills in my system so my mind was about to go to sleep anyway and I wasn''t registering things as normal. I shouldn''t have gone to the store yesterday either after taking the sleeping pills but I couldn''t help it when I suddenly crave random stuff I must always get whatever it is.

    "You hit your head so hard the bump wouldn''t disappear for days." he tittered than cleared his throat. "Anyway someone really is keeping an eye on your house. He went so far as to take out the CCTV cameras so he can roam around freely."

    Chills ran down my spine. What is his motive? Why is he roaming around my house like this? Does he want to kill me? Frame me? It just makes no sense because if he wanted to frame me he wouldn''t put something on me or in my house. Maybe he already did and is waiting for Cain to obtain a search warrant on my house. I need to search the house and especially the backyard and make sure no incriminating evidence was planted her. The dumpsters also need to be searched since I''ve seen many crimes that were linked through finding evidence in the dumpster of a neighbourhood where I suspect lived.

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    "Yeah. This guy is creeping me out." I closed the fridge and headed towards the backdoor. Oreo insisted on sleeping in her dogs house so I need to open the door to let her in. As soon as I unlocked he door she ran inside. I petted her head.

    Something cut my palm. It felt like a paper cut. Sharp and small but on par with a knife in the amount of pain it induces. I noticed there was something stuck to Oreos collar. It really is a piece of paper. I unfold it with one hand with my phone in the other as inspected the contents.

    Another code.

    "Cameron are you still there?" He was droning on but I''d zoned out since the moment I found the code.

    I put my phone down and folded out the paper properly so that all the contents were visible. "Yeah, I found another code. Oreo was sleeping in the backyard and i found it stuck to her collar. It''s in the same format as the one before. It has a date on it as well." I filled the paper around but there was nothing on the back.

    Leon paused for a moment, "So he snuck into your backyard and slipped the paper around Oreo''s collar?"

    "That''s exactly what I just said."

    "No I mean that''s strange then why did Oreo not bark or attack him? He''s an intruder after all." he reasoned.

    Last time I was almost burglarized Oreo bit the intruder so hard that his blood was all over my backyard. "That''s true. It''s strange. Oreo is only friendly around the people I bring home but not any strangers."

    Leon sighs, "I don''t know why you''re so convinced your dog is nice; She almost bit me the first few days I visited when you bought her and now she only tolerates me that''s all. She only likes you." I heard the sound of a notification and checked but it wasn''t from me. It was probably from Leon''s phone.

    "Oreo is just protective that''s all. She actually likes you more than you think."

    She actually gets really excited when Leon comes over and sticks to him like glue and practically ignores me. I guess Leon is just traumatized be the first time her met her because she was really aggressive then.

    "He''s probably a dog trainer or used some sort of trick. Anyway meet me in the cafe. I think I found a main suspect." He hung up.

    I filled one of Oreos bowls with water and the other with dog food before I did my morning routine.

    My skin was starting to breakout and I guess the stress of everything has finally taken its toll on my skin. I grabbed a lemon and squeezed its juice all over my face which usually helped get rid of all the pimples over night. I put on a black training suit and black trainers. I''d say eighty percent of my wardrobe is black and the other twenty percent are shades of grey and white. And frankly I don''t know why I guess it''s just convenient to wear black.

    I jogged my way to the caf¨¦.

    He was sitting exactly where we were a few days ago. The window seat is almost always taken but we''ve managed to monopolize it two times straight and I''m low-key very pleased about that.

    I enter and the familiar bell welcomed me.

    "Have you ever been on your fan page on reddit?" the moment he spotted me, before I even took a seat, he immediately asks me the most random question ever.

    "It''s usually just filled with a bunch of people making far fetched theories about the characters and the little meaningless details I put in my books. What about it?" I slump into the chair.

    He pulls out a paper with a printed screen of someone''s reddit post and hands it to me. "This guy @maybeillkillyou9, he''s practically your biggest fan. He read all your books and is in this fan club where they discuss what they think your next work will be about. I didn''t even know such groups existed." he contended.

    I lean back on my chair. I''m disappointed in him. Now he''s making preposterous claims. "Leo, you''re slowly turning into Cain. Just because he''s a big fan of my book doesn''t make him the killer." I interjected and interlocked my finger behind my head. My head was starting to get heavy from all the thinking.

    "But that username though."

 Chapter 12: Cracking Codes and Facing Fears

    I groaned and rubbed my temples, the frustration evident in my sigh. Of all people, he should know better. The irony of his comment wasn¡¯t lost on me; we used to revel in mocking each other''s middle school social media usernames. It was one of the highlights of high school, after all.

    "You''re username up until eleventh grade was @imnotaserialkiller77 so you can''t judge." I jested so as to dispel his absurd theory. He snorts almost choking on some water he took a sip right before. He  looks around sneakily making sure no one was listening in.

    "You swore not to talk about that anymore!" He whisper yelled with a scrunched up face. Blood rushed to his face as he tried to forget the embarrassment I reminded him of. It wasn''t just the username though. That''s why he''s super mad. You know how life is, especially during high school years. You do a lot embarrassing stuff, sometimes you''re forced to by your teachers and sometimes you do it yourself. If I even begin to mention the other stuff Leon will probably put me in his choke hold of death. I don''t want to die young.

    I put a hand to my mouth and mouthed. "Oops." I unintentionally chuckle knowing it still embarrassed him so much. It''s kind of fun to tease him. It''s like trying to disarm a bomb. As long as it''s simulated and you know you''re safe it''s fun. But then sometimes you don''t know which wire my truly cause a disaster. I might be exaggerating I don''t really know but Leon can be intense when he''s mad.

    He points at me with his hand and gesticulated. "Hear me out." He urged then grabbed the paper out of my hand. "On may seventh, the day of the first murder, he posted this. "If I wrote his book ''A Symphony of Murder '' I would''ve done better. He shouldn''t have mummified the man after he drained his blood. That''s basically letting him die as a ''doll'' like his little victims that he admired so much. I wouldn''t let him die as a ''beautiful doll''." he read it and gave me a smug ''do you agree with me now'' face.

    I slumped back in the chair. "I mean that''s suspicious. I get that the real victim didn''t have formalin in his arteries but I''m sure it''s not easy to get your hands on that chemical anyway." I played with the straw of my juice. Even though I always drink this pineapple juice but for some reason I''m not feeling it today.

    "I''m not done." he declaimed and pulled another folded paper out of his front pocket. "On the night of the second murder he posted: "I hate people who bully and blackmail others. I hope every last one of these self hating, money hungry menaces die a painful death." He puts the papers on the table and puts his elbows on them with his chin rested in the palms of his hand.

    "Okay what if it''s just a coincidence." I massaged the back of my neck. I really don''t want the criminal to be a fan of mine. I hoped it''s someone who just read this one book and not all of mine. It hate to think I inspired a fan to commit such horrendous crimes even if the victims are the lowest scum on this Earth.

    "He lives around a fifteen minutes ride away from your house." Leon interpreted my thoughts and I glance back at him. His eyes were determined. He''s found him.

    Okay... That''s just too many coincidences. He can''t be living so near on top of making such weirdly timed comments on the nights of the murder and just before they happened. I mean I don''t know what to think of that.

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    Although crazy coincidences do happen every once in a while like with that man who got struck by lightning twice then won the lottery but I''m still not all that convinced. I need to find something solid before I can say he did it for sure. I get where Leon is coming from now though.

    "So Is he considered the main suspect now?" I asked, scratching an itch on my temple.

    Leon shook his head and pointed at me with a blank face. "No you still are." Leon sighed and rubbed his face in frustration. "Cain wouldn''t believe any evidence I give him because he knows you and I are friends." His eyes widen at me and he paused for a moment. "But... if we manage to find any undeniable evidence against him then Cain has to drop you." he snapped.

    He''s such an over reactor. I wanted to retort with something like ''no shit Sherlock'' but he''s trying his best and working so hard to help prove my innocence so I don''t want to be annoying.

    I spun my pen around my thumb. "Easier said than done. I''m not a detective and you''re just a junior, how do we get the resources?" I asked

    When I was fifteen I used play detective with my dad with walkie talkies and everything. We''d try to solve mini mysteries that my mom would set up. It was really fun. I remember my mom also designed a whole murder mystery party for me and my friends when I was in tenth grade and it was quite literally the most exciting thing ever. I think my parent''s love for mysteries and thrillers from Arthur Conan Doyle to Agatha Christie is the reason why I am a mystery writer myself today.

    Leon grabs his chair and sat on the side of the table next to me. "You''re so old school. At this point of time literally anything the police have we can buy online. From trackers to wire tapes. Everything. I''ll order all the things we might need." He pulls out a pen from his shirt pocket and spins it around his fingers but it flys off the table and hits the window before landing in a one of the mini flower pots stabbing the dirt. The flower pots lined the windows panes in pink, green and red. Leon''s eyes travel from the pen to me, "Let''s work on cracking the code." He snaps his fingers to divert attention from the pen. He laughs awkwardly and I laugh along with him.

    He''s asked me countless times to teach him how to spin the pen around his fingers but no matter how much I tried to teach him the pen would fly out in all directions because he uses so much force and can''t seem to control his strength. I don''t know why he wants to learn this useless skill, if it even deserves to be called a skill.

    The code that was on the table begin to fly of the table, as if trying to remind us that we don''t have time to laugh. Even if he''s killing off the bad people we still need law to apply. Even if law has failed us we can''t resort to such means but instead we should change the law itself. We need to make sure that the law is able to punish these criminals so we don''t have to.

    Like Harvey Dent said ''You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself turn into the villain.'' When we feel helpless as we''ve been betrayed by the very people who swore to protect us whether it is by not doing anything or just doing the wrong things entirely, then we start to find other ways. That''s not right and we need to prevent the good people from needing to soil their hands.

    I''m no hero, I''ve never been and I doubt I''ll never be but I''d rather die than live long enough to become a villain.

    "Hey what''s wrong why are you so zoned out?" Leon waved his fingers in front of my eyes and I blinked back into reality. I zone out a lot these days and I can''t help it. My head is filled with thoughts about everything and I can''t sort anything out.

    I shake my head and pulled out my mini notebook out of the pocket of my tracksuit. "It''s nothing let''s decode this."

    "Olwwoh vfuhdpv wkdw vfdwwhr godvv. Zkhq brx kqez rf tke gdrk vecretv ri d suhgdwru, zkb glg brx vtaoo zkloh ke jrw pruh suhb? O''oo surwhfw wke fkloguhq lq brxu vthdg."

 Chapter 13: Masked Truths

    "We''ve become professionals now, let''s crack it in under an hour." Leon rolled back his sleeves and cracked his neck with his arms as he stretched. I have no clue how he cracks his neck like that. It''s so loud you''d think he broke or fractured one of his cervical vertebrae.

    I was about to rip a paper out of my notebook so he can work on it but he stops me and picks up the printed papers from before. He waves it in the air, "This is enough."'' smiles a little and he begins to write the alphabet in order as a starting point for cracking the code on the back of the paper. I do the same then I inspected the code to try and find any clues that would give out how many letters he skipped.

    The O''oo is most likely to be I''ll and if so then the letters were displaced only three places up. It only took ten minutes to crack it this time. Hopefully we are able to stop him or her before someone gets killed.

    "Little screams that scatter glass. When you knew of the dark secrets of a predator, why did you stall while he got more prey? I''ll protect the children in your stead."

    My hands clenched into fists and before I noticed my heart was pumping in fiery madness. "Honestly how about we not look for him this time? Let him finish this bastard off first." I muttered. My finger nails was digging into my palms so I loosened my grip.

    Leon was also tense with two fists on the table. "Noted. He should give him the most amount of pain possible before killing him off. But at least we can try it figure out his identity for now." He bangs the table with his fist which started to turn read. His hands turned red as blood pooled into them. I flinched a little out of surprise. I wasn''t expecting him to do that.

    He clenched his jaw and a little vein appear on his temple. "Damn it why are we chasing around a good guy who''s taking out the bad guys? This guy is literally doing our jobs for us because we suck. Even if he''s just killing them he still managed to find them. We should be helping him instead."

    The way Leon controls his emotions is complicated. He doesn''t get mad in a burst like most people do but he''ll slowly build up the anger inside of him and suddenly lash out in unpredictable ways. I should move everything from his reach when he''s anger or he might throw something dangerous that could potentially hurt someone.

    You''ve been contradicting ourselves so much that I truly do not know what is right. Gladiolus or whoever this person is has placed us it the weirdest moral dilemma. An advanced trolly problem where we either let him run over the monsters whom we want to get rid of so bad but inadvertently perpetuate acts of anarchy or we maintain law and order but these monsters continue to thrive.

    Leon released a long breath and managed to calm himself down. "Anyway back to the code, what does he mean by in your stead? I mean it''s not your responsibility to protect children but the law enforcements''." He pondered.

    "Exactly. I think it''s a hint instead. Like whoever he''s talking about was able to escape the police or the police know it''s him but can''t do anything about him yet. Or maybe he knows the police will take these codes seriously now so he directed the message at them." I reasoned.

    Leon cocked his head to the side, crossed his arms and leaned back on the chair. "Oh maybe, but I doubt they''ll take it seriously. I told Cain about it and even showed him the codes and the fact that it was correct last time but he didn''t even bother thinking about it because he''s so fixated on you being the culprit." He said with a tight lip.

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    "What did I even do for him to be so eager to make me out into the criminal?"

    It makes no sense. I mean it feels like even if they find the real culprit he''ll try to frame me.

    Leon shook his head, "Apparently this happened to him before when he was a junior. Instead of someone copying a novel though it was someone who detailed the tiniest details that only the killer would know in his book after he''d committed the crime. Cain brushed it of as a coincidence. The killer then went on to kill a little girl before he was caught. Cain is probably recalling the memories from then and lashing out his rage and the mixture of grief and anger at that time which is crowding his judgement. It''s not something personal against you."

    Okay now that makes more sense. I feel bad for him. He probably blames himself for the death of that little girl. "That must have been so tough I can''t image." I paused for a moment. There''s been something I''ve been so curious about but haven''t found the right opportunity to ask. "How did he get that thing on his face?" I asked. The word was at the tip of my tongue but I forgot. I''''m becoming very forgetful these days.

    "You mean the scar?" I nodded and Leon took a sip of his drink."He''s always had it. I asked around to but no one was willing to tell me from the superiors and the juniors are as clueless as I am." he explained as he shrugged his shoulders.

    "It must have hurt." I muttered.

    Leon leaned forward to look at the code one more time, "But the real question is how does this guy know about him? I mean if the police can''t do anything about him then it''s very likely that his profile wasn''t released to the public."

    I zoned out like usual and was confused as to home exactly Leon was talking about. "The predator right?" I rubbed my chin in thought. "Do you think he''s someone close to the police? Or maybe a policeman himself?"

    "I have no idea but I think gladiolus maybe that huge fan I just told you about. Viola found out all the information about him. I have some wiretaps and trackers. Let''s use it on him to confirm our suspicion then we can lead the police towards him." He nodded at me with raised eyebrows waiting for my agreement.

    "Alright then let''s meet tomorrow at your house this time." I suggested and shoved my pen and notebook into my pocket.

    Leon paused for a second with his eyes shifted around with and he blinked excessively. "N-no. No not in my house." He quaked with a worried look dancing on his features.

    "Why?"

    He stood up and pointed towards the door. "Let''s just meet in your house." A little stutter but he managed to cover it up nicely.

    I frowned and narrowed my eyes at him, "Okay then see you." I turned around on my heel and headed home without questioning him further.

    Leon, despite what most would think, is a terrible liar and can''t hide secrets for long. He''s hiding something from me and whatever it is, it''s in his house. Why is he so scared that I found out? Doubts start to cloud my head and a I shake them out.

    Leon is not just my best friend, he''s my brother. Since I''ve never had a brother or a friend he means so much to me. I used to get bullied in high school for being an adopted kid but he''d always stand up for me even if it meant he get beat up.

    One time some kid kept following us home and calling me names and throwing rocks at me. Leon tackled him to the ground then walked with me home. The next day the kid brought a bunch of his friends and they ganged up on him. He has a scar from his left elbow to half the back of his forearm from that time. He needed so many stitches it was horrifying. But he didn''t blame me. He smiled when I visited him in the hospital, his face dirtied with mud and blood, and said "I almost had them! They outnumbered me four to one! If you were there Cameron then we could''ve handled all of them together easy." I still can''t forget that because it was the coolest thing I''ve ever seen. Leon is too softhearted despite seeming indifferent.

    Leon would never do something like that. Leon could never be gladiolus.

 Chapter 14: Cold as Ice but Still Nice

    "A man in his late sixties was found dead in his house. He seems to have been strangled to death by the use of several layers of magnetic films taken from cassette tapes. He was surrounded by yellow and purple flowers, the same that are found in the gladiolus cases. The forensic team is yet to figure out the identity of the man and the exact cause of death. People are wondering what crimes this old man has committed to attract the wrath of gladiolus. We will update once we have his identity." She ended with a fake smile and the theme music came on.

    The news anchor seemed to be more enthusiastic than normal. For the past few month they have been following the same four topics so it slowly turned into a monotone robotic report everyday but it seems like the change has sparked a little excitement. The appearance of a vigilante is probably another reason why.

    We had cracked the code but the night of the man was already dead before Viola can figure out who gladiolus was talking about. We wanted to stalk outside the man''s door so when gladiolus leaves we can quietly follow him until we figured out who he was but now that plan has gone to waste. This guy is merciless he doesn''t even have us three days to actually do something with these codes he keeps throwing at us.

    I shut down the TV and threw the remote controller to the side. The end of the week is nearing and I need to write a filler chapter in two days time but I have no idea where to start. Yasmin, my publisher has been sending me emails every seven hours threatening if I don''t send the editor my draft by tomorrow she''ll come personally I make me do it.

    Last time that happened... well let''s just say I was extremely sleep deprived. She kept me up for twenty-eight hours straight and whenever I would sleep or even take a little while longer to blink she would poke me with a pen. It haunts me to this day.

    I shiver at the thought of that happening again.

    I need to get inspiration for my story so I took Oreo on a walk to the lake. She skipped around happily as I tried to slow her down so I could take in the never changing beauty of this simple garden.

    The sound of the birds chirping and the melody of the wind filled my ears. The swans and little ducks swam around in swirls. Little pieces algae filled the edges of the lake pooling around. The smell of dew on the emerald grass in the morning and the sight of vibrant wildflowers. Whenever I come here all of my senses are enlightened and I get a boost in creativity of tenfolds. My bestselling books are a product of breathing in the air of this place.

    As I was drowning in my thoughts but desperate scream pulls me back from the depth of my mind. A few meters in front of me there was a lady holding head head on her hands and screaming help. Her face pale and her eyes shook. My eyes follow the path of her horrified gaze.

    It''s a little kid and he''s drowning. He kept his head up as he tried to maintain himself afloat. Thrashing around trying to grab something but he was close to the middle of the lake by now and their was absolutely nothing for him to grab onto.

    On instinct, I let go of Oreos dog leash and dived into the water. I didn''t have time to think if it was deep enough to be safe for me to dive.

    The adrenaline added to my speed as I cut through the water and pulled up the kid who was starting to go under.

    He was unconscious.

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    I drag him to the side and pushed him up on the pavement. My heart was beating out of my chest. I jump over next to the kid.

    I need to save him.

    The mothers face paled and she fainted. She needs help as well but I only have one pair of hands and the hold is the one in the dire situation.

    I immediately started CPR and all the resuscitative measures that I''ve learnt in my last course of swimming. After a minute of chest compressions the kid spit up the water and his eyes opened wide.

    "I''m so sorry you''re going to get a cold like this." She starts looking around but i mean where can she get a jacket in the middle of a park. It''s okay because my house is near anyway. I can jog there and maybe that will also help heat my body up. I''m shivering but I heard that it is a good sign because once you stop shivering, that''s when your body buckles under the cold, and gives up in keeping you alive.

    "It''s fine." I took of my wet jacket and shirt because the wind was cooling it and I was starting to shiver. My teeth began to chatter. I should''ve at least taken off my jacket before I jumped but I''m glad the kids alright so it doesn''t matter.

    I wave at the little kid who hid behind his mom and peaked at me and gave his mom a little smile before turning on my heal and grabbing Oreos leash so we can go home.

    "What happened to your back?" she asked.

    My back? What''s wrong with it did I cut myself on some glass or something? I try to peak at my back but it was to no avail. I felt like a dog chasing his tail so I stopped and asked her with an inquisitive eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

    "These scars how did you get them?" Scars? So I wasn''t cut right now. Thank goodness I was thinking about getting a tetanus shot but they''re so painful. But I don''t remember having scars on my back.

    "What scars are you taking about?"

    She looks at me with a stunned face. Like ''how do you not know about them''? As a kid I hurt myself quite a lot of times so I have scars that I don''t even remember getting.

    It''s probably something I got when I fell of the monkey bars back in elementary school. I remember it hurt quite a lot. There was something sharp in the sand and I fell right on top of it. It didn''t need stitches so it must not have been too bad but since it was on my back I''ve never seen it so I don''t know how big it really is. Maybe scars grow with you so it probably looks bigger than it really was.

    The lady blinks twice, shakes her head and a wide smile formed on her lips. "Thank you so much you saved his life. I owe you everything." She prevaricated. I mean it is impolite to ask strangers about their scars and I think she realized that but really I didn''t mind all that much they''re just playground scars.

    "I only did what I should do. How can I see a kid drown and not save him when I know how to swim?" Thats the equivalent of a doctor not standing up when someone has a medical emergency on a plane.

    The lady looks me up and down and finally seemed to realize that I''m drenched and need to get home as soon as possible. "I''m so sorry your clothes got wet." She pulls out her phone. "Can I have your contact number? I must thank you properly."

    I shove my hand, "It''s fine you don''t have to."

    "I must."

    She''s the persistent type and I wanna go home before I get hypothermia. I mean I understand she''s trying to be nice but there is no need to pay me back for something anyone with the ability would''ve done. "Then you can donate to a cancer charity. A family member of mine had succumbed to that disease. If you donate anything to such a charity that would mean a lot." Hopefully she would settle with this.

    The lady nods "Alright I will, thank you again." She grabs her bag and I saw it coming so I said a quick bye and jogged away.

    I could feel the cold deep in my bones. A drop of water from my head which I hadn''t manage to dry trailer down a strand of hair and onto my shoulder I shivered as if stole the heat bit my bit as it traveled down my arm.

    Oreo started running faster and the leash was almost yanked out of my grip but I didn''t complain as I wanted to get home as fast as I could before I develop hypothermia.

 Chapter 15: From Life Saver to Shivering Wreck

    I managed to warm myself up with blankets, mug of hot chocolate and with Oreo snuggling up close to me so that her warm fur took away the numbing sensation.

    I turned on the TV as I cautiously sipped the steamy hot drink. The lingering taste of  chocolate filled my inner checks and slightly burnt the tip of my tongue but it was now tolerable.

    There doesn''t seem to be any new news. I''m guessing Gladiolus hasn''t found a victim yet and it doesn''t seem like he will anytime soon. Not unless he sends another code. But what if he gave up on me figuring it out and stop sending the codes?

    The news outlets seem to only talk about him these days. I grab my phone and the first thing I see is a notification on my lock screen in big bold letters.

    "IM COMING FOR YOU."

    It''s her. Yasmin. More threats.

    I completely forgot to plot the chapter. I still have tell tomorrow but I haven''t even thought of anything. Not a sub plot not a red herrings. Nothing.

    "DON''T I''LL SEND IT TONIGHT I PROMISE."

    I tapped on my phone as fast as I could and she immediately started typing.

    "I''ll give you a chance then."

    I sigh in relief. I stretch out my arms and then got up to got upstairs.

    It''s going to be a long night.

    I need to write at least two thousand words before dawn.

    I tossed and turned in my bed as I racked by brain for any ideas. I imagined myself walking around in my room and opening doors of random ideas. Then if I liked the idea, I''d walk in then the room would turn into a labyrinth. Every branch of thought would have it''s on labyrinth and sometimes they accidentally connect. Can I use this filler chapter for something greater in the future plot? That was the question that rung in my head.

    Found it. I opened the door.

    After some time the idea was in my head.

    My hands danced on my keyboard. I subconsciously ket sneaking a lot at the word count. I''m tired and I want to sleep before I get a suddenly burst of creativity and find myself not sleeping a wink for days. It happened before and I almost wrote half a book in three days. I almost went to the hospital from exhaustion.

    "And done." I smiled then cracked my fingers as I rolled my shoulders. I pressed the send button in the most dramatic way I could as if I was a conductor in an orchestra.

    The whoosh sound of the mail felt so satisfactory to hear. I immediately close my laptop and put on a huge jacket. I want to breathe in some fresh air and besides Oreo didn''t get to finish his walk from before.

    I walked and walked mindlessly. The lake the wildflowers, the whole backdrop gradually changed until it was the city. I just allowed Oreo to lead the way as she sniffed around and turned randomly.

    "Cameron!" A women called out. She jogged towards me. I narrow my eyes so as to focus the image but I don''t recognize her.

    Blue framed glasses which popped in colour, shoulder length brown hair and a minimalistic appeal with a plane black and white suit. She puts her hands on her knees as she tries to catch her breath.

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    She flashes me a bright toothy smile with sharp canines. Her eerily serene grey eyes smiled as well. She seemed familiar but I can put my hand on it.

    "Hey, Who are you?" I tilted my head as I racked my head for who this might be.

    She blinks twice at me. "What are you talking about it''s me Hannah!" she exclaimed.

    Hannah? As in my best friend from the orphanage Hannah? That''s why she seemed so familiar but after fifteen years I almost couldn''t recognize her.

    I returned her smile, "Oh hey! Hannah! It''s been decades, how are you doing?"

    She looks down at Oreo. "Not really it hasn''t been that long. I''m doing fine and you?"

    "Fine as well."

    She neels down on her knees and pets Oreo. "Who''s this?" She neazela her nose into Oreos forehead and Oreo started wagging her tail I circles. Leon should be here to see this I told him Oreo is friendly even with strangers.

    "Her name is Oreo." I loosened my grip on her leash.

    "So cute!" she patted her one last time before she stood up again and patted the dirt off her knees. "I read all your books. I didn''t know you had such a talent for writing."

    "I mean we were little kids back then and I was the youngest of our group. What about you? Did you become a doctor like you always dreamt?"

    She used to try to listen to our heart beats using makeshift items from cut up paper cups to earphones. I don''t know why she wanted to become a doctor but I knew she''d be an amazing one if she does become on in the future. She''d always disinfect our injures back then even tho she was only ten years old or so.

    "Yes, I''m a psychiatrist now." She rubbed the back of her neck with an awkward smile.

    "Congratulations! I always knew you would make it."

    "Thank you." She cleared her throat. "So what''s going on with the murder cases? "

    "How do you know about that?" My old friends know I''m a writer but hey don''t know the titles of my books and when they aired my book online they blurred out my name.

    "The whole country knows Cameron. Don''t you follow any news accounts?"

    "Oh, yes I forgot that people can find stuff easily online nowadays. Also explains the increased book sales and demand."

    "Are you still a suspect?"

    I paused for a second. I don''t really want to talk about this with my old friends. "Yes. I''ve been investigating on my own as well because the police just want to pin it on me. We still haven''t found a proper suspect. The one we have was all based on speculative evidence."

    "We?" She asked.

    "Yes I''m working with my friend, Leon, who happens to be a junior detective so he''s help a lot."

    She nods. "Oh. This gladiolus guy is probably closer than you think. I think he has the same mindset as you and that''s why it''s harder to find him. You need to think outside the box. He''s copying everything from you to your characters. We don''t know how to read people who act exactly like us because we either read in too much that it spirals out of control or we just don''t read enough."

    I nod. It''s true. The majority of crimes committed aren''t random. Most are usually committed by family members, friends or an arch nemesis. If someone is trying to frame me.

    "Leon said my biggest fan has the same exact personality as me but I think he''s just copying it. Maybe he watched my interviews or stalked me."

    "Try searching his house or something. Most psychopaths like to keep a memento of their crimes with them." She suggested.

    "That''s a good idea but I can''t just ask him to let me search." I sputtered.

    "You don''t have to. Isn''t he your biggest fan? If you surprise him he''ll probably invite you in himself."

    That''s true. Why haven''t I thought of that? Everything has just been so hectic I haven''t been able to think straight.

    "That''s smart. I''ll try it." I tugged on my ear lobe.

    I don''t know if this is appropriate but I finally have a doctor in front of me so I must take the opportunity.

    "So,Hannah, I''ve been feeling this really intense muscle soreness almost every other day when I wake up in the morning. I don''t workout and I haven''t done anything new. What do you think is wrong with me?"

    Her eyes started to travel. From my eye bags to my fingers. "I can''t just diagnose you on the spot. Besides I''m a psychiatrist so I specialize in treating mental disorders even though I can diagnoses and treat other diseases. I''ll need to examine you before i can figure out what''s wrong." She reiterated what every other doctor says before they start the tests. I knew I was asking for something unreasonable but maybe she can recommend me a doctor at least.

    I adjusted my sleeve with a small pout on my lips.

    She hands me a little card. "Here this is my contact information and where the clinic is. When you have time visit my doors are always open."

 Chapter 16: Secrets in the Fog

    I didn''t waste anytime. I visited her the next day. If I have an insidious disease then it''s best to catch it early so my chances of survival are higher. Or maybe I''m just over reacting and it''s nothing of concern. I grabbed all the medication I''ve been taking for the past month and shoved it into a ziplock bag. I know she''ll need to see them in case my condition is because of drug contraindications.

    It''s a nice little clinic downtown. More minimalistic decoration from the entrance to the disk.

    "I''m Cameron. I ah.." I want to facepalm so hard right now but I controlled the urge. I think too much when talking and make normal situations so awkward.

    Her eyes widen and she starts typing, "Oh yes Mr. Rose, Dr. Hannah is waiting for you. After the patient right now exists you can enter. The other patient is late for her appointment." She said in the most monotone voice ever.

    "Thank you."

    I took a seat in front of the doctors office. It was about ten minutes until the patient exited holding a little child who had a lollipop in her mouth. I caught the door before it closed and entered.

    "I didn''t expect you''d come so fast." Hannah marvelled with a smile on her lips.

    I tittered awkwardly as I rubbed the nap of my neck. "I''m sorry if I''m disturb-." I began

    "It''s okay you''re welcome to disturb me anytime." She hastened to stop my apology.

    I returned her an eye smile. "Thank you."

    She interlocked her fingers in front of her and rested her chin on them. "So what''s wrong?"

    I clear my throat and found a comfortable spot on my chair, "I keep waking up with terrible headaches and muscle soreness. I don''t work out and I drink enough water. I also keep zoning out more than normal and I have periods of extended amnesia." I clarified.

    She pulls out a little note pad and picks up a ballpoint pen. "You take medication right?" She questioned.

    "Yes I brought them here." I dug through my bag and pulled out a plastic bag filled with all the medication I''ve been taking for the past month.

    "Which ones do you use the most?"

    "The sleeping pills." I handed her the little pill bottle.

    She inspected the outside of the bottle then popped it open and dropped one pill in her hand. "These..." She opens a drawer and pulls out a silver framed reading glasses. Holding the pill up as she narrowed her eyes scanning the little writings on the pill further.

    "These aren''t sleeping pills..."

    I blink."What? But it says sleeping pills on the bottle!" I reiterated. This is not making any sense.

    She looks at me and waves the pill in her hand, "Yes but these pills aren''t." She takes off the glasses and drops the pill back in the bottle. "They''re Antianxiety drugs. This is definitely a Benzodiazepines tablet." She asserted.

    Antianxiety? I don''t have anxiety so I don''t even have pills for it in my medicine cabinet at all. How does that even happen? It''s in a bottle for sleeping pills. There''s no way they were mixed before hand. He only explanationI could think of is that someone brought those anxiety pills and switched them with my sleeping pills. There''s only two people who I let into my home... Leon and Yasmin.

    Yasmin hadn''t been her in a long time and I don''t think she ever used my bathroom to even have access to the medicine cabinet. That leaves Leon.

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    "What''s the side effects of that?" I asked. Maybe knowing that will help me make sense of this mess.

    She looks up to the side as if trying to recall something, "Well it can cause blurry vision, confusion, dizziness, drowsiness or fatigue, headaches, problems with balance, coordination, or speech.

    an upset stomach and even loss of memory or concentration." She listed. It''s like a reflex, she stated all the side effects like she was saying here name.

    I know I haven''t suffered that many side effects. Mainly just a lot of memory loss episodes and muscle soreness complicated with fatigue. "I''ve been feeling confused at times, fatigued and suffered from memory loss or amnesia. I''ve had some killer headaches now and then but I haven''t experienced any of the other symptoms."

    She nods."That''s normal people will react to medicine very differently. You may only have on side effect while another will suffer from all the aforementioned ones." She rejoinders with her doctor tone. Frown lines appeared between her brows and she looks to the side deep in thought. "So you''re saying someone switched your medications?"

    "I think so."

    The door open and someone pooped their head in, "Dr.Hannah your next patient is up." the lady from the front disk interposed.

    I''m wasting her time. I should get out before I start messing up her schedule. "I''m sorry for taking up your time." I got up and pushed the chair back in it''s place.

    "Call me or email me so we can figure out how this switch up happened together, alright?"

    "I will thank you so much."

    "Theres no thanks between friends. If you feel sick again visit or call me I''ll come to you."

    I nod with a smile. Hannah''s too nice she makes me embarrassed. I''ve always been a burden on her even back in the orphanage days. She''s used to take care of me the most. I was the youngest so I always made a mess everywhere I went. I used to get scolded a lot and she used to get blamed all the time.

    I walked out of the clinic and to the nearest bus stop. My phone vibrated in my pocket. I got a text from Leon.

    Leon.

    I should''ve suspected something was up when he kept snooping around my medicine cabinet. But why would he give me something like this? Antianxity medicine. How did he get it in the first place? What''s his goal?and why now?

    I need to figure out what Leon is hiding. The images of the crime scenes where people died at the hands of gladiolus popped up in my mind. Vivid crimson colours filled my vision. The grotesque and morbid scenes played in my head like a cassette film. One after the other. Then a picture of Leon.

    There is no way. I shake my head and slapped my checks slightly. There must be a good explanation for why he''s acting so suspicious. I just need to find out.

    My phone rang.

    "Mr.Cameron since you canceled your P.O. box subscription then you need to come pick your stuff up in the next three days or they''ll be taken care of. You keep getting more mail everyday and your box is full anyway."

    I paused. What is she talking about? I haven''t even called the to cancel the subscription ever. Why do so many weird things keep happening to me?

    "What do you mean canceled? I didn''t cancel anything!" I practically raved through the phone.

    I could hear the sound of her typing on the computer, "Would you like me to renew it?"

    I haven''t check my fans gifts for so long I should at least bring them home for now. I can renew it after my next book is complete.

    "No, I''ll come get the stuff." I hung up.

    The bus going where I''m headed was a tad bit late but I wasn''t in a hurry so it didn''t matter all that much.

    I brought a huge black plastic bag and put everything inside it. I kind of felt bad for putting the gifts the sent me in such a bag but I had to work with what I got.

    It was around sunset when I finally got home. Oreo was sleeping on the couch. She probably got bored waiting for me. I filled her bowl so when she wakes up she doesn''t wake me up to fed her.

    I throw the plastic bag on top of my bed and emptied everything on the bed. I almost drowned in a sea of letters and boxes of gifts when I slumped on my bed. I opened the nearest box near me hand.

    A Rolex. Someone really spent that much money on me? I put it on my wrist. The gold and blue shined and the little diamonds screamed money.

    This is the most expensive gift I''ve gotten up till now. I look through the box again. There should be a letter here. I rampaged though the gifts until something caught me eye.

    A red envelope.

    I opened it. I pull out the paper.

    "Mj rfsfgji yt knqq mjr ywncj. Mjr griy ftqqtbji mjr xtzq. Ymj ijpym tf ymj wnvjw bfx tmj bfrmym tf mjr xtfy xtzq. Mj ijxjrvjx st grjfym ns ymix btrqi. 2018,05, 18"

    It''s another code. It''s the same format so it''s most likely legit.

    I flipped it to the back.

    "Wait for my final message. It will need no code because you may never solve it on your own. But I shall send it anyway."

 Chapter 17: Veil of Deceit

    I jumped to my disk and grabbed a pen. I need to start working alone now. No matter how much I don''t want any of my doubts to be true I can''t trust Leon now. He''s acting way too suspicious and out of character. I always knew he was a bad liar from watching him lie to others but he''s never lied to me like this before.

    Ymj can either be she, her or the. I tried them all out and it seems like it''s ''the''. It was five letter spaces up.

    "He managed to kill her twice. Her body followed her soul. The depth of the river was the warmth of her soft soul. He deserves no breath in this world. 2018,05, 18."

    I have no idea what this means. Now that I''m alone I''ll have to find someone to replace Viola or I could just use Viola herself. She isn''t on good terms wth Leon so I doubt she''d tell him about this code.

    I pulled out my white board from under my bed and hanged it on the wall. I need to map out all the clues we''ve gathered so far. If Leon really is a part of web then I need to map it out. Maybe he isn''t gladiolus himself: maybe he''s a victim in someway. What if gladiolus is using him to cover up his own tracks?

    I hanged the code up on the wall. A read it again.

    So whoever gladiolus is after killed someone twice? Killed her body first then her soul? What''s the significance of this date, May eighteen? I need help to figure this out.

    I grab my coat and headed out. Hopefully Viola is still in that abandoned building or else I''ll have to come up with another way even if it means to tell Leon about this new code.

    <hr>

    "It''s you again. Why are you alone where is Leon?" Viola removed here headphones and pulled something out of her pocket.

    She''s really here. Does she sleep, eat and do everything here? I don''t have time to think about useless stuff though.

    "He''s busy I need to find out who gladiolus is talking about." I lied. I can''t have her telling him about this.

    She twiddled with her key chain. At the end of that key chain a little taser was attached.

    She stopped play with her chain and Leander forward with wide eyes, "Gladiolus? Wait so these codes are actually from the real gladiolus? I should''ve figured it out last time." She mused.

    I hand her a sticky note with my contact numbers. "When you crack this code call me not Leon. He''s probably not going to have time to pick up."

    She grabs it and sticks it to her screen.

    "If it''s a code from gladiolus then it''s top priority. Expect a call from me in the next twelve hours."

    "Thank you." I left the place in a hurry. Its kind of creepy here. Shadows swum about and the moss in the corners almost seemed like human figures. I don''t know how she feels so comfortable being here so long.I''d like to leave as soon as possible.

    As soon as I left my phone vibrated in my pocket.

    "Cameron! I got him!"

    It''s Leon.

    "You caught whom?"

    He was breathing heavily as if he''d been running a marathon. He caught his breath, "Your biggest fan. His name is Jake. I told him you''ll be meeting him in a restaurant and you''ll be giving him a signed copy of your book."

    What''s he on about? Why is he do things on his on? "What? Why would you decide that on your own?"

    "Oh come on it was hard to get ahold of him I had to come up with an offer he can''t refuse." He nagged.

    "So what am I supposed to do now?"

    "Just get a copy of your book, sign it and then come to that expensive restaurant around the third intersection. I''ll be doing all the rest of the work.

    "Oka-"

    He hung up.

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    I entered the nearest bookstore hoping they have my book. I don''t want to go all the way back home to get copy.

    It''s all over the place. My book. No my books. There''s a banner stating they have ''all of Cameron Rose''s books''. Why do I not know of this? Yasmin is supposed to tell me if a book store decides to sponsor me.

    There are only two last copies of '' A Symphony of Murder'' and I reach to grab it but someone else grabs it at the same time.

    "Let go! I got it first!" A teenager started a rag of war with me. It would be a waste for the book to rip so I let go. After all there was one more copy.

    "Alright, Alright take it."

    The kid glared at me with disdain, his eyes softened then widened in shook. "You- you''re him! You''re Cameron Rose!"

    I am suddenly ambushed by the whole store. People are waving their books asking for a signature. The rest are fighting over the rest of the books so they can get me to sign on them.I grab the last copy of a ''Symphony of Murder'' and hugged it to May chest.

    "I''m your biggest fan!" Someone almost burst my left eardrum.

    Another keep tapping my shoulder, "Are you really gladiolus?!"

    "I love you''re books!"

    "I bought all of your books already!"

    This is getting to intense. I''ve had fans meet me outside but I''ve never been swarmed like this. I head towards the door moving my way through the crowd of people.

    "Wait! I didn''t get a signature." Someone grabbed the back of my shirt a tagged so hard I almost fill backward. The moment she left go I made a run for it.

    "I''m sorry I''m in a hurry right now!" I stepped outside the remembered I didn''t pay for the book. I dig though my pocket and throw a fifty dollar bill on the counter.

    "Keep the change!" I yelled as I made a run for it again. I''m not rich but I hate being in crowded areas so I''d do anything to get out of here.

    I found myself running all the way to the restaurant. I push open and a someone asked for a reservation before Leon interrupted.

    "He''s with me."

    I followed Leon until our reserved table.

    A man that was seated suddenly stood up. His chair almost feel but he caught it. "It''s true." He put his hands on to of his head. His mouth agape. "It wasn''t a scam. He''s actually here."

    I waved my hand hi. "Hello."

    "Is it really you?" He covered his mouth which was still wide open in shock with both his hands.

    "Uhm yeah. Here take this." I hand him the book the retracted it and asked Leon for a pen. I signed it myself then handed it back to Jake.

    He accepted it with the widest smile, "Thank you so much! This is the best day of my life!" he said gleefully.

    "Didn''t I tell you I was friends with him?" Leon crossed his arms with a smug smirk display on his face.

    The man carefully put down the book on the table, "I can''t thank you enough Leon. You''ve made a dream of mine come true. Other people are dying to meet celebrities but I would rather meet my favourite authors." He pulls his phone out of his pocket and gave me a puppy dog look with his eyes. "Can I take a picture with you?"

    "Sure."

    He puts the phone back on the table.

    He fidgets around before walking away. "I''m so sorry I''m just so nervous I''ll be right back." He headed towards the restroom.

    The moment the bathroom door closed behind him, Leon grabbed his phone and inserted a little USB into the power port.

    "I''ll have access to almost everything in his phone. Viola made this and its almost untraceable. If he really is gladiolus then he must have some incriminating evidence on his phone and even if he doesn''t we''ll be able to track him for the next few days so if he commits another crime we''ll know if he was at the scene." He explained as he watched the loading tab on the phone move bit by bit.

    "I mean what if he doesn''t bring his phone to the crime scene with him?" I countered with a raised brow.

    Leon looks up, slack jawed. "Oh shit. I didn''t think that through."

    I facepalmed and shook my head. "Come on Leon. Please thing things through first." I beseeched.

    He scratched his jaw. "Okay, it''s too late now the program is downloaded. We got nothing to lose." He pulled the USB out then dropped it in his pocket after returning the phone back in its place.

    Jake come back and to a seat. He leans in with his elbows on the table and stares at me. "So I was wondering what Sean will be doing next? He almost caught the murderer but he managed to get away. You posted a filler chapter last and I''m dying out of curiosity here." she''s looking for some spoilers but I don''t think that''s happening but it''s nice to know he''s reading everything I write.

    "You''re also keeping up with my ongoing book too?"

    He laughs and crosses his arms with his chest puffed. "Of course! I told you I''m your biggest fan!"

    Leon puts a hand on my shoulder. "Cameron we need to get going."

    "What? So quickly?"

    He gets up and puts his chair back in. "You know he''s busy writing and stuff." He excused to Jake as he tried to pull me up. I complied and followed Leon outside.

    "Okay. Wait wait here." Jake hands me a little contact card. "I''m an artist. If you ever need a book cover illustration I can do it for you." He offered.

    I accepted it with a smile. "Thank you. I''ll keep that in mind."

    Leon grabbed my arm and pulled me out. "Let''s go."

    "Why are you in such a hurry?" I asked. He''s acting even more out of character.

    He pulls out his phone and starts typing but I have no idea who he''s texting. "We need to go find if there''s a new code. We need to be prepared so we can''t wast more time with him."

    Leon are you sure that''s why? What are you hiding from me? I already have trust issues. If it''s you, I''ll never be able to trust anyone again in my life. You know that so please don''t be so cruel. Please let this be a misunderstanding.

 Chapter 18: I Want To Stop Thinking

    I pick up the phone and dropped it on my ear. With one eye open I peak through the window. It''s still dark outside and the moon light shone through the it, illuminating a part of the dark room.

    "It''s like four in the morning what do you want from me?" I didn''t even bother to check who it was cause whomever is about to get an ear full.

    "I need you to babysit Winter again."

    It''s Yasmin. Whenever she travels over the weekend she always left her seven year old daughter with me. "Why? Where are you going this time?" I turn around and held the phone. I yawn and rub my face to help keep me awake.

    Yasmin let out an excited wilhelm scream."You know what the best thing that happened to me is? That I saw your talent and signed you. You''re like the equivalent of J.K Rowling to me." She kissed her phone and I cringed at the sound from the phone.

    I have no clue what happened or why she''s so happy but It''s making me curious. "Why so suddenly?"

    Her breath was haggard as if she just sprinted down a staircase. "I''m going to print a hundred thousand more copies of your book. I think even with that many it will still sell out! The demand demand is off the charts! I''m going to discuss with you later on about translating your book. We''re going to be millionaires, Cameron. Millionaires!" Her words, laced with fireworks. I am imagine what her face is like right now. Her cat like eyes are probably dilated to the max. She kind of has a joker smile especially when she extremely happy.

    I sat up and yanked the cover of myself and glanced at the clock on the wall in front of me. Apparently you can''t see clocks in your dreams and I can clearly see the clock in front of me and I can vaguely hear the ticking sound. I don''t really understand why but the last month or so just feels like I''ve been trapped in a maze where the exit leads to the beginning of another maze. This can''t be happening. This can''t be real. "M-millionaires? I can''t believe this. I''m speechless. Yasmin. If you''re pranking me I''ll cut you off for real this time."

    She snorts then her uses a serious tone, "You can''t do that, Cam. I accepted you after you''ve been rejected thirty times and I''ve risked so much but it was all for good in the end I always knew I had a good eye for hidden gems." She scared me in the beginning then laughed like a manic with her last sentence.

    I look up at the plane white ceiling. Money signs appeared in my vision and I shook my head. I mean I''m not too obsessed with money as long as I can eat and live then I''m okay but if I''m a millionaire then I can finally buy my mom the emerald jewel set she kept sneakingly checking out. I''ve seen her stare longingly at her phone countless times but every time I ask her about it she''d say it''s nothing so one time I stealthy wrote down the serial number and looked it up. It''s worth thousands of dollars and I didn''t have that much so I couldn''t buy it. I brought her a necklace which kind of looked similar and she was over the moon. I''d love to see the expression on her face when she sees the set she''s been yearning for so long in the palm of her hand.

    My dad was always so busy with work and everything that he would skip on buying himself the things he liked. Whether it be that Rolex watch he secretly wanted to buy or an expensive suit. I brought him a suit before and he really liked it but he scolded me when he saw the price tag thinking that I''ll struggle if I spent my money carelessly. Now he can''t complain because I''m a millionaire.

    I can finally spoil them properly like the spoiled me when I was young.

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    "I can''t believe this." I jumped out of bed and headed towards the washroom. I need to dip my face in cold water to wake me up. If this is a dream then I''ll be depressed forever.

    "I thought it was a dream. But trust me Cameron those six zeros are coming in your bank account very soon." My heart beat squeezed and caught in my neck.

    In a daze, unable to think clearly as I just watched the water run down the sink.

    "Just buy Winter a bunch of canvases and let her paint like last time." Yasmin suggested bringing me out of my thoughts.

    After all the best way to keep Winter docile is to let her paint. Otherwise shell bothering you to the point she drives you crazy. She''s an amazing abstract painter and I heard Yasmin sold one of her works on an auction market. Maybe watching her paint can give me inspiration for another novel. I remember last time she took all the paint to the backyard and painted four different canvases in brilliant colours but she walked up to me holding the red paint container and told me to get rid of it because she can''t use it.

    I laugh in recollection of that weird memory. "I''ll have to buy her more paint. She used all the colours except red. She''s so scared of it cause it reminds her of blood. I wouldn''t think she''s you''re daughter."

    Yasmin is in love with stories that feature gore or murder. That''s the reason why she liked my story and decided to become my publisher.

    "She''s like her dad." She clears her throat. "Alright I gotta go. I''ll bring Winter over in a few hours." She said.

    "I''ll be waiting."

    She hummed an okay before ending the call.

    I sat there doing nothing but staring ahead for almost an hour. I wasn''t staring at anything in particular. My phone rang and I pick it up without moving my eyes. I was in a complete utter daze.

    It''s Viola

    "I cracked the code. He''s an offender. He''s being released very soon. I think gladiolus is waiting for his release so he can get rid of him. I sent you his personal details on an email.". She''s really fast at cracking codes and not only that but figuring out exactly who he''s talking about.

    But then again there is nothing I can do about it. This guy is likely to commit a crime again and honestly if gladiolus wasn''t already targeting him I''d gladly take him out myself.

    I never thought I''d agree with murder till this gladiolus guy showed up. It''s nice to know that I have in someway contributed to a safer work buy inspiring gladiolus.

    I lay around playing around on my phone till it was ten. Now the art store would probably start opening so I can buy Winter the things she needs. I got ready and headed towards the mall.

    The street leading to the mall was riddled with random stores. From little used bookshops that smelled like old secrets and mysteries to second hand electronics stores.

    A lady in dressed in blue walked towards me. Her back was hunched over and she looked to be about eighty years old or so.

    "Young man your eyes tell me a very tragic story. Would you like me to see if your future is bright?" She asked in a shrill voice. She looked exactly like what you''d expect psychic to be. She''ll probably come up with so farfetched theory and convince me it''s true.

    I don''t believe that stuff but I think it''s a fun to joke about it. Even if what she says ends up happening it''ll only be a coincidence. So why not?

    "Give me your hand." She commended.

    Is she not going to take me inside? Stare at a weird ball of marble and pretend she sees the future in it?

    She traced the lines on my palm with closed eyes. She would frown and shake her head. Classic.

    "You will be betrayed. Someone very close to you, whom you trust very much will betray you in one of the worst ways possible." She whispered.

    "What are you saying? I''m out of here." I hurriedly band her a bill and marched out. I know it''s a bunch of bullshit but I can''t help but remember my own doubts.

    Is it betrayal or something else? Why do I feel like he is connected to gladiolus?

 Chapter 19: In Shadows and Paint

    I brought her a wide variety of art tools. From brushes, to blending sticks, everything I think she''d like to use. The store was filled with everything that could ever be used to make art. Any medium which can be used to make a three-dimensional object can be found. Clay, plasticine and even little pieces of wood that could be carved into whatever the artist desires. Although I''m not all that artistic, walking through this place makes me feel like something has awakened in me. Last time I had to watch Winter so I couldn''t appreciate anything here.

    The aisle with the paint spanned across more than half the store. Ever colour, every shade I don''t have a doubt that every single colour of the light spectrum could be found here. I searched through looking for the same set I brought Winter last time. I found it and dropped it with the rest of the canvases and brushes in my basket which I picked up along the way.

    My phone vibrated in my pocket. I put the basket on the counter and passed my credit card as I checked who was calling. It''s Yasmin.

    "Where are you? I''m outside your house right now but you''re not answering."

    She''s earlier than usual. I mean she''s probably excited about the printing but she should''ve given me more time to get Winter her stuff.

    "You told me to get her some paint."

    "Well I didn''t say immediately! Come fast I need to move in less than an hour."

    I speed walked to the bus heading back home. During the time it took to reach my bus stop I opened the kit I brought her and took red out. I don''t want her to freak out about it again. I shoved the little bottles into my pocket.

    Yasmin was in her car and she glared at me from under her eyelashes. She tapped impatiently on the wheel of the car. The backdoor opened and a little Winter dressed in a blue dress hopped out. She smiled and ran towards me. Her little feet almost tripped a couple of times but she steadied herself.

    "Uncle! I missed you!"

    I scooped her up into a big hug. "I missed you too, Winter!"

    She''s so cute that she makes me forget the headaches I must go through to take care of her.

    I held her in one arm. For some reason she seems lighter or maybe I''m a little stronger now. Well that didn''t matter. I picked up the art bag and showed it to her.

    "I got you a lot of paint! I hope these canvases are enough for today."

    Her eyes lit up like little fireflies. "Thank you so much." She exclaimed and grabbed the bag out of my hand but it almost fell from her.

    Yasmin rested her chin on her elbows which was on the window. "Since when did you become so polite Winter?" She questioned with a raised brow but with a beam on her lips.

    Winter giggles, "See you later Mom!"

    Yasmin waves back and pulls out of he drive way. We watched until we couldn''t see her car anymore then went inside. Winter drags the bag as she skipped ahead into the living room. It''s going to take forever to get the paint out later on but I''m to elated about the probability of becoming a millionaire to even care.

    I flopped into the couch and turned on the TV. I flipped through the channels but there was nothing interesting really so I just kept mindlessly shuffling through.

    Winter tapped my shoulder and held up her paint kit. "Did you take the red out?"

    I nod, "Yes you said you don''t like it."

    "I used to not but now I don''t mind it all that much."

    "Why the sudden change of heart?"

    She goes back to her canvas and pulls out the green paint bottle. "I realized if I use red I can express a lot of other things other than blood and murder." She said.

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    "Like what?"

    "Roses are red and I like roses so I want to paint them."

    I chuckled at her reasoning. Little children have bright, innocent minds.

    I went to the kitchen and realized I hadn''t went grocery shopping in ages. I don''t really have anything to make Winter some lunch. I guess we''ll have to eat outside because going grocery shopping with her would be a nightmare. Maybe after that I can pay Leon a surprise visit with the excuse of going to a nearby restaurant.

    I turned the TV off. "Winter, how about we go eat out? After that we can go see a friend of mine. You can paint there as well."

    "Alrighty." She said and started to pack everything back in the bag.

    Now that I might become a billionaire then I can buy a car but until then I''ll have to use public transport. Leon''s apartment is not all that far and there are a lot of restaurants near him.

    It took about fifteen minutes until we reached the street near his house.

    "Where would you like to eat?" I pointed at three different restaurants which seemed to have a nice variety of lunch suitable for a child.

    She looks around hen blinks at me, "Anyone you want uncle." She whispers. She''s a little shy.

    I randomly picked the one and my feet lead me to it. Winter took more than five minutes to pick between pancakes or waffles. After we filled out stomachs we walked about two blocks down to Leon''s apartment.

    We take the stairs after all he''s only on the second floor so there was no need to take the escalator, besides that walking is healthier. I ring his bell.

    "Why are you here?"

    After twenty seconds the door was opened and I was meet with a look of surprise. Leon steps out and half closes the door behind him.

    "Why are you asking me such a weird question? You''ve become so estranged. What happened?" I said trying to read the expression on his face.

    He isn''t even letting us inside, shutting the door like that behind him as if I was a stranger.

    His eyes became as large as an owls and he opens the door wide realizing how strange he was acting. "Nothing but I just didn''t expect you to come. Come in." He appeased and his eyes traveled down. "Who''s this?" He pointed at Winter with his chin.

    "It''s Yasmin''s daughter."

    Winter gives him an eye smile, "My names Winter!" She beamed.

    We step inside and Winter immediately grabs her bag from me and searches for a place to paint. Leon watches her with a faint smile.

    "So do you have any updates on Jake?"

    "Hmm?"

    "Jake? Didn''t you put the tracker on his phone? Did he do something suspicious as of yet?"

    "Oh yeah not yet. We didn''t get a new code so I doubt he''ll be doing anything worth suspicion."

    I need to find out what is hidden here. When I suggested we meet in his house he panicked. When we come he stood at the door instead of letting me in as usual. He''s not acting weird right now but I need to go look through his medicine cabinet. If I find any anti-anxiety pills here than that would mean it''s him. He would be the one who changed my medicine for whatever reason.

    I make my way to the restroom and closed the door behind me.

    It''s empty.

    Nothing is in his medicine cabinet but a pill for headache. It''s usually filled to the brim with vitamins and other herbal medicines because he has allergies but it''s empty.

    The door creeped open and Leon popped his head in.

    "What are you doing?"

    Damn it, I forgot to lock the door.

    "Umm, I was just looking for some medicine for my headache." I grab the one and only pill bottle, passed him and made my way to the kitchen sink. I grab a glass of water and gulped down a pill. I don''t have a headache but if I don''t take one he''ll know that I''m lying.

    Why is he keeping an eye on me like this?

    "Wait, Cameron you dropped this." He picks up something from the floor and inspects it.

    It''s the new code.

    He raises his brow and unfolds the paper. "Why didn''t you tell me about this new code?" He questioned.

    "I was planning too." I explained trying to maintain my face. I can''t let him know that I''m suspecting him. After all it''s all dumb speculations.

    He looks at Winter who was already making a mess with paint. "You better clean that before you go Cameron. How long are you going to babysit her kid?" I shrug my shoulders and he shook his head. He hands me the paper. "Did you figure out what the code means?"

    "I gave it to Viola. She cracked it and I was coming to tell you about it."

    Lie. But it''s not like I can confront him with my baseless suspicions. I don''t want to hurt our trust in each other. We''ve been friends for more than a decade. I''ll ask him directly. I need to put my words together first.

    Leon flops down on the sofa and crosses his legs.

    "Alright then we''ll stalk Jake for the next few days. If he is the culprit he''s going to need to buy items needed for the murder. We''ll catch him red handed."

 Chapter 20: Chasing Ghosts

    "Alright then. So what do we do until then?" I asked.

    Leon grabs his laptop from the coffee table and types in his password. He still has Hisoka from the anime hunter x hunter as his background. Hisoka is holding a playing card with the classic sinister look on his face. I remember it was his favourite anime and he couldn''t stop talking about it for a year. It''s been a bunch of years now but that picture never changed. I guess it still holds a special place in his heart. I smile faintly as I watch on.

    He taps on a strange icon that I''ve never seen before and four different divides screens pop up. He taps on the one on the top left and a bunch of electronic receipts pop up. He scans through it and mumbles a bunch of stuff which I couldn''t understand but I didn''t bother to ask.

    Leon cracks his fingers then begins to type on his keyboard. "Up until now he hasn''t bought anything strange." He says as he typed away who knows what on his laptop.

    "So we''re just going to sit around until he drops a clue?" I asked.

    I''m a perfectionist who likes to plan everything before hand. Unless it''s my novels. In real life, if things aren''t organized they tend to get messy and that stresses me out. Both on a spiritual and physical level. Maybe that''s why I like being a novelist.

    I can be spontaneous if I wanted to or I can plan things from the beginning. My best novels weren''t planned to many of my fans surprise. When I don''t plan, my mind is released of the invisible restrictions I inadvertently placed on it. I get bursts of creatively while writing and change things up with the best idea. When I''m done I go back and fix all my plot holes then everything would be perfect.

    I wish the real world was this simple. Having a book or a notepad were anything I write would come true. Then I wouldn''t have to be in this mess. I could just write that I catch him. Bonus, I could even write that the world is rid of all the monsters gladiolus was after so we don''t even need him anymore. Sadly this is reality; Dreams and hopes don''t come true so easily. Justice won''t always be served.

    Leon opens up a GPS location tracker and pulls up Jakes movements for the past three days. "He hasn''t been anywhere suspicious yet." He said and continued to look through the other things. His messages, phone log even his personal information, everything is at our fingertips. "Send me the information Viola sent you." Leon asked still staring at the screen.

    "I grab my phone and emailed it to him. A notification pops up on his laptops screen and he clicks on it.

    Leon finally looks me in the face after concentrating on the screen for so long with a slightly gaping mouth. "What were you saying earlier?"

    I blinked at him. "I don''t even remember anymore." I asked a questioned but I got lost in my own thoughts that I don''t even remember what I asked anymore.

    Leon looks back at the screen and decided to not bother probing further. He types something and presses enter. "Alright now if he comes within a kilometre radius of here then it''ll warn us."

    This stalking software or whatever is amazing but terrifying. When someone can access everything about you all the way down to your grocery list which you might not even remember. This world has become terrifying. With a tap of a finger anything can be accessible. It''s unfortunate that we couldn''t only advance the good parts of the internet but we also allowed the bad people to have a platform where they can easily get away with their malicious acts.

    "Where did you even get this?" I asked. I hope he didn''t order it from the dark web. It''s enough to be chasing after a vigilante serial killer; being chased by one who tracked me from the dark web would be like a scene from saw. I never saw that movie honestly put that''s the idea I have from the trailers.

    "I told you, you can find anything online."

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    Okay now we have an almost sure way of catching him or at least conforming with its him or not. But what will we do then. I mean this keeps getting more and more complicated that I don''t know what I''m doing anymore. "So what will we do if it''s him?" I asked, observing the look on his face.

    His forehead creased. "We''ll wait until he kills this guy than I''ll arrest him."

    That''s not what I meant to say. "Leon."

    His brows rose, "Hmm?"

    "If we''re going to let him kill them anyway... Why are we even looking for him?"

    He looks to the side. "What do you mean?" he said and his eyes fell into deep thought but I know he understood what I really meant.

    "I know you have to catch him because he murdered people at the end even if the people he kills are bad people. But this just doesn''t make any sense."

    He tilts his head. His eyes went blank. "I get what you mean but we have to get him at the end so might as well let him kill one more bad guy before he''s thrown into prison." He says. It seems like he doesn''t realize how ridiculous this is. What is real justice then?

    He points on the screen. "For the last few days all he did was stay at home or walk nearby." I look and my eyes followed his fingers but my mind was elsewhere.

    "Since his target is being released today we have to keep a close eye on him. Let''s go to your house. It''s much closer to his so we''ll be on stand by to follow him." Leon explained.

    "Alright."

    <hr>

    On my coffee couch we laid back watching the laptop screen for Jakes GPS location or at least his phones. I put Winter to sleep upstairs after she devoured a box of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Yasmin''s going to kill me later.

    I continued to watch the red mark with indicated Jakes location. This can go wrong so many ways and I doubt Leon has thought it all through. I guess people really are obsessed with their phones nowadays that tell take it everywhere. The stillness made me sleepy and I fought the urge to fall asleep but I gave in at the end.

    I woke up with a hypnotic jerk and crazy pounding head ache ensued. I held my head cringing with every shoot of pain and I look to the side where Leon was sleeping soundly with one arm dangling of the couch. My eyes travel back to the laptop screen.

    Jake is moving.

    I shake Leon awake and he jumps up with his fists balled ready to fight. I chuckle at his response then pointed at the screen. "He''s finally moving." I whispered not knowing exactly why I did. It''s not like he knows we''re watching him.

    We watch intently as he moved from the back of the house but he stops near the door and goes back. He then comes towards the door again and just stays there.

    "What''s going on?" He''s not moving anymore. Did he figure out we''re watching him?

    Leon''s brows furrowed at he narrowed his eyes at the screen trying to make sense of the situation. "No idea."

    "Did he leave his phone or something?" I suggested. I knew something like this was going to happen. I mean bringing a phone to a crime scene is dumb and I think whomever gladiolus is he or she isn''t dumb at all. It takes brains to play cat and dog with the police for so long especially when we have so many more CCTV cameras cover almost all areas and advanced forensic technology now more than ever before.

    Leon rubs his chin and it seems like he hasn''t been having enough time to shave as he was starting to grow a beard. "Wait i think I know." Leon proclaimed and zoomed into the map. "He went upstairs."

    "Why?" I asked even though he probably doesn''t know.

    Leon clicks his tongue and crosses his arms, "How should I know?" He cracks his neck than types something. "Wait let me try to access his camera."

    His camera? This is getting more and more creepy. "Since when did you become a hacker?" I asked him. He never showed any interest in computers before this he barely knew how to use on.

    "Viola gave me some lessons." He clicks and a screen of Jakes front camera was displayed.

    "He''s sleeping." I whisper. It seems like he feel asleep with his phone in his hands. Drool traveled down his chin and it was an unpleasant sight.

    Leon looks at me with alert eyes, "What time is it?"

    I glance at my watch. "It''s six in the morning."

    He bites his lips with his canine, brows creased and he slams his fists on the table. "We missed him." He sighs and leans forward, "Wait let me back track to see if he left his home at night."

    I rub my head in frustration and scratched the nape of my neck. My hand lead me to the remote control and I opened the news channel.

    "Breaking news. A registered offender who was recently released has been found dead. He was found in a ditch with eighty stab wounds to his torso. His eyes were gouged out. It''s suspected to be another work of the infamous gladiolus."

 Chapter 21: The Cost of Redemption

    Leon closes his laptop shut so hard I don''t think the screen can survive that impact. He stood up and grabbed the remote control with a hand on his hip.

    "He did it. We missed him. He was right under our fingers and we still missed him." he hissed and raised his arm to smash the remote but I caught it right before he was about to fling the remote at the TV.

    I mean I get that he''s frustrated but why is he so fixated on Jake. I throw the remote on the couch and flinch when I thought it was about to bounce off but it didn''t. I grab Leon''s shoulder and he glares at me lightning bolts. "Why are you so sure it''s him? You''re acting just like Cain!" I didn''t realize how load I was yelling until the silence followed.

    He slaps my hand away and looks me dead in the eye. "I''m going to go question him."

    Before I could even comment Leon grabbed his jacket and slammed the door behind him. This is going no where. I look back at the coffee table where he forgot his laptop.

    A yawning Winter hopes down the stairs she almost trips over the last step but she manages to hold her stand. I flinched so hard to try and catch her I think muscles are cramping all over.

    "Uncle I''m hungry and thirsty." She pouts with a grumpy face and pulls me by the sleeve towards the kitchen.

    "What do you want me to make?"

    She puts her index finger on her chin and pretends to think about it but I already know what she''s going to ask for. "Omelet with honey!" She smiles and sits on the table waiting for me. I can''t cook that many dishes but I can make amazing omelet.

    I drew a happy face with honey on the omelet and placed it in front of her.

    "Thank you!" She jumps down and runs to grab a fork and a butter knife before I even have the chance to hand them to her. I open the fridge looking for something else I could feed her and found some strawberries and blueberries. I don''t know why she loves sweet omelet so much but what can I do about it?

    A bowl of oatmeal was enough for me with some blackberries on the side. I should probably learn how to cook a few more dishes from Yasmin. I''m getting sick of the same old mediocre tastes.

    The door rings and Winter glances at me. It''s definitely not her mother since she''s supposed to be gone for one more day. Maybe Leon is back? I doubt so.

    I wash my hands and dried the before going to the front door. No one is visible through the eyehole so I opened the door.

    I am meet with Cain''s glowing smirk.

    "Why do you have red paint in your home?" he intones holding up a plastic evidence bag with a bottle of red paint.

    I blink between him and the bag. "Why are you asking that? How do you even know I have paint in my home? Why is my paint in an evidence bag when you never got a warrant?" I asked. He''s totally misunderstanding. That paint is the one I brought for Winter. Besides that he has no right to search my house without a warrant. It''s sad how he thinks he solved it and it was worth breaking the law to ''prove'' but now he''s going to lose his job for nothing.

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    "You don''t need to know how I got that information." He pushes past my shoulder into my home and starts looking around inspecting everything with his sharp detective eyes. He''s wasting his time focusing on me while the real criminal can do whatever he wants.

    "So what? Anyone can have paint in their homes that doesn''t make them gladiolus. You keep getting more ridiculous ideas by the day." I cross my arms and watch him flip my house over.

    "The shade of red you have matched exactly the same type on the foreheads of the victims. It happens to be the same paint formula from the same company gladiolus used. What do you make of that?" He turns to look at me the goes back to looking through my drawers.

    Did he really just sneak in to my home? Just like that? All that for evidence that barely serves as circumstantial?

    I watch him in disbelief as he rampaged through my stuff. Throwing things here and there so that he can make sure he searched every inch of my home.

    "This is ridiculous."

    He stood up and dusted his knees off. "I''m hoping you''re not too smart enough to get rid of all evidence." he says, mainly speaking to himself.

    "There is no evidence because I''m innocent have you ever thought of that?" For the millionth time I swear this Cain guy is about to drive me crazy.

    He laughed maniacally and looks at me. "You''re so funny." He wipes a small tear and continues to look around.

    What was that? He''s a psycho. I feel my skin on my arms turn to look like that of a chicken so I rub it to ease the goosebumps.

    "You know it would be easy to kill you right now before you get tired of playing he vigilante and start killing little kids but I don''t want to have blood on my hands." he jogs up the stairs and I follow him.

    He sees me as that person. The man Leon sad killed the little kid because Cain didn''t investigate thinking the book was a coincidence. He''s become delusional with the memory of that little child. I suddenly don''t feel upset anymore. He''s a pitiful person. I can''t imagine being in his position. He can search all my house if he wants if it helps him get rid of that guilt. But I''m afraid history will repeat itself the opposite way. He''ll be too concentrated on me that the real criminal will do exactly what Cain is trying so disparately to avoid from happening ever again.

    "What? Are you scared?" I realized I stopped on the stairs and Cain looked down on me. "Don''t worry even if I killed you I know how to give you a painless death even if you deserve to suffer. Even if I have to be a monster like you and kill you I''ll at least show you some dignity so I can keep the last bit of humanity I have in myself." He claims to the second floor and immediately heads towards my bedroom.

    I watched him as he turned the whole house upside down. He searched every corner but still wasn''t satisfied. I was getting sick and tired of him but I let him finish. If he realizes on his own then he''ll leave me alone.

    He slumps down on the floor and hurled a copy of my book towards my head. "You know you couldn''t make it so much easier for me and you if you just hand yourself in." And now he''s trying to coax me into giving a false confession. I''m so done with him.

    A phone rang. It''s Justin Biebers baby. This fifty something year old man has Bieber as his ringtone. Cain hurries to answer his call.

    "Yes, Rain.What is it?"

    "I''m coming." He hangs up and immediately ran downstairs. I follow him until the door where he jogs towards his car and drives away without an explanation. It''s not like he owes me one anyway but curiosity is a deadly sin of mine. Well whatever, at least now I have my home to myself.

    I flop into my couch and turned on the TV to drown out the background silence. I scrolled mindlessly through my social media. Messages from old friends trying to catch up with me filled my inbox. It seems like half of them at least want a signed book as a ''token of our friendship''. Funny thing is some of those very people used to bully me in high school. It seems like they either forgot or think I''m nice enough to forgive them so easily and give them gifts. What a joke.

    Winter comes in and grabs the remote control. She opens Netflix and turns on some kids show which I never saw before.

    I lean my head back on the soft pillow and sighed. My phone vibrated in my hand but I didn''t bother to check. It continued to ring in my palm so I raised it to check. Yasmin was calling.

 Chapter 22: The Enigma of Gladiolus

    "How are you guys doing? Is Winter causing you any trouble?" She asked, her voice was a little distorted as if she''s outside in a windy place.

    "We''re doing well. She''s been very nice and even painted so many canvases already." I put the phone on speaker and dropped it in my lap before grabbing the canvases from off the table. I flip through them and one caught my eye. A brilliant mixture of radiant colours, gold, red and black. It seems like she used several techniques to paint as some of the paint was sprayed onto the canvas and some was painted using various sizes of brushes. I don''t think she intended to paint anything in particular but I could make out various forms that looked like certain objects and animals. It''s like those abstract paintings that you see in the museum where there would be a person who analyzes the message the artist meant to leave. Sometimes there will even be a psychologist who analyzes the psychological and mental state of the artist when he or she was painting a certain piece.

    "This deserves to be an an art museum. I''ve seen a huge five by five meter canvas with only a single blue dot in the middle and it was on sale for something like ninety million dollars. Winters piece deserves to be put in that ones place." I shook my head at the ridiculousness of how art is preceived by some people. Anyone can paint a dog. I''ll never understand who decided to put that simple painting up like it''s som kid of masterpiece.

    Yasmin chuckles. "I know it''s ridiculous. Winter always had a talent for painting. Send me a picture of this new one you like so much."

    "How''s the printing going?"I asked. I still feels like a dream. She said it''s going to be about a hundred thousand copies. When my previous books sold more then ten thousand copies I would throw a big party. Technically it''s not all that big since he old people I invite are Leon and Yasmin who bring a bunch of there own friends. It''s not like I don''t have any other friends. I had many in high school and throughout my university years but I wasn''t ever that close to any of them. We all sort of lost touch once we graduated and everyone went their own separate ways.

    "Cameron, I''m discussing with the marketing team. In two days time we''ll start the distribution." It sounded like she just stuffed her mouth with a donut. "Oh and Cameron you''re going to have a fan meeting soon in the mall get ready for it." the sound of her chewing made it hard to understand what she''s trying to say.

    "What fan meeting? When?" I''ve never held a fan meeting before in my life. It not like i didn''t have any fans before but still. This is all new to me.

    "I''m going to be organizing you one very soon I''ll send you the details later on but I just want you to be prepared." She explained.

    I nodded but I realized she wasn''t here to see. "Oh okay."

    "See ya." She hangs up. She''s so busy with all this printing and packaging. I don''t know if I can ever self publish I''m not patient or skilled enough. I m envy people who can do it all.

    Winter started to laugh hysterically and I almost flinched myself into a heart attack. Some kid just cracked a joke and it looks like it''s the funniest thing Winter has ever heard.

    I tap on my chest to ease the shook and picked my phone up with my other hand. I haven''t heard from Leon ever since he stormed out the house to question Jake. He''s been ignoring my calls and my messages. I''m guessing he got to nowhere because if he found evidence or got a confession he would''ve told me about it.

    What looks like an expensive pen was left on my counter. I pick it up and inspected it. I don''t think I''ve ever seen Leon with this pen. He always loses his pens so buying an expensive one is just a waste. I place it on top of his laptop so he wouldn''t forget to take I next time.

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    Oreo jumps on my lap. She probably needs to lose some weight. I can take her for a walk with Winter. It''s better to walk after eating such a breakfast.

    "Winter, we''re going to walk Oreo lets go." I put Oreo to the side and got up. I started to yawn uncontrollably as I headed towards my coat hanger.

    Winter follows me and grabs her backpack. She pulls out a Rubric cube out of her bag and holds it up.

    "So I don''t get bored." She messes the colours up and immediately starts solving it.

    That kind of hurt. I hope I''m not that boring. She doesn''t have many mood swings but when she has one it takes you off guard. One minute she''s a cute little angel and the other moment she''s as grumpy as grumpy can be.

    We just walked around mindlessly as Oreo sniffed around. Winter seems to have a sixth sense. She hasn''t even looked up once but she never ran into a pill or a person even while solving her cube. I can''t even think properly or concentrate on the most simplistic tasks.

    She''s way too talented.

    Pain radiated through my forehead and I rubbed it with my palms which helped ease the pain. I bumped my head with someone else''s.

    "You should look ahead of you." The teen shoots on the top of their lungs and rubbed their forehead the same way did.

    "Sorry." I whispered. Technically both of us have to be at fault for this to happen. If he was also looking forewords that this would''ve never happened.

    A hand was placed on my shoulder and I subconsciously began to slide into a fighting position.

    "No way. This is a dream of mine." It''s the same teenager but instead for a sour look on his face his eyes sparkled along with his teeth. "You''re my hero!" He puts his hands on the sides of his head and then rubs his eyes with a look of disbelief displayed on his face.

    I smiled. It''s kind of refreshing to know that I could be walking right next to someone who loves my book and I may never know until something like this happens. "I''m honoured to be someone you look up to but I''m no hero I''m just a writer." I chuckled at his fanboy demeanour.

    He glances around to see that me and him where the only ones there. Expect for Winter and Oreo but I doubt that mattered to him. Once he confirmed that no one was listening he comes closer and holds his hand up to cover the side of his mouth."I can keep a secret. Even though everyone already suspects it but I want to confirm it myself before I go." He looks around the whispered in my ear. "You''re the real gladiolus right?"

    I laughed awkwardly. Is that the reason he''s my fan? Because he''s confusing me with the real gladiolus? That kid of makes me upset. "I''m really sorry to disappoint you but it''s not me." I said with a bitter look on my face as I grabbed winters hand ready to walk away.

    He frowns and crosses his arms. He looks back at me and just shrugs his shoulders. "It''s okay I still got to meet my favourite author of all time." He waves me goodbye.

    "Thank you." I said before helping Winter with Oreos leash then walked away.

    <hr>

    When I returned back I found yet another coded message and immediately took the initiative to decode it. This isn''t the last code or target of gladiolus as its still coded. He''s yet to send me the uncoded messages he wrote about last time. But why is he doing this? I still can''t wrap my head around it. Why I''m the target and why he chose my book out of the thousands of other crime novels out there. Why is trying to toy with me like this?

    "How would it feel when the criminal is victim to his own crimes? You must never torture the innocent. It seems like only I can stop him. The suitcase killer that is."

    Now when I think about it gladiolus must have experience with hacking or some sort of tracking and information device. I mean it''s been years and the police have yet to even have a proper suspect for the doll or the suitcase killer.

    How is this gladiolus guy more skilled at tracing and locating those criminals? He must be someone who has access to such information and technology. Intelligence services or maybe even someone like Viola.

 Chapter 23: In the Face of Disdain

    On my coffee table I spread a huge white paper and borrowed on of Winters big blue markers from her bag.

    Gladiolus.

    I wrote in big letters right in the middle. I traced a line from the middle. Random Person. Another line. Viola. Another one. Leon. My fingers tips shivered a little and I shake the nerves away. I grab a black marker and crosses out Leon''s name until it wasn''t visible.

    It''s not going to be him.

    I circle Viola''s name. Now that I hunk about it she has the best resources to find such information. As for the crimes themselves she might not have committed them personally for all I know but I have a feeling she may know more than she should. I got lost in my thoughts as I continued to doddle random stuff on the paper.

    Winter puts her elbows on the table and flops her checks on her palms with a pout on her face. "Uncle I''m bored with the toys I brought. Can we go to the store and buy new ones please?" She blinks and gives me puppy dog eyes. I hate cute little kids. You can''t say no to them. But I''ll see if I can convince her to stay. I have too much on my mind I''m not feeling energetic enough to walk around for hours tell she picks he toys she wants.

    "How about you paint?"

    She shakes her head, "I used up all of it. I just want new toys that are more fun!"

    I roll my eye with a smile. Maybe walking will help clear my mind a little. "Alright fine let''s go."

    <hr>

    I followed her around as she would pick up a toy ask me what I think about it then she puts it back on the shelves.

    This is gonna be a long day.

    As I followed her some one called my name and I turned around. He sounded familiar.

    "Mr. Cameron! I can''t believe I keep running into you like this. It''s like we''re neighbours." He stops to take his breath and beams at me with sparkly eyes. It''s Jake.

    "Hey, Josh right?" I know exactly who he is. I mean Leon and I have been stalking him and we know more than most of his friends would know about him. I need to pretend like I don''t remember him much.

    His smile fades a little but it was still almost from ear to ear. "It''s Jake actually." he corrects. A little hand wrapped around his.

    "I''m sorry." I chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of my head. "Who''s this little one?" I point at the little girl who hid behind Jakes legs.

    He picks her up in his arms. "This is my daughter. Lia, say hi."

    "Hello.." she whispers then hides her face in her father''s jacket.

    Jake pats her head and mouths as he pointed at her with his chin."She''s a little shy." He puts her down and holds her hand. "We were actually here to buy her some toys." He explains.

    Winter hands me a toy she was looking at earlier. "I want this." She says then stops to look at Jakes little daughter.

    Jake smiles at Winter. "I didn''t know you have a daughter."

    "Oh no, I''m taking care of her for someone." I hold her hand because I know she''ll use this opportunity where I''m distracted to wonder about.

    A phone rang and it wasn''t mine. Jake pulls out his phone and checks who it was.

    "I gotta go. It''s a pleasure to keep meeting my most favourite author of all time like this. I think Lia wants to be friends with Winter too. Bye." He takes the toys from Lias hand and jogs with her to the check out. I wonder why he''s in a hurry like this.

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Winter took another hour to pick her toys. The bill was crazy but apparently I''m about to be a millionaire so it didn''t matter anyway. We headed back home.

    Winter played with her toys well through midnight. Trying to take her toys away would result in a temper tantrum and I really don''t know how to deal with them so I just let her be.

    Yasmin come to pick her up the next day and ordered me to get ready for the fan meeting. I picked out the most expensive coat I had and wore it with a turtle neck. I''ve seen this style multiple times and I think it makes me look classy and much more elegant then I am.

    I walk out to find Yasmin waiting for me in a brand new car. I''ve never seen something more fancy or as expensive in real life before. A Pangani Huayra. She''s been dreaming about getting one ever since I knew her.

    The door opens upwards just like in those sci-fi movies and Yasmin pops her head out. "What do you think?" With the biggest smile I''ve ever seen she motions for me to come sit.

    "It''s really nice." It''s way more than nice but I''m dumbfounded for words.

    "It''s amazing. Did you check your bank account?" She asks carefully backing up. She''s usually a reckless driver but how can she be after buying a car worth more than a million.

    "Not yet." I wonder how much I have now.

    "Well do it after the fan meeting. I don''t want you to faint on me."

    "Where''s Winter?"

    "You think you''re the only friend I have?" "You know I don''t trust nannies i left her with another close friend of mine."

    She pulls up into the furthest parking spot away from people''s eyes so no one tries to touch it. Before we leave she kisses the steering wheel goodbye.

    Right when the elevator pops open, as if the sound barrier has been suddenly lifted, my ears fill with the mixture of peoples conversation. A baby crying. No babies. A toddler whining in the distant. Someone fighting with the cashier. The rest where all mediocre conversations as people walked around buying clothing, shoes or any other item you can find at a mall.

    To the left is a line. So long that I don''t exactly know here it starts or ends. The line extends all the way upstairs near a table.

    "Let''s go." Yasmin starts heading towards the table at the top of the stairs. I found myself counting as I passed but the number of people lining up . I lost count by the time I reached up.

    They''re all my fans. I was acutely aware of the fact that I had started to gain popularity after gladiolus appeared I never expected this many people to show up to my fan signing event.

    I smiled at each fan and signed the book they choose. All my smiles where genuinely from my heart. As time went buy my hand got tired any my signature became slopped and I get bad so I took a five minute break as Yasmin sat in the back typing her heart away on her phone.

    Just as I lean back and strep chef my fingers and arms someone in the middle of the line started to yell loudly.

    "Excuse me you can''t skip in the line we are all waiting." A women holding her son glared at a man who seems to have skipped her in line.

    I get up off my chair and walked towards them. I hope I can calm this before it escalates.

    The man looks her up and down and crosses his arms with a conceited look on his face. "I can do whatever I want. Look at you of course I deserve to skip you in line at least." He intones.

    The women''s jaw drops. She seems to understand what he''s trying to get at. "What''s that supposed to mean?" Her son hides behind her with a terrified look on his features.

    The rude conceited man points at his hand and punches his own skin, "You see this? This means I''m more superior to you."

    He really did it. He really sad that. I can''t believe what my eyes are seeing.

    "You what do you think you''re doing?" My voice went deeper without my intent. I was starting to feel physically angry as I trembled with rage.

    "Oh you''re him. "The man recognizes me and hands me his book for me to sign. "Here can I have your signature?"

    I take the book and an overwhelming urge to rip it to shreds took over me. It''s a hard copy so I couldn''t do much damage so I threw it on the ground. The man looked at me with a gaping mouth.

    "What the fuck? This is how you treat your fans?"

    "I''m ashamed to have a fan like you."

    "Why are you standing up for him? Could it be your mother is the same? Cause it makes no sense otherwise."

    My fingers curled into balls and my jaw tensed up. A raging fire surged through my veins. It felt as if I was losing touch with reality. Anger plagued my mind.

    The man was on the floor, his hands on his cheek with a horrified look on his face. Next to me was Leon. His knuckles with a little hint of blood. They shook by his sides as he tried to calm himself.

    "And who the fuck are you?" The man screamed as he groaned in pain, clutching the side of his face.

    Leon'' stares him dead in the eye. "Sue me." he breathed and turned on his heels, stomping away with heavy steps.

 Chapter 24: Fragments of Truth

    My phone buzzed with notification after notification but I ignored it. I groan and covered my ears with my pillow.

    My bones feel like butter. I didn''t think just having a fan meeting could get me so tired. Besides that having to bail Leon out of jail and watching Yasmin threaten to expose the racist man so he would drop the thought of charging Leon. It was an amazing sight to see. The man whimpered like a puppy from fear. Still it was nerve wracking and I hate to be put under so much stress.

    The sound of notification just wouldn''t stop so I grab it if the night table dragging my arm and opened one eye to check my screen. I read the top notification.

    "Meet me in the same restaurant we meet for the first time. Today at seven pm." From Jake.

    "Why?" I type as I tired to stop a yawn from coming out.

    "There''s something very important that I have to tell you." He types back right then. Why is he so eager to to me?

    I drag my weight and flopped on the disk in my room turning around in my chair anxiously as I played with my pen. I reread his message over and over trying to discern what may be the reason for this message. I don''t have a clue what he wants to talk about or why he''s using such a weird tone with me. He used to be so bubbly and know he sounds so serious it''s unsettling. I put the pen my drawer and opened my laptop. I haven''t been writing for so long I think I forgot the plot of my own story. I don''t want to have to read my own story just to remember the plot points I wanted to include. I don''t know if that only happens to me but with time I almost feel like a foreigner reading my own stories. That probably sounds ridiculous cause even I don''t understand it myself.

    I had slept. On top of my laptops keyboard. My left check was imprinted with the outline of the keyboard. I feel even more tired then before I slept. It''s probably because I slept in such an uncomfortable position. Five and fifty minutes. The blue outline of the electronic clock in front of me glowed in my vision even when I looked away. Wait. I''m going to be late. I wonder what Jake want to talk about like this. It''s getting more and more suspicious. Maybe he knows who gladiolus is? I just can''t think of any reason why he would be acting so strange.

    I jump up and grabbed a coat before sprinting downstairs. By this time it would be faster to run there then to wait for the next bus.

    And of course it had to happen when I decide to run. It rains. I almost slipped a few times but thankfully I reached the restaurant in one piece. I entered all drenched in rain and one employee eyes me. I mouth an ''I''m sorry'' and took my coat off to wring some of the water off. One waiter comes to take my coat for me so I thank her and started to look around for Jake.

    I spot him in the corner.

    "So what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" I asked trying to get comfortable on the wooden chair as I rubbed my hands together to warm them up. I''m starting to shiver from the cold.

    "It''s me." he mumbled then looks me right in the eye with a deadpan expression. He puts his phone on the table and presses the speaker button.

    "I am gladiolus."

    I freeze. Did my ears malfunction for a second. I blink at Jake.

    "Very funny kid. This is the hundredth prank call we''ve got . Look here child, we don''t have time for this. There''s a murderer on the loose. Don''t waste our time." The man on speaker lectures with an annoyed tone. He seems to be an officer.

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    Jake clears his throat and I look back at him. This is a prank huh? This isn''t even funny. I can''t believe I had to run in the rain for this.

    "It really is me. I''ll come hand myself in soon. You know there isn''t any DNA evidence so I can''t prove it that way but I didn''t have an alibi any of the nights the murders where committed."

    There was silence for a moment then the man gives in. It seems he still thinks it''s some sort of prank call. "Fine when you hand yourself in we''ll do the investigation." He sighs. "What''s your name?"

    "Jake Stefani." He states then hangs up and then looks back at me. The same blank expression he had on since the beginning didn''t even change one bit. Dark pitiless orbs with some desperation lingering in his eye wrinkles.

    "Why?" I asked. That''s all I could think off. Why would he decide to take matters into his own hands and kill all these people. Why he had to use my book as a pamphlet.

    Jake crosses his arms. "I think you know why."

    My brows creased. What does he mean by that? "Why?" I asked again. "Why are you doing this? Why are you making me hear this? Are you trying to show of? What''s your purpose?" I spit out every question I can think of as I searched his face for any signs of deception.

    "You know why. Don''t ask me. I can''t believe this is happening either." Jake refuses to give me anything more.

    I stare at him and he stares back. I can''t read his face. I don''t know if he''s scared or pissed or whatever. He''s playing poker.

    "Tomorrow I''ll be handing myself in." He adds. It seems like I wasn''t the only one trying to read body and fascial expressions. Jake frowns the shakes his head.

    "Okay?" I mumble my head drowning in confused.

    "Bye." He stands up abruptly and leaves without another word.

    I take my coat and walked back home. Fortunately the rain stopped but now it was windy. I felt the wind right in my bones. It felt longer than before walking down the same road.

    The next day news where blowing up. The name gladiolus has been declared the most searched on goggle. Jakes face was everywhere.

    The next few days it rained every morning and evening. I don''t know why the sky is so sad. Today the rain was soft. The type you can walk in without getting all that drenched. I took a walk around the neighbourhood than came back!

    I spot a figure walking in front of my door. I squint my eyes to try and make out who it was. Leon stood at the door. Water dropped from his hair. In his hand was a paper.

    "What''s up?"

    "You''re finally here." He says, his voice quivered at the end from the cold. "Hurry open up the door."

    He runs in, grabs a cover and wraps himself with it then flops down on the couch. He holds up the paper in his hand and reads it out load.

    "Blood runs cold. Lucifer puts on an angels disguise. Silent screams of orphans. The mind may forget the pain but the heart never does. I shall rip the mask off his face while he screams in anguish."

    I pause and frowned. This makes no sense. "What is this? Wasn''t he arrested? How did he send this then?" I grab the paper from Leon and inspected it.

    "So it''s not him." Leon mumbles, deep in thought.

    "What do you mean?" I understand what he meant but I want him to elaborate more. I think I might go crazy by the end of this.

    "How can Jake be gladiolus if gladiolus is still sending letters when Jake is in prison?" He pondered. I figured that much but the possibility that Jake really isn''t gladiolus has tainted my thoughts. I don''t know how to think anymore.

    "I know it makes no sense but then we have no clue no leads.... nothing." I said.

    "Even though it looks exactly like the ones gladiolus sends and I don''t think anyone disclosed its details to the public. It''s either the real gladiolus or someone trying to impersonate him that knows too much." Leon deduced as he cracked his fingers. "We''re back to square one." He mumbles almost to himself.

    "It''s like we''ve been going swimming in quicksand." I say. It feels like I''ve been falling from the same cliff over and over but there doesn''t seem to be an end.

    Leon right brow raises. "I don''t understand what that means but I don''t have time for this." He spits them puts both his hands on the sides of his head. He looks like he''s about to rip his hair off.

    The sound of a familiar ringtone fills the room.

 Chapter 25: In the Shadows of Doubt

    "Cameron?"

    It''s a familiar voice but I can''t discern who it is exactly. "Yes who is this?"

    "It''s me Jake."

    I pause. "What? How are you calling me?" Did he break out of jail? Even so why would he call me?

    "Calm down. I''m still in jail I got permission to make a call." He explained.

    "Why are you calling me then?" It''s weird. I can''t think of a reason why.

    "How''s my daughter doing?"

    "Why are you asking me about your daughter?"

    "I-I don''t know how she''s doing I can''t call anyone else so just please check if she''s alright for me?" He sounds panicked but he calmed himself.

    "Okay, I will. Don''t worry." I assured him and he hung up. Poor guy I heard he is a single dad he must be worried about his daughter but authorities probably took her so she should be safe. I''ll just confirm it so as to lift his worries.

    I took the bus to his house. A simple blue duplex home. I don''t know why I came here exactly. If authorities took her then where would she be? Do they send someone to stay with her home or do they bring her someone else. I''m not sure if she would be home and in his haste to ask he didn''t even tell me where to go. I''ll check if someone is home in the first place then I can ask the neighbours if they know where she was taken. I ring the door bell.

    No one. There doesn''t seem to be any presence her. Even the door knob looks dusty. A women pulls up into the next door drive away and takes her helmet off.

    "Who are you looking for? She asks inspecting me as she gave me a suspicious eye.

    "Where is the girl, Jakes daughter?" I asked.

    She opens the little trunk of her motorcycle, stuffs her helmet inside and pulls out a backpack. "A couple of days ago before her dad confessed someone came and took her." She explained then shoved her keys down her pocket.

    "Who? Do you know where he went or who he is?" I probed. It''s probably child protection or something but why would Jake be so distraught about it if that was the case? I''m sure they''d tell him that they have his kid.

    "I have no idea sorry." Without another word she opens her door and slams it shut after going inside. I walk down the drive way this was all for nothing coming here was just a waste of time. I should probably ask the authorities or maybe ask Leon about it he may have some idea about her whereabouts.

    I returned back home. I don''t know what is happening anymore. This all feels like a dream. No. A nightmare. I really long nightmare. Like something some comatose patients experienced before they walk up. I''m starting to doubt reality. Everything that''s been happening just makes it seem like I''m living in the world of a novel.

    Someone copying my novel then trying to frame me, all the spying and detective stuff I did with Leon and even this little girl''s disappearance... everything just seems so fishy and unrealistic.

    "You''re finally here."

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    "What are you doing here?" I asked. Leon used to visit all the time randomly and since the keys were hidden in the flower pot he would let himself in but he can''t anymore. He stopped visiting as often as before.

    "I need to talk to you."  He breathed. "I need to tell you something."

    I look at his face so I could study his expression. "What?" I say warily. He has a serious look on his face. His eyes laced with sadness but the rest of his face tried its hardest to maintain a pokerface.

    "It was me."

    What? What is he saying? "You what?"

    "I did it. I gave it to him."

    I look to the side trying to make sense of Leon''s words but I can''t understand what he''s trying to apologize for. "What are you talking about?"

    His eyes were downcast now and the sadness I misread earlier seems to be guilt instead. "The red paint. I saw it in you house. It was weird.

    You''ve never been interested in painting ever before and this is the first time I saw paint in your home. And out of all the colours it was red. And only red." He looked at me; his eye brows pushed together.

    It all makes sense now. Why he was acting out of character so much as if he was a whole new person. Why he wouldn''t let me go to his house was probably because he had the paint hidden there or maybe there''s another reason I don''t know about?

    "So that''s why you''ve been acting suspicious? Why were you so panicked about me going to your home?"

    He rubs the nape of his neck breaking eye contact with me. "That day I still had the paint in my home. I was contemplating what to do with it. I didn''t know what was right, if I should just put it back where is was or give it to forensics to check." He explained as he sneak little looks at me so as to read my expression.

    "So it was all about that? All for that?"

    "What do you mean? I mean right now it''s meaningless we got the guy so your innocence has already been proven but I wanted to tell you about this. I always knew deep down in my heart that it couldn''t be you but when I found that I had to clear up the doubts in my heart you have to understand. I felt guilty not telling you about it this whole time."

    "You could''ve asked me about it! I would''ve let you take it in for testing! I don''t have anything to hide! Why didn''t you at least till me about this sooner? I can''t believe you don''t have any faith in me. I also doubted you but I wouldn''t let anyone else explain to me unless I found doubtless evidence. I would hear it straight from you. I know when you lie. You know when I lie. We promised not to lie to each other. At least not about the big things." I took in multiple big gulps of air. My lungs were drying up as fast as my throat and lips. I can''t believe he acting like nothing was happening when he literally suspected I was a murderer. Well I kind of did that too so what right do I have to be angry with him?

    "I''m sorry Cameron. I don''t know what to say. I know I''m wrong. I know I should''ve trusted you or at least asked you about it. We''ve known each other for more than a decade. I should''ve at least told you that I have it and that I''ll be taken it for testing. I''m sorry, Cam. I''m so sorry." He reaches for my shoulder but I retracted it unconsciously.

    "I''m sorry." I lament and turned on my heel half running towards the door.

    I don''t know why I left. It''s my house. My feet carried themselves as I walked around with a half full, half empty mind. I was thinking about everything but also thinking about nothing at all. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I check the messages but my mind wouldn''t register until I read it for the fourth time.

    "I left your keys under the carpet." Leon texted.

    If everyone in this world thinks I''m a criminal it wouldn''t matter to me as long as my parents and my best friend believed in me. But now I lost one of them. I never thought a day like this would come. Leon was like a brother to me. Everyone has doubts and I completely understand but I can''t believe he took it from behind my back and didn''t speak a word to me. If he only told me about it I wouldn''t be bothered. I don''t only feel bad about this but I feel guilty about doubting him as well. My heat feels like it''s about to explode. I won''t to get rid of this feeling which doesn''t seem to dissipate even one bit ever since it began.

    After this all that''s left is that I''ve lost the only true friend I have. My feet carried me back home as I tried to choke back tears that came precipitously.

    I still hope we can go back to normal. At the end neither of us was gladiolus. We both suspected each other so we can cancel it out. My heart felt heavy. I hate myself for crying like this. How pitiful do I look?

    My pillow, soaked in tears and sorrow but still had the strength as it carried me into a world of hopes a dreams.

 Chapter 26: Mosaic of Fear

    The biting cold chilled my fingers into static numbness, cold seeped through my toes and spread painfully throughout my feet as if I were dipping them into a fishing hole. I am definitely wearing shoes but I could feel a breeze on my toes. I sat up and took a look at my feet. I''m wearing the shoe Oreo had chewed up a few month ago. I take it off, turning it over to the back as I inspect it. It has a weird jagged cut close to the top of the shoe. White interrupted lines cover parts of the jagged cuts. Threads? It''s almost as if it was cut, a portion of the back was taken out then the tip was sewn back to the rest.

    My socks rub against the floor as my feet dangle. It''s not the feeling of the soft fluffy carpet i have in my room, instead it was cold tile.

    I''m not in my room.

    I begin to observe my surroundings. Darkness filled the majority of the room but I can make out the outlines of what seem like boxes in the corner. A little weak flashlight sat in another corner, illuminating a portion of the room as it pointed towards a door.

    The door creaked. Someone''s head popped in.

    "Oh, Cameron, You''re up?" he asked.

    I haven''t got the slightest clue who that person is and he knows my name and he''s speaking so casually to me. Have I been kidnaped or something? Is he a stalker of mine? What is going on?

    "You feeling better? Should I call Hannah?"

    Hannah? As in my friend the doctor Hannah? It could be any other Hannah but that doesn''t make sense since he asked me to bring her. How does he know her and where am I?

    "Who are you?" I asked. My fingers curled, getting ready to turn into fists. My heart bounced in my chest.

    He chuckles, "Stop playing jokes man. They''re waiting for you in the other room let''s go." He pushes the door fully open and motions with his head to invite me out.

    My brows frow at his strange demenour. Why does it seem like he knows me? I reluctantly got up. He picks up the flashlight and looks back, making sure I was following him out into the hallway.

    Windows, half open and half closed lined the right side of the hallway, and the left side with doors. The moonlight lit up the hall that there is no need for the flashlight. A forest of trees are the only thing that can be seen on the landscape; Lit by the moon, the green leaves sway with the wind.

    "Who should go next? Jake and Anna already went inside but they''re still not out yet." the man said as he opened the door of a room three rooms away from where I was sleeping.

    What nonsense is he speaking? I don''t understand a thing he''s saying. "Who''s Jake and Anna? Inside where? Why am I here?" I asked all the questions building up inside my mind. I don''t understand why I''m following him. For all I know he could be trying to kill me and sell my organs. I need to escape but I don''t know what weapons he has on him. If I jump out the window he could shoot me if he has a gun. I need to understand the situation am in before I act. Maybe there''s other people stuck here that have been kidnapped like me. They''re awfully carefree kidnappers though. Nothing makes sense here.

    He enters the room ignoring my question. I sneak a quick look in the room before stepping in with one foot. Two new faces and Hannah. All three sat on sofas. A few candles let up the room; the yellow light gave a creepy vibe as it eluminated their faces. I feel a little at ease seeing a familiar face, Hannah''s but the fact that I don''t even remember coming to this place puts me on guard.

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    They were all dressed in old ripped up clothes with a plastic bags covering the majority of their bodies from their hands in plastic gloves to their feet wrapped up in a black garbage bags.

    I walk in and two other people became visible in my peripheral vision. They were dressed the same way.

    I observed each of their faces, they all seemed familiar somehow. "Who are you guys? Did you kidnap me?" I asked the first two questions which popped up in my head. The second didn''t make a lot of sense since Hannah is here.

    "We don''t have time for games. We came too far. We were arguing who gets to go next and thought you should decide." Says a guy around the same height who was leaning against the wall. He has a distinctive beauty mark in the corner near his left eye.

    I gave him a blank stare. Now this is starting to sound even stranger. "Decide what? Go where? Who are you?" Is this some sort of cult? Did they choose me as their leader? Why and how?

    Hannah puts a hand on my shoulder; She sensed my agitation and confusion. "They''re also our friends from the orphanage don''t you remember?" she softened her voice with a look of concern on her face. She gives my should a reassuring squeeze.

    I could make out the features which made them familiar. Benny and Hannah used to be my best friends back in the orphanage days but it was hard to keep in touch after I was adopted. Besides that, why are they acting so familiar with me? It''s the first time I see them in over fiftheen years; They''re acting as if I''d seen them yesterday or something.

    "We''re done. Don''t worry he''s still alive." a women spoke up. She enters the room followed by a man. She flashes me a smile. Which would''ve been a cute innocent one if it were not for the blood on her face.

    Wait. It''s Blood. Still Alive?

    The two of them were covered in splatters of blood. From head to toe the plastic bags on them had streaks of blood all over.

    My jaw dropped as the image was processed in my heard. "W-why are they all covered in blood?" I stuttered; I took a step back. "What''s going on and why am I here?" My hand found itself on the top of my head. "I was sleeping in my room."

    "Benny and lily you guys go." Hannah commands crossing her arms together.

    Two of them nod, "Alright." They say in unison.

    "Once they get started you''ll have a clearer idea of what''s happening." Hannah explained backing up to the wall to lean on it.

    I stare at her; she''s too calm. I mean two people just walked in here covered with blood... it doesn''t seem to be their own blood. I glance at the rest of them and they all seem calm but some are fidgeting.

    A blood curling scream echoed though the hall way.

    I glance at them and none of them seem to be fazed one bit by the scream of pain that reached every corner of this place. "W-what was that?" I questioned; My eyes, wide and my pupils shook.

    "When they''re done it''ll be your turn and mine." Hannah explained as if she was talking about our turn waiting to buy ticket to a movie.

    My brow raised as the glimmer of fear that grew in my chest since I woke up here overwhelmed my emotions. I pinch myself.

    It hurt.

    I''m not dreaming again and I''m not home. The fear turned into full blown terror, "My turn for what? Did Lily kill Benny? Hannah are you going to kill me?"

    Hannah blinks at me with a bewildered look on her face. She chuckled at the astonishment on my face. "Writers really do have a wild imagination, huh?" She smiles, "You''ll seen when we go there. And no I''m not going to kill you."

    A few minutes pass and Benny and lily entered the room. Again covered in blood like the two before them. Before I could ask any questions Hannah grabbed my hand and pulled me outside. She let go of my hand and started to walk. I took the hint and followed in silence. Even in this chaos I would rather die then come out of here without knowing what''s happening. Curiosity really would kill me. I''m dead both ways.

    After walking past five doors down the hallway we stopped at the last door.

    Crusted and rotted like the rest of them but this door was even worse. She turns the knob and pushes open the door stepping inside.

    I follow without asking any questions. There was a trail of bloody foot prints leading to the door.

    My heart was about to beat out of my chest but I need to see this through. I need to know what''s happening.

 Chapter 27: Gladiolus

    A lone man sat on a chair in the middle of the room. Thick ropes tighing him down. He is slummed down on the chair. Blood dripped from his dirty gray hair and his face unrecognizable from the mix of fresh and dried up blood. A spinning wheel sat on the side. ''Stab foot. Pull nail. Punch face. Slap. Punch sides. Break finger. Break nose. Pull teeth. Etc...Kill.''

    These were the options on the wheel of fortune or should I say wheel of torture. The ''kill'' slide is so tiny that the chance of it landing on it was close to impossible. A table filled with random tools was on the side. A butter knife, a butcher knife, an axe, a sickle, a saw, a hammer, a screwdriver, a hacksaw, nail gun, anything you could find in a workshop or a horror movie.

    The floor was covered with newspapers. On closer inspection they were all about a certain person. All praising him. Great citizen award. Best role model. Pictures of him smiling while playing with children. Pictures of him reading a book to children. Pictures of him drawing with children. All the newspapers painted him in a beautiful light. His name is John. His face seems familiar but I couldn''t remember where I''d seen him before. The newspaper surronding the man sitting on the chair are soaked in blood a meter radius around him. The corner of the room was lined with flowers. Jasione and bird. Yellow and purple.

    Revenge and Justice.

    "Do you remember this guy now?" Hannah asked as she wrapped her feet in mini black garbage bags.

    I sneak a glance at the man, "The man on the chair? No." I shook my head. I shivered at the sight of the gaping wound on his arm. Who is this man? Why does everyone expect me to know him. I have no recollection of ever beating him in my life besides I can even make out his features under all the blood and gashes on his face.

    She points down. "How about the one on the newspaper?"

    "Vaguely. I think I''ve seen him before. " The man on the newspapers seemed eerily familiar though I don''t know where I''ve seen him before.

    She threw me a plastic covering with holes for my hands and head. "He was our headmaster when we were in the orphanage together." She said.

    Hannah pulls her plastic covering over her head and slips on some plastic gloves. I watched her in silence. She grabs the bag that she pulled the coverings out off and hands it to me. I don''t know what she expects me to do but if she thinks I''ll help them torture a random stranger then something is definitely wrong with their heads.

    "Wear some plastic gloves and wrap a bag around your feet." She commanded.

    I accept the bag subconsciously as the situation begin to register in my brain. After all even though Hannah is my best friend from the orphanage days, I don''t really know her. I don''t know what she''ve become.

    "Why?" Is she going to force me to torture this man with her? Who is he? And why is there newspapers of our headmaster on the floor? Did this man murder the headmaster? Are we avenging our headmaster? I feel like I''m about to go crazy if my questions aren''t answered.

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    Hannah approaches the man and violently tugged his head up. I''m positive she has pulled out at least a chunk of his hair from the roots. She looks back at me, still holding the mans head. "Look at him closely." She bit her lips as she continued to hold his head up against his will.

    His left eye is swollen purple as well as all the colours of the rainbow. He opens his right eye just enough to see me. Black orbs. It seems like his irises didn''t exist but instead it was just a big set Of pupils. He almost looked satanic.

    It''s him.

    I remember him clearly now.

    A pounding ache echoed through my temples. It felt almost as if two powerful magnets were put around my head. I closed my eyes as it seems recognizing this man is the reason for the ache. I put my palms on my temples rubbing in cricler motions which helped ease the throbbing pain. Memories flooded into my mind as I shook my head hoping to repress them. My legs felt like they were noddles. I grab my knees so as to stabilize them. I sneak a look at the man again and he sends me a smirk. His teeth are covered in blood.

    He didn''t even bother to free himself. It seemed like he has accepted his fate. I doubt he''ll be alive by the end of this.

    In a second he was knocked to the ground. The chair was still tied to him. Hannah had just kicked him in the face. Her boot marked on his checks through the plastic she tied them in. She walks to his side and grabs a hair full of his head pulling him back up on his chair. He writhed as he extended his neck up so as to reduce the pain. He grinds his teeth with his eyes forced shut.

    "Don''t try to act smug. Cameron''s the reason we all got the courage to face our childhood demon and get our own revenge." Hannah said as she tightened the restraints on him.

    She grabs a roll of leather from the table and unfolds it revealing a bunch of syringes filled with different coloured liquids. She pulls out a hypodermic needle then grabs a plastic bag filled with vials of medicine and blood bags.

    "Pass me that rack." She commanded and I fulfilled without a thought.

    My mind is empty. I''ll just do whatever''s to get out of here.

    I watch in silence as she hangs the bag of blood up and feels for a vein in his forearm. Without even sterilizing the skin she inserts a needle into the man''s arm. She picks up another bag filled with normal saline, hooks it up and puts the needle in his other arm.

    The man spits out blood. "You people really care about me, huh? Wasting precious blood on me." he laughs then cringes with a grimace on his face. Laughing probably pulled an injured muscle on his beat up body.

    "When did you get your last tetanus shot?" Hannah asked staring him down with a wolfish expression. Before he could process her question she turns around.

    Bang.

    She had grabbed a nail gun of the table and shot his foot. He let go of another screech. Hyperventilating but holding his breath in between. His nose scrunched up as he bit his lips with all his incisors. One of his front teeth were messing I hadn''t noticed it when he was smirking before for some reason. He yells a bunch of profanities between each groan of pain with his hands in fists.

    She grabs a little dirty cloth from the table and burnished the gun. "We found the dirtiest nails and put them in this gun." She states with a blank stare. Without looking back she throws the gun behind her and it lands on the rest of the tools on the table. "Let''s go Cameron."

    I follow her out of the room. My mind was overheating with questions but I couldn''t concentrate on anything. Nothing here was making any sense. That man made me shiver in fear but it made no sense why I was so scared of him. I don''t remember him at all. He seems to have a connection with the headmaster. I''m not all that buff but I''m much stronger than this weak old man. The nightmares I had for the past weeks replayed in my head but now the face of the man was clear. At least his eyes that haunted me.

    It was him.

    It was this man.