Chapter Four

The killing of two.

"Good afternoon, Daniel, my name is Doctor Crystal. How are you feeling today?" greeted a blond woman with thick, blue-framed glasses.

 

   Daniel walked into her office, examining the atmosphere as she closed the door behind him. There was a beautifully decorated windowsill, three couches all surrounding a round coffee table with a flower pot perched on top, and a small desk and chair near a closet in the corner. It was very well lit up. Everything about it seemed warm and inviting.

 

   "Would you like a seat?" she offered, sitting down on one of the three couches.

 

   Daniel sat on a couch across from her, trying not to show how uncomfortable he was.

 

   "In the letter your boss sent me, he said you had been caved in for a couple of hours, and that you have extreme fears of the dark. Why don't you start by telling me about these fears, where did they originate?"

 

   He bit his lower lip, reluctant to say anything.

 

   She sighed. "We have a confidentiality agreement, Daniel, I cannot say anything unless it is life threatening or physically harming to yourself or anyone else."

 

   He felt his muscles relax just slightly and gave in. "I'm one of those guys who believes in ghosts and things similar to that. The dark has always scared me, but I guess there are a few things from my past that fed fuel to this fear.

 

   "When I was young, my brother was probably the creepiest person I knew. He was so quiet all the time, and scared me half to death on numerous occasions. Especially at night. However, he did teach me how to be quiet and sneak around. I became so good at it, that sometimes my brother had trouble finding me.

 

   "But I saw my fair share of things, things I probably shouldn't have seen. It made me start imagining ghosts chasing me, bugs crawling all over my body, and so on. Every second I spend in total darkness, I can feel my sanity slowly slipping out of my grasp."

 

   She nodded, trying to analyze him. "How did this affect you when you were caved in?"

 

   "I freaked out," he replied, resting his head in his hands. "I collapsed and ran out of breath and then blacked out. When I woke up, though, it felt like I was in there for two days or more."

 

   "Well that's not uncommon," came her reassuring voice. "Are you sure nothing else happened? Because what you are describing to me doesn't seem like it would traumatize anyone to your extent."

 

   Daniel hesitated and looked up at her. "Well, you see . . . ," he began, then stopped to think about what he was about to say. For a time, he considered whether or not he should even tell her. She seemed honest enough to keep an agreement of confidentiality, so he finally broke and spilled everything about the orb and what had happened over the past few days. He was relieved to finally get some pressure off of his shoulders.

 

   "I can see why that could be confusing and withdrawing. I don't understand it myself, but so long as you aren't depressed, my job here is done. Our hour is up and I have another patient waiting for me. I'm glad you're feeling alright. Have a nice day."

 

   That night, he had trouble sleeping as nightmares followed him around every corner.

 

   Early afternoon, the next day, he picked up the newspaper and started reading the headlines to find an interesting story. One caught his eye and made him hold his breath. The headline read, "Caroline Crystal Killed by Vicious Animal". He turned to page seven and found the article, reading as beads of sweat formed on his brow.

 

Caroline Crystal was found dead this morning by her husband of nine years, Markham Crystal. She was lying face up on the floor near an open closet with three deep gashes in her stomach.

 

   The police report states that the room she was in was torn to shreds, claw marks everywhere. She was found in her office after never returning home the night before.

 

   "When I entered the room, it reeked of blood and the sight of everything made my stomach lurch," stated Markham, in an interview. "There was no sign of the beast ever entering or leaving the room."

 

   At the time, the police are still confused as to what could have caused this and they advise all the citizens of London to say alert and wary the next couple of days. 

 

   The article continued onto stories about how helpful she was to the community. A tear rolled down Daniel's cheek. He couldn't help but feel like it was entirely his fault.

 

   A square of black cloth lay on the table next to him. Fear rose in the back of his throat. He needed answers, quick.

 

   He snatched the black cloth up and ran to his bedroom to grab the orb off of his desk. The cloth wrapped around it almost as if they had been made for each other and he walked out of his apartment with the package in hand. Ever so quietly, he left, being extra cautious. He almost didn't want anyone to see him; however, he didn't want to appear inconspicuous, either, so he tried his best to act normal.

 

   A short walk later, he came upon the FIA building and knocked on the door to Herald Mankins' office. The man quickly answered and invited Daniel inside. "What can I do for you today?" he offered.

 

   Daniel sat down in a chair across the desk from Herald and unveiled the orb, setting it on the table. "Do you know anything about this orb?"

 

   Herald leaned in to examine it, setting a pair of thin-framed glasses on his nose. "I believe I've seen a thing or two on that object. Let me check." He turned to his bookshelf, which spanned an entire wall, and rummaged through it for a while before pulling out a book entitled, "The Greatest Monarchs in History".

 

   "Here we are," he said, setting the book down to flip through it. Each time he came across a portrait of a king, he would examine it, then occasionally fold the corner of the page to mark the painting. When he had finished, he handed the book to Daniel with nine marked pages. "Those paintings are the only place I've seen anything about an orb such as the one you've got, there. Other than that, I cannot help you."

 

   Daniel wrapped the orb in the black cloth again and set it in his lap before opening the book and looked at the pictures. All nine of the kings were depicted with an orb just as his own resting in their right hands, and every, single, one of them ruled over a part of Germany.

 

   "Thank you for your time," he said, scrambling out of the office before Herald had a chance to say anything. As his feet carried him home, he prayed to the gods that he knew of; he prayed for good fortune.

 

   That night, he was cornered and trapped by his nightmares.

 

   Daniel was sipping a cup of tea when he picked up his newspaper the next day. He sat down in his lounge chair, trembling. The newspaper crackled as he snapped it open to look at the front page.

 

   His jaw dropped.

 

   The headline read, "Vicious Beast Strikes Again", and in the center of the page was a picture of Herald Mankins.

Reviews

[Truth]

Haha it seems Daniel is a bit of a slow learner XP

[Review]

Spooky. He probably shouldn't show that orb to anyone else...
You have a talent for suspense. Great job! Keep writing!
**Review**