Chapter 1

 

    Thinking back to a story posted in the times about a month ago, of yet another woman disappearing and yet everyone would wait for her body to turn up somewhere, because police couldn’t seem to catch the killer. ‘That seems to be the norm now a days’ thought Gloria Leer. ‘You always thought that crime never happens to you, it’s always someone else, till it happens to you, and somehow the world becomes a little smaller’ she thought remembering what happened yesterday morning.

 

   The sun was just starting to come up as she began her early morning jog along the asphalt paths of Oakland Park. As was her daily ritual five days a week, however this particular morning seemed different somehow. Maybe because there was a serial killer on the loose, and everyone was on edge. From the early morning hours and late evening women all across New York City stayed inside with their doors and windows securely locked.

 

      A cool breeze rustled the leaves of the trees that lined the path. The smell of damp earth lingered in the air from the brief, but intense shower the night before. She liked the feeling of blood as it rushed through her veins making her feel so alive and happy. As her feet pounded the asphalt mile after mile she let her mind wonder wherever it wanted to go, she called this the jogging zone.

   

    She wasn’t even aware of anything else until she heard another set of foot falls coming up rapidly behind her. ‘Usually no one else but me is out jogging this time of the morning’ she thought. Glancing back all she could make out was a man’s shadow in the predawn light. Thoughts went back through her head of the missing woman and her husband’s reservations. ‘You can’t go through life being paranoid of every man you see, and certainly not every where you go’ she thought angrily. Somehow the controlled pace of her jog had increased, but so had the man behind her, he was almost matching her stride for stride.

 

    Then the unexpected happened, she stumbled and then fell tumbling into the weeds and slamming into a tree sending a powerful pain shooting up her back into the back of her head. The force of the impact knocked the wind out of her sending her just teetering upon the edge of unconsciousness. Darkness began to frame the edges of her vision and she fought to stay conscious.

   

 

    He had stayed with her till her head had cleared some what, then he helped her to her feet. Still dazed and a little wobbly on her feet, he decided it would be best to help her back to her car, and they proceeded back down the path toward the parking lot. That’s where the nightmare began.

 

    He had a firm grip on her left arm and the other around her waist as he led her into the parking lot. Realizing that she was being led in the opposite direction then where her car was parked, she tried to pull away from him, only to have him grip her tighter. She thought it was only a reflex action, because he didn’t want her to fall again, but deep seeded fear began to rise up within her.

 

    She smiled at him trying not to show her fear she said “I think I have it from here, thank you for being so kind to me” trying to keep her voice steady. He smiled back at her “You have a nasty cut on the back of your head, and I have a first aid kit in my car, I can have you patched up in no time” kindness oozing from his voice, without showing how impatient he was getting, at her lack of cooperation. “That’s very kind of you, but I’ll just go home and take care of it there” she said a little more forcefully this time to drive home her wishes. Turning to go his grip on her arm tightened even more and the look in his eyes turned wild.

 

    Fear and panic threatened to over take her.

 

    Looking around she noticed there were only two cars in the lot, his and hers, no one was going to hear her screams for help, so she didn’t bother with that idea. She seen no other recourse but to fight for freedom and hope that he didn’t kill her in the process.

 

    Counting to three she suddenly jerked her arm free and began running as fast as she could toward her car while fumbling for her keys in her shorts pocket in hopes of having them ready to unlock the door when she got there.  She ran faster to gain enough distance between the both of them to get into the car before he could catch her.

 

    The pain in her back and legs felt like a hot knife was being shoved into her back and twisted around.

The strange man appeared within her vision, he began saying something that she couldn’t hear, she could only see his lips moving.

 

   

 

     Everything seemed like it was happening in slow motion and in her vision the car was getting farther away with each stride she made.

 

    Finally out of breath she reached out and felt the warm metal of the car door handle beneath her fingertips. She fumbled with the keys knowing if she dropped them that would be it. Looking up briefly she could still see him running toward her, he was approaching much faster now. Finding the key she slipped it into the lock and yanked open the door, but before she could get in and lock the door, he slammed the door closed with his fist. The other hand had a gun with a silencer on the other end. She had seen those in some of the cop shows on T.V.

 

    Placing the cool steel of the silencer to her temple he said, “Now we do things my way”.

 

    With one hand on the steering wheel and the other he kept the gun pressed into her ribs, she began to shake all over.

 

    His small car smelled of stale cigarettes and warm beer and that same smell was in this little dark closet that she was in now.

 

 

       She couldn’t tell what time of day it was, only that it had to be the next day.

 

    The closet was small and cramped, not even enough room for her to fully stretch out her legs, nor could she stand up without hitting her head on the ceiling. The only light that shown, was the thin strip of light coming in through the crack at the bottom of the door.

 

    She was hoping that he brought her here to have a little fun with her then set her free, but deep inside she knew that she was brought here to die, when she didn’t know.

 

    As the hours passed she couldn’t help seeing flashing images and sounds like a home movie playing in her mind of her husband’s smile and his hearty laughter at a friend’s party they had attended. Then the next scene was of her sitting in the bleachers at her son’s little league baseball game, where ten year old John Jr. or little J.J. as he liked to be called, hit his first home run out of the park. Tears began to stream down her cheeks as the thought crossed her mind that she may never see them again.

 

    Suddenly she heard footsteps approaching the door and then a shadow interrupted the light under the door. She could hear a key releasing the lock on the door, the wiggle of the door knob, and finally the protested squeak of the door as it was slowly being opened.

 

    The bright light assaulted her eyes, and she raised a hand to shield them. Before her eyes could become accustomed to the light a hand reached into the small closet, grabbing her by the arm, and plucking her from the darkness.

 

    She knew that this was the beginning of the end.

 

Reviews

[Sheri Haynes]

I finally made some revisions and figured out how to get the entire chapter on the page. Thanks to some helpful tips I think this chapter is getting better all the time! I'm excited about any tips and suggestions I recieve, thanks to all of you!

[DarkLalaz]

i think youre making it too obvious. if you say her husband begs her not to go, something will probably happen to her.