The Haunting of Secrets Read Online Free PDF

will stay
with Mary downstairs after I’m tucked in for the night. Dejana
wanted to stay with me upstairs, but if Mary wakes up, I want her
to know that I am here and safe.
    After the grueling hike up a measly seventeen
steps, I am eternally grateful to see my bedroom. With Dejana’s
help, I crawl into my bed, comforted by the feel of my own sheet
and my head on my own pillow. My exhausted body is reeling from the
abuse it has taken since the bombing, but my mind just won’t stop
buzzing. I cover my eyes with hands in a pathetic attempt to ward
off the unwanted thoughts. I am just about to thank Dejana for
helping me when I am engulfed by vertigo. I yell, “No!” and see
Dejana’s very concerned face hover above me seconds before
everything goes dark and I free fall into the abyss of
memories.
     

 
    Chapter
Six
    ~ The Emergence of a Killer
~
     
    The images flooding my already fragile brain
are difficult to process, but they finally break through the haze
and the vertigo passes. I am sitting alone on a cold floor in the
middle of a dark room. I’m waiting for someone with a fierce
anticipation, but I have no idea who. In my grasp is a six-inch
blade, its handle worn and comfortable in my hand. I spin it around
in anticipation, unable to simply sit and wait patiently for what’s
coming next. After a few minutes, I stand up and pace, wondering
for the thousandth time if I should turn on the flashlight I had
brought so I could see my watch. But in the end, I always decide
against it. The flashlight is my victory; my reward if everything
goes as planned.
    The creaking of the door interrupts my
thoughts. A sliver of light breaks the darkness that engulfs me,
but I shy away from it in fear that I will be seen. Two people walk
down the old, creaky stairs laughing. I realize instantly that the
girl is blindfolded and this is a game. She has no idea where he is
leading her. I can see the silhouette of the boy with her, but his
head is always turned away toward the girl. Luckily, all is going
as planned. The moment they reach the center of the room, they
stop. The boy whispers something in the girl’s ear that makes her
giggle. I approach her slowly, sleek and silent as a tiger stalking
its prey. Once I am in position, the boy releases her and slinks
back into the darkness, never allowing me to see his face.
    I take her hand, hoping she doesn’t notice
that this hand is different from the one that brought her here. I
kiss her hand, playing along with the game that had begun hours
before with my cohort. Though I know time is short, I don’t care. I
pull her into an embrace and revel in the softness of her skin, the
smell of her hair. A sigh escapes her lips as she pulls me closer,
the mystery clearly exciting for her. I kiss her neck softly,
distracting her as I lead her to the final phase of the game. She
arches her neck to give me full access as she allows me to move her
closer to the bed. Since I have every inch of this room committed
to memory, I have no need for light to show me the way. The
darkness is my refuge, the place where I am king.
    I carefully push her down onto the mattress;
she giggles as expected, clearly elated by the recent turn of
events. Her laugh intoxicates me. She’s warm and willing but it’s
not enough; I want more. Instantly and savagely, I take the hand I
am holding and ram it into the handcuff attached to the bed. She
screams out in pain and fear; it’s music to my ears. I try to make
quick work of confining her legs before she comes to her senses and
tries to fight me, but sadly, I’m not swift enough.
    The fear has finally broken through and she
begins fighting. The nails from her free hand claw down my face and
her feet kick furiously. I’m prepared for this, but it is still
difficult to get her strapped down to the confines on the bed. At
last, her hands and feet are locked tight in the shackles welded to
the bed. She resists, but there is no way she can escape now.
Quickly, I grab the