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9:48 pm

9:48 pm, September 9th, 2011

            I hung up. So it was on my parent’s end that wasn’t working. Calm down. Nothing serious had happened.

            I decided to call the police again.

            “911, what’s your emergency?”

            “Hello, I’m lost and I think I’m being stalked.”

            “Alright, are you in any immediate danger?”

            “No, I’m not now. But I might be soon.”

            “You said you’re lost? Do you have any idea where you are? Or where you were last?”

            “All I know is I’m in Fahlstown. And I live in Prackersburg. I have no idea how far away from home I am.”

            “Okay, you’re not that far away from Prackersburg. I’ll contact…”

            I cut her off. “Could you call the Prackersburg police? And see if you can talk to Sergeant Daniels? He is a friend of ours. Tell him that this involves Chase Mitchels.”

            “Chase, is that your name?”

            “Yes ma’am.”

            “I’ll see if I can contact Sergeant Daniels. Do you have a number that I can give him? Preferably an easily accessible number.”

            “Yes, here. 267-555-6722. Got it?” I was getting impatient.

            “I got it. I’ll have him call you as soon as he can. Do you need any other assistance? Are you somewhere safe?”

            I looked around me. A bank seemed pretty secure. “Yes, yes ma’am I am. Just tell Daniels to hurry please.”

            “I’ll call now.”

            “Alright, thank you again. Bye.”

            I replaced the phone in its cradle and went out the front doors of the bank. There was a bench along the side, and I sat down on it. My legs were tired, my body was worn, and my mind was exhausted. I had been running on adrenaline all day, my stress level was sky high, and my brain had been on overdrive constantly. In a weird way, I was sort of glad that I had been sedated. It had given me at least a little bit of rest.

            Why had I wanted Daniels to call me? Why did I trust him? I had my doubts the whole time while I was in my house.

            Maybe that was it. At home I felt more secure, but out here, in a town that I didn’t know, I needed somebody. And since my family was unreachable, Daniels was the next option.

            Dang it! I had forgotten to ask the operator about my house. I wanted to know what had happened, if anything. I would just ask Daniels when he calls.

            I closed my eyes, holding the phone in my hand. I was slowly falling asleep, when the cell rang.

            I immediately answered it.

            “Daniels? Hello?”

            A voice not belonging to Daniels answered. “No Chase, I’m sorry, but this is his partner, Damian Hunter.”

            Who? What?

            “Where is Daniels?”

            “He’s away working on your case. I was briefed on your case and am ready to offer any assistance.”

            “Were you told that I was kidnapped and am currently in Fahlstown?”

            “I was only told where you were, not that you were kidnapped. What happened?”

            “Well, all I remember was that I ate a granola bar, and then a little while later I passed out in my bathroom. Then I woke up on a park bench.”

            “And what has happened since then?”

            I recounted the phone call, then my encounter at the coffee shop. I ended with my 911 call. “So now I’m talking to you and am very confused.” I had no idea what was going on.

            He took a second before replying. “I’m going to come to you and pick you up and take you back home.”

            “Alright.”

            “Where should I meet you?”

            “Um…I don’t know. I haven’t really looked around at all. How about you call me when you’re close and I’ll see where I am?”

            “No, definitely not. I don’t want you to be wondering the town mindlessly. Find a library, find a bookstore and just stay there until I call you. Okay?” Hunter’s voice was very defiant.

            Bossy much? “Okay, fine. I’ll be waiting.”

            “Don’t try anything crazy.”

            “I won’t.”

            He started to say “Bye” when I remembered something.

            “Mr. Hunter, do you know what happened to my house? I can’t get through to my house phone.”

            “I haven’t heard anything, son. I’m sorry.”

            “Okay. Come quickly.”

            I ended the call and sighed. Where could I go until he called? Exploration at this point still seemed dumb. Ah right! The map I had! I pulled it out and glanced around for somewhere to go.

            My stomach growled. Some food would be good. I saw on the map a cluster of nearby restaurants, but decided that might be to weird, a 16 year old coming in and paying for dinner with cash. How about a grocery store? Yes, there were some of those too. I located the nearest one and started walking in that direction. 

*          *          *

            The figure saw him. Not his prey, but somebody who was becoming a bother, a disruption. The figure had to eliminate him.

            He had no chance. The figure slid the honed knife across the man’s throat while covering his mouth. No sound was made.

            The figure let the body collapse to the ground, and walked away.

            Sergeant Michael Daniels was dead, and out of the figures way.