UNLOCKING SHADOWS

Chapter 1

                            ****
Amy with tears welling up in her eyes, begged and pleaded for mercy in the hands of the fierce looking intruder that was planning to end her life. She has been sore pained from the blows and kicks she got from this intruder. No pity from him.

   The vast darkness had overshadowed the whole house, even the moonlight had crept back to it's abode making it impossible to see clearly. The only thing that lit the room was the burning eye of the ferocious stranger. It was so eccentric to her and out of nature.

   Ever in her twenty nine years of existence had she seen a red eyed human being except for the fictional vampires depicted in movies.
Anger burning within her, she looked beside her and could see the outlined image of her mom sprawled on the floor in a pool of blood.
  
   She had lost her in a moment. The more she gazed at the horrible scene and remembered everything that happened few minutes ago, the more she wanted to scream and jump at the murderer before her.
Her heart was ripped in pieces because she definitely knew she couldn't.

She pondered, few hours ago, she had started a conversation with her mother on her transfer to Los Angeles to co-work on a criminal case of a serial killing event. She had worked with the New York police department for almost five years as a junior detective, the only chance she got to be promoted was if she successfully complete the task with her other colleagues over there.

   Graduating from the college seven years earlier, she dreamed of becoming a lawyer but the mystery behind her father's death prompted her to join the police force to find the bastard who murdered her dad and to do it in a legal way.

   For the past ten years she had beared the pain and lived with the guilt of watching her father die right before her eyes. Only if she had obeyed and left with the killer shortly before the police came in, he could have remained alive.
Here she is, facing another opaque occurrence that is surely gonna change her emotionally.

It now clicked in her mind, what if it was the serial killer on which she was going to work on at Los Angeles had traced her to her home and caused the disaster? Many thoughts and assumptions ran through her head but she quickly snapped out of her imagination as her body jerked to the shattering of glass. She raised her jaw as her eyes met the angry red eye of the stranger...He repeated the question
    "Where is the key?" He said in a fierce tone as he raged and kept on breaking the glasses. Fear gripped her.
Amy wondered what key he had been referring to, at least she could remember she wasn't given any key to hold or keep, even at her work place. He went too far to murder someone because of a key, not just anyone but her mother.

      "If you don't tell me now, I will stop your heart as I stopped hers" He said sounding more deeper and fiercer that shook the pillars of her heart. He moved an closer to her and stooped to her face directly
      " I have no idea of any key... please I beg of you don't kill me, I would do anything for you just to save my soul" Amy said sobbing and whimpering.
  
  He gave out a devilish laughter before he took her by the jaw and angled her face towards him
      "Do you really mean it, would you do whatever I ask you to do in exchange for your life" He whispered
       "Ye-e-s" Amy responded as she stuttered. She was scared he might really do something really bizarre to her. Wait, what was she even thinking when she negotiated with the killer, well he hasn't even agree to it.

Suddenly She felt a rush of adrenaline pumping through her heart as she felt a cold steel of metal on her shoulders. It was his hands, she could feel it...his hands were made of metal or what
    He chuckled as he stood up, walking in circles around her
"Right now u look like a drenched abandoned puppy, the smart genius cop everybody love is now the frizzled scared puppy, helpless". He stopped and stood in front her lifting her up to her feet with his both hands tightly clutched around her arms.

    "You will find that key and bring it back before the year runs out and if you fail before the deadline, I will kill you and everybody around"...He said affirmatively and zoom!!! He disappeared into the thin air before she could respond

    What? How was she going to know what the key looks like and where she was going to meet him to give it to him? She was just so confused at the same time angry and scared.
Immediately she glanced at the transparent window glass, she saw writing in red block letters.

ON THE CHRISTMAS EVE
SAME TIME AND PLACE
A CROSS GOLDEN KEY YOU WILL BRING
BE CAREFUL FOR I WATCH

How the heck was she suppose to find a key out of the countless things there is in the universe. She has to start from somewhere, she had six months to go. Suddenly she felt a very excruciating sharp pain in her lower abdomen and she screamed like never before, she could no longer contain the pain, her vision became blurry and thick darkness encircled her and then she slumped...