Understanding A Killer

Guilty

"Hey, Rosie, do you want to practice together tomorrow?" - Eliana asked with a smile as the concert just sucesfully ended.

Rosie, who was putting her violin away, stopped what she was doing, pursing her lips together. Her eyes stayed on the floor, her long blonde hair covering her face. Then, she lifted her head, a look of contempt on her face. Or, maybe it was even disgust. "No. I think I'll practice alone." - She stated confidently.

"Oh- but" - Eliana's eyes narrowed, "There's a new piece I'd like to go over."

"You really don't get it, do you?" - Rosie sighed loudly, "Don't you get tired of always being first place?"

Eliana's heart sunk, a feeling so familiar washing over her. "What do you mean?"

"Just..." - Rosie shook her head in disappontment, "Just forget about it."

Eliana watched her turn away, but before she could take a step, her chest filled with blood that dripped down, filling the brown stage parquet. She wanted to yell for help, but no words came out.

"If she wants to be first place, she should try harder." - A man's voice came from behind Eliana.

She turned away to see a tall, familiar man with everlasting indifference on his face. The man held a heart that was still beating in his left hand, bringing it closer to Eliana. "Here, you can have it."

~

Eliana opened her eyes with a gasp, the picture of a carved out heart fresh in her mind. It was a vivid dream, not unusual for her, and it took a moment for her vision to clear. She furrowed her eyebrows as her surroundings crystallized, feeling the ground with her hand. It was damp, wet almost, and her fingers felt numbingly cold.

No, she wasn't in her room. It wasn't the dorm, either. She looked up, seeing dried, leafless trees that crept over her. The ground she was touching turned out to be dead leaves, still wet from from snow that melted recently. She gasped once again, shaking from the ill feeling that suddenly washed over her.

Where am I? What the hell happened?

She put her head in her hands, shaking it violently in an attempt to remember. What was she doing? Fuzzy memories of hiding in darkness, holding a gun on someone, and Will's scared face flushed all at once. Beyond the scattered flashes, she couldn't remember anything. She noticed her head was pounding, so she massaged her temples for a while.

Then, she lifted herself off the ground slowly, looking around for signs of her whereabouts. The forest was moderately dark, so either it was dusk or dawn. There was something awfully familiar about it, but Eliana couldn't quite pinpoint why. Something white beneath the leaves stood out, making her come closer to look.

She crouched down, removing the leaves carefully. She grabbed the white, long thing, examining it for a second. Then, she dropped it with a scream, falling to the ground once again.

"Bones..."

The realization hit her as she removed more dirt, seeing pieces that came together. It wasn't an animal. Human bones laid right next to her, a shallow layer of dirt covering them.

She started running downhill, searching for a stamped road. The sky gradually got brighter, meaning it was morning after all. Rustling of leaves and her heavy breaths filled the forest as she sprinted as fast as she could. A clear path came into vision very soon, so she followed it, hoping it will lead her somewhere.

She slowed down drastically, feeling the freezing cold creep into her lightly dressed body. She wasn't sure how long she walked, but two people finally appeared before her.

Their laughing expressions turned to concern as they saw the shaking girl before them, only a thin shirt on her body.

"Hey, do you need help?" - A kind-looking woman asked.

"Can I use your phone?" - Eliana's voice came out as begging.

"Yeah... Sure."

"Thank you so much!"

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Soon enough after the call, Eliana was picked up by a police car and taken to the local station. The place she was in turned out to be her hometown, Pipestone. No wonder the forest looked familiar, as she used to hike there as a teenager.

The local officers who probably already knew her gave her side-eyes, whispering among each other without much discretion. She sat in the lobby in silence, her mind too fuzzy to notice what they were doing.

"Miss Holt, Agent Jack Crawford is here to see you." - An officer's voice interrupted her thoughts.

He led her to a more private room where  Jack waited, a look of worry evident on his face.

"Eliana!" - Jack's tense expression eased, "What the hell happened?! Where were you?"

"Hi, Sir. I reckon I've been missing for quite some time. But unfortunately... I can't quite remember what I've been doing. I'm sorry." - Eliana tugged at her shirt nervously.

"2 months, Eliana. You've been missing for 2 months."

"I was... Searching for someone. And then... something happened. I have no idea I ended up at the forest."

"Now's really not the time for you to withhold information." - Jack frowned, "And, how did you end up finding human remains? Do you know whose body it is?"

"I don't know. I woke up... They were next to me. Just buried there."

"Agent Crawford." - An officer came through the door, "You need to come with us."

"Eliana, I'll come back later." - Jack excused himself, leaving her to sit alone

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A few hours passed as Eliana sat in the station room, unbothered by anyone. Everyone seemed to be busy, as chaos rarely seen at such a small town ruled the police quarters. She hung her head low, trying to collect her scattered memories. It reminded her of that time 5 years ago, as all attention was on her, and yet she was completely alone.

The door finally opened, as Jack's tense figure returned.

He sat next to, taking a moment before he spoke. "We were able to identify the remains. It's Rosie Mills. The girl whose heart was found on your desk 5 years ago. I think you'll have to anwser some question at the FBI."

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Author's note: I think I finally have the end of this story in mind. Stay tuned ;)