Inside the Shadow

Chapter Twelve: High noon, full of thrilling sights -POV: Zach

       "Bismillah wa 'ala barakatillah." My father declared proudly as we all were gathered around a homecooked meal prepared by Fatima, she also had joined our table, now taking her place in the chair my mom had always used. His words translated to 'In the name of Allah and with the blessings of Allah I begin.' A prayer my dad had always said before we would eat dinner, that was up until my mother had passed away. He would use it at a family dinner or when celebrating with a special meal. Fatima had painstakingly produced an authentic Maqluba with lamb; An Arabic rice dish with fried veggies, which is flipped upside-down when presented. When she brought the giant bowl out to dump it into its display, I was fairly impressed with how perfectly it sat in proper form, not a rice out of place. "Bismillah." My brother Mailik, Fatima, and I affirmed his prayer, which meant, 'In the name of Allah.' Fatima stood to her feet and proceeded to gingerly dish out each of our servings starting with my father's and finishing with her own. "Thank you Fatima." Mailik spoke before he began to eat so I was obligated to say something as well, out of respect. "Yea thanks, it looks great." I muttered before taking my first bite. "You're welcome boys, I hope you all love it." Fatima responded before she also began to eat.   

        My father chose to turn on the News after a while as we normally would have at any other dinner time. The image of a male newscaster appeared and his voice began to fill my ears. "We are all in terror as the news was broken only hours ago by the police force of rural Clover Valley, Ohio. It had been released to the public that four bodies had been discovered all in differing locations, however, each corpse had been in a sort of display where a part of the bodies had been skinned as if the killer had taken the time to peel off a layer of their skin, about nine-by-nine inches in amount. These had all now become determined to hold a solid connection to each other implying one thing; Clover Valley has got a serial killer on the loose." After the segment had come to an end I felt as if my mouth gapped so wide I could fit a whole whopper in my mouth in one go. I peered towards Mailik who also seemed bewildered by the information, I then fixed my gaze on my father who was seated at the head of the table to my left. My father sat there, almost reactionless as if what we watched was like any other broadcast. "Jamal, madha sanafel hial dhalika?" Fatima voiced with immense concern unveiled within her tone and her facial expressions. It translates to 'Jamal, what are we going to do about it?' A quite valid question that I would also be interested in hearing his answer to this whole ordeal. All three of us sat anxiously awaiting his words, in a silence that had felt like thirty minutes.   

     "Habba si'. Yajib ealayk albaqa' mae alakhirin wala tathiq bialgburaba." His voice finally broke the tension. 'This is bad. You must stay with others and do not trust strangers.' While his words were not exactly reassuring, they were his way of doing his part in keeping us all vigilant and showing his concern. We all sat in a dull quiet as we finished our meal as well as possible, the idea of those bodies, the skin being peeled and taken as a sort of trophy made me feel queasy. "May I be excused?" I stated before rising from my seat and heading towards the restroom sooner than anyone could properly answer. I walked quickly, holding one hand to my mouth, to the downstairs bathroom, feeling my dinner traveling back up. I lifted the toilet seat, and released my food forcefully, my throat and nose burning from the stomach acid. Finishing up after I couldn't throw up anymore, I wiped my mouth with a wad of toilet paper, feeling as tears ran down my face. Not from sadness, but from how aggressively I had vomited. Proceeding to flush, wash my hands, and rinse my face, I headed back to the dining table where all three of them were still sitting there, barely touching what was left of their food, most likely as disgusted as I was.  

       A serial killer on the loose was madness in itself but what they did with the bodies was depraved even if showing some skill level when it came to skinning animals. Approaching the table I gathered my dishes, ready to go to my room. "While this was delicious Fatima, I just can't continue after what we all saw, excuse me. Good night." I stammered eager to clear my mind, turning towards the kitchen to place my leftovers in the fridge for later and my extra dishes in the sink. Normally my dad prefered we do all of our individual dishes after meals, however, that was the least of my worries given the profoundly bad news. When I was complete, I brought myself to the staircase and continued to my bedroom. As I walked through the hall, I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check for notifications. I saw that I had a missed call from a number that I did not recognize. I chose to redial it to see who it might have been. I entered my room as the phone was still ringing, I took a seat on my messy bed. "Hello?" Came a familiar voice but I couldn't quite put my finger on who. "Hey my name is Zach; I got a call from this number but I don't have it saved in my phone." I stated in a questionable manner, ready to know who had called me because it seemed to be someone that I knew personally. "Well Zach, it appears as if Mairi gave you a call using my phone, it's Mrs. Noble if you were still unsure of who I am. Give me a moment and I'll bring her the phone." She responded tenderly, hearing her movement coming through the speaker, her voice cutting in and out as she explained to Mairi that I had returned her call.