hQEOA/QxKqOv61c

Entry 01

I stared mindlessly out the window watching as the sky wept, feeling a painful, hollow ache in my chest that had haunted me the past few weeks.

"Karen," A calm voice called to me, but I didn't respond. "Karen, we need to know what you witnessed. Any details will help us with the investigation."

I didn't respond. How could I? I knew if I opened my mouth all that would come out would be incoherent sobs and I would slip into another panic attack.

I hadn't even realized I was crying until something warm dripped on my arm. It stole my attention for a moment, and I watched it trail down my arm before I turned my gaze back to the window.

A dark thought flashed across my mind as I considered, just for a moment, what it would be like if I were to jump out that window. Would it hurt? Would it even kill me?

Locke sighed, sounding almost exasperated, and he tried again, strained politeness lacing his tone.

"Karen, please. You are the only one who has any idea what happened, we need to know what you heard during that phone call."

I took slow, measured breaths as I tried to calm my racing heart. Locke kept a steady gaze on me, cobalt eyes studying my movements. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the memories that would come flooding back.

"She's dead," I told him, my voice raspy from disuse.

Locke raised a brow at that, leaning forward slightly. "What makes you say that?"

"Because she is. I listened to her die. You may have not found any blood at her home, but I listened to her... I listened to her drown in her own blood."

Locke remained silent, but his expression softened and he cautiously motioned for me to continue.

"Wh-whatever it was that killed her, it-it wasn't human," I went on, smoothing my hands over the fabric of my jeans nervously.

"What do you mean?" Locke pressed, something indecipherable flashing over his eyes for a moment.

"Its voice... It-it had a voice that was like... like static," I shuddered at the recollection, "I don't know what it w-was b-but it heard it clearly through the phone. Like i-it was b-b-behind me..."

Locke was still looking at me, but it felt like his gaze had taken on a harder edge. I began to tremble lightly, and the window captured my attention again. He's judging me.

"It-it attacked h-her, and before she d-died she-she called out to m-me," A suffocating lump formed in my throat and I found myself struggling to breathe because of it, but I forced myself to continue, "Th-there was a sound of-of dispair in her v-voice, a-and... accusation... l-like she thought it was my f-fault. Th-then everything w-was silent... until it spoke. I-I felt the overpowering urge to j-just run, l-like my fight or f-flight instinct kicked i-in. I-I can't describe the horrible f-feeling of-of dread that overcame me at-at that moment..."

A sob escaped my lips and I squeezed my eyes shut, pressing my palm against my mouth to keep the sounds of anguish silenced. Locke had a grave look on his face, and his eyes held a certain sorrow in them that I mistook for sympathy.

"What did it say...?"

"It s-said my name."

~

"We are all mistaken sometimes; sometimes we do wrong things, things that have bad consequences. But it does not mean we are evil, or that we cannot be trusted ever afterward." ~Alison Croggon

I'm publishing this pretty late, so sorry for any grammatical errors you might find.

Also sorry for the short chapter, the others will(probably) be longer than this one. This is more of a prologue I guess?