Comatose Feeling

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Alena skipped into her house, fully expecting it to be empty. She hadn't even thought to take a peek in the garage, since her mother had told her she wouldn't be home for dinner. After opening the door, she saw her mother rushing from one end of the house to the other, clearly in a panic.

"Uhm... Mom?"

Alex looked up quickly, grimacing. "Oh... Hi Honey. H-How was school?"

Her daughter chuckled lightly, knowing too well her mother was in her normal freak-out mode due to the stress of her job.

"Mom... Why are you moving like the world will stop spinning if you stop running around like a maniac?" Of course, the question was filled with love. She knew her mother needed support, but she couldn't immediately pinpoint the reasoning in Alex's stress.

Alex sighed, setting the pile of papers on the coffee table. "I'm sorry. I just... I'm working on a case that was only just assigned this morning. I-I was kind of surprised... And they want the rest of my work. They... They only want me working on this one case." Alena could see Alex didn't know her place just yet in the criminal justice world. After working for 6 years at the precinct, Alex became recently promoted to one of the major detectives. With the promotion, came long hours, and constant worrying that didn't seem to ever end.

"Mom?" Questioning her mother shouldn't have been the easiest thing to do. No secrets lied between mother and daughter, but there was a fine line between secrets... and her mother keeping something from her for her daughter's benefit. Alena's suspicions grew even more when her mother looked down guiltily at the stack of unkempt papers.

"O-Okay... But you can't say a word to anyone else. I don't even know all the details quite yet." With that, her mother motioned to the couch for Alena to sit, and took her own seat the lounge chair. After taking a long, much needed breath, Alex readied herself for the onslaught of her daughter's emotions. Something like this didn't happen constantly in their small city, but this would be bigger news than she could handle. Alex didn't want to admit that to her daughter, nor the company she worked for. How could she, when presented with such an opportunity?

"I had a meeting with the Chief this morning. He assigned me with... an intent for homicide case. Most of the articles are handled by the long-term detectives. But... William thought I'd be best fit for this section this time around."

Alena's confusion was like an open book. "I don't... I mean... Then Why...?"

"Alena..." Alex started, then backtracked, still trying to find the best words. "A boy was found on Main street, badly bruised, and... well they say he isn't the first. Apparently they have kept it on the downlow, but they think there is a serial killer... around us."

Alex put her head in her hands, not even sure how to tell the rest of her case. How could she handle this case, warning Evansville population about the potential threat, when she couldn't even face her daughter? So innocent, her daughter wouldn't even understand why their small town would be infiltrated with such an act.

Alena just kept staring at her, waiting for the continuation of the speech. Did Alena not understand what a serial killer meant? Her daughter was a senior in high school, 17, and already lived with the idea a whole family wasn't possible. Not only that, but her mother had been a cop for as long as she could remember. Of course she knew.

Her daughter knew the warning hidden underneath her mother's words.

"You're leaving, aren't you?"