Chrysalis (Jeff The Killer) DISCONTINUED

Chapter 12: Ill Fates

"Sam, why aren't you home yet? You've been gone all day."

"I'll be staying at the station for a while. I'll be back by tomorrow late."

"Seriously? That late?" I detected tiredness in her tone. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She sighed on the other end, and I could easily tell that she was beyond exhausted. Never had I heard Samantha become so tired after work, but I suppose I couldn't blame her, though. This case was, in fact, beyond any other she had been left in charge of before, and the fact that she was the guardian of a former suspect (me), it would undoubtedly add to her frustrations. I felt kinda guilty, though. "Alright, then. Would you like me to prepare something until then?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood, though my attempt was an invalid one from the start. Damn my incapability of providing anyone with comfort.

However, she chuckled on the other end. "I would like that, just don't burn the stove again."

"You're never going to forget that time, are you?" I laughed at her comment. I was the kind of person who would either burn food into charcoal or make it delicious, and there was no in-between, and Samantha knew that well after an experience a few years ago. Let's just say that some people thought of me as a pyromaniac from then on. "But yeah, I'll make something."

"And Helmine?"

"What is it?"

" ...... Nevermind, just forget it."

"Hmm? Alright? See ya." I hung up the phone and placed it back onto the receiver. Well, that was odd. She was usually pretty direct and straightforward when in a conversation, yet she seemed to hesitate in saying something. Oh, well, she was exhausted after all, so asking why she wasn't thinking clearly would be nothing if not stupid. It had only been a few hours since I woke up from my short nap, and I was still plagued with visions of the nightmares. As far as I knew, I wasn't having struggles with sleep paralysis or anything like that, and the fact that I was up and walking was proof of just that, but the words I had heard still lingered in my mind and I was unable to get them to leave.

"We're the same."

"As if I'm anything like you," I grunted into nothingness and sat down on the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in my hands. I tried to relax and become a little more awake, but the ordeal was proven to be more of a hassle than it was worth. It felt as if my mind left me incapable of becoming entirely awake after what had happened, and I wasn't usually the kind of person to allow struggles to take their toll on my physical condition, or the mental one for that. However, it would seem that apparently both of them had had their fair share of pains lately.

"Well, this has been an interesting birthday." I murmured and took a sip. "Left all alone in my own home, receiving a gift from the same serial killer responsible for the deaths of dozens, having an investigator on the doorstep, nightmares. Yeah, what an ideal way to celebrate." It didn't know if I was supposed to be sarcastic or if it was just a way for me to cope with my own mind at the time, but at least it helped a tiny bit. At least, it was a better method than binge eating.

As I was about to take a second sip of my coffee, a knock on the door didn't contribute to helping me to relax. "What the hell is it now?" I groaned and stood up from my seat and made my way towards the entrance. It had been nothing but a few hours since I woke up, it was late, it wasn't even Halloween, and brats still found time to make sure that candy was received a day earlier. Bunch of snots, I couldn't stand them! They were too damn loud and irritating, and that would've been an understatement.

I glanced through the peephole, expecting to see some kids dressed up as monsters, yet was profound to see a very familiar face, only a little more fatigue and pale than I remembered him to be, and it had only been a week since I last saw him. If it hadn't been for the fact that he actually was that pale, I would've undoubtedly not have seen him because of the dark outside.