The Dancer | Wattys2018 | COMPLETED

7 - The Dead Man

The person knew Madison would come back.

But how? Who was this person? Why did they so badly want Madison? And were they still here right now, waiting for her?

Tyler took the lead, slowly making his way further inside the apartment and Madison waited behind, holding her crutches desperately. He came back to Madison a few minutes later, "Everything else seems to be fine. One room is locked, so I couldn't get in."

Madison had put locks on her door, only able to be unlocked by a key that she had for extra safety since her parents' death. She dug through her pockets and pulled out the tiny key and handed it to Tyler.

He went first and Madison heard as he inserted the key and the door clicked open. Madison waited to hear shuffles or screams, but nothing happened, so she walked towards her room.

Tyler was standing at the door, frozen in his place. His mouth was slightly ajar and he was staring at something in her room.

"What's wrong?" She asked quietly, walking forward. Once it was seen, it couldn't be unseen. She stood there, unable to look away, frozen in fear. She felt lightheaded. She couldn't breathe, or think or move.

A man was tied a chair in the centre of her room. He was dead, with a blade forced down his throat.

"Tyler." She said, her voice broken and quiet. The last thing she remembered was Tyler turning around, tears in his eyes.

***

When Madison came to, the first thing she noticed were the flashing of red and blue lights.

The second thing she noticed was that she was laying down in the backseat of Tyler's car, and from her angle, she could see him talking to police officers outside. They were still at the apartment building, and Madison assumed Tyler had called the cops.

All she remembered was the man's body, and the blade shoved into his mouth. Just thinking about it made her feel feint again. 

Madison sat up and pushed the car door open.

Two police officers rushed over to her and one asked, "Madison Perelli?"

"Yeah." She was still quite fazed about the whole situation. Who was that man in the chair? Who had put him there? Was this dead man a dancer too? How did the person get into her locked room?

"We're just going to ask you a few questions." The police officer said, helping Madison out of the car, handing her the crutches.

"Okay," Madison hobbled out, "Such as?"

The officer's face went bitter and sour, "Why a man was found dead in your apartment room."

*** Author's Note ***

Sorry that this update took a while, pretty busy this weekend. I'm updating with the next chapter straight away, so I hope you enjoy it. Vote if you like it and comment any constructive criticism you have :)

The dedication is to @ikatrine for her amazing support and comments that make me laugh and keep me going!