What Happened, Mr. Jacobs?

Chapter 1

 One cold winter night I was staring out of the hospital window, watching all of the cars go by and the snow fall. It had been an interesting day and finally I was safe and about to be taken care of. The day started off really strangely and didn't get any better as it progressed.

See at 8:15 this morning I was awakened by the voice at the other end of my line asking me to sub a class at the high school. I thought it was strange because the call came so late and it was the last day before winter break. Who would miss that half day of nothing but testing? I accepted anyway but I did so reluctantly.

As I got dressed, I pulled my favorite sweater vest from the shelf and noticed it had a hole in the collar. Now, I had just folded the sweater the morning before and it was just fine. "How on earth did that get there? ...And when?" is what I remember thinking.

I took it off and place on another and went downstairs for coffee and toast. As I entered the kitchen, I saw a dirty knife in my sink. It was stained in red ink or so I thought. I couldn't believe this either; I had totally cleaned my kitchen before bed the night before. "What could possibly be going on?" I thought.

Rinsing the knife in the sink and placing it in the dishwasher, a weird feeling came over me. I got goose bumps on my arms and my mouth went dry. Glancing around the room, I noticed the awkward silence and the cold chill in the air. I slowly walked over to the coffee maker started my French Vanilla – Mocha mix to brewing. As I popped two slices of white bread into the oven, I felt as if someone was staring at me. The tiny hairs on the back of my neck raised and I felt a warm sensation like eyes being fixed upon me. Not wanting to turn around for fear of someone really being there, I continued to fumble with the twist tie from the loaf of bread. Listening for the hint of a second breath or noises from a body other than my own, I was met by nothing but more silence. Just then the doorbell rang and of course I jumped clear out of my skin! I went to the door with my mind wondering who it might be and what concern they had. What was really going on this morning?

As I reached the door and placed my hand on the knob, I asked aloud, "Who is it?" There was nothing but silence. I asked again, but still no answer. I unlocked the door, leavening only the chain on, and no one was there. There was an envelope stuck to the door that read, "I saw." As I snatched the lock off and opened the door completely, I quickly glanced to each end of the street and saw no one. There was no evidence of a person being near my home. I took the envelope from my door and shut and locked the door again.

My hands were shaking horribly, and my heart was pounding as fast as it possibly could. I opened the envelope and glanced at its contents. I dropped it to my feet and gasped at the sight. There in that envelope was a piece of my favorite sweater vest covered in red ink. The same color in ink that had stained the knife earlier. (or so I thought)

As I stared at the floor, a sinking feeling began to creep upon my stomach. I started to feel dizzy and nauseous. As I knelt down to retrieve the fabric and envelope a jolt of terror shot through my veins. I laid it on the counter poured my coffee and headed for the garage. Passing the microwave, I reached for my keys and found that they were not on the rack. Befuddled I looked around the kitchen and settled on finding them later because it was so late already. I went out to the car and reached underneath to grab the spare key. Along with the key, I retrieved long strands of blonde hair. Unaware of why hair was underneath my tires, I went to unlock the car door and found it already unlocked. I sat in the driver's seat and pushed the garage door genie. That's when I saw them. The keys that I was looking for in the house were already in the ignition. "What in the dickens is going on here?" I whispered. I started the car, backed out and closed the garage. This morning was extremely peculiar.

Backing on to the street, I noticed the extreme silence. "Hmmm no music?" I thought as I glanced down to turn it on. Then I saw yet another horrific sight. Right as I was about to turn the knob, I noticed it was also stained in the same red ink. "What the..." I thought as I tried to connect the dots.

I drove along in silence trying to figure out what was going on this morning. Soon I found myself pulling onto the campus parking lot. I searched the crowd for a familiar face among the mass confusion that was going on. The main entrance was barricaded and police cars were swarming everywhere. I was greeted by a female office with a very questioning look on her face .

"ummm... may I help you?" she quizzed.

"Oh... Yes, I'm Jacobs. I was reporting to sub a class today."

"You were? When were you called?"

"This morning ... about 8:15 I believe." I answered calmly.

"Hmmmm? We've has some interesting events to happen this morning. Are you sure it was this campus?" the officer asked.

"Yeah, the recording said personal request for Jacobs, and if accepting report to McBride High School at 9:00 am." I said reading the note I made in my spiral when I got the call.

The officer stepped back from my car and whispered something into her walkie talkie. She hesitated and then motioned for me to go ahead to a parking space. I stepped out of the car with the feeling that all eyes were on me. The officer was walking in my direction, so I waited for her to catch up.

Rather suggestively she asked, "Who are you substituting for anyway?"

I reached into my bag and got my spiral out. I flipped to the note and responded, "Mr. Harry

Thomas."

From the look on her face, I knew that was somehow the wrong answer. She quickly radioed my answer and asked me to come with her."

In the counselor's office, the two officers were observantly aggravated. Clueless I asked, "Is there something I said wrong? What is all this about? What happened?"

The female cop looked at me as if I had committed a crime. She sat pondering a good response to my questions and finally said, "Why are you here?"

"To sub for room 271. I told you, I'm filling a request."

The tension in the room made me uncomfortable. I could tell that my sub assignment and the events of the morning were all a part of some big secret. No one wanted to share the inside scoop with me, but they couldn't expect me to continue to entertain the same question over and over again without explaining something.

"Look guy, I'm not sure why we are in here, or why I am here for that matter. But, I am just trying to cover a class," I shouted.

"Mr. Jacobs? Calm down, please. Why are you so hostile? We are trying to protect everyone. This conversation is important because there has been an attempted murder, and Mr. Thomas was the victim. We just need to piece some happenings together, and you happen to be a new piece to the puzzle," confessed the principal, Mr. Storm.

For some reason the words 'attempted murder' hung like ice in the frigid room. It was unsettling to know that Mr. Thomas was almost killed, but I wasn't sure why. I could think of nothing more to say but, "I see...should I leave then, or is there something more I can do?"