The Return of Locklear

The Return of Locklear (Part 2 of Series)

                I'm afraid I don't have much time to tell you this, so I must be brief. I know I am not a perfect man. I have done many bad things. Terrible things. But I'm not bad person. I don't go out and intentionally commit these sins, it just seems that bad things always have a way of finding me. I'm chronically in the wrong place at the worst time.

But this time's different. I'm innocent. Even the court systems agree with me, as I was fully acquitted and released from police custody yesterday. Or at least I think it was yesterday, I'm not really sure of time at the moment.

You see, on my way home a series of terrorizing events led me to where I am now: huddled in a filthy storage closet, holding my breath while hiding for my life. I can hear the footsteps creaking across the dim room on the other side of the door. It'll only be a matter of time until he realizes I'm in here.

If he doesn't find me, I'll make a break for it and head straight to the police. But if I'm not so lucky... well, I'm frantically typing this into the shattered screen of my phone. I'll queue it in my emails to send off as soon as my phone is brought back into signal one way or another. I need someone, ANYONE to know what is happening here, and catch this lunatic.

As I mentioned, it all started the night I was acquitted of my crimes. It had been a long and ugly court battle, and I was beyond elated to have my name cleared. It had been nearly two months since I had been allowed the simple comfort of sleeping in my own bed.

You see, no one had been willing to pay my bond, so I had been in the county jail for the remainder of my trial. But all of that was finally over, and I chose to revel in the fresh air as I walked the last several blocks home, rather than take a cab. It was then that I first noticed something amiss.

I could have sworn that I had seen a man following me. I just caught a glimpse of him, but I was certain of it. If it had just been some ordinary man, perhaps I wouldn't have even thought twice about it, but there was just something off about him. He seemed so familiar.

Yes, that's right. I have seen this man before. I hadn't made the connection until now, but I am certain it is the same man. He was in the courtroom. He was there, watching my trial. That tall, gaunt looking man.

Despite having what I assume was a darker olive complexion, he appeared quite the unnatural sickly pale. And he had these striking blue eyes that bore into me with such accusation I couldn't bear to hold the gaze. His long black curls looked wild and unkempt as if they hadn't been washed for days. But it was his attire that was more bizarre yet. He wore a long dark robe that seemed out of place in this century. It was really quite odd. I'm not even sure how he got in there as he didn't seem to be a member of the jury, and as far as I could tell he wasn't related to the family of the alleged victim.

I get shivers up my spine just thinking about the way he looked at me. I've never seen such calm collected hatred concentrated into a simple glance before. I suppose that should have sent off alarm bells in my head right away, but how could I have known any better? I had never seen that man before in my life, and for all I was concerned, he had never seen me either.

But I was wrong. He had seen me before. He knew exactly who I was and all about my history of chronic bad decisions. When I saw him scurry out of sight through my peripheral vision, I should have made a break for it. I should have ran home, locked the doors, and immediately phoned the police. But you know what they say about hindsight; it's 20:20.

No, instead of fleeing for my life like a much wiser man would have, I let curiosity get the better of me and turned around to see where he had slipped away to. The sun was just beginning to set, but there was still enough light in the day for me to feel the confidence to round the corner into the alleyway in which my pursuer had vanished.