'I notice students were missing for nearly a week then come back to kill their victims. But the number reduced to two days, then twenty-four hours. I looked up how someone could hypnotize a person and discovered it just takes mere seconds to hypnotize someone that is if the person is a professional. It also says you can hypnotize someone by using the Dave Elman Induction but it is used for therapy, a way of helping someone remember something. This brought up a lot of theories that lead to nowhere no matter how hard I tried to investigate. I told the police but none of them believed me. They told me that I was reading too many thriller fantasy novels and sent me on my way. I looked up more information on hypnotizing but everything was just the same thing! More students went missing from different classes and later appear to kill them but things began to escalate when teachers began to die.
It was during lunch and I was to a friend who was a teacher when she began to choke on her food. She coughed and began to foam in her mouth and when I looked around me, I saw a half of the teachers were reacting the same way. I panicked and rushed to the cafeteria because the teachers always collected their food from the cafeteria but the students were fine. No one was choking to death.
Well, I called the police who investigated the case and arrested the cook who swore she knew nothing about it. It was a lie. They checked the spice cabinets and saw half a bottle of liquid arsenic hidden behind the spices. Most of the teachers were given immediate medical treatment but my friend passed away on the way to the hospital.
I know many will have a lot of theories about this but here is mine; the cook is innocent because the demon hypnotized her to poison the teacher's food.
Sadly this is not going to bring my friend back from the dead.
I ponder on that. 'Dave Elman technique huh? This is interesting. The victims will go missing for a week then two days then a day just like Ms. Brittany's case. So what kind of hypnosis makes someone do something against their will?'
I shut the book and look back at Gwen who was still sleeping next to me. 'Should I leave her here? What if something happens to her while I am gone? What if he...'
The thought of him breaking down the door with a knife in hand, covered in blood, and a grin on his face me shiver especially after that dream I had a few minutes ago. 'Curse me for picking a Motel. It can't guarantee our safety but I have to go to work. My overnight bag is still there.'
So I rip out a page on my notebook, scribble out a note and after placing it on the bed stand, I leave the room and lock the door behind me.
'Please be alive when I get back.' I pray while taking the taxi to work. As usual, we didn't have customers during the early morning shift so this gave me enough time to think.
'Adrien never mentioned ghosts haunting the school in his book. Could it be something he missed? Come to think of it, the way she died is similar to Eric's and...'
The bell rang and I leave the room to attend to a customer sitting at table no.4.
"Good morning. What would you like today?" I ask ready to pen down the order on my notepad.
"I will have Emma Cross-wood served on a platter please." a familiar voice said as she dropped the menu card.
"Gwen! Thank goodness you're..." but she grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the restaurant ignoring Amanda's yelling.
"What happened last night?" she asks pinning me to the wall. "What did you do to me?"
"Calm down and I..."
"The last thing I remember was waking up on a bed in a sleazy motel with a note in your handwriting. I tried calling but you didn't pick up the phone and I feel drained. Mind telling me what is going on?"
I wait for her to calm down a bit "You are not going to believe me."
"Spill it," she ordered. I tell her everything on the spot and watched her relax her stance and close her eyes.
"Emma," she began but I was already running back to the diner to apologize to Amanda who lectured me on bringing my 'domestic disputes' to work. Gwen waited for me outside the building until it was closing time and once I was out of the building, she hugged me.
"Thank you!" she said burying her face in my shoulder. "Thank you for freeing me."
I blush a bit and nod patting her on the head.
"But I am not done with you." She suddenly said. "What happened to your phone?"
"Okay so here is the complicated part but can you escort me back to the school to look up someone Adrien mentioned in his book?"
She frowned. "No. I want answers now."
"Okay, but can we find a place to sit?" I tighten my grip on my overnight bag. "I am tired and..."
My stomach growled completing my sentence.
A few minutes later...
"So he manipulated both your friends and Aunt into thinking he's not his stalker and now he is blackmailing you into being his girlfriend?"
I nod and take a bite of my burger while she hummed. "I underestimated him."
'What the...why are you saying that?' then until it hit me. "You knew he was my stalker?"
She hung her head in shame.
"Since when?"
"From the day I walked you home. I caught him looking at your picture on his phone during Math class," she said.
Okay, now I am angry. "You knew who he was from the beginning but didn't tell me?"
"It was a haunch!" she quickly says. "I was not sure until Caroline..."
"So Caroline knew about this too?"
She looked away in shame and silence took over the room. With nothing more to say to her, I wrap the rest of my burger with the foil paper it came with and put it on the bed stand. I didn't care. I lost my appetite.
"He is a smart one," she said putting her hand on her chin. "The deed is done. There is no way we can expose ourselves without getting caught and it is all my fault. I was careless."
I look away. 'She is drowning herself in self-pity all because of me but the fact she knew who he was all along is enough excuse to let her wallow in it. She knew all this time while I had to experience it firsthand.'
"You should sleep." She said interrupting my thoughts. "Don't worry, I will be on the lookout."
With nothing else to say and my eyes getting heavy, I climb on the bed and go to sleep and wake up in the storage room in the school. The minute I open the door, a cackle was heard followed by fast pace footsteps coming my way. I run and enter an empty classroom with a flickering light bulb as its only source of light and hide under the teacher's table.
The door burst open and I hear footsteps.
"Beloved? I know you are in here?"
He laughed.
"Come out, come out wherever you are?"
It was not easy staying put in a squatting position I was shaking and my legs began to ache. Just as I thought he was never going to leave, the door opened and he was gone.
I get out of my hiding place and run down the hall making my way to the exit. What made the whole experience so scary was the fact I was getting tired after a short time and my vision became blurry. After a few runs, I stop in front of a classroom to catch my breath.
"Where are you Beloved?"
My breath hitched and I franticly look around for somewhere to hide. Picking a locker beside me, I open it and a dead body falls out.
"Sweetheart?"
I enter the locker and use the body to cover me but just as I was about to close it, he came.
"Beloved!"
For some reason, the body disappeared and so was the lockers. Before I could make sense of what is going on, something cold was plunged into my heart.
"If I can't have you...No one can."
I staggered backward hitting the wall behind me. I could feel the coldness in my chest as it made every part of my body turn cold. My vision was blurry but I could see the smile on his demented face as I slowly fall to the floor...
"Emma!"
I give a little shout and opened my eyes. It was morning and I was still in the motel room and Gwen was holding my shoulders.
"It's okay. It's just a dream." She said sitting on the bed. "It's just a dream."
'But it felt so real.' I thought while shaking like a leaf from the corner of my eye, I notice her machete on the ground and it was...
'Wait a minute, was that blood?' I pulled away from her grasp and take a closer look at her. For some reason, I didn't feel safe even when she pulled me in for a hug. We took turns taking a shower and went to a small cafe where we eat omelets and toast. It was 8 AM but Amanda gave me a day off because of the upcoming trip.
"So what are we going to do about him?" she asks.
I sigh and put my elbow on the table. "I do not know."
She took a sip of her coffee. "It's a good thing you destroyed your phone. Maybe he was using it to track you."
"Yeah," I could tell from the way she talked, she was still drowsy from staying up all night and this made me feel sorry for her but something was off. We finish our breakfast and leave the café.
"So what now?" I ask.
She sighed. "I should be asking you that."
"Why?"
"He has already fixed himself in your life and he will come for your heart figuratively or literally." She slowed down her pace. "But there is only one resolve."
"And what is it?"
"We have to kill him."
"What?" stop in my tracks and stared at her expressionless face. 'Was she possessed again? Her eyes look...dull.'
I finally plucked up the courage to say something. "I...I think it's a bad id..."
"Why do you say that?" she looked deep into my eyes. "People like him are manipulative and from the way I see it, he isn't going to leave you alone until you love him."
I was speechless.
"But you don't love him do you?" she asks.
I shake my head.
"And you want him out of your life right..."
"Yes but...he is...dangerous."
She folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at me. "How is he dangerous?"
"He killed a bunch of gangsters who tried to kill me with a knife and they had guns. He did that without anyone knowing."
She stared at me for a moment and laughed but it wasn't an evil one but one of mockery.
"Really? You are scared of him because he killed a bunch of guys holding guns?" she stopped and put her hand on her chest. "In case you don't know Emma, I was once in the Martial Arts club but I left because I was too good."
"But..."
"I beat all the boys there and I beat Alice and Stan too so he is no match for me."
"But..." a blush came over me. "I...I don't want you to get hurt. Why don't we try to find another..."
"There is no other alternative to this situation Emma. Caroline wouldn't be angry when she discovers someone knows our secret and I am not happy he is blackmailing you to be his girlfriend. Maybe he is doing this to sleep with you and after getting what he wants, he leaves you or worse, treats you like you a piece of trash." she clenched her fist in rage. "I hate him. People like him deserved to be locked up for the rest of their lives or be executed for doing that."
I was taken aback by her stern tone but she saw this and gave me a sheepish smile. "Sorry. I overdid my lecture again."
"No, no it is okay," I respond rubbing my arm and adverting my eyes. "It is okay."
"But you don't have to do it because I will." She quickly said. "I will make sure he gets his just desserts for doing this to you. So relax."
This and the smile she gave me sent chill down my spine. "But...but I still think it is a bad idea."
She rolled her eyes and patted me on the shoulder. "Emma, thank you for caring about me but this will be over before you know it. Trust me. You go on and investigate what was written in the book without me. I will be fine."
Then she walked away from me disappearing round the corner.
I run my fingers through my hair. 'This...this is insane! She barely knows a thing about that boy but she thinks she can take him on?'
I rush after her but she was gone. 'How did she disappear like that? Dang, it!'
With nothing left to do, I go to the school to see what I can find about Adrian's friend. Once it gets dark, I go to the school and head straight to the principal's office.
"Come to think of it, Adrien did not mention the person's name," I say opening the door. "How can he write about someone and not mention the name? He always wrote the name of the other students but not the teacher."
I open the drawer, search for the teacher who died from poisoning and find the file.
'It says here that Felicia was a 25-year-old woman addicted to beer with low alcohol content but her relationship with Adrian was unknown and she is the only person who died from arsenic poisoning.' I hum. 'Come to think of it, the way she died is similar to the way Eric passed away.'
Stuck, I decided to find what search for Jake's file and read it.
"Name: Jake Othello Brandon.
Age: Eighteen.
Real name: Blake Oswald.
Occupation: Student, Assassin, Stalker, and Murderer.
Personality: Quiet, Smart, Calculating, Stubborn, Ambitious, Psychotic, Manipulative.
Talents: Painting, Singing, Use of firearms, Seduction, Martial Arts.
Relationship: Emma's Love interest (stalker).
"So, 'Jake' is not his real name eh? But I have seen that name before but where?" I flip to the next page and see he was a product of physical and emotional abuse but his parents were dead. "At least I know where you live now. I am going to visit them to see if your guardian is looking for you."
With nothing more to go on, I leave the school. On my way to the Motel, I get a voice message from Gwen.
"Hello, Emma. I know you are calling to see if I am well so I am assuring you that I am fine. Make sure to check the room before you lock the door when you get to the Motel. If I don't see him money tonight, maybe tomorrow. Take care. Kisses."
For some reason, my heart skipped a beat in fear.
Meanwhile...
Gwen climbed up the building where she and Emma sat star gazing but she wasn't interested in them tonight. When she got to the roof, someone was waiting for her at the edge.
"Good evening."
She tsked and unsheathed her machete. "Why don't you throw yourself off the roof and die?"
"What will happen to Emma if I die?"
"She doesn't need you."
Jake smiled and unsheathed his katana. "Too bad she won't miss you when you are dead."
ns 15.158.61.8da2
