Mrs. Johnson stared back at her son-in-law like he had grown horns.
"Denzel?" She called, thinking he might be half asleep."Who is Denzel?" He asked.His confusion was vivid on his face and the woman badly wanted to believe he was faking it."Mom?" Sophie's voiced rang out.She had taken permission from work, drove straight home then changed into something better and drove back to Denzel's place."Denzel?", Sophie called and walked in."Mom. Lunch's ready", she announced.Meanwhile, Thomas who was now Denzel stared at her weirdly. He had never seen her before and who's this Denzel they speak of?"Denzel? Are you awake now?", Mrs. Johnson asked him.He gently stood from the ground and walked like a zombie to the mirror he saw in the room.He looked into it and the reflection he saw freaked him out.He darted his eyes at the two ladies that exchanged glances at each other confusedly. He darted back his eyes to the mirror.Who was the motherfucker staring back at him?!!!"Hey? Denzel? Are you okay?" Sophie asked taking slow steps towards him instead he took a step backward, beads of sweat forming on his forehead despite the cold weather."Denzel" ..."Who are you?" He asked."Denzel are you joking right now?" Sophie scoffed.Mrs. Johnson low sobs pricked their attention and they turned to her."Mom?" Sophie ran towards her, "what's wrong?""My baby is dead now Denzel has lost his mind!" She cried out loud.Okay?! They haven't answered his question as to who Denzel was? Now someone's dead?!! Where the fuck is he right now?!!!!Sophie glared at him and walked up to him."What do you think you're doing? Better snap out of it!" She snapped."What's... What's your name?", Thomas asked."Denzel I don't know what kind of game this is...but now is definitely not the time! Your wife is dead and...."Woah! I'm not married. What wife?""Denzel", Sophie refused to believe this was actually happening."He has lost his mind", Mrs Johnson cried as she stood and left the room."You should be concerned about that woman's health! Tania was her only child! Your wife! And you think this is the right time to act insane?!!!!!""Who's Tania?"Trust at this moment, Thomas wasn't doing this on purpose but he needed answers. The last thing he remembered was laying peacefully on his bed after a long block that didn't want to unblock itself as he stared at his screen... So who now are these people?!!!"I can not believe you", Sophie shook her head and tried to leave but he grabbed her hands."Please. Just tell me... What's your name?"Sophie stared at him and she couldn't find any trace of pretense. Her tears fell.She had lost her best friend and now Denzel has gone mad or lost his memories. Whichever."Don't you remember anything?", She asked in a low tone as she sniffed."Please ", was all he could say."I'm Sophie. Don't you remember your wife, Tania? Or her mother out there, Mrs Johnson? What's your name?" She asked.He knew saying Thomas Bradly was going to be the stupidest idea now."I don't... I don't remember", he said instead."Oh no. Denzel. Denzel... Denzel Williams.. what's going on?" She cried."Denzel", he whispered to himself."Denzel Williams", he said a bit louder and walked to the mirror. He stared at himself, at his reflection."Denzel Williams", he said again and that name sounded really familiar to him."Denzel Williams... Denzel Willia...!" It had hit him.He stared closely into the mirror.Green eyes!Brown hair!Chiseled jawline!Hairy!"Denzel Williams!" He screamed as realization hit him."Oh shit!", He cussed.This can't be happening. How the fuck is this even real?!!!Denzel Williams! He created this man! With fucking words!!!!"You're Sophie... Sophie Harmsworth", he turned to her but Sophie just sat there on the bed with tears dropping from her eyes.It would have been normal but it suddenly turned strange.She was frozen.So was her tears that was just hanging midair, not far from her place."Hey! Sophie!", He called but she wasn't even breathing.He rushed to her, "Sophie!" He nudged her but she was as stiff as hell.He rushed out confusedly and there was Mrs Johnson seated on her couch with her face all contorted with tears, but she too had frozen up."The fuck...", He whispered and rushed outside.Everything had stopped.Every single person, car, no chatterings, nothing at all. They all stood like statures that were sculptured that way.The fuck was actually going on?!First, whatever dragged him inside his book just did, and now he's supposed to be worried about getting back to his body but everyone is fucking frozen!"Hello!!!""Hello!!!" He screamed but everywhere was calm as nothing he could even think of.He rushed back into his house, completely confused as he sought for a way out.He found pen and paper in his drawer. Well, Denzel's drawer or maybe Tania's. He didn't know. It was a master's bedroom anyways.Wait! Why did he even take a pen and paper?! What's he supposed to do with that!He turned to Sophie but she was still frozen.What if he's trapped in here?!!Oh God! Oh God!!He inhaled and exhaled multiple times but he couldn't calm his nerves.Wait!He sat on the bed, then he laid on the floor next. Sophie's words playing in his ears.YOUR WIFE IS DEAD!That's it! Right! That was the last chapter he wrote down before his mom passed and he stopped writing.If they are frozen, that's because there are no more words!!Hell no!Is he supposed to act out his novel?!!!!!."Wait! No!", He turned on his side."I'm overthinking this!", He said to himself.He tried to remember all that happened and how he got here.He remembered the cinema, he remembered the girls, he remembered the old man, and the mirror and his cup of juice, then his blank screen.Wait! Wait!The mirror!His eyes widened, "the fuck did that man sell to me?!!!"He remembered wishing he could just watch the characters act out each scene while he writes.Nope! Thomas you're still overthinking this! So what if you spoke those words into a mirror! Does a fucking genie live inside it!!But there was no other explanation to all this!That fucking mirror trapped him inside one of his characters!But if they're all frozen, how come he's still moving?Almost immediately, he could clearly envision his laptop back at home in the real world. A blank page with just word written down.Denzel...He had begun a new chapter but didn't know how to continue and that was before all this started.He rose from the floor and walked to the table where the pen and paper laid.He picked up the pen. Maybe if he wrote something. Like continuing the story from in here, it would unfreeze everything and he could get back home!The problem remained what to write now..."Denzel"... He started but nothing new popped up.Thomas closed his eyes and tried envisioning his previous chapters in his mind.It worked. It was as though he could really see his screen as he read through the previous chapters. He exhaled and began writing from the last scene he remembered... Denzel woke up hoping to see Tania right beside him, he wished it was all a dream....Sophie's sobs resumed behind him and he turned to her with a smile.All that was needed was he willingness to live in his story as though he was a character and someone was crafting him."Hey Sophie! It's alright..." He hugged her and she hugged him back."You remember""Yeah I do.. I was just wishing this was all a dream", he said.*Which I still do wish*, he sighed in his heart.This might just work and he'd be home soon....He left Sophie as she sniffed and stared back at him."You scared us all", she chuckled and stood, "come and grab a bite", she said to him.He nodded at her and she left.He rushed again to the drawer and found what seemed like an empty journal. It looked new. Whoever bought amongst man and wife hasn't used it yet.He took it out. "Hopefully, If I sleep again and be awake from all of this", he said to himself.Darting his eyes at the clock, it was simply 1:53pm. God! That's a long time before nighttime. What is he supposed to be doing?!!!Well, he's going to act as Denzel to continue the story and hopefully time, so that time doesn't stop again and he can go home, back to his body.He was definitely trashing that mirror and breaking it to pieces once he got back!He sighed and stood and left the room. For the next couple of hours, he was going to be Denzel Williams.He stepped out into the living room, the woman from before turned to him, "Denzel?""Mom", he smiled, "forgive me", he
Thomas roamed Denzel's room - the entire house to be precise.He couldn't believe he created all this. It looked so damn real. The people in it too. The whole thing, it was amazing.He walked back into his room and stared at his reflection. Damn! He made this guy even hotter than himself! It made him wonder what the insides of his other books were like. He took a good look around, from the bathroom to the room, the closet, the drawers, until he found one that was locked with a key.He searched everywhere for the key but couldn't find it. He stood with the intention of getting something to hit it with when he felt light headed."What was that?", He said to himself when he recovered and went ahead to get a hammer.He finally broke the lock and drew open the drawer. There were lots of things inside, but one pricked his interest. It was an old journal, more like a diary.This might be wrong on all angles but him being inside his novel was more weird than any shit. He sat on his bed and o
After Carlton left with Sophie, Winston remained seated on his swivel chair as he stared at nothing in particular."How's it coming along?", His buddy and close friend, Peter Lawford asked."Nothing I think will amount to something", Winston sighed."Huh?""Nothing really. I'm just seeing another cold case", he sighed."Why?""I mean it's clear they know what happened to her. What man doesn't care about his wife's death. I was expecting him to be trooping in here every two seconds. He did say he was going to inform the girl's mother and I'm seeing nothing. It's just as though they don't care. Not to mention the best friend. She is weird", he voiced.Peter chuckled."I'm just saying. Might be one of them that killed her though", Winston shrugged, "the story's all messed up man".Peter really had nothing to say. He just laughed."I wish you luck man", he finally said."Whatever", Winston scoffed...Mrs Johnson couldn't sleep or do anything. She didn't go to the academy either.She jus
Conrad remained at home and even made dinner, when Deborah finally woke up. She was lost. She couldn't recognize a thing.He walked in at that moment."You're up?" He smiled at her.Deborah stared at him confusedly. She didn't recognize him. She didn't recognize where she was or who she even was."You've slept for quite a long time, I was about to get worried", he smiled as he leaned in and placed a kiss on her forehead.She jerked back a bit and he knew it was time to act."What's wrong honey?" The fake lines of worry formed on his forehead."Who are you?" Deborah asked sincerely.Conrad chuckled, "what's... What's that?" "Where am I?""Baby, this is not funny?" He tried holding her hand but she yanked it off."Who are you?" She asked again.Conrad smirked within him but wore a bitter face on the outside as he went close to her. "Baby, it's me. Your husband. What's going on?" He threw his arm over her shoulders."I'm... I'm married?" She stuttered looking at his face as though she w
Winston shared a glance with Peter."These are my daughters clothes. I don't know why it's stained with blood or why it's hidden in his kitchen but these are my daughter's clothes", Conrad faked a sniff.Thomas stared wide-eyed.Winston turned to him, "is this your wife's?" He asked Thomas shook his head whilst staring at the clothes in Conrad's hand."It's not? Who's is it then?" Winston asked. It was getting interesting."It's not mine. It's not.. I don't know. I just need to go home", Thomas shook his head.Winston shared a glance with Peter again .Peter spoke this time, "why don't you follow us to the station Mr. Williams", he moved closer to Thomas but Thomas moved backwards, shaking his head vehemently."I'm not Denzel. I'm not. My name is Thomas", he knew all he was about to say was not going to make any sense but he wasn't going to spend his night in a cell."Mr. Williams", peter moved closer."My poor child", Deborah cried in the corner while Winston took the clothes from
Winston stepped out the interrogation room, he might as well run mad if he remained in there. Peter caught up with him."We've found her friends and brought them in", he informed him. Winston nodded and went ahead to meet the two girls.They look terrified."Arianna and Beverly", he sighed as he sat before them."What time did you three go clubbing?" He asked."Around 11pm", Arianna's lips quavered as she replied."You know your friend snuck out?" He asked."She's 21", Beverly who seemed more brave defended."She should have told her mom, you both could be held accountable for her death", Winston cleared them.Arianna gulped, tears welling up in her eyes."We dropped off at her street as usual. We never drive in", Beverly revealed."Who's car?""Mine", Beverly answered as she fiddled with her hands, "her mom doesn't really like us, so we don't come close much", she muttered but Winston heard, "still we have nothing to do with this!" Arianna had begun crying already, "if we had gone
Conrad stood by the door, his eyes trailing down to the phone on the floor, before going back up to Deborah's face. She shook like a leaf. But then she broke into a smile. "You scared me", she held her chest, "I don't know. Someone called me", she said and knowingly took a step forward, stepping on the already cracked screen that it cracked the more. "No!", She gasped like she didn't just do that on purpose. She bent down and picked up the phone. She looked up at Conrad and almost broke into tears, "it's broken", she pouted. Conrad bought it. He sighed and walked up to her. "Hey. It's fine. Its fine. I'll get you a new one", he patted her back. "Why did you come back?" She asked. "Forgot something", he smiled and walked up to his drawer, he drew out an envelope, "see you when I get back okay?" He smiled and left. Deborah waited a bit to be sure he was really out of the house, then she rushed and locked the front door. She exhaled sharply. Now, her phone was broken. She coul
Winston barged into the interrogation room where he left Thomas."I see you're calm now", he sat before him.Thomas only stared at him with tears rolling down his cheeks, confusing Winston the more. What sort of human being was he dealing with?"Mr. Williams loosing your wife is surely a thing to shed tears about but helping us find the killer is paramount. Can you repeat your statement? From the night of your wife's demise?" He asked but Thomas didn't move a limb.He just stared back at him in unendingly tears. "Mr. Williams cooperating with us is the best option you have now. I believe you have nothing to do with the death of your wife but you have to help us help you". He said but Thomas remained the stature he was.Winston sighed, "the video cam on the street that faces your house captures you leaving the house under the rain at around 10:30pm. Is that correct?" He asked.Thomas was hungry and tired."Mr. Williams...""I'm hungry", Thomas cut him off.Winston stared at him. The m
When Thomas's eyes snapped open, everything was blurred at first. Stirring in bed, the phone ringing continued.Stilldrowsy with sleep, Thomas stretched his hand to the bedside table and took his phone.."Hello", he voiced in a husky tone."I really thought you died", the reply came from the other end."Huh?""I called you countlessly forgetting how much of a deep sleeper you are", he scoffed.Thomas drew the phone away from his ear to stare at the caller, he recognized the voice but his brain felt still a little foggy."Liam", he mouthed and the sleep vanished.He sat upright, "Liam!" A spread across his face.."Hey! Don't scream in my ears"."You're in town now?" Thomas asked with a chuckle."I'm pretty sure I informed you yesterday", Thomas imagined him roll his eyes."I have someone to show you man, our usual spot"."Liam come on..." Thomas tried objecting."No, you come on! Tom it's been long enough, how long more are you gonna keep mourning? You don't do nothing these days""I'
"God! I really could use an actual sleep on a real bed", he yawned."We signed up for this anyway", his partner yawned as well.Two juniors had been assigned to stake out at the particular location Carlton had given as a place Conrad would likely visit.They didn't have up to 24hours anymore to save Denzel but they weren't going to just give up. They've come this far and lost a lot. Justice for lives lost and the traumatized parents and friends left behind. More bodies were dug up in the backyards though some were not found yet.Crimson heights were in tears and fear. They would catch him by all means..Winston sat in his office, watching time, hoping for some goodnews. They had 3 hours left. He was literally praying.His phone buzzed with a message."I know what happened to Tania Williams".Winston stared at the phone in his hand. His heart beating fast. Was this a prank?He tried to call the caller but another message came in."21st street..."Winston stared at it. He knew that p
A week left to Denzel's death and Deborah had been buried, Conrad's pictures were all over town. The entire Crimson heights were looking out for him.More bodies were dug up in compounds, turns out Conrad had made it a hobby to kill and bury them for unknown reasons.Why in the first place would a man thirst for blood?He wasn't related to any of the girls.. their families had never done him wrong, so why then did the victims become his target or he was just a psychopath.Diana had taken a leave from the office. She had become a shadow of herself. The fear of Conrad still roaming the city taunted her. Three were dead already, not to mention the lots he has wasted already. At most times, she'd imagine him breaking into her house and taking her life.The more she thought about him, the more she felt guilty over the soul she was about sending to hell.How possible was it that Conrad's photo would be all over town and yet no sight of him. The cops now patrolled the city. Civilians were
The man tried consoling his wife. They had taken the corpse in for autopsy. The result was out and this must be the toughest for a cop.Reporting death to the deceased family.Winston walked into the room where they were waiting. The woman nearly pouncing on him, grabbed his shirt as her being shook, "that's not my angel right?" Her eyes were bloodshot.Winston bit his lips."I'm sorry", was all he could mutter.Her wailings filled the entire room, but Winston had one more question to ask. He couldn't definitely ask the mourning wife so he drew her husband aside, presenting a picture of Conrad before his eyes and asking, "do you know him?""No", the man shook his head."Please think well...", Winston urged him. He shouldn't be doing this in this situation but he needed answers. Winston had this hunch that conrad had something to do with the disappearance cases.The man took the phone from his hand, peering deeper into the picture before a 'yes' escaped his lips."I'm barely at home,
Diana couldn't stop her legs from shaking continuously. She'd never been that anxious in a long time. Not even the toughest case at court got her shaking like this and she was only here to see a man.They bundled him out and he didn't resist. Cuffing his legs and hands and Diana wondered what all of that was for.Turned out Denzel had finally lost his mind in his cell. The warder relayed to her, how he keeps claiming he's not from this word.She returned her gaze to a lost man that was staring at her but she was sure he didn't even recognize her presence. He was seeing nothing.A tear threatened to escape her eyes.She blinked them back and thanked the warder who left, giving them privacy.She put him in this situation. She couldn't even imagine await your deathday but that's what she did to this man simply because she wanted a better case that would bring money and fame."Mr. Williams", she didn't expect her voice to go out in a whisper.Denzel didn't reply. He just kept on staring a
Winston stared at her completely wowed at her narration. Her story does explain his unanswered question. They've tried searching Conrad Johnson up but the name nor face does not exist."So he's neither Matteo nor Jonathan nor Conrad and he didn't come from Neverdale either", Winston chuckled.."The face doesn't match. Isn't registered""Plastic surgery", they both said simultaneously and Winston nodded.How on earth were they supposed to track a guy with no roots, and Diana's narration didn't help so much. Winston needed a bait. Something to drag Conrad in with but it wasn't working. It might have been Deborah, but he can't reach her. Something also doubted his thought. A man like can't Conrad wouldn't care twice if Deborah died."I'm gonna head over to Ms. Harmsworth. See if she can get into his home and get Mrs. Johnson ", Winston said and Diana nodded.He stood ready to leave when he turned to her, "get well soon", he said to her."Thank you", she smiled lightly and he headed for
"Winston, no?" Carlton smirked."You look happy for someone that's about to rot in jail", Winston remarked.Carlton shrugged, "don't conclude"."Drug dealing, a brothel with underaged girls?" Winston scoffed at his arrogance."Did any of them look underaged to you? How was I supposed to know? Besides, everyone deserves to venture into whatever for the cash when the need arises, no?"Winston chuckled aloud."You're not getting out of this one. You can call your wife?""What wife?' Carlton chuckled."You lied to a police man"."Clearly the police man seemed dumb and I wasn't wrong. I am happily married to the devil anyways", he blinked boringly."I knew there was something off with you the day I saw you", Peter spoke up "Took time for you to find out what it actually was huh?", he nodded."I'll ask you one last time then. Do you have a hand in Mrs. Williams death and what in heaven were doing at Ms. Harmsworth's house at such unholy hour?""Where I go at whatever fucking hour is my bus
Peter had dozed off in the car when his junior stared at him and shook his head. His eyes were twitching as well. The tiring part of being a cop. He yawned.They've been doing this for the past two days and no new thing yet. Staking out at the hotel or anywhere else wasn't fun for any cop. Every cop could attest to that, especially when you're a junior, you don't get to sleep at the slightest chance like your senior."Huh?" He tilted his eyes to the side. There was finally movement."Detective Peter?" He tapped him.Peter lazily opened his eyes, "huh?""They're on the move", he replied."Go. Go," Peter ordered.When the car drove off, they followed closely behind and carefully."The fuck," Peter cussed as they took an alley. It was almost lonely and if they followed, peter knew they would notice they were being followed."Stop," he ordered and his junior hit the brakes.They watched from the distance as they all packed before what seemed like an abandoned warehouse.They were other p
"Ms. Harmsworth?" Winston answered."I-i have the diary", she broke down...Winston drove over to hers with Peter Lawford tagging along.Sophie managed to drag her body up off the floor and open the door for them."You have Ms. Tania's diary?" "I'm sorry". She cried, "I was scared. Conrad is many things. I didn't want to die but this is worse than death. I see her in my dreams. I see her everywhere", she shook her head vigorously."I shouldn't have taken it that day. I was scared", she looked up to meet their eyes. She was entirely broken, Winston actually felt for her."Why would you hold this back?" He asked taking it from her.Sophie sobbed even louder..."Ms. Harmsworth?" Peter called."Because he took me in", she looked up again, "I... I was just a little orphan girl and he took me in," she hiccupped."Did Tania know this?" Winston asked."No", she shook her head."Deborah?""No," she shook her head as well.Winston sighed. He opened the diary, he couldn't even concentrate in