Theories were made to be tested and to conclude what one initially thinks about an idea. Whether it is about an open issue in a movie or a conspiracy, the truth is that everyone expects concrete answers about any assumption; while some go searching for the truth, others prefer to sit in a hammock, enjoying the shade, while the opposite side brings the conclusion to the surface. The question is: who are you in this situation?
After the debate in class, months before he finally graduated, Winston Connel already had in mind what he wanted to do from then on. He was already working as a psychologist in a school. The truth is that while in college, he ended up arranging an internship, which was so successful that he was hired immediately, without a degree. He liked the work, he liked helping teenagers and their problems. Young people, human beings with no idea of real issues, at least most of them.When he finished philosophy school and had the basis of the plan ready, Winston knew he needed to be isolated, and nothing better than a dead-end street, yes, North Admiral was the perfect neighborhood, as was Seattle. There was a rental house right at the end of the street, two stories, and an overly large basement with rooms, it didn't even look like a basement, it was more like a floor below ground. It was the perfect house, it had no neighbors, and most important of all, it offered space, lots of space. The initial plan was to find a perfect place. The idea of renting the house was not so pleasant, having to watch for monthly payment visits to the owner, he needed privacy and managed to get the owner to sell. He spent some money saved on renovations. He hired a service, good to the point of doing a job well, but not so good as to ask questions about why such changes were needed. Secrecy.The house was large, and despite everything, it took a few months to finish everything. The whole renovation practically took place in the basement, which now had a huge living room, 4 bedrooms, 2 large bathrooms, and a kitchen connected to the living room; it was like a normal house. On the main floor, he invested in a big office, and the rest of the house was left as it was. On the second floor, a wall was knocked down between two rooms, creating just one room, and that completed the entire renovation; he would take care of the rest.Winston's basic plan was simple, and his motivation was just to show that he was right. He would, in practice, test what would happen in a real survival situation. He was sure that anyone would prioritize their life; however, he would rather not do it anyway, he wanted a pure result, without holes, without anything that could prove the opposite.In an initial plan, he considered kidnapping people whom he knew had a great connection between them, someone the person loved as much as himself. This required a lot of research, and many days of monitoring possible victims, and this took time, Winston was rushing, he was not very healthy. The man suffered from Somniphobia, he was afraid to sleep, so he ended up becoming a coffee addict he was not in good health, and he was already an adult. He did not aim for family life, at that stage of life, he was focused on not failing. He ruled that plan out, it was not guaranteed. Thinking about strategies took up part of Winston's entire day, except for when he was working. Conveniently, the bright idea popped into his mind while treating a patient. Jeffrey Foster, a twelve-year-old boy, suffered from Nicthophobia - a phobia of the dark. The school assumed that consultations could help him with this problem, Winston accepted the challenge, but the boy did not talk much. To Connel, he was an interesting boy. Finally, he had a plan. If he could not be sure of the relationships that people had, he could then create those relationships himself.After that day, from the consultation, Winston went home. Accompanied by his mug of freshly brewed coffee, he began to jot down the first draft with a chance of success he had. Create relationships, create relationships… He paused, tapping the blue ink pen on his forehead as he thought. Behind him, and on the sides, were books, all academic, and obviously from psychology and philosophy. He spent a good deal of time looking at them, keeping the pen in its continuous work of tapping against his skin, and also emptying all the coffee. He walked to the kitchen and replaced the black liquid, hot, very hot, and with a sweet smell, it was his favorite way, very sweet. Likewise, he wasn't healthy at all, and he didn't care.The blue ink scratched the paper again, exposing the word "teenagers". It looked like a clue to the next idea, the word hadn't left his mind, so he had decided to write it down, just in case. He still had nothing. He put down his pen and took a long sip of his hot coffee while looking at the books once more. Early childhood education, that thought caught his attention. He repeated the words aloud "early childhood education", and then wrote it down; his mind was clearing, and he was getting somewhere. He spent a few more minutes locked in, looking, thinking, drinking, and the coffee drained away again. The way to the kitchen was quite short, and even if it took longer, he would not hesitate to walk, if it meant another cup of coffee. He was still wearing the same clothes as in the morning, and his straight black hair remained neat. As he filled his mug, his thoughts were racing: "Child education," he said once more, felt the difference, and said it twice more before rushing back to the office and writing down "teenagers are manipulable. Vibrating with joy, he now had a foundation, and his knowledge of psychology would be extremely useful.Being around teenagers all the time, he knew that they were well influenced when they were young. He noticed this in them, as young as seven years old. At seven, children start to learn, they already know how to read and write, and soon after would come math, but not only this, at this age they start to understand things around them, even if sometimes in the wrong way. A child can be influenced to be close to another child, most friendships start very early because pre-teens have no concrete beliefs, no formed personality of their own, they have no values to follow, and they just live for others. Winston knew this better than anyone. If he put one child in an environment with another, they would understand each other, and if their friendship were nurtured, the bond would strengthen, strong enough that neither side would want it broken. For the theory to work, the people would need to have a strong bond, but if he couldn't find them, he could then create them. That was the plan, he had
That day, the schedule grid had only one patient, Martin Turner, the same grade as Jeffrey, different class and opposite personality. He was the type to make friends with whomever he wanted, and this was natural, he was a normal child, but the school insisted that he had a problem, trypanophobia - fear of needles. Vaccination was important, campaigns went into the schools, and Martin would make a fuss and embarrass himself in front of everyone, his fear was so great, he didn't even care. It bothered the school. Winston would take any challenge, he liked them, the issues, and being alone in a room smelling of flowers was boring. Drinking coffee alone in the teachers' lounge was boring too. Working as the best thing, he hated sitting still."How are you today, Martin?" Connel asked softly, as the boy still sat down."I'm fine," the boy replied. The psychologist cracked a small smile, satisfied with the answer. "I had oatmeal at recess, it was oatmeal. Do you like oatmeal?" Martin was so
He crossed the last street before finally reaching the school, frustrated that he couldn't think of anything in time. Improvisation, that's what was left for plan C.Winston usually drove fast, and because of the time he arrived at school, he didn't have to pay much attention to this while parking the car, there were never any people, never any cars leaving or entering. That day, something was different, there was a car that shouldn't have been there.With the car parked in the usual spot – penultimate, bottom – he made his way to the principal's office where he found Principal Brooke busy, attending to the possible owner of the intruding car."Ah, Mr. Connel, we've been expecting you," said the director, getting up and signaling to sit down. "This is Chelsea Miller," she pointed to the guest, who smiled and turned to the man."She held out her hand to greet him, and he politely returned it, still confused. "Pleased to meet you," he said and sat down."We've been expecting you, Mr. Co
Winston took much of the food he had taken to the basement kitchen and transferred it to the main kitchen, he was going to give the impression that he was healthy and eating well. Pure lie. There were plenty of rooms in the house, not counting the new ones that remained in the basement. He didn't plan to show the place to Chelsea, and there was no reason, the basement only allows storing what nobody cares about, she wouldn't imagine that in that house there would be a “mini house” ready to receive teenagers that would be kidnapped.He sprayed perfume on himself three times, instead of the usual amount. Not only that, but he was ready for their arrival, luckily for him, visitors like coffee, so he took the time to spray some sweet, just the way he liked it. He filled the house with the scent of lavender and made everything as beautiful as possible. He also transferred a complete set from one of the new bedrooms to the guest room. Luckily, the giant room he had made on the second floor
The biggest difficulty at that moment, would be hiding the basement from the new resident, since the idea of using her as a victim, had failed; that, if of course, she wasn't so "fascinating!" - as he called the teenagers he liked —, and he would know soon enough, evidently he would love to have an exclusive therapy session for her daily, even if she wasn't going to go through the post kidnapping trauma process, or the rest negative than the others, she still could be used in the final project, unlike the others, he had over her, much more control and dominance, that is, she would be victim zero, the most manipulated of all. For a moment, as Winston mentally plotted this plan, while watching her tidy up the room, he wished for a brief second that it would be good to be wrong in his thesis and that, with this, she wouldn't kill anyone, and no one would kill her, total survival. She abandoned that conclusion the next second when she imagined that it would be much more exciting if she ki
About an hour later, the girl, already seated at the table, was enjoying a fried chicken, which, by the way, was well done, well done. The rice was sticky, and the beans lacked salt; she considered complaining but eventually remembered that this would wipe the fake smile – which she didn't know was fake – off his face."It's a… delicious… uncle!" she commented as she chewed and closed her eyes to disguise the bitterness the chicken had. "Aren't you going to eat?" she asked, noticing that he hadn't put an extra plate on the table."Come on. I know it's shit, I don't usually cook.""You said it was healthy," she reminded him. He hesitated for a few seconds."Yes, which means I eat it, not that I think it's good, there are differences, little girl.""But you said you didn't use to cook, not that it wasn't good," he looked at her seriously, dumb, and beastly she wasn't, they had the same blood anyway, if he considered himself so smart, evidently his niece would be too."Brush your teeth a
After that topic, in which he was now sure she had the phobia, he decided to go deeper into family matters. To his surprise, she was not at all uncomfortable talking about the death of her parents, she was a child who had already fully overcome her grief, and this was somehow frightening; she seemed too sensitive to the surrounding things, to face her in a situation that should make her cry instead of smile, was very curious; either she was a child who was well resolved about death, or else she pretended very well that she was calm. If it were the first option, Winston would have a high chance that would kill everyone in the final test, death didn't shake her, and he, as her current caregiver, could work very well with that.Finally, she went to bed, and he returned to his office. He kept her makeshift chart next to Turner's and Foster's charts. In his notebook, he searched for a few stores in town, stores that stocked large-scale sound mufflers because he would need them, in the base
With Morgan in the car, Winston discovered that not only was she audacious, but she was also greedy. He quickly noticed the receipt for the Starbucks purchase, and like any normal child, he didn't hesitate to order. After several tantrums and punches along the way, accompanied by a fake cry, he eventually took her for a drink there, which took fifteen minutes before she chose a Classic Chocolate. Finally, sometime later, they returned home, although it was still mid-afternoon, Seattle was already exhibiting more mature weather, and along with that, more rain.He decided to install the mufflers while the girl took a bath, the loud noise of the shower would prevent her from hearing any suspicious noise, it was the gap she needed. The installation was a success, everything was now officially prepared, and this included the various cameras, which he had already installed from the beginning, and was ready to finally fulfill their purpose: monitoring.For the first time in his life, Winston
With Morgan in the car, Winston discovered that not only was she audacious, but she was also greedy. He quickly noticed the receipt for the Starbucks purchase, and like any normal child, he didn't hesitate to order. After several tantrums and punches along the way, accompanied by a fake cry, he eventually took her for a drink there, which took fifteen minutes before she chose a Classic Chocolate. Finally, sometime later, they returned home, although it was still mid-afternoon, Seattle was already exhibiting more mature weather, and along with that, more rain.He decided to install the mufflers while the girl took a bath, the loud noise of the shower would prevent her from hearing any suspicious noise, it was the gap she needed. The installation was a success, everything was now officially prepared, and this included the various cameras, which he had already installed from the beginning, and was ready to finally fulfill their purpose: monitoring.For the first time in his life, Winston
After that topic, in which he was now sure she had the phobia, he decided to go deeper into family matters. To his surprise, she was not at all uncomfortable talking about the death of her parents, she was a child who had already fully overcome her grief, and this was somehow frightening; she seemed too sensitive to the surrounding things, to face her in a situation that should make her cry instead of smile, was very curious; either she was a child who was well resolved about death, or else she pretended very well that she was calm. If it were the first option, Winston would have a high chance that would kill everyone in the final test, death didn't shake her, and he, as her current caregiver, could work very well with that.Finally, she went to bed, and he returned to his office. He kept her makeshift chart next to Turner's and Foster's charts. In his notebook, he searched for a few stores in town, stores that stocked large-scale sound mufflers because he would need them, in the base
About an hour later, the girl, already seated at the table, was enjoying a fried chicken, which, by the way, was well done, well done. The rice was sticky, and the beans lacked salt; she considered complaining but eventually remembered that this would wipe the fake smile – which she didn't know was fake – off his face."It's a… delicious… uncle!" she commented as she chewed and closed her eyes to disguise the bitterness the chicken had. "Aren't you going to eat?" she asked, noticing that he hadn't put an extra plate on the table."Come on. I know it's shit, I don't usually cook.""You said it was healthy," she reminded him. He hesitated for a few seconds."Yes, which means I eat it, not that I think it's good, there are differences, little girl.""But you said you didn't use to cook, not that it wasn't good," he looked at her seriously, dumb, and beastly she wasn't, they had the same blood anyway, if he considered himself so smart, evidently his niece would be too."Brush your teeth a
The biggest difficulty at that moment, would be hiding the basement from the new resident, since the idea of using her as a victim, had failed; that, if of course, she wasn't so "fascinating!" - as he called the teenagers he liked —, and he would know soon enough, evidently he would love to have an exclusive therapy session for her daily, even if she wasn't going to go through the post kidnapping trauma process, or the rest negative than the others, she still could be used in the final project, unlike the others, he had over her, much more control and dominance, that is, she would be victim zero, the most manipulated of all. For a moment, as Winston mentally plotted this plan, while watching her tidy up the room, he wished for a brief second that it would be good to be wrong in his thesis and that, with this, she wouldn't kill anyone, and no one would kill her, total survival. She abandoned that conclusion the next second when she imagined that it would be much more exciting if she ki
Winston took much of the food he had taken to the basement kitchen and transferred it to the main kitchen, he was going to give the impression that he was healthy and eating well. Pure lie. There were plenty of rooms in the house, not counting the new ones that remained in the basement. He didn't plan to show the place to Chelsea, and there was no reason, the basement only allows storing what nobody cares about, she wouldn't imagine that in that house there would be a “mini house” ready to receive teenagers that would be kidnapped.He sprayed perfume on himself three times, instead of the usual amount. Not only that, but he was ready for their arrival, luckily for him, visitors like coffee, so he took the time to spray some sweet, just the way he liked it. He filled the house with the scent of lavender and made everything as beautiful as possible. He also transferred a complete set from one of the new bedrooms to the guest room. Luckily, the giant room he had made on the second floor
He crossed the last street before finally reaching the school, frustrated that he couldn't think of anything in time. Improvisation, that's what was left for plan C.Winston usually drove fast, and because of the time he arrived at school, he didn't have to pay much attention to this while parking the car, there were never any people, never any cars leaving or entering. That day, something was different, there was a car that shouldn't have been there.With the car parked in the usual spot – penultimate, bottom – he made his way to the principal's office where he found Principal Brooke busy, attending to the possible owner of the intruding car."Ah, Mr. Connel, we've been expecting you," said the director, getting up and signaling to sit down. "This is Chelsea Miller," she pointed to the guest, who smiled and turned to the man."She held out her hand to greet him, and he politely returned it, still confused. "Pleased to meet you," he said and sat down."We've been expecting you, Mr. Co
That day, the schedule grid had only one patient, Martin Turner, the same grade as Jeffrey, different class and opposite personality. He was the type to make friends with whomever he wanted, and this was natural, he was a normal child, but the school insisted that he had a problem, trypanophobia - fear of needles. Vaccination was important, campaigns went into the schools, and Martin would make a fuss and embarrass himself in front of everyone, his fear was so great, he didn't even care. It bothered the school. Winston would take any challenge, he liked them, the issues, and being alone in a room smelling of flowers was boring. Drinking coffee alone in the teachers' lounge was boring too. Working as the best thing, he hated sitting still."How are you today, Martin?" Connel asked softly, as the boy still sat down."I'm fine," the boy replied. The psychologist cracked a small smile, satisfied with the answer. "I had oatmeal at recess, it was oatmeal. Do you like oatmeal?" Martin was so
Being around teenagers all the time, he knew that they were well influenced when they were young. He noticed this in them, as young as seven years old. At seven, children start to learn, they already know how to read and write, and soon after would come math, but not only this, at this age they start to understand things around them, even if sometimes in the wrong way. A child can be influenced to be close to another child, most friendships start very early because pre-teens have no concrete beliefs, no formed personality of their own, they have no values to follow, and they just live for others. Winston knew this better than anyone. If he put one child in an environment with another, they would understand each other, and if their friendship were nurtured, the bond would strengthen, strong enough that neither side would want it broken. For the theory to work, the people would need to have a strong bond, but if he couldn't find them, he could then create them. That was the plan, he had
Theories were made to be tested and to conclude what one initially thinks about an idea. Whether it is about an open issue in a movie or a conspiracy, the truth is that everyone expects concrete answers about any assumption; while some go searching for the truth, others prefer to sit in a hammock, enjoying the shade, while the opposite side brings the conclusion to the surface. The question is: who are you in this situation?After the debate in class, months before he finally graduated, Winston Connel already had in mind what he wanted to do from then on. He was already working as a psychologist in a school. The truth is that while in college, he ended up arranging an internship, which was so successful that he was hired immediately, without a degree. He liked the work, he liked helping teenagers and their problems. Young people, human beings with no idea of real issues, at least most of them.When he finished philosophy school and had the basis of the plan ready, Winston knew he need