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 killed everyone and survived alone, totally proving her point in that damned argument that had been, in theory, lost to the educator. Yes, it was the perfect plan and ideas, he and his niece, had mutual success.
Since Seattle could not stand to go long without rain, that day, about two hours after Ms. Miller's departure, the weather abruptly closed in, and a huge downpour began to fall, and the temperature, as well as the water, did the same. While teaching the girl how to fold her clothes properly, she remembered that at that particular time, it would be the departure of the morning students, which included, for the most part, teenage girls. If for the next few days, the weather continued to be closed like this, then there would be a good opportunity to finally kidnap the teenagers. The next day, a Thursday, there would be an appointment with the boys, both Turner and Foster, it would be a good opportunity to ask how the rainy season was for them, maybe on days like that, they would use the exit that Winston needed them to use, besides, on rainy days, crowds were common, it would make his job easier, no one would immediately notice two disappearances, the first bet would be: they got lost in the crowds in the corridors, and as a second option, they would have, maybe, walked alone towards their homes. The two boys went away every day with their parents, but on rainy days, almost everyone went, so a traffic jam was certain, and Winston, having his car in the school parking lot, would have no problem getting out, after all, the congestion would focus on getting to school, not getting out. Of course, if he was going to follow this plan, he would have to abandon the idea of leaving altogether, first exchanging his current car for an older one, but now, with a new resident, time was a crucial issue for him, besides, when the disappearance of the two boys was indeed considered a kidnapping, and the investigations started, he would be asked why, that day, he had gone with a different car, and to say "the other one was being repaired", was too cliché. It would all depend on the weather; fortunately, with his TV constantly on the main channel, listening to the weather forecast would be easy. He was the type who believed the media forecast more than the forecasts available 'online', he had, in a way, a prejudice against technologies, this was one of the reasons he still bought newspapers, as compared to TV, they were superior, at least in his view. He even expected the kidnapping news to appear on the front page.Since Morgan had arrived that day, Connel had not had time to spend hours rambling his thoughts in his office, on the contrary, he had barely had time to think about anything that did not involve her."Uncle, I want tea," the new resident said, about ten minutes after he had sat down in his favorite chair. He gave a quiet sigh and stood up, indignant, but a child wouldn't notice that attitude, and he, as a good connoisseur of the subject, already knew that. On his way to the kitchen, he showed himself mentally even more dissatisfied, "Tea, damn tea, before I didn't have to deal with a child, and the first one that comes along prefers tea to coffee, I'll fix it, I certainly will"; it was hard for him to avoid making eye contact with the girl, faking a sincere smile was too difficult for him, and teenagers like smiles, it's as if everything automatically becomes okay with just this insignificant gesture. He prepared the tea, a mate since it was the only one he ever had; at least the expiration date was good enough that he could have it for a few more days. Fortunately, or unfortunately, she had liked the taste, maybe she was used to it in her old life, he still didn't want to touch the subject, perhaps the next day he could hold her first therapy session, that day he was too angry about that.About half an hour later, she appeared in his office again, asking for dinner."You had tea half an hour ago, miss," he commented."But tea is not food, I have learned that one should not skip meals," she explained, as she stood in the doorway without entering the office."Can you wait a little longer? Like, wait for me to finish what I'm doing?""But you're not doing anything," she said, already showing herself to be a child dissatisfied with having her whims refused."I'm thinking Morgan, thinking is part of my job, so can you please wait for me in the kitchen, I'll be right there," she then, huffing, closed the door. He sighed in relief, he wasn't lying; however, those thoughts were not part of his job, and neither were the kidnapping plans. Winston was a single, depressing guy who needed to release his pending accumulations sometimes, and he did that, in the office; there was nothing that could stop him from doing it there, excluding the fact that when he went out with the director; now, Morgan was the impediment, he would spend extra minutes in the bathroom, in moments like that.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
"So, what would you do in the following situation?" the professor showed, pointing to the whiteboard, which displayed several old pen marks made for that purpose. As in every college class, attention was turned sometimes to the board, sometimes to the cell phone. Not that day, at least not for Winston. He had been attending philosophy classes faithfully since his school days, and now he liked the idea of becoming a philosopher. All around him, Winston looked much older, everyone in his 25s, while he was almost 40. He didn't care, in that class, all he wanted was an answer.The whiteboard displayed one of those classic problems that you have to think through until you come up with a personal answer. With attention on the educator, the issue was then shown:"Think of someone you love besides yourself. In a survival situation, in which only one of you two can make it out alive, counting on one killing the other. What would you do?"A - I would kill that person.B - I would let that perso
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
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