"That can't be. Katie was my friend." Layla said, storming into the room, but just like that, Katie was also gone. Every room was searched once more, but they couldn't find anything. "Okay something's definitely wrong. This is not to be overlooked." The woman who looked to be three months pregnant said, and her husband, Damien held her. The two oldest women who had teased Charles and Vera about being couples, looked at each other, and shook their heads."Forget about the damn police. I'm leaving before I'm next." The first one said, and the second followed. The both of them walked briskly into their room, and the pregnant woman and Damien followed next."The… the police said not to go anywhere, or… should we just go? Kent, pack up." Layla said, and Kent left to pack up their things. "I'll join you soon." She added, then hugged Vera. "Seeing everyone react like this. I'm starting to think it's really not safe." She lamented."It's… it will be fine. We just have to be extra careful.
Fear seeped into her, dominating her vessels like blood moving in water. All she seemed to think of was death. The cold gun pressed further into her neck, and she gasped. A hand slipped over her baby protectively, and that hand shook like a leaf.It wasn't just her hands shaking, her bones were trembling. Images of different dead people popped up in her head, and she began to wonder if the other women were dead, or just hidden somewhere. What would happen to her? Would they all wake in the morning, and meet her dead?If she screamed, would the figure run or shoot her?Not knowing what else to do, she did the most natural thing everyone in that situation was expected to do. "Please… please, don't. I… I have a baby coming. Please… please I beg you. I won't scream. I don't know you. Can you… Can you just let me go?" She pleaded in a little voice, but the gun only pressed deeper into her neck, making her almost scream."Wanna scream?" The voice came out in a strangled whisper, and she s
"A man?" Damien asked."Great! Now I guess all the women can leave, right?" Samantha asked, getting to her feet."No one is leaving, until we find his wife, and my sister." Katie's brother said, also getting to his feet."We tell the cops first about the new information." Sarah's husband said, and that they did, putting an end to a fight that could have happened between Samantha and Katie's brother.The cops were notified, and they interrogated all the men, asking them questions. Elise refused to partake in the questioning, saying she couldn't recall anything except that the figure was bigger than her, had a really strong grip, and wide shoulders. All the men had wide shoulders, and strong hands, so even the ones with missing women were suspected.At last, they concluded on having nightshifts to stop any more misery from happening, and to possibly have better chances of stopping the criminal, in case they criminal was being fueled by an uncontrollable urge to kidnap.Charles was the
Charles stared at the words. He was to find the culprit, and the missing women? Why would the system ask him to do that? Already the case seemed hopeless, and at that rate, he felt they might just cart them all to jail. He couldn't afford that. It wouldn't be favorable for him. Charles wondered if it would be better to pass on the mission, and just stick to what he could handle, but on the other hand, he needed the intelligence quota. He figured it would come in handy someday. But his only problem was having no idea on how to solve the case. Had it been he had the intelligence quota before the whole thing happened, then there was a chance that he could have figured out who the culprit was.Then, he phoned Vera. "Do you think you can come in?" He asked."Oh, sure. Wait a sec." she replied, and ended the call.Charles waited for her to come in, before clearing his throat. "Vera. There's something I have to tell you." He began."Is it about the case? Do you have some kind of lead?" Sh
Elise began to cry, as she recalled the fear of the previous night, and Vera and Charles shared a knowing look, before she went to comfort Elise."Thank you so much, Elise. This was really helpful." Charles said, appreciating her, and she nodded."I just... When Samantha took apples from the fridge, I realized I also craved them, so I went to take an apple, only to be reminded of the scent immediately I bit into it." Elise explained, sniffing, and Vera hugged her once more. "Thank you so much, but can you not tell anyone about this? We don't want the culprit knowing we're close to figuring him out." Vera said, and Elise nodded. The both of them went out, and Charles smirked, thinking back on Layla and Kent again.When he had first met Kent—without exaggerations— he had smelled strongly of apples that he had wondered if he owned an apple farm.It turned out that Kent, who Vera had been suspecting could actually be the culprit. Vera came back minutes later and sat next to Charles."I
Goosebumps lined Vera's skin, and her heart began to hit hard against the wall of her chest, like it wanted to break out.Never had she in her wildest dreams imagine that Kent would have a gun, and would fearlessly point it to her neck after telling her he liked her.Her eyes became restless, and it felt like she was going to have a panic attack.Her body went stiff but that didn't stop her bones from trembling. She tried to tell herself he wouldn't shoot, but unfortunately her brain was screaming: Shoot! Bang!! Dead!!!She shivered, and closed her eyes tight, as the sweet scent of apples filled her nostrils.The hand was soft, not too big. She'd call it a medium sized hand, but its grip was strong. She could taste blood where he'd slapped her lips against her teeth, and he moved backwards. She followed, not wanting to anger him, and he whispered in her ear."Evidence?" It was a strangled whisper, and she couldn't find his real voice in the whisper. A muffled whimper escaped her, an
"Good morning, everyone." Charles greeted, standing at the breakfast table. "What about the cops?""Who's the culprit?""Where's Vera?""What's the evidence you have? It's daytime, the culprit can't strike." Everyone seemed to have questions for Charles, and didn't stop until he hit the table hard."Vera's missing." He said, and they all gasped."Ve…Vera's missing?" Layla cried out, and ran her hands through her red hair, which Charles stared at."Yes, she is.""Then what are you doing about it!? Where's the evidence? Who's the culprit?" She asked, looking like she was about to go crazy. "Why did you drag her into this mess? You only made her a target for the culprit!" She shouted, and half the people present stared at Charles like he ought to be hanged."The cops are on their way." He said."Layla loves Vera. It must be so hard." Samantha said, looking at Layla, with pitiful eyes."What are you going to do about it? I doubt you even know the real culprit." Layla snapped, looking ir
Charles smiled to himself. He had gotten a weapon. A weapon he could use when facing tricky, and witty people. He was going to use it sparingly, and make sure it did not go to waste. He wasn't about to go through all that trouble, and use the gift he got stupidly.Then he noticed Vera looking out the window, with her face pulled in a frown. She looked like a lot was going on in her head. "Vera," he called, but she didn't reply. She was still lost in thoughts."Vera," he called a second time, and her shoulders jumped. She turned to him slowly."I'm sorry. I was…""I think you should tell me what happened. I don't want you keeping it in, and being scared of people trying to get close to you. This has the capability to traumatize you." He said, and her lashes fell, as she picked at her nails. "What's there to talk about? You saw it all on your laptop." She said, still picking at her nails. "We couldn't hear well. After being rough handled, we were lucky to see things clearly, but even