Kingdom of Nightmares [F/Multiple]

Chapter 3 - The Call

I put the phone up to my ear.

“Angeline?”

“Finally,” she said with a drawn out sigh, “Who was that lady?”

I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t this. I slowly blinked, trying to understand what exactly she was heading with his conversation.

“My mom.”

“You live with your mom?”

I nod even though she can’t see me. “Um, my parents. I live with my parents.”

“Tragic,” she said. I can tell in her voice that she doesn’t feel all that bad for me though she’s more sorry for herself for having to communicate with me. I would be to if I was the second director for the studio and had been busting my ass for half a decade. I would want to talk to low level people like me. “Anyway, Scott has a new story he wants you to follow up on. A few missing persons and a scary legend that half this town has been going off on.”

It sounded like she was playing with her hands. Even if that wasn’t what she was doing it’s what I was imagining. She probably had a deep scowl on her pink painted lips.

“You got that?”

“Oh.” I nodded again. I almost dropped my phone I was so nervous. “Yes. I’ll get right on it.”

“Good. I’m sending you the flies as we speak. The deadline is firm at the end of the month. No exceptions.”

“Yes, thank—”

The line went dead before I could finish. As I should have expected, Angeline didn’t want to hear about anything I said. I don’t know how I expected to get anywhere close to her rank.

I hung up and opened my bedroom door. Mom was waiting for me right outside. I squeaked as she took the phone from me.

“How did it go?” At least she was a little excited for me to be doing something.

I gave her the best fake smile I could muster.

“I got a new assignment.”

“Oh.” She tried her best to look happy. “What is it this time? A journey to the corner gas station or a trip to the county jail?”

I didn’t miss the ounce of sass in her voice. She was making it very clear how she felt about my job. She didn’t have to try so hard.

I closed the door on her and she finally got the message to leave me alone.

Then, I got to thinking about my assignment. I booted up my old computer. I’d been meaning to upgrade, but I still didn’t have enough money to buy a new mac like I wanted to. I needed something light I could carry on the go and something I wouldn’t be embarrassed about taking into the office. Angeline and practically everyone at the station had a mac. It was the obvious choice to go with, but they were expensive. Investing in on would be a couple months worth of paychecks.

The desktop screen came up on my monitor. After a few minutes of waiting for the Internet to load, I opened the files Angeline had emailed to me.

The first thing in the attachments was the outline of the upcoming article they wanted me to write. The second was a bunch of research they wanted me to find out and a series of locations that might be relevant. I noticed right away that there were some holes in the research that needed to be filled in. That wasn’t too uncommon for my works so I typed in some questions I needed to find out in a different color of type so I knew which was mine and which was theirs.

The third file were photos received from the police department. They were brutal murders I could only stomach for a few minutes before I had to close the window. The people looked as if they were torn apart by a wild animal. In the report, that’s exactly what the coroner had said it was. There was only a few reports of animals sighted in the area and then a lot more tales about a beast that walked on two feet.

I knew already the beast was what Angeline wanted me to focus on. The murders would draw in curious readers, but the real icing on the cake was the lore behind it all. There were lots of kids and teenagers—some estranged adults—who were into that kind of stuff. Though I was barely considered to be a Gen Z, I knew somewhat how their minds worked from my days in high school. And because our site was now in the hands of kids, it was all about catering to them.

But this was trickier then simply slapping some fun facts about the locals onto a webpage.

These were real murders and no one had caught the killer yet. I just might have a break into the business if I found a leading clue. I might be able to pull myself out of this dump and work with the real dogs.

I snorted as I leaned back in my chair.

Just thinking “real dogs” was ridiculous.

I placed my hands behind my back and turned to look out my bedroom window. A burst of lightning shot across the sky. It wasn’t even late morning and there was a storm rolling in.

The sky darkened and a heavy downpour of rain hit over the house. The rain signaled something in my head. My thoughts turned to Jacob’s face and the night he disappeared. He’d been trying to call me, but I was out with friends. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the panic in his voice when I finally got around to listening to his voicemail. It had been weeks after his disappearance. After I’d heard it, I’d cried for hours.

The dream was back. That had to mean something. If it didn’t, I didn’t know what I would do with myself. I’ve been hanging on a strand of hope for these past years.

It was on the verge of snapping.