Once Upon A Stranger's Crime

Darkness. It was the first thing my sight came in contact with the moment I parted my heavy eyelids. I remember it so clearly, how my pupils dilated in hopes to see anything familiar aside from nothingness, and how my limbs struggled to fight the numbness building up my system, waiting to paralyze my whole body. Here we go again. Before everything THEY fear come to eat me up alive, I must get out of here. I took a deep breath as I count to three. This feels so true to be a nightmare. I took courage to stand up and walk towards the unknown. For sure, there is a way out of here…I just need to find it. There is no use of wondering where I really am…I have done that before and no one is ever willing to tell me the truth. My parents used to explain that I often sleepwalk at night, coupled with a few seconds of sleep-talking they say, that’s why I always wake up in the basement, sweating, panting, and gasping for air. And that’s where I believe I am right now. In our narrow, cold, and creepy basement which was built to become a stockroom for house tools, scraps, old things and…anything except for a sleepwalking and sleep-talking 10-year-old child…except for me. If my assumption is anywhere near the truth, then this is the first time that I woke up in our underground room. Everything is pitch black. I stretched out my arms to touch for something that might help me see the light. My tiny fingertips brushed calmly through the chilly walls until it made contact with a firm tool that feels like a thick and circular bulging piece of metal. And instead of flinching away, my eyebrows automatically furrowed at the sensation of something familiar. I decided to tighten my grip at the object before finally recognizing what it is. A doorknob. It seems like I already reached the exit. “Mom? Dad?” I called out loud enough for them to recognize that I am here. With all the strength left in my body, I twisted it repeatedly until I felt my palms hurt. In the end it was no use. I was locked in here. I was about to attempt another method of getting out when I heard a loud thumping sound above me. The sound caught me off guard. If I were to describe it, it seems like someone was running in the second floor of our house. Since it has already gotten my attention, I decided to listen closely and abandon the attempt of opening the door.   “H-help meeee! H-hel-p me…” I heard a voice of a woman and it is accompanying the thumping sound. Definitely, the voice is not of my mother’s. Mom and dad always make sure not to let anyone enter our house. Visitors are not even allowed to step a foot in our porch. So who is this woman? I think I need to warn my parents about her. Soon after the thumping noise disappeared, an ominous and loud sound of thunder filled up the sky from the outside. The lightning then briefly illuminated my surrounding as it reflected on the small window that was placed just a few steps from where I am standing. That’s when I confirmed that I am indeed in the basement. I hurried to the small window in hopes to see what is on the outside. My gaze levelled with the soil as the window is directed from below if anyone attempts to look from the open-air of our garden. “AAAHHHHHHH!” Suddenly, I heard the same voice from upstairs once again and this time, it was clearer and it was no longer coming from above. Instead, it is now coming from the outside where I am peeping through…where I witnessed it all. “P-pleaseee, no! no!” The woman cried and begged for her life while being dragged by a tall, muscular-built man who is wearing a black raincoat to shield himself from the heavy rain. The following events got interesting for me. I saw that the man pulled the helpless woman from her hair mercilessly. He was dragging her to the center of our garden which from here, looked like it was messed up. A shovel and a pile of dirt were visible in plain sight. “I didn’t do anything wrong! Tell me….tell me what you want and I will do everything!” The woman sobbed before standing up and hauling a part of the man’s raincoat. She did not stopped crying and begging for her life. When she realized that there is no way the man would listen to her, she decided to kneel down and shake her head before lifting her arms up in surrender while her dress is being soaked with the trickling rain. The man kept ignoring her. Not long enough, I saw how he gracefully picked up the shovel and placed it closer to his mouth…before licking and smelling it. “No, no…please. I have a family.” The woman cried and trembled in fear. “M-mom…dad.” I spoke in a softer voice than before because this time, I am not sure if I really have the intention of calling them. I kept witnessing the odd and terrifying commotion until the woman’s head turned to her left and saw me from my spot. I froze. “Child…help me! Help me!” She ran towards me with her arms stretched and soaking wet, desperate to get my help. My eyes widened as I took a step back to disappear into the darkness that was enveloping my location. As I saw that the woman come closer and closer to me, I did not blink. I witnessed her pant hard, scream and howled yet, I was pinned to the ground…only observing her willingly. Soon enough, she caught the man’s attention as well. I noticed that he slowly walked towards the woman’s spot and not long after… “Call the police!” That was the last phrase that came out of the woman’s mouth. Now, she lies with an open pair of lifeless eyes, directed through me. I took a step forward to perceive her in details. A few seconds have passed before blood flooded from her head down her face until it reached her dead eyes and opened mouth, due to a broken upper jaw. Without second thoughts, the man decided to brutally twist her body before dragging her back to the center of the garden where an open pit was prepared to receive her. He then threw her body to the pit and buried her with the bloody shovel he used to hit her head. He was burying her like she was a random, dead animal who got lost inside a predator’s territory. The thunder and lightning intensified as the man was doing his job expertly. The heavy rain has no intention of stopping from pouring. About 10 deep scrapes of wet dirt were all it took for the woman’s body to disappear and be hidden in the depths of the grounds, away from the public eyes. I know I should feel and do something but all I can say is… I am not her hope. I am not the light at the end of her tunnel and I don’t feel anything towards her. The man pulled back the hood of his raincoat, exposing his bald head and emotionless face. Everything happened so fast and now, I see him walking towards me while wiping any stain of blood remaining from his hands and clothes. I knew I would come next…or I thought so. I felt like this was the longest night that had occurred in my life. His boots were approaching me and I kept looking naively. When he was just a few steps away from the window where I am peeking through, he decided to kneel down and level with my stares.   My heart suddenly pounded in an abnormally fast pace when….I saw HIM, because I knew exactly who he is. After exchanging a fair share of dead gazes, I finally heard his menacing voice. “You know the drill…Just follow me.” He said plainly as a wide smile slowly formed form the corner of his mouth, revealing his yellowish and crooked teeth. He then wiped the drips of rain flowing down his wrinkly face. I nodded, mirroring his ominous smile.  It's as if my body is automatically responding to his indirect command.  Just like that, there comes darkness, visiting me once again. And this time, I am not sure if I ever want to be out of its company.