Evil Within

CHAPTER 9

Luna was feeling better and she was preparing the dinner for everyone, and beside her was Carla who was busy arranging the platters on the table. Lucas was cleaning his equipment in his room so he was busy for a long time.

Carla was uncomfortable since the incident but she remained silent and not to overthink about it. Luna was a quick observer and she noticed Carla’s uneasiness. To console her, she put her hand on her shoulder to assure her that everything is fine now. Carla smiled slightly but she was overtaken by the act which was now imprinted in her mind. She couldn’t help but think if she had listened to Luna’s advice earlier, nothing would have happened.

“I am sorry, Luna! It was all my fault entirely, I shouldn't have forced you to go with Peter. I never knew that your brother would be damn upset about this and that’s too much. I thought that Peter was a good guy, at least what it seemed but still, I am really sorry for everything.” Carla sighed and apologized with her heart.

“It’s fine, Carla! Don’t apologize too much. I have seen how much this upset you and I don't like it. About Lucas, he will be fine too. Hmm.. yeah!! He didn’t like him at first sight, it was difficult to impress him but I am sure that he will forgive us.” Luna sounded confident and started chopping the veggies on the slab. She has to finish her cooking before Lucas descends from the staircase for dinner and gets mad for not seeing the table arranged.

Lucas is very picky and moody which is the main reason she had conflicts with him, but as the time passed, Luna is trying to get to know Lucas more, after all he is the only family she got.

Carla shrugged her shoulders and cleaned the dishes meanwhile. They both prepared the dinner hastily and are now waiting for Lucas to come downstairs, so they all can eat together. After waiting for more than an hour, when he didn’t show, Luna decided to get up and call Lucas.

Luna went up to the first floor and she was standing in front of his room but hesitant to knock. She doesn't know whether Lucas is still mad or now better because she has broken his trust.

“Lucas? Dinner is ready!” She called him but received no response.

Luan knocked on the door and waited for a reply but got nothing in return. This startled her a bit, no matter what or how much Lucas gets mad, he always replies or calls Luna whenever she calls him. But Lucas wasn’t responding and Luna thought of checking upon him. She turned the knob and got inside. The room was dark so she turned the lights on. The room was messy with weird looking axes and cutting tools.

This bothered Luna and she gasped loudly. She was terrorized for a moment and gulped the lump which was formed in her throat. She wasn’t to scream but her voice got lost somewhere and no words came out from her dry mouth. She heard the shower turning off in the bathroom and she breath hitches seeing Lucas in his bathrobe.

He was shocked to see her as well and couldn’t stop asking her.

“What are you doing here, Luna?”

“What are these, Lucas? All these weapons? What are they doing in your room?” she asked while stammering.

“These are mine and I cleaned them, I got caught up with the filth so I just took a bath, but why are you here, in  my room?” he frowned.

“I came here to call you for dinner! But why do you have such weapons with you?” Luna was getting scared and her thoughts were filled with hundreds of possibilities of Lucas being the murderer.

“What are you talking about? I have a carpentry diploma, I use these instruments. They were rusted and stained so I just cleaned them with thinner. What are you thinking? Where is your mind running?” Lucas yelled at her.

Luna realised and recalled that Lucas works in a carpentry to support his bills. “I am so sorry, Lucas! It's just, since I have seen those murders victims and their stories, my mind is occupied with their thoughts all the time. My mind pictures those murders and I scream in my sleep.” Luna broke down and cried with her heavy heart.

Lucas was disappointed to see his sister like this but he caught her in a hug and patted her shoulder to make her feel better.

“It’s okay! You are not alone! I am worried too but my concern is with you. That’s why I don't want you to roam with any unknown person. It could be a man, or a woman, an elder, anyone you don’t know! You have to be careful, Luna! You live alone and this neighbourhood knows. I can’t risk it. That murderer will make you his prey, and you have to be alert all the time.” Lucas explained his worried thoughts to his sister.

“I am sorry, that won’t happen again!” Luna wiped her tears away and they both descended the stairs to have dinner.

Carla joined them and they had a little chit chat after dinner. They decided to watch a movie since it’s been a long time since they actually spent time. For Luna, it was like a dream come true, Lucas was staying with her after months and she didn’t want to ruin this moment. She was genuinely happy, until Lucas’s phone rang and he excused himself to attend the call.

After a while, Lucas was back in the room and announced, “hey! I am sorry to leave you girls this time but I had to go!” he said.

“What? Why?” Luna was surprised.

“It’s an emergency and I had to take care of it!” Lucas explained.

“Suddenly? It’s already dark and it would be dangerous for you too. Can’t you go back in the morning?” Luna wanted to make him stay.

“Sorry, but I have to go!” Lucas took out his jacket and approached the main door.

“Lucas, please! We are spending time together after a long time. I want you to stay.” Luna pleaded but Lucas frowned.

“When I said, I have an emergency, then you should have understood this. And you are my sister, act like that.” Lucas yelled at her before leaving and slamming the door loudly.

Carla watched the whole scenario and was upset seeing the humiliation, but she decided to stay with Luna. she understood what it meant life without parents and a stepbrother.

“Hey! It’s okay!” Luna smiled and controlled her rolling tears.

Carla nodded and they both went back to see the movie.

On the darkest corridor of the hospital’s emergency, the young nurse was hurrying up to leave for her home, after finishing the s**t. She was late and it’s already dark. She was well aware of the recent kidnappings, so she put pepper spray in her hand and pretended to be on the phone. Her home wasn’t far from the hospital but she didn’t want to take a chance.

The alleys appeared way too silent than usual and it was bothering her to an extent. She couldn't help but think of getting home safely. The nurse was keeping an eye on her surroundings but there was something from her guts telling her about the upcoming danger. She was trying to stay in the street camera to be safe. Her heart was beating faster when she noticed a figure in a black hood, standing in a dark corner just a few meters away from her.

She walked upto the other part of the street, just trying to find out if the figure was following her but when she didn’t see him, she felt relaxed. She sighed and waited for a cab to arrive. Somehow, she was aware that the figure could be that of a killer, so she booked an Uber for herself, though the distance between her home was hardly ten minutes walking distance but she wanted to play safe.

She kept looking into her phone’s screen to distract herself from the negative thoughts but suddenly, she felt a presence behind her. She didn’t waste another time and dialed 911 through her phone and started running. When she turned back, her eyes widened to see the dark figure trying to catch her.

“Hello 911, how can I help you?” the operator asked.

“Help me!!!! The killer is behind me!!!!” The nurse screamed at the phone and tried running but the luck wasn;t in her favor.

She was too busy running, she didn’t notice the lamppost in front of her. She collided with it and dropped the phone in the sewer. Her head hit harder and made her vision blurred, but before she could catch her breath and try to escape, it was too late. As something sharp stung right in her neck. The blood flowed like a river and her body fell on the cemented ground.

Her eyes were glaring at her killer but the face was covered with a dark hood. She kept staring at him until her eyes left the soul from the body.

The phone in the sewer was still on hold, the operator kept asking for an address or anything she could get from that poor girl.