Authors: Lee Cockburn
She could no longer hear him but lay still for a while longer, terror gripping her like a vice, heart still racing unhealthily fast; she could feel every pulse of blood coursing through her, in her chest and neck, fear crippling her.
What if he’s still here, watching, waiting for me? Do I just end it now, take away his control, his terror, his cruelty? I can’t live like this anymore. One of us can’t be here anymore and, either way, one of us has to die for me to be free, in life or in death. Right now, I don’t care who. I need this to end.
Light had faded fast and her sense of direction was non-existent; she had no idea where the road was, no clothes, an injured foot and a hideous stalker that wanted to gut her like a pig.
Two officers pulled up at the lodge, both taking time to check their surroundings. Something wasn’t right here; the door was ajar, a window also lay wide open.
“POLICE, hello, hello, anyone in there? It’s the POLICE!”
There was no answer. Both of them racked their batons instinctively, in precaution against an attack and requested back up on the radio. Their suspicions were confirmed when they saw blood on the steps down from the front door of the lodge.
“We have a situation here - empty dwelling and blood on the outer steps. How close is the nearest dog? Should we go ahead and enter before back up arrives? Oh and where’s the specialist unit. Have they found us yet? Is there an estimated time of arrival. We’ve been here a while,” he said sarcastically with a hint of jealousy.
“Dog will be over an hour and the specialist unit can only be minutes away.”
“How about air assistance?”
“I’ll request it, and get back with accurate ETAs, but the top table requests that you go in with caution. There might be someone in there injured requiring assistance.”
The officers moved into the lodge cautiously, careful to check all cupboards and rooms as they went. They moved into the bedroom and then they saw it there on the floor: a pool of blood and clear signs that there had been a violent disturbance. At least one person appeared to have been injured. Excitement rose deep from inside their bellies as the realisation of the enormity of the situation became clear; the serial killer was possibly close by and most likely armed and extremely dangerous.
“Do you have any further instructions for us or do we stand fast until there are other units here to back us up?”
There was a pause on the radio and, as there was no confirmation of a definite time scale for the others to join them, the decision was made for officers on the ground to begin a search of the area near to the lodge for any injured persons. Caution was to be taken when proceeding and no unnecessary risks were to be taken.
They looked at each other, “Fucking typical, cannon fodder once again, always the fucking front line officers.”
“I know eh! Just pop your heed round there. There’s a guy with a shooter but we’ve deemed it safe for you to continue.”
“Too right, eh? Aye, on ye pop and die. Get your £2.50 out colleagues, if we don’t make it.”
Cop humour was the only comfort they shared. No amount of bravado could hide that both of them were apprehensive as the last hint of twilight ebbed away and gave everything a sinister edge. The noise of the wind was more than enough to creep out anyone who’d ever watched a horror movie. It was like a scene
from a film just before another of the cast was picked off in the most hideous way.
They both laughed as they clicked on their torches. “You stay here, I’ll check it out,” one quipped to the other, pretending to play out the unrealistic choices they made in these films, queuing up the inevitable of one being left to be picked off.
“No fucking danger. I’ll be so far up your arse it’s gonna smart a bit”.
“Fuck off, ya fanny. He might actually be in there and we better switch on or we might get fucking murdered. I mean it, switch on and shut the fuck up.”
“I’ve got your back, Tony! Seriously I’m up for this.”
They moved off together with a safe distance between them just in case they were attacked; at least one would be able to protect the other, dependent on who was assaulted first. They took in their surroundings and professionally relayed back all the information they could, allowing others to assess from the scene and terrain what they were describing. All banter and bravado was spent and the two focused cops did their jobs, their senses bristling with the task at hand and the potential danger at stake. They called up on the personal radio and checked their positioning on GPS and the strength of their signal prior to moving off into the wooded area, ensuring that they could find their way back to the locus, both still a little nervous.
Taylor’s unit called up on the radio, aware that there was a set off at the scene already. They confirmed the exact location of where to start their search so at least they could offer an armed back up to the two officers who were clearly vulnerable and unarmed. Taylor may not have agreed with the initial decision to send in the local unarmed officers without back up but if someone was clinging to life nearby and they didn’t act or search, that would be deemed even less favourable; the police were expected to risk their own lives for others.
Their van lumbered up the single track road, jostling Taylor’s team back and forth, and causing a few of them to comment on PC Lomond’s shit driving. They checked their kit and weapons. The fun had dwindled away and a sense of duty now took over; they couldn’t fail tonight or someone else would suffer the ultimate fate.
¤¤¤
He moved slowly, his direction unclear. “Susan, Susan,” he muttered to himself. He looked at the blood on the ground, his heart racing at the sign of how close she might be. It proved she was carrying an injury that would slow her down and hinder her no doubt. Blood boiling, eyes pinpointed to movement he heard up ahead, he moved off slowly in that direction, his intent clear as he went stealthily forward.
Susan moaned softly as she forced herself to put pressure down on her foot; she had tried crawling, but her hands and knees were being cut to ribbons. She had put her only sock round her foot and padded it with leaves, breaking off a root and tying it round to stem the flow of blood, in an attempt to ease the pain, hide her trail and allow her to run or hobble, when the need came, which it would.
His breath rasped the air as he moved his head like an animal searching for its next meal, eyes squinting to focus as the light was virtually gone. He had turned his torch off, reluctant to give away his position. He wanted equal cover. In darkness like this a torch beam could be seen for miles and he wanted to remain the hunter, not the hunted. He knew it was only a matter of time before the police got there.
Hell, they might even be here already, but they’re just police and this terrain is a match for anyone.
They were all only human and he was going to prove it the moment any one of them let their guard down.
Bring it on! She’ll be mine before I become yours
. He believed that because he had escaped once, it wouldn’t be impossible to do it again, but escape was a secondary thought. His mind was focused on avenging his pride. He couldn’t believe that such a weak mortal bitch had brought him to where he was now, crawling around in the undergrowth like an animal, although that suited the way he was acting just now and the animalistic savagery he would show her when he caught up with her.
¤¤¤
Taylor stepped out of the van, its headlights illuminating the lodge. She radioed up to control reporting their arrival, numbers and that they were armed. The control room responded
and so did the unit already on the ground. This let them know exactly where they were to avoid being wrongly identified. Scenes Examination Branch officers were also on their way. Taylor entered the house slowly. She could feel for Susan
wholeheartedly
. That bastard quite literally was hunting her down to completely destroy her life mentally and physically. She looked through some of the paperwork, looked at the bed, the mess and the blood and her heart sank for Susan and Andrew. No-one should ever have to go through that kind of terror once, far less being haunted daily for as long as they both were alive. She saw the open window and hoped that they had both escaped. Looking at the blood on the floor, she could see that someone had suffered extensive injuries. Which one, was the only question?
“Marcus, we need to split the team and search for them. They don’t stand a chance without us because someone left here in a hurry.”
“No problem, twos or fours or what, what’s best?”
“You’ll cover more ground in twos but if he gets the upper hand, fours would be safer.” Taylor googled the map of the area and looked at the vastness of what they were up against and just how secluded each lodge was. There was a Loch in the middle of it all with a couple of boat houses dotted along the shore. She put her hand on her head; the decision wouldn’t be an easy one. She turned and looked at Marcus. His look said
I’d love to help but this one is your call
. Fran’s eyes were fixed on her boss as well. She could see the problem; safety or the ground to be covered; the victim’s rescue at the possible cost of the lowered safety of her team.
Marcus spoke up. “I’m easy with going in pairs, Serg. We’re capable and there is always a risk, whatever job we’re doing.”
“Okay, let’s do it. We owe it to Susan. Think of her and what she’s been through or what could happen if he catches up with her.”
There was a general buzz within the team as they collected their kit - maps, compasses, torches, and of course their side arms. It was unusual for a team to be armed like this but how often was there a serial killer on the loose in Scotland and in a position to hurt or kill more people? Taylor’s phone vibrated. She turned from the group to look at the message: Kay. Her heart hit the floor, guilt twisting her already aching guts - nerves, lust and
now guilt all wrapped in to one. Being away had made it easy not to think, not to feel any attachment. Without the contact, there wasn’t the sense of reality but reality had just caught up with her with a punch to the stomach. Fran watched Taylor’s turmoil inside and she guessed who the message had come from. Even she felt a pang of guilt because no one wants to be cheated on.
The message read, “Hey you, I hope everything is alright. I know you’re really busy and I didn’t expect much contact, but you know I worry about you and hope you’re coping with everything okay as there is so much riding on this. How’s the team? I hope everyone is gelling okay. You know what it’s like when there are issues. Short one, just let me know if you’re alright, love Kay x.”
Taylor knew she had stepped over the line the night before although she had enjoyed every moment of the encounter, but she still wanted to be with Kay and have the dream relationship. She quite obviously had commitment issues, however, and big ones. Taylor acted on impulse and if she wanted something, she had it, usually over and over, satisfying any craving fully and openly if there was an attraction there. She couldn’t help herself.
Taylor turned round to brief the team. Fran’s eyes were gentle and filled with true affection, and a sense of what had just happened; she wasn’t a pushy needy woman. She too had her head switched on and a grounded sense of reality. What had been was good and exciting but may never happen again, unless it was thought about or dreamt about. Their eyes locked, the truth hitting both hard. A fondness came into Taylor’s eyes and she gave a virtually invisible flicker, which only Fran captured; it was a return of the true affection felt. Life was what it was and you could have true feelings for more than one person, though others may not like that or accept it. Both enjoyed their mutual appreciation. It gave them a sense of warmth and protection, when they knew there were no guarantees about events to come.
Susan limped through the darkness, the branches cruelly whipping her face and body. With every move she made, she felt that the sound was amplified to the monster in waiting. Her blood curdled at the path she was taking. What if she was walking straight into him? She fell to her knees, her sobs silent, her hands clasped as she prayed to be saved from him, be free from him, for the fear to lift from her shoulders and to give her
strength and heart to face him and fight him. Above her she heard an owl calling, something she had rarely heard other than when watching nature programmes. It made her hair stand on end and she could physically feel the nerve endings in her scalp lift. An involuntary shiver rippled through her. She gave herself a shake, got back up and set off again. She didn’t want to sit and wait for her fate to come to her. She wanted to be up and ready, or as ready as she could be, if he found her. Susan knew the strength of the man that was hunting her, his hatred and desire to inflict the most vile, torturous pain on those whom he thought deserved it. She wanted to find another lodge, a road, even the water, a person, the police - anyone or anything other than him.
Were the police here? Hmm, why would they be? We didn’t call them, nobody knows we’re here. God we’ve been such fools, coming to a place like this. It’s a hunter’s dream. How the fuck does that bastard know we’re here now, how?
She felt sick to the core. She had just realised that she had left the paperwork in her house and that the only way he could have seen it was to have been inside her house to get it.
God he’s sick. Why me you twisted bastard? Because I beat you? My miracle recovery has dented your twisted ego, my survival has ruined your reign of terror, you sick, sick fuck. You’ll never leave me alone will you? I’m your prize, your trophy, the one that got away, the one who recognised you. My god, the one that stopped you. I’m to blame!
¤¤¤
They both sat silently, listening for sounds of Susan and Andrew. The wind was still preventing the night silence that would help everyone as they all tried to find or avoid one another.
¤¤¤
Kay sat on her sofa, phone in hand. She pressed her teeth into her lips, and a little sadness inched into her heart. Her thoughts wandered to some of the passionate nights she had spent with Taylor but she was very aware of her lover’s past and her self-confessed weakness for the finer sex. There was no answer from her text, no confirmation that she was safe, no comfort that everything was alright with them. Kay sipped from her glass of Merlot and
wished that Taylor was there to share more than her glass of wine. She looked towards the ceiling and blew a kiss for Taylor and said, “Goodnight my love, be safe tonight.”