"Floor Four" - A Novella of Horror (Haunted)

Chapter 6 - Old Friends

Eleven months had passed since they found Brandon in the alley that Halloween night. During that time, many questions were left unanswered. The investigation and search for Cliff Elkins turned up nothing, but continued despite Doug's claims of seeing him murdered that night. With no one to back up his story, investigators and family members kept the door open, hoping he would be found. But after a year, only family members continued the exhaustive search.

During that time, Doug never wavered in his account of what happened. He told anyone who would listen about Brandon trying to kill him and of Cliff being murdered. Investigators questioned Brandon in every way possible, from every angle possible about his whereabouts during the two weeks he was missing. He claimed only to remember being taken by a man who never showed his face. He didn't remember anything else about those two weeks or about that night in the alley. With no evidence and nothing else to go on, doctors and authorities released Brandon to his parents and put him under a rigorous schedule of mental evaluation and therapy.

Doug felt alone, betrayed and grew worse mentally, slowly pulling away from his parents and the world around him. He began having nightmares of that night, with a vision of the Mangler returning to kill him. After six months of visits with a psychologist, he wasn't getting better, regressing further and becoming more frightened. He knew he wasn't crazy, and felt everything he had experienced, was very real.

He and Brandon were not allowed to communicate unless it was in a controlled, monitored setting. This never worked, as Brandon continually told Doug he didn't remember anything. Frustrated by the same old story, Doug refused to continue the sessions. Instead, he sought out Brandon in other ways, without doctors hanging over their shoulders and listening to every word. Brandon knew the truth, but he never gave Doug a chance to confront him.

While Brandon's mental health seemed to improve, Doug got worse. His nightmares of the Mangler coming to get him scared him and drove him to a more reclusive and dangerous state of mind, with Brandon being the only one who could help him.

During this time, no more murders occurred, and authorities had not found a serial killer. For most outside of the ones affected, life was just about back to normal.

Growing increasingly frustrated, Doug gave up on convincing everyone about his side of things. He decided to wait for the right time to confront Brandon. Doug knew there was nothing wrong with him, but feeling separated and alone from the rest of the world drove him further into being a recluse. He knew his parents planned to get him more help, which meant new questions by new doctors.

His plan was to confront Brandon and try to shake him up, maybe get him to admit something, anything about that night, or even better, something about the Mangler. He knew he could catch him before he got home from school.

Doug no longer went to the same school as Brandon and skipped the day so he could surprise him after school. After making his plan, his anger multiplied each day he waited. He knew Brandon was lying, but he needed to know if the Mangler still controlled him. Doug suspected they were waiting for Halloween to start killing again, with him being the next victim. His head rang with the words: Anyone who sees me must die!

Doug waited down the street from Brandon's house. The sun shined bright in the blue sky and he stood in the shadow of a big oak tree near some bushes. He knew Brandon's route home by heart.

The yellow and black paint shined off the top of the bus as it turned the corner up the block. Doug moved from the tree and walked quickly to a row of shrubs and bushes along the sidewalk. The well-kept bushes stood six feet tall, giving him plenty of room to hide from Brandon.

The bus driver locked the air brakes and dust blew out in all directions from underneath the bus.

Doug peered through the thin branches and small leaves as four kids exited the bus. Brandon made his way down the steps carrying a backpack strapped over his shoulder. He was on a phone call as he crossed the street, and as the call ended, just as Doug had guessed, Brandon walked in his direction. Doug got in position, his heart raced faster, he wiped the sweat from his face.