The Shadow Setters Book 1: Prominence

Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Jason pulled up outside the sizeable frontage that made up Katee's parents house. He had been so wrapped up in his concentration whilst driving that he did not answer, nor dare to, his mobile phone. The journey over had felt like ages even though he knew it could not have taken much more than twenty minutes even with the ever present traffic. His nerves had been so stretched at the fear of driving a car illegally and for the first time alone that it had made him sweat profusely, his hands and feet initially had been clumsy at the controls, through fear and worry but his determination had got him over there in one piece and with no accidents. Under any normal circumstances he would have patted himself on the back for his skill and ingenuity but this was far from normal. 

Jason checked the phone. Two missed calls. He remembered looking over at the phone when it had rung and lit up but when the name of Katee had not appeared as the caller, he had ignored it and pressed on. There was a missed call from Spider and a missed call and a voicemail from Grant. No time to deal with them at the moment. He looked up at the house and noticed the front door ajar. Jason stuffed the phone into his jeans pocket without a second thought, dragged the five iron from the front seat and sprinted up the drive towards the front door. 

Jason noticed as he approached the entrance that inside the house seemed fully illuminated. Jason could immediately feel his heart rate climb. Cautiously, he pushed the door open to gain access. As the gap became wider, the destruction set out before him was heart stopping. The dark beige carpet that lined the hall was smeared with blood. Along the similarly shaded d\u00e9cor on the walls were streaked crimson finger marks depicting a scene of a staggering figure falling heavily against the wall, unable to stay upright, due to the injury or the hand unable to gain purchase due to the slippery palm covered in blood. The beautifully decorated house with its pristine glossy white woodwork had emphasised the stark battle that had raged inside its confines, showing up any sign of violence or struggle within its usually immaculate interior. The scene before him cried out violence and struggle, pain and suffering but the silence within the house felt out of place inside such a visual din. To Jason, it was if he had pressed pause on a horror movie and walked through the screen. 

Jason began to find it hard to breathe. He felt as if he was suffocating due to the amount of distress his mind and eyes had to endure. He pushed the front door ajar behind him then noticed the frantic bloody scrabbling that had painted its story of attempted escape in red, climaxing and ending at the handle. He quickly went back outside but saw no signs of blood on the doorstep. Whatever happened tonight finished inside.  

Gripping the five iron with both hands, Jason slowly edged his way through the hallway and into the spacious open lounge, the main battle ground. Tables were smashed and vases broken, glass covered the surface of the carpet as flowers from their ornamental displays were scattered across the carnage like someone had already arrived and paid their respects to the scene of a tragic death. The curtains that framed the French doors to the garden had been pulled from one end, snapping the wall mounts, leaving the pole listing at one end like a sinking ship. The lamps that had fallen during the struggle had remained on, throwing areas of the room into strange pools of illumination. Jason stood in the centre of the lounge as he circled on the spot, crunching glass and debris underfoot as he teetered on the edge of sobbing, fear and desperation had consumed his common sense as his heart and love prevailed and he called out to his missing girl, his voice wobbled as he tried to hold himself together. 

'Katee! Katee please are you here!?' 

Jason heard a faint sob. He was sure for just a split second that he had heard his name jumbled up within its distress.