In Search of the Unknown Chaptered Version

Part 3

My real name is Dominique Lane, and I will tell you what happened to me. I worked at this local news channel named "Valley and Ridge News", and we did the news in that respective region in Georgia. We had a small but dedicated audience who were usually old folks that had grown up with the channel and had a nostalgic tie with it. Our younger audience wanted to support a smaller business, they saw us as the underdog, someone who was fighting for true Journalism. They were kind of right, we have more time to do research and have less of a need to go for more sensational news, but we have exaggerated a few times.

One of the reasons people stayed was Dan Recheck. He was very charismatic and had an optimistic attitude. He unlike almost every other news anchor had an accent. Most anchors use a plan accentless voice to be able to be understood by a larger audience. It can be very noticeable, especially if you're the cameraman like I was. Yet, Dan kept his gritty country accent, but he still made sure he was understood. It made him sound sincere about what he was saying. It kept some new people from tuning in, but the people who did would stay.

Dan was friendly though when he was, he seemed more aloof when he was off-camera. He usually would try to leave as soon as possible. He did talk to the other staff and he would talk to them for a while. From the times he talked to me, I found he didn't much like talking about himself. He had a few funny stories, but I noticed he would repeat the same story to other people, so he didn't have much about himself to talk about. He always asked most of the questions. He would ask about my family, if I had any pets and how I felt about religion or if I went to church, and my daily routine. It almost felt like I was being interrogated, but I did for some reason trust that he would not use the information against me.

One thing that bothered me was his smile. He had a very distinct toothy grin. It looked good on the news, but he continued to smile that even off the air. It felt weird like he was every ounce of strength he had to smile. He used it all the time, and it seemed as natural to him walking. It was disturbing though when he would try to talk through that jovial expression, it felt uncanny.

I worked there for a long time and had become acquainted with everyone there. I was quite happy like I was helping to keep something alive. The small building became my home away from home. Despite the artificiality of it all, sitting in the break room with the fluorescent lights beaming down on the white walls made me feel calm as I drank my cup of coffee.

I also hang around in the prop room, which I would organize at the beginning of each day. It may sound silly, but the use of props made our news channel have just a little more charm. Though we never use the large mirror in there, since it affects the lighting so much.

Close to midnight, I was in the prop rooming making sure everything was in place for tomorrow. I thought I was alone, or at least I thought I was. I was just about the leave when I saw Dan at the door. I jumped at the sight of the tall man; I don't know how didn't notice his presence until then. I warned him

to not scare me like that, but he didn't say an apology or anything. He just stood there with a wide smile. That's when I noticed he was blocking my way out.

His blue eyes were piercing through me. It felt like he could see into me, it felt gross and made me feel uneasy. I asked him to refuse, but nothing I said seem to register. His smirk grew wider with each demand I made for him to move; his face so stretched it looked like it would tear in the middle. My skin felt as if bugs were crawling underneath my skin, my body making me feel red hot and cold as I began to silently panic. I asked louder until I was yelling at him.

That's when he ran at me, quietly and swiftly pinning me to the ground. He had a tight grip on my wrists, he was extremely strong, even more than I would have expected from him. He looked like how a predator looks at his prey, nearly salivating at what's he's caught. His eyes wide, and his teeth grinding as he kept me in place. I screamed and struggled, and nearly wept.