The Killer Among Us

Chapter 26

Eight days left

Jacob

After the attack, my entire body was aching and I was running low on energy. Every muscle was sore, every fiber in my body angry. The loss of blood drained my entire strength, making me unable to focus on the next step.

Still I didn't find the appetite to eat or drink. How could I if Aria was out there starving?

Sitting in my stuffy motel room, I looked through the files again. And yet again. Still, I found nothing, nothing to point me in the right direction. I felt entirely useless and utterly frustrated.

Spread out before me where stacks of reports, photos and notes. Knowing that the day was coming to an end, I focused extra hard. It was almost as if my surroundings didn't exist anymore. I was completely immersed in the world of The Solemn Serpent, a world of terror and wickedness.

Eddie called me earlier, fear for my well being evident in his voice. "I was freaking out over here, man," he said. It felt good knowing that there was someone on my side, cheering me on, even if just from a distance.

Out of pure intuition I grabbed the last note The Solemn Serpent left for me, a piece of worn out paper that read, "The day of reckoning is upon us."

Rereading his prophecies filled me with dread, my imagination running wild picturing the implication of the meaning behind it. Shudders ran down my back, anxiety roaming through my mind freely and I was unable to control it.

Not that I was trying anymore.

As far as I could tell, there was no secret cipher in the note, no hidden message. Still, I saw it as a piece of the puzzle, a clue that could help me find her. Not even bigger than my hand, this note seemed to be my biggest obstacle at that moment.

It was clearly written on a ripped out piece of paper, since it was raggedy on the edges and worn out.

Convinced there was more to the note than the naked eye could see, I reconstructed the letters, looking for an anagram. I even tilted it upside down, ripped it at the edges.

But it was all in vain. I even scribbled over it with a pencil, like they do in the movies, still I revealed nothing.

Then, in my desperation and as a last resort, I held up the note to the ceiling light and, to my surprise, there in faded ink a faint barcode became slightly visible. The ink was so faded that I almost couldn't make it out but when I held it up closer to the light, balancing on a squeaky chair, it became evident that I finally found something.

There it was, a small barcode, nothing more than an imprint of ink. Still, it held significant meaning for my hunt.

Immediately, I rejoiced, jubilant that I finally wasn't completely clueless. I took several pictures of the barcode and sent it to Eddie, hoping the pictures were clear enough for him to find out what it was connected to.

After a couple of minutes, my phone rang, making me bolt for it.

"Eddie? You got something?" I asked hastily, ignoring the pain in my leg from putting too much pressure on it.

"Yes, man. Call me Alan Turning, 'cause I just cracked the Enigma," he joked. His words were mumbled, making me think he was balancing a cigarette between his lips.

Not having any patience for jokes, I commanded him, "Spit it out already."

"Woah, woah, man. A little more gratitude would -"

"Eddie," I interrupted him with urgency, "Now."

"Okay, I'll save my brilliant jokes for a happier Jacob," he laughed, before adding, "So, I just ran the barcode through my search engine and apparently this particular barcode is used for the sorting system of the city library. The serial number lead me to a book -"

"What book?" I asked, already on my feet and ready to make a run for it.

"It's a book with maps of this national parks around the area - " he sighed.

"Meadow of Eden," I lulled, certain that I was right. My heartbeat was racing with excitement.

"Yeah - how did you know, man?" Eddie seemed a little surprised, but mostly curious.

The fizzing of a beer can opening sounded faintly through the phone.

"It's where the bodies were found," I offered him, not really having more information on it myself.

"Damn, this is getting intense, huh?" Eddie nervously chuckled.

"Tomorrow morning I will check out the library, see if I can find the book. Maybe I can find something more specific," I explained mostly for myself.

"Sounds good, man. Be careful and call me with updates. I'm shitting my pants over here in fear for you, dude."

I laughed softly, "Yes, thank you."

Then I hung up and tried to get some sleep. The library wouldn't be open for another few hours anyway.

Lying in my lumpy bed, I couldn't find rest. Part of me was fighting sleep because I was afraid of what dreams were going to haunt me next, what memories would rise to the surface. To be honest, I wasn't sure my mind could take any more.

A quote of Justin Alcala that I read a long time ago rang through my head. He said, "Which is the true nightmare, the horrific dream that you have in your sleep or the dissatisfied reality that awaits you when you awake?"

Alcala was right, nightmares are a strange phenomenon. Deep down I wasn't sure what to be truly afraid of - the past that revealed itself to me in nightmares or the nightmare that I was living. Maybe I was most afraid of losing the ability to discern which is which.

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