Ten (Book One of The Case Files)

01: Monotheism

I am the Lord your God. You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.

She awakens.

It takes a moment for her eyes to adjust to the lights, and her head is pounding, as if someone is knocking on it with brute force over and over. But there is no one there. She is lying on the ground, her mouth covered by duct tape. She looks around, hoping to find details to help her decipher her current location.

The location is far too familiar to her. This is a place she attends for services, for worship. She comes here to pray to her gods, to Brahma, to Shiva, to Vishnu, to whichever deity she requests. Everything is in place, the stone pillars to her left and to her right, the tile floor beneath her.

The only difference is the line of statues in front of her. Those are unfamiliar to her. She sees Vishnu, she sees Shakti. She sees Kali, Brahma, Krishna, Lakshmi. They are all standing in a line, right in front of her. She cannot move. Her wrists and ankles are bound together by rope, and all she can do is look up at the gods who look down on her. A voice next to her makes her jump, "Do you like my décor, Karina?" The girl focuses her eyes on a crouched man beside her.

How does he know my name? She wonders.

Anxious muffles are heard through the tape on her face. He chuckles, "I like my choice of deities."

He stands, and her eyes follow him as he walks over to Vishnu. He inspects Vishnu, looking the statue up and down, "Vishnu is your deity of protection, am I correct?" It is then when Karina notices the beads wrapped around the man's left arm, and a small cross dangling from his wrist. This man is not Hindu. She thinks to herself.

"What is your opinion on God, Karina?" The man turns his head to his left. Karina does not respond. She couldn't respond, even if she wanted to. He turns his body to face her. He walks over to her and crouches in front of her. Karina closes her eyes shut, stopping herself from crying. She cannot show weakness, despite her current state. The man speaks again, "Is it true that you Hindus sacrifice animals to your... gods?" He says the word in disgust.

Karina opens her eyes and looks at him.

"We have, as well." The man says to her. There is a saying that goes, "you can see it in their eyes." Karina could see the hatred in this man's eyes. Karina was terrified.

He adds, "The Lamb of God." Karina watches the man reach behind his back. "I wonder what you'll reincarnate as."

It all happens too quickly. Karina sees a stake in his hands, and she muffles screams as loudly as she can. Before she knows it, her chest is in agonizing pain. It lasts a few seconds, and then she is swallowed by darkness. She is unmoving, her chest stops rising and falling, and her eyes do not blink.

o

"Good morning, Nico." A waitress approaches a man sitting alone at a booth. "What can I get for you today?"

The man looks up at her, "An egg sandwich and two slices of bacon, Lauren."

She nods and proceeds to write his order down. "Anything to drink?"

"Coke."

Nico turns his attention to the blonde reporter on the TV. The headline on the bottom reads, "Sacrifice-resembling murder at local temple."

"A girl was found this morning by local worshippers dead, with a wooden stake in her heart. The NYPD is at the scene right now." The woman speaks.

The waitress, Lauren, shakes her head. "I wonder what sicko murdered her. She must have done something wrong to someone."