The Test

Chapter Two

I waited patiently and he nodded, "Alright, I'll keep in touch, let you know how it's going."

"Can't wait," I said with fake enthusiasm.

Detective Greene touched my shoulder before I could walk out. "I am doing everything in my power, Layna, believe me. But I'm not in charge of this place, and as much as I would like to focus more on your case I can't. The orders come from someone who has more authority than me, and they've asked me to move on. I'm not giving up, but like I said, my hands are tied."

Any fight that I had in my body vanished and my shoulders slumped. "I know, I'm just scared about what he's going to do to me," I whispered, my voice cracking near the end. And then, to my utter humiliation, my eyes filled with tears.

Detective Greene saw my inner struggle as I tried to keep the tears at bay and pulled me back into the interrogation room, closing the door behind him. He led me towards the couch and handed me a box of tissues as I started crying.

"I know this is hard for you, Layna, and I'm going to try my hardest to find the guy who is doing this to you. For now, I'm going to station a marked car outside your house to keep an eye on you, okay?"

I nodded my head, wiping my eyes for anymore traitorous tears. Even though it seemed to me that the police were completely useless at times, it still felt better knowing that there would be someone watching to make sure nothing else happened.

He smiled at me, "You'll be okay, Layna."

I returned his smile with a small one of my own, before standing up. "My parents are waiting for me outside," I told him.

"Alright, go home and get some sleep; you've had a long night. I'll see you later, Layna."

I tossed the crumpled tissues in the garbage bin by the door, before quickly slipping out of the interrogation room, and making my way to the waiting room where my parents were waiting. A soon as they saw me I was bombarded with questions. "Are you okay?" Steve asked, hugging me tightly.

"I'm fine dad."

Tom came forward and gently pulled Steve away and I smiled gratefully at him. "Are you sure?" he asked and I nodded.

"What did Detective Greene say? Does he know why this is happening again? I thought this was all over?" Steve asked, firing questions at me without giving me enough time to answer.

"Just that he would keep in touch with me to let me know how it was going. He said he would send a patrol car for the next couple of days."

Tom wrapped his arm around me, as he led me outside to where the car was parked. "Do they think he's going to come back for you?" Tom asked worriedly.

"No, it's just a precaution," I said, smiling at them lightly. I didn't want them to be more worried than they already were. "I'll be fine. Greene said it probably wasn't even connected to my stalker; just a robbery attempt that went wrong."

It was hard lying to my parents when all I really wanted to do was tell them everything about what was going on. I wanted them to comfort me, and protect me so I could feel safe again.

But I couldn't risk them being hurt as well so I smiled, and kept quiet pretending that everything was fine.

***

I was alone, with darkness surrounding me. I could hear him, moving around me, but I could see where he was. Then he started calling my name.

Layna," he whispered, his breathe tickling my neck. I whirled around, but I couldn't see anything.

"You're next," he whispered from in front of me now.

"NO!" I screamed, hitting where his voice came from. My fists connected with air.

I started to cry as he kept whispering my name, but his voice seemed to be coming from all around me now, as if there were twenty of him.

Dropping to the floor, I curled up into the fetal position, and covered my ears, trying to block him out. It didn't work. He just got louder and louder until he was screaming my name.

"LAYNA!"

I woke up covered in a cold sweat, my pajamas sticking to my body. Lying still in my bed, I waited for my heart to stop its frantic beating. The rest of the house was quiet, sleeping.

But I couldn't sleep. That nightmare was still stuck in my head, and there was only one person who could make me feel better. Too bad that one person wouldn't speak to me.

Sighing, I grabbed the next best thing: the stuffed Superman toy that I kept on my bed. I hugged it to my chest hoping it would relax me. But tonight, not even that would work. The nightmare had gotten to me.

With trembling hands, I picked my cell phone from the end table dialing the number for my voicemail, and pressing the right numbers until I got to my saved messages. I only had one, and I shut my eyes tightly as I listened to it play.

"Hey angel, I know I'm not there with you right now and that you probably had a nightmare but you don't need to worry. It's not real, Layna, it's just your brain playing tricks on you. So, grab that superman toy and hold it until I get there, and remember, I would never let anything happen to you. I'll see you in a couple of days when I get back."

My body relaxed as his low voice flooded through my ears. I listened to the message a couple more times before I relaxed, closing my eyes and curling up in my covers.

Creak.

My eyes snapped open, and I froze, listening. The sound had come from the corner of my room, near my window.

Creak.

There it was again! It sounded like someone was shifting their weight in the corner. My heart started to pound as I looked over, and saw a human shape.

That's when I knew. It was him, here to get me. He had missed his chance while I was babysitting, so he had come back. But how had he gotten past the police car?

I had to stay calm, and think. If I screamed, my parents would hear me and come. Or maybe they wouldn't. I had been screaming a lot during the night because of the nightmares, and they rarely came to see what was going on anymore.

Suddenly, he jumped on me, landing on my stomach. I tried to scream, but he clamped his hand over my mouth. I started struggling, but he was heavy and I had trouble moving.

In the faint light that was coming in from the window I could see him lifting up his arm, and a piece of shining silver glinting in the moonlight. Before I could even blink, he had stabbed the knife deep into my chest, and everything went black.

***

For the second time that night, I woke up in a cold sweat as my heart thudded in my chest. I frantically felt around my chest, only to find that the skin was smooth and unbroken.

 I grabbed my pillow and pressed it to my face to muffle the sobs that had started to escape from my throat. I just wanted it all to be over, so I could continue with my life. I didn't know how much more of this I could take before I broke.