The Mysterious Cycle | #wattys2019

Chapter 9

WILL WAS DEAD.

Naomi stopped dead on her tracks and the envelop slipped out of hand and fell to the ground and scattered all the photos. She couldn't believe what she saw. How could he be dead? Didn't he just send a video file? Saying he was fine and she had to be strong? What could've gone wrong?

So many questions raced through her mind. She couldn't even speak to him for the last time. She broke down and tears rolled down her cheeks. How could he have been so naïve? She just stood there, unable to muster the strength to move forward.

Steve took a look at the fallen photos and he couldn't believe his eyes. He took a picture in his hand and felt these weren't edited or photo shopped. He stared at the picture for a long time, and couldn't imagine why someone could kill Will so brutally. He was killed in the same manner like the others were killed. How did he get to Will? Will couldn't have been so naïve. He was strong, smart, and in fact smarter than most detectives. All those questions that raced through Naomi's mind now raced through his. But he had to do his job. He took a moment's pause and gathered all the pictures for evidence. He stood up and went towards Naomi.

"C'mon, we gotta get outta here." He said and dragged Naomi from the place.

She walked, but she didn't know what was happening. She was blank and didn't understand what to do with next. She had to find the killer, but how? How was she gonna survive without him? What she knew was that if the killer could get to her husband, he could very well get to her.

They got into Steve's car and they drove to some place that she wasn't aware of. She stared outside the window and wondered what her life had turned into. She was exhausted from all the crying and found herself drifting off to sleep.

'FEW HOURS LATER.'

Naomi woke up rubbing her eyes, the blinding afternoon sunlight hitting her face. She looked around and realised she was in the middle of nowhere. She looked at her watch and figured that they were driving for quite a few hours. The area around her was deserted with mountains and the sand shining golden brown due to sun light. The area seemed like a desert as far as her eyes could see. She looked around in the car and couldn't see Steve.

If Steve came to kidnap me, why would he leave me loose? Without any protection? She thought to herself. She looked around and saw a gun lying in the back seat. She picked up the gun and checked for the bullets and they were full.

I have to free myself, she thought to herself. She cocked the gun and stepped out of the car with the gun in her hand. The heat was blinding and she placed her hands over her forehead and looked around for Steve, pointing the gun particularly at no one.

Within a few moments, she saw Steve come from behind the mountains, adjusting his pant and she pointed the gun towards him with both hands.

"Woah woah, Naomi! Calm down! Put the gun down." He said as he raised his hands and inched closer to her.

"Don't! Stay where you are! Where have you bought me?" she found herself yelling at him. "Are you going to kill me like you did Will? Who are you working for?" She was panting with rage.

"Look, I'll tell you everything. Just please lower your gun." Steve practically begged her to listen to him.

"Whatever you have to say, say it to me this way."

"Fine." He sighed. He knew she wasn't going to listen. She was stubborn that way.

"Will sent me, to take care of you."

She gasped. He waited for her to say something. When she didn't, he continued.

"The day he went on the secret mission, I knew about it. I knew everything he was doing, where he was etc etc. he frequently gave me instructions to keep a close eye on you, where you went, whether you were alone and all that. So I did what he said. A few days ago, he called me and told me to take you to a safe place. Someplace which no one can ever figure out. Because he was being threatened that the killer would kill you. He felt it was merely a threat to scare him but he didn't want to take his chances. So he told me to wait for his signal and when I got one, I came to your place to take you away. Trust me, if Will was killed, you can easily be killed as well."