The Truth

Chapter 5: 9PM

Daniel walked in his front door, looked down and sighed. There was mud everywhere. Falling in the puddle had been a grand idea. It had served its purpose though. Daniel reminded himself of this and began to strip off his muddy clothes.

He left all of his clothes items in a muddy heap by the door and made his way to the shower. He watched as swirls of murky water disappeared down the drain. Why had something so important been left at the scene of the crime? It was lucky that no one had found it. That he had gone out to investigate with Cali. He needed to go back out and dispose of the evidence. He dried off and pulled on new clothes.

What time was it? Daniel stuck is head into the kitchen to read the oven's digital clock. 7:13 PM. Already? It was too late to go out there. He would have to take his time to avoid being seen. It already took time to walk to the crime scene without precautions slowing him down. Then there was finding a good spot to dispose of the item. That would take some time. There was no way he would make it back before 9PM. No way he would be asleep before 9.

9PM. Bad things always happened after 9. After 9 he began to get tired. When you get tired you begin to make mistakes, things get hazy. You begin to lose control.

Always fall asleep before 9 PM. A rule Daniel lived his life by. So what had happened the other night? Why had he lost control? Why had the other him come out? Why was a girl dead? Why?

He checked all the clocks in his house. Maybe one of them was off. Maybe he had gone to bed too late on accident that night. Maybe he had woken up in the night? No. He looked at the bedside table where a bottle of sleeping pills sat. Pills to prevent him from waking up until he was well rested. Maybe he had forgotten to take them that night? He couldn't remember. He tried to shake the thoughts from his head, he would never know the answer to these questions. That is what scared him the most.

He would just have to go back out into the woods early in the morning. He took the time to throw his muddy clothes in the wash and walked over to the bottle of sleeping pills. Best to go to bed early tonight.

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4:30 AM. Daniel slipped on his shoes, still coated with a layer of dried mud, and walked out the door. There was a small pond up the trail a mile or so from the rock pile where he had hidden the metal object. Or at least that's what his map said.

5:00 AM. Daniel stared down at the rock pile and began to kick the small rocks at the base aside. There it was. Mostly covered in mud, a metal contraption sticking out from the rocks. He picked it up and examined it.

Three long claw-like blades attached to a curved metal base. The shape of the base was familiar. Daniel moved the base on to his hand. It fit like a glove. Literally. He flipped it over to reveal a series of leather straps.

"No wonder the police thought an animal had killed her" He thought as he turned the weapon in his hand.

How had he gotten this? Did he make it? He couldn't recall. That made him nervous. How often did his other self come out? Was he ever really in control or was it all a lie? He tried to shake the thoughts from his head and stuffed the weapon into the cloth bag he had brought with him.

It took him around 15 minutes to find the pond. It was small, but it looked deep enough. It would serve its purpose well. He scanned the area. No one. He gathered a small pile of rocks and tossed them into the bag with the claws. He walked to a large rock that jutted over the side of the pond. He walked to the edge and looked down, and then he dropped the bag. He stared as it sank beneath the surface until it was out of sight. Done.

The murder weapon was taken care of. The rain had taken care of the rest of the evidence. It was over. He could go back to not worrying. Back to helping Cali investigate. Back to being normal.