Zane
"But I'm innocent!"
"You fraud!"
"I was framed!"
"You lied!"
STOP...
"He bribed you, didn't he?"
"She didn't do anything!"
"How much did he pay you?"
"I swear I'm not guilty!"
STOP IT!
"It's extortion!"
"He didn't deserve this!"
"You did this to me!"
I SAID STO-
"Mister...your a murderer..."
My eyes suddenly shoot open. Quickly sitting up straight, I breathe heavily. I'm also sweating buckets. I place a hand on my chest to slow down the fast heart rate. I'm shivering, while the shocked and terrified expression is still on my face.
That was one intense nightmare. Why...why is this even happening?
My train of thought is broken by the sound of someone sipping. I look to my right and see Ethan sitting on a chair sipping from a straw inserted in a juice bottle and staring blankly at me.
"What are you doing?" I ask him as I sigh and push back my hair from my forehead.
"Well, you looked like you were having a nightmare so I thought I'd watch." He says with a stupid smile. This brat...
"And you didn't even bother to wake me up," I say annoyingly.
He chuckles "Now why on earth would I do that?"
I set aside my navy blue comforter and get off the bed. As I walk outside my room, Ethan gets up and starts to follow me.
"So what happened in it? The nightmare I mean" he asks curiously.
"What's it to you? Why do you wanna know?" I enter the large living room which looks more like an art gallery with many paintings on each wall and a lot of decoration pieces in the room. The cream coloured sofas, grey abstract carpet, glass table and the white light from the lightbulb really blends in well with the surrounding.
"I'm just curious. Come on, tell me." He follows me all the way to the kitchen.
I sigh" I was...just being haunted." I open the fridge and look for a bottle of cold water.
"By who? Ghosts?" He sits on top of the kitchen counter.
I simply roll my eyes " by people" I say as I take it out of the fridge and move over to the glass rack on the counter.
"Dead people? So like zombies." He says.
"No...living people. Ordinary living people. Which are even more frightening than ghosts." I pour the water into the glass and put it aside.
"How do you know they were alive?" He asks as he continues to sip his juice. I drink up the water and walk over to put the bottle back.
"I don't know. I can just tell they were alive." The truth is...it's because I know them. I remember their faces. Those are the people that I have wronged. Innocent people that I've betrayed, been unfair to or send to jail. But that voice at the end...I just wanna forget about it.
"Anyways, forget about that. Why are you up this late? It's past 12" I say looking at the clock.
"Oh right! I wanted to talk to you about something. I thought you'd be awake so I came into your room but you weren't and I was about to leave when I noticed you having a nightmare. I was gonna wait until morning but seeing as you're already awake I might as well say it. " he says nonchalantly as he follows me back into my room.
"What is it?" I ask as I get back on my bed.
"Well, while you were having fun sleeping, I was being followed by a stalker and almost died!" He exclaims as he places the empty bottle of juice on my bedside table. He better pick it up before he leaves.
"What?"
"Auntie was out of some stuff so she sent me out on an errand. On the way, I noticed someone was following me." He says as he folds his arms and leans back while sitting cross-legged on the chair.
"Why didn't you call me or someone else? Or even got help from the people around you? You didn't come straight home and brought him to where we live did you?" He can be a real scatterbrain sometimes.
"I'm not an idiot, of course, I didn't. Anyways, since I had my stun gun with me, I wanted to try it out on him." He says proudly.
"Are you nuts!? You could have been killed or even Kidnapped!? " I say as I frown at him. Just who does this brat think he is!? He's such a reckless moron!
"I did consider that possibility. That's why I sent you information about him so you, my dear brother, would avenge me and let not my brave sacrifice go to waste." He says dramatically.
"What brave sacrifice? You just wanted to use your stupid stun gun! You didn't even need to get involved." I facepalm myself.
"Well, you were soundly sleeping while I sent you the text. I even thought that maybe you'd wake up and rush to the location to rescue me, even though that might hinder my plan but nooo you were still sleeping even after I got home! Anyways, another important thing I wanted to tell." He says looking a bit serious as he leans forward.
"There's more?" I just wanna go back to sleep. Hopefully, I won't have that nightmare again.
"I think the guy who was following me was sent by the angel wing serial killer."
This surprises me. I look at him in the eye.
"What makes you think that?" I say. Really? Was the man following Ethan...Richard? Or maybe it could just be Ethan overthinking it.
"Think about it. You're the inspector leading the investigation. You said on the news today that you do have a lead. Wouldn't the culprit be trying to come after you secretly then?" He says. It does make sense but I'm more relieved that it doesn't sound like it was Richard. Ethan is just overexaggerating it abit.
I simply nod my head "But then why was he coming after you? Kinda makes no sense. Maybe it was just some other Kidnapper."
"No, I'm telling you. I can feel it! It was definitely the serial killer's guy. Oh, and one more thing" he says as he reaches down to his pocket and takes out a phone.
There's something strange about this phone. I know it's not his nor mine. But there's something familiar about it...
"After I attacked the perpetrator, I hit his head and he fell unconscious. I searched his stuff and found this phone. Its battery was dead so I took it and brought it home."
"WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!? You're taking away crucial evidence! Did you at least call the police later on?" I ask him.
"Yes, I did. But later after I got home someone from the police department called and told me that the guy was gone when they reached there. So I guess me taking the phone was the right call!" He says. He hands the phone to me and I inspect it.
Turning it on, the screen brightens up to reveal a lock screen asking for a password.
"Lemme guess, you couldn't figure it out? And listen, even if you could what were you gonna do then, huh?" I say sternly. A high school student like him shouldn't be getting involved in such things. I've told him countless times.
"I tried as hard as I could but I'm just no hacker. Look, Zane, I really think this phone might be a big clue. I can tell that the guy who was following me is related to this case. So when you go to work tomorrow, give this to the tech team. They might find SOMETHING that'll reveal the serial killer." He says with such enthusiasm and determination that it just annoys me.
"How many times have I told you not to get involved in police affairs. Why can't you just listen to me for once! The police aren't playing Mystery games with you. I don't want to see you getting involved with this case. It's really dangerous, understand?" I scold him. Him getting involved with Lydia and Richard won't end well. And not to mention the increased threats she'll give me.
He blankly stares at me with no expression "All I'm asking is for you to get information out of this phone to catch the serial killer. This phone is important evidence. You don't need to act like a criminal under interrogation." He says.
"What did you just say!?" I say as I grab his shirt collar.
He looks at my hand and then my face.
"Let go, Zane. Now." He says in a serious tone and glares at me.
I let him go and calm myself down.
"Look. I'll get this phone checked out for sure. It's most likely just an ordinary Kidnapper. What I was trying to say is that it's dangerous to get-"
"Don't you ever touch me again while thinking you're better than me." He interrupts me and brushes off his shirt.
He's not smiling anymore.
"What's that suppose to mean?"
"I never wanted to say this to you but...I want you to show me that you're not incompetent. That you actually deserve to be called a police inspector." He says. He's not holding any punches, is he?
"You're referring to when dad died aren't you? And here I thought we had moved on from that phase. But deep down you still think that about me don't you?" I say to him. That part of our lives was hard for both of us. Especially Ethan. He used to blame me for being unable to do anything when dad died. I suppose he still thinks that about me.
He looks at the ground embarrassed " Sorry about that. I just got a little mad. Don't take it personally. Sometimes...it gets frustrating when a person doesn't believe you. Sorry, Zane, I know you're working really hard to find the culprit." He smiles sadly.
I keep the phone in the drawer of my bedside table. I'll need to ask Lydia first if that was really Richard. I'm pretty sure it's not that. Why would Lydia wanna do that to Ethan?
"I have a feeling that you got called to the counsellor's office today. Is that the reason behind the whole outburst? That and the fact that SOMEONE told her I was having nightmares. " That woman called me too. She is seriously a pain.
He suddenly reverts back to his usual self "Yeah, that's true. So what did you say to her." He asks while grinning.
"Nothing, I simply didn't pick up." I say to him as I yawn. Getting really tired.
He laughs and gets up " well, I guess I better be going." He picks up his empty juice bottle and begins to walk out.
"Wait!" I call out to him.
He turns back around and waits for me to talk.
"Did Walter call while I was asleep? He said he would call if anything happened." I ask him.
He pauses for a moment and then shakes his head "Nope, he didn't." After that, he exits the room.
Hmmm...something is fishy. I pick up my phone and check the recent calls.
No, it looks like he didn't. Or maybe Ethan just deleted it. Hmmm...I'm too sleepy to think right now.
Putting it back, I lay down on my bed and feel myself slowly falling into sleep. I hope I don't have any more nightmares.