42 replies to this topic

[D-Ten]

You delivered the goods yet again! This is truly great, gripping fiction writing.

[EndZone]

Thanks.

Quote

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Eric stared at the TV in disbelief as it went back into static. He looked around the small cave in frustration. "Eric..." Chad said, almost regretting he said anything. Eric grabbed his head in anger and Chad pushed him to the wall. "Eric, Eric. Before you go ballistic, remember what I said when we found the wax model! I don't know how, but this guy seems to have everything on tape at every second, and if you go crazy right now, you're only gonna encourage him to go even deeper!" Chad said. Eric uncovered his face and looked into Chad's eyes. "Chad, this ******* has my wife. HE HAS MY WIFE! He shot her with a ****ing needle and just took her lifeless body! How the hell am I supposed to 'be cool' with that?" Eric said. "Not only do we have to find this ******* and rescue this other guy, but now we have to, or at least I have to find my damn wife! And we have zero leads on where to start!" Eric cried. Chad sighed. "Maybe we'll get some hints along the way, man. This guy has this whole ****ing place mapped out and he obviously knows what he's doing. He's a little *******, but he's a genius." Chad said. Eric looked at the TV again. He shoved Chad aside and kicked the TV off the night table it was on.

"Come on, man." Chad said as he walked out of the cave. Eric soon followed as the two stood on the fake snow. "What's next on the list?" Chad asked. "I don't know and I don't ****ing care." Eric said he took out the list. "Here." Eric said as he gave Chad the list. Eric walked into a different cave. "Where are you going?" Chad asked. "I need some time alone." Eric said. Eric walked into the dimly lit cave and sat on the rough ground against the wall. Eric closed his eyes as he buried his face in his knees, the tears now starting to flow down his face. "What the **** do you want with Beth...." He said to himself. Eric picked up his head and rested it in the palm of his hand and looked at the cave wall in front of him. "Hey." Chuck said. Eric, startled, quickly looked to the right to see Chuck. "Jesus..." Eric said. "Sorry if I scared you. But Chad just told me about..... you know." Chuck said. "Really sorry to hear that. Now we both have wives to find." Chuck said. Eric sighed. "What's wrong?" Chuck asked. Eric slowly got to his feet. "Nothing." Eric muttered. "Something's wrong. You can tell me, Eric. I know how you're feeling right now." Chuck replied. "I just wanna know what he's doing with my wife." Eric said.

Chuck looked perplexed. "I thought you said you were divorced?" He asked. "Not yet. We're divorcing next month. But I still love her." Eric said. Eric suddenly realized something. "What?" Chuck asked, sensing something was wrong. Eric looked at Chuck. "Now I get what Beth was saying...." Eric said. "What're you talking about?" Chuck asked. "When I told Beth I was coming here to Sayersville with Chad and she said she didn't want me in Sayersville.... now I know what she was talking about. Even though we're divorcing next month, she still loved me and didn't want me to be in any harm. Now I'm in the same situation she was. We're divorcing, but I don't want her to be in any harm and she might be in harm." Eric said. Chuck chuckled. "Sounds like you're having some sort of epiphany. "I guess I am." Eric replied. "Well, come on. Chad is looking over the list on the bench in that bigass room." Chuck said. The two men exitted the penguin exhibit and joined Chad on the bench. "Okay, we just passed the penguin exhibit on the list. There's only a few more things here, so we must be nearing the end of this mission. Maybe that's just false hope, but I'm trying to remain optimistic." Chad said.

"Who abducted Beth anyway?" Chuck asked. Eric looked around the huge room and then back at Chuck and Chad. "I don't know. Some guy in a black costume. Couldn't see his face. Hell, Beth probably couldn't, either." Eric replied. "When did it happen?" Chuck asked. "I don't know. It probably happened after I left for Sayersville." Eric said. "Well guys, the next thing on the list is 'Restaurant, two blocks from Landhoven Street.'" Chad said. Eric looked at Chad. Chad looked back. "So, let's get a move on." Chad said. "Landhoven Street, eh?" Chuck said. "That's what it says, yep." Chad replied. "Alright, let's get the hell out of here." Chuck said. Chad walked along with Eric. "You okay, man?" Chad asked. Eric sighed. "Yeah, I guess." Eric replied. "Just seeing that tape makes me even more determined to complete this mission and nab this son of a *****." Eric added. "Well, good to see you're keeping an optimistic view on the situation." Chad said. "I kinda have to. I don't wanna have a heart attack or anything like that." Eric replied. "I guess you're right." Chad replied. The three men exitted the aquarium and headed back to Chuck's jeep. "Alright, to Landhoven Street we go." Chuck announced.

The car slowly started as it drove down the dark road. "You know another thing I noticed about this place...." Chad said. "Is that no matter what, it seems to always be dark. Even during the day time." Chad said. "Well, that's how it's been for a few years." Chuck said. "Ever since the murders started, Sayersville in general has felt dark and alienated. It's kinda weird." Chuck said. "Why would you say that?" Eric asked. "It doesn't unusual to you for the weather and general feeling of Sayersville to drastically change following a few murders?" Chuck asked. "Eh, I guess I see your point." Eric replied. "So what're we gonna find in that restaurant? I mean, what the hell could he possibly have in store for us in a damn restaurant?" Chad wondered aloud. "Who knows. Like you said, this Pete Burns is a *******, but he's a genius. He seems to have this whole damn town in the palm of his hands. And that's a not a guy you want to have control over a town with." Eric said. "Very true." Chad agreed. Before long, Chuck pulled the jeep over onto the sidewalk and the three men stepped out of the car. The clear glass doors were cracked, almost as if someone was trying to get in but couldn't.

"Geez..." Eric said as he looked at the doors. "What do you think happened?" Chad asked. "I don't know. But whatever happened, it was in a hurry." Eric commented. Eric took out his pistol and slowly opened the door. "Is there anyone in here?" Eric announced, hoping for an answer. "Nothing." Chad whispered. Eric shined his flashlight with left hand and held the gun with his right hand, ready to pull the trigger. He walked behind the counter and looked at the cash register. He opened it. There was an envelope in the cash register. "What's this?" He wondered aloud. Chad looked at Eric. "What's what?" He asked. Eric picked up the envelope. He tore it open and looked inside. "What's in it?" Chad asked. Eric dumped the contents into his hand. It was another tape recorder and a key. Eric played the recorder. "Good evening, gentlemen." The tape recorder said, in the same voice Chad and Eric heard in Chuck's closet. "Beautiful night here in Ole Sayersville I must say. But, let's skip the small chit chat, shall we? If you're listening to this tape right now, then it is my duty to congratulate you for making it this far. It's been a treacherous journey I'm sure. But hey, you're the FBI, so nothing is too tough for 'your kind' am I right?" The voice continued and then laughed in a mocking manner.

"That's what the general public is lead to believe, anyway, but trust me, I know otherwise. And tonight, your courage and determination is being tested through a number of ways, and that continues. Obviously if you've made this far, you can follow instructions nicely. Now, I will give you further instructions. Along with this tape recorder, there was also a key inside the envelope. This key is the key used to unlock the door to the Sayersville Library. However, you will not be able to unlock the door when you get there. Believe me, you'll see what I mean." The voice continued, and again laughed. "But that's not right now. Right now, you're in the restaurant, and there must be a reason you're in there, right? After all, the list wouldn't say the restaurant for no reason, correct? By opening the doors of this restaurant, you have set off a timer to a bomb located within the walls of the building. The bomb will go off in five minutes, so I'd advise you to hurry and find the reason you've been summoned to this restaurant." The voice laughed. "You'll know when the bomb goes off, don't worry. I'm a fair person and have included a voice alarm to inform you how much time is left by the minute. Good luck, 'agents.'" The voice added and then it laughed again.

[D-Ten]

pete is always one step ahead
I see you've a new book, I'll have to have a look at that some time too.

[EndZone]

I like to call them stories. They haven't been published. >_> But thanks. I'm gonna put a link to my other story in my sig after posting this. Hopefully that one will get more people.

Quote

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

"Shit!" Eric cried. "What're we gonna do?" Chad asked. "We've gotta search this place quickly, unless we can locate the bomb and somehow disarm it." Eric replied. "I don't know, guys. The tape said the bomb is hidden in the walls. We don't know which wall it's hidden in, and besides, how the hell could we break the wall and get to the bomb anyway? It's best to just find what we're supposed to be looking for." Chuck suggested. "Chuck's right. We don't have the time or the manpower to break the walls. We're just gonna search this place thoroughly and quickly." Chad said. "Alright. Split up." Eric said. Chad and Chuck went their ways to explore the building while Eric looked around himself. Eric walked down the hallway off the kitchen and noticed a door. "Four minutes." A voice said, signifying there was four minutes left. Eric grabbed the panel of the door and pulled,but it didn't open. Eric looked through the window of the door and saw fog. It looked like a freezer. Eric then glanced down at the floor of the freezer and saw a foot amidst the fog. "Holy shit!" Eric cried. "Chad, Chuck, get over here!" He cried again. Chad soon emerged. "What happened?" He asked, almost out of breath.

Eric moved aside. "Look in that window." He said. Chad looked in the window and saw the same fog and foot that Eric saw. "Someone must be in there!" Chad exclaimed. Chad grabbed at the panel. "It's locked." Eric said. "****!" Chad cried. Chuck soon emerged. "Chuck, did you find anything?" Eric asked. "I found this hammer in an office across the hall." Chuck said as he held a black hammer in his hand. "Gimme that." Eric said. Eric took the hammer and smashed it against the window. It had close to no effect. "****!" He yelled. "Why? What do you wanna get in there for?" Chuck asked. Eric looked at Chuck. "There's someone in there! It's all foggy and shit but we saw someone's foot just popping out of that fog." Eric said. "Oh, holy shit. Try shooting it." Chuck suggested. Eric took out his pistol and shot the window. The bullet bounced right off the window and fell to the ground. "Three minutes." The voice said. "Shit!" Eric screamed. Eric took the hammer again and smashed it against the window several times and it finally showed signs of weakening. "When I crack this thing, someone with long arms is gonna have to reach down either with their hand or with the hammer and find the thing to unlock this door with." Eric said.

"Whose got the longest arms?" Chad asked. The three men examined their arms. "I think I do." Eric said. "Yeah, I think you do." Chad replied. "Alright, I'll do it." Eric said. Eric continuously bashed the window and it finally cracked, shattering into both the kitchen hallway and the freezer. Eric carefully put his arm through the window, trying his best to avoid the broken edges of glass that remained. Without being able to see what he was doing, Eric reached around, trying to find the thing that was keeping the door locked. Eric felt what he thought was a plank of wood. "I think I've got something." Eric announced. "Two minutes." The voice announced. "Seems like this ****in' thing is counting down faster now." Chuck said. Eric dropped the hammer carefully, making sure it remained in his fingers as he tried to push the plank aside. He felt the plank move slightly. "I got it moving!" Eric announced. He continued to slowly but surely move the plank. Soon, he no longer felt the plank. Eric carefully pulled his arm out of the window. "It's opened." Eric said as he held his arm in pain. Chad quicly pulled the panel as the door slowly opened. Eric stayed in the kitchen hallway as Chad and Chuck walked into the freezing room. Chad fought his way through the fog and tried to see what he was doing, but the fog was very tense.

Chad tried to feel around and touched a leg. Startled, Chad felt around the leg and tried to confirm that it was still attached to a human body and not just a leg. Chad crouched down and the fog was clearing up a bit. Chad moved in closer and noticed a woman, sitting against a rack of popsicles. "Shit, there's a woman in here." Chad thought to himself. Chad grabbed the woman but she didn't move. "What the ****?" He wondered to himself. Chad looked behind the unconscious woman and realized she was handcuffed to a thin pole. "Shit!" Chad cried. "What happened?" Chuck asked. "This person is handcuffed to a ******* pole!" Chad said. Eric walked into the freezer, bleeding from the shoulder. "Use this!" He said as he tossed Chad the lockpick. "It sucks for doors but you might be able to pick the handcuffs." He said. Chad picked up the lockpick and put it into the handcuffs and turned it. "One minute." The voice announced. "Hurry!" Chuck cried. "Come on, come on...." Chad said to himself as he played around with the lockpick. The handcuffs finally unlocked and Chad frantically dropped them to the floor. "I've got her!" Chad announced. "Bring her out!" Eric said. "I think I'm gonna need a hand." Chad said.

"I'll help ya." Chuck said. "You grab her upper body, I've got her lower body." Chuck said. Chuck pulled her a bit so Chad could grab her upper body. "Alright, on the count of three." Chuck said. "Thirty seconds." The voice announced. "One, two, three!" Chuck said. Chuck and Chad picked up the woman and they quickly walked back down the hallway as Eric guided them. Eric opened the door and held them open as Chad and Chuck followed through. "Ten seconds." The voice announced. "Get as far away from the building as possible!" Eric cried. The three men quickly walked away from the building. "Put her down and cover her!" Eric yelled. Chad and Chuck placed the woman gently on the street and Chad covered her as the building exploded. Fire scattered around the building and debri flew through the air. Thick, black smoke began flowing through the air as the fire burst through the doors of the restaurant. Eric sat up and looked at the fire. "This son of a ***** loves to play mind games and blow up buildings." He commented. "First the high school and now the restaurant." He added. "Are you okay from that window?" Chad asked, getting off of the unconscious woman. "Yeah. I'll live. I just have a few cuts and bruises." Eric replied.

"Is she alive?" Eric asked, motioning his head towards the woman. "I don't know." Chad replied. Eric spotted a small schoolhouse off in the distance. "Let's head to that schoolhouse." He suggested. The three men carried the woman to the schoolhouse. "Didn't these things exist, like, way back in the day?" Chuck wondered aloud. "Why in the hell would an old-fashioned schoolhouse be in Sayersville?" He added. "Who knows? And besides, this is Sayersville. This town needs no explanation for all the shit that goes on here." Eric commented. "Heh, can't argue with that." Chuck said. Chuck and Chad carefully placed the woman on the teacher's desk in the front of the schoolhouse. She was wearing a pink shirt with yellow shapes on the chest area and gray sweatpants. She was rather young as well. No older then thirty years old and had dirty blonde hair. "How should we go about waking her up?" Chad asked. Eric sat down in one of the chairs, where there was a roll of paper towel. He tore off a piece and wrapped it around his wounded shoulder. "I don't know. Is there water somewhere around here?" He asked, rolling his sleeve back down. "Why can't we just shake her?" Chuck asked. Eric looked at Chuck. "We don't know who this person is. She may be startled if we shake her. It could scare her. We don't know how long she was she hand-cuffed in that freezer for." Eric said.

"Eh, I guess it would kinda startle her...." Chuck said. "But wouldn't dumping water on her face startle her even more?" He asked. Eric sighed. "I don't know. It was just a suggestion." Eric said. Chuck lowered his head to the woman's head. "You awake?" He said softly into her ear. He gently put his hand on her shoulder and gently shook. "Hey." He said, trying to wake her up. Suddenly, the woman turned her head ever so slightly. "Hey? You awake?" Chuck repeated, seeing the movement. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She sat up on the desk. "Hi." Chuck said in a welcoming tone. "Where..... where am I?" She asked. "You're in an old-fashioned schoolhouse. You were handcuffed to a small pole in a freezer in the restaurant across the street." Chuck said. "When we rescued you, the restaurant burned to the ground, so we got you out just in time." Chad said. "Who are you people? And what do you want with me?" She asked. Eric got up and walked over to the desk. "My name is Eric Thompson and that's my partner, FBI trainee Chad Turner. We flew down here to Sayersville in order to bring a man by the name of Peter Burns to justice and to rescue a man that we believe is being held hostage by said Pete Burns. He was formerly known as Pete Wiseman until he had his name legally changed to Burns." Eric said.

The woman looked at Eric. "Who are you looking for?" She asked. "Pete Burns. Why do you know him?" Eric asked. "Yeah, I know him. Well, I used to know him. He's the whole reason I'm here." The woman said. "Really? How did he get you here?" Eric asked. "Let's just say he has his ways of persuading you against your own free will." She replied. "Where is he now?" Chad asked. The woman looked at Chad then at the floor. "That.... I don't know. It's been a while. I didn't even know I was locked in a freezer." She replied. She then looked at Eric. "How long was I in there for?" She asked. "We don't know. See, we were on a private jet, and during the flight, our pilot disappeared. We crashed here and were basically given a list which we're assuming will ultimately lead to this *******. This list has a bunch of places that we've gone to where we've found hints and clues to further progress our mission. One of the things was the restaurant. When we got there, a tape told us that there was a bomb that would go off in five minutes and we needed to find what we were looking for in time. Long story short, I saw your foot hidden under fog in the freezer and we got you out. Like Chuck here said, you were handcuffed to the set, but we got you out just in time, and now, here we are." Eric said. "You seem to be very aware of your surroundings." Chad commented. "So you'd probably remember this information: What's your name?" Chad asked. She looked at Chad. "Claire Jennings." She replied.

[D-Ten]

looks like you introdudced a new charecter. seemlessly

[EndZone]

Quote

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"So you said Burns has his was of persuading you against your own free will?" Eric asked. Claire sighed. "Yeah. I was working at my diner, the Cliffland Diner. This man named Jim Saint came in. It was a very stormy night, and we talked about the condition Sayersville was in, with the murders and all. Then Pete came by and basically took us here. And since I don't know my way around this place, I was stuck with Pete and Jim." Claire recalled. "What's the last thing you remember before waking up just now?" Eric asked. "Geez, I'm not sure. Everything seems like a blur right now." She replied. "Just try your best to remember something. Anything you can remember would be helpful." Eric said, hoping to trigger something in her memory. "Well... I remember I was in the Sayersville Security House. Jim, Andrew and I--" She said as she was suddenly cut off. "This is the second time you've mentioned Jim. Who is this guy? Your brother?" Eric asked. "Oh, no, sorry. Jim was the guy I came here with. He came here looking for his family and to figure out what was going on in this town." She replied. "He used to live here when he was younger, I think he said he moved when he was a teenager." She added.

"Did he have any connections to Burns?" Eric asked. "Not any blood connections like he was his brother or anything like that, but later when we were in Sayersville, actually in the restaurant if I remember correctly, they got into a confrontation." Claire said. "They being who?" Eric asked. "Jim and Pete. Then Pete punched Jim and left us. Then Jim kept on vowing revenge on him. But he never got it." She said. "Where is he now? Jim I mean, since you said you don't know where Burns is." Eric said. "I'm not sure to be honest with you. The last thing I remember as I was saying was I was in the Sayersville Security House, with Jim and his brother Andrew, and we were trying to get a door opened. Next thing I know, I'm crashing to the floor, and I hit my head pretty hard on the concrete. My vision was all wavy and distorted. And then I think I remember someone else putting something over my head. I don't remember much after that." Claire recalled. "Did you get a good look at the guy who put something over your head?" Eric asked. "Uh, he was an old man. He was wearing a stained skull cap and beige jacket. I don't remember anything other then that, though." Claire replied.

"Stained skull cap and beige jacket..." Eric said, walking around in the small area, holding his chin in thought. "What?" Chad asked. Eric stopped and looked at Chad. "I think I remember us encountering someone like that when we first got here..." Eric said. "Yeah, you did." Chuck said. "It was in my bar. That was Bill." Chuck said. "Jesus ******* Christ!" Eric said. "What?" Chad asked. "Don't you notice what's happening here?" Eric asked. Eric pointed at Claire. "Bill's the one who choked out Claire, and he was probably the one who locked her up in that freezer." Eric said, slowly making sense of the situation. "Bill wouldn't do that to me." Claire said. Eric looked at Claire. "You know Bill, too?" He asked. "Yeah. We met him along our way. He seemed like a nice guy. But then Jim let his temper get in the way and long story short, Bill left us, too." Claire said. "Sounds like this Jim guy loses his cool too often." Eric commented. "Was he an impatient person?" Chad asked. "In a way, I guess you could call him that. But I doubt Bill would knock me unconscious and lock me in a freezer. It's not something I could picture him doing. But it's definitely something I could picture Pete doing." She said.

"Bill is Pete's brother." Eric said. "Yeah, I know that. But I consider Bill the nicer of the Wiseman-Burns brothers. He never showed any signs of aggression, except when he left us." Claire recalled. "Why did he leave you? I know you said Jim lost his cool, but what exactly did he do to make Bill leave? Did he assault Bill?" Eric asked. "Oh, no, nothing like that. He just kept making assumptions about Pete and kept insulting him." Claire said. "Assumptions based on what?" Eric asked. "Well, he said he saw this old footage of his brother, David, and it just ended abruptly. He then said stuff like Pete had David locked up all these years and then kept calling him an *******. Then Bill said he was tired of all the labels Jim was putting on Pete and then left us." Claire said. "But what I've found to be a common trait amongst the Wiseman-Burns brothers, they seem to call anyone younger then them 'kids.' That's the main thing that got Jim so frustrated. He was tired of being called a kid and he was tired of being told he was dellusional." Claire said. "Dellusional?" Eric asked.

"Yeah. Like, Jim kept telling Pete some of the strange things that happened to him or us as a group on our way here. Pete realized how ridiculous and unreal the events sounded, so he told him he was dillusional." Claire said. "What kind of things happened?" Eric asked. "I can't really remember, but one thing I remember was Jim saying the car shook." Claire said. "The car shook?" Eric asked. "Yeah. He insisted that the car shook and he got out to see what was causing it to shake, but saw nothing. Then when he told Pete about this and other happenings like it, Pete told Jim he was crazy basically." Claire said. "I don't know this guy personally, but I'd say he likes to play with peoples' heads. I can understand Jim's frustration. If something happens and you're actually there to experience it, and you tell someone about it and they call you stupid or something, you will get frustrated." Eric said. "But when Jim turned on Pete, did he really snap? I mean, like, did he get violent?" Eric asked. "Not really. He just bad-mouthed Pete and then Pete told him he'd regret it, and then he punched him and left." Claire replied.

"I'm surprised you remember this much." Chuck commented. "I mean, usually when something like what happened to you happens to a person, they remember close to, if not absolutely nothing. Sometimes they don't even know who they are, not to mention the fact that you were locked up in that freezer for god knows how long. Perhaps for the past two years." He added. "If she was trapped in that freezer for two years.... how in the HELL did she live? Especially this long?" Chad wondered aloud. "That's a good point." Chuck remarked. "Your guess is as good as mine." Claire said. "Well, Claire, this little... interview I guess I'll call it has been very informative. I now know more about this *******. Thank you for all the info. It must've been a little challenging, considering you were locked up in near sub-zero temperatures for possibly two years." Eric said. "No problem. I'm glad to help, especially if it means jailing Pete. I mean, I never really had a problem with him, but after all this just now, I'm starting to see why Jim snapped at Pete the way he did. I didn't notice it back then, but I do now." Claire said. "Exactly how long's it been since then?" Claire asked.

"It's been two years since the murder stories started coming up." Eric replied. "Two years? So all those things that happened to me, Jim and Andrew occurred two years ago?" Claire asked, seemingly wanting to make sure. "That's our estimate, yes." Eric replied. Claire stepped off the desk, looking worried. She quickly looked at Eric. "I have to find Jim!" She said. "Claire, come on, let's be reasonable." Eric said. "Reasonable? Jim is out there somewhere, and he's probably trapped, too. He was looking for his family. I need to know if he survived the past two years." She said. Eric put his hand on Claire's shoulder, almost in an attempt to restrain her. "I completely understand your situation...." Eric said as he suddenly looked off into the distance, sighing. "What?" Claire asked. "I understand your situation.... because I'm in a similar one." Eric said as he slowly let go of Claire. "Why? What happened?" She asked. "My wife... I think she was kidnapped..." He said as he looked at the ceiling, seemingly fighting tears. "What? How? What happened to her?" Claire asked. Eric looked down at the floor and swallowed, getting ready to tell the story.

"When we were in the aquarium, the list said the shark tank. So we went to the shark tank and Chuck here swam into it and got a tape. Chad and I went into the penguin exhibit, since it was next on the list, and found a TV in a small cave. We played it and it showed footage of the night before I left for Sayersville with Chad. It showed my wife in my house from a surveillance camera perspective. It showed me come in and I watched the last conversation I had with my wife before coming to this shithole. Then it cut and showed her in our bedroom. She opened the closet and a man wearing a black costume jumped her and took advantage of her. He injected her with what looked like a needle and carried her off. The tape then simply thanked me for watching." Eric said. "My god... I'm so sorry...." Claire said. "And now... after watching that tape... I understand what Beth was talking about." He said. "Beth?" Claire said. "Yeah, that's her name. Even though we're getting divorced because she feels that we married too soon, she didn't want me going to Sayersville because she knew I could be in harm's way. I didn't understand her logic during that time because it made no sense to me. I kept asking myself, why in the hell would you want someone you're divorcing to be safe? But then after watching that tape, even though we're divorcing, I still love her, and now understand her concern for my well-being." Eric said.

"And I'm also in that kind of situation." Chuck said, taking off his hat momentarily. "My wife Patricia went missing suddenly. I had wanted to visit my grandfather, who lived in Heatsdale, but I never made it. I was hit head-on by a car and spent days in the hospital, a hospital that I wasn't familiar with. When I returned home, Pat was gone. The jeep was gone and that was unusual for her to just take off like that. She didn't return for several days and I just didn't feel comfortable living in that house without my wife, so I left he house." Chuck recalled. "Her name was Patricia?" Claire asked. "Yeah. Beautiful name for such a beautiful scarlett like her." He said and grinned. "And I'm determined to find her." Chuck said. Eric pulled Claire to the side. "Listen, there's something I've gotta tell you, and it's a secret." Eric whispered. "What? What is it?" She whispered back. He looked at Chuck, who was lost in the moment. Chad, realizing Eric was telling Claire the secret, made sure to distract Chuck. "We found Patricia in his closet. She's dead and decomposing in his closet." He said. Claire gasped. "My god, I knew she was dead, but decomposing in his closet?" She said out of shock.

------------------------------------------
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

"You knew she was dead?" He asked. "Yeah. Jim and I met her when we first got here. She was very nice. To make a long story short, we found her dead in her van, with blood pouring down a gash she had in her neck." She said. "Shit, then it's a good thing I'm telling you this." Eric said. "What do you mean?" Claire asked. "See, we found her hanging with his shirts off of a large meathook, and there was a tape recorder that basically told us to keep it a secret. It said if Chuck finds out about Pat being dead, there would be severe consequences that could possibly put our mission in jeopardy." Eric said. "It's been killing me to keep this a secret, and I'm surprised I've kept it one this long, and I'm gonna have to ask you to keep her death a secret, too." Eric said. "Sure. I'm good with secrets. But what should I say if he asks me about it?" Claire asked. "Just make something up. That's what Chad and I have been doing ever since. Believe me, it's not been an easy thing to do. It's been far from easy, but as members of the FBI, we need to do everything we possibly can in order to complete this mission, and if Pat's death is leaked to Chuck, that could result in an impromptu mission failure." Eric said.

"Yeah, sure, I understand. I won't tell him." Claire said. "Thanks a lot." Eric replied. Chuck was gazing out the hole in the wall meant to be a window. "I know Pat is somewhere out there." He said in reflection as he turned around to face Chad, Claire and Eric. "And I'll do my damndest to find her." He said. "Did you know her?" He asked Claire. Claire nervously looked at Eric and then back at Chuck. "Uh.....no." She said. Chuck looked confused. "Then why did you ask if her name was Patricia? Almost sounded like you knew her." Chuck said. "I knew someone named Patricia. She was a nice person." Claire replied. "Heh, seems to be a common trait with people named Patricia." Chuck said with a grin. "Yeah." Claire said. "What's next on the list?" Chad asked. Eric took the list out of his pocket. Claire moved closer to him. "This the list you were talking about earlier?" She asked. "Yep, this is the one." Eric replied. Claire looked at the list. "Lot of things on the list." She commented. "Yeah, but some of them aren't real places." Chuck said. "What?" Claire asked. "Some of 'em ain't real." Chuck said. "My guess is the guy who wrote the list is trying to **** with these two." Chuck said as he motioned his arms toward Chad and Eric.

"And believe me, he's done a god damn good job." Eric said. "He's got this whole ******* place in the palm of his hand." Eric said. Claire looked at Eric. "What do you mean?" She asked. "It seems that everywhere we go, it's revealed later to us that the place had some type of camera spying on us. Like on the TV in the aquarium, we saw on the tape the three of us in the planetarium. When we were actually in the planetarium, I think something or someone took a picture of us, since when we were in the lobby, there was a flash above us. Plus in the train station, there was a small cabin way in the back and when I walked into it, I saw myself on a monitor. Turns out that a corpse was in the ceiling, taping me from up there." Eric said. "How do you know that?" Claire asked. "I broke the ceiling with a fishing rod that I had to ******* pry out of a fisherman's corpse's hand and found a corpse holding a small black camera that was spying on me." Eric said. "This guy likes to spy on people that are after him using corpses and cameras. He seems to be good at that." He added.

"Yeah, not to mention the wax model at the planetarium." Chad said. "Ah yeah, the wax model." Eric remembered. "Wax model?" Claire asked out of confusion. "We went upstairs and we thought we saw Pete Burns but closer inspection revealed it to be nothing more then a god damned wax model with a miniature camera placed behind the eyeball. I was so god damn sick of being spied on and fooled, so I broke the ******* eye and destroyed the camera and the small bits of footage that came with it with a hammer and tossed them out the window." Eric said, seemingly proud of it. "What's next on the list?" Claire asked. Eric looked at the list, tracing with his finger the places already covered. "Let's see... we just passed the restaurant..." Eric said. "And under restaurant, it says 'Graveyard, blue tombstone.'" Eric said. Claire looked at Eric, with a look of worry on her face. "Graveyard?" She asked. "Did I hear that correctly? Because I heard graveyard." She said. "That's what it says, yep." Eric replied. "Well, that sucks." Chuck commented. "In a place like Sayersville, the last place you wanna be is in a freakin' graveyard." He added.

"Well, we shouldn't waste any time." Eric said. Eric looked at Chuck. "I'm hoping you know where the graveyard is." He said. Chuck nodded. "I do, yes." Chuck replied. "Well then, let's go." Eric said. The four got out of the schoolhouse and crossed the street and got back into Chuck's van. "Whoa.." Chad said. "What?" Eric asked as he got into the passenger seat in the front. "I'm the only one who notices that the jeep was unharmed during the explosion?" Chad asked. Eric suddenly looked around the jeep. Surprisingly, the jeep, even though it was mere feet away from the now rubble of the restaurant, remained unscathed. "Holy shit.... you're right." Eric commented. "Heh, this is one tough son of a *****." Chuck commented as he gently caressed the steering wheel. "Well, let's get a move on. Can't wait to get to the graveyard.... in Sayersville!" Chuck said, dripping of sarcasm. "What should we be expecting?" Claire asked. "What do you mean?" Eric asked. "Well, I don't remember an awful lot, so I don't remember the gist of what's in Sayersville. All I remember is murder stories." Claire said.

"Alright, I'm just gonna break it down for ya in one or two sentences. Basically, there's no monsters or anything like that here. There were just a bunch of murders, as you said." Eric said. "Well what have you come across so far?" Claire asked. "Not much to be honest. We've just been getting clue after clue, and taunt after taunt from Burns, and in the process have survived two explosions." Eric said. "Two? What else exploded besides the restaurant?" Claire asked. "We were summoned to the Sayersville High School by the list and to make a long story short, seconds after we exitted the school the ******* place blew up sky high. If I hadn't insisted we continue on our little quest, we would've been burned alive." Eric said. "Wow... and you think Pete did that?" Claire asked. "I think it's perfectly reasonable. Bottom line, is we've got a fugitive, a clever fugitive.... actually a very clever fugitive. He somehow knows we're on his ass and he's doing everything in his power to keep us at bay, by rigging the god damn town with explosives and traps and monitoring our every move. Hell, for all we know, he could've hidden a camera in this damn jeep." Eric said.

"I actually wouldn't be surprised if he DID have a camera in this thing." Chuck said in a joking tone. "So there won't be anything there? At the graveyard?" Claire asked for reassurance. "Well I'm not saying there won't be. I'm just saying that, based on experience, it's not likely." Eric replied. "Don't worry. If any zombies jump out at you, I've got your back." Chad said in a joking manner. "Come on, stop, it's not funny. I don't like graveyards. They've always freaked me out." Claire said. Eric looked at Claire. "Don't worry, Claire. We'll be fine. I promise." He said. Claire smiled. "Okay." She said. "There it is." Chuck announced as he slowed the car down. The car then suddenly immediately stopped, causing Chad, Eric, Chuck and Claire to jerk forward in their seats. Eric looked at Chuck. "What the **** was that?" He asked. Chuck looked back at Eric. "It wasn't me, honest. I think I ran over something." Chuck said. Eric got out of the car and took out his flashlight. He walked to the front of the jeep and looked down at the wheels. There was a body at the wheels.

Eric looked into the windshield and nodded. Chuck got out of the car. "God damnit!" Chuck said out of disgust. Chuck joined Eric at the front of the car as Eric shined his flashlight on the body. The body was tucked into the wheels, bloody on the torso. The corpse was sporting a black business jacket and black pants as well as a brown mask. "Hold this." Eric said as he handed the flashlight to Chuck. Eric took out some latex gloves and slapped them on and crouched next to the corpse. He felt the body as he pried it from underneath the wheels. "This blood is dry..." He said. "So?" Chuck said, not understanding what Eric was trying to say. Eric looked up at Chuck. "That means you didn't just run over this guy. He was already here." Eric said. "Well then how the hell did I not see it?" Chuck asked. "I don't know. Maybe because of the fog." Eric suggested. Eric tugged at the brown mask. The mask had two huge tears in it, exposing some ripped flesh and a bone was showing through the jawline. "Man, this guy got it good..." Eric said. Eric finally managed to rip off the mask.

The corpse was wearing black sunglasses and had a deep laceration across the jawline, the bone just peeking out. Chad got out of the jeep. "You guys are taking a while." He commented as he walked towards them. "That's because of this." Eric said as he looked at the corpse. "Jesus!" Chad exclaimed. "Looks like an FBI Agent. Deep laceration in the jawline. Ripped flesh in several places of his face. I don't even wanna see his eyes." Eric said. "Where's Claire?" Chuck asked. Chad looked back at the jeep then back at Eric and Chuck. "She doesn't really wanna come out. She seems to be really agitated at the thought of a graveyard. Can't really blame her, though. This is Sayersville after all." Chad said. "Alright, fine. We don't really need her anyway." Eric said. "We just need to look for the blue tombstone." He added. Chad, Eric and Chuck walked into the graveyard. They carefully walked through the dark, foggy environment, the smell was musty and uninviting. Eric suddenly spotted a grave that was dug up. "What the ****?" Eric wondered aloud. "Chuck, flashlight." Eric said. Chuck passed Eric his flashlight as Eric shined it down the deep ditch. There was a large coffin that was opened, some green ooze scattered in it. Eric then shined the flashlight on the tombstone. It read, 'Chad Kennedy, FBI Agent.'

[D-Ten]

oh scary!......... That waw brilliant, I didn't realise the woman in the fridge was Claire I and II are kind of converging now,, I'm really enjoying these two stories more than any actual book, ive read recently.

[EndZone]

Seriously? Wow, thanks a lot. I'm trying really hard. It's just about done. I've got them somewhere and I can't think of how to get them to progress. I know the ending already. It's just a matter of getting to it.

Quote

------------------------------------------
CHAPTER EIGHTTEEN

"Chad Kennedy... FBI Agent..." Eric muttered. Eric suddenly quickly looked toward the entrance of the graveyard. "That must've been that corpse!" He said. He got up and looked at Chuck and Chad. "Either Chad wasn't really dead or some sick **** dug him out of his god damn grave and placed him in te middle of the god damn street!" He added. "I doubt someone would be sick enough to do that, even Burns." Chuck said. Eric looked at Chuck. "Chuck. trust me when I say this, you have no idea how sick this ******* is." Eric said. Chuck chuckled. "Believe me when I say this, Eric, I think I would. He came over to my bar every day back in the day and spilled his guts to me. I think I know something about him." Chuck said. "Eric, what are you doing..." Chad asked, afraid Eric might spill the secret. Eric looked at Chad and put his hand up, almost as if to restrain Chad. "Trust me Chad, I know what I'm doing." Eric said. Eric turned back to Chuck. "Chuck, Pete's not the guy you think he is." Eric said. "What the hell does that mean? He came to my damn bar every day and talked to me about anything. I know all about him." Chuck said.

"Oh really?" Eric asked. "Really." Chuck snapped back. "Like what, Chuck? What do you know about Pete that would suggest he didn't pull Kennedy out of his grave? Do tell." Eric said as he put his hands on his hips. "Alright, alright, fine. He had a genius father. His father was a scientist, and was against this kind of shit." Chuck said as he motioned his arm at the dug up grave. Eric let out a sarcastic laugh. "A genius father? A scientist father? What the **** does that tell me? How does that tell me Pete wouldn't do something like this?" Eric demanded as he nodded at the grave. Chuck simply stared at Eric, the light of the moon illuminating his face. "Sorry, I didn't hear that. What did you say?" Eric sarcastically asked. "Eric?" Chad said. Eric turned around. "What?" Eric snapped. "I found the blue tombstone...." Chad slowly said. Eric looked back at Chuck. "Take your time on that one." He said. Eric then turned back to Chad. "Good. Where is it?" Eric asked. Chad simply walked towards the back of the graveyard and Chad stopped. "Here." Chad said.

Eric stopped and looked at the blue tombstone. There was a shovel standing beside the tombstone. Eric looked closely at the tombstone. Eric stood in shock as he read it. "It's got your name on it." Chad said. Eric nervously backed away from the tombstone. Eric took his gun off his belt and shot at the tombstone, putting a bullet hole in the year 2006. Eric looked at Chad as he put his gun back into his utility belt. "That son of a ***** wants to continue playing his mind games? Well I just put a god damn bullet in the year he thinks I'll die." Eric said. "That'll sure dampen his plans." Chuck said as he appeared next to Eric. Eric looked at Chuck and Chuck looked right back at Eric. Eric looked at the ground and sighed. He then looked back at Chuck. "Chuck, I owe you an apol---" Eric said. "No." Chuck said, cutting Eric off. "No. Don't. You don't owe me anything. You were right, I was wrong. His father being a scientist doesn't disprove anything. I was just saying that because I just couldn't picture Pete digging up a grave." Chuck said, looking at the blue tombstone in front of him. Eric looked at Chuck and then at the tombstone, not sure of what to do or say.

"What's next on the list?" Chad asked. Eric took out the list and glanced at it. "Corpse torso." He said. Chad looked at Eric with a disgusted look on his face. "Corpse torso?" He asked. "Yeah." Eric said. Chuck chuckled. "Guess that means you've gotta dig through Kennedy's torso." Chuck assumed. Eric looked at Chuck. "Yup." He replied. The gang headed back to the jeep. Eric, still equipped with latex gloves, crouched next to the corpse. Eric ripped open the corpse's shirt, revealing its bare torso, a knife to the side of it. Eric looked away and coughed, almost out of disgust. He looked back and took the knife. He looked back up at Chuck and Chad. "I already went in a sub-zero shark tank. Don't bother asking me." Chuck said. Eric looked back at the corpse and took a deep breath. He pulled his FBI jacket over his nose and mouth and held it there with his forearm. He proceeded to cut away at the torso, gnawing through the hard flesh. Blood squirted everywhere as Eric tried his best to cut through the torso with his eyes partially opened. Eric stopped cutting and took another deep breath, his face buried in his jacket. He pulled the jacket away from his face and looked off to the side, down the dark street, illuminated by the jeep's headlights.

Eric reached inside the torso, not sure what he was supposed to be looking for. He suddenly felt a hard object. "I feel something..." Eric said as he pulled at it. Eric heard and felt a snap next to his hand as his arm came flying out of the torso. The object fell next to him. It was another tape recorder, drenched in blood. "Think I broke the guy's rib." Eric commented. Not wanting to hold the recorder, Eric reached over and pressed the play button. "Greetings, 'agents.' If you're listening to this, I applaud you. It must've taken a lot of effort to get to this tape recorder. Poor Chad Kennedy, right? Shame he had to pass away. He was such a nice guy. But, ironically enough, he was an FBI Agent, on a mission, here in Sayersville. Anyone else see the irony here?" The sinister voice said, accompanied by a mocking laugh. "And you know what? That's why he died. He stuck his nose where it didn't belong, and because of that, he paid the ultimate price. I'm sick of outside interference in my plans for Sayersville. I'm only making Sayersville a better place, and the sooner you leave, the better. Take the hint with Mr. Kennedy, gentlemen. Leave while you still can." The voice added.

"Sounds like Burns doesn't want you here. And he sounded dead serious." Chuck said. Eric got to his feet and looked at Chuck. "Of course he doesn't want us here. He's a fugitive and he knows the FBI is after him. But you know what? I don't give a **** what he wants or says. This *******'s got Beth, and I'll stop at nothing to get her back." Eric said. "But now what do we do? We have no leads." Chuck said. "Wait..." Chad said. "What?" Chuck asked. "You remember in the restaurant? That tape recorder we found in the register, with the key?" Chad asked. "Yeah, what about it?" Eric asked. "Didn't the voice say it was for the Library?" Chad asked. "Shit, he did say that." Eric said. "Then in that case, the Library would be our best lead." Chad suggested. Chuck looked at Eric. "Please, tell me you still have the key." He said. Eric felt around his jacket. "Of course I still have the damn thing. Why the hell would I not keep the key if it's vital to our mission?" Eric asked. "Alright, good. I didn't think you'd lose it." Chuck said. Eric looked at Chuck. "What?" He demanded. Chuck looked back at Eric. "What?" Chuck asked, not getting wat Eric was trying to say.

"You think I'd actually lose the key?" Eric asked. "Did I say that?" Chuck asked. "Did you say that? No. Did you imply it? I'd certainly say that." Eric snapped back. Chuck chuckled. "You don't know what you're talking about, Eric." He said. Eric pointed at Chuck. "You listen here, Chuck. I may seem like an ******* to you, and I may seem like I have nothing left to live for in my life, and in some ways I don't, but don't you dare question my work ethic. The FBI is something I take with the utmost seriousness, and I wouldn't ever lose something that was vital to the completion of my mission. You understand?" Eric said to Chuck. Chuck looked Eric in the eyes. "Eric, you worry me." He replied as he pushed Eric's finger off his chest. "You take the smallest comment so seriously. You get offended too easily. Way too easily actually. You need to calm down, Eric, and realize that I'm not the person that's pissing you off. Pete's doing that, and the funny thing is, he isn't even here." Chuck said. "Eric, he's right." Chad said as he stepped closer to them. Eric looked at Chad with a shocked look on his face. "Ex-*******-scuse me?" Eric said. "HE'S right?" He added as he motion his head towards Chuck.

"I hate to say this, Eric, but yeah, I think he is right. You need to settle down and realize that we're on your side, man. We're pissed at Pete, too, but we're not letting him get the better of us. We're doing exactly what he doesn't want us to do by keeping our tempers in check. But you, you're feeding him by constantly venting your anger on us, mostly Chuck." Chad said. Eric laughed and looked back at Chad. "Chad, I'd be damned. When I was appointed your trainer a few months ago, I thought little of you. As far as I was concerned, you were just another rookie in the headquarters and it was my job to make you an FBI Agent. But recently, Chad, you've lost your reputation to me as 'just another rookie.' You're like a god damn brother to me now, Chad. And now you step in and say I need to change? I'm just shocked and just a bit disappointed that my own trainee would turn on me." Eric said. Chad sighed. "Eric, that's just the thing I'm telling you. I just told you to settle down, and now you're saying I'm betraying you? Eric, I'm doing no such thing. I'm just telling you you need to calm down a bit. But if you wanna take it the wrong way, then fine." Chad said.

[D-Ten]

Yeah, seriously, I meant what I said.

[EndZone]

Thanks, man. My mother also likes the story, but I think she likes it just because of the details I put into it. I feel that she doesn't really catch onto the plot and/or doesn't care about the plot, which is disappointing, since I put a ton of effort into the plot to make it make sense and all.

Well, I'm in Chapter 22, FINALLY got out of the Writer's Block, but I stumbled again. Let's hope I can pick myself up and finish this story before July.

Quote

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Eric sighed and looked around the dark graveyard, unsure of what to think of the situation. Chuck softly pushed Eric into a tombstone and rested his hand flat on Eric's shoulder. "Look, Eric, what we're saying is you just need to keep your emotions in check. Believe me, I know what you're going through with Burns. Hell, I know the damn guy, and he thrives on getting a reaction, and you're giving him just that, a reaction." Chuck said. "Fine." Eric said. "Fine. I get it now, guys." Eric said as he thrusted Chuck's hand off him and walked toward the entrance of the graveyard. Chuck looked at Chad. "Don't worry about him. He'll probably be fine." Chad said. The two men joined Eric at the entrance of the graveyard. "Where to next?" Eric asked. "What?" Chad asked. "The list." Eric replied. "Oh, right." Chad replied as he took the list out of his jacket pocket. Chad unfolded the piece of paper and glanced at it. After doing so, he slowly looked up at Eric and Chuck with a blank stare on his face. "What?" Eric asked. "There's nothing else on the list." Chad said. Eric raised his eyebrows in shock. "You serious?" He asked. "See for yourself." Chad said as he held out the paper. Eric grabbed the paper and looked at it.

Chad wasn't mistaken. There were no more places listed. Eric looked up and looked into the distance, than at Chad. "So what the **** do we do now?" He wondered aloud. "Well, I guess we could go to the library. He did give us that key after all." Chad suggested. "Yeah, I guess you're right. We've got nowhere else to go, anyway." Eric said. The three men headed back to the jeep when Chad accidentally stepped on Kennedy's hand. "Shit." He said out of disgust. "Wait." Chuck said as he threw his arm across Chad's chest. "What?" Eric asked. Chad pointed down at the corpse. "Look at the hand." Chuck said as he pointed at it. Eric crouched down. "The hand came off the arm. What's your point?" Eric asked as he looked up at Chuck. "Oh, nothing. I was just thinking maybe there's a slight possibility that there's a good reason that hand came off." Chuck said with slight sarcasm. Eric got up. "You're kidding me, right?" Eric asked. Chuck shrugged. "Not really, no. I believe there's a reason for everything, or at least most things that happen." Chuck replied. "I'm thinking that was just a coincidence." Eric said. Chuck turned to Eric.

"Eric, I want you to picture something. Assuming Pete dug up Kennedy's corpse, I want you to picture him digging up the corpse and placing it in the middle of the street." Chuck said as he moved his arms to trace the mental picture. "Following me so far?" Chuck asked. "Keep going." Eric replied. "Alright. Now I want you to picture Pete weakening the guy's hand, and hoping we somehow realize it's not completely attached to the arm by somehow disconnecting it." Chuck said as he looked at Eric. Eric just stood there, looking at the dettached hand. Eric looked at Chuck. "You know, you may be onto something with that." Eric said. "But one thing that doesn't add up to that theory, is why the hell would he wanna help us?" Eric asked. "After all, to him, we're the enemy. And why would you wanna make things easy for the enemy?" Eric asked. "Well he gave you the list, didn't he?" Chuck said. "Oh, shit." Eric said in reply. "See what I'm sayin'? He must also have a reason to wanna help you along your way, hence the list and the hand." Chuck said. Eric looked at Chuck with his hands on his hips. "That right there, Chuck, is a good theory." Eric said. Chuck chuckled. "I like to solve things using logic." He smiled.

"Well, I guess we'll take the hand, then." Chad said. Chad put on some latex gloves and picked up the hand and placed it in his business jacket pocket. The three men then got into the jeep, where Claire was waiting. "What took you guys so long?" She asked. "We found something.... interesting I guess I'll call it." Eric replied. "What? What did you find?" Claire asked. "We found my grave." Eric said. Claire was speechless for a moment. "Your grave?" She asked. "What do you mean your grave?" She added. "We found a blue tombstone with my name on it, along with my birth year and this year. So I figured, hey, if this ******* wants to play mind games with me, I'll put a ******* bullet in his plans, so I shot a hole right through this year." Eric said with confidence. "Yeah, my guess is it's probably some kind of prediction of sorts." Chuck said. "Pete's probably thinkin' Eric's gonna die soon." He added. "Yeah, thanks for that thought, Chuck." Eric sarcastically said.

"But now that I think about it, why wasn't there one for you?" Chuck asked as he looked at Chad. Chad stared back, speechless. "I don't know. Maybe he doesn't think I'll die or something." Chad speculated. "But you're an FBI Agent, too, or at least almost an FBI Agent. Perhaps he's got plans of killing Eric, but not you. I just find that a bit odd I guess." Chuck said. "Yeah, I guess so. But I'd rather not think about it. The idea just spooks me out a bit." Chad said. "Yeah, I can see where you're comin' from. That would creep me out, too." Chuck said. "Oh yeah, and we also saw that Pete apparently likes to dig up corpses. We found the corpse of an FBI Agent by the name of Chad Kennedy." Eric said. "Oh my God..." Claire said. "What? You know the guy?" Eric asked. "Yeah, he took us to the museum. He died, though, when we got to the Police Station." Claire remembered. "How'd he die?" Eric asked. "I don't know. We just found him in front of the front wheels of his trailer." Claire remembered. "Well, what's next on the list?" Claire asked. Eric chuckled. "The list is over." Eric said. "The list is over? What's that mean?" Claire asked. "We've finished with the list. There's no more things on it." Eric replied.

"Oh..." Claire said. "Well, what are we gonna do then? Do we have a game plan or something?" She asked. Eric sighed. "Well, we got a key at the restaurant we found you in and the tape recorder said it was the key to the library, but it then said we wouldn't be able to open it. Whatever the **** that's supposed to mean." Eric said. "So that's how he's conveying his messages to you guys? Through tape recorders?" Claire asked. Eric chuckled. "Yep. He's got his ways of doing things, and they obviously work nicely. He's got tapes all over the place, bombs all over the place, cameras all over the place. I don't know how he does it, but I must admit, he's an expert as his craft." Eric said. "Well he did always seem calm when he was with us." Claire said. "Oh yeah?" Eric asked. "Yeah. He'd always seem calm no matter what, and he even bribed a cop to get into Sayersville." Claire said. Eric turned his head to face the backseat and looked at Claire in shock. "He bribed a cop?" Eric asked. Claire chuckled. "Yeah. But the cop didn't mind. He gave him a warning, but nothing more." Claire said. Eric turned back in his seat to face the windshield. "He and the cop could've gotten in a whole lot of trouble." Eric remarked.

Edited by EndZone, 10 June 2007 - 01:36 AM.

[D-Ten]

I don't know where you came up with that stuff about the hand, its cool. I have to ask on your sig why don't you link to LoS I?

[EndZone]

It's already done, I figured it wouldn't be worth it. You think I should?

Quote

------------------------------------------
CHAPTER TWENTY

Eric looked at Chuck. "Why haven't we started driving yet?" He asked. Chuck looked back at Eric. "Well where we headed?" He asked. "I thought we agreed to go to the Sayersville Library?" Eric said. "Alrighty then. To the library we go." Chuck announced. Claire sat up and put her arms across the front seat. "Do you think we could go to the Security House?" She asked Eric and Chuck. "Why? What's there?" Eric asked. "That's where I saw Jim and Andrew last." Claire replied. "Oh yeah, sorry. We'll see what happens. We could finally reach the culmination of our mission at the Sayersville Library. So I wanna get there ASAP. I wanna get the hell out of this place." Eric said. Chad sat forward in his seat and joined Claire with his arms slung on the back of the front seat. "How do you manage to do that?" Chad asked. Eric looked at Chad. "What do you mean?" He asked. "If you don't remember clearly, we didn't exactly 'land' here, man." Chad said. "We plumetted here. Rogers didn't tell us where they were gonna pick us up." Chad said. Eric suddenly felt sick. Chad was right. Mr. Rogers simply gave them basic equipment to help progress their mission, but never told them where they'd be picked up.

"Holy ******* shit...." Eric said as he cupped his face with his hand. "You're right." He said. Eric punched the dashboard of the car. "How the **** can he not tell us that kind of shit?!" Eric cried. "He's an incompetent son of a *****, that's what he is." Eric added. Eric looked back at Chad. "How the **** can you be so calm?" Eric asked. Chad shrugged and looked out the window, seemingly in a deep thought. "I don't know. Something just tells me that we're gonna get out of here somehow. Either they'll somehow find us, or we'll just find our own way out of here." Chad said. Eric chuckled as he turned back towards the windshield. "Man, Chad, what I would do to have your self-confidence." Eric said. "What do you mean?" Chad asked. Eric looked at Chad. "You don't remember how you were like in the beginning of this assinine course? You were doubting yourself and questioning your ability minute after minute. You had zero self-confidence, man. But now look at you. You're now confident that we'll get out of this bullshit town some way." Eric explained. "I guess Rogers was right, though, about that. Sayersville would give you the kick in the ass you needed." Eric added. "Yeah, I do feel different about myself now." Chad said. "I feel like I really have what it takes to be a full FBI Agent." He added. "See, now that's the shit I've been talking about all along." Eric said.

Chuck slowed down the jeep as the gang looked out the window. It was a big, white building. There was a big water fountain to the side, with an ice skater wearing a skull cap, the water shooting out of the skull cap. Eric got out of the jeep. He stared at the surrounding and rubbed his chin. "This looks familiar..." He said. Chuck looked at Eric and chuckled. "How the hell could it look familiar? This is your first ever time seeing this, isn't it?" Chuck said. "No, I've seen it before. I'm trying to remember where I've seen it..." He said. He suddenly felt a jolt in his body. He reacted to the jolt by falling to the ground. "Whoa!" Chuck exclaimed as he ran to Eric's side and helped him up. "You okay?" He asked. "What the hell just happened?" He added. Eric looked at Chuck. "Holy shit, I remember! It was back in your bar, when Bill electrocuted me. When I looked up at the ceiling, I saw the statue and the water fountain on the ceiling." Eric remembered. Chuck had a perplexed look on his face. "What?" He asked. "Yeah, I know it sounds kinda odd, but I saw it. A cloud formed on the ceiling and I saw this exact ******* image." Eric said as he made a picture frame with his arms towards the library. Chuck looked at the library then back at Eric. "It's amazing how negative things could bring positive solutions." He remarked.

Eric, Chad, Chuck and Claire walked up the stairs and looked at the door. On the door was a neon light bar that wasn't turned on. "I guess we'll see what Burns means when he said we wouldn't be able to open the door with the key." Eric commented. Eric took out the key he found in the restaurant and put it in the keyhole. He twisted it and felt a click. He grabbed the doorknob and turned it, but the door didn't open. The neon light bar did, however, turn a bright white. "Well, well, well." The gang heard in the same voice from the tape recorders. Eric looked up and noticed a loudspeaker implanted right above the door. "You've made it to the Sayersville Library. I guess I should congratulate you, as it must not have been an easy task to accomplish. Since you're here, you obviously must have been in the restaurant, where you found the key to this building. It was there I informed you that you wouldn't be able to open this door by simply using a key, and if you're listening to this, you've already tried. Now, I'm sure you're wondering what will unlock this door. I'll leave you with a hint as to what might unlock this door. The boy in the water wants something very valuable to you. If you grant the boy your valuable thing, he will unlock the door." The voice said accompanied by a sinister laugh.

"The boy in the water wants something valuable to us?" Chad wondered aloud. "What the **** does he mean by that?" He added. Eric turned around and put his hands on his hips. "Boy in the water..." He wondered aloud. "Maybe he means the statue of that ice skater?" Claire wondered aloud, pointing at the water fountain with the statue. "That's a good guess." Eric said. The gang walked down the stairs and stared at the water fountain. Eric looked up at the ice skater statue. He noticed the look on the statue's face. It was frowning and looking down at the four. "Anybody else see this statue looking at us? Or is that just me?" Eric asked, not taking his eyes off the statue. Chuck looked at the face. "I don't think it's looking at us, I think it's just looking down in sadness." He commented. "Well what the hell do we need to give this god damn thing?" Eric asked. "I think I know." Claire said, sounding panicked. "What?" Eric asked, going to the other side of the fountain where Claire was at. Claire was absolutely speechless from shock. She simply pointed at the water. Eric looked at the water and noticed an engravement-like plaque. It was an engravement of a right hand without the pinky finger.

"What the ****..." Eric said out of shock. Chuck and Chad joined the two. "What is it?" Chad asked. Eric pointed at the plaque. "What's that mean?" Chad asked. Eric looked at Chad. "I think he wants us to..." He said but then stopped himself. He just couldn't say it in a full sentence. "...cut off our god damn pinky." Eric said. Eric slowly reached into his jacket pocket and took out the knife they found in the train station. He gently rubbed the knife and looked at Chad. "I guess that's what he meant when he said we'd need this soon enough." Eric gently said. Chad was shocked. "Holy shit..." He muttered. "Now this is the sort of thing divine intervention would've asked me to do." Chuck remarked. "Chuck, don't be ******* crazy. You're not cutting off your god damn finger." Eric said. Chuck looked at Eric. "Listen, you're not in the position I've been in for the past two years. TWO ******* YEARS! I've been looking for my wife for two god damn years, and looking for a reason why my life was spared. Yeah, I've said it a thousand times, but I'll say it a thousand more times. I don't give a ****. I'm tired of living an empty life. I need some god damn fulfillment, and I'll get that fulfillment when I find Patricia." Chuck said.

"Hey, I'm in that position too, Chuck. Don't act like you're the only person with a loved one missing, okay? You don't know what happened to your wife. She could be fine and just hiding somewhere --" Eric said before getting cut off by Chuck. "No, she's not hiding. Pat wasn't the kind of person to do that. She doesn't live in fear. She's like me. She didn't care about the murders. She would life her life normally." Chuck said. "I don't give a ****, Chuck! God damnit, where do you think she could be if she's not hiding?! Unlike you, I know what happened to my wife! She was kidnapped! ******* kidnapped! You're not the only one with a missing wife, Chuck. Hell, mine could be dead right now." Eric said. "Don't tell me how to feel, Eric.You've only learned about your wife's situation today. Imagine feeling how you feel about your wife for two years, Eric. Two long, painful, excruciating years. That's my situation, Eric. I've been living with questions about my wife's whereabouts for two god damn years. And if cutting off my finger will bring me to her, then damnit, I'll cut off my finger." Chuck cried. Chuck looked up at the statue. "I'll give you all my ******* fingers!" He cried.

Chuck looked back at Eric. "Give me the ******* knife." He said as he grabbed it out of Eric's hands. "Chuck, don't be a god damn lunatic!" Eric said as he tried to grab the knife back. "A lunatic? I'm a lunatic now? I'm crazy for wanting some god damn fulfillment in my life?" Chuck sarcastically asked. "GUYS!" Chad exclaimed, trying to break up the mental breakdown. Chad looked at Chuck. "There's a rotting hand in the trunk of your jeep that you said fell off Kennedy's arm for a reason." Chad said as Chuck slowly moved the knife away from his finger. "So I'd suggest getting that hand, if you get my drift." He added. Chuck looked at Eric. Eric sighed and nodded at Chuck. "He's right, Chuck." Eric said. Chuck looked at Chad. Chuck sighed. "Fine." He said as he walked to the jeep. "Why didn't the car smell if there was a hand in there?" Claire asked. Eric shrugged. "I have no idea." He said. Chuck came back, holding the hand like a baby in his arms. Tears were flowing down his cheeks, disappearing into his white beard. Chuck leaned the rotting hand on the edge of the water fountain. Claire turned away and walked a few steps, unable to watch what was about to happen.

Chuck began cutting away at the pinky finger of the rotting hand, blood squirting onto his arms and sleeves, as well as the water fountain. Moments later, the pinky fell off the hand and onto the ground. Chuck started panting, in shock over what he had done. Chuck took the pinky-less hand and placed it into the engraving under the water. The water suddenly stopped pouring out of the statue's skull cap, the boy's expression now smiling. The water in the water fountain slowly drained. The gang felt the ground suddenly shake, almost as if there was an earthquake occuring. The shaking stopped and they heard a buzzing sound from up the stairs. The four went up the stairs and noticed the neon light was now a bright green. "Well, that was a nice time, wasn't it?" The voice mockingly asked and then laughed. The door then slowly opened on its own.

Long chapter.

[D-Ten]

Excelent chapter. I like your thinking with the hand again and how you went about it with Chuck, made me cringe.

I really think you should link to The Legend of Sayersville I Firstly because it you might as well have all you works archived. it would just look better I & II together with nightstown nightmare.
The main reason is because it was like your masterpiece, It was something special. Its done and dusted now but there are new people joining here everyday, although most of them are olnly interested in codes you might even get some fresh feedback, which can't be a bad thing. I think you should give it the most exposure possible, like it deserves.

nice Sig BTW

[EndZone]

I tried to add LOS to my sig, but it didn't fit.

Quote

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Eric reached down at his utility belt and took out his gun and flashlight. They entered the library. They were in a large, dark room. The room itself was a dark, pale green color. There was a big table in the center of the room with books and loose pages scattered all over the place. There were bookshelves along the walls with all the books out of order. There was a very weak light bulb providing a very minimal amount of illumination for the room. "Alright, well we had to cut off our finger to get in here, so there MUST be something big in here." Eric said. "I just hope Pete's actually here and not just ****ing with us." Chad said. Eric cautiously walked down the hallway where he saw a yellow arrow spray-painted on the wall, dry particles had already dripped down the wall and onto the floor. "I guess he wants us to go that way." Chuck guessed. The hallway was dimly lit by a weak light bulb on the ceiling that kept flickering on and off. Eric spotted a door at the end of the hallway, marked 'Officer Brown.' "Does that say Officer Brown?" Claire asked. "Yeah." Eric replied as he grabbed the doorknob. "Officer Brown was the police man who was working in the Security House. We met him in the Visitor's Center." Claire remembered. "You know this guy?" Eric asked. "Yeah. But he died in a car crash." Claire said.

Eric looked at the door again. "Then why the hell would his name be on this door?" Eric wondered aloud. Claire shrugged. "I don't know. Pete's just a manipulative guy I guess." She said. Eric grabbed the doorknob and slowly opened the door. Inside was a much more lit room. The room was big and the whole room was white. At the end of the room, there was a glass cave with water inside and a corpse of a police officer was floating through the water. "What the hell happened here?" Eric wondered aloud. "Looks like something you'd see in an aquarium, this tank." Chuck said as he put his hand against the glass. Claire walked up to the glass. "That must be Kevin..." She said as she put her hands against the glass. "Kevin?" Chad asked. "That was the officer's first name." Claire clarified. Eric looked into the tank. There were ducts on the floor that must've sprayed water up into the room he thought. "See those ducts on the floor?" Eric asked as he pointed at the bottom of the tank. "Those things must've been setup to spray water into the room." He said. He looked up at the tank. He squinted his eyes and noticed a dark, round area on the ceiling.

"You guys see that thing on the ceiling?" Eric asked. "Yeah, I see that. Looks kinda like an escape hole or something." Chuck commented. "Which brings up my question again.... what the hell happened here?" Eric said. Chuck sighed. "Well, it looks to me like someone didn't want Brown getting out of there alive. Looks like someone trapped him in there and had water slowly fill the room until it got to the ceiling, then he drowned. Awful way to die, but someone was determined to kill this man." Chuck suggested. "But why Kevin? He was a really nice guy and was very professional." Claire said. "Someone obviously disagreed with that." Chuck said. "Guys..." Chad said from the right side of the room. "I found something." He added. Claire, Chuck and Eric walked to Chad. "What is it?" Eric asked. Chad moved aside. In front of the group was a door that said 'Control.' Eric looked at Chad then opened the door. Inside was a small room with loads of control buttons on the walls. In front of them was a chair in front of a monitor. The group walked to the monitor and it showed a black and white static-filled picture of Kevin Brown floating in the tank. "Someone was watching him?" Chad asked.

"Yeah. Burns was watching him. That ****ing demented son of a ***** that's behind our whole reason for being here made sure Brown died." Eric said. Chuck saw a button that said 'Play' right beneath the monitor. "Well, guys, maybe we'll get an answer to that question when I press this button." Chuck said as he pushed the button. The screen went black, but static was still visible. Suddenly, a movie began. It was a surveillance view of Kevin Brown. He was lying on the floor of the aquarium-like structure. He woke up and sat up, rubbing the back of his head. He stood up and started pounding at the glass. "Where am I?!" Brown cried as he pounded at the glass. "Calm yourself, Kevin Brown." An anonymous voice said. Brown quickly turned his head, looking around the room for the unidentified man. "Mr. Brown, your location is not important at this time, but I advise you to be fully alert, because if you're not, your life may very well be in jeopardy." The voice continued. Brown backed away from the glass and looked around the room. "If you look down at the ground in the structure you're standing in, you might notice ducts. Twenty seconds after this message stops playing, those ducts will shoot water into the room at a fast rate. What you need to do, Kevin, is find a way out of that room. Good luck, Mr. Brown." The voice said.

Brown looked around the room. "There's no doors!" He cried. Moments later, water began shooting out of the water ducts in the floor. Brown planted his face against the glass of the room and started pounding away at it. "Someone please help me!" Brown cried. "Jim! Andrew! Claire!" He continued to scream. "****!" He yelled out. The water was already up to his knees and Brown felt around the walls, looking for anything that could aid him in his escape. Brown reached down to his waist to his utility belt. He looked down and realized his gun, flashlight and handcuffs were gone. All that remained was a knife. Brown took the knife and held it up to see it closer. Brown looked around the room, seemingly looking for a camera. "So is this how it is, Burns? You want me to die either way? Whether by drowning or killing myself before I drown?" Brown said. "You're one sad son of a *****, Burns. A demented psychopath. That's what you are." Brown continued. Brown took the knife up in his hands and stabbed away at the glass. The water was already above his waste and time was running out. Brown buried his face into the glass and covered his head with his arms. "Please, let me go!" He screamed.

"How could he do this?" Chad asked. "Really, this guy has no ****ing conscience." He added. "I can't believe what I'm watching..." Claire said out of disbelief. "This is just hard to watch." She added. The water was now up to his chest. Brown stood against the wall, seemingly hopeless. The water soon rose to his neck. "Before I die, Burns, I just wanna say you have no heart. You trap me in this structure with no way out, and you tell me to find a way out? I hope you have fun in your quest to take over this once peaceful town. That's all I've gotta say. I'm not gonna wish harm on you because I'm not that kind of person. Just know that what you're doing is wrong and what you're doing will not bring you happiness in the long run. Hopefully you'll soon realize that what you're doing is just sick and pitiful. I just hope you realize it before it's too late." Brown said. The water then rose up to the ceiling. Brown swam up to the ceiling to get a few final breaths of air. He then sank down to the floor. Suddenly, a man walked in front of the glass. Brown slowly swam to the front of the room, clearly running on his last bits of life. The man mockingly waved hello and then turned around and walked away. Brown punched away at the glass seemingly out of anger and then stopped moving.

[D-Ten]

Burns is such an *** ****. He' a great charecter, you've developed, and I can see him, as clear as day as Patrack Stewart from the cover you had at one stage.

[EndZone]

Lol, thanks. I try to really develop my characters a lot, but sometimes, I feel that I often contradict what I try to describe early in the story. But thanks a lot for that, it means a lot. It tells me my hard work is paying off.

Quote

------------------------------------------
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

"I can't believe this." Claire said. "How could he do something like this?" She added. Eric put his hands on his hips and looked around the small control room. "This tape is just evidence that this ******* has to be caught and quickly." Eric said. "So what do we do now?" Chad asked. "We have no more leads. I mean, the list is over, so now what?" Chad added. "I don't know, Chad." Eric said in an impatient tone of voice. "But something must be here if we had to cut off our finger to get inside." Eric assumed. "Maybe that was it." Chuck said as he pointed to the TV monitor. Eric looked at where Chuck was pointing. "You think that's it?" Eric sarcastically asked. "You seriously think we'd have to cut off our finger to watch a man die on film?" He added. "You know that Pete. He's a sick man." Chuck replied. "Yeah, that much is obvious, but I don't think he's that sick." Eric said. "I think I found something." Claire said from inside the agua room. The three men looked at Claire. "What is it?" Eric asked. "Come see for yourself." Claire replied. Eric, Chuck and Chad followed Claire out of the room that Brown died in, his corpse now sitting against the floor behind the glass. Claire stopped in her tracks and pointed to the wall. It had 'I hold the answers to your mysteries' spray-painted on it.

"The hell does this mean?" Eric asked as he looked at Claire. Claire shrugged. "I don't know. But I'm guessing it's something important." She replied. Eric felt the rough wall, feeling for something. "What're you doing?" Chuck asked. "I don't know, Chuck." Eric replied. Eric stepped back and looked at the wall. He looked at Claire and pointed to the wall. "We have to break that thing." He said. Claire smirked. "I like the way you think, Detective Thomson." She said. "But how? We have no manpower. We can't just break it with our own hands. That's a freakin' concrete wall." Chad said. "Yeah, you're right. We'll need to find something to break it down." Eric replied. Chuck chuckled. "You're expecting to find something to break down a wall in a library?" He jokingly asked. Eric looked at Chuck. "Well what do you suggest we do, Chuck?" He asked. "Hey, don't look at me. I'm just saying it's not likely you'll find the equipment to break down a concrete wall in a library of all places." Chuck replied. "Could the bookshelves break the wall down?" Chad asked. "I wouldn't count on bookshelves to do the trick." Chuck said. "Well there's gotta be something. He wouldn't provide an answer to our problems if there was no way to get it." Eric said.

Chad walked into the main room of the library, inspecting the bookshelves. Eric sighed as he looked at the wall. Claire wrapped her arm around Eric's shoulder as shook his head. "Don't worry, Eric. Don't let Pete win this battle." She said. Eric looked at Claire. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that. Pete is FAR from winning this little battle. See, he thinks he's winning. He thinks he's in control of me. But you know what? I like that. I like the fact that he thinks he's in my head. Let him think that." Eric said. "Look what I found." Chad said as he appeared behind Claire and Eric with a sledgehammer. "Holy shit!" Eric exclaimed. "You think that thing alone is gonna take down a damn wall?" Chuck asked. Eric looked at Chuck. "Well it's all we have, Chuck, so it'll have to do." He said. "Take a swing." Eric said as he, Claire and Chuck stepped away from the wall. Chad swung the heavy sledgehammer at the wall. Dust particles came falling to the floor. Eric looked at the wall and noticed it was cracked. "A few more swings should do the trick." Eric guessed. Chad swung the sledgehammer more until there was a hole in the wall. "I'll finish it." Eric said as Chad looked at him. Chad handed over the sledgehammer. Eric swung the weapon with all his might and the wall crumbled down to the floor as a result.

Eric coughed as dust flew into his face. He pulled his shirt over his mouth and nose as he stepped into the wall. There was a dimly lit hallway behind the wall, with a doorless room ahead. Eric looked behind him at Chad, Chuck and Claire, who eagerly watched him. "Chad." Eric said, requesting Chad's presence. "Right behind ya." Chad replied. The two coughed as they walked into the room. It was a small room, with a white refridgerator to the left and some cabinets on the walls, a small amount of light being provided by a flourescent light. Eric looked at the table and noticed a black notebook on it. "The hell is this?" Eric wondered aloud as he picked up the book. "What is it?" Chad asked as Eric skimmed through the book. "Some kind of sketchbook." Eric replied. Suddenly, a piece of brown paper fell out of the book and to the floor. "The hell is that?" Chad wondered aloud. Chad picked up the paper and unfolded it. "Looks like some kind of blueprint..." He said, looking at it. "Looks like it was burned a bit, too." He added. "What's it a blueprint of?" Eric asked as he put the book on the table. "I don't know..." He replied. "What did ya find in here?" Eric turned around in shock to find Chuck.

"Jesus, Chuck! You scared the hell out of me!" Eric exclaimed. "Didn't mean to." Chuck replied. Eric rubbed his chest in an attempt to calm himself down. "Some kind of blueprint." Chad replied. Chuck took the blueprint and glanced at it. "This is a blueprint of the Security House." Chuck said without looking away from the paper. "How can you tell?" Chad asked. Chuck chuckled as he looked at Chad. "I've been there before, and this is the layout of the place." He replied. Eric pointed to a black stick figure on the paper. "What the hell is that?" He asked, still softly rubbing his chest. "Couldn't tell ya that, that's anybody's guess." Chuck said. "It has 'DS' scribbed next to it, if that means anything." Chad mentioned. Claire suddenly appeared in the room. "DS?" Claire asked. "Yep, that's what it looks like." Eric said. "That could be Jim's brother. He said he had a brother named David, and that he was missing." Claire said. Eric looked at Chad. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Eric asked. Chad nodded. "This is the civilian we're here for." Chad said. Eric patted Chad on the shoulder. "You are a smart guy." He said. "Maybe we can find Jim, too! I haven't seen him since he went into that area..." Claire remembered. "What area?" Eric asked. "We found a picture of Pete in his basement and it had 'D24' written on it. Long story short, that's supposedly where David was being kept. But I don't remember anything after I fell down." Claire said.

"Do you remember where the Security House is?" Eric asked. Claire sighed. "Afraid I don't." She said as she frowned. "****." Eric said as he sat at the table. "I know where it is." Chuck said. "How do we get there from here?" Chad asked. Chuck walked along the room. "Well it's easy, you just---" Chuck said as the floor suddenly broke under him. Chuck fell down the hole as Claire and Chad gasped. Eric looked at where Chuck fell. "What the ****?!" He exclaimed out of shock. "He fell!" Claire cried. Eric got up and walked over to the hole. He crouched down and looked down the hole. It was pitch black, he couldn't see anything. Eric reached into his back pocket and took out his flashlight and shined it down the hole. He saw spiderwebs along the corners of the hole, dust particles floating in the air as a result of the sudden impact caused by Chuck. "Chuck!" Eric called out. There was no answer. "****!" Eric cried as he got up. "We've gotta get down there!" Claire cried as she looked at Eric in panic. Eric looked at Claire. "You realize what just happened?! Chuck fell through the god damn floor! And we couldn't even see him when I shined my flashlight down there! We don't know how deep that hole is!" Eric replied.

Claire kneeled down next to the hole and tried to see through the dust. "Chuck! Can you hear me?!" Claire cried down the hole. Still no answer from the pitch-black hole. "We have to help him!" Claire cried. "Claire, I can understand your panic, but let's be realistic here. We don't know how deep the hole is, and if we even attempted to climb down the hole, the walls could collapse under our weight." Eric said. "We're just gonna have to go on without him." He added. Claire simply stared at Eric. "How can you be so inconsiderate?" She asked. Eric looked back at Claire. "Excuse me?" He asked. "He could still be alive, just lying down helplessly in darkness, not strong enough to answer our calls." She said. Eric laughed, not believing that Claire was saying this. "You know what, Claire, go ahead. Try to climb down that hole and see what happens." Eric said. Claire looked at the hole then back at Eric. She kneeled down next to the hole and looked into the darkness. Eric walked next to Claire, awaiting an answer. "Well?" Eric asked. Claire looked up at Eric then back down the hole. She slowly stood up and looked at Eric. "You're right." She muttered. "Okay, then. I'm sorry it had to be this way, Claire. Believe me, if I could see how deep the hole was, I'd definitely try to get down there. But it's too dark to see past a few feet, so it's not safe." Eric said. "Eric's right." Chad said as he shined his flashlight down the hole. "We're gonna have to go on without him." Chad said as he looked up at Eric and Claire.

Edited by EndZone, 06 July 2007 - 11:47 PM.

[EndZone]

I just completed Sayersville 2. This was my second ever story and it was once again a hell of a ride writing it. I'd like to truly and gratefully thank you, TEN. Your feedback was the only reason I posted this here. I'd like to thank you very much for taking time out of your schedule to read my work and I hope you really enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Quote

------------------------------------------
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

"Well, I guess that's what Burns wanted us to come in here for." Eric said. "He probably wanted all of us to suffer that." He added. "Well now what do we do? We don't know where the Security House is." Chad said. Eric looked at Claire. "Claire, you said you were at the Security House, right?" He asked. "Yeah. It's the last place I remember being before you woke me up in that schoolhouse." She replied. "Do you remember where it is?" He asked. "Jeez.... I don't know. It's been years..." Claire replied as she looked at the wall in thought. "Claire, you need to remember where that Security House is. That place could possibly lead to our mission completion, and you may be re-united with Jim." Eric said. Claire looked at Eric. "Do you think he's still alive? Do you think he's lived through the past few years?" She asked. "Well, I don't know. I have no clue who he is or what happened to him. But if you could survive being handcuffed in a freezer, I'm guessing Jim can also survive." Eric said. Claire chuckled. "Yeah, I can't believe I lived through that." She said. "Hey, Eric, Burns left us directions." Chad said as he pointed at the table. Eric looked at the table. There was scribbling on the table where the book was placed. "Heh, little ******* covered this with the book." Eric said. "Can you read it?" Chad asked. "No, it's too small. Is there a magnifying glass in here?" Eric wondered aloud.

Claire opened the refridgerator. "Yeah, there's one in here. It's a bit cracked, though." Claire said as she picked it up. "I guess that's why there's a fridge in here." She speculated. She handed Eric the magnifying glass and Eric carefully position the piece to read the scribble. "What's it say?" Chad asked. Eric looked closely. "Brown knows where to go." Eric read aloud. "Officer Brown?" Claire wondered aloud. Eric turned his head around and looked at Claire. "Was that the man we saw die on film?" He asked. "Yeah, that's him. The man that Burns drowned." Claire said. "I still can't believe he did that." She added. "Well, let's not waste any time." Eric said. "Whoa, whoa, wait. How do you plan on getting in there?" Chad asked as he put his hand on Eric's chest to restrain him. "What?" Eric asked. "He's behind glass, man. How the hell are we gonna get past the glass?" Chad asked. "We have the sledgehammer." Eric suggested. "Well yeah, if you also want the water to come crashing into the side we're on." Chad said. "Wow, I didn't even think of that..." Eric said as he rubbed his stubbled chin. "Maybe that control room has something to sink the water down? After all, there were a lot of buttons." Claire said.

The gang exitted the wall and headed back into the room with Brown in it. They headed to the right and went back into the Control Room. Eric looked around the monitor. "It would probably be around here somewhere." Eric said as he moved his finger around, looking for the button. There was a large white button next to the monitor. Eric cautiously pushed the button. Eric, Chad and Claire were alerted to a sound in the main room. They exitted the room and noticed that the water was slowly sinking down, Brown's corpse sitting on the floor against the left wall. "I wonder how that body could sit like that." Chad wondered aloud. Soon, the water was gone from the other side. They waited for something to happen, but nothing did happen. "Uh... is something supposed to happen now?" Chad wondered aloud. Eric headed back into the Control Room. "How the hell are we supposed to get in there..." He wondered aloud. Chad suddenly appeared. "We found a door." He said. Eric followed Chad to the main room. "Where?" He asked. Chad walked over to the cave-like wall and opened a door that camouflaged into the wall. "Right here. It's really hidden well, but we found it." Chad said. "I found it." Claire jokingly said. "Wow, so Brown could've gotten out that whole time?" Eric asked. "I doubt it. Burns wouldn't make the door be able to open from that side if he wanted Brown to die." Chad said.

The three walked through the door and looked to the left, where Brown's corpse was sitting against the wall, its arms just resting beside its body. The body was already decomposing, his skeleton starting to show through the face. "God damn...." Chad said. "He must've been dead for a while." Eric guessed. "And to think that he could've gotten out the whole time..." Claire said as she looked at the door. "It's such a shame." She added. "Alright, well what do we have to do with Brown in order to get to the Security House?" Chad wondered aloud. Eric looked at the ceiling and noticed the escape hatch from earlier. Eric pointed at the escape hatch. "Something tells me it involves that." Eric suggested. "Well how the hell are we supposed to reach that?" Chad asked. Eric looked at Chad. "We're gonna have to turn the water back on." Eric said. Chad looked at Eric in shock. "Are you kidding me?" He asked. "It seems like that's our only chance in getting up there, Chad. We don't have a choice." Eric replied. "Someone is gonna have to run back to the Control Room, turn the water back on, run back into this side of the room and we're gonna have to shut the door. When the water gets high enough, we're gonna have to open the hatch and climb up into it. Is it risky? Hell yeah it's risky, and we only have one shot at this, so we can't **** it up." Eric said.

Chad looked at the escape hatch and sighed. "I guess you're right." Chad said. "I'll turn the water back on." Claire said. Claire then ran out. "How do we know it isn't locked?" Chad asked. "We don't know. We're just gonna have to hope it isn't locked." Eric said. Eric walked over to the corpse as water suddenly burst the ducts. Eric saw the knife Brown was given and picked it up. "We might need this, too." Eric said. Claire returned and shut the door. "Okay, let's do this." Claire said as she took deep breaths. "Remember, guys, we can't mess this up. This water is pretty god damn cold, and the door likely won't be able to open because of the water. So if we **** this up, it's over. We're gonna die like Brown did, and I don't plan on dying today, especially not in this ******* town." Eric said. Eric put his hand out. "So you guys, you ready to do this?" He asked as he looked at Claire and Chad. They nodded. "We're ready." They said. "That's the shit I like to hear." Eric said. The water soon rose up to their wastes. "We're all gonna have to take several deep breaths while the water rises. It'll help us breathe better so we don't lose all our breath once we're fully submerged when the water is high enough." Eric said. "You trained in this kinda shit?" Chad asked. Eric chuckled. "A little. I went through a lot of training to become an FBI Agent." Eric replied.

The water was now up to their necks. Eric looked up at the escape hatch and noticed a black wire running across it. "Jesus Christ... there's a wire that must be keeping that hatch shut. I guess Brown didn't spot the hatch." Eric assumed. "So the knife will come in handy then." Chad said. "Alright guys, take a few deep breaths. It's just about go-time." Eric said. The three started taking deep breaths in preparation for what was about to happen. Soon, they could no longer stand and had to kick their legs in the water to keep themselves up. They soon rose high enough to touch the ceiling. "Hurry, Eric!" Chad cried. Eric reached up and grabbed at the wire and pulled, but it didn't come down with him. "Take your last deep breath, guys!" Eric instructed. The water soon reached the ceiling. Now, it was a do-or-die scenario for the group. Chad and Claire desperately watched on as Eric tugged at the wire. Eric wrapped his left hand around the wire and cut away at it with his right hand. Eric suddenly felt the wire loosen. Eric tugged at the wire, but it still didn't release the hatch. Claire started to grab at her throat, signifying she was running out of air. Noticing this, Eric quickly cut away at the wire. The wire loosened yet again and Eric pushed the hatch, which proceeded to release up into the area above them. Eric quickly grabbed Claire and helped her climb out of the structure. Chad followed and Eric finally climbed up into the area and put the hatch back over the hole.

They were in a dark, blue room with plants on tables along the back wall, a big fancy window in front of them. "Is everybody okay?" Eric asked, gasping for air. "Yeah, I'm alright. I can hold my breath for a minute." Chad replied. Claire sat back against the wall. "I'll be alright. I've never been good at holding my breath. I just need a minute." She replied, her eyes closed. "Don't grab at your throat if you're underwater and running out of breath." Eric said. "That causes you to panic, and when you're panicked, you lose breath at a much faster rate than you do when you're calm." He added. "So where the hell are we now?" Chad asked as he looked around the room. Eric looked around, gazing at the flower pots. "Your guess is as good as mine." Eric said. "Never knew a library would have a room like this." He added. Chad chuckled. "Hey come on, man. This is Sayersville. Anything is possible." He jokingly said. "Yeah, you're probably right." Eric said. "What are those?" Claire asked as she looked out the window, still sitting against the wall. Eric walked over to the window and noticed something on the ground. They were around six stories up, Eric guessed. "Looks like a horse and buggy." Eric said. Claire looked at Eric. "Horse and buggy?" Claire asked. "Yeah. I see two four-legged animals along with a carriage. Closest thing that resembles something like that would be a horse and buggy." Eric replied without looking away from the animals.

Claire looked back out the window. "I remember we rode a horse and buggy to the post office." Claire remembered. Eric looked at Claire. "That's interesting." He said. "Why do you say that?" Claire asked. "A horse and buggy took you to a destination, and right now, there's a horse and buggy all the way down there." Eric said. "Get what I'm trying to say?" He added. "Ah, yeah, I do now." Claire said. Chad noticed a handles at the sides of the window. "I think I found a way to get down there, but you're not gonna like it." Chad said without looking away from the bar. Eric looked at where Chad was looking and saw the bars. "Oh, for ****'s sake..." He said. Chad grabbed the bars and pushed them to open the middle portion of the surprisingly sparkly clean window. He looked down to notice a ladder was built into the wall. "There's a ladder here, so I guess you can calm down." Chad announced. Chad began climbing down the ladder. "You think we can find Chuck down there?" Claire asked Eric. Eric sighed. "Chuck is underground somewhere, Claire. We're not gonna find him. I don't mean to be inconsiderate or anything, but I'm just gonna assume he's dead. I can't imagine him surviving that plunge." Eric replied. "You wanna go first or should I?" He asked as he looked at the ladder. Claire sighed. "I'll go first." She offered. Eric stepped aside as Claire began crawling down the ladder. Eric soon followed after her. Eric immediately sensed that the ladder was weakening as it slightly rocked as the three climbed down. "Guys, hurry up. I have a bad feeling this ladder isn't exactly strong." He announced.

Chad soon reached the ground and looked up at Eric and Claire. "You're almost done." He cried up. Chad took a look at the horse and buggy. There were two horses not moving, seemingly waiting for the three, a big carriage also attached to them. Eric finally reached the ground as he walked over to the horse and buggy. "So, you just got into it?" Eric asked Claire. "Yeah. It then walked off and dropped us off at the post office." She replied. Eric chuckled. "It appears that Burns is awaiting our arrival." He said. The three climbed into the carriage and the horses started to walk. Eric watched where the horse was going, seemingly going into the endless night. "Where the hell could these things possibly be taking us?" Eric wondered aloud. "There's nothing in sight." He added. "Probably to the Sayersville Security House." Chad guessed. "After all, that table said that Brown knew the way, and to get here, we had to pass by Brown." He added. "I don't know. Just a guess." He said. Claire started to tear up. "What's wrong?" Eric asked. Claire wiped the tears from her eyes. "Nothing.... I'm just hoping that Jim survived the past two years." She said. "What happened to him again?" Chad asked. "Supposedly, section D24 had Jim's brother David in it. The door wouldn't budge, though. So we all opened it, and I bumped my head. Then the man took me, and next thing I know, I'm waking up in that schoolhouse." Claire said.

------------------------------------------
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Soon, the horses stopped in their tracks. The gang stepped out of the buggy and looked in front of them. It was a large, white building, with a metallic doubledoor. "This must be the back entrance." Chad guessed. "It definitely is." Claire said. "I remember the front entrance having a front gate and a lion." She added. Eric slowly took out his gun as the three approached the doors. Eric grabbed the panel and slowly pulled it, opening the door. They were in a dark room, a small beam of white light by a sink providing illumination for that small area only. "Is there a light in here?" Eric wondered aloud. Chad felt around the walls and found a switch and flicked it on. The sudden burst of light blinded the gang for a moment. "Jesus!" Eric exclaimed. "Sorry." Chad said. They were in what looked like a small kitchen, dirty refridgerators along the left wall with a stove and counter on the right. They were old and rusty. "What happened to this place?" Claire wondered aoud. "I didn't think it was possible for a room to get this filthy." Chad said. "Alright, well David Saint must be in here somewhere, if what that blueprint said was correct." Eric said. "I'd be surprised if he was still being kept in here." Claire said. Eric turned to Claire. "Why is that?" He asked. "Well the picture in Pete's basement said 'Sayersville Security House D24' on it, and when we got there, Jim barely got in, and I don't remember anything after that. And that was two years ago." Claire said.

Eric looked at Claire like he realized something was wrong. "Oh shit...." Eric muttered as he rubbed his stubbled chin in thought. "What?" Chad asked. Eric looked at Chad. "She's right. He might not be here anymore if all that happened two years ago. Plus, even if he was still here, do you realize how slim the chances are that he's still alive?" Eric asked. "Claire's still alive, and she was handcuffed in a freezer." Chad said. "He brings up a good point." Claire said. "But even so, maybe someone was feeding me or something." She added. "Why the hell would Pete feed you? Didn't he hate you?" Eric asked. "Pete? No, he never hated me, or at least I don't think he ever hated me. Maybe his brother Bill kept me alive?" Claire suggested. "Oh that's right, Bill could also factor into this...." Eric said. "Well if he kept you alive, he probably kept David alive, too." Eric said in hope. "Maybe." Claire said. "He did seem to be a nice guy.... until he choked me out and locked me up in the freezer." Claire said. "Well, we've gotta look for him. I'm trying to keep an optimistic perspective, and therefore I'm gonna believe that David is still in here somewhere." Eric said. "Where do we start?" Chad asked. Eric looked around the grimy kitchen. "I don't know." Eric said. Claire walked over to the metallic double doors and peeked through the window. She was staring into a dark hallway, with a path to the left and to the right.

Claire turned around to face Chad and Eric. "Well, there's a hallway through these doors." Claire said. "It's dark, though." She added. "That's okay. We've got out flashlights." Eric said. "They didn't break in that chamber?" She asked. "These are special flashlights. We were issued them specifically for this mission." Eric replied. "Oh, I see. Makes sense." Claire said. Eric and Chad took out their flashlights as Eric opened the door. Eric held his gun in his right hand and held the flashlight with his left hand under the gun. The gang came up to the fork in the hallway and looked to the right to find the boiler room. To the left was a door. "Let's check out the boiler room first." Eric suggested. The three entered the door-less room, which was actually lit, albeit dimly. It was a small room with large pipes going across the wall and a bulletin board on the wall opposite of the pipes. Eric took a look at the bulletin board, which had a piece of looseleaf attached to it via a thumbtack. Eric took the paper off the bulletin board and glanced over it. "Hmm..." Eric thought to himself as he read the paper. "This paper is about Nancy..." Eric announced. "Who's Nancy?" Claire asked. Eric turned around to face Chad and Claire. "Chad, remember in Chuck's bar, where he showed us that picture of Bill?" Eric asked. "Yeah. What about it?" Chad asked. "Well, didn't he say that Bill kept saying Nancy when he was drunk during the taking of the picture?" Eric asked.

"Uh, yeah, I think so." Chad replied. "How the hell did you remember that?" Chad asked. Eric looked at Chad and held out the paper for him to see. On the paper was a newspaper-like headline that read "Rest in Peace, Nancy Wiseman." Chad looked at Eric in shock. "You telling me that Nancy was his wife?" He asked. Eric shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just as clueless in this whole ****ed up predicament as you are, but my guess is yes. Why else would Bill call Chuck Nancy? He must've been either remembering Nancy during the taking of the picture, or seeing Nancy instead of Chuck because he was so cock-eyed drunk." Eric assumed. "How the hell could Chuck have not known that Bill had a wife named Nancy? Wasn't he friends with the Wisemans?" Chad asked. "Well, all Chuck said was Pete would go to the bar from time to time and tell him about whatever shit was going on. He wasn't necessarily a friend of theirs. But perhaps he was, and maybe Bill just didn't say anything about Nancy or something." Eric said. "Looks like guys are just solving more and more mysteries, but at the same time unraveling new mysteries." Claire joked. "And it's getting frustrating." Chad commented. "Get used to it, Chad. This is what our profession is all about: solving mysteries, no matter how complicated they may be. This is easily the toughest case I've ever done, physically, but most of all, mentally." Eric commented.

"Tell me about it. This is one hell of a first mission." Chad said. Chad suddenly spotted a dirty red button on the wall, with the caption "Push Me" right under it. "Hey, check this out." Chad said. Eric looked at the button. Chad went to push the button but Eric grabbed his arm. "No, that's exactly what Pete wants us to do. If we push this, I bet this buidling will collapse or something." Eric said. "How can you be so sure?" Chad asked. "Just trust me, Chad. When you're hunting down a fugitive, you can't trust anything, especially a button that says 'Push Me.' It's just too damn suspicious." Eric said. Chad sighed. "I guess you're right." Chad said. Eric looked around the room, trying to find anything that might lead to David Saint. Eric looked at Claire. "You said David Saint was being held in section D24?" Eric asked. "That's what Pete's picture said, so we assumed Dave was in there. But I never saw what was in there." Claire remembered. "Well do you know how to get there from here?" Eric asked. Claire shook her head.

"I was never in this part of the Security House. Only through the front." Claire replied. "Damnit." Eric said. "You're forgetting about that door or something?" Chad asked as he pointed to the door on the other side of the hall. Eric looked at the door. "How the hell did I forget about that..." He wondered aloud. Eric and Chad took out their flashlights again as Eric slowly approached the door, his gun ready to fire. Eric grabbed the doorknob and opened it. They were standing in what looked to be a hallway, the only illumination coming from their flashlights. "I can barely see what's in here." Chad commented. Eric shined his flashlight around the room and spotted flourescent lights down the hallway. "Well, there must be a light switch somewhere, since there's lights on the ceiling." Eric commented. Claire looked at the spots Chad and Eric were shining their flashlights on. "This kinda looks like where we were." She said. "You were in a long, pitch-black hallway?" Eric asked. "Well, were in a long hallway, but it wasn't pitch-black. There were corpses in the jail cells along the walls, though, and the lights were off when we got in." Claire remembered.

"Corpses in the jail cells? Must've been the convicts. That would mean that the cops in this hell hole left them to die in the dark. How crude." Eric said. "That's what we were thinking." Claire added. "I also wonder if Andrew survived these past couple of years." Claire said. "That was Jim's brother, right?" Chad asked. "He was, yes." Claire replied. "Well, we better get a move on. Don't you remember that note?" Chad asked. "What note?" Eric asked. "That note that we got with the list? That said we better get our mission done quickly?" Chad said. "Oh yeah, that's right. Let's go." Eric said. The three cautiously crept down the hallway as they spotted the jail cells with the zombie-like corpses. "If any of you find a lightswitch, don't hesitate in flicking it on." Eric said. They continued walking down the filthy hallway and Eric noticed a lightswitch on the wall. "Oh, thank God." Eric said. Eric flicked on the lightswitch, but nothing happened. "What the ****?" Eric said in frustration. He tried to flick it off, but it was stuck in place. There was a pebble-sized light on the switch, which suddenly turned yellow. "The hell?" Chad wondered aloud. "Do you guys hear that?" Claire asked as she looked around in the darkness. "Hear what?" Eric asked. "Listen." She replied as he held her hand up. Eric and Chad listened, but heard nothing.

"I don't know what you're hearing. I don't hear anything." Chad said. Suddenly, Eric and Chad saw fog pouring out of the ceiling. "That can't be good..." Eric said. They then heard the sound of gas pouring into the hallway. "That! It's loud now." Claire said. "Yeah, I hear that, and I'm thinking it's not a good thing." Chad replied. Eric looked at the ceiling. There was foggy gas pouring out of the ceiling all the way down the hall, and it was spreading quickly. Eric coughed. "Must be some kind of sleeping gas." Eric said. "We've gotta get out of here." He added. The gang raced down to the door they came from and Eric grabbed the doorknob, but it was locked. "****! It's locked. There must be someone else in here with us." Eric said. The three turned around to see the gas rapidly spreading, and as a result, it was becoming difficult to breathe. "We're gonna pass out!" Chad managed to say while coughing. Eric pulled his shirt over his mouth and nose, but it was no use. He could still feel the effects of the gas being poured into the pitch-black hallway, the thick, white gas creeping into his lungs. "I'm not gonna die in here." Eric said with determination. Eric kicked at the door, but it didn't budge. He rammed his shoulder into the door, desperately trying to open it and get a bit of fresh air. Chad sunk to his knees against the wall, seemingly out of hope. "It's useless. I'm gonna die as an FBI trainee, and there's nothing I can do about it." Chad said.

Claire backed into the wall, closing her eyes. Eric walked over to Claire and grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "Claire, you need to stay awake. You might not wake up if you pass out." Eric said. Claire slowly opened her eyes, the gas buzzing ringing in their ears. "I'm sorry, Eric. I can't help it." Claire said. "It's just too much." She added. "But don't you wanna see Jim?" Eric asked, hoping to spark some determination in her. "I would love to see if Jim is still alive, Eric, really, I would. But my lungs and my body just can't take this anymore." She said. Eric let go of her and took a step back, looking at Claire and Chad, who were seemingly losing consciousness. "Look at the two of you. You're both just gonna lose hope? You're just gonna let yourselves die? I don't believe this. You've come this far, and now you're just gonna let yourselves die?" Eric said, trying to pump them up. Chad looked at Eric, his eyes half-closed. "Eric, we can't help it. This gas is just too much, and it's really starting to fill up our lungs. You think I want this to be the end? No way in hell. You'll be just like this in a matter of minutes, Eric. Just accept it." Chad said. Eric took off his business jacket and tossed it to the ground in frustration and loosened his black tie. "BURNS!" Eric cried, screaming at the top of his lungs. Eric looked at Claire, who had her eyes closed. "Oh no." Eric said. Eric kneeled down next to Claire, shaking her. "Claire!" Eric cried. "Claire, wake up!" He cried. "It's no use. She's passed out." Chad managed to say.

Eric looked at Chad, who was just barely conscious. "No, no!" Eric cried. Eric shook Chad. "Chad, don't you die on me, god damnit!" He said. Chad managed to open his eyes just a bit, but apparently couldn't say anything. "Chad!" Eric cried, shaking him. Chad looked at Eric, then closed his eyes. "****!" Eric cried. Eric stood up, realizing the gas was taking its toll on him. Eric was losing his balance as he walked down the dark hallway, slapping himself to help stay awake. "No..." He muttered to himself. "Burns isn't winning this battle...." He muttered. Eric stumbled over to the rough wall, coughing and gasping for air. Eric put his hand on the wall and shook his head, trying to stay awake. "You're not gonna win, Burns.... I promise you tha--" Eric said as he suddenly just fell to the floor on his face, his flashlight a few inches away from his face, shining down the hallway. Eric looked at where the flashlight was shining and heard footsteps. Eric could no longer fully open his eyes as he tried to open them. Eric tried to reach for his flashlight but he didn't have the strength to. Suddenly, he spotted what appeared to be a shadow walking down the hallway, though he was only able to see the legs of the shadow. "Who are you..." Eric said, though he didn't have the energy to say it loudly. The figure then suddenly disappeared, seemingly into thin air. Eric couldn't take it anymore. "I'll miss you Chad and Claire...." He muttered, realizing this was it. Eric then closed his eyes slowly, the gas buzzing ringing in his ears.

------------------------------------------
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Eric coughed as he slowly opened his eyes. He was lying on a hard concrete floor in a bright room. The floor was filled with white, blood-stained tiles, the walls composed of the same tiles along with the blood. They were obviously aging as evident by the dirt marks. Eric was lying down on his face. "Am I dead?" Eric wondered. He coughed as he used his arms to help himself into a crawling position. He noticed his flashlight was a foot away from him, facing him, and it was turned off. Eric kneeled as he rubbed the back of his head. "Where am I?" He thought to himself. Suddenly, Eric realized there was a body a few inches away from him. Eric looked closer at the body and realized that it was Chuck. "Chuck!" Eric exclaimed. Eric got to his feet and attempted to walk to Chuck's side but then was tripped back down to the floor. Eric fell and held his ribs in pain as he struggled back to the crawling position and looked behind him to see what tripped him. He then saw a shackle around his ankle that was attached to a chain, which was tied around a thick pipe. "What the ****?!" He thought to himself. Eric grabbed the chain and shook it, hoping it would loosen, but to no avail. "This chain looks familiar...." He thought to himself. Eric then opened his eyes wide as he saw himself retrace his own steps. He saw himself at the Train Station, looking at the lock and chain. Eric then returned to normal vision and then realized that they were the same chain and lock from the Train Station.

Eric looked behind him again at Chuck. Eric crawled as much as he could before being restricted by the shackle. Eric grabbed at Chuck's foot as he pulled him closer. Chuck's lifeless body dragged along the bloody floor, his own dry blood from the back of his head wiping onto the tiles. Eric grabbed Chuck by the vest he was wearing. "Chuck! Are you still alive?!" Eric cried as he shook Chuck. Eric felt something rattling against his hand when he shook his vest. Eric shook Chuck again to confirm that something was indeed hitting against his hand. "What the ****?" Eric said. Eric unzipped the pocket of the vest and reached into it and pulled out the item. It was a tape recorder. Eric looked at the tape recorder in shock and then at Chuck. Eric just stared at the recorder, really not wanting to find out something tragic. Eric looked up at the flourescent light and then at the tape recorder. He then hit the play button. "Good evening to you, Charles. It's a cold night, but it's going to get even colder for you, my friend." The voice from the recorder said. It was the same voice Eric and Chad heard before. "The scum known as the FBI are on their way to Sayersville. They'll be here in a few hours; I've made sure they get here exactly where I want them to. And you may be wondering, what do you have to do with this? Well, Chuck, allow me to explain." The voice continued.

"I understand that for the past two years, you have been separated from your wife, Patricia. Now, I realize being away from a loved one is a tough thing to live with, so I am offering you the chance of a lifetime. When the FBI comes to you, you must help them in their little 'quest'. Be sure to go with them all the way and don't do anything stupid. When it's all over, you might find your precious wife. However, if you even think about telling the FBI about this tape, you can forget about ever finding Patricia. So ask yourself this question: Do you want some fulfillment in your life by helping out the FBI or do you want to just keep things the way they are? Only you can answer that question, Chuck." The voice said. The tape then stopped. Eric was shocked. Eric stared at Chuck, who was definitely dead after collpasing through the floor in the library. Eric grabbed at Chuck's vest again. "Chuck! Chuck, Patricia is dead! She's in your closet!" Eric cried, but it was no use. Chuck died without knowing where Pat was. Eric sunk his head onto Chuck's corpse and closed his eyes. "I kept this secret for so long for seemingly nothing." Eric thought to himself. "Well, well, well. Look at this. What a re-union." Eric heard. Eric picked up his head to look in front of him and realized a man wearing a brown trenchcoat and brown safari hat standing in the doorway. "I've been expecting you." He said. Eric tossed himself off Chuck's corpse and stared at the man.

"My name is Pete Burns. I don't believe we've met before, have we?" Burns asked. Eric looked at Pete, fire in his eyes. "So you're the guy I've been hunting down all this time." Eric said. "You're the guy that deserves to rot in ******* hell." He added. "It's nice to meet you too, Eric." Burns said with a smirk. "You know, I have never once met a person who enjoyed being restricted to a small space." Burns said. "What the hell are you talking about you sick, demented *******?" Eric asked in disgust. "You're a fiesty one, aren't you? Why didn't you press that button in the boiler room? That button that was asking to be pushed?" Burns asked. "It would've prevented this. If that button was pushed, that would've deactivated the gas, making the lightswitch turn on the lights instead of the gas." Burns said. Eric stared at Burns in shock. Burns walked into the room but made sure to not be within Eric's reach. "You're a sick ******* *******, Burns. Do you really enjoy what you do? And where the **** is Beth?!" Eric yelled as he reached for Pete's foot, but it was out of his reach. "Hey, hey easy, easy there, Thomson. There's no need to get physical my friend. Now... who was Beth again..." Pete mockingly asked as he grabbed at his chin and stomped his foot in thought. "You know who she is you sick---" Eric cried as Pete cut him off. "No, no please, I'll get this. Oh that's right! Your wife! She's okay Eric, I promise you." He replied.

"How can I trust you after I saw what you did to Detective Brown?" Eric asked. "Hey, he had that coming, Eric. Don't you deny that. And how can you trust me? Well, for one, I gave you that button to stop the gas, and I also gave you a chance to get out of Sayersville, because I don't want your kind in my town." Pete retorted. "What the hell do you mean?" Eric asked. "That beautiful wax model of me that you destroyed the eye of to get to that camera, you remember that? That camera was filming footage of you and your 'gang' so your headquarters could track down your location and get you out of my town. But now that it's destroyed, you're hopeless. You killed your chance of survival, Eric." Pete said. Eric felt numb, shocked at all of Pete's words. "To be honest with you, I didn't even know you'd find the Security House. I thought you'd just stop at the Library and would be helpless in your quest." Pete said. "What the hell are you talking about?" Eric asked. "You left us that blueprint to get here you son of a *****!" Eric cried. "Blueprint? What blueprint?" Pete asked. "In the wall, *******." Eric replied. "I'm not liking your tone of voice, Thomson. I never left any blueprint in any wall." Pete said. Pete then looked off in the distance in thought. "Bill...." Pete muttered. "He always loves to give people a chance..." Pete said. "So he's the one who kept Claire alive?" Eric asked. Pete just stared back at Eric. "She's survived the years? Wow. I've gotta tell ya, I didn't think she was a fighter, but I guess she just proved me wrong." Pete replied.

"And what about Jim? Where are you keeping him?" Eric demanded. "Eric, get a hold of yourself. You jump to conclusions very quickly and you as too many questions." Pete replied. "How 'bout you stop dodging the questions and let me go!" Eric demanded, reaching out for Pete's feet. Pete laughed at Eric. "Eric, this is for your own good. I gave you a chance to get out of this town, but you destroyed it. You brought this upon yourself. Since you refused to leave on your own, I'll make you leave the hard way." Pete said with a grin. Eric stared at Pete, not knowing what to think about the situation. "Where's Claire and Chad you son of a *****!" Eric demanded. "Those two? They're in the after-hours." Pete replied. "What the **** does that mean?" Eric asked. "Oh, don't you worry, Eric. You won't have to worry about that." Pete replied. "But I must respect the fact that you brought up the blueprint that Bill left in a wall. That man must stop with that nonsense. He's ruining the way I run things." Pete said. "I'll deal with him later." He added. "But you won't have to worry about any of that." Pete said with a smirk. "Don't you ****in' dare, Burns." Eric said as he pointed at Pete. Pete looked at the wall beside him and positioned his fingers on the lightswitch. "Don't you do something you're gonna regret!" Eric said. "Regret?" Pete asked. "Oh, no, Eric. Don't you worry." Pete replied as he flicked off the lightswitch, the light from the outside hallway providing minimal illumination for the dark room. "I've been wanting to do this for a while." He said. "Burns!" Eric cried as he reached out to him. "Good night, Eric. Hope you enjoy yourself." Pete said as he stepped outside the dark room. "You ****in' piece of shit!" Eric cried. Pete then slid the door closed, leaving Eric Thomson to die in the darkness.

THE END

[D-Ten]

A bit of a shock in the end there, not what I was expecting.

Congratulations on the completion of your story. As I said before I've really enjoyed each installment. Its a really good story, and you are a very talented writer. I'm gratefull to you for giving me the oppertunity to read it.
Now I think I'll start reading Nightstown Nightmare. I've read the first chapter before, but I didn't want to mix the two. I might not post feedback as regularly this time, for the simple reason that I'd like you to hear a fresh voice.

Thanks again
TEN