The Killer Among Us

Chapter 5

Two days before the abduction

Aria

The ringing intensified. My whole body was in a state of shock and I didn't know how to break out of it. I felt my brother's eyes on me, worried and questioning. He must have known something was wrong but there was no way he could have guessed what it was.

To be quite honest, I didn't even really know what was going on and I couldn't form the words to explain it to him either. So we both just sat, enduring the ringing.

When it eventually stopped it was like my body was released from an invisible hold. Breath filled my lungs and I came alive once again. How could a simple phone call have so much power on me?

Carefully, I dared to look up to my brother, who hadn't moved an inch since he sat down.

"Aria, please explain to me what's wrong," he simply stated in his cool and confident demeanor. He had a way of always being in control of the situation, seemingly unphased by any obstacles.

Still, I couldn't find the words, the courage, to tell him.

"Please, I can help you," he said leaning closer to me, "I can fix this."

Looking in his eyes, I realised how he was the only one I truly ever trusted. Jacob was always there for me, without question. So, I made the choice to trust him with this.

"Promise you won't freak out when I tell you, Jacob." I was almost positive he would freak out.

Without missing a heartbeat, he responded: "Promise. Now tell me."

I gathered up all the courage I had and stood up. My purse was sitting on the kitchen counter and in it was a white envelope.

I took it and placed it in front of Jacob and quickly sat back down.

Unsure of what to do, he opened it and laid its content on the table.

In it was a picture of me, sleeping. Immediately confusion appeared on his face, his mind seemed to be working over time. His mouth was slightly opened when he looked up at me for just a split second.

"Turn it around," I ordered but my voice was shaking and anxiety was boiling inside of me.

He did so without hesitation and then he suddenly froze.

On the back of the picture, in dark ink, it said: "I am coming for you."

My breathing got heavy and the world around us seemed to have come to a halt. It was just me and Jacob, and the picture he was holding.

He met my eyes and seeing him so worried and invested brought tears to my own.

"I don't understand," he said slowly.

"That was on my porch when I came back from the graveyard this morning. As soon as I opened it, the phone rang. I -"

"Who was on the other line?" he interrupted with urgency.

"I don't know," I replied, "There was only breathing on the other end."

"Is there any possibility this could be a prank, Aria?" Jacob was now standing up with his hands placed on the table.

That was my first guess, too. I guess that's just what we both hoped for.

"No, Jacob. Who would do such a sick prank, huh?" I was slowly getting more and more frustrated at that point.

He turned around and ran his hands over his face again. My mind started spiraling and it felt like I was falling. The room around me was spun in circles and I felt sick to my stomach.

"We have to call the police, Aria." He turned around and looked at me with his dark eyes, full of fury.

"No!" There was no way I would do that. "They wouldn't do anything about it anyway!"

"Aria, there's some sick freak out there playing games with you. We have to call the police."

Suddenly I remembered. I remembered the black car at the graveyard today, the way it was slowing down with its tinted windows. I remembered that I felt watched, like someone was hunting me, preying on me.

But I couldn't tell Jacob. He would completely freak out and I can't risk him getting into any more trouble than he's already in. Jacob sacrificed so much for me and now was my chance to let him get his life back on track.

After all the trouble Jacob got himself into in the past, he is now on probation for all sorts of different charges. He is not a bad guy and he never hurt anyone but he did fall in with the wrong crowd, partially because of me.

Now I could make up for that. Deep down I convinced myself that the threat wasn't too big anyway and making a huge deal out of it now seemed to blow things way out of proportion. A police investigation and people looking into Jacob's past was the last thing that would help this situation.

So I made up a lie.

"You know what? I think this actually is a prank," I said trying to sound as confident as possible.

He looked at me with confusion and let out an annoyed, "What?"

"Yeah, this is just like a movie I watched with Helena the other night. She must be playing tricks on me," I added a breathy laugh to fully convince him.

He narrowed his eyes at me and then pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Aria, I don't believe you," he said, emphasising every word.

However, there was no room for discussion anymore. I wasn't having this. So I got up and took the picture from his hand, ignoring his protests. Without hesitation, I tore it into pieces and simply threw it into the trash, which clearly set Jacob off. "Aria-" He held up his hands, showing his annoyance. His whole body was tense.

"Don't make a big deal out of this, Jacob. It's just a prank."

With that I ended the topic and deep inside of me I wished that I would never have to talk about it again. Part of me was glad that Jacob gave me the perfect excuse to not call the police.

After a short while and wanting to find a way out of further questions, I announced with a fake yawn: "You know what, I should go to bed. I have an early start tomorrow. Talk to you tomorrow?"

There was no deceiving Jacob, however. He let out a hard breath and looked at me with disbelief, jaw clenched. I knew he was getting worked up and so I walked to the main door and opened it, gesturing for him to leave.

"Aria-" he pleaded again.

But I interrupted him. This time a little louder: "Good night, Jacob."

Then he rubbed his hand over his face again, clearly full of pent up anger and frustration. Luckily, he didn't fight me on this further. Instead, he left out into the night and a wave of relief washed over me.

There and then I decided to ignore this problem. Whoever was playing these tricks on me must want me to freak out. "I won't give him what he wants," I whispered into my empty house.

I slammed the main door shut, turned off all the lights and made my way to my bedroom.

Halfway up the stairs, the ringing suddenly returned. I closed my eyes but the ringing pierced through my entire body, filling me with cold and hard fear. Still, I didn't stop. I would ignore this. I had to.

The ringing followed me into the night, steady and unwavering. Finally, I began to realise what he was trying to achieve with these phone calls and when the realisation hit me my vision blurred in horror. I closed my eyes and tried to push down the bile that was rising in my throat.

Whoever was calling, wasn't trying to get me to answer.

Whoever was calling wanted me to know that I wasn't alone.