Storymania - A Stalker's Story by D Corona

A Stalker's Story
D Corona

A Stalker’s Story

Sara is face to face with the coldest killer she has ever come into contact with in her career. There is a crisp coolness to his eyes informing those looking at him that there is no compassion. She remembers seeing reports about him at work, and heard that he is both gruesome and merciless. The operation didn’t run as planned, especially because she was the bait. Her fear hasn’t set in yet, probably because she’s causing more questions to brew then causing the need to slaughter. He sits across from her staring silently for awhile. Being cautious she doesn’t try to start the conversation but the suspense of waiting for him to do something is nerve wracking. In the past she has done minor undercover work before and all went smoothly, not to mention there was little risk involved. When asked to participate as bait to capture The Butcher she was hesitant but figured all of the bases had been covered. She was wrong.
So, now she’s sitting in front of a man who enjoys carving people up while they are still alive and then he positions the bodies after they die in some form of scene. His most recent was a religious move where he punctured the girl’s hands and feet, placed a barbwire crown on her head and a stone by her foot. It was a mockery; she was a prostitute so the relation was between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Our profilers suspect he is beginning to view him self as a higher power; him as Jesus and the girl as Mary Magdalene. If this is true then he believes he controls who lives and who dies and how. He may become more frequent about it but he might also become careless.
Sitting in front of him now she is sincerely hoping she’s found before becoming number 23. He leans forward onto the table separating them, pauses and then stands. He leaves her in the living room area and he walks to the kitchen. Trying to follow him with her eyes is difficult while strapped to a chair. The fridge opens and closes and then the microwave starts running. A few minutes later he plops a TV dinner down in front of her. He reseats himself on the other side of the table and motions for her to eat. She won’t be distracted by eating. Besides her entire torso not just her arms is tied to the chair. As Sara stares at him her memory flashes to the pictures of the girls he’s killed. She is unable to imagine him doing those things. She imagined a demon, all distorted and ugly. The kind of creature expected to commit that kind of cruelty. Not a human being.

“Why did the cops pick you?” he asked. Startled out of her wits she almost chokes.

She swallows, regains her voice and replies, “You mean for the lure and capture?”

He nods his head yes complacently, and she continues, “Because I match your MO.” She doesn’t bother lying to him. He obviously knows police procedure otherwise he’d be in jail right now pleading not guilty by reason of insanity. Instead she is the new guest in his world of hell. He seems to understand his impulses but he can’t stop them. He has to fulfill them. The urge is not with him now thankfully.

“They delivered a perfect specimen; shoulder length brunette hair, dark skin mainly of Hispanic descent, brown eyes, but there is one part of my reasoning I believe they missed.” He says.

This is not comforting. He slowly starts reaching across the table. He brushes her hair back and stares for a minute before sitting back again. All of his victims had widow peaks like hers. The perfect specimen? That doesn’t sound right. He must have seen her confusion.

“Tell me detective, how do I normally collect my girls?”

She replies “You stalk them for awhile and when you can’t just sit back and watch anymore you take them.” He smiles for a moment. “But that’s not how you captured me.”

“No.” he replies. “I watch them and I yearn for them. I know their every move and it builds up inside of me. I own them; then all I have to do is collect them. I knew your police buddies were going to try and bait me at some point. It only makes sense with the way I operate.”

“Who are you?” Wondering if this earth shattering news would ever leave this house.

He smiles, “Besides your worst nightmare? I used to be a cop, Sara.”

He sounded to familiarized. She scrolls through her memory trying to place his face. She sifts through dirty cop rap sheets and walking through different precincts. Nothing is ringing a bell.

She is a little shocked, “A cop?”

“Yeah, that’s how I knew to check for that wire and tracking device you where wearing and I knew how to evade those fools you call backup and escape with you. Oh, I threw that tracking device in the bed of a pick up headed south. So, your buddies are after a Chevy Silverado that you’re not on.”

This is bad and she knows it.

He continues, “Come on Sanchez, you can’t place me?”

He knows her. Was he watching her? The fear is starting to set in. Did he know that the police were baiting him because he’s been watching her?

He stands and walks to the wall leaving his back to her as he talks, “You do know me Sanchez.”

“Why don’t you help me remember?” She says with more bravado then true bravery. He returns to the table. Except this time he doesn’t sit, he places his hands on either side of her on the table and leans down to her level. This raises her nerves. Her eyes are fixed by his eyes. They are so cold and empty. They are filled with endless hatred, the type that rages inside and can only be expressed in the worst way.

“You don’t recognize me do you, Sara?” He says not inches from her face.

“No, what precinct were you stationed at?” She asks. As she looks in to his eyes, she is starting to fear him. The situation is starting to catch up to her. She’s alone with a killer in the middle of God knows where with no weapons, backup, or mobility.

“The 156th.” He replies. He’s waiting for it to ring a bell. It does.

“Did you work with a Carlos Sanchez?” She asks the reality of it all dawning on her.

“Your dad was quite the cop. Probably the best partner I’ve ever had. He had that motto though. Protect the weaker, serve the helpless, and stay…”

“And stay true to the job at the end of everyday.” Cutting him off; it’s the same motto she lives by now. She remembers watching her dad dress every morning in his uniform and he would recite it for her.

“To bad he didn’t get the chance to watch you grow up like I did.” He says. What is he talking about, like he did. He continues, “I remember watching you at your daddy’s funeral. You wouldn’t let yourself bawl. Oh no, you couldn’t stop the silent tears but you didn’t sob. You were so strong for him that day. You were strong from then even to now.”

“Yeah, so what’s your point? You worked with my dad and then he got shot by a drug dealer.” She pauses. The fear is leaving her and her blunt anger is surging forth. “You don’t know me you disgusting little creep and you wish you knew my dad.”

He starts laughing “I’ve never been called a drug dealer before.”

She’s realizing how psychotic he is. His last comment catches up to her; he’s never been called a… “What the hell do you mean?”

“Sara, your daddy was too squeaky clean. Do you know what we found when we busted into that warehouse? We found two large cases of unmarked bills. Now at the time we were both struggling to pay rent let alone food and other necessities. How would the department ever know if we said we only found one case?”

“It’s not right. A police officer is supposed to uphold the law, especially in the difficult times.” She spats.

“What your father said was along those lines. That’s why I had to kill him.”

“You…” She can’t breathe. He killed… Without thinking she starts struggling against the restraints. The rage is filling up inside her as she strains to free herself.

“You dirty, filthy, scumbag!” She yells. Her anger brimming with a blinding hatred, “I remember you; my father knew you were weak and easily swayed by the easy way out. He pitied you, you pathetic waste of space. You were a pity project, Marlin.”

“Pitied me!” Marlin yells. “He kept me close to keep an eye on me.”

“What?” She is confused.

“Yeah, on one of his days off he had to come in and grab some paper work and you were with him. He didn’t like the way I looked at you. You who were so young and virtually untouched; you still have those innocent eyes. You’re the reason Sara.”

“I’m the reason for what?” She screams. This guy is turning in circles in her head and she is beginning to feel off balance.

“You started my stirrings. When I saw you I wanted to tear you apart. I wanted to destroy your beautiful innocence.”

“What is wrong with you? You creep!” She screams again. The fear is returning to mix with her rage.

“What pushed me over the edge was the day of your father’s funeral. You stayed so strong. I went to sit out front on your steps during the reception when you came out. You sat next to me and you just started bawling. It felt like the whole worlds grief shook its way out through you tiny little body. At that moment I wanted to take you away. You were so devoted to your father it made me jealous. I wanted to rip you apart right there. At that time I realized how horrific I was being, so I left.”

He pauses and clears his throat, then continues “You are the cause of it. After a while I couldn’t abate my stirrings so I attacked others that looked just like you. None of them compared though. None of them can match up to you Sara. None of them.”

“You sick piece of… you…” She is so confused. She starts shaking and can’t figure out how to get out of this situation.

“Sara.” He begins “Sara, don’t be angry. You see? It was all for you.”

“FOR ME!!” She strains the ropes even tighter. “You are nothing to me, Marlin. You’re just another crappy retired dirty cop with too much time on his hands and no honor.”

“Nothing.” He sound shocked. “NOTHING! You are everything to me and I mean nothing to you! He turns to the kitchen and returns with a knife. “Nothing! Nothing to you, you ungrateful wretch!” He is dragging her through the kitchen towards the bathroom. She starts writhing around and he drops her. The back of the chair slams into her back. He tries to lift her again but she turns and both of them fall. He falls on her and she latches on to his shoulder with her teeth. He screams and knocks her away. He swings at her.

“Wait!” she yells. She is at an awkward position. She is on her right side with the chair attached to her, looking up at him. When she hit she heard the arm where her wrist is tied make a splintering sound. He’s kneeling next to her with the knife raised when he stops. “I’m the one, right? I drive you. Then you can’t kill me. If you kill me, then what’s the point? You can’t go on, and go after all of those other girls when the one you yearn for is dead. Killing me won’t halt your need to kill. You’ve been doing this so long that it is embedded in you. Then when I’m gone who will be your queen. Who will be the ultimate yearn. You’ll have no one but the fakes.”

He is thinking it through, but he knows police tricks. She’s not sure how long this’ll last. He looks at her and his eyes become wild. “You’re still mine Sara. You will always be mine.”

With that he lifts her up and drags her back into the living room. She knows she’s bought herself time, but how much? She watches him pacing around the house mumbling angrily to himself. Obviously, what she said hit home. In the kitchen she hears him stop suddenly. He returns to the living room with a knife in hand and approaches her.

“You’re right Sara, I’ll never stop and you are the one. The others are just copies. You though, you’re mine.” He sets her in the middle of the empty living room. He backs up as if he’s pushing himself to go through with this. “I know I’ll never stop. You and me we’ll be together forever now.”

Sara knows what he’s going to do. He runs at her with the knife ready. She lunges forward and slams into him. The knife grazes her shoulder. They both fall back. Sara hits the floor again except this time the arm of the chair splinters off. Marlin comes at her again. She swings her right arm around with the splintered wooden post tied to it into his face. He drops the knife to hold his bloodied face. Sara maneuvers herself onto her knees. In a rage Marlin grabs her and throws her into the wall. The chair breaks apart she hears a loud snap when she hits her lefts shoulder on the floor. Her vision is bleary and the pain is starting to sear up her neck and down her back. As she’s starting to focus she can hear him coming. Her panic returns and when he steps forward again she kicks her leg out and hits him in the knee. She hears it crunch and he screams out. She struggles out of the rest of the chair. She works her way back to her knees. He is in front of her holding his leg. She notices the knife next to him. Before she can reach for it he snatches it. She uses her only weapon and slams the arm of the chair into his shoulder. She felt it sink in. he yells out in pain again but he grips the knife tighter and slashes her across the face. She pulls her arm from him and uses it to brace herself to keep from falling forward. The pain is excruciating, searing through her head. She cries out. Desperation sets in. She can’t give up! She looks up and pushes him back and runs. He loses the knife and scrambles after her. She runs into the woods surrounding the cabin. She can hear him carelessly chasing her. Her vision keeps fading in and out of focus. She knows her injuries are going to get the best of her if she doesn’t get away soon. Branches keep whipping her in the face and tears are streaming down her face as she maneuvers through the brush. Her panic is on the verge of hysteria when she breaks through to a road. There are no cars but she starts running up the road. He is still in the woods as she gains more time. An old truck rounds the corner and she jumps in the road waving for it to stop. The driver slams on the brakes and yells at her.

“Lady! Are you crazy?” he gets out of the truck.

She looks behind her and she can see Marlin gaining on her.

“HELP!” She yells and pushes the driver back towards his car. “He’s trying to kill me! We need to get out of here.”

The driver is confused but notices her bleeding and Marlin hobbling after her. He grabs her and is putting her in the truck when Marlin attacks him.

“No!” Sara yells.

She reaches under the seat and pulls out a tire iron. She jumps out and slams the tire iron into the back of Marlin’s head. That knocks him off of the driver. She helps the driver up and into the truck. As Marlins stands she attacks this time out of hysteria. She beats him over and over. Hitting him in the head and the arms and anywhere she can until he stops moving and the driver pulls her off of him. She drops the iron and shrinks to the ground sobbing. The driver pulls her to the car and calls the police.

Danielle
Corona