25. That Which Must be Done

That Which Must be Done

This time he was sure. This time things were clear. He felt no weight on his heart. No fear in his soul. The icy hand of bad luck did not caress his brow. This time he was ready to do that which must be done.

Even with his certainty he knew he could not be bold. He knew he must slip quietly into the moment of the taking. He knew that he must be careful not to be seen or heard or smelt. He must leave no mark other than the mark he chose to leave. That was the way it must be done.

It had been less than a week since he’d taken the last one and the town was going crazy. He was amused by the thing they were doing to keep themselves safe. There was no way he was going to be stopped.

He walked down Main Street whistling quietly. He smiled and nodded to most of the people he passed, even the people he didn’t really know. Atlantis was a tourist town but it was a small town and people were friendly.

“Hey, mate!”

As the voice called out he turned to see who was speaking.

“Hey, Josh,” he said when he saw the man standing behind him.

“How’s it going?” Josh asked.

“As good as can be expected, under the circumstances,” the watcher replied.

“Yeah, it’s a bit freaky isn’t it?” Josh’s expression was so openly serious that the watcher almost burst out laughing.

Instead he nodded. “I reckon it’s probably over now. I dunno how anyone could do anything like that.”

“Whoever’s been taking them must be nuts,” Josh said.

“Probably,” the watcher looked at his watch. “Listen, mate, I gotta get going.”

“Things to see, people to do,” Josh laughed and the watcher joined in.

“See ya round.”

“Yeah, see ya.” Josh was still laughing as he ran across the road and climbed into his car.

The watcher smiled and waved then kept walking down the street towards the beach.

The high school was useless to him on Sunday but he figured there would be someone at the beach to help him. Lots of kids played there, even in winter. It was one of the places he thought he’d be able to get one alone.

He crossed over the road and walked across the grassy reserve that helped divide town and beach. He called out greetings to people as he passed them. It was a warmish day and there were lots of picnics going on.

The number of people around made it easy for him to move around. The chances were good that most people wouldn’t remember seeing him and those that did wouldn’t connect him with what was soon to happen. It was the perfect way to do business.

Once he was on the actual beach he stopped and looked around. There were a few people lying in the sun and a couple of brave souls actually swimming. Three or four surfers were out trying to ride the tiny waves. It was not a good day for surfers. People were walking along the beach in ones and twos, taking in the beauty of the day.

Most of the people on the beach were kids. Kids loved the beach no matter what the time of year. They could handle sand in their pants more easily than their parents could.

The watcher watched as some people left the beach and others arrived. Always there were at least two other people around. Finally it was just him and a young girl who was walking along the beach.

“Hi,” the watcher said to the girl.

“Hi,” the girl said.

“Do you know what time it is?”

The girl looked at her watch and he grabbed her. His hand was across her mouth before she had any chance to scream. She was small and light and he picked her up easily and carried her along the beach to the place where he’d hidden his car.

As he tied her up and secured her in the back of the car he thought about how much easier it was getting to plan these things. Anyone who’d seen him arrive at the beach would’ve seen him walk there. No one would guess that he’d hidden his car first.

24. Craig

Craig

He watched Melanie as she pulled out of the airport car park and slipped into the stream of traffic flowing towards the city. She looked tired, he thought. Like she hadn’t slept in a week and couldn’t find any coffee.

When she stopped at a set of lights she looked over at him and saw him watching her. She smiled at him and in the smile he saw the girl he’d fallen in love with all those years ago. He thought that perhaps she hadn’t missed him while he’d been away but that smile told him she had.

The lights changed and Melanie turned onto the freeway that would take them back to Atlantis. Back home, he thought.

Craig had missed his small town family and his small town life while he’d been in London. It had been great to see his parents and siblings again but he’d missed his wife and kids more and more everyday.

“So Callie’s gonna look after Sam and Joel tonight and tomorrow,” Melanie said, picking up the conversation the two of them had started at the airport.

“That’s nice of her.”

“You say that now but you should’ve seen the evil grin she gave me when she offered.”

Craig chuckled, “Sometimes I wonder about your sister. She’s got a dirty, dirty mind.”

“That she does. That she does,” Melanie laughed.

It was raining lightly and Craig watched the water slide up his window without really seeing it. He was so tired everything seemed abstract to him. He didn’t mind the feeling but he knew he’d feel more alive once he’d slept.

“Your accent’s stronger,” Melanie said after a moment.

“Is it?”

Craig couldn’t care less about his accent. He never really thought about it. While he’d been in the UK everyone had commented on how Australian he sounded. But always in Australia he’d been told that he sounded English. It didn’t really bother him what he sounded like but other people seemed fascinated by it.

“I think it’s cute,” Melanie said.

“Well, I must say that I find your enjoyment of my accent most charming. It seems to me that only the most beautiful peasants are charmed by a real British accent,” he said, putting on an outrageous accent.

Melanie giggled, “Oh, Craig, I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, my lady. Your beauty is second only to the beauty of our reigning monarch. I say that only out of duty to the state. In truth you’re more beautiful than she could ever dream of being and you don’t have a son who could probably fly using only his ears if he ever tried.”

“Have you been reading Oscar Wilde again?”

“How do you always know?”

“Because you start thinking you’re funny and making jokes about the royal family.”

“Hmmm, really? I’ll have to put an end to that.”

“No, don’t.”

“So you do love my razor sharp whit!”

“I never said that.”

“Then why don’t you want me to stop?”

“Because I love you.”

“You know, Mel, if you weren’t driving I’d kiss you.”

“Wait till we get home and I’ll kiss you back.”

Craig put his hand on Melanie’s leg and settled back into his seat. He watched the kilometres fly past the window and they drew closer and closer to the town he loved so much. Despite how tired he was the closer they got to Atlantis the more excited he was. There was nothing like coming home after a long trip.

[AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yay! I finnaly had a chance to actually write another story. Sorry it's been so long. Uni is a lot more work this semester. Please comment on what you like/dislike or want to hear about.]

23. Through the Window

Through the Window



It was such a lovely evening. A little chilly but it was winter so that was to be expected. The air smelt of dry leaves and cut grass and it carried with it the promise of things to come. Dusk was creeping slowly up from its daytime bed while the sun slipped away to battle its way through the underworld.

Greg sat on the veranda looking out at the sea. Although he still looked like a young teacher he carried with him the weight of the ages. Something in his eyes told of a sadness and a loss of innocence that made him seem much older than he actually was.

Greg closed his eyes and let the evening wash over him. Cleansing him in a way that nothing else could. He let go of all the resentment and fear he held in his heart and reminded himself that the week was over. The week was over and it would never happen again.

He still couldn’t believe that he had been a suspect in the disappearance of Tommy Sutherland and Jenna Reigh. He was a teacher. He loved kids. The police though he might love them too much. He couldn’t believe it.

The resentment he felt towards the police paled in comparison to the sadness he felt at the loss of another student. He cared about the young people he taught. They were important to him. He hadn’t been a teacher for very long and the bitterness which he’d seen in some of the older teachers hadn’t touched him yet.

It annoyed him that the police had wasted their time on him when the real criminal was still out there somewhere. The police had no idea who was responsible for the abductions. They assumed that they were connected but that wasn’t even known for sure.

The whole week had been horrible for Greg. He hadn’t been allowed back to the school while he was a suspect so he hadn’t even had the kids to cheer him up. Thankfully he’d be back at work on Monday, now the police had realised that he hadn’t had anything to do with the abductions.

Greg’s reflection of the week was interrupted as a car pulled into his driveway. Callie turned off her car and got out. She paused, looking at Greg for a moment, before walking up the front stairs to where he was sitting.

“Hey,” she said as she sat down beside him.

“Hi,” he said.

The two of them sat in silence for a while, watching as the last remnants of daylight dissolved into shadow. There was no real need for talk between them. They knew each other well enough for the silence to be comfortable and welcome.

“How’ve you been?” Greg asked.

“Okay,” Callie said. “Worried about you.”

“I’m okay.”

“I can’t believe they thought it was you.”

Greg sighed, “They had to start somewhere, I guess.”

Callie snorted, “Whatever. Anyone who knows you know that you could never do anything like that.”

“They didn’t know me,” Greg pointed out.

“Obviously.”

They sat in silence again. Greg knew Callie had something to say to him and he waited while she worked out how to say it. He guessed it’d be her way of trying to make him feel better.

“Greg, you know you can talk to me don’t you?” she asked suddenly.

“Yeah, of course,” he said.

“There are a lot of people who care about you. We’re all here for you if you want to talk.”

“Thanks, Cal,” he hadn’t expected that but it made him feel better.

After a few moments Callie turned to him and said, “Wanna get a pizza?”

“Sure. And a movie?”

“Sounds good.”

The two of them grinned at each other in the darkness and everything was alright again. It was Friday night and the week from hell really was over.


[AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry I haven't been putting up many stories lately. I'm very busy at uni at the moment. I've got a huge number of assignments to do in very little time. I do intend to keep writing these but I just don't have much time at the moment. Sorry. And I still want to hear what you think of them so I know what direction to take them in.]