Thanks, that means a lot to me. I like writing, and sometime, I would really like to go into professional writing. Right now I'll just stick to this
Michael yawned. He wondered when Amy would be found. He had already heard reports of Christine Williams found tied to the bleachers. He was happy to read how it had taken the rescuers quite some time to untie her, he had done a pretty good job. When he looked at the paper, a mention of Trisha Smith arose, something about her being tied up too. He never remembered doing anything to Trisha Smith, he barely knew her. But he supposed that he might have tied her up at one point, he had been doing this for a long time, it was hard to keep track.
Despite this, Michael knew that his job was going to get harder. They had already specified that young girls were the targets, so those young girls would watch out. Once they saw this many would avoid going outside alone.
Of course, Michael knew that many of them would also think “It’s not going to happen to me.” Of course, getting tied up and hearing it on the news were two different things. Michael knew that they would always think it would happen to someone else. Until it happened to them.
He had managed to retrieve the handcuffs he had used on Christine. The people who freed her just left his stuff lying there, so that saved a trip to the store. Tying people up came with a price, literally.
He had decided to go after Alice Turner, the redheaded girl his age. Today, she would be at the swim pool for two hours. Lots of people used the local indoor pool, so he had to wait until she was picked up. She always waited in the back parking lot, which almost no one went to. No one would be there to see her get bound, no one to hear her cries for help.
It was a short ways, so he walked. Eventually, he made it, arriving at the large swim center. He had gone there a few times before, but never really liked swimming. He walked to the back parking lot, and took note of how there was no windows for people to see him tie her up. Perfect.
Despite how the warnings of always staying where people could help you, Michael knew that one way of another, the girl he was looking for would be alone at some point. It was unavoidable, and that’s when he struck. He would never let down an opportunity, let a chance go by.
Except that Alice wasn’t turning up. She appeared here every time at this time today. She should be here.
Michael crossed his arms. Impossible. She was a no-show. Was she sick? No, he saw her today. She was looking perfectly healthy. He was pretty sure she was going to the swim center, but hadn’t made sure that was exactly where she was going. Maybe she had another schedule.
He shook his head. Swimming meant a lot to Alice, it would take something pretty important for her to miss a practice. Maybe she was still inside, for some reason.
He waited another ten minutes. Nothing.
He got up from his hiding place. Not a single soul had been here, especially not Alice. He noted how in nearly half an hour nobody showed up, and briefly wondered why the back parking lot even existed if nobody used it.
He started walking down, but then he heard a slight “mmph!” Michael stopped. He was sure he heard it, he had made many a girl make the same sound. It was barely audible, he could have mistaken it as his ears playing tricks on him. But there was no mistake. It was the sound of a gagged girl, he could recognize it anywhere.
He was next to a large little forestation area. He knew that there was a bike trail running down it somewhere. He hurried through.
“Mmph! Mmm!” He followed the muffled cry of distress. He stopped, and saw that Alice Turner was already tied up.
She was dressed in a two-piece swimsuit, and she was still wet, as if she had just gotten out of the pool. A towel lay at her feet, and Michael guessed that she had been drying off. Her arms were tied over her head, so high the she was on her tip-toes. Her wrists were tied, and had a rope tied to a high branch. Her ankles and knees were also tied up, and she was bound to the tree at the shins, thighs, and belly. A piece of duct tape formed as a gag was over her mouth, and by the sound of her muffled cries, she had a piece of cloth stuck into her mouth.
Michael was stunned. He couldn’t have done a better job. It was almost as if he had done it. Whoever had done his job for him was a professional, as good as he was.
“Mmph!” Alice cried, obviously asking him to free her. Michael was suddenly thankful that his mask still hid his face. He ignored her pleas for help and turned, he wasn’t about to let her free. He wondered who the mysterious person was, and why he was tying up girls too.
In the end, it matters not how many breaths you took, but how many took your breath away.
-shing xiong
We are not retreating, we are advancing in another direction
-General Douglas MacArthur
Fall down seven times, stand up eight
-Japanese Proverb