Gina stifled a yawn and closed the history book she'd been reading. She got up from the floor and sat on the bed. Putting the book on the table, she switched to lying position and relaxed. She was tired and needed to rest. A minute had not passed when the door bell rang. Groaning, she raised up her head.
"My goodness, I can't even take a nap." She got up, thinking of getting her own place. Being at her parents home was getting annoying as she couldn't control the number of visitors that came in. If she had her own house, she'd tell her friends not to come unannouced. It had been a big mistake, chosing to study at a community college in her town. At that time, she had not foreseen the restrictions it would have on her.
"James?" She saw him on opening the door. Looking up and down, she spoke; "What a surprise! When did you get back?"
Two years back, James had moved into the town. Gina, during her key escapades had found him stealing. After that, she'd researched a
Old trees guarded the darkness in moderate silence. Occasionally, they'd sway and the crackling of leaves would be heard. Gina walked fast, relieved that Liana had finally stopped complaining. Her heart beat faster with each stride, her mind reeling as she couldn't stop worrying about what could possibly go wrong in their quest to bury her box of keys in the small forest. She knew a spot which would be perfect for her most precious possessions but she was worried that one day someone would find them and hand them over to the police. But, what else could she do? She didn't have a lot of options.Her family members were beginning to get suspicious about everything she did. Because of her constant outings and unexplained walks, they'd began to think she was up to something. Her mother, for instance thought she was selling drugs. She couldn't let them find out about her key collection because she'd collected keys from almost everyone in the small town. People who didn't share her
Every part of her body ached. Liana rubbed her eyes, wondering how she'd been able to sleep in such a formidable condition. She tried to ignore the uncomfortable tightness of the ropes used to tie her onto the icy metallic chair. Instead, she focused on the dilapidated room. It was bare, the only furniture being the chair. The wooden floor was littered with waste composed of cigarette butts, empty soda cans, torn clothing and food wrappers. It surprised her that it didn't smell as bad as it looked.A splitting headache assaulted her when she tried to remember how she got in the room. One thing was clear, she'd been drugged and kidnapped. But why? She yearned for a bed, to lay her head on a soft pillow and drift off to sleep. She had never felt this uncomfortable.A man came into the room, wearing a black mask. He was tall and had lean muscles. He wore all black clothing and carried a stool. Liana watched him put the stool down and close the door. Picking it up, he went
Gina sat on top of the hill, breathing hard from the climb. She smiled, enjoying the feel of the wind against her face. She was finally at peace. People had not stopped asking about Liana since morning. It had began with her mother who inquired when she came to wake her up. Gina had lied, saying Liana had gone to see her parents and resolved to tell that to anyone who asked. Liana had been living with Gina's family since her parents opened up their medical practice in a remote area that didn't have a college. She regretted having gone to college that day. She'd lied to so many people including her friends and teachers. What if Liana turned up dead? She'd be the first suspect.She shook her head, not wanting to think of that possibility. Liana was alive, probably kept captive somewhere. In the small town where she knew everybody, she didn't know where to start or who to suspect. Everyone behaved normally. Her head was killing her. Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought of
The dim lamp cast a small glow allover the dark room. Liana ate slowly, occasionally looking at the gun in the man's hand. He let her eat in peace provided she didn't scream. She obeyed, knowing that one wrong move could end her life. She had so much to live for and did not want to die because of Gina's stupid hobby or whatever disorder it was."I talked to your friend, today." He said, playing with his gun. It seemed he had used it for to many times he wasn't scared of it. "I offered to get you back home. All she needs to do is kill Cole Miller. Easy right?"Liana gasped. "Easy for a psycho like you. How dare you tell my friend to do something like that?""You and I had a deal.""You haven't told me the particulars so it's not a deal yet," she insisted. He couldn't just decide they had a dealer when she had no idea what it was about."I thought it was clear," he said. "We both unite in revenge against our common enemy.""Gina is not my enem
Gina held the sharp knife in front of her face, thinking of the moment she'd have to plunge it into Cole's chest. Hellen, a friend of hers walked into the kitchen and opened the cupboard, pulling out a box of biscuits which she proceeded to open."Don't do it, Gina." Hellen said, eating a biscuit. She was the only person Gina had confided in. Now she was beginning to realize it may have been a mistake to confide in her."I either kill Cole or Liana dies and I'll go to jail," Gina said, putting the knife back on the rack. "I don't want to go to jail. Who knows how many years they'll keep me imprisoned? I have a life to live and I'll not give it up because of Cole. Besides, that man is going to kill him, anyway."Hellen shook her head."I know you, Gina. You're not a murderer and will never be able to live with it."Gina knew Hellen was right but she was scared. She had to save Liana by all means. And if the police ever found out about all the keys she'd obt
"Rip Cole" was everywhere. The man had shown her everything using his phone. Liana was still to believe that Gina had gone ahead and killed Cole. She'd known Gina since she was a child and they'd always been so close, like peas in a pod. There was no way Gina had turned into murderer overnight."You know I've always thought she was just a common thief," The man said, looking at Liana. He was seated on a chair placed right in front of her. He had removed his mask but she didn't recognize him. He was not a native of her little town. "I can't believe she'd kill someone who'd never done anything wrong to her. She's one cold hearted girl."Liana wanted to tell him to shut up but he'd put duct tape over her lips. It was all his fault therefore he had no right to judge Gina. He had pushed her against the wall. What did he expect her to do when he was keeping her best friend hostage. Gina had chosen to save her over Cole. It didn't make her happy that a man had been murdered t
I'm telling you I didn't do it," Gina said. Hellen stood up and went to the window."Then who did?" She asked, smoothing the dark maroon curtain."I don't know. I think it's that guy. He set me up and now he's not answering my calls. I don't know what to do."Hellen came and sat next to Gina on the bed. She snaked her left arm around Gina. "You should go to the police. Tell them everything so they can catch this guy before he destroys your life.""You know I can't do that," Gina said, wiping her tears with a blue t-shirt. Her head was aching so much from confusion and excessive worrying. Besides that, she hadn't been getting enough sleep. "It could cause a lot of complications, for instance me being a suspect. I just wish that moron could just let Liana go like he promised. We had a deal but he has refused to honor it.""This guy is very dangerous. You have to report him, unless you're the one who actually killed Cole. If you're innocen
The town was quite small and the three siblings were outside the biggest supermarket in it. They were in a car coming up with a plan as they had been watching the supermarket for three days and they'd mastered the workers' routines. The only problem so far was the skinny girl and her friend who were always patrolling the supermarket. It seemed they were after something in particular and the siblings hadn't figured it out yet."How doesn't anyone in this town notice that these girls are acting weird?" The girl, Kyla asked her brothers."They're quite pretty with innocent faces," Ned, the eldest said from the driver's seat. "If they weren't half as good looking, everyone would think they're creepy. They're also very average in terms of dressing and everything.""I'm going to see what they're up to," Mark said when the girls went inside the supermarket. He got out of the back seat and followed the girls.On entering, he saw the skinny one removing keys