The Hangman's Game - A 'Perfect' Town Murder Mystery

Chapter 21: The Hangman's Sinister Stalker

I couldn't keep myself from stopping the visions. My head was fucking killing me. It felt like it was about to burst. 

My colleagues were distraught about me, but what could I do? Say that I have an evil side trying to control me? No, that would have been stupid. 

We were looking into the stalker angle, trying to find an idea of who it was, but we turned up blank so far. We needed to dig deeper into this whole mess because this was getting on my fucking nerves.

"Andrew, this is getting worrying," Matt said as I rubbed the bridge of my nose while I leaned against a wall. 

"I know, but I can't control it...it's like it wants to take over me.." I said, grimacing. 

I couldn't control myself; it's like I wanted to become someone I'm not....someone like Ricky. I felt like I was being pulled in two different fucking directions. 

"You sure you're still up for this case?" Monty asked, looking worried.

"I'll be fine", I lied, trying to mask my worry with a fake smile.

"Are you sure? You seem like you're lying," Matt said sceptically, raising an eyebrow. 

"I said I'll be fine!" I snapped defensively as I stormed out of the office, feeling highly irritated. 

"We need to keep an eye on him," Monty said. "I have a feeling something bad might happen to him." 

"Yeah, that's a good idea" Matt nodded in agreement after seeing me leave. 

I felt my anger bubble inside me; I couldn't control this side of me. It was far too painful for me.  I hated feeling so angry. I wanted to get all this anger out. To scream at the top of my lungs, but I didn't. Everyone would have seen me going crazy, which is already enough since they know I speak to fucking ghosts. 

I leaned against the wall of the sheriff's office, putting a hand on my head, wincing in pain as if the two sides of me were fighting for control over my mind and body. It was horrible; I felt like I was being tugged in different directions, like the game of tug of war, with each side wanting to win. 

I felt tears run down my face as a mix of anger and sadness welled up inside me. I slumped down against the wall, curling up against the wall sobbing; I couldn't handle it anymore. The pain, visions, and nightmares were all too much for me. 

I heard footsteps and saw Matt sitting beside me on the floor, looking worried and concerned. 

"Come on, Andrew, we can solve this thing, then we can leave this town forever," Matt said, putting a hand on my shoulder. 

"I-i can't take it anymore...I just can't..." I whispered, tears flowing down my face 

"I know, but we can get through this together; you're not alone on this," Matt said with a small smile. 

"I-i know b-but..." I blubbered, the tears flowing faster down my face. "I-it's too much..." 

Matt hugged me tight. "I know it's too much", He whispered softly. "But we can do this together," he said determinedly. 

I smiled and wiped the tears off my face, and sniffled. "T-thanks, man what would I do without you"

"Probably go insane", Matt joked as we both laughed. We stayed outside for a bit longer to destress. We then went back to the office and started looking into the stalker. 

We thought we had given up, but then we found someone who similarly fit his description of the stalker.

His name was Miles Darnell, and he was a creepy man; based on all the reports we had looked through, we finally had a break in the case. He lived nearby the area, so we had to find him to figure out this stalker mess. 

"When I was a kid, I used to think about of man I'd grow up to be. I never thought my life would turn out this way" - Leon S Kennedy Resident Evil.