WHO?

Chapter One

Author's Note - 

trying something new. Please let me know what you think :)

"POLLY! Can you make sure to walk Bruno every day before we're back?" My mom wakes me up from a peaceful sleep by screaming around the house yet again. Even though she told me around 3 times yesterday that I had to walk our dog, Bruno today before they got back from their vacation.

"Okay mom!" I shout back. Can't she just leave already? Her nagging is constant.

Today my mom, my dad, my little brother Jacob and my little sister Lucy were going on vacation to our family cabin for a week. I was meant to be going too but I flunked my last English test and staying home alone with Bruno for the week is my punishment. Not that it's much of a punishment, I have a whole shelf of books just waiting for me to read.

But trust me, I won't be throwing any wild parties whilst they're gone, that just isn't my style. I'm more of the quiet, to-myself type if that could be any more cliché?

That doesn't make me a nerd, far from it actually, hence how I got an F in my English test.

I have friends though, so don't feel sorry for me. My group isn't exactly small but out of them all I favour my two best friends Hailey and Caitlin.

I couldn't tell them my secrets though. Especially some of the things that I knew. They'd not only be traumatised but horrified as well.

I didn't go out of my way to find out all the information that I knew, but when you are a quiet girl like I am, people start to think you're invisible too. Sometimes I felt as though a girl like me, was too innocent to be carrying around the weight of other people's secrets and indiscretions, and I often questioned whether I deserved to feel the pressure on my shoulders.

I heard the front door shut with a slam, bringing me out of my head. I rolled out of bed and rushed to get ready for the day, grabbing Bruno ready to take him out on his early morning walk.

Morning walks were my favourite kind, where there was an almost peaceful silence as I walked across the beach. Just the sound of my music pumping through my head phones and mine and Bruno's feet slapping against the sandy shore.

For that hour walking Bruno felt like my release, getting into my own little bubble.

Nobody from my family to bug me, no terrifying thoughts to plague my mind. Just me, Bruno and the music.

During the transition from one song to another I could hear Bruno start to pant heavier and heavier. We'd got Bruno as a puppy, when I was just 4 years old, making him 14 in human years so he was starting to get pretty old.

"Come on boy let's get you home" I cooed leading him back across the sand towards our house.

I had finally managed to get Bruno and his achy legs up to the street I lived in when I saw a note stuck to my front door.

That's weird I thought. Maybe my mom had left it there to alert our mail man to redirect our packages if there was no answer at the door, and maybe I had just missed seeing it when I left.

But the closer I got to the door the more I realised that the note hadn't been left by my mother.

There was a huge paragraph of writing, written in block capitals in thick blank marker.

"What the hell is that Bruno?" I murmured out loud.

Note: -

'Dearest, Polly.

I am aware of what you know and what you have seen.

You may understand why this may be a problem for me.

So, I'm sorry to say, that I will have to eliminate the main problem this poses for me, and that happens to be you.

I'll give you 6 weeks to prepare yourself for your end day, take this as a token of my generosity.

But I won't happen to be so kind if you tell anybody about this. Not your family. Not your friends. And certainly not any member of the police. There will be consequences regarding the people you love the most if you do.'

I flipped over to the other side of the note heart beating out of my chest and my stomach twisting into notes.

'But Polly, there is a silver lining in all of this.

If you somehow manage to figure out, who I am and why I am doing this to you. I'll let you off the hook.

That sounds fair doesn't it?

If you work it out, you'll leave a note for me in your mail box, exactly 6 weeks to the day you receive this letter.

Any later or earlier, then your guess is void.

See you soon.'

I clutched the note tight in my hands, crumbling it in my hands.

Tears filled my eyes and spilled down my cheeks.

What the hell was this? Was I being watched right now? What did I do to deserve this?

A million questions flooded my head at once and I collapsed to the ground.

You know too much Polly and it's caught up to you.

I didn't deserve this, it wasn't my fault, it was their fault. They've brought this to my doorstep.

I have to keep this to myself even if it kills me, I can't put my family or friends at risk, I have to proceed with caution.

I wiped my eyes quickly and scanned my surroundings. Nothing.

They must've known that my family were away on vacation and that there would be no chance of any of them reading the note.

Or maybe they had been watching me and were ensuring that nobody but me would be reading the note.

I ran inside my house, locking every single lock on every single door and slamming every window shut tight. I closed all the curtains so that nobody could see in.

"WHAT THE FUCK" I screamed in the dining room, Bruno looked at me in disbelief and sauntered off to lay in his basket.

What if there were cameras inside the house right now, what if they had been watching my brother and sister? Oh my god were they going to hurt them.

I grabbed a notebook and a pen from one of our cupboards and sat down on the couch.

I had to write a list, jot down everything I thought I knew about anybody in particular, whether I think they are capable of doing anything or not and get to the truth.

If I have 6 weeks to figure out who this sick freak is then I better start now. At the beginning.