Eleanor's Demise ✔️

Chapter 31: Revelation

Adam paced around the room. Officer Stan was interviewing him. More like interrogating. He had left him alone for a few hours. Allowed him to have a nice little stay in his home. Yet he couldn't help but wonder who would've spoiled the one thing he was looking forward to. He wanted to be the one to tell the world that Eleanor was alive. Yet here they were, separated and confused.

He groaned, picking up a short story he had once read before. It was grim and scary like his current mood and he relished in it.

His eyes scanned the page. It was short- but it brought out emotions in him that he wished never existed.

None was its title, based on a book by a famous old now-dead guy named John Berger. He recalled learning about this man in his English classes.  He took a seat, reading...

The cold wind blew through the broken window of an abandoned house. It was dark and silent. There stood two men, perhaps in their late forties, staring at their feet and the puddles of blood surrounding them. They didn't know each other, but that didn't matter because in that moment, they did. They now shared a secret that may follow them for the rest of their lives. It was their first kill, and they didn't know what to feel.
"What do we do with the body? The boss didn't specify." One man asked monotonously, wiping his bloody hands against his pants.
"I don't know! I didn't agree to killing her!" Ryan was shaking, afraid of so many things. He didn't want to get caught. He didn't want to go to jail. But most importantly, he didn't want to kill an innocent child. He didn't want a lot of things, but life was unfair and money was needed. Ryan had been okay with the idea of kidnapping the kid, but what happened after was unimaginable.
"What did you expect? They asked us to take out the heart, did you think she could live without a heart?" The man spoke once again, but this time, his deep voice came across as slightly amused. "Besides, we could use the money, this heart could make us thousands. Maybe you could use some money to get an education, perhaps then you'll learn about living without a heart."
Ryan scoffed, "I knew she wouldn't live! But this is way too real, I need some time."
"You damn drama queen." The man, now annoyed, pushed Ryan aside and lifted the eight-year-old girl off the table. "I'll deal with it."
Ryan stared ahead, watching his partner in crime leave him alone in the bloody room. The house might have been nice in the daylight, but nobody would think to commit this demonic crime in the light. This was a dark deed and needed to be done without the sun's punishing rays. The carpet was now red, the dining table still had blood dripping from it, and the little girl's screams still rang in his head.
He had killed her, he had taken her life. She could have grown old, wed a man, and possibly even had kids. But that was all taken away from her and there was no going back. He stepped closer to the beating heart, it was contained in an ECMO machine. He killed a girl to make a pretty penny.

I thought those men wanted to help me. They never even asked for my name. I just wanted to find my Mama.
We had gone to exchange our goat's milk for bread this week and I got lost. I was distracted by the beautiful colors of the ornaments. Mama told me she would buy me one for Christmas. I was excited and I knew which one I wanted: the purple one with pink sparkles and tiny orange flowers. It was beautiful and I wanted to keep looking at it- so I did. But when I turned around, Mama was nowhere in sight.
Mama always told me that if I ever got lost, that I should hug a tree and wait for her to find me. There were no trees nearby in the market.
People are too tall. I couldn't see much but I knew I could eventually find where I was going. I could go home and then Mama could be proud that I walked home all by myself. I would be proud too.
"Hey sweetie, what're you doing out here?" An old man walked up to me. He had a small beard that was spotted with gray hairs and a weird smile on his face. I didn't like it.
"I'm going home, Mama is going to be so proud of me!" Another man stepped out from what seemed like nowhere and I smiled at him too.
"Do you want help?" The tall lanky man asked this time, I glanced at him. He looked friendlier than the bearded man. "You can trust me, don't worry! My name is Ryan and I want to help you." He grinned and I trusted him.
"Okay, I lost Mama at the market and I couldn't find a tree so I'm going home, but I think I made a wrong turn." They exchanged looks and Ryan furrowed his eyebrows at me. He seemed confused by what I said, but it made perfect sense to me.
"We can help you! Come with us, we will take you back to the market." Ryan said as the other man stood staring at me with the same creepy smile. I felt like I could trust Ryan so I went. The sun had set and I felt lost, I didn't know where we were. I was tired but they made me keep walking. The creepy man got meaner as the night went on, he pushed me everytime I wanted to stop walking or go back to Mama. I was afraid and there was no way I could go back.
I remember waking up to a throbbing pain, my entire body hurt.
"Shit, she's awake." A voice had said, but I didn't know where I was or what was happening until I saw the blood. The blood was coming out of me quickly and I screamed. The men held a sharp knife in front of me but I couldn't move. I wanted to escape. I wanted Mama.
I screamed.
I screamed.
I screamed.

It felt right to read at a time when his world would crash and burn. He knew something big was going to happen and he vaguely recalled his screams.

***
Hey guys, this was actually based off an English class I took at my university and I got the chance to write a creative paper that my professor deemed "perfect" haha! To this day I read it any time I'm feeling down because it was a beacon of hope in a difficult quarter at college. Anyway, I know this chapter seems really vague- and it's meant to be. Greater things are coming. There's a reason behind everything and it'll become clear soon.