Silent Evil

Part 1: Voices of Delilah

Chapter 38

Harvey reached the destination at exactly 8 o'clock. He had had trouble finding the place since it was somewhere deep in the country side. After all those winding roads, he'd had to drive into a forest that had probably ruined his car forever. He clicked off the Mustang and got out of the car. Of course, he had alerted the department, telling them that if he wasn't back by nine, to head over to the area which he had given them. It was typical, though, that a murderous killer wanted to meet him at a cabin in the woods. Basically, the middle of nowhere. He shook his head and walked toward the cabin, situated a little way up on a hill. He had brought his gun, just in case he reached some kind of trouble and his cellphone was in his back pocket.

He felt a strange feeling on the back of his neck, as if someone was watching him and he paused to look around. In the darkness of the night, it was hard to see anything. He could point out the outlines of trees and bushes, but that was it. No estranged killer hiding behind a bush, waiting to make a meal out of him. He cursed to himself and walked the rest of the way up the hill.

Finally, he reached the top of it, therefor stopping at a series of weak looking wooden stairs. He tested his wait, putting a foot on it. It groaned loudly and he grunted. Just go up the goddamned stairs already, Jesus!, his mind shouted. He put both feet on it and the whole step groaned and hissed before totally collapsing under him. He hissed in pain as his foot got caught in the mess and cursed loudly, disturbing the silence of the night. He removed his foot from the collage of wood and jumped up onto the rotting porch. It creaked slightly, but didn't crumble. He walked over to the door, his hands poised to knock, when he heard something strange coming from the cabin. He put his ear to the door and heard a muffled sound. Like someone was trying to call for help but they couldn't because they were...

They were gagged.

He grabbed the doorknob and was surprised to see the door open before his hands. It swung inward and revealed what had to be the dirtiest room ever. The floors were made of the same wood the had collapsed under him and was littered with dead mice, wood shaving, rotting food and other things he didn't want to think about. The walls were of the same wood and were peeling and moist. There were no windows in the room and when he opened the door, a rush of hot, putrid air had whooshed in his face. But what gave him pause was the figure bundled up on the ground. Her dark hair was damp and she was wearing nothing but a robe. Her legs were tied up, cut up and bruised, and it was the same story with her wrist. Her mouth had been gagged and her face was streaked with mud and caked with dirt. A purple bruise was place dead center on her forehead.

" Patricia?" he whispered. She moaned loudly, and made some sort of gesture. It looked kind of like a "run!" move. When he took a step forward, she cried loudly and shook her head, telling him to get out of there. It occurred to Harvey that he might of actually walked into a trap. When her cries stopped and her gaze turned to something behind him, he didn't have time to react before the needle plunged deep into his neck and the world around him disappeared.

~~~~

Harvey aroused when a bucket of cold water was splashed on his face. He sputtered and coughed, trying to get all the water that had accumulated in his lungs out. He shook his head, the water finding its way into his eyes and moved to brush it away. When his hands wouldn't move, he frowned and jerked hard, wincing when he felt the rough binds dig into his flesh. He was bound? He tried again and sure enough, his wrists were tied together. He made a move to get up, but his feet wouldn't obey his command. They were tied together too.

In his mouth, a gag had been tied tightly around his head, applying enough pressure to cause a dull throbbing at the back of his head. His eyes though, were free of any fabric so he looked around the cabin and memory flooded back to him.