Don't Go To Sleep

by ZombiePaws364

Summary:

The year is 1994.

The town of Ashford is struck by a series of killings, where the victims have smiles carved into their faces.
Lady Sullivan, a young reporter, discovers similar killings which occurred ten years prior, and chooses to investigate the possible connection between the past murders and the present.
Little does she know what secrets she's about to uncover after a peculiar man emerges from the shadows...

“Your window wasn’t locked.”

***

A retelling / rewrite of the story of Jeff the Killer, from the perspective of a journalist who is covering the case while surviving the present-day return of the infamous serial killer. She allies herself with some familiar faces...

Chapter 1: 1: The Scoop

Summary:

Lady Sullivan, a young reporter from Ashford, Missouri, is challenged with writing an article that will stand out among others regarding the recent killings happening in her town.

DON'T GO TO SLEEP

~1: The Scoop~

"OMINOUS UNKNOWN KILLER STILL AT LARGE.

"Police are on the hunt for a disfigured man after third victim succumbs to injuries in Ashford District Hospital, Missouri."

Nicholas Hodek did not even read past the first sentence which his subordinate had written for him, dropping the whole draft upon his desk followed by a long, exhausted sigh, much to the disappointment of Lady Sullivan, who had worked so hard on her report.

"You didn't even finish reading it," the young woman complained while Nicholas propped his head up in his hands.

"I don't need to, Miss Sullivan," he countered, "because I've read hundreds of articles just like it."

"But this article comes straight from the town where this is happening," Lady defended passionately, her green eyes desperately attempting to plead with her senior. "I've been to the hospital. I've spoken to the victim's family and the nurses who treated him."

"So has every reporter in the entire state of Missouri," Nicholas shut down, finally looking up from his hands. "Tell me, Sullivan, what information have you found out about these killings that nobody else has?"

Lady stood in place, rubbing her arm as she glanced down towards the floor. Nicholas studied her hesitant reaction, and before he could speak up again, she delivered an answer to his question with a sudden burst of confidence.

"We know what the killer looks like now," she explained hastily, stepping closer to Nicholas' desk. "He has a disfigured face, with a large smile; the victim lived long enough to describe that."

"Everyone who has spoken to his family or the hospital staff will have already reported on that," Nicholas pointed out, standing up from his mahogany desk as his tone shifted to one more akin to a concerned mentor. "Sullivan, you are one of my best reporters, especially for cases like this one. You can't be reporting on this as if you're just trying to keep the town updated on what is happening; you need to bring me something exclusive. We need a scoop."

Lady frowned and folded her arms. "It's impossible to get a scoop with a case like this," she corrected defensively. "The only way for me to get a scoop is to talk to one of the killer's victims personally, but nobody has survived him. This is the best I can get."

"This is not the best you can get," Nicholas argued firmly, walking around his desk so that he was now standing in front of it, closer to Lady, "you have got the same information every other reporter knows."

"It's still big, Nick!" Lady snapped, running her hands through her dark reddish-brown hair as she grew more and more frustrated. "If we publish this article, the townsfolk will be on the lookout for someone of that description; this article might lead to the killer being caught!"

"Or, more likely, it will lead to the killer fleeing the area and continuing his violence somewhere else," Nicholas frowned, narrowing his eyes as he crossed his arms sternly, "and my name is Nicholas, not Nick."

Lady paced back and forth, sighing with annoyance as her shoulders slumped. "I really thought I had it this time," she groaned with defeat.

Nicholas' frown shifted into a softer expression as he relaxed his body, unfolding his arms as he stepped closer to the young woman. "It's not that the report itself is bad," he admitted, "it's that I know you are capable of so much better."

Lady wandered over to the swivel chair which was nearby Nicholas' desk, falling back into it. "I'm not, though," she denied, "I got lucky one time, that was all."

"Maybe you did," Nicholas shrugged as he watched her flop into the chair, "but you know exactly what to do when luck strikes. Your report on the "Eyeless Jack" case led to his arrest and nationwide coverage."

"Because he left his victims alive," Lady pointed out with a dramatic wave of her hands. "I asked every single one about their experiences."

"And maybe you can do it again," Nicholas concluded, clapping his hands together once. "You're a bright young woman, Sullivan, and I need you to get the stories that nobody else can. This article isn't your final product; this is what you can use to find out more about this case – something no other reporter is seeing."

Lady slumped further into her seat as Nicholas picked up the printed article, handing the stack of paper back to her. The young woman only looked at it with disinterest, as if she already hated what she had written.

"I need you to go home and do some thorough research," Nicholas instructed, motioning for Lady to get out of the chair. "You have a Macintosh at home with internet access, right?"

"Of course, I do," Lady grumbled with a roll of her eyes, finally pushing herself from the chair.

"Good," Nicholas approved with a nod, "so, go back to your home and log into the internet. The next time I hear from you, I want you to tell me that you have found something. Even if the connection has no solid evidence, I want something new to publish."

"I'll try," Lady reluctantly agreed as she was ushered towards the exit to Nicholas' office, "but I can't promise anything, Nick. There probably isn't anything on the internet, aside from people talking on forums..."

"Doesn't matter, check everything," Nicholas instructed as he practically shoved Lady out of his office, "and stop calling me Nick, or I'm docking your pay."

Nicholas closed the door swiftly on Lady before she could complain, leaving the young woman to let out an exasperated exhale of disbelief. She sluggishly dragged her feet along the ground to move away from the office, passing by the many busy desks where other employees were on computers or phones. Nobody paid any mind to her; despite the praise she had received for her one majorly successful report, she was still merely a young journalist whose only job was to report on what was happening, nothing more.

Lady was a resident of Ashford, where three murders had recently taken place. None had happened too close to the apartment complex where she lived, and it was a relatively pleasant part of the town, so any screams or conflict would not go unseen. She considered her area to be safe, especially because she shared her apartment with two old college friends (Tim and Brian), so was not overly concerned for her own safety.

Once night had fallen, and her two roommates were fast asleep, Lady logged in to the internet, specifically onto the WebCrawler search engine, which was infamously too busy to access during the day with so many others online. With a strong cup of tea in one hand, she used the other to scroll through pages and pages of information; her priority was searching keywords, picking apart her own rejected article for anything useful.

The search was beginning to seem useless. The case was not a particularly big one outside of Missouri, with only three people being killed in very similar ways; every victim had a smile carved into their faces from the corners of their lips all the way to their ears, much like what the killer himself was described to have upon his face, if not something similar. Urban legends existed about such killers, with nobody certain if any were true, and many cases with similar attacks were either in other countries, or they dated all the way back to the 1920s.

One case did stand out, however.

Lady had stumbled upon an article which was dated 1984 – ten years prior to the present.

"TRAGEDY IN BURNSIDE: MULTIPLE DEAD AFTER RISE IN YOUTH VIOLENCE.

"At least 6 dead and 4 in critical condition after sudden rise in violence among youth gangs.

"Authorities have confirmed that at least 4 adults and 2 teenagers have died as a result of the outbreak of violence on Saturday. 4 teenagers remain in critical condition. The attacks, started by conflict between teenage gangsters, began in the early afternoon of February 11th, which would have been a typically calm Saturday in the town of Burnside, Arkansas, and continued into the early hours of Sunday morning.

"The attacks have been described as "brutal" and "inhuman" by locals, who believe the youth have been influenced by Satanic occultism and that the victims were mutilated for "sacrificial purposes" due to the smiles carved into their faces.

"A 15-year-old boy is the prime suspect, who remains in critical condition."

The article went on to discuss topics of youth gang violence, and what could be causing it.

Lady's eyes lit up with delight. This was the only article she could find online regarding the Burnside Murders, which would have usually been irritating, but this meant she could potentially find a connection between those murders and the ones happening in Ashford.

Arkansas bordered Missouri, and the case was only a decade old, meaning that it could definitely be connected to the case Nicholas wanted her to cover, even if it was a desperate stretch just to create an interesting story for the public to read.

Without waiting any further, despite it being past midnight, she wheeled her office chair towards the landline at the end of her desk, pulling the phone to her ear as she dialled Nicholas' number.

Thankfully, despite how exhausted the older man sounded, he answered.

"What is it?" he asked in a coarse groan, having likely just been woken up by his phone ringing.

"I think I can get a scoop for you, Nick," Lady revealed, trying her best to contain her excitement behind her big grin, "but I'm going to need your help getting me to Burnside, Arkansas."

~End of Chapter~

 

Chapter 2: 2: Burnside, Arkansas

Summary:

Lady arrives in Burnside, Arkansas, where she attempts to chase what little leads she has on the case. The locals are unwilling to help her...

~2: Burnside, Arkansas~

The journey to Burnside was a long one.

Nicholas had found a house for her, offering to pay out hundreds of his own dollars to cover the month’s rent. One month of staying in a rented suburban home was practically a holiday for her, and it gave her plenty of time to work on her new article.

Of course, Nicholas did not pay for everything. Lady was grateful enough that he had found and given money towards a place to stay, putting all his faith in her to return to Ashford with an exclusive story. Lady had paid for all her travel expenses, opting for the cheapest route possible, which was to travel by bus and by train.

Lady had travelled for hours, having barely had much sleep. The weather in Ashford had been cold, especially in the early morning hours when she began her journey, so she was wearing a black turtleneck sweater accompanied by a long black skirt, while also being wrapped in a long black coat and a grey striped scarf. All she had brought with her was one suitcase and a backpack, hoping she had enough essentials to last her the month.

For the entire train ride, Lady had been going over the article she had found on the internet, which she had printed a copy of for herself. No names were mentioned at all, which was only going to make her job so much harder. All she knew was that violence broke out in the town, not even knowing which specific area was mostly affected.

If luck was on her side once again, she could only hope that one of the victims left in “critical condition” had survived, and was willing to talk to her.

Lady had fallen asleep for most of the journey, listening to her portable radio through her headphones. Stations kept fading in and out, changing as the train crossed from her home state to Arkansas, but not even the crackling of white noise could wake her up. A fellow passenger had to wake her up to let her know that the train had arrived at the last station, and from there, she had sprung back to life, hurrying to catch the next bus which could take her to Burnside.

By the time she had arrived at her destination, it was the early afternoon. She was not as exhausted as she had expected herself to be, though she remained thankful that she had plenty of time to settle into the house that Nicholas had rented for her.

Following the directions on the map her superior had given her, Lady found the street which would serve as her temporary home for the month. The area was lovely; there were not many houses on the street, with enough space between them all, and each house was decent in size with well-tended front yards.

Lady dragged her suitcase along the sidewalk, and as she passed by an older gentleman who was mowing his lawn, she smiled and gave him a polite wave, but he only returned the gesture by giving her a confused and wary stare.

The house next to the gentleman’s was the one Lady was due to stay in: 64 Marble Street. The yard was a little messier than every other house’s, likely due to nobody actively living in the building, but aside from that, the house was a typical suburban home which would usually be suitable to house a whole family.

For Lady, this was heaven. She had grown up in such a house back in Missouri, but after moving out, she could only afford to share apartments with other people, and the idea of getting her own house only seemed possible for when she would be ready to settle down and start a family of her own; there was no way for anyone to live in such a house alone, and it was especially extraordinary for a young woman to do such a thing.

Lady had to drop her backpack onto the porch, unzipping the front pocket to pull out the keys which Nicholas had given her. She messed around with the lock, too excited to be smooth in her action, and was able to unlock the front door, pushing it open with a creak of the hinges.

The house was furnished, but it was dusty. Most of the furniture and décor was from the 80s, having not been replaced since the last decade, but that was common to see in many homes across the country. Even the television in the living room was a much older model, but would do its job.

Lady’s main concern was the bedroom and the office, so she dragged her suitcase up the carpeted staircase and onto the landing. As expected, the rooms were still dusty, but it was nothing that a quick cleaning session could not fix. She had obviously chosen to take her belongings to the largest room, which came with a double bed, and before she unpacked anything, she hurried to find the office.

To her relief, the office, despite being a small space, had a working computer. It was a little older than her own model, but as long as it could help with her research and writing, she did not care.

For the next hour or so, Lady focused on unpacking her belongings, which allowed her to explore the house even more. She dusted here and there, mainly in the areas she knew she would be the most active, and once she was happy, she jogged down the stairs with her notebook in hand, and her house keys and purse in the shallow pocket of her skirt.

The weather was pleasant, even though Lady remained in her cold weather clothes, so people were outside enjoying the sunshine. The old man next door was still working in his yard; Lady thought that speaking to him first would perhaps give her some idea of where to look for information.

“Afternoon!” she called out to him with a bright smile, waving her free hand while standing on the other side of his small fence.

The man stared at her, yet again with an unfriendly gaze. He had been pulling up weeds with his gloved hands, and he said nothing in response to Lady’s greeting.

“I’m staying in the house next door,” Lady explained, pointing towards the house in question. “You see, I’m a reporter from Ashford, Missouri, and I was just wondering…”

“Reporter?” the man scoffed as he marched closer to the fence at the front of his yard. “And here I thought you was a spinster; what in God’s name have you come all the way here to report on?”

Lady was taken aback by the man’s attitude, but she had encountered worse in the past, so she was able to quickly brush it off. “Well, there have been some murders in my hometown,” Lady described, “and the victims have all been attacked very similarly to ones from an incident in this very town. Is there anything you can tell me about what happened here ten years ago, if you know anything at all?”

The man laughed loudly and bitterly as he dismissively shook his head. “Get outta here, little lady,” he responded, waving his hand passively at her as he turned around to go back to his weeding, “you’re wasting your time.”

“There’s no other reports about what happened here in the eighties,” Lady pointed out, trying to get the man’s attention again. “Surely, there must be something that someone around here knows?”

“The folk around here know not to stick their noses where it don’t belong,” the man told her without turning back around, “now, get lost; I ain’t wasting my day talking to some wannabe reporter.”

Being an older man, Lady was more forgiving of his attitude. Perhaps he had been bothered by reporters in the past over the same incident, making him less willing to talk about it. The town was full of other people who must have known something, so she went up and down the street, knocking on doors, hoping someone would give her some information to work with.

Doors were bolted shut.

Curtains were drawn.

Blinds were lowered.

Lights were turned off.

And those were only the polite declines.

“Get the hell of my property.”

“I ain’t talking to no reporter bitch.”

“You must be dumb as shit.”

“If you don’t leave, I’ll give you some shit to write about.”

“Go fuck yourself, you dumb whore.”

The sun was only getting lower and lower, and not a single thing had been written down on her notepad.

Nobody in the town was willing to speak to her.

Even as she left Marble Street, exploring the town of Burnside further, people only gave her disgusted looks and walked faster if she dared to approach.

Her search for a story was going to be much harder than she originally thought.

Before night could fall, Lady decided that it was best for her to head to the nearest grocery store so that she could buy something to cook for dinner. Even the townsfolk in the store were giving her odd looks as she simply filled her basket with a few items. She brought her basket to the counter, placing out her box of eggs, a loaf of bread, a pint of milk, some sugar, and a stem of broccoli.

“Ain’t seen your face around here before,” the clerk said to her as he scanned her items, “you just moved into town?”

“Kinda,” Lady answered awkwardly as she pulled out her purse, counting out her notes, “I’m staying for the month.”

“Visiting family?” guessed the store clerk as he began placing her items in a bag.

“No,” Lady answered honestly, “I’m a reporter; I’m trying to find out if some murders from a decade ago are connected to some that’ve been happening back where I live.”

To her relief, the clerk chuckled to himself and shook his head, seeming far more relaxed than anyone else she had spoken to.

“Well, you ain’t gonna find much out here,” he informed her. “Nothing’s happened around these parts for ten years, and we wanna keep it that way. Ain’t no way there’s a connection, neither; the guy who killed those folks back then has been in jail the whole time.”

Lady’s eyes glimmered with inspiration as the clerk spoke; this was the only information she had learned all day.

“So, they got the guy who did it?” she questioned.

“Sure did,” the clerk answered with a smile and a nod. “That’ll be three dollars and thirteen cents.”

Lady handed a five-dollar bill to the store clerk, still wide-eyed from what she had just heard. She was speechless; on one hand, she was ecstatic to have learned something new about the case, but on the other hand, she had just found out that this could not be the same person.

The store clerk handed her the correct amount of change and told her to have a great day, with Lady thanking him for what he had told her, but as she carried her bag of groceries out of the store, her mind was racing with different thoughts. The killings she had read about were nearly identical to the ones in her town, and she was so confident that the same culprit could have been involved, considering Arkansas shared a border with Missouri.

As she strolled along the sidewalk, deep in thought, different ideas popped into her head.

The one responsible for the Burnside Murders might have influenced someone else, perhaps an accomplice of some kind who originally went unnoticed.

Or, perhaps the killer in Ashford was inspired by the Burnside Murders.

Maybe the killer was originally a victim of the “youth gang violence” which had been mentioned in Burnside, hence why the third Ashford victim was at least able to state that he had a disfigured smile.

Possibilities of a connection remained, which Lady desperately held onto as she returned to her house on Marble Street. She pushed her way inside, dropping the bag of groceries onto the round kitchen table before going back to lock the door.

For dinner, she cooked herself an omelette with broccoli, toasting a couple of slices of bread to put on the side of the dish. She wolfed the food down, since she had not eaten all day aside from a quick breakfast, and as soon as she was done, she tossed her plate into the sink and ran up the stairs, shutting herself in the office.

Lady made sure to write down what the store clerk had told her into her notepad, and as she booted up the computer, she dialled a familiar number onto the landline phone which was at the end of the desk.

“Hello?” came the voice of Nicholas Hodek.

“Nick, it’s me,” Lady replied, leaning back in her chair as far as the phone cord would let her.

Nicholas’ sigh could be heard through the phone, but he did not correct the young woman.

“Sullivan, I was beginning to worry you might have gotten lost,” he joked. “How are you? Have you settled in?”

“As much as I can,” Lady admitted, “I’ve been busy talking to the locals ever since I got here.”

“Good, good,” Nicholas replied, “so, have you learned anything from them?”

“Not much yet,” Lady confessed, “but I’m getting there.”

“That’s my girl,” Nicholas responded, his grin audible through the phone. “Well, I’m glad to hear you’ve made it safe and sound. What are you doing now?”

“Just booting up the computer to do some more research based on the new information,” Lady told him as she watched the screen lighting up before her eyes.

“Well, I wouldn’t wanna keep you distracted from your work,” Nicholas said in return. “Before I go, though, how’s the place? It better be good, considering the cost.”

Lady smiled as she twirled the cord around her finger. “It’s awesome,” she described with honesty. “I owe you big time for this, Nick.”

Nicholas chuckled. “Hey, you can pay me back by making this story your biggest one yet,” he challenged. “I know you can do it.”

Lady chewed on her lip with uncertainty; with what little she had learned, she was not sure that her story could surpass what she wrote during her last major article.

“I’ll do my best to make this the scoop you’re dreaming of,” she assured.

“That’s what I like to hear,” Nicholas smiled. “Well, then, don’t let me keep you. Gimme a call again tomorrow evening and let me know how things are progressing, and I’ll let you know of anymore updates here in Ashford.”

“Alright,” Lady concluded, “have a good night, Nick.”

Lady put the phone down before Nicholas could at least have one attempt to correct her, and with the call finished, she logged in to the computer with the details written down on a piece of paper, thankfully left by the owners of the house.

There was hardly anything for her to research. She still had no names connected to the case; she at least thought that the man in jail for the Burnside Murders would be easy to find, but considering he was arrested as a minor, his identity had been protected in the press, and likely forgotten about once he turned eighteen.

Lady’s eyes were beginning to feel heavy, but to her, it was not late. It was eleven at night, and she was determined to at least spend another hour searching for new information based on what she had learned before she called it a night.

With a tired yawn, Lady pushed herself up from the chair and headed out of the office, making her way down the creaky stairs. She had brought a box of teabags in her suitcase, so placed one into a mug (which, of course, she washed in the sink first). The milk and sugar she had bought earlier in the day was placed onto the counter while the kettle boiled, and while she was waiting, her eyes wondered towards the window which faced the backyard.

It was dark outside, as expected at this hour. She could not see the backyard at all, only able to see her own reflection illuminated by the kitchen light. The curtains were open, which did not bother Lady at all, but the longer she stared at her own reflection, it became apparent that something was off.

She took a few slow steps closer to the window, but not too close. She squinted her eyes as she tried to get a better look at what she thought she could see, but the moment she processed the sight, she stumbled backwards.

A pale face was staring back at her, with eyes sunken into the skull, and a wide smile was scarred upon the cheeks.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 3: 3: Lincoln

Summary:

Lady encounters a mysterious man with a carved smile. She is uncertain of his motives.

~3: Lincoln~

A scream should have burst from her mouth.

Somebody was in the backyard, staring at her through the window.

The only thing she could do was freeze in place, unable to move her eyes away from the figure staring back at her with such focus.

What the hell was she supposed to do?

There was no way for her to call the police in time; by the time she reached a working phone, the man would be able to flee the scene, or maybe even find a way to break into the house while she wasn’t looking.

If she screamed, she wasn’t certain that the neighbours would come to her aid, considering that the man she was looking at might have been another hateful local.

Even if she ran for the front door, the man might have been able to catch up to her before she could even leave.

Her heart was racing, and her body was left unable to react as her knees wobbled.

He matched the description.

Lady could not help but think that over and over to herself. The man she was looking at had a smile carved into his cheeks, even if the scars appeared faint.

Could the killer really have arrived in Burnside just as she had?

Whether or not the man she was looking at was the killer in Ashford, Lady could not simply stand still and wait for something to happen. For a very brief moment, she turned and pulled a kitchen knife from the knife block, intending to use it to defend herself if necessary.

She looked back towards the window, and the man was gone.

The rattling inside her chest was stronger than before, and her stomach felt as though it were turning inside out.

With the man out of sight, he could have either left her backyard, or he could have been searching for a way into the house. He might have even gone round to the front, where he could have been waiting for her to run outside in a blind panic.

Lady wasted no more time. With the knife still clutched in her hand, she ran from the kitchen and into the main hall, where another phone was located hanging upon the wall. Her free hand pulled the phone from where it was hooked, but her trembling hands dropped it.

“Shit!” she rasped through chattering teeth, reaching down to grab the phone which was now dangling by its cord.

Her other hand still held the kitchen knife, though she was able to use her index finger to begin pressing the numbered keypad.

Three numbers would not take long to press.

As she dialled the emergency number, she held the phone to her ear, looking over her shoulder towards the front door in case the man could be seen standing there, but no silhouette was visible.

The only sound she could hear through her phone was a dial tone.

“No, no, no!” Lady exclaimed as her eyes widened in realisation.

Of course, it was her luck that the hall phone was not working, likely caused by a faulty jack after not being used in so long.

She had to run upstairs; at least she knew that her office phone worked, since she had only just used it to call Nicholas.

Lady backed away towards the staircase, at first keeping her eyes on the front door, before finally turning quickly on her heel. She was about to dash up the stairs, disregarding the dangers of running with a knife, but as she lifted her head towards the upstairs landing, she stopped in her tracks and could have sworn her heart stopped there and then.

Sitting at the top of the stairs was the scar-faced man.

She could not scream; all she could do was breathe in sharply as if it was the last breath she would ever take, and her whole body shook as she did so while her eyes remained on the man.

“Your window wasn’t locked.”

His voice was soft with a sombreness to it.

Lady took a single step back away from the staircase, her ankle nearly giving way as she did so. The urge to run was overpowering her, yet she was not confident in her ability to unlock the front door in time before the man ran down the stairs and reached her.

Upon studying him further, he did not appear to be carrying a weapon of any kind, though his hands were gloved. He also wore a black fleece jumper with a zip, accompanied by dark grey combat pants.

No weapon was visible, but he was dressed like somebody ready to take a life.

The man’s green eyes were piercing, and they narrowed as he frowned down at Lady.

“You didn’t even check, did you?” he asked lowly with disappointment, arising to his full height as he took a couple of steps down the staircase. “Mistakes like that will get you killed.”

“Don’t move!” Lady managed to shout as she pointed her knife shakily, and the man stopped in his tracks at the command.

“Do you think I’m here to hurt you?” he asked with a hint of amusement, though his tired eyes were focused on the blade in Lady’s hand. “Believe me, if I wanted to harm you in any way, I’d have done so already.”

“How reassuring,” Lady remarked with her own sarcasm, though fear dripped from her quivering voice.

The man’s eyes became half-lidded with thoughtfulness as he tilted his head. “You don’t know much about this town, do you?” he questioned, with every word being spoken so precisely; it was evident to Lady that his accent was not a local one, sounding closer to possibly Californian.

“I don’t suppose you’d know a thing or two, huh?” Lady chose to ask in return, her voice still trembling no matter how desperately she tried to compose herself in the presence of the trespasser.

A true smile appeared on the man’s pale face, though his expression remained cold.

“You’re in luck,” he mused, “because I do, in fact, happen to know a thing or two about this town – things that might help with your… report.”

Lady’s heart jumped once again, and her eyes grew larger with dread.

“How did you know about that?” she wavered, and the man only rolled his eyes.

“You’ve been running around town asking every man, woman, and child about a decade-old tragedy,” he reminded her bluntly before allowing himself to smirk. “You’re not very subtle, you know.”

Lady’s eyes narrowed, with her anger battling the fear which still shook her to her core.

“So, you’ve been stalking me,” she concluded, and the man shrugged his shoulders.

“I’d prefer to call it “investigating”,” he corrected nonchalantly. “You’re new around here, and the townsfolk aren’t too keen on outsiders, especially ones who are trying to dig up a tragedy to make money.”

Lady shook her head at the way the man worded her intentions.

“It’s not like that,” she defended, keeping her guard up, “I was certain that what happened here was connected to the murders back in my hometown. The victims were butchered in similar ways…”

“Let me guess,” the man cut in as he leaned against the banister casually, “their faces had smiles carved into them?”

This man had to have something to do with one of the cases.

Either he was involved in the current murders in some way, or he was involved in the Burnside Murders.

“Exactly that,” Lady murmured very quietly, her voice barely a whisper.

The man let out a bitter laugh, “Well, you’re probably right in assuming this isn’t a coincidence,” he informed her, “which helps me a lot, too.”

Lady raised a cautious brow, baffled by the man’s words as she kept her knife pointed.

“I’m not following,” she responded slowly, trying to wrap her head around what the intruder was saying.

The man’s expression was one of seriousness.

“Allow me to be straight with you,” he spoke, “I’m… an investigator of sorts, and I want to catch this killer.”

He ran his thumb across his own face, tracing the scars upon his cheeks.

“If you couldn’t already tell, I have my own personal reasons for getting involved.”

Lady stared at the scars upon his face. They were not fresh enough to have been done recently, meaning that he cannot have been a survivor of any recent attacks; she had been so focused on him potentially being the culprit, yet the most likely possibility was beginning to surface right before her very eyes.

“4 in critical condition.”

There may have been survivors from the attacks in 1984, and he might have been one of them.

Still, Lady was not ready to lower her guard, and the scar-faced man could see that.

“You’re a reporter,” he recalled, “and you need a good story, right? I can help you with that, but in return, I’m going to need your help.”

There was no way she could trust him.

This man had broken into the house she was staying in, and as far as she was concerned, he was toying with her. He claimed to be knowledgeable in the case she was investigating, yet nothing was proving him innocent. There was a very likely chance that he was involved in the “youth gang violence,” making him someone to be incredibly wary around.

“I don’t usually agree to help strangers who break into houses,” Lady then answered with a firm frown, though her confidence remained fragile in his presence.

The man tried to relax his posture, but it almost seemed impossible for him to do so.

“Then, let’s make it so that we aren’t strangers,” he decided. “You can call me Lincoln. Lincoln Parks.”

Lady was definitely going to research his name when she got the chance.

“Knowing your name isn’t enough for me to just trust you,” she told him, and Lincoln seemed unbothered by her reaction.

“I’m not asking you trust me,” he clarified, “but if you really don’t want to get involved with me, then I can disappear without a trace.”

She couldn’t even trust him on that, but he sounded like he meant it.

Lady could lose the chance to learn as much as possible about what happened in the eighties, from someone with personal involvement (despite not knowing what that involvement specifically was), and she would be back to desperately asking every townsperson she could find, hoping that they would speak to her.

She had to take a risk.

“What would you want in return?” she slowly asked in a quiet voice, already regretting her curiosity.

Lincoln smiled very slightly in response to her question, his eyes sharp as they stared down at her from where he stood on the stairs.

“Like I said, I only ask for your help,” he repeated. “Being a reporter, you have access to files and places that I do not, and I know of a few restricted sources that could help get us both the answers we are looking for.”

Lady’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “I thought you said you were an investigator?” she remembered.

“Independent investigator,” Lincoln added, as he flicked his dark brown bangs from his face. “Besides, I’d rather not show my face around this town too much; they’d want me gone far more than you.”

Again, alarm bells were ringing in Lady’s mind.

Everything about Lincoln was suspicious to her.

“You might need some time to consider my offer,” Lincoln observed, reaching into his pocket, which immediately made Lady clutch her knife tighter. “I’ll come back tomorrow evening, but throughout the day, here’s a little something to keep you busy.”

From his pocket, he pulled out a folded piece of paper, throwing it down the steps without much force. The paper fell at Lady’s feet, almost making her stumble back with surprise, and while she kept her knife raised with one hand, she quickly bent down to grab the paper with the other.

Name: Randall Cooper

ADC Number: 267364

Facility: Federal Correctional Institution

Lady stared at the information with complete confusion, and Lincoln must have spotted her expression as he stepped back onto the landing.

“There’s a bus that can take you directly to the prison, just out of town,” he explained to her. “If you can get to talk to that guy, he might give you something to write about for your article.”

Lincoln marched out of sight, which only made Lady take a few steps upwards.

“Hold on, where are you going?” she asked him loudly, careful not to follow too closely.

“Out the way I came in,” Lincoln answered simply. “Make sure to lock all of your windows before you go to sleep tonight; tomorrow, I only plan on knocking on your front door.”

Lady reached the top of the stairs, having spotted Lincoln heading into her office.

“I haven’t even told you my name yet,” she pointed out to him as he began to climb through the open window, and he sat on the ledge with a smirk on his face.

“I’m already aware of who you are, Lady Sullivan,” he announced, “you are the one credited with putting an end to the “Eyeless Jack” case; that’s why I’m confident you can help catch the guy I’m after, if you’re pointed in the right direction.”

He knew who she was.

Lincoln definitely was someone to be cautious around, even if Lady was considering agreeing to his terms.

“Can you at least tell me who this Randall guy is?” Lady asked as Lincoln prepared to jump from where he perched.

“He’s been in prison for ten years,” was all Lincoln replied with, which was enough of an answer for Lady. “If you get the chance to talk with him, tell me everything.”

Lady had not even agreed to help him, yet Lincoln was already acting like she had.

Perhaps there was no way out for her.

Lincoln pounced from the window, and a loud thud could be heard a he hit the grassy ground. He must have had incredibly strong legs, because when Lady looked outside the window, he was already walking away into the night, giving her a passive wave without looking back.

Her heart was no longer racing, and she was not trembling as much as she was before, so she finally put the knife down onto her desk. The tiredness was beginning to overtake her, though she knew that before she even thought about going to bed, she needed to lock every window and door, and double check, in case someone worse than Lincoln chose to enter the house.

She pulled the window closed, and as she locked it, her eyes were drawn once again to the piece of paper in her hand.

Taking into consideration how long he had been in jail, and what she had learned from the grocery store clerk, there was only one conclusion she could come to.

Randall Cooper was the one imprisoned for the Burnside Murders.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 4: 4: The Prisoner

Summary:

Lady goes to the Federal Correctional Institution, where she is able to visit the man imprisoned for the Burnside Murders of 1984: Randall Cooper, better known as Randy. She has no idea what to expect from him, and needs to decide if what he tells her is the truth.

~4: The Prisoner~

Lady could hear her heart in her ears as she sat at the back of the nearly-empty bus.

She had spoken to criminals before, including murderers, as part of various reports and training, but usually she knew a thing or two about such inmates in advance.

There was nothing for her to know about the one known as Randall Cooper; before she had fallen asleep during the night, after Lincoln had left, she had tried to research his name, but nothing relating to his crimes or history could be publicly found.

At the time of the murders, Randall was only fifteen-years-old, which was mentioned at the end of the only existing report. Being a juvenile at the time, his identity was protected, and it appeared that nobody had bothered to make his name public once he reached adulthood. The case was closed, and the killer was in jail.

Changing her mind at any moment almost seemed reasonable; she had no idea what she was going to ask this man, or where the conversation was going to go. She had no idea if he was connected to the murders in Ashford, and no context behind the original Burnside murders.

Maybe that was what she had to prioritise; if there was anything she could learn, it was what happened ten years prior, since there was nothing else detailing the events.

Her heartrate was slowing as she felt herself calming down. If Randall was open to talking to her, she could learn about the others who were involved in the Burnside Murders, whether they were deceased or still living. Even if he was defensive, there was a chance he could slip up and let some information out, unless he completely refused any visitors.

The bus soon arrived out of town, and the prison was visible from the street. Lady hopped off the bus, gazing at the distant prison; there was a long road leading up to it, which made her regret not having her own car; she silently told herself that she would finally get driving lessons once she got paid for her article.

Lady ambled all the way to the prison, down the long stretch of road, until she finally reached the secure entrance. She presented her press identification card, and once allowed through the gates, she went through the intense security measures, thankfully having nothing on her person that needed to be confiscated.

She had arrived early, anxiously sitting tight in the waiting area for when she was eventually called upon. Randall could still refuse to speak with her, even though she had contacted the prison over the phone beforehand during the early morning hours. All prisoners were granted the right to refuse visits, and at that point, nothing could be done; it was already a miracle that Lady had managed to arrange a visit at such short notice.

While waiting, Lady paced around the room, considering there was nobody else present aside from the receptionist who was sitting behind a glass-shielded desk. She was drawn to the notice board, where various documents were pinned to the point of stacking on top of one another. Lady was hoping to find something useful to her research, but she was mostly looking at leaflets about prisons, mental health, and old missing person posters.

The doors opened, and her name was called, causing her heart to jolt. She was asked to come with the officers, and it did not appear that she was being escorted back out of the building.

Had Randall really accepted her visit?

Lady followed the officers as they guided her through the halls, and one even chuckled as he spoke up to her.

“It’s been quite some time since Randy’s had a visitor,” he told her. “You’re the first person who isn’t his mother to come see him; he must feel real important.”

If his name was made public, that might have been different; Lady was lucky that Lincoln had given her his details.

“I’m grateful that I’ve been allowed to meet with him at such short notice,” Lady thanked, “and that he is even willing to speak with me.”

“You’re only going to have thirty minutes,” the officer then stated, “and you will be supervised the whole time; Randy can be unpredictable, even when he’s in a good mood.”

Once again, she was becoming more and more wary of the man she was visiting, but all she could do was smile to hide her nervousness.

“I’ve spoken to many like him during my career,” she assured, “so, I will be mindful of him.”

Finally, the officers led Lady to the visitor centre, which was a large room with tables lined beside each other throughout it. Four chairs surrounded each table, with all pieces of furniture being secured to the ground, and the tables had hooks in their centres for handcuffs to be connected.

Nobody else was in the visitor centre, presumably because this visit was happening during a time when no other visits were typically allowed; it was a Sunday, after all.

Only one person could be seen sitting by a table, with his cuffs secured to the table’s hook.

He was a young man with a tanned complexion, and while most of his scars were light and faint, they still appeared to decorate his skin from head to toe (specifically, whatever skin Lady could see). He did not appear to be a large man, but his muscles were visible and defined. His black hair was shaved at the sides, while his face was completely smooth. His eyes were a deeper shade of blue, yet they still were like ice as he focused entirely on Lady.

This was Randall Cooper, better known as Randy.

“Thirty minutes,” the officer repeated as he guided Lady to the table while turning his attention to the prisoner, “unless you act up, Randy.”

Randy did not even look at the officer, instead only staring into Lady’s eyes. His gaze was intense, and certainly unsettling; without a doubt, this was no innocent man who sat before her.

Lady was hesitant to sit down, but she could not let her fear show. She was safe; he could not lunge at her, or attempt to harm her in any way, and if he did become too aggressive, the officers would step in. So, she was able to sit herself down, directly opposite the young man.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Cooper,” she greeted.

“Just call me Randy,” Randy cut in abruptly with a coldness to his voice.

Lady paused before giving a nod. “Alright, Randy,” she corrected, “well, my name is Lady Sullivan.”

“I know,” Randy interrupted again, “I was told you was a reporter from Missouri, investigatin’ some murders in yer hometown.”

“That’s right,” Lady responded positively.

A grin creeped onto Randy’s face, and not a friendly one.

“And why do ya think talkin’ to me will help?” he questioned mockingly. “I’ve been in this darn prison for ten years and countin’; ain’t no way I know what’s goin’ on there.”

Lady was unsure if he was telling the truth or if he was lying. He was taunting her, either way.

“I’ll be blunt, then,” Lady replied as she relaxed her facial expression into a neutral one, “I came to the town of Burnside after finding an article about some murders that took place there; the ones you are serving your sentence for, and the ones which are almost identical to what’s happening in my hometown.”

Randy laughed bitterly through his clenched teeth. “How interestin’,” he mused before leaning back in his seat, “but I can’t help ya. Ain’t nothin’ I know about whoever’s doin’ this.”

Lady’s eyes narrowed very slightly. “Are you sure?” she pressed.

“Sure as can be,” Randy smirked, clearly enjoying messing with her.

Resisting the urge to sigh audibly, Lady also leaned back and tried to keep herself relaxed.

“Okay, so is there anything you would like to tell me about what happened ten years ago?” she questioned. “Anything at all in relation to the Burnside Murders?”

Randy let out a low chuckle. “I can tell ya one thing,” he responded before his expression quickly became a spiteful frown, “I wasn’t the one behind ‘em.”

Lady’s eyes widened as she stared at Randy’s unblinking expression. She turned to look towards the officers, but they did not share her shock; this was definitely not the first time they had heard this claim from Randy.

“It wasn’t you?” Lady queried carefully as she turned her attention back to Randy.

“Nope,” Randy insisted as he shook his head firmly, “I didn’t kill nobody, but I’m darn sure I know the one who did; it was that freak.”

“Freak?” Lady repeated, intrigued as she leaned forwards slightly.

“He was some freak who moved over from Cali,” Randy explained, “looked creepy as hell, and acted creepy as hell. If I could kill anybody, you can be darn sure I’d choose him, and I’d take my sweet time, too.”

He meant what he said.

Whether or not it was true about him not killing anybody, there was no doubt in Lady’s mind that his threat was not an empty one. His eyes had twitched as he spoke, and his fists had clenched, like somebody desperate to tear the life from someone’s body.

Lady leaned further forwards, completely invested in what Randy was telling her. She had to learn more from him.

“What else can you tell me about back then?” she pushed. “Do you know anything about the people who were killed? Or the survivors?”

Randy’s posture became noticeably tense as he narrowed his eyes warily.

“Two of those victims were my buddies,” he admitted, “and it wasn’t me who laid a finger on ‘em. The judge said I was the one to kill ‘em, but that freak set me up.”

“And who was this guy?” Lady questioned further. “Do you remember his name?”

“Ain’t ever gonna forget it,” Randy huffed. “His name was Jeff Woods.”

Jeff Woods.

She would have to remember that name; for all she knew, he could still be free, and may have been the killer behind the murders in Ashford.

“The cops won’t tell me much about what happened to him,” Randy went on, “but I know he ain’t in prison. They’re probably worried I’ll hunt him down when I get outta here.”

Lady glanced towards the officers standing guard, and again, they remained silent yet unbothered. They had probably heard Randy say similar things in the past, and considering his attitude, it was no surprise that they refused to tell him anything regarding Jeff.

“I have to ask, Randy,” Lady then began, “even if you did not kill anybody, were you… violent?”

Randy’s gaze pierced through her, and while his stare was murderous, he flashed a wicked grin.

“I had a… reputation,” he confessed coolly. “Nobody would’ve ever messed with me and my boys. Everyone in Burnside knew our names.”

There was no doubt that Randy was sadistic. The way his eyes glimmered as he recalled his violent youth was enough for Lady to realise that there was a reason he was the one behind bars.

“The townsfolk must’ve been so happy to hear that Troy and Keith died,” Randy rambled as his grin faded into a frown, “and I bet they’re happy I’m in prison, even though they know I didn’t kill no one.”

It seemed to be a stretch that the people of Burnside would conspire against Randy just to make sure he was behind bars, but Lady needed every perspective she could get if she wanted to get the whole picture.

Randy then leaned forwards, studying Lady’s thoughtful expression.

“Do ya think I’m lyin’, Lady?” he asked her slowly and carefully, watching every muscle in her face as she subtly reacted to the question.

“I can’t think such a thing,” Lady chose to answer, “because I don’t know anything about Burnside or what happened here.”

Randy chuckled lowly, leaning back in his seat, “I like ya,” he mused, “so, I’ll tell ya somethin’ else to help ya on yer little search.”

Lady’s ears were open, and her eyes were wide with interest as Randy’s unblinking gaze remained focused.

“There’s a big ol’ smile carved into Jeff’s face,” Randy described as his grin slowly widened, “which me and my boys gave him. Ain’t nobody else who has a smile like that.”

Lincoln.

Lady could only see Lincoln in her mind.

She could barely focus on the brutal fact Randy had just told her; what if Lincoln was actually Jeff in disguise, toying with her?

“Nobody else?” she managed to quietly query. “So, it wasn’t something you did to other people you didn’t like?”

“Nope,” Randy confirmed with a shake of his head, “it was Jeff’s special treatment.”

Lady squinted her eyes thoughtfully.

“But you must know about the victims you were accused of murdering,” she pointed out. “Their faces had smiles carved into them.”

“Oh, they sure did,” Randy agreed, “but I ain’t gonna stop insistin’ that it wasn’t me who did that.”

The only people who could confirm would be the survivors.

Lady’s heart sunk with realisation; had the ones in critical condition passed away from their wounds?

“There must be somebody who survived those attacks,” Lady found herself saying out loud, mainly to herself. “They could say who attacked them.”

“You ain’t gonna find any luck there, sweetheart,” Randy chuckled, almost amused by Lady’s confusion, “there was only two survivors; one of ‘em is in a coma, and I don’t think she’s woken up yet, and the other went missin’.”

Only two survived the attacks, when four were reported to have been in critical condition.

Randy was one of those survivors, since Lady recalled the report mentioning that the suspect was also in critical condition.

If Randy had brutally attacked Jeff Woods, it was likely that he was the other person who had been left in critical condition.

The remaining two were practically dead; one was in a coma, at least to Randy’s knowledge, and the other was missing.

Once again, Lincoln appeared in her mind; he had the scars Randy described, and it did not seem likely that he was one of the other two survivors.

An officer nearby cleared his throat, “Five minutes,” he announced, and Lady nodded her head in response.

“Names,” Lady then said to Randy, “do you know any names that might be useful? The survivors you mentioned?”

Randy’s eyes tilted upwards as he tried his hardest to remember; he did not seem to be acting, which nearly convinced Lady that he really was the wrong guy behind bars, but she had to remind herself about what he claimed he had done to another teenager at the time.

“I forgot the girl’s name,” he admitted, “but she’s in the hospital we was all treated at. It was her, me, Jeff, and Jeff’s little brother, Liu.”

Liu.

He must have been the one who went missing.

“I doubt the gal will wake up any time soon,” Randy then informed, “and if ya ask me, Liu is probably dead in a ditch somewhere, killed by his freak of a brother.”

That was certainly a possibility Lady could not rule out.

Her time talking to Randy was about to come to an end, so she simply nodded her head and arose from her seat.

“I can’t thank you enough for your time, Randy,” she thanked, “though I must admit, I did not expect you to be so cooperative.”

Randy smirked as he chuckled again with a bitterness to his voice. “I’ve always been certain that Jeff was the killer,” he clarified, “so, if someone can prove that, even if it is just in a report, it means I can get outta here and kill Jeff myself.”

That made sense; if most people believed Randy was the murderer, and only treated him as such, he was probably just pleased to speak to someone who was a little more open minded.

“Time’s up,” the officer then announced as he approached Lady, “come on, Miss Sullivan.”

Lady and Randy locked eyes silently for a moment; Lady was studying him, trying to figure out if she should believe his story, while Randy’s stare was a challenging yet determined one, as if commanding her to find a way to set him free.

She wasn’t sure if she could do that, but she at least had more information to work off of, and that was all that mattered.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 5: 5: Jeff Woods

Summary:

Having recently learned of Jeff Woods from Randy, Lady remains cautious of Lincoln. She knows that she must confront him, determined to reveal what she believes is his true identity.

Lincoln matched the physical description of Jeff Woods, the one who may have been the true killer.

~5: Jeff Woods~

Lady did not return to her house immediately.

Once she had left the prison and returned to the town of Burnside, she decided that she was going to spend the late afternoon in a coffee shop, where she sat alone in a corner and sipped away at a cup of tea while gathering her thoughts regarding what Randy had told her.

Jeff Woods was the name of a boy he had brutally attacked, and he insisted that he was involved in the killings, whether they were the ones in Burnside or in Ashford.

Jeff had a smile carved into his face, no different to the one Lincoln had, while Lincoln’s name had not been mentioned at all by Randy.

Lincoln was going to return to her house in the evening, and the thought was a dreadful one; she had to confront him, and she needed to make sure she could do it safely.

If only she had a gun.

She wasn’t sure if she wanted to return to the house before Lincoln was due to arrive, or delay her arrival so that she could catch him outside.

The latter option was the most tempting.

Choosing to delay her return to her house further, she left the coffee shop and wandered further up the street to find a local restaurant, but as she did so, she spotted a teenage boy plastering a poster onto an old telegraph pole. Other posters were among them, mostly for missing pets, but the one the boy was putting up was for a person.

Curious, Lady approached, and the teenager seemed wary of her.

“Can I help ya, miss?” he asked as Lady eyed the poster.

“Sorry, I’m just looking at this poster you're putting up,” Lady pointed, “is that a relative of yours?”

The boy shook his head. “No, he was my neighbour when I was a kid,” he explained before raising his eyebrow. “You ain’t a local, are ya?”

“No,” Lady confirmed.

“I can tell,” the boy stated, “because everyone else hates me putting up these posters. They don’t think I should, and they think my mom is making me do it, but this was my idea.”

Lady gazed at the poster. The photo was old, printed in black and white, and it depicted a young boy with a smile.

LIU WOODS.

MISSING SINCE 1984.

That was the boy Randy had mentioned, the brother of Jeff Woods.

“You think he’s alive?” Lady chose to ask the teenager, who scratched his head awkwardly.

“I don’t know,” he sighed, “but I hope he is. He seemed nice, from what I can remember of him.”

The boy handed her a poster from the stack he had been carrying.

“Take one,” he insisted, “maybe when you’re out of town, you’ll see someone who looks like him.”

Lady highly doubted that, especially considering how old the photo was.

“I’ll hold onto it,” Lady smiled, folding the poster as she put it into her coat’s pocket. “Keep doing what you’re doing, kid; maybe Liu himself will see one of these posters and come home.”

“Sorry, my name’s Billy,” the boy introduced, realising that he had not given his name, “and I hope so too, miss.”

Billy gave a wave; the sun was going to begin setting soon, so he probably wanted to get as many posters up as possible before returning home. Lady waved back as he briskly walked away, and as he hurried further along the street, Lady stared at the poster he had placed onto the wooden pole. There was a heavy weight in her heart the longer she stared at it; Liu looked like he was a happy child, unaware of the tragedy he was going to be caught up in.

Still, seeing someone determined to get closure was quite heartwarming.

Lady was not sure if she could fully believe Randy’s theory about Jeff being the one to kill Liu, but she was certain that his fate was not pleasant.

Before she could drown her brain in depressing thoughts, Lady walked into the nearest restaurant, which happened to be a pizza joint. She ordered the largest size cheese pizza for herself, since she had skipped lunch and was determined to stall her return to the house.

 

Lady sat in the joint for over two hours. She ate her pizza as slow as she could without letting it go too cold, and she sipped her glass of water at a similar pace. Despite being full, she ordered herself some vanilla ice cream for dessert along with a hot cup of tea, which she still took her time to get through.

Eventually, she knew she had to leave; the staff in the restaurant had been giving her odd looks the entire time. She left a generous enough tip on her table after paying, then leaving the joint at a casual pace.

The return to the house was a longer journey than she purposefully intended; she was already walking as if her feet were weighted, but without her map, she realised that she was lost. She had to follow signs and remember specific landmarks, though eventually, she was able to reach Marble Street.

The sun had set. The street was quiet. Lady’s walking pace was even slower as her knees wobbled; Lincoln might not have been at her house yet, or he might have been lurking somewhere, waiting for her to go inside.

Her house came into view, and as she approached gradually, a figure in a black fleece could be seen standing on the roof above the porch.

Lincoln turned around from where he stood, as if getting ready to jump down from the roof, and that was when he spotted Lady walking up the street.

“I didn’t think you would be back this late,” he stated loud enough to be heard, jumping down onto the porch.

“And I thought you were going to knock on my door like a normal person tonight,” Lady retorted before stopping at her house’s path. “What were you doing on the roof?”

“Making sure you locked the windows,” Lincoln answered bluntly.

“I see,” Lady replied quietly as she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

Lincoln had noticed that she was not coming any closer to the house, and his face shifted into a small frown.

“You still don’t trust me, do you?” he asked her.

Lady shook her head. “I don’t think I can,” she admitted, her voice losing its strength.

“And why is that?” Lincoln pressed as he dared to step towards her.

Lady took a step back warily. “Don’t come near me,” she commanded with shakiness.

Lincoln could not contain a low chuckle. “You don’t have a kitchen knife this time,” he pointed out.

“I’ll scream,” Lady planned, and in response, Lincoln rolled his eyes and stopped walking.

“Can you at least answer my question?” he asked, folding his arms. “Why can’t you trust me?”

“The third victim in Ashford described a man with a carved smile killing him,” Lady recalled, “and Randall Cooper described carving a smile into someone’s face; someone he believes might be the killer I’m after.”

Lincoln raised his eyebrow, appearing unimpressed.

“You think I’m the one he was talking about?” he challenged.

“Yes,” Lady answered as firmly as she could, standing her ground, “and I don’t think Lincoln Parks is your real name.”

Lincoln’s expression became a wary frown as he narrowed his eyes at her coldly.

“Oh?” he reacted. “Who am I, then?”

Lady’s own eyes narrowed with focus as she pointed an accusing finger at him.

“You’re Jeff Woods,” she revealed.

There was a silence in the air.

They both stared at one another for an uncomfortably long amount of time. Lady was waiting for his reaction, and he was simply staring at her.

Suddenly, Lincoln abruptly burst out laughing.

“Is that what you think?” he laughed as he held his hand over his mouth, trying to not draw attention to the conversation being had.

Lady was confused by his reaction, but did her best to maintain her confidence.

“I’m right,” she insisted. “You’re Jeff Woods; I’m not sure if you really have killed anybody, as Randy claims, but I cannot take my chances.”

Lincoln was still laughing as she spoke.

“You know, I can’t even be angry,” he smiled through his laughter.

“Why is it so funny?” Lady almost snapped with frustration, and her question made Lincoln’s laughter fade.

“Because Jeff Woods is the one who did this to me,” Lincoln declared as he gestured to the scars on his face, “and I’m pretty sure he’s the one doing the killing in your hometown.”

It could have easily been a lie.

“That doesn’t make sense,” Lady countered defensively. “If you knew about Jeff Woods, why didn’t you tell me?”

“It was better for you to hear it from Randy,” Lincoln answered with ease, folding his arms.

“It was better for you to hear it from Randy,” Lincoln answered with ease, folding his arms. “Randy is the one who gave Jeff his scars, after all.”

Lady frowned cautiously.

“And I bet you knew about that, because you’re Jeff,” she continued to accuse.

“Believe me, you’ll know Jeff when you see him,” Lincoln insisted, his gaze becoming thoughtful, “though I pray you never have to see him for yourself. I just need help gathering evidence before I can catch him.”

Lady observed his expression as best as she could from her distance. She was attempting to figure out whether he was lying or not, though she was struggling to tell.

Lincoln spotted her uncertainty, and he stepped towards her once again, “Look, you’ve probably learned a lot today. I want to know what you’ve learned, and I will tell you more of what I know.”

“I told you not to come any closer,” Lady warned, raising her voice a little more as she spoke.

Lincoln let out a loud sigh, lowering his head. “You’re so difficult,” he mumbled, raising his hands. “Fine. You know what? If you don’t wanna work with me, I’ll just go.”

Without another word, Lincoln put his gloved hands in the pockets of his combat pants and marched along the path. Lady swiftly moved further up the sidewalk, closer to the neighbouring house, ready to holler if he came too close. His green eyes met hers briefly as he wandered down the street, and when he was far enough away, Lady hurried to her door.

She had to call Nicholas.

Nicholas could advise her on what to do.

As quickly as she could, she unlocked her door and rushed inside, locking the door behind herself. She took a moment to catch her breath as the physical effects of her anxiety finally began to hit her. Lady slid down to the floor, resting her back against the door as she held her head in her hands.

Maybe Lincoln had been telling the truth.

Maybe he really was a victim of the real Jeff Woods.

She should have just asked Randy if he knew anyone called Lincoln; he might have remembered him to be a classmate or a friend, or at the very least, someone he was accused of attacking.

Recovering some energy, Lady pushed herself back to her feet; she knew that she could not use the landline in the main hall, so she had to head up the stairs and into the office.

As she crossed the landing to approach the office, however, she felt a cold draft coming from the spare bedroom.

Before she could even process it, a gloved hand grabbed her by the neck while another covered her mouth, preventing her from letting out a terrified scream.

“I didn’t tell you that you managed to lock all your windows,” came Lincoln’s breathless voice from behind as he held her close to his body.

Lady was petrified.

She was completely frozen in his grasp, and his strength could be felt just by the way he was holding her. If she wriggled, she knew she would not be able to fight him off, but her eyes rapidly examined her environment for something she could use to her advantage, like something to shove him into.

“You don’t want to know what it’s like to have your cheeks carved into,” Lincoln told her, still breathing heavily, likely from sprinting as fast as he could back to the house. “Jeff is not someone you can reason with; he’ll laugh while he does it, giddy like a teenage girl giving a friend a makeover. You’ll have to struggle; you won’t survive, but he’ll at least kill you faster so that he can work on your face without a disturbance.”

The words entered Lady’s mind one by one, allowing her to vividly imagine the scenario Lincoln was describing. Her whole body was trembling, and if it weren’t for Lincoln holding her up, she’d have fallen down to the floor.

“He would never spare you,” Lincoln continued, his voice softening while remaining bitter, “but if he did, I wouldn’t want you to live with a face like mine.”

Lady’s eyes shifted upwards so that she could see Lincoln’s face. This was the closest he had ever been to her, so she could see his scars properly, even catching a glimpse of some across his throat.

Lincoln’s eyes met hers, but he did not loosen his grip on her at all.

“You’re not safe from him,” he then said to her, “and you will never be safe until he is caught. You’re chasing his story now, and sooner or later, he might find that intriguing enough to turn you into his next piece of art.”

He leaned his face down closer to the side of hers, “So, are you going to listen to what I have to say, or have you still decided that I am Jeff Woods?”

Lady had no idea what to believe.

She had spent the whole day learning more about the case; Randy had told her his side, whether it was the truth or him being in denial about what he had done, and she had discovered some more context, particularly regarding one of the missing victims.

Lady gave Randy a chance to speak, despite him being in prison for the brutal murders. She had listened to him even with that context in mind.

Perhaps it was only fair for her to give Lincoln a chance to say his piece.

Still with her head being held firmly underneath his hand, Lady gave a rapid nod, and she could feel Lincoln exhaling with relief.

“Good,” he responded, “I’m going to release you now, and we’re going to go downstairs, get a drink, and we’re going to tell each other everything we know.”

Slowly, Lincoln’s grip relaxed, and as he gradually pulled his hands away from Lady, the young woman broke away from him and rubbed her neck.

“Did you really have to be so rough?” she complained while Lincoln gave a passive shrug, heading into the spare room.

“Could have been rougher,” was all he replied as Lady frowned at him.

“Why are you going in there?” she questioned flatly.

“To lock your window,” Lincoln answered with equal bluntness. “Seriously, if you don’t start locking these, I’m going to nail them shut for you.”

Lincoln closed the window and locked it swiftly, double checking to make sure it definitely was secure, before closing the curtains. He made sure Lady watched his hands, so that she knew exactly how to lock the windows herself.

Once the window was locked, the pair awkwardly ambled together to the stairs. Lincoln slid down the banister like an overconfident teenager while Lady just walked down the steps ordinarily.

Lady boiled the kettle while Lincoln sat at the round kitchen table, tapping his gloved fingers against the varnished wood. Tea was the only drink she could supply without wasting much of her limited resources, even though Lincoln did not say whether or not he wanted tea. He did not refuse, however, when she placed the mug in front of him, sitting down on the opposite side of the table.

She was the first to tell everything she knew, beginning by going over every piece of information Randy had given her. Lincoln sat and listened as he blew on his hot drink to cool it down, not interrupting at all as she explained everything to him. It was clear that he knew half of it already, but his green eyes lit up with interest when some topics were mentioned.

“That’s all I managed to get from Randy,” Lady concluded, then reaching into her pocket, “and after what he told me, it was easier to come across other things, like this.”

She pulled out the folded poster which was in her coat’s pocket, and as she unfolded it, Lincoln’s eyes grew wider than before.

“People are still putting up his posters?” he questioned, surprised.

“Yeah,” Lady answered, “it was a boy, probably in his late teens. He said his name was Billy.”

Lincoln’s eyes thoughtfully narrowed as he stared at the missing poster, unable to look away from the smiling face belonging to young Liu Woods.

“If you see that kid again, try and ask him some questions,” he suggested, “I bet he knows more than you think about what happened ten years ago.”

“He was in a hurry when I saw him,” Lady explained, “but if I see him again, I’ll try and talk to him.”

Lincoln nodded, pushing the poster back towards her across the table. “You can keep hold of that for your research,” he told her, sipping at his tea once again.

“I was already gonna do that,” Lady murmured as she took the poster back, “because this could be useful. Liu Woods might be alive; he could be the key to solving all of this.”

Lincoln chuckled and shook his head, putting his mug on the table as he folded his arms. “Don’t get your hopes up,” he warned her, “he was only fourteen years old when he disappeared from the hospital; whether or not it was Jeff that got him, he’s definitely dead.”

Lady let out a defeated sigh, slumping back in her chair. “Randy said the same thing,” she remembered, but her eyes became focused again. “Hold on, did you say he disappeared from the hospital?”

That was new information to her.

Lincoln nodded his head. “It startled the townsfolk at the time,” he recalled, “because the tragedy was still an ongoing investigation at that point. He ran out of the hospital in a blind panic despite his injuries; if you ask me, he was probably trying to run away from Jeff, terrified that he would come to his bedside and finish the job.”

Liu had run away by choice.

He could have gone into hiding, but it seemed unlikely that a traumatised teenager with grave wounds would survive alone for long.

Jeff might have found him after leaving the hospital himself; Lady still did not the details on his whereabouts over the years, but there was a chance that he had found Liu and finished him, like Randy had guessed.

Maybe, if Liu was alive, he was the killer in Ashford, no different to his own older brother.

“There’s no point focusing too hard on Liu,” Lincoln spoke up, seeing the way Lady was losing herself in deep thought, “he’s either dead, or he’s worse. I would recommend you going to the hospital, though; you’ll be able to find out a lot more there.”

Lady nodded slowly, still in thought. Lincoln had already given her quite a bit to work with; she should try to catch Billy at some point, and she should check out the hospital, likely where the victims were treated.

That was probably where the other survivor remained in her coma, whoever she was.

Lady was about to question Lincoln’s knowledge on that subject, but before she could ask anything, she could hear the phone ringing upstairs.

Nobody should be calling her house.

She and Lincoln stared at one another in silence, unmoving and unblinking as the phone continued to ring.

“I should get that,” Lady realised, pushing herself up from her seat, but Lincoln got up, as well.

“I’m going to listen,” he decided, following Lady out of the kitchen.

“Why?” Lady asked irritably as she hurried up the stairs, with Lincoln behind her.

“Why not?” was Lincoln’s response.

Lady was not going to argue; she was somewhat cautious about who could be calling her, so at least having Lincoln present was a little reassuring in case it was some kind of threat.

Chances are, it was either the owner of the house, or it was Nicholas.

Before the phone could stop ringing, Lady reached the office and picked it up, holding it to her ear.

“Hello?” she asked, looking at the number which had been displayed.

She recognised it; it was definitely Nicholas’ number.

But Nicholas did not answer.

“Nick?” she asked, her heart beginning to race. “Nick, is that you?”

A low crackling sound could be heard, which almost sounded like snoring.

It was a gurgling, wet groaning sound.

Lincoln’s eyes widened, able to hear the sound from where he stood, and Lady could have sworn she saw the blood draining from his face.

There were goosebumps littering her own body, and she had no idea why. The sound was like nothing she had ever heard before.

Another sound could also be heard through the phone, closer than the low groaning sound.

Slow, heavy breathing.

Lady’s voice was barely there as she spoke up again.

“…Nick?”

There was no reply.

Only the guttural groans and heavy breathing remained.

Lincoln grabbed her hand and forced her to slam the phone down, his eyes still enlarged and filled with pure fear that Lady never expected to see upon his face.

“What the hell?!” she snapped at him. “That was Nicholas’ number! That came from his phone!”

“Nicholas wasn’t on the phone,” Lincoln barely whispered, slowly shifting his eyes to face her, “I know a death rattle when I hear one.”

Lady’s entire body went cold at the words spoken by Lincoln.

Someone on the other end of the phone was dying, and someone else was there watching.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 6: 6: The Killer

Summary:

The killer has made his first move.

Lincoln finally decides to tell Lady everything he knows about what happened with Jeff Woods ten years ago.

~6: The Killer~

Lady was silent and unmoving, frozen on the spot as if she had gazed into the eyes of Medusa.

She had to get back to Ashford.

Moving with no control over her own body, she slowly turned around and walked towards the office door, but Lincoln firmly grabbed her by the wrist.

“Where are you going?” he asked her, firmness returning to his voice.

Lady’s head turned to look over her shoulder at him, her body stiff, and her expression ghostly.

“I have to go back to Ashford,” she whispered vacantly, “Nicholas… he’s in trouble…”

Lincoln stared at her lost expression, and while he remained stern, his green eyes twinkled with a glint of sadness for her.

“Lady,” he quietly responded, “Nicholas… isn’t alive anymore.”

Lady shook her head, trying to pull away from his grasp.

“No,” she refused, “I heard him. I heard him on the other end of the phone… He must’ve called me for help…”

“He’s gone,” Lincoln insisted, taking a hold of her by the shoulders and making her face him. “The best we can do is call nine-one-one and send them to where that call came from.”

Lady, still in shock, nodded her head slowly as she stared through Lincoln. In her mind, she thought that calling the emergency services could at least save Nicholas’ life.

Lincoln released his grip on her shoulders, picking the phone up once again as he pressed the three numbers onto the keypad.

“I’ll call them,” he said softly, “just tell me the address so we can get someone sent out.”

Lady practically whispered the exact address of Nicholas’ home, since that was where he had been calling from. She barely listened to what Lincoln was saying to the dispatcher who answered; she could vaguely pick up on the fact that he was giving the location and explaining that there had been an attack, but that was it.

Lincoln put the phone down, turning to Lady once again as she stood motionless.

“There’s nothing more we can do,” he informed her, but she did not respond to him, so he stepped closer with a wary expression. “Lady?”

Lady remained distant. Lincoln sounded so far away to her, muffled like he was underwater.

Why was she still in Burnside?

Why was she not in Ashford?

Maybe if she had stayed in Ashford, working on her article there, she could have been with Nicholas, or she could have got him help faster.

Or maybe, if she was in Ashford, she would be dead, too.

She felt Lincoln’s hand wrap around her upper arm, grounding her once again as she was brought back from her thoughts.

“Lady, you need to listen to me,” he said to her strictly, “it won’t be safe for you to go back to Ashford. You’re safer here.”

Was she?

How could she be safe in an unfamiliar town, with her only acquaintance being someone she still viewed as a suspect, in some way?

Although, the killings were not currently happening in Burnside, so perhaps he was right.

How could she stay in a house Nicholas had rented for her?

To her, it felt wrong.

“I mean it this time,” Lincoln spoke lowly, “make sure all your windows are locked. Make sure anything that could be used as an entrance is locked. Close all your curtains. Lock the door to the room you’re sleeping in. Tonight, you need to get some rest.”

There was no way she could do that.

There was no way she could rest as her heart pounded behind her ribs.

“I can’t,” she managed to whisper, barely able to maintain eye-contact with Lincoln.

Lincoln shook his head, turning her around to fully face him.

“You must,” he asserted.

She didn’t want to be alone.

She at least wanted to return to her apartment which she shared with Tim and Brian.

Were they even safe?

Lincoln let out a quiet sigh, seeing the way Lady was still battling her own thoughts.

“Would you feel safer if I stayed here tonight?” he asked her with a hint of irritability in his voice, since he was unprepared to stay in a new place.

“Not really,” Lady confessed swiftly in a whisper; she still had her reservations about Lincoln, although a part of her wondered if she could rely on him.

Lincoln hung his head in defeat. While he could understand Lady’s shock and distrust, he was growing somewhat impatient with her.

“You’re going to rest,” he insisted, leading her out of the office, “and if you don’t want me here, I can leave, but I will return first thing in the morning.”

Lady frowned, offended at how Lincoln moved her, but her eyes still remained distant. She was practically shoved into her bedroom.

“I can make sure all your windows are locked, too,” Lincoln added, “before I leave.”

Lady stood still, hugging herself for comfort. Her eyes were finally beginning to well with tears.

“There’s no point to me staying here,” she stated coarsely, “I can’t investigate this case anymore. There’s… There’s no reason to keep going with it.”

Lincoln narrowed his weary eyes.

“You have more reasons now than ever,” he corrected firmly. “Whether you like it or not, you’re involved directly now.”

“You don’t know that!” Lady suddenly snapped at him. “You don’t know if that was the killer, or if that was Nicholas making those… sounds! We have no idea what happened yet!”

Lincoln’s frown deepened as he folded his arms.

“You’re right,” he mumbled in agreement, “but that doesn’t change that you’re here in Burnside, chasing the tragedy from ten years ago which Jeff was involved in. I’m telling you now; he is the killer you’re looking for.”

“Then, why don’t we tell the police?!” Lady yelled angrily. “If you’re so confident that it’s Jeff, why haven’t you told anyone that it’s him?!”

Lincoln marched closer to her, towering over her with a bitter stare.

“I have told them,” he lowly snarled through his teeth, “and so have plenty of other people from this town. There is no evidence to prove that it is him, and they insist that Randy is the one who did the killings ten years ago, so they will hear nothing else.”

He narrowed his eyes, but his expression relaxed.

“I am going to stop this killer,” he reminded Lady, “and I am going to make sure he cannot hurt anyone ever again. If you don’t want to keep writing your article, that’s fine; but you can still help me.”

Lady’s angered expression remained etched onto her face, but gradually it was fading. There was still that part of her that wanted to run back to Ashford, but another side of her was growing and gaining her attention.

She wanted to catch this killer personally.

Lincoln was backing away towards the door, spotting that Lady was deep in thought again.

“Get some rest,” he echoed, “and tomorrow morning, I’ll be knocking on your door – I promise, it definitely won’t be a window this time.”

Before he could leave, Lady found herself grabbing him firmly by the wrist, prompting him to turn around and face her with a somewhat baffled expression.

Lady bowed her head, too embarrassed to look up at him. Her body was trembling, which Lincoln could no doubt feel as her grip on his wrist tightened.

“Just for tonight,” she began faintly, “you can stay on the couch.”

She barely knew this man, and in any other circumstance, she would be content with locking the house up and staying alone, but she was in an unfamiliar town with dangers she could not fully comprehend. Lincoln may have been a stranger, and she still had her reasons to be wary of him, but he was also the only person she could rely on.

Lincoln put his hand atop the one Lady was gripping his wrist with, giving a single nod of his head as his expression remained stoic.

“I won’t even leave the living room,” he swore to her.

At least he understood that she didn’t trust him.

“Thank you,” Lady managed to reply, her grip loosening from around his wrist, “but… I’m not going to sleep just yet. I’ve… got to get my notes sorted.”

Lincoln raised his eyebrow. “Notes? For your article?”

Lady shook her head, pushing past him to leave the room.

“Not just for the article,” she corrected, “but for understanding everything I can about this killer.”

As Lady left, Lincoln’s lips curved into a smile, and his dull gaze glimmered with intrigue. He followed her across the landing and down the stairs, with his gloved hands in his pockets.

Lady reached the bottom of the stairs and turned back towards him as he joined her. “You promised to tell me everything you know,” she reminded him, “so, I expect you to tell me everything. No more secrets; not now.”

She entered the kitchen again and immediately went to boil the kettle; whether Lincoln liked it or not, he was getting another cup of tea.

“Alright,” he agreed, taking a seat at the table, “where would you like me to start?”

“Start with Jeff himself,” Lady demanded as she waited for the kettle to boil, using the same mugs from before.

Lincoln stared at the table thoughtfully. He was silent, and Lady watched him intensely, as if able to see the way he was organising his knowledge.

“Jeff was the new kid in town,” he recalled, “and he was from way across the country.”

“Cali,” Lady recalled with a nod as she poured the boiled water, “Randy said he was from Cali.”

Lincoln paused, and then nodded his head.

“Yeah, and as you can probably tell, it’s tough being an outsider here,” Lincoln continued. “It’s bad enough between adults now, so imagine what it was like ten years ago for some kids.”

Lady had finished preparing the tea, approaching the table and setting both mugs down. Lincoln was easily able to pick up his mug despite the heat, considering he was still wearing his gloves.

“Jeff… had something about him,” Lincoln then described as he tried his best to remember the past. “His family moved into a house just a block away from here. He was quiet, didn’t talk much, and… well, he was just odd, but not particularly threatening. I’d go as far as to say he was shy, like a big kid.”

Considering what Lincoln had previously told her about Jeff acting childish during his attacks, that added up perfectly.

“He was good with kids,” Lincoln recalled with a sadness to his voice, “and even now… I don’t think he’s ever hurt them. He’s fucked in the head, but in his own twisted way, he has his morals.”

Lady nodded slowly, though she was not sure if she could trust Lincoln’s assessment there. Even so, she was not going to interrupt, and instead allowed Lincoln to keep talking.

“Anyway, Jeff also had vitiligo,” Lincoln stated.

Lady had heard of the condition, but it was rarely talked about. Lincoln likely was not making it up or getting it confused with another condition; if he had ever been closely involved with Jeff, especially when personally hunting him, he would have likely learned that information.

“His skin had been bleached to hide the patches,” Lincoln described, “so he looked incredibly pale. Paler than anyone you’ve ever seen; everything about him made him fresh meat to the local kids.”

“The gangs?” Lady then questioned, but Lincoln shook his head.

“There were no gangs,” he revealed, “only Randy and two of his friends.”

Only Randy and his two friends.

“But what about the youth gang violence?” Lady pressed, leaning forwards in her seat.

“There wasn’t any,” Lincoln confirmed. “I’m not the only one who knows that, but I’m the only one who’ll admit it.”

Lady rubbed her chin thoughtfully, taking a sip of her tea. Randy had already suggested as much to her; the town wanted him locked up, and no doubt that was what Lincoln meant. The townsfolk were willing to go along with any narrative if it meant getting rid of Randy.

“Randy made life hell for anyone his age,” Lincoln then explained. “If he wanted your lunch, he would take it. If he wanted your money to buy a better lunch, he would take every cent you had. If he thought you looked at him funny, he would beat the shit outta you.”

Lady could not help but curiously stare at Lincoln as he explained all this; he looked to be about the same age as Randy, so there was a chance he, too, was a kid in this town who had been at his mercy.

“Randy was wild,” Lincoln described as he must have remembered his own youth. “He did whatever the hell he wanted, no matter how many times the cops knocked on his door if he went too far. His two friends usually just cheered him on, nothing more.”

Lincoln lifted his gaze, narrowing his eyes as he stared at Lady from where he sat.

“He was ruthless to Jeff,” he proclaimed, “more ruthless than he had ever been to anyone. It started out just as typical bullying, but it just kept… escalating.”

“Do you know why?” Lady queried, and in response, Lincoln shrugged.

“Probably just because Randy enjoyed picking on somebody who was weak and different,” he guessed. “Jeff wasn’t strong enough to fight back.”

If Jeff did not have a brutal reputation, there was no reason for him to have been suspected when the murders finally happened.

“So, Randy tormented him until he snapped,” Lady concluded, and Lincoln nodded his head.

“More or less,” he replied.

Lady looked into his eyes, focused.

“What about the circumstances of the original attacks?” she chose to question. “You’re certain Jeff did them and not Randy, so what do you know about what happened?”

Lincoln’s eyes moved back towards the table as he put his mug of tea down, folding his arms tightly.

“It started on a Saturday while Jeff was on his way back from a local birthday party,” he remembered. “He was going home when the boys jumped him; from what I know, they had been beaten badly by his little brother, so they chose to tackle him when Liu wasn’t there to protect him, and what they did to him… well, you know already, right?”

“Yeah,” Lady nodded with confirmation, “Randy carved that smile into his face.”

“Correct,” Lincoln answered with a click of his gloved fingers, “while Keith and Troy held him down. Randy wanted to give Jeff a “makeover” and make him look “beautiful” because of how ugly his face was.”

The thought made Lady visibly cringe; she did silently wonder how Lincoln knew such details, though considering how much of a talker Randy seemed to be, he likely boasted about it at some point when Lincoln was present.

“That was where the first murders happened,” Lincoln finally revealed. “They were in an alley. I’m guessing Jeff had some kind of adrenaline rush, because he managed to use their own knives against them; by the time Liu arrived, Troy and Keith were already dead, and Randy was gone.”

So, Liu had found them in the alley, aside from Randy; it was understandable how Randy could seem suspicious in this particular scenario.

“Jeff got sent to hospital to have his injuries treated,” Lincoln went on, “and after hours, he was sent home. He had told police that Randy had attacked him, so the cops were fairly certain he was behind all the attacks.”

Lady narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, sipping her tea. “So, you think Jeff framed Randy, then?” she questioned.

“He did,” Lincoln responded with confidence, “but it’s difficult to tell if he did it intentionally or not.”

Perhaps Jeff just got lucky with how he worded his account, or maybe he really did know how to get Randy in trouble for something he had done.

“What about the other murders, then?” Lady pushed. “The article said that six people were killed.”

Lincoln shrugged his shoulders, his expression cold and bitter.

“I don’t know much about the ones that happened after he went home since they all took place really late at night, basically the next morning,” he admitted, “but I do know the victims, and where they were killed.”

Lady’s eyes lit up with interest as she listened closely.

“The first murders were in his family home,” Lincoln revealed. “He had killed his own parents, and attacked Liu.”

He studied Lady’s reaction as she absorbed the information. Her hands were trembling as she stared into her mug.

“Next, he went to Jane Richardson’s house and killed her parents,” Lincoln continued despite Lady’s obvious discomfort, “and he burned the house with them all inside. Jane has been in a coma ever since.”

Lady knew nothing about this group of victims; to her knowledge, it sounded like a random attack, and anyone could have been accused of it. The attack on Jeff’s own family was easier to connect to someone, and if Randy was already being suspected, it was likely viewed as an attempt for him to get at Jeff by targeting his relatives.

“Police found Randy with his wrists cut, and it was assumed that he had tried to kill himself to avoid going to prison,” Lincoln added. “Jeff was found not far from him, having been brutally stabbed.”

Whether Randy had managed to stab Jeff or if Jeff had stabbed himself remained unclear.

Lincoln leaned back in his chair, picking up his tea again.

“That accounts for everyone who was a part of the attacks,” he concluded, “and it’s pretty much all I know about the subject.”

He had told her a lot, so Lady gave a respectful nod.

“Thank you,” she responded to him, “for telling me all that.”

There was so much more material for her to work with, but it remained only as a spoken account; if she could, she would need to have references from other sources.

“Do you think it’s worth me having a look at the places where these people were attacked?” she then asked.

Lincoln was thoughtful, having some kind of internal debate.

“Well, a lot of it took place a block away,” he eventually told her, “so, if you really want to have a look around, you may as well.”

Lady’s eyes widened; how come she didn’t know that she was so close to where the attacks occurred?

“Jeff’s family home is still standing, practically preserved,” Lincoln described to her. “Nobody’s really been in it since the tragedy; legally, the house belongs to Liu, but until he is confirmed dead, nothing can be done to it.”

If Jeff was living without any criminal charges to his name, he probably had a part to play in the house being left preserved, too.

“We can rest tonight,” Lincoln planned, “and tomorrow, I’ll take you to the house. If anything catches your eye, take it, whether it helps with your article or my search.”

Lady’s eyes widened as she shook her head. “That would be theft,” she pointed out.

“It would be borrowing,” Lincoln corrected. “If a miracle does happen and Liu turns up to reclaim his house, you’ll return everything you took, and so will I.”

Lady folded her arms after placing her mug down on the table, while Lincoln gave a very small and brief smirk.

It was still too early for Lady to trust him at all, and he certainly had his questionable habits, yet she was willing to spend the upcoming day with him.

Slowly but surely, she was going to have the full picture, and Jeff would be behind bars.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 7: 7: The House

Summary:

Lincoln leads Lady to the house where Jeff Woods allegedly attacked his family, giving Lady some further understanding of Jeff as an individual.

~7: The House~

Lady was not able to sleep soundly.

The death rattle belonging to Nicholas played repeatedly in her nightmares, accompanied by his face with a bleeding smiled carved into it. Behind him, she would see the abnormally pale face of Jeff Woods, grinning like a madman with his own carved cheeks.

She had woken early in the morning in a cold sweat, and could not go back to sleep after that, so she had a morning shower to clear her head before putting on some more practical clothes; she still wore a black turtleneck sweater, and she had pulled on some tight black pants rather than wearing a skirt. She had previously worn her sweaters tucked into her skirts, but this time, she wore one loose.

Despite having awoken early, when she went down the stairs, she spotted Lincoln sitting upright on the couch, dressed completely in his clothes. He had showered in the night and had used the washing machine to wash the only outfit he had; with how dark his eyebags were, it was evident that he did not get much sleep.

“How many hours did you get?” Lady asked him as she entered the living room.

“Enough,” Lincoln answered without even turning to look at her, his eyes bloodshot and dry.

Lady raised her brow with concern, “Are you sure? You look really tired.”

“I’ll catch up on sleep later,” Lincoln planned, standing up, “I’ve been waiting for you to wake up; I was gonna make you breakfast.”

Lady laughed awkwardly at the suggestion and shook her head. “I can make my own,” she told him, “and I can make some for you, too.”

“No,” Lincoln immediately interrupted as he marched to the kitchen, but his voice quickly softened, “I don’t like other people cooking for me.”

Lady followed him and her eyes slightly thinned. “Well, I still don’t fully trust you,” she reminded him, “so, how can I trust you to cook breakfast?”

Lincoln stared down at her with an unamused frown, “If you want to make your own, you can,” he told her, “but I will not have anyone cook for me.”

Lady sighed and folded her arms as she leaned against the door frame, watching as Lincoln moved into the kitchen and began taking out the few ingredients in the fridge that Lady had bought.

“There’s no point in both of us taking turns cooking the same food,” Lady pointed out, “so, if you won’t let me cook for you, I’ll let you do the cooking.”

Lincoln nodded as he skilfully cracked two eggs into a bowl, also pouring some milk into the mix. Lady raised her brow at this, but she did not interrupt him.

“Today, I’m taking you to the Woods family home,” Lincoln then reminded her as he put two slices of bread in the toaster. “There likely won’t be anything too useful, but you deserve to see the location where Jeff lived, along with his belongings.”

Lady bowed her head, staring at her hands in her lap. She should have been excited to see something like that, but there was no way for her to be happy after what had happened to Nicholas.

“Today is the best time to go,” Lincoln went on as he poured the beaten eggs into a heated pan, “because I have a bad feeling about our situation; Jeff might be in Ashford, but it won’t take him too long to come home.”

Lady shuddered at the very thought; she would likely have to face Jeff directly, if he truly was the killer.

Lincoln noticed her silence, but did not comment on it. He finished cooking up some scrambled eggs, and when the two slices of bread were toasted, he cut them both in half, putting the pairs onto a plate before serving the eggs, as well. He carried both plates to the table with some knives and forks, sitting opposite Lady.

Neither spoke while they ate, keeping their eyes focused on their own plates. Lady ate politely yet awkwardly in Lincoln’s presence, while the scarred man wolfed his food down as if he had been starved for days.

Once the pair had finished eating, Lincoln took the plates to the sink to wash them, though he never took off his gloves. Lady cleared her throat before she chose to speak up regarding the matter.

“Lincoln,” she began, “why do you never take your gloves off?”

Lincoln visibly tensed his body at the question.

“My face isn’t the only part of me that’s scarred,” he answered, his voice cold, “and if Jeff wants to finish what he started with me and his other victims... I don’t want to leave behind any fingerprints. I don’t know how smart he is, but I can’t take any risks.”

He answered the question almost too easily, and the last part sounded relatively far-fetched, but Lady did not let her mind linger on Lincoln’s answer for too long.

“Sorry for asking, if it made you uncomfortable,” Lady then apologised, “it was just something I noticed.”

Lincoln turned his head over his shoulder; his face still had some bitterness to it, but he was smirking faintly.

“You’re a reporter,” he pointed out, “but you’re a lot more like a detective.”

“I just have a keen eye sometimes,” Lady shrugged, “which is good when I need to write articles. It means I can spot things that no one else can, once I know where to look.”

Lincoln nodded in agreement while he washed up.

“You have a talent for that,” he stated, “and you will only become more experienced.”

“I can only hope,” Lady mumbled, standing up from the table, “do you want me to finish doing that?”

“I’ve got it,” Lincoln replied as he put the plates and the cutlery on the side to dry.

Despite having worn his gloves the entire time, he was able to dry them using a towel, and once he was done, he approached Lady.

“We should get going,” he told her, “but we need to move fast; the townsfolk won’t want to see my face.”

Lady’s tension immediately returned to her body, and Lincoln picked up on her reaction instantly.

“It’s not that I’ve done anything bad,” he assured her, rubbing at his scars thoughtfully, “it’s that… they’ll freak out. A lot of them still think the carved smiles are part of a Satanic ritual.”

Lady did recall reading that in the article, slowly nodding her head in understanding. Finally, it was beginning to make sense why Lincoln was not keen on showing his face, and why he only surfaced at night when it was darker. Burnside’s population was heavily religious, and if they believed that the attacks were related to an occult act, they wouldn’t be too happy seeing someone like Lincoln walking around.

That was when she had an idea, practically pushing past him into the hallway.

“What are you doing?” Lincoln asked curiously yet flatly as he followed her.

Lady reached up to a hook where her coat and scarf had been hanging. She pulled down the striped grey scarf which she had travelled in, scurrying back over to Lincoln with a bright smile.

“You can wear this,” she told him, standing on her tiptoes to wrap it around his neck.

Lincoln almost pushed her away, taking a step back as she placed the scarf upon him, but his eyes were wide with genuine surprise. The scarf was soft like a blanket, cradling his neck in a warm embrace. He tucked the lower part of his face behind the scarf as he secured it around himself.

Lady smiled as she watched him finish wrapping the scarf, and she went to unlock the front door.

“Sorry if it’s a bit warm for wearing a scarf,” she then said to Lincoln, “but it’s the best thing I can think of.”

Lincoln followed her outside, speaking very quietly, “Thank you.”

It was still morning, with the sun gleaming brightly in the sky at a low level. It was weird for Lady to finally see Lincoln in normal daylight; his skin was still a sickly pale, and his eyes were still sunken within dark circles. His dark brown hair actually was lighter than Lady originally thought, now that it was illuminated by the sunlight.

Lincoln walked slightly ahead of Lady to lead the way, and kept his eyes on anyone nearby. Nobody reacted strongly to his presence, thankfully, but they did raise their brows at a man dressed like it was a cold winter’s day.

Lady followed after him, having not worn her long coat for this particular adventure. She was feeling quite warm, so could only imagine how hot Lincoln must have been in his thick layers.

The walk was not a long one at all. The pair only had to walk to the next block, which was a street even quieter than the one Lady was staying on. In fact, it almost looked entirely abandoned; houses either had signs outside them advertising them to be sold, or they had overgrown gardens with windows boarded up.

This was Lavender Lane.

“Here we are,” Lincoln announced as they stood together at the end of the street, “this is where the tragedies happened.”

Lady must have passed by this street when she first explored the town, and not once did she cast a glance down it properly. Since she did not know exactly where everything took place, she did not think to explore the streets, particularly the quieter ones.

“Not many people want to live here,” Lincoln told her as he started walking, “and those who do are believed to have a death wish.”

Lady walked after him, studying her surroundings carefully. She could not deny that the street was somewhat spooky, with how it had practically been entirely abandoned.

The further they walked, the colder the air seemed to feel. One house had been completely burned, and for a moment, Lady assumed that was once the home of Jeff Woods, but Lincoln led her across the street from it towards another abandoned house, which had a tall metal fence surrounding it.

Lincoln stopped to stare up at the building. It was a typical suburban family home, once a dream to whoever had moved into it, but now it was a derelict property which had been left to rot.

Without further hesitation, Lincoln walked towards the chain link fence, beginning to climb up it.

“What are you doing?!” Lady called up to him in a shouted whisper, looking over her shoulder in case anybody could spot them.

“Going inside,” Lincoln answered simply, easily landing on the other side of the fence.

“That’s trespassing!” Lady pointed out as he stared at her from the other side.

“We’re investigating,” Lincoln pointed out to her, gesturing towards the fence with his hands, “now, hurry up before somebody sees you standing there.”

Lady looked over her shoulder one last time before slouching her shoulders, letting out a loud exhale; she was so thankful to be wearing pants on this day rather than a skirt. Wasting no more time, she began to shakily climb the fence, rattling it loudly as she did so, but as she began to swing her leg over the top, she lost her balance and fell.

Luckily, Lincoln caught her in his arms as if she were weightless.

Lady said nothing, staring at Lincoln until he placed her onto the ground. He, too, said nothing, and instead began to walk towards the back of the house.

Once they were both were at the back, Lincoln began to kick the backdoor as hard as he could. Lady flinched after the sound of each brutal kick, and after the fourth one, the boarding gave way, falling into the darkness of the abandoned house.

“I take you do this often?” Lady joked after witnessing the way Lincoln forced open the boarded doorway.

Lincoln only looked over his shoulder towards her with a neutral expression on his face.

“I have a few hobbies,” was all he said before entering the home.

Lady did not even try to think what he meant by that, following after him quickly.

The house was completely dark, with barely any light entering it. Lady wished she had brought a flashlight with her, but at least she was not in total darkness, meaning that she could still see fairly well. She still stumbled and tripped on anything that was on the floor, constantly bumping into Lincoln, who was having no trouble at all navigating the dark house.

Light still seeped past the boards, illuminating the house a little more, allowing Lady and Lincoln to somewhat see within the environment. Lady noticed how the house was full of stuff from the early eighties, and even the seventies. Even in the dark, the colour brown was dominant, being on the walls, the tables, and even the couch in the living room.

The television was also a brown box, and it was covered in dust. Surprisingly, the screen had not been smashed, although the same could not be said for the family photographs which had been thrown from the mantelpiece.

Lady crouched down to pick up one of the broken frames, and inside it was a photo of a typical nuclear family. A father with brown hair stood smiling, his blue eyes framed by some large glasses as he stood in a typical button-up shirt. His hands were on the shoulders of a teenage boy, who stood slouched.

The boy was wearing a baggy red sweater, though he appeared embarrassed to be wearing it. His expression was distant, and he was not smiling. His hair was messy and black, like it was rarely brushed, and his skin was a bleached white.

This boy did not look anything like what Lady had seen of Liu, leading her to conclude that this was Jeff.

Beside his father was a woman with long, straight black hair, matching the colour of Jeff’s hair. Her skin was not as pale as his, but paler than her husband’s, though her eyes were emerald green. She wore a red cardigan over a black shirt, her style matching that of what was seen in the seventies. Her lips were bright red from the lipstick she was wearing, and her hands were on the shoulders of another boy, who stood at Jeff’s height.

His face could not be seen.

This was obviously Liu, wearing a denim jacket which was trendy at the time, but his face had been scorched away as if a cigarette had been burned against it.

Lady picked up another frame, careful not to get glass in her hand, and this time, it was a picture only of the two boys. Liu had his arm around Jeff, with Jeff giving an awkward smile in the photo this time, but Liu’s face was once again hidden behind a black burn mark.

Lincoln had been going through some books on a nearby shelf, but hearing Lady pushing broken glass around caught his attention. From where he stood, he saw exactly what she was looking at, continuing with his own search.

“Some people think Jeff has been back here,” he then told her, “which is another reason nobody really messes with this place. It looks like he really must have been here at some point; maybe he couldn’t stand looking at his brother’s face after what he did to him.”

Lady nodded her head silently as she stared at every available photograph. They were all the same; their frames were broken, and any featuring Liu had his face burned away.

Going by Randy’s theory, Jeff might have killed Liu after he went missing, and perhaps he felt remorseful, hence why he destroyed all depictions of his face. Or, instead of doing it out of guilt, maybe he despised his brother for having a “perfect” face compared to his own, which had been mutilated by Randy, and he never wanted to look at it ever again. Perhaps Liu was still missing, and Jeff wanted to erase his face so nobody could find him.

Or, maybe Jeff wasn’t involved at all.

“What if it wasn’t Jeff that did this?” Lady spoke up in a thoughtful whisper, catching Lincoln’s attention.

“What was that?” he asked her, walking away from the bookshelf to approach her; he was holding a dusty copy of “Lincoln” by Gore Vidal, a book popular in the year of the tragedy.

“It might not have been Jeff,” Lady theorised, “it might have been Liu. Maybe he didn’t want to be found by his brother, or anyone else; that would explain why he did this to his own face and nobody else’s.”

Lincoln stared at her, watching as she focused on the photographs, before letting out a sigh and shaking his head. Without any force, he hit the book against the top of her head, causing her to flinch and glare up at him.

“What was that for?” she asked as she rubbed her head through her hair.

“There’s no real way to tell who did that,” Lincoln said to her, ignoring her question, “so, don’t focus too hard on them. If you really want to study those photos, you should just take them with you.”

“That’s stealing,” Lady argued, even though she stood up with the photos in her hands, having taken them from their frames.

“It’s borrowing,” Lincoln repeated from before, waving the book he was holding in his hand, “like how I’m borrowing this.”

Lady stared at the book, and then back at him with disbelief, “You can’t just steal a book from the scene of a tragedy.”

“Borrow,” Lincoln corrected again as he began to head out of the living room, “and besides, it’s better than borrowing from the library; I won’t have to worry about returning it on time.”

Lady let out a loud sigh as she slumped her shoulders, following him out of the room; she shouldn’t have been surprised to see Lincoln taking advantage of their predicament, and wondered if he was going to continuously use this house as his own personal library.

“Upstairs will probably be more interesting,” Lincoln then stated as he began walking up the wooden staircase, “since the attacks were known to have happened there during the night.”

A cold rush ran through Lady’s body as she ascended the creaking staircase. She knew that she was not going to see anything too shocking, since anything relating to the crimes would have been cleared, but she would still be seeing the rooms where a family was torn apart, whether or not Jeff was the true culprit.

The cold feeling did not leave her as Lincoln led her to Jeff’s bedroom.

The room was practically preserved, though it was covered with dust. The walls had nothing on them, aside from a few generic hanging decorations, and a few items of clothing could be seen strewn here and there, also gathering dust.

There was no way anything violent could have happened in a room which looked so untouched.

It was still useful for Lady to examine the room, however, since she was getting a better understanding of Jeff as a person. This room would have belonged to him when he was fifteen years old, yet there was nothing about it which made him seem like a typical teenager. If anything, he seemed bland and boring with no interests.

The only thing that caught Lady’s eye was some pieces of paper. They were worn and aged, but Lady could still see that they had sketches and paintings upon them. All of them were unique, though she mostly spotted how these pictures depicted a landscape scene, possibly something seen by Jeff himself.

So, he was an artist.

Lady entered the room to pick up the artworks, adding them to the photo pile in her hand. Lincoln raised his brow at the sight as he leaned against the doorframe, folding his arms.

“You’re taking his art?” he noticed.

“Borrowing,” Lady corrected as she pushed past him to leave the room.

Lincoln chuckled quietly at her response, following her as she moved in the direction of the master bedroom, “Fair enough.”

Lady pushed the door open with her shoulder, and as expected, the master bedroom was not as well preserved as Jeff’s room. The vanity mirror had been smashed, and the bed was completely stripped of its covers. There was an empty space on the ground which looked like a carpet might have once been there, but it was now gone.

Had Jeff really killed his own parents here?

As Lady examined the room, she found a few more smashed photo frames, taking the photos from them. One was a picture of Jeff by himself, and another was of Liu, even though his face had once again been burnt away.

Lincoln had left her to keep exploring the master bedroom, and she had not even noticed the lack of his presence. Once she noticed his absence, she cautiously left the room, though it did not take her long to see where Lincoln went. He had gone across the landing, past Jeff’s bedroom, and had entered the bedroom which no doubt had belonged to Liu.

Lady followed him, still carrying all her spoils, catching him looking through some cassette tapes. Lady’s focus was not on him, though, instead keeping her focus on the room itself.

Band posters covered the walls, with most of them now hanging off. A broken boombox was on top of a set of drawers, near the shelf where Lincoln was searching; the shelf was covered with cassettes and vinyl records in various boxes, though some were strewn on the floor.

The room had mostly been trashed, likely in some kind of fight. Like the master bedroom, the bed was completely stripped, leading Lady to come to one conclusion about the attacks: the victims were attacked in their beds.

Lincoln was loading the cassettes into a small cassette carry case which he had found – one which had Liu’s name etched onto it along with some worn stickers. He was not taking any of the official tapes; he was only taking the ones which must have been home recordings.

“Why are you taking those?” Lady chose to question out of curiosity.

“Background noise for my reading,” Lincoln dryly joked, “if they even work.”

“Do you even have a cassette player?” Lady asked him, raising her brow, “or were you going to “borrow” one from here?”

“I doubt any of the tech here still works,” Lincoln commented, “but one day I’ll get my hands on one.”

Lady exhaled deeply. “You can borrow mine,” she reluctantly decided, “since I brought my Walkman with me.”

“Do you have any tapes I can borrow?” Lincoln queried, but Lady frowned at him.

“I’m not sure I can trust you to return them,” she admitted, and Lincoln couldn’t help but chuckle at her response.

“That’s fair,” he mused, “I prefer mixtapes, anyway; they come with more variety, and it’s always a pleasant surprise to hear what song plays next.”

That must have meant that Lincoln had taken such things in the past.

It felt wrong for Lady to be taking anything from this location. This was where two people were killed, and another was brutally attacked before going missing.

Having seen all three rooms, it was clear that Jeff had never been attacked in this location.

It just seemed so unsettling to Lady that he was the one both Randy and Lincoln had accused of being the real murderer, and his room was the only one left untouched.

If Lady was going to believe that Jeff was the killer, that would mean he attacked his whole family while they were sleeping, unaware of any signs that he was dangerous to them.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 8: 8: Lavender Lane

Summary:

Lady meets some more individuals connected to the Burnside Murders while on Lavender Lane - the location where most of the tragedies occurred.

~8: Lavender Lane~

The duo left the house with their spoils, having to make sure nobody was around as they exited the abandoned building. As expected, the whole street was empty, as if nobody even lived on it.

“Somebody’s gonna see us and think we look suspicious,” Lady mumbled to Lincoln as she walked beside him, carrying the photographs and artwork under one arm.

“Believe me, nobody cares about that house enough to report anything,” Lincoln assured her with a casual shrug.

“You sound so sure,” Lady observed as she continued to walk at his side, looking up at him with a curious raise of her eyebrows.

“For once, could you have some faith in me?” Lincoln questioned with an irritated sigh, but Lady started listing things on her fingers.

“You broke into my house twice,” she counted, “withheld information from me, violently grabbed me by the neck and almost gave me a heart attack, and then you hit me on the head with a book.”

“Tapped you,” Lincoln corrected in a mumble before glaring at her while walking, “and as for the rest, I’m sure I’ve made up for it by now, right?”

“I will be the one to decide that,” Lady declared as she picked up her walking pace to go ahead of him.

Lincoln rolled his eyes and shook his head; in a way, he had to admire her stubbornness. Lady was not always the brightest, but she was sharp enough to know that suspicious individuals often performed acts of service to gain trust.

“Miss!”

Lady almost dropped what she was carrying when she heard a voice not belonging to Lincoln. Lincoln also almost dropped everything he was carrying, freezing in his steps as he focused on a teenage boy running towards the pair. Lincoln was ready to sprint away, though Lady’s posture shifted to one of relief.

“It’s you again,” Lady smiled, “Billy’s your name, right?”

“Yes,” Billy breathed heavily, panting after having run so fast to get to the duo, “I saw you and your partner leaving the old Woods house. I had to catch up with you as soon as I could.”

Lady had not seen anyone nearby as she and Lincoln had left, which must have meant that Billy had spotted the two through a window of a house.

“Oh, we were doing some investigating for my report,” Lady explained with a smile. “I don’t think I told you when I saw you before, but I’m a reporter from another town investigating some murders, and I think the tragedy from here is connected to it.”

Billy’s eyes enlarged as he stared at her, gasping. “That makes sense,” he realised, “I heard some people talking about a crazy lady asking questions.”

Lady smiled uncomfortably, disliking the description. “Crazy lady?” she repeated. “Fair enough.”

As she said her reply, she noticed that Lincoln was standing silently at a distance from her and Billy. He looked stiff and unwilling to get involved in the conversation.

“I don’t think you’re crazy, miss,” Billy assured her, “you seem quite nice, actually; nicer than a lot of people who live in this town.”

Lady raised her brows curiously as she leaned in. “You’re a local, aren’t you, Billy?” she asked him. “Why would you say such a thing about everyone here?”

“Because it’s true,” Billy answered easily. “They really don’t like my family, and they think we’re crazy for staying on this street where everything happened.”

Now having caught his breath, Billy was able to get his sentences out clearly, clearing his throat.

“You’ve been investigating what happened here ten years ago,” he recalled. “It’s been a long time since anyone has been interested in what happened here, so to hear that you’re writing an article is even better. My mom might be able to help you.”

Lady remained curious. “Why is that?” she queried as Billy scratched his head.

“She remembers everything better than I do,” was his response, “because I was still a little kid back then, but we’ll both be able to tell you some stuff.”

“Would your mother be okay with talking to me?” Lady asked him.

Billy nodded his head firmly. “Nobody’s ever wanted to talk to her about what happened back then,” he explained, “so, she’ll be happy that somebody is willing to listen to her.”

Lady grew cautious, turning to look back over her shoulder at Lincoln, “You’ll come and talk to her with me too, right?” she asked him, but Lincoln hesitated to answer immediately.

“I’m… not sure,” he replied to her. “How about I take all of this stuff back to your house? I can look over it all before you get back.”

In all honesty, Lady did not want to be left on her own. She did not know who this boy’s mother was, or what involvement the family had in the tragedies, yet Lincoln did not seem too concerned.

That must have meant that Lincoln knew who Billy’s mother was.

If Lincoln was calm about the subject, then Lady felt a sense of her own relief, but she was also curious as to why Lincoln did not want to be present when talking to someone he must have known.

“How are you going to get in the house when I have the key?” Lady asked him before frowning. “Don’t tell me there’s an open window for you to climb through again…”

“I was going to ask for the key,” Lincoln assured her, “but, now that you mention it, I could just break in by force.”

She hoped that was a joke.

Lady reached into her pocket of her pants, fishing out the key. Lincoln briskly approached and took the key from her fingers before also taking the photos and drawings she was carrying.

“I’ll take these back, too,” he told her.

“Thanks,” Lady replied, “I’ll see you in a bit, then.”

Lincoln nodded, unable to wave goodbye with his hands full. He left without really acknowledging Billy, either, as if relieved to finally be allowed to leave.

Lady smiled at Billy and gave an awkward laugh. “Forgive him,” she said, “he’s not really a people person.”

“That’s okay,” Billy responded before he started walking. “Come with me, miss; I live just across the street from the Woods place.”

Lady followed just behind him, still somewhat wary. She took one last look in Lincoln’s direction, seeing that he was already nearly at the end of the street with how fast he was walking, and then she continued to follow Billy closely.

Billy arrived on the doorstep of his home, looking back at Lady, “Wait here. I’ll go and get her.”

He opened the door and closed it behind himself once inside, leaving Lady to awkwardly stand on the doorstep of the large family home. She spotted a high fence surrounding the backyard, making sure it was kept private and out of view. The house seemed normal, so with nothing else to observe, she returned to staring at Lincoln, who quickly vanished entirely from her sight.

The door was then pulled open, and a wavy-haired redhead woman stood before her with a freckled face. Her expression was defensive, though her eyes were glimmering with a hint of intrigue.

“Hello,” Lady greeted, extending her hand for a handshake along with smiling warmly, “my name is Lady Sullivan.”

The woman nodded slowly, awkwardly accepting Lady’s handshake. “I’ve heard your name being mentioned here and there,” she stated, “my name is Barbara Alan, and you seem to have already met my son, Billy.”

“Yes,” Lady smiled, “I bumped into him yesterday when he was putting up some missing posters for Liu Woods.”

Barbara gave a sad smile as she rested her arm against the door frame. “He’s a good kid like that,” she sighed. “We’ve always hoped Liu would be found safe and sound; the poor boy must’ve been so scared to run out of a hospital like that…”

Lady gazed at her with focus and curiosity. “Do you have any idea why he ran?” she asked the older woman.

“Probably to get away from Randy,” Barbara guessed, “since he was being treated in the same hospital.”

So, despite living on the street where everything happened, and being shunned by the townsfolk, Barbara still believed Randy was the culprit.

“You think Randy was the one who attacked him?” Lady queried, and Barbara stared at her as though the answer were obvious.

“He’s the one who got arrested for it,” she pointed out, “and he’s still in prison, ain’t he?”

Lady nodded her head in agreement, even if she was unsure which perspective was the truth.

“How well did you know the Woods family?” Lady then chose to question, shifting the subject slightly. “If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”

Barbara shrugged her shoulders. “I spoke to Margaret and Peter quite a few times,” she recalled solemnly as her eyes became distant. “They seemed nice enough; they had just moved in, you see, and I was the one who wanted to make sure they felt welcome around here.”

Such a thing seemed ironic to Lady, with how Barbara was now apparently viewed as an outcast, and how the townsfolk were generally unwelcoming.

“What Randy did to them was terrible,” Barbara hissed as she grimaced at the memory. “He was always trouble; something should have been done about him before he got that bad.”

Lady gave another nod. “So, you must’ve known Randy quite well,” she observed.

“Well, of course,” Barbara huffed as though it were obvious, “everyone knew about him and his two friends, especially us who lived on the same block as him.”

Lavender Lane was where Randy had once lived, too.

“Did he ever bother you and your family?” Lady carefully questioned, but Barbara shook her head.

“Luckily, Billy was a lot younger than him,” she clarified, “so, he was never a target of his bullying. He still caused trouble, though, by fighting kids on the street and making a ruckus, or throwing stuff at all our houses like on Halloween, and even breaking into our gardens. That’s one reason we ended up getting high fences.”

Lady had no problem believing that Randy got up to all those things.

“Forgive my language, but he was also a smartass,” Barbara then added, “and he had no trouble talking back to us adults. Him and his friends were always snickering like they were up to no good, and I always tried to be the one to talk them down from whatever mischief they had planned.”

Lady gave another slow nod, gazing downwards thoughtfully as she rubbed her chin, taking in what Barbara had to say. “Did you ever see much fighting between him and the Woods boys?” she interrogated gently, and Barbara almost laughed out loud.

“Oh, they fought a lot,” she confirmed with a strong nod. “I spotted those boys running one day from the bus stop; apparently, Liu Woods had given all three of them quite a bad beating, and he was younger than the lot of them. I think that was the only time I ever saw them lose a fight.”

Lincoln had also mentioned that to her.

It made sense for Barbara, and likely many others, to believe that Randy may have wanted revenge against Liu, and Liu had run away to avoid his wrath.

“It was Billy’s eighth birthday party on the day the attacks started,” Barbara then revealed, making Lady’s eyes widen immediately. “Liu didn’t come, though Jeff and his parents did. Jeff was really good with the kids, playing with them in the yard, but Randy, Keith, and Troy were lurking, throwing things over the fence to try getting Jeff’s attention. I thought I’d got them to leave, and later Jeff decided to walk home, but… they still got him.”

So, Randy and his two friends had already been antagonising Jeff while he was at the birthday party, and Jeff had walked home thinking they had left.

Barbara then glared as she leaned further out of her door, looking past Lady. “Speaking of which, it looks like his mother is on her way home.”

Lady glanced back swiftly over her shoulder, and spotted a black-haired woman with tanned skin walking with her arms folded, coming from the street’s entrance which Lady and Lincoln had walked down.

Barbara backed up into her house. “She goes to see him every Monday,” she explained, “and only God knows what lies he tells her.”

Lady looked back at Barbara with a small smile. “Well, thank you for your time, Barbara,” she thanked, “I won’t keep you any longer.”

Barbara cautiously nodded, keeping her eyes on the woman briskly walking down the street, “It was a pleasure to speak to you,” she responded, “and hopefully, I can catch you at a better time to talk more.”

“Of course,” Lady smiled, “we could probably talk more over coffee sometime.”

Barbara also gave a small smile. “Sounds good to me,” she agreed. “I’ll see you around town, no doubt, and so will Billy.”

Lady nodded, stepping back down the steps which led up to the door. “I hope to talk to you again,” she said as her parting words before Barbara closed the door to her house; obviously, she was in no mood to be seen by Randy’s mother.

Meanwhile, Lady was hoping to speak to her.

Lady strolled at a fast pace while trying not to look like she was hurrying towards the woman, who looked completely dishevelled. She was wearing no makeup on her face, and even the lightest breeze made her hair look completely messy. Her thick turtleneck and long skirt looked like winter clothes, covering her whole body while also not appearing too neat.

“Mrs. Cooper?” Lady called out to her softly when she was close enough, but the woman did not even look at her, instead choosing to walk faster in an attempt to get past Lady, “Mrs. Cooper, can I speak to you?”

“No,” Randy’s mother denied without making any eye-contact with Lady, “I don’t want no trouble. I’m goin’ home.”

Her voice was incredibly defensive as she made her way past Lady.

“I don’t want to start trouble with you,” Lady assured as she trailed behind the other woman, “my name is Lady Sullivan, I’m investigating some…”

“I said I don’t wanna talk!” the woman snapped as she turned around swiftly, her eyes burning with anger, silencing Lady. The fire in her eyes was extinguished, however, as she processed the name Lady had introduced herself with. “Hold on; did ya say yer name was Lady Sullivan?”

Lady gave a nod, though spoke a lot more softly. “Yes,” she confirmed, “I’m a reporter. I spoke to your son yesterday.”

The woman bowed her head and her posture loosened, though she kept her arms folded while she stumbled over her words. “Sorry, I, I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was you…”

“It’s okay,” Lady assured, raising her hands in a gesture to calm her down, “I shouldn’t have been so abrupt.”

“My son talked about ya,” Randy’s mother explained quite bluntly and quickly, “I went to see him this mornin’ and he said he got a visit from a gal reporter from Missouri. Someone who… wanted to hear his side of things from ten years ago.”

Lady smiled reassuringly and gave a nod. “That’s right,” she clarified, “I’ve been trying to understand what happened here back then, and what he told me has been really useful.”

“I forgot to introduce myself!” the woman then gasped with realisation, horrified at her own rudeness. “My name’s Jill. Miss Jill Cooper.”

Unmarried.

Lady held out her hand for a handshake with a smile, but as she did so, Jill initially flinched. For the mother of someone like Randy, she seemed particularly timid, even as she gingerly shook Lady’s hand.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Miss Cooper,” Lady stated, “I don’t want to keep you too long if you’re in a rush to head home; I thought I’d ask you about what happened ten years ago, in case you had any information you could tell me that might be useful.”

Jill shook her head, staring down at the concrete beneath her feet.

“I don’t think there’s anything I can say that Randy hasn’t told ya already,” she admitted, lifting her head to meet Lady’s eyes. “Do ya… believe what he’s told ya?”

Lady rubbed her arm as she thought about how to answer the question. “All I’m trying to do is get the full story of what happened,” she chose to say.

Jill bowed her head again in understanding. “I see,” she commented sombrely, though she appeared a little more hopeful when she next met Lady’s gaze, “but… ya still chose to hear his side.”

Lady nodded her head, her expression becoming one of focus. “Do you believe he’s innocent, Miss Cooper?” she slowly questioned.

“Of course, I do,” Jill answered confidently with a determined expression. “I know my son’s done terrible things, and I know he’s told lies to a lotta people, but he ain’t ever lied to me. He’d always tell me when he’d hurt somebody, if I asked him; he ain’t got no reason to lie now, especially when he’s already seen as guilty.”

It was easy to believe that Jill was just a protective mother looking out for her son. That possibility was likely, yet Lady still listened to her.

“Randy didn’t kill those people,” Jill insisted as she leaned in closer to Lady from where she stood. “Two of those kids were his friends. They were all bad kids, but neither of ‘em would’ve killed each other.”

Lady certainly could agree with that. From everything she had learned so far, there was no reason for Randy to kill Keith and Troy.

“Who do you think really did it?” Lady then asked softly, and Jill was deep in thought for a moment.

“Randy keeps telling me it was that Jeff kid he used to pick on,” she recalled, “but… I do wonder if he’s a bit confused. Randy picked on that boy a lot, but it was Jeff’s brother who beat him badly one day.”

“Liu?” Lady questioned, her eyes widening; she had not yet been given a strong enough reason to believe that he was a suspect of any kind, since he overall seemed to just be a victim.

“Yeah, that boy,” Jill nodded, clicking her fingers as she remembered his name, “he was the only kid who had ever managed to beat my son so badly, and he beat Keith and Troy, too. He must’ve had something to do with it, which is why he ran away from the hospital – to avoid being discovered as the real killer.”

Jill’s reasoning made sense, but considering that Randy was directly involved in the attacks, it was unlikely that he got confused between Jeff and Liu.

“Maybe it was both of those boys working together,” Jill then concluded, “but everyone in this town won’t listen. They’re just happy Randy is behind bars; I really hope one day he can come home, now that his dad’s finally gone.”

Lady’s eyes twitched with interest, but she could see the regret upon Jill’s face.

“I need to go,” Jill whispered, looking around frantically at the houses which lined the street.

She turned on her heel to hurry away, but Lady gently took her by the wrist; Jill immediately pulled her hand free and stared fearfully into Lady’s eyes, breathing rapidly before quickly calming herself.

Lady did not need to ask further about the circumstances with Randy’s father, judging by the way Jill was acting.

“If you ever want to talk to me in the future, I’m staying at number sixty-four, Marble Street,” Lady then informed her. “I don’t know the landline number, but that’s where I’ll be if you want to talk to me.”

Jill stared at her, unblinking and trembling, before she nodded her head hesitantly.

“Thank you,” she barely managed to whisper.

Wasting no more time. Jill hurried away further down the street.

Lady watched her in silence, almost with worry, but she soon decided that it was time to head back to her house; she was not sure if she could trust Lincoln to be there alone for too long.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 9: 9: Sleep

Summary:

Lady begins drafting her article using the information she had learned from various people in the town of Burnside, while also learning a few new things about Lincoln...

~9: Sleep~

Lady had so much more information to work with.

She had enough to finally begin working on her article, which would reengage interest in the case of the Burnside Murders.

Nicholas would have been so proud of her.

Still, Lady was not satisfied with herself. She could easily write the article, leading to no definitive conclusion about the connection between the Ashford and Burnside cases, but she wanted true answers.

So far, only three people had been suggested as suspects for the original Burnside Murders: Randy Cooper, Jeff Woods, and Liu Woods.

Randy was the one behind bars for the crimes, believed to have finally gone too far with his cruelty.

Jeff was the one with no known location, and both Randy and Lincoln had accused him of being the killer.

Liu was missing completely and was believed to be dead, having been accused by Randy’s mother, so there was still the possibility of him lurking in the shadows and picking off anyone he could get his hands on.

Lady could only hope to talk to Barbara and Jill again in the near future, under better circumstances, so that she could understand their different perspectives.

Before she dug for more information, though, she knew that it was best to simply return home and write up everything she had learned.

 

Upon returning to the house, the door had been left unlocked, so Lady let herself inside. The house was quiet, so as she closed the door behind herself, she chose to call out.

“Lincoln?”

There was no response.

Perhaps he had left, or perhaps he was hiding somewhere, once again testing her survival skills.

Slowly, she crept through the house, and from the corner of her eye, she spotted a figure lying on her couch.

Lincoln was splayed out on his back, with the book he had “borrowed” covering his face.

For a split second, Lady’s heart almost stopped beating, thinking that maybe someone had attacked Lincoln, but she could see his chest rising and falling deeply and steadily.

He was fast asleep.

Lady couldn’t hold back a small smile; he looked so peaceful and carefree, having lost all tension in his body as was lost in his slumber.

In a way, Lady felt bad for approaching him with the intention of waking him up.

Perhaps that book had bored him to sleep.

“Lincoln?” she called out again in a whisper, reaching out her hand to gently nudge him. “I’m back...”

The moment her hand so much as grazed his arm, Lincoln flung himself upright and grabbed her wrist, yanking her down towards himself with enough strength to nearly dislocate her shoulder. He rolled over so that he was pinning her to the couch with the weight of his body, and his book had fallen to the ground, revealing a face that made Lady’s blood run cold.

Lincoln’s eyes were as wide as they could be, stretching the skin around them. The shadows of his bangs emphasized the dark circles which surrounded his eyes, with the bloodshot cracks still visible on the sclera. He breathed heavily through his mouth as if unable to control the sudden rush of energy, and his hands kept Lady’s arms held down above her head.

Lady almost choked on her own fear, unable to look away from Lincoln’s horrifying expression.

He could be trying to kill her.

He could be trying to do worse.

Yet even as those thoughts ran through her mind, Lady did not move.

Lincoln’s heavy breathing suddenly stopped as his wide eyes shimmered with sudden consciousness. His terrifying expression shifted back into one that Lady could recognise as one belonging to him, and his vice grip immediately eased as he sat himself upright.

“I’m... I’m sorry,” he murmured in a ghostly way, dismounting from her frozen body to get up from the couch.

Lady did not dare to move. If she was to be honest with herself in this moment, she had to acknowledge that she was completely terrified of Lincoln; within seconds, he had proved how easy it was to overpower her, and she could do nothing to defend herself.

Lincoln bent down to pick up his book, placing it upon the coffee table in the living room, where he had also placed the photos and artwork which Lady had taken from the Woods house. His cassette carry case was also there; it did not look like he had gone through any of the collections.

Giving one last pitiful look at Lady, who still hadn’t sat up, Lincoln left the living room, and Lady did not want to follow him. She remained unmoving, her heart racing in her chest, battling her ribcage as if trying to escape.

She must have laid like that for about five minutes, because when Lincoln came back, he had made her a cup of tea, placing it upon the coffee table after moving some of the other objects out of the way. He said nothing, but as he was about to leave the room again, Lady managed to reach up and grab his wrist, flinching out of fear of him reacting strongly a second time.

Lincoln only grimaced at her touch, but he stopped walking and gazed down at her.

Lady was silent, parting her lips as she tried to say something, though her body was trembling. She could feel every bone rattling, and so could Lincoln.

To make himself appear less intimidating, Lincoln knelt beside the couch, making it so that he was below Lady’s eye level. He held her hand, and stared into her eyes with determination.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he told her, his voice softer than she had ever heard it, “and I didn’t mean to scare you. I should’ve told you that I don’t... I don’t sleep well.”

Lady’s gaze softened, and she placed her hand atop Lincoln’s. She was not completely calm, but she was beginning to feel her heartrate easing.

“No, I shouldn’t have disturbed you,” she countered, shaking her head. “You didn’t sleep enough last night, did you?”

“I never do,” Lincoln revealed swiftly, his face morphing into one of pure discomfort. “I refuse to sleep deeply. I refuse to let sleep be comfortable.”

He looked exhausted.

“It looks like you need a little longer,” Lady observed, “you should sleep here for as long as you need, while I go over what we brought back.”

Lincoln shook his head with a scowl upon his face. “No,” he refused, “I’ll be fine. I’ve slept long enough.”

He arose to his full height again, turning around so that he was gazing down at the coffee table after letting go of Lady’s hand.

Lady was not so sure about that, but she did not want to argue with him.

Clearing his throat, Lincoln spread the photos and art pieces across the table, moving Lady’s cup of tea out of the way and handing it to the dark-haired woman, who took it by the handle awkwardly.

“These are the things you wanted to look at, right?” Lincoln quietly recalled. “You’ve got the photographs, and you’ve got the art Jeff did as a teenager.”

“Right,” Lady replied hoarsely before clearing her own throat, holding her mug close, “I thought they would be useful, but… they don’t tell me much, do they?”

Lincoln shrugged. “They could be nice for your article,” he then suggested.

“Or they’ll be worth something if my article does well,” Lady cheekily commented, hiding her own smirk at the thought. She quickly returned to being focused as she leaned forwards from the couch, looking over everything she had brought back; Lincoln, meanwhile, had moved the cassettes and his book onto the nearby armchair.

Lincoln was watching her somewhat impatiently as he, too, looked over the art pieces and photos, even picking them up to get closer looks at them all individually, but he soon let out a loud sigh.

“This is a waste of time,” he mumbled, “all this shows us is that Jeff had a life, like everyone who lives and breathes.”

“If we’re looking at Jeff as our killer, it gives us an idea of what he’s like psychologically,” Lady then pointed out without taking her eyes off the drawings. “Jeff was artistic and talented, yet in the photos he’s visibly timid and reserved. We’re dealing with someone who’s an outsider looking into a world he feels he doesn’t belong in; all of his art reflects things he sees from the outside.”

Nothing in particular was standing out in the artwork. There were no disturbing drawings, and there were no sketches of individual people, aside from the small figures in his landscape drawings. Even the locations were not ones that stood out; he had only drawn buildings seen throughout Burnside and ones which must have been from his hometown in California.

Lady slowly turned her head, facing up towards Lincoln’s gaze. “You described to me that he treats his attacks like art,” she recalled cautiously, observing the twitch in Lincoln’s eye as she brought up the description, “so, our killer is a man who looks at this world as a canvas. A world that has been unfair to him, and a world that he feels unwelcome in, is one he takes pleasure in changing.”

Lincoln stared down at her, hiding his face behind the scarf he was still wearing. “Sounds about right,” he quietly agreed.

Lady’s eyes squinted with thought. “If Jeff is the one behind these murders, we’re going to need evidence against him. He needs to be seen, and the chances are that he’ll probably kill again before we can get any evidence against him.”

Lincoln frowned at her words. “You’d better not be thinking of doing anything stupid,” he warned her, recognising the glimmer of inspiration behind her eyes.

“I’m not,” Lady assured, “but I’m a journalist. If I can catch him at the scene of a crime…”

“You’ll become part of it,” Lincoln finished for her, narrowing his eyes. “Look, we don’t need to prioritise gathering evidence against him. We need to find him and catch him.”

“But without evidence, he won’t go to prison,” Lady pointed out, “and we won’t be able to prove Randy’s innocence.”

Lincoln raised his brow curiously. “You care about proving Randy innocent?” he questioned in disbelief.

“Yes,” Lady nodded firmly, “because he’s in prison for crimes he didn’t commit.”

“He’d end up back behind bars within minutes,” Lincoln scoffed. “This is Randy we’re talking about; do you know how many kids went to hospital because of him?”

“Yeah, but that’s not the same as being charged with committing several murders,” Lady countered.

Lincoln shook his head. “When we catch Jeff, with or without evidence, the word will spread about how he is the murderer,” he explained. “Randy will be released under those circumstances.”

He did have a point, which Lady could not deny. Even so, Lady hoped deep down to see Randy get released sooner rather than later; he may have been unpredictable and dangerous in his own way, but there was also a chance that he could be useful.

In a twisted way, he could have been bait to lure Jeff out.

Lady sipped the cup of tea in her hands, which was now cooling down a little. She then arose to her feet, still holding the mug close to her chest.

“I’m going to begin working on my article,” she told Lincoln, “so, if you want to do research of your own, you can.”

Lincoln bowed his head thoughtfully from where he stood.

“I’ve been staying at a motel out of town,” he revealed, “so, I think I’m gonna go back there for a bit. I might get some more sleep while I’m there, too.”

Lady had not known that he was staying at a motel; in fact, she had not questioned where he was staying at all. She had just assumed that he was a local, especially by the way he spoke about the events of the past.

“Will you be coming back here at any point?” Lady asked him as he left the living room with her.

Lincoln shrugged, casually approaching the door. “Do you want me to come back?” he asked her, and Lady also gave her own shrug.

“You’re good company,” she told him, “so, you’re welcome to stay here again.”

Lincoln nearly smiled at the offer.

“Saves me money,” he joked, “so, I’ll probably come back this evening, and I’ll bring all my belongings with me; they’ll come in handy.”

As he approached the door, opening it, Lady pointed at the scarf around his neck and lower face.

“You’re still wearing my scarf,” she noticed.

Lincoln held the striped scarf close to his face, as though it were precious in some way, but it was obvious that he was smirking behind the fabric.

“I’m just borrowing it,” he excused.

Lady slumped her shoulders and rolled her eyes.

“I’ve changed my mind, you’re not coming back here,” she grumbled, but Lincoln gave her a passive wave as he opened the door.

“In that case, you won’t be getting this scarf back,” he concluded, though before Lady could argue, he just left her with the parting words, “I’ll see you later this evening.”

He closed the door behind himself, and Lady almost opened the door to argue with him further, but she let him have this victory.

 

Without Lincoln’s presence, Lady had brought everything to the upstairs office, including Lincoln’s case of cassettes and even his book, along with her mug of tea. This was the perfect time for her to finally begin writing the draft of her article.

Lady skimmed through the pages of Gore Vidal’s “Lincoln” in hopes to find some notes, or maybe a precise date, but there was nothing aside from Peter Woods’ name in the corner of the first page, indicating that the book belonged to him and neither of his sons.

While writing up the basic draft, Lady thought that it might be helpful to listen to the cassettes Lincoln had brought back. Those had belonged to Liu Woods, and were his own personal recordings, so by listening to them, Lady would get a better understanding of him.

Considering that Liu’s room had been covered in band posters, it was no surprise that Lady heard songs from the same artists he had posters of. If there was any song she did not recognise, she would simply take a quick look at list of songs which Liu must have written out himself. Some songs were from the USA, while others were from across Europe by bands like Depeche Mode and The Police. The tapes did not represent specific genres, for the most part, and Lady had hoped that maybe Liu had left some radio chatter in, just so she could hear a snippet of life in Burnside in 1984, but he had only recorded music.

One song eventually came on while she was writing. It was definitely more of a new wave/post-punk track from Europe, matching many of what else Liu had recorded during the early eighties, but when Lady checked the list on the back of the empty jewel case, there was a question mark rather than a band name, with the song titled as “Like the Wind.”

“How odd,” she commented to herself, considering that this was the only song to have not been fully identified by Liu, who had written the details for everything else so far.

Not wanting to focus too much on the song, Lady carried on writing to the melodies Liu Woods once listened to in his bedroom, and solemnly she wondered if he was still alive somewhere, listening to newer songs by these very bands.

Then again, if he was alive, there was a small possibility of him still being involved in the murders.

For all Lady knew, he really was the killer, but both Randy and Lincoln, who both had encountered Jeff directly, were adamant that Jeff Woods was the true murderer.

 

The evening came fast, with Lady not noticing the passage of time. She had both been working on her article and writing notes in her notepad relating to things that were told to her, and during a tea break, she went over every individual song on Liu’s cassettes, identifying dates where she could. Most songs were from 1983, though some were earlier, and the latest ones were obviously from 1984.

While Lady was writing once again, she heard a loud knock at her door. It was late evening now, so she was confident that this was Lincoln returning with all of his belongings.

Casually, Lady left her office and strolled down the stairs, but the knocking continued loudly and rapidly.

Would Lincoln sound this panicked?

Lady stopped walking towards the door, staring at it with caution, and she could see a shadow through the blurred glass.

“Miss Sullivan? Somebody? Please, answer the door!”

Lady recognised the voice as one she had heard earlier in the day.

Hurriedly, she rushed over to the door and unlocked it without much grace, pulling so hard on the handle that she almost felt the screws loosen.

Standing on her porch was Jill Cooper, who wore an expression belonging to a ghost.

“Jill?” Lady asked as the older woman forced her way inside the house, slamming the door herself with trembling hands.

“Lock the door,” Jill instructed breathlessly, barely able to get her words out through her laboured breathing.

“Hold on, hold on, what’s wrong, Jill?” Lady asked as her voice grew with wariness.

Jill grabbed Lady by her shoulders, staring through her green eyes.

“I called the cops,” she stated shakily, “but it’s too late. I don’t think I can go home; he’s somewhere on that street, I just know it!”

Lady gently grabbed her arms, pushing her back without any force.

“Jill, what’s going on?” Lady questioned firmly, her eyes widening slowly.

“Murder!” Jill suddenly cried out, falling to her knees as she burst into tears of horror. “It’s happening again; it’s the murderer who framed my son!”

Lady held Jill as she fell, staring ahead of herself as her mouth hung open. Jill was weeping into her stomach and clinging to her thin sweater, her entire body trembling in Lady’s hold.

A murder had just happened on Lavender Lane.

And Lincoln was not present.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 10: 10: Murder

Summary:

A brutal murder has just taken place in Burnside once again, and Lady is determined to expose the culprit. She makes the choice to examine the scene of the crime before the arrival of the police, completely unprepared for what she's about to discover, and who she's about to encounter...

~10: Murder~

“Miss Sullivan, what are ya doin’?!” Jill cried out as Lady began putting on her long black coat.

“I need to see what’s going on,” Lady stated with firmness, going through the house for some of her belongings while Jill desperately followed her.

“It’s not safe!” Jill howled fearfully. “Please, you’ve gotta stay here!”

Lady turned and placed one of her hands on Jill’s shoulder, her expression serious.

“You can stay here in my house if you don’t feel safe going home,” she told Jill, “and you can lock yourself in the room you feel safest in, but I’m going. I can’t let the killer get away.”

Jill, horrified, was still sobbing desperately, following Lady as the younger woman pulled out a Polaroid camera from a drawer in her office.

“Ya don’t even have a weapon to defend yourself with,” Jill pointed out sorrowfully. “Please, Miss Sullivan, you’re the only person who has the heart to listen to us crazy folks in this town; don’t get yerself killed!”

“I don’t plan on getting killed,” Lady assured her as she hung the camera around her own neck, heading back down the staircase. “If this killer is the same from Ashford, and the same from ten years ago, I want to make sure he goes down. Personally.”

Her words had grown colder as she spoke, and her expression remained somewhat bitter.

She had to catch this person to avenge Nicholas, and she wanted the person responsible for the tragedy in Burnside to be brought to justice; her heart was growing more and more certain that Lincoln had something to do with it, too, maybe as an accomplice.

Lady unlocked the front door of her house, looking back towards Jill.

“Stay here,” she commanded, “and don’t answer the door to anyone, no matter what they say.”

Jill tearfully shook her head.

“Don’t go,” she barely managed to whisper.

Lady could not obey her wish.

Without another word, she exited the house and locked the door behind herself, ignoring Jill’s hopeless cries.

 

Lady had to sprint to the next block; the killer may have still been lurking, looking for his next victims, or he could have been looking for an escape route. Perhaps he was already gone, but regardless, Lady needed to investigate for herself before the police showed up. She needed something unique for her article, and she was desperate to catch a glimpse of the true murderer.

Anything to see the one truly behind all this.

Arriving on Lavender Lane, there were no flashing lights belonging to police cars, meaning that they must have still been on their way. With Burnside being a small town, they were probably already heading out, so Lady had to investigate as fast as she could.

The street was completely dark. There were dim streetlights which illuminated the road, yet anywhere untouched by the light was barely visible.

Lady hurried down the sidewalk, keeping her eyes peeled for anything unusual. If there was a murder, it had either occurred inside a home or on the street itself.

It wasn’t long before Lady received the answer.

As she closed in on the Woods house, she spotted a nearby home with the front door wide open, and to her horror, it was a house she recognised – a house she had just been on the doorstep of hours before.

Without thinking, Lady approached the house. Her hands lifted her Polaroid camera to take a photo of the wide-open door, though she was barely even aware that she was doing such a thing. Her slim fingers took the printed photo and put it into the darkness of her coat’s pocket, and once she had done that, her legs pulled her closer to the house.

Someone was dead in there.

She wasn’t sure who was dead, or how many had been killed, but someone had been murdered.

Lady ambled up the steps of the porch which she had previously stood upon, and allowed her body to enter the dimly lit house.

Clocks could be heard ticking in every room she passed by, as could the low hum of electricity being supplied to the unused appliances, mainly in the kitchen. Lady’s ears were tuning into every single sound, just in case anything was out of place.

She knew it was stupid, yet she still let her feet march her body up the staircase. She was slow, and froze any time the steps creaked beneath her feet. Still, she spotted no movement, and heard nothing unusual.

That was until she reached the landing.

The door to the master bedroom had a bloodstained handprint upon it, and a trail of blood led into the room.

A coldness swept over Lady’s body, and her eyes dried, yet curiosity lured her like a siren’s song. She clutched her camera with both hands, ready to snap a photograph of whatever she was about to find in that room, even if her morals disagreed with her.

A pair of bare feet came into view, unmoving.

To Lady, it was already obvious what this was, and every instinct was telling her to turn and leave, yet she ignored the alarm bells ringing in her skull.

Closer she stepped to the master bedroom, seeing more of the body the feet were attached to. The person was in their pyjamas, and before Lady could even take a look at their face, she raised her camera and snapped another photo.

Only when she lowered the camera did she nearly collapse and throw up the contents of her stomach.

The victim was a woman with frizzy red hair.

Her freckles were buried beneath splatters of blood, and her face was barely recognisable behind the carved smile.

The body of a man was also upon the large bed, surrounded by a pool of his own blood, as if he never even got the chance to get up and defend himself.

Slowly, Lady took shaky steps back away from the bedroom, almost tripping over her own feet. She kept the second photo in her pocket, though she was uncertain if she would ever want to lay her eyes upon it.

Her heart only filled with more and more dread; across the landing was another bedroom, which no doubt belonged to the teenage boy Lady had briefly spoken to a couple of times. The door was closed, yet no blood was upon it.

Lady’s whole body was a trembling mess.

She did not want to see Billy Alan dead in his room.

What if he was still in there, having hidden while his parents were murdered?

Had he heard everything? Had he heard the screams and wails of his parents as they were carved into like jack-o’-lanterns?

Maybe he was still fast asleep, unaware of anything that had happened.

There was even a chance that he had run out of the house while he had the chance, and maybe that’s how Jill was able to realise that a murder had occurred.

Lady did not want to take any chances; with a quivering hand, she grasped the cold doorknob and twisted it, pushing the wooden door slowly.

It was not locked, and nothing was pushed up against it, so Billy had not secured himself in the room.

Lady’s heart thumped harder and harder against her chest, and her breathing quickened.

She had to force herself to swing the door open, and the first thing she noticed was that Billy was nowhere to be seen, and there was no sign of a struggle in his bedroom.

Relief briefly overtook Lady’s weakening body as she let out a deflating sigh, but that was quickly interrupted when her brain processed a completely different sight.

Standing right behind the open door was a man in a tattered, blood-covered hoodie, which once must have been white.

His icy eyes were glued to her, and his grin was large, lengthened by the deep scars in his cheeks.

Lady did not believe that what she was seeing was real. She was convinced it was a trick or a hallucination, and like she had done when Lincoln had pinned her down, she froze on the spot and held her breath.

The man’s knife was coated in a shiny and bright red substance. The red wetness was also on his hoodie, even visible in the thin strands of his jet-black hair.

Lady’s blood ran cold when the man giggled like a gleeful child, making all of her limbs tingle with numbness.

There was no indication that this man was going to move, but when he did, it happened in the blink of an eye. He lunged towards Lady with a rush of excitement, raising his knife high as he did so.

Coming back to her senses, Lady could no longer contain a shriek of pure fear. She let out a bloodcurdling scream as the man rushed at her, and she barely managed to sprint out of the way as he swung the kitchen knife at her. The blade did not strike her, but she still felt the breeze which followed the swift swing of his arm.

Lady darted towards the stairs, but the man grabbed a fistful of her dark brown hair and yanked her back towards him. Lady screamed with enough force to damage her vocal cords, and in her desperation to get away, she lifted her camera and flashed it directly into the man’s sunken eyes.

To her luck, the flash of the camera startled him enough to make him let go, giving Lady the chance to dash for the staircase again. She only managed to run down three steps successfully before the blood-covered man threw himself at her, tackling her down the hard steps

The two rolled down together, and while Lady yelped and cried out, the man was just howling with laughing; it was a miracle that neither were stabbed by the kitchen knife, which the murderous man was still clutching onto dearly.

Lady was not sure if something inside her body had been broken, but a crunch was definitely heard. She had hit the wooden stairs with force as she tumbled down them, yet her body was not allowing her to feel any pain at all. It must have been the same for the man attacking her, because he immediately arose to his feet once the pair reached the bottom of the staircase.

The scar-faced man swung his leg over her body before crouching down, straddling her before she could stand. He grabbed her hair again and pulled hard enough to lift her head, yet again forcing a terrified yell from Lady’s lips. He held his blood-covered blade to her cheek, and Lady could feel the coldness at the corner of her lip, accompanied by the sticky blood which likely belonged to both Barbara and her husband.

“Don’t be scared,” the man hushed as if soothing a frightened child, “I just want to make you beautiful. You’ll get to smile forever; isn’t that wonderful?”

This had to be him.

This had to be the one Lincoln and Randy had warned her about.

This was Jeff Woods.

Lincoln’s words echoed through her mind. She recalled how he warned her about Jeff’s methods, and how agonising it would be to feel her cheeks being sliced into. He had told her that she would stand no chance against him if he caught her, and that the best she could do was resist to make sure that Jeff killed her quicker, sparing her from the torturous process.

She didn’t want to die.

If she resisted, Jeff could slit her throat in seconds, and there would be no way for her to stop him from doing so.

She couldn’t give up, either.

As tears streamed down her cheeks, Lady let out a primal scream. She opened her mouth wide and sharply turned her head, biting down with all her might onto the hand which held the knife to her cheek.

Lady’s bite force came as a surprise to her. She didn’t think that she was capable of biting someone hard enough to draw blood, but she was not stopping, even as her mouth filled with the metallic-tasting thick liquid. Her jaw ached with how much pressure she was applying, and she shook her head from side-to-side to tear deeper into the skin and tissue.

While she was doing this, Jeff was only giggling like a madman.

“That’s hurting,” he laughed, using his other hand to smash Lady’s head hard into the floorboards beneath them both, “Stop doing that. I won’t be able to make you smile.”

Jeff had almost knocked her unconscious with the slam, and he had done it so effortlessly, as if it wasn’t even his full strength. Lady’s head rattled upon impact, and blood dribbled down her chin. She had bit down on her tongue, so the blood was a mixture of her own and Jeff’s.

Despite the dazed feeling caused by Jeff thumping her face into the ground, there was still no pain. All she could feel was the rapid beating of her heart and the shaking of her body.

Distant sirens could be heard, and flashes of blue and red began to illuminate the hallway through the windows and open front door, catching Jeff’s attention faster than Lady’s.

Even though Jeff was a man with a permanent smile, a childish pout was visible upon his face.

“That’s not fair,” he complained in a mumble, “I don’t have time to make you beautiful.”

He leaned down close to her ear, grinning widely once again.

“I will find you again,” he whispered excitably, “and when I do, I can’t wait to see you smile like me.”

He ran the flat side of his knife across her face, tracing a trail of blood over her lips and cheeks to form a painted smile.

Lady let out feeble sobs as the blood of Billy’s parents was stained upon her face, with Jeff’s other hand still tangled in her hair.

“Shh, shh, shh,” he cooed, bringing his knife to his own lips as he shushed her, “you’ll have time to prepare yourself for me.”

Lady tried to shake her head at his words as her sobs grew louder, her body limp with fright while Jeff’s grin grew impossibly wide, with the sirens and flashing lights now directly outside of the house.

Jeff’s grip on Lady’s hair became tighter as he pulled her head further back.

“Relax for now,” he lulled, “and go to sleep.”

For a second time, he slammed Lady’s head into the ground with a lot more force than before.

The action was followed only by total darkness and silence.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 11: 11: The Hospital

Summary:

Lady wakes up in the local hospital, having survived her encounter with Jeff Woods. Things have changed for her, now that she is directly involved with the case.

~11: The Hospital~

“Lades?”

The voice penetrated her aching head.

She was barely even aware that she was groaning and squirming, feeling only softness beneath her.

Slowly, her eyes cracked open, with bright light seeping into her skull, which only made the throbbing worse.

Even so, Lady allowed her eyes to open as she raised an arm to block out the light, and when her vision adjusted to the bright environment, she gasped loudly at the sight of a familiar yet unexpected face.

“Tim?” she reacted with surprise, shuffling to sit herself upright in what she realised was a bed.

“Oh, thank goodness,” Tim sighed heavily, slumping forwards in his seat beside the bed, “the doctors did say you should be waking up today.”

Confused, Lady readjusted herself and examined her surroundings. She was in a private hospital ward, with nobody else present besides Tim.

It was also then when she noticed that one of her arms was in a sling, with her wrist secured in a splint.

“Where am I?” Lady chose to ask quietly, still regaining the strength to speak.

“Have you forgotten?” Tim responded as his face dropped with concern. “You’re in Burnside; this is Burnside District Hospital.”

Lady’s eyes widened at the revelation.

This was likely the hospital where Jeff’s other victim, Jane Richardson, remained in her coma.

Immediately, Lady was trying to sit up, but Tim pushed her down by her shoulder.

“Whoa, whoa, what do you think you’re doing?” he questioned with worry. “You’ve been in a coma for a whole week; you can’t just force yourself to move so soon!”

Lady froze upon hearing his words.

One week?

“What are you talking about?” Lady queried, hiding her fear as she stared Tim in the eyes. “What do you mean I’ve been in a coma, Tim?”

Tim’s expression softened as his brows furrowed with sympathy.

“Do you not remember what happened?” he asked her quietly. “The police found you in a house after some… attacks.”

Lady would never forget such a thing.

She saw the dead bodies of Barbara Alan and her husband before she was attacked.

“I remember,” Lady nodded, facing away from Tim as she narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, “but… one week? In a coma? That… That can’t be right…”

So much must have happened.

Had Jeff claimed more victims?

Was Billy found, dead or alive?

Where was Lincoln?

Tim was still wearing a solemn expression.

“Your head was badly wounded,” he revealed to her, “and the doctors thought you might’ve had a severe brain injury. It looked like you’d hit your head more than once…”

“I did,” Lady interrupted, shooting an intense stare in his direction. “My head was slammed into the floor, and I fell down the stairs.”

Tim grimaced at her description. “I can’t believe someone did that to you,” he reacted uneasily. “You’re lucky to be alive, Lades.”

He was right about that; if the police sirens had not have been heard, Jeff would have taken her life that night, and she would have been unable to stop him.

“You should come back to Ashford,” Tim then recommended with his sad-sounding voice. “I don’t think you’re safe here, and… did you hear about Nicholas?”

Lady frowned at his words, rubbing the upper part of her supported arm.

“Yeah, I know he was attacked,” she confirmed, “which is why I can’t just run away now. I promised him I’d get the best story, and I’m going to keep that promise, so that his killer can be put behind bars.”

Tim reached out and grabbed the hand she was rubbing her own arm with, his dark-brown eyes twinkling with care.

“You’re not a detective or a cop,” he reminded her, “you’re a reporter. You write articles for newspapers; you don’t solve murders.”

“My last major article got an attacker put behind bars,” Lady reminded him as she pulled her hand away firmly, “and I have help this time. Trust me, Tim, I’m so close.”

“You were almost killed!” Tim argued, his voice raising slightly.

“And now I’m a survivor of the guy behind all of these attacks,” Lady countered smoothly, “and I know his identity. His name is Jeff Woods.”

“The police are already after him,” Tim then revealed, running a hand through his brown hair. “They found one of your photos at the crime scene; it was a close-up of the guy’s face, and they were able to identify him pretty quickly.”

Lady almost jumped out of her bed at the news, held back by all of the devices which were still attached to her.

“They know it’s Jeff?” she asked for clarification.

“Technically, they only suspect that he’s involved,” Tim corrected as he scratched his head. “They’ll wanna hear what you have to say.”

Lady slowly nodded her head, realising just how involved she now was in the case. She was no longer just a reporter writing an article; she was a survivor of a serial killer’s attack.

“You should tell the police everything,” Tim then suggested, “and after that, you should come back to Ashford with me. Brian’s worried sick, too.”

Lady shook her head, resistant. “I can’t,” she refused, “I intend to stay here for the full month I planned, and I will finish my article. Hell, I can probably write a full book.”

Again, Tim let out a long sigh as he bowed his head.

“You’re so stubborn,” he murmured to her before arising to his feet. “I’m going to tell your nurse that you’re awake; please, though, don’t start pushing yourself too hard, and don’t do anything reckless.”

Tim exited the room with a slowness to his step, as if worried about taking his eyes off her. He closed the door behind himself, and the room fell silent.

Lady turned her head to look at her bedside table. A bouquet of flowers had been left for her, with a little card sticking out of it.

Wishing you a speedy recovery!

Tim & Brian

xxx

Lady smiled slightly. There were various flowers in the bundle, with many different colours, but as Lady stared longer, she realised that there was not simply one bouquet of flowers.

A small bouquet of yellow roses was placed beside the one from Tim and Brian, and they did not appear as fresh. In fact, their petals were going dry and brown as they wilted in their vase, though it did seem as if Tim had watered them in a desperate attempt to revive them.

There was a card in the bouquet, too, but there was nothing written on it aside from a name.

Lincoln.

Lady was surprised to have received anything from him at all.

It was somewhat relieving to know that Lincoln was aware of her situation and likely safe, meaning that Jeff had not reached him. It also meant he had not been apprehended as a suspect; she did worry that Jill might have reported him as suspicious if she crossed paths with him that night, but it seemed as if he was still lurking in the background like before.

Even if Lincoln still had his own warning flags, Lady was growing more and more certain that he was genuine about his desire to catch Jeff. He did not resemble the man who attacked her at all; even their scarred smiles were different, with Jeff’s being much deeper and prominent in comparison to Lincoln’s.

It was difficult to tell their sizes, but Lady was certain that Lincoln was taller and physically in better shape. Jeff did not seem to be someone who had strength coming from his muscles, but rather he was driven by his own twisted motives, like adrenaline powered him whenever he went in for a kill.

There were still many unanswered questions regarding Jeff, and even regarding Lincoln. Lady still did not know Lincoln’s story; he had been attacked by Jeff and survived, and at any point, he could have spoken up about Jeff. Many lives may have even been saved if Lincoln had spoken up.

If Lincoln had spoken up, Nicholas may have even still been alive.

Jeff was also still an enigma. Lady knew nothing about the life he lived after the tragedies in the eighties, even though it was clear that he was not in prison. It was also unclear why the attacks only started in recent times, after ten years since the original, and why they had happened in Ashford.

As Lady pondered the various possibilities, the door to her room was clicked open, and in came her nurse.

“It’s good to see that you’re finally awake, Miss Sullivan,” the blonde woman smiled as she held a clipboard close to her chest, “how are you feeling?”

Lady lifted her head to face her before nodding. “Good,” she managed to answer after thinking about it, even though her feelings were much more complicated than that.

The nurse took a seat beside her bed, where Tim had previously sat.

“You’re a very lucky woman,” the nurse then told her, “you were found with severe head trauma and a sprained wrist; others… weren’t so lucky.”

“Like the Alans and Nicholas,” Lady murmured as she looked away, her eyelids drooping as she spoke.

The nurse bowed her head. “Mr. and Mrs. Alan were pronounced dead at the scene,” she revealed.

“I already knew that,” Lady responded, coming across colder than she intended, “I was there. I saw them like that before I was attacked.”

The nurse slowly nodded her head, and as Lady faced her, she quickly glanced at her badge, learning that her name was Susan Bennison.

“A lot of people are interested in you right now, Miss Sullivan,” Susan then revealed to her. “Local news reporters want to talk to you, and some officers want to question you.”

Lady grinned painfully as she stifled a laugh, “I’ll talk to the officers, but not the reporters,” she decided, “I’m not letting anyone steal the story I came here to write.”

Susan gave an understanding nod, “Don’t worry, you don’t have to speak to anyone like that,” she assured her, “but before anything else, I’m gonna need to assess you, just to make sure everything’s okay.”

“That’s fine,” Lady agreed; after all, the sooner she was given the all-clear to leave, the better.

 

Luckily for Lady, she was declared as healthy and stable. Her head trauma had been treated with surgery as soon as she arrived at the hospital, and her wrist sprain was due to heal within a few weeks. She was more stressed about how much her bill was going to be, and could only pray that her insurance covered enough of the cost; if not, then she was definitely going to need to make the money back using her article.

After her assessment, and after all of her machine aids were detached from her, Lady was greeted by two officers while she sat upright in her bed, holding a cup of tea which she had previously requested.

“Good afternoon, Miss Sullivan,” the first one greeted, “my name is Officer Jack Case, and with me is Police Detective Franklin Schmitt. This won’t take long; we just want to ask you some questions.”

“Sure thing,” Lady nodded in agreement, turning her attention to Franklin, since he was the detective who would be asking the questions.

“You were found at the Alan residence,” Franklin began, taking a seat in the chair used previously by both Tim and Susan while Jack remained standing, “why were you there?”

Lady took a small sip from her cup of tea first before she gave her answer, “I was visited by Jill Cooper, who lives near that house,” she explained. “She told me there had been an attack, so… I went to see what had happened.”

Franklin nodded his head as he took notes, although his expression shifted while Lady explained herself.

“We’ve talked to Miss Cooper already,” he revealed, “and… you chose to enter a potential crime scene despite her warning?”

“I did,” Lady confirmed awkwardly.

Franklin shook his head in disbelief as he stared at her intensely.

“Why did you go?” he questioned as his eyes narrowed.

Lady stared into her steaming mug.

“I wasn’t sure if anyone needed help,” she replied, knowing that she was lying about her reason, “I had spoken to Mrs. Alan that same day, you see, regarding the Burnside Murders from ten years ago.”

Franklin stared at her for a moment longer before writing in his notepad again, and he only continued speaking once he had finished his note.

“Was there anything she mentioned in particular?” he queried.

“She only told me what everyone else in this town must know,” Lady insisted. “She was mainly talking about Randy Cooper’s involvement in the attacks from ten years ago, and how he had fought with the two Woods brothers.”

Again, Franklin nodded and wrote down some notes as quickly as he could.

“Randy Cooper is in prison for the murders,” he stated as he glanced directly into Lady’s eyes again, “but you already know that, since you have met with him directly.”

Lady gave a confident nod of her head. “I did meet with him, yes,” she clarified, “and I got his side of the story, too.”

“It’s no secret that you’re a reporter who came here to learn more about those murders,” Franklin responded while he wrote, “and we know that you spoke to Jill Cooper, too, on the day the Alans were killed – before she came to your house, I mean.”

“That’s right,” Lady nodded, “I’ve been getting as many perspectives as I can on what happened, just to help with my article.”

“Which is why you photographed the crime scene,” Franklin observed, staring with unblinking eyes at Lady, “and that is why you really went to the house, isn’t it?”

Lady hesitated before she gave her answer.

“My intention was to photograph the killer,” she confessed, “because I knew he would likely get away before the cops arrived.”

“You still photographed the bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Alan,” Franklin criticised.

Lady bowed her head and nodded feebly, which was enough of a response for Franklin to write about.

“You also happened to snap a photograph of the one who attacked you,” Franklin then went on, disregarding the pictures she had taken of the dead bodies, “so, while I do strongly advise that you never attempt to photograph a crime scene ever again, you were indeed able to photograph the one we believe to be behind these murders.”

Lady lifted her head, her expression filled with determination.

“He was in the house when I arrived,” she explained swiftly, “and he threatened to carve out my cheeks like he had done to the Alans. He only stopped because the cops arrived.”

Again, Franklin was writing, and while he did, Jack spoke up.

“The man you photographed is Jeffrey Woods,” he revealed, “and I’m sure you already know that he was involved in the Burnside Murders as one of Randy’s victims.”

“I do know that, yes, officer,” Lady confirmed.

“So, do you confirm that the man you photographed was indeed the one who attacked you?” Franklin asked, and Lady nodded in response.

“It was him,” she stated confidently, “it was Jeff Woods.”

There was a silence as Franklin wrote, until Jack spoke up again.

“Thank you for your time, Miss Sullivan,” he thanked, “I’m sure you still need to rest and recover from your ordeal; which means no more getting involved in these crime scenes.”

As Franklin arose from his seat, ready to depart with Jack, Lady sat up further and almost spilled her tea.

“Wait!” she called out to them, which made them both halt in their tracks. “What about Randy Cooper? If you’re treating Jeff as the prime suspect now, does that mean Randy is officially innocent?”

Jack shook his head. “There is no evidence to suggest that Randy did not commit the Burnside Murders ten years ago,” he answered, “but we are certain Jeff Woods is behind the murders which have happened here and even in Ashford, since that town isn’t far from where he escaped.”

Escaped?

“Hold on, escaped from where?” Lady questioned with wide eyes.

Jack and Franklin looked between each other first before Jack nodded his head, giving Franklin permission to answer.

“Jeff was a patient at Albert’s Way Sanatorium,” Franklin revealed to her. “He escaped during some renovations, which was weeks before the first murders in Ashford.”

Lady’s expression was thoughtful; she was not going to risk questioning the officers further, but there was so much more she needed to know.

The two officers left, leaving Lady with her thoughts once again; Jeff had been staying in a psychiatric hospital, and as soon as he escaped, he had been on a killing spree.

It was glaringly obvious to Lady that Jeff had always been the culprit.

She could only hope that the police force had been assessing the situation without bringing it to public attention, yet it sounded as if even they were convinced that Randy was the murderer.

Lincoln needed to know this.

If Lincoln had truly been chasing after Jeff, knowing that he was the killer the whole time, then he would need to know that he had been kept in a psychiatric hospital for the last ten years.

As soon as she got out, she was going to have to tell him, in case there was anything else he could add.

In the meantime, however, Lady wanted to take the chance to learn more about Jane Richardson, who no doubt was being treated in a room not far from her own.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 12: 12: The Nurse's Recollection

Summary:

Lady remains in the hospital, but decides to take advantage of her time there. She is being treated in the same hospital as Jane Richardson, and knows that his other victims were treated there in the past, too.

~12: The Nurse’s Recollection~

Lady opened her room’s door, looking both left and right before making her exit. She was still wearing her hospital gown along with some disposable slippers as she made her way through the corridor.

The hospital was completely unfamiliar to her. It was difficult to navigate, and she had no idea where she was even going. She knew that she could not enter the intensive care unit which Jane Richardson was being treated within, though she still planned to find out anything she could about Jeff’s victim.

As she wandered the corridor, she passed by the elevator, and to her luck, the doors opened as she was moving past it. Tim was the one leaving the elevator, bringing a slice of cafeteria cake wrapped in foil, and he immediately jumped when seeing Lady on her feet.

“Lades, are you crazy?!” he called out to her as he hurried out of the elevator, and Lady could only flinch as he approached swiftly.

“Oh, hi, Tim,” she greeted cheekily as she slowly turned around to face him, “I was just… stretching my legs. They’re awfully stiff, you know.”

Tim frowned, placing a hand upon his hip, “You smile more when you lie,” he pointed out to her, “so, tell me, what are you actually doing?”

Lady pouted; naturally, if anyone was going to know her body language, it would be either Tim or Brian, considering they had known her since college.

“I need to leave this hospital as soon as possible,” she told him, “but while I’m here, I want to see if I can learn anything about Jane Richardson; she’s one of Jeff’s victims, too.”

Tim shook his head and sighed, handing her the slice of cake he had been carrying. “You need to focus on yourself,” he argued gently, “because now you’re someone who’s survived this killer. You’ve seen him with your own eyes; why are you still focusing on his other victims?”

“Because they have their own stories that need telling,” Lady answered simply, taking the cake with a quiet “thanks” in response.

“Look, I know you want this article to be detailed,” Tim empathised, “but you’re doing way too much, Lades.”

“As a reporter, there’s no such thing as doing too much,” Lady defended. “You don’t understand the importance of this hospital, Tim; this is where all of Jeff’s victims were treated, and where Jeff himself was once a patient.”

Tim gently nudged Lady, turning her around so that she was facing in the direction she originally came from. “You can save your snooping for when you’re good to go,” he negotiated, “but for now, please, just stay in your room and enjoy that cake slice.”

Lady grunted but dragged her feet in defeat as she walked beside Tim, heading back down the corridor towards her room.

“When will I even get to leave?” Lady then asked in a grumble.

“Very soon, I’d imagine,” Tim guessed, “but I’m gonna be heading back up to Ashford tonight; I only came down today to visit you.”

Lady glanced at him as she walked, almost with saddened eyes. “You’re going back today?” she reiterated. “Damn, Tim, I was beginning to enjoy having a familiar face at my side.”

Tim chuckled as Lady opened the door to her room. “It’s not like you’ll never see me again,” he reminded her, “but if you really are homesick, you can come back with me. We can have you discharged today, and I’ll take you home.”

Lady shook her head. “I’ve already made up my mind about seeing this through,” she insisted, “but when I get home, I’m going to enjoy a long break.”

Tim gave a small smile, folding his arms. “We’ll both be happy to have you back,” he commented, “but you won’t be getting a break from the chores.”

Lady sat in the chair beside her bed, finally unwrapping her cake slice. “Can I at least get a week of relaxing?” she requested in a joking tone.

“Two days,” Tim compromised, though his eyes wandered to the bouquet of yellow roses which was beside the bouquet he and Brian had gifted. “By the way, I did water those flowers this morning, but they look a little dead.”

Lady followed his gaze to the flowers which Lincoln had left for her, and she noticed the thoughtful expression upon Tim’s face. Tim was drawing attention to them for a reason; no doubt he was curious who “Lincoln” was.

“I suppose he’s not a regular visitor of mine,” Lady chuckled.

“Is he someone you know?” Tim questioned firmly, and Lady took a moment to reply.

“He’s someone I… work with,” she managed to describe. “He’s been very helpful in my search for information.”

Tim slowly nodded his head. He stared at the flowers for a moment longer before dropping the subject; instead, he chose to catch up with Lady on what she had learned so far, and while she ate her slice of chocolate cake which he had practically smuggled in for her, he caught her up on the small goings on in Ashford, mainly talking about what he and Brian were getting up to. He briefly mentioned a film project one of his friends from college was working on, though progress had stalled due to the murders in Ashford, especially with one of the victims being Lady’s employer.

Susan entered the room during their conversation, and luckily, Lady had finished her cake slice, meaning that she would not be lectured about how food should not be allowed in her ward. The nurse’s eyes were on Tim.

“Sorry, visiting hours are over,” she told the young man, “it’s eight at night.”

Tim’s eyes widened, surprised at how time had flown; even Lady had not noticed how late it had gotten.

“Crap, my train leaves at ten,” he remembered, “I’ve gotta get going.”

He moved away from the wall he had been leaning by, though first, he approached Lady and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Take care of yourself, alright, Lades?” he said to her softly.

Lady smiled and nodded her head, patting Tim’s arm. “I’ll be alright, Tim,” she assured him, “and I hope you have a safe journey home.”

Tim pulled his hand away, returning Lady’s smile. “I’ll see you when you come back to Ashford,” he then stated.

The two waved at one another, exchanging their goodbyes, before Tim left the room.

Susan closed the door behind him, then pointing towards Lady’s bed. “You should get some sleep,” she ordered, “you might be leaving tomorrow.”

Lady’s eyes brightened with delight as she arose from her chair. “I’ll be able to leave tomorrow?” she asked in a gasp.

“Maybe,” Susan emphasised, “since you seem fit enough to take care of yourself.”

Lady sat on the side of her bed, holding one hand in her lap while the other rested in its sling. She was glad to be leaving so soon, but the thought of returning alone to her rented house was terrifying; what if Jeff was lurking, waiting to finish her off?

“My street is safe, right?” she chose to ask, and Susan gave a confident nod.

“The cops are monitoring the whole neighbourhood where the attacks took place,” she explained, “and considering you’re a survivor, your area will be heavily protected.”

Lady breathed out a relieved sigh, her body practically deflating as she did so.

Being able to leave soon was good news, but she had learned nothing from her stay at the hospital. Jane Richardson was likely not far from her, yet there was no way for her to learn anything about her.

This was the place where Jeff’s surviving victims ended up.

Which meant that the staff might have known a thing or two.

Lady perked up once again, her eyes meeting Susan’s.

“Can I ask you something?” she queried, observing Susan’s confusion.

“Of course,” the nurse responded with uncertainty, and Lady did not hesitate with her question.

“Did you work here during the Burnside Murders?”

Susan’s eyes widened at the question and her lips parted. Such a question had caught her off guard, but she slowly gave a nod.

“I did,” she revealed quietly, “when I was a newly registered nurse.”

If anyone was going to know about the survivors of the attacks, it would be her.

“Am I allowed to ask about them?” Lady pressed with curiosity, leaning forwards from where she sat.

Susan looked towards the door, then at her fob watch to check the time.

“I’ve got five minutes,” Susan told her, though she visibly appeared uncomfortable, “but I can’t reveal any private information.”

“I just want to know anything you can tell me,” Lady rushed, “anything at all.”

Susan seated herself beside the bed, her expression one of pure seriousness.

“I can’t talk to you about Jane Richardson because she is still a patient under my care,” she clarified, “but I can talk about the others.”

“Does that include Jeff?” Lady pushed. “Jeff was treated here, too, right?”

Susan gave a solemn, hesitant nod. “He had been attacked by Randy Cooper twice,” she revealed to Lady. “First, that poor boy had that awful smile carved into his face, and then Randy stabbed him multiple times soon after he was sent home.”

That information matched exactly what Lincoln had told her.

“Jeff barely spoke while he was here,” Susan then described. “He lost his parents, and his brother went missing not long after, too; he was transferred to a psychiatric hospital for long-term care, and now it looks like he’s replicating the attacks Randy committed against him and his family.”

Lady rubbed her chin thoughtfully; to her, it seemed more likely that Jeff was the culprit the entire time, yet in Susan’s eyes, he was still the victim.

“You must have treated Randy, too, right?” she asked.

Susan shuddered at his name, her face going pale. “That boy was something else,” she confessed. “As a nurse, I know there’s always a scientific explanation for how people behave, but… that boy almost seemed possessed. It’s like Satan himself made him commit those murders.”

Lady did not believe in such things, but the description intrigued her.

“What makes you say that he was possessed?” she pressed.

“The way he was talking,” Susan answered, “and the way he was acting. He’d tried to end his own life, you see, and we managed to save him. He was fighting back against us when he got a little better, shouting about all sorts of crazy things.”

Susan echoed Randy’s words as she remembered them exactly how she heard them, and Lady listened to each and every phrase she mimicked.

“He did this to me!”

“I ain’t a coward; I didn’t cut my wrists!”

“I’m not crazy, he did this to me!”

“He killed my friends!”

“He killed Keith and Troy!”

“He’s a damn freak! A monster!”

“Fuck you, I didn’t kill no one!”

To some people, perhaps he really did sound possessed, like someone who had been manipulated to do the devil’s dirty work, but with the context Lady had been given by other sources, it was clear that he was talking about Jeff, and how Jeff was the one who had slit his wrists and committed the murders.

“Randy tried to escape the hospital so many times before he was detained,” Susan then went on as her mind returned to the present. “In the chaos of dealing with him, Liu Woods managed to escape, and he’s been missing ever since.”

Lady gave a slow nod, “so, what do you know about him? About Liu?”

Susan shook her head with sorrow, unable to maintain eye contact with Lady. “He was terrified,” she remembered, “asking for his parents, and asking for his big brother. We tried to let him know that his brother was okay, but he seemed so… lost.”

He was terrified at the thought of his brother being okay.

“Randy had carved a smile into his face, too,” Susan detailed, “and he had stab wounds all over his body where he had obviously struggled.”

But Liu was known to have beaten Randy, even when Randy was backed up by his two friends, so it made no sense that he was overpowered.

Lady had not known that Liu’s face had been carved into, however; that must have been information known only to the hospital staff who worked on him.

“For anyone who believes that this was the work of the devil, they believe one of two things,” Susan then said, “either they believe Liu sensed the demonic energy Randy possessed, leading him to run away, or they believe Liu was also possessed after being exposed to the occult sacrifices.”

To Lady, it sounded like nonsense. She could not view these murders as occult in any way, yet most people in Burnside believed that Satanism played a role in everything that had happened. They were afraid of Randy coming out of prison because they believed he was some kind of devil incarnate, when in reality, he was just a violent teenager who was being blamed for something he didn’t do.

The only evil Liu was running away from was Jeff, the brother who had attacked him; it made sense that he would not want to overpower his own sibling, compared to somehow being weaker than Randy, who he was known to have been stronger than.

Susan arose from her chair. “I have to go, Miss Sullivan,” she concluded after taking another look at her watch, “I have other patients that need me to tend to them.”

Lady nodded in understanding. “Thank you for telling me what you know,” she responded gratefully.

Susan only gave a nod and a forced smile, “Get some rest,” she instructed, “and I will see you in the morning.”

It was not a lot of new information, but it was still something. If anything, the more she learned, the more she began to settle on what she believed was the truth, and what she was going to write about definitively in her article.

With Susan gone, Lady was left in her room. There was nothing more for her to do; Tim was on his way back to Ashford, and she was unable to investigate the details surrounding Jane Richardson, so all she could do was lay down in her bed and get some sleep, hoping that she would be able to leave the hospital and find Lincoln the next day.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 13: 13: Reunited

Summary:

Lady finally returns from the hospital, with the advice of resting to recover from her attack. Her alone time is interrupted.

~13: Reunited~

Morning came, and Lady was more refreshed than ever. Her dreams had been pleasant rather than nightmarish, likely sweetened by the chocolate cake she had eaten, and the warmth of briefly reuniting with Tim, who had come all the way to see her from Missouri.

She opened her eyes to see Susan smiling down at her.

“Good morning, Miss Sullivan,” she greeted, “are you feeling any better today?”

“Much better,” Lady smiled as she pushed herself to sit upright, wincing as she put pressure on her splinted wrist which was no longer in its sling.

Susan gestured towards her left wrist, “You can take the brace off if you want,” she explained, “but you should at least always wear it at night. It will help with the healing process and make sure you don’t damage it any further.”

Lady examined her wrist before giving a shrug, “I’ll leave it on for now,” she decided, “since it is still a little sore.”

Susan nodded in understanding before pointing towards the chair beside Lady’s bed, “I’ve left your clothes here to change into. They were washed when you first arrived here.”

Lady’s eyes enlarged as she stared at the pile of clothes.

“Does this mean I can leave today?” she queried, and Susan smiled brightly as she nodded her head.

“Yes, it does,” she confirmed, “but we do urge you to take good care of yourself and rest as much as possible.”

Lady nodded in understanding, though she could make no promises.

 

While she had been in the hospital for just over a week, her stay seemed incredibly brief to her. She wanted to explore more, but too many eyes were on her now that she was directly involved in the case; she had to be careful with what she did.

Lady stepped out of the hospital in the clothes she had been found in, including her long black coat, and she carried her bouquets of flowers; the staff would have thrown them away, so she preferred to take them with her to give her rented house some life, maybe at the centre of the kitchen table.

She also brought her belongings with her, since they could not be returned to her house; her Polaroid was around her neck, although her photographs had obviously been taken in as evidence by the police. Her house keys were in her coat’s pocket, having been given back to her by the hospital staff.

Instead of trying to walk back, Lady had simply flagged down a taxi and given her address. After everything she had been through, she decided that she deserved to be a little lazy.

Lady and the taxi driver made small talk, but the journey was short, lasting only a few minutes. She stared out of the window at the scenery which passed by, which was only the townsfolk going about their daily lives.

Arriving on Marble Street, right outside of the house she rented, Lady thanked the taxi driver and left the vehicle, and as she listened to the car’s engine fading out into the distance, she simply stared at the house before her, unmoving.

She wasn’t sure how safe the house would be. Nobody had been in it for a week; Lincoln could not have been inside, unless he did find another way in, and Jill must have returned to her own home while Lady was in hospital.

Perhaps Lady should have gone to Jill first, so that she could at least have someone entering the house and keeping her company in case something wasn’t right.

Sooner or later, though, Lady had to go inside, so she stepped towards the front door and pulled out her key with her splinted hand, stiffly turning it inside the lock before swinging the door open.

The house was cold and silent. It was almost as silent as the Alan house, before Lady stumbled upon the corpses of Barbara and her husband before being brutally attacked by Jeff Woods.

Goosebumps littered her skin as her body hairs prickled upwards. Coldness ran up her spine and to the back of her head, forcing her to shudder. She was terrified at the thought of Jeff hiding in her house, even though she knew that made no sense, with how the Marble Street was lined with various patrol cars who would have seen such activity. Her house may have even been searched, too, though there were no obvious signs.

To calm herself, Lady knew exactly what she needed. She headed into the kitchen and filled the kettle with water before boiling it, placing down all her belongings on the round table, and as the silent house was filled with the loud hissing from the kettle, Lady gazed out of her window and into the backyard.

She hoped to see the familiar scarred face belonging to Lincoln staring back at her. She wanted to gaze into his piercing green eyes, and hear him lecture her about something she was doing wrong, or about how careless she was being. She wanted to see him swing the back door open and tell her that she forgot to lock it.

The backyard was empty.

The kettle finished boiling, and Lady turned away from the window with disappointment upon her face. She poured herself a cup of tea and listened to the slow clinking of the teaspoon against the mug as she stirred, then throwing the spoon sloppily into the sink for her to wash later.

Solitude used to be pleasant for her. She loved her own company, yet this was the loneliest she had ever felt. Her employer was dead, which she still struggled to accept, and her roommates were back in Ashford, far from her. Lincoln was gone, and there was no way for her to contact him, so she could not predict when or if she would see him again.

Right now, Lady had hit a roadblock. She had to work with all the information she had received so far. Wasting no time, she retreated up the stairs with her cup of tea so that she could continue to work on her article, and she made sure to write down in her notepad what Susan had told her.

There would be someone else who could publish her article. She had the reputation for it back in her hometown, but it would not feel satisfactory. She predicted that she would only feel empty as the article was approved, because it would be someone who was not Nicholas Hodek.

A part of her wondered if she could start her own company and independently publish. If she did that, she could probably commit to writing the events as a whole book, or maybe an exclusive article which took up the entire newspaper. Maybe, as the internet was rapidly becoming more and more popular, she would upload her works there for people all over the world to read.

It was difficult to keep writing with her wrist in a splint, though when she tried writing without it, she discovered that a dull ache swiftly overtook the joint. At this point, she chose to stop writing, even though she still had the energy and inspiration to write more.

 

Hours passed by as Lady did practically nothing around the house. She had a shower, surfed the web, watched television, and cleared out the out-of-date items in her fridge, which only reminded her that she needed to go grocery shopping again. The fear of leaving the house was still a strong one; she pictured returning and finding that the house had been broken into, likely by Jeff, and she was also exhausted at the thought of people wanting to speak to her about being attacked.

She was lying lazily across her couch, watching an old movie which was playing on the television. The picture quality was poorer than modern televisions, yet it was oddly comforting and nostalgic to Lady. She wasn’t really paying attention to the plot; she was just letting time pass, and as the sun crossed the sky, her heart raced faster and faster; night would be terrifying, even though her street was being patrolled.

Jeff was still out there.

As Lady lost herself in her own worrisome thoughts, she was disturbed by a knock at the front door.

Lady bolted upright and widened her light green eyes; she silently prayed that this was not a reporter coming to speak with her, but the minute the thought entered her head, she couldn’t hold back a strained smile upon realising that she was equally as invasive.

Maybe one of her neighbours was coming to check on her, despite how quiet they had been, or maybe Jill was coming to check up on her. It might have even been one of the patrol officers coming to talk to her.

Letting out a groan, Lady slid off the couch and onto the floor before standing herself upright sluggishly. She dragged herself out of the living room and towards the front door, with the twilight glow seeping through the frosted window.

Lady turned the key to unlock the door and pulled it open without much effort, not caring how dishevelled she appeared. Her hair was a mess and she had no makeup on her face, and she was wearing the most comfortable clothes she had brought with her.

The tiredness in her expression disappeared completely when seeing a familiar scarred face staring back at her.

Dark green eyes enlarged, twinkling in the orange glow of the setting sun.

His scarred lips parted, barely visible behind his striped scarf.

Clearing his throat, he dryly managed to fill the silence with a quip.

“I knocked on the door this time.”

Lady’s relief was impossible to hide, as was her joy. She was grinning giddily and smiling with her eyes, while the man before her was as reserved as ever.

“I thought you might’ve forgotten about me,” Lady chuckled with a tremble to her voice.

Lincoln Parks shook his head disapprovingly, forcing himself not to smile back at her.

“Not gonna happen,” he bluntly told her, though his expression softened significantly. “It’s good to see you’re okay, Lady.”

Lady’s smile only brightened as she resisted the urge to leap forward and hug him, but she knew better; Lincoln was still someone she was relatively cautious around, and she was aware of his issues with contact.

“I wasn’t sure when you’d be back,” Lady admitted, “or if you’d even come back at all. I would’ve gone grocery shopping if I knew you were coming.”

Lincoln huffed out a small laugh, caught off guard by her remark. “You should be taking it easy,” he pointed out to her, “considering you’ve only just come out of hospital.”

Lady stepped back into the house, giving Lincoln the space so that he could enter. “I have been taking it easy,” she pouted, “but I can’t stand it.”

Lincoln entered the home, wiping his boots on the doormat before dumping a large backpack on the ground which he had been holding over his shoulder. His expression was significantly gentler than usual, and when Lady locked the front door after his entry, he could not stop himself from grabbing her by her arms, grasping tightly just by her shoulders.

“You’re a moron,” he wavered, his hair hanging over his face as he bowed his head to hide his expression, “you’re a goddamn moron. I saw them carrying you out of that house on a stretcher and… I thought he got you, too.”

Lady would never have expected to see this side of Lincoln. His grip was firm, but it was not like the previous times he had held onto her. Rather than feeling restrained and at his mercy, it was more like being held safely, as if he was scared that she would run away and get herself into another reckless situation.

“If I had got there sooner, I could’ve got him,” Lincoln rambled, “and all this would be over, and… you wouldn’t have had to be at his mercy.”

Lady stared at him longer. He was shaking, likely with fear or rage. He was not letting her go, either.

Slowly, Lady raised her uninjured hand to cautiously rest upon his shoulder, and in response, Lincoln raised his head to meet her gaze.

His green eyes were tearful.

“We can still stop this guy,” Lady managed to comfort, distracted by just how hurt Lincoln appeared, “and you shouldn’t beat yourself up over not being there for me; it was my fault for getting overconfident.”

Lincoln listened, staring at her reassuring smile, before his tearful eyes thinned. “I’m not taking my eyes off you anymore,” he declared, “we’re gonna stick together. Jeff is active in this area as we speak; you have no idea how lucky you are to have survived an encounter with him.”

Lady gave an understanding nod before looking over towards the bag dropped by Lincoln. “So, you brought your sleepover stuff?” she joked to change the subject, only making him frown as he finally released his hold on her.

“I brought the stuff I said I was bringing last week,” he corrected bluntly, “before you ran off and left Randy’s mother, of all people, in this house alone.”

Lady puffed out her cheeks, looking at the floor as Lincoln picked his backpack up again, “I wasn’t planning on being in a coma,” she grumbled.

Lincoln carried his overfilled backpack through the hallway and towards the staircase. “Well, you can’t undo what happened,” he concluded somewhat coldly, “you made a choice and suffered the consequences; now, we both need to focus on catching up to Jeff and putting an end to all this ourselves.”

Lady followed him, though her pace was slow. Jeff was already considered a prime suspect, and if he still lingered in Burnside, it would only be a matter of time before the police caught him. It would be a race to see who could find him first, though even then, what would happen after finding him? Would they both work together to drag him to a police station?

What if Lincoln planned to kill Jeff with his own hands?

It would make sense; Lincoln was someone who was taking matters into his own hands. His initial reason was because nobody believed that Jeff had any involvement in the crimes, yet now he was being tracked down as a suspect. Theoretically, if his intention was merely to make sure Jeff was caught, it would be fine to leave it to the police, yet Lincoln was not satisfied.

Lady did not care about who reached him, so long as it meant that he wouldn’t hurt anybody again. Her main priority was finishing an article which would still generate plenty of money and exposure to her name. Perhaps she may be too late in writing an article about the killer’s identity, but she could still focus on connecting the incidents in Burnside and Ashford, along with telling the stories of everyone she had spoken to.

 

Lincoln had spent some time unpacking his belongings. He had brought some night clothes and various hygiene products, along with some spare clothes outside of his fleece and combat pants. He had also brought a handgun, which he handed to Lady for her to defend herself with, should she ever need to protect her own life.

It was early evening by the time Lincoln was finished, since he and Lady did stop for a long tea break. Lady gave him some space to use the bathroom while she worked away in the office, and she listened to the echoed sound of shower water streaming. She wasn’t trying to listen to him, but the bathroom was across the landing near the spare bedroom, which was not far from the office.

Lady closed her office door, which mostly blocked out the sound, but soon enough, the water stopped running. She heard Lincoln opening the bathroom door before walking across the landing towards the spare bedroom, where he had been granted permission to stay. A small smirk appeared upon her lips as she thought about Lincoln actually changing into clothes beyond his fleece and combat pants; to her, it would be unusual to see him dressed differently.

Eventually, Lincoln knocked on the office door to get Lady’s attention.

“Can I use the phone to order a pizza?” he asked, closer to sounding like a brooding teenager asking a parent for permission.

Lady could not help but laugh, pushing her chair back to stand up from it. “With whose money?” she questioned. “It better not be “borrowed” from me.”

“I’ve got my own cash,” Lincoln huffed, “and if you want one, I’ll get you one – you know, as thanks for letting me stay here.”

Lady chuckled, grasping onto the door handle and unclicking it, “Well, if you’re offering, I wouldn’t mind a cheese pizza,” she requested as she opened the door, though her thoughts trailed off upon seeing Lincoln’s new appearance.

Lincoln was wearing long night pants and a long, baggy shirt, which were all checked with black and grey. He still wore his gloves to hide his hands, and no doubt the long pyjamas were hiding other scars, too.

Having spotted her distracted gaze, Lincoln waved his hand in front of her eyes, “Size?” he asked her in a grumbly tone, and Lady cleared her throat.

“What?” she asked, staring up at his face, and her response only made him frown more.

“Pizza size,” he clarified.

“Oh,” Lady murmured, “well, if you’re buying, the largest.”

Lincoln sighed loudly as he entered the office to use the phone, brushing past her. It was a sigh of regret, and she was only smiling cheekily at him.

It would be a nice treat for both of them. Lady knew that she needed to go grocery shopping again, but for this night, she was content with enjoying takeout. She could sleep better after filling her stomach with something so comforting, and she hoped that Lincoln could do the same.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 14: 14: A Calm Night

Summary:

Lady and Lincoln have to rest for the night, but Lady remains intrigued by Lincoln and what secrets he may be hiding.

~14: A Calm Night~

Lady and Lincoln had both stayed up late. When their pizza arrived, Lady was the one to answer the door, and the two sat together in the living room where they ate like pigs. Lincoln had ordered himself a standard pepperoni pizza, also treating himself to the largest size like Lady had, and in silence, they consumed their food while watching an old movie on the television.

After finishing their pizzas, Lady briefly caught Lincoln up on what she had learned in the hospital. She told him what Susan said, about Randy being viewed as possessed and Liu running away with a face nearly as disfigured as Jeff’s, yet Lincoln did not seem too surprised by any of it. He simply encouraged her to keep everything she had learned written down.

Before Lincoln had showed up, Lady dreaded what the night would be like. All she could hear was the last thing Jeff told her whenever she considered retiring for the night.

“Go to sleep.”

Every time her head throbbed, the words could be heard again, and her eyelids would stop fluttering. She almost nodded off several times while in the living room, and it did not take long for Lincoln to notice.

“You look like you need rest,” he observed, “you should go to bed and get some sleep.”

Lady’s eyes widened at his words, mishearing him. “I should what?” she echoed stressfully, and Lincoln only tilted his head curiously.

“I said you should go to bed and get some sleep,” he repeated, “did you think I said something else?”

Lady shook her head, facing her lap. “Not really,” she replied with softness.

Lincoln was not convinced.

The scar-faced man leaned over across the couch and took her by the face, forcing her to look at him, and he could feel the way her body tensed up.

“Nothing’s gonna happen to you while I’m here,” he assured her, his eyes unblinking, “I’ll stay up to guard the house.”

Lady shook her head, pushing his hand away. “I don’t want you to stay up for me,” she argued, “I’ll be fine. Really; just knowing I’m not alone in the house is good enough.”

“It’s not good enough,” Lincoln corrected bitterly. “Look at what Jeff did to his own family, and to Jane Richardson. He caught those who were in bed, asleep; I’m going to stay awake to make sure nothing happens.”

Lady folded her arms and crossed her legs. “Either we both stay awake, or we both sleep,” she stated. “If you stay awake tonight, how can I rely on you to help me tomorrow?”

“You’re supposed to be resting,” Lincoln pointed out flatly as he leaned back into the couch.

“Time is ticking, Lincoln,” Lady reminded him, “and I haven’t got the time to rest. I’ve got a killer to expose, and an article to write.”

“You can keep writing your article here,” Lincoln told her.

“But I don’t have enough to work with!” Lady countered. “I still need to know about Jane Richardson!”

“Jane’s house was burned down and she was found with a smile just like mine,” Lincoln quickly said irritably, “and they found her parents with that smile, too. Her parents died of their stab wounds, while Jane survived but was severely burned. Satisfied?”

Lady huffed, unfolding her arms. “You already told me that before,” she recalled, “I need to hear it from her. I need to know something that isn’t just her circumstance.”

“You won’t be able to learn anything while she’s in a coma,” Lincoln shut down, “so, just focus on writing your article and finishing it.”

Lady frowned at him. “I’ve gotta at least know why Jeff went after her,” she countered.

“Knowing his motive doesn’t make a difference!” Lincoln shot back, and his eyes shimmered with fury, silencing Lady immediately. “What was his motive for killing his parents?! Or going after his brother?! What about everyone he’s been killing recently, like your boss?!”

Lady’s silence remained as Lincoln stared her down from where he sat.

Lincoln was right; the only murders that Jeff had a motive for were the murders of Keith and Troy. They were his bullies, so whether or not he had killed them in self-defence, the motive of revenge was incredibly likely.

“You are going to stay here while you’re still healing,” Lincoln planned, his voice calmer, “and you’re not gonna do anything stupid.”

Lady rubbed her chin, deep in thought. Lincoln had been the one to seek her out for help with tracking the killer down, even though he seemed to already know everything he needed.

Did he no longer need her, now that the killer had returned to Burnside?

Was that his plan all along?

That couldn’t have been the case; nothing had happened to lure Jeff back to his hometown. Randy remained in jail, Jane remained in a coma, and Liu remained missing.

Perhaps Jeff was always planning to return to Burnside, and Lincoln knew this from the start.

The more Lady had learned about the case, the more Lincoln’s involvement seemed baffling; when exactly did he encounter Jeff?

“I’ll try and take it easy,” Lady then relented, “but I’m gonna keep doing my research. Tomorrow, I’m going back to Lavender Lane to investigate Jane’s house.”

She had recalled seeing the house which had been burned down. It was the one she originally assumed belonged to the Woods family, possibly vandalised by locals, but it was the home Jeff had set fire to during his original killing spree.

Another incident covered up by the “youth gang violence” mentioned in the original report.

Lincoln frowned at her with a warning stare. “It’s not a good idea to go there now,” he cautioned, “since there will be police everywhere.”

Lady sighed again in defeat, slumping deeper into the couch. “I’m a reporter,” she reminded, sounding more like she was convincing herself, “I can be at the scene of a crime if it’s for journalistic purposes.”

“I can’t,” Lincoln told her, “so, if you were to use your reporter magic to enter the scene, you’d be alone.”

Lady folded her arms again. “You introduced yourself to me as investigator,” she remembered, “but I’ve not seen you do anything official.”

“I told you, I’m an independent investigator,” Lincoln corrected with a narrow of his eyes.

“With a personal connection to this case,” Lady added, “and a lot of knowledge.”

Lincoln’s frown deepened. “What are you getting at?” he asked her warily.

“I’m not getting at anything,” Lady assured, “but the more I learn about Jeff and his victims… the more I struggle to understand what happened to you. You don’t fit anywhere.”

Lincoln’s green eyes darkened, and her arose from the couch.

“Jeff has attacked multiple people,” he reminded her quietly as he gazed down at her with coldness, “not just the people from ten years ago.”

“But you’re not a recent victim,” Lady had to point out, “since your scars have faded. Jeff only started his spree recently after escaping from a sanatorium near Ashford, and you can’t have been part of the original attacks because someone would have at least mentioned you. You would have been treated at the hospital, or…”

Lincoln grabbed her by her good wrist and yanked her up from the couch, pulling her close to his body as he held her firmly with one arm. His stare was bitter, and his grip was inescapable.

“Are you investigating me, or are you investigating Jeff?” he asked her lowly.

Lady’s eyes widened, but she stood her ground. “I’m investigating the Burnside Murders,” she chose to answer.

Lincoln shook his head, and with ease, he scooped Lady up into his arms.

“Hey!” she exclaimed, her face reddening with anger and embarrassment; he had lifted her so easily, carrying her like she was a stubborn child.

“I have my secrets,” Lincoln confessed coolly as he carried her out of the living room and towards the staircase, “but they won’t help you. If anything, they’ll just distract you.”

What could that even mean?

“It’s hard to completely trust someone who keeps secrets,” Lady huffed as Lincoln began carrying her up the stairs, and Lincoln only glared down at her.

“Yet you trust me enough to let me stay in this house,” he refuted.

He had done nothing to truly hurt her.

Lincoln had provided her with plenty of useful information, and in return, she had barely done anything for him. He stayed with her the night Nicholas was killed, and was the one to call the emergency services over the incident.

Regardless of what secrets he was keeping, he had been good to her.

Lincoln crossed the landing and pushed the door open to Lady’s bedroom, placing her down on her bed. His expression relaxed, and his gloved hand brushed some of her hair from her face.

“I’ve dragged you deeper into this mess than I should have,” he admitted to her, “and when this is over, you will never have to hear from me again. I promise.”

Lady gazed up into his eyes as he spoke. There was a sadness to him which she had spotted during their first meeting, and no matter how hard he tried to hide it, she could still see it.

As he began to pull his hand away, Lady reached up and grabbed it, making sure not to move suddenly in case she triggered a response like when she disturbed his slumber.

“I don’t want you to just disappear,” she clarified as she held his gloved hand, “I’m just… intrigued by you, Lincoln.”

Lincoln’s body tensed at her contact, and for a moment, he embraced it, though he quickly pulled his hand away after a shake of his head.

“Don’t be,” he hissed, “I’m gonna need you to forget about me when this is all over. Forget you met me. Forget my name. Mention nothing about me to anyone you know.”

“That won’t be possible,” Lady argued as she sat herself up on her bed, “one of my roommates came to visit me in hospital. He already knows you exist because of the flowers you left.”

Lincoln narrowed his eyes as he turned away.

“I shouldn’t have left them,” he rasped, holding his head in his hands, “I shouldn’t have even been near that hospital. People looking at me, trying to look at my face…”

“But you came,” Lady concluded as she shuffled to the edge of her bed, “and… I appreciate that.”

“Well, don’t,” Lincoln shut down bitterly as he turned his head sharply back towards her, “You don’t know me, Lady. Nobody does.”

Nobody does.

He said it with such certainty. He meant those words, and with how bitter he sounded when he spoke them, they had lingered in his mind for a while.

Lady, though, remained persistent.

“I’m not just going to forget the guy who helped me investigate here,” he insisted, “I remember everyone I meet, Lincoln. Everyone I’ve questioned in this town is a face that will stay with me until I’m old and infirm, and even if I don’t know much about you, I’ve picked up on a thing or two.”

She adjusted herself to sit more comfortably at the bed’s edge, and Lincoln could only stare back at her with wide eyes.

“You’re Lincoln Parks,” she described, “a guy who likes to read. You collect home recorded cassettes for fun, which you listen to while you read whatever book you have. You like pepperoni pizza and old movies, and you’ve got a bad habit of breaking into buildings, abandoned or used.”

Lincoln listened to her, and as she spoke, his gaze softened in a sombre way, yet he gave a small smile.

“Sure,” he murmured, “that’s me.”

Lady was about to stand up from the bed, but Lincoln pushed her back down by her shoulder, which only forced her onto her back. He leaned down, staring into her eyes with sudden emptiness.

“You can remember for me,” he muttered, “when I forget myself.”

Her eyes widened at his words.

She could not even tell if he was trying to be intimidating; all she was focused on was what he had said.

He seemed so… lost.

“You need to rest,” Lincoln then repeated with his expression dulling, “or am I gonna have to choke you until you’re unconscious?”

Lady could not help but visibly tremble at his threat. He still seemed like the type of guy who would do such a thing, if needed.

Her fearful reaction brought a very small yet bitter smile to his face as he moved away from the bed. “Good night, Lady,” he said to her, “I’ll see you in the morning.”

She allowed him to leave her on her own, unable to say anything in response to his words. No doubt he was going to stay awake, too, and make sure that nothing happened during the night.

Lady thought of Lincoln like a guard dog, and the image made her chuckle quietly to herself as she pictured Lincoln sitting so focused in the spare bedroom.

The thought was enough to help her get to sleep with less anxiety rattling her bones.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 15: 15: She Awakens

Summary:

Lincoln encourages Lady to take it easy, and after hearing some breaking news on the radio, Lady decides to finish her article.

~15: She Awakens~

It was another typical morning for Lady and Lincoln. They took their turns in the shower, sat together to have a cup of tea, and Lady pointed out how Lincoln appeared to have little to no sleep. The only thing missing from their routine was breakfast, since Lady still needed to get some groceries. Begrudgingly, Lincoln agreed to join her for a morning trip to the grocery store, where they would both grab a takeout breakfast on the way.

Lincoln had washed his fleece and combat pants during the night, so was wearing them again, along with the striped scarf which hid half of his face. Not surprisingly, he was also wearing his gloves.

Lady was strolling while wearing a formal black blazer, with a low-cut grey shirt beneath it. A black crinkled skirt fell just above her knees, with grey tights beneath them.

The pair were polar opposites; Lincoln looked rough and like he had not put much effort into his appearance, while Lady was the neatest that she had ever appeared, even having made sure her hair was styled to show off its volume. She had also touched up her face with subtle makeup, pinkening her lips and blushing her face. Thin eyeliner lined her eyes, accompanied by some mascara.

As they headed downtown, the smell of food filled the air. Lady’s stomach rumbled as the different scents filled her nose, and it was loud enough for Lincoln to hear.

“We can grab something from this bakery,” he pointed out to her, noticing the way she clutched her stomach.

Lady was practically drooling at what she saw in the window, pressing her hands up against the glass.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” she agreed as though in a trance.

Lincoln sighed gruffly and shook his head, pushing her inside the bakery. He was still looking at everything on display, deciding what food he wanted, while Lady practically ordered half of what the bakery had to offer.

“I think I’m just gonna grab a bagel,” Lincoln then said quietly to the baker as Lady skipped outside, carrying an entire paper bag filled with baked goods.

Lady found a bench to sit on, unpacking a bagel of her own which had been toasted with a cheese spread as the filling. She did not even wait for Lincoln, since she knew that her food would take longer to eat.

A small rock suddenly struck her shoulder, almost causing her to drop her bagel. Sharply, Lady turned her head, spotting a group of three teenage boys, with two of them already running away.

“Get outta our town!” shouted the one who was not running immediately. “You’ve only brought bad luck!”

He was about to throw another rock, but Lady abruptly stood up and attempted to shift her expression into a threatening frown. Surprisingly, the boy dropped the rock he had picked up and his mouth fell open in horror before he quickly sprinted after his friends, nearly falling over.

Lady smiled proudly to herself, though as she triumphantly sat back down on the bench, she noticed a shadow which had cast over her, the cause of it being Lincoln, who was still staring in the same direction as the boys with his scarf lowered, showing his scarred smile.

Lincoln glanced down at her once all three boys were out of sight, “Are you okay?” he asked her quietly, taking a seat beside her.

“Yeah,” Lady murmured into her bagel, disappointed that she hadn’t been the one to scare the teenagers away.

Lincoln scowled as he clutched his own bagel tightly. “Those stupid kids could’ve hit your head with that rock,” he snarled, “while you’re still healing.”

“Good job they have bad aim,” Lady responded swiftly to lighten the mood, smiling.

Lincoln just gave Lady an odd look, and she only shrugged at him. He exhaled deeply as he awkwardly began eating his bagel, keeping his face hidden behind his hands while he ate, and as soon as he had finished his bagel, he hid himself behind his scarf again.

Lady, meanwhile, was tucking into a chocolate chip muffin, visibly unbothered by her encounter. However, her thoughts were the opposite; she was now being blamed for the return of the murders in Burnside, as if it was her fault that they started happening again.

Lincoln did notice that she was unusually silent, observing her thoughtfully, though he did not comment on her quietness. Instead, he simply sat by her side while she wolfed down as many baked goods as she could; there was no way she was going to need lunch later.

 

After what seemed like forever, Lady had finally finished her breakfast and jumped up from the bench, ready to head to the grocery store. Lincoln casually got up beside her and walked by her side, while she still had a noticeable bounce to her step.

The trip to the grocery store was about as uneventful as the trip to the bakery. Everyone was giving the pair odd looks, and Lady did hear a few whispers about her “reviving the murderous curse” which she paid no mind to. She simply ignored everyone and bought more groceries, with the same clerk still treating her with a little more kindness, and once she had finished, Lincoln offered to carry the bags for her.

Lincoln was constantly looking around as he walked, which Lady could not help but pick up on. Sometimes he looked as if he was staring right at somebody, or if he was worried somebody was looking at him, and he constantly looked back over his shoulder. He was like this for the entire walk back to the house.

Lady did not want to question his odd behaviour; she simply concluded that he was paranoid about Jeff’s return, considering he had history with him.

Entering the house, Lady turned the kitchen radio on while she and Lincoln worked together to put the groceries away. Typically, she would be listening to her Walkman through her headphones, but with Lincoln present, she felt rude doing such a thing.

She had not been fully paying attention to the radio, too focused on putting some cold drinks in the fridge, until Lincoln nudged her.

“Listen,” he urged before she could ask why he was nudging her.

Lady remained quiet and paused, listening to what was being said on the radio, which was tuned into a local station.

“It’s a miracle she even pulled through,” said one of the radio hosts, “I thought for sure she was gonna never wake up.”

“I think we all did,” the second host agreed, “but God smiled down on her today.”

“He was waiting for the right time to wake her up,” the first radio host stated with a warmth to his voice, “and what better time than when the murders return to Burnside?”

Lady’s eyes widened as she realised what the conversation must have been about, while Lincoln remained completely focused on the conversation, turning the radio’s volume up.

“The case of the Burnside Murders has officially been reopened,” the first host then announced, “all thanks to Jane Richardson, who survived the brutality ten years ago. Do you think the case had to be reopened?”

“I think only God can answer that one,” the second host chuckled thoughtfully.

“The cops won’t reveal exactly what she’s said,” the first host continued, “but there are rumours that Randy Cooper’s involvement in the murders is being revisited. What do you suppose that means?”

“I hope it don’t mean that he might be let out,” the second host shuddered, “We all know he’s gotta be the one that did it.”

“But Jeffrey Woods is the one behind the recent murders in Burnside,” the first host pointed out, “and he did kill his old neighbours; thank God the lad survived.”

Lady felt herself breathe out a sigh of relief; Billy had survived, and was presumably somewhere safe, away from the town while Jeff was still on the loose.

“Well, only time will tell, and the truth will surface,” the second host concluded, “and I hope they catch Jeff soon; maybe then can Burnside finally be rid of all of this evil.”

The conversation shifted into something more religiously political, no longer focusing directly on the case, but Lady beamed with excitement.

“Jane Richardson is awake!” she cheered, resisting the urge to jump up and down with joy. “That must mean she’s told the cops that Jeff was the one who attacked her, and she must’ve vouched for Randy’s innocence!”

Lincoln folded his arms; instead of looking happy or pleased in any way, he instead looked deep in thought as he leaned against the counter.

“It won’t be long until everyone knows that Jeff is the one behind the murders,” he murmured, “and if everyone knows the truth, it will be easier for him to be caught by the cops.”

Lady tilted her head, confused. “Is that not a good thing?” she questioned, observing as Lincoln cast his green eyes in her direction.

“I’d rather be the one to catch him,” he confessed coldly. “I want Jeff to see my face; I need him to know that I’m the one bringing him down.”

There was fire behind Lincoln’s eyes, like he was fantasising about the very moment he could bring an end to Jeff’s life. It was the same determination she had seen with Randy; two of Jeff’s victims were vowing to kill him.

Deep down, even Lady felt it within herself. For Nicholas’ sake, she wanted to be there when Jeff was brought to justice, and a part of her wanted to remain involved in that process. That was why she had been so determined to complete her article; in fact, knowing that Jane was awake, her time to gain any credit for publishing an article on the killer’s identity was extremely limited.

She would have to complete the article and mail it to the publishing office in Ashford, so with all of this in mind, she gave herself a new deadline for her article; she would have to mail it off the following day, and then prioritise helping Lincoln, despite him insisting that she stayed back to rest.

 

After finishing the groceries, Lady informed Lincoln that she was going to finish her article in her office, and Lincoln reluctantly agreed to have some sleep while she did so. He retired to the spare bedroom to rest, close to the office where Lady got to work.

Of course, Lady did brew herself a cup of tea for herself. She must have gone through two cups while she wrote, and when she next checked the time, it was almost five o’clock in the evening; she had started writing at noon, having skipped lunch, and the hunger for dinner had gone unnoticed until her stomach growled viciously at her, begging to be fed.

She was not going to order another pizza, and planned to make dinner for herself and Lincoln (if he would even let her cook a meal for him), but before that, she printed off the article she had written, neatening the pile so that it could fit into an envelope, which she would buy at the post office.

Lady left the pile on her desk, deciding that it was a good time to wake up Lincoln. She pushed herself out of her swivel chair and left the room, moving to the spare room which was nearby. The door was clicked shut, but not locked, and there was only silence on the other side.

“Lincoln?” Lady called out softly as she knocked on the wooden door.

There was no immediate answer, so she unclicked the door and pushed it open slowly, peeking into the room.

Lincoln was sitting upright in the bed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. His fleece and combat pants had been thrown onto a chair by the room’s desk, and even his gloves had been placed on the bedside table. His brown hair was a complete mess from where he must have tossed and turned in his sleep, and while he was in this groggy state, he had barely noticed Lady’s entry.

Instead of wearing pyjamas, he had only gone to bed in his boxers; Lady saw everything she was not supposed to.

Before her was a slim body with defined muscles, and it did not take a genius to figure out that this body had been through hell. Scars covered him from the neck down, some being small and deep while others were remnants of large slashes. His hands, from what Lady could see, were also heavily scarred, as if a knife had stabbed right through them, and deep scars led directly down his wrists towards his elbows.

Lincoln stopped rubbing his tired eyes, though before he could notice Lady’s presence, the reporter quickly shut the door. She was terrified of how Lincoln might react to somebody seeing his body, with how desperately he tried to hide himself.

“It’s, uh… It’s five o’clock!” Lady called through the door to him. “Neither of us ate lunch, so we should make ourselves a big dinner; I’ll meet you in the kitchen!”

Lincoln did not respond with words, but a “mm-hmm” could be heard from the other side of the door, which Lady took as an agreement to meet her. She breathed a very quiet sigh of relief, feeling her lungs empty as she did so, and she tiptoed away from the door to head down the stairs.

 

As she went to boil the kettle again, she could not get the sight out of her mind. It was like catching somebody wrapping a birthday gift; something that was supposed to be a mystery, and something that she was not meant to see, had been completely exposed. It had almost been fun for her to guess what Lincoln was hiding, in a morbid way, especially beneath his gloves, yet in an instant, she had seen everything.

Lady poured the hot water into her mug, almost spilling it, and she stirred her spoon for far too long. She had completely zoned out and was staring into space, and the only thing that brought her out of this state was a flick to the back of her head. Her body jolted as she jumped, dropping the teaspoon into the cup, though as she turned around, she found herself breathing a long sigh of relief.

“I’ll do the cooking,” Lincoln declared, standing directly behind her.

He was wearing his fleece and combat pants, along with his gloves, but he had not thrown on his scarf.

Lady stared at him for a moment, unable to unsee the sight of his scarred body, before she cleared her throat.

“Go ahead,” she smiled, stepping away from the counter with her cup of tea in hand after putting the teabag in the trash, “I’m not fussed about what we eat tonight.”

“I’ll make a stir-fry,” Lincoln decided, already searching for the right ingredients and equipment.

“Oh, now that sounds good,” Lady hummed as she took a seat by the kitchen table.

There was a silence in the air for a moment while Lincoln turned on the cooker and heated an oiled pan. As he began chopping up some vegetables, Lady spoke up again.

“You really seem to like cooking,” she observed, chuckling to herself, “the guys I live with can barely cook for themselves. Any chance they get, they get takeout food; honestly, they still live like college students sometimes.”

Lincoln nearly laughed at her remark, but he was too focused on preparing the vegetables.

“Sounds like that’s what college really does to people,” he commented, his tone dry despite this being his own attempt to relax and make a joke.

Lady tilted her head curiously as she watched him. “You say that like you never went to college yourself,” she observed, and Lincoln replied without losing focus on what he was doing.

“I didn’t,” he confirmed, “I thought that would be obvious to you.”

“Would’ve thought that an independent investigator would’ve at least been to college,” Lady murmured, which finally caused Lincoln to pause, holding his vegetable knife against the chopping board.

“Are you trying to investigate me again?” he questioned without turning around to face her.

“No, I’m trying to have a normal conversation,” Lady immediately replied casually, “though I suppose that’s my mistake.”

“It is indeed,” Lincoln agreed quietly as he continued to chop the vegetables. “Can we talk about something that isn’t to do with me?”

Lady took a long sip from her tea before replying with, “Well, I finished my article. Got it printed out and everything.”

Lincoln turned around to look at her, interested, “You managed to get it done?”

Lady smiled proudly and nodded, “Yep, I’ve finished the whole thing. Gotta get it sent back to Ashford before Jeff starts making national news.”

Lincoln returned his gaze to the stir-fry, watching the vegetables sizzling away in the pan.

“Can I read it?”

He had asked the question so quietly, and his sincerity caught Lady off guard.

“You wanna read it?” she had to ask, and she saw him nodding his head.

“I wanna know what you managed to write,” Lincoln explained softly, “since I probably won’t get round to reading it in the newspaper when it’s published.”

Lady gave a smile, standing up form the table. “If you’d prefer, I can read it to you while you cook,” she decided, and after a small pause, she saw Lincoln nodding again.

“That’d be nice,” he agreed.

Lincoln was about to be the first person to consume the contents of her finished article. It would be useful for Lady, too, because if anything sounded off, Lincoln could correct it.

So, Lady ran up the stairs and returned with her article in her hands, sitting back down by the table as she cleared her throat to speak while Lincoln silently listened.

 

THE RETURN OF THE SMILING MAN.

Dangerous serial killer connected to past murders.

Police in Burnside, Arkansas, are on the hunt for 25-year-old Jeff Woods on suspicion of murder. He is a man described to have a disfigured face with a smile carved into it; a smile also found on the victims in Burnside, and also recently the victims in Ashford, Missouri.

Coincidentally, this is not the first time Woods has been connected to such murders. In 1984, Woods was involved in the Burnside Murders, where a then-15-year-old Randall Cooper was convicted of the crime. Woods was originally believed to be a survivor of the attacks, but his recent return to his hometown suggests otherwise.

Locals from Burnside have various beliefs on what happened back in 1984. Some believe that the murders were a result of youth gang violence, while others believe that Satanic occultism was involved in some way. Most locals are certain that Cooper is the killer.

One local who was questioned, Mrs. Barbara Alan, lived on the same street the Woods family did.

“What Randy did to them was terrible,” Mrs. Alan commented in regards to Cooper, “He was always trouble; something should have been done about him before he got that bad.”

Mrs. Alan was found dead in her home alongside her husband hours after being questioned.

Cooper’s mother was also asked to comment on the events.

“Randy didn’t kill those people,” she insisted, “Two of those kids were his friends. They were all bad kids, but neither of them would have killed each other.”

During the investigation into the Burnside Murders, Cooper was also directly questioned.

“I wasn’t the one behind them,” Cooper insisted after being asked about his involvement in the murders, “I didn’t kill nobody, but I’m sure I know the one who did; it was that freak… looked creepy as hell, and acted creepy as hell.”

The investigation also led to the exploration of the Woods family home, which remains abandoned. Jeff Woods’ bedroom remained the most intact, as if nothing had ever happened in his room. Some of Woods’ observational landscape artwork had also been recovered from the house.

One of Woods’ surviving victims recently awoke from a ten-year coma, and is currently telling her side to the police, which has already led to the case being reopened while Woods remains a suspect in the current murders, both in Burnside and in Ashford.

Woods was known to have privately resided near the town of Ashford after the Burnside Murders, as a patient at Albert’s Way Sanatorium.

A second victim who survived the attacks is Liu Woods, his younger brother, who was last seen escaping Burnside District Hospital in 1984. The locals of Burnside all have their different beliefs as to why he ran away, with many concluding that he was on the run from someone in the hospital, which could have been Randall Cooper or his own older brother.

There is no information regarding his whereabouts.

Regardless of the unknown factors, Jeff Woods remains as a dangerous individual and it is recommended to avoid any contact with him, but any sightings must be reported to local authorities before he can leave more smiling corpses in his wake.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 16: 16: No Longer Guilty

Summary:

With Jeff confirmed to be the killer, Randy's innocence is mostly proven. Lincoln remains as cautious as ever regarding Jeff.

~16: No Longer Guilty~

Lincoln had enjoyed listening to Lady reading out her article. He had no major critiques for it, and insisted that Lady mail it off as soon as possible. With her article complete, she was determined to focus more on helping Lincoln, even though he still demanded that she rest.

Their evening remained regular. They had eaten the stir-fry Lincoln had made (which was incredible to taste), and after tuning into the local news on the television, they retired to their bedrooms. Lady was in bed immediately, though she could hear the faint sound of Lincoln humming.

He was humming the tune from one of Liu’s cassettes, which Lady recalled was labelled as “Like the Wind,” which made her eyes widen with realisation that he had, indeed, “borrowed” her Walkman.

The sound of him humming faintly was pleasant, and it had helped her to fall asleep that night, though he was without a doubt not planning on sleeping.

 

The next morning was another uneventful one; Lincoln made breakfast, they ate together with cups of tea, and Lady dashed off to mail off her manuscript. She had left Lincoln at the house so that he could watch over it, fearing that Jeff could sneak in at any moment.

The trip to the post office did not take too long. She bought the correct envelope, sealed it with her article inside, and wrote down the address she knew like the back of her hand. Usually, she would put Nicholas’ name on the address, but with him gone, she just sent it directly to the office. Her name was known enough for her article to be taken somewhat seriously, no matter who opened it.

While the day was still young, Lady stopped in her tracks. She had been on her way back to the house, where Lincoln was waiting for her, but she thought that it couldn’t hurt to check up on Jill Cooper. Lavender Lane was not far from her house, so it wouldn’t be much of a detour.

As Lady began to stroll down the street, she spotted Jill walking in the direction from her home, and she had taken much better care of her appearance. Her hair was neatly tied back behind her head, and her shirt was tucked into her jeans. She had even put on some neutral toned makeup.

Both women took a moment to recognise the other. They both squinted their eyes, and almost at exactly the same time, they smiled and waved, quickening their pace.

“Jill!” Lady exclaimed as though she knew the woman more personally.

“Lady!” Jill exclaimed as well, with her walk becoming a run in her heels. “Oh my stars, thank goodness you’re alright!”

Jill had thrown her arms around Lady unexpectedly, with a tightness Lady would expect from her own mother. It had caught her off guard, but she smiled and gave Jill a pat on the back.

“I should’ve come to see you sooner,” the young woman then said, “but I’ve been… catching up on all that I’ve missed.”

“Well, of course,” Jill replied as she pulled away from the hug, keeping her hands on Lady’s shoulders, “you was sleepin’ for a week after what happened. I was so frightened for ya; I thought that Jeff had…”

Lady’s smile remained relaxed, “I was lucky to survive,” she admitted, “and… in a strange way, I don’t regret the encounter; now, there is no doubt that Jeff is, and always has been, the killer.”

Jill took her hands away from Lady’s shoulders, and she also managed to give a nervous smile.

“You was kinda stupid for runnin’ in that house all alone,” she honestly pointed out, “but what ya did… it was one of the last things that confirmed Randy’s innocence. That and the other coma girl who said Jeff attacked her ten years ago.”

Lady’s eyes widened slightly. “Do you suppose they’ll release him now?” she questioned, and Jill gave a confident nod with a bigger smile.

“Funny ya should mention that,” she replied, “I’m on my way to the prison right now; they’re lettin’ him out today, so… he’ll be comin’ home with me.”

“Today?!” Lady gasped with surprise; with how fast the decision seemed to be made, she could only presume that there was a lot more going on behind the scenes regarding Randy’s innocence.

“It’s been a long fight for me and Randy,” Jill revealed, “but they’ve been using this DNA testin’ to go over the evidence from the old murders. They found Jeff’s fingerprints on all the knives, but because they also found his blood, they were certain he’d fought back in self-defence.”

Lady folded her arms and tapped her foot; DNA testing was rapidly evolving, so as the years went by since 1984, perhaps Randy’s innocence had always been questioned as a possibility.

“At the very least, the attempted murder charge against that girl has been completely dropped,” Jill continued, “since she finally woke up and said it wasn’t him. All we need now is for Jeff’s brother to be found so that the attempted murder charge against him can be dropped, too.”

Considering that Jill was originally convinced that Liu had been the murderer all along, it was no surprise that she was confident in the fact that he was still alive somewhere, so that he could be found eventually and admit that it was Jeff who attacked him. It was also nice to see that Jill now fully believed, and accepted, that Jeff was the one who had framed her son.

“Until Jeff is caught and trialled, Randy could still go back to prison for the crimes,” Jill went on, “and it’s likely he’ll face more trials in the future for other stuff he’s done, but he’ll at least be able to come home. He can finally start livin’ his life.”

That was going to be tough, no doubt.

Randy had only known prison ever since he was fifteen years old. He last roamed the streets as an angry teenager in the eighties, and was now returning to a whole different world as an adult.

“Will you be okay getting him on your own?” Lady then asked with worry printed on her face. “I mean, I know the reputation your son has in this town; will you both be safe?”

Jill gave a light chuckle, patting Lady’s arm.

“Don’t worry about it, ya sweet thing,” she responded, “we’re gonna be escorted back here in a police van.”

Lady gave an understanding nod. The townsfolk of Burnside were not going to be kind to her or Randy, but Lady refused to erase the confidence she saw in Jill’s eyes. Jill was finally getting her son back, after ten years, and Randy was going to be free, even if his freedom was conditional.

Hopefully, with Randy’s reputation, nobody would try to mess with him and his mother too much.

“I won’t keep you any longer, then,” Lady smiled at Jill, “I’ll let you bring your son home.”

Jill’s smile became an overjoyed grin.

“Tell ya what, why don’t ya come by for dinner tomorrow evenin’?” she offered. “It’s the least I can do for ya, after everythin’.”

It was a pleasant gesture, yet also somewhat nerve wracking. Jill did seem like a pleasant enough person, clearly thankful that there was someone in the town who did not outright despise her or her son, yet Randy’s presence would remain one to be cautious of. Lady had no doubt that Randy was innocent regarding the murders, but there was still a violent nature to him. His time in prison may have only allowed his violent urges to grow stronger.

“I’ll consider it,” Lady then answered, “since I am helping my… housemate with some of his own investigation work.”

Jill curiously raised a brow, with a suggestive smile upon her face.

“Oh?” she reacted, “Ya got a fella over?”

Lady waved her hands frantically, her face going bright red in an instant, “Oh, dear god, it’s not like that,” she insisted quickly, “he’s a local who’s been helping me out. He was the one who made it possible for me to contact your son, actually.”

Jill’s face shifted from playfulness to a hint of curious confusion.

“Interestin’,” she slowly hummed, “did he know Randy personally?”

Lady shrugged, “I don’t know,” she admitted, “but from the way he talks, he must’ve gone to the same school as Randy.”

Jill folded her arms thoughtfully. “Tell me his name,” she then commanded, “I’ll ask Randy if he knows him or not.”

“His name’s Lincoln,” Lady revealed; this was the first time she had revealed his name to someone directly involved in the case, “Lincoln Parks.”

Jill squinted her eyes as if she was trying to connect the name to a face. She repeated the name quietly to herself a few times before shaking her head.

“Not someone I remember myself,” she confirmed, “but I’ll ask Randy, and if ya do come round tomorrow, maybe ya can talk about it with him.”

The thought was still a bizarre one; Randy Cooper, the man feared throughout Burnside, would casually be at a dinner table with her in his home.

“Again, let me think about it tonight,” Lady replied, “and if I’m not on your doorstep by six o’clock, assume I won’t be coming.”

Jill gave another genuine smile, nodding her head. Her body language didn’t show it, but there was excitement behind her eyes, which was almost enough to convince Lady to definitely show up for dinner.

“Well, maybe I’ll see ya tomorrow evenin’, then,” Jill concluded, “but right now, I gotta dash; I wanna get my son home as soon as possible.”

“Understandable,” Lady nodded, giving her a wave, “I wish you the best, Jill.”

Both Lady and Jill waved at each other as they said their farewells, and while temporarily walking in the same direction to leave Lavender Lane, they quickly walked in opposite directions towards their destinations; Jill was leaving for the bus stop to catch the bus that could take her to the prison, and Lady was returning to Marble Street, where she would no doubt have to spend the day resting unless she wanted a lecture from Lincoln.

 

Lady returned to the house, casually unlocking the door and letting herself in.

“I’m back,” she called out as she locked the door behind herself, “sorry that I took a little longer than expected.”

No answer.

Lady paused, listening to the silence of the house.

“Lincoln?”

She peeked into the living room, but he was not there at all, and he definitely was not in the kitchen.

He must have been in his room.

Lady jogged up the stairs, and as she wandered across the landing, she noticed that the door to the spare room was closed. Presuming that Lincoln was inside, she knocked on the door.

“Lincoln, I’m home.”

No answer.

Maybe he was asleep, or maybe he was listening to music on Lady’s Walkman too loudly, but it seemed odd for Lincoln to be so careless when Jeff was back in Burnside.

What if Jeff had broken into the house while Lady was out?

What if Lincoln…?

She did not want to finish that thought.

Without a second thought, Lady pushed the door open, not caring how Lincoln would react to her entry. Her priority was making sure that he was alright.

Lady could not see him on the bed, and as her eyes scanned the room, she realised that she couldn’t see him anywhere.

Her worry began to grow, but before she panicked, she had to search everywhere in the house. She first stopped to check the office, which was empty, and then she went to check her own room.

Nobody was in there.

At the very least, that was what she thought.

From behind the door Lady had just pushed open, a figure jumped out, and Lady heard their steps. She could not react fast enough to dodge, but as a pair of gloved hands grabbed onto her arms, she swung her body around with all of her strength and made sure to barge this person straight into the wall.

A grunt of pain was heard, but her assailant shoved back against her, tackling her onto her bed. He had her on her back, with both of her wrists pinned at her sides.

Her heart momentarily stopped beating, and she was about to bring her knee into the man’s stomach, but she froze upon realising that Lincoln was the one on top of her.

“Your reactions are getting better,” he praised as he kept her pinned, “but if you ever come into this house and hear no response from me, and I’m not resting in my room or the living room, then you should just run.”

Lady frowned, forgetting about the position she was in as she processed what Lincoln had just said to her.

“I’m not gonna abandon you if you’re in trouble,” she stated firmly, “and can you quit trying to give me a heart attack?”

“You’re still recovering from your wounds,” Lincoln described, squeezing Lady’s sprained wrist, which made her grimace strongly, “and you left the house unarmed. It’s like you want Jeff to finish the job.”

Lady’s frown shifted into a scowl. Lincoln’s words had struck a nerve, but as she wriggled in an attempt to free herself, he was still able to keep her pinned down on her back, and he was still squeezing her sprained wrist.

“You froze up again,” he observed, leaning his face down to be closer to hers, “which will only make it easier for someone to hurt you however they want.”

Lady shook her head in denial, staring into Lincoln’s unreadable gaze. “If it wasn’t you, I’d be fighting back,” she insisted confidently.

“Oh?” Lincoln practically scoffed, “So, you admit that the reason you froze like a deer in headlights is because you recognised me?”

“Yeah,” Lady replied as though it should be obvious, wriggling again to try and free her wrists from his tight grip.

Lincoln only narrowed his eyes as he pulled on her wrists, moving them so that they were being held above her head. He still straddled her hips to keep her legs locked in place, and his body cast a shadow over her as he hovered just above her chest, his face close to hers.

“That’s another mistake,” Lincoln scolded in a low voice. “It’s so much easier to be hurt by someone you think you know, because you wouldn’t fight back against someone that you care about the same way you’d fight back against a stranger.”

Lady’s heart was racing more as a heavy feeling in her gut grew. She was looking straight into Lincoln’s unfeeling stare, trying to work out what he was really thinking; was this another test, or did he intend to actually hurt her?

Lincoln was barely even blinking as he focused on maintaining eye contact with Lady, and he was able to grip both of her wrists with one of his gloved hands, while the other was free to do as it pleased. Unsurprisingly, it trailed down to her throat, slowly wrapping around it.

“It’s a horrible feeling,” Lincoln went on quietly, “when you feel that initial sense of relief. First, you’re afraid, thinking somebody’s about to kill you or worse, and then you see a face you recognise as one you care about. That’s when the fear briefly disappears, until you realise there’s a knife to your throat, and the person you thought you knew… is a monster.”

The hand around her throat gave a squeeze, gradually restricting her ability to breathe, the same way a snake would constrict its prey. Lady had tried once again to squirm for freedom, but as she did so, the hand around both wrists also tightened.

She was helpless.

“I could kill you so easily right now,” Lincoln told her as he continued to squeeze her throat, hearing the way she struggled to catch her breath, “and you couldn’t stop me, could you?”

She was hoping he would stop and reveal that he was just testing her, but this was going on for too long. It was like he was waiting for her to do something in response, yet no matter how much she was trying to free her wrists or roll her hips, he still proved to be much stronger than her.

“At least you’re trying,” Lincoln pointed out, thankfully easing his grip around her throat to allow her to breathe again, “but you still can’t defend yourself, can you?”

Lady gasped for air, her eyes watery from the force Lincoln had used on her. His hand was still around her throat, as if ready to squeeze again.

“You’ve… proven your point,” she managed to say breathlessly.

“Have I?” Lincoln immediately responded. “How do you know I’m proving a point, and not actually trying to hurt you?”

“Because you… would’ve done worse already,” Lady observed, still breathless.

“Would I really?” Lincoln pressed, giving her neck a brief squeeze again. “Can you really be sure that I’m bluffing, or am I the type of monster who likes to toy with his prey?”

There was nothing she could say to that.

Maybe he really was betraying her, yet she lay beneath him, unable to do a thing.

Lincoln stared at her for a moment longer, drinking in the fear which appeared slowly behind her green eyes. The blood drained from her face, as if she was staring at death directly.

As Lady stared at Lincoln during this time, his face was beginning to not look like his anymore. She was seeing Jeff instead, grinning down at her with that scarred smile.

Maybe it was just Lincoln’s own scars that caused her to think this way, but she could swear that Lincoln even looked like Jeff naturally.

As her breathing quickened, matching the pace of her heart, Lincoln finally released his hold on both her neck and her wrists, sitting up while continuing to straddle her.

“You’re such an easy target,” he insulted. “Next time you go anywhere alone, I want you to bring that gun with you, and never let your guard down, no matter who you’re with.”

Lady’s breathing was slowing down to a normal rhythm, but her chest still felt tight. Her body was stiff, and for a brief moment, she didn’t even move despite her wrists now being free. All she did was stare up at Lincoln with a fearful gaze.

Lincoln was finally about to move from atop her body, but the moment he began to shift, Lady finally sprung back to life. She reached up with both hands and grabbed onto the scarf which was still loosely wrapped around his neck, and she pulled on both ends, dragging him back down on top of her while tightening the garment. He had to catch himself by placing both hands beside her head, and his eyes had widened enough to make him not appear tired for once.

“I’ll bring the gun,” Lady promised through clenched teeth, “but if you pull anymore stunts, don’t blame me if I shoot you.”

Her words only made Lincoln’s surprised expression shift into an entertained smile.

“You’ll miss,” he countered, but Lady pulled harder on the scarf.

“I’m not kidding around, Lincoln,” she warned with a deep frown.

Lincoln scowled at her, grabbing her wrists again and holding them close together with both hands. He held her gaze for a few seconds, noticing the fire behind her eyes as she attempted to wear a brave face, and he couldn’t help but chuckle with amusement.

“You’ve got a deal, then,” he agreed, “I won’t test you like that ever again, as long as you leave this house with that gun.”

He let go of her hands and pushed himself up, finally climbing off her body. Lady sat herself upright, rubbing her wrists as she watched Lincoln get back on his feet.

“Why do you have to keep doing stuff like this?” she asked exhaustedly, and she watched as Lincoln’s expression became stern.

“I want you to live a good, long life, Lady,” he admitted to her. “Even in the future, long after we have parted ways, I want you to be able to defend yourself from anyone who tries to hurt you, no matter who that person is.”

Lady bowed her head thoughtfully, taking in his words. It wasn’t just about Jeff; it was about any future criminal she could face during her career as a reporter. He wanted her to have the strength to defend herself; even if she hated his methods, he at least had good intentions.

There was also a solemness Lady found herself feeling. Lincoln planned to part ways with her once the job was done, but there was a part of Lady that was sad at the thought. She was enjoying having him as her partner, and she hoped that she could stay in contact with him or work with him again in the future.

She hadn’t known him for long, but rapidly, he was growing on her.

As he turned his back, however, preparing to leave the bedroom, he followed up his statement with a playful, yet surprising, comment – one that caught Lady entirely by surprise and made her heart jump for an entirely different reason.

“Or maybe I just wanted to see how you’d look when I pinned you beneath me.”

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 17: 17: Like the Wind

Summary:

Lady begins to question Lincoln's identity and connection to the case, knowing that she must tread carefully until she can get her answers.

~17: Like the Wind~

The tension between Lady and Lincoln lingered since their encounter. Lincoln barely seemed bothered, casually sitting beside her on the couch to watch the local news, while Lady kept letting him know that she was still unhappy with him.

Lincoln had been awkwardly trying to apologise in his own way. He had made her a cup of tea, made her a sandwich for lunch, and he even brought a blanket for her, which was also his way of subtly suggesting that she needed to rest.

Understandably, Lady was not comfortable resting around Lincoln after what he had just done, which he was weirdly proud of.

There was a strange twist in events, however; Lincoln had been sitting next to her on the couch, watching the news, and he had fallen silent. For a while, Lady assumed that he was just focused on the news, but when she finally glanced in his direction, she saw that his eyes were completely closed.

The sight made Lady give a small smile. He didn’t look particularly comfortable, but at the very least, he was getting some rest while he had the chance.

Lady continued to watch the news, though she did yawn with boredom. Nothing interesting was being discussed; there was no mention of Jeff, or Jane, or even Randy. She was tempted to change the channel, but she also didn’t want to miss anything.

To pass the time, in case the news did eventually cover a relevant story, Lady decided to retrieve the drawings that Jeff himself had done, which she had found in his old house. She didn’t expect to find anything interesting, but she thought she may as well study them closely while she had the time, and as she laid them all out on the coffee table, she carefully wrapped her blanket around Lincoln.

Surprisingly, there was no reaction from him, meaning he must have been sleeping a little deeper than usual.

Lady breathed a small sigh of relief before going back to the drawings. All of them were very detailed sketches of locations Jeff had obviously been to, and Lady made sure to study every corner and side of each sketch.

Luckily for her, Jeff had actually written details on the backs of the drawings.

One picture was of a small California bungalow, coloured with a brown pencil. On the back of the drawing, Jeff, with extremely neat handwriting, had written down exactly what this place was.

13 Lincoln Park Ave.
Redfield, CA

Home

Lady’s eyes slowly widened as she took in the information.

The house in the drawing was likely of the previous Woods family home, where they must have lived before moving to Burnside. Perhaps Jeff had drawn it while the delivery van was being loaded, as a way to immortalise his old home which may have been one he had lived in for a long time.

But the name was what caught Lady truly by surprise.

Lincoln Park Avenue.

It seemed too convenient to be a coincidence.

Slowly, Lady turned her head to face Lincoln, who remained fast asleep beside her. A part of her wanted to wake him up and immediately question him about this, to see if he knew about the name of Jeff’s old home, but a part of her feared that he already knew of that name.

He was using an alias.

Lady was certain of it; he may not have been Jeff Woods, but there was another name being hidden from her.

If it really was an alias, and Lincoln had chosen it to hide from Jeff, why would he choose a name so closely connected to Jeff himself?

Once again, Lady was reminded that Lincoln was not to be fully trusted, yet she had no idea how to address this concern. Lincoln had just proven how capable he was of harming her, if he truly wanted to do so, and if Lady pushed him too far, he may very well silence her.

She had to play dumb.

She was not going to tell Lincoln about how Jill had invited her over for dinner the following evening, and she was going to make sure that she didn’t forget to question Randy about the name. There was still a chance of it being a coincidence, and Randy could probably tell her about some kid named Lincoln he used to beat up at school for lunch money, but if Randy did not recognise the name, then Lincoln’s connection to the case would have to be questioned once again.

If it came to that outcome, Lady would need to know the truth once and for all no matter what.

Lady gathered the drawings into a pile which she placed further across the coffee table, as if she hadn’t been looking at them at all. She leaned back against the couch, though her mind remained on Lincoln. Curiosity was getting the better of her, eager to learn what he was hiding, yet there was no way to outright ask him. He was an incredibly defensive person when it came to sharing personal details, and having spent some more time with him, Lady picked up on how disconnected he seemed from the rest of society, as if he couldn’t get involved without giving away who he really was.

She couldn’t help but wonder how long he must have been like this for, and how lonely it might have been for him.

The longer she stared at him, the softer her gaze became. Even if she couldn’t completely trust him, and even if he was hiding something (sinister or otherwise), she could only think of the softer side which had surfaced so rarely.

The side of him that left yellow roses for her when she was in the hospital.

The side of him that confessed to worrying about her after her attack.

There were small gestures, too, whenever Lady was genuinely upset or afraid. He never seemed to push her during those moments; instead, he would provide comfort and support without her even noticing immediately; handling the 911 call after Nicholas was attacked, making her cups of tea whenever he felt she needed one, scaring away the local youth who had harassed her (even though he despised showing his scarred face), and simply keeping her company during his stay were all moments Lady never really thought about; sometimes, she swore she could see the real Lincoln surface, like when he would cook dinner, because he would relax and become more casual in conversation before shutting himself down again.

He could be dangerous.

The alarm bells rang in her head.

There may have been a possibility that he was an ally of Jeff’s, or someone who could even be worse than Jeff, given the opportunity.

Yet she didn’t care.

In the time she had left with him, being only a few weeks at most, she would still cherish his company. They may not have trusted one another, and Lady definitely had her reasons to be incredibly wary of him, but she couldn’t help but like him. His presence was always so reassuring, perhaps with the exception of the times he jumped out at her to test her survival skills.

Lady found herself yawning once again, but this time, it wasn’t entirely from boredom. Resting on the couch for so long had made her body want to fall asleep, and the temptation only grew as she watched Lincoln sleeping so soundly.

She may not have wanted to rest in his presence, but while he was also having a nap, it couldn’t hurt to do the same.

Keeping on the other side of the couch away from him, Lady allowed her eyes to close, joining him in the world of dreams.

 

She opened her eyes slowly, and the house was dark.

The sun had gone down, and she was no longer in the living room, but rather in her bed.

Beside her, she could feel a strange warmth, and the mattress weighing down.

She was not alone.

Only her eyes moved at first as her body stiffened with fright, and she held her breath as though that would keep her safe.

In the moonlight seeping through the window, she could see a slim but toned body beside her, with the scarred back facing her.

Lincoln.

This was definitely Lincoln.

It felt so natural to reach out for him, even though he must have been asleep. Her hand traced over the bumps of his scars, and he didn’t react at all.

Not even a twitch.

Her hand reached for his shoulder, and as she grabbed it gently, his body rolled flat onto his back.

No scream could ever convey the fear she was suddenly struck with.

Lincoln’s dry eyes were wide open, as if his eyelids had been cut or burned off entirely. His scarred smile was now carved wider with fresh blood leaking down his cheeks, and the blood stained his lips while seeping into his mouth.

A dark, damp patch covered the part of the duvet which was covering Lincoln’s abdomen, and Lady did not dare raise the cover.

All she could do was stare.

From elsewhere in the shadows of her room, she heard a choked laughter, which only made her blood run cold.

“His smile was fading,” came the familiar, unhinged voice, “so, I fixed it for him.”

Footsteps crossed the wooden floor, accompanied by deranged giggling.

“He looked so tired, too,” the voice continued, “and I was scared he wasn’t gonna stay awake long enough to see his beautiful new smile, so, I made sure his eyes would stay open forever.”

As much as she wanted to, she could not scream.

The sound just wasn’t coming out, and the more she tried, the more she could feel her insides trying to expel from her throat.

A shadow cast over her, forcing her to finally turn her head to stare up at the permanent smile belonging to Jeff Woods.

“I wish you could have seen Nick,” Jeff chuckled uncontrollably, “he had a beautiful smile, too. He would have wanted you to see it.”

His hand was swift, reaching down to grab Lady by the throat to keep her held down to the bed beside Lincoln’s lifeless body, and his other hand raised the bloodstained knife.

“Maybe you’ll all see each other in Heaven,” Jeff mused, “and you’ll all be able to smile forever there, too.”

Lady grabbed his wrist and thrashed, trying her best to get him to let go, but nothing was working. Jeff, despite his appearance, was incredibly strong.

“I’ll send everyone else to join you,” Jeff continued. “Tim, Brian, Randy, Jill, Jane… They will all join you, but right now… you should just go to sleep.”

He brought the knife down, plunging it towards her chest…

 

Lady could not have gasped any louder as she threw herself up from the couch, sweating coldly. As her heart raced while she hyperventilated, her eyes were quick to recognise the living room of the house, where she had originally fallen asleep.

She had noticed that the blanket had been covering her until she threw it off, even though she had covered Lincoln with it before she chose to nap. Lincoln was also no longer beside her, and before she panicked over his whereabouts, she could smell the scent of food being cooked, and she could hear the sound of Lincoln humming that obscure song again.

Even if Lincoln was someone to be wary of, she couldn’t have been happier to wake up to him alive and well.

Lady was ready to get up to join him in the kitchen, but as she was about to move, the news playing on the television quickly caught her attention.

A young woman was speaking from inside a hospital ward, though her face was obscured by a white mask with a blank expression. There was no detail upon the mask, aside from black lips and blackened eyes, obscuring the true eyes behind them. The wavy black hair upon her head seemed synthetic, as if it were a wig rather than natural hair.

“Make no mistake,” the woman said, likely responding to a question asked by whoever was interviewing her, “Jeffrey Woods is the one who was behind the attacks ten years ago. I remember it clearer than anyone because those memories are still so fresh to me; the last thing I saw was Jeff grinning at me as the fire spread throughout my house. I’d always hoped he had burned with me that night…”

This, without a doubt, was Jane Richardson, finally speaking publicly.

“I was in Randy’s class at school,” she continued, “and I can assure you, I never saw him lay a finger on any girl. Worst he’d do is push them out of the way; he wasn’t the psycho who killed my parents and tried to burn the evidence.”

Her head turned to look directly into the camera, and Lady could practically feel her eyes staring straight into her soul despite them being shielded by a black layer.

“I will not live in fear,” she declared, “I will not relocate to run away from Jeff; I am determined to see that Jeff is brought to justice. An innocent man has spent ten years behind bars because of him, and I have lost ten years of my life because of him. He deserves many years of suffering for what he has done to his victims.”

It must have been hard for her, falling unconscious as a teenager and waking up as a woman in her mid-twenties; hopefully, she was being aided with adapting to her new life.

“I also refuse to believe that Liu Woods is dead,” Jane continued, “I believe he is alive, and Jeff is searching for him to finish the job, the same way he will no doubt be after me.”

The interview was abruptly cut short as Jane said those words, and as the report was concluded, Lincoln entered the room, leaning in through the door.

“I’ve made some pasta,” he announced upon spotting Lady awake, though Lady jumped at his sudden voice.

“Oh,” Lady reacted, her eyes wide, “right, yes, I’ll… join you.”

Lincoln stared at her for a moment from where he stood before walking further into the living room, his scarred face showing concern in his green eyes.

“Are you alright?” he asked her. “You were asleep for hours, you know.”

Lady could have told him that she’d had a nightmare involving Jeff. She could have explained how real it felt, and how she thought she was about to die. She could have described in detail what Lincoln’s dead body looked like while beside her in bed.

She could have also told him about the news report she woke up to, with Jane Richardson finally speaking to the public about her ordeal with Jeff.

Instead, though, all she did was force a smile and stand up from the couch.

“I must’ve been catching up on sleep,” she excused, “but the smell of your cooking was good enough to wake me up.”

Lincoln observed her, squinting his eyes. He must have been able to tell that she was acting strange.

Even so, his expression eventually relaxed.

“Come on, then,” he called to her with a nod of his head, gesturing for her to follow, “I don’t want it to go cold; pasta’s much better when it’s hot.”

Lady followed him out of the living room, joining him in the kitchen. She sat by the table as Lincoln began serving up the steaming hot pasta, covering both portions with sauce, and as she waited for him, she found herself humming the same song Lincoln had been humming to himself previously. Lincoln had to stop what he was doing for a moment as he listened, recognising the song immediately.

“Have you been listening to Liu’s cassettes?” he had to ask as he brought the pasta bowls over to the table.

“I gave them a listen once, yeah,” Lady answered casually, “and that one song got stuck in my head. You seem to like it, too.”

Lincoln awkwardly nodded as he took a seat opposite Lady.

“It’s a rare song to come across, you know,” he explained, “so, you should record it onto a mixtape of your own.”

“I won’t be able to do it from one cassette to another without my double cassette recorder,” Lady chuckled as she began twisting some spaghetti onto her fork, “which I left back in Ashford.”

Lincoln looked thoughtful before he began doing the same with his pasta, “I’ll see if I can make something for you, then,” he commented quietly, “if I can find something to borrow for the process, of course.”

Lady sighed, but she couldn’t help but smile. This was the side of Lincoln she loved seeing, especially when he would quickly reveal a small smile of his own.

The future between them was an uncertain one. Both of their lives were in danger, and Lincoln’s identity remained suspicious, meaning that there was still a chance of him being a threat to her, or an entirely different person than the one she was sitting with.

For now, though, she was happy for this moment to last, so brought her smile back to her face as she fully engaged in the conversation about music and home recordings.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 18: 18: Awoken, Taking Back Control

Summary:

Lady joins Jill and Randy Cooper for dinner, which she keeps a secret from Lincoln. She finally believes that she is on the right track to uncovering Lincoln's identity.

~18: Awoken, Taking Back Control~

There was still no news on Jeff.

On one hand, that meant he was nowhere to be seen, and nobody had caught him, but on the other hand, he had not brought harm to anyone else in Burnside.

Still, it meant that Lady and Lincoln had another peaceful night, though Lincoln did not sleep for most of it. He must have had more sleep than usual, though, because he had a little more energy in the morning.

“I’m going out for a bit,” he told Lady over the breakfast he prepared, “so, make sure everything is locked here, and get some more rest.”

Lady had only just taken off her splint, which she had worn during the night. She gave Lincoln a confused stare.

“Where are you going?” she had to ask him.

“I’m gonna do some investigating,” Lincoln answered casually, “and I’ll be running some errands while I’m out.”

Lady almost appeared betrayed.

“Investigating without me, huh?” she practically pouted. “I thought we were a team.”

“We are,” Lincoln confirmed, “but you’re still not completely healed, and while Jeff is lurking, it’s best to not leave the house unattended for too long; I’m sure he’s smart enough to avoid the watchful eyes of the patrol cars.”

Lady folded her arms with her cutlery still in her hands, “So, I just have to sit and do nothing while you get to have all the fun?” she questioned.

“You’ve had your fun,” Lincoln quickly pointed out, “you managed to write your article, I helped you look for the right sources, and you ran head-first into an active crime scene where you were almost murdered.”

The reporter flinched at the words, the response being a mixture of horror and embarrassment. She wasn’t overly fond of reliving that moment in her mind, but it was worse to realise how stupid she was to do what she did.

“Alright, I’ll stay in the house today,” she relented, “but I have my own errands to run. I’m gonna need you back by about five.”

Lincoln raised his brow as he ate a piece of bacon off his fork. “Sounds specific,” he noticed, “how come?”

Lady was quick to come up with a response on the spot.

“The stores here close at six,” she excused, “plus, if I end up out late, I wanna come back before it’s completely dark.”

Lincoln’s eyes narrowed with suspicion, “Why would you end up out late?” he pressed, and Lady was not as swift with her answer.

“Sometimes I just… end up talking to people for too long,” she explained, “plus I’m probably gonna stop by at a restaurant when I’m done, so don’t wait for me if you plan on cooking dinner tonight.”

Lincoln studied her carefully, looking her up and down, before nodding his head.

“Alright,” he replied, “but if you’re not back by nine, I’m gonna be really worried.”

Nine o’clock was a good enough deadline; she could easily come back from Jill’s place in that time.

“If I’m not back by nine, alert the cops on this street,” Lady smiled, though Lincoln did not smile back.

“Don’t let it come to that,” was what he said before he urged her towards the living room, “now, go and put your feet up for a few hours, and let me know if I miss anything on the news.”

Lady just nodded, not too fond of the way Lincoln practically pushed her into the living room.

“Fine,” she sighed in agreement.

 

The day had been one without much to take note on. Lady watched the news, which occasionally replayed the footage of Jane’s interview, and there was also brief coverage of Randy’s release, showing footage of the police van he was being transported in, but that was it. There was nothing significant.

Lady would have had a nap, but she was still wary of going to sleep while home alone, just in case Jeff found a way inside somehow. It was unlikely, though it was also not an impossible scenario. She was also staying awake in case she received a call from the publishing company she worked for, but the phone was silent the whole day.

Looking over Jeff’s drawings did not give her anything new to work with. She still lingered on the artwork of his past home in Redfield, and the more she thought about it, the more certain she was that it was no coincidence that Lincoln shared his name with the location.

Once more, she put the drawings aside, and decided to get herself properly dressed for visiting Jill’s home. She wore a low-necked black shirt, with her black blazer over it, and she also wore her black dress pants, mixing her professional reporter look with a more practical and casual appearance. She also lined her eyes with winged eyeliner, coated her lashes with thick mascara, and blushed her cheeks with pink powder. Her lips were last, with a shade of neutral pink so that they didn’t stand out too much.

To pass the time, Lady decided to enter Lincoln’s room, searching for her Walkman which her companion had borrowed. She found it on his bedside table, including the headphones, and she popped it open to see which cassette he was listening to. Judging by what he had been humming recently, she assumed that he had been listening to Liu’s tapes, and sure enough, the handwriting on the cassette matched Liu’s.

Post-Punk Stuff

It matched all of Liu’s cassettes, and although Lady did not initially recognise it, she was sure she had probably listened to it during the time she played every single one. She decided to jog her memory by closing the Walkman and rewinding the tape, putting on the headphones as she took a seat on Lincoln’s bed. The cassette jewel case was on the bedside table, too, which included the insert listing all of the songs on the tape.

The first song was one Lady instantly recognised as the one that had been bugging her, but as she looked at the list of songs, she noticed that the label was different. Instead of the song being labelled as “Like the Wind” with a question mark by the artist, it was instead labelled as “Subways of your Mind” by FEX. She had never heard of that band, and the recording she was hearing was so much clearer.

By the sound quality, it did seem as if the songs had been recorded from another cassette rather than off the radio. Liu must have got his hands on a cassette featuring the song with the correct name and artist, which he then recorded onto the blank tape.

Most of the songs were ones Lady recognised and had heard on Liu’s other tapes, though there were a few new ones.

One song caught her attention.

“Black Celebration” by Depeche Mode.

It played towards the end of that side of the tape.

Lady listened to many genres of music. She would mainly listen to songs on the radio, and most of her cassettes were compilations, but back in the eighties, she had been a little more into music. She distinctly remembered that she was sixteen when that album came out, because she bought it on vinyl, among other alternative albums at the time – from the age of sixteen to eighteen, she had a brief phase of being extremely into the gothic subculture, mainly due to the influence of friends and cousins at the time.

The album had come out in 1986, yet Liu had been missing, and presumed dead by many, since 1984.

There was no way Liu could have been the one to record the tape.

Lady, still with her headphones on as she listened to the song, found the other cassettes belonging to Liu in the carry case, and she compared the handwriting directly; after all, this could have just been Lincoln’s own personal tape, or one he “borrowed” from another person.

The handwriting was identical.

Maybe Liu had returned to his home in secret and left behind one of his later tapes?

That seemed unlikely, but given the fact that Liu’s face had been burned away on all the photographs in the house, there was still a chance he had returned there himself at some point, if he truly was still alive.

Another possibility was beginning to surface in Lady’s head, however.

One which made her eyes slowly widen.

Before she could focus too much on it, however, she was able to hear the sound of the front door slamming shut, so she immediately put everything back before hurrying down the stairs.

“I’m back,” Lincoln called out, which was unusually polite of him, “and by the way, you left the front door unlocked.”

As Lady hopped down the last step, she found herself smiling, relieved that he had entered the house like an ordinary person.

“For once, you’re not choking the life out of me for such a thing,” she playfully commented.

Lincoln was frowning, not impressed that she had left the door unlocked, but he then actually returned her smile, sharing her playfulness.

“Would you like me to?”

Sometimes he could be so forward.

As much as Lady enjoyed the banter, she had to remind herself of her suspicions. If she let him cross the line, she could be in danger.

“Maybe,” she then smirked, “if you do it with your gloves off.”

Lincoln’s smile faded. It was definitely a subject that was still sensitive to him, yet he stepped closer to her, continuing to play along despite the coldness in his voice.

“That can be arranged,” he agreed dryly, “if the lights are off.”

Lady’s heart should not have been racing at the thought.

Her cheeks must have reddened even more under her powder blush, because Lincoln did smirk once again, even though his eyes were distant. He reached out, running his gloved hand through her wavy hair, watching as her green eyes widened and her body stiffened.

His expression returned to a more neutral and reserved one, and immediately, he was able to shift the conversation to a different subject. “Do you have your gun?”

Lady was still catching up to the topic, since her mind was focusing on the way he casually ran his hand through her hair before pulling away.

“I’m about to go and get it,” she then answered after clearing her throat.

Lincoln gave a small smirk as he walked past her towards the living room.

“Good,” he praised, “you’re learning.”

It was such a condescending thing to say, but she would much rather receive praise from him than a harsh lecture.

“I’ll be back as fast as I can,” Lady assured him as she headed for the staircase.

“Nine o’clock,” Lincoln called after her as a reminder while she headed up the stairs to fetch her handgun.

 

Without hearing much else from Lincoln, who was watching the news, Lady had left the house with her holster strapped around her waist, making sure that it was secure with her gun concealed beneath her blazer. She had locked the door behind herself and brought her key, but other than that, she had not brought anything else with her.

Her nerves were once again acting up. It was already discomforting to walk to Lavender Lane in the late afternoon, when Jeff could be lurking anywhere, but that wasn’t the only thing that made her anxious; the thought of casually eating dinner with one of the most hated people in Burnside was still intimidating to her.

She had to bury her feelings, though, and make sure she appeared relaxed in his presence.

Lavender Lane had more patrol cars than usual, most likely since Randy had returned home. One officer stopped her to ask where she was going, and she explained that she had been invited by a resident for dinner. The conversation went back and forth for a couple of minutes, before eventually she was allowed to continue approaching the house she remembered belonging to Jill.

Lady knocked on the door, but there was no answer. She realised that Jill might have mistaken her knock for somebody looking to harass her, so she called out as loudly as she could.

“Jill! It’s me; Lady!”

Almost immediately, footsteps were heard approaching the door, and after locks and bolts were undone, Jill pulled the door open.

“Ya came!” Jill smiled happily, immediately going to give Lady a tight hug, “Right on time, too; I just finished cookin’ up the chicken stew.”

Lady could smell the chicken from where she stood, and her stomach practically rumbled on command.

“It smells good,” Lady praised as she returned Jill’s hug, “it was really kind of you to invite me over.”

“Well, of course!” Jill beamed. “You’re a kind soul, Lady, and you’ve been a real help.”

The older woman stepped back into the house, gesturing for Lady to enter.

“Come in, come in!” she welcomed. “And there ain’t no need to take yer shoes off.”

“Thank you,” Lady thanked with a smile as she entered the narrow hallway, allowing Jill to close and lock the door securely.

“Y’know, ya could’ve brought yer fella with ya,” Jill grinned with a hint of playfulness.

“That wouldn’t have been a good idea,” Lady chuckled nervously, “he’s… not very social, and he doesn’t like people cooking for him.”

Jill tilted her head, confused. “That’s odd,” she commented, “sure sounds like you’ve got yerself a strange fella livin’ with ya.”

“Yeah, he’s… definitely different,” Lady worded carefully, letting Jill lead the way through the hall and towards the kitchen, which was also the dining area.

“Randy,” Jill called out, “Lady’s here!”

As the two women entered the kitchen, Randy could be seen stood over the counter, carving some slices of bread with a large bread knife. It was jarring to see him without his prison uniform, free of his shackles; he was wearing a navy Aeropostale T-shirt accompanied by baggy denim jeans of a lighter shade of blue, and his black hair was in a much tidier quiff.

Randy turned his head to look over his shoulder, stopping what he was doing. He stared at Lady as she stopped by the kitchen’s entrance, and after looking her up and down, he turned around and gave her a smug smirk.

“Yer lookin’ a lot prettier,” he complimented, “get yerself dolled up just for us, huh?”

Lady smiled awkwardly, rubbing her arm, “Well, I wanted to look nice for a special occasion,” she chuckled, “I didn’t wanna disappoint your mom.”

Randy put the slices of bread onto a small plate, smiling in the direction of his mother, “Hear that, mom? She dressed all nice for ya.”

“Oh, now, yer makin’ me feel underdressed,” Jill blushed, holding her cheeks.

“Make that two of us,” Randy added as he strolled over to the round table, placing the plate of bread in the centre.

Lady seemed genuinely worried that she might have made them both feel insecure, since they were dressed a lot more comfortably, so she immediately began to stumble over some apologies, but as she did so, Jill only chuckled and put her hands on her shoulders.

“Relax, darlin’, yer allowed to dress however ya like,” the older woman assured her, “don’t mind us; we’re just messin’ with ya.”

Lady breathed a sigh of relief, her shoulders slumping as she did so, and then Jill put her arm around her.

“C’mon,” Jill smiled, “have a seat at the table.”

“You sure there’s nothing I can do to help serve the food up?” Lady asked as Jill directed her towards a chair.

“Don’t you worry about that,” Jill replied as she patted her on the back, “yer a guest, ain’t ya?”

Sooner or later, Lady was probably going to forget how to cook.

“I’m really grateful you invited me over for dinner,” Lady then thanked as she took a seat by the table, smiling, “next time, you guys should come over to mine; I’m sure Lincoln wouldn’t mind.”

Randy snorted as he helped himself to a serving of the stew, plopping it into his bowl, “His name’s Lincoln?” he questioned with a grin. “Like good ol’ Abe Lincoln?”

Lady observed his reaction; the name had caught him off guard, but it didn’t seem to ring a bell to him in any way.

“Yeah,” she then answered, “his name’s Lincoln Parks.”

Randy’s laughter increased to the point where Jill had to nudge him to be quiet.

“That’s some dumbass name!” Randy snorted. “Lincoln like Abraham Lincoln, and Parks like Rosa Parks! Ah, I bet he was a darn riot in history class!”

“I’m pretty sure he went to the same school as you, actually,” Lady then added.

Randy’s laughter ceased, but he still wore an expression of amusement as he strolled over to the table, swinging a chair out from underneath to then sit upon it.

“What makes ya say that?” he chose to ask, placing his bowl of stew on the table.

“Just the way he talks about things that happened here,” Lady shrugged, watching as Randy helped himself to a slice of bread. “He seems to know a lot about all the kids involved, and he’s definitely around your age.”

Randy dipped the bread into his stew as he thought for a moment, as if trying to recall a kid with the same name. He then shrugged as he took a large bite out of the bread.

“Don’t think I knew him,” he answered with his mouth full, “a lotta kids knew me, though.”

Lady rubbed her chin thoughtfully as Jill came over with two bowls of stew, placing one in front of her and then one in front of herself as she took a seat beside her son.

“So, you definitely don’t recognise the name?” Lady pressed.

“Nope,” Randy confirmed, “and believe me, I’d remember a kid with a dumbass name like Lincoln Parks.”

Anyone who went to school with Randy, whether they were personally targeted by him or not, would have known that he was the one arrested for the murders. Lincoln might not have had any personal encounters with him, but he still would’ve easily been able to access his inmate details if he knew that he was in prison for the crime.

Lady’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully as she took a piece of bread for herself; while she had the chance, she had to ask another question, and depending on the answer, she might know where to start focusing her attention.

“Can you remember what Liu Woods was like?”

Randy paused for a moment mid-bite into his slice of bread, surprised that the conversation had shifted so suddenly to that topic. His piercing eyes glanced towards Lady, trying to gage why she had asked such a question after talking about her housemate, but after swallowing the chunk of bread, he gave his response.

“Depends what ya wanna know,” he murmured.

“Anything, really,” Lady replied, “I’ve done a lot of investigating for that report I was writing, but… Liu remains a mystery.”

Randy stared at the table, thinking deeply. Out of everyone Lady had spoken to, he probably was the one with the best memory of Liu, since he may have had the most interactions with him. Anyone else was either an adult at the time who only saw him in passing, or a child too young to fully remember, like Billy.

“He wasn’t like Jeff,” was how Randy chose to start, “he looked a lot more normal, for a little punk, and didn’t act like a total freak.”

Lady began scooping some of her stew onto her spoon, blowing on it to cool it down, “So, he was just a normal kid?” she asked for clarification, and Randy scoffed.

“Wouldn’t say he was normal,” he grumbled, “he was still weird. Honestly, I thought he was a guy-lover; he kinda looked like he was meant to be in some band.”

That made sense, given that Liu was proven to have an interest in music.

“I heard Jeff carved his face up,” Randy commented almost with amusement, “so, I guess he don’t look so pretty no more.”

Lady grimaced at the way Randy almost seemed to enjoy the thought of Liu being harmed, which only reminded her of just how brutal he used to be in his teenage years.

“Anything else you can tell me about his features?” Lady then queried as she ate a spoonful of the stew. “You know, in case he really was found alive, what does he look like?”

Randy just shrugged his shoulders as he ate his own spoonful, “I dunno, he’s got, like, brown hair, a bit like yerself but not as red, and he’s got bright green eyes. Probably almost as pale as his freak of a brother, too.”

Lady dropped her spoon without even realising, and both Jill and Randy looked at her with concern.

“Ya good?” Randy asked her, leaning closer to look at her wide-eyed expression.

“Yeah, Lady, are ya doin’ alright?” Jill questioned, too, her eyes twinkling with worry.

It wasn’t a coincidence.

It just can’t have been a coincidence.

The similarities…

Lady managed to force a smile back onto her face, picking up her spoon again.

“Sorry, it’s... just my wrist,” she excused, “it still hasn’t healed from my encounter with Jeff. I should really be wearing my brace...”

Randy’s expression shifted into a dark frown.

“Oh, yeah,” he grumbled, “I’d heard about how he attacked ya. I swear, if that bastard’s still around here, I’m gonna…”

“Randy,” Jill interrupted sternly, and as soon as she spoke up, Randy immediately stopped himself from finishing the sentence.

“Sorry, mom,” he murmured, his expression still one filled with hate. He cast his eyes awkwardly towards Lady again as he poked his spoon in his stew, “Are you... feelin’ okay?”

Lady just laughed awkwardly, “I’m fine,” she assured, “but thanks for asking.”

Randy gave an understanding nod, his voice quiet but still with a hint of bitterness.

“Yer lucky the cops got to ya in time,” he murmured, “the rest of us survivors weren’t so fortunate.”

Randy held out one of his wrists to Lady, revealing the deep vertical scar which was along his vein.

“The cops found me barely alive,” he explained coldly, “and they figured I’d tried to take the coward’s way out.”

Lady knew that much already as she stared at the deep scarring along his wrist. She knew that it was assumed he was killing himself out of guilt for his crimes.

“Jeff did this to me,” Randy stated as he lowered his arm and rested it back on the table, “he held me down and carved open my veins, laughing the whole time.”

Jill was sitting stiffly, staring into her bowl of stew. Her face was pale; she already knew this detail, yet it was obviously never going to stop bothering her.

Randy took notice of his mother’s discomfort, clearing his throat, “It won’t do much good to keep talkin’ about it,” he muttered, “we should... change the topic.”

That was for the best.

As much as Lady wanted to ask more questions, she didn’t want to make the other two uncomfortable, especially not Jill. Instead, she allowed the conversation to shift; Randy spoke the most, talking about how he wanted to get the funds to open his own store for skateboarding supplies, hopefully with the money he’d get as compensation for wrongful imprisonment. The thought made Lady smile; despite the life of violence he had lived, he had a somewhat ordinary dream.

 

When Lady next noticed the clock on the wall, she realised it was half past eight at night. Her eyes widened; she had enjoyed the stew and had sat talking afterwards over some cups of tea (which she offered to make), yet she hadn’t noticed how late it was getting.

“Oh gosh, I didn’t notice the time,” she gasped, “I promised Lincoln I’d be back by nine. He’ll worry about me being out too late while Jeff is still on the loose.”

Randy raised his brow. “If he’s so worried, shouldn’t he be comin’ to get ya?” he queried. “It don’t take a genius to figure out that Jeff will be after ya.”

Lady waved her hand passively, smiling, “My house isn’t too far,” she assured, “I can make it back safely by myself. Honest.”

Randy frowned, getting up from his chair and looking towards Jill as he walked, “I’m walkin’ her home,” he declared, “I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

Lady got up, as well, surprised at the gesture, “You don’t have to,” she protested, “you should stay here; it won’t be safe for you to walk back alone.”

Randy huffed with a smirk, “Ain’t nobody gonna mess with me,” he told her, “not even Jeff. C’mon; you’ll be safer with me.”

He didn’t look at all worried. Anyone could have planned to target him if they caught him alone, yet Randy was unbothered by the thought. He seemed more concerned at the thought of a young woman walking alone at night when a serial killer was likely still in the area, even if the killer was targeting him, too.

“Mom, make sure everythin’ is locked,” Randy instructed Jill, “and lock the front door after we leave.”

Randy entered the hallway, pulling a leather biker jacket from a hook, and as he was putting it on, Lady looked over towards Jill.

“Will you be alright here?” she asked with worry, only to see Jill smile.

“I’ve managed this whole time, haven’t I?” she chuckled. “I’ll be alright; just get yerself home safe and sound.”

Lady smiled with a hint of nervousness; she worried about Jill being left alone, but at the same time, she was at least going to be secure in her house. Lady, on the other hand, would have been out in the open by herself.

“Well, next time, you two are definitely coming to my place before I have to go back to Missouri,” Lady then said, “we can have afternoon tea.”

Jill chuckled and nodded her head, once again opening her arms to embrace Lady tightly, “Ya really are a sweet thing,” she complimented, rubbing her back, “I’ll see ya for tea, then, before ya have to go.”

Lady smiled as she pulled away from the hug, though she did her best to hide her nervousness. She would be going back to see Lincoln waiting for her, but it wasn’t going to be the same anymore. She was certain that she had figured out what he might have been hiding, and she had to consider the best way to confront him about it.

“Lady,” Randy called out from the hall, “we gonna get goin’?”

“Coming!” Lady called back to him before focusing on Jill again, “Thank you for having me for dinner, Jill. Take care of yourself, alright?”

“Always do,” Jill smiled, “I’ll see ya later. Get home safe!”

Lady entered the hallway, seeing that Randy was waiting by the open front door. He nodded his head to her, gesturing for her to go outside first, and as Lady exited the home, he turned to give his mother a parting hug, quietly telling her that he would be back soon.

 

The walk was silent at first as Lady walked at Randy’s side. He was relatively tall compared to her, though probably not as tall as Lincoln.

“That’s a nice jacket,” Lady then complimented awkwardly to fill the silence.

“It was my dad’s,” Randy swiftly told her, which made her heart jump with anxiety.

“Sorry, I didn’t know,” she apologised with wide eyes; she didn’t know the full picture, but she did pick up on the fact that Randy’s father wasn’t a good influence.

Randy just grinned smugly to himself as he walked with his hands in his pockets, “It’s an expensive one, real leather,” he described, “that prick will be so pissed that I’ve got it now. Serves him right for leavin’ it behind.”

Lady had no intention of questioning him further about his relationship with his father. It sounded bad, and despite the way Randy was grinning, there was a hatred behind his light blue eyes that was worse than when he talked about Jeff.

It was becoming easier to understand Randy as a person. According to Jane in her short interview, Randy was known to never hurt the girls in his neighbourhood; with that information, it was likely that he had seen such violence towards his own mother from his father, and he never wanted to be as bad as that.

Lady was somewhat thankful that she hadn’t grown up in Burnside. Being around Randy’s age, she would have seen the terror he was as a teenager, and she would have had male friends who were victims of his. Looking at him now, he just looked like an average young man with a rougher background, and he seemed relatively pleasant to be around.

She had to remind herself that the people of Burnside didn’t see him that way. When she looked at his face, she had to see it as the smug smirk belonging to a teenager. She had to imagine the awful things he did to his classmates, and the sarcastic excuses he’d give to parents without fear.

 

As the pair were about to leave Lavender Lane, a police officer left his parked patrol vehicle and stopped them in their tracks.

“Hold your horses,” he called out to them as he blocked their path, eyeing Randy suspiciously before looking at Lady, “Ma’am, are you alright? Do you know this man?”

Lady was in disbelief at the question. It was almost condescending, but she remained calm and polite.

“I do,” she assured the officer, “he’s just walking me home; I asked him to.”

That wasn’t true, but it would sound much better for the officer to hear that.

The officer raised a brow with confusion, glancing at Randy once again, who only glared back with bitterness.

“You’ve not been drinking, have you?” the officer interrogated, which almost made Lady respond defensively, but she kept her cool.

“No,” she clarified, “like I said, I know him; I’m a family friend.”

Still, the officer didn’t appear convinced. He just stared at them both, squinting his eyes before giving a slow nod of his head.

“Right,” he slowly reacted, “well, I won’t keep you both; get her home safe, Cooper.”

“Was already on it, officer,” Randy sneered with sarcasm, putting his arm around Lady to continue leading her. He kept his eyes locked with the other man’s until he was far enough away, then murmuring under his breath, “Prick.”

Lady remained close to his side as they exited Lavender Lane, ignoring the way she and Randy were being stared at by anyone still out on the street. Somebody was probably even going to photograph the pair; she’d probably have done the same, as a reporter, because the headlines to accompany the photo could be great – something along the lines of a suspected murderer and a surviving victim.

“Yer on Marble Street, right?” Randy then spoke up, still holding Lady close as he walked; his expression seemed oddly distant.

“Yeah,” Lady nodded, hiding her concern; he must have been trying his hardest to ignore the stares, since he wasn’t used to being out on the street again.

“Want me to take ya to the door?” Randy then asked, but Lady shook her head.

“Just to the front of the house,” she specified, “but thank you; I really appreciate you walking me back, and I enjoyed dinner tonight.”

Randy stopped walking as they approached the correct house, which Lady had pointed out for him. Lady was staring at all of the windows, trying to see if Lincoln was glancing through any of them, but he could not be seen.

“Yer welcome round our place anytime,” Randy then reminded her with a hint of seriousness in his voice, “even after you’ve gone back to Missouri, if yer ever in Burnside again… ya can always stop by.”

Aside from Jill, this was the kindest anyone had been to her in Burnside, and of all people, it was Randy Cooper. It didn’t feel right; it felt wrong to be accepting his kindness, after everything he had done.

“I’m grateful,” Lady smiled, and like she had done with Jill, she gave Randy a parting hug, which he was slightly more awkward with, “get home safe, okay? And look after your mom.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Randy grumbled, patting her back firmly before pulling away from the hug, “take care of yerself, too, Lady.”

As Lady slowly approached the door to the house, Randy began to step away down the street, though he kept his eyes on Lady the whole time, making sure that she got inside the house. He watched her as she fumbled with the lock, and gave her a final wave as she entered the house.

Lady closed the door behind herself and made sure to lock it, her heart racing once again; wherever Lincoln was, she was going to need answers once and for all.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 19: 19: Little Brother

Summary:

Lady is finally certain that she has uncovered Lincoln's true identity, but Jeff strikes once again with more force than before.

~19: Little Brother~

With how silent the house was, Lady was certain that Lincoln was hiding somewhere, waiting to jump out. Her gun was still holstered beneath her blazer, and if necessary, she would be ready to reach for it.

Lady peeked into the living room, which answered the question regarding Lincoln’s whereabouts; he was lying on the couch once again with his sunken eyes closed. Seeing him like this brought temporary relief which she breathed out in a sigh, but anxiety rattled through her bones once again when she remembered exactly why she needed to speak with Lincoln. Him being asleep gave her more time to plan on how to confront him, and more time to gather her evidence which she could challenge him with.

Quietly stepping into the living room, she passed by the couch and scooped up the pile of drawings from the coffee table, along with the photographs. She eyed Lincoln cautiously, seeing him stir, but thankfully he didn’t awaken.

Without making a sound, Lady left the room and hurried up the stairs. Before entering the office, she paid a quick visit to Lincoln’s room and reclaimed her Walkman, along with the carry case filled with Liu’s cassettes. She had taken the other cassette, too, which contained songs from after 1984.

Once she had everything she needed, she retreated into the office and closed the door behind herself. Everything was dumped onto the desk, which she then sat by. The folded copy of the missing person poster was also on the desk, where it had been left untouched for a while.

Everything was now laid out in front of her.

The poster was the clearest image Lady had of Liu Woods, and it was obviously not the most recent one that could have been used. He looked a lot younger on it, probably about age eleven or twelve, when he would have been fourteen at the time he disappeared. The print was also in black and white, and the original photo was seemingly lost.

The photos from the Woods family home may have had Liu’s face burned away, but his body remained visible. It was clear to see that he would have had a pale complexion just by looking at his hands and arms, and as Randy described, he looked like he should have been in a band simply because of the way he wore his denim jackets; he did not wear clothes as plain or scruffy as Jeff did.

Having learned that Jeff had been kept in Albert’s Way Sanatorium for an extended period, only getting out in recent times, there was no way he could have been the one to return to the Woods family home to tamper with the photos. Lincoln had been the one to tell her the theory about Jeff being the one responsible, yet Lady’s gut had always been telling her that Liu was a possibility.

Upon closer inspection, the mysterious cassette from Lincoln’s room did have tidier handwriting, yet it still seemed incredibly reminiscent of the handwriting on Liu’s cassettes. She placed it beside one from the carry case, and the longer she stared, the more convinced she became that the mystery cassette belonged to Liu, concluding that he had survived past 1984.

Liu would be twenty-four years old if he really was still alive.

His hair would be a dark shade of brown, his eyes were green, he would have a smile carved into his face, and no doubt he would speak with a Californian accent.

He would have moved to Burnside with his family from Lincoln Park Avenue.

He would want revenge on Jeff.

Lady’s whole body was trembling, and she hadn’t even noticed. Her breathing was shaky, escaping from between her parted lips.

Suddenly snapping her out of her thoughts, the phone on the desk began to ring.

To make sure it didn’t awaken Lincoln, she was quick to pick it up and hold it to her ear, though her eyes still widened with pure fear; what if this was another incident like with Nicholas?

“Hello?”

Her heartrate eased as she breathed out a relaxed sigh; she could hear the voice of Brian, her other roommate from back in Ashford.

“Brian,” she greeted, leaning back in her chair, “it’s so good to hear from you.”

“Lady!” Brian could be heard smiling. “Thank God, this is the right number. That publishing company you work for said they’re gonna send you your cheque; they’ve published your article!”

Lady felt her lips curve into a smile, even though she had no idea what exactly she was getting paid.

“They’ve published it?” she grinned. “Oh, that’s great! Did you and Tim read it?”

“Saw it in the local paper this morning,” Brian chuckled, “but Tim hasn’t come back yet; I thought he was still in Burnside with you?”

Hearing that brought a strong pain to Lady’s stomach.

She hadn’t seen Tim since she was in the hospital.

“Tim… isn’t back in Ashford?” she asked slowly, her voice meek.

“No?” Brian answered as if it were obvious before his own voice began to fill with dread. “Wait, when did you last see him?”

“A few days ago now,” Lady replied, “he said he was catching the ten o’clock train the same day he came down to see me in the hospital.”

There was a pause, and Brian’s shaky breathing could then be heard.

“Oh, god…”

Something had happened to Tim.

Tim was missing.

“Brian,” Lady tried to say firmly, “alert the authorities. Get them to open a missing persons case; Tim might be in danger.”

If something had happened to him, it was probably too late.

“I’ll do that,” Brian agreed, “but you’re gonna have to do it, too, Lady; what if he never left Arkansas? Or Burnside?”

That was an incredibly strong possibility.

What if Jeff had got to him?

If Jeff had got him, then it was very unlikely that he would be alive.

“I’m gonna go alert one of the cops on my street,” Lady then declared, “sorry to cut this short, Brian.”

She hung up the phone and immediately pushed herself up from her chair, nearly falling over as she sprinted out of the office, but before she could make it to the stairs, a pair of hands grabbed her by the arm and hair, dragging her across the landing.

Lady was about to scream, but the hand grabbing her hair was then slapped over her mouth firmly as she was dragged forcefully towards her bedroom, where the cold draft of an open window could be felt breathing onto her as she entered.

Without hesitation, Lady sunk her teeth into her attacker’s hand, hard enough to taste the iron-flavoured fluid which seeped into her mouth. Doing this only made her assailant squeeze her jaw harder, almost with enough force to break it, before then slamming her still-healing head against the wall.

Despite being dazed, Lady shoved the attacker back with all of her body’s force, slamming him against the door, which ultimately pushed the door to a complete close. This was still enough for her to free herself from her attacker, though as she sprinted towards the partly-open window (which had definitely been forced open from the outside), her sprained wrist was harshly grabbed. Her aggressor swung her against the wall once again, slipping past her so that he could then close the window and stand in front of it, forbidding her from using it as a way out.

“I’m not letting you get away from me again,” giggled the unstable, childish voice belonging to Jeff Woods, “and I made sure the police won’t save you this time.”

Marble Street was lined with patrol cars.

Jeff should have been spotted, and even if he did manage to sneak past undetected, how could he be sure that the officers would not intervene?

Lady’s eyes widened at the realisation of what he meant, staring at the fresh blood which coated his hoodie and stained his hair.

How could that be possible?

“You seem really chummy with my old friend, Randy Warren,” Jeff grinned before feigning a surprised expression, pressing his bloody knife to his lips as if to hush himself, “My mistake; Randy Cooper.”

Warren must have been the surname of Randy’s father; information that could easily be used to get under Randy’s skin.

It took a moment for Lady to process what he had said fully; Jeff had seen her with Randy, which could have only been as Randy had walked her home.

“Randy deserved a present for being released from prison,” Jeff rambled, running his pale finger along his knife, “so, I gave his mom a makeover, just like the one he gave me.”

Lady’s blood ran cold at his words.

She couldn’t even gasp.

Jeff was studying her reaction with the unending grin still on his face, and he couldn’t contain an excited giggle.

“She looks so beautiful now,” he taunted, “and soon, I’ll make Randy beautiful, too; you two will look perfect together.”

Lady’s fingers fumbled with the holster concealed beneath her blazer, and her expression of shock contorted into one of tearful rage.

“Bastard!” she hollered as she whipped out the pistol Lincoln had given her, holding it shakily with both hands.

He had killed Jill.

Jill, someone who Lady believed had suffered so much already.

A woman shunned by the town, who had likely suffered at the hands of an abusive husband with nobody to help her.

Jeff flinched like a scared child, as if he were being scolded by a parent. For a split second, his cold eyes twinkled with innocence, like he wanted to know what he had done wrong, but the expression quickly shifted into a gleeful smile accompanied by laughter.

“Don’t worry, I put her to sleep first,” he described, “and I put the cops to sleep, too; I wanted Randy to get some privacy while he admired his mom’s face.”

This man was a complete monster.

Lady tried to keep the gun steady, but her whole body was shaking as she grinded her teeth together. Tears of hate streamed down her face as she stood unable to clear her mind of such a mental image.

Randy was back home on an unguarded street, with nowhere to turn to, and Jeff was planning to take his life next.

Randy was probably screaming in anguish over the body of his mother at this very moment.

The very thought made Lady yell out with grief, and she squeezed the trigger of her pistol.

The bullet, however, zipped past Jeff’s head without him even needing to dodge, shattering the glass window behind him.

Small fragments of glass definitely got into his skin, with how close he had been standing to the window, yet he did not react.

He only widened his grin, lunging towards Lady almost immediately after the shot was fired, but before he could pounce upon her, she fired a second bullet, halting him in his tracks and causing him to stumble backwards.

The bullet had struck him in the shoulder, and while he had been slowed down, he still chuckled to himself and grinned like a true madman.

“That hurt,” he giggled.

Lady stood her ground, unblinking as she refused to take her eyes off Jeff or drop her guard.

“The next bullet will go through your head,” she warned in a trembling whisper.

Her threat only made Jeff laugh hysterically.

“I don’t think it will,” he mocked.

Lady wasn’t a killer.

She had never killed anyone, and she never wanted to kill anyone.

She wanted Jeff to be arrested, and to answer for his crimes.

Rage, however, was blinding her.

First, Jeff had killed Nicholas, her employer she had respected and admired.

Then, he had killed Barbara and her husband, orphaning Billy and no doubt causing him lifelong trauma at what he must have seen that night.

Tim was also missing, and she was certain that Jeff had something to do with it, likely leaving him dead somewhere.

And now, Jill had been killed, probably just after Lady and Randy left the house together.

She wanted him dead.

She wasn’t going to let herself hesitate, pulling the trigger once again with the hopes of seeing the bullet pierce Jeff’s skull.

What happened instead, however, was Jeff springing towards her, unstruck by the bullet. His knife was pointed towards her, ready to slice into her gut; Lady was able to drop down to the floor to avoid the attack, but before she could get back up, Jeff kicked her as hard as he could, knocking her down to the floor.

“I told you that the bullet wasn’t gonna go through my head,” Jeff taunted, kicking Lady a second time in the ribs to make sure that she stayed down. He dropped down on top of her back, straddling her to keep her down, and he stabbed his knife into the hand which was still desperately grasping onto the gun.

The scream that came out of her was bloodcurdling.

Jeff had pinned her hand to the floor with the knife, giving the blade a playful wiggle as if he was entertained by this. The action made her shriek and thrash, trying to free herself, yet even as Jeff ripped the blade from her hand, she found herself unable to move the limb to grab her pistol, which Jeff had swiftly knocked out of reach, anyway.

“Don’t be so upset,” Jeff cooed, “I’m gonna take you to Randy when I make you smile; he’ll want to see you looking even more beautiful, won’t he?”

“Go to hell!” Lady howled, still not giving up on resisting even though there was no way out for her.

Her anger only made Jeff giggle more as he began to raise his knife.

“Shh,” he hushed gently, “you’re being too loud. It’s about time you go to…”

He was interrupted by the door being barged open, and before he could react, he was tackled to the ground and met with a barrage of punches to the face.

“Get your hands off her!”

Lincoln’s rage-filled shout had filled the room as he kept Jeff pinned onto his back while he brought his fist into the pale man’s face over and over again with as much force as he could.

Lady had sat herself upright, shuffling back against the wall as she clutched the hand Jeff had stabbed. Her whole body shook as she watched with widened eyes; Lincoln was not leaving any openings for Jeff to give him a chance to fight back, and the expression on his face was one Lady had only ever seen a glimpse of, way back when she had once disturbed his slumber while he was napping on the couch.

Lincoln was ruthless, and each punch only bloodied Jeff’s face more and more. His eyes ere filled with a fiery fury, yet his assault could not last forever; Jeff still held his knife tightly in his hand, and he was eventually able to slash it into Lincoln’s side, giving him the chance to throw the other man off of him.

Jeff was swiftly back on his feet, bringing his knee into Lincoln’s face as hard as he could. Lincoln grabbed his leg in an attempt to drag him back down to the floor, but Jeff plunged the knife deeply into his shoulder.

Lady had never expected to hear Lincoln yell out like a wounded dog.

Even so, Lincoln’s expression remained as one filled with anger and hatred, despite the way he grimaced in agony. His scornful stare met Jeff’s grinning face directly, but as the two locked eyes with one another, Jeff froze on the spot.

For the first time, even though a permanent smile was carved into his cheeks, he was not grinning at all.

His bloodshot eyes had enlarged as he stared down at Lincoln’s face.

Lady, meanwhile, had managed to reclaim her pistol; she didn’t want to risk taking a shot in case she accidentally hit Lincoln, though she would be ready to use it if absolutely necessary. She was watching the scene unfold before her eyes, unsure of where it was going; Jeff, after all, was unpredictable.

While Jeff still had the knife wedged into Lincoln’s shoulder, his free hand reached out to touch Lincoln’s cheek tenderly yet timidly, his fingers trembling as he did so. Lincoln tried to move his head away, still scowling up at Jeff with a scrunched expression.

Jeff simply caressed Lincoln’s cheek, and Lady could have sworn she saw tears forming in his eyes.

“Liu…?” he murmured quietly. “You’re… older…”

Lady sharply gasped upon hearing the name spoken from Jeff directly to Lincoln, while Lincoln’s hateful gaze shifted into one filled with a mixture of conflicting emotions.

Jeff’s shocked expression became a tearful smile as he let go of the knife, which was still buried in Lincoln’s shoulder. He held his face within both hands, smiling excitably as he began to tremble with joy.

“You’re… alive,” Jeff beamed tearfully, “and you’re so beautiful…”

Jeff was not the only one with tears in his eyes. Lincoln, too, had tears which he was desperately trying to hold back behind his faltering glare.

As Jeff stared at him, he slowly turned his head to look at the knife in his shoulder, and at the blood dripping from the gash in his side.

The sight made his joyful smile fade into a look of pure sorrow and concern.

“You’re bleeding,” he observed, “I… made you bleed so much.”

He slowly released his hold on Lincoln’s face, instead grasping at his own, clawing at his pale skin.

“I’m… killing my little brother…” Jeff practically whimpered as the tears spilled from his eyes. “Why…? Why am I killing Liu…? Why is he… bleeding…? Why is he… trying to hurt me…?”

A sharp gasp filled the air suddenly as Jeff’s eyes widened even more.

Having been distracted by his own thoughts, he had not noticed that Lincoln had ripped the knife from his shoulder, swiftly burying it in Jeff’s stomach.

Jeff stared down at his bleeding abdomen, then back into Lincoln’s eyes.

Tears may have been falling down Lincoln’s cheeks, but his eyes were filled with nothing but contempt.

Meanwhile, Jeff’s eyes only expressed betrayal, even as Lincoln pushed the knife deeper into him.

“Go… to… hell!”

As Lincoln hollered these words painfully, he managed to barge Jeff across the room and towards the shattered window. Using the force of his own body, he kept one hand on the knife’s handle while grasping onto Jeff with the other, and he dived into the broken glass, shattering it more as the pair barrelled towards the ground.

Ignoring the pain she was in, Lady pushed herself up from the ground, hurrying over to the window. She didn’t care about stepping on shards of broken glass at all.

“Lincoln!” she cried out as she leaned through the window, seeing both men on the grass of the front yard.

Jeff was atop Lincoln, and despite the heavy bleeding in his stomach, he had reclaimed his large knife. However, he was not using it; instead, he was using both hands to strangle Lincoln, with Lincoln struggling to fight back.

Without wasting anymore time, Lady aimed her pistol towards Jeff. Her aim was still shaky, probably worsened due to the injury in her hand, but she was willing to take this risk. Jeff was not focusing on her, and with the position he was in, she could aim her shot to make sure that she didn’t accidentally hit Lincoln.

With a squeeze of the trigger, she fired a bullet which was supposed to strike Jeff’s head, but her aim was off.

Instead, she hit his shoulder, forcing him to loosen his grip.

As soon as he had the chance, Lincoln shoved Jeff off himself, giving Lady a second opportunity to shoot. She took it, but the bullet missed. This did not prevent her from shooting at Jeff a third time, and then a fourth.

The fourth bullet hit his leg, and instead of reacting as if in pain, he only seemed irritated. Lady continued to fire at him until she was out of bullets, and as she was doing this, Jeff was using all of his strength to run as fast as he could with his wounds, fleeing the scene.

She had been so focused on Jeff that she didn’t notice Lincoln struggling to get back on his feet.

Lincoln lifted his head to stare towards her through the broken window, and when Lady finally met his gaze, she saw a side of Lincoln she had never expected to see.

Tears were streaming down his face, and his brows wrinkled to accommodate the sorrow in his eyes. His teeth were gritted together, and his eyes were like ones belonging to a hurt and frightened child.

He had not sustained as many wounds as Jeff, though he was still badly wounded from the encounter.

He needed help.

The smartest thing to do would be to hurry to the hospital together as fast as possible, and explain what had happened. Both of them needed their injuries treating, and if they spread the word fast enough, Jeff could easily be found and caught. They could even alert the neighbours, encouraging them to help chase Jeff down.

Lincoln, however, didn’t seem to want to do such a thing.

With a rush of adrenaline from the encounter, he chose to sprint away just like Jeff had, barely giving Lady any time to react.

“Lincoln!” she shouted after him again, but he didn’t slow down.

Lady was not going to risk jumping out of the window, so made her way out of the room and down the stairs as fast as she could. She messed with the lock on the front door, and as soon as she had the door open, she didn’t care to close it behind herself.

All that mattered to her was Lincoln.

Yet no matter where she looked, he was already gone.

Both Lincoln and Jeff had managed to vanish from her sight; what was worse, she had no idea where either of them were going.

Jeff could have been returning to Lavender Lane to reach Randy.

Lincoln could have been pursuing Jeff to finish him once and for all.

Or both men were running away to hide and recover from their wounds.

The worst thing was that Lady didn’t even know which trail of blood left in the grass belonged to who; either one could lead her to Jeff or Lincoln, and if she found Jeff, she would have no idea what to do. Even if she intended to finish him off, he was unpredictable enough to still beat her no matter how wounded he was.

Lady had one other person that she needed to reach as fast as possible, as much as she wanted to find Lincoln and make sure he was alright. It felt like betrayal to not put his safety first, yet she also didn’t have much choice.

Holstering her pistol, Lady pushed herself to start running, nowhere near as fast as either Jeff or Lincoln had moved but still fast enough.

“Jeff is back!”

She cried out the words as loudly as she could, hoping her neighbours would hear her as she ran through the streets.

“Jeff is here! Jeff Woods is here!”

There were lights being switched on, which Lady could see from the corner of her eye, and it relieved her that at least a few people on the street were listening as she yelled tiredly.

“Call the police! Call anyone! Stop Jeff before he gets away!”

She couldn’t slow down to explain herself to anyone.

She had to get to Randy before anyone else did.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 20: 20: Tears of the Broken

Summary:

Lady returns to Lavender Lane, hoping to find Randy. So much more turns out to be waiting for her.

~20: Tears of the Broken~

Reaching Randy's home was her top priority.

For all she knew, Jeff could have been on his way there; even in his wounded state, he would still have the determination to kill.

At least if she could get to Randy first, she could find a way to get him somewhere safe and then prioritise finding Lincoln.

Hopefully the police wouldn’t assume Randy was responsible for any of the killings.

The last thing Randy needed was to be unjustly thrown back into prison while Jeff continued to increase his body count.

Lady did not look at any of the police cars which lined her street; she could see that their lights were on and their doors were open, only confirming what Jeff had claimed.

He was slippery enough to kill every single officer on Marble Street.

Jeff was a terrifying combination of someone capable of calculating his moves while also presenting as erratic and childish. It made it so easy to underestimate his intellect; he would come across as someone only capable of attacking blindly or on instinct, yet when it truly mattered, he would have a precise plan.

It was like he often enjoyed toying with his prey.

With the neighbourhood not being illuminated by many streetlights, and the night being a dark one, Lady was unable to see if anyone was around. The street was quiet, as if Jeff had killed everyone living on it.

Reaching Lavender Lane was only worse.

As she turned to walk down the street, she could see a similar scene to the one on Marble Street. Police cars had their doors open and lights on, but as Lady stepped further down the road, she could see bloody bodies hanging out of the vehicles.

Bodies were not the only things she could see.

Strings of intestines were dripping blood onto the concrete, dangling out of the stomachs of the officers who were hanging from their vehicles limply.

Lady did not want to focus on them, trying to avert her eyes as best as she could, but the images were already burned into her brain. The smell was also lingering in the air as she passed by the various cars, and she held her head in her hands while she walked, resisting the urge to puke.

Not many people lived on Lavender Lane, and most of the inhabitants Lady had met had been killed. Billy’s parents were murdered, as was Jill Cooper, and she needed to reach Randy before he joined that list.

As Lady walked stiffly, avoiding walking close to the patrol cars, she heard the faint sound of something whining. She could not tell if it was a person or animal, and hearing the sound only made her bring her hand to her holstered gun.

What if it was Jeff, having collapsed from his wounds?

Or maybe it was Lincoln…

Lady walked cautiously and slowly, keeping her hand close to where her gun was. The whining was high-pitched, and the longer Lady listened, the more certain she became that it did not belong to a human.

It sounded like a dog.

Lady was passing by a front yard which belonged to an unoccupied house. It was an open yard, easy for anyone to walk in or out from, and as curiosity got the better of her, she found herself looking over the fence.

What she saw was one of the most heart-breaking sights she had seen caused by Jeff.

Lying on the grass was a blood-coated husky. It had damp red paws, likely from walking in some of the blood from the officers, or maybe even from another victim nearby who also encountered Jeff. The dog was not entirely unwounded, though, as its mouth had been cut to resemble a smile, just like Jeff had done to his human victims.

Lady covered her mouth to shield the horror she was feeling, and while she knew she was in a hurry, she did not want to abandon the canine. She entered the yard warily, not wanting to startle it, and knelt by its side. From where she was, she could see a bone-shaped tag attached to the collar, which read the husky’s name.

“Happy.”

This must have been some sick and twisted joke to Jeff, carving a smile into a dog with such a name, and as Lady reached out to give the husky a comforting pet, it yelped and jumped to its feet, pulling its ears back. It was in too much pain to attempt biting Lady’s hand out of fear, and instead sprinted away with its tail between its legs, disappearing further down the street.

All Lady could hope for was that the dog was found and treated.

Focusing once again on her goal, she hurried out of the yard and continued her way down the dark, abandoned street, once again feeling like the only living person present.

After passing by the last patrol car, which she did not dare to directly look at (though bloody handprints could be seen on the windshield), Lady had reached the end of the street, where the Cooper residence was located.

Not a sound could be heard coming from within.

What was worse: the front door was wide open.

Could she have been too late?

Lady stopped in her tracks completely, staring at the open door.

If she entered, she had no idea what she would see.

Randy could be dead, lying beside his mother with a smile etched permanently into his face.

Randy might not even be inside, either having fled the scene, or being dragged away by force.

Jeff could be inside, waiting for someone like Lady to show up.

Or Randy could be alive and need help.

No matter what, she had to take the chance.

Lady hesitantly began to make her way towards the small house, unsure whether or not she should call out Randy’s name. If she did, and Jeff was in the house, it would give away her position and allow Jeff to finish her, but if she didn’t, she might startle Randy.

She was about to find out what would happen as she pushed the door open, quietly stepping through the same narrow entrance hall she had already been through previously.

At first, she checked the kitchen, seeing the remnants of the dinner she had eaten previously with the Coopers. The used bowls were still in the sink’s soapy water, but the water was now cold.

Lady cautiously moved out of the small kitchen area to enter the nearby living room, but still, nobody was there, and there certainly had not been any activity there for hours.

The last time Lady checked the upstairs of a home where a crime had happened, Jeff had attacked her and almost killed her.

Even so, it didn’t look as though there was a trail of blood leading from the door and to the stairs, so the chance of Jeff being in the house was unlikely.

If anyone living was present, it would be Randy.

Yet the house was so silent.

It was going to be like Barbara’s house all over again.

Lady was going to go up the stairs and see Jill and Randy dead.

She could already feel the tears welling in her eyes, but even though she was certain of the outcome, she still approached the stairs and began making her way up them.

Lady had no idea where she was going or where she was looking. Naturally, her body directed her towards the master bedroom, which would have belonged to Jill. Jeff mainly attacked people in their bedrooms, so it made sense to check there for anything.

She was stopped, however, when a bullet flew past her head and into the wall, having come from the bathroom she was walking past.

Lady’s eyes shot open wide after she violently flinched, her body trembling; the bullet had almost hit her.

Slowly, she turned her head towards the source of the gunshot, and the sight she saw made her feel far too many emotions at once.

Horror.

Grief.

Fear.

Anger.

Sadness.

Relief.

Randy was alive, which was the only good thing she could see before her. His expression was distant, and there was not a semblance of guilt on his face for almost having shot Lady. The skin around his eyes was reddened from where he had cried all his tears.

While one arm kept the pistol pointed towards Lady, the other cradled Jill in his lap as he sat on the bathroom floor. The bathroom should have just been white with blue tiles on the walls, but red was splattered everywhere. Bloody handprints were on the wall, and blood pooled on the floor close to where Randy was sitting. The mirror was smashed, also with some smears of red along it.

Jill was lying motionless in Randy’s arms. Her eyes were closed, but that was not enough to make her expression seem peaceful. Blood was leaking from her face, which had been carved exactly as Jeff had described, and her shirt was ruined by a large bloodstain on her chest. No guts could be seen spilling from her, which was the greatest mercy Jeff could ever give to any of his victims; he had “put her to sleep” quickly, hopefully before what he had done to her face.

Lady felt her knees weakening as she stood leaning back against the wall, shakily covering her mouth. She could not look away from Jill, even as Randy kept his gun pointed.

Jill had been so kind to her. She was a woman with so much trouble in her life, yet when given the chance, she was nothing but a gentle and loving soul.

If Randy hadn’t walked her home, Jill might have still been alive.

Then again, Jeff likely would have targeted Lady instead, seeing her by herself.

Lady could not control her tears. She forced herself to look away and face the wall behind her so that Randy didn’t have to see her crying while he sat with his lifeless mother in his arms.

How dare she cry for someone she barely knew.

Yet it wasn’t just about Jill.

Lady was beginning to feel like every death was her fault.

Nicholas Hodek, who had so much faith in her, had supported her investigation in Burnside and paid for the month’s rent on her house there, yet Jeff had targeted him before returning to his hometown.

She had spoken to Barbara Alan, and within hours, Jeff had killed her and her husband, leaving Billy as an orphan – a fate he didn’t deserve, considering how much good he was doing on behalf of Liu Woods.

The police officers, who were only trying to protect her and others on her street, had all been brutally murdered, likely due to how tired and unfocused they were while spending so much time doing nothing in their vehicles.

Tim Wright, who had come all the way to visit her in hospital, had disappeared before he could return to Ashford, and had likely met with a terrible fate.

Jill Cooper, who had welcomed her into her home to show appreciation for what Lady was doing, was now dead in her bathroom, lying in the arms of her son who had also been through enough hell.

Even Lincoln was somewhere, bleeding from the wounds Jeff had given him, all because he had come to protect her; he came to her aid when Lady had been beginning to doubt him once again, and for all Lady knew, he could have been dead, too.

Lady wept for every single one of them, because the way she saw it, they were dead because of her.

“What the hell are ya cryin’ for?” Randy’s voice lowly hissed, wavering as the hand holding his gun trembled. “She ain’t your mom, and cryin’ ain’t gonna bring her back.”

Lady couldn’t stop herself, though, no matter how hard she tried. She wept against the wall, and the frustration of trying to stop only made her sob harder.

“Stop cryin’!” Randy snapped, his own voice betraying him; there was rage, yet there was also the grief he was trying not to show. “Why’re ya cryin’ like a damn child?! I swear, I’ll give ya somethin’ to cry about if ya don’t shut up!”

That was probably how Randy spoke to the kids he bullied when he was younger.

That was probably how Randy was treated when he was growing up.

Lady turned around suddenly, and instead of showing that Randy’s words had threatened her or frightened her, she staggered closer to him. She was rapidly losing the strength to walk with how much her emotions were beginning to weigh her down, and the moment she set foot in the bathroom, she fell to her knees.

Randy was about to yell again, even tightening his grip on his gun, but Lady had draped her arms around him, with one of her hands pulling his head into her shoulder.

Lady felt his entire body tensing in her arms. He was frozen stiff as she continued to cry not just for herself, but for him.

The pistol dropped out of his hand, smacking loudly against the floor.

With his hand now free, he found himself wrapping his arm around Lady, allowing her to hold him close while his other arm still cradled Jill across his lap.

“I wasn’t here to protect her,” he could be heard murmuring, and as he spoke, Lady could feel the dampness from his eyes against her shoulder through her blazer. “I’ve never been… able to protect her…”

His voice wavered more as he spoke, losing the anger which had been shielding his anguish.

“It’s… always my fault…”

His grip on Lady tightened as he finally wept into her shoulder. Hearing him cry caused Lady’s tears to fade; her focus was on holding Randy while he screamed woefully into her shoulder, and as he did so, Lady had to force herself not to look down at Jill’s body.

There was no way to tell how long this went on for. Lady was silent as she held Randy, and she was beginning to dissociate from the scene around her until Randy brought her back to her senses by swiftly moving. He had let go of her so that he could reclaim his pistol, pointing it once again. Lady quickly let go of him and turned around to face towards where he was aiming.

Standing at the bathroom door was a woman wearing a familiar mask, while also wearing a wavy black wig. She also wore a long black dress (most likely to be worn at a funeral) which covered her arms. Long gloves also covered her arms and hands, thinner than the ones Lincoln had been seen wearing, and she also wore black tights beneath her dress.

The only skin visible was on her neck, barely visible due to the high collar of her dress. What Lady could see was skin that had been damaged severely, likely from being burned.

“Get the fuck outta my house,” Randy swore shakily, his tears already having dried the moment the woman appeared.

Lady’s eyes widened with realisation, and she reached for Randy’s hand to gesture for him to lower the gun, “Wait,” she interjected, “I think I know who she is.”

“I don’t care who this bitch is,” Randy rasped as his anger began to return, “I want her outta my house. Now.”

Lady turned her focus towards the woman, keeping her hand on Randy’s armed one.

“You’re Jane Richardson,” she spoke, “aren’t you?”

The woman, Jane, gave a slow nod of her head.

“And you are Lady Sullivan,” Jane replied with a soft yet firm voice.

Randy’s vacant eyes narrowed warily, though Lady could feel the tension in his arm easing.

“The coma girl?” he guessed, seeing Jane once again nod her head.

“We were classmates, Randy Cooper,” Jane addressed, “though we were never close.”

Randy scoffed coldly, “Yeah, well, I know ya definitely didn’t look like that back in school.”

“I did not,” Jane confirmed calmly, “but you must already know how my appearance altered.”

Randy’s teeth clenched together as his body began to shake, “Jeff…”

“Jeff stole ten years from my life,” Jane explained as she continued to stand unnervingly still at the bathroom’s entrance, “and he did the same to you.”

Randy was only shaking more, clutching Jill close to himself once again.

“He’s taken everythin’ from me,” he snarled tearfully, “Keith, Troy, my life… and now my mom.”

“He took my parents, too,” Jane explained without much emotion, “but I will not let him take my life, or yours, or anyone else’s. He will be punished for every life he has taken.”

Lady’s eyes widened at this, and finally, Randy had lowered his gun, so she stopped holding onto his hand.

“What’re ya gettin’ at?” Randy questioned cautiously, yet he sounded intrigued.

Jane held out her hand towards the two in a welcoming gesture.

“If Jeff is found by the police, he will be sent to prison,” she explained, “and if he is declared as criminally insane, his life will be a comfortable one. That is not justice, is it?”

Lady could see the look of contemplation on Randy’s face, and she felt the dread building within her; she was certain she could tell what Jane was about to offer.

“I intend to punish Jeff myself,” Jane revealed, “and I will protect those he wants to harm. Both of you are victims he is toying with; come with me, and I will keep you both safe.”

Lady still felt uncertainty within herself.

“Where are we supposed to go with you?” she questioned.

Jane lowered her hand as she stared at Lady through her mask.

“There is an abandoned cabin deep in the woods,” she told them both, “I used to play there as a child. Jeff does not know about it; we will stay there and look out for each other, until Jeff is brought to justice.”

The thought of staying in an abandoned cabin was grim; Lady much preferred the comfort of the house Nicholas had rented for her, and she was certain that it would still be safer there, but considering how Jeff had attacked her, perhaps Jane had a point.

There was safety in numbers.

“Your friend is already waiting for you there, Lady,” Jane then addressed, catching Lady’s attention, “he seems to have been hiding in that cabin for a few days before I recently returned to it.”

Lady widened her eyes at the mention of a “friend.”

It had to have been Tim.

This gave Lady almost no choice but to accept Jane’s offer; she had to make sure Tim was okay.

But she still had to find Lincoln.

Randy was the first to speak up, slowly lying his mother on the ground before pushing himself up to his feet.

“I’ll come with ya, then,” he accepted, “but I don’t just want yer protection or any shit like that; I wanna help ya kill Jeff.”

Lady was horrified at the statement, quickly getting up to her feet, as well.

“Randy, hold on,” she spoke up, “you need to be careful. You could end up back in prison…”

“I don’t care,” Randy grumbled coldly, “I’ve got nothin’ to live for out here.”

His dream of opening a skateboard store and living a normal life had been shattered. His desire to just be an ordinary person, for the sake of his mother, was gone.

Jane gave an approving nod of her head, “I will lead you both to the cabin’s location,” she stated, turning around stiffly, “follow me.”

Randy did not even give his mother a second glance as he began to march out of the bathroom with his handgun.

He was being led by nothing but his desire for revenge.

Lady stared down at Jill for a final time, and she gave her one last whisper before she followed after Randy and Jane.

“I’m sorry.”

Not only had Lady failed Jill, but she had failed Randy, too.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 21: 21: Liu Woods

Summary:

Lady insists on finding Lincoln, certain that she knows where he is hiding...

~21: Liu Woods~

There was a terrifying silence as the trio left the Cooper residence.

Jane was not speaking, only walking with light steps in her heeled shoes. Randy followed behind her with his vacant yet murderous gaze, and Lady was the last one out of the house, furrowing her brows with worry. She felt safer in the presence of Jane and Randy, yet she was also still uncertain of what lied ahead.

Could Jane be trusted?

Lady had her doubts, but at the very least, Jane was not hostile. Even so, she worried that Randy’s anger was taking over his mind, and Jane was not going to help with that.

Having tried to kill Jeff herself, Lady was not so sure if it was the best thing to do. When Lady had done it, it was completely out of self-defence, to protect both herself and Lincoln. She only planned to use lethal force if absolutely necessary; hunting him down to kill him was different.

Yet maybe it really was their best option.

Jeff deserved to suffer for what he had done to so many people; if Jane or Randy killed him, no matter how violently they chose to do it, it would not make them equal to Jeff in any way.

Did Lincoln have the same plan?

Considering that Lady now new of Lincoln’s true identity, it seemed obvious that he did not intend to simply catch Jeff and bring him to lawful justice. Lincoln was distant and careful about leaving a trail; he, too, probably planned to find and kill Jeff himself, just like Jane and Randy planned to.

Lady was almost like a magnet to these kinds of people.

With Lincoln back on her mind, she stopped walking, which Randy noticed first.

“What’s up?” he asked her, his voice still menacingly quiet.

Lady bowed her head, staring at her feet as Jane also stopped to look back at her.

“I need to find Lincoln,” Lady murmured, nearly sounding defeated. “We were attacked by Jeff tonight, and... he was badly injured. I need to make sure he’s okay.”

Randy’s gaze did not soften, but he seemed slightly more thoughtful as he stared at Lady. His piercing eyes glanced down towards her wounded hand, finally seeing the outcome of Lady’s second encounter with Jeff.

Jane turned her body fully to face Lady, holding her hands together in front of herself, “We can’t afford to be seen by Jeff,” she pointed out, “so, we need to return to the cabin as fast as we can.”

“Lincoln can help us,” Lady insisted as she lifted her head to face Jane, “Believe me, he will be valuable. I... know about some things he’s hiding from everyone else.”

Randy appeared confused, and obviously, Jane’s expression could not be seen.

“Do you have any idea where this man is?” Jane then asked with a slow tilt of her head.

Lady’s silence was enough of an answer.

“We cannot afford to search blindly,” Jane emotionlessly stated. “The police will be investigating these streets soon enough; if we are present when that happens, we will all be questioned and monitored closely. We will not have the opportunity to deal with Jeff ourselves.”

Lady considered revealing pivotal information, which would no doubt change Jane’s mind.

Lincoln Parks was Liu Woods.

Yet she didn’t let the words escape her lips.

Jane might have wanted Liu dead as much as Jeff, simply for being a relation, though there was also a good chance that she wanted to protect Liu.

Randy, on the other hand, might not have taken to the news so kindly. In his current state, he might have demanded that they search for Lincoln just so he could get his own revenge.

“If we don’t find Lincoln, he’ll probably die,” Lady tried to explain, but Jane was unmoved.

“Let him be found by the police,” she countered, “and they will get him the help he needs, if he is alive.”

Knowing Lincoln, he would rather bleed out than let himself be found by authorities, just to keep his identity hidden.

Lady gave a shake of her head, choosing to stand her ground.

“I can’t abandon him after everything he’s done for me,” she insisted, “and if you don’t want to help him, fine; I’ll look for him myself.”

Randy frowned at her words, stepping closer to her.

“Has Jeff hit yer head again?” he growled out. “If ya go off on yer own, ya could get yerself killed.”

Lady stared up at him, her eyes pleading.

“He’s the reason I got that chance to speak with you in prison, Randy,” she reminded him, “and he saved my life from Jeff tonight. I won’t say it again; I’m not gonna abandon him.”

Randy’s eyes narrowed further, his expression clearly one of frustration, but he relaxed his facial muscles when letting her words process.

“I reckon he didn’t get far if he was hurt,” he said, “do ya think he might’ve gone to get help for himself?”

Lady shook her head, “No, believe me, he isn’t the type to do that. I’m certain he was running to hide.”

“Then, ya got any idea where he would hide?” Randy pressed.

Lady thought about it; Lincoln was so good at hiding in the shadows, out of sight, but he had never revealed the locations he used. She only knew about a motel out of town which he had been staying in, which was an unlikely place for him to head for.

There was one other place Lady could guess, and as she thought about it, the more confident she became that Lincoln would have gone there.

“I think I know where he might be,” she whispered thoughtfully.

“Then, let’s go,” Randy decided, “just lead the way and be quick.”

Lady smiled slightly, relieved that Randy was still a little more understanding compared to Jane. She began to walk so that she could lead the way, with Randy following her closely. Jane took a moment to start walking behind them both, likely displeased with the decision.

“If he is not in the location you expect, we will leave,” she announced.

“The two of you can leave, yes,” Lady agreed, “but I’ll keep looking for him.”

“And then what will you do?” Jane questioned. “You will not know where to find us if we part ways.”

Randy looked thoughtful, as well, “Yeah, it won’t be safe for ya.”

“I don’t care,” Lady responded swiftly to both of them, “I just want him to be okay.”

Lady continued to lead the pair, who fell silent with a form of disbelief, though as she began to approach a certain house, Randy spoke up again.

“I know this place,” he grumbled, “it’s where that freak used to live with his family. Looks like total shit now.”

“I’ve been in here before,” Lady explained to Randy, “and it’s barely been touched since the eighties.”

Randy frowned, “If anyone’s gonna run to a place like this, it’d be Jeff.”

Lady shook her head, “I know Lincoln well enough,” she defended, “and… I think this is somewhere he would hide. It’s not too far from my house, and nobody bothers to go inside, so…”

Jane was looking across the street, having stopped walking with the other two. She was still listening to the conversation, however, and chose to speak up.

“If this is where you think your friend is, I have my own place where I can wait,” she pointed out, and as Lady followed her gaze, she saw that Jane was staring towards the burnt house, “Randall, go with her.”

“No,” Lady then refused quickly, “if Lincoln is in there… I want to go alone.”

Randy frowned at her words, “Are ya crazy?” he asked, “What if Jeff’s in there?”

“Then, you’ll probably hear my gunshots from across the street,” Lady responded.

Randy shook his head stubbornly, “I ain’t leavin’ ya alone in that place. It’s probably cursed.”

Lady grabbed him by the upper arm firmly, staring him in the eyes.

“Randy,” she began, “I’d prefer to go alone. Trust me; I’ll be alright. Just… wait for us.”

Still, Randy looked at her with uncertainty. He saw it as stupid to leave a woman alone after she had just been violently attacked, yet she did seem confident that she could find her companion in that house.

Jane nodded to Randy, “Come with me, then,” she decided, “there is no point in wasting time.”

Randy pulled his arm from Lady, and he stared down at her with a sharp gaze.

“If ya need us to come runnin’, shoot yer gun,” he instructed her.

Lady gave a small smile, thankful for his understanding, before she looked towards Jane.

“I’ll be as fast as I can,” she told her.

Jane gave a single nod, “If we hear the sirens belonging to police cars, we will have no choice but to leave you behind,” she stated, “but until then, we will wait for as long as we can.”

That was the most understanding Jane had been.

“Thank you both,” Lady smiled, turning to then hurry towards the Woods family home; meanwhile, Jane led Randy towards the house which was nothing but charred remains.

Jane’s old home.

Lady did wonder how Jane must have felt, returning to the place where Jeff had killed her parents while severely burning her, yet Jane had remained calm and emotionless.

Like she had done before, Lady climbed the chain fence to get onto the property. She was able to land on her two feet just fine, not needing to be caught this time, and she cautiously made her way towards the back of the house.

Her hand remained close to her gun; Randy could have been right about Jeff returning to this place. This was Jeff’s home that he presumably hadn’t seen in ten years, and maybe while he was wounded, he planned to use it as a safe place to hide.

Then again, that would be obvious to the authorities who were searching for him.

Which means Lincoln might not have returned here, either.

If that was the case, she would have no choice but to return to Jane and Randy with the news, and no doubt argue about continuing her search for Lincoln.

Behind the house, she could see the same board Lincoln had previously kicked down. It was back in place, yet it seemed incredibly loose and splintered.

Easily, somebody could have gone inside and put the board back up behind themselves.

Cautiously, Lady reached forward and pushed her non-wounded hand against the board, and to her luck, it moved smoothly, though she flinched at the sound of it crashing against the floor.

With it being night time, and with no power running within the building, the house was impossible to see inside.

If anybody had navigated the home, it would be a miracle.

Still, Lady gave it a try; she shuffled her feet into the house very slowly, reaching her hands in front of herself to feel for the walls. Almost immediately, she was regretting making an attempt to investigate the building, considering how unlikely it seemed that somebody would be inside.

If Jeff was the one inside, he would likely see her first.

She may have very well entered a death trap, yet she still moved deeper into the house, almost tripping up on some debris while she continued to use the wall as support.

Silence surrounded her completely, and there was nothing she could see before her eyes.

All she could see was a singular darkness, with no silhouettes even being visible.

Her heart became audible in her ears as she felt her way through what must have been the living room. At the very least, she could vaguely recall the layout of the house from her last visit, and she had a decent idea of which room Lincoln would be in, if he were even present.

Lady tripped suddenly, though she fell against the staircase, so she did not cause too much noise or injure herself significantly. Once against the stairs, she began to carefully crawl up them step by step, holding her breath to keep herself as quiet as possible just in case somebody was waiting for her.

Each step made the sound of her heart louder in her ears. Somehow, the darkness only consumed her further as she ascended the stairs, which she didn’t even think was possible.

The moment she felt the last step, one hand grasped the banister while the other wounded hand rested near her holstered gun.

She struggled to regain her balance, though she managed to head towards her left. If her memory was correct, Liu’s bedroom would be in that direction.

As Lady shuffled her way towards the bedroom, she found herself bumping into the closed door.

It wasn’t closed when she last visited the house.

Now, she was certain that somebody was on the other side, yet there was no reaction to her sound.

Could she risk calling out Lincoln’s name?

What if it was Jeff?

Lady pressed one hand against the door, leaning against it and pressing her ear close to see if she could hear anything inside.

Nothing.

If she didn’t announce her presence, and Lincoln really was the one on the other side, he might assume that she was someone else, maybe even assuming it was Jeff on his way to finish the job.

Ultimately, it would be better for her to reveal her presence than to keep being quiet, and if anyone pounced to attack her, she could have her gun ready in time.

Taking in a deep breath, she finally spoke up.

“Lincoln?”

At first, there was no response at all. Lady breathed out a sigh, ready to give up and attempt leaving the house, but a voice suddenly replied to her.

“Leave.”

Lady’s eyes widened; that voice, without a doubt, was Lincoln’s.

“Lincoln!” Lady called out again, knocking on the door. “Lincoln, it’s me; it’s Lady!”

“I said leave!” Lincoln hollered from the other side of the door with a viciousness to his voice.

Lady shook her head at his words, running her hand across the door to find the handle.

“I’m coming in,” she announced, grasping the handle to pull it down before pushing open the door.

Almost immediately, she felt herself being shoved against the wall, and she could barely see her assailant in the darkness, but with the way one hand instantly went for her throat, she could already tell who it was.

“You will leave,” Lincoln lowly whispered close to her ear through his teeth, “or I will make you leave.”

Lady didn’t even process his threat. She felt herself tearing up the moment he had grabbed her, but it was not out of fear or betrayal.

She was relieved he was alive.

Lady wrapped her arms around him, feeling the warmth of his quarter-zip jumper which he wore so frequently. She pulled him in closer, which must have taken him by surprise, and she buried her face into his shoulder – the one which Jeff didn’t stab.

“You’re alive,” she whimpered tearfully, “I thought… I didn’t think I’d be able to find you…”

Lincoln, for once, was completely stunned.

He was silent and unmoving, tensing in her hold.

Even the hand resting against her neck had eased its pressure.

Then, in one swift motion, Lincoln pulled Lady into himself, despite his own wounds, and held her in the tightest embrace Lady had ever experienced.

He was shaking, and Lady could feel it.

His body only trembled more and more as his grip became even tighter, and he buried his face into her hair.

“I didn’t want you to find me,” he wavered quietly.

Lady managed to reach up with her uninjured hand, reaching Lincoln’s head and running her fingers through his hair. She could feel the tears dripping down her own cheeks, but as she noticed her hair becoming damp, she understood that she was not the only one letting tears shed.

“I told you,” she whispered, “I’m not going to abandon you when you’re in danger.”

Lincoln’s shaky embrace only tightened around her.

“Don’t you get it?” he responded, barely audible, “I’m not who you think I am. Lincoln Parks… doesn’t exist.”

The truth was impossible to doubt now; Lincoln had admitted it himself.

Still, Lady only held Lincoln firmly, rubbing her tearful eyes against his shoulder.

“I didn’t come here for Lincoln Parks,” she told him softly, “I came here for Liu Woods.”

Her declaration made Lincoln gasp sharply, like hearing the name caused him physical agony.

Maybe Lady shouldn’t have said that; maybe “Lincoln Parks” was the identity he was truly trying to live by to separate himself from the trauma sounding his birth name…

Lincoln, however, was not pushing her away.

His grip tightened even more, enough to be painful, as he could be felt shaking his head.

“Liu Woods is dead,” he wavered as his body began to tremble against her, “he died in this house, in this very room.”

His hold on her loosened, and once again, he was trying to pull away from her.

“Liu is dead,” he repeated, his voice trembling even more, “and Jeff is the one who killed him.”

Lady was not stronger than Lincoln, yet she was still able to hold him close without giving him the chance to slip away.

She couldn’t lose him again.

Lincoln should have been strong enough to escape her grasp. With ease, he could have pulled her hands away and shoved her back before he disappeared into the shadows again, yet he remained defeated. Perhaps he was weak from the wounds inflicted upon him by Jeff, or perhaps, in truth, he didn’t want to get away from her.

“You survived,” Lady desperately told him as tears dripped from her eyes, “and you’re gonna keep surviving, understand?”

Again, Lincoln shook his head, though he couldn’t even verbally give a response. It sounded like he had opened his mouth to say something, yet not even a whisper managed to leave.

“I don’t care what identity you choose to live by,” Lady rambled tearfully, “all I know is that… I just want you, whoever you choose to be.”

Lincoln’s breath was caught in his throat, his body freezing once again. Lady could feel the tears dripping down his cheeks and into her hair, so she reached her hands up to cup his face, wiping the tears away with her thumbs.

“I… I need you,” she breathed out shakily, pressing her forehead against his as she continued to hold his face; she could feel his quivering breath against her skin, “I’ve… I’ve lost so much since I came here… Don’t let me lose you, too…”

Her hands slid down to his shoulders, with one of her hands making contact with the bloody wound left behind by Jeff. Lincoln gasped and flinched, and Lady’s eyes widened as she felt a thick and warm liquid stick to her palm. Her hands moved down from his shoulders to drape around him, holding him closer to her once again.

She couldn’t help but wonder how long it had been since Lincoln had ever been held like this. Who was there for him when he left the hospital, still with unhealed wounds? Who comforted him through the grief of losing his parents, and the betrayal he was feeling after his older brother had tried to murder him? Who was there for him when he first saw his scarred smile in the mirror?

For ten years, he wasn’t even living life as Liu Woods. Billy had been putting those posters up, hoping that Liu would see them and return home, yet Lincoln had completely ignored them, never bringing closure to the Alans regarding his whereabouts. He had never stepped forward to tell his side of what happened, which could have easily saved Randy from his prison sentence.

Liu Woods was no more than a ghost who haunted Burnside.

Lincoln’s body was still shaking as Lady held onto him. The façade, for a brief moment, was beginning to slip.

As much as he wanted to hide behind his alias, this was Liu Woods, and Lady had been the one to find him.

He was clinging to her as though afraid, though Lady could not be certain what specifically he was frightened of.

Her heart was breaking for him. She didn’t want him to be scared like this, and she didn’t want him to be in pain. All she wanted was to help him any way she could.

Lincoln’s trembling hands reached up to hold Lady’s face, and she could feel them running through her hair. His touch was hesitant at first, but rapidly it became desperate. One of his hands was on the back of her head, while the other gently traced the faint wound which was still healing from her first encounter with Jeff.

His gloved hands eventually returned to her cheeks, and Lady held her breath. Lincoln’s touch was so gentle despite how needy it felt, and she could feel her eyes widening as Lincoln’s warm breath seemed to get closer to her face.

Lincoln’s nose was faintly touching hers. She could hear his shaky breaths with how close he was, feeling it against her parted lips. He was even guiding her face closer to his tenderly, still holding her by the cheeks with his warm hands.

Lady’s heart was racing. Her body trembled more, though her tears were no longer flowing. One of Lincoln’s hands had even left her face to slide down to the side of her neck, and she could feel his thumb caressing the skin there.

She was frozen, but not out of fear.

Yet the moment she accepted that Lincoln’s lips might just touch hers, he moved his face to press his forehead against her shoulder, falling to his knees as he did so.

Lady continued to hold him, her eyes still wide with shock. Lincoln was just as desperate and anxious as she was, as much as he had done his best to hide it. She could hear him hyperventilating against her as his body trembled more, and his grip tightened once again. Lady could only stroke one of her hands through his hair, listening to Lincoln’s shaky, terrified breaths.

“Lincoln,” she whispered, running her hand through his hair and down his face until it reached his chin, pulling his head away from her shoulder, “I need you to listen to me, okay?”

Lincoln didn’t respond, so she could only continue after a brief pause.

“There’s somewhere safe for us to go,” she explained slowly, “somewhere where Jeff won’t find us, or anyone else. We will be safe, and you will be able to heal…”

Lincoln shook his head in her hand.

“I can’t,” he muffled, “if I rest, Jeff has time to rest, too.”

Lady then held his face with both hands to really maintain his attention and focus.

“Listen,” she firmly said to him, as hard as it was for her to sound so confident in this situation, “I need you to trust me. I’m going to be with you, and we’re gonna have help to finally stop Jeff.”

Lady could feel Lincoln’s body tensing up at her words.

“Help?” he echoed warily. “Help from who?”

Lady had to answer honestly.

“Randy,” she revealed, “and Jane, too; she’s the one who will be taking us to a safe place she knows.”

Lincoln shook his head again, his breathing quickening.

“No,” he refused, “they’ll recognise me. They’ll know who I am.”

“They aren’t going to do anything with that knowledge,” Lady eased, still holding his face firmly, “and if they try anything, I’ll handle them.”

Lincoln was trembling once again, but Lady ran her hands down his face and to his neck, feeling the scarf which was still wrapped around him – the scarf she had given to him to hide his scarred face.

“Let me protect you, for once,” she whispered to him.

Lincoln’s hands reached up to hold hers, holding them against the scarf. He was still quaking, though his breathing was beginning to relax.

“I… can try,” he faintly told her, “only… because I’ll be with you.”

Lady lips quivered, curving into a faint smile as her hands gripped around his.

“I’ve got your back, Lincoln,” she comforted, and after another pause, Lincoln spoke up again.

“Liu,” he murmured, “I want you to call me Liu… so that I can get used to hearing it again.”

Her heart jumped at that request, but she was more than happy to oblige, if it was at least helpful to him.

“Alright,” she corrected, “Liu.”

His body tensed upon hearing his name spoken again, and even to Lady, it felt odd to say it; she had only ever known him as Lincoln Parks.

However, Liu Woods arose to his feet, still holding onto her hands, willing to comply with her suggestion of joining with Randy Cooper and Jane Richardson if it meant stopping his older brother’s murderous rampage.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 22: 22: Always At Fault

Summary:

Lady and Liu meet up with Jane and Randy...

~22: Always At Fault~

Despite both of their injuries, it wasn’t difficult for Lady and Liu to leave the house, mainly with Liu’s guidance. He had his arm wrapped around her shoulder, leaning against her for support, while he also held onto her to make sure that she didn’t trip up in the darkness. Stepping outside was a relief for both of them, and the moment the moonlight illuminated the duo, Lady immediately lifted her eyes to stare up at Liu’s face.

Finally, she was seeing him properly after learning of his true identity.

During the time it took them to leave the house, his tears had completely dried and he had regained his composure. Once again, he appeared calm and controlled, though there was still a hint of pain behind his eyes, which was understandable due to the wounds he had received, along with the inner conflict he was handling. His hair was also messier than before, and his clothes were stained with blood, including the scarf.

Across the street was Jane’s family home, where she and Randy were waiting among the house’s burnt remains. Lady and Liu were walking slowly, with Lady slowing her pace more than Liu. Obviously, this was something he noticed.

“What’s the matter?” he asked her quietly, observing as Lady quickly shook her head and smiled, quickening her speed.

“Nothing,” she assured nervously, “nothing’s the matter.”

Liu was going to face two people involved in the same tragedy he had been a part of.

One of them was Randy.

Randy would no doubt recognise him immediately, and Lady had to be prepared to deal with that. At the end of the day, Randy hated Liu almost as much as he hated Jeff, and in his current mental state, he’d likely lash out.

Jane was less predictable, though likely not as dangerous. Given how calm and emotionless she was when returning to the scene of her own trauma, it was unlikely that she would react strongly to Liu, if she even recognised him at all.

“Stay close to me, alright?” Lady then instructed as she held onto Liu, approaching the burnt house. “When we get to that house… we’re gonna need to explain a lot, but we probably won’t even have the time.”

Liu just gave a sarcastic huff without verbally responding. He didn’t appear as anxious as Lady, and all of his previous anxieties had been buried beneath his firmer expression.

Lady remained cautious as she approached the house. The metal fence surrounding it had an opening in the chain link, so there was no need to climb over; Lady and Liu simply strolled through and approached the front door, which was not boarded the same way as the Woods family home.

While still holding onto Liu, Lady slowly reached her hand out and pushed the door, creaking it open.

“I’m back,” Lady called out into the home, “and I found Lincoln.”

Lady led Liu through the dark hallway, which was illuminated by the moonlight and streetlights seeping through the windows and holes.

Jane was the one Lady spotted first, leaving what presumably remained of a living room. Her mask must have already made it hard enough to see; it was a miracle that she could even recognise Lady as she entered through the darkened hallway with Liu at her side.

“Good,” Jane praised, “you found your friend. Let’s get going and waste no more time.”

Lady nodded, keeping Liu held close. Jane may have simply been standing there, but her head was directly facing Liu more than Lady, as if she were studying him.

“Where’s Randy?” Lady then asked.

“He went to wait upstairs, against my advice,” Jane answered simply, “This structure is an unstable one, after all.”

Maybe Randy had seen Lady and Liu through a window already.

He likely heard them enter the house, too.

As if on cue, footsteps could be heard from above, at first loud until they became quieter with distance. Lady followed the sound with her eyes, noticing that he was clearly heading for the stairs.

“It sounds as if Randy is coming,” Jane noted, beginning to walk towards the open door, “we shall begin making our way to the cabin I spoke of; your other friend has been left there by himself.”

Tim.

Lady had almost forgotten that Tim was in the cabin, and she had no idea what kind of state he was in. It seemed odd for him to not have searched for help; Lady wasn’t even sure if he had tried to contact anyone, or if he had attempted to return to Ashford.

Still with Liu close, Lady allowed Jane to pass her, watching her as she walked stiffly in her heels. She was about to follow, but before she could turn around, a loud bang could be heard coming from the other end of the hall, not far from the remains of the staircase.

A bullet whizzed past Liu’s head, skimming the ends of his hair without even causing him to flinch.

Lady, on the other hand, did flinch at the sound as her grip on Liu tightened.

Standing at the end of the hall was Randy, holding up the pistol he had brought with him from his home.

Randy’s eyes had always been the most piercing ones Lady had ever gazed into, but as he stood with his gun pointed directly towards Liu, his eyes were more comparable to ones belonging to a tiger stalking its prey.

“Don’t think I don’t know who you are,” Randy snarled out through clenched teeth, unblinking, “I’d know yer face anywhere.”

Lady moved quickly to stand in front of Liu, keeping him behind herself as he leaned against the damaged wall for support.

“Randy, not now,” she warned him, keeping her voice as even as possible despite her own wariness.

Randy’s eyes didn’t even move away from Liu as he began to slowly walk closer, keeping his gun steady.

“All this time, most folks believed ya were dead,” Randy hissed, “and they blamed me for the way ya ran outta hospital. They blamed me for you goin’ missin’.”

Lady did not move even as Randy seemed to ignore her presence.

“Don’t,” she pleaded, “please, Randy, don’t start anything.”

Randy only stepped closer.

“I’ve rotted in prison for ten years because you ran away like a lil’ bitch,” he snarled viciously, “and now, I’m gonna make ya wish yer big brother finished ya.”

Liu tried to step forward, but Lady put her arm in front of him, keeping him right behind her. Still, Liu’s green eyes narrowed hatefully at Randy.

“I beat your ass once,” he reminded Randy as calmly as he could, “and I bet I can do it again.”

Randy’s eyes grew large with rage, while Lady continued to stand protectively in front of Liu.

“Both of you, enough!” she exclaimed, keeping her gaze fixed on Randy, “we all need to go with Jane; there’s other things to focus on right now!”

“Outta my way, Lady,” Randy lowly commanded, not even looking down at her.

“No,” Lady refused, standing firmly in place, “I’m not letting either of you hurt each other.”

“Move,” Randy instructed with venom in his voice, his cold gaze finally moving down towards her.

Lady was trembling, but she shook her head.

“I’m not moving,” she insisted.

Her refusal was only infuriating Randy, whose breathing became heavier and louder through his mouth. His body was also shaking from the rage which coursed through him, with his finger coming close to squeezing the trigger as he returned his attention to Liu. The longer he stared at him, the angrier he seemed to get, until he eventually let out a hateful scream.

Randy grabbed Lady by her arm, shoving her harshly out of the way. Lady was moved with enough force to hit her against the wall on the other side of the hall, and by the time she was able to lift her head to look back at the other two men, Randy was already throwing his punches, having dropped his gun as he had lunged towards Liu.

Liu was up against the wall, taking every single punch to the gut and face. Blood was leaking from his nose, and his face was reddening from the beating.

“Stupid piece of shit!” Randy hollered with a crazed expression on his face as he continued to beat his fists against Liu’s face and torso. “Yer a damn coward! A freak, just like yer damn brother!”

Liu wasn’t even fighting back, coughing up blood from a particularly harsh strike to the face, before Randy grabbed his head and pressed it against the wall forcefully.

“Yer weak, too,” he growled, leaning in close, “so weak that ya had to hide for ten years, and then ya go ahead and hide behind a woman.”

Lady had pushed herself away from the wall at this point, grabbing Randy by his other arm.

“Get off him!” she yelled as she tried to use her strength to pull Randy away, only to find herself being backhanded hard across the face by Randy’s balled fist.

Lady yelped as the force of the strike caused her to stumble backwards until she hit the ground, and she held her nose. Pulling her hand away, she noticed red liquid on her palm while also feeling it trickling from her nose. Her nose was stinging, too, and it almost felt like her nose was suddenly stuffy, with how difficult it was to breathe.

She stared at Randy with shock, noticing that he was looking back at her with a similar expression. His eyes were wide, and his jaw had dropped open slightly.

This gave Liu the opportunity to finally retaliate.

As the pressure Randy was applying to his head loosened, Liu managed to shove him down to the ground with an angered holler. He had Randy on his back while he straddled his body to keep him down, and despite his wounds, he was now fighting with all of his strength, throwing punch after punch with a force almost powerful enough to break Randy’s sternum.

“You just can’t help yourself, can you?!” Liu shouted furiously. “No matter what, you’re only good at hurting people! You’re the reason my brother became a monster! You tortured him until he couldn’t take it anymore! It’s all your fault!”

Randy had been trying to block Liu’s punches with his arms while also trying to wrestle him off, but as Liu made the last declaration, his eyes widened once again as his expression shifted into one of horror and realisation.

It was all his fault.

Liu was right.

All Randy had ever done was hurt people, enjoying it almost as much as Jeff enjoyed killing people.

He had made so many people lose their smiles.

So many people had to go to the hospital because of him, whether they had directly been wounded by him, or wounded themselves because of how badly he had tormented them.

It was always his fault.

Liu was about to throw a punch directly into Randy’s face, holding him by the collar of his shirt, though he paused before he could bring himself to do it. While his expression still was a resentful one, his green eyes studied Randy’s face.

Randy had time to defend himself while Liu was unmoving, yet his arms stayed against the floor. His widened eyes went from appearing shocked to pained as he furrowed his brows, yet he didn’t seem to be reacting to any of the physical pain which had been inflicted upon him.

Liu’s gaze softened as the fire behind his eyes was gradually extinguished, and he was beginning to ease his grip on Randy’s collar, but as he was getting back up to his feet, he delivered one particularly harsh kick into Randy’s ribs, which made the other man grunt in agony.

“That’s for being a total scumbag,” Liu spat, marching away from Randy so that he could reach Lady.

Lady was leaning against the wall, having wiped the blood from her nose. She gazed up at Liu as he approached her, and her eyebrows creased with worry.

“Are you alright?” she asked him, reaching up for his face, only for him to push her hand away gently.

“Don’t worry about me,” he assured her, keeping a hold of her hand, “let’s just… go.”

Lady looked towards Randy, who wasn’t even trying to get up as he held one of his hands over his ribcage. Liu was beginning to walk with her, though she slipped her hand from his hold.

“We all need to go,” she reminded him, turning back to walk over to Randy.

Liu did not join her, instead only watching her from where he was standing while resting his body against the wall again.

Lady cautiously made her way over to Randy, looking upon his defeated expression. She reached her hand down towards him and watched as his eyes followed her movement.

For a moment, he did nothing, simply staring at her hand, before finally he frowned and batted her hand away, grumbling as he pushed himself up to his feet.

“Keep yer pet lunatic under control,” he muttered coldly, marching away from her and quickly making his way past Liu, locking eyes with him hatefully as he passed by.

Liu, on the other hand, just stared without much emotion. He only narrowed his eyes, still wary of the other man, before turning his attention back to Lady, who was heading towards him with a saddened expression.

Putting his arm around her, Liu once again began to walk, following Randy out of the house with Lady close at his side.

Police sirens could now be heard in the distance, which was the final indicator for the four to leave as quickly as possible.

Randy was staying close to Jane while Lady and Liu remained at a safe distance from the pair. Occasionally, Randy glared over his shoulder back at them, mainly at Liu, but nothing else was said from him.

Jane led the other three towards the end of the street and past Randy’s house, which he noticeably looked away from, since Jill was still inside. A large forest was located just behind the houses at the street’s end, which is where the abandoned cabin was no doubt located.

Lady’s mind had shifted back to Tim; she was really hoping that he was alright, but worry still coursed through her.

She could only hope that Jeff hadn’t found the cabin while on a search for his own hiding place.

Liu coughed suddenly, finally reacting to the effects of his fight with Randy. He was still bleeding badly from his other wounds, which had no doubt worsened from the scuffle.

Lady supported him as best as she could while they made their way into the woods together, but his legs were beginning to give way as he breathed heavily.

“Liu?!” Lady exclaimed with worry as she tried to keep him standing, struggling to hold his weight.

Liu’s eyelids were fluttering, but he was fighting to stay conscious.

“How much… further…?” he asked breathlessly.

Lady held onto him tightly, shaking her head.

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly, “how much longer do you think you can manage?”

As she asked that, Liu’s eyes closed completely as he fell limp in her arms.

Lady could barely stand steady as she had to hold his entire weight.

“Liu!” she yelled with panic, reaching one of her hands for his face to tap his cheek in a feeble attempt to awaken him.

It didn’t work.

Blood was still seeping from his wounds and onto Lady’s clothes. There wasn’t a lot of it, but there was enough to raise concern.

Had he been running on adrenaline?

She kept his arm around her shoulder as she attempted to drag his unmoving body, her heartbeat quickening while she struggled.

“He’s not moving!” she called out to Jane and Randy, who were already looking back at her.

Jane stood as still as always, staring at Lady as she continued to try and drag Liu, her legs wobbling as she did so. Randy, on the other hand, was glaring bitterly with his fists clenched, his expression once again filled with hatred.

“Is he dead?” was all Jane asked without any emotion.

Lady shook her head, but in all honesty, she wasn’t sure. She kept a hold of him and used her other hand to feel beneath his nostrils, feeling a faint, cold breath against her skin.

“He’s breathing,” she shakily confirmed, “but this isn’t good. How far is the cabin?!”

Jane turned around, continuing to walk.

“It’s deeper in the woods,” she answered calmly, “perhaps a five-minute walk at ordinary speed.”

That would be longer when another person’s body weight was slowing her down, which was more worrying to think about.

The longer it took them to reach the cabin, the longer Liu would be left untreated.

He could bleed out.

Lady tried to stride faster, but it was impossible to move at a consistent and high speed while carrying somebody who was unconscious and taller than her.

Randy was watching her with a frown, his cold gaze still on Liu, and his eyes only seemed to narrow more and more as he looked between Liu and Lady. Jane was walking ahead, which he was well aware of, and his feet were desperate to pull him after her.

Lady was practically collapsing as she tried to carry Liu by herself, grunting with frustration and panic during her struggle.

The sight was no doubt pathetic to Randy, who kept his irritation evident on his face.

Suddenly, Randy let out a loud and angry sigh, turning around fully so that he could march over to the pair, and before Lady could even process his approach, he was already heaving Liu up, wrapping the unconscious man’s arm around his shoulder to help carry his weight while Lady was doing the same.

Lady’s eyes widened as she momentarily stopped walking, staring up at Randy, who wasn’t even facing her.

“I’m only doing this for your sake,” he murmured quietly as he began to walk, allowing Lady to do the same and match his pace, “because you won’t leave him behind.”

Lady remained surprised as she carried Liu with Randy’s aid. Her eyes were on him as they began walking, while Randy refused to look at her at all, maintaining his hardened and hostile expression.

While Randy certainly didn’t seem pleased to be helping someone he despised, and likely wanted dead, Lady still found herself smiling very faintly, despite being overwhelmed with her worry for Liu.

“Thank you,” she whispered to Randy, noticing a twitch in his expression which made him appear softer, only for a second, before he returned to scowling.

He didn’t respond to her, simply continuing to help her carry Liu through the woods, deeper into the dark depths where the cabin awaited the group.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 23: 23: The Masked Man

Summary:

Lady arrives at the cabin Jane spoke of, worried for Liu's health, but first, she needs to check on another friend of hers, who seems... different.

~23: The Masked Man~

Liu remained unconscious for the whole walk while Lady and Randy carried him. Jane was walking ahead, and nobody was speaking.

The trek felt longer than five minutes, most likely due to the tension.

The forest was dense, making it harder to see even as the moonlight attempted to guide the group by shining through the leaves. Jane knew the way, however, and soon enough, the group had entered a clearing, and the silhouette of a log cabin was barely visible.

“We are here,” Jane announced quietly as she stopped before the structure, “there are not many supplies here, but there will be enough to treat your friend.”

Lady nodded her head without much confidence.

“Good,” she responded, followed by a huff from Randy, who rolled his eyes.

“Your other friend is also inside,” Jane reminded Lady, “though I extinguished all light sources before leaving to search for you.”

Lady had not questioned why Jane had appeared in Randy’s house when she did, and now that she had a moment to reflect on it, she found herself growing tense.

It was almost too convenient.

She had not stumbled upon them by chance, and had seemingly been intending to find them.

What if she was only after Randy, considering she went to his house?

If she actually was searching for Lady, had she done it on behalf of Tim, or was it purely because of Lady’s involvement with the case?

Lady did not want to openly ask these questions, figuring that the answers would reveal themselves to her in due time; her top priority was Liu, who desperately needed her help, and her second priority was Tim.

Jane was first to approach the cabin. There was no way to lock or unlock it, so she just opened the door before making her way inside. Lady and Randy followed together in silence as they carried Liu.

The cabin was dark, but Jane was able to navigate the darkness and begin lighting some lanterns using a cigarette lighter. She kept one for herself, handed one to Randy, and then finally handed one to Lady.

“I’m going to check on your friend,” Jane told Lady, “you may join me, once you make your other friend comfortable.”

Lady nodded, hiding her worry. She had to make sure Tim was okay, but at the same time, she didn’t want to leave Liu. He needed to have his wounds checked and treated, and she didn’t trust either Jane or Randy.

Jane gestured for the pair to take Liu into the cabin’s master bedroom; a long time ago, this was clearly once somebody’s holiday home where they, and presumably their family, could escape to the wilderness together. The double bed gave Liu plenty of room to himself, but even in the dim light from the lanterns, it was clear to see the blood leaking from Liu and onto the bedsheets once he was lied down.

Lady hesitated to leave. All she wanted to do was find whatever medical supplies Jane had in the cabin so that she could use them on Liu. She wanted to sit by his side until he woke up.

She felt her arm being nudged, snapping her out of her thoughts, noticing that Randy was the only one stood beside her, not looking at her.

“Go check on yer friend,” he quietly directed, “I’ll stay with the freak.”

Lady’s eyes widened. It was surprising to hear Randy, of all people, volunteer to watch over Liu, yet it was also worrying; Randy still despised him, and was not in a healthy state of mind, so Lady could not easily trust him.

Illuminated by his lantern, Randy could be seen glaring in her direction.

“Quit gawkin’ at me and just go,” he hurried, ambling over to the corner of the room to sit upon an old stool.

Lady watched him, still seeing his hardened glower, and nodded her head reluctantly. She didn’t want to leave Liu with him, but she knew that the more she stood around hesitating, the longer it would take for her to come back and check on Liu.

Without another word, Lady left Randy to watch over Liu, raising her lantern to navigate the short hall.

Jane was in the nearest room, which was a small bedroom with a single bed inside it. The masked woman was standing close to the door, but when Lady looked past her towards the bed, she couldn’t see anyone.

She was about to ask where Tim was, but Jane silently pointed her finger towards the furthest, dark corner.

Sitting in the corner, hugging his knees, was a masked man wearing Tim’s clothes; the same clothes Lady last saw him wearing.

Lady’s eyes widened; the mask upon his face was identical to the one Jane was wearing, meaning that she may have owned more than just one.

With apprehension, Lady stepped forward into the room, though she did her best to appear calm and controlled.

“Tim?” she called out.

The man shook his head slowly.

His body was identical to Tim’s, with Tim’s clothes fitting him perfectly, and even his brown hair was still visible.

Yet this was not Tim Wright.

Jane, for once, seemed tense as she observed the scene before her. She was mainly watching Lady, as if expecting more of a reaction from her, yet Lady did not seem surprised at all.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know your name,” Lady confessed softly, her steps remaining slow and careful as she moved closer, “can you tell me it?”

The man bowed his head, staring at his hands. Lady had stopped coming closer to him and had chosen to crouch down to be level with him, and after a brief silence, he raised his head again, speaking in a muffled voice behind his mask.

“Masky,” he introduced very quietly, “it’s… Masky.”

Lady smiled, still with a hint of nervousness as she sat opposite him on the floor.

“I’m Tim’s friend,” she explained, “do you know me?”

The man, who was referring to himself as Masky, stared at her. Tim’s eyes were not visible at all.

“Lady,” he seemed to recall, “you’re Lady. You went to college with him.”

Masky sounded so similar to Tim, yet he spoke with more precision in his words.

Lady nodded her head to confirm his guess.

“Yeah,” she smiled, “I’m Lady. Now, can you tell me if you’re hurt?”

Masky had to look over his own body first before shaking his head.

“I am not,” he confirmed, “and neither is Tim. But Tim is sleeping.”

Lady’s smile faded, shifting her expression into one of worry.

“He’s sleeping?” she repeated. “Will he not wake up?”

Masky shook his head.

“I have promised to protect him,” he declared, “until the smiling man who attacked him is gone.”

Masky must have taken over and protected Tim when he was attacked by Jeff.

“So, Jeff did attack Tim before he could return to Ashford,” Lady murmured to herself before looking back at Masky, “so, are you the one in control now? Are you going to remain in control?”

Masky gave a firm nod, his hand reaching to stroke the mask over his face.

“I’m wearing this because Tim’s face isn’t mine,” he clarified, “so… let me keep this on, while I am fronting.”

Lady gave an understanding nod, though she wasn’t smiling. She wanted to speak to the friend who had always spent time with her, and who could remember recent events a little more clearly. She wanted to see for herself if he was okay, and learn what happened to him.

“Brian’s worried,” she then brought up, “he called my current landline because you… well, Tim, didn’t arrive home when he was supposed to. Will you be going home?”

Masky shook his head after a pause to think about her question.

“I won’t,” he answered, “because Tim will not front until the smiling man is gone.”

It would be creepy to most people, seeing a man walking around wearing a mask with a blank expression. Going by a name like “Masky” was also not going to help him much, and he could risk landing himself in a place like Albert’s Way Sanatorium – the very place Jeff himself had resided in for the last ten years.

Now, there was even more of a reason to stop Jeff as soon as possible; Lady wanted to get Tim back, and bring him back to Ashford.

“Very well,” Lady nodded, turning her head to look back at Jane, “then, he’s staying with us.”

There was no way to tell how Jane was reacting to this information, but after staring at Lady for a moment, she gave a single nod and stood with her arms behind her back.

“He may keep this room for himself,” she decided, “and you can share with your other friend. I will share the other room with Randy.”

The latter suggestion came as a surprise to Lady. At the very least, it seemed wiser to have either Jane or Randy sleep on the old couch in the cabin’s living area, considering that the two were practically strangers. Lady had come to know Liu, and was also focused on keeping her eye on him while he was wounded, so at least her staying with him made more sense in comparison.

“Speaking of Randy, he’s probably getting worked up right now,” Lady then acknowledged, “since I left him with… Lincoln.”

There was no point in using his alias, considering that Jane was going to find out Liu’s true identity, yet she did it, anyway, just to avoid having the conversation with her at this moment.

“I will bring you all the medical supplies I can find in this cabin,” Jane then told Lady, “and I will leave you to treat Lincoln.”

“I’ll do my best,” Lady replied without much confidence; she likely had more medical training than Jane, but she wouldn’t class herself as an expert in it.

Her mind wandered to thinking about what she would do if Liu needed more treatment than she could offer. Would Jane continue to resist the idea of taking him to hospital, in case he compromised her plan to hunt down Jeff?

Then again, Liu seemed against such an idea, himself; he had already spent ten years hiding without any intention of having his identity uncovered.

“Good,” Jane then responded, “then, you go back to Lincoln, and send Randy out to me; I have some matters that I need to discuss with him.”

Alarm bells were ringing in Lady’s mind.

Perhaps it was nothing, yet the thought of Randy and Jane speaking alone seemed… off.

Randy was in no healthy state. His thoughts were not clear; the man had only just found his mother’s dead body.

Jane could be using him for anything.

Yet Jane also desired the same result as Lady, Liu, Randy, and even Tim’s alter.

They all needed Jeff Woods gone.

Lady arose to her feet, backing away from Masky, who remained in his corner.

“Will you be staying in here for now, then?” she quietly asked him, and the masked man nodded once more.

“I… will get some sleep,” he decided, “so… do not disturb me, please.”

Lady nodded back at him, “I won’t,” she assured, “unless there’s an emergency, of course.”

“Understandable,” Masky agreed.

Lady stared at him for a moment longer, staring at the body of her friend which was no longer being controlled by his core personality. She dreaded the thought of finally seeing Tim surface, since he may very well have changed significantly as a result of his encounter with Jeff.

Finally turning around to leave the room, Lady was followed by Jane, who closed the door behind herself, and before Lady could go back to where Randy and Liu were, Jane spoke up.

“That encounter was… an unusual one,” Jane admitted to Lady with a curious tone, “that friend of yours barely spoke a word when I found him in this cabin. How did you know the correct way to approach him?”

Lady just smiled faintly with a hint of sadness in her expression, mainly behind her green eyes.

“This isn’t the first time Tim has… switched,” she admitted, “but this alter of his is one I have never met or heard of.”

“Alter?” Jane echoed as she cocked her head.

“Dissociative identity disorder,” Lady then revealed, “which you probably know better as multiple personality disorder. That’s what Tim has; I found out back in college.”

This description made Jane give a slow, understanding nod.

“I see,” she reacted thoughtfully.

Tim’s dissociative identity disorder was something Lady herself was still learning about, since her only experience with the condition was through him. His past alters were very good at acting as “Tim” in social situations, so nobody would ever suspect that he had such a condition, but this new alter was different; Lady had never seen an alter so incapable of using Tim’s face. It was almost as if Masky was born from the mask itself, as if the very item was a trigger to forming his identity.

It was going to be difficult, adjusting to communicating with this more extreme personality, but at the very least, Tim was physically safe. He was not wounded, and he had not become another one of Jeff’s victims.

Hopefully, Jane would be able to explain to Randy what Tim’s situation was; of all people, Randy still seemed relatively closed-minded, so it would be difficult for someone like him to be understanding of Tim’s condition.

Maybe Liu could keep Randy in line.

The thought was more of an amusing one to lighten Lady’s own mood; Liu had bested Randy in their scuffle, despite being severely injured, and had already gained reputation in the past for being the only person to ever beat Randy, and his two friends, in a fight. If Liu could recover enough, he could easily make sure Randy didn’t act out or do anything rash.

Lady returned to the master bedroom, and Randy immediately arose to his feet, eager to leave.

“Is… yer other friend okay?” he asked her awkwardly, trying to hide the fact that he just wanted to leave the room.

Lady did not want to go into detail with him, so just nodded her head.

“He’s alive, and he hasn’t been hurt,” she confirmed, “which is a huge relief, honestly.”

Randy’s cold eyes were then staring towards the floor as if he was in his own state of deep thought.

“That’s good, at least,” he found himself murmuring as he marched away from his stool.

Lady had no idea what was on his mind, but quickly changed the topic; she, too, was still somewhat tense in his presence.

“Jane wants to see you,” she spoke up, not looking him in the eyes.

Randy stopped briefly, raising his brow, before continuing to leave the room; he said nothing else at all to her as he walked past her.

Lady watched him leave, keeping her eyes on him as he moved down the hallway with his lantern in his hand. She didn’t want to feel as though she was intruding on his meeting with Jane, yet worry still coursed through her; even so, Lady closed the door to the bedroom, leaving her and Liu to only be illuminated by a single lantern which Lady placed on the bedside table.

Liu was still unconscious, but he was breathing. Lady had taken the stool Randy had previously been sitting upon and placed it beside the bed, sitting close at Liu’s side. She even reached out her hand hesitantly, placing it atop his gloved one, hoping that maybe, he would react; she wanted him to wake up like he had done when staying at her rented house, where he had jumped back to life instantly at the slightest trace.

He didn’t react at all to her touch.

It made Lady’s body tremble as tears began to well in her eyes; Liu would never choose to sleep so deeply, yet there he was, unable to open his eyes even as she squeezed his hand.

Her other hand reached for his pale, scarred cheek, stroking her thumb across the side of his face.

Without him awake and by her side, it felt so… lonely.

Jane was a complete stranger who Lady could not trust.

Randy was fuelled by his anger towards Jeff, rapidly giving in to his desire for revenge no matter the cost.

Tim was not even in control of his own body, with an alter known as Masky taking over indefinitely.

Despite everything, Liu was the one Lady could trust the most. Even if he still had his secrets, there was something about him that drew Lady in.

To her, he was safety.

Maybe she was no such thing to him, and she could not blame him; she had let him down. She promised to protect him from Randy, yet she couldn’t even do that when Randy initiated the brawl.

She had failed him like she had failed everyone else so far.

He might never forgive her, but that didn’t matter; all that mattered to her, even if he woke up despising her, was that he lived.

It felt like forever, as Lady waited for Jane to enter the room with whatever medical supplies she could gather.

She waited in silence, never taking her eyes off Liu’s scarred face.

Lady would not leave his side until his eyes were open.

Never.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 24: 24: Scars

Summary:

Lady treats Liu's injuries...

~24: Scars~

Jane had hastily brought in a first aid kit. It was an old one, no doubt with some expired materials, yet Lady could only hope that everything was at least usable. It might not be the best equipment to be working with, but at least Liu’s bleeding would stop, and his wounds would be somewhat clean.

Lady had not listened to Jane as she entered the room and gave her the first aid kit. She did not even look at her. Her eyes remained solely on Liu, still holding his gloved hand in hers as she stroked his face, even brushing some strands of hair out of his closed eyes.

Because Lady had been so focused on him, she did not notice when Jane left. She vaguely heard her saying something about speaking to Randy, but that was it.

Jane and Randy could have been talking about anything, yet Lady could not allow herself to focus on them.

Not when Liu was in such a state.

Lady opened up the first aid kit, immediately reaching for some bandages, which were still sealed in plastic. She ripped the plastic off clumsily, thankful that there were enough rolls to be used on Liu along with herself, quickly using the smallest roll to wrap around her hand which had been stabbed by Jeff.

Before she began to unravel the next bandage roll, she had to gain access to Liu’s injuries.

It had only just dawned on her what this meant; she would need to strip Liu’s top half to access his torso and shoulder.

She had briefly seen his body before, though by accident, and Liu did not know that she had seen him. He seemed desperate to keep all of his scars hidden; if he awoke to see Lady looking upon his scars, there was no telling how he would react.

His reaction was not what mattered.

What mattered was making sure Liu was treated.

As her heart pounded hard in her chest, Lady shakily reached out after pulling her stool closer to the bed. First, she gently unwrapped the scarf from around his neck and placed it beside him on the bed, not wanting to throw it aside onto the floor.

Next, she reached for the zipper on his quarter zip sweater, pinching it between her fingers. She stared at Liu’s face for a moment, as if looking for a reaction, before slowly pulling the zipper down. More skin was visible to her, though not a lot.

At this point, Lady had to move Liu himself. She had to push his arms up first above his head so that she could then pull the jumper off him, feeling her heart racing more and more as she began to reveal his scarred upper body.

It felt wrong, to be looking upon the scars Liu was so desperate to hide, but it was needed. Among the scars were the fresh wounds caused by Jeff, which Lady needed to treat.

A packet of antibacterial wipes was also found in the first aid kit. Lady did not want to check the expiration date, simply concluding that they were better than nothing at all. She opened the packet, pulling out a semi-dry wipe into her trembling hand, and with hesitation, she brought it towards the side of his torso which Jeff had slashed.

As the wipe made contact with his wound, Liu’s body jolted, and he could be heard faintly hissing in pain through his teeth.

Lady quickly lifted her head and widened her eyes, hoping to see Liu suddenly waking up, yet he was still unconscious.

At the very least, he was responsive and alive.

Lady returned her focus to his crimson injury, moving her hand in a circular motion as she spiralled closer and closer to where the knife had cut him. She cleaned the blood which was on his skin first before wiping directly over the injury, and once again, Liu jolted at the contact.

Once the wound was clean, Lady finally began to wrap the bandage around his torso. She awkwardly had to keep tucking the bandage under his back as she wrapped it round and round, but no matter what she did to move him, he remained unconscious.

Lady brought out a second wipe to do the same thing to his shoulder, earning similar reactions from him in his unconscious state. He even began to squirm slightly, which made Lady stop and stare down at him again.

Was he beginning to wake up?

She was not a religious woman, but she silently prayed to any higher being that could hear her.

All she wanted was to see Liu open his eyes.

He stopped squirming, seemingly falling back into his deep state of unconsciousness.

Lady let out a quiet sigh, continuing to wipe his shoulder wound clean. It was a deeper one than the slice in his side, and likely needed stitches, but she could only do her best with what she could work with. There was a large dressing in the first aid kit, which she used to cover the wound before winding the bandages over his shoulder and around his arm to keep the cloth secure.

She was so lost in the repetitive motion of wrapping the bandages that she barely noticed his breathy whisper.

“Lady…”

It took her a few moments to even notice that he had spoken, and when her mind finally caught on, she audibly inhaled a sharp gasp.

Her eyes studied his face closely as she leaned in, having just finished wrapping the bandages around his shoulder. Liu’s eyes were still closed, and while he was breathing through parted lips, he showed no signs of saying anything else.

He had said her name.

Why?

Was he aware that she was the one treating him?

Did he know that she was by his side, and was he trying to speak to her directly?

Was he dreaming?

Lady could not help but stroke his cheek gently, seeing that he was still not reacting. In this very moment, she was losing all interest in everything else; even Jeff didn’t matter to her. All that mattered to her was Liu.

It was so strange. She had not known him for long, yet she considered him the most important person in her life while she was caught up in the mess with Jeff Woods. He hadn’t even been honest with her, lying to her about his identity and connection to the Burnside Murders, yet he still mattered so much to her.

Why him?

It felt like a betrayal to everyone else she had ever known. She had known Tim and Brian since college, and had lived with them in a shared house for some time, yet she had grown more comfortable around Liu while he had been staying with her – a man she hadn’t even known for a month.

She should have been worrying about Tim and his mental health. She should have been worried about Randy, who was still grieving his mother. She should have been focused on making sure Jeff faced justice.

Yet she refused to leave Liu’s side.

Her hand moved from his face to run along his bare arm, feeling the bumps of all his scars. Her fingers traced along each one as if she wanted to memorise them; each one had a story behind it, and only served as a painful reminder of what Liu had been through.

Her hand then reached his gloved one, and her fingers intertwined with his.

Those gloves were always on him, and it made sense to Lady why he never removed them.

Not only was he hiding his scars, but he really was hiding his fingerprints, as he had previously claimed, only he was not hiding them to avoid being tracked by Jeff – he never wanted to leave any trace of Liu Woods behind, in case he was found.

Lady wanted to see the day when he could take his gloves off. She wanted him to properly feel the world with his fingertips; wearing gloves all the time must have made everything so dull.

She wanted more than to just see him without his gloves.

An impossible image was in her mind; she imagined holding his gloveless hand, feeling all of his warmth while he felt hers. She imagined looking up at him, and instead of looking into a pair of distant eyes, she pictured him looking relaxed with a natural smile on his face.

She wanted the day to come when he could sit at the kitchen table and she could cook something for him in return for all he had cooked for her.

She thought about what it would be like to see him passed out on the couch looking comfortable, and seeing him wake up with a refreshed expression rather than dark, baggy eyes.

It was wrong to want all of that. She couldn’t force anything like that onto Liu, yet she still hoped the day would come for him to just be happy.

It didn’t matter if she was the one giving it to him or not; she just wanted to see him have a happy ending.

While lost in her thoughts, she felt Liu’s hand squeeze slowly around her own, and she almost jumped from her stool.

Liu’s eyes were beginning to crack open.

Her heart was almost breaking free from her ribcage, and she could hear it thumping in her ears. Her body shook as she began to see the greens of his irises.

He might freak out.

A part of her needed to get away. He might hate the thought of her seeing him so vulnerable and exposed, and if he lashed out, it could put further strain on his wounds.

Yet she stayed.

Her hand squeezed tighter around his as if never wanting to let go ever again.

His green eyes were glazed and distant, but they were now fully open, dimly illuminated by the lantern’s light.

He was barely aware of the hand around his, and his fingers twitched in realisation.

Slowly, his head turned to the side, and even though he was facing her directly, it was as if he couldn’t see her at all.

Lady was frozen in place, holding her breath as she remained unmoving and silent.

She held this pose for a while, and Liu continued to stare through her, but suddenly, the light in his eyes began to gradually return as his focus shifted directly onto her.

“L… Lady…?”

His voice was so quiet, yet despite how faintly he spoke, the surprise was still evident in his voice.

Lady placed her other hand atop his, now holding the limb between both of her own.

“I’m here,” she assured him gently, “I’m right here.”

His eyes scanned the room, which was difficult to see within due to the limited amount of light.

“Where… are we?” he questioned with confusion, trying to catch up with what he must have missed while unconscious, and much to Lady’s concern, he was already trying to sit himself up despite grimacing in pain, “Is this… the cabin…?”

Lady moved one of her hands to his upper arm, wary of his wounded shoulder, “Please, don’t try to get up,” she pleaded, “you still need to rest.”

Liu’s body tensed as he felt her hand on the bare skin of his arm, and his eyes slowly enlarged. At first, he didn’t dare look, but he couldn’t resist, casting a glance down towards the hand which was touching him.

Immediately, Lady pulled her hand away, even pulling her other one free from his grip, and she gasped as she did so. Her face paled as she trembled, preparing herself to get up and leave.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, “I was just… I… I had to patch your wounds, and…”

His hand grasped her wrist suddenly, and his grip was tighter than ever.

Lady’s breath hitched as he pulled her closer to him, almost dragging her onto the bed with him.

Liu’s eyes were studying her startled expression without blinking. His own gaze was still somewhat distant and unreadable, but a surprising bashfulness overtook his expression as he looked away to the side.

“You… can stay,” he found himself murmuring hesitantly, “I… don’t mind you seeing me like this.”

She was silent and still, shocked by his words.

If this was only a few days ago, he would have been furious with somebody looking upon his scars, including her. He would have reacted physically by pushing her away, or worse.

Yet he was now unbothered; perhaps he was not entirely comfortable with her presence, but he could still tolerate it more than usual.

Liu noticed the silence, glancing back at her with his eyes awkwardly.

“Don’t be weird about it,” he grumbled, “I just… don’t really care right now.”

Lady quickly cleared her throat as soon as Liu had caught onto her quietness.

“Sorry,” she apologised, “it’s just… been a really long night.”

Liu’s expression shifted into one of mild concern, studying Lady’s face and observing the way she glanced away to the side. Still, despite not facing him, Lady spoke up softly.

“How are you feeling?” she chose to ask, and Liu took a moment to answer, as if processing his wounds one by one.

“Not the worst Jeff has done to me,” he murmured in response, staring down towards his lap as he sat himself completely upright.

The scars were enough evidence to confirm that statement.

“Though, this is probably the worst Randy has done to me,” Liu then added dryly as some kind of joke.

Lady squeezed his hand once more upon hearing his response, lifting her head to look at him again.

“I should’ve stopped him from attacking you,” she replied solemnly, “I promised I’d protect you, for once, and I couldn’t even stop him from hurting you.”

Liu shook his head at her.

“Don’t work yourself up over it,” he comforted, “I don’t think anyone could’ve stopped him. You at least tried; that’s... what matters.”

Lady was about to protest, ready to argue that it wasn’t good enough for her to let him get hurt, but she stopped herself.

To him, just the attempt to protect him mattered.

“I haven’t had that in a long time,” Liu admitted solemnly, “I’ve never really had anyone look out for me. It’s... nice to have someone there.”

His thumb was stroking her hand as he continued to hold it, which Lady barely noticed as she focused on him talking.

“Just you, the way you are, is enough for me.”

His words had struck her so suddenly.

No verbal response came from her lips. So many things could be said, yet at the same time, nothing needed to be said.

She mattered to him the same way he mattered to her.

Before she even realised it, she had practically fallen onto the mattress, though she could barely remember how she got there. She was closer to Liu, gripping his hand while leaning towards his body.

Liu stared at her with his own wide eyes, yet accompanying surprise was concern. He was studying her, pulling his hand away to then stroke some hair from her face.

“You look tired,” he murmured, “you should get some rest.”

Lady took a moment to react, and her slight delay was noticed by Liu even as she smiled and tried to sit herself up on the side of the bed away from Liu.

“I’m alright,” she assured, “really, I am.”

Liu was unconvinced.

“Come on,” he instructed as he shifted his body across the bed, wincing as he did so, “there’s room for you.”

Again, Lady didn’t process Liu’s words immediately. She shook her head, taking even longer to figure out what to say in response.

“I shouldn’t,” she stated, “you need more space to rest, since you’re injured.”

“Believe me, this is more than enough room,” Liu countered, rolling his eyes as he patted his hand on the mattress, “now, come on; the longer you stay awake, the longer you’re gonna sleep.”

Lady frowned, clumsily pulling her body fully onto the bed while staying as close to the edge as possible.

“Says you,” she grumbled, stiffly lying down on her back, “you always push yourself to stay awake.”

“I can handle it,” Liu argued, “clearly, you can’t.”

The remark nearly offended Lady; it wasn’t that late at night, considering that she was used to staying up late when writing her reports, so she could easily stay up a little longer, especially since she needed to watch over Liu and the cabin while Jeff was still on the loose.

Her silence lasted longer than usual, which Liu noticed, so he spoke up again to get her attention.

“I can keep an eye on you while you sleep,” he assured her, “since I’ve had enough rest myself.”

He had briefly taken a nap while she was at Randy’s earlier in the evening, and he was likely counting his brief state of unconsciousness as “rest”, too.

Lady shook her head at his suggestion after recalling how little sleep he had truly had.

“I’ll only get some sleep if you do, too,” she negotiated, observing the way Liu’s expression shifted into one of discomfort before he frowned at her.

“What’s the point in that?” he asked her. “If we both sleep, we both have our guards down.”

“There’s three other people in this cabin,” Lady pointed out, “I’m sure we can both get some sleep.”

Liu still wore a frown as he narrowed his eyes, but Lady continued to object against the idea of him staying awake.

“You’ve been through far too much tonight,” she continued, “please, if you want me to get some sleep, I’m gonna need you to rest, too.”

Liu glanced away, considering her suggestion. He then gave a reluctant nod, casually reaching over and wrapping his arm around her, pulling her closer to his body.

“Fine,” he grunted, “I… will give it a try, but I’ll probably wake up long before you.”

Lady’s body stiffened as Liu pulled her closer, feeling the blood rushing to her cheeks as her heart jumped.

“That’s… alright,” she slowly replied, “as long as you get some rest.”

Being so close to Liu was still unusual to her. This was almost too personal; she was pressed up against his bare torso, feeling the warmth of his body, and her head was resting close to his.

She tensed even more as Liu rested his head atop hers, closing his eyes.

How was he so comfortable with her so close to him?

He was still holding his arm around her, and for once, he did not appear as tense as her, instead looking rather tranquil. Lady could even feel how relaxed his body was against her own, which only made her heart race more.

She found herself moving a little closer to him, rolling onto her side so that her body was facing his. He moved his head away from hers to look down at her, raising a brow. Lady’s heart almost stopped as she stared up into his eyes, fearing that maybe she had overstepped some kind of boundary, yet Liu did not appear too bothered.

“Trying to get comfortable?” he joked, though without a smile.

“Sorry,” Lady immediately murmured, but before she could pull away, Liu just pulled her in closer, squeezing her against his side.

“Whatever helps you sleep,” he told her quietly, watching as her eyes widened with surprise.

She could see the tiredness in his own sunken eyes. He needed sleep, too, and with the way he blinked slowly, it was clear that he was beginning to drift off.

On the other hand, Lady was struggling to sleep in his presence. She couldn’t even understand what was making her heart race so much.

Was she afraid of him?

Liu used his other hand, which was not wrapped around her, to hold her face, making sure she was staring directly into his distant eyes.

“If you don’t close your eyes in the next two minutes, I’ll close them for you.”

He spoke those words so casually.

Lady’s eyes couldn’t have opened any further in response to what he had said, and upon seeing her expression, Liu gave a faint smirk.

“It takes ten seconds for someone to pass out after being choked,” he described, “but there are other, more enjoyable things, to help people sleep.”

Lady’s pale face had never been more flushed. She only reacted by reaching up and pushing his hand away from her cheek before rolling over onto her other side, now with her back facing Liu instead.

“Yeah, you definitely need some sleep,” she then responded, “good night, Liu.”

She could practically hear the smile on his face as he replied to her.

“Night, then.”

He did not pull her closer this time, allowing her to simply lie on her side. Lady kept her eyes open for a while longer, still shocked by Liu’s bizarre forwardness, but she did find herself smiling a little.

Her eyes began to close, and immediately, her head began to feel heavy…

Only for the bedroom door to be barged open instantly after a couple of knocks.

“Lady, get up,” came Randy’s blunt and harsh voice as he leaned against the doorframe, “Jane said we’ve gotta watch over the cabin for the night, in case Jeff or any other nutcase shows up.”

Lady jolted upright, her eyes snapping wide open.

“I’m up,” she declared, practically throwing herself out of the bed and onto her feet.

Liu sat upright, glaring in Randy’s direction from where he was.

“You’ve gotta be kidding, right?” Liu huffed. “Look at her; she needs to rest.”

Despite barely being able to see her in the dimly lit room, Randy gave one brief glance in the direction of her silhouette and shrugged his shoulders while folding his arms.

“She looks alright to me,” he coldly responded.

“Yeah, I’m alright,” Lady agreed with a hint of nervousness in her voice, stumbling towards the door where Randy stood, “I can stay up to watch over everyone else.”

Liu scowled at Randy after witnessing the way Lady stumbled, “Can’t someone else stay up with you?”

Randy let out a bitter huff, “Even if ya weren’t injured, I wouldn’t wanna be with you; you’d prolly finish me off the same way yer brother wants to do me in.”

“Yeah, I’d rather not work with you, either,” Liu hissed, “but what about Jane? Why can’t she do it?”

“She’s sleepin’,” Randy answered, moving aside so that Lady could stand by his side in the doorway, “besides, she’s got other stuff to prepare for.”

Lady did not register what Randy had said, not picking up on how vague of an excuse it was.

“Liu, I’ll be fine,” she assured, “I’ll keep watch to make sure you can rest, okay?”

Liu was still frowning as his eyes narrowed again.

“I can’t sleep knowing you might be in danger,” he argued, only for Randy to speak up swiftly.

“She ain’t gonna be in danger,” he stated, “she’ll be with me.”

Liu was about to argue, but Lady interrupted him from where she stood beside Randy.

“Liu, trust me, I’ll be fine,” she reassured, “besides, I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself further; you’re in no condition to put anymore stress on your body.”

Liu’s expression dropped in a way which almost made him seem hurt by her words, and after a pause, he bowed his head.

“If anything happens to you, I know who’s throat I’m cutting first.”

His words were cold and dangerous.

He meant them.

Yet Randy barely even reacted to what he had said, simply maintaining his hateful glower.

“If anything happens to her, my throat will already be cut,” he replied directly.

Randy grabbed the handle, locking eyes with Liu for a moment longer before pulling the door firmly shut.

Lady stood behind him, surprised by both of their words.

They both cared about her safety.

In a way, she felt guilty for leaving Liu, but having two people stay up through the night was also a good idea, and Lady did feel better staying awake to make sure the others were alright.

Despite Randy’s unpredictable attitude, she still found herself trusting him; excluding Liu, who could not stay up to guard the cabin due to his injuries, she certainly trusted Randy the most.

Hopefully, Liu was going to get some sleep while she and Randy were busy, though she had to admit to herself that it would have been nice to be sleeping at his side.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 25: 25: Don't Go For Even

Summary:

Lady and Randy keep watch outside the cabin together...

~25: Don’t Go For Even~

Randy looked as tense as ever as he marched down the hall towards what remained of the cabin’s living room. Lady trailed behind him, walking somewhat evenly as she maintained her distance from him; she did not dare to speak up, looking over her shoulder towards the bedroom she had just left, wondering if Liu would be able to safely rest without her there by his side.

He had been as close to falling asleep as she had been, which was unlike him. He would have fallen asleep if Randy had not disturbed him, and now, he was probably worried about Lady not getting any rest herself, even though he should have been worrying more about himself considering his wounds.

Perhaps he could get some sleep, but what if something else happened while Lady wasn’t there with him? What if he succumbed to his wounds, or if Jeff found a way to sneak in and finish the job?

Completely occupied by her thoughts, Lady barely even noticed when she walked straight into Randy, who had stopped in his tracks to study the living room closely.

Randy turned his head harshly, glaring down at her with his piercing and cold stare.

“Watch where yer goin’,” he warned lowly.

Lady slowly lifted her head, taking a moment to meet his gaze.

“Sorry,” she responded after a pause, and that was all she said.

Randy raised his brow, confused, before shaking his head and going back to focusing on the living room. He was checking the windows, making sure that they were locked, before looking around to check for useful supplies. He was opening every cupboard, checking every shelf, and even looking under the one couch that was present, yet the whole time, Lady stood and did nothing, which Randy noticed after some time.

“What’re ya doin’?” he questioned with frustration.

“Huh?” Lady reacted, baffled, resulting in Randy letting out an annoyed sigh.

“Ain’t ya gonna look for supplies?” he asked her.

Lady stood in more silence again, before she then gave a confused response.

“What for?” she asked, seeing the visible anger growing in Randy’s eyes.

“Things to keep people warm,” he listed, “or things to defend ourselves with. Y’know, anythin’ useful.”

“Oh,” Lady replied, but as she began to look, she was only checking everywhere Randy had already checked.

Randy noticed this, and again, the frustration was evident on his face. He held his palm to his forehead as he let out another sigh, closing his eyes momentarily.

“Never mind,” he grumbled, “just… keep a lookout through the window.”

Lady nodded, doing as she was told. She approached the nearest window, which was close to the cabin’s door, and did nothing but stare out of it while Randy finished his search. He could be heard prepping his pistol, taking the safety off, and making sure it was loaded, which instinctively made Lady feel for hers, which was still secured in its holster.

Lady could feel her head becoming heavy once again, and her eyelids fluttered as she leaned against the window. She had practically closed her eyes before Randy spoke up, suddenly making her eyes snap open.

“C’mon,” he commanded, “we’re goin’ outside.”

Lady took a moment to reply, watching as he marched towards the door.

“What?” she eventually responded. “Why? Won’t that be dangerous?”

“If we go outside, we can see the whole cabin,” he pointed out, “and we won’t have to worry about anyone sneakin’ inside if we keep watch from out there.”

He did have a point; so long as they stayed directly outside the cabin, it was much batter to stand guard from the outside than the inside. It would be too late to react by the time they noticed something wrong while they were within the cabin, but from the outside, there was a chance to fend off whoever lurked and keep everyone else safe.

Randy was dragging Lady before she even noticed it, with him having taken her by the wrist firmly. The pressure he was applying almost hurt, and it was impossible to tell whether it was deliberate or accidental.

He had barely been giving her any eye contact. He did not look at her at all, even as he pulled her outside of the cabin, and when he let her go, he simply gave her a small shove before circling the structure on his own, just to make sure that nobody was nearby.

Lady stood exactly where he had left her, swaying on the spot, and when he was done examining the outskirts of the building, he frowned upon seeing that she had not moved.

“Are ya just gonna stand there?” he asked her irritably, gritting his teeth.

Lady blinked slowly, for a moment not realising that Randy was speaking to her, especially since she was not facing him.

“Oh,” she then replied, “I… wasn’t sure what you wanted me to do.”

Randy sighed again loudly, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

“Do ya got yer gun?” he asked her, and Lady responded by patting her hand against her waist.

“It’s in the holster,” she confirmed; she still had the safety on, too.

Randy gave a small nod, refusing to face her directly as he stepped slightly further away from the cabin to lean against a tree.

“At least ya can defend yerself,” he mumbled, not loud enough for her to fully hear him; he even glanced towards her to see if she would react to his statement, yet he saw nothing from her at all.

In a way, it was frustrating, because Lady was definitely more distant than usual, all of a sudden, even if she was barely aware of it herself.

“Ya got a problem?” Randy then found himself asking as Lady still did not move from her spot.

Again, Lady’s response was delayed as she slowly turned to face him.

“Me?” she asked in response; it was surprising, since she literally was not doing anything at all.

Randy rolled his eyes, folding his arms while leaning against the tree.

“Who else would I be talkin’ to?” he sarcastically huffed, “I’m askin’ you, Lady.”

Lady continued to stare at him, even though she was wary about losing focus on the surrounding area, just in case someone did show up unexpectedly.

“I don’t have a problem,” she managed to answer after the pause, turning around to face towards the rest of the forest again, “I just need to get my head around what I’m doing out here; I need to focus.”

She meant her words. She may have been a little more wary of Randy, but that wasn’t even on her mind in this moment; truthfully, she was still in a slight daze from being abruptly dragged from the bed she had almost fallen asleep in.

Despite her actual feelings, however, Randy seemed to perceive her quietness and awkwardness differently, narrowing his blue eyes as he studied her. 

“Don’t tell me yer sulkin’ ‘cus I dragged ya outta bed and away from that psycho,” he scoffed.

His tone was hard to understand; either he was looking to start an argument, trying to hide his own anger, or he was choosing a target to make fun of for his own amusement.

Either way, it was a reminder to Lady that back in his youth, Randy was a notorious bully, who was cruel for his own entertainment while also being driven by anger.

His words, however, hit her in a way she didn’t expect. 

She was… offended, but not just on her own behalf. 

“Psycho?” she repeated, staring at Randy with wide eyes. “Are you talking about Liu?” 

There was a twitch in Randy’s expression as his mouth curved into a cruel smile. 

“Ain’t no one else I can be talkin’ about,” he pointed out with a complex smirk, “unless gettin’ into beds with psychos has happened more than once with you.” 

Lady had expected to have more patience when encountering such remarks, especially given Randy’s circumstances, yet she was feeling too irritable to not stand her ground, even if Randy was simply joking.

She wasn’t in the mood.

“Do you want me to stand guard with you or not?” she chose to ask, watching as Randy paced away from the tree to begin circling the cabin again. 

“Nah, I was just trynna get ya alone ‘cus I can’t stand seein’ ya with that freak,” he responded in a sarcastic huff.

His sarcasm was too subtle for Lady to notice; his words felt personal.

Lady immediately moved to catch up to him, stepping right in front of him to stop him from circling the cabin.

How dare he say that.

All she had wanted to do was get some rest, and Liu had encouraged her to do so, yet Randy was being petty.

Was he being petty because he hated Liu? Was he being petty because he liked Lady more than he was letting on? Was he being petty because he needed someone to be his personal entertainment?

It didn’t matter.

“Jeff is out there, possibly with the intention to hunt us all down, and you dragged me out of bed because you have a problem with Liu?” Lady reiterated, continuing to speak without allowing Randy a chance to counter. “We’re all gonna need rest if we want to be ready for him. I haven’t been able to rest; he attacked me, almost killed me, and I still haven’t had a chance to fucking rest!”

Without realising it, her voice had raised as she spoke up to him, and even if he was physically taller than her, she felt like an equal.

His expression was shifting along with her words as he processed them all, and he had parted his lips to respond, but she didn’t stop at all she stepped even closer to him.

“You said Jane was sleeping, right?” she practically snarled with anger as Randy fell speechless at her sudden temper. “Jane gets to sleep even though she is probably in the best physical condition right now; she’s all cosy in bed while I’m still processing the injuries Jeff inflicted upon me tonight!”

Randy raised his hands defensively as he stared down at her. He didn’t look shocked, for the most part, though he did seem somewhat baffled by her attitude.

“What the hell’s gotten into you?” he asked her in a murmur. “Darn, I was just makin’ a joke.”

Lady scoffed in disbelief at his words.

“Really?” she reacted irritably. “So, tell me why I’m out here, then, and not resting like Jane is.”

“To stand guard,” Randy repeated lowly, his gaze turning cold.

Lady huffed again and shook her head, marching away from Randy while also not being able to move in a straight line. This time, Randy was the one to walk after her, focused more on their conversation than the actual task.

“Two people gotta be lookin’ out,” he reminded her, “I didn’t know how tired ya were; if I’d known ya were gonna be like this, then I woulda just woken Jane up instead.”

Lady leaned against her tree, using her other hand to pinch the bridge of her nose as she inhaled deeply, closing her eyes before letting out a long exhale.

“I thought I could keep watch with you,” she admitted, “and I wanna protect Liu and Tim. I wanna make sure Jeff doesn’t hurt any of us, I really do, but you’re not exactly being an easy partner to work with.”

Randy folded his arms as his body tensed, stopping a few feet away from Lady. His expression was deathly cold now.

“Oh, I’m sorry, am I not good enough company for ya?” he dryly huffed. “Aren’t ya forgettin’ that I found my mom dead just a few hours ago? Killed by the same guy who murdered my closest friends and got me sent to prison?”

He was holding back his own urge to raise his voice.

“Yeah, forgive me for not bein’ in a good mood,” he went on, “but go on, keep yellin’ at me about how tired ya are, and how terrible I am for draggin’ ya outta bed all ‘cus ya wanted to cuddle up to Jeff’s psycho brother, of all people.”

Lady almost felt her heart stop, and Randy studied her stunned expression with his piercing stare, raising his eyebrow.

“That’s what I thought,” he mumbled, marching past her to circle round the cabin again towards the other side.

Lady stood in silence, unmoving.

She shouldn’t have been angry; she had agreed to help Randy, and could have easily refused when he first asked.

Even then, Randy must have been tired, too; the emotional exhaustion would have been consuming him, yet he was likely fighting to stay awake to protect the others.

Coming to think of it, his eyes were more bloodshot than usual, with a droopiness to them as if he, too, just wanted to sleep.

He would also have been weary from his fight with Liu, so both mentally and physically, he was not in the best shape, either.

She shouldn’t have lashed out at him.

Randy was going through enough. She should have been patient with his bad temper, given the circumstances, yet she took out her anger on him.

Then again, in a way, he had been doing the same to her.

Maybe he also thought he was protecting her from Liu.

Given his history with the Woods brothers, it was no surprise that he viewed Liu the same way he viewed Jeff. Liu was known to have been the only kid to beat Randy and his two friends, at the same time, while also being a year younger than them all; from Randy’s perspective, Liu appeared stronger than Jeff, which would mean he still had the potential to be a threat.

Liu still had a certain aura to him which was sometimes scary to be around. The life he had lived for the last ten years was still a mystery, yet he still had noticeable skills in defending himself, almost to an extent which made it seem like he had been trained.

Upon hearing footsteps, Lady assumed that Randy had fully circled the cabin. He was probably going to snap at her for being slow and useless again, since she had stayed in place, so she turned around in preparation to face his irritated expression.

Instead, however, she was facing a large grin.

Not Randy’s grin, either.

Jeff’s large eyes were staring into Lady’s as his body trembled, and his pale hand gripped his bloodstained knife tightly as if he were afraid of losing it.

“I found you,” he chirped as he stepped closer, still with fresh blood on his hoodie from where Liu had stabbed him.

How was he even walking after such a wound was inflicted upon him?

Lady began to stumble backwards away from him, fumbling with the holster at her side. She knew that she wasn’t going to be fast enough; even if Jeff was still wounded, there was something unnatural about him, and his speed remained unpredictable, so as she was reaching for her gun, she called out as loudly as she could.

“Randy!”

The minute her lips even parted to holler, Jeff had lunged towards her with his knife. Lady could only dodge by throwing herself to the floor, her movement sloppy, and when she next lifted her head, she could still only see Jeff standing over her with that wide grin still upon his face as he giggled to himself.

The sound of a gunshot filled the air, and Jeff stumbled over as blood burst from his leg.

Standing far behind Jeff was Randy, who had emerged from the other side of the cabin.

Randy’s eyes were large and bloodshot, and his pupils never lost focus even for a split second. They were on Jeff and Jeff alone.

Jeff had sat himself up, looking at his bleeding leg, only for another bullet to be fired into his shoulder by Lady, who had finally whipped her own pistol out as she arose to her feet. She had been aiming for his head, though she had missed, considering how unsteady her aim was with her wounded hands along with her tiredness.

Randy stepped closer, unaware of anything around him now. His eyes remained focused on Jeff, drinking in his appearance; his tangled hair, his damaged skin, his sunken eyes, his healed cheek scars – all of it.

He used to be Randy’s easiest target.

Jeff used to look at him with fear in his eyes. He used to tremble and cower until Randy and his friends were done with him. A sadistic part of Randy still craved such a sight, hoping that maybe he could be the one, of all people, to make Jeff Woods tremble in terror.

Yet Jeff was still grinning as he held his hand to his wounded shoulder, even chuckling as he gazed back at Randy.

Randy’s aim remained steady as his wide-eyed gaze shifted more and more into a wrinkled and frustrated scowl.

“I’ve been waitin’ for this moment,” Randy murmured quietly as though in a trance, “for ten years, I’ve been thinkin’ about what to do to ya.”

Jeff only continued to giggle, even as Lady kept her gun aimed in his direction, as well, yet Randy maintained his low voice.

“It would help me sleep every night,” he rambled ominously, “imaginin’ what yer dyin’ screams would sound like, and imaginin’ what it would look like when the light finally left yer eyes, when the last thing ya saw would be me.”

Jeff was about to stand, but Randy was faster than him as he whacked his pistol across his face, hard enough for blood to instantly start pouring from Jeff’s nose.

“Don’t even think about getting’ up,” Randy snarled as he pointed his gun at Jeff again, “or I’ll make this slower than I already plan to.”

Lady observed the exchange carefully, mainly keeping her eyes on Jeff in case he moved suddenly.

This was their chance.

Jeff was wounded badly, against two people armed with pistols.

It would be better to turn him in alive but, if necessary, they also had the power to finish him off for good.

For Nick.

For Barbara.

For Jill.

For Liu.

For all the people Jeff had harmed, dead or living.

It could all end, if Lady just pulled the trigger while Randy kept him distracted.

Randy seemed to have no regard for his own life in this moment. Killing Jeff would no doubt be used as a reason to get him back behind bars, yet he didn’t care. He didn’t even seem to care how much he was putting himself at risk, as he then reached out and grabbed Jeff by his long hair, dragging him to meet his gaze.

“I should start off by rippin’ off yer eyelids,” Randy planned as he leaned dangerously close to Jeff’s face, “or should I start by pullin’ out yer tongue?”

Jeff was still giggling, which only infuriated Randy further.

“Why are ya laughin’?!” he snapped as he pulled on Jeff’s hair harder. “What the hell is so funny, huh?!”

Jeff continued to giggle, though he managed to get the words out as he eased his chuckling.

“Nothing,” he mused, “it’s just… you look so much like your mother.”

That sentence was all it took to make Randy completely lose it.

Letting out a primal scream of rage, Randy brought his knee hard into Jeff’s face, keeping his fingers tangled into his messy hair to prevent Jeff from pulling away. He did it again and again, and his movements were swift and brutal, yet they were close.

Too close.

Lady couldn’t risk shooting while Randy was so close to Jeff; considering her inaccuracy, hindered by both her tiredness and her injuries, she knew that there was a high risk of shooting Randy.

Randy, however, was not giving her an opening.

He had slammed Jeff into the ground, kicking him in the head, grunting ferally with each kick as if he were just an animal now. He didn’t even have the ability to scream insults at Jeff anymore.

As one of his kicks landed against Jeff’s head, Jeff finally retaliated at his usual speed. Despite his own wounds, he had grabbed Randy by his ankle, quickly pulling him down to the ground so that Randy had landed on his back hard.

Jeff was immediately on top of him, and as Randy tried to raise his pistol, Jeff only grabbed both of his wrists to prevent him from angling the shot correctly. Randy was baring his teeth ragefully as he tried to wrestle back against Jeff, yet even in his current state, Jeff was still overwhelming him.

Jeff’s smile was growing wider and wider as he gazed into Randy’s piercing eyes. Randy still appeared determined to beat Jeff, yet the anger upon his face only entertained the killer.

Lady, meanwhile, noticed that Jeff had dropped his knife.

He was unarmed.

This was her chance to take the weapon while Jeff was distracted, so she immediately sprinted towards the knife and clumsily scooped it from the ground.

As she did this, Randy was only yelling louder and louder as Jeff successfully pushed his wrists apart, though his grip was particularly tight around Randy’s right wrist which held the gun.

Jeff’s eyes grew wider and wider as he watched the anger upon Randy’s expression shift into a grimace, unable to free his wrist from Jeff’s hold. Randy tightened his own grip on his weapon, refusing to drop it, yet Jeff still smiled down at him.

The deranged killer began bending his wrist slowly, watching as the realisation surfaced in Randy’s blue eyes.

Further and further, Jeff bent his wrist while his grip remained firm, and with a sudden unnatural twist, the sound of a crack was heard by all three.

Randy’s yell was not only louder, but also clearly one of distress as he finally dropped the gun.

Lady did not have time to think rationally. Either she took a chance to shoot at Jeff, still with the likelihood of hitting Randy, or she went at Jeff with his own knife.

The latter option would be safer to Randy’s sake.

With Jeff seemingly still distracted by Randy as he focused on the man pinned beneath his own weight, Lady sprinted towards him with the intent to pierce his back.

He wasn’t turning around.

He couldn’t possibly turn around fast enough.

She was certain that she could do it.

She could wound him and follow up with a gunshot once Randy was out of the way, and maybe the others within the cabin would come outside to check on the commotion and help put an end to this.

But in the blink of an eye, Jeff’s grin flashed before Lady as he swung around, striking her hard across the face with the pistol Randy had just dropped.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 26: 26: Go For Winning

Summary:

Lady and Randy have found themselves in Jeff's clutches...

~26: Go For Winning~

Lady could have sworn she had only seen black for a moment.

She lifted her head, as if recovering from the strike, and she could still hear Randy’s screams.

Somehow, his screams were different.

More distressed.

Lady’s vision was blurry and her head was throbbing painfully, though the air around her smelled damp. She was cold, too, and she could barely see in the darkness. The floor she was on felt much harder than the soft ground of the forest.

There was only one light source, which was close to where Randy’s screams could be heard. A heavy-duty flashlight was on the ground, illuminating the cylindrical tunnel which Lady noticed that she was sitting within. Shadows were exaggerated, displayed upon the damp curved wall. The shadow she was focused on was humanoid, moving as if working on an art piece.

As she followed the shadow to its origin, she saw Jeff himself, straddling what must have been Randy’s body. Lady could only see his legs flailing as he continued to scream hoarsely.

“Stop squirming!” Jeff complained, though it didn’t look like Randy was succeeding at wrestling against him. “If you keep wriggling around, my hand might slip!”

Whatever Jeff was doing, Lady’s first instinct was to intervene. She never thought that Randy could scream in a way that sounded like it was damaging his own throat; it almost didn’t sound like him at all.

Lady tried to jump up despite her throbbing headache, but she immediately splashed back down into the shallow water, unable to move her feet. Her arms didn’t move, either, locked behind her back. She heard a rattling sound, and while she was unable to see her wrists, she wasn’t stupid enough to not realise her situation.

Handcuffs.

It almost wasn’t surprising, but the restraints around her ankles were the least expected. They were definitely leg cuffs used by authorities, yet Jeff had placed her in them.

Jeff’s head turned swiftly in her direction as he grinned widely at her.

“Ah, you’re awake now,” he noted, “those cuffs are strong, aren’t they? I took some from those officers.”

Lady scowled hatefully, her anger towards him overcoming her fear of him. She could feel that her gun was not in her holster, even though she had no chance at reaching it while restrained.

Jeff’s focus was already back on Randy, whose screams sounded exhausted.

“I’m almost done,” Jeff chirped over Randy’s hoarse shouts.

Lady still couldn’t see what was completely going on, still trying to wriggle and move closer, hoping that she could stop Jeff somehow from whatever he was doing. She wasn’t thinking about how stupid her actions were, or the consequences; maybe she could at least distract Jeff for a second, allowing Randy to get away.

As if oblivious to what Lady was doing behind him, Jeff sat upright with his knife visibly dripping.

“Done!” he announced proudly.

In the next moment, he had fully turned around, no longer straddling Randy’s body as he brought his knee into Lady’s stomach, knocking the air from her.

Lady let out a choked gasp, falling completely onto her side as she struggled to breathe. Her green eyes followed Jeff closely as she watched him crouch down to inspect her, even prodding her with his sharp knife, but not hard enough to injure her.

“Don’t worry,” Jeff cooed, “your makeover is next.”

Her eyes slowly enlarged upon hearing his words, and she found herself no longer looking at him, but instead towards Randy, who was no longer screaming. Instead, Randy was breathing heavily, his breaths trembling as he did so.

Barely illuminated by the flashlight, the lower half of Randy’s face was noticeably dark with a wet shine to the surface. His mouth was hanging open as he breathed heavily. Dark liquid trickled down his cheeks and chin.

Yet he seemed to be smiling from ear to ear.

His teeth were covered with blood, which without a doubt he could taste as it dripped onto his tongue.

Despite Lady struggling to catch her breath, she gasped hoarsely with pure horror at the sight.

Jeff was only laughing with glee as he stood over Randy’s limp form, and Lady could see that he wasn’t cuffed the same way she was. He was simply lying on his back in the dampness, with one of his arms stretched out to rest further away from his body. Not once had he used it to try wrestling back against Jeff, either; he had mainly been using his left hand to try defending himself, which was also bloody from multiple deep cuts.

Circling Randy, Jeff’s feet were dangerously close to the arm Randy was refusing to move. He was practically skipping over it playfully, while Randy’s icy eyes tracked his every move, like a snake waiting to strike at a skittering mouse.

“He looks so much like his mother now,” Jeff mused, and immediately, his words made Randy react.

Randy used his limp right hand, quickly trying to grab Jeff’s ankle, yelling primally as he did so. Jeff did not even react with surprise or care; he actually allowed Randy to grip him, though his hold was obviously weaker than usual.

Jeff just crouched down slowly, while Randy was still gripping his ankle. Randy was baring his blood-covered teeth as the crimson liquid continued to dribble down his face from his new smile. His breaths were ragged and animalistic.

“You used to scare me, a long time ago,” Jeff recalled as if it were a pleasant memory, his bony hand reaching out to run his fingers through Randy’s now-messy hair, which previously had remained spiked.

“Everyone was scared of you,” Jeff remembered, “but I was scared the most. I couldn’t go anywhere without wondering where you and your friends would come from, or what you would do to me.”

His fingers suddenly curled as he tightened his grip on Randy’s short black locks, and the other man winced and snarled while Jeff remained unusually controlled.

“The only time I walked anywhere alone was when you decided to make me beautiful,” he then grinned slowly as he pulled Randy’s face closer to his own. “You wanted me to smile. I remember you smiling, too, Randy; Keith and Troy were smiling, as well. They laughed as they held me down, while you were sat on me with that knife cutting through my skin.”

He began to laugh while Randy only feebly squirmed.

“You all laughed when I screamed,” he pointed out, “but look at you; you’re even weaker than I was!”

Jeff was suddenly back on his feet, yanking his ankle away from Randy’s grasp before harshly stepping on his wrist the same way one would squish a bug under their boot.

Randy once again howled, his voice echoing through the small tunnel.

Lady grimaced, at first confused why Randy sounded so pained, until her last memory before blacking out returned to her.

She could remember the crunching sound which followed as Jeff bent Randy’s wrist unnaturally.

Jeff lifted his foot, only to bring it down on Randy’s broken wrist again, making sure to dig his heel into the bone. His eyes were wider than ever as he took in the sight of Randy yelling out in agony, the sound being music to his ears.

Yet as Jeff continued to stomp his foot down onto Randy’s wrist, the cries of pain altered into something new.

Even as tears formed in his eyes, and his voice weakened from overuse, Randy gargled out a hoarse laugh which even brought Jeff to silence.

“Ain’t… first time… had bones broken,” Randy slurred out as blood continued to dribble into his mouth from his new scars, “and not… last.”

As if finally angered, Jeff brought his foot into Randy’s face, kicking him down into the shallow, dirty water.

“You’re not supposed to be talking anymore,” he grumbled as if it were a mere inconvenience.

Yet Randy’s feeble laughter continued despite the strain on his vocal cords.

Jeff, in his riled state, kicked his face again, this time with even more force, and as he did so, blood splattered from Randy’s wounds. Still, Randy was forcing himself to laugh and grin, which only stretched his carved skin further, opening the cuts more.

“Used to this, Randy?!” Jeff shouted down at him, kicking him again in the face, this time popping his nose. “Of course, you are! Your daddy must’ve hit you pretty hard every day after school!”

Suddenly, Randy raised his bloody left hand, grabbing Jeff’s leg once again while Jeff had made another attempt to kick his face. He managed to pull Jeff downwards this time, lucky enough to make Jeff fall onto his front, and he immediately used his body weight to hold him face-down in the shallow water.

“I… hit… harder,” Randy rasped as Jeff briefly struggled against his weight, suffocating in the dank puddle.

Randy’s advantage was predictably short-lived, given the state he was in. Any ordinary man would have been unable to fight back by this point, but Randy was not going to go down like anyone else Jeff had attacked.

Keith.

Troy.

His mother.

His own life which he was robbed of living for ten years.

His motivation to make Jeff suffer was the only thing allowing him to move at all, yet he was also careless as he retaliated without much thought.

Jeff was still armed with his knife, and while his face was still being pressed into the water, he splashed his right hand through the puddle and thrust it directly the side of Randy’s abdomen.

Randy’s natural grin disappeared, hidden under the blood which was cascading down his face.

His piercing blue eyes widened, as if with pure surprise, as a gasp for air escaped him.

Jeff was quick to sit himself up, pushing Randy off himself in the process while also making sure to keep him close. He used his free hand to grab Randy by the collar of his T-shirt, dragging him in as he watched Randy’s expression contort from shock, to horror, to agony, and his shallow breaths could barely be heard over Jeff’s ragged panting.

Lady spotted the blood dripping down Jeff’s armed hand, watching as it trickled down the handle of the knife. The blade was barely visible, buried deep into Randy’s left side.

“RANDY!”

Her scream of horror and hatred filled the tunnel, echoing all the way through it.

Jeff slowly turned his head as he grinned towards her, his body shaking from the excitement as Randy’s eyelids fluttered.

“Don’t worry,” he soothed, “he’ll live long enough to see your makeover.”

Lady was trying to stand up, yet her cuffs prevented her from gaining her balance as she slipped in the water.

“Coward!” she howled with rage. “You’re a fucking coward!”

Jeff casually withdrew the blade from Randy, kicking his barely-conscious body down with ease as he arose to his full height. The knife glistened, illuminated by the flashlight on the ground.

“I’m a coward?” Jeff grinned as he began to slowly pace towards her. “All I’ve seen you do is hide behind other guys. It’s the only reason you’re still alive.”

Not anymore.

Lady was unflinching as Jeff came closer and closer, his body blocking the glow of the flashlight behind him. His shadow towered over her, yet she only glared with pure anger and loathing in her gaze.

“You’re the one who can’t kill a woman without cuffing her wrists and ankles,” Lady spat venomously, “because you know that if I wasn’t restrained, I would kill you.”

Jeff pouted dramatically, running his finger along his blood-covered blade.

“I didn’t want you to interrupt Randy’s makeover,” he argued as his expression shifted into an unsettling smile yet again, “but since he won’t interrupt us, I can have some fun with you.”

He grabbed Lady by her hair and dragged her to her feet, keeping a hold of her firmly as he gazed into her eyes.

“I can remove those cuffs,” he offered, “but if I do, I won’t just make you beautiful with a smile. I will break some of your bones and see if you can take it better than Randy. I’ll cut out your tongue and rip your nails one by one from your fingers while you watch. I’ll have so much fun watching you cling to life, as you beg for me to finish you off.”

She was going to be killed either way.

“Do it, then,” she lowly growled as her hands twitched in the handcuffs, “release me, and I’ll be the one to hear you cry like a little bitch.”

Jeff’s eyes widened more, as did his smile, as if excited by her hatred and determination.

In one swift motion, he had grabbed her, pinning her front-first against the curved wall. He had to drop his knife as he pulled a set of keys from his pocket, casually looking them over while Lady was baring her teeth with rage, waiting for the best moment to strike.

Jeff fumbled with the handcuffs, and the moment Lady felt them loosen, she tried to swing around to strike him with one of her fists. Her wrist was caught, however, and slammed against the cold wall with a force strong enough to fracture the bone.

Lady yelled out in distress as she held her injured wrist close to her chest, with Jeff ignoring her cry of pain. He shoved her to the ground, straddling her legs as he began to undo her ankle cuffs, and he couldn’t hold back his laughter.

“Thank you for giving me permission to enjoy this,” he giggled as he freed her ankles, “because I’ve really wanted to finish you off since our first meeting.”

With Jeff pinning her legs and facing towards her feet, Lady still had free control of her upper body. Her left wrist, which is the one Jeff fractured, was kept close to her body, while her right hand reached as far as it could to her side, feeling for the very object she watched Jeff drop.

She felt it.

The tips of her fingers grazed the blade.

Her digits wrapped around the sharp metal, staining her hand with Randy’s blood as well as her own since she was gripping tight enough to cut into her own skin.

Jeff had already heard her splashing her hand into the water, reaching for something, and was about to turn around, swivelling off her legs. He lunged his body downwards, with one of his hands reaching to wrap around her throat as the other tried to pin her occupied hand. Lady was swift enough to move her arm out of the way, but Jeff’s other hand still clasped around her throat tightly.

This wasn’t going to be how she died.

She wasn’t going to let Jeff grin down at her with those insane, pale eyes.

His smile wasn’t going to be the last thing she looked at.

Before he could make a second attempt to grab her wrist, Lady swung the knife towards the hand around her throat. She was no longer hesitating, and as she felt the knife dig into his wrist, she dragged it along his arm like carving a cake as she aimed to open his veins.

He deserved it, like how he had slit Randy’s wrists back when they were still teenagers.

Jeff barely grimaced, immediately moving his other hand to try grabbing Lady’s arm, but she already pulled the knife away before he could grab her. Without giving Jeff time to recover, she swung the knife into Jeff’s side, just like how he had done with Randy. Jeff didn’t even gasp, once again barely even wincing as Lady buried the knife into his flesh.

He had to be weakening.

She gave the knife a slow, agonising twist, listening to Jeff snarling at first before his growls of pain turned into strained laughter.

What would it be like, to see the light fade from his eyes?

The thought was intrusive, yet Lady did not ignore it entirely.

She used her own body weight to shove Jeff off herself, quickly scrambling to her feet, but she was not going to wait for Jeff to make a move; if she waited, he would gain the upper hand.

Lady still had the knife in her hand, and Jeff was struggling to get to his feet as blood seeped from his newest wounds. Still, he was laughing breathily.

Before he could fully stand, Lady marched forwards and grabbed his tangled hair with her free hand, despite the pain it caused her wrist, and she quickly brought her knee into his face. As she attempted to do so a second time, Jeff grabbed her leg and dragged her downwards, throwing her down to the wet floor. He slammed his foot onto her back, pressing her against the floor with all the strength he still had running through him.

“You’re getting better at fighting back,” he praised while grinning, “and it’s really annoying.”

Lady only forced herself to laugh as she struggled to push herself up from beneath Jeff’s foot. Jeff simply slammed his foot down against her back again, hard enough to temporarily knock the wind from her lungs.

“But you’re not as strong as Randy,” Jeff then mocked, “or my brother.”

Still, Lady was laughing through her pain.

“I don’t need to be stronger than them,” she acknowledged, “I just need to be smarter than you.”

Quickly, she rolled over to get away from Jeff, fully aware that he was going to try preventing her from standing back up. While still in the shallow water, she swiftly turned around on her knees and stabbed the knife into his thigh while he was trying to get closer to her. Her thrust didn’t have much force behind it, however, so the blade didn’t cut as deep as before.

Jeff took this chance to grab the blade which was barely buried into his skin. No matter how hard Lady tried to hold onto it, Jeff was physically much stronger than her, so he reclaimed his weapon with ease. As the knife slipped from her hand, though, Lady refused to give him the chance to slash at her; she threw her first towards his face, yelling as she did so and making him lose his focus.

She knew her chances of beating him were slim. Even wounded, he was still stronger than her, but she was determined to trouble him for as long as possible.

If she could stand her ground for long enough, perhaps Jeff would finally tire and succumb to his own injuries.

It was wishful thinking, yet it was not an impossible outcome.

Still, it was growing more and more difficult for her; she was tiring faster, and despite not being as badly wounded as Jeff, she was still feeling the effects of her injuries more than Jeff was.

Jeff had recovered from the punch to the face, which had barely affected him. He was still grinning widely as he caught onto Lady’s weakness, and when he lunged for her again, she didn’t react quick enough to stop him entirely. All she could do was raise her arms to protect herself, feeling the burning cold pain of the knife slicing across her arms.

As Lady let out a yelp, Jeff kicked her hard in the leg, bringing her to her knees. He swung his leg a second time, this time striking across her face. Blood splattered from her mouth as she fell onto her side into the water, not too far from where Randy was barely clinging to life.

Was this it?

Was she going to die here, in what must have been a sewer, beside Randy Cooper?

Were they just going to be two more of Jeff’s many victims?

How was Liu going to react?

The thought crossed Lady’s mind as if interrupting all her other worries.

Why was that so important now, in a moment like this?

Jeff was crouching down, studying her as he planned on what to do with her first, yet her mind was on the killer’s younger brother.

She didn’t want Liu to lose her, knowing that without her, he would have nobody to reconnect him to ordinary society.

There was so much she had planned to show him, once all of this was over.

She wanted to spend more time with him.

Jeff was gripping her swollen wrist, and she was barely processing the pain. He was tapping the knife against the tips of her fingers, smiling down at her dazed expression.

“Which finger should lose its nail first, hm?” he asked her almost playfully, yet Lady was practically looking through him.

The knife began to poke under the nail of her index finger, digging into the nail bed.

“I think we’ll start here,” Jeff decided excitably, unblinking as he observed Lady’s unfocused expression.

Even Randy’s eyes had entirely glazed over.

Lady’s heart suddenly began to race, pumping hard in her chest. Life was rapidly returning to her eyes, accompanied by a second wind of burning rage. She moved her hand quickly, letting out a pained scream as she flicked her broken wrist and flexed her fingers, scratching her nails along the skin of Jeff’s pale face.

Jeff was momentarily caught by surprise as he dropped his knife, but immediately retaliated by grabbing Lady’s fractured wrist. Lady’s screams only grew louder, reverberating throughout the sewer. As Jeff squeezed her wrist, her other hand ran through the water beneath her, picking up the sewage sludge as she did so. She swiped her hand out of the liquid and pushed herself closer to Jeff, digging her filthy nails into the deep wound which she had inflicted into Jeff’s side.

As Lady wriggled her fingers in his injury, Jeff only squeezed her wrist tighter, bending it slowly as he did so. His grin was growing wider and wider, yet as he forced himself to laugh through his teeth, it was evident to Lady that he was disguising grunts and groans of pain. His eyes were twitching as Lady contaminated his wound with sewage waste, meanwhile Lady tried to ignore how difficult it was for her to move her fingers through the thick fluid as she pushed the digits further into his flesh.

Finally, Jeff was the one to relent.

The pale-faced killer shoved Lady as hard as he could, forcing her to withdraw her blood-coated fingers while also maintaining his grip on her wrist. He swung her around into the wall, slamming her against it, though before he could move to try pinning her there, something feral within her awoke.

Like a wild animal, Lady sunk her teeth into the hand which was around her wrist. The taste of iron filled her mouth as she tore through Jeff’s skin like how she would tear into a hard piece of bread. The thick red liquid dribbled down her chin like the lumpy sauce used on cheap pizzas, even being as warm in temperature.

Jeff wriggled his arm violently, slamming her head repeatedly against the wall, yet Lady only clamped down harder, her jaws locking onto his limb in a vice grip.

Even if her teeth began to crack, and her jaw began to break, she was not going to let go.

As Jeff pulled her back again, ready to slam her head against the wall once more, she suddenly shoved her body back against him to make him lose balance. He did not fall, but he stumbled far enough to give her some freedom. Lady ripped her face away from Jeff’s hand, taking some of his skin with her as it stuck between her teeth. She pounced abruptly towards him before he could fully recover from the shove, managing to just get onto his back.

Lady’s arms were gripping tighter than she even thought was possible. Jeff was like a wild bull, trying to shake her off and ram her against the wall of the sewer, yet Lady maintained her grasp by tangling her fingers into his hair. Gripping with her broken wrist should have been painful as she tensed her fingers, yet the pain was barely noticeable now. The blood which coated her other fingers was sticking to Jeff’s locks like glue.

While Jeff continued to throw himself against the wall, yelling out actual sounds of insane frustration and anger, Lady felt the impact less and less against her own body. Her bloody fingers tightened in his hair as she continued to pull on the tuft in her grasp, and her second hand loosened its hold to reach over Jeff’s face, scratching her fingers along his eyes. The soft texture under her nails, which only lasted for a brief moment before he blinked, confirmed that she had struck his eyeballs directly.

At first, Lady thought that perhaps she was just growing numb to Jeff’s attempts to injure her, but his slams against the wall became noticeably different.

They were slower.

Lady’s eyes enlarged as she understood that she was actually gaining the upper hand.

Jeff’s knees were wobbling as he finally collapsed into the water on all fours, and once he was down, Lady quickly untangled her fingers from his hair and jumped off his back, staggering as she landed on her own weak knees.

She couldn’t believe what she was looking at.

Jeff was breathing heavily, his eyes wide as though he were a surprised child. He was staring at the water, though it was too dark to see his own reflection (if he could even see at all, after Lady scratched his eyes). His entire body was trembling more than ever as he struggled to keep himself from totally collapsing onto his front, and the blood from his body was pouring into the water.

Lady’s body was also shaking violently. Her heart was still racing as she panted, barely able to breathe.

Jeff had dropped the knife during their scuffle.

She could finish him.

She could slit his throat and be done with it, just to make sure he could never hurt anyone again.

Randy would do the same, if he were the one to have won the fight.

Liu would also do the same.

Lady gasped sharply as such thoughts entered her mind.

She didn’t want Randy to kill Jeff, because it would guarantee his return to prison. The story could be twisted that he was on his own killing spree, and that Jeff was just a victim, after all he had done.

And if Liu was the one in her position, planning to finish Jeff once and for all, she would do everything to stop him.

She couldn’t bear the thought of Liu having to be the one to kill his own older brother. Such an action would haunt him forever.

She didn’t want him to become like Jeff.

Jeff deserved to suffer greatly for everything he had done, that much Lady believed with her whole heart. Death might have been too easy of an option; the world deserved to know that Jeff was a monster, and his victims deserved their justice.

The pale man suddenly fell limp, at last collapsing on his front in the sewage water. His eyes remained partly open, though they were vacant; one would think he had finally passed away from his many wounds, if not for his light breathing.

Perhaps, though, he was dying.

The adrenaline he relied on so often was finally wearing off, and no matter how dangerous someone was, everyone could still succumb to blood loss.

With his blood still merging with the water, it seemed guaranteed that he would bleed out.

And his death would be on Lady’s hands.

Lady’s own expression became a blank one as the thought crossed her mind.

At this moment, she no longer cared.

Her body was moving as though on autopilot.

No longer aware of her own pain throughout her body, she dragged her feet through the water towards where Randy was still fighting for his life. She couldn’t tell if he was conscious or not, simply allowing herself to lift him as though he weighed nothing. She wasn’t even surprised by her newfound strength; she just knew that she had a goal.

Get Randy to safety and see Liu again.

She was repeating this in her head as she held Randy over her shoulder, claiming the heavy-duty flashlight with her other hand so that she could see through the tunnels.

Jeff, meanwhile, was left behind her, and she could not even think about him anymore, as if he now meant nothing.

Her mind had nothing else there.

Get Randy to safety and see Liu again.

Get Randy to safety and see Liu again.

Get Randy to safety and see Liu again…

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 27: 27: What Never Was

Summary:

Lady desperately tries to get Randy to safety...

~27: What Never Was~

Lady had no idea how long she had been walking through the sewer tunnel.

She didn’t even know where she was going.

She had wrapped her blazer around Randy's abdomen, having done her best to create a makeshift bandage to put pressure on his stab wound. She didn’t care if the garment was ruined permanently; she just wanted to make sure that Randy’s bleeding was at least slowed down.

He seemed weightless to her as she continued to make her way through the sewer, following the beam from her flashlight. Her legs were wobbling with every step, yet not once did she stumble.

Her own wounds meant nothing to her. She wasn’t aware of her broken wrist anymore, or anywhere she may have been bleeding from.

Every so often, Lady would look over her shoulder just to make sure that Jeff wasn’t following her, thankful to see no sight of him. She could only hope that he was still lying in the sewage water.

Randy also showed no signs of waking any time soon. He had completely lost consciousness by this point, and his breaths were weak. Lady could feel the blood from his face seeping into her shoulder and into her hair as she continued to carry him along.

Jeff had carved a permanent smile into yet another person’s face, and it was someone who despised such a smile the most. There was still a chance for Randy’s wounds to be treated properly, so that the scars would be less visible, yet they would still serve as a reminder of what was done to him.

Randy would bear the scars no different to the ones he originally inflicted upon Jeff.

He would bear the same scars which he saw upon his dead mother’s face.

That is, if he even survived.

Thinking such a thought pushed Lady to move faster without her even realising.

Get Randy to safety…

As if her prayers had been answered, her flashlight was focused on a new shape spotted on the side of the tunnel.

A ladder.

Lady’s eyes widened at the sight as she dragged herself and Randy closer to it, seeing that it led up to a manhole cover.

It didn’t matter where this opening led her to; all that mattered was getting out of the sewer.

Gently, Lady was able to set Randy down, leaning him against the cold wall of the sewer tunnel. She refused to look at him for long, simply making sure he was steady before heading towards the ladder. She gazed up and down, and without further delay, she grasped onto the metal bars to begin ascending towards the cover.

As she climbed, she could no longer tell which of her wrists was the broken one. She was not entirely unaware of the fact that she was wounded herself, yet her body was pushing her to ignore everything she was supposed to feel.

She climbed her way up the ladder as if she had done it many times before, and once she reached the manhole cover, she began to push one hand against it. It was heavy, but loose from where it had already been lifted recently. It was likely that this could have been the very manhole Jeff entered through himself when taking Randy and Lady into the sewer.

Once the cover had been pushed aside, Lady practically jumped back down into the sewer. For the first time, she stumbled over as she landed, her ankle folding beneath her weight. If she was lucky, she had only twisted it, but in her present state, she would be unaware if she broke a bone.

Lady looked between the ladder and then at Randy, doing this a few times as she tried to decide what would be best for her to do. Carrying him up the ladder was going to be challenging, yet she knew that she had to try.

She chose to lift him with her left arm, wrapping the limb around his torso as she gripped him firmly. Her right hand grasped the ladder, and to prevent herself from falling as she began her ascent, she used her teeth as a substitute for her second hand. She did not care if the bite force she used was going to damage her teeth, purely focusing on biting down on each bar as she climbed. She was a lot slower than when she first scaled the ladder, hindered by Randy’s weight dragging her down, yet she only locked her arm around him tighter to make sure he didn’t slip away from her.

As soon as she and Randy had reached the exit, Lady finally took a moment to stop moving. She rested on the ground beside Randy, breathing heavily as she studied her surroundings. She had surfaced on the outskirts of Burnside, likely far from Lavender Lane and Marble Street due to the total lack of activity.

She couldn’t stop now.

Being in the town, she could search for help. She could find someone and inform them that Jeff Woods was in the sewer, and she could be taken to the hospital with Randy for proper treatment. She could even reveal the location of the cabin, so that Liu and Tim could be found and helped, too.

This could all be over.

Once more, Lady hoisted Randy up and held him over her shoulder. She was unsure where she was going, but she began following the path towards civilisation…

Until she heard a distant voice calling out to her.

“Lady!”

It was so familiar, and her heart immediately began to slow down upon hearing her name being called by that familiar voice.

Her head turned towards the source, and in the distance, she could see two figures.

They must have been searching for her and Randy, and they had tracked them down as accurately as possible.

The woman in the black dress continued to walk calmly as the man with the striped scarf tried to run despite his own injuries.

She had done it.

She had gotten Randy to safety and saw Liu again.

With her goal completed, she was immediately on her knees, dropping to the ground with Randy.

“Sewer…”

She said the word so quietly, as if she had lost the ability to speak.

“He’s… in the sewer…”

Her body was suddenly so heavy, too heavy for her to carry anymore, so she could do nothing but topple down onto her front, smacking down hard against the old concrete which led outside the town.

 

“Lady, wake up!”

Lady slowly lifted her head from the hard surface, having been using her own arms as a pillow. Beneath her was not concrete; it was a desk, no different to the one she would sit by back during her own school days.

Her vision was still somewhat blurry, but someone was standing over her desk. She could vaguely see a pair of green eyes along with messy dark brown hair, and as her vision cleared, Lady almost threw herself out of her chair.

“Liu?!”

She exclaimed his name loud enough for others to stop and stare at her. She had jumped into a standing position with her hands against the desk, and as she looked towards the others nearby, she realised that they, too, were just leaving similar desks to the one she was sat by.

It didn’t take long for her to notice that she was inside a classroom, with the way the walls were lined with different educational posters and written pieces done by the students.

Her gaze fell back upon Liu, who had no scars upon his face at all. His eyes were not tired, either, instead being large and full of life. His expression was one of genuine concern as he looked her up and down closely.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice not as sombre and low as it usually was when he spoke. “Class is over; were you up late doing your work again?”

Her work?

“You mean… my report?” Lady questioned slowly, trying to put together what was happening.

“Yeah, your report on youth gang violence,” Liu replied, leaning against her desk.

To Lady’s relief, that was incredibly familiar to hear.

“I thought I finished my last report,” she muttered, mainly to herself as she gazed down towards her desk.

“Oh, you finished it already?” Liu responded as he moved away from her desk, picking up his backpack. “No wonder you’re so tired, then; I’ve not even done half of mine.”

Lady noticed that her own messenger bag was beneath her desk. It looked just like the one she used to go to school with, yet still, nothing was making sense to her. She went to school in Ashford, and at that point, she was not writing any reports on youth gang violence.

Still completely baffled, Lady picked up her bag and hung it over her shoulder while Liu waited for her. He was wearing the same denim jacket she had seen in the photos back at the Woods residence, and it was clear that he was not the same age as the Liu she had really gotten to know.

“Come on,” Liu hurried, “I don’t wanna keep Jeff waiting; we always walk home together.”

Lady’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing the name, and she had to lean against her desk to prevent herself from collapsing with dread.

“Jeff?” she repeated.

Liu just seemed confused, raising his brow.

“Yeah?” he answered as though it were obvious. “You know? Jeff? My brother?”

Lady held her other hand to her head as she began to feel faint.

“I know, I know,” she replied shakily, still trying to get her head around what was happening, “I just… I don’t think I’m in the right place.”

Her words just made Liu shake his head as he began to walk away towards the classroom’s exit.

“You’re not making any sense,” he murmured, “you definitely didn’t get enough sleep last night.”

Lady had no choice but to follow after Liu, heading into the bustling corridor filled with students chatting and pushing past each other, ready to leave school for the day.

It was so familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. Lady could remember her own days as a teenager, fighting through the crowds as she laughed with her friends while talking about things nobody would ever care about after reaching adulthood. She remembered being so excited to go home, just to call her friends on the landline to make weekend plans. She remembered being excited for new albums and new movies while putting off her school work for as long as possible.

Yet this was obviously not a memory. She was in control of her words and actions as she interacted with the world around her, and she did not go to school with Liu, Jeff, or anyone else involved with the case.

If this was not a memory; it was either a dream or a hallucination.

Lady was walking beside Liu, not listening to whatever he was saying to her. He seemed so relaxed and casual, like a normal boy of his age.

Yet this very boy, at the age of fourteen, was going to suffer so greatly at the hands of his own older brother.

He had no idea that the same Jeff he was going to walk home with was the one who would murder his parents and mutilate his face.

He had no idea that he was going to disappear for ten years.

Lady’s heart continued to race as she kept her eyes peeled, still terrified of facing Jeff again. She didn’t want to be anywhere near him, even if this was merely a dream of some kind; Jeff was the one who would permanently scar Liu, and end the lives of so many people.

As the pair exited the school building, Liu’s eyes focused onto someone in the distance, hanging around by the gates.

“Jeff!” he called out, waving his hand while smiling brightly.

Hearing Liu call his name almost made Lady’s heart stop as she felt the blood drain from her face.

Someone with messy black hair was pacing weirdly by the gate, wearing the same baggy red sweater Lady recalled from the photo she had seen before. His skin was incredibly pale, with a patchiness to it, and he was talking to a girl. The girl had her back to Lady and Liu, making her face impossible to see, before she walked away through the gates.

Lady had slowed her walking pace, trembling as she and Liu approached the boy. He had turned his attention to them both once the girl walked away, though he did not wave back; he simply stared through them both blankly.

“Was that Jane?” Liu asked casually once he had jogged over to Jeff, with Lady just behind him.

Jeff nodded awkwardly, looking down at the ground as he tapped his feet against the concrete.

“We were just talking about class,” he mumbled, sounding completely different to the giddy voice Lady had heard so many times before.

Liu gave an understanding nod, though he did smile playfully as he folded his arms.

“I still think she likes you, you know,” he joked, though Jeff just shook his head.

“No,” was all he said, shifting stiffly on the spot while Liu just chuckled.

“I’m messing with you,” he assured as he patted his shoulder a few times, and every time his hand made contact with Jeff, Lady couldn’t help but flinch.

Jeff lifted his gaze, letting his pale eyes lock onto Lady, which made her skin crawl. His stare lingered for longer than Lady would have liked, almost as if he was studying her.

For a moment, it almost felt like he knew that something was wrong in this scenario, too.

As if Jeff himself had followed Lady into this strange vision.

Yet that was obviously not the case.

“How’s your day been?” Liu then asked, his voice sounding more gentle and caring this time as he eased his playful attitude.

Jeff was about to answer, but his eyes stared past both Liu and Lady.

For once, Lady was seeing fear plastered upon his face.

Liu appeared concerned, following his brother’s gaze before frowning once he noticed the problem.

“Just ignore them,” Liu muttered to Jeff, turning back around, “they’re not gonna come and bother you while I’m here.”

Lady decided to see who Jeff was looking at, and her eyes spotted a trio of boys who were staring right at him. They were nudging each other and laughing at whatever they were talking about, likely making remarks about Jeff.

The largest of the boys had shaved brown hair, while the tallest boy had short blond hair which had plenty of product to keep it held up, and he was also the skinniest. The third boy had piercing blue eyes and an incredibly smug expression, with his black hair being styled in a short quiff. All three boys were wearing blue and white letterman jackets, carrying skateboards under their arms.

Lady did not recognise the first two boys, but the third one did seem familiar.

The trio began to walk closer, and as they did, Jeff immediately grabbed Liu by his arm tightly.

“We need to go,” he said with urgency.

Liu noticed that the boys were getting closer, and his frown deepened. He nodded his head.

“Right,” he agreed quietly, hastily making his way out of the school gate with Jeff, “come on, Lady.”

Lady was hesitant, looking between the approaching trio and the departing duo. The boys weren’t even looking at her, simply looking past her towards the Woods brothers. The way they grinned proved to anyone that they had bad intentions.

Wasting no more time, Lady followed after Liu and Jeff, but chose to lag behind. Her eyes were mainly on Jeff, watching as the boy hunched over while walking beside his younger brother. He truly did look pathetic, but from Lady’s perspective, it really did look like he had the potential to bring harm to others; there was something off about him.

Laughter could be heard from behind, along with running footsteps. The three boys had jogged to catch up, with the large boy and skinny boy lingering behind while the black-haired boy went straight to Jeff, walking close beside him while continuing to grin.

“Hey there, fellas,” the boy sneered, “what’s the rush? We’re goin’ the same way to get home, so hope ya don’t mind our company.”

Jeff appeared tense as he subtly tried to move away from the other boy, and Lady despised that she almost felt sorry for him. He looked so scared and almost small compared to the other student who was bothering him, meanwhile Liu stood taller than both of them, glaring at the grinning boy.

“Beat it, Randy,” he threatened, “I’m not in the mood to send you home crying today.”

Randy.

Of course, it was Randy, Keith, and Troy.

Keith and Troy both let out a mocking “ooh” in unison before snickering together, while Randy merely chuckled.

“Aw, there ain’t no need to be like that,” Randy reacted with a mocking pout, “I just wanna make sure my friends make it home safe.”

Lady was trying to get a closer look at Randy. He looked so smug with a face anyone would want to punch, and if she had been in the same school as a boy like him, she definitely would have kept her head down to avoid being targeted.

But she knew Randy. She knew who Randy grew up to be. She knew why Randy behaved in such a way, and what would happen to him once he got home.

In fact, she could see that his knuckles were scraped and swollen, and there was faint bruising around his neck, as if a large hand had left its mark there.

The signs were so obvious that something was wrong, yet everyone must have assumed that he was always battered and bruised from getting into fights with other kids. He probably laughed it off that way, too, so that nobody knew the truth of what went on at home.

At this moment, Lady chose to step closer, moving past Keith and Troy.

“You can walk with us,” she spoke up to Randy, catching everyone by surprise.

Liu was staring at Lady with wide eyes, as if betrayed, and Jeff was staring with both fear and a hint of hatred for her. Randy also appeared shocked, at last staring at her for the first time. He almost seemed confused, and for a brief moment, it almost looked like he, too, was aware that this was not reality, as if this was the same Randy Lady had got to know.

Yet he immediately returned to being nothing more than an echo in her mind, just like everyone else.

Randy snorted, maintaining his closeness to Jeff.

“See? Yer lady friend don’t mind us,” he commented playfully.

Liu narrowed his eyes coldly at Randy.

“If you’re walking with us, just don’t bother us,” he compromised, “otherwise, I’ll leave you crying on the sidewalk.”

At first, Randy stared murderously, before allowing himself to smirk.

“Alright,” he agreed, “I ain’t gonna bother ya.”

The boy slowed his pace, falling back to walk alongside Keith and Troy. Lady watched him as he did this, seeing how all three boys smirked and continued to speak quietly to one another, most likely saying horrible things about both Jeff and Liu.

Lady’s own walking pace began to slow again as she fell behind the whole group. She was looking at all of them as they went on ahead; just a group of school students, behaving as such.

Jeff, who was walking so insecurely with his hands in pockets.

Liu, who was a little tense but overall walking quite casually.

Randy, who was just smirking and laughing as he pranced along after them with his two friends.

They were so young, and so unaware of what was going to unfold between them all.

Keith and Troy were both two teenagers, and they would never age beyond this point; they would die at Jeff’s hand, and would never see a life beyond high school.

Jane had also briefly been seen, and while Lady didn’t get a proper look at her, she seemed like an ordinary young girl, as opposed to what she became in the future as a result of what Jeff did to her; she even seemed to be a classmate who treated Jeff decently.

Both Randy and Liu would have their lives permanently altered by Jeff. Lady would get to know them both as adults, long after their initial trauma, and while she valued the two men, she couldn’t help but want things to change for them. She wanted them to just live the most normal lives possible, even if it meant she would never get the opportunity to meet them.

Jeff was the one she stared at with the most anger, and the least sympathy. Even though she did feel somewhat bad for him, she could still only see the person who would eventually snap and kill so many people. Whether or not Randy attacked him brutally was irrelevant; Jeff clearly always had the potential to be dangerous, and Randy happened to be the one who pushed him.

Occasionally, Randy would shout something rude at Jeff, just to make the boy flinch, and he would throw small pebbles he picked up from the ground. Every time Liu shot a warning glare in his direction, Randy simply shrugged and pretended he had done nothing.

The sun was setting as the group made their way towards Lavender Lane, which was actually a lively location. Parents were returning home with their kids, or from work, and older students were walking back home. Every house must have been occupied, unlike in the present where the street was practically abandoned.

Lady noticed that Randy had slowed down a little, as if delaying his return home. He appeared tense and irritable, though he quickly disguised this by throwing down his skateboard and deliberately letting it roll into Jeff’s ankle.

“Sorry,” Randy falsely apologised, “that’s my bad.”

Jeff didn’t say anything at all, barely even looking back to acknowledge Randy. Keith and Troy had also dropped their boards, jumping onto them as they skated ahead, pushing past Liu and Jeff while laughing obnoxiously.

“I’ll see ya tomorrow, Jeff,” Randy smirked as he cruised past him, “and I’ll be needin’ to… “borrow” yer homework for Mr. Schmidt’s class.”

It didn’t look like Randy was actually heading home at all. If anything, he was avoiding going back for as long as he possibly could.

Jeff just kept his head bowed as he walked, while Liu put his arm around him protectively. Meanwhile, Randy was laughing as he began to skate along the sidewalk faster to catch up with his two friends; the two friends he would lose before he was framed for their murder.

Lady felt herself tearing up as she watched him leave. For all she knew, Randy may have been dead in the present day, if he had succumbed to the wounds Jeff inflicted upon him. This vision of him may have been the last time she would ever see or interact with him.

Without realising it, she was running to catch up with him.

“Randy!” she called out to him.

Randy did not slow down, though he did look over his shoulder in confusion towards her.

What was she supposed to say?

Nothing here was real.

Perhaps she was the one who was dying, and this was just her brain confusing her before she passed away.

Yet she could not let even a shadow of Randy leave without saying a word to him, knowing what life he was going to have to live.

“You’re strong!” she found herself shouting after him. “You’re real strong! You always will be!”

She managed to catch a glimpse of Randy widening his eyes before he turned his head away, focusing on the path ahead as he continued to skate after his two friends, rapidly turning a corner.

As her tears began to drip more, Liu and Jeff both stopped in their tracks.

“Lady?” Liu asked with worry in his voice. “You’re acting really weird today; what’s the matter with you? Why are you crying?”

The tears were streaming down her face as she could no longer hold them back at all.

Lady was trembling, and at last, she fell to her knees as she burst into tears.

“I think Randy’s gonna die,” she wept into her hands. “He’s lost Keith, he’s lost Troy, he’s lost his mom… and now he’s bleeding so much!”

Liu and Jeff looked between each other, shrugging, before Liu approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“I think you’re worrying too much about other people,” Liu murmured quietly, which caught Lady by surprise.

“What?” she asked as she stared up at him, tears still rolling down her cheeks.

“You’re worrying too much,” Liu repeated, crouching down to be at her level, “seriously, Lady, you’ve gotta look after yourself.”

Lady shook her head, burying her face in her hands.

“You don’t get it,” she wept, “I’m not really here. I don’t even know what’s happening.”

Jeff stepped closer, gazing down at her with a coldness in his stare.

“You’re probably tired,” he observed, “maybe you need to just go home and go to sleep.”

Lady gasped sharply, shuffling backwards as she heard the words spoken to her. Her eyes were wide and her body was trembling more, meanwhile Jeff only stared down at her with no empathy on his face.

Liu’s expression shifted to one of worry, casting a glance up at his older brother before looking back at Lady’s terrified expression.

“I don’t think sleep is what you need, is it?” he murmured. “You need to wake up.”

Wake up.

This was all just a dream, yet Liu’s words were deeper than that.

The real Liu, the one she truly knew, was trying to get through to her.

“You don’t need to worry about Randy,” Liu went on, putting both of his hands on her shoulders, “he’s gonna be fine, but you need to wake up.”

“No,” Jeff countered as he stood over her, “you need to go to sleep.”

Lady was looking between them both, seeing the cold expression on Jeff’s face contrasting the worried glimmer in Liu’s eyes.

If she fell asleep here, in this dream, perhaps that would be permanent.

No wonder Jeff was being so persistent, even in this vision; he was the one who had been trying so hard to kill her, and if she gave in, it would mean that he would have succeeded.

Lady reached her hand up to touch one of Liu’s, doing her best to calm her own cries.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, “I need to go.”

Liu faintly smiled, giving an understanding nod.

“I know,” he acknowledged, “so, go. Go home.”

Home.

Marble Street.

Perhaps if she returned there, she would wake up.

Liu gently took her by the hands, helping her stand up.

“I’d offer to walk you home, but I don’t want Jeff to be on his own,” Liu then said to her, “you know, since Randy and his buddies could be waiting nearby.”

He was back to behaving like a mere shadow.

Lady wiped her tears away with the back of her hand, though she did shake her head at Liu’s words.

“You don’t know what he’s going to do to you,” she wavered, “you don’t know… what’s going to happen.”

Liu only laughed, taking a step back away from her.

“I can handle my own brother, Lady,” he chuckled, “now, go on; I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Jeff had already begun to march away, glaring back over his shoulder towards Lady, and since he was leaving, Liu had to catch up. Liu waved at Lady with such an ordinary smile on his face; it was the sort of smile Lady wished she could see on the real Liu’s face, but he was burdened by too much pain to do so.

Lady did not have the strength to wave back at him. She felt guilty; she could do nothing to warn anyone of what was about to happen. She could not prevent the events from unfolding; Jeff was going to become a brutal killer, and he was inevitably going to attack Liu after killing their parents. He was going to kill Keith and Troy, and he was going to make Randy look like the culprit. He was going to burn down Jane’s house, disfiguring her permanently while causing her to fall into a coma.

All of these events had already happened.

There was no stopping them.

Lady’s goal was to make sure Jeff could harm nobody else, and to make sure his surviving victims did not have to go through anymore trauma.

Without staring at the Woods brothers any longer, Lady turned on her heel and sprinted away from Lavender Lane, heading towards the next block where she knew 64 Marble Street was located. Tears still fell from her eyes as she ran, yet she was fuelled by the determination to make sure the real Randy and Liu were alright.

She had to finally see this case come to an end.

As she approached the house, which looked identical to how it looked when she really did live within it temporarily, Lady reached her hand out and barged the door open…

 

And the first thing she saw when awakening was a pair of sunken, tired green eyes.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 28: 28: Subways of Your Mind

Summary:

Lady wakes up to Liu treating her injuries, learning more about his past...

~28: Subways of Your Mind~

Lady cried out weakly, feeling every pain in her body at once. Her head was pounding, and her whole body ached. Her right wrist was throbbing, and her forearms were incredibly sore. The taste of blood still lingered within her mouth, forcing her to contain the urge to vomit.

Liu had been bandaging her right wrist, though she was certain he had also set the bones into place beforehand, resulting in more agony within the joint. Antiseptic wipes had been discarded around the area, covered with blood.

Lady recognised that she was back in the cabin, in the very bed Liu had previously been resting in. She was gazing at him as he studied her closely, watching as Liu reached a hand out to hold her cheek.

“Lady, can you hear me?” he asked her softly, his voice riddled with worry.

Lady had tried to nod, but her neck was also aching from where Jeff had tried to choke her, and the movement only made her head throb even more. As she winced from the pain, Liu held her face with both hands.

“Careful,” he eased, “you’re not in a good way.”

Lady reached up towards him with her left hand, noticing how the forearm was bandaged to cover the slice Jeff had cut into her skin. She was still somewhat dazed as she placed her hand upon Liu’s cheek.

His scarred smile was there, reminding her that she was no longer in a dream.

She really was safe, away from Jeff.

Liu’s body tensed, and he gently pushed her arm away from his face.

“I’m… glad you’ve woken up,” he admitted quietly, “I had to treat Randy first because his condition was more severe than yours, but he’s still unconscious. Both of you are gonna need to go to the hospital.”

Lady did not have the strength to shake her head, instead looking into Liu’s eyes with a pleading stare.

“You… too…” she managed to croak out, seeing the shift in Liu’s expression before he looked away from her.

“I’ll be fine,” he argued lowly, “believe me, I’ve managed ten years without needing to go to a hospital.”

Lady tried to sit herself up to protest, but Liu firmly put his hand on her shoulder without even looking back at her.

“I’ve survived more than the two of you,” he reminded her, casting his green eyes in her direction, “so, I’ll be alright. You two are at risk of getting infections and you both need to be checked properly.”

Lady used her left hand to reach the one Liu had placed on her shoulder, grasping it without much energy.

“Please,” she begged, “please… go…”

Liu shook his head again, gently placing Lady’s hand back down to her side.

“You really shouldn’t be worrying about me right now,” he pointed out, “you need to focus on regaining your own strength.”

It almost sounded exactly like what Liu had said to her in her dream, making her widen her eyes.

Liu reached forward without realising it, his gaze softening significantly as he brushed some of Lady’s hair from her face.

“When I saw you collapse like that… I thought you were gone,” he quietly confessed to her. “You were carrying a man heavier than you, and you had taken a severe blow to the head, from what I could tell; I thought… the adrenaline was the only thing keeping you alive.”

Adrenaline.

That was why she could suddenly no longer focus on her pain, and why carrying Randy seemed so easy for her.

That was why, the moment she fulfilled her goal, her body gave up.

Lady reached up for his face, too, watching as his expression became guarded again, yet she traced her hand over his cheek while examining his old scars.

She had wanted to see him again.

That was what motivated her; she just wanted to see him again.

Lady’s eyes widened more as she remembered what had happened before she passed out.

“Jeff,” she murmured, “Jeff… is in the sewer…”

Liu let her continue to caress his cheek, his expression relaxing slightly again.

“You said that before you collapsed,” he assured her, “and we heard you; Jane’s gone after him.”

Lady immediately tried to sit herself up again, even as Liu tried to stop her from doing so.

“On… her own…?!” Lady reacted. “Nobody’s… with her…?”

Liu shook his head, though instead of forcing Lady to lie back down, he helped her get into a comfortable sitting position by propping a pillow behind her head as she sat upright.

“She helped me get you and Randy back here,” he explained, “but, yes, she did go out on her own; I would’ve gone with her, but… I had to focus on helping the two of you.”

Jeff wasn’t his priority.

This could have been his chance to finish Jeff for good, to get his revenge, yet he abandoned that opportunity.

Lady glanced downwards solemnly.

“Do you… still want to go…?” she asked faintly.

Liu was silent for a moment as he thought about his answer, turning his head away from her.

“I don’t know,” he admitted, “I want to make sure he never hurts anyone again. I want to make him pay for hurting you like this, and for hurting so many people, but… I also want to stay right here by your side.”

He looked her in the eyes again, leaning closer to her while his expression remained unreadable.

“Tell me,” he murmured, “what… condition is Jeff in? He can’t have been too great if you were able to get away from him.”

Lady tilted her head slowly, wincing as the pain continued to throb. She studied Liu’s expression, seeing in his eyes that he was desperate for an answer.

“He… collapsed,” she recalled, “Randy… had fought back against him. I… I just defended myself… until he stopped.”

Liu gave a slow, thoughtful nod, before giving a light huff as he nearly smiled.

“Sounds like you did a good job,” he said, likely in an attempt to lighten the mood slightly.

Lady was confused by his reaction, though she did allow herself to smile tiredly.

“You… taught me a thing or two,” she replied, “though, I should warn you… if you try to choke me again… your hand won’t look so good afterwards…”

Liu actually chuckled, moving to lay down beside her while propping his head up on his hand.

“I’ll be sure to ask nicely next time, then,” he joked warmly.

Lady weakly laughed at his response, though she felt a pain deep in her chest as she did so.

An emptiness.

She could see how hard he was trying to maintain a cold façade, and his eyes seemed as dull as ever like there was no life in them at all, yet his warmer side still shone through, even if just for a brief moment.

Perhaps if Liu had never suffered so much, he would’ve just been a laid-back guy with a decent sense of humour. He certainly had the potential to make her laugh, and to generally be a playful person, yet he hid it beneath his ruthless and distant exterior.

Lady’s smile faded as fast as it came, and Liu noticed this. His own small smile disappeared, too, as he chose to lie on his back and gaze up at the low ceiling.

“I shouldn’t say things like that,” he murmured, “you’ve been through a lot tonight.”

Lady immediately placed her good hand upon his upper arm, trying to move closer to him.

“No,” she countered, “I… I feel better… seeing you act more like yourself.”

Liu raised his brow as he turned his head to face hers, puzzled by her statement. He stared into her eyes as if trying to read her like a book before turning his head away again.

“Myself?” he coldly found himself responding. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Even in her exhausted state, Lady had the strength to frown and lean closer to him, reaching for his face to make him look at her.

“The one… who wants to relax and smile,” she told him, seeing a twitch in his expression as he listened, “the one… who isn’t as distant.”

Liu squinted his eyes as if uncomfortable, though he did not pull away. Instead, he just spoke quietly.

“You’re mistaken,” he corrected in a faint voice, “that’s not me acting like myself at all. That’s just… how I act around you.”

Lady felt her eyes stretching open, even as doing so caused her head to ache more.

He didn’t appear to be lying to her, though he also seemed troubled by his words, as if he wasn’t even completely sure himself.

Even if he did happen to be telling the truth, that still must have meant something.

Perhaps, in ten years, he had remained distant and cold no matter who he crossed paths with. Perhaps that was the version of himself he had grown so used to, as he did everything he could to make sure “Lincoln Parks” was nothing like Liu Woods.

He had been so determined to remain distant, to disconnect himself from normal life, yet Lady allowed him to be somewhat ordinary even if only for a few seconds at a time.

Did he hate that?

Did he hate slipping up and letting himself smile?

She would have been fully ready to believe that, if it weren’t for the fact that he was pressing his forehead against hers, gentle enough to not make her pain worse.

“If I lost you, I wouldn’t have saved Randy,” he confessed in a whisper, “I would have left him somewhere on the street, and I would have gone with Jane to find my brother.”

He reached his hand to her face, caressing her cheek tenderly.

“He has never regretted hurting anyone,” he rambled quietly, “but I would have made sure he regretted hurting you.”

His words were both gentle yet ruthless. Randy’s life did not matter to him, and he would have forced his own older brother to suffer as punishment.

Yet this outcome would only have happened if Lady had been killed.

In a way, it was scary, realising that she was holding him back from so much brutality, yet hearing him admit his care for her was still, in a way, sweet.

Liu always did seem to be walking on a very fine line between being a victim and a monster himself. He didn’t have the heart of a cold-blooded murderer, yet he must have convinced himself that this was the only path he could take.

Maybe Lady was the last one who could prevent him from going too far.

Lady couldn’t hold herself back from wrapping her arms around him, pulling him closer against her. She heard his breath hitch as his body tensed, yet he was not pulling away. She slowly moved her forehead away from his to instead rest her head against his shoulder as she clung to him tightly.

“Liu,” she mumbled into him, “when… when I was in the sewer… I could have done it. I could have… I could have killed Jeff.”

Liu just wrapped one arm around her, letting the silence linger for a moment before he replied.

“Why didn’t you?” he questioned softly, sounding confused yet defeated.

Lady’s body trembled at the memory. She remembered the urge growing inside her as she recalled all the lives which Jeff had ruined. She could still feel the anger burning inside her even while she was low on energy.

“I… thought about you,” she revealed to Liu, “and… if I saw you… ready to do the same thing.”

She lifted her head to look into his eyes, seeing just how distant he appeared as she continued to speak.

“I… would have stopped you,” she admitted, “I wouldn’t… want you to have blood on your hands like that…”

Liu’s expression remained empty as he stared through her, though he did not loosen his hold.

Then, he asked a question which sent a chill down her spine all of a sudden. 

“How do you know I haven’t killed before?” 

Lady’s eyes were large with surprise as she stared into Liu’s dull gaze. He was unblinking, waiting for her response while studying her reaction to his question. 

She had suspected such a thing ever since their first meeting, yet as they had gotten to know each other, she could never be sure. 

“Do you even know where I was for the last ten years?” he pressed, propping himself up on his elbow to lean down at her, his shadow falling over her body. “Do you know the details? Anything at all?” 

No. 

She didn’t know anything about where he had been. 

Nobody did. 

If he had said these words to her when they first met, she would be terrified of him. She would be silent, not wanting to question the truth in case it endangered her own life. She would never have trusted Liu with anything, especially if he revealed this to her after she discovered he was Jeff’s younger brother.

But she was not afraid of Liu.

Not anymore, and never again.

Her own expression relaxed as she stared into his eyes, watching as the coldness took over his expression once again.

“Maybe I’m not so different from my brother,” he reflected thoughtfully, “or maybe I’m worse. I’m worse because I will kill my brother, whereas he failed to do that already.”

He was trying to distance himself again.

Lady could see right through him.

The words which left her lips were quiet, yet also void of fear.

“How many?”

Liu became wide-eyed, losing the dull and empty expression on his face as his lips parted from the shock at her question. Meanwhile, Lady was just staring without any tension.

For a moment longer, Liu was studying her, as if waiting for a hint of fear to appear on her face, but it never did.

So, he finally answered.

It was one word, yet it still made Lady’s hair stand on end.

“One.”

Only one life, compared to the many his brother had taken, yet it was still one life too many for a person to take.

Lady could at least be relieved that it was not a larger number.

“I’m a murderer,” Liu confessed, his eyes unblinking and dim once again as he focused on her expression, “there is no confusion there, Lady. I have murdered somebody. I know what it’s like to watch the life fade from somebody’s eyes. I know how it feels to hear their final breath, knowing I did that to them.”

Lady felt her body’s urge to tremble at his words, yet she was able to keep herself calm. She was no stranger to dangerous people, even before working on investigating the Burnside Murders, and even though it sickened her to know that Liu had taken a life before, he didn’t seem anywhere near like Jeff. There was a huge difference between the two, and Lady was determined to know more details now that Liu had already began telling her.

“Who… was it?” she asked faintly as Liu fully sat himself upright, sitting on the side of the bed while still looking down at her for a moment, though he did look away as he began to reply.

“The man who found me all those years ago,” he revealed, “and the man who sheltered me.”

Lady almost gasped at his words, feeling her blood running cold.

Once more, Liu glanced at her to drink in her expression, seeing the faint hint of horror.

“Would you still stop me from killing Jeff, knowing that I have killed before?” he lowly questioned.

Lady’s answer wasn’t immediate, and seeing her hesitation, Liu turned away again.

“Exactly,” he murmured, “so, if Jeff is still alive, and if I do find myself with the knife in my hand, let me do it. Let me do the one thing I’ve been preparing for all this time, and then let Liu Woods die with him.”

Despite the pain it caused her, Lady forced herself to sit up, as well, grimacing as she did so. She was still hesitant, debating whether or not to reach her hand out to him. She instead chose to lean forwards, pressing herself against his back while wrapping her arms around him, feeling her heart racing as she did so.

Liu stiffened in her arms, and Lady was certain that he was going to push her away, yet he remained frozen in her gentle hold.

“I’d… still stop you,” she insisted, “even… knowing that you could kill me.”

Liu remained tense, and as he took a moment to reply, his voice cracked with hoarseness.

“Why?”

He nearly sounded defeated.

Lady’s hold on him remained gentle, yet she showed no signs of letting him go.

“Because… you don’t deserve to be burdened with killing the older brother you once loved,” she answered slowly, “you shouldn’t have to… bear that responsibility.”

Liu slowly shook his head, not facing back at all as she continued to hold onto him.

“I made my choice a long time ago,” he quietly mumbled, “and I chose to let Liu Woods die. My only purpose was to kill Jeff for what he had done; the consequences have never mattered.”

Lady rested her face into the back of his shoulder, her embrace only tightening around him.

“You should’ve… been helped,” she murmured to him sombrely as she could gradually feel her energy returning, “you should have been helped… all those years ago.”

Liu raised his voice very slightly as he took on a more defensive tone.

“I was helped,” he corrected, “did you not hear what I said? Someone found me and took care of me for years, Lady. Someone who I killed.”

Lady lifted her heavy head, which still felt as though it was splitting in half. She was trying to look upon Liu’s face, only seeing him partially from the side.

“You’re not telling me everything,” she noticed, then seeing Liu’s green eyes glancing in her direction as best as they could. “Liu… I want to understand you.”

Liu just huffed to himself quietly.

“What is there to understand?” he asked her coldly. “I killed the person who took me in. The person I asked to take me in. There is nothing else you need to know.”

“Yes, there is,” Lady immediately argued as her hold remained strong, “please, Liu, just… talk to me. For ten years… what was your life like?”

Silence.

Liu was no longer looking at her with his eyes, instead averting his gaze, until he suddenly moved. Considering that he, too, was still injured from his own fight with Jeff before, he had moved faster than Lady ever could have herself.

Within seconds, he had shoved her down onto her back, holding her arms down at her sides while being wary of her injuries. She still yelped from the pain of the sudden movement, and upon reopening her eyes, she found herself looking into Liu’s terrifying, murderous stare. His eyes were wide with pure focus as he hovered over her.

“I haven’t had a life,” he revealed to her quietly, “I didn’t want a life. Not a normal life, fearing that Jeff would come back after me. I hated Jeff and wanted to make sure he paid for what he did, and for most of these years… I was learning to kill.”

Learning to kill.

Training.

Liu leaned down, getting closer to her ear, and Lady could feel his warm breath against her skin.

“I know how to kill you,” he whispered to her, “I know what you would sound like, breathing your last breath.”

His words sent a shiver down her spine as her heart jumped. She was trembling as his hand traced the bruise left on her neck by Jeff.

“I know how to choke the life from you quickly,” he rambled as he gazed back down into her eyes, “and I know how to do it slowly. I’ve been trained, Lady, by someone really good at killing people. Someone who might’ve killed more people than Jeff, but he has never been connected to a single death. I killed someone like that; I am capable of being worse than my brother.”

Lady had flinched as Liu began to trace the bruise, but her quivering eased. She may have still been somewhat wary, and still aching from the pain throughout her body, but she wasn’t outright afraid of Liu at all.

From what it sounded like to her, Liu had crossed paths with a professional killer of some kind, and had learned from him.

There was no way such a life was comfortable.

Lady’s expression relaxed again as she gazed into his cold eyes, observing the growing frustration as Liu struggled to emphasise how much of a danger he could be to her.

“You know how to take a life,” she reiterated, “but you also know how to save one. You saved Randy and I after we were attacked, and you’ve always been there to protect me, too.”

Liu’s eyes glimmered with realisation at her words. Perhaps not the realisation that he was capable of saving people, but instead it seemed like something else.

The scar-faced man leaned his head down again, this time buying it in the side of her neck. As he did so, he released his hold on Lady, allowing her to wrap her arms around him. Her hands rested onto his back as she pulled him down, making him lay directly on top of her body rather than simply hovering over her.

“You were just a kid when you made the choice to disappear,” she reminded him shakily, “and you were just a kid when Jeff took away the ordinary life you were used to. You shouldn’t have had to make such decisions at that age.”

She held Liu tighter, with her uninjured hand moving to rest on the back of his head as she felt her eyes blurring from the growing tears.

“You were just a kid.”

Had Liu ever been told those words?

Probably not.

The man who sheltered him remained a mystery to Lady, as did the details of what he put Liu through, though it seemed clear enough that the man supported Liu’s revenge fantasy and likely even fuelled it. He couldn’t have been a great mentor, either, if Liu eventually killed him; she couldn’t help but wonder if he had hurt Liu while keeping him isolated from the world, trying to “toughen him up” so that he could beat his brother.

Liu was just a tool shaped to kill his own brother, with nothing else to live for.

Yet Lady’s words must have struck him deep within, because she began to feel a warm wetness against her skin. Liu’s body quivered as he took in shallow, shaky breaths, keeping his face hidden in the crook of her neck.

Lady could only gently stroke his head, her body no longer tense as she let him lay on top of her body. She was saying nothing, instead listening to the way Liu’s breathing got louder as he trembled against her.

Liu was never going to be like Jeff, she was certain of that.

It was impossible to imagine Jeff crying in the arms of somebody he cared about.

Her own tears were leaking from her eyes as she was overcome with a mixture of relief and heartache. She was relieved that Liu had told her such important details about his past and felt comfortable finally expressing his emotions, yet her heart ached knowing that he had suffered more than just the trauma Jeff had caused.

She silently wept for the fact that Liu had already been in a position where he had to take a life.

Her hand trailed gradually from the back of his head and down to his neck, which was still covered by the striped scarf Lady had given him. She felt the soft wool between her fingers as Liu’s soft cries became audible, albeit muffled. Lady held onto him, still finding comfort in his warmth despite knowing more gruesome details about his past. She didn’t want to ever let go of him in case he tried to run away and disappear, like he had done before after Lady discovered his true identity.

However, Liu was not going anywhere, as he, too, was holding onto Lady as if afraid of losing her.

Even as time passed, and his crying began to fade into silence as he finally managed to calm himself, he continued to hold onto her while lying over her body, seemingly content with merely being with her.

~End of Chapter~

Chapter 29: 29: What She Wants

Summary:

Lady and Liu are still waiting anxiously for Jane to return, but with victory so close, Lady realises that there's something else she wants more than anything once this case finally comes to a close...

~29: What She Wants~

Jane had still not returned to the cabin, Randy remained unconscious in one room, and Tim was presumably asleep in the other, perhaps still being fronted by his alternate personality.

All of their lives were worth worrying about, yet Lady’s mind was focused on one person only.

Liu.

She was ashamed of herself for thinking so much about him when she wasn’t even sure Randy would wake up ever again, or if Tim would ever surface as his original self. She didn’t care about Jane, not worried at all if she was in danger since she had gone to search for Jeff.

Lady was so tired, mentally, and physically. The case of the Burnside Murders had been the most dangerous one for her, and her life had changed so much since getting involved only a few weeks prior. By the end of it all, she still hoped to see Jeff behind bars, meanwhile she was well aware that she and the others would need a hospital trip.

Liu was no longer allowing himself to cry, though he had been holding onto Lady without making a sound for a few minutes. Lady continued to cradle him close, simply choosing to enjoy the silence, and her hand continued to absentmindedly stroke the back of his head, her fingers running through his hair.

Eventually, Liu was the one to move, lifting himself up to once again hover over Lady’s body.

“Jane’s not back yet,” he quietly spoke, “do you think… I should check on her?”

Immediately, Lady’s left hand gripped around his forearm.

“No,” she replied with a shake of her head, “I… I’d rather you stay here.”

Liu stared down into her worried eyes, as if still in disbelief at how Lady continued to be content in his presence.

“She could be in danger,” he pointed out to her, “Jeff can’t be underestimated, Lady. You and I both know that now.”

“Yeah, I know,” Lady agreed firmly, “but believe me, Jeff is weak. He’s lost a lot of blood tonight, and Jane isn’t foolish; she must know what she’s doing.”

Slowly, Liu gave a few nods in agreement, though his eyes wandered to the side before he chose to sit himself up on the side of the bed.

“I suppose you’re right,” he murmured, “and earlier tonight, Randy did barge in here saying that Jane couldn’t go on watch duty because she had something to prepare for. Maybe she was preparing for something to do with Jeff.”

Lady winced as she also sat herself up, still resting against the headboard of the old bed.

“Yeah,” she recalled, “so, I’m sure Jane can handle herself.”

She bowed her head with concern, though, at the mention of Randy’s name.

“I’m worried about Randy, though,” she admitted under her breath, “Jeff… the things he did to him… I thought he…”

Liu turned his head, seeing the worry in Lady’s expression. He stared at her vacantly before turning his head away again.

“If you feel well enough to get up and walk, you should go and see him,” he suggested, “but I wouldn’t recommend disturbing him. His bleeding has been stopped, but with how severe his injuries are, he will need to be taken to the hospital; infections and diseases can be fatal.”

Lady furrowed her brows further.

“We need to take him as soon as possible, then,” she acknowledged.

“You’re still at risk, too,” Liu stated, looking her up and down, “you’ll definitely need to be checked out.”

“And you,” Lady immediately countered, “I saw Jeff stab you with that knife which he’s probably never cleaned.”

Liu shook his head defensively.

“I’ve survived long enough without needing to go to a hospital,” he reminded her coldly.

Lady frowned slightly as she moved to sit by his side.

“If you won’t go, then I won’t go,” she argued, seeing the visible shift in Liu’s expression.

“You’ve not had my life, Lady,” he clarified, “I’ve been taught how to take care of myself, and believe me, I’ve had to fend off a few infections naturally.”

Lady placed her left hand on his shoulder, feeling him tense up and battle the urge to jerk away from her.

“You’re still a human,” she pointed out, “so, you’re not invincible. Nobody is; not you, not me, not Jeff.”

Liu just shook his head sternly.

“I’m not going, Lady,” he insisted, “I’ll just get so much unwanted attention the moment they realise who I am. It’ll be too complicated; I don’t even want to come back to ordinary society.”

Lady’s frown deepened, determination flashing suddenly in her eyes.

“Then why did you reach out to me in the first place, hm?” she questioned, watching as he turned his head to face her as she went on, “Why did you introduce yourself to me as a “private investigator” so that you could have someone assist you in tracking down Jeff? You could’ve gone after him alone, but you approached me, anyway.”

Liu’s scarred face shifted into a slight frown of his own as the two stared into each other’s eyes, waiting for the other to back down from the argument. Liu took Lady’s hand and pulled it from his shoulder, glaring daggers down at her.

“I lied to you,” he explained heartlessly, “and I manipulated you. I put you in danger, used you as bait, to lure out Jeff.”

Lady shook her head, slipping her hand free from his grasp.

“I think that’s bullshit,” she shot back, once again seeing the change in Liu’s expression as his determination turned into bewilderment.

“Bullshit?” Liu repeated in disbelief. “How is it bullshit? It’s the truth.”

“Because there’s more to it than that,” Lady responded swiftly, “and you can’t keep telling me there isn’t. You’ve got this bad habit of trying to push me away, you know, and it ain’t gonna work.”

Liu’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he leaned closer to her.

“I can kill you,” he growled out through his teeth, “and I can make sure nobody knows I did it. I could make it look like Jeff did it, or better yet, frame Randy.”

Lady didn’t even feel her heart jump once.

She just reached for the scarf around his neck, running the fabric between her fingers.

“I like your company, Liu,” she confessed to him bluntly, her expression relaxed.

Liu just hardened his expression at her words.

“I used you,” he repeated, “like I’ve used others. It’s what I’ve been taught to do; to use people to my advantage so I can get close to my targets from the shadows.”

“You’ve looked out for me,” Lady added nonchalantly, “and I think you reached out to me because you wanted something normal in your life again; some ordinary company.”

His eyes flared with more determined anger as he leaned in closer.

“The man who took me in was a professional assassin, Lady,” he revealed abruptly, “and he made sure to train me to be as good as him. He made sure I had what it took to kill him; I killed him, Lady, as proof that I was better than him.”

The revelation should have surprised Lady, yet by this point, there was nothing that could shock her, especially regarding Liu.

Instead, it only made her eyes glaze with sorrow.

No wonder Liu was always so wary of people preparing his food in case it had been tampered with, and why he seemed to be so durable when it came to handling his own injuries.

Liu was “trained” to be an assassin himself; someone who couldn’t be identified, and someone who had to stay away from normal life so that he could never be caught.

A tool designed to kill.

Lady just reached up to his face, caressing his scarred cheek.

“Liu,” she sighed as she held his face in her hand, staring into his perplexed expression, “I’ve made it very clear, haven’t I? I like you, and I want you to be happy. Hell, I even want you to stay in my life after all this.”

She had a pleading look in her eyes, seeing the conflict behind Liu’s own gaze.

“If you really want to go back into hiding, and carry on living the life you were taught to live, then fine,” she then compromised, “but only if you can tell me that you’d be happy.”

Liu was silent, holding her gaze for a moment longer, before taking her hand away from his face.

“It’s not as simple as that,” he pointed out, “it’s not about how happy I’ll be; it’s what’s… better.”

Lady frowned.

“Tell me, right now, what you truly want, Liu,” she pushed, “if you could just have what you wanted, without all the complexities, or without feeling guilty about wanting those things, what would you really want after all this is over?”

Liu remained silent. At first, his tired eyes widened at her words; he appeared vulnerable, as if merely feeling guilty at the thought of what he actually wanted. His eyes quickly returned to dully glaring at her, though, yet despite the tough façade, there was conflict in his gaze.

“I want Liu Woods to disappear,” he insisted, “and I want to be left alone forever.”

Lady stared at him, completely unconvinced. She was tired, not just from her ordeal, but from Liu’s constant defensiveness. She let out a weak sigh, as if giving up on him, but Liu continued to speak in a much quieter tone.

“But if I could, I’d take you with me,” he confessed, his voice barely there while his eyes remained dark, “I’d keep you in a cabin where we’d live off-grid, never to be disturbed by anyone ever again. Nobody would know where either of us went; I’d make sure we could never be found.”

His gaze was intense, burning into Lady’s mind. He almost looked emotionless and cold, and his quiet yet blunt words did not help to make him seem warmer.

Yet Lady did not find his words disturbing, strangely.

Her heart fluttered not out of fear, but out of… relief?

Liu visibly shifted his expression to raise his brows the moment he caught a glimpse of a smile upon Lady’s face.

“What?” he grumbled. “Why are you smiling? I’m saying I’d kidnap you.”

Lady rested her head against his shoulder, chuckling softly.

“I don’t think that’s what you’re saying,” she laughed quietly, “it sounds like you’re admitting you like my company, too.”

Liu was silent for a moment, processing her words as his surprised expression gradually hardened once again.

“You should really go and check on Randy," he insisted, pulling away from her, “and your other friend with the mask.”

Lady, though, despite the pain she was in, reached out and grabbed his arm as Liu made the attempt to move away from her. Liu froze, but instead of becoming tense, he simply let out a defeated sigh, not even turning to look at her.

“You’re so damn-”

He couldn’t even finish his sentence, because Lady had pulled him back towards her. He fell on top of her, and as Lady wrapped one arm around him, the other held the side of his face.

Her lips connected with his, gently enough to give him the chance to pull away, but desperately enough to show him that she meant everything she said.

She wanted to be with him.

She liked him.

Nothing could change that.

It did not matter what he had done, or what he had been through; what mattered was that she felt safe with him.

In a twisted, selfish way, she wanted him to herself, too, similarly to how he had described running away with her where nobody could find them.

She wanted him to constantly be there, whenever she came home from her daily work. She wanted to know that he was waiting for her, with nobody else on his mind. She wanted to taste the food he cooked for dinner every night, until he was ready to let her cook for him one day. She wanted to talk about her day with him while watching television with a cup of tea in her hand.

What she didn’t realise was just how badly she really wanted this, because the thought of not having it made tears well in her eyes as she trembled.

She also hadn’t realised that Liu was pressing his lips firmly against hers, deepening the kiss as his hand reached for the one Lady was resting against his scarred cheek.

Liu pushed her back, pressing her down against the mattress as his hand slid down her arm with a tenderness to his touch. Lady had to break her lips away from his to gasp for air softly, her eyes opening slowly to gaze at the man above her.

Liu’s green eyes were half-lidded as he stared down at her, his scarred lips parted as he breathed deeply. He was studying her face silently, and as Lady took in his expression, it only made her want him more than she already did.

She wanted him.

His hand slid further down her arm until he moved it down to her face, caressing her cheek. She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes; if circumstances were different, she was content to simply fall asleep like this.

Liu leaned down again, this time moving his lips close to her ear. She could feel his warm breath against her skin, even tickling at her neck.

“You better get your head looked at when you go to the hospital,” he whispered, not sounding too serious yet sounding a little hesitant. “Something might be wrong with you.”

Lady grabbed his scarf with both hands, firmly holding him in place above her before he could pull away.

“I don’t care,” she responded with determination. “If it’s wrong that I like you, then I don’t ever want to be right.”

Liu hovered above her, his tired eyes wide with genuine surprise at her words. Lady couldn’t tell if he was in disbelief because of how stupid she sounded, or if he was in disbelief at the thought of someone actually caring this much about him.

The scarred man breathed out a heavy sigh, reaching one of his gloved hands into her hair. He gently brushed some of the dark strands from her face, studying her with a thoughtful gaze. Lady found herself lost in his touch, leaning her face closer to his hand, but his expression softened into something more sombre.

“I’m… going to wait outside the cabin for Jane,” he told her. “For all we know, she’s dragging Jeff here. I need to help in any way I can.”

Liu sat himself up, barely grimacing from his own injuries.

“You need to stay inside,” he instructed quietly, his hand thoughtfully reaching for the scarf around his neck. “If Randy or your masked friend need help, they’ll prefer you to be there for them instead of me.”

Lady sat upright, too, feeling a sudden jump of her heart.

“Will you be okay out there on your own…?” she questioned, and Liu gave a nod as he turned away from her, standing up from the bed.

“I’ve always managed just fine on my own,” he coldly responded, his guard once again returning. “Don’t worry so much about me; I’m not going to do anything stupid. I have no intention of leaving this place unguarded; I want to keep you safe.”

She had no reason not to believe him.

Even if he was injured, and even if he had frequently talked about wanting to disappear once Jeff was dealt with, he was determined to keep Lady safe, at the very least. He likely didn’t care about Tim, feeling indifferent towards him, and he probably secretly wanted something bad to happen to Randy, but he didn’t seem malicious enough to actively do something to endanger the lives of everyone in the cabin.

“Just… be careful, Liu,” Lady found herself saying to him as he staggered for the room’s exit.

Liu froze for a moment, not turning back to look at her as he nodded his head once.

“I will,” he last said before making his leave.

Lady stayed sitting on the bed, listening as Liu’s footsteps faded away. He had wandered through the cabin and headed outside, where he would be alone on watch duty. She couldn’t deny that she was worried, but she reminded herself that there was nothing to worry about anymore. Jeff was definitely too weak to come back and do any damage, and was likely being apprehended by Jane, if he had not already bled out. Anyone else who would come close to the cabin, regardless of their intentions, would be no match for Liu, even in his weakened state.

The case of the Burnside Murders was finally drawing to a close.

Lady could feel it.

Soon, this was all going to be over.

She and Tim would return to Ashford, where she would work as a reporter under someone new, hopefully with Liu still by her side, whether he was close or far.

So, while waiting for Jane to inevitably return with the subdued Jeff, Lady had to take it easy and not let herself worry.

As Liu had suggested repeatedly, she had to at least check on Randy and Tim, just in case they needed anything.

Before leaving the room, though, she took a glance out of the cabin window, spotting Liu leaning by a tree with his back to the cabin. His hand was still clutching at the scarf around his neck, slipping the fabric through his fingers.

Lady couldn’t help but smile at the sight of him, because as she caught a glimpse of the side of his face, she could see the faintest smile on his own face as he studied the scarf she had given him.

~End of Chapter~