Riser (Teen Horror/Science Fiction) (Book #1 in The Riser Saga) ((Volume 1)) (30 page)

“It’s that Brady man, isn’t it? I knew it! Here let me get you a phone.” The woman quickly snagged a cell phone from the next room and handed it to me. “I’ve reported him before, but they never do anything. I knew he was up to no good. That man is at least a hundred years old and he looks twenty. What is a richy up to living on our block in that hovel of his? Nothing good, that’s what. What did he do to you? You call the police, maybe they’ll listen to you,” she rambled on and I suddenly understood that if she had her suspicions of the man that took me and called the police…

…Turner would have her phone tapped, or at least re-directed to his people whenever she contacted the police.

She continued her rant, “I’ve seen him take girls in, but they never come out. One night I had my binoculars and saw him digging in his backyard! The police told me his pet dog died and he was burying him, but unless his dog was a Great Dane, that was a body, I’m sure of it!” She re-focused her attention back on me. “Listen to me ramble on. My name is Doris.”

“Chelsan,” I said quietly. “Do other people in the neighborhood pay attention to this guy?” I wanted to get a feel for the size of Turner’s web on this block.

“They do, but they keep quiet, ever since Franny Lerner walked straight up to his house demanding she see inside. The police came and arrested her and when she came back she was… different.” Doris looked like she didn’t quite know how to explain herself.

“Different how?” I asked. Though I thought I knew the answer.

“I don’t know. Just funny… off. Like she wasn’t herself. She said that Brady let her see his house and that everything was fine. He was just a shy, quiet guy. Everyone was a little freaked out by her strangeness and some people said she was replaced by a robot. If you believe such nonsense. Anyway, it scared all of us silly, so after that no one said anything about Brady.
Utopic denial
is what I call it. They’d rather believe everything is just fine that actually have to admit that horrible things still happen in this world. Everyone on the block thinks I’m crazy to keep calling the police like I do, but we all know something is wrong with that man, and I can’t just sit by and let him do whatever it is he does in there.” She looked at me curiously, “What did he do? Did you see any other girls in there with you?”

“Listen. I need
you
to make this call. I think your phone may be bugged and I don’t want whoever is listening knowing that I’ve escaped. Can you do that for me?” I looked her directly in the eye to make sure she was on the same page as me. And I wasn’t ready to answer her questions just yet.

“Will we be able to take that son of a bitch down?” She was very serious.

“Yes, but we have to be careful,” I said. “I’ll dial the number and you ask to talk to Ryan. Tell him you found his friend’s shoes and give him your address so he can pick them up.” I hoped Ryan would get the reference to the tracer he planted in my shoes. I wished I could talk to him myself, just to hear his voice. Everything I had been through… seeing him again seemed unimaginable.

Doris was on it. I dialed Ryan’s number and handed her the phone.

Doris sounded like a mother when she answered the phone. “Yes, hello dear, is this Ryan? Oh good. Listen, I found your friend’s shoes. Yes, yes. Why don’t you come here and pick them up. Oh good. My address is 5522 North Glosten Street. Yes. Okay dear, I’ll keep them safe until you get here. Bye, bye.” Doris patted my hand encouragingly. “He’s on his way and he’s bringing friends. What a nice young man. He seemed beside himself when I mentioned the shoes. Are you sure they can help?”

“I’m sure. Thank you, Doris.”

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

“Is that your friends already?” Doris turned to her front door.

SMASH!

The door shattered as the killer kicked it in.

“Brady!” Doris screamed. “I’m calling the police right now!”

“DO IT, BITCH!
YOU’LL
BE THE ONE IN JAIL!” Brady laughed manically. He was covered in his own blood, his clothes were shredded, his right arm was limp and useless, but he was alert and enraged.

When he saw me he howled like a wolf and charged.

I was so weak. I didn’t have much in me to fight back. I tried to connect to any black swirling hole I could find, but I couldn’t seem to make anything move. I was completely drained. I wanted to run, but I knew he’d kill Doris. I couldn’t leave her alone with this man. I had to make a stand.

I picked up one of Doris’ lamps and smashed it onto Brady’s broken arm just as he was about to tackle me. He shrieked in pain, but grabbed my throat with his uninjured hand despite the hurt he was feeling. He was squeezing the last bit of life I had out of me. It was almost like I stepped out of my body. I could see the faint stirrings of my own black spinning core growing stronger by the second. I was dying. I took my last bit of strength and clawed my fingers into his arm and tore.

Brady screeched so loudly my ears started to ring.

He let go and I came away with blood and skin in my fingernails.

CRACK!

Brady was silent as he dropped to the floor unconscious.

Behind him was Doris with a five iron in her hands. She bashed him over the head again for measure as if making sure he was really out. Her hands were shaking and she dropped the golf club to the floor. Then she ran to me and held me close. “You’re okay now. He won’t hurt you anymore.”

I let her hold me. I was too weak to move, or cry, or anything but lie there.

And to see my captor
Brady
in worse shape than I was didn’t give me any satisfaction like I thought it would. I was still scared of him, unmoving, unconscious and all. I think I’ll always be scared of him. Forever.

Sirens and hover-fans became almost deafening from outside. Apparently, the cavalry had arrived.

“It’s them, Doris.” I looked up at her and managed a smile.

“Well, we just took care of ourselves, didn’t we?” she chuckled and gave me a warm hug of support.

“Thank you,” I said and tears came to my eyes.

“Oh nonsense. I’ve been wanting that monster out of this neighborhood for years.” She was trying to make things light for my sake. I could tell. I wanted to do something for Doris, protect her somehow. I knew Jason would have the answer.

My heart leapt.

Ryan came bounding through the door, eyes searching until he found me.

I was never happier to see anyone in my life.

When he saw me his face went from relief to utter worry in about a half a second. He raced to my side on the floor and Doris smiled and moved aside to let him hold me. I clung to him like he was a lifeline. And in that instance, he truly was. He didn’t have to say a word, he just held me as if he couldn’t believe I was really there. I could barely believe I was alive. And then I realized in horror that I really, truly must stink.

“I’m smelly,” I said, my face in his chest.

“I don’t care. I’m never letting you out of my sight again.” He kissed my forehead.

“Chelsan! Thank goodness!” Nancy’s voice rang out like sweet music to my ears.

Nancy and Bill came racing to our side. Doris stood up at that point and sat on her couch.

“Are you okay? What happened?” Nancy looked at Brady. “Is that the guy that took you? Geez, Chelsan, he looks pretty F’d up.” Nancy examined my face and saw the lump forming on my head from where I head-butted Brady. “Uuuck! You seriously stink!”

“Shut up, Nancy.” Bill rolled his eyes. “Are you okay? Is this the guy?”

I nodded, not wanting to give Brady any acknowledgment. As if saying anything would wake him up again.

“Guys, this is Doris. She saved my life.”

All three of them immediately turned to Doris as if seeing her for the first time. Bill and Nancy practically tackled her in a group hug repeating thank you over and over. Ryan didn’t leave my side, but he nodded his thanks.

“Oh, mine just happened to be the door she knocked on. She escaped all on her own.” Doris deflected taking any credit.

“Well, the five iron to his head made sure he didn’t finish the job.” I wanted to make sure they all knew what a hero she was.

“Sweet. You golf? You now are a standing member of the LA Golf club. I’ll send over new clubs, too.” Bill obviously felt like he needed to give Doris a reward and I was extremely grateful.

“Oh, my.” Doris blushed.

The buzz of hover vehicles and sirens caught my attention once more and I looked over at the shattered doorway.

Nancy followed my gaze. “Jason is out there taking care of the press. I better give him some details. Do you know anything about this guy? Was he just a thug for Turner?”

The memories were too fresh. I didn’t want to talk about it yet, but I knew I had to. To protect Doris and myself. “Guys, he was a serial killer.”

“Nuh, uh!” Nancy was in shock.

Ryan held me tighter.

Bill was actually speechless.

“Like a real one?” Nancy apparently couldn’t wrap her head around it, and I couldn’t blame her.

“Like a real one. Tell Jason he’ll find seven dead girls’ bodies at this guy’s house, and a whole lot of proof,” I said quietly.

“His name is Brady Johnson and he lives ten houses down on this side of the street.” Doris gave the details. “And see if you can wrangle up some police officers to get this
thing
off my floor.”

“Will do.” Nancy ran out to tell Jason everything.

A roar from the crowd a few minutes later.

“I guess he told them,” I said, knowing that I’d be a media frenzy unto myself yet again.

Jason and Nancy came running in after that with two police officers. The officers handcuffed Brady and dragged him out the front door to the onslaught of reporters wanting to get a holo-pic of the first serial killer in over a hundred years. The first one that was caught anyway. How many others were there?

Jason sat on the couch next to Doris. Doris’s face had turned bright red at the sight of Jason. Apparently, she was a fan.

“This is Doris. She saved Chelsan’s life.” Bill said.

Jason shook Doris’s hand. “Then let me save yours. We have to make you as famous as can be. Are you ready for that, Doris?”

“Well, I… uh.. sure.” Doris was starting to get overwhelmed by the last twenty minutes of her life.

“Then let’s get you out there.” Jason turned to me. “Chelsan, you’re going to have to talk about
exactly
what happened to you. Do you think you can do that?” He was being gentle with me, but I could tell he’d push the issue if I said no. He was genuinely trying to save our butts.

“I’m ready.” I half-lied. I really didn’t know if I was or not.

“Are you sure?” Nancy had her hands on her hips. “Don’t listen to this creep. If you’re not ready, we’re not going out there.”

“This
creep
knows how to stay alive.” Jason rolled his eyes at Nancy.

Apparently, problems had arisen in my absence. This didn’t feel like flirting to me.

“Chelsan’s been doing a damn good job of keeping alive herself.” Ryan held me closer.

“I’m not questioning Chelsan’s skill of keeping herself breathing. I don’t know
anyone
who could have survived what she has. I’m just thinking of ways to keep Turner from trying to kill her again.” Jason was being the level-headed one of the group.

“Vice President Turner?” Doris’s gossip button had been pushed. “Is he behind all this?”

I stood up before this became ugly. Ryan stood up with me and held my hand. “I’m going out there. I trust Jason.” I wanted to make that clear. If Nancy was having personal issues with him that was one thing, but when it came to the safety of my friends I’d do anything to protect them. Even if it meant re-living the last few days. Or.. wait a minute…. “How long was I gone?”