M ss ng Person5- Conclus on

Just as he passed through the open door, it was slammed shut and he was struck near his kidneys with the electric shock from a stun gun.

TTSSSSS

His body shook violently from the blast. He lost his balance and fell to the ground, bouncing his head off the floor and passed out.

He awoke some time later but couldn’t move his arms or legs. That was probably due to he fact he was tied to a chair.

He shook his head to clear his vision and looked up. He winced from the pain in his head and had a baffled look on his face when across from him, sat the chief of police, smiling ear to ear, with a tazer in one hand and a confession awaiting a signature in the other.

——–the Conclus on begins———

He adjusted his eyes to make sure he was seeing what he was indeed seeing. As he opened his mouth to speak the Chief interrupted,

“You look a bit…puzzled…SURPRISE!”

“You are the cause of all the disappearances? Leaving the cryptic “i” and bringing me back from my own appointed exile?” He asked

“Yup, that would be me. Truth be told I never expected you to give up on the case in Massachusetts. You called my bluff so I carried on here in Texas. You refused to come to me, so I came to you.” The chief smugly replied

“You are the Chief of Police……what were you there?”

” Same. Just in another jurisdiction than you were. I became tired of getting no glory. You and your “puzzle solving” took all the headlines. I began to use what I call reverse police techniques to test how good you really are. With only the clues I left, you solved nothing….you didn’t even know about the “i” until I started up here in Texas. They are always looking for experienced officers in Texas, with my credentials I jumped in the chance to follow you.”The Chief stated rather annoyingly and continued,

“I am now done with you. I have a full confession written in your precious block letters awaiting your John Hancock. It holds the location of all the bodies, how YOU committed the crimes and why. I have to find someone else to play with this game is done.”

The Chief began to push the paper over in front of him then stopped. Reconsidered his options and said,

“You know what, I’ve got time for one more missing person. Since your car is here, I believe I will use it to further implicate you. Nobody’s perfect right? You aren’t going anywhere. Stay put puzzle man” the chief said as he turned to leave.

The warehouse door closed and he heard his engine start up and leave the area.

He did have one thing in his favor. He may have been tied up but he also was cursed with small hands. In this instance it was a blessing. With a few tugs and pulls he was able to get himself free. He began to look around for some sort of weapon to use upon the Chief’s return. He did find a foot long piece of steel pipe, which should work nicely, he returned to his chair and looped the rope around his legs, and held the rope with the pipe behind his back to lie in wait for his return.
____________

The Chief drive around looking for his next target. It had to be the right scenario to enable the car to be seen on camera during the abduction.

He found his mark at a familiar spot. The town gym had parking lot cameras that recorded 24/7. He pulled in and waited for the time to strike.

After 15 minutes, he smiled. There she was. Petite, easy target. He flashed his badge and asked her to come over to ask a few questions. She reached the vehicle. As she leaned in to the front window….

TSSSSSS

He tazered her and she went down. He got out, spray painted an “i” on the road and cuffed her and placed her in the trunk of the car and sped off toward the warehouse.
_________

He heard his car pull up, the trunk open and a short scuffle outside. When the door opened he saw the Chief and a woman in cuffs enter.

The Chief had his gun pointed at the woman as he removed the cuffs and said,

“All I need you to do Lady is scratch the shit out of the guy in the chair. Then your pain will be over. His DNA will be under your nails. That will be all the evidence needed to tie him to your demise as well as the demise of the others.”

He tried to stop her from his chair by saying, ” No wait…”

The Chief shifted his gun toward the man in the chair and the Lady reacted by lunging a straight right kick to the Chief’s jaw. He dropped the gun as it went off. She pounced on the Chief with another roundhouse kick to the gut and a chop to the throat.

He got up from the chair dropped the pipe, grabbed the gun and pointed it at the Chief. He looked at the Lady and said, “What the hell was that?”

“I have been the Texas Amateur Kickboxing Champion 2 years in a row. He caught me with a tazer after my last class. When I saw my shot I took it….I don’t like being tazed.”

“I guess not….You just knocked out the Chief of Police who has been moonlighting as a serial killer for over 5 years.”

“Wow,” she said as she rubbed where she was tazered,”do I win a trip to Disneyland…”

He smiled, let out a little laugh and said,

“No, but we both get to live to fight another day.”

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M ss ng Persons 4- Confrontat on

Facing your past is never an easy task. It takes a certain kind of moxie to go back and attempt to complete unfinished business.

Our main character is returning to where he left his last case. To face the past he attempted to leave behind.

But, unknown to him, the path to resolution is paved with confrontat on.

————Part 4 Beg ns————–

He returned to the police station to fill the Chief in on the newfound information and the inevitable tie to his past.

He walked into the office and without asking for permission he sat in the chair in front of the desk and slumped a little.

“That’s a different look for you…..what’s on your mind?” The chief inquired.

He told him of the inscription on the stair and the resemblance to the girl he never found, and the revelation that the man responsible for the towns disappearances was also responsible for the one he neglected to solve.

“I am making a trip back to Massachusetts to try to tie up loose ends. My hope is the quest will give us new insight into the mind of the killer. If I know why he began, I will know what tools to use to stop him.” He stated

“You really think any new evidence can be found….it has been 5 years since you left there?” The chief asked.

“Maybe not new evidence but it will be new to me. I was on the edge of burnout when she disappeared and they came to me for help. I could have missed something….probably missed something. Besides there is no perfect crime. Time and reevaluation will always reveal mistakes.”

The chief looked at him concerned and asked, “I will keep the fires burning down here. Contact me if you come up with anything. Have a safe trip.”
____________

The plane ride to Massachusetts was long enough to formulate a game plan. Before he left he contacted the cold case division and requested to see the files from the case. They were a bit timid about dealing with the guy who gave up on the case but after hearing of the possible ties to cases in Texas they opened up and were willing to allow him access.

Naturally he planned to visit the scene and walk the walk of missing. Reevaluate his previously written notes and reports and look at the videotapes from the surveillance cameras that were left from the case. He remembers watching them extensively while he was on the case. The actual abduction happened just out of camera range (naturally) but new evidence calls for new looks at old material.

He left the airport in the rental car with the GPS system set to take him to the apartment complex. Upon arrival he made a stop at the managers office to inform them why he was there. The complex had been added onto since then, but the building where the abduction has occurred has not been changed. The labeling system of that building had changed to accommodate the newer apartments from numbers to letters. The manager led him to the apartment the missing girl and her family used to live at to enable him to make his short journey. He looked at the door, it was labeled apartment “i”.

“Seriously?….the hits just keep on coming…” He thought and smirked.

“You ok, Mister?” The manager asked.

“Yeah, let’s get on with this.” He replied

He walked down to the end of the walkway and made his way down the stairs. On the bottom stair was a faded yet still legible “i”.

He took a snapshot of the faded evidence, thanked the manager and headed over to the police station to look at the old videotapes.

Upon arriving at the station, he met up with a few of the officers who were in the old case. They chit chatted about the new direction it was taking and offered any help if needed. He then proceeded to the video room to look over the surveillance footage.

The footage dated back 3 weeks before the disappearance. The reason being, there was always a chance while staking out the complex the perp may have mistakenly been caught on camera. As each person passed through the footage he rechecked his notes to be sure they had been interviewed. The first 4 days of footage showed nothing out of the ordinary the second time around. It was on the fifth day that he saw something that caught his i eye.

A maintenance man of some sort walked into the frame with a tool box and a replacement board for the stairs. He was wearing a large flat brimmed hat that shielded his face from the camera. He went about his work by taking out the bottom stair board and replacing it with another one. Same style, same color. He finished his work, stood up and walked away casually. With a few clicks of a button, he zoomed in on the replacement board. A freshly marked “i” was clearly visible.

“There’s my guy!” He said aloud. He looked at his notes. He had not interviewed this potential suspect, but the note said he was a contractor called in to do some work while their regular maintenance man was out having surgery. He called the number on the report and set up an interview. He printed out a still picture of the brimmed hat wearing man to take with him.

He met the contractor at the job site he was working on.

“You said you wanted to talk to me about some repairs I did at an apartment complex over 5 years ago?”

The man looked at him strangely, looked at his still photo and replied, “Yeah, I do but I don’t think you did the work. I can’t see the guys face in this picture but he outweighs you by at least 100 lbs. I’m investigating a case involving a missing girl from that complex….who did the work?”

The man grew a little pale and impatient and then said, ” Look man, I lied to the cops when they interviewed me a long time ago. I didn’t do the work. Another contractor paid me $1000 to walk away and I let him do the work. He said he owed them a favor. It was only a 2-300 dollar job. I needed the money so I let him have it. Shit…an extra 700 and all I had to do was walk away? Who wouldn’t have. I didn’t then and I don’t now know anything about no missing girl. I did that guy a favor by letting him have that job and he did me a favor by paying me. No harm no foul.”

“You remember what he looks like?”

“All I can say is that his cash was green. That’s the only description I got.”

“Thanks, go back to work. I will be in touch if I need anything else.”
___________

He headed back to the airport with new information in hand. Before he boarded the plane he placed a call to the Chief.

“I’ve got a bead on our suspect. Let’s meet when I get back and I will give you the details and we can figure out how to proceed.”he told the chief.

“I got a lead too. You know where that old warehouse is on Canyon Road outside of town.” The chief asked

“Yes I do.”

“Meet me there about 3pm tomorrow.”

“Will do. See you there.”
_____________

He reached the abandoned warehouse about 10 minutes to 3. The chief’s car was not there yet. He figured he beat him there. Instead of waiting, he decided to take a look around.

The side door on the warehouse was slightly ajar. He pushed it open with his foot, scanned around the dimly lit inside of the structure and then walked in.

Just as he passed through the open door, it was slammed shut and he was struck near his kidneys with the electric shock from a stun gun.

TTSSSSS

His body shook violently from the blast. He lost his balance and fell to the ground, bouncing his head off the floor and passed out.

He awoke some time later but couldn’t move his arms or legs. That was probably due to he fact he was tied to a chair.

He shook his head to clear his vision and looked up. He winced from the pain in his head and had a baffled look on his face when across from him, sat the chief of police, smiling ear to ear, with a tazer in one hand and a confession awaiting a signature in the other.

M ss ng Persons 3- Start From The End ng

Finding a clue is an important part to an investigation. Unfortunately, one clue does not close a case.

It would be nice to find that one clue and confidently say-

“Colonel Mustard did it with the pipe wrench in the library!”

Alas, one clue is only the beginning. A crack in the dam that will hopefully lead to more stress fractures and eventually break the case wide open.

Our once, well known investigator has found one clue.

The investigation continues.

————-Part 3 beg ns——-

After the inevitable conversation of whether or not he was on board to help with the ongoing investigation, he returned to his ranch to relax and take in the unfolding events of he day. He stopped at the mailbox, retrieved its contents and drove up to the house.

He exited the vehicle and walked toward the porch while flipping through the envelopes from the mail.

Water bill

Electric bill

New car insurance cards

Junk

Junk

” i ”

He stopped before reaching the front porch and stared at the envelope. Before opening it, he flipped it over and held it up to the light…..

He thought, “I can almost bet this isn’t a gift certificate for a free iPad.”

He took the mail inside, threw the rest of the envelopes on the table and went to the sofa to open the only important one.

It was a one page letter written on a sheet of yellow legal pad paper. Block lettering was used throughout-

Welcome back “Puzzle Man”

i have been a fan of yours for some time.
i was quite saddened by your departure from the solving business.
Fading out on a losing streak must have been rough on your psyche.
Have no fear my intuitive friend,

i am here

To give you a shot a retribution.
To have a chance to solve the puzzle of the now
You must return to where the puzzles began
Learn to start from the end ng.
A new beginning is reborn from the ashes of your past.

i was there

The race is on
The game has begun
The clock is ticking
Time for i to have some fun

i am everywhere

He tossed the letter on the table, sat back and exhaled.

“Learn to start from the ending” he pondered confusingly, “the ending of what?”

As he sat and attempted to figure out what was meant in the letter, his cell phone rang…

He looked at the number. His stomach began to tighten as he hit the answer key….

“Yeah, Chief what’s up?”

“You need to come back down to the station….We have another disappearance.”

He hung up the phone, gathered up the envelope and the letter, walked over to the bookshelf and stashed it in between two books.

“I will keep this to myself for a while,” he said aloud.
___________

He drove back to the station and went into the police chiefs office.

“I have 2 of my guys talking to the parents right now and filling out the missing persons forms. 9 year old girl. The Mother sent her to the neighbor’s apartment to borrow a DVD. Neighbor lives below them. She never made it there or back. We have a current picture and here is the address. Check it out for us.”

The chief handed him the address and the photo. He looked at the picture of the girl. The image made him a little woozy. He shook it off and headed to the address.

He reached the apartment complex and again got that uneasy feeling. He found where the apartment was and took the trip the young girl took before she vanished. On the very last step of the stairwell, the letter “i” was carved into the grain finish.

He drove back to his ranch still unable to shake that uneasy feeling in his gut. As he put the car into park it hit him like a sledgehammer.

“It can’t be….”

He practically ran inside clutching the picture of the missing girl. He went to his computer and logged in. He pulled up an old newspaper article from a case he knew all too well. The headline and photo on the screen confirmed his gut feeling.

-9 year old Massachusetts girl missing

is what the headline read. The picture that went with the story shared an uncanny resemblance to the photo of the girl who went missing earlier in the day.

The case that he could never solve and the cases they asked him to help solve. 8 years separating the events. Apparently, 1 person responsible.

” i ”

“Learn to start from the end ng.
A new beginning is reborn from the ashes of your past.”

It made sense now.

That fact did not make it any easier to face.

M ss ng Persons- Cont nued

Seasons change.

Cars break down.

Milk expires.

These are facts of life. One more fact of life is-

People don’t disappear. Something happens to them.

This is the continuing story of a man who tries to piece together a series of vanishings. He starts from the last time they were seen and stops when he knows for sure that they will never be seen again.

———The Cont nue begins———

He rearranged the photos so they would be in chronological order. Under each photo was a card that had the last place the person was seen, the destination they never reached, and the date they went missing written in bold block lettering.

This was his process. He needed to simplify the chaos of so many cases into a timeline that flowed like blood through a vein. The facts were all he needed.

They were here-point X

They were headed there-point Z

The purpose of his gift in solving this mystery was to figure out what happened between point X and point Z. In doing that, he would know Y. Thus completing the flow.

He stepped back to get a broader view of his rough timeline. He gazed at each picture and card to let his mind take in what he was seeing. As he continued to scan, his mind was eliminating possibilities.

Gender doesn’t seem to be a factor…

Ages vary from 16 to 80….

The race card is nowhere to be seen. They seem to be equal opportunity disappearances.

Financial status is all over the board

“This makes no sense” he thought.

After 2 hours of mental evaluation of the information, he decided he needed put himself in their shoes.

He retrieved his dashboard video camera from the hall closet and grabbed his car keys. He opened the car door, got in, and placed the camera
into the mounting holder and plugged it into the cigarette lighter slot. He turned it on to make sure it worked properly. It was the highest resolution dash camera that wasn’t on the market. It had a full color screen that recorded with panoramic views. Let’s just say he had friends in the business.

His plan was once again simple.

Drive and record each point X to point Z. During that process he might find Y they never made it. At the least, he hoped for some connection to be reached.

Before starting each video session, he reclaimed a mental image of who vanished, what they were doing and where they were going.

Their shoes.

As he drove and recorded, he scanned the landscape for anything that might look out of place. Visually, each session was uneventful. He returned home to take a longer, closer look by way of his recorded footage.

He plugged the camera into one of the input jacks on his computer and uploaded the footage.

He watched the first time, looking at nothing else but the road……nothing

The second time, he looked at nothing else but the right side of road….nothing

The third time, he looked at nothing but the right side of the road….

“STOP” his mind screamed.

He hit pause……and backed up the footage 4 frames.

He spotted the first oddity in the video. He stared at the frozen image and let his mind replay what he watched the first 2 times.

Is it in the road? I don’t remember….YES! The kid walking home from football practice and the old lady going for ice cream.

Is it on the left?…YES! The old man taking a walk.

After the realization of the clue hit him, he replayed each video, paused and took a screenshot of the shared item.

He then printed out each photo and placed it next to the corresponding missing person.

With this task completed he once again stepped back to get a broader view. A shudder ran up his spine and made the hairs in the back of neck stand up.

“They went somewhere else alright….just not willingly. Pieces of the puzzle are starting to fall into place.” he said aloud.

He gathered up all the information, put it back into the box and headed out to find the police chief.

He reached the station and was brought into the office. He looked at the chief and stated, “I found something…”

“Lets see what you got.”

He laid out the photos of the missing, the cards with the block letters, and began to tell the chief how he found the clue.

As he retold the story he began to place the picture of each clue alongside the picture of the missing. When the last picture was down the chief exhaled and scratched his head.

In each picture taken from the video camera, a small case letter “i” can be seen.

Spray painted on a stop sign- i

On the bark of a tree- i

On a mailbox- i

At a crosswalk- i

Each disappearance, on the way to each unreached destination, same marking- i

“Someone is sending you a message chief….. If I have learned anything from my past experiences with this type of thing, I think the message is-

“i am in charge.”

They both continued to stare at the timeline, neither saying a word.

M ss ng Persons

He was used to seeing garage sale and lost pet signs posted on telephone poles around the small Texas town he lived in. It was all the “have you seen him/her” signs that drew his concern. They began popping up at an alarming rate about a year ago. He was not responsible for putting them up, but he was responsible for finding out why they went up.
___________

The first disappearance was a man in his ’80’s. The family said he always liked to go for a walk in the evenings. They called the police when he failed to return by his usual time. The poster went up 48 hours later.

The second was a woman in her mid 30’s. She left work and headed for the gym for her scheduled workout with the trainer. She never made it there. The poster went up shortly after.

The next few happened over a 3 month period.

-A teenager on his way home from football practice.

-a young lady on her way to work at the bank.

-an elderly woman who went to meet the girls for ice cream.

The only similarity the police could find between them all is that were no similarities between them. No clues….no evidence left behind…no stone left to unturn. They were all just gone. The police were out of options…that was until the Mayor reminded them of the towns “used to be famous” resident.
___________

He had been hailed as “the Puzzle Solver” in the late ’90’s by a big city newspaper. From the time he became detective he had an unparalleled knack for solving the unsolvable.

He got the moniker from solving a serial killer case that had been open for decades. The killer left coded notes at the scene of the crime and sent some to police to taunt them with his superiority. He wasn’t assigned the case, he just took a shot a solving the riddle of the notes. His mind fell in line with the killers and he decoded the messages. The messages led he and his team to a 67 year old sociopath with a passion for puzzles and death. Hence, the media dubbed him “The Puzzle Solver”. The story carried nationwide.

His streak of piecing together the unfinished puzzles of the past gave closure to many. But no winning streak lasts forever.
___________

“Mr. Mayor….the puzzle solver? Seriously? That guy hasn’t even finished a puzzle from Walmart much less worked on a case since he got here 5 years ago. We just need more time….” the police chief said

“MORE TIME?” the Mayor interjected, “We don’t even have a theory on what is happening to our citizens. In the time you have had, all we have are more vanishings. Go visit him……before I vanish.”

“Yes sir. You do realize he quit working on cases before he moved here. He vowed never to work on another case when he couldn’t solve the disappearance of that Massachusetts girl. I hear he lives on that ranch and doesn’t even have a TV. He can’t even stomach the news anymore how will he be able to digest this?”

“You know what they say….those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it. Take him the files. He will help. Guys like him just need a little aid to get back on their feet. I think he has one more puzzle to solve.”
______________

He was working in his garden when the unmarked cruiser pulled in. He watched as the man in the suit went to his trunk and pulled out a file box.

The chief headed toward the porch with the box, but was stopped before he got there.

“Can I help you with something?” he said as he stood up from tending the soil.

“We thought you might be willing to give us some help. The town has a disappearance problem. We are getting nowhere and would like you to take a look. Maybe you will see something we can’t.” the chief replied.

“I know about the problem. I also have a theory. They all just wanted to go somewhere else. There you go. All cases closed….in record time…even for me.”

“Look. I know you are washed up. The Mayor doesn’t care. He needs fresh eyes on this one. We just want you check out what we have. If you find one clue to what’s happening, give it to us and we will leave you alone to your garden and solitude. I am going to leave these on the porch and come back in a few days. If it is still in the same place when I return, I will take it back. If not, we talk.”

“Whatever floats your boat. Just make sure you leave it out of the way so I don’t trip over it going in and out of the house.”

The chief place the box on the porch, turned and left him to make his decision.

The box sat there until the next morning. He always went out onto the porch to watch the sun rise. He sat on his swing and kept glancing at the box. After 20 minutes of indecision. He reached for the box, picked it up and took it inside.

He took it to his dinner table and began to spread out the contents. All basic police forms, witness reports and the like. What made his heart skip a beat was what was at the bottom.

A collection of missing person flyers. Each with a personal picture attached.

The more he switch his gaze from the flyers to the pictures, the more his mind began to ponder….

“Maybe I could use a little busy work.”
He said with a smile.

——–to be cont nued——–

Blocked at the Go Line

He took a long puff off his cigar as he watched her exit her car from a distance.

“Ugh…that is a terrible starting sentence.” he thought

Riiiiip. Crumple crumple crumple toss to the floor.

How do you follow one that knows how not to BE followed…

“What? That makes no sense.”

Riiip, crumple crumple toss

“Stalker is as stalker does” he writes and talks in his best Forrest Gump voice

Riiiip, crumple……..straighten back out, fold into paper air plane dive bomber, gentle release, watch glide to the floor.

“Maybe I should try a happy stalker story….hmmm”

Upon exiting the confines from the prison, he was greeted by the woman who placed him there. The stalkee missed the stalker so she….

Riiiip, crumple crumple toss

“happy stalker story…..worst idea ever.”

Once upon a….

scratch out scratch out scratch out

“Over used”

He looked at her with longing as she crossed the street in her low cut dress and high heels…

scratch out scratch out scratch out

“I can’t write a “Fabio cover” stalker story….I can’t believe it’s not Budda…Ha! Fabio what a character” his thoughts wandered

The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly on the plane that the stalker boarded…

“Plagiarism….that will surely get you readers, freaking tool. FOCUS…Maybe, I should google stalker stories to get some ideas….no then I will end up on some watch list…don’t need that”

“Hey honey….” he yells.

“What?” she replies

“I can’t think of how to start a story on stalking…can you help?” he pleads

“You’re the writer, not me…..How about you write about how you stalked me?”
She smartly replies

“No, no, no. You were willingly stalked, I’m trying to write something scary not 50 Shades of Prey” retorted with a smirk

“Sounds like you have your first case of writer’s block……Why don’t you write about that?” she asked

“Seriously?…..who would want to read about that? Never mind. I will keep trying, once I get the perfect go line starter sentence It’ll be Publish City from there on out!”

SAY HELLO TO MY STALKER FRIEND!……

“yeah, Scarface reference, that would go over well… gonna be a long night…”

Riiiip. Crumple crumple crumple toss.

Help Wanted: Part 4

He stood him up beside the dead officer. Pointed the gun at him, and reached down to take the keys off the officers belt. He grabbed his host by the arm, spun him around and took the cuffs off.

They stood face to face.

“One way or another, a final decision is going to have to be made.” they both said in unison.

_________Part 4 Begins___________

“Even after escaping your mind, we still share…” the alter began,

“Shut your pie hole. We share nothing. In fact, we are polar opposites.” the man said in interruption.

The man’s voice was different than before. It spoke with a dash of confidence that the alter was not used to. He moved in closer and looked deep into his eyes and said,

“This is not the man I left on the floor of the hotel room. Even your eyes are different….what gives?”he questioned as he put the barrel of the gun up to his chin and cocked the hammer.

“Such a scary entity with a gun…..go ahead and pull the trigger….if he dies we both die. Are you really that arrogant in your indecision to believe that he only has ONE alter?…..Bitch, please.”

“What?….I am the only one….aren’t I?” he asked in confusion.

“It is impossible to have indecision without also having certainty. It is the law of opposites. You were brought forth by way of his minds inability to comprehend the gravity of either action he had to choose from- the gun or the phone. I was brought forth when he concluded the consequences of truth were less fatal than those of indecision.” Alter2 replied

“LIES!! I broke free because I had grown weary of his depressive state…gun…ring…bang…phone…it was f”@:)/g maddening. I had to choose STAY or GO. I chose to leave.” Alter1 retorted.

Without missing a beat Alter2 replied, “And yet here you are, back to where your started. YOU ARE HIS INDECISION THEREFORE YOU CAN’T CHOOSE! Once you “left”, the door of the mind you came from slammed shut. …And as the saying goes, “once 1 door closes another one opens”. Which brings me to me.

I.
Am.
Certainty.

With me, he has the confidence to face anything. You are nothing but a gnat flying around his conscious….a confuser of truth. A complicator of choice and reason. Our host wanted help with his decision. You deepened the fog instead of clearing it. When you left him to fend for himself without indecision and choice, I broke out and showed him the truth wins out. And I stay to defend the mind that created me. I don’t leave when it gets difficult. I stay and fight.”

“I’ve got the gun. You’ve got nothing…NOTHING!” Alter1 shouted.
_________

As the alters continued to state their cases, they failed to notice that one of the medics had only been wounded and was far from dead.

He had pulled himself underneath a truck in the parking lot and was watching things unfold….in disbelief.

He heard 1 voice. But saw 2 figures. The man from the hotel room and someone who, even from a distance, bore a striking resemblance to the other. Same height, weight, tone of voice….the only difference between the 2 was the one with the gun was “dimmer” than the other. Almost transparent. He did what any person seeing something peculiar would do. He fished out his smartphone, turned on the video camera feature and started recording……
___________

“You say I have nothing…..but I possess the one thing that you need.

Control.

Without it you will continue to fade out. So, now you are left with another choice. Re-enter this man to fight for your indecisive mind or remain out of his mind and fade to nothing…..

Fight, fade, fade, fight

In, out, out, in

You already tried to divide and conquer. I say with certainty….the choice is yours.”Alter2 confidently replied.

Alter1 weighed his choices.

Fight, in, fade, out

In fight out fade
_______

As the video rolled, the medic could not believe what he was seeing. He couldn’t hear the entire one voiced conversation but he could ascertain things were getting heated. Just when he thought the trigger was going to be pulled, the “dimmer”of the two, dropped the weapon and jumped “into” the hotel room guy.
________

The re entry was not a smooth one. Almost immediately after Alter1 jumped, Alter2 began his mental defense.

The hotel room man was snapped back
into first person with what felt like sledgehammers pounding his brain. He grabbed the side of his head and began screaming. He legs buckled as he dropped to the ground.

The medic hit stop on his video phone recorder and his instincts to help took over. He crawled out from under the truck, which wasn’t easy with a bullet in the shoulder, and painfully made his way to the screaming man’s side.
He reached him, knelt down and said,

“Calm down buddy. I’m not sure what just happened but I recorded it all. Are you ok?”

“My head is killing me,” he whined “my alter….indecision…he’s back. He is trying to take control….”

“I have no idea what you are saying.Try to stay calm. I’m going to get some help.”

The medic stumbled over to the ambulance and called into dispatch.

The man lay on the ground holding his head. As the pain slowly began to recede a distinct thought came to the forefront of his mind-

-I now know 1 thing for certain, I should have answered the phone when it rang…..

 

Life By The Drop

For anyone who is also in recovery, here is a simple message from the late, great SRV.

Help Wanted Part 3

He got up off the floor, picked up the pack of cigarettes, shook one out and lit it. After a long drag, he heard the faint sound of sirens. He exhaled slowly and strolled to the front door. He stopped momentarily, looked back at himself and thought,

“Should I wait to make sure they take him away or just leave?

Should I stay
Or
Should I go

He smiled.

“I gotta find a jukebox joint with that song in it.” he said joyfully and walked away whistling an old tune from “The Clash”

————–Part 3 Begins—————-

The police and the medics arrived at the hotel, not knowing what to expect. The door was ajar. Upon entering the room, the cop noticed that the scene did not fit the call he received from dispatch.

There was a man laying on the floor, unconscious, with the barrel of a gun gripped in the palm of his hand. No signs of struggle in the room. On one side of his head, there seemed to be bruising. Like he might have struck himself with the gun. On the other side of his head, there seemed to be powder burns from a gunshot…..but no wound.

The man on the floor woke up….and freaked out.

“YOU CAN’T TAKE OVER! YOU’RE A PART OF ME NOT APART FROM ME!”
He screamed swinging his arms. He suddenly stopped and grabbed his head, which began throbbing.

“You want to tell me what’s going on here?” the cop asked.

The man looked around confused. He saw the police and the medics but it didn’t fit to what had previous been going on.

“Where did I….umm….he go? Did he get away? He has to be stopped!”

“Whoa….slow down, sir. I will ask you to relax a bit and then ask again, what is going on here.”

He got up into the chair. Took a few deep breathes, and thought back to the events that transpired before they arrived. What was he supposed to tell them.

The truth
Or
A white lie

Boom ring
Smitten smatter

For the first time in a long time, he made a decision. The consequences did not matter. It was time to stick to his guns….instead of relying on one.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
He told the cop as he looked him straight faced and in the eye.

“Try me.” was his reply.

So he did.

He recounted his struggle with addiction. His indecision between calling for help and shooting himself. And the escape of his mental alter who claimed to be his indecision.

“I have heard every person has a twin somewhere. Mine just broke free from between my ears.” was how he finished his story to the cop.

The cop made a head nod toward the medics and spoke.

“We are going to have to take you in for evaluation. For one you just admitted to wanting to kill yourself. Two….your story, although it makes for a good read, is not remotely possible. You can either come peacefully or these gentlemen will restrain you.”

Without hesitation, he made another decision. ” I’m too tired to argue. I will go with you. It is not a story. It’s true.”

“I’m sure it is.” the cop blandly replied as he cuffed him and lead the man towards the awaiting police cruiser.
_______________

After leaving the hotel room a free spirit, the alter roamed. No longer bound by the confines of an embattled mind, he needed time to enjoy it. But where does one go, when indecision is all it knows.

“Should I go toward downtown….or down by the water….no….maybe hit that street where all the bars are….no….how about to the park….”
He thought.

But couldn’t decide.

So he began to panic. And turned back towards the hotel. His brisk walk quickly turns to a trot, then to a run as he saw his host being lead out of the room and toward a police car.
__________

The cop and the man reached the backing the police car. He opened the door and guided the man into the back seat. He shut the door and turned around.

“Hello sunshine. I have reconsidered my previous decision. I need him. You can’t just take him away.” he confidently stated to the quite stunned officer.

Before the officer could react to seeing the truth of the backseat passengers delirium being right in front of him, he was struck by a quick jab to the throat which had him gagging for breathe as he stumbled to the ground.

The alter unholstered the officers service revolver. Held it firmly in his hand, pointed at the cop and pulled the trigger.

BOOM

“No ring needed, nancy boy. I’m back.”

The medics were exiting the hotel room as the shot was fired.

“HEY!” one shouted

The alter quickly turned and unloaded 4 more rounds from the pistol dropping both medics.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM

“Hmmm..No Indecision there. Maybe I’m on to something. Rage makes decision easy.”

He looked into the backseat of the cruiser and saw his host trying to kick out the opposite window.

He calmly reached out and pulled up on the back door handle and opened the door.

“I’m going to sound like a bad love song but….I can’t go on without you.” he said to his host with a smirk and pulled him by the cuffs and dragged him out of the car.

He stood him up beside the dead officer. Pointed the gun at him, and reached down to take the keys off the officers belt. He grabbed his host by the arm, spun him around and took the cuffs off.

They stood face to face.

“One way or another, a final decision is going to have to be made.” they both said in unison.

————To be Continued————–

Press here to coninue to Part 4

Finding Peace In Pieces

He was never one to be seduced by the promises of salvation that the church folk talked about. He knew there was a God. He learned from God the difference between an honest prayer and just get me out of this mess prayer.

God took care of the honest prayers.

He was in charge of the latter.
_________

He would listen to their conversations on being saved, the power of living the word of God and the spiritually uplifting sermons they witnessed at Sunday morning services. The joy they had upon entering the “dwellings of the Father” and the peace when they left.
The main problem with the people he had to deal with was once they left the house of the holy, they left there faith there.
___________

“It’s not their fault. You are the big cheese who gave them….us the power of choice. We are fallible, temptation is everywhere on that place we call Earth.” he said to God

“Don’t call me the big cheese. I am the creator and overseer of all. I deserve a little more respect than that.” God began,

“I know your kind is fallible. I made you that way. Using that defect as a crutch was something I had not planned on. As I have told you before, Earth was not supposed to be around this long…..it was just a side project I created to fill in some spare time I had in between creating galaxies and watching my black holes destroy others. I wanted to create what I believed would be THE perfect creation.” God said and paused to reflect.

He took his chance to chime in. ” So, your Utopian vision turned into utter mess. Shit happens, Boss. I guess the problem was you got attached to a disposable project and can’t let it go. Still think you can salvage your vision?…..Ohhh…Wait….I have an idea! Bring back the dinosaurs! Have them wipe them out and start over! That would be awesome!”

“Imbecile. Why do I keep you around.”

“Because you need me. I take care of the prayers you don’t have patience for.
You remember-

“God, if you get me out of jail, I promise…..”

“God, I promise I’ll never drink again, if you just help this time…..”

“God, please don’t let my wife find the lipstick on my collar…..”

“I mean, God damn, they sound so honest when they are making them. But you know as well as I do they are fleeting prayers of the weak minded and they are extremely faith challenged.” he protested.

“Now you use my name in vain….right in front of me. Just because I gave you eternal life to help me does not mean you can talk to me like that. I created this position for you as a sort of punishment for being the “Messiah of foxhole prayers”. You should be learning from your mistakes by keeping the ledger of human err I made to aid you in your work.” God replied

“Sweet, you called me a messiah.”

“Figure of speech. Nothing more. What have you learned so far? I am eager to hear your findings.”

“I don’t know how you let this get so far out of hand, Cochise. I’ve done a lot of work since acquiring this position. Their beliefs are based in material wealth rather than spiritual wealth. Even the heads of your holy places are steeped in sin. Your commandments are plaques on a wall. Nothing else. I have answered prayers out of need and out of pity. I now see this as a daunting task instead of a mission of retribution. It will take an eternity to even make small strides in achieving your goal of Utopia.” he explained.

“Good thing I gave you eternity to figure it out for me. Perfection may have been the initial goal of “Project Earth”, but I now see that inserting free will to the beings of the planet may not have been so wise…. I have to stand by my initial hypothesis that they will figure it out. Either they will or they will destroy themselves. I give guidance to the ones who believe. I answer the prayers of the ones who are willing to change. I want this to work. It is your new mission to find the ones that are willing and guide them to the right path.”

“Can I have them see your face in a piece of toast…a cloud in the sky….wait how about a tortilla?”

“You are an idiot. I have never shown myself in any of those ways. They seek me in the wrong ways. I want you to show them in the way that I was revealed to you.” God sternly stated.

“…….. But you revealed yourself to me as a homeless man. Nobody on God’s green Earth is going to believe that personal faith can be restored by listening to a homeless man.” the man replied.

God paused, for dramatic effect, leaned forward to look the man straight in the eye and said, “You were willing to believe…….And one can become many.
So you will return to MY GREEN EARTH and do as I suggest. I seem to think that your way of communicating may be of better use with them than it is with me. Finding peace within them is much like puzzle. Once you connect one piece with the next, the rest just takes patience and time to complete the full picture. You have been granted the time. You must seek the patience by engaging the people of planet Earth.”

God then left him to his thoughts.

It was with those thoughts that he set out to find one who was willing to believe in the promises of wealth in eternity from a man who had nothing, and hope that the pieces would start to fall together.