Psych Investigation Episodes: Episode 1 (A Young Adult Scifi / Fantasy) (10 page)

“Melissa, thank god you’re okay.
It’s Paro. Are you with the Harris kid?”

“
Umm, yeah, he’s right here. It’s as
I thought, but there’s not much to worry about. He’s exactly what
we thought him to originally be. No link whatsoever.”

“
No, you’re wrong. Listen, we
found out some stuff.”

Melissa tensed as Paro spoke. She shook her
head instinctively as she listened to his theory.

“
No, that’s not possible,” she said.
She turned to Jack. “Jack, you were with your mother all day,
right? I mean, after you got home from school?”

Jack looked puzzled. He definitely had no idea
what the phone call was about or who she was speaking to. “Umm, no,
I didn’t get home until about a half-hour before you showed up. I
was busy doing some stuff with a friend.”

For the second time that day, she felt the cold
touch of fear.

“
Melissa, we’re already on our
way. Just keep him there and don’t do anything
stupid.”

“
Wait a minute, Paro. You’re wrong
about this. I’ve gotten to know him … It can’t be.”

“
You should know by now that
anything can be. It might even be possible he doesn’t realize what
he has done. Who can tell what is inside the mind of a killer? But
what we do know at this point is that we have every reason to
believe he is either an initiate of the original killers or solely
responsible himself.
”

Melissa looked over to Jack, who was now
oblivious to the conversation. He seemed to be preoccupied reading
some kind of black-and-white comic book on his phone.

“
It’s almost impossible to
believe.”

“It often is. Just hang tight,
and don’t let him leave. We’ll be there within five minutes. And
Melissa, thank God you’re okay. We were worried sick about you.
Just hold on and be safe.”

Melissa gulped as she hung up the phone. So,
this was the monster they were looking for? Without realizing it,
her fear turned to anger.

Don’t worry, Paro,
she thought to
herself.
He’s not going anywhere
.
Not unless it’s over
my dead body.

Jack watched Melissa flip her phone shut and
turn his way. She looked a bit off. Just a few moments earlier, her
eyes held comforting warmth, yet now they held a strong sense of
caution. Had the friend she spoke to earlier told her of some
disturbing news?

“
Is everything okay, Melissa?” Jack
asked.

It was like she’d seen a ghost, and Jack felt
concerned. They were still sitting on the corner of the park’s
giant fountain, bathing in the gentle breeze from the wind bouncing
off the water.

“
Everything’s fine. It was just my
Mom asking me if I remembered to turn off the stove. I’m not really
sure if I did or not, so I got a bit nervous. But thinking back,
I’m pretty sure I did.”

Jack had the overwhelming sense that something
had changed about her in the last few minutes, but he decided to
drop it for the time being.

“
Where do you wanna go now? Do you
want to head back, or should we walk somewhere else?”

Melissa twitched at the question. “I think we
should stay here for a few more minutes. It’s really comforting
near the fountain.”

Jack shrugged and leaned back against the
stone. At first, he had been nervous, but now he was relaxing and
enjoying her company. There was something special about her,
something that drew him to her like a magnet.

“
You know, Melissa, you’re a really
great person. You helped me with my math without asking for
anything in return, and then you hang out with a loser like me when
I’m sure there’s a zillion other guys that would die for your
company. I really appreciate it all.”

Melissa shook her head and sighed. Jack
couldn’t understand why she looked so bummed.

Did my remark make her uncomfortable? Was I
too forward? I just blew it, didn’t I? Damn it all! I totally just
freaked her out. Okay, calm down, Jack, we can recover from this. I
just need to change the conversation. What is it that girls like
more than anything? Is it flowers? There’s gotta be something I can
talk about to connect with her. Think Jack, think! Girls, what do
they like? Oh, wait! I know. Why didn’t I think of this
before?

“
So, Melissa, how about that
Twilight? You know, I gotta say, all the other guys in school are
all like ‘Twilight is so stupid, and vampires aren’t like that.’
But you know what? I think vampires
should
get all sparkly
and glittery when they’re in the sun. In fact, I like that better
than normal vampires. Cause like, if I were a vampire, I’d save a
ton of money on art supplies. Who needs CVS, right? When you can
just shave and have enough glitter to last you a
lifetime!”

Hah! That oughta do it.

Melissa remained silent and motionless, save
for flipping open her phone and checking the time every few
seconds. Jack’s confusion doubled. Where had he gone wrong? She
didn’t appear to be upset with him. Rather, she seemed lost in
thought. She rested her elbows on her knees and her head on top of
her palms. Her golden hair dangled back and forth like the swing of
a pendulum in sway with the cool breeze.

Thinking of the time, Jack wondered what it
was. He reached into the left pocket of his black jeans. The bright
screen cast surprisingly far shadows in the darkness as Jack
glanced downward.

Whoa, it’s almost midnight.

Being alone with Melissa was nothing short of a
dream come true. Were it up to him, Jack would spend an eternity
resting next to her on a warm, beautiful night, as the whispering
breeze rustled the leaves and blew upwards into the trees. But his
mother was expecting him home soon, and he didn’t want her to
worry.

“
Melissa, I can’t tell you just how
much fun it was to hang out with you tonight, but I’ve
really
gotta get going. You don’t know my mom. If I’m home
even a minute later than I promised, she worries herself sick. I
don’t know what your friend said on the phone that’s got ya all
worried, but I promise whatever it is, I’ll talk about it with you
tomorrow. Adam says I can sometimes be a good guy to talk to when
something’s bothering you, so don’t ever look to anyone else, okay?
It’s the least I can do.”

Jack dusted off his pants and began to rise.
Without warning, Melissa, as if snapping out of a trance, shot
upward from the fountain and grabbed Jack by the elbow. Her eyes
held a dangerous glare.

“
Jack, wait! What are a few more
minutes?” Hearing this, Jack beamed with delight.

Whoa, she’s totally into me! She doesn’t
even want me to leave.

“
You have no idea how much I’d love
to stay, Melissa, but I really, really need to get going. My mom’s
crazy when it comes to being home on time. I’m sixteen and she
treats me like I’m ten. Don’t worry, I’m free all week, so we can
hang out any time you want.”

Jack knew he should be more concerned with her
worrisome glances, but he was too happy at seeing how disappointed
she was at him leaving.

"Come on, what’s the worst that can happen if
you’re five minutes late?”

She was definitely making this hard for him.
Every last fiber of his being wanted to stay with her and drink in
her majestic blue eyes. But if he angered his mother, the
consequences would be vast and far-reaching. No, he
really
had to go.

“
You’re killing me here, but I just
can’t. In fact, as it is if I don’t sprint I won’t make it home in
time, and then Mom is gonna take away my Xbox.”

(Monday, June Fourth 11:47PM -> Jack’s Heart
Rate: 95 BPM)

“
So, you’re really just going to
leave me? Without even a goodbye kiss?”

(Monday, June Fourth 11:48PM -> Jack’s Heart
Rate: 1,402,182,154 BPM)

Did I just hear that right?

“
I’m sorry, Melissa, what was
that?”

Melissa released his arm and instead playfully
tugged on his shirt, pulling him close. Jack’s mind reeled in
surprise. Instinctively he hoped, no, he prayed that his mother had
signed him up for a donor list, because the way his heart was
hammering in his chest, it was going to burst out of
him.

It was only a millisecond, but the time it took
to go from arm’s length to a distance close enough to be mesmerized
by her enchanting eyes felt like an eternity. He could feel the
soft touch of her long hair on his forehead. She had the scent of
cherries, and her perfect features were the only sight that filled
his vision.

This close, he could feel her chest pressed
against his body, aflame with white-hot passion. His emotions
transitioned at a maddening speed. From nervous, to excited, to
exalted, to a feeling of bliss so pure it could remove the dark
from the murkiest swamp.

Her breath was sweet as she pulled him in, her
powerful arms wrapping around his neck. Her lips came into view,
moving ever closer to his. His heart beat faster, faster
…

When their lips connected, fireworks brighter
than a thousand suns lit off with glamour to the sound of a million
beating drums. A pure joy and sensation of ecstasy far beyond that
which he had ever known possible blossomed and coursed throughout
his heart. Not even an eternity burning in the fires of the deepest
layer of hell could make him forget this moment.

The sweet-cinnamon taste of her lips covered
his and any thought of returning home vanished. The kiss seemed to
last a lifetime, a perfect moment repeated on a loop throughout the
infinitum. It was powerful, like a concrete floor slamming into the
back of his head.

Wait, what?

The pain was so great that Jack didn’t feel the
boot on his throat blocking his airway, and the fuzzy feeling
almost distorted the furious roaring words that Melissa shouted, in
a booming, angry, and commanding voice from lips that moments ago
were so passionate and filled with lust.

“MOVE A MUSCLE, EVEN A MUSCLE
AND I’LL END YOU HERE AND NOW.”

Jack blinked, trying to clear his mind. He was
on his back, his ears ringing, pain shooting in and out from under
his eyes. The impact of the fall had disoriented him—he struggled
to make sense of something, anything.

His inability to breathe came to him as a
sudden burst of recognition. With a gasp, he gripped his arms at
the boot slamming down on his throat.

“
I said, don’t move! Stop struggling
this instant or so help me god I will kill you.”

The confusion was so strong that it hurt.
Jack’s brain scrambled to find some kind of answer. He had kissed
her, he was sure, but then something had happened. She had lifted
him off his feet and tossed him on the ground as if he were an
infant.

Jack’s body cried to him for oxygen. “Wh—” he
struggled to speak. The words came out between raspy half-breaths.
“Wh-why?”

“
Is that what your victims asked
you, you sick freak? Did they ask to know why? Did you even bother
to tell them the reason they had to die?”

Is this a dream?

Jack fought frantically to remove the leg
pinning him. The strength of it was not natural. It carried the
force of a tree trunk. It was as if an SUV parked on top of him.
How was this even possible?

“
Understand one thing, Jack. As of
now, you are under arrest. I’d like to bring you in without having
to resort to further violence, but if I feel so much as an inkling
of threat coming from you, I won’t hesitate to crush your windpipe
and end you where you lie. Others will be here any moment to take
you with them. Cooperate until then, and I can promise you’ll
live.”

At once, she lifted the boot from Jack’s
throat, and he looked up at the girl he had kissed. Her face
revealed an anger so terrible, so fiery, that Jack wondered how it
could be contained within a single person.

“
Me—” he tried to speak. He choked
and coughed as his body attempted to reclaim the lost
oxygen.