I-Shirley
Chapter 5
Shirley went into the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. She’d worn her hair up, smeared a good amount of Aloe Vera on her face, but kept the region around her eyes dry for the blindfold. Drinking water before bed was something Shirley had done almost all her life, though she only found out about the health benefits a few years ago. Throughout the years, she knew it was a good practice to drink a glass of warm water before going to bed; at least, that’s what her mother told her when she was still a little girl. The woman would bring her a glass of water, make her gulp everything and then send her to sleep. Sometimes if Shirley goes to sleep without drinking, it wouldn’t make a difference to the mother because she’d wake her daughter up and hand her the glass, and Shirley would always be annoyed with her for waking her up, but the mother wouldn’t mind. After some time, Shirley would get a glass of water, stand in front of the mother, and finish it to avoid anyone interrupting her sleep. One of Shirley’s favorite things in the world when she was growing up was good sleep, and she’d always get irritated when mainly anyone woke her up. The mother knew about this, so she would once in a while try to annoy the little girl for its amusement. Even when Shirley makes her aware that she had a glass of water before bed, the woman will still wake her up and talk about a glass of water.
TAP! TAP!
“Shirley… Shirley, wake up.”
“mmhm… mmhm… Mom?” -- Shirley, with her eyes, still closed.
“You did well tonight, don’t forget to drink water before you go to bed tomorrow.”
“Mom!!!”
Then she’d laugh and exit the room. Shirley started locking her door at the age of around 16. She’d get a glass of water, make the mother notice before drinking it, and she’d go to her room and lock the door. Still, the mother would get the keys if she wanted to annoy her little girl.
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Shirley had become accustomed to it, so she felt a little indifferent when she learned about the health benefits because it was nothing new to her.
After gulping down the entire glass, she turned off every light bulb in the house and went into her room. She covered her eyes with the blindfold and tied it around her head. She collapsed into the bed almost immediately. She’d been waiting for a while to get on the bed. The amount of tiredness she felt in her bones and soul was particularly too much, and an average person would dive right into bed and sleep for 18 hours straight. But Shirley being Shirley, did her laundry after work, cooked, did the dishes, and cleared the tables; She did every chore after she’d returned from work. So when she fell into the bed, she was prepared to go all out and sleep till she couldn’t anymore. She stretched while on the bed, assembling herself for the longest and deepest sleep she’d never had since becoming a police officer.
A slight “TAP TAP” sound came from the entrance almost immediately after Shirley had closed her eyes behind the blindfold. She didn’t move – she didn’t open her eyes. She just pretended she didn’t hear it. “Whoever it is should return to wherever they came from, there’s no one home.” She thought while still keeping her mind from overthinking it; else, she might go on and check who it was behind the door.
“That’s it, just go away!” Said Shirley after a few moments. She was convinced the person behind the door had given up so quickly after one try – she hoped.Another one sounded a little harsh this time. Shirley clenched her fist so hard; that her fingernails almost penetrated her palm. How she wished she could get to the door, opened it, and punch the person into a different planet so she wouldn’t have to deal with them and come back to bed. Shirley stood beside her bed and untied the blindfold. She was a little irritated, but she still wore her regular face. Shirley didn’t like to make people uncomfortable; even if she were in a foul mood, she always presented herself to others like everything was okay – except for people who were close to her.
Shirley went into the living and wheeled the knob to switch on the light in the living room, but the bulb wouldn’t light. She turned it back and forth several times, but the bulb wouldn’t turn on still. Shirley managed to trek into the kitchen regardless of how dark the entire place was. She was aware of her house inside out; she could close her eyes and know where every single thing was. She hit the switch, and the kitchen light lit up. Shirley unintentionally looked above the refrigerator and spotted the time on the clock.
Her eyes widened as she read the time. It was fifteen minutes after midnight.
Wild thoughts just dived into her head out of nowhere.
The knock sounded again, except this time, it was a lot more aggressive and brutal. Shirley’s heart lost a beat – and then made up for the next because it hit her very hard that she felt her rib cage was almost about to snap. She knew Gehrig was out of town and wouldn’t return until the following week. She also knew it wouldn’t be her friends, she didn’t have many, and the few ones she had wouldn’t come to her home unannounced. They always called first because they knew how she felt about surprise visits. And what kind of friend would visit at this ungodly hour? She knew it would be someone she didn’t know. Shirley tip-toed back into her and reached for her handgun on the desk beside her bed. She came back into the living room, gripping the loaded pistol firmly in her right hand. She stood a few feet behind the door quietly, waiting to see what would happen if the person thought no one was around.
Another double knock sounded, slowly this time as if the person knew Shirley was at the other side of the door. For some reason, the kitchen bulb popped right after the knock. Shirley gasped deeply and shook, even almost losing her footing.
Her breath began to shorten. She put her hand and leaned on the wall beside her and took deep breaths to relax her nerves. She wondered why she was freaking out, though. On a typical day, she wouldn’t care about who was at the door knocking at whatever time because she was a carefree person. But that particular night felt strange for whatever reason – it might have been because she was working on a ruthless free-roaming serial killer who visited people and killed them in their own homes.
She saw the person through the translucent glass in between the door from where she stood, a shadow to be exact. She couldn’t see the face because it was incredibly dark, but she got this vibe that the person was trying to look through. Now, she was convinced it was a burglar.
“But why would a burglar knock at your door?” She asked herself but didn’t pay any attention to it.Shirley tip-toed and moved silently behind the door. She grabbed the knob, still looking attentively at the shadow, monitoring the person’s movements. The person’s hand went up, and the moment it landed on the door, Shirley burst the door open and aimed the gun in the direction of whoever was there. She faced the person with vigor and courage, full of energy, even though she was fearful – but that’s what being a state sworn officer means.
ONLY, Shirley pointed her gun at nothing. There was no one at the door, not even the shadow she saw through the glass. If it were only the shadow at the door, it would’ve been weird and horrific, but at least you get to be fulfilled because you know there was something at your door. But here, there was strictly no one behind the door. And if you say the person made a run before Shirley opened the door, it would make no sense because Shirley opened the door and the person knocking occurred almost simultaneously.Shirley took a quick scan around, and before she closed the door, she felt a cold wind around her, the chilliest she’d ever felt, even during winter. Her jaw twitched and spasmed; her teeth started chattering. Goosebumps appeared all over her skin, and vapor came out of her mouth when she exhaled. She closed shut her eyes hard as the weather around her was too much for her to handle.
“Where from all this cold, at this period of the year?” She asked herself.
After a few moments of her shutting her eyes, she heard another slight knock.
She jumped and opened her eyes immediately. She knew she was at the door, and the door was wide open, so hearing a knock on the door would only mean that the person was standing right in front of her. Shirley’s examination wasn’t necessarily wrong because that should be the only explanation. ONLY, she wasn’t even at the door, to begin with. She was standing a few feet away from the door --- the exact place she stood before approaching the door.
Could she have imagined it? No, she didn’t think so. She knew there was something wrong with what was going on at the time, but she didn’t know what.
The cold wind approached her again, and suddenly, she felt a strong arm grab her shoulder from behind and pulled her down violently. She landed on her back, and the pressure sent pain throughout her chest. She coughed so hard as a result and felt the taste of blood in her mouth. The arm on her shoulder began to drag her roughly. She starts screaming and rapidly waving her hands, trying to get off the grip, but her efforts appear futile. The arm kept pulling her back to a never-ending destination, and Shirley kept screaming.
Shirley forcefully opened her eyes and jumped out of the couch. Loads of sweat dripped from her face, her heart pounding on her chest hard and fast like it was trying to sync with the bass drum of rock music. Her breath shortened as if she’d been deprived of oxygen for a month. She looked to her left, and fear and shock had been written all over Gehrig’s face; she looked to the right, and Azriel had the same look on her face.
“You were having a nightmare… You really scared us!” Said Gehrig.“A nightmare…? More like a day-mare,” Shirley joked.I-ShirleyChapter 6"So are you going to tell me what that w
REBEKAH MECEDA Rebekah had come across many villages even before she turned 21. The young woman had been on the road for over four years. She could have settled in either of the villages, but she refused to. She would say she didn't appreciate how this village smelled, and the next town she would say gave her a weird vibe, and she didn't like it. Every person in either of the villages wanted her to stay. Rebekah Maceda was a good "medicine woman" who had at least a piece of idea of every sickness and what kind of leaves or medicine could cure or control it. She left a mark on every village she passed through because she would attend to the sick and heal them. "You need to find a place to settle. These times of war aren't good, especially for young women like yourself." They would tell her and try to lure her to stay and take refuge in their village, but she wouldn't. Rebekah knew they wanted to scare her and make her stay, but she also knew they spoke true. The kind of world they w
Chief Tador shook his head vigorously in disapproval. He wouldn’t put his entire force on a ghost hunt and definitely wouldn’t waste time searching for whole bloodlines because one of his agents believed in ghosts. “Not only do you want to become ghost busters, but you also want us to find out about each and every victim’s progenitors? Are you aware of how many victims there are?” Spat Chief Tador. What Azriel suggested they do was simply over the bar, and the Chief wouldn’t climb that high, not while the Angel of death was still on the loose. Chief Tador was a straightforward fundamental man who appreciated facts. He wouldn’t go ahead with any decision if he felt a grain of dissatisfaction with it. He didn’t believe in ghosts; he didn’t believe in demons. And even if the shadowed man from the video told him he was either of the two, Chief Tador wouldn’t believe it and would still want to put cuffs on his hands. The Chief deemed Azriel’s idea simply unworthy of their time. “Th
Shirley and Azriel arrived at May's house fast. A drive that was supposed to take longer was shortened to about ten minutes. Luckily for them, there was no traffic, and Azriel herself was a fast driver. Watching her drive on a good day would make you feel like a formula one racing competition spectator. Shirley would tell her to relax behind the wheel; that is when Azriel is driving and alone in the car. But when Shirley's with her, she would ask her to feel free and operate the vehicle how she felt. Shirley enjoyed sitting beside Azriel when she was speeding, and she wouldn't get scared or anything – but when Azriel is driving alone, she gets worried for her. Weird really! Shirley untied the rubber band, released her hair, and made it run loose when they hopped out of the car. The vital air jiggled her hair slightly as she reached for her glasses and folded both temples around the middle of her blouse. Azriel drew closer to her, glared in her face from the side, and kept smiling sh
"Ah-ha… I've been wanting to ask you guys this question for a while now, but it skips me for some reason." Azriel said and strolled to the petit center table, where everyone sat on the floor around it. Each person, holding a glass of red wine. After dinner, the kids had been sent to bed, and the adults sipped their glass of alcohol and chatted about random things. "Why do all of you have Odoi as your last names, but only Shirley has "Angelus-Mortis" as her last name. What gives?" Azriel waltzed back to her corner jokingly with the whole wine bottle in her hand. She'd already had enough to drink, yet she went in for the entire bottle. "Well, Shirley here is the special one of this generation, hence the last name." May answered. The whole "Gang" sent their gaze to Shirley with a warm smile across their faces. "In our family, we believe that one person is selected out of every generation, to be the pillar and the protector of its members. And we believe Shirley is it in this generation
-ShirleyChapter 11At twenty minutes after one in the morning, Ackermann sat comfortably in an armchair in his apartment. He held on his lap a pile of the files of the very first five victims of the Angel of death, the shadow killer. He would go through each of them attentively, not missing a single adjective or an adverb. Before two, he had gone through the files and already gone over it a second time. “Still nothing….” He said as he sent his hands to caress his eyes and face. He Sighed and shook his head in discontent. Detective Ackermann was incredibly fed up with chasing one person and doing the same thing over and over and over again for years. The same thing had gone on in his life the same way, so much that sometimes he wakes up and expects to be called to a crime scene. It had become a formula for him. Wake up on a Monday morning to a phone call, “There’s been another angel of death incident, Detective, come do your thing. Ackermann would sometimes set the alarm for as early
I-Shirley12Ackermann and Azriel had been on patrol for less than thirty minutes, moving slowly and smoothly and quietly in the streets with both the exterior lights and interior lights turned on. “Okay, so basically, you think he murders people on weekends only?” asked Azriel as she still kept her eyes on her side of the car.“Yeah….” Replied Ackermann, also looking around closely. “You’ll realize it too when you take a close look at the files.” He added.“I know right, that’s what I’m worried about.” Said Azriel.“Wait, what are you saying?”“Um-hmm. All these years, and we didn’t figure this out, about the time of his murders. All these years…. How many people have died because we failed to notice this? I can’t help but wonder what else we may have missed.” Azriel said and sent her eyes to Ackermann for a few seconds and then back to the direction she was supposed to keep watch on. It should have been a collective failure for the whole team, herself, Ackermann, and Shirley, for n
I-Shirley13“ Wait… You think the Angel of Death has Shirley? ” asked Chief Tador, sounding a little panicky.Ackermann took a deep breath. “ Yes, Chief. ” Concurred, Ackermann.Chief Tador laughed hard. “ Quit being so Paranoid, Ackermann. Shirley is here with me and okay. ” “ Wait, what? ” asked Ackermann, in a loud and confused tone.“ Agent Shirley is here Ackermann, relax! ”Ackermann could hear Shirley giggle from Chief Tador’s end.He shook his head.“ Please put her on the phone, Sir. ”Ackermann hit the loudspeaker button and turned up his volume to the max.He hurried back inside the bedroom to see Azriel. The girl had already lost all hopes of seeing her role model ever again. She had sat on the bed and buried her weepy eyes between her thighs. Ackermann immediately felt her sadness the moment he entered the room. He sat beside her