Chapter one: The Shot In The Dark.
"Ian, what are you doing? I told you not to even think of going down there?!", John yelled through the phone.
"If you didn't want to go then you should have told me. How about that? Something big is going to come out of here and I can't miss it", Ian hangs the call.
Ian was crouched behind a dumpster with his camera.. Strange disappearances have been happening lately. He was following a lead of some unsolved murders.
A few minutes had passed, and it was still quiet..
He hears voices of two men arguing in a nearby alley.
Then what seems like punching and choking sounds. Ian moves closer to see a man strangling and punching another smaller man.
"Oh my God", Ian hand fidgets as he positions his camera and takes a photo but the camera accidentally flashed. This killer turns swiftly towards him.
"Oh shit!", he had forgotten to turn that off. He looked again but the killer wasn't there anymore.
Ian stayed as quiet as he could, wondering if the killer had totally noticed him.
His chest was pounding violently, he had just witnessed a killer that moved like a ghost, efficient and strong. It wasn't too hard to take his victim down.
He didn't see his face but only a pair of gray eyes, this killer was trained not like a street thug.
"My life is so over, what if he comes after me next?", he buried his face in his palms.
"It's too early for regrets, journalist. Curiosity would get you killed", the killer was standing before him appearing out of nowhere.
Ian begins to panic, trembling visibly.
"Be a good boy and hand over the camera", the killer commanded, his voice calm but authoritative.
His glove had snatched the camera, he took out the memory card and then tossed the camera into the wall.
He grabs Ian who tries to run, injecting him with a sedative.
Ian tries to struggle but this killer is fast and strong. He collapsed to the ground, his vision now blurry.
The last thing he saw was this killer sharp grey eye behind his mask before everywhere fades to black
*****
"Beep Beep", he kept hearing that sound over and over again. Ian slowly opens his eyes, staring at the ceiling. He was definitely in a hospital.
A nurse walks in to check on him asking a few questions.
"How did I get here?", he whispered.
"A kind gentle man brought you here. Mr Hunter, the CEO", the nurse replies and leaves.
Ian closes his eyes, he remembers passing out after being injected but why did the killer let him and not have killed him.
He just couldn't believe his luck and at the same time, is totally terrified since the killer is out there.
The door opens, a tall man probably 6 '3, pale skinned with extremely dark hair enters. Ian has never seen him before.
"Hi, I was told you were awake. I saw you passed out in the street and brought you here", he spoke in an extremely deep voice.
Ian freezes just staring at this man.
"Oh, pardon me. My name is Zhedya…Zhedya Hunter", he stretches his hand which he wears dark gloves on towards him.
Ian slowly takes his hand, and whispers. "Ian Parker".
"I wonder what trouble you got yourself in that made you end up unconscious in an alley", he stated as he took his seat.
"It's nothing. I just haven't been eating well I guess", Ian lied.
Zhedya locked eyes on him like he was trying to see through him and could tell he was obviously lying.
"Oh Ian, are you not a crime journalist? The writer of the new crime blog "Feral Minds"?", he questions.
Ian swallowed, wondering how this man knew about him.
"How do you knock, you don't just pick people off the street and know everything about them?" He shot at Zhedya.
He laughs softly, "I'm a forensic pathologist, I work with the FBI sometimes or most times because they believe I'm the most skilled. I read your articles often. Consider me a fan"
"Ohh, thank you so much. For saving me and reading my blog too. Who knew a CEO could be a fan", Ian smiles at him.
There was a way that Zhedya was staring at him, made him feel uneasy but he brushes it off noticing something else.
"You have grey eyes", he blurted.
"Yes, do you love it?" Zhedya asked.
"No, just…You found me unconscious because I witnessed a murder and this killer had grey eyes. Just made me remember, that's all", Ian explained.
"I guess I'm the killer, right?", Zhedya smirks.
"Of course not. I wonder why he let me go, he would have killed me", Ian wonders.
"Maybe because you are cute or he is a fan", Zhedya moved closer, stroking Ian's head.
Ian flinches.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I couldn't just help that, you just look so…I'm sorry", Zhedya apologized.
Ian smiles awkwardly.
"The killer is out there. You might need to be extremely careful and also need protection, I'm worried my favourite journalist might be the next victim. See you later, Ian. And I love your brown eyes", Zhedya stated before walking out the door.
Ian took a deep breath, Zhedya was right. The killer knows him now, he could be the next.
*****
Ian laid on the bed, his eyes closed. He has been trying to fall asleep for some time now.
He hears footsteps, it was probably someone or a nurse passing by he thought to himself.
His door opens, he sees someone walk towards him. The room was extremely dark. He couldn't see this person's face.
Then, a pillow was forced over his face. The killer was back to kill this time.
Ian could only struggle trying to grab his arm or face, anything at all but it was nothing compared to the strength of this murderer.
He was going to die at twenty-one in a hospital bed suffocated to death.