I was mad. There was nobody in the world I knew well enough to be pulling a prank. My gut was turning, my brain spinning. Who could it be? I didn't give myself a chance to think about it. I rushed to the door and yanked it open, hoping to surprise whoever was on the other side.
It was our dog Henry, or at least what was left of him. He was just laying with his eyes open, with his head towards me, like a frog. His legs had been broken badly by something and were spread out to his sides as if someone had wanted to make him into a rug. The front patio had a pool of blood, with a trail leading through the yard towards his dog house. His fur was bloody, and his mouth was stuck into a snarl.
Inside his mouth was an envelope.
I couldn't move. It was like time had frozen, and I was seeing the world fall apart around me a small speck at a time. My brain registered my daughters scream as she came out to see who was at the door. Some part of me also felt my wife rush past me to throw a sheet over Henry before any of the other kids could see it. They must have thought I was in shock. I stood there silently, staring at the sheet until I heard my wife crying my name from behind me.
I turned to see her pointing down our driveway. There was a figure on the side of our lawn that met the trees. He was standing there, no mask, just a dark colored hoody too hard to see from this distance. His body didn't move, even when I began to run towards him with my heart pounding in my chest.
I ran towards the shadow man, trying to figure out who he could be, but fighting my fear at his stillness as I approached. I was about ten sprint steps away when he held his hand up. He was recording me. He had the camera up and open and was watching every movement as I made my approached. Paparazzi!
"What are you doing in my bushes man? I yelled at him. I was so mad, and the look on his face now that we were close enough to see each other told me he wasn't a threat. He was sacred, I could see it, and it wasn't a hoodie that he was wearing, it was a black velvet cover he was using to protect him and his camera lens. I thought these guys were done snooping around my property asking for an interview. This one had picked the wrong time to snoop.
"How much did you see?" I exclaimed before he could respond.
"Enough to know you're a mad man" he responded pointing at my porch. "I don't know what you're into, but I'll be watching." he said, turning away and quickly leaving before I could reply.
I was too shocked by his suggestion. Did this idiot seriously think I had done that to my dog? What was wrong with people!
"What happened to you Henry?" I asked the turning night air around me.
Now I had a mess to clean….
............................................................................................
My daughter was standing next to me holding my hand. We were on the bus together when a man screamed behind us.
I felt my daughter pull at my arm in a panic and I turned to get a better grip. The man had her and was turning away to escape through the door to the rear of the bus before it took off again. I chased them, catching a wisp of my daughter's sweatshirt before it got tugged away.
"Stop!" I screamed as fast as I could not knowing what else to say. He had my little girl in his arms and I was way too out of shape to grab him. He ran out the bus exit, somehow with me right on his heels, but I knew I couldn't keep this up.
"Stop!" I yelled again. The pain in my chest hurting from the exertion and fear in my lungs and heart. I kept running, and he ran across the road, barely dodging a large truck while he did. I ran past the close call to death and could see him turning down to a side street.
"Daddy!" My daughters high pitched scream ripped the air and my heart at the same time. This couldn't be happening. I ran, fast and hard to catch up to them. I turned the corner sharply, knowing I had to be quick to see where the man had taken my daughter next. Yet when I made it around the curb to look, the street was empty, except for an old strange looking woman in dark clothes walking past me.
I caught her staring at me as I looked around frantically for my daughter, or the man that had taken her.
"Take the money" she said, standing next to me and staring blankly.
I barely caught what she said, and it took a moment to register.
"What?" I said, panting and still looking around, the panic in my chest almost unbearable.
"You want to see your daughter alive yes?" she asked me, with a look of insanity in her eyes. "Take the money." She finished and began to turn away.
"Wait! What?" I said demandingly grabbing her shoulders and turning her back towards me.
"Where's is my daughter!" I said shaking her, which started to draw attention. That didn't stop me one bit. "Where is she!" I screamed even louder, shaking her a bit harder. At which point I felt a hand on my right shoulder. Who cares, I just shrugged it off.
"I swear you better tell me" I said threateningly. To my surprise, the look on her face had changed from the lunatic I had just seen, to a horrified elderly woman.
"Leave me alone!" she screamed trying to pull me away.
There was a loud click behind me.
"Stop right there!" I heard loud and clear. Had to be a cop.
"She knows where my daughter is." I said, still not entirely letting go.
I felt a stab in my back, like a hot dagger. Followed by the most painful pulse coursing throughout my entire body causing me to drop to the ground and wrath in pain. He had obviously pulled his taser. I hated cops.
"No!" I got out through gritted teeth.
It was too late, I felt a body run into me tackling me to the ground. There was another sharp stab to my left leg, accompanied by the agony of a thousand punishments. I wiggled and twisted trying to get free. I felt a pressure hit the side of my head, right above the left ear, and the world began to spin. I needed to puke, and the pain that followed brought me to my knees. Walking up to me, calm and quiet was my ex. Simone, still beautiful, still stunning, and still mean as ever. These weren't cops, they had finally come for her half of the settlement.
From there everything just went black.