Returned Home E-Book

Kerstin Schwarz

• Herausgeber: epubli
• Kategorie: Abenteuer, Thriller, Horror
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 83

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

Melissa Marx is out late on a Saturday night. At a bus stop she encounters a young girl who turns to her for help. Unaware that this will change her life, Melissa takes care of that young girl. Pursued by a strange man, the two flee through small back streets are just barely able to save themselves. However, in a very short time, Melissa realizes that not everything is as it seems. To regain control of her life, she has no choice. Melissa has to find out who this young girl is and which story she's hiding ...

Leseprobe

Kerstin Schwarz

Returned Home

Novel

In memory of my both grandmothers- Rest in Peace -

I AM MY ONLY MASTER

English Version - Translated from German

Imprint

Copyright (c) 2012-2023 by Kerstin D. Schwarz (alias Merci)

Text & Translation: Kerstin D. Schwarz (alias Merci)

Design & Cover Art: Kerstin D. Schwarz (alias Merci)

www.kerstin-schwarz.com

Publisher:

Kerstin Schwarz

Barcelona-Allee 17

55129 Mainz

[email protected] // www.kerstin-schwarz.com

Printed & Bound by:

epubli, a service from Neopubli GmbH, Berlin www.epubli.de

1 - Prologue

It was late Saturday evening and I was walking dreamily through the streets. Then suddenly I saw her. A young girl was standing at the bus stop. She stood slightly apart from the other people who were waiting for the bus.

At first I believed I saw an Angel. She seemed so innocent and fragile. At first glance, this girl seemed to be untainted. Her cheeks were slightly flushed. She was a real beauty with her big eyes, fine mouth, and the small snub nose. Her golden hair shone in the moonlight and fell loosely around her shoulders. Only her light blue summer dress was out of place.

Didn’t she feel cold? After all, it was already early autumn and the first leaves were colourful. Even if it was a mild evening, this dress was a little unsuitable. She held an umbrella in her hand, but there was no trace of rain or, let alone, her parents.

When our eyes met, I knew it: That’s my mission! My good deed for today! I smiled faintly at her and she returned my smile self-confidently. Feeling confirmed, I approached her and asked what she did here all alone at this late time. But instead of answering my question, she looked straight into my eyes. “Do you see the guy with the hood?“ she asked me.

I saw him. Few meters away a man was sitting on the bench in front of the bus stop. He seemed to be in his early thirties and wore a short beard. His hood was pulled into his face but he took a peek at us. I nodded slightly and the girl continued: “He’s persecuting me!“

I stared at the little girl. She wasn’t being serious, was she?

The expression on my face spoke volumes. Without further explanations, she grabbed my arm and drew me aside.

“Come on, I’ll show you!”

We headed towards the man and as we passed him, he looked straight into my eyes. I had to admit that this girl was right; this man seemed to be really scary. Only when we were out of his reach, the little girl let off my arm. I heard rustling clothes and knew without turning around that the man had stood up. Although I didn’t hear any steps following us, the girl urged me to haste.

We ran down the street and turned to smaller side streets several times. I was hoping that this area was familiar to the girl because I didn’t know if I would find the way back. Suddenly the girl stopped. I leaned against a wall; needed to rest for a second. When I started to feel safe, the little girl whispered something into my ear: “In one minute we’re dead!“

Frightened, I jumped up and didn’t know how to escape this situation.

As if she had seen my panic already, the girl pulled me back and held on to my arm. “He’s been waiting around this corner on us!“ These words came to her mouth without any emotion. She grabbed her umbrella firmly and held it like a weapon. The tip of the umbrella was gleaming in the street lights. When she jumped confidently around the corner, it looked like a razor-sharp dagger. At first I felt like this was a bad joke. Could the man really have cut off our way? How could he have known which streets we had walked through? Even I couldn’t imagine how this girl could know what would expect us behind the corner.

But when I heard the typical sounds of a melee and following groan, I was proved wrong. I pulled myself out of my thoughts and stepped bravely around the corner. Horrified, I watched the girl pull the ‘dagger’ out of the man’s breast. She stabbed him again. Killing spree flashed in her eyes and her smile seemed to be ever-widening. It was really the man from the bus stop!

The little girl was right: Not only, he had followed her, he was also around this corner. We could have been really dead within this minute. But now it hit him and not us!

After the girl had stabbed the man again and again, I couldn’t watch this horrific sight any longer. I called her to stop but she didn’t respond. This man could no longer harm us anymore.

With all power I was able to push the girl aside and snatch the umbrella. The adrenaline was still controlling her and and it was not easy to calm her down. Only when I took the girl in my arms, it seemed like she came back to reality. I let go off her and she withdrew from my embrace immediately.

The girl picked up her umbrella and looked bitter at me. “Let’s get out of here!“ she ordered in a voice which didn’t allow any objection. She didn’t mention the man or the bloody deed. To make sure I wasn’t dreaming, I briefly looked back. The man still laid there. He was bent double and a pool of blood spread out under his body slowly. His hood had been pushed back and revealed his face. In the pale light, it looked even more stressed and especially his distinctive cheekbones stood out. His black hair was tied to a small ponytail. His dead eyes stared at me while we disappeared around the corner.

I was still in shock and passively let the little girl lead me through the streets. A mystical spell was laid upon us. No one said a word as if not to break it. It was the spell of forgetting and repressing. Should we ever break this spell, we would have to face the consequences of this horrific act and admit the mistakes we had committed. But reality and the ghastly events were very far away, hidden behind a grey mist.

We reached the bus stop just in time; the next bus arrived. The girl got on immediately. She smiled and waved at me. The doors closed and the bus disappeared into the night. Together with the girl and her umbrella; but without clearing up her mystery. And I didn’t even know her name.

2 - Sunday

The next morning I woke up in my bed and my head pounded. What a night! At first I couldn’t remember anything. Neither where I had been last night nor how I even got home and into my bed. I turned sideways. Every part of my body hurt with this movement - my arms, my legs, my back, and my shoulders. What happened to me?

Looking at the clock showed it was already well past ten in the morning. My first attempt to get up ended with just rolling onto my back. I couldn’t think of getting up at this time.

I was the lucky one and fell asleep again immediately and didn’t wake up before noon. My head still felt heavy as lead, but the fog within was slowly dissipating. Unfortunately my thoughts and memories being released now were not the best.

I vaguely remembered a girl turning to me anxiously. I felt a deep connection to her, like a bond that was tightly wrapped around us. Didn’t I think she was my personal mission?

These retrospective thoughts filled me with a sense of bliss. But in the next moment, I remembered an umbrella. A dagger flashed and blood spattered in all directions. I saw myself bending over a man. Saw me stabbing him over and over again.

With these disgusting thoughts in my head, I fell to the floor and crawled towards the wall. It couldn’t have really happened! I leaned my back to the wall, drew my knees up and sobbed uncontrollably. Did I murder someone last night?! I didn’t have any clear memories of last night. Just those horror images that kept flashing in front of my eyes.

But was I capable of such a thing? Could I even be capable of something like this? Attacking a stranger for no reason? Merciless and without any compassion?

Where should I get the strength to overpower a grown man? Questions about questions - my head was pounding. My brain was rattling around, searching for answers as these horrific images kept flashing in my mind again and again.

The phone rang. The ringing shattered the silence and made my head ache. I was still sitting on the floor and couldn’t move.

Didn’t even know how much time had passed since I had lost any sense of space and time. I whimpered, begged and prayed that this annoying noise would finally stop. My head felt like it would explode at any moment. Would I finally regain my inner peace?

The phone bell stopped and I exhaled. Without realizing it, I was holding my breath the whole time. Now the pressure in my chest also eased and the oppressive feeling inside me went away. I took a few deep breaths and with every breath, I felt a steady improvement in my condition.

Slowly I was able to think again. And I thought once about this girl again. Exactly! That girl had been the trigger. I was just following her and unfortunately witnessed this act of violence! The hand that wielded that weapon was not mine. Nor was it me who was bending over the body.

Suddenly the memory was back! How could this girl make me believe that I had committed this insane act? How could she bring these horrifying visions into my head? Who was she anyway?