Shadows in the Dark

  Set the World on Fire

  The body of Bob Garrison sat in the corner, blood stained on the walls. Detective Rick Burrow stood in thought, examining the body closely. I could tell he was really into this case. Hell, I’ve known the man for seven years. Officer Jackson walked into the room and knelt down next to the body.

  “Have you found anything yet, detective?” Jackson asked, studying the body as well. Rick and I both hesitated to answer. Rick was the first to speak.

  “All we’ve found is the knife wound. There is no trace of the killer or anything.” Rick ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. It was obvious that this case was frustrating him. I, on the other hand, am not the least bit bothered. We have gone through worse cases than this. A man stabbed to death is actually a pathetic attempt for a killer to become known. If he wanted to become known, he could’ve at least left a trace behind. But there was nothing. No footprints, no fingerprints, nothing.

  “Have you contacted his family? Told them what happened?” I asked, crossing my arms, not taking my eyes away from the body.

  “Yes, I sent my partner to go tell them. Can’t help but feel sorry for them. None of them expected this.” Jackson took a few steps back and started observing the room, just to see if he could find anything.

  “Do you think it’s time to move the body?” I asked. Rick and Jackson nodded their heads, not saying a word.

  Slowly, I got some gloves from my truck, put them on, and grabbed the body. It put up a fight, being heavy and all. But I won and the body came up with ease. “What’s that?” Jackson asked, pointing at something on the body’s back. A yellow sticky-note stuck on the man’s shirt, drenched in blood.  

  “There’s only one way to find out.” Rick took the sticky-note and started to read it. His expression changed suddenly.

  “What does it say?” I asked. Rick didn’t answer, he just handed it to me. I took it and read it out loud.

  “My name is of no importance, not yet anyway. Check the air vent in the back, so we can begin to play.” I read the note once more to myself just to make sure that’s really what it said. Rick stared at me, nervous.

  Without thought, Rick and I walked over to the back of the room towards the air vent. Rick tried opening it but it wouldn’t budge. It was screwed in tight.

  “I need something to open it,” Rick grunted, trying to open it once more. Jackson ran out of the room and came back with a screwdriver. Rick grabbed it and unscrewed the air vent. It fell with a loud bang.

  All three of us looked inside the vent. Inside was a small flap of paper. Rick scooped it up and Jackson and I looked down at it. The flap of paper was a photograph. A photograph of a little girl.

  …

  After minutes of trying to get Rick back in the room, I finally gave up. The man wouldn’t budge. I walked back into the room and saw Jackson kneeling down, looking at the photo.

  “Do you know who this is? Ain’t no doubt that I don’t.” His Texan accent sounded stronger than usual. He smirked up at me, trying to lighten the mood. It didn’t help much, but I did give him credit.

  “I have no clue. Here, let me see it.” He handed me the photo and I observed it. The little girl had curly blonde hair. She was smiling with a giant lollipop in her left hand with a dog leash in the other. On the other end of the dog leash, a small German Shepard puppy sat in the grass, staring at a butterfly. I flipped it over to the back and saw numbers.

  “Jackson? I think there’s a phone number on here.” I looked over at him. He was in the back, observing the blood stained spot where Bob’s body was. He quickly looked up at me in confusion.

  “A phone number?” He had a what-the-hell face on. “Should… we call it?”

  “I guess that’s the only logical thing to do now, isn’t it?” I smirked at Jackson, not receiving one back. I pulled out my phone and dialed in the number. Sure enough, it was a phone number. Then, the ringing stopped.

  “Hello, detective. Having a good day? Now we can finally start to play. We will meet soon, do not fear. But first, there’s business that needs to be done here.”

  The voice sounded menacing, and it was almost like a whisper. I didn’t know what to do or say. So I just waited for the voice to say something else.

  “Please, detective, don’t be silent. That’s the one thing that makes me violent. I think you should answer, that’s what I suggest. It’d be smart not to make me more stressed.” I shuddered. I still had no idea what to say. By this time, Jackson had already walked over and was standing next to me.

  “Detective, I swear to God that you should talk. Or you will lose this case and I will take a walk.”

  “Who is this?” I said suddenly. Jackson jumped in surprise.  I heard a laugh on the other line. The man thought this was funny.

  “Oh, how I love this job. I love the stuff I do that I did to poor Bob. The man begged for me to quit. But I just kept going, just a bit. Now you’re next, there is no stopping. I’ll smile greatly while your body is dropping. I can’t wait to meet you, it will be fun. I think your death with be the best one.” The phone made a clicking sound, and the voice was gone.

  “What the hell was that?” Jackson stared at me cautiously. I looked at him, breathing hard. Sweat started to drip down from the top of my forehead.

  “I think we have a big problem on our hands.”

  …

  I explained what happened to Jackson and Rick. Jackson confiscated my phone so he could go and try to trace the call. Rick sat in the truck, staring out the windshield. I got into the driver’s seat and sat there with him.

  “When are you getting your phone back?” Rick asked, not moving his eyes.

  “Jackson said around tomorrow. He said that he needs to take it to the station. The man gave me the creeps. He rhymed.” Rick shook his head and sighed.

  “What the hell is our world coming to? We’ve got killers murdering innocent people for no reason. We have rapist. We have drug dealers that don’t realize that they are just messing up their lives. Now we’ve got some maniac rhyming over the dang phone. Sometimes, this job is too much to handle.”

  I couldn’t help but agree. There are times in this job that make you wonder why you’re even in it. But after a while you remember that you’re in here for the people. To protect the people from the sick creeps that lurk in this city.

  “True. But remember, without us, people would be the complete opposite from safe.”

  “Even with us, they still aren’t safe.” He took his eyes away from the windshield and stared into my eyes. “We aren’t enough to keep the creeps from doing the things they do. Even when we take one down, another pops up. It’s like a never ending battle between the bad guys and the heroes.”

  I understood where he was coming from.

  “Rick, just don’t think about it. This is a rewarding job, is it not?” Rick nodded his head. “Yeah, it is. No doubt about that.” He started tapping his fingers on the arm rest. “Can we just go do something else? To take our minds off of this?”

  I nodded my head and couldn’t help but smile.

  “Sure. But there is one problem.”

  “What?”

  “I need your phone to call Sarah.”

  Rick laughed and handed me his phone. I started up the car and we drove off down the street. I dialed up Sarah’s number and waited for her to pick up her phone.

  “Hello?” Sarah’s voice came through the other end of the phone.

  “Sarah? It’s Eli. Rick and I are going to have a few drinks at the bar. Okay?”

  “Why are you using Rick’s phone?” I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Jackson had to confiscate it so he could trace a call. It’s no big deal.” Sarah hesitated to answer.

  “Why did he have to trace a call on your phone?” I could hear Sarah setting down her car keys on the other end of the line. She must have been out somewhere and just got home.

  “Some creep
left a phone number behind and I called it, being the curious idiot I am. Turns out the murder isn’t all the creep has in mind.” Rick started to chew on his lip. This, of course, wasn’t helping with the whole “forget about it” idea.

  “And that’s no big deal?” The sound of a chair being pulled from under a table and sat on came through the phone.

  “Sarah, don’t worry. It’s fine.” I said, reassuring her. Sarah sighed.

  “Okay. Have fun at the bar.” She hung up the phone and I handed it back to Rick.

  “Thanks,” I said, putting my free hand onto the wheel.

  “No problem.”

  The ride to the bar was pretty quiet. I tried to start conversations, but Rick would give me one word answers.

  I pulled into the bar’s parking lot and Rick got out before the truck could even stop. I guess the man wanted a drink pretty badly.

  Rick and I walked into the bar, eyes meeting ours as we walked over to a table. Rick slumped down in a chair and I sat across from him. I went for my wallet when Rick stopped me.

  “No, it’s on me,” he said, getting up from his chair. He walked over to the bartender and ordered us two drinks. He set them on the table and gulped down his. By the time I was half way done with mine, Rick had gone through three whole glasses. After an hour of being there, we both were already drunk.

  We were talking about usual things that two drunken dudes would talk about. We talked about women, cars, and dreams that would never happen. Somehow, our childhood came into conversation.

  Several minutes passed by with many conversations that jumped from one to another. I knew I wouldn’t remember them, but I couldn’t care less.

  “Rick… I think we’re drunk.” Rick looked off in deep thought. After several seconds, he quickly looked back at me.

  “I feel fine.” We started laughing hysterically. Then Rick stopped and stared behind me, squinting really hard.

  “That dude,” he said pointing. “That dude has been watching us this whole time.” I looked behind me and saw a man leaning against the wall in the back of the bar. He was wearing a hood over his face and had jeans on.

  “Hey!” Rick stood up and yelled from across the room. “Hey, what are you looking at?” Rick threw his arms up.

  The man only stopped leaning on the wall and started walking over to us.

  “Oh, this guy wants a piece of me!” Rick took a step and tripped on the leg of the table. The man met Rick in front of our table and got pretty close to him. He was just as tall as Rick, if not taller.

  He pulled Rick closer to him and whispered something into his ear. Rick seemed to get furious. The man pushed Rick away from him, making him run into the table behind us. The man started walking away, but I got up from my seat and got in his way. Turns out, the man was a few inches taller than me. He put his hand on my chest and pushed me back into my seat.

  He disappeared into the crowd and Rick sat back down, breathing hard. His face was completely red.

  “What did that idiot tell you?” I asked. Rick took another sip of his drink and took a second to answer.

  “He wants…” He took another sip of his drink. “He wants to meet us behind the bar in ten minutes.”

  …

  Rick and I finished our drinks in one gulp and stormed out behind the bar. A dumpster sat in the dark corner, hardly noticeable. The man was nowhere in sight.

  “Ha! Looks like he didn’t show up after all.” Rick stumbled over to the back door of the bar and was about to go back inside. Suddenly, the eerie sound of a bottle breaking flooded the back ally. Rick and I quickly looked back and saw the man standing next to the dumpster.

  Something about him seemed different. He seemed more menacing than he did in the bar. His hood covered more of his face, not revealing anything behind it. It was like a black hole of nothing. His fists were tightened into a ball as if he was ready to cause serious pain. But this didn’t seem to bother Rick.

  “I don’t know what you were looking at, buddy. But you were staring at the wrong guy!” Rick ran over to sock the man in the face. But he was ready.

  The man quickly dodged his fist and kicked him right into the dumpster. Rick fell to the ground, getting the air knocked out of him.

  “Rick, come on. I don’t think this guy meant any harm.” I tried to tell Rick to stop, but he just got right back up and went right back at him.

  He threw his foot up, trying to kick him in the stomach, but the man caught his leg and bashed his elbow into Rick’s knee. Rick cried out in pain.

  Gasping, Rick fell back to the ground and didn’t attempt to get back up.

  “You think you got the best of me? Well, you’re wrong!” Rick tried crawling away, but the man slammed his foot into Rick’s ribs. Once again, Rick cried out in pain.

  I took a deep breath and walked over to the man, ready to fight. I put my fists up and got into a fighting stance.

  He looked over at me, letting some light get through his hood, only revealing his smile. His evil smile.

  I threw a punch, but he blocked it. I threw another. Then another. All of a sudden, a sudden pain ran through my body. The man had struck me in the stomach.

  I felt like puking, but I only spit and got back into my fighting stance. He threw a punch, but I victoriously blocked it. But the victory didn’t last long, because he quickly threw a punch again, socking me in the side of my jaw.

  My head jerked sideways. I started stumbling over sideways but I ran into the wall. I looked over and saw the man holding another bottle, spinning it in his hand.

  I could still see his smile, watching me like a pair of eyes.

  “Look, we don’t want any trouble,” I said. “Let’s just resolve this like civilized people.” I stepped away from the wall and started walking over to the man. “This doesn’t have to end badly.”

  “Oh, Detective, that’s where you’re wrong. Now I must leave, and you’re coming along.” Before I could respond, the side of my head was smacked with a bottle, knocking me unconscious.

  …

  Drowsily, I awoke in a pitch black room that was freezing cold. It felt as though my hands were tied behind my back and a bag was tied over my head.  All I heard was the sound of the wind rubbing against the outside wall. Then, I heard a door open and close loudly, being followed by footsteps heading my way.

  My heart was beating rapidly, pounding against my chest. I could feel the blood rushing through my veins at a rapid speed. I started struggling, but it didn’t help much.

  “Oh, good, you’re finally awake. Now let’s discuss the things at stake.” All of a sudden, the bag was ripped from my head. The light flooded my sight, making me flinch. I looked around the room and saw nothing but the man.

  He was walking around the room, running the tip of a knife against the wall as he walked. Still wearing that hood from earlier, he watched the knife, not looking away.

  “What do you want with me?” I said. The man stopped suddenly and slowly looked over at me. But I didn’t expect what I saw next.

  The man wore a plastic white mask that covered all of his face. The mask had small red dots for eyes and a thin red smile that ran all across the bottom of it.

  “All I want... is a favor done. You won’t do much, only just one. But you must do it fast, for we don’t have much time. But don’t worry, the outcome will be sublime.” He chuckled as he walked over to me and knelt down. He started running the knife along my cheek.

  “What did you do with Rick?” I asked.

  “Oh, little Rick is still in that alley. But let’s continue our talk, shall we?” He got his face closer to mine, close enough to where I could hear his breath run against the inside of his mask.

  “Okay. What do you want me to do?” I stammered my words a little, making me look pathetic. The man stood back up and turned his back to me.

  “In the other room, there lies a bomb. It detonates soon, but you must be calm. You w
ill set it in the nearby church. You must not be suspicious so they will not search. It will explode in twenty-four hours. Do it in time, and victory will be ours.” He chuckled once more, rubbing his finger along the sharp side of the knife.

  “I’ll never do that. You can’t make me.” I tried to sit up, but I only fell back down. It was silent in the room for a second. I looked over at the man and saw that he was getting rough with rubbing his finger on the sharp part of the knife. Too rough.

  He pierced his skin, opening a gap in his finger, letting blood seep through and drip on the floor. All of a sudden, he threw his knife at my face.

  The knife stabbed into the floor right next to my head, barely missing. It stuck in its place, not even budging.

  “Don’t you dare refuse, detective!” His yell sounded muffled from the mask covering his face, echoing around the room. “I put a lot of thought into this, I swear! You must do it for me, it’s only fair!”

  The man grabbed my shirt and threw me against the wall, making me grunt in surprise. He slammed his hands against the wall and put his face up close to mine.

  “Detective,” he said as quiet as a whisper, “you have no choice. Listen to me, listen to my voice! The clock is ticking, you must not disrupt. Or your world with surely erupt. So accept the fact that you must kill. For if you don’t, I most certainly will.”

  He started a slow chuckle as he backed away from me, not breaking eye contact. He grabbed the knife and pulled it out of the ground, sticking it into his pocket. But he wasn’t done talking.

  “Taking someone’s life isn’t so bad. It’s actually the best feeling I’ve ever had. Let’s hope you commit to doing your job. Or else you will end up like poor old Bob.” He started laughing hysterically, tilting his head back.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” I said, feeling my heart beating faster than ever. The man stopped laughing and slowly looked down at me. He knelt down and a small, almost silent, chuckle came from behind that mask.  

  “Rhyming Ralph, that’s my name. Murdering people, that’s the game.”

  …

  Not even attempting to get out, I lay motionless in the trunk of the Ralph’s car. The ride was bumpy, no doubt about that. But I made it through.

  Ralph stopped the car, opened to trunk, and dragged me out. My back hit the ground pretty hard, making me grunt. But that was the worst of it.

  Before Ralph had stuck me in his trunk, he had put the bag back over my head. Having no idea where I was, only knowing I was in a grassy field due to having the grass brush against my skin, I did panic a little. But I knew he wasn’t going to kill me. He said himself that he needed me. Well, unless I refused to do his dirty work. But I was a detective. I was Detective Eli. I would figure out how to stop this somehow. Hopefully.

  Ralph ripped the bag from my head, and I finally saw where I was. I was in the middle of a grassy field surrounded by trees. The tall grass blew rhythmically with the wind, swaying like the waves of a gorgeous ocean.

  “Where am I?” I asked. Ralph only looked at me, but didn’t say anything. He stood there for a few seconds, and then turned around to walk away. But I had more questions.

  Ralph grabbed a bag from the back of his car and carefully set it down next to me. I already knew what it was, but I asked any way.

  “Is this the bomb?” Once again he didn’t answer. He just stood there for a second, then turned around.

  “Wait! At Bob Garrison’s crime scene, you left a picture! A picture of a little girl! Who is she? What does she have to do with this?” My breathing became harder as I watched Ralph’s jacket sway in the wind. He stopped and stared at the ground, not saying a single word. Then, he slowly turned around and looked at me.

  “That little girl’s life is in your hands. If you want her to live, then don’t screw up my plans. You do as you’re told, and she won’t be harmed. I will turn myself in, truthfully and unarmed.  Don’t think about running, that wouldn’t be smart. Because I’ll be watching you during that part. Let’s hope that you finish in time. Or her death will just be another crime.”

  Ralph turned back around and started to walk away. A sudden rage filled my heart and head. I could feel the blood rushing from my head and through my body. I tried to lunge at him, but my hands were tied up too well.

  “So this is blackmail? You’re saying that if I don’t blow up the church, you’re going to kill that little girl? That’s sick! That’s demented!” I only heard Ralph chuckle as he got into his car and drove off, leaving me in the middle of nowhere.

  …

  I managed to get to my feet after a good ten minutes when Ralph had driven out of sight. The bag that carried the bomb was heavy and was a pain to carry. But I had to choice to take it with me. The sun had started to set and sweat started to drip from the top my forehead. I had been walking for a good hour or so, and then I found a street that ran through the field. From afar, I only saw a car or two pass by.

  Though Ralph was messed up in the head, he was smart. He had covered his license plate so I couldn’t somehow remember it. The mask and the hood were smart, too. That way I couldn’t see any facial structure or hair of any kind. Hell, even the rhyming got to me. It made him seem more… menacing. Ralph knew what he was doing. And that’s what scares me the most.

  Cars passed by me with no problem. The people driving them would look at me as they passed, and then speed up right after. It’s like they thought I was a monster or something. It’s amazing what people can assume nowadays.

  After more sunlight was lost and cars passing me, a car stopped. The driver was a teenage boy with long, shaggy blonde hair and a small goatee. He was probably around seventeen or eighteen. A cigarette hung from the side of his mouth, nearly falling off.

  “Need a lift?” he said, rolling down his window.

  “Yes. Also, would you mind telling me the nearest city?” The boy looked ahead and started to think.

  “Umm, I just came from Irving. I’m on my way to Frisco. Is there somewhere else you need to be?”

  “No, Frisco is where I need to be.”

  The boy nodded his head and unlocked the door. I opened to back door and slid the bomb onto the seat. I awkwardly walked over to the passenger side and got into the car, slowly putting on my seatbelt.

  Please, for the love of God, don’t look in the bag.

  “Could I use your phone?” I asked. The boy had already started to drive down the road.

  “Sure.” He reached into his pocket and handed it to me. I flipped it open and dialed in Jackson’s number. The phone rang and rang, and then it sent me to voicemail.

  “Come on Jackson, don’t do this to me now,” I whispered to myself. I dialed it in again and waited. Then a groggy voice had answered.

  “Hello?” Jackson sounded as if he had just woken up.

  “Jackson! You remember the photo of the little girl?” Jackson didn’t answer. “Jackson? Wake up, man!”

  “Yes, I remember! Why?”

  “Well…” I hesitated. It was like I hadn’t even taken in the whole story yet. “The murderer of Bob Garrison plans more than just killing an innocent man. He did that to get our attention. Or… at least mine. The man behind it kidnapped me at the bar. He told me I had to do something for him. Something big. Something bad…” I took in a breath. “And if I didn’t do it, he would kill that little girl in the photo.” I saw the boy stare at me on the side of my eye.

  Jackson was silent. Then I heard rustling of clothes and footsteps on a wooden floor.

  “What do you have to do?” Jackson asked, sounding worried and in a hurry.

 

  “He…” I looked over at the boy. “I’ll tell you later. I’ll meet you at the station. Get ready, Jackson. This… this is big.”

  …

  I pushed open the doors of the police station, looking around the room. An officer sat in a small chair, reading a news paper. Jackson stood next to the front des
k, tapping his fingers on a clipboard. He looked up as soon as I walked in and took me into his office.

  “Okay, I’m done waiting. What’s going on?” Jackson sat down in his chair behind his desk, and I sat down in the chair in front of it. I sighed and stared at the bag that I had set down next to me.

  “Well, you know the first part. The rest of it, though…” I started tapping my fingers on the arm rest. “You see this bag?”

  I looked down at the bag and Jackson nodded.

  “Well… the killer told me that in order to keep that girl safe I have to-”

  Wait! Was this smart? What about the little girl? What if Ralph found out and killed the girl? But I can’t lie… That goes against what I do! I need to tell him.

  “What? You have to what?” Jackson leaned forward onto his desk.

  “He wants me to… set a bomb in the church.” I glanced at Jackson, who had the most surprised face I’ve ever seen.

  “What?” he exclaimed. He sat up from his chair and started pacing around the room.

  “Is that the bomb?” He pointed at the bag at my feet. I slowly nodded my head.

  Jackson ran his fingers through his hair and leaned on the wall. I could just see all the thoughts running through his mind at the moment.

  “He said he’d be watching me when I set the bomb. But I think that if you come with me, but not obviously, then I could go in the church and warn anyone in there. Then you and your men could search around and see if you could find him.” I sat up from the chair, tapping my teeth together nervously.

  “What if he’s in the church?”

  “Then I don’t warn anyone. I take the bag, but not the bomb. I can leave the bomb here and a bomb squad could try and disarm it. I fill the bag with something that resembles a bomb, and then walk into the basement of the church like I was going to plant it.”

  Jackson sighed and started pacing around the room again.

  “It’s crazy but… seems to be the most logical thing. Here, open the bag up.” Jackson walked over and knelt down next to the bag. I unzipped it and we both gasped.

  The bomb had wires coming from one end of it to the other. It had a timer the blinked with every second. The timer said that the bomb had a good twenty-two hours until it blew.

  “Holly…” Jackson couldn’t finish his sentence. He was too shocked. I knelt down, looking into the bag.

  “Get a bomb squad over here. But tell them not to be noticeable. No siren or anything. Just drive here.” Jackson nodded and walked out of the room. I heard him pick up the phone at the front desk. Sounding really panicked, he ordered a bomb squad to come to the station immediately. He told them what I had said, be normal.

  I watched the timer tick down with every second. The red numbers intimidated me, ticking down and down, laughing at me.

  Jackson had walked back in. I could see sweat reflecting the light off of his skin. His eyes were filed with worry. I could just see his heart beating through his chest.

  “Eli,” he said, reaching into desk door. I looked over at him, breaking contact with the bomb. Jackson tossed over a square, grey object to me. I caught it and looked at it. It was my phone.

  “I found the source where the call was from. So if we don’t find the creep at the church, we know where he will be.” Jackson smirked, and I smirked back. “Oh, and we found Rick in the ally of the bar. What was that about?”

  “Long story. Tell you later.”

  Jackson nodded his head and pointed at the bomb.

  “Carefully pick that up and set it on my desk. I already told the bomb squad where it’d be and where we would be.” I sighed and slowly picked the bomb up. It was a lot lighter than I expected.

  I carefully set it down on the desk and backed away from it, watching it. Jackson grabbed a few books from his bookshelf and tossed them into the bag. It was to symbolize that something was in there, so Ralph would think the bomb was.

  “Well,” Jackson sighed, “I guess there isn’t much to do but go to the church.” He slipped on his uniform and took his gun from under his desk.

  “Let’s go catch us a criminal.”

  Spoken like a true cop.

  …

  The church towered up into the sky, the tip forming into a spherical figure. Sunlight reflected off of its metal surface, shining brightly. People walked in and out of the church, smiling and laughing with their friends and family.

  I stood in at the front, staring at the entrance door. The bag sagged low from my grasp, almost touching the ground. I couldn’t see Jackson and his men anywhere. But that made me feel more comfortable. They were doing what they needed to do.

  Taking in a breath, I slowly walked up the front steps and into the church.

  A cool wave of air splashed me in the face. The hum of air conditioning rang all throughout the service room. People sat in the pews, reading their bibles as the pastor got everything ready for the service.

  Trying to be as unnoticeable as possible, I walked around all the pews and stopped at the door of the pastor’s office. Inside his office was a basement. I had to go in there and act like I was planting the bomb just in case Ralph was the church.

  I looked around the room. Everyone was reading, the pastor was still getting things ready, and the pianist was nowhere in sight. This was my chance.

  I quickly opened and closed the door as I walked in. Looking out the small window that was on the door, I saw that no one noticed me.

  My heartbeat slowed a little, calming me down. Now all I had to do was “plant” it. I walked over to the basement door and set my hand on the handle. Feeling like I was being watched, I opened the door and walked in.

  The basement smelt musty and felt like it hadn’t been touched in years. I hadn’t walked down the stairs. This was as far as I needed to go to make Ralph believe I was planting the bomb, if he was watching me.

  I leaned on the basement wall, relaxing a little. All I had to do was wait for a few minutes, walk out, and look suspicious. I took a long, deep breath and kind of laughed. I couldn’t help but think. Why me?

  Was it because I called him? Did I have a feature that Ralph liked? Or was it because I seemed the most vulnerable? Either way, I was unlucky.

  A small, quiet ringing came from my pocket. I quickly grabbed it and flipped it open. It was Rick. I had no choice but to answer.

  “Hello?”

  “Eli! Eli, get out of there!” Jackson’s voice boomed from the other line, hurting my ears and making me flinch.

  “What? Why?”

  “The bomb, Eli! The bomb is fake! The whole plan is fake!” I dropped the phone and stood in shock. The world stopped rotating. Time seemed to stop. I wasn’t tricking Ralph. Ralph had tricked me.

  I boomed out from the basement and the pastor’s office, busting into the service room, not caring about the bag. People jumped and yelped, dropping their bibles.

  I didn’t have time to tell them what I was doing there or what I had done.

  I flew out of the entrance door and saw Rick running towards the church. I met with him halfway.

  “Where are your men?” I asked, breathing hard.

  “I sent them to search the perimeter. Why would the creep kidnap you and give you a fake bomb?” Jackson had sweat dripping off the side of his face.

  I thought hard. It didn’t make any sense. Did Ralph see this as a game? Did he just do this to be amused? Why a fake bomb? Why a fake bomb…

  Then, it hit me. It hit me harder than punch to the face. The sudden realization made my heart stop. We didn’t trick Ralph. Ralph tricked us.

  “For more time!” I started to yank my hair and panic, pacing around. “He gave us a fake bomb to distract us! So he could do what he needed to do!” Jackson starred at me and gasped. He had agreed.

  “That psycho! Why would he need-”

  It was as if lightning had struck just next to us. Our eardrums vibrated in pain, making Jackson and
I cover our ears and fall to our knees. I gritted my teeth so hard to the point it hurt my jaw.

  The noise had vanished and Jackson freed his ears. I did the same.

  “What in God’s name was that?” Jackson said. Before I could answer, I turned and saw it. The local hospital across the street was demolished. People all around screamed and cried for help, gasping and standing in disbelieve.

  Time had slowed down. Cars had slowed. The people running had slowed. Even Jackson sprinting towards the hospital, yelling in his walkie-talkie had slowed down. I couldn’t help but stand there, in the church parking lot, motionless. Ralph had won. He had tricked all of us. And I realized that as I watched his prize crumble into flames.

  …

  Ralph stood on top of the hill, watching the local hospital crumble. He smiled as people cried in fear, running for help, screaming in shock. He took one, quick glance at Detective Eli, standing in the church parking lot, watching Ralph’s masterpiece. It made Ralph giggle with joy.

  Silly Eli. Thinking he could trick me. Ralph. Rhyming Ralph.

  Ralph took in the picture one more time. People in fear. Officer Jackson calling for backup. Detective Eli standing in disbelief. It was all too much for Ralph. But one more take was all he needed, then he turned around and walked away.

  Ralph’s car sat on the bottom of the hill, waiting for him to drive off to his escape. But Ralph stopped. Something felt wrong.

  He reached into his pocket and pulled a small flap of paper. It was the photo of the little girl. Ralph laughed and tossed the photo to the side.  

  Ralph knew he was crazy. But, to Ralph, crazy overpowered knowledge. Knowledge doesn’t drive you to do the unthinkable. Crazy does. Crazy drives you to blow up a hospital. Crazy drives you to become the nightmare of a once unstoppable detective. Crazy drives you to blackmail said detective. Crazy… drives you to lie. Crazy drove Ralph. It always had.

  Ralph unlocked his car and got in, shutting the door and starting the engine. The sweet hum filled Ralph’s ears. It was the hum of freedom. Ralph took off his mask and set it aside in the passenger seat. No need in wearing it anymore.

 

  As he put his hands on the wheel, he couldn’t help but look in the rearview mirror and watch the thick smoke float up into the sky. And as Ralph drove off into freedom, he couldn’t help but think.

  I beat Eli. I had done it. I had set the world on fire.

  …