A/N A collobaration with ROSATHEGREAT We hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1 Green Lake
It was a typical Tuesday night in the quaint town of Greenlake. The streets were empty; everyone was at home sheltering from the cold winter that had taken hold a few weeks before. The roads that had been shoveled over that morning were slowly filling up with snow again. The town was rather small, but not quite enough that everyone knew everyone, despite this it was friendly. The majority of people were middle class, with a large number of wealthy farmers and businessmen. The town was well known for its shopping center and wonderfully built movie theatres and town hall. The lake, which the town was named after, was situated just out of town, it was a decent size, spanning two miles across, and it was sixteen feet deep, the perfect place for swimming in the summer, and ice-skating in the winter.
Harmoni Michales lived on the outskirts of town where the well-kept suburbs started to give way to farmland. Her house was at the end of Walnut road, it was small, early 1930s with a fresh coat of lavender paint and a big back yard complete with vegetable garden, woodshed and tandem garage that was almost as old as the house. Harmoni lived alone which suited her fine, she loved being able to do her own thing and not have any annoying flat mates getting in her way. She had just finished a painting that she had been working on for two weeks in her spare time, it was a landscape piece done with oil paints of the lake at night with hills in the background it almost looked liked a photograph and her best work yet, to celebrate she hired out a movie, a Stephen king one, something about mist and big bugs. Harmoni sat there in the dark munching on her buttery popcorn and watching her widescreen intently. She had such a hard day at work, whoever said sitting down in front of a computer all day was an easy job was dead wrong, especially if you had the boss from hell like Harmoni did, Mr. Cane a pushy old bastard with no patience and no humor, especially when it came to women in the work place. Harmoni was glad that she could so easily shrug off the stress of the day to finally relax, in comfort and her favorite pjs until eight o'clock the next morning anyway.
There was a rustling noise outside, in the garden "Probably those animals in my lettuce" Harmoni muttered to herself while walking to the back door and sliding it open, "Ruby, Ruby come on" she called loudly as an overweight and fluffy black and white cat came darting through the door. "Have you been fighting with that damn Socks again?" she asked the cat in the manner someone would speak to a baby. It hesitantly looked out the door and let out a meow, Harmoni looked around for signs of the neighbor's cat, sometimes it would climb over the fence and hide in her garden, not wanting to go home again, not that Harmoni could blame the poor thing, she would try to run away as well if her master was an eight year old girl who loved playing dress the kitty and wash the kitty in the freezing cold pool. Harmoni closed the door and gave Ruby a pat on the head before returning to her brown leather couch and the movie.
Waking up feeling a bit fuzzy Harmoni looked around, realizing she must have fallen asleep during the movie, which was back at the title screen; she glanced at the smiley face clock on the wall, which was lit by the blue glow of the t.v screen, it was exactly three thirty one am, man she was going to have a sore neck from sleeping the way she was. Rubbing her neck and looking for the remote Harmoni noticed something big in the corner of the room, barely visible as it was behind the t.v. Still in a bit of a daze she reached for the light switch, everything went very bright but as the room came into focus she let out a gasp as a man, cloaked and masked started to lunge at her with great speed, screaming she rolled off the back of the couch and onto the hard wooden floor, panic set in as she got up and scrambled to her computer desk. The man walked slowly now drawing an old looking slightly rusted knife from underneath his long black cloak looking like something out of a Dracula film. Harmoni screamed again, her hands fumbling around her laptop taking out the cable that plugged it into the wall. With all her strength she lifted up her heavy old laptop and hit the intruder hard on the head making a loud cracking sound, he let out a shriek and ducked before she could strike him again. Bringing the machine down again Harmoni fell backwards her hands and arms in pain from hitting the intruder so hard, which sent a vibrating shock through her. Her mind now completely alert, Harmoni opened up a draw in the desk digging under papers and pens and pencils, the man coming for her again, she pulled out an old revolver and pointed, freezing the cloaked intruder knew he wasn't going to get what he wanted, not tonight anyway. Ducking down he looked for what could be the nearest escape route he went for the window, diving through, breaking glass and tearing the flimsy retro curtains off the rail as bullets came flying his way, now out on the cold and dark street he made a run for it, turning a corner getting as far and as fast away as he could, Bitch will regret this, that's if she lives past tonight anyway he though to himself, allowing a small grin to creep up on his face under his mask.
Harmoni, in absolute shock was starting to hyperventilate barely believing what had just happened to her. She was looking out of the shattered window for signs of the bastard that had just tried to kill her, if she could see which way he was heading maybe it would be some clue as to which way he lived. Suddenly her face paled as she started to feel wetness creeping down her blue and white cloth pajamas, looking down she realized what it was coming from not knowing why she wasn't felling any pain as the world faded away and darkness took over her mind and vision. I hope someone will find me is all she could think in those last few seconds.