This is a little darker than my recent stories! It's set during season two after 'The one that got away'. I'm not sure how long this is going to be... but I don't tend to write short stories! So please bear with me, I'm sure it's going to be an interesting ride!

Thanks as always to Dcj who cast her eye over this.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Rookie Blue.

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Shadows from the past

Prologue

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A flash of light danced off the metal, briefly illuminating the outline of the knife as he held it menacingly in front of him. His eyes searched the darkness, examining the gloomy outlines of objects in the dark alley. He couldn't help the smile that crossed his face at the thought of what he was about to do. She couldn't escape. She was finally his.

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She swallowed in a frantic attempt to keep the bile from rising to the back of her throat. Her pounding heart throbbed in her ears as the adrenalin pushed her blood furiously around her body. Desperately she tried to control her body, her breathing. If she made a sound he would find her. She closed her eyes, willing herself to calm down. Her grip tightened on her only weapon, a shard of glass she'd grasped from the floor as she'd fled for her life. She winced as the edge of the glass pierced the palm of her hand, but she knew that she couldn't release her grip, the shard might be her only chance of survival.

The scraping sound that had been echoing in the alley stopped. She tilted her head, listening, trying to determine where he was.

Nothing. Only silence. She never realised that the city could be so quiet, so desolate. For the first time in her life she felt alone.

She slowly opened her eyes, they had adjusted to the darkness, but all she could make out was random shapes. She couldn't see any movement.

The panic she thought she'd managed to keep under control was suddenly seeping through her body. She wanted to gulp the air in an attempt to quell her fear. But if she did there was a chance she'd make a noise and reveal her hiding place.

"Jennifer," her name echoed in the darkness, barely more than a whisper. The voice did not allay any fears, but intensified them. He was getting closer.

Her eyes flicked from side to side, searching the darkness in a desperate attempt to locate him.

What had she done to deserve this? How had her existence suddenly turned into a game of life or death, where suddenly she was clinging onto surviving by her fingertips?

"Jennifer?" the voice echoed again. Was it closer than before?

Her eyes searched the darkness, hoping that her hiding place amongst the wooden crates was enough.

Silence enveloped the darkness as she waited. The silence seemed to go on for an age. Perhaps he'd given up the chase? She felt hope rising with every minute that passed. She remained still, hoping that the nightmare she had found herself in would end. That she would have the chance to wake up and carry on with her life.

As she saw the glint of the blade in front of her eyes, she realised that her nightmare wasn't going to end. Before she had a chance to scream, or thrust the shard of glass into her assailant she felt a hot searing pain radiating from her abdomen. Her body involuntarily fell forward, her hand releasing her weapon and instinctively reaching for her wound. She pressed her hands over it and felt a warm stickiness. Her blood was flowing through her fingers, running down her pink dress, dripping on the cold cement. As the realisation of what was happening reached her brain, the pain seemed to ebb away as speckles of light began to dance on the periphery of her vision. Swirling and dancing, causing her head to spin. She realised she was losing consciousness.

In that second, Jennifer understood she wasn't going to wake again. All of the dreams she'd had for her life were ebbing away with the blood that her heart was pumping out of her.

"Jennifer," she felt his breath wash over her cheek. "You're mine," he cackled.

She sighed, welcoming the darkness that would finally release her from the final moments of pain she was enduring on Earth.

The last thought that entered Jennifer's mind was that she was sorry, sorry for not listening. If only she had listened to her friend, it might not have turned out like this.

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He smiled as he watched her take her final shaky breaths. He watched as her body stilled, relaxing in death. He knelt down beside her, reaching out with his fingertips, brushing away her long hair that had covered her face. So beautiful, he thought as he gazed into her sightless eyes. "You're mine now, Jennifer," he whispered as he ran his fingers down her cheek.

Elated in the moment, he carefully scooped her up, wrapping her in his arms. This wasn't the place for Jennifer to rest. He had the perfect spot in mind. He walked casually into the darkness, his treasure enveloped in his arms.

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