Chapter 10

Surprised, wide eyes met sharp, angry ones.

"Lydia," Mika said, her chest clenching. This was not good. Lydia looked like she was going to reach up and strangle her.

From all appearances, it looked like she had stayed the night with Hannibal. She was wearing the same clothes as the night before and she was flushed, making it all look so inappropriate. Lydia had no idea that they had spent the night separately and the morning arguing.

Both women were speechless, staring at each other, a thousand thoughts running through their minds. Hannibal, ever the calm and collected one, said, "Lydia, you left your necklace here last night. I'm assuming you're here for it."

Regaining her composure, she replied in that regal tone of hers, "Yes, it was silly of me to forget it."

Mika furrowed her brow. One did not simply forget something attached to their neck. Why would she take it off in the first place? It looked like an excuse for her to come see the good doctor.

"Right, well, you're busy so I'm just going to go home now," Mika blurted quickly, stepping out of the front door. Like lightning, Hannibal grabbed her by the arm. Lydia looked even more offended.

"I'm afraid not. We are not finished talking," he said, his tone firm.

Turning around, Mika hissed, "Oh yes we are. I'll let last night's little incident slide, but if you do anything similar again, it's over."

Hannibal's piercing eyes turned to Lydia. In a low, threateningly calm voice, he said, "You have some explaining to do."

"Me?" Lydia balked at him, feigning hurt.

"Tell Mika the reason she felt unwell after her drink," he continued. Mika looked between them in confusion. Hannibal was irritated, an emotion she never thought she would see on his face, and his grip on her arm became firmer as he spoke. In fact, this entire morning, he had expressed several emotions she did not expect, the blatant forcefulness being one of them. Given how calm he usually was, she was surprised someone as simple as herself could elicit such a response from him.

Lydia sighed and brushed some dust from her sleeves. Then, slowly, she admitted, "I talked to one of the bus boys last night and I told him to slip some alcohol into your drink."

Then, in a lighter tone, "It was only a little bit of fun."

Mika narrowed her eyes. Lydia was the reason she had stayed the night, and the reason Hannibal now suspected her alibi. It was only a matter of time before he figured out her secret relationship with the Ripper.

"You're prefect for each other," she muttered, rolling her eyes. Then, she yanked her arm away from Hannibal and walked away. At last, he let her go. She did not turn around as she went back to her car. This was not the end of it, though. She was certain that he would call her or show up unannounced at her home sometime soon. But she had time. Time to come up with answers to all of his questions, and time to rehearse them. It was now her mission to fool the psychiatrist.

"Merry Christmas," she whispered dryly to herself as she climbed into the car.

Everything came crashing down on New Year's Eve. The walls she had built collapsed around her, trapping her in the rubble of her own broken psyche.

It had been a day like any other. She was hell bent on avoiding Hannibal so she spent her days in her basement, refusing to answer any calls or rings at the door. She had even parked several blocks away to make it look like no one was home.

She was not ready to talk with him again. He had frightened her on their last meeting, making her wonder if it was a good idea to keep seeing him at all. She lay awake at night, wondering what kind of person lay behind the mask. None of the ideas she got were good, and she never wanted to step foot in his house again. The thought of him drugging her again made her shudder.

In her spare time, she practiced lying in the mirror. She watched the way her eyes moved, how to keep her posture proper, and how her tone changed. After a while, she started believing the lies herself.

She had nothing to do with the Chesapeake Ripper. She had seen nothing at the warehouse and she had no reason to be afraid. Her nightmares were due to work stress. She was normal.

It was a Saturday so she decided that she should get out of the house. So, she got dressed and headed over to her favourite local park for a long walk. It was at the far end of the city, and it had a large pine forest nestled with dozens of trails. The main feature of the park was the cold, icy blue river that went through it.

A few hours later, she was deep in the forest, walking along a small bush trail. There were no people around, as few seemed to be willing to spend their New Year's Eve in a frozen forest.

The sound of a branch snapping nearby put her into high alert. Instinctively, she grabbed the bone knife and looked around. There were many trees around her, making dozens of potential hiding places.

She scanned the surroundings carefully, tensing up and whirling around when she heard another branch snap. Mika froze, her eyes wide, when she saw a white-tailed deer step out from behind a tree. Each was surprised to see the other, and they stared at each other silently.

Slowly, Mika put the knife away and pulled out her phone. She tried not to move as she snapped a couple of photos of the beautiful creature. Then, satisfied, she turned away and kept walking down the path. The walk back to the parking lot was uneventful and she was pleasantly tired, ready to get home. She looked around the parking lot, but something was wrong.

Her car was gone. Mika stopped in her tracks, checking again. Someone had actually stolen her car.

She shook her head, disbelief on her features. For a moment, she had no idea what she was going to do. With a sigh, she pulled out her phone, deciding that first, she had to get out of here. She dialed the number for a close friend of hers, hoping to ask for a ride.

However, she had no reception. Furrowing her brow at her phone, she grew increasingly worried. She did not remember ever having problems with reception in this park before. After all, this park was so close to the city.

"No," she muttered, staring hard at her phone. Her instincts were screaming at her to run. This situation seemed too unnatural, as if someone had orchestrated the whole thing. If it was him, she had to get out of there immediately.

There was no one around so she decided that the best thing to do was to walk back to the main road, and hope to get reception there. If worse came to worst, she could even try hitchhiking. Knowing that daylight was scarce, she briskly started walking.

A few minutes later, she saw something lying in the middle of the road. As she got closer, she saw that it was her pack of CD's. She used them for her long commute, and road trips. Looking close, she saw that the pack had been opened to a blank slot, where there was a typed note.

Don't fight.

A shiver went down her spine. This was a trap.

She whipped around, looking around frantically. She felt like a cornered animal, and the predator was about to strike. Why would he tell her not to fight?

She reached for the bone knife again, gripping it until her knuckles turned white. If he intended to kidnap her again, she would not make it easy for him.

The forest was silent, and darkness was slowly descending. Her mind was racing, wondering how to get out safely. Her gut and her mind were pulling her in different directions. Since she knew the trails so well, part of her wanted to head back into the forest and hide out. However, the rational part of her insisted on getting to safety through the use of help from others. Hitchhiking seemed like a really good idea now.

Finally, she decided that she would use her common sense. If she were to stay in the forest, she would surely get hypothermia. Perhaps it was what he was counting on.

Mika took a deep breath and started walking toward the road again. She knew there was a trap up ahead so she was in no hurry to get there. She felt like a fool about to march straight to hell, thinking it was the road to heaven.

The sound of air being sliced behind her made her stop and turn, but it was too late. Out of the darkness behind her, a rope with weights on its ends flew out and wrapped around her legs. She gasped and fell when her legs became tangled violently.

She dropped the knife and reached for her legs, frantically trying to untie herself. The rope was thick and made of metal, and the weights were heavy. Her hands were shaking as she frustratingly slowly untangled herself.

A shadow emerged from the darkness, tall and threatening. The Ripper walked toward her at a leisurely pace and she felt like she was going to die from the fright. He was in complete control of the situation.

As she got herself free, she leaped up and put her hands up in front of herself defensively. She had to run. There was no way he could outrun her in that stiff plastic suit of his.

Knowing her intentions, he pulled out another rope with weights, twirling it in the air menacingly. If she turned to run, he would get her again. Was it a chance she was willing to take?

Yes.

Mika turned and bolted into the forest. With instinct she did not know she had, she leaped over the obstacles in the dark and toward the tall pines. She weaved between the trees like an animal fleeing for its life.

The breath was knocked out of her when the second rope with weights hit her. It wrapped around her chest and she stumbled forward, running right into the trunk of a tall evergreen. Her arms were tied to her sides and she felt disoriented, having hit her head.

She turned to keep running, but she was too slow. He was upon her like a bear. He turned her around and shoved her against the tree trunk roughly. Petrified, she stared at him, her lips quivering. Mika did not bother to scream, as they both knew no one would hear her.

"Please, not like this," she stuttered as he put one hand around her throat, stepping closer so he could put a leg between hers. Then, he squeezed.

Even though it was the second time she had been strangled, it did not help. The pain and anguish was horrific, and she felt utterly helpless as the life slowly left her limbs. The last thing she saw before everything went black was his black, featureless face.

End chapter 10. Shorter chapter this time as the Ripper gets his hands on her once again. What is his intention this time, and how long can this game of catch and release go on?