Author's Notes: Well, first off, I must apologize for the time between chapters. I just really haven't had much time to work on this fic but now that my others are finished I hope to get around to completing it. I just hope someone out there is still reading. ^_^ Thanks for your support and enjoy the chapter. Oh, and to answer someone's question, this story mostly involves Faith and Bosco but I think you'll see the rest of the TW gang near the end.
The door was opening.
She knew because of the terrible sound it made, a grating, raspy noise that pierced her skull and made her head throb. She groaned with the pain, only half aware of what was going on around her due to the nature of her head injury. She briefly felt a hand close around her bound wrists and pull her to her feet, or try to anyway. Her legs wobbled and would barely support her. Colors swam in front of her eyes and she struggled to see.
A movement by her ankles and a sudden release of tension said that her captor had cut the binding around her feet. She was expected to walk then. He was taking her somewhere.
"Where are we going?" she mumbled, as he pushed her forward with one hand on her back, the other gripping her wrist, guiding her. She stumbled out of her cell and, for the first time, felt a slight movement of air brush past her face. She blinked, her gaze resolving a little. She was in a hallway. A hallway with many, many doors just like the one she had come out of. Were they all filled with victims such as herself?
"A small trip," a soothing voice said to her left, as he got her walking again. "Don't worry, everything will be alright."
"What do you mean to do with me?"
He hushed her as if she were a child. "Don't be afraid. God will look after you. I promise you won't feel any pain."
She shuddered and her captor had to tighten his grip on her to steady her. She was afraid, only a fool wouldn't be, but it was more from the way he spoke than the actual words. He was just so…earnest, as if he actually believed everything he was saying.
He didn't sound like a murderer.
But then again, some of them never did.
"Why are you doing this?" she tried again as they entered a large and empty basement. She was pushed gently down onto the hard, cement floor, until she was laying on her back, chills running up her spine. It was dark, and yet some flickering light illumined her captor's face as he bent over her, his eyes wide and almost innocent.
Almost.
"Because, if I don't, billons of people will die. Better the ten of you, than the whole world."
It was then that Faith realized she wasn't alone. Spreading out in widening circles, nine women sat in varying places, each one sitting cross-legged, their spines curved into submission, their eyes full of fear. They were silent as she gazed at them, noticing that there seemed to be some sort of pattern to their arrangement, although her weary mind could not decipher it. But what was most disconcerting was the fact that she was in the very middle of their circles.
Her kidnapper straightened, still looking down on her. "Finally," he said, a smile on his face, "I've captured the sun."
* * * *
Bosco rubbed his temples, trying to ease the tension headache that was slowly building there. Williams spared him a glance from the computer before directing his attention back to the screen in front of him. They had been sitting like this for the last five minutes, neither one wanting to voice the obvious out loud.
It was Bosco that finally bit the bullet, impatience making his voice rough. "We're stuck."
Williams tapped the keyboard idly. "Yup."
"So, what do we know?" Bosco asked, leaning forward, elbows on his knees. "Parker escapes from Briarwood, kidnaps Faith, stuffs her into the trunk of his car, kills a cop, and then drives off, all because he believes that he has been chosen to stop the end of the world."
Williams picked up the conversation. "Cop's car video gives us a visual of the victim and a license plate number belonging to a 'Miss Melanie Hammon'." The Detective threw his pencil down on the desk in disgust. "As far as our records go, Jeremy Parker has never owned a car, much less used one in a crime."
Bosco shook his head. "We're missing something here. We need a location. Where would he take her?"
The other man exhaled. "Somewhere familiar. He'll want to feel comfortable, especially if he really doesn't want to do the 'sacrifice'."
Bosco closed his eyes briefly. "What about this Hammon chick, how does she fit in? Why does he have her car?"
The Detective's fingers moved over the keys. "Miss Hammon died in 2001 at the age of 59, lung cancer. No surviving relatives." He paused a moment. "Lived on Briggs and Parkway, House #331."
Bosco blinked and sat upright. "What did you say?"
Williams eyed him blankly. "Briggs and Parkway, #331."
"What's Parker's old address? Before he was sent to Briarwood?"
Williams typed quickly, catching Bosco's renewed energy. After only seconds, the computer beeped with the results. Bosco stood and moved around the desk to peer over the Detective's shoulder. Williams read the screen aloud.
"Jeremy Parker, Briggs and Parkway, #329." Williams voice was quiet. "Son of a bitch."
Bosco smiled grimly, jaw tightening. "Neighbors. They were fucking neighbors."
TBC….