1Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry it's been forever since I last updated, I've been real busy. Then ended up catching the flu, ugh. Well enough chit-chat here's chapter 10.
Chapter 10
Claire looked up from her notepad as the door to Burton's office opened.
"Selena, this is Claire Robertson. She'd like to ask you a few questions, is that alright?" Burton said, escorting a 18-year-old girl into the office.
"Hello, I'm Claire." Claire put out her hand.
The girl looked at her hand then at her face.
"Ok then." Claire mumbled, lowering her hand.
"I'll leave you two alone." Burton smiled, leaving the room.
The girl sat down on the couch as Claire sat in Burton's armchair.
"So your name is Selena?" Claire asked.
The girl looked around the room not answering her.
Claire frowned. "If it makes you feel any better, I've been through the same thing you have, I know how hard it can be to talk to some one about it."
Selena looked at her. "Do you have dreams?"
Claire blinked. "What?"
"Nightmares, do you have nightmares about it?" Selena asked.
"Yes..." She said softly.
"Me too, I have them all the time. It got so bad I tried to kill myself twice to make them stop." Selena quipped. "As far as I know the other survivors have them too. This one woman that survived the very first incident, threw herself off the roof of a building because she thought Scissorman was going to come back and kill her. So she figured she'd rob him of the pleasure."
"They all have nightmares?" Claire asked, jotting stuff down in her notebook.
"Yep, all of them. We all dream that Scissorman has returned, and not just returned, but he's come back for us to finish the job." Selena said in a dark tone as she pushed her black hair out of her face. "You know legend says he's some kind of demon, that because we got away he wasn't able to become all powerful or some shit. Fucking monster better never come near me again, my friend taught me how to use a gun, that motherfucker wants to come after me I'll blow his brains out."
Claire was quiet as she looked at the girl. She was dressed in punk gothic clothing and had dark heavy make-up on.
"Mind if I smoke?" She asked, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.
"No." Claire said.
Selena nodded then lit a cigarette. She blew out a puff of smoke as she tucked her lighter back into her purse.
"So what do you want to know?" She asked.
"Oh I... you know what, I'm not really sure what it is I wanted to know." Claire mused. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked Burton to bother you about this."
Selena watched as Claire quickly left the office. She headed down the hall to the elevator. As the doors started to close Burton came out of his friend's office.
"Claire? Claire, wait where are you going?" Burton ran towards the elevator.
Claire stared at him as the doors closed before he could stop the elevator.
"Damn." Burton hit the doors as Selena walked up behind him.
"Heh, and you thought I had problems." She quipped, puffing on her cigarette.
"How many times have I told you not to smoke those horrid things inside the building!" Burton sneered, plucking the cigarette from the girl's mouth.
Claire quickly left the building hailing a taxi as she stood on the sidewalk outside. She watched as the black car pulled up in front of her. She quickly got in.
"Kde a k chybit?" The driver asked.
"The clock tower please." Claire said quickly.
She leaned back as the car drove off. She gazed out the window as the world drifted past. She closed her eyes briefly.
All the survivors have nightmares... most of them have tried or succeeded in killing themselves. She thought. Including myself...
The first two years after the incident she had tried to kill herself on more than one occasion. The last time she tried she was almost successful. If she hadn't been put into the psychiatric ward she most likely would've done it again, and would've been successful.
"Chybit , clen urcitý hodiny tvrz" The driver said as the taxi came to a stop.
Claire opened her eyes. "Thank you." She said, paying the man.
She climbed out of the backseat of the taxi, gazing up at the tall stone clock tower. The tower stood regally beside a stone church that seemed to be having some renovations being done. She walked up to the old rod iron gate, pushing it open. It made an eerie creak as she closed it behind her. A breeze blew the fallen orange and red leaves from the massive trees growing in front of the church, lifting them up into the air then dropping them back to the cobblestone path. She followed the path from the front of the church to the left side near the clock tower. She got a sudden feeling of dread as she entered the abandoned courtyard. The fountain in the center of the courtyard had long since stopped flowing, and now was nothing but a weathered statue, hidden beneath the dead vines that had grown over it. She looked up at the clock tower as it stood on the other side of the courtyard. She got a chill down her spine as the clock struck 4 o'clock, and the haunting bells from within the tower began to ring. She stared up at the giant clock face, the Clock Tower murders... it all happened right here. Scissorman would either kidnap his victims and bring them here then brutally murder them, or he would hunt them down and drive them to this place. Claire thought as she looked around. How was it that such horrific things could be carried out on holy ground? How was it that no one ever knew about this until people started to turn up missing? There were so many questions, some she knew would never be answered.
"Ms. Robertson?" A man's voice called from behind her.
Claire turned around to see Detective Ravenscroft walking up the cobblestone path.
"Great... What are you doing here?" She quipped.
"Burton called me and told me you had taken off. He wanted me to come find you." Ravenscroft said, approaching her.
"Well you found me." Claire retorted, then paused. "How exactly did you know I would be here anyway, Detective?"
"Burton said to check all sites related to the Clock Tower case. I just happened to be in the neighborhood and decided to check here first." Ravenscroft replied, looking up at the clock tower.
Claire looked at the man as he stood there staring up at the tower. She watched as his eyes narrowed and his expression turned cold.
"What?" She asked, looking up at the clock face.
"Did you see that?" He glanced at her.
"Did I see what?" She looked back at him.
"There was a shadow of a person behind the glass of the clock face. You didn't see it?" Ravenscroft murmured as he pulled out his gun.
"No, I didn't." Claire quipped as she watched Ravenscroft head towards the door to the tower.
She quickly followed after him.
"What do you think you're doing!" She spat as he kicked open the door.
He ignored her as he cocked his gun, then headed up the old creaky wooden stairs.
"Be careful, these stairs are old." He quipped.
The two eased their way up the stairs, stopping as they came to the attic like door. Ravenscroft pushed up on the door, opening it. The door fell back onto the wooden floor with a thump, making the heavy layer of dust fly up in a huge puff. Ravenscroft quickly aimed his gun around as he scanned the area. Claire looked at the giant cogs churning in the room as Ravenscroft looked around. Ravenscroft walked over to the clock face where he had seen the silhouette. Claire walked over to him then stopped when she heard footsteps behind her. She quickly turned around seeing something disappear into the shadows.
"Harry..." Claire whispered.
"What?" Ravenscroft turned around to see Claire standing there petrified.
"There's someone here." She said softly, pointing to where she had seen the figure.
Ravenscroft aimed his gun at the shadows. "Alright, come out with your hands in the air!" He ordered.
The two watched as there was movement in the shadows.
"I repeat, come out with your hands up!" Ravenscroft narrowed his eyes.
Claire stepped closer to him as they seen a gangly looking figure emerge from the shadows. They both took a sigh of relief as the homeless man came out with his hands in the air and his knees shaking.
"S'il vous plaît , monsieur , J'ai pas de situer à vont. J'étais seulement recette se mettre à l'abri voici. Suis MOI sous arrêter?" The hobo said in a nervous voice.
Ravenscroft lowered his gun then looked at Claire.
"It's ok old man, we thought you were a criminal we've been after. Go ahead and continue about your business." Ravenscroft said as him and Claire headed back down the stairs.
"Je vous remercie , sorte monsieur." The French hobo said, bowing his head.
Ravenscroft tucked his gun back into its holster as he stepped out of the tower. Claire made a smug look as she watched the man scratch his chin and look around.
"You thought that poor fellow was Scissorman, didn't you?" She asked in a sly voice.
Ravenscroft glanced at her as it grew darker. "And you didn't?"
"Well I..." She sighed.
"That's what I thought." Ravenscroft retorted as his cell phone began to ring.
He pulled the phone off of his belt, answering it.
"This is Detective Ravenscroft." He answered.
"Harry, did you find her?" Burton's voice said on the other line.
Ravenscroft looked at Claire. "Yeah I found her."
"Oh good, will you please bring her back to my office?" Burton asked.
"Actually, Burton, I was wondering if I could keep Ms. Robertson with me for a few hours. There's something I want to show her." Ravenscroft quipped.
"Oh, yes of course." Burton replied.
"Don't worry, I'll have the lady home by 10." Ravenscroft said, joking.
He closed his phone, hooking it back on his belt.
Claire looked at him with raised eyebrows. "You need to show me something? I thought it was too dangerous for me to get involved?"
"You American women have such charming attitudes." Ravenscroft quipped, walking past her. "I thought you might like to get a drink or something while we discuss what I've found."
Claire smirked as she followed him to his car. "Oh so now you're asking me out on a date?"
Ravenscroft looked at her, his expression vexed. "Just get in the car."
She smiled as she climbed into the passenger seat.
Claire sat in the booth near the very back of the bar as Ravenscroft walked over with their drinks. He placed the gin martini in front of her as he took a swig of his beer.
"So, Detective, what were you going to show me?" Claire asked as she took a sip of her martini.
"Please, enough with the detective, call me Harry." Ravenscroft quipped. "These, now I hope you have a strong stomach, some of the pictures are very graphic."
"Oh I think I can handle it... Harry. I've seen some pretty gruesome stuff." Claire smiled as she watched him place two case files in front of her.
She opened the first folder to see the pictures of a man and woman who had their heads chopped off. She flipped through the grisly photos noticing the crime had taken place in the woods. She set the photos aside as she flipped through the case file.
"The bodies had been found in the woods just outside of Prague. Daniel McLarren and his mistress Aimee Gaal were staying at McLarren's private cabin over the weekend when both had been brutally murdered. Side note, Aimee Gaal had been a previous survivor of the grisly Clock Tower murders." Claire read softly.
She looked up from the file as her stomach twisted. She glanced back at the pictures as she remembered the dream she had before she left for Prague. The dream she had about being in a cabin in the middle of the woods, where she had been attacked by Scissorman. She tucked the photos back into the file then closed the folder, pushing it aside. She took a deep breath as she opened the second folder. She cringed as she seen the mangled bodies of two men. She set aside the pictures then flipped through the case file.
"Both victims were male and pilots for the American airlines. They had been staying in Prague for the night until their flight back home the next day. When the pilot and co-pilot did not show up for work the next day someone was sent to their hotel room only to find both had been murdered. Their insides had been ripped out. Side note, the pilot, Matthew Davies had been a survivor of the Clock Tower murders." Claire read as she began to feel ill.
She quickly closed the case file pushing it away from her.
"I thought you said you could handle it?" Harry asked.
"I can, but I can't handle the fact that I dreamed about these things." Claire whispered.
"What?" Harry tucked the case files back into his bag.
"I've been having nightmares about Scissorman lately. Vivid nightmares, and I'm usually in the position where he wants to kill me. And right before he does kill me, I wake up." Claire explained. "Before I came to Prague I had a dream that I was in a cabin and Scissorman showed up. I got out of the cabin and ended up in the woods, where I found the head of a man. Then Scissorman caught me and killed me. Then on the flight to Prague I had another dream, but this one I woke up on the plane and everyone was gone. I went to the cockpit to find both the pilot and co-pilot murdered with their insides ripped out. Then Scissorman shows up again and kills me."
Harry frowned.
"Then I had another dream last night..." She whispered.
"I don't really believe in seeing the future, Claire, but by the sound of it, your nightmares seem to be precognitive." Harry mused. "Maybe I should call Burton."
"When did the murders happen?" Claire asked.
"Look at the dates on the case files." Harry quipped as he dialed Burton's number.
Claire looked at the dates, her heart stopping. Harry looked at her as her face went pale.
"What is it?" He asked.
"The murders... they happened the day after I had the dreams." She whispered.
"Claire, what was your last nightmare about?" Harry murmured.
"Burton... you... and myself." Claire said softly.
Harry frowned as he lowered his cell phone from his left ear.
"No one is answering." He mumbled.
"Come on, we have to go." Claire slipped on her jean jacket as she stood up.
Harry nodded as he stood up grabbing his bag.