(Note: In this newest chapter, I'm attempting a small time-lapse, some slight character growth, plot building, and a dash of suspense)
Her knee bounces in agitation as the door closed behind the retreating figure. The cop who'd been conducting the pointless interview having stepped out to do what Sam didn't care. At her side, Riley lays his head against her lap with a soft whimper at her anxiety. Or maybe it was his own worries expressed in that soft exhale of breath as Sam's fingers begin massaging the soft fur between the pup's ears.
"She'll be alright." Sam whispers more to reassure herself than Riley. Even when the hesitant comment earns a soft brush of a wet tongue against the inside of her wrist before the pup's head nuzzles once more against the hand Sam still had fisted against the leg of her jeans.
Sam leans forward resting her pounding forehead against the chilled metal of the table she had been left sitting at whilst the cop did whatever he'd stepped out to do.
"Make you sweat." Billy offered from his seated place against the opposite wall. One bloody arm propped up against his bent knees annoyingly rather relaxed given the high stress of the quickly changing situation as he apprises her. "You couldn't have known what would happen. This isn't your fault." He follows eyeing the tense set of his daughter's shoulders even in her hunched position at the table.
"Like it or not I'm still a part of you, Sam." Her phantom father reminds "and regardless of what you consider my blood lust I can also see that you're interlaying too hard on yourself about this." He sighs then adds a rather snarky "Besides the only one allowed to mess with your head is me."
"I should have gone with her." Sam interrupts
"Then you'd have been kidnapped along with Laura and what's his name." Billy reminds resting his blood-matted head back against the wall as her eyes meet his. "You're no good to her dead or running around halfcocked." He reminds
Sam would have fired back by simply telling the ghost in her head to shut the hell up but was stopped by the sudden ringing of her cell phone. The shrill screaming only making the pulse in her head worsen.
"Sam, Don't" Billy advises his tone suddenly uncharacteristically nervous as Sam fumbles for the still ringing device. "Sam," He tries again. Even Riley seems to agree if the low whimpered sound from the back of the young dog's throat and his insistent pawing at Sam's hunting hand in his own attempt to keep her hunting fingers from reaching the still ringing thing in her pocket was any clue.
"Samantha, don't." Billy says his tone flat as mirrored hardened glares meet from across the room as Sam finally fishes the phone free before the call was dropped to voice mall.
"What?" Sam answers without bothering to look at the caller's information. Even if it was Tara calling to check on her Sam could always apologize later with her younger sister's favored late-night junk food choices.
"Sam?"
At this, Sam felt a warm shot of adrenaline right to her heart as well as the cold dread of pure fear drop like lead in the pit of her stomach. "Laura?"
"Sam, please, I'm scared." Laura sobbed into the line.
"Where are you?" even as she asks Sam is already kicking herself at the ridiculousness of the question.
"Not so fast Sam." A new voice interrupts before a terrified Laura could have a chance to answer.
God how Sam despises that voice modulator. Especially That voice now coming from her phone. "Aren't you supposed to ask if I like scary movies?" she prods angrily.
"Riley get the cops." Billy orders as if the still watching dog yet to move from attempting to climb into Sam's lap to calm the anxious woman sitting virtually alone in the empty interrogation room. "Riley, please," Billy yelled as if the dog could really hear him. "Help her." He pleads so softly Sam almost misses the two following words around the throbbing pulse behind her eyes from the building migraine.
Like her brain was literally splitting in half inside her skull.
"Please." Sam echoes her forehead resting against the cool metal of the table she'd yet to move from. Tears from anger or genuine fear Sam didn't care falling freely the longer the call drew on. Mostly because the phone was close enough, she could hear Laura's scared whimpers in the background.
"They've got her gaged. At least she's still alive." Billy says as if Sam needed the running cometary on top of holding the phone call with her nightmare made real once more.
"Begging already?" this new Ghostface wanna be gloats "taking the fun out if it but alright." They sigh "Please what Sam?"
"Don't hurt her." Sam answers her voice far stronger than she felt in the moment.
At this the modulated voice actually laughs "If I can confess something I actually thought it would take a lot more prodding to draw you out Sam, a few more deaths before those idiots calling themselves cops put the pieces together but who knew all it took was one soft look from this innocent little…."
"You bastard I said don't you fucking touch her." Sam shouted kicking her chair over making the thing bang loudly into the floor as she stood up. As if the act alone could somehow shield Laura from the reason for her terrified whimpers past whatever it was her kidnapper had used to gage her.
At this, the door clattered open with a dull "about time." From Billy and another startled bark from Riley at the sudden flurry of movement.
The same kind-eyed fifty-something cop that had offered an oddly reassuring "Your sister's safe. I've got my most trusted agent watching her." As he passed over a chilled bottle of water before making a quick exit at the rougher "What the hell Kincaid. Get the hell out of my interrogation." From a younger cop making the senior cop in more ways than experience makes a quick exit.
Now the elderly detective pauses long enough to give the trembling Samantha Carpenter one appraising look before quietly exiting with a single motion for her to keep the line open before backing out of the room once more. A half-second later he's back with a note pad scribbling a quick
'Trace is running, but keep them talking'
"Just breath Sammy," Billy coaxes as Riley cautiously approaches as Sam slides down the wall her phone is clutched white-knuckled in her hand as she unthinkingly mirrors her phantom father's earlier seated position only this time with Riley solidly pressed against her side in comfort. "This is what they want. Be smarter than them. Be stronger than them." He goes on then as if to add a sick tease gives a joking "Don't let them get inside your head, kiddo remember there's only room for one slather, happy killer, in here and that's me." With a teasing wink before his flickering image vanishes from the reflective
"You still with us Sam?" the tampered voice asks toying with her once more.
"I want to talk to Laura." Sam decides
"Cops taking that long to trace huh?" Ghost face' scoffs before pausing as if thinking over Sam's request. "Lucky for you I have another chore to attend to."
Even Sam can hear the sounds of another muffled voice groggily coming too. Mostly muffled curses and attempted threats.
"I just have one question for you, buddy." Apparently, whoever this new twisted fan was talking to hadn't lifted their head until the question had been posed. "make that two questions considering the first is did you really just piss your pants?"
Even Sam finds herself laughing at the scoffed question.
A knock on the doorframe has all eyes drawing to the single uniformed officer grinning like a cat with a freshly killed canary in his jaws. "We got' em." He mouthed
"Oh, and Sam, Laura is just dying for you to see what's waiting for you. So don't keep her waiting much longer."
The line goes dead before Sam could do more than suck in a quick gasped breath.