"They Burn" - The Warehouse

       The street lamps sang in their annoying electric tones, it was five minutes after eleven, and Eryn made her way to the now empty warehouse. The owner of the building had everything not relating to the case moved to another building during the length of the investigation. She quietly crept in, moving through the door that had remained ajar since that night, and took off her back pack. She dug through her backpack, feeling in the dark, unable to see as there were no lights on inside the building. Finally she claimed her prize, pulling out a large, metallic, black flashlight. Eryn turned on her flashlight, casting a powerful glow across the concrete floor. She twisted the end, spreading the beam wider across the scene.

       She headed for where the guard had been found; arms and legs bound, mouth gagged, and stabbed multiple times in the back. She looked around the ground, getting on her hands and knees to try to find something that may have been over looked. Next to where the guard had been found, there was a cargo neat stretching to the ceiling of this hangar like building. Blood had been splattered nearly ten feet up the side, suggesting that the guard was standing when he was stabbed. Conceding defeat, she moved to where Daniel had been found. A circle had been painted on the floor, and the candles that had been placed around the circle were all burnt to the ends. Outside the circle, a small wooden desk, and a plastic flag pointing out where the dagger had been found.

       Suddenly the room was filled with light, and then as quickly as the illumination had appeared, it disappeared. ‘Headlights’ she thought to herself. Turning off her flashlight, she bent down and waited to see what happened next. She sat in the dark silence, wondering if they had hired a new security guard, or if some police officer had come to clean up. Either way she thought it best to remain hidden. More silence, and then she thought she could make out the faintest sound of footsteps. Someone was in the room with her, but why were they moving through the room in the dark? Who would know this building well enough to be able to navigate it without a light source? The sound stopped, and she was left again in silence. She let more time pass, and no more sounds were heard. She began thinking they may have left, coming to check on something and quickly leaving before some voodoo over takes them.

       She switched back on her flashlight, and began to look through the drawers of the nearby desk. All the drawers were empty, why would you have a desk in a warehouse if the desk was empty? On top of the desk was a notebook, filled mostly with Daniel’s school work, and some random doodles he had probably done during class.

       Chink!

       She shot around, blasting the flashlight in the direction of the sudden sound. A chain that was hanging from the ceiling was moving back and forth, she knew she definitely wasn’t alone. She switched off the flashlight again, and sliding down to her left, ducking behind the desk.

       She listened again, her heart racing, pounding like drums in her ears, she heard someone slowly moving across the concrete floor.

       She held her breath, and trying not to make any noise, moved backwards across the room until her back was against a wall.

       The footsteps were coming closer. Whoever they were, they were trying to mask the sound of their steps, making a syncopated pattern of beats across the ground.

       She sat, tightly squeezing the flashlight, it’s hard metal exterior felt comforting within her hand.

       The person was close now, she guessed they would be between the circle and the desk by now. She squinted, trying desperately to determine the location of her guest, when she saw him. He was standing beside the desk, moving his head to look in every direction, probably trying to find her as well.

       She moved closer to the floor, trying to become as small as possible. His arms were moving about the table, feeling for something. She heard a sigh, and watched the shadowed figure disappear back into the darkness.

       Eryn waited, she knew she wanted to leave, but had no idea where her seeker might be hiding. She cautiously moved up from the floor, making her way along the wall. Her only thought was to get to the door and make a run for it.