I had to create this little page because our silly Wikidot site does not allow me to write too much on one page. How ridiculous. This is a WRITING. WEBSITE. haha
Please note that this is not a sequel, only a continuation of the original novel. This page starts at chapter eleven. If you would like to read the first ten chapters, please click here: Monsters Among Us (NaNoWriMo novel, 2012)
CHAPTER 11: Detective Grimly
Detective Simone Gunnison was walking back through the line of desks following her late lunch hour. As she passed her partner's desk, she was a little surprised to find that he was not at it. She stopped suddenly in confusion and looked around. After several moments of glancing around the room for any trace of him, it occurred to her that his jacket was missing. He always laid it on the back of his chair where he could easily grab it, in case an emergency call came in.
She then reached into her pocket and removed her phone. She thought he had perhaps tried to call her and let her know where he was going. But checking through her last text messages and phone calls, his number never appeared.
Her brow furrowed in confusion. She did not understand. She had not been assigned to Grimly long, but she had learned enough about him that he never would have abandoned his post unless he alerted someone.
Simone caught the attention of a fellow detective, by the name of Hamlin, as he walked past her. "Hamlin, have you see Detective Grimly anywhere?"
Hamlin paused in mid step and looked around, frowning as he tried to remember the last time he had seen his coworker. "I think he was here about an hour ago…" Hamlin said thoughtfully.
"Do you remember where he went?" She asked.
Hamlin frowned again before shaking his head. "No." He replied honestly. "Sorry." Knowing he could no longer help, he continued on his way back to his own desk.
Simone was even more worried and, perhaps, a little concerned. She did not understand what had happened with her partner and the whole thing made her a little restless. She took it upon herself to try and figure out where Grimly had went. Pulling out his chair from his desk, she helped herself to it. She started looking through a lot of the papers he had laid scattered on his desk. She scanned every letter, trying not to touch anything. He could have had the papers arranged in a pattern to help him piece together his thoughts. However when Simone realized who the papers were about, her feeling of dread worsened.
Written all over each piece of paper was the same name: Amelia Clark. As the detective continued to scan the pages, she noticed that a lot of the case files were not connected to anything Grimly was currently working on. Some were closed cases from a decade prior.
Sighing heavily, Simone sank back into the chair. She knew that woman had been bad news from the beginning. What was even worse now was that Simone knew Amelia was no longer a simple suspect. She had become Grimly's metaphorical white whale.
As Simone's mind raced to try and figure out her next move, she was surprised by her captain walking past Grimly's desk. "Gunnison. I'm surprised you're back so soon."
Simone's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Why should that be surprising?" She asked. "I just came back from my lunch hour."
"Oh." The captain's surprise faded away and he shrugged. "I assume Grimly's back with you, then?" He asked.
"No…." Simone replied slowly and confusion consumed her. The feeling of dread once again washed over her as her fear was confirmed. "Why would he have come back with me?"
"Didn't he leave with you about forty minutes ago?" The captain asked curiously.
"No." Simone replied.
It was the captain's turn to become worried. Before he jumped to conclusions, however, his eyes narrowed and he watched Detective Gunnison suspiciously. "Are you being serious?"
Simone was a little offended at the suggestion. "I am not making this up, captain." She replied defensively; perhaps snapping a little more than she had intended. Taking a quick deep breath, she steadied herself before cautiously speaking again. "I went to dinner at 1945. I had asked my partner if he was willing to accompany me, but he turned me down and said he had more work to do. When I came back, about twenty minutes ago, I noticed he was gone and so was his jacket. No one seems to know what happened to him; least of all myself."
The captain nodded hesitantly but did not seem to distrust her any longer. Putting his hands on his waist, he sighed heavily and said, "Well, you are going to have to try and get a hold of him. I was almost certain that he left with someone about an hour ago but I will make a quick call over to dispatch. We will find him and bring him back here to explain his whereabouts." Simone nodded in agreement and immediately headed for the door to track down her partner.
Detective Grimly awoke in a strange location. He did not recognize his surroundings and he immediately jumped to a sitting position. He immediately regretted that he had. His head was pounding and the minimal light seemed to make his eyes ache from pain. His whole body protested as he struggled, slowly, to move around.
He slowly was able to figure out where he was as his eyes adjusted to the light. He seemed to be in a small room. He was sitting on an army cot. There was a small window on the wall, but it was much too high for him to look out. All he could see was the full moon's light bathing in from the opening.
As Grimly continued to rub his head and try to figure out exactly where he was, his brain struggled to make out any memories. He kind of remembered following a woman into the park. He thought it was his partner, but it wasn't. As he struggled to remember the stranger's face, he was hit with another burst of searing pain. He immediately clamped his hands tightly over his eyes and refused to move until the pain was gone. It took several moments but he was finally free of the agony. He struggled not to think too much into his body's reaction and resolved to come back to those thoughts later on. He decided instead to look around him.
It looked almost like the inside of one of the cells in the precinct, but he knew enough to know that wasn't his location. After all, there would be people about and he would not have gone this long unnoticed.
Nothing looked familiar, though. The walls were all dark and appeared to be made of cement. Could he be in a basement? He also noticed there were no bars locking him in the room. However, instinctively, he knew that he could not leave the room he was in.
He struggled for quite a long time to figure out what kind of place existed and why he would find himself trapped there. With no other ideas, he tried the only one he thought he had left.
"Hello?" He called out. His voice echoed back to him through the empty area. He waited several minutes for any sign or movement or a response, but none came. He tried again. "Is anyone there?" Still nothing happened. "I would like to speak to somebody please!"
"No one can hear you."
The voice startled him. He nearly jumped out of his seat. He squinted his eyes to look around him again. The voice sounded so close, yet he couldn't see anyone. Finally he was able to speak again, but his voice was shaky as he did so. "Who's there?" He asked. He felt embarrassed by how quiet his voice was.
"No one can hear you." The voice repeated. Still Grimly struggled to see anyone around him. The moon did not provide much light, but it provided enough to let him know that he was the only being down there. Shivers danced up and down his spine as reality started to settle in. He wasn't sure what his situation was, but he knew it was not a good one.
Meanwhile, in the not so far off distance, a soft whimper was barely heard among the silence. It sounded like a little girl was crying. "No one will ever hear you again."
