The wind blew fiercely, causing the rain to dart sideways against each and
every obstacle it encountered.
Sticky wet leaves plastered themselves against buildings, trees, vehicles,
lawn furniture, and trashcans.
Some rose up to hit Daniel directly in the face as he made his way down
North Street, and he quickly brushed the slimey things away before they
made him gag. The autumn leaves grossed him out completely. Wet or
dry, they always reminded him of his younger years, when the local bullies
had tried to keep him buried in a giant leaf pile until after dark. They had
piled on the leaves, over and over again, and when he had tried to get free
they had piled on him, keeping him buried and unseen in the leaves,
forcing the broken leaves and twigs into his hair, his ears, and finally into
his mouth. He remembered that they only left him alone after he began to
vomit continuously, and cry. Clawing his way through the pile, he
surfaced at last, only to see the bullies laughing and running away. He spit
out a mouthful of leaves and gagged again, then got up and walked home.
Since then, he had never cared for Autumn very much at all.

The rain hit his face like little needle pricks as he picked up the pace. He
began walking faster, stepping over all of the cracks that he could, not
wanting to break his mother's back. His destination was just ahead and to
the right, an old warehouse on the corner of North and Cedar. It was
seldom used anymore, maybe for storage of old office furniture and the
like, but not for anything else. The upper three stories of the five-story
brownstone were completely empty, . . .or that's what people thought. He
knew different. He smiled and began to hum softly to himself as he turned
his new-found key and let himself in. He was ready as ready could be.
Locking the door behind him, he also slipped the security chain as an
added measure. The silence of the big warehouse always fasinated him. He
wonderd how something so old and so spacious could be so quiet.

PART II

He strained to hear any unfamiliar sounds, and when he did not, he smiled
to himself and headed for the stairs. His small flashlight blazed a path
through the darkness, and as he began to ascend, he thought of all of the
hazing he had taken over the years from his friends and classmates. He'd
been called a nerd, a weirdo, a goth, a bookworm, and his favorite,
"Office Pog", over and over again so many times that it didn't phase him
anymore. The one he didn't like though, was "wus", and lately that had
been the flavor-of-the-month with his so-called peers. It made him feel
uncomfortable and less masculine and they probably knew it. He swore
quietly to himself as he reached the third floor landing, steadied himself,
then walked down the hallway.

Three doors down, on the right, he stopped and reached for the doorknob.
The solid wooden door swung inwards and admitted him into "the office".
He had dubbed it "the office" about a year ago when he discovered it
quite by accident. Exploring the building randomly, he was surprised to
find this room in the condition that it was. It hadn't been empty and dusty
like all the other rooms on the third floor, fourth floor, and fifth floor. No,
this one was different. It was sparsely furnished, and somewhat cleaner.
A roll-top desk with a lamp sat off to the left against the wall; a small
couch, sink, and stove off to the right. But the one thing that interested him
the most about this room stood right up in the middle, against the back
wall. Approximately six feet high, the "files" were intimidating to look at.
They reached out eight feet from the far wall, and appeared to be about
twelve feet long. Big file cabinets! Big cabinets! And they were his, . .his!
He walked over to his "files" and touched them gently. They felt like cold,
black steel. Daniel lovingly called these his "freak files", but to an outsider,
they would be recognized as morgue drawers.

PART III

Standing there in the semi-darkness, caressing the "files", Daniel admitted
to himself that he had an obsession with filing. An obsession that had
begun years ago when he had been the first in his class to apply for an
after-school job. He had filled out the application and submitted it to his
High School's administration office, not really expecting it to go anywhere.
So when he was hired the very next week it came as a pleasant surprise.
It had been a part-time office assistant position and he had taken to it with
beaming enthusiasm. Not only did he have a job, but it was one of the
few times in his life when he had the envy and respecct of his fellow
classmates. Of course it hadn't lasted long, but it was a special time in his
life. Turned out the job was mostly filing, but he loved it. He loved the
organizational karma that filing created. That part-time job started him in
the office managerial business, and ten years later he was still finding it as
exciting as ever. Over the years he developed a reputation as an astute,
paper-pushing, document-sorting, mild-mannered, one-of-a-kind, office
geek. ( Or "Office-Pog", which he liked much better.) The term came from
his uncle who was in the Army and had labeled him as a POG. (People
other than grunts.)

Daniel stood up and walked over to the desk, laying his backpack down
carefully. He opened the back flap and removed various items, all the
while doing a mental inventory of the entire contents of the pack. He began
to smile again. He sat down and handled some of the items, feeling their
weight as he passed them from one hand to the other. His smile turned
into a quiet laugh. He was indeed ready! Yesiree!

He stood up and turned on the small lamplight over the desk, filling the
room with a weak yellowish aura. Snapping off the flashlight, he set it
down by his backpack and walked back over to the "files". The cabinet
consisted of ten drawers, five on top and five on the bottom. Two rows of
five. Daniel moved over to the middle two drawers, then reached down
and pulled the bottom drawer open. It moved silently on its runners,
extending out approximately six feet. He looked down at the body inside,
and his heart began to beat faster and faster. She was beautiful when she
was asleep, he'd have to tell her that some time. The duct tape over her
mouth hid those red lips he remembered so well, but that was an
unfortunate necessity. He leaned over and ran his finger from her neck
to her breasts, pausing there and feeling a little guilty and giddy at the
same time. She sure was a looker. He started to push the drawer back
into the cabinet when her eyes began to flicker. For just a second, before
the drawer closed and locked, he looked into her eyes and saw stark
terror. Just before the blackness filled the moving space.

Hitchcock would be proud !

Not sure if part III is the end,
but I like !

Keep 'em coming.

Lex

PART IV

Laurie woke up just as the morgue drawer began to close. She only had
time to see Daniel's face in front of her before the darkness closed in, but
it was enough time to make eye contact and mentally scream at him.
She heard the click of the lock as it settled in place, then silence. Deep,
dark-black silence, unnerving in its peacefulness. She tried to take stock
of her situation, to regain a little sanity if it was possible. She knew that
she couldn't cope very well with the pitch blackness unless she thought of
other things. She tried moving and realized that she was strapped down
securely to this moving bed or whatever it was. After struggling briefly,
she knew that she could only move her neck and head. Even that was
limited, as she bumped her head on hard steel as she raised up too
quickly in the darkness. Probably had a good-sized bump on her forehead
now. She felt the tears run down the sides of her face as she lay there.

PART V

It remained quiet inside the warehouse, especially on the third floor, but
outside the arriving storm raged in all its splendor, hurling dark clouds of
cold rain at the small township, and then huge, crackling bolts of
lightning that lit up the area like a white strobe light.
Daniel moved over to the desk and sat down. He turned off the lamp and
sat in the dark as nature's sky show continued, holding his breathe at
times and counting to ten, trying to gauge how far away the lightning was.
It was drawing nearer.
Ten or twenty minutes passed until he regained his frame of mind. In the
dark, his hands closed around one of the items he had taken out of his
backpack, and he smiled again to himself. It was a small, hard-rubber
bat, about twenty inches long. Beside it was a plastic bag full of Autumn.
(Leaves of all color and sizes, miscellaneous twigs, and fresh dirt) He had
packed it full himself, aided by old nightmares. Choking, coughing, puking
kind of nightmares. He stood up in the dark, flipped the lamp back on, and
walked over to his "files" once more. Let's see, he asked himself, what did
I file him under, oh yeah, B for Bully. Reaching down he pulled the drawer
to the left of Lauie's, letting it come all the way out on its own. The body in
this drawer was moving around, as if to break free. He stared down into
Carl's face, seeing panic and anger together. Carl the bully! Carl the
big bully! He had expected to see panic in his eyes. He didn't expect the
anger though. And seeing his anger made Daniel angry. He wanted him
scared, not angry. With the bat in his right hand Daniel began to beat on
Carl's chest. Hard, heavy blows that hurt Carl badly. Daniel rained the
blows wickedly for five long minutes, watching the body in the drawer
wince again and again. At last he stopped, and picked up the plastic bag.
Pulling handfuls from the bag and crumbling them up in his fist, he threw
the debris into Carl's face, into his hair and eyes, and into his heaving
nostrils. "How do you like it, huh?" "How do you like it?" "How does the
big bully like his own medicine?"
When the bag was empty, he pushed the drawer back in until it locked,
walked over to the desk, brushed his hands clean, turned off the lamp,
and sat back down in the dark.

Sorry to have interrupted the tale.

Not even sure if this is the end...

But, BRAVO !!!!

Best regards,
Lex

PART VI

Ben Stockwell sat at the counter like he usually did, sipping his coffee and
enjoying a piece of fresh apple pie. There were only three people in Ma's
Diner at this time of night; Katie the waitress, Dean, Ma's husband and
night-shift cook, and himself. Typical. Same old, same old. Ben scanned
some of his notes that he had laid out next to his pie on the counter and
wondered if he had missed anything. He considered himself a thorough-
type person, but lately he had been unable to put the pieces together in
the disappearences of two of the town's residents. A matter that upset
everyone in town so much that they had begun to question whether Ben
should still be the sheriff. Two weeks had passed and he hadn't come up
with any evidence, or reasons, or clues. Nobody believed that Laurie
James and Carl Rossenberg just up and left town without saying good-bye
to family or friends. Yeah, they were seeing each other, but that didn't
mean they'd up and elope or something. They just wouldn't do it. So where
were they? Ben drank more coffee and re-read his notes again.

Strafford had never experienced the hysteria that abounded now through-
out the community. A small quiet town, nothing ever really "happened" in
Strafford. It always happened some place else. A month ago the town lost
its first resident ever in a tragic home fire. Seems some young man fell
asleep while watching T.V. and his electric heater had shorted out, catching
the drapes on fire and eventually engulfing the whole apartment. The guy
hadn't had a chance. The whole place burned down to the ground. They
only found ashes of the guy, what was his name? Daniel. Yeah, Daniel.
Daniel Moore. Graduated from High School right here in Strafford. Kind of
a nerdy kid some people said, but not deserving of a death like that.
Tragic. And now two other young people were missing. The town was
a-buzz. Too much to think about. Ben wished for a quick and positive
solution.

PART VI -B

He could think better in the dark for some reason, always could. Now he
thought of how to get rid of the bodies in his "files". He'd had his two
weeks of revenge with Carl, and his two weeks of courting with Laurie, but
now he was losing interest in both. Maybe it was the headaches. Lately,
he was troubled with ungodly painful headaches that came without warning
and lasted about forty-five minutes, leaving him drained and crying.

They were both still alive. Carl wasn't doing so good but he was kicking.
Laurie was probably just fine physically. Whether she had survived the
mental torture was another matter. He had tried to be as gentle with her
as possible, but the love he expected to see for him in her eyes never
materialized. Only cold terror, everytime. Even when he had laid a single
rose across her chest every night for a week . . . .no appreciation . . . . .
no love. And so . . . Daniel began to understand that he had to get out of
this situation, and get out of town, before someone learned that he was
still alive. He thought of just leaving them locked in the morgue drawers
and taking off. But he'd always wonder if maybe they'd eventually escape,
and send the police after him. Maybe he'd just have to kill them before he
left. To make sure.

Wicked story so far! Keep it comming!

(i hope the girl survives, I hate it when they dont )

PART VII

The rain was wickedly cold as Ben left Ma's and ran out to his squad car.
Just as he closed the door another deluge blown by the wind swept through
the streets, appearing to want to drown everything and everyone. He
settled in behind the wheel and started the engine. Immediately, static
filled the air from the radio and he could make out Mildred's voice trying
to locate him. "Ben, this is base ,over?" "Ben, . . . . .base, . .over?"
"Ben, what's your 10-20, over?"
He picked up the handset, keyed it twice, and responded. "Ben here."
"I've just left Ma's and I'm getting ready for another drive-round, over?"
"What's up Millie?"
More static, then Mildred's voice again. "We got another call from Mrs.
Johnson. This time it's not a prowler Ben. She says someone must've
broken into the old mill warehouse on North and Cedar because she saw
lights in the building at three in the morning."
"You think it may have been lightning Millie?"
"She says not Ben, says it was normal lights for brief periods of time,
over?"
"Okay, I'll swing by and check it out. Mobile out"

PART VIII

As Daniel stood up in the dark, the searing pain struck briefly, and he
staggered just a little. He reached out to the desk and felt for the knife
that he had also taken out of his backpack. Nothing fancy, just a butcher
knife he had lifted from some thrift store months ago. It was about eight
inches long, honed to an incredible sharpness, and its handle felt good in
his sweaty hand. Now, he was ready. He leaned over and turned the lamp
on again, shocked by the force of the light as it penetrated into his
comfortable darkness. But he had to see what he was going to do. Daniel
walked over to the morgue drawers and pulled Laurie's drawer out.
Instantly the pain in his head increased two-fold and he fell to his knees.
Through closed eyelids he saw only red, then nothing as he fainted to the
floor.

Nothing moved in the room for at least three or four minutes. And then,
suddenly, Laurie sat bolt upright in her drawer, ripping and tearing away
the duct tape that had bound her for days. She sat there silently,staring
straight ahead, watching the lightning outside throw strange shadows on
the wall in front of her. Slowly she began to mumble to herself until she
remembered the duct tape over her mouth, and , reaching up, yanked it
off with one quick pull. A long, blood-curdling scream made its way up her
throat and out into the room. Another, . . .and another. And then silence
returned.

Carl lay in the darkness and shook convulsively. He was conscious again
and thinking of ways to escape when he heard the piercing screams from
outside. He shivered with every bone in his body. He could feel his
drawer slowly begin to open, and the light was almost blinding. Slowly the
drawer continued outward, until it sat completely open. Carl could just
barely make out someone at the end of his drawer, and then Laurie was
there, smiling at him. She was leaning down, maybe to help with the
removal of the duct tape. For the first time in two weeks Carl started to
relax. He was going to be free! Free! He watched now as Laurie pulled at
the duct tape over his mouth, trying hard not to hurt him. "Oh thank God
Laurie, thank God." "Hurry and free my hands and arms, I can't wait to
get out of here." Laurie smiled again, and Carl's head began to hurt
inside. "God's got nothing to do with it Carl", she said soothingly, "nothing
at all." Leaner closer, she sank her fangs into the side of Carl's neck,
causing blood to spurt up in a jet of red, until his body stopped its
twitching.

PART IX

The windshield wipers barely stayed ahead of the pouring rain as Ben
pulled into the parking lot of the old warehouse. An old loading dock
provided an elevated parking spot from which he could see the whole
bachside of the building. He really didn't want to get out and check the
entry door in this soaking rain, so he sat there and observed nothing . . . .
waiting for the rain to let up just a little. Five minutes passed, then ten.
A light suddenly came on up on the third floor, faint, but definitely a light.
He watched with eyes that would not blink. Nothing! No signs of life! Maybe
it was just a short in the electrical system somehow, caused by the storm.
He was sitting there, getting ready to dash over to the door, when he
heard the screams. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. He was up
and out of the car in a second, running to the back entry door with his gun
drawn.


Laurie dropped Carl's lifeless head and backed away from the drawer. She
saw for the first time the crumpled body of Daniel lying partially under the
drawer she had been in. It was him! Him! He was the one that had almost
caused her to miss this date with destiny. Almost, but not enough, she
thought to herself as she kicked him in the ribs. Who was this mealy-
mouthed nerd who had been resistant to her thought control up until two
days ago? She kicked him again. Daniel. Daniel Moore. She remembered.
He was the "Office Pog" that had a secret crush on her. And he hadn't
liked the fact that she was seeing Carl Rossenberg. He hadn't liked Carl
one little bit. . . . . . She remembered now how he had tricked both of
them . . . . . .drugged them . . . . .and they had woken up in those ghastly
morgue drawers. Of course Daniel had had no idea that she had already
bitten Carl once before, and that in fact, he had already been hers. She
reached down and scooped him up like a rag doll, lifting him up and taking
him over to one of the unused drawers, where she jammed him in and
shut it completely, hearing the lock spring home.

PART X

Ben tried the door but it was locked. He put his weight against it and
slammed hard into the door, breaking it partially open. Again, and this time
the door gave completely, allowing him entrance into the dark hall. From
his belt he pulled a small, clip-on flashlight and immediately turned it on.
He found the stairs and began to run up them two at a time. Third floor, he
told himself, third floor.
Heart pounding and lungs heaving, he arrived on the third floor landing,
panting heavily. He tried to quiet his approach, hoping to hear something
that might aid his search. The rain had picked up again outside and he
could hear it beat against the windows. A minute went by and he thought
he heard moaning coming from one of the rooms, so he headed in that
direction.

The girl lay off to the left, on the floor, as Ben entered the room. It took
his eyes a while to adjust to the dimness , and then he amazingly
noticed the large drawers in the center, and one drawer in particular that
was half open. Walking over to it, he saw the bloody face of Carl
Rossenberg, lifeless and abandoned. As he headed for the girl, who he
knew must be Laurie James, an explosion knocked him off his feet, and
probably broke his right eardrum. He crashed into the wall, fell to the floor,
and lay there trying to regain his senses. Booby-trap? Had he set off some
kind of booby-trap? As he checked to see if he had all his limbs, the girl
began to crawl towards him.

"Help me, please help me," she cried out loudly. "Please help me."

Another huge flash and explosion, . . .and Ben realized that the building
was being hit by lightning bolts. Already, that first strike that Ben thought
was an explosion had started a fire across the room, and the flames were
eating at the old dry wood as if famished. Ben sat up and the girl crawled
even closer. "Laurie James?" he asked her. "Yes", she answered.
"Who did this Laurie, who did this to you?"
"Daniel!" "Daniel did it!"
"Where is he? Laurie, where's Daniel?"

"Gone." "He's gone."

Later, out in the rain, Ben helped Laurie into the back seat of the squad
car and gave her a blanket. Closing the door, he looked up to watch the
old warehouse burn itself up. The rain would prevent the fire from
spreading, but in the morning there would be nothing left of the old
place. He went around to the front door, got in, and drove off slowly.

Inside the old warehouse, up on the third floor, an old morgue drawer
assembly had been turned into a roaring oven. One could almost hear a
scream coming from the oven, saying over and over, "I am Office Pog!"


From the back seat, Laurie leaned forward and asked Ben what day it was.
"The 31st", he said, "October 31st." Laurie sat back and smiled silently
to herself. October 31st! . . . . .Halloween! She had made it!


The End

Wow! Long but good...
You could write a novel!

i hope you don't mind me being a little honest here.

Let me start by saying, i liked your story, a lot! but i felt the ending was a little forced. To me it seemed that you had more to say, you just ran out of time (Halloween is approaching)

Again i liked your story, i checked it everytime you updated it. Overall, gripping.

Great story.

I also enjoyed the improv commentary. Just like having the wife with me at the movies.

"Why did they do that?"



MonKey

You're right. I live in San Diego, Ca. and last week we had some bad
wildfires here. ( Was on standby to get evacuated twice.) So I had to
"force" an ending just because I wasn't sure I'd get another shot at
completing it.
But . . . made it through the fire okay.

Such is life. Life is good.

I too enjoyed the story and I agree you rushed at the end but I understand, it happens. I would also suggest that you type the whole thing out and try to post it all consecutively at once , it would have made it easier for the reader. I really liked your style and you certainly kept my interest.

[edit on 11-1-2007 by worldwatcher]

Nice story SIEGE. I really enjoyed reading it. Maybe you can still write an alternate ending? If not, this one was fine. Whens the next one?