Part l
Adam Flinter was a man of action, he didn't take anything from anyone and was not a man to be messed with. He lived in the crime-induced town of Detroit, Michigan, and was a lawyer known for taking on tough cases. Although Adam had many friends, he also had many enemies, receiving death threats from family members and friends of criminals he prosecuted. His wife, Angelica, deeply feared the letters, but they left Adam unfazed. He prided himself on his bravery and would never let anyone see him afraid. There was a particular man who deeply despised Adam, Timothy E. Mitchell, a serial killer who Adam prosecuted many years ago. Timothy would of almost definitely gotten away with these heinous acts of viciousness if it wasn't for Adam. Timothy was currently serving a life sentence, and while locked away, he was devising a plan to get revenge on the man who had ruined his life all those years ago.
One night, Adam was startled awake by his spouse shaking him urgently. There was banging on the front door. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he got up and walked to the source of the sound. When he opened the door, there was nothing but a letter on the porch. He picked it up and opened it. In ominous writing, the letter read, "I'm back." Angelica approached Adam, took the letter from him, and read it, her face growing pale. "Adam, who would send such a thing?" she asked, her voice trembling. "Probably just some pricks trying to scare us," he replied calmly. "Nothing to worry about my love." But Angelica was still clearly shaken. She went to get ready for work while Adam poured a bowl of cereal and sat on the couch, mulling over who might have sent the letter. Maybe it was the Brown family, upset about the conviction of their son. Perhaps it was the kids from across the street, a bunch of little shi-.
His thoughts were interrupted by a blood-curdling scream from the bedroom. Adam jolted up and rushed to find Angelica curled in a ball, hands clamped over her ears. "What?! What's wrong?!" he asked urgently, shaking her gently. "The man! The man who sent the letter! I heard him! He said my name Adam!'" Adam stroked her hair, trying to soothe her. "I'm sure it's nothing but your imagination, dear." As she began to calm down, she took a deep breath. "Yes? yes, you're right. I think I'm just paranoid." she had now sat up and calmed down, but was now drumming her fingers along her leg as if trying to soothe herself. "I'm going to shower," Adam said in a soothing voice "but you better get going unless you want to be late for work," he spoke with a reassuring smile
The scalding water pounded against Adam's skin, but he was lost in thought about the letter and Angelica's distress. He was jolted from his trans by a loud knock at the window. Heart racing, he jumped out of the shower and peeked through the glass. Nothing was there, so he brushed it off as a bird and dried himself. As he walked toward the living room, a sudden sense of dread washed over him, but he dismissed it by turning on the TV. Scrolling through channels, he stopped at the news, which blared: "Timothy Mitchell Escapes from Detroit Detention Center."
"Timothy?!" Adam exclaimed, his heart pounding. He had been the man to send that monster to prison years ago. "How could he have escaped?" Panic surged through him as he bolted to the door, locking it and checking every window. Each click of the latch echoed ominously, and he cursed under his breath as he realized he had brushed off the letter too easily. He needed to warn Angelica. But when he turned to grab his keys, a strange sound froze him in place. A soft thud echoed from the hallway like something heavy had dropped. "Hello?" he called, trying to sound braver than he felt. Silence enclosed him, broken only by the thumping of his heart.
He crept toward the sound, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. Just as he reached the living room, a shadow darted past the window. "Angelica?" Adam called out desperately to no answer, the gravity of the situation settling in. He grabbed his jacket and headed for the front door, but slow, deliberate footsteps echoed behind him, taunting him. "It's just a mouse Adam." he thought, though the dread coiling in his gut told him otherwise. He opened the door cautiously and peered outside. The street was empty, but the feeling of being watched was overpowering. Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind him, rattling the frame. Adam spun around, but it was too late. He was trapped.
The shadows seemed to close in, and the air grew thick with tension. A low chuckle echoed from somewhere in the house, sending chills down his spine. "You actually thought you could escape?" a voice called out in an amused tone, smooth and mocking. It was Timothy. "Show yourself!" Alex shouted, his voice wavering despite his efforts to sound brave. "Oh, I'm right here," Timothy replied. "And you're dead Adam." Fear coursed through Adam as he searched for something, anything, to defend himself. He spotted a baseball bat in the corner and dashed for it. But before he could reach it, a figure lunged from the shadows.
Timothy grabbed Adam, pushing him back against the wall. "You think you can keep me locked away?" he sneered, his breath hot against Adam's face. Years of fear and threats flashed through his mind at that moment. He struggled against Timothy's grip, but it felt like trying to move a mountain. "Get away from me!" he shouted, fighting to break free. But Timothy was too strong. "You ruined my life, Adam. Now it's my turn to ruin yours," a sick grin twisting on his face.
With a swift movement, he threw Adam to the ground, knocking the breath out of him. As Adam scrambled to his feet, Timothy was already upon him again. "Goodnight, Adam," Timothy said in a light tone, satisfaction dripping from his voice. In those final moments, Adam realized he had underestimated the danger. He had always thought he could handle anything, but now he was cornered, with no way out. The darkness closed in around him, and as Timothy's grip tightened, he whispered, "Don't worry, I didn't forget about Angelica." With a final gasp, everything went black. The last thing Adam heard was the faint echo of Timothy's laughter, lingering in the air like a ghost.
Part ll
Adam awoke in an unfamiliar place, filled with dread and terror. There was a loud and painful ringing in his ear. Adam `wanted to scream, and so he tried, but to no avail. He tried to move but found that he couldn't, when he looked down at his legs, he almost fainted from shock. The left leg was mutilated in such terror that it looked as though it was hanging on from a single thread of muscle. You could see his kneecap sticking out. The right leg was just simply gone. It was but a stub with wrapping around the wound. The adrenaline subsided the pain substantially, this being the only reason Adam was still awake. Although the pain wasn't as terrible, He could still feel a gnawing ache in his legs. It felt as though Adam had been sitting there in the room for hours. But no, he knew it had only been around half an hour. Adam suddenly heard a loud thump, then another, then another? it was as though? - -Stairs! They were dragging something downstairs!---
The door opened suddenly, so suddenly it made Adam jump. In came Timothy who was wearing a cooking apron, and he was dragging something?. Angelica! He was dragging her by the hair, she had bruises and cuts but didn't look too bad. At least? she didn't look too bad compared to Adam, who was just now feeling the full extent of pain from his legs. Timothy let go of Angelica's hair, she dropped to the ground with a slight yelp of pain. He had a twisted smile on his face that filled Alex with dread, what was he going to do to them? Timothy walked up to Adam with the same sick smile, he crouched down so he would be level with Adam and looked down at his legs. He looked back up at Adam and said in an almost happy voice "You don't look so good bud, here let me check how bad the damage is." Adam suddenly gripped Adam's left leg and started to crush it with brutality. He yelled out in pain, his wife sobbing and begging for Timothy to stop. His vision was going blurry and just as he thought he was going to pass out from the agony Timothy stopped. He took a deep breath and started to laugh, he laughed a nasty laugh, one of a madman. He stood back up and went back to Angelica who now lay curled in a ball sobbing. Timothy took off his cooking apron which showed a belt filled with menacing weapons. A rusty cleaver knife, A pair of scissors, A boxcutter, and a pair of pliers.
He took the weapons out of the belt and laid them out on the ground and took his time to make them look perfectly lined up. After he finished this, he pulled his attention back to Angelica who was now sitting up with a look of pure terror on her face, she started to beg, "Timothy please, please?" Timothy slapped her across the face and she fell down and started to sob loudly. Timothy picked up the scissors and grabbed her hand and lifted it. He started to say to Adam "Now class, today we will be learning about the human anatomy," he started to violently chop at her index finger until it came off, and blood started to pool onto the floor as Angelica screamed a blood-curdling scream. Timothy still holding the bloody finger walked over to Adam and sat down with his legs crossed as though he was a toddler about to show his parents a new toy. "So to start our lesson I will be showing you human body parts. He held the finger up to Adam's face and Adam started to sob, "Yo- You sick bastard! I'll kill you!" Timothy frowned at Adam, "Now now, that's not very nice Adam," he sighed and stood back up, dropping the bloody finger on Adam's lap, and turned his attention back to Angelica. He picked up the pliers and started to show off to Angelica and Adam whilst saying "now for those of you who didn't know, I always wanted to be a dentist when I was little! I know right? How weird!" he sat down next to Angelica and grabbed her jaw. "Well, today I'll finally get to fulfill my childhood dream! Open wide Angie!" He forcefully opened her mouth gripped her front tooth with the pliers and started to tug at it. Angelica made some muffled screams as she tried to escape Timothys' grasp but he was too strong, and with one final yank he ripped her tooth out of its socket, blood pouring out of her mouth like a waterfall. She screamed and cried and lay on the floor in defeat finally realizing she could do nothing to stop him.
Timothy was laughing psychotically as he examined the bloody tooth. Adam was furious but he couldn't do anything. He sat there with tears pouring from his eyes, Saliva dripping out of his clenched mouth, screaming at Timothy that he would kill him, but Timothy didn't pay him any mind as he sat there laughing uncontrollably. "Oh, I fucking missed this! I forgot how funny it was to see people in so much pain begging for mercy!" He said with a disgusting look of pure happiness. He sat the pliers back down and started to look at the tools that he was using to torture these poor people. After what seemed like an eternity to Adam, he picked up the boxcutter and smiled at Angelica. "You know I always wondered what it was like to be blind because you can't see anything so you don't even see black, so Angie you're gonna tell me what it looks like okay?" he put the boxcutter up to her eye and smiled. "No! No Please! I'll do anything Timothy just please!" Angelica pleaded but to no prevail.
He stabbed the boxcutter into her eye, shoving it deeper and deeper as blood spilled out and she screamed a blood-wrenching scream. He pulled the boxcutter out and then stuck his finger into her eyesocket, He got a good grip on the eye and then ripped it out and threw it at Adam while yelling "Catch! Catch!" Adam sobbed uncontrollably as he stabbed her other eye with the razor blade, but this time he didn't pull it out, he left it there stuck in the socket. He then stood up and stretched "Well Adam this has been so much fun! But I think it's time to wrap things up." he walked over to Adam grabbed him by his mutilated legs and started to drag him. Alex began to scream a terrible scream. His vision went blurry and everything started to go black.
Part lll
When Adam woke up he was in a different room, It was a dark room with many tables and a singular light above that was flickering. Timothy walked in with Angelica's lifeless body, she was dead, a big gash was through her throat, and her body was covered in blood. Timothy dropped her body to the floor and walked over to Adam and sat down beside him. "Ahhhh this is nice" he sighed whilst he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, He went for a lighter but realized he didn't have one. "Oh shit, you got a light Adam?" to no answer he stuck his hand in Adam's bloody pocket and pulled out a lighter. He lit the cigarette and took a long drag from it. "You want one buddy? You don't look too good." at this Timothy laughed, He laughed so hard he started to cough a nasty cough. He stood up and started to walk around the room pacing back in forth until he froze. "Oh shit! That sign says 'no smoking'! And we don't want to be breaking any laws do we Adam?" at this he laughed again as he walked over to Adam. "Here let me just put this out," He shoved the cigarette into Adam's cheek and he started to scream from all the pain. "There we go, now I really need to wrap things up Adam, I'm really sorry you have to go so soon but the cops will be here any minute and I have to look presentable!" Timothy grabbed Adam by the hair and started to drag him to one of the tables and lifted him onto one. He then grabbed something from under the table that had liquid in it,Adam didn't know what it was until after Timothy drenched him in it, the strong smell was unmistakable, it was gasoline.
Timothy started to whistle a happy tune as he continued to pour more fuel onto Adam. He then grabbed another cigarette and put it in Adam's mouth. "Now, now, Adam, don't look at me like that. I know the sign says no smoking but I wanted to give you one last smoke before you go!" Timothy had a sick look of satisfaction plastered on his face as he lit the cigarette. He took a long drag and blew it into Adam's face, he coughed hard, which hurt his body like hell. Timothy stuck the cigarette in Adam's mouth and said "Bye buddy I hope you had some fun!" as he walked away laughing a cruel laugh. Adam knew this was the end, He was not finding a way out of this. He started to look back on his life and realized he hadn't done much with it. Sure, he went to college, had a very successful career, and had a beautiful and loving wife. But he never really lived, as a kid he never had many friends because he believed they were a waste of time and couldn't help him. He never went to a birthday party, a sleepover, hell he never even went to the zoo! It was then that Adam started to mourn his wasted life, he never did anything with Angelica, they never went on date nights, He never got her gifts, and on Valentine's Day he would rarely even remember to give her a card. There anniversary! It was just next week! Adam started to cry, the gasoline mixing in with his tears as the cigarette loomed smoke out of the tip as it got shorter and shorter and Alex's inevitable fate grew closer and closer.
Adam was now sobbing and realized he did not want to die. He was going to try with all of his might to make it out of this, He was going to make it out, mourn his wife's tragic death, hold her funeral, and then he would live, he would truly live. He wouldn't just get by in life, he would laugh, he would cry, he would have true emotions and live in the moment, not in the future. He could hear sirens, He realized there was still hope, he just had to make it a few more minutes, but the cigarette was getting closer to his face, and if he moved it just the slightest bit, The butt would fall off and he would be indulged in flames. He realized there was only one way he could make it out of this. He had to get the cigarette out of his mouth, but his hand was covered in gasoline, so he couldn't grab it, he had to spit it out, but if he didn't do it right it would land on his body and he would be cooked like a thanksgiving turkey. It was now getting too short to wait any longer, he made a silent prayer and spat it out, the cigarette landed on the floor but the still-lit butt landed on his shoulder, he was immediately engulfed in flames, the pain excruciating, he cried out a scream of utter agony. And as the corners of his vision went red and black, he saw people rushing into the room. The police! He heard someone yell something and felt something cool hit his body, and then everything was gone.
Epilogue
Adam sat in a wheelchair, his posture steady, despite the scars peeking from beneath his collar and the bandages that wrapped his hands. He met the interviewer's gaze with quiet strength, "Adam, thank you for speaking with us today," the interviewer began gently. "I know this can't be easy." He nodded, his expression unreadable. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't think it mattered." The interviewer shifted her notes, her voice softening as she asked, "Can you tell us? what went through your mind when you woke up in that hospital room and? well, saw yourself for the first time?"
For a moment, Adam's jaw tightened, his gaze shifting to his hands resting on the armrests. He took a steadying breath before answering. "I didn't recognize myself. Everything was... different. Two months had passed, and my body, my face - everything I thought was me - was shattered." He paused, eyes momentarily distant. "I felt? empty. Angry. I had to learn that life as I knew it was over, that it would never go back to what it was." The interviewer's tone turned somber as she nodded, and after a moment, she asked, "Adam, with Timothy Mitchell still at large? how do you feel knowing he's never been found?"
Sweat started to form at Adam's brow, he gripped the armrest of his wheelchair tightly as he began to speak. "It horrifies me to be quite frank with you. I truly am petrified to know that a man as terrifying as Timothy is still out there, But to be honest with you, I want him to come back. I want him to try and finish the job." There was a long pause of awkward silence as these words sank into everyone. Finally, the reporter broke the silence. "Adam, if you don't mind me asking, because I think everyone is well intrigued by this, why do you want him to come back?" Adam took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "Because if he's coming for me." he looked into the camera that had been filming the entire interview. "no one else is in danger."
-ADK
