HAUNTED PRINCE by DENIS DANIEL (children's ebooks free online txt) 📕

I’m – sure,” I stuttered, his eyes were fixed on mine and he was leaning on the table like he was about to charge and get even with me. I remembered how many times I’ve said that word in front of him.

This time I was cold and my eyes started to get watery with all the staring and if he wasn’t going to stop looking then I was going to cry right there. But thankful he stopped staring at me and leaned back on his chair and rubbed his forehead with his fingers out of frustration.

For once I got see other features on him, other than intense anger. He looked tired and pale and he had bag eyes maybe from lack of sleep. He also looked tortured, like he had too much stress. I found myself feeling sorry for him, but he surprised me with something I wasn’t prepared for.

He pulled five more pictures from the folder, which I completely forgot was still there. Right there was lying pictures of my two childhood friends and my two girlfriends pale corpses and they all looked the same as the girl. Air got knocked out of me and I found myself gazing at them and guilt hit me so hard that I felt like I was suffocating. All those people died because they were somehow involved with me, except the chubby girl.

She was another piece in the puzzle, but she was a piece that couldn’t fit anywhere. First she didn’t know me because I certainly didn’t know her, which send me to the point she had no connection with me. But why did she die like them, what connection did she have with them? Or could it be possible she had the same curse as me, but I never died only people around me were the one dying. So that was out of the equation, maybe she met someone with a curse like me and she died.

As much as I wanted that to be true it wasn’t. There was no one like me in town that’s why I was sitting in the interrogation room. I could understand now why he was so frustrated because none of this made sense and the lack of any kind of evidence; maybe finger prints, struggle, or weapon used made things far worse.

“Five bodies, five dead bodies. Which means five murder cases and I can’t close even a single one of them. How many years have passed? Four years since the first body and up until now I’m still trying to figure out what happened.” His face portrayed his frustration, “there must be something, what aren’t you telling me boy?” his voice was tense and harsh, it pierced right through me.

I opened my mouth and clapped it close again. I didn’t want to repeat the same words. I’d already said them only too many times already. I knew they were the truth, but this man in front of me had no plans of believing me.

“If you know anything you better say now. All these five people had a connection with you, and two of them were you girlfriends. And let me tell you something Veronica the only survivor said something.”

“What did she say?” the words escaped my mouth,

“It’s hard to believe but it’s what she saw. A figure like a shadow foggy man with smoke around him was,” he paused for a second, “she said he was sucking her life, she couldn’t breathe and she couldn’t move and she felt the cold she never felt before. When her mom came to her room to check on her that’s when the thing disappeared. What are you hiding? What are you afraid of, are you protecting someone?” his questions were completely ridiculous. He was thinking someone was making me get these people killed, that was plain crazy. Why on earth would I do that?

“Sir, I’m as clueless as you are,” that was a mistake,

“Listen to me boy, I’m tired of playing this game with you. You tell me the truth right now, or I will send you somewhere you won’t see your little sister or that step mother of yours again.”

How I wanted to get out that suffocating room and away from the lunatic cop. I wish I could disappear right there. I was terrified and he saw it, thankfully he took a step back.

“My wife wants to leave town with my little girl, the only thing that matter to me because of her paranoia she thinks you’ll get our girl too. So it’s either I leave with them or she asks for divorce.” He rubbed his forehead, “she thinks I haven’t worked hard enough to solve these cases, she even asked me to send you in juvie or something. So we can be in peace, but I can’t send you without any evidence of violence or committing these crimes.” That’s when I realized he was desperate.

I couldn’t blame his wife for thinking that way. Lots of people would’ve been at peace if I were to disappear from the town. And since her husband was the sheriff she took the obligation of expressing people’s thoughts.

“Sir, I wish I could help I really do.” I tried to sound as honest as I could.

“Then help me by saying something that will help solve these cases.” He blurted coldly,

And I was frozen once again, my throat dry and my whole body stiff. There was nothing I could say that could help with my situation. He didn’t believe a word I said. He wanted me to give him evidences I couldn’t give; it was either him going insane or he was trying to drive me insane because he kept pressing me. It was a nightmare that could never end.

I’d already told him I didn’t know anything and I was just as much a victim as their families. But the damn sheriff wouldn’t believe me. He wanted something from me, something I couldn’t give. I was tired of repeating myself over and over again, but I couldn’t dare say that to him I didn’t want to piss him off even more.

“I definitely shouldn’t ask you this, but I don’t have any other option. Have you ever felt like experiencing some sort of out of body experience or some sort of a vivid dream, but in your dream you are somewhere else.” He was almost whispering to me, and that wasn’t surprising, his question was the weirdest question I’ve ever heard him ask. I didn’t even know how to answer it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 17;

 

 

 

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I understand your question, sir.” I admitted as I was growing frustrated and desperate to get out because he was being creepier with every minute.

“I mean anything out of ordinary like some kind of paranormal experience.” He hissed at me.

I was astounded, he was now going completely insane, “Sir, are you suggesting that I have some kind of supernatural powers?” I asked in disbelief,

“Are you?” he was too confident as if he was sure of what he was saying.

“That’s ridiculous, Sir. Everyone knows those are just stories.” I said, then he quickly responded,

“What ridiculous is having five dead bodies, cold as ice and pale without a single clue how that happened. So you tell me, what am I supposed to think?” from that statement he was clearly tired of these cases.

I stayed quiet because I couldn’t find myself advising the sheriff who hated me. And besides his question had no answer; at least not that I was aware of. He might have crossed over to crazy lane but I wasn’t willing to follow. I didn’t want to believe in children bedtime stories. But as weird as it was it did trigger something in me. A part of me thought of the same thing.

Those were no ordinary deaths, if they were murder cases there should’ve been some kind of chemicals in their bodies or something. But then again believing in what he was saying or what I suspected required a pretty hefty leap of faith. And even if I believed in such thing what was I going to do, other than going to paranoia land.

Starting to look for those invincible creatures lurking around and hunt the people I love to kill them. Believing that would mean I could be a suspect too, because those creatures do not have identities or badges so it could be anyone even myself with my connection to them and everything that had happened. My head started to spin, until I heard a snap of fingers on my nose.

“What’s happening? You looked weird a couple seconds ago. Maybe my questions were too much, but I need the answers boy. Don’t play with me.” I almost thought he would actually let me go, but the snapping at me again changed everything. There was no getting out of the dreadful room.

He leaned back on his chair and started giving me that Scrutinizing glare again, which made me a little stiff on my chair. I wished something could pop up in my mind so I could tell him and finally be free from him.

“Maybe I should help refresh your mind a little. Your first girlfriend,” he picked a picture and showed it on my face as if I couldn’t see it on the table, “she died in her sleep. Did you visit her that night? Did she contact you? Did she have anything bothering her you might remember?” suddenly he stopped asking and stared at me waiting for answers.

It’s not like I couldn’t remember. I remembered everything, since Clara was my first love. The girl I chased since I was in middle school, but only after we joined high school is when I finally got her.

I was willing to do anything for her, she owned my heart and soul. I still could remember all the incredible things we had together. This is probably ridiculous but I really liked her lips and how she laughed. She was never shy to laugh she could laugh loudly with a full belly laugh unlike many girls. I could still remember her voice and her scent the smell of roses.

She was one of the people I never thought of losing, I always imagined her living forever and always by my side together with our children and grandchildren. But this cruel life took her away soon after she became my girlfriend. All my dreams were shuttered, and if that wasn’t enough people started to point fingers at me, I guess perks of living in a small town. To them I was like a living bad omen. After that people started to stay away from me because that was the third person who was close to me dying, not including my parents whom nobody knew about.

I was numb inside and out. I couldn’t take the pain I was feeling, I even hated being alive. I mean I was just a small teenage boy but suddenly I became a monster. I was a teenage boy whose heart was crushed and devastated but nobody cared. Ashley was the only person who consoled me, the only person who knew how hurt I was.

She understood me and helped me through it. Mom, well, she wasn’t a people person, so she just heard of her death