Welcome to Wordy Wednesdays! Here is the exciting conclusion, Part Five of Five of my new short story, “TEN”.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the story and let me know what you think!

If you missed previous parts of the story, you can find them at the links below. Enjoy! 🙂

Previous parts of the story:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

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Finish Line

As Kyra crossed the threshold, she moved cautiously. Stopping just inside the room, she looked around. There was a large wooden desk to her left in front of a big window pane. Outside, the sky was blue with puffy white clouds and the sun shone in the window warmly. The chair behind the desk was turned as if someone had recently left it in a hurry, not bothering to push it in behind the desk.

To her right, there was a wooden framed couch and chair set with a coffee table and side table in matching wood tones. The cloth on the couch and chair were light gray with splashes of color like someone couldn’t decide which color to put on so they just put them all. Kyra wrinkled her nose and grimaced at the ugly furnishings.

On the floor at her feet was a tiny slip of paper. Kyra picked it up and turned it over to read the message. “Great treasure will be yours.” the paper promised and she smiled.

A lone plant stood in the corner across from the couch and chair and a water cooler was next to the plant. The cooler bubbled gently and Kyra knew someone had retrieved water from the cooler only recently. On the bookshelf next to the desk, Kyra spotted what she was after. Carved from crystal and filled with shining color, it glittered in the light.

Next to the chair was a door leading out of the office. Kyra swiftly moved the chair to block the door and turned toward the bookcase and her prize. Crossing the distance quickly, Kyra stretched up on her toes to grab the crystal treasure. She couldn’t quite reach it. Glancing around, she saw the chair behind the desk and walked to grab it. Wheeling the chair over to the shelf, she prepared to climb up and grab the crystal bowl.

“Kyra!”

The door opened and Dr. Martinson stepped in.

“Don’t climb on that chair, Kyra. You could fall and get hurt.”

Kyra blinked at her. ‘Is she serious?’

“It has wheels.” The doctor pointed to the bottom of the chair.

Men in white uniforms entered the room behind the doctor and took the chair from Kyra.

“You know I’ll get it for you, Kyra. Have a seat.”

Crossing to the couch, Kyra sat quietly, waiting for the doctor.

Dr. Martinson, quite a bit taller than Kyra’s 5 foot 5 inches, grabbed the candy bowl and sat next to Kyra on the couch.

“Here you are dear.” She opened the lid and offered it to Kyra. “Only two now.”

Kyra smiled and picked out two shining wrappers.

“Was that fun?” the doctor asked her with a smile.

Kyra, her mouth full of a chewy caramel candy smiled and shook her head up and down.

“I’m glad.” Dr. Martinson said. Setting the crystal candy dish on the coffee table, she held her hand out to Kyra. “Now give me the messages, dear, and tell me about your adventure.”

Kyra placed the crumpled messages in the doctor’s hand and began to tell the doctor her story. Afterward, she let the orderlies lead her to her room, her backpack bouncing as she walked.

When the girl had left, Dr. Martinson sat at her desk and got out Kyra’s file.

Welcome to Wordy Wednesdays! As promised, here is Part Four of Five of my new short story, “TEN”. Stay tuned as I release a new part of the story every week!

If you missed previous parts of the story, you can find them at the links below. Enjoy! 🙂

Previous parts of the story:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

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Inside

Kyra stood still, listening intently. The room had gray walls and low lighting. To her right was a large metal desk in the shape of a U positioned in front of a large, blank, gray wall. The desk housed several monitors and served as the surveillance for the operation that showed everything going on. Cameras were placed in the garage, the hallway, the outer room, the room she was in, and in another room. The last room’s camera appeared to be malfunctioning as Kyra could see nothing on it. Kyra watched as the woman in the outer room got up from the floor, mocked tipping her hat at the camera and left. Shutting the outer room door quietly behind her, the woman exited the way Kyra had come in.

On the corner of the metal desk was a now-familiar scrap of paper and Kyra picked it up. “The path is before you.” She pocketed the paper and looked around the room.

To Kyra’s left, there was a closed door. It was solid white and bore no window or identifying sign indicating where it may lead. Kyra took a step toward that door, listening carefully. She could barely see a thin line of light coming from under the door and as she neared, a shadow passed through the light. Standing stock still, Kyra held her breath, her eyes on the handle of the door. The shadow paused in front of the door. Kyra looked to the monitors, attempting to determine which room was on the other side of the door. She didn’t see anyone on any of the monitors, so she concluded the room on the other side must be the one she couldn’t see on the displays.

The only other door in the room was open slightly and read ‘Cleaning Supplies’ on a dingy plaque. This was too easy. Smiling, Kyra turned and stepped toward the Cleaning closet. Breathing quietly, she glanced at the screens and saw a flash of movement in the outer room.

Kyra quickly strapped the case to her back and opened the supply room door. Entering the tiny room, she closed the door firmly behind her and stood quietly in the dark. Using her internal clock, Kyra waited 5 minutes and 27 seconds before slipping a penlight from her sleeve and turning to face the back wall of the closet. Hearing nothing from the room outside the door, she aimed the penlight at the wall seams and immediately located the latch. Reaching to the front pocket of the bag on her back, she slipped out a tool kit and removed a tiny shim. Sliding it into the latch, she triggered the latch and stepped to the side as the tiny door swung open into the closet.

A cool whoosh of air touched Kyra’s hair. She smelled lemons. Standing perfectly still, Kyra waited an additional 4 minutes and 33 seconds before peeking around the open doorway. From her vantage point in the closet, Kyra couldn’t see much in the other room. There was the edge of a chair just barely visible close to where she hid, but there wasn’t much else in her line of sight.

Replacing the shim and kit in the bag along with the penlight, Kyra crouched low to the floor and listened quietly. Deciding the room must be empty, she slowly stood and stepped through the doorway.

Welcome to Wordy Wednesdays! As promised, here is Part Three of Five of my new short story, “TEN”. Stay tuned as I release a new part of the story every week!

If you missed previous parts of the story, you can find them at the links below. Enjoy! 🙂

Previous parts of the story:

Part One

Part Two

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Outside

Kyra left the building where Dr. Martinson’s office had been for the last ten years of her life. Coming there every Thursday afternoon had truly taught her a lot about the human mind. The doctor was nothing but a guinea pig for Kyra.

Looking both ways before she crossed the street, Kyra trotted across and stopped in front of her car. The late model Honda was perfect for the young woman. Black with tinted windows, it looked just like every fourth car driving down any random street in her town. There were no identifying marks or stickers, no vanity plates and she always drove the speed limit.

Opening her car with the key fob, Kyra slipped into the driver’s seat and put her seat belt on. Raising her hand to turn on her radio, she spied another scrap of paper sticking out of the CD slot. Plucking it from her stereo, she read the message, “Now is the time for action.”

Turning on the stereo, she discovered she had just a few minutes to get over to Center Street before the traffic cam would switch over to traffic on the bridge.

Kyra drove down to the stop sign at the end of the street and executed a right hand turn onto Denver Street. Driving exactly the posted speed limit, Kyra listened to the traffic as she drove sedately down Denver to the intersection of Denver and Center. Glancing in her rear view mirror, she could see the van approaching from behind and smiled. Sliding her sunglasses on, she grinned and revved her engine. The van revved back. He was ready.

Just as the traffic cam announced the congestion forming on Center Street, Kyra gunned her engine and peeled out into traffic in front of an empty school bus. The white van followed suit. The two cars were obviously in hot pursuit and the traffic reporter didn’t miss a beat.

As the eye in the sky excitedly began telling listeners about a high speed chase occurring south bound on Center street, Kyra weaved expertly in and out of traffic, knowing from research that the news camera could not see her license plate. Making a sharp left onto Lexington Avenue, Kyra pulled into an open garage and pushed the button to shut the door. Seconds later, she could hear the van whizzing by outside the garage. The traffic reporter sounded puzzled as he said the van was still in his sights, but the little black car had vanished.

Kyra smiled, put her car in park and opened the door. Grabbing her bag from the trunk, she locked the vehicle and exited through the small door in the corner of the room. Her heels clicked sharply as she entered a long hallway. Opening the fifth door on the left, she dropped the bag on the floor, turned and looked at the camera in the corner and removed her sunglasses.

“Mission accomplished.” She said, winking at the camera.

The only other door in the room opened and a woman entered, smiling.

“Excellent work.” She air kissed in Kyra’s direction and made to pick up the bag from the floor.

Kyra placed her foot on the strap.

“What are you doing?” The woman straightened and looked Kyra in the face.

“I’m not doing anything.” Kyra smiled devilishly.

“You are stepping on the strap, Darling. Why are you doing that?”

“Maybe I want to see you bend over again.” Kyra hiked an eyebrow at the other woman, “Darling.”

The other woman laughed. “Of course you do. I have a magnificent bum.”

The woman winked, bent over dramatically pointing her rear end in Kyra’s direction and grabbed the case.

Kyra, feeling cheeky, grabbed a hand full of the woman’s shapely bottom and squeezed.

The woman squealed and Kyra, taking her cue, bent over her back and whispered in her ear.

“If you liked that, you’re gonna love this.”

Leaning back, Kyra replaced her hand with her foot on the other woman’s bottom. Giving the prone female a firm shove, Kyra’s opponent pitched head first onto the floor. Swiftly bending down, Kyra grabbed the bag’s strap and exited via the door the woman had come through.

As the door slammed shut behind her, she could hear the woman cursing.

Welcome to Wordy Wednesdays! As promised, here is Part Two of Five of my new short story, “TEN”. Stay tuned as I release a new part of the story every week!

If you missed it, you can find Part One HERE. Enjoy! 🙂

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Doctor’s Office

“Tell me something that even those closest to you don’t know, Kyra.”

Kyra looked at her psychiatrist and didn’t say a word. Blinking slowly, she processed the question.

“Kyra?” The woman peered at her over her half-glasses, her milky gray eyes blinking. “Did you hear the question, Kyra?”

Making a decision quickly, Kyra’s lips formed a lop-sided grin.

“Yes, Dr. Martinson, I heard the question.” Committing to her decision, Kyra leaned back on the white leather sofa and crossed her legs. Joining her hands on her slim knees, she bounced her leg so her anklet jingled gently. “The real question, Doctor, is whether you want the answer or not.”

“Kyra.” Dr. Joy Martinson laid her pad and pen aside and looked her patient in the eyes. “We don’t play games here. You know that. Answer the question please.”

Kyra’s eyes landed on the table underneath the doctor’s writing pad. Another scrap of paper could be seen protruding from under the writing pad. Kyra watched her doctor’s face and smiled, her red lips curving gracefully.

“Alright, Doctor. But I think I’ll need some tissues.” Her grin widened and her index finger tapped slowly on her leg. Kyra brushed her straight dark hair from her shoulder.

“Very well.” Dr. Martinson turned to grab her box of tissues and Kyra quickly snagged the piece of paper from under the doctor’s pad. In the same red script, the message read, “A surprise awaits you in the near future.”

Slipping the paper in her purse to join the first one, Kyra began to speak, “When I was five, my cat went missing.”

“Yes, you told me. Fluffy, right?” The doctor put the box of tissues on the table in front of Kyra.

“Yes. Fluffy was the first.”

“First?”

“Yes, when the fifth cat disappeared, my parents finally suspected where they were really going.”

Silence stretched in the room. Without breaking eye contact, Dr. Martinson picked up her pad and pen from the table and adjusted her glasses.

“What happened to all the cats, Kyra?”

Without skipping a beat, Kyra leaned forward. “I skinned them, Doctor.”

The good doctor blinked. “You skinned them?”

“Yes.” Kyra said calmly. “I skinned them.”

Dr. Martinson had heard this from young people before. Kyra was trying to shock her. The doctor knew how to solve this one.

“Ok, Kyra. Tell me about skinning the cats. What did you use to skin them? Did you kill them first or skin them alive?”

The doctor, satisfied with herself, sat back in her chair and waited for Kyra to back down from her challenge.

Kyra’s smile didn’t even come close to reaching her emerald green eyes. Dr. Martinson felt a chill run down her spine and shivered despite the warmth of the room.

“The first cat was already dead and I filleted it with my Father’s fishing knife. The second cat I smashed over the head with a rock before I skinned it with the same fishing knife. For the third cat, I had purchased my own fillet knife off the Internet. I skinned it halfway while it was still alive and then it died. I finished skinning it after it died. The fourth cat, I disemboweled and gutted while it was still alive but I was disappointed that it died before I got to skin it. I skinned it anyway. By the time I got the fifth cat, I knew what I had to do. I sliced it open slowly, pushing my bare hands inside her belly. I loved the feeling of her warm insides all over my hand. I wiggled my fingers, finding her heart and massaged it to keep her alive, just like I had read about. I skinned her slowly, keeping her open so I could massage her heart from time to time while I finished the job. When I was done, she was flayed and her guts were intact, but exposed to the air. It was a success.”

Kyra sat perfectly still, enjoying the terror that slowly filled her doctor’s eyes. She let a few seconds pass before she whispered, “Well, Doctor? Am I making it up?”

The session timer chimed and without another word, Kyra gathered her purse and left.