Cyberkill

By R.J. Dekarro

Talk about a bad day. Missy is your average girl, going through a rough patch in life. She has just lost her job, her friends have begun to alienate her, and she just found out that her long- term boyfriend has been cheating on her. To top everything off, she ends up getting entangled with a married man, confused as to whether she should act on her feelings or not. She is on a slippery slope, and not headed in the right direction. Feeling like she has no one in her life, Missy resorts to going online to try and talk to people. She inadvertently gets wrapped up in the excitement, as many people in the chat take an interest in her. She strikes up an online relationship with a man named Hiraldo; a sweet, caring man that insists they must be soul mates.

While this is going on, another threat begins to loom in the background. The entire region is being plagued by the disappearance of dozens of women; never to be found again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Nov 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781684711680

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DEKARRO

Copyright © 2019 R. J. Dekarro.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of the author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

ISBN: 978-1-6847-1169-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6847-1168-0 (e)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 10/25/2019

CHAPTER 1

A barren dingy basement room is pictured, with a low hanging ceiling and dirt floor. There is a small light fixture on the ceiling that slowly blinks on and off. The walls are bare, with slight cracking down the middle. There is a boarded-up window along one of the walls. There is a small tool shelf along the right wall, stacked with small pieces of equipment and contractor’s tools. In the middle of the room, there is a large wooden coffin with the top shut. The surface of the coffin displays nails every six inches along the perimeter. There are slight splinters from the wood, where the nails were slammed into the coffin. The unit is roughly 84 x 28 x 23 inches in size and was made out of fresh wood. There is a girl inside, about 5’6", blond hair, and is wearing a tank top and a pair of jeans. Her eyes are shut and breathing rather heavily. She begins to come to and starts to move around inside the coffin. She shifts to her right side and slams against the wooden side of the coffin. As she regains her composure, she realizes that she is trapped and becomes quite claustrophobic.

Where the hell am I? asked Kerry.

She attempts to move her body, with some trouble. She gently lifts her right knee, which is stopped by the top of the box. She retracts with a slight groan.

What the fuck is this, said Kerry.

There is small hole at the end, which shows some aspect of light. Kerry locates the hole near her feet but cannot reposition her body to get closer to it. Suddenly, several live scorpions enter the box and begin crawling over Kerry’s feet and legs. She begins shrugging them off, but their advances continue. She lets out a large shriek that radiates throughout the box.

Help!!! cried Kerry.

One of the scorpion’s crawls on her left leg and is able to sting her, injecting a small amount of venom into her. She shrieks again and is able to crush it with the weight of her leg. She yells out again.

Is anyone there? Please help me, asked Kerry.

There continues to be silence and no answer. She continues to battle anything that comes in through the hole and is trying to figure a way out. She starts to feel slightly weakened from the prior sting bite. She begins to slide down towards the end of the box where her feet are. Kerry begins to use her lower body strength to kick at the side of the coffin. Each kick shows the rattling of the boards and displays light from the basement room. One of the kicks is strong enough to shatter one of the boards. She continues to strike the boards until there is a clear opening to escape from. Kerry emerges from the bottom of the box and regains her balance when standing up. She surveys the room and begins to limp away from the coffin. Kerry walks around the room and sees the rough outline of a door along the rear of the room, next to some shelving with tools on them. She briefly assesses herself and realizes that she has bruises along her arms and legs. There are small cuts along her face and down one of her arms. Small drips of blood begin to fall onto the dirt ground as she moves across the room. She gets her hands and runs them along the far wall and finds a door knob that blends in with the wall. The door knob is painted black to match the wall. Kerry’s hand is juggling it, but it does not open.

Fuck! said Kerry.

Wood shelving can be seen next to the concealed door. Kerry walks over to it and begins rummaging through its contents. She locates a long cast iron pipe on one of the lower shelves. She uses the pipe to smash the doorknob. After five or six hits she is able to knock it down. She uses all her force to kick in the door. She slowly begins to emerge through the door. A long, dingy, hallway corridor awaits her, with several side offsets throughout. Kerry begins to walk slowly as she continues to hear loud bangs overhead. There is a crackling of rocks and debris as she takes each step forward. At the end of the corridor, there are several doors, one on each side of the three walls. Kerry continues towards the main door in the middle. She runs her fingers along the wall and attempts to open it without success.

What the hell is this place? asked Kerry.

She looks towards the door on the left with interest but is slowly distracted by a sound coming towards her right. She moves towards the right door. There is a soft ticking sound that is getting louder and louder. Kerry’s hand comes into contact with the handle. She begins turning the knob to the right. She has trouble with opening it and begins to tug harder. She lets out a grunt each time she tries. The sound is almost deafening now. Finally, she tugs as hard as she can, and the door swings open. There is a loud explosion from inside the door. Her face is impaled with pieces of nails, glass, aluminum, and other debris. One of the pieces of nail punctures her left eye. Some of the glass has entered her cheeks and neck. The force is enough to push back into concrete wall, her back slamming against it. Blood is running down around the pieces of shrapnel. Her now limp body begins to slide down the wall into the sitting position. The inside section of the closet can now be seen more clearly. There are two separate shrapnel bombs perfectly placed along the wall. They are both linked to a trigger that is mounted to the door with a cable, detonating upon opening.

There are many small pieces of debris along the closet floor after the bombs went off. Kerry is slumped against the back wall. She is sitting down and trying desperately to breathe. She continues to bleed out from her wounds. The blood spills out and runs along the basement floor. She makes one last move to straighten herself. Her head slumps to the right, as she takes her last breath. Her body is now completely lifeless.

There is another hidden passage behind the hallway where Kerry had just died. A large operations room that looks to be recently visited. There are supplies on one of the back tables. There is a wooden office desk that extends to the left and right. There are four large monitors that are active with information. There are several electronic devices in the room as well as a keyboard. A melodic sound of typing on the keyboard can be heard as the front side of the room is shown. There is someone sitting in front of one of the monitor walls, now typing rather quickly on the main keyboard. On the main screen of the computer, there are several chat rooms open with the figure engaging in each of them simultaneously. There are screen names on the right, and a chat bar at the bottom, which is being continuously filled and then disappearing. A majority of the screen names on the page appear to be women. The replies from the figure appear to be both inquisitive, yet also flirtatious. Some of the replies insinuate that these women are interested in what the figure has to say, and to possibly meet up at some point. The figure lets out a low chuckle as they begin to track the IP addresses of some of these active screen names.

CHAPTER 2

A typical fall in New England involves people walking along the beach, and some sailboats moving along the ocean waters. The small towns are hustle and bustle. The rustling leaves and trees move from the slight gusts of wind. Red, orange, and yellow leaves are on the ground, signifying the cooler weather has arrived. Many of the families are along the sidewalk cafes, enjoying the newly released hot beverages from their favorite coffee shops. The residential streets are filled with school busses, dropping off children to their houses.

A two-story residential home is shown on one of the side streets, which looks to be an average neighborhood. There are kids on bicycles going down the street, and a family is playing with their dog in a nearby yard. The home is finished with gray-blue vinyl siding and architectural shingles on the roof. There is a front brick walkway, landscaping, and a front porch that leads to the main door. There is a two-car garage to the right. A pathway along the side leads to a rather modest backyard area. The interior of the house has four bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. The main house is finished with textured drywall, trim work, and hardwood floors. Along the second floor, one of the main bedrooms is shown, which is roughly 12 x 12 with off-beige walls. There are drapes on the window, and a flower-like border along the top of the walls. A computer desk and laptop is on the left with the top still open, but nothing is displayed on the screen. Missy is still sleeping with the covers over her head, slightly moving on top of the bed. She has medium length brown hair and is wearing a tank top and shorts. She is sleeping peacefully with normal breathing. She begins to come to and moves her right hand close by to her head. She slightly shifts to the left. Her eyes begin to flutter as she comes to. With her eyes fully open, she looks down as she lets out a loud scream.

AHHHHH!!!!! says Missy.

There is a long green snake squirming around her feet with its tongue flickering.

Dam it Garry! said Missy.

She hurls the covers over to expose the snake underneath.

A loud noise is thumping outside the room as someone is coming up the stairs, revealing her brother Jason.

Everything all right? asked Jason.

Yeah, it was just Garry. He got out of his cage again, replied Missy.

She gets up and places the snake back in the cage. She turns to her brother.

I have to head into work in a few. You sure you’re ok? asked Jason.

Yeah, I’ll be fine. I have an interview this afternoon at three, replied Missy.

Nice. With who? asked Jason.

One of the law firms on Main Street is looking for someone. Figured I might give it a shot, replied Missy.

That’s great Missy. Let me know how it goes, said Jason.

I will. Have a good day at work, replied Missy.

Love you. See you when I get home, said Jason.

Bye Jay, said Missy.

He turns and closes the door behind him.

Later that same day, the inside of a local tavern is decently busy with several patrons sitting at the bar. About a dozen people are sitting with half full glasses in front of them. The main bartender if filling another beer on tap and gives it to a patron to his right. The front door of the bar slowly opens, allowing light to trickle inside. Someone enters and begins walking to the bar. Jim the bartender is currently serving drinks. He looks up as Missy approaches one of the chairs and sits down in front of him. He looks back at Missy inquisitively.

What’ll it be, the usual? asked Jim.

Yeah, vodka on the rocks. Make it a double, replied Missy.

You got it, said Jim.

He looks down in front of him and begins scooping ice into the glass. He takes out the bottle and begins pouring.

Tough day? asked Jim.

Went for an interview at Martin’s Law Firm. Hour long interview. Can you believe that shit? After all that they gave the job to some half-wit right out of college. Figures; I can’t stand this town, replied Missy.

It’s all right Missy. Something will come through. You’ll see, said Jim.

If you say so. I need to get out of this town Jim. I’ve been here way too long, says James.

Jim hands her a double shot of vodka, which she downs all at once. She slams the shot glass back down on the bar. After a few seconds, there is a loud sound from Missy’s pocket. She reaches down and pulls out her phone and begins scrolling down. A message envelope appears on the face of Missy’s phone. She taps it with her finger and opens the message.

"Hey Missy, what’s going on? Missed you on the board last night. I love our philosophical late-night chats. There’s no one that quite gets me like you do. Hope to hear from you soon. From Hiraldo - La Fan 59.

Missy replied to the message she received.

"Thanks, Hiraldo. Good to hear from you. It’s been a tough week, so anything right now will help. I will be on tonight around eight. We’ll talk soon. From Missy - BabiGrl 865.

Jim looks over at Missy, who is still gazing down at her phone.

Important date? asked Jim.

Uh, not really. Just a friend, replied Missy.

"Well just be careful. There’s been a lot of stories on the news