The Nail Gunner

By Luthur Darkwood

MURDER IN SHADOWS

Megan dragged herself across the floor, soaked in blood, desperately attempting to escape the confines of her hospital room. Her fingers strained towards the doorknob, hands outstretched in a desperate reach. Numbness crept through her legs, inducing panic attacks as she fought to escape someone in her room.

With shivering hands, she extended towards the door, gasping for what seemed to be her last breath. A cold shiver ran through her mind, amplifying the fear, as she reluctantly turned her head, sensing an inhuman shadow looming just behind her. The ominous figure pursued her relentlessly, casting an eerie and haunting presence in the dark...

The horrific murder of a young woman within the confines of a sealed hospital room shattered the bedrock of sanity. Detective Joseph Sharpe, a former police officer grappling with his own psychosis, feels an inexorable pull to delve into the case amidst escalating unease within the community.

As he unravels the layers of the investigation with unfamiliar faces, Joseph uncovers concealed terrors and the unsettling truths intertwined with the living and the deceased. His consciousness becomes a battleground, blending realities with delusions that blur the lines of his own sanity. With time ticking away, Joseph peels back the layers of a malevolent conspiracy, a looming threat that jeopardizes everything he holds close.

 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Luthur Darkwood
• Release date: Sep 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223059738

Book preview

1

The Detective Professor

23rd August 2011 (4:40 PM)

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How many of you have used magnets or played around with magnetic fields? Professor Joseph Sharpe asked the whole class while delivering the lecture. A few minutes were left for the lecture to end. The students had their eyes transfixed on him. Almost everyone raised their hands in response to the question placed on the table.

The class was held in the room at building B4 with a gigantic projector hanging on the top of the ceiling, casting the slides on the whiteboard in the front. While teaching his classes, Joseph liked to walk on the stage while delivering his notes verbally. There was a cup of coffee placed just beside his laptop on the table. He has been heavily addicted to caffeine and took it regularly as his drug to stay awake late at night. He used to forget  his meals because of his addiction to coffee. Working late night was a catalyst to his caffeine habit.

Well, that’s nice to hear. Now, how many of you have used magnets to the extent of physically influencing someone's health? A silence rippled across the room. Joe moved his eyes around every student, searching for an upright hand and carefully examining everyone’s expressions. After taking a slight pause to reframe his following sentence, he continued,

Well, if you were able to produce some changes in someone’s body through magnetism then you might have replicated the experiment of one of the renowned German physicians, Franz Anton Mesmer, who was quite intrigued by the effects of magnets. He was born in the 18th century, and he was quite known for his works of mesmerism, or, you can say, therapeutic healing in animals or humans, through some unnatural-seeming effects that he was able to bring about through magnetism. He believed that some fluids in the bodies of animals were influenced by unforeseeable energy that brought about these effects. This was quite fascinating to normal minds, who were accustomed to the sense of touch in getting themselves treated through doctors. However, some of these unusual experiments were not easily executed, as people generally described them to others. Some procedures in these experiments were done in the presence of a bunch of people. As these experiments gradually grew in number, they caught the eyes of many people around Europe, including many high-profile individuals. It is always said that your talent belongs to you, but your image resides in the hands of people. The minds of human beings are not completely recipient to ideas that might attack their long-lived stereotypes. Having said that, anything different in society has to countenance the doors of criticism and evaluation, as they are perceived, in some sense, as dangerous. People don’t like differences or something that goes beyond their knowledge, known territory, or, you can say, comfort zone. So, after some detailed examinations done by the scientists of laboratories and other distinguished individuals in France and Germany, the methods discovered by Mesmer and his therapeutic practices on the human body were rejected. With these oppositions and for not being able to show the practical justifications for his treatments, his methods were eventually barred. We have to accept the fact that, despite all the allegations that were made, Mesmer was still a literate doctor and was able to cure a lot of diseases through his practices. Through his belief in supernatural forces and, of course, his magnetic iron rods hanging on his shoulders, he treated a lot of people,

In the middle of the lecture, Joe was distracted by a handbag tied on the metallic doorknob of the blue exit door with blood dripping from its straps. He was distracted a bit because of it, but he was trying to stay focused on his lecture. After staring at the door for a while, he reverted his eyes towards the class and said with a sigh, During that time, some people would say that creating realistic forces that cannot be seen and felt through naked eyes is quite interesting, don’t you think? In the state of sleeplessness, there have been instances where people have enunciated the cause of their diseases. Despite the works of Mesmer being forgotten now, you can say his work was, at that time, the guiding door to the field of psychotherapy and other paranoia branches in psychology. So coming back to my point, this change that contradicted the common beliefs of scientific research at that time, was not accepted by people.

Now, some people linked these unforeseeable or seemingly supernatural forces to religious beliefs and extraordinary stories. In some examples, people claimed that they experienced voices and spirits taking control over their bodies. Some argue that they want to feel these experiences and that their bodies are more capable. Some feel the religious settings catalyze welcoming these paranormal incidents. People who were prone to depression were more inclined to these encounters. So the question that arises is, are there any predefined mediums or situations or living beings? Are some people more prone to these experiences? According to some scientists, once we cross the line of our general awareness, we are in a constant need to find some justifications to explain things out of our scope.

One of the students in the middle of the row, wearing a black hoodie, raised his hands. On account of seeing his hands raised, Joe paused. So you said about objects that have these powers, what kind of beings, and what scope are you referring to in your last statement? the student asked.

Joe replied, Beings can be any living being, as a technical term. Being words can be confusing, but with that, I mean living as animals or humans. These scopes can be of various types, which can create desires or enrapture situations like feeling the presence of someone in the room or a coincidence in meeting someone at an unusual place. Again, there are no tangible facts but experiences people felt. There is existence around us, having no meaning of its own, but we give it a meaning by our own perception. It’s in your choice if you give it a chance by questioning it or immediately accepting or rejecting it.

These answers to these questions are not completely answered in rational form in any research paper and manuscripts about whether Mesmer methods were viable or not. However, it was important to open people’s minds to the possibility of utilizing forces beyond their tangible senses. Something that can only be felt.

I don’t want to make this lecture too long. To wrap it up, I hope these forces in your head won’t be wandering around and searching your mind enough that you forget about the exam coming in a few weeks. Post any doubts or questions regarding the course on the board or group. And I'll see you all in the next class.

Within a few minutes, the room was emptied, with a few students packing their things quickly. Joe was collecting all his notes on his desk and putting them in his black briefcase folder. A student attending his class approached him with his research paper in his hand, trying to catch Joe’s shifting attention. The kid was a Ph.D. student with the enthusiasm of a first-year graduate student on his face. He came rushing towards Joe to share the psychology research paper he had written.

Joe has been one of the distinguished research professors in the Department of Paranormal Psychology at the University of Illinois and has been admired by many academic personalities across various fields. He worked as a detective for the police department for many years but soon realized that he needed a more laid-back life away from the everyday chaos. He was sturdy and shrewd, with brown eyes and an angular face with a chiseled jawline. He appeared to be a cunning person, a trait he had possessed since childhood, evident in his appearance. However, it sometimes belied his sense of clothing.

He preferred carrying a beard, a tailored black jacket, and trousers to cultivate a formal outlook and believed in the power of presentation. In his personal life, the idea of being with someone in a relationship seemed quite burdensome to him. He preferred to stay alone because of his unusual relationship experience, maintaining his penchant for absolute freedom and emotional well-being. He has always been adept at reading people like books and soon got bored after years of doing it for the sake of money. Can’t work like a robot, paid for every treat given, was quoted by him on the last day of his job.

While he left the department, he knew he had to keep an image to hide the fact that he was suffering from psychosis. That was another primary reason for his departure. After handling numerous deadly cases and psychic patients all these years, there was an unavoidable change in him that was terrifying. These experiences caused him to see unusual objects and people that were invisible to others and quite ominous for a standard set of eyes to see. After many anxiety-provoking incidents, he became accustomed to these hallucinations and knew he could only cure himself by keeping himself away from the mishaps as much as he could. It was still sometimes difficult for him to differentiate reality from delusions.

After a brief discussion with the student, Joe started walking down the corridor. He tried to catch a glance at the doorknob of the exit door. The bag that was hanging there earlier was gone. He recognized that the bag was of a student named Leslie, who attended his lecture a few years ago. She was a bright student with some stellar records in her profile.

On a cold Monday morning, she was found dead near the river in the suburbs, with no witness or person around her body. Later, after some investigation, it was found that her cousin killed her out of anger when he was drunk. Joe never shared his weird, nerve-wracking hallucinations with anyone and tried to keep his omen sightings to himself, as they led him nowhere most of the time.

Later in the afternoon, it started snowing a bit. Joe was sitting in his cabin, checking out his new feeds on the laptop, and writing his ideas for an article. He published a few books earlier on psychology and authored many research papers. While Joe was occupied with his work, there was a knock on his door. Dr. Amanda Johnson stood near the door. Amanda was Joe’s friend since college and used to hang out with him almost every time. She had been a professor for many years and considered teaching her passion. Joe liked Amanda and always admired her work and passion for the field.

She was wearing a dark blue skirt with a formal black court, a golden watch tied on her hand, and curly yellow hair coming on her forehead, passing through the frameless specs. She was carrying some files in her hands, casting her smile through her beautiful, symmetrical face. Joe knew she liked him. He went out with her for ‘formal meetings’, as he always liked to term them.

All done for today, professor, Amanda remarked, noticing Joe standing and typing something on his laptop.

Feeling a bit surprised to see her, Joe replied,

Nice to see you, Amanda. What a pleasant surprise... How are you?

I am good. Just finished some evaluation work today. I am part of the judging committee that is evaluating the dissertations of one of the students.

Oh, nice to hear that. Please have a seat.

Oh no. I am in a bit of a hurry. I have to catch a flight in a few hours. Thought of saying hi.

Ahh, okay, by the way, how is Aunt Sally (Aunt Sally is Amanda’s aunt. Amanda had been living with her for some years now)? Is she doing fine?

Yes, she's doing quite well now. She's been trying to shake me off, but I'm holding on tight, Amanda replied, injecting a playful tone into her response.

When is your flight then?

Will be departing for the airport in an hour. Have some work to do before that.

Joe looked at his wrist clock and smiled, I guess we can walk and talk then. He picked up his bag and wrapped up his documents. And started walking with her in the corridor.

I see that I am the last person on your priority list for a meeting, Joe said, trying to make Amanda guilty of coming within a short time crunch.

Well, I will say, you are the first whom I would prefer to meet informally, Amanda cunningly replied. And speaking of meeting, when was the last time you came to see me?

Well, I will take my words back, Joe glimpsed at her.

Joe knew he could not win in conversations with her.

So when are you steering your gear towards Ann Arbor? Joe continued.

Soon, I will give you a heads up.

Joe and Amanda strolled together towards her parked car. They talked for a while about their day and having some light-hearted conversation. They stood together outside in the cold weather, hoping for the conversation to last for some time. There was a gentle breeze brushing against their stern faces, and flakes of delicate snowflakes started to bundle up on the pathway.

Joe finally bid farewell to Amanda with a smile on his face filled with happiness and unexpressed words. With a deep breath, Joe turned away and reached for his phone in his pocket. While skimming through the messages, he noticed a message from Beth regarding her early arrival at his apartment. She had been planning a visit for a few weeks in the town to finish her presentation at the university. It had been a while since Joe and Beth met each other. He was expecting that Beth will stay a bit longer because of her research and presentation at the university. Joe stood amidst the serene winter, the powdery snow blanketing the ground around him. As he looked up, his gaze fixed on the expanse of the white sky stretching above, enjoying the silence and solace. Soon, he realized his shoes were not equipped for the watery, snow. He headed back to his car to take shelter.

2

The Deadly Hospital

23rd August 2011 (10:30 PM)

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Mom, it’s going to be alright. It’s just one day left now; no need to worry. Megan had been trying to convince her mother, Elaine, not to fret about her since it was her last night in the hospital and she was getting discharged the following day. Megan met with an accident while she was going to her ballet classes. A fracture in her leg and some bruises spared her some days in the hospital. She was shifted to a private room by doctors for complete evaluations after some requests from her mother.

I am glad, honey, you recovered soon, but I am going to drive you to work for some weeks until you get better 100 percent, replied Elaine in an authoritative voice. The doctor advised Megan to use the wheelchair for a week. She was completely depended on Elaine for every outdoor chore she was going to plan.

Elaine was a busy woman with a hectic office life. Due to some situations, she had to leave her last job. Chicago was completely new to the mother and daughter. She was in her mid-40s, which showed beneath her eyes, and she possessed a mature beauty. Being a single mother weathered her for some years, but her love for her daughter was immense.

Mom, can you please make some chicken soup when I will be home tomorrow? Megan requested in a childish, innocent manner.

Sure, honey, I had that in mind since you liked it the most while growing up. Elaine sat beside Megan's bed and continued after a few seconds of pin-drop silence, I can understand it has been a little rollercoaster for you with the new place and city, but everything will be alright soon. If you need anything, you can call me or let Marie know about it. Try to take some rest.

It wasn’t very often that Megan met her mother. Elaine mostly prioritized her work life, but this injury at least allowed Megan to spend some time with Elaine. It was an aid to her homesickness.

As twilight approached, a hush fell over the city, signaling the transition from day to night. The fading light was painting the sky with vibrant hues, and snow was about to cover the whole city. As the day wore on, the sun began its descent, casting long shadows across the cityscape. Streetlights flickered to life, casting their warm glow upon the streets below. The city, once bustling with activity, now seemed to hush and prepare for the blanket of snow that was about to descend upon it. The shops were getting closed, and fewer people were seen on the streets. The chimney on the nearest medical center building was puffing out white blocks of clouds in the air, adding to the whitish milk texture of the snow. The ivy came out of the walls of the buildings like a rabbit freeing from the burrow, with the brick-layered walls serving a 19th-century look. The red brick architecture of the buildings with newly renovated flats immersed in no light colors.

Elaine kissed Megan on her forehead and said, I will be back tomorrow at 9 AM after picking up some breakfast and coffee while coming from home.

Megan smiled and said, Hoping to gorge on the whole chicken soup tomorrow.

Elaine picked up her bag and departed before the constant snow showers made it worse to drive safely on the roads. As soon as she closed the door, Megan glanced around the small private room that was allotted to her with mixed feelings, as she was happy to leave it after so many sick days inside. At the same time, she had a slight attachment to it since she spent so many days in it and had to make it her home for a while. While sitting on her bed, she looked out the window. The sky was getting white as a fairy tale story was about to begin. It was getting dark and chilly outside, with a layer of snowflakes gathered on the edge of the window outside. Megan switched off the lights in her room to get a clear view devoid of the glare of lights inside her room from the window.

With her room on the 4th floor of the hospital building, she was able to get a good glance at the area through her window. She turned out the lights in her room to get a clear view. Some of the lights of the tall buildings in downtown, with a plane passing by like a star moving very fast, As the moonless night draped its cloak over the desolate street, the lone streetlight flickered with a feeble glow, barely illuminating the grim surroundings. The movement of the branches of trees reflected the mild winds passing by, brushing the leaves and bushes. Megan noticed the intensity of snowflakes falling under the yellow light of the street lamp on the footpath.

But as Megan's gaze lingered on the dancing flakes, her attention was drawn to a person emerging from the shadows in the distance. The streetlight's feeble illumination revealed a skinny silhouette, hunched and distorted, moving in an unnatural, crooked manner, and seemed like a skinny girl. Abrupt wild movement: she was having a lot of trouble walking as her uneven gait appeared both agonizing and otherworldly, which got Megan's attention. The girl abruptly came to a halt beneath the street lamp. Megan's eyes widened with growing curiosity as the girl was not moving at all and had been in a halt state for some seconds now, like a scary black mannequin in the cold, freezing winds.

Megan was having her full attention transfixed where the girl on the street was standing. Unnatural for someone to stand barefoot in such cold weather. The pale glow of the moon cast an eerie shadow on the motionless girl, leaving Megan puzzled and unnerved. Soon, the girl on the street slowly tilted her face toward Megan's window without moving any of her body parts. Megan was not expecting anyone on the street to notice her peeking out from the window. All the room lights were off, and nothing was noticeable. The girl's red glaring eyes stared directly through the window at Megan. Megan tried to move away from the window to escape from the attention but the girl kept staring at the window. Megan started feeling anxious and searched for her phone while she had her eyes on the girl. The street light started to flicker intermittently in the growing winds and soon went off, spreading darkness throughout the gloomy street. The crooked girl completely disappeared into the darkness of the street.

Megan's eyes strained to pierce the dense shadows, searching for any other sign of the girl that had occupied her attention. But the absence of light seemed to have swallowed it whole, obscuring its presence from view.

The whole street was dark, with a persistent silence. Every object was hidden by the abyss of darkness on the streets.  After some moments, there was a silent knock on her room’s door. The knock was quite subtle, because of which Megan thought it was just her subconscious imagination, resembling the ticking of the clock on the wall with the door sound. Closing the curtains on the night sky window, Megan laid down on her bed. She tried to make her overthinking mind engulfed in an unsettling silence. The stillness of the night was broken only by the soft hum of distant city