Sylvie

Elle walked along a partly hidden path following Angelie at a distance.  Lucid beyond what she wanted to be, Elle knew that she was dreaming of her ex-girlfriend that was saying nothing, but making motions.

-Dreams mean so many things, Elle.  What is this one a goodbye, perhaps?-

Aware of the dream or not, she still couldn’t control the overall outcome.  Elle knew that she could wake up and end it at any time but not control when or where the misty thoughts would take her.  Following Angelie lasted a few seconds then the scene washed over with a white cloud and a blink of an eye later, Elle was standing in her living room watching the television.

‘Terrorist Attack in Central Virginia.  Channel 14 News is here to bring you the latest updates with the ongoing attack on a long-standing business.’

“This is about a year ago, just before…”

-Knock, knock, knock- “Special Agent Miller?  We have a warrant to search the premises.”

Recalling how the initial sequence went, Elle had been sitting on the sofa looking at the live feed in shocked silence.  Knowing that the initial result ended with every warrant issued ultimately being tossed out for technicalities, Elle let herself answer a little better than what actually happened. “Come on in fellas, I know the warrant says to search Angie’s stuff.  That would be the room on the right after the living room.  Stay out of everything else.”

Appearing to go just as she lived it, Elle settled on the sofa and thought about the collection that Homeland Security gathered.  They boxed up a majority of her military uniforms, all of her strategy manuals, pressured leadership books, and the few beauty things like her brush for DNA.  Unconcerned about the past, Elle turned up the television to see if there was something being said that she’d not paid attention to.

“Agent Miller.”  A man with black hair turned to face the sofa. “I am Agent Blake Moss, and I have the unfortunate duty to place you under arrest at this time.”

Slowly getting to her feet, Elle raised one slender eyebrow. “This isn’t how it goes, Agent Moss.”

Curling his finger to indicate that he wanted Elle closer, Agent Moss stared at Elle and pointed into Angelie’s room. “Can you possibly explain what we are looking at, Agent Miller?”

Once Elle looked into the room she knew immediately what the concern was.  The room was covered in blood with some of it still dripping down from the ceiling and forming tiny pools in the beige carpet.  Centered in the room, Angelie Kino’s body lay half mangled and half eaten, with twin holes all over the body.  “This is all wrong, I don’t know a thing about this.”  Elle pointed to the massacre in the room before starting to dry heave.

Blake looked around the room as Elle’s composure slowly returned. “I see the color in your face again, that is good.”  He placed a set of handcuffs loosely around her wrists and set her back on the sofa before turning to another of his helpers. “Call Forensics, no one else gets access to this room before their sweep is done.”  Agent Moss walked over to the sofa and sat down with Elle. “You know confession is good for the soul.  You cooperate and I can keep this in Virginia’s jurisdiction, where there is no death penalty.”

“What?  You think I did this?  I just finished saying that everything's wrong.  You were only supposed to pick up her brushes, make-up, books on military command…that sort of thing.”  Elle frantically ran through the events to make sure she was not going crazy.

“Uh, Agent Moss?  There is more you should see.  Put on a clean suit first.”  Blake motioned for two other agents, “Kindly watch Agent Miller while I check this out.”  The two nodded and took secure positions watching Elle without so much as blinking.

Still aware that her situation was completely illusionary and a dream of an alternate reality, Elle decided to take a deeper look into the background and what was being said.  By chance, Elle looked down and noticed that the living room carpet had become a plain apple red in color. “I hate the color red.”  Elle sighed. “What does it all mean?”

Before she could puzzle out where the dream was headed, Blake returned holding his work phone. “How do you explain the crucifix in the closet, Elle?”  He handed her the phone and let her look at the evidence.

“Wow, handing you the investigation on a platter.  No need to check any sources or DNA, or fingerprints.  You have the mountain of convictions right there.”  Elle huffed, “Obviously I am the cross-killer.”  She rolled her eyes. “Seriously, when have you ever had all the evidence you wanted?”  When Agent Moss shrugged, Elle continued. “This has been fun guys, but I have to go now.”

Closing her eyes and focusing on her fluffy pillows, Elle felt the dream dissipate and she startled herself awake, then sat up panting.

-The overwhelming pattern was some shade of red.-

Elle ran the line in her head a few times before scrubbing the sleep from the corners of her eyes and scratching her short hair. “Ugh, waking up like that always stinks.”  Elle slouched over as though she was going to go back to sleep when she heard a knock at her front door. “I’ll be right there, give me a couple minutes!”  She glanced at the digital red numbered clock that was steady showing the time 7:30 am

-Unreal.-

Grabbing a few items off the floor where she left them the night before, Elle pulled up a set of jeans and a grey athletic tee with the block letters ‘FBI’ imprinted on the front.  She then brushed her hair a bit and tied it up in a ponytail.  Satisfied that she at least looked partly human, Elle walked to the door and peered through the peephole. “Who is it?”  She inquired briefly.

“I am Charles Sheppard, Doctor in anthropology for the local university.  Can I please come in?”  The professor held up his faculty card as evidence. “I was told by Noah that you are looking into strange things?”

Reluctantly opening the door, Elle looked around the hallway before letting Charles into her home. “Please come in, you got here rather early.  I hadn’t even gotten up for work yet.”  She paused and showed the doctor to the sofa. “Would you like some coffee while I check in at work, let my boss know what’s going on?”

“Sure, coffee sounds nice.  Just please don’t tell anyone I am here.  I am trying to stay kinda hidden.”  Charles looked frightened.

“No problem.”  Elle reassured the balding professor and dialed Sarah’s cell. “...Deputy Director Powell, this is Agent Miller.  I sent you my current leads that I am following up with today.  Unless you need me to come to the main building, I was going to head back out to Colonial Heights and trace steps and take pictures.”  She hit the red button to end the call just as the pot of water started to boil. “I love a quick boil pot.”  Elle laughed, “What kind of coffee do you like?  I have a hazelnut I was going to make, but I have about a hundred different flavors.”

“H-hazelnut sounds great.”  The professor got off the sofa and sat down in a chair where the back faced the bedrooms. “I just have a feeling like there is a target on my back, Agent Miller.”