The Hidden Sin V1 - Chapter 1
Nobody likes to be woken up by the sound of an alarm clock, not even Jake Miller himself. The buzzing, piercing, monotonous sound that resembled a broken mechanical rooster, was ramming through his ears and disturbed his sleep. If he cannot silence the annoying sound, he would go mad and it would stay in his brain most of his teenage life. Luckily, his alarm clock had a reset button so that it would go off the next day. He would rather press that instead of the snooze button because that would only pause the alarm for about ten minutes and it would mock at him again. And that is what he did, he pressed the reset button and fell back asleep. Of course, he would fall back if his Aunt Laura had not walked into his bedroom. �Rise and shine, Jake!� Aunt Laura said with a smile. Jake groaned and tried to shoo her aunt away. �What you talking about?� �Today's the big day.� Laura tried to shaking him. �Graduation day!� Those two words had made Jake's eyes widened. His aunt was right, it was the day of his graduation from Greensburg High School. After twelve years of studies from the alphabet to calculus, after twelves years of doing 'Simon Says' and solving math problems using letters and fractions, the day had finally come for him claim his reward for all the hard work and digesting headache pills. That day, he would get his diploma, walk out of the front entrance of the school and go further in his studies. That wasn't really his plan, though. Jake had no idea what to do with his life after he had done school. When you were a child, you had dreams. Dreams of becoming a doctor, a firefighter, a teacher, any of those professions. But when you grow up, you realize that you have to work at it to become one of those. You can't become a doctor or a teacher just by wishing it. You have to do what your parents had done, which is going to school, get an education and get some training in the field you had wished for since childhood. So to put it in simpler terms, your dream job gets shattered by the harsh concept known as reality. You must work your ass off toward your goal and proving to the people who had already reached that goal that you can be with them or surpass them. Jake had a dream to become a cop, a detective just like his father. But unfortunately, his dream of becoming one had disappeared since his father was shot and killed on duty, at a convenient store in Carlton City, located about four hundred kilometres North of Greensburg. He an his mother had moved to Greensburg when he was only six, due to the fact that his father was so dedicated to his job and felt by staying at Carlton City would help clean it up. His mother did not want her family to be raised in a city full of crime and corruption but wanted a quiet, peaceful life, a place where Jake can feel comfortable and not being afraid. So, without divorcing, Jake's father had promised to visit them every month on a weekend to spend some quality time with his family. But there was one month that he never showed up, and that was when they heard the bad news. Jake had finally got out of bed and went to the bathroom for a morning shower. After he was finished, he looked himself in the mirror. He saw the reflection of a lazy-looking sixteen-year-old schmuck with his short, chestnut hair soaked in hot water. He stared into the his hazel eyes with a smirk on his face. �Way to go, you lucky bastard.� he said to his mirrored twin. After he dried himself and got changed, his aunt called out from underneath him for breakfast. After a short trip down the stairs he saw a foot-long stack of pancakes sitting on the centre of the dining table. He also realized that he won't be having breakfast alone since his nine-year-old cousin Becky was already sitting at the right side of the table, eating cereal and reading her comics without a single care in the world. The usual pony-tailed, freckled-faced, tooth-missing child was a bit of a handful but she had always managed to cheer her big cousin up when ever Jake felt down. Because not only he lost a good father, he also lost his mother. She had committed suicide upon great depression which began with his father's death. He couldn't remember much but it happened one month after his father's funeral, and remembered what he saw that night. The six-year-old Jake was about to go to the bathroom when he heard a faint noise, a faint creaking noise like an old rocking chair. And just like every curious little boy, he went to see where that noise was coming from. The upstairs hallway was dark by the night sky with only a little light coming through the window at the end, beaming from a nearby street light. The hallway had stretched down and made a sharp, left turn to where his mother's bedroom would be found. Following the creaking noise, he slowly walked toward the sound down the hallway but feeling a bit scared. Every child in his age had always been afraid of things that go bump in the night, like the bogeyman or monsters in their closets or gremlins under their beds. And just like every child in his age, he was hoping none of those things would appear out from the darkness as he traverse further down the hallway. As soon as he reached the end toward window, he slowly turned left to where the path had stopped. In front of him was a door that was slightly opened inward and a little light from what he assumed it was a night lamp next to her mother's bed. The creaking noise was louder and Jake reached out his little fingers, gently pushing the door. When it finally opened wide enough for Jake to see in, he saw where the creaking noise was coming from. Up on the ceiling was a small lamp with a dirty, old rope tied to it, making the creaking noise due to a slow, swinging motion and by whatever weight it was being held on. Jake's eyes followed the rope downward to which it formed several horizontal loops and the last loop was found around a pink-skinned neck. It was wrapped around it so tight that even veins were shown popping out, trying to get the blood through. Then he saw the entire image, and froze with shock. His mother's face was shown with her cold blue eyes staring into nothingness with no smile, no laughter, no life at all. There were tears on her face that signified that she had cried before she became what her son had seen. She was an empty shell, a shadow of her former self. Jake had even called out to her but there was no answer, not a single voice, not a single breath. It was as if she had disappeared from the face of the earth and left this empty shell hanging by the neck. Jake was so in shock the he could not remember anything that happened before that. His doctor said he had suffered some sort of memory loss due to what happened and even during his graduation he still couldn't remember the time between her suicide and the last time she smiled at him. All he had known is that after his mother's funeral, her sister Laura decided that he should live with her for the time being. She was so close to her sister that she couldn't believe that a kind and gentle woman had decided to take her own life and there was no suicide note not even a written letter to her loved ones. Laura had thought that she had gone so deep in her depression that even writing a note would be painful. Jake had missed his mother so much that every night he would stare at the photo of the two of them and shed a tear. Greensburg High School was flooded with families gathering together anxiously for the ceremony. Some of them were still standing outside while the rest were in the school's gymnasium, waiting patiently and talking to each other. Many of them had their digital cameras and picture phones in handy for when the time their child received their diploma, they would take a snap shot to capture the moment. Families, relatives, and friends were glowing with proud faces, except for one family. The married couple were smiling but they had also shown signs of sadness, as if they had lost their child but also have hope in their hearts for that child's safe return. About one week before Graduation Day, one of the Greensburg High School graduates, who was also a valedictorian, was reported missing. The seventeen-year-old girl's goal in life was to become a psychiatrist and had received full recommendation from her chemistry teacher, Dr. William Cummings. He was suffering from an emotional breakdown since his wife was killed in a freeway accident and had shown potential signs of suicide. He wasn't so sure if he wanted to continue on with his life while suffering this terrible loss. He would just kill himself just to see her again, but Karen Hannah had convinced him that taking his own life just to see her wife again is not the way. His wife wouldn't even want that from him and even if he did, he would probably suffer even more in the afterlife. Karen told him that if he kept her wife so close to her heart and kept memories of her alive, then she would be standing next to him smiling. She would wanted him to move on and live happily with her in spirit and they will eventually be together again. The entire session had made tears in the doctor 's eyes and personally went to the principal of the school to recommend Karen full scholarship for her future studies in psychiatry. Though it was sad to think that she may have missed the opportunity. Karen had been missing for several days and without no clue where she had gone and her parents had been waiting patiently for her safe return. When the police arrived at their house they searched her bedroom for anything that might give a clue to where she had gone, like a letter, note or even photograph. But what they found in her upstairs bedroom was a bit peculiar. On the floor behind a tipped over chair near her desk was a huge black stain on the wooden floor. The stain somehow shaped in a peculiar way that resembled a silhouette of a person, a possible silhouette of Karen. The stain was deep into the wood itself like it was either burned or painted on. This had made the police confused but with all confusion aside, they decided to locate her by any means. But after a week of searching and asking questions around the town, there was no lead, no hint to where she may have gone. Jake was in his homeroom classroom as well as all of his graduating classmates. After glancing at them for a few minutes, he was thinking of the friends he had made through out his school life and how this memorable day where they all get their diplomas, go on their separate ways and fulfill their ultimate dream. But he was sure that he would cross paths with them sometime in the near future. There was one classmate that he admired most was Alice Craig, aiming to become a fashion designer. Her gentle face and kind smile reminded him of his mother when she last smiled at him. Her brunette hair was fine and natural looking, all the way down between her shoulder blades and her blue eyes were bright and calm. Her voice was soft as if the heavens have given her the voice of an angel. Whenever she spoke, it was like Jake's worries and anxieties had been washed away and made him smile even for short while. But even a girl as beautiful and talented as her, Jake had no chance of having her since she was dating Jason Baker. Back in Junior High, Jason Baker was the usual bully. Always pushing people around, gotten away with trouble, looking down on others. He was always a real bully to Jake, always claiming that he was gonna steal Alice away from him by making threats. Even when Alice approached Jake just by friendly means, he made stupid claims that he was seducing her. Jason was a real sports jockey, though he could not seem to stay in one sport. At first he wanted to do baseball. Then as years went by he wanted to do basketball. But then, closing in on his graduation, he changed his mind again and decided he wanted to do football mainly because he was a tough guy and liked pushing, shoving and tackling people all over the place. Luckily for him, after graduation, he would go up North to Carlton City and to meet the coach for city's team for try-outs. With his ginger-coloured hair, pudgy face and medium build, he would resemble a cartoon character who happened to be a sports nut equipped with an empty, one-tracked mind. Then there was Carol Graham, another bright student in Jake's graduating class. Her appearance seemed well deserved but what got all the boys at school thought was why that when she had her back toward people, she resembled a beautiful swimsuit model while her front side revealed a nerdy-looking, redheaded braces glittering bookworm of a girl. Her too was aiming to become a psychiatrist but in terms of criminal psychiatry. She was best friends with Karen Hannah and the second rated student in the entire class. And due to no sign of finding where Karen had disappeared to, the principal of the school chosen Carol to do the valedictory speech in her stead. Carol was already prepared for the ceremony and Jake and the rest had donned their black robe, each of them with a golden collar around their necks. Their mortar board had sat neatly on their heads with their golden tassells hanging on the left side of the board. They would not touch those until they have received their diplomas and their principal gave them the cue. They walked toward the front doors of the gymnasium facing inward while their families and relatives were waiting patiently. And just before the music started, Jason Baker turned his head to his left to where Jake was standing. �Jake,� the big jock whispered. �You're a good guy to push around. So no hard feelings?� Jake turned toward the giant monster and saw his paw secretly reaching out to him. This was the first time Jason showed some respect to the people below him since it would probably the last time those two will see each other eye to eye. Jake had no excuse to accept this friendly moment, so he shook Jason's hand with grace. �Let me know when you make it in the football team.� Jake whispered back. �Sure thing. Maybe you could be an excellent mascot.� a slight laugh was heard from his foul breath. A mascot to Carlton City's football team, some dream job, Jake thought sarcastically. The eighth grade musical band started blaring out through their instruments as the song 'Pomp and Circumstance' filled the gymnasium. For the graduates, they would have to walk along with the beat of the music. Right foot forward, left foot joined, left foot forward, right foot joined. They would have to walk like that all the way down the pathway that had split the crowd in two toward a platform of chairs. Most of them tried not to look at their families' proud faces for they may lose the rhythm in the walk. But Jake had glanced at his aunt Laura and his little cousin Becky waving in the middle of the left half of the crowd, but all he had ever thought was seeing his parents standing there waving and smiling at him. Even if they were both gone, he would still see them in the front row facing the stage. He knew that he had made them proud. Jake glanced at another family he recognized, Karen's parents. Her mother was crying while the father held her in her arms. It was sad that Karen had not been part of the walk, and she would always imagine her precious daughter walking down with her glowing smile. Jake was hoping Karen would be safe and sound since he was just as much of a friend to her as he was with Alice Craig. Jake had silently did a quick prayer in his heart, praying alongside others for Karen to be back home. As soon as the graduating class arrived at the platform of chairs, each seat had a their names labeled so when they leave, they would go out in the same manner. By the time they sat down and music had finished, the school's principal, Dale Winston walked up to the podium. He was a strict, middle-aged man who also happened to be a bit patriotic. People in town had thought he was using his strict attitude because he wanted to show the school's true nature and purpose, but others believed his strictness was just for show and trying to make an image of himself in front of the public and his superiors. When he spoke into the microphone, the sound of a cross between a leader and a obnoxious foreigner from England boomed through the stage speakers. �Ladies and gentlemen of Greensburg town.� He said valiantly. �I welcome you all to another time of year when our children will be taking an important journey into the world we all know. They will step out of this building with the sense of success in their hearts and filled with opportunities as they venture forth toward their ultimate dream.� Principal Winston liked to hear his own voice as well as having them heard by others. He believed that the entire school acted as the centre of the world, or his world if I one would put it. And that his voice would signify a true sense of academic achievement. In other words, he wanted Greensburg High School to be better than all the others. But basically he just wanted the promotion to superintendent so he can run the schools they way he imagined it. Half of the townspeople admired his dedication, but his intentions were too selfish. He just wanted to be top of the academic world with absolutely no care about the people around him and the students whom they would look up to. And none of them blamed him for it, since his father was like that to him back in England. �It is with great honour to begin this ceremony with an opening speech from our highest rated student of 2009, Karen Hannah. Unfortunately we all know about her recent disappearance and I pray for her and her family that she would return home safely. So our second-highest rated student and Karen's colleague Carol Graham will be performing the opening speech in which Miss Hannah had prepared for us on this memorable occasion.� Carol Graham stood up from her seat and walked down the metal steps, heading toward the wooden, white painted steps to the stage. Jake took a quick glance at her when she had her back toward her classmates and he was still dumbfounded by her appearance. Smooth looking legs, curvy waist and fine shoulders were key elements of a beauty model. And her small, white shoes with golden butterflies sitting neatly on her ankle strap showed a sign on innocence and pure kindness that completed her personality. It was all heaven for the boys in her class until she reached the podium showing her nerdy-looking visage. �Families and friends,� she spoke lightly in the microphone with slight slurring noise due to her braces. �Since her disappearance, my dear and caring friend, Karen Hannah had written a speech for us all and I will read to you what she had prepared for this important day.� Jake wasn't really paying much attention to the speech that was given out, though he was concentrated on Karen's parents who were sitting, listening to every word that their beloved daughter had written and believed that she would have been proud of Carol to do this job for her. But things started to change when Jake saw a policeman entering the gymnasium. It was the town sheriff's deputy Alan Craig, Alice's brother. He quietly walked up to Karen's parents and whispered something to them. Whatever Alan had said to them, the mother was soaked in more tears then ever and Alan had escorted the Hannah family toward the main doors of the gymnasium. �What was that about?� Alice whispered to Jake. �I don't know,� he replied. �But I don't think its good news.� �And when the time comes when we are ready for what is ahead of us,� Carol continued with the speech as Karen's parents went outside, �we will continue on and strive for a better tomorrow.� The crowd applaud with so much grace. Karen's heart and soul was in that speech and Carol had delivered it to the masses. Jake didn't applaud as much since he was still worried about what Alan had told Karen's parents. �On a final note,� Carol continued on, �I would also like to point out...� Everything had suddenly gone dark. All the lights in the gymnasium were out and the only light source that everyone was able to see was the emergency lights above the main doors and the side doors. One of the teachers had appeared behind the crowd with his hands up in the air. �It's okay, people!� he yelled out to the crowd. �One of the fuses has blown, we'll have light in no time.� Then the emergency lights had begun slowly to fade out. This school had been known for several power outages and the backup generator for the emergency lights was as old as the Vietnam war. Every time the lights in our classroom would go out, a few of us would cheer and yelled out �Let's get naked!� Most likely Jason Baker would say something like that. Though he did not said anything when the emergency lights had finally gone out a few moments later. It was completely dark, and no one can see each other, not even the person next to them. A few seconds later a couple of cigarette lighters were lit but it wasn't enough to reveal everyone's faces. There was some mumbling in the crowd and a small sense of panic, but their mumbling had suddenly stopped when a high-pitched scream pierced through their ears. The scream was acute and made everybody's blood turn cold as a block of ice and possibly made certain heart beats skip and almost losing their rhythm. As soon as the lights came back on, everyone was visible. Every person, student and teacher were finally revealed in the light...except for Carol Graham.
Copyright © 2010 R J Levesque |