Fields of Darkness

"When darkness branches to your soul, light still finds a way to rise"

– Angie Weiland-Crosby

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I walked slowly down the hallway, my clutch in hand. The entire walk seemed to last forever as I made my way down the hall where the criminal was being held. Step by step I followed the guard, and after a short walk we finally arrived.

"Are you sure you want to do this Ma'am?" asked the prison warden.

Looking at the officer, I nodded.

"Because of your history with the prisoner, he will be restrained, do not cross the red line on the floor." Nodding again, he opened the door and let me into the room. Taking a deep breath, I looked at the man standing before me. Not a single thing had changed about him. His hair still dark, and eyes as piercing and empty as ever.

Standing there, only a meter away, I locked eyes and watched as he smirked slightly.

"It's nice to see you again, Emily." He spoke. Walking forward, I stepped close to the line, unafraid. I couldn't afford to be afraid of him, not anymore. No more hiding, no more fear, no more living in a perpetual state of anxiety and terror.

Standing tall, I looked at him and said:

"I am here for your execution..." Looking over at the wall, I noted the time: 10:42. "I just need to ask you one thing... Why? Why did you do what you did to me, to us, to every woman you victimized?"

"Because I could." He said, as cold as ever. "But because I so badly wanted a child, I had to do what I did." Looking at him in the eyes, all it reminded me of the best worst thing to happen to me: Harry.

"I want to see my son." He said.

"My son. Not yours. Legally you gave up that right because of what you did to me and all those women." I stated.

Chuckling, I watched him restrained but strolled about the room.

"He will always be my son, my legacy." He said. "You'll never escape it."

"But he is nothing like you." I spoke. "He is kind, gentle, empathic. He understands what you are, what you did to me. He is better than you,"

Raising his eyebrow, he walked up to me, almost to the point I could smell his breath, the only thing holding him from being any closer was the steel wire.

"Before I die. I want to see him, Emily." He said, his manipulative side showing. "So badly. I love him, you know that."

He was truthful. In some twisted way, he cared for his flesh and blood. He could not care about any other breathing creature, but his son was different.

"If I let you, before they make you do the final walk. Will you give me the names of all of your victims, those who survived, those who did not?"

"If I can see Harry, one last time. I will."

"Maybe it won't redeem you, but I hope it gives you peace." I said to him. "So give me the names. All of them."

"Okay. There's more than just the 18. Do you have something to write with?" Nodding, I reach into my clutch and pull out a small notepad and clicked on my pen and began writing.

As I wrote down the names, he gave me what they looked like, their ages, and where they were buried. Some of their descriptions matched some of his trophies, and mementos from them.

After I finished jotting down the names, I looked at the list. Forty-Nine names.

"They are all..." I trailed off as I looked at the compiled list of the names.

"Dead. Not all were intentional. The first one? I killed her when I was 14." He spoke. The prisoner looked at me and smiled. "Next to Dinara, you are the only survivor. I mean, you survived the longest. We aren't that different, you and I."

"You are wrong." I rebuked

"Am I, Emily?" He asked. "I tried to manipulate you into doing everything for me and our son. But in the end, you managed to gain my trust, and manipulated me and took Harry away from me."

"That's where you are wrong. We all have darkness in us, I certainly do. But, unlike you, I can control it, and I live with it." I spoke. "Not you, you live with the darkness, and unleash it upon everyone. So does your brother."

"Perhaps." He said. I watched as he glanced up at the clock before facing me. "Bring Harry to me. We had a deal."

Looking at him, I frowned.

"What?" He asked, "To be afraid to bring him to me, you live in fear of me, thing is even after I am dead, I still own you. I'll haunt you until the day you die."

"Harry, he passed away six months ago." I said, barely able to say the words.

"What?" He asked. "You are lying."

"I'm not. The cancer won."

Taking a steep back, he looked at the ground distraught. Defeated. The one thing he wanted, he lost. The only good thing to happen out of what happened to me, had died.

"You fucking lied!" He roared, walking forward until the steel chain held him back. "You fucking lied so you can get that information."

"I know. But I promised Brenda, I wouldn't stop until I found everyone." I stated proudly. "That is what I am going to do. Make sure not one person is forgotten."

Turning around on my heels, I walked to the door and knocked on it. Waiting, I saw the prison warden open it, turning around, I looked at him before leaving