The school bell rang, and David knew where he had to go; to the police station. It had been nine days since the last murder which left four days until the next one if his theory was correct.
He hoped to find Sarah, so he didn’t feel so awkward about going; however, she was nowhere to be found. Probably still fuming over him for whatever reason…women are a strange species. The police station was a bit of a walk from the school. The May rain felt nice with the light mist in the air.
As he arrived, he asked the clerk if he could speak to an officer, and she asked him to have a seat. At that point, he wished he had brought a book or something to do because he hated waiting with nothing to do. To keep his mind occupied, he counted the tiles on the chess-like floor. After close to a half hour, Police Officer Cook strolled out and quickly beckoned David into his office with an annoyed look on his face.
Officer Cook was a young officer who thought he knew everything. David was immediately disappointed to have to talk to him out of all the officers in the place. He was known to be especially demeaning toward high school students. His stone brown eyes caused others to feel as if they had a gun pointed at them, and on top of that, he was known for being one of the most physically fit officers on the police force. “So, what brings you here?”
“I just thought maybe…”
“First your name kid.” Cook interrupted. David could hear the demeaning tone in his voice.
“Sorry…David.”
“So, what brings you here David? My secretary said you think you might have a lead on the student murder case.” Cook did not attempt to hide his sarcasm. David was not certain if he wanted to tell Cook knowing he would be ridiculed, but he was here already and there was no point in holding back. “Well, I noticed that all the murders took place thirteen days apart.”
“And…?” Cook responded with his eyes drilling holes into David’s brain.
“Well, that’s it, you don’t think that means anything?” David suddenly felt foolish even bringing this up. Perhaps there was nothing to it; however, David believed that all angles should be considered no matter how insignificant they seemed.
“Look kid, I’m not here to waste my time on some teenager’s stupidstitious beliefs. I’m here to find criminals and put them in jail using hard evidence. Now, unless you have a real lead, don’t bother me again.” With that Cook mentally shoved him out of his office.
David was discouraged and angry, and the outside mist no longer felt good as it heightened his despair. He didn’t understand why Cook wouldn’t listen to him, and then be a jerk on top of it. He always thought it was better to hear someone out rather than dismiss something that could be important. Then again, Sarah often accused him of not listening when she wanted to discuss her conspiracy theories. It wasn’t easy having a difference in opinions from his best friend, but things were as they were.
* * *
When Sarah went home, she went to her bedroom and broke down in tears. How could my best friend not defend me against the school’s biggest jerk? She felt a strong mixture of anger and sadness. It would have been better if he hadn’t stepped in at all, but no, he had to make it seem like I was the one going too far!
Her bedroom was her place of refuge. When she was home, she often stayed there to avoid her dad’s drunken tantrums when he arrived home on the weekends and evenings. She decorated her walls with posters of fairies and owls. She had an altar at the east side of the room with candles placed in certain places throughout. A single bed was at the other side of the room with a dresser between the bed and altar.
From childhood, she had a fascinating gift. It was one that she told no one in real life about. She could perform meditation, and enter into an altered state of consciousness where she would enter another world. She wasn’t sure if it was like a parallel world, but it was a place where she found peace. She decided to do this now and put in a CD with a Shamanistic drumbeat. The sound of the beat helped induce her into a relaxed state of mind, which helped her enter this other world.
Within ten minutes, she entered the other world. The beauty always put her at ease. She normally found herself in a wooded area with tall pine trees and bright green grass. The sun shone bright in the evening sky. Unlike the real world, animals were not afraid of her here. A squirrel walked up to her, as she bent over to pet it. After a few minutes, she began walking, and a little owl flew down to greet her. Its yellow eyes pierced Sarah to the soul. Then it turned its nine-inch brown and white speckled body and flew off. It flapped its wings a few times and pulled its wings in briefly for a time and repeated this process of bounding flight. This was nothing unusual for her. She had done some studying on Shamanism, and it was common for a Shaman to have an animal spirit guide while doing a spiritual journey.
Sarah followed the owl until she reached the edge of the forest. She came upon a familiar grove, which she sometimes visited while being in this world. When she came to this place, she often learned valuable information. In fact, a year ago, it was told to her that if she walked her usual path to the school, which led through the woods, she would be attacked by a rapist. Sure enough, a strange man had been discovered out in that part of the woods stalking younger females, and it was revealed in his records that he formerly spent five years in prison for sexual assault on a minor. Fortunately, no one was attacked that day since most of the females did not walk that path alone. Sarah, who always walked alone, would have been a more likely target.
She trusted the information given to her in the grove. The path in the forest led directly to the center of it. The grove was surrounded by olive trees. Their twisted appearance gave them an ancient feel. Sarah guessed that they were not much more than thirty feet in height. The green leafs gave off a silver glare; an unusual appearance compared to the trees Sarah was familiar with in the real world.
The little owl bound into the grove before Sarah and temporarily flew out of sight. When Sarah entered the grove, she no longer saw the owl, but instead a woman.
She stood close to six feet tall. Although young in appearance, her eyes shone with eternal wisdom. Around her body she wore a white toga, giving her a mystical authoritative quality along with her blue tunic. Her breasts were covered with steel along with her forearms and biceps. A golden battle helmet covered her head with a red plume in the center.
Sarah bent down on one knee to honor the Goddess Minerva. Minerva came over and put her hand on Sarah’s shoulder. Within her mind, Sarah could hear the voice of the Goddess. “My dear child; an evil plot is unfolding which might bring the world into a state of chaos and darkness. There has been great turmoil within the spiritual world, which may soon shift into the physical.”
Sarah then spoke back using her mind. “Is there anything I can do, my Lady?”
“Yes. Know that the happenings in your area are just the beginning of this great turmoil entering your realm. Keep your friendship with David strong, as that may be necessary in the future. There are forces operating to break apart that friendship. As strange as it may seem, your friendship may prevent things from going too far. Go now, show the world your light and love, and be an example. You may not see me, but I will be at your side giving you guidance and wisdom.”
With that, the Goddess disappeared, and Sarah was left alone. It was always an honor to speak with Minerva. In Roman mythology, she was known as the Goddess of wisdom, defensive war, and weaving among other things. She was also the Goddess that Sarah felt closest to. She was known as the equivalent of the Greek Athena.
Sarah walked back out of the grove and into the forest. As she walked, something grabbed her attention. She noticed a clump of grass, and within that clump, there were a few brown pieces of grass. In normal everyday life, this would not have grabbed her attention. However, she had never noticed decay of any sort within this realm. She knew what Minerva had spoken to her was true, but seeing this decay struck her heart sharply.
It wasn’t long after this that the Shamanistic drum beat came to an end, and she was able to bring herself back to the present. Sarah sat up in her bed and thought long moments about what she had just heard. The words, “your friendship may prevent things from going too far,” echoed in her mind. She could feel her pulse beating while she thought that in some ways, the deities depended on her to do the right thing. Yeah, she was angry with David but that would pass. However, she was concerned Minerva could see the bigger picture, and that a great challenge lay ahead for her and David’s friendship.
There was no way she could go to David about this. She could not even tell him about her spiritual journeys, as he would say that she was dreaming. Maybe one day he would be more open minded and she could explain it to him, but until then she would remain silent. She stared at the phone in the bedroom, hoping David would call and things would be fine.
* * *
After David went home and ate some dinner, he contemplated on whether to call Sarah or not. He knew she was angry, and he didn’t want an argument. Finally, he gave in and called her. She seemed glad that he had called, but David apologized anyway “for earlier,” even though he didn’t know exactly what he was apologizing for. It seemed to work, and Sarah remained pleasant.
He told her about how the murders happened thirteen days apart, and that the cops would not listen to him.
“Of course the cops wouldn’t listen to an eighteen-year-old boy, especially if you talked to Cocky Cook. He’s got his head so far up his you-know-what that his stomach acids constantly burn away at brain cells of humbleness.” Sarah replied with sarcasm.
“Yeah, that’s for sure.” David said with a chuckle. “He shouldn’t even be a cop with his attitude.”
“Heck, with his attitude, he should be in a Nazi concentration camp. Maybe that would knock him off his horse of arrogance.”
“Doesn’t your father know him?” David recalled seeing her father and Officer Cook talking over coffee at a local restaurant.
At this Sarah was silent for a moment. David sensed that she was troubled. When she spoke again, she changed the subject. “Hmm, it is interesting that the murders were thirteen days apart.”
“Yeah. Do you think it means something?”
“Not sure, but thirteen is an interesting number.”
“Why? Because the number symbolizes bad luck?”
“No. It has deeper meaning than that.”
“How so?”
“I don’t know everything behind it. Many researchers recognize it as the day that the Knight Templars were rounded up and arrested. Some take it back further and relate it to the Last Supper.”
“The Last Supper…as in Jesus and his apostles?”
“No. The last supper we had together. We had thirteen candles lit, remember?”
“Huh?” David was confused.
“Of course I’m referring to Jesus and his apostles silly. There were thirteen people there. Some believe that Judas was the last to arrive; therefore, the number thirteen is symbolic for rebellion. I also think that thirteen is a number used by secret societies, but I’d have to go back and figure that out.”
David didn’t say anything to that. He knew Sarah was genuine with what she believed, but it still irritated him. He could not fathom the idea that secret societies pulled the strings of government and were working their way to control the population.
Sarah interrupted his thoughts, “I will look into this more and see what I can come up with. It’s hard to go by since there have been only three murders. I will also see if there is any significance to the dates of the murders.”
“Sounds good to me.” David said; a little skeptical of the idea that the dates would have any significance. “I will continue to see what I can find out myself.” At that, they got off the phone.
David had many questions running through his head. Why would ordinary students be interested in the number thirteen? What other bizarre things would he find out? Part of him was wondering if the dates did play a role.
That’s when it occurred to him - at least three out of six of the students involved had their birthdays early in the year. It seemed like they took place in January.
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