15 Signs Of Murder (Fifteen thrillers)

by Luis Samways

  It was wishful thinking, though. She knew that her ability to walk would be challenged, and if she wasn’t careful, infection could spread. She knew there was only one thing she could do. But then she realized that her daughter hadn’t made a single sound since the intruder came into her rented room. That’s when she began to panic.

  “MARY-LOU!” she screamed.

  It was to no avail; there was still a deadly silence surrounding her. That was when she started to fear the worst. What if the man in her bathtub had shot her little girl? What would she do? How would she live? She’d have to kill herself. That was the only option. It amazed her that she had gotten to that conclusion even before she knew the fate of daughter. It was amazing to her how fast the human brain can calculate its next move before even knowing about the first one. Like chess, she was calculating moves at breakneck speed. She was thinking of all sorts of contingency plans. Planning ahead was the only thing she could do. But then she heard a muffled groan.

  “Mary-Lou????” she shouted. Still there was no answer.

  The dirty bathroom tiles were now caked in blood and steam. She noticed her bruised shins as they were masked in crimson. She attempted to move her toes, but she couldn’t. Cindy flopped onto her front and dragged herself to the half-open bathroom door. She could smell the coppery stench of blood on the floor as she moved herself at a snail’s pace.

  She reached the wooden bathroom door and got a close-up look of the grainy surface. On the other side of the door was the bedroom in which she and Mary-Lou had two separate beds. The bedroom was dark and scary but the incessant need to know if her daughter was still alive outweighed any pain she was feeling. She grabbed onto the sides of the door and hoisted herself up. The rough surface of the door dug into her hands as she gripped tightly around the door’s sides. The door started to slide a little, but she steadied herself. She was up onto her feet. For a second or two she caught a glimpse of herself in the bathroom mirror to the right. It was half fogged-up but painted the picture of the bloodbath in the bathroom. Some brain matter had managed to land on the steamy edges of the mirror. It made Cindy feel unwell, and she looked it. She hardly recognized the person who stared back at her. It was as if witnessing two deaths in one day had changed her appearance. If it wasn’t that, then it was the fact that she was responsible for both of those deaths that made her even more weary.

  She didn’t have time to think. She let go of the door and immediately felt the scorching pain running through both her shins as her body weighed down on her wounds. If she had stitches in her skin, they would have popped, but the only thing popping was the sound of her bones inside her legs. She didn’t know if she could bear to stand any longer, but she needed to know if Mary-Lou was still alive. She turned to the right and balanced on the half-open door some more, this time swinging it open. What she saw made her heart race in her chest. Her daughter was lying on the bed in front of her. The girl didn’t look like she was breathing. Cindy screamed.

  “Mary-Lou, wake up, honey!” she cried.

  There was no response from her daughter. Cindy clenched her fists as the pain seared through her bones. She decided to take a few steps toward the bed. With each one she took, the pain intensified. When she reached the bed, her feet felt like they were on fire. She didn’t acknowledge the pain; she just grabbed her daughter’s shoulders and leaned into the bed.

  “WAKE UP!” she screamed.

  Mary-Lou’s eyes opened and rolled into the back of her head. She tried to blink a few times, but the little girl was unresponsive. Cindy feared the worst and put her finger on the girl’s neck, checking for a pulse. There was a rapid one, but it was strong and frequent. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the cloth next to her baby’s head. She picked it up. It felt damp. She sniffed it, and everything became clear.

  The man had put the cloth to her daughter’s face. It had knocked her out. Mary-Lou would be just fine.

  But then there was a rattle at the door. Two hard knocks.

  BOOM. BOOM.

  Cindy’s heart skipped a beat. What else could possibly go wrong for her?

  And then her worst fears were answered when she heard the voice behind the door say:

  “Die Polizei, die Tür öffnen!”

  Police, open the door!

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  New Germania, Section 8

  The Commander walked into the darkened room, whistling under his breath. The joys of dethroning some of his closest rivals had him in a good mood. It was a good enough mood for him to honor the request of his prisoner Faber, and pay him a visit in person. The darkened room turned into one filled with light as the Commander hit a switch on the wall. The sound of electrical buzzing accompanied by light bulbs bursting into life frightened the captured and blindfolded Sebastian Faber.

  “Hello? Who’s there?” he said under his burlap sack. Faber was sweating profusely and was expecting to be shot dead at any moment. He hadn’t held his breath regarding his safe return to office, and sure wasn’t banking on Commander Klaus realizing his mistakes and letting him go. He knew the Commander was far gone, but he had to try to make him see the light. He just had to.

  “Klaus, is that you?” he said.

  “It’s Commander to you!” Klaus said, throwing his fist back and cracking the blindfolded First Officer in the jaw. The sound of the mighty whack echoed off the walls, reverberating off the Commander’s ears. The guards had left the Commander with the prisoner, and he preferred it that way. He wanted to talk to the former First Officer without hindrance from the others. He knew he could trust his men, but there were certain things best left between certain people. Trust was one thing, compared to sensitivity. The Commander was adamant on keeping sensitive information between the people who needed to know. He didn’t want the wrong information landing in earshot of the wrong men.

  “Hey, you still breathing under there?” Klaus asked playfully.

  There was no response. He slapped Faber across the face a few times. The burlap sack felt rough and wet. Blood was soaking through its fabric, reddening the area where the Commander had slapped him.

  “Yo!” he shouted. Still there was no answer. “Damn it,” Klaus huffed as he got out his box cutters and went to cut the sack off Sebastian’s head. He ripped a hole into the bag and tugged it completely off the First Officer’s head, revealing a bloodied and beaten Faber.

  “I see the guards had some fun with you behind my back,” Klaus said, flicking the box cutter down and putting it into his pocket. “Hey!” he shouted, throwing some drinking water at Faber’s face.

  Suddenly the former First Officer sucked in a lungful of air, and his eyes widened as they opened abruptly under the intensity of the cold water hitting his face. A look of complete shock ran through his face, like he had just been hit with a thousand volts of electricity.

  “Oh, good, you’re alive!” Klaus said sarcastically. He took a few swigs from the water bottle and chucked it over his head. “Oh, you look thirsty. I’m afraid I’m all out of water,” he said, mocking the First Officer.

  The chair wobbled under Faber’s weight as he tried to loosen his restraints.

  “Ah, ah, ah! NO!” Klaus said as he kicked Sebastian in the chest, knocking him and the chair over. Faber landed hard on his back, the chair breaking most of his fall. A slight twinge of pain bolted through his cranium. Klaus took a few steps forward and stood over the half-unconscious Faber. The bright lights above Sebastian’s head shone into his eye sockets, nearly melting his retinas.

  “Oh, God, please don’t kill me! I can be of use to you! I swear it. I won’t let you down, sir, I won’t! I promise!” Sebastian was groveling now. He could hear it in his own voice. He was sickened by his display. A First Officer to the German Empire was surrendering without a fight. He was letting them win.

  “Ah, Faber, you surprise me. I heard you had a proposition for me. My guards said you had a plan to stick it to the Empire, but here you are, crying your eyes out, beggi
ng me for mercy. Don’t you know the rules, Faber? How can I possibly trust a man who broke within the first few hours? You think I can use somebody like you? Cowards don’t belong in the New Empire!”

  Sebastian realized where fate was taking him. The bright lights on the ceiling seemed to darken as a rush of panic went through his system. His chest felt tight, and his brain pressed against his eyes. He was done for. If it wasn’t the old Empire, it would be the new one. He was of no use to anyone.

  “I’m sorry, Commander. I forgot myself. Let me help you accomplish what you need to accomplish. I can help you! I know secrets. I know where nukes and soldiers are placed!”

  Sebastian was grasping at straws. He knew it, and so did the Commander. Klaus took a few more steps closer to the downed Faber. The floor underneath them seemed to vibrate a tad as reality settled in and the possibility of mercy was destroyed.

  “The only thing you can do now, Faber, is die with dignity. But I’m afraid I won’t be allowing that to happen,” Klaus said. He undid the fly to his pants and took his penis out.

  “What are you doing?” Faber asked in horror.

  “What you were doing. Pissing away all hope of a happy ending,” Klaus said.

  He started to urinate all over Faber. Sebastian was stunned and shocked. He tried to close his eyes and mouth, but it was no use. He had already been humiliated. Klaus pulled his zipper back up and gave Sebastian a little wink. His eyes sparkled with delight at the sight of the bloody and soiled Faber.

  “One more thing,” Klaus said, reaching behind his back. “Tell the rest of the traitors in hell that I’ll be coming for them, just as I came for you. I’ll kill all of you motherfuckers twice. Three times if I have to!” Klaus said, drawing his handgun and firing it point blank into Faber’s head. The sight of Sebastian’s head imploding was a marvelous one for Klaus. He was done for the day. Tomorrow would bring more people to kill and an even bigger Empire to piss on.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  I took a few steps forward; the ground beneath me seemed to sink in a little. I wasn’t sure whether or not I was imagining the rumbling under my feet, but somehow I knew something was amiss. A few paces in front of me, the stick figures turned into fully fleshed human beings. They were pointing their guns at me. I still had my hands up in the air, making sure they knew I was of no danger. I slowly made my way toward them. Danni Mendez ran down the field and caught up with the soldiers pointing their weapons at me.

  “Hold your fire — it’s him. It’s the Jew,” she said. The men obliged, lowering their weapons slightly…only slightly, though.

  “The Jew”? I wondered to myself. Charming.

  She could have at least called me by my name.

  “Nice to see you, too, Danni,” I quipped.

  “I would say the same, but a lot of my men died today, all because of you and Jerry,” she replied.

  The ground beneath us continued to shake, vibrating ever so slightly.

  “What is that?” I said out loud.

  “I said, you are responsible for killing a lot of my men,” Danni reiterated.

  I looked around and saw a sea of faces pointing their weapons at me. Some were angry, some were placid, but all of them told various stories through their eyes. They all had a grudge against the enemy, and, like it or not, I was the enemy at that moment. I saw the leaves shaking to my right; they were still attached to some of the trees that surrounded us. I could feel a gust of wind riding up my neck, making my hot flushes of panic even worse.

  “I didn’t kill any of the rebels, that wasn’t me….” I said, feeling half bad for sticking Jerry in the thick of it. I looked behind me and saw Jerry watching from the tree line. He was still on his ass, writhing in great pain.

  “We know it wasn’t you. That was Jerry. Where is that bastard? He too chicken to come and face his makers?” Danni said.

  I was surprised at how ruthless she was coming across. I couldn’t believe the girl I’d met at the underground bunker was the same one I was looking at in the middle of that godforsaken field. It made me angry. What right did she have to be such a jerk? I did nothing to her. Jerry and I were trying to survive. I’d thought things would be different.

  “Look, Danni, if you’re gonna be like that, then I’ll just leave. I thought you’d be happy to see me,” I said.

  The ground underneath me seemed to shake a little harder this time. I didn’t pay it the full attention that it deserved. I was too busy being pissed off.

  “You aren’t going anywhere, Abel. You are mine now, and so is that damn Yank, Jerry,” Danni hissed.

  Her eyes looked cold. Her body language told me everything I needed to know about what she was planning. I turned around as quickly as I could.

  “Jerry, get the hell out of here!” I screamed.

  It was useless. I heard the wisp in the wind before the words had left my mouth. By the time I delivered my orders to Jerry in the tree line, he had been shot in the head. I yelled in frustration.

  “Why! Goddamn it! He made a promise to my brother…” was all I could say.

  Danni walked up beside me and grabbed my hand.

  “So did I. I made a promise that I’d look after you,” she said coldly.

  I couldn’t believe it. I was transfixed by the look of pain on Jerry’s face. He was dead. The bullet had killed him instantly, but somehow it looked as if he had seen it coming. I could see it on his face. He looked sad. The blood trickled down from a neat little hole in the middle of his forehead. His mouth was ajar, and saliva made its way out of the corners of his mouth. He stayed there, in a seated position. The tree behind him had broken his fall, but it didn’t stop his death.

  I dropped to my knees.

  “Jerry,” I said under my breath.

  “Fuck Jerry,” a voice from behind me said. I turned my head slightly and saw it was that big guy who was shooting at us before. He had a thick South African accent. He had a scar across his face. “You’re lucky Danny wants you alive, ay,” he said, sidling up next to her. “Because if it was up to me, you’d be joining your boyfriend over there in Jew heaven.”

  I couldn’t concentrate on anything but Jerry’s face. He was a few meters from me, but I felt as if I was miles away. We should have died together. He was a good man. And the last thing I had said to him was I wasn’t going to be shot…but he might.

  And then I broke into tears.

  “Stop your whining, you little cunt! You are our property now. If you play your cards right, I’m sure Danni will suck your dick for your troubles,” the big South African guy said.

  “Baston, shut your trap. Can’t you see he’s distressed?” Danni replied.

  I didn’t want to live anymore. I was done. Everywhere I went, everyone was the epitome of evil.

  “Fuck him, and fuck the Yank,” Baston said, walking back to the chapel. The rest of the soldiers followed, leaving Danni and me alone. The ground was still shaking. But I was a mess. I had let another person down.

  “It will be all right. I had to let them kill Jerry. He murdered half of our damn crew. Without his death, you would be the one to suffer,” she said, planting her hand on my left shoulder. I was still kneeling on the ground, staring at Jerry from afar.

  “Maybe I didn’t want him to die for me. Maybe I wanted to die. Don’t you get it, Danni? I’m tired of the bloodshed.”

  The ground beneath us rattled violently. This time it was too obvious a rumble to ignore.

  “What in God’s name was that?” Danni asked out loud.

  The sound of gunfire popped off behind us. Both of us turned our heads to see Germans advancing from the tree line near the chapel. A man with a rocket launcher went down on one knee. Another man behind him slotted a rocket into the launcher. He stepped aside, and the man with the RPG shot a missile into the chapel. The white church exploded into a million pieces. The rebels fired back. More men came from the tree line. More gunfire echoed through the night. Then the rumbling grew louder, and an MK12 t
ank crashed through the debris of the chapel. It turned its turret to the right and opened fire on the rebels, ripping them to shreds with its machine gun cannon.

  Danni and I looked at each other in dismay.

  The war was far from over.

  It had just begun.

  “We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”

  Winston Churchill

  The Following is Beacon Of Light. It is one of my very first books and suffers from the lack of an editor. I wasn’t going to include it in this collection, but if I didn’t I wouldn’t have 12 rounds, I’d have 11, so I guess I compromised. Please bear in mind that it isn’t my best work and feel free to skip it if you must. But if you do stick around, I hope you enjoy what I was attempting to do with the book.

  Thanks for getting this far!

  Luis Samways

  Beacon of Light

  Season One

  (Episode’s 1-5)

  Luis Samways

  Beacon of Light

  Episode One

  One

  Present day

  ‘Okay, the signal is up and running. That’s all of them now. Hopefully Conway will appreciate my efforts,’ the techy guy says to the woman beside him. She gives him an inconsistent stare as if to downplay his role in this particular operation.