Enigma Of The Killer Lecturer

The Sign

David was stunned, he was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to say and what kind of reaction he should show Soraya.

"So, what really happened between you and Mr Stanley?" David asked coldly. Suddenly, his attention was focused on the relationship between Soraya and their lecturer.

"Nothing happened! I only stayed at his house that night!"

"What? Staying at his house? Why?"

"There was a problem going on between me and my roommate, Kerry Smith. I can't tell what the problem was. So, that night after arguing with her, I decided to go and find a hotel to stay. However, I was followed by two strangers and in a panic, Mr Stanley's car pulled up near me and he told me to get in."

"And you did?"

"Yes, I stayed at his house that night. But, nothing happened between me and him! I just slept on the couch until morning and he drove me home. I think that's when Kim saw me!"

"Tsk, geez! Anyone in Kim's position would have bad thoughts. You got out of a man's car in the early hours of the morning and that man is a our young lecturer. Everyone would have misunderstood!"

"I know, but I had no choice then!"

"Why didn't you call me? Why didn't you just ask me for help?" David asked disappointed.

"I don't want to bother you, Diana and Kim. Besides, I didn't know it would turn out like that. I-"

"All right, the important thing is that nothing happened between you and Mr Stanley." David said. It was obvious that he was jealous.

The insensitive Soraya thought that David might be as suspicious as Kimberly. But what David felt was different, he was disappointed because he loved Soraya.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?" Asked James who walked up to them with a pale face.

"James? Are you here too?" David asked.

"Yeah, I've been here since 7am. I want to be the first to see the progress!"

"So, has there been any progress?"

"Would you like to come with me and take a look? The police found a rope wrapped around a tree trunk growing in the middle of the lake!"

"Rope?"

"Yes, after a search. The police found a suspicious rope and they will find out what it is!"

Soraya was silent, she felt a big hammer hit her head. Rope, trees and lake. It made her instantly remember the dream she had last night.

Her body shaking, Soraya began to feel a very bad panic attack. Her pale face worried David and James.

"Soraya, are you okay? What's wrong with you?" James asked who just realized there were bruises on the corners of Soraya's lips and temples.

James looked straight at David, it worried him and thought he was the only clueless person here.

"Sora, want me to take you to hospital? You look so pale!" David said.

"N-no, I'm fine. I just-" Her chest was tight and sore. Her tears started to flow. She felt very afraid, a fear that made her unable to if what she saw in her dream became a sign.

"No! I'm taking you to the hospital right now. You're hurt and I don't want you to push yourself!"

"N-no! I'm fine, I-"

Soraya kept evading, she didn't want to go to the hospital. She didn't want anyone to see the cuts and bruises on her body. She didn't want to say what happened to her, she just wanted to forget everything.

David and James stared in confusion, the more Soraya insisted on refusing David's offer, the clearer it became that something bad had happened to her.

"Okay, I understand! I won't force you if you don't want to!" David said disappointed. Although he desperately wanted to take her to the hospital to confirm what really happened, he knew that he had no right to force this girl.

A few meters behind them, Kimberly walked alone into the woods behind the dorms. She saw Soraya, David and James, but she didn't seem to intend to approach them.

"Hey Kim!" exclaimed James. He called out to Kimberly who immediately turned to them with a scornful look.

"What is it?" Kim asked, as if keeping her distance from them.

Soraya and David were silent, while James looked confused and didn't understand why his friends kept their distance from each other as if they didn't know each other like this.

"Where are you going?" Asked James who immediately ran to her who did not move from her place. Soraya and David looked at each other for a moment, then followed James behind him.

"I want to see what horrible things the police found in the forest! I'm sure they've found something!"

"What do you mean?" David asked.

"Haven't you seen it yet? So, what are you three here for if you don't know anything? Do you just want to join in and spice things up?" She said sarcastically. Hearing the way she spoke made David irritated.

"What?"

"I don't have time to explain!" She said starting to leave. Kimberly shot David a scornful look, as if belittling him. David knew that Kimberly wasn't a very nice person to talk to.

"Hey Kim, wait a minute! Where are you going?" James asked.

"I'm going to go see it! David, I think you'd better be honest. Because seeing your pathetic attitude disgusts me!" Kimberly said it very clearly. A scathing sentence that usually comes out of her mouth.

They were quite used to hearing her swear and speak harshly, but they felt that her words only got worse every day.

David tried to contain his anger. He knew that although Kimberly was often cynical, yesterday she had been very helpful in finding Soraya's whereabouts.

"I'll see it too!" David said.

"Me too!" said James.

"Me too!" Soraya didn't want to be left behind. She wanted to see with her own eyes what the police had found.

The three of them walked towards the forest behind the dormitory which today was different from before. This forest is quite crowded by dozens of students, police officers and journalists who want to see the development of this case.

As James said earlier, the police found a rope wrapped around a tree growing in the middle of the lake. They were still seen untying the ropes which turned out to be very complicated as if on purpose.

After the rope opened, several policemen who were on the boat began to pull something connected to the rope and sank to the bottom of the lake. People were whispering to each other, trying to guess what was tied to the rope.

Where she stood, Soraya felt that panic attack again. Her heart was beating very fast, her breath was panting and her chest felt tight and sore. Her hands trembled every time she remembered what thing came out of the bottom of the lake as well as the painting.

"No, I beg you it's not true. I beg you it's not human, I beg you- I beg you-"

The seconds when the mysterious object emerged from the water made everyone feel the same concern. Diana's mother and father waited expectantly, praying that their daughter would still be alive.

However, when the police managed to pull the rope, a woman's decomposing body emerged to the surface. Naked and almost formless. The body of the woman with light brown hair was exactly the same as the one she had seen in her dream.

Everyone was shocked, seeing the horrific scene they had witnessed together. The atmosphere was calm at first, suddenly chaotic.

"Impossible! This is impossible!" Soraya muttered. She couldn't control her extremely flustered feelings.

In the midst of the tense atmosphere, there was a very hysterical scream of a woman.

"No... it's definitely not my daughter...! No way it's my daughter...! No way...!" Diana's mother was crying and screaming hysterically. Anyone would have guessed that the body of the woman without clothes was Diana Brown, judging from the color of her hair.

"Calm down, honey! That's not necessarily! We haven't seen it yet!" Said Mr Brown who panicked, but still tried to calm his wife who was getting weaker and almost fainted.

"No...! Diana... Diana...! Where are you, my baby? Diana, I miss you...! Diana...!" Mrs Brown fainted, before she had seen the body that had been laid on a stretcher and covered in cloth.

Soraya's tears flowed, she was still hoping that the body was not Diana's body. Soraya was still hoping for a miracle. However, for some reason her hopes were instantly crushed when she saw a figure standing alone at the back of the crowd.

A tall man with an amazing athletic build, shiny black hair and cold blue eyes. Soraya was stunned, her eyes unblinking.

The man realized that Soraya saw him. He returned Soraya's gaze with a very cold and mysterious look in his eyes. It was only a few seconds before he finally walked away from the crowd.

"Mr Stanley?"

***