Enigma Of The Killer Lecturer

Nightmare

"Diana-? Huh...? Huh...?"

Soraya opened her eyes, gasping for air with her body drenched in cold sweat. Her eyes caught the ceiling of her room and the sunlight streaming in through the window.

Soraya didn't want to lift her head, everything she saw felt so real that she couldn't believe she had just woken up. A very bad dream, too bad even to be true.

"No, that's impossible! It was just a dream, it was all just a dream. Yes, just a dream."

Soraya tried to raise her head, an intense pain running through her body. She had never felt such intense pain before, it was as if her skin was about to peel away from the flesh.

"Ugh..." Soraya winced in pain until her tears flowed. She wished she had her mother by her side, she really needed her now.

"Mom-" Soraya sobbed. Her body could not be moved because it would be too painful.

Her wet eyes glanced at the alarm clock on the table. At 10:45 am, she woke up late because of the traumatic feeling and the pain was so bad.

Her hand reached for her phone which was lying on the table and connected to the charger cable. Soraya unplugged the cable and checked if her phone could still be turned on or if it was really broken. Soraya wished she could call her mother just to hear her voice. She really needs someone who can support and strengthen her at this time.

Like what she expected, her phone could still be activated even though the screen was cracked. There had been 20 messages from David and Kimberly and she was sure there were too many missed calls from them both. Soraya opened the last message that David sent at 11.23 pm.

'Soraya, where are you? Please let me know asap! I am very worried. I should have taken you home, I really regret my stupidity.'

"David?" Soraya is feeling touched. She didn't expect David to be this worried about her.

Just as her eyes started to wet, a call came from David. Soraya's hands were shaking, she didn't feel quite ready to talk to David right now and tell him why she disappeared last night and came home so late that Kimberly was almost looking for her.

However, she did not want to make David worry more than this. Soraya took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She had to reassure David that she was fine.

"David?"

"Soraya? Oh thank goodness, you finally answered my call too. I was so worried. Your phone was off all night and Kimberly said you just got home at 11pm."

"Forgive me-"

"What happened? Where were you last night?" David asked. From the tone of his voice, it was clear that he was very worried. It made Soraya feel very guilty.

"I'm going somewhere, I have some business to do. So, I came home late."

"Then, why isn't your phone on?"

"My phone's battery ran out, because of that-"

"Okay, I understand. Forget it! I'm glad you're okay. Worrying too much, I thought something bad happened to you."

"Thanks for worrying about me, but I'm fine!"

"Did you just wake up? The university is closed today because the police are conducting a search around the dorm area and the forest behind the dorm."

"Re-really, today, huh?"

"I'll take a look, you rest! If there's news, I'll let you know!"

"No! I'll be there! I'll see too!"

"But, you-"

"I'm fine, David! Right now it's not me you should be worrying about, but Diana."

"Yeah, I don't want to admit it. But, I have a bad feeling about this. You know? I still hope that Diana is okay and that she'll be back soon!"

"Me too. Alright, I'll be right there!"

"I'm waiting for you at the door of the dormitory building, if you haven't eaten yet, I'll bring some food for you!"

"Thank you, David!"

***

David's eyes widened, he didn't stop staring at Soraya who was standing awkwardly in front of him. She looked down and tried to cover the bruises on her lips and temples.

"You? What happened to you? Why the bruise-" David couldn't keep up. He was too surprised to see Soraya's condition.

Soraya knew that David would react like this. Nervously, Soraya just looked down as she tucked in that the scarf was properly wrapped around her neck, so David wouldn't have to see the scar which was much worse.

"Last night I fell, because of that-"

"Oh my, how did you fall like this?" David said as he covered his face. He really didn't understand why Soraya could be so careless that she hurt herself like this.

"How did it go? Did the police find anything?"

"There were a lot of people there, even though the police have put up barriers so people don't get too close, it's still hard to contain the curiosity of this many people."

"Are Diana's parents coming?"

"Yeah, but I'm not talking to them now!"

"Why?"

"I don't know, I'm just not ready to meet and talk in person. But James, it seems he knows what he has to do. He quickly got to know Diana's parents and tried to reassure them that Diana would be all right!"

"David!"

"Yes?"

"Do you think so too?"

"What to think?"

"Diana will be fine, she will be home soon." She said. David was dumbfounded, with a doubtful face, David just smiled bitterly as if to signal that he wasn't sure about it.

"There are so many terrible things in this world, sometimes it's hard to stay positive in a really bad situation. You know? I have a very strong bad feeling about this, but then again, I don't want this to be true."

"Is that so?" Soraya stared at the crowd of people who had come to watch the police conduct their search for Diana who had yet to be found.

The bad image of the dream she saw last night made her stomach hurt. This was strange, when Josh tortured and strangled her with shoelaces, Soraya began to believe that it was Josh. If something bad had happened to Diana, it would have been Josh. However, the dream she saw actually made her mind go back to Robert Stanley.

"Are you hungry? I bought bread and milk. You can eat this!" David said while handing him a bag containing three packs of cheese meat buns and two box of milk.

"Thank you-"

Near them, some people who came with cameras started to make the atmosphere in this place even more crowded. It was as if a reporter and cameraman from a TV station were approaching them and seemed intent on asking some questions.

"Good afternoon, we from Alphaone TV station would like to have a little interview. Are you students at this University?" Asked the reporter. David and Soraya exchanged glances to determine who would answer the questions asked.

David seemed to know that he was the one who had to come forward and answer some questions.

"That's right, we're art students and Diana Brown's classmates!" David said very calmly even though the camera lens was pointed at him. Beside him, Soraya just stood nervously while cooking a nervous and uncomfortable face.

"Then, do you guys have a close relationship with Miss Diana Brown?"

"You could say we're close friends, even though we've only known each other for three months. But on several occasions, we often go and chat together."

"When was the last time you saw Miss Brown?"

"I last saw each other when we were in class. But Soraya-" David immediately stopped talking when he realized that he shouldn't have to tell the media that Soraya was the last person to see Diana.

There was silence and awkward for a few seconds. David did not want to continue this interview because he believed that Soraya felt uncomfortable.

"Sorry, we'd better-"

"I was the last person to see Diana that day!" Soraya said. David's heart suddenly skipped a beat, he didn't expect Soraya to say that.

"Then, you must be Miss Chamberlain, aren't you? Sorry, Miss. Could you please tell to us the chronology of the last time you saw Miss Brown? Any signs or anything suspicious?" Knowing that the girl they interviewed was an eye witness to Diana Brown's disappearance made the reporter look very excited.

David grew restless. He wanted to take Soraya away from here because he knew that this interview would definitely have a negative impact on her mental health.

"Sora, we better-"

"That afternoon Diana and I sat on a park bench. We talked until we didn't realize that it was quiet because it was going to rain soon. I left immediately when it started raining and at that time I didn't know if Diana was going too or staying there. I- "

"Soraya, that's enough! We'd better go!" David felt uncomfortable and he knew Soraya felt the same way. Although he tried to code the reporter to stop asking questions, they didn't seem to care.

"So, you don't know what happened next that afternoon either? Did you run into anyone suspicious?" This reporter is still asking questions. David who was annoyed, only got more and more annoyed. He didn't want to be rude by cutting off the conversation and pulling Soraya's hand to leave, but his impulses left him with no choice but to do so.

"Sorry, we can't continue this conversation. My friend is not in a good condition to answer questions. Therefore, sorry!" David said as he grabbed Soraya's hand and led her away from the reporter.

"David, why? I still haven't answered the question?"

"Forget it! Better not talk too much to the reporters. We don't know what kind of news they really want. I'm afraid more people will find out that you were the last person together at the time."

"What's there to worry about? It's true that I was the last person to be with her. The police and almost everyone else on university already knows. That's why-"

"I'm sure you already know what they're talking behind your back! They started spreading rumors like you were a suspect, considering you were the last person with her that afternoon. No body knows Diana back to the dorms or not. Why did you guys split up in that park? Why don't you guys go back to the dorms together? They keep asking questions like you're suspect."

"Are you suspicious of me too, David?"

"Of course not! You didn't have any motive for doing it anyway! But to be honest I'm a little curious, why didn't you two go back to the dorms together?" David asked. He felt restless and afraid that his question would offend Soraya.

"Actually, Diana and I met Kimberly in her room."

"Meeting Kim? For what?"

"Diana was very worried about Kim, especially about her past story that started to spread among the students. Kim distanced herself, so we decided to meet her in her room. When we met Kim, an unavoidable argument broke out and we both decided to leave. Diana invited me to talk on a park bench. We chatted for 40 minutes, talking about several things including about Mr Stanley."

"Mr Stanley?"

"Yes! Kim saw me get out of Mr Stanley's car that morning and she said that I had fallen victim to Mr Stanley's seduction. I couldn't explain it to Kim, I knew she wouldn't understand. I thought I should tell Diana the truth. But, I didn't have the courage. When it started to rain, I said goodbye to her and left first, hoping she wouldn't ask me questions about what was really going on. I went ahead to avoid her, I really didn't know that was the time will be the last time I saw her!"

***