THE CRIMES OF NATALIE CHRIST

Chapter 4

    I was excited about my party. I put on a simple blue pair of jeans with my favorite white top and a leather cardigan of sandy color. High boots went perfect with my outfit and there was I all ready to leave. I took my wallet and cellphone, bid everyone a goodbye and especially to my over possessive Father to not to wait for my return, that I'd be late.

  I met my friends at the entrance. As soon as we entered, high music was all we could hear. We were shouting in each other's ears to communicate. Darkness filled with neon lights was making me blind. I'm not a heavy drinker and thus just after three shots of tequila, my head felt heavy.

  I knew it wasn't a long drive to home but still I'd to keep it a bit light. We laughed, danced, shouted, and for the first I came out as a normal partying-21-year-old. I felt good about new avatar but it was now time to leave for home as the clock was about to struck 1 am.

  I told my friends that it was a high time and that I was leaving, they too agreed to leave. We hugged and departed, with a formal sentence "meet you in the office."

  When I reached home, it was all dark, I opened the door with my personal pair of keys. I was a bit drunk but my senses were still alive and if I wasn't wrong, a weird smell hit my nose as soon as I entered my house. I couldn't actually point out what it was, so I went for the switch on the other end of the hall. As I moved a bit, I stumbled over something and almost fell on my knees but I didn't hit the ground instead there was something beneath me, something like a human body.

  That was strange! Scared, I wrapped up my senses, made myself stand up and ran for the light switch. The most horrible thing was awaiting for my eyes to see.

 As soon as the lights were on I screamed on top of my voice. There he was, completely lifeless, he laid like a statue, eyes wide open and blooding flowing out of his veins. He was stabbed in the chest.

 FATHER WAS DEAD! NO! NO! NO! This couldn't be happening, I was dreaming. It had to be a nightmare, I pinched myself, slapped on my cheek, pulled my hair, but heaven's sake it wasn't a dream. Then a realisation struck me, if I had screamed so high why wasn't anyone downstairs to see what happened?

  I ran like a kid towards the stairs and saw a bullet pierced body of sister Oliva lying on the staircase. I screamed again, tears rolling my face. My throat went dry from screaming No, No again and again. I almost lost my balance and senses once again. My brain wasn't able to process why was this happening? Anyhow I went for Sister Stella's room to find any sign or any clue that atleast someone was still alive. But  my luck wasn't in my favour, in front of the door of Sr. Stella's room was the dead body of Sister Gracia. That monster had stabbed her in the stomach. Fresh blood could still be smelt all over in my home.

 I reached for her and saw that the door was open, I carried myself inside, only to greet another death, inside on the bed, laid Sister Stella's body. 

 Aaaaghhhhh! No! No! No! I'd to call an ambulance  someone had to be alive, someone had to have their pulses, but where was Sister Mary?Maybe she was alive hiding somewhere, she was last hope to explain what was going on. I ran to her room, empty. I searched the whole lobby of first floor but she was nowhere to be found. I ran to my room in the attic praying God that the killer wouldn't have noticed that there was a room in the attic and that she was safe hiding there.

 I opened my room only to find it too empty. I ran downstairs to search for her whereabouts, my mind was completely blank at this point, my whole family was gone. I entered the kitchen and found her lifeless body near the dining table.

 My hands were trembling, sweat and tears had messed up face but it was of no concern right now. I somehow managed to dial 911.

"911! What's your emergency?"

 "M-m-my name is Natalie." I tried to speak between my uneven breathing.

"Okay Natalie what is wrong with you?" The operator asked.

"My family's deaaadddd. They-they are gone." I cried heavily.

"Natalie can I please know your location!." The lady on the phone tried to get as much information as possible

"St. Luke's Church at V-v-ictoria Street." I gave her my address.

"Natalie please hold yourself a team of medics and police are on there way. I want you stay there, okay?" She consoled me.

"Y-y-ess." I assured her

 And the operator hung up. I sat down on my knees and fainted immediately 

 When I woke up I was surrounded by a number of people and sirens wailing in distance. There were police and a team of medics. One of them helped me get up, they had put me up on the couch. But even after opening my eyes it was just my body with consciousness, not my mind. It was still blank, it was racing back the thoughts of how I'd discovered my family in such a position and how might have done that. How probably? Father wasn't one of the persons to keep enemies, nor was anyone in the church.

 One thing was certain, whoever it was, was gonna die with my very own hands. My throat still felt like desert when I heard one of the medics say to the police officer that I'd gained my senses.

 A lady officer sat in front of me to take my statement and necessary evidence. I was quite at the moment, held my knees with hands close to me. The officer tried to calm me at first and then started,

 "You're the one who called us? Natalie, right?"

"Yes, it's me." I cleaned my face and wiped the dried tears.

I asked her for some water so that I could speak. I drank the glass, the whole atmosphere was quite now, all the officers, I didn't exactly notice how many but there were atleast 4-5 of them, were now surrounding me. 

 "Ms. Natalie what relation do share with these deceased people?"

 I raised my eyebrow. "Deceased?" 

 One of the male officers spoke up "I'm sorry miss, none of them survived."

 I'd a hope still alive in me that when the medics would arrive, they would say we're getting pulse of atleast one of them, so that I'd still have a family, I wouldn't have been a complete orphan.

 In these 21 years of my life I never felt that I didn't have any biological family. I almost forgot that I was an orphan and then suddenly today I was realising this fact that yes I was alone. A heavy feeling of grief gushed inside me and I cried, cried and screamed, all my hopes were in vain. 

 The officers tried to stop me, they had to know how this thing happened and so did I.

 " Natalie if you don't help us, we won't able to help you." The lady officer said calmly.

 I nodded, I was angry, so furious this time, that person will face my wrath and that was for sure. 

 " Natalie so tell us what relation did you share with these people."

 " I-I was their only daughter, that's what they use to call me. My parents abandoned me, it was my mother who left my at the doorstep of this church and since then they were the only family I had."

 " What did you see when you got to your house?"

 " I was at a party with my colleagues at the nearby bar." The officer interrupted me. "The one that happens to be down the lane?" 

 I nodded. " So what did you see when you got home?"

 " I was kinda drunk but lightly. I first smelled blood but it was dark so I couldn't see anything. I stumbled over a body, scared, I ran for lights and saw them at the places were you found them, lifeless and covered with blood and bullets." 

 " At what time did you leave and got back."

  " I left at 9 and came at around 1."

 " Hmm.. so it happened between this time. Do you remember any signs of worry on their faces before you left, I think it can be a case of revenge. Any enemy or any sorta clue."

  " No. Father was a very polite and gentlemen person. He never entangled in any fights, what do you expect a monk like him to be like? We were a happy family with our own world. I've never known any enemy of ours nor any such mention in these 21 years." I was blank and empty.

  I didn't know what to do. 

  The officer said, " We've taken them to the City Hospital. The body will be handed over to you tomorrow once we are done with our post mortem reports." I nodded and said a low voice Okay.

 " See Natalie, this is a clear crime of revenge. It was only that you weren't here on the place so you're alive and that the culprit didn't know about your existence. We'd like to take you in our custody, your life is at risk. The person hasn't spared anyone in your family and won't spare you. So it's better to keep your existence hidden, we'll handle the media you don't worry about it." I nodded.

  When the female officer was done with the session she asked the male officer to take me to a safe place. At that moment I saw the scene, my once happy home was now filled with yellow tapes of DO NOT CROSS, chalk marked my family's dead places. I was about to faint again but somehow I managed myself and stumbled over the sofa. I took the edge of it to provide balance to my body.

  Media was everywhere, televisions were busy forecasting the latest updates being provided by the forensic workers as well as the investigating officers. The police managed to escape me under their eyes as they didn't want to reveal my existence or to alert the culprit that his work was yet undone...