"Sleep - O How I loathe those little slices of Death!" - Edgar Allan Poe
I woke up to the light of the sun shining through my window of my downtown St. Louis apartment that I shared with my good friend, Gene Wolske. I felt like things were out of place but I decided to ignore my awkward surroundings and turn on the television set. As CNN came on I realized that today was Halloween and I thought about the film series with Michael Myers. I had recently watched the film series and I had also thrown myself into watching “True Blood” and the “Nightmare on Elm Street” movies. I was heading out into the kitchen to fix me some breakfast when I heard the voice of Nancy Grace on CNN reporting a breaking news story.
“That’s right ya’ll, we are getting some horrific news out of Litchfield, Illinois this morning and I’m telling you now, if your have a weak stomach, your not going wanna hear this. A family has been massacred and the death count is at nine, that right, NINE in Litchfield and that’s not all folks. Four more people are dead in Springfield, Illinois and authorities think that the murders are linked together! That’s right, we have a Psycho out there slaughtering everyone!” Nancy Grace’s voice broke off while I took in the news of the tragedy in my hometown.
Gene came to my bedroom door and told me that their were some men at the door asking to speak to me. Concern began to take a hold of my mind as I walked out into the living and greeted two men in dark suits. They greeted me and introduce themselves as FBI and at that very moment fear enveloped my entire mind frame. “It’s the murders that they’re reporting on CNN. It’s my family isn’t it?” I cried out while my sobbing began to take a hold of me.
One of the FBI agents began to speak slowly through my wails. “I’m so sorry to have to tell you this but the bodies that were found this morning consisted of members of the Farmer and Hemken families. We’ve identified the bodies as your mother and your step father, your nephews and nieces and your siblings.” I began to collapse as Gene embraced me; holding me up as the agent continued, clearly shaken by my reaction to the news. “We can also confirm that the bodies found in Springfield are that of your sister and her family.” I buried my head into Gene’s chest knowing that there was no way that I would ever be able to cope with this. My life had abruptly come to a halt and there would never be a way to recover from this horrific day.
A few hours later I found myself standing in the mortuary at St. Francis Hospital weeping over the body of my mother. Nothing was making sense to me and I couldn’t even remember how I got from my apartment to the hospital in Litchfield. An agent knocked at the door, I quickly covered my mother’s face with the sheet and turned to greet him. Officer Benson and I walked down the long corridor as he explained to me that they believed my brother, Cory had committed the murders and that they were doing everything possible in finding him. I told the officer that Cory had some social anxiety issues but I couldn’t believe he would kill our entire family.
I then caught a glance at the Litchfield Daily Newspaper that was laying on a end table that we were walking pass. The headline of the news story read, “A Real Halloween Massacre: Life imitates art in Litchfield tragedy” I wanted to faint as I realized the complexities of the entire situation but there was something that I had to do and I had to make sure that I succeeded in accomplishing this secret mission without anyone ever knowing what it was.
A few hours later I had succeeded in doing what I had to do and I was heading back to St. Louis talking on my cell phone, making funeral arrangements for the thirteen members of my family. Officer Benson was driving and he had accompany me during my secret mission for he had been assigned my personal bodyguard until my brother was found and taken into custody. We arrived at my apartment late that evening and I was looking forward to seeing Gene. He had been there with me when I got the news of the murders and his comfort was always a steady source in my life.
Officer Benson and I walked into my darkened apartment and was surprised that Gene wasn’t home, I knew I had talked to him several times throughout the day after the FBI had taken me into protective custody and he knew that I was coming home. I had difficulty searching for the light switch and when I finally found it I let out a horrific scream.
Gene was sitting down in a chair covered in blood with several stab wounds in his chest. I quickly ran over to him screaming at him not to leave me as Officer Benson dialed for the police. “Please God, don’t let him die… Not Gene… Please don’t die. Noooo… My heart sank further into a dark abyss as Gene’s cold blood began to drip down on my body as I held him tightly; not ever wanting to let him go. My brother was taking everything from me.
Days later, in a beautiful church, the portraits of the fourteen victims lined the walls of the alter as thousands of people gathered to pay their respects to my family and friend. I had no recognition of the events that had unfolded between finding Gene’s body and sitting in front of the alter. I kept my focus on the young picture of my five year old nephew, Isaiah, who was Cory’s own son. In my mind I pretended that Isaiah was playing on the stage with his toys as my mother looked down at him with gleaming eyes. I wanted this all to be nothing more than a dream and I found myself begging God to take me away from this place. I felt even more alone knowing that Gene was gone and that I would never again feel his arm around me.
Cory had still not been found but the FBI kept assuring me that they were doing everything possible to find him. After the ceremony came to an end, I walked out of the church seeing Nancy Grace reporting live for CNN. She started waving at me as she pushed herself up towards me, Gene not being there to protect me from her. “Chad Farmer, what is going on? Can you explain to my viewers why this psychopath has not been caught and better yet can you explain to me why innocent members of your family, including little children are now dead and your not? We need to know why your causing so much suffering in this peaceful community?!” I refused to even acknowledge her presence and Office Benson got me into one of the cars that were driving us away from the church.
Perhaps Nancy Grace was right, perhaps this entire situation was my fault and I wondered how much time I had left before Cory caught up with me. At any rate, I held on to one secret and no matter what my brother did to me, I had the satisfaction in knowing that hope would survive.
“That’s right ya’ll, we are getting some horrific news out of Litchfield, Illinois this morning and I’m telling you now, if your have a weak stomach, your not going wanna hear this. A family has been massacred and the death count is at nine, that right, NINE in Litchfield and that’s not all folks. Four more people are dead in Springfield, Illinois and authorities think that the murders are linked together! That’s right, we have a Psycho out there slaughtering everyone!” Nancy Grace’s voice broke off while I took in the news of the tragedy in my hometown.
Gene came to my bedroom door and told me that their were some men at the door asking to speak to me. Concern began to take a hold of my mind as I walked out into the living and greeted two men in dark suits. They greeted me and introduce themselves as FBI and at that very moment fear enveloped my entire mind frame. “It’s the murders that they’re reporting on CNN. It’s my family isn’t it?” I cried out while my sobbing began to take a hold of me.
One of the FBI agents began to speak slowly through my wails. “I’m so sorry to have to tell you this but the bodies that were found this morning consisted of members of the Farmer and Hemken families. We’ve identified the bodies as your mother and your step father, your nephews and nieces and your siblings.” I began to collapse as Gene embraced me; holding me up as the agent continued, clearly shaken by my reaction to the news. “We can also confirm that the bodies found in Springfield are that of your sister and her family.” I buried my head into Gene’s chest knowing that there was no way that I would ever be able to cope with this. My life had abruptly come to a halt and there would never be a way to recover from this horrific day.
A few hours later I found myself standing in the mortuary at St. Francis Hospital weeping over the body of my mother. Nothing was making sense to me and I couldn’t even remember how I got from my apartment to the hospital in Litchfield. An agent knocked at the door, I quickly covered my mother’s face with the sheet and turned to greet him. Officer Benson and I walked down the long corridor as he explained to me that they believed my brother, Cory had committed the murders and that they were doing everything possible in finding him. I told the officer that Cory had some social anxiety issues but I couldn’t believe he would kill our entire family.
I then caught a glance at the Litchfield Daily Newspaper that was laying on a end table that we were walking pass. The headline of the news story read, “A Real Halloween Massacre: Life imitates art in Litchfield tragedy” I wanted to faint as I realized the complexities of the entire situation but there was something that I had to do and I had to make sure that I succeeded in accomplishing this secret mission without anyone ever knowing what it was.
A few hours later I had succeeded in doing what I had to do and I was heading back to St. Louis talking on my cell phone, making funeral arrangements for the thirteen members of my family. Officer Benson was driving and he had accompany me during my secret mission for he had been assigned my personal bodyguard until my brother was found and taken into custody. We arrived at my apartment late that evening and I was looking forward to seeing Gene. He had been there with me when I got the news of the murders and his comfort was always a steady source in my life.
Officer Benson and I walked into my darkened apartment and was surprised that Gene wasn’t home, I knew I had talked to him several times throughout the day after the FBI had taken me into protective custody and he knew that I was coming home. I had difficulty searching for the light switch and when I finally found it I let out a horrific scream.
Gene was sitting down in a chair covered in blood with several stab wounds in his chest. I quickly ran over to him screaming at him not to leave me as Officer Benson dialed for the police. “Please God, don’t let him die… Not Gene… Please don’t die. Noooo… My heart sank further into a dark abyss as Gene’s cold blood began to drip down on my body as I held him tightly; not ever wanting to let him go. My brother was taking everything from me.
Days later, in a beautiful church, the portraits of the fourteen victims lined the walls of the alter as thousands of people gathered to pay their respects to my family and friend. I had no recognition of the events that had unfolded between finding Gene’s body and sitting in front of the alter. I kept my focus on the young picture of my five year old nephew, Isaiah, who was Cory’s own son. In my mind I pretended that Isaiah was playing on the stage with his toys as my mother looked down at him with gleaming eyes. I wanted this all to be nothing more than a dream and I found myself begging God to take me away from this place. I felt even more alone knowing that Gene was gone and that I would never again feel his arm around me.
Cory had still not been found but the FBI kept assuring me that they were doing everything possible to find him. After the ceremony came to an end, I walked out of the church seeing Nancy Grace reporting live for CNN. She started waving at me as she pushed herself up towards me, Gene not being there to protect me from her. “Chad Farmer, what is going on? Can you explain to my viewers why this psychopath has not been caught and better yet can you explain to me why innocent members of your family, including little children are now dead and your not? We need to know why your causing so much suffering in this peaceful community?!” I refused to even acknowledge her presence and Office Benson got me into one of the cars that were driving us away from the church.
Perhaps Nancy Grace was right, perhaps this entire situation was my fault and I wondered how much time I had left before Cory caught up with me. At any rate, I held on to one secret and no matter what my brother did to me, I had the satisfaction in knowing that hope would survive.
No comments:
Post a Comment