Heading Down The Beaten Path

I just got home from my lunch with Donnie. It was a very informative meeting with him, and I didn't have to share any extra information with him. Keeping him safe. That's what I want.


Me: Donnie, thanks for meeting with me today. I really appreciate this.

Donnie: It's no problem. I figure if I can help you out, I should do it.

Me: Thank you again. So, what can you tell me about the cases you and your father worked on? The missing persons' cases?

Donnie: Well, the main thing you need to know about cases like this, sometimes, you can't find the person. Or if you do, it's too late.

Me: I understand that well enough. It's just something you have to expect.

Donnie: And the one thing that can happen that is unexpected, is when you find the cases are connected to each other.

Me: How so?

Donnie: The cases my father had, he was able to find over half of the children that were taken before anything seriously bad happened to them. But when they were all recovered, they were all in the same mental state afterwards, saying extremely similar things and scared of what seemed to be the same person.

Me: So, they were all kidnapped by the same person?

Donnie: It seems that way. However, all of these cases happened over the course of 30 years. It is almost impossible for the same person to have kidnapped all of these children. Most kidnappers and killers tend to move on to different places after a few successes. This one remained.

Me: What can you tell me about the kids that were recovered?

Donnie: They all seemed very morose, traumatized, which is to be expected after the events they went through. But they all repeated several of the same phrases, like "He's Watching Me," "He Sees Me," He Wants Me Back," things like that.

Me: So they were afraid that the kidnapper was going to come after them again.

Donnie: That's right. They also described the kidnapper the same way, which is how we knew it was the work of one person. They all said he was very tall, long arms, in a black suit, and that he had no face. My father asked if they meant they didn't remember his face, and they all said no, that there was just NO face.

Me: No face, huh? That just seems creepy. Maybe they were just too scared and thats what they imagined.

Donnie: I don't think so. These kids, traumatized or no, seemed very honest in everything they said. And it still continues. Then comes the drawings they had.

Me: Drawings?

Donnie: Yeah, drawings. These kids, over several weeks from being recovered, showed us many drawings they had made. The drawings all had the same messages and pictures. The messages all said either "He's Watching Me," "He Wants Me Back," or "Coming For You." The pictures were either the same tall man who kidnapped them, but he often had multiple arms, the most being eight. There was also, what we believed, was his calling card. It was a giant circle with an X through it.

Me: What about the kids who weren't recovered in time? What happened with them?

Donnie: Well, the bodies were found at the lake in Guttenberg. Their cops found them first, called us for backup, thinking that it was who we were looking for. When our team got there, the bodies were nearly unrecognizable, until we were able to use DNA testing over the past several years. They were completely cut up, dismembered, separated into garbage bags. The organs were removed and placed in separate bags too. They were strung up on tree branches, and when they were touched, blood leaked out from them. It was such a disturbing sight for anybody to witness.

Me: Did you ever catch the killer?

Donnie: No, but I did see him once.

Me: -gulps- You did?

Donnie: Yeah. A few years ago. On the last missing person's case I worked on, we found another body at the lake again. As we were investigating the scene for any clues, I looked off and saw a man in the distance. He was just standing there, watching us. He looked like he was wearing a black suit, so I immediately thought it was our culprit. I chased after him, but when I got to his spot, he was gone. I looked around, and I saw him, standing about 20 feet away from me. Tall. Long arms. No face. I just stared at him for minutes, unsure of what I was going to do or what he would do. My partner called my name from the distance, I turned to respond to him, and when I looked back at the culprit, he was gone. Simply vanished. Haven't seen him since.

Me: How are the people your father recovered? Are they still around?

Donnie: A few are. Most of them, they remained mentally unstable, unable to live normal lives. They had to be committed to psychiatric facilities. The few that are around, they grew up in healthy lives. They still come to talk to me, or other cops, about what happened, just to get things off their minds.

Me: Do you think you could set me up with talking to one or two of them?

Donnie: Well, normally I would say that's a no-go. But our families have been friends for years, and I know I can trust you. Next time I hear from them, I'll ask them if they'd be willing to talk to you. We'll say it's for a project for school.

Me: Thanks Donnie. You really are a good friend.

Donnie: It's no problem. With your investigative skills, we really could use a good detective like you on the force.

Me: Maybe some day. Take care Donnie. And be safe.


So, Donnie has seen our tall friend. I gotta keep an eye on him, make sure he stays safe. Hopefully, I'll hear from him soon and be able to talk to one of those missing persons. It will be a great help.

But a new question arises: what is so special about the lake, besides the small wooded area next to it? I may have to check it out soon, once it gets warmer.

-Lucien Drage
Member of the Isabel Initiative
Fighter for the Cause
Survivor of The Threat
Defender of the Scared
Friend of the Free-willed
Brother to All