The Ultimate Sacrifice

5pm on a cold wet rainy evening at the start of winter and the days were getting shorter and darker. A young girl rushing home from work trying to beat another heavy shower of rain, was oblivious to the danger that was about to happen. As she rounded the corner of the lane to her house, she heard footsteps running up behind her and as she turned she saw a person wearing a dark jacket wielding what she thought was a knife. Panic stricken she started to run up the lane towards her house and as she did she felt a hand on the back of her neck pulling her to the ground, she thrashed at her attacker and as she let out a scream she felt a hot searing pain rack through her mind and body as she lost conscienceness.

The girl lay motionless in a pool of blood as heavy rain fell.

8pm and Charles Harris had concerns that his daughter was late returning home from work and rang  around her friends then eventually the police giving details of his daughter's daily  routine.

It was that time of night when Scotty the west highland white terrier was due for his walk, so Charles Harris took the dog's lead and off they went. They had no sooner gone down the steps of the front entrance when Scotty let out a bark and took off down the lane . Charles, in hot pursuit of Scotty slowed down to find him standing nervously over a body in the road.

As Charles approached the figure lying face down on the road he could see the blood and the mass of red curly hair. He gasped with fear and instantly recognised it as Celia, his daughter. He immediately took out his cell phone and rang the police and ambulance.

Celia Harris was rushed to the hospital. Her throat had been slit with her life hanging in the balance.

Detective Chief Inspector Harry Swinton was quickly on the case and together with Detective Sergeant Nina Banner, an investigation was in progress.

Harry Swinton was a man who was good at his job and he enjoyed the diversity it offered albeit frustrating at times, and this was one of these times with very little to go on.

Back at the station, Swinton and Banner put together a scenario from the scene they had just left. Whilst they were actively ringing friends and workmates of the girl, a call from the hospital came to say that Celia Harris had lost a great deal of blood and she had died on the operating table but that something had been found tightly held in her hand, could they come to the mortuary.

It was 8.45pm as Harry and Nina walked into the mortuary and looking at this lifeless pretty young seventeen year old girl,  hardly having had time to enjoy her life and yet taken away in the blink of an eye, was indeed a sad sight.
Coroner results would not be available until the next morning and the only clue was what was held in the girl's hand that being  a wooden button from the attackers jacket. She managed somehow to yank this off or was perhaps holding on as she fell, we will never know.

The button was a wooden toggle perhaps from a duffle jacket.

It had been a long and tiring night as Harry Swinton made his way home. He opened the door to his apartment, stepped inside to an empty univiting hallway. He went into the kitchen, opened the fridge, took out a cold beer, and as he sat on the couch he wished there had been someone to share his evening and just relax. His wife had been diagnosed with cancer, and had died a year ago, it was nights such as this he missed the times they shared and the easy way they could talk for hours about anything and everything.

Nina on the other hand, was a bubbly vivacious brunette and when off duty, enjoyed her time with friends. Tonight was no exception, she arrived home and after a quick shower and a glass of wine, she was ready to enjoy what was left of the evening!


The next  morning started off with a rundown of the previous day's events where DCI Swinton and DS Banner prepared the findings of the murder of Celia Harris. Coroner results from Celia showed no signs of physical abuse, except for bruising where a struggle was imminent during the attack. Traces of skin found under her fingernails was being tested for a DNA match leaving the only clue being that of the button held in Ceila Harris's hand.

"Nina" said Harry, "have you found anything on that button".
"Not yet Chief" says Nina "still working with forensics, but looks like it could be from an old duffle jacket".

Leads to the killing were virtually nil. The assailant or assailants could not as yet be tied to this situation and with nothing concrete to go on, things were looking rather dim.

Across town in the local library, a group of children were heard screaming. The library was small and never busy at any one time. A passer by had called the police station and it was revealed that the children were being held hostage by a male dressed in what was described as green clothing and a hooded jacket.

Swinton and Banner made their way to the library, accompanied by three officers.  Sounds of children crying could be heard as an approach was made to an ooen door at the back of the library. Through a window DCI Swinton could see the back of a tall male dressed in green clothes and a dark jacket with a hood  holding on to one of the children by the arm and pointing a knife at his throat.

 Three officers were placed at the front of the library whilst Swinton and Banner quietly entered the back of the library through the open door. They had hoped to surprise and apprehend the male, but just as they were about to step into the main room, one of the children saw them and started to scream at which point the man with his knife cut the arm of the child he was holding on to and all hell let loose, children scattered to the front of the library and managed to get out with the assistance of the police officers.

The child that had been cut was still in the clutches of the assailant and he was sobbing in pain and fear. "Get back or I'll cut his throat" said the man to Swinton and Banner. "Put the knife down and let the child go" said Swinton. Outside the library, a gathering of the locals including the parents of the young boy being held hostage were waiting in trepidation and horror at the enfolding scene.

Whilst Swinton and Banner were  making efforts to get the man to release the boy, police officers were quietly entering the back of the library. With guns drawn, they reached the open door to the main room, and seeing the situation were able to get close enough to make an assertive decision to fire a bullet. This they did and the element of surprise made the man release the boy and fall to the floor. He no sooner hit the wooden boards of the library floor, lifted his arm to his throat and dug it deep into his neck. Blood was spurting everywhere as he lay motionless in a pool of his own blood. Stanton made his way forward to the man whilst shouting to the medics outside, but it too late the man was dead.

The following day, computer records confirmed this person to be Hank Smith from Maryville, the village only a few miles away and was a patient in the sanitarium there. He was diagnosed as having an unstable mind, and had escaped from the hospital after having had treatment for a viral infection. He had wandered away and eventually ended up in the next small village becoming quite disoriented and was frightened and very dangerous.

Hank Smith had been committed to Maryville Sanitarium for stabbing and killing his girlfriend and best friend when he disovered them together. Hank was tried for murder and found guilty on a crime of passion.

 A DNA sample had been taken from Hank and a match was found from the traces of skin found under Celia's fingernails, together with a match on the toggle button missing from the jacket he was wearing.

DCI Swinton and DS Banner, were relieved that this investigation had been solved and the offender had been punished for his crime by his own hand.  However, it will never be known what drove Hank to  make his way to the neighbouring village and kill a young girl and cause fear and anxiety of a hostage situation.

Hank had not been a well adjusted person and he had suffered deep trauma, despair and loss. This in turn triggered anger and frustration and he become the victim of his own actions.
The end.

A Fairytale - The Enchanted Woodland

In a place far away lived a humble woodcutter and his young wife. They were not well off and lived a meagre existence but were rich in their love for each other.

Hendrick and his wife Lena worked hard. Having followed his father's business in woodcutting and carving, Hendrick chopped only trees enough for carving to make a living and fuel for heating and cooking. Lena spent her days cooking, nurturing and tending her garden of vegetables, herbs and flowers. 

The horse and cart handed down from Hendrick's father was used to take the carvings, vegetables and flowers to the market some miles from their woodland home which in turn reaped the benefits in exchanging their goods in the nearby village for items required to maintain their humble life together.

Early each morning Hendrick and Lena would take their foraging baskets and go into the woodland to collect the wonderful herbs and berries that nature provided. They would sit by the small stream surrounded by all kinds of greenery and wild flowers to enjoy the singing of the birds and drink the crystal clear waters from the stream. 

Life although hard at times, was welcomed each day with warm sunshine and at night, a sky filled with twinkling stars and an ever changing moon. Peace and tranquility filled this woodland with wonder and enjoyment.

As the years passed there came the day when Hendrick and Lena felt something missing in their lives........a child, and they both began to despair that they would be without a child to share their love.

It came to pass that on one of their evening walks to the stream deep in the woodland, they sat on the bank holding hands, looking at the display of stars and tonight a huge yellow moon with the slightest wisp of clouds embracing the sky.

There was a fine mist floating over the stream making it difficult to see the other side, when suddenly there in the smallest of clearings was the most magnificent stag looking straight at them.

He stood completely still in all his glory with his large brown eyes taking in the scene before him. Hendrick and Lena were in awe of the beauty of this gentle beast and they too were as still as the balmy evening, feeling a strange sensation of something magical.
Then, just as quick as the stag appeared, he turned and vanished into the night.

Hendrick and Lena looked at each and they both felt for a moment elated and trancelike after the brief encounter.

They made their way back home and fell into each others arms and that night both dreaming of the wonderous sight they saw in the woodland.

A few months passed after that evening and although Hendrick and Lena walked many times to the same spot in the woodland they never again caught sight of the stag.

One day, whilst Hendrick was delivering his wares to the market, Lena felt a sharp pain within, a pain she had not felt before and decided to lie down for a moment to let it pass. She closed her eyes and drifted off in a dreamlike sleep. Her dream took her back to the stream where she saw the stag in a hazy mist, and he was looking at her with such gentleness.

A strange feeling awoke Lena and with a start she came to, she looked and saw the most beautiful baby boy lying beside her. At that very moment, Hendrick walked into the house and saw this infant that had entered their lives. He went to Lena and took her in his arms and they both cried tears of pure joy, giving thanks to their enchanted woodland and the magic that it bestowed to them, giving them a miracle, baby Henry.

Life was indeed rich and filled with much love and happiness for this little family and they all lived happily ever after.