CHAPTER 2

As Alexis walked to the office from the parking lot, different scary scenarios played on a loop and unbidden in her mind. She was overthinking again. She couldn't help but worry about the day. The man she was supposed to interrogate today looked like an older version of the rapist and murderer in her dreams. Though she had never met him before, he seemed kind of familiar and that's what scared her the most. She used to have that dream once in a while when growing up and her mother would always assure her that dreams are figments of our imagination and that it was okay to dream. But after Joel told her she was not part of the family, she stopped believing that 'figment of our imagination' crap. She wondered if that man was part of the missing seven years of her childhood. If yes, what did that dream mean? And was the woman in her dreams her real mother? Could it be possible that her mother was murdered in cold blood and somebody else took her in?

Truth is she was scared, scratch that, she was terrified. She realized that that man might just be the key to unlocking a few of the things hidden from her. But what if he is not the same man in her dreams? They had investigated him first when his case was first reported and apparently, he was just a farmer living alone on his farm. He wasn't very active socially but he wasn't a loner either. He had a few drinking buddies here and there though he wasn't much of a drinker. But he loved dogs and had a collection of different breeds which he rarely sold. His criminal record was clean if you don't count a few minor traffic offenses like a broken taillight once and a license he forgot to renew after it expired. That doesn't sound like a murderer, or does it?

The what if's though kept the fear and worry in her system fed well and by the time she sat at her working desk, she had a massive headache and a foul mood. There was a mountain of paperwork on her table that she would easily have ignored on any other day but today, she welcomed the distraction with open arms. Without saying hello to any of her colleagues, she dropped the coffee she had picked from the coffee shop down the street on her table, got comfortable, and dug into the paperwork as she slowly sipped her coffee and willed the headache to go away. Alison and Oscar looked at each other questioningly, wondering what is wrong with her but they didn't bother her, just continued with their workloads. Collins was not yet in, thankfully, or else, he would have forced her to talk with his snarky remarks and unending questions.

They were a team of four, and that is Alexis who was the intelligence analyst, Alison who was the technology and psychology expert, Oscar the team tracker, and Collins the crime scene investigator. The newest member of the group was Alexis. They worked together in harmony, loved each other as real siblings would, and looked after each other like a real family would. They would often joke that their team was their second family. They bickered and argued over minor things when they were not busy working but had each other's backs when facing any form of threats. Seeing Alexis in such shape today got them worried but they didn't pry, opting to give her the space she needed.

Soon it was time for the briefing which was normally done at eight. Alexis was so buried in her work that she didn't notice the time fly by. She cringed, startled, and swiftly moved away getting into fight mode when Alison tried to touch her because apparently, she had been talking to her without as much as a reaction from her for a full one minute.

"Hey! It's just me. Are you okay?" Alison was genuinely concerned.

She calmed down a bit seeing that it was just her friend and gave her a weak smile.

"Am fine. Just a little jumpy". Of course, Alison saw straight through the lie but this was not the place nor the time so she just reminded her that it was time for the briefing and together, they walked silently to the briefing room. Collins and Oscar were already there with their boss and a few others and soon the briefing started.

After what felt like forever, the briefing ended. Alexis had decided that she wasn't ready to face the farmer that had haunted her dreams and scared her shitless more times than she cared to admit and was just about to request a different assignment when she realized that she didn't have a proper explanation for opting out. There was no way she would say 'I had a bad dream about that guy and I am scared he is a rapist and a murderer because in my dream he raped a child and killed its mother'. Really? That would have been spectacular. So she clamped up and acted as the mature professional CID officer that she was.

The pit in her stomach grew wider with each step they took towards the farmer's house. At some point, Alexis almost bolted back to their car and drove away leaving an unsuspecting Collins alone to interrogate the farmer, but she carried on. Collins was talking to her, oblivious of the storm raging inside her. He just stopped when he realized she hadn't heard a word he said. He blocked her path.

"What is bugging you?"

"Nothing".

"You haven't heard a word I said since we stepped out of the car. That's so unlike you and we can't afford to go on a mission when you are distracted. That's suicide and you know that".

"I am fine Collins".

"I noticed you have been distracted since briefing. But whatever it is, please concentrate for now. We don't know what to expect and so we can't afford to be distracted".

"Okay".

"You wound me, darling. Here you are thinking about other men again. . ." Collins was faking hurt when Alexis slapped his hand interrupting his act.

"We have a job to do you big oaf. Let's go".

She was grateful to him for distracting her from her fears. Now she felt a little bit confident in her skin as she walked to the front door and sure that no matter what happens, Collins would have her back. They always had each other's backs, that's how it has always been.

The doorbell rang for what seemed like forever before they heard footsteps and the door was opened to reveal a bulky man in his fifties. He ushered them in but Collins didn't miss the look of surprise and then fear that crossed the man's face before he schooled his features to an emotionless face. When he quickly glanced at Alexis, he noticed that she was pale and looked terrified.

The flashes that attacked her brain the moment the door opened were scary, but the scariest realization was the fact that her dream was not a dream but a memory. And then, there was the onslaught of flashes of other memories, snippets of sad violent memories that didn't make much sense to her. The present stopped existing to her, she didn't hear the man ushering them in and she didn't hear Collins asking her what was wrong if she was okay. A splitting headache is the only thing she felt and she didn't even hear her own scream of pain before everything went blank and she fainted.