The Memory Card

1

“Mom, I’m fine.  Yes, I know.  I will.  I won’t let strangers in my house.  Mom, I’m not 10 anymore, I’m 21 and I think I can take care of myself.  Look I’m running late, I got to go. I’ll call you tomorrow.  By-Bye. Love you too, Bye!”  Mallory Sims slammed the phone down.  Her mom was so worried about her baby girl.  Mallory had just moved to Faysville from Grandeville, which was not very grand as the name suggested.  Faysville on the other hand was a huge city that Mallory was still getting used to.  Her mom was worried that Mallory would get robbed on the way home or a rapist on the street would grab her up.  Mallory knew her mom wanted her to move back home, she didn’t keep that a secret, but she was starting to like the city a lot.  As a kid, Mallory had always dreamed of living in the city versus what she called “Farm town USA” and once she graduated high school she immediately applied for college at Faysville State.  Once she was accepted she found herself a small one-bedroom apartment and was able to pay for school and rent by taking a freelance photography job for The Faysville Edition.  Mallory loved photography and that was actually her major and she minored in journalism.  She dreamed of the day when everyone recognized her photos, hopefully in magazines like Time or National Geographic. Until then, TFE was paying her bills and leaving her a little extra to be able to buy a new outfit or a new lens for her camera. 

Today Mallory was heading out to Creek Side Park.  TFE had asked her to go down and get some pictures of the new nature trail that was added, they wanted to run a story on it.  Mallory accepted without hesitation.  She never rejected any chance to go out and get pictures for the paper.  She had become their number one photographer which gave her hope that one day she could make it big.  Her boss, Harold, had told her many times before how impressed he was in her work and how photography just came naturally to her. 

Mallory looked up at the clock, 10:00! How long had she been on the phone with her mom?  She wanted to get to the park before it got crowded.  She jumped up and slipped on her jean shorts and her favorite pink tank.  She went into the small bathroom and pulled her thick brown hair up into a pony tail.  It was going to be hot out today and if she didn’t pull her hair up it was going to be a hot, sweaty, tangled mess.  She tied her tennis shoes and grabbed her camera.  She checked the memory card slot to make sure she had returned it from the last time she printed some photos, good it was still there.  She then checked the battery life and made sure she had the lens she would need.  Once she knew she had everything she set out to the park. 

2

She pulled up to the park around 10:20 and was surprised to see that it was empty, except for one other car, a white Lexus.  She looked around and didn’t see anyone.  Maybe it was abandoned.  I guess everybody’s at work today, she said out loud to herself.  Living alone, she seemed to do this a lot.  She figured as long as she didn’t start answering herself she would be ok.  She grabbed her camera bag and took her camera out.  She was actually glad the park wasn’t crowded with people.  Not having to wait for people to walk by or getting out of the way would make getting pictures a lot easier.

 As soon as she stepped out of her car, a used Toyota Corolla her grandmother passed on to her, she already started to sweat.  They weren’t lying about it being a hot day and it was only 10:30!  She began walking across the parking lot and found the entrance to the nature trail almost immediately; they still had a banner up announcing it.  Welcome to Creek Side Park’s new nature trail!  We hope you enjoy!  Written at the bottom in bold was, Please don’t feed the wild life.  She wrapped a strap that she had hooked to the camera around her left wrist.  She always did this before taking photos; it helped her keep a hold on the camera better.  Once it was secure the way she liked it, she took a picture of the entrance. 

Mallory had only been walking the trail ten, maybe fifteen minutes and already had more than plenty of photos that she knew would make Harold even more happy with her.  She was able to get a nice photo of the creek that passed under a small bridge on the trail, it flowed over some rocks and it made Mallory think of a mini waterfall.  She also was able to get a huge owl that was sitting in a tree, a deer, and a few of the trail itself that was nestled between rows of trees.

Once Mallory was satisfied with the photos she took she decided to turn around and go back.  Since the park was empty she thought maybe she would walk the track some before going home.  She was already sweaty and would have to have a shower before taking the photos to TFE anyway.  She was about to start back when she heard a loud scream coming from the woods.

3

Mallory froze.  Did she just imagine that?  There was no way she imagined that scream.  Wasn’t the park empty?  Then she remembered the Lexus.  She had assumed it was abandoned, it never occurred to her the owner could have been walking the new trail.  By the sound of the scream, the owner was definitely a female but why did she go into the woods?  She wondered if an animal had chased her into the woods and attacked her.  She paused, the lady screamed again.  It sounded like she was really hurt.

  Mallory started running towards the sound of the scream.  It was apparent whatever it was that attacked her was winning.  After running what seemed like forever, Mallory was about to give up and just call the police from her cell when she heard a man talking.  “This is what you get.  You hurt me and now I’m going to hurt you.  You cheating whore!”  Mallory slowed down and tip-toed the best she could around the leaves and sticks until she got behind a big, fat oak tree.  On the other side of the tree she could see a man, probably in his 30’s; he was tall and his blonde hair was parted (some people call it a businessman’s haircut) and in his hands was the throat of the lady who, just minutes before let out that loud, bloodcurdling scream.

He was still choking the lady when Mallory decided to grab her camera.  She didn’t know what she was thinking except that she wanted to get a picture of this guy killing his wife.  Was it is wife?  This is what you get.  You hurt me and now I’m going to hurt you.  You cheating whore.  At this point it didn’t matter if it was his wife or girlfriend; Mallory just knew she needed to get a picture of this monster.  A photo like this could make her a household name!  She put the camera up to her face and snapped a photo.  She still had the camera up to her eye when she could see the man drop the woman and turn his face towards her.

 

 

4

The flash!  Mallory had completely forgotten the flash was on.  The man started running towards her, “Hey you!  Give me that camera!”  Mallory got up and started running the way she had come.  She hadn’t even considered that he might see her; all she thought about was getting his picture.  As she was running, he was still yelling at her and gaining ground.  Mallory wasn’t exactly athletic and this guy appeared to be in pretty good shape.  Oh please let there be someone at the park.  Mallory thought.  “Go away, leave me alone!”  She screamed.  “Give me that camera!”  How close was he to her?  She didn’t dare turn to look. 

She finally made it back to the trail hoping to see someone.  No one was within her site.  She couldn’t help at this point but to turn and look.  He was right on her trail.  How far away was he?  Maybe 10 yards, if that.  She made it to the bridge and considered hiding under it, no he’s too close, he’ll see me.  Mallory spotted a big rock at the edge of the bridge and the dirt trail.  She slowed down long enough to pick it up and throw it.  It hit him on knee and tripped him up a little bit.  “You bitch!”  He yelled.  But he picked himself back up and started running after her again. 

Mallory could see the end of the trail was coming near.  She felt her wishful thinking starting again.  Maybe someone will be at the park.  She could feel him gaining on her, it almost felt like the faster she ran the closer he got.  It was so hot and Mallory was already out of breath before she even made it out the woods.  She was starting to doubt she would even make it to her car.  “Give me that damn camera!”  He yelled again.  Hearing how close he was behind her was all she needed to go faster. 

Mallory made it to the entrance where the banner stood.  Her car was only about 50 yards away, surely she could make it.  Now that she was so close to escaping her adrenaline was pumping harder than it ever had before.  Even more than the time her best friend Rachelle talked her into bungee jumping at the fair.  She thought she was going to pee her pants that day.  Why was she just now feeling the adrenaline rush?  Maybe it had been there the entire time; she was just too scared to notice.  There was another car in the parking lot now, but it was too late for Mallory to even attempt to look for its owner.  She was just focused on making it to her car without being caught.  She was about 25 yards away when she started reaching for her keys in her shorts pocket.

Mallory had completely forgotten that her automatic lock on her car was out.  She would have to manually unlock her door.  Oh God, he’s going to catch me.  He’s going to grab me while I’m unlocking my door and drag me out to the woods and strangle me, just like her.  She took a quick glance back; he was still on her trail and still yelling for her to stop, not even caring they were now out in the open. 

Mallory finally made it to her car door.  She was holding her camera in one hand and trying to open her car door with the other.  She couldn’t stop shaking and it was causing her to miss the lock with the key.  She finally got it in but before she could turn the key he grabbed her and reached for her camera.  “Give me that camera bitch.  I’m going to break it then I’m going to kill you.”  “Leave me alone!”  Mallory screamed.  They were struggling back and forth when he bumped her head against her car window.  She could see white spots.  I’m going to die and at my funeral my mom is going to say, I told you so.  No, I can’t die here, not this way struggling for my life.  They guy was having a hard time getting the camera from Mallory’s hand because the strap was wrapped around her wrist.  Had she not done her little quirk, he would have easily been able to grab the camera and had her half way back out to the woods by now.  She was finally able to get her hand free from his grip when she raised her arm and came down with the camera as hard as she could onto the top of his head.

He staggered back and blood started trickling down the side of his face.  He had a look of surprise on his face.  Mallory didn’t waste any time, she turned back to her car and the key was still in the lock, she turned it and got inside.  She was able to lock the door as he reached for the handle.  “Give me that camera you bitch!”  His words were slowed down now, from the hit on the head.  Mallory started the car and put it in reverse.  She still could not process what just happened.  She just saw a man murder a woman and he almost got her too.  A mix of sweat and tears covered her face.  Mallory kept looking in her rear view mirror to see if he was following her.  She couldn’t go straight home, then he would know where she lived.  It was bad enough he knew what her car looked like.  Why is it taking so long to get out of here?  The cops, I need to call the cops.  Mallory started reaching for her phone when she finally made it to the exit of the park.  In the mix of crying hysterically, looking for her cell phone and trying to see if he was behind her she didn’t notice the huge dump truck she pulled out in front of.

5

“She pulled out in front of me!  I never saw her coming!”  “Get an ambulance here STAT!”  “Ma’am, ma’am can you hear me?”  “Is she dead?”  “Her ID says Mallory Sims, 131 A Sunshine Lane…”

Mallory awoke in the hospital to a nurse standing over her.  “Hi there Mallory, how are you feeling?”  “I-I’m ok, just sore.  What happened?”  “You were in a pretty bad car accident sweetheart.  You ran out in front of a dump truck at a pretty high speed.  It hit the side of your trunk while you were turning and flipped you several times,” The nurse pressed a button on the machine making a loud beeping noise.  “You are a very lucky girl; one of our doctors was passing through and saw the whole thing.  He was able to help take care of you until the ambulance arrived. Most people don’t make it out alive after an accident like that,” The nurse paused as she was putting Mallory’s arm into one of those blood pressure cuffs.  Mallory hated those, they’d get so tight it would make her hand feel like it was going to pop off.  “Ok be still for just a minute while this gets your blood pressure for me,” once it was finished the nurse removed the cuff and started typing the results into the computer.  “Like I was saying, you are a very lucky girl Miss. Sims.  You only came out with a broken wrist and a few bruises.  Why were you in such a hurry for anyway?”  Mallory stopped to think, should she tell the nurse about her encounter with the killer? 
She wasn’t even sure where her camera was now and more than likely he knew she was in the hospital.  He could come there anytime and kill her.  She needed to let someone know.  “I saw a man…”  “Jackie,” another nurse came into the room, “I need a little help with the patient in room 304, please.”  “Alright, be there in just a minute.”  The nurse turned towards Mallory, “You will have to tell me why later, right now I need you to go ahead and take these pills, they are for your pain and will help you sleep and I’ll check on you in a little while, ok?”  She handed the pills to Mallory.  Mallory took the pills, she was hurting pretty bad.  “Oh, and I forgot to tell you­­-your purse is on the floor beside your bed.”

 The nurse walked out before Mallory could respond.  She looked down and there was her purse.  She picked it up and opened it.  She couldn’t believe it!  There sitting inside her purse was her camera!  She grabbed it and turned it on.  She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.  No Images Available.  No images?  There should have been close to a 100 pictures on there of just the park.  She turned to the memory card slot and opened it.  Empty.  Mallory’s stomach dropped.  He must have gotten it, but how?  The nurse said a doctor saw the whole thing; no way could he have gotten it without the doctor guy questioning him as to what he was doing.  Mallory lay back on the bed, confused and upset.  She didn’t need the images to report him but now he had pictures of her personal life, family and friends.  On top of knowing that she was in the hospital, “at least he doesn’t know where I live…” Mallory said out loud.  “Her ID says Mallory Sims, 131 A Sunshine Lane…”  My driver’s license! Mallory quickly grabbed her wallet and found that it was gone.  Mallory felt like she was going to vomit.  Now he knows where I live.  He is probably sitting there on my couch right now waiting for me to come home.  Mallory decided she needed to call the cops, she really feared for her life now.  She grabbed her cell phone out of her purse, no bars.  She looked to the left of her there was a phone on a little wooden stand just out of her reach.  She’d have to get up to get it.  She wasn’t sure she was even supposed to be getting up.  She scooted over to the side and slowly got up one foot.  She could feel herself becoming drowsy from the medicine the nurse had given her.  She put the other foot down and stood up.  She had a cast on her right wrist, and she could feel the pain shoot all the way up to her elbow.  She started walking over to the phone very slowly.  It wasn’t very far, but for her it was like walking across a football field.  When she finally made it, she stopped for a minute to catch her balance.  That medicine was really strong, stronger than anything she had ever had before.  She picked up the phone and dialed 9-1-1.  “911, what’s your emergency?”  The operator answered on the other side.  “Yes ma’am, I’d like to report a murder please, I saw a man kill his wife and I think he’s after me! He knows I’m in the hospital and he knows where I live!” Mallory knew she sounded crazy; she was trying to yell but the medicine just made her voice come out slurred and slowed.  “You’re in the hospital ma’am?”  The operator asked.   “Yes! Faysville County Hospital, my name is Mallory Sims, please hurry…” just then she felt someone grab the phone from her and she hesitantly turned around as they hung it up.

6

“It’s you!”  Mallory cried.  She started backing up.  “Why Miss. Sims, I don’t know what you are talking about.”  It was him, he was the doctor that had stopped to help when she wrecked.  The man she saw kill his wife was her doctor!  “The cops are coming, I called them and they know I’m here.”  The doctor laughed, “There’s no body, no picture, you did notice your memory card was gone right? And you have just taken a very large dose of pain medication.  The police will never believe you,” he walked closer to her.  “Now the best thing you could do Miss. Sims, is lie back down in that bed before I have to do something I don’t want to.”  Just then nurse Jackie poked her head back into the room, “Dr. Rogers we need you in 304, Mrs. Jabronaski is seizing again.  “Help me!” Mallory staggered out.  She could feel herself drowsing off.  “Is she ok Dr. Rogers?”  “She’s fine, she is having a side effect from that medication and seems to be hallucinating.   She’s called the cops and everything.  When they arrive, let me know before sending them in please.”  Dr. Rogers looked over at Mallory, “We don’t want her running them on a wild goose chase for something she just made up.”  Nurse Jackie shook her head in agreement.  “I’ll be right there, let me help her back into bed, ok?”  Nurse Jackie left and Dr. Rogers walked over to Mallory. She tried to say something but she couldn’t get anything out but a groan.  Everything was getting hazy and she couldn’t fight the feeling to close her eyes any longer.  The doctor laid her onto her bed and put his mouth to her ear.  “If you say anything else about this again, I will kill you.  Do you understand?”  Mallory just sat there.  “Listen here, I mean it.  I will come in here and kill you and no one will suspect a thing.  Nod your head.”  Mallory shook her head and fell asleep.  She could feel a warm tear drop fall down from her eye.

“Excuse me, Miss. Sims? Miss. Sims are you awake? You called, and I need to ask you a few questions please.”  Mallory thought she was dreaming at first, and then as she slowly opened her eyes she could see a man standing in front of her.  “Miss. Sims, I’m Officer Brown.  You called and said you witnessed a murder and that they were after you now?”  Mallory was still feeling disoriented from the medication; she was having a hard time waking up.  What had he given her?  “They let you in?”  She asked.  “Did who let me in?”  “The doctor told the nurse not to let you in, he’s the killer!”  “I didn’t see any nurse but your name is on a sheet at the nurse’s station with your room number.  So, the doctor is the killer?”  He started writing in his pad.  “Yes, I saw him kill his wife while I was at the…”  “Miss. Sims you’re up!  Officer, is everything ok?”  It was him.    “Yes,” the officer stood up.  “This young lady says she saw you kill your wife and now you are after her.”  “I know, unfortunately we didn’t know until after I caught her on the phone with operator that she was hallucinating from the medication we gave her for pain.  We made a note in her chart not to give that to her again.  She just got admitted from a terrible accident.  You may have even heard about it.  She pulled out in front of the dump truck over by the park.”  “He’s lying! I saw him!”  Mallory shouted.  “Officer…?”  “Brown.”  “Officer Brown, I assure you I did not kill my wife.  She’s actually not even home; she went to visit her mother in Denver and will be back next week.”  Mallory knew the officer believed him.  She did sound like a nut case on whatever it was she was given.  She didn’t have a chance without that memory card, and she knew he had probably destroyed it by now.  Officer Brown turned to Mallory, “I did hear about that accident.  Maybe it wasn’t the medicine; maybe you need to MRI her head to make sure she didn’t do anything to her brain.  I had a cousin who was in a wreck ten years ago and hit his head.  He was never the same after that.”  “There’s nothing wrong with my brain.”  Mallory said.  “I have already thought of that Office Brown, plan on doing it today.”  The officer shook the doctor’s hand and walked out.  The whole time the doctor was talking to the officer; Mallory couldn’t help but notice that he was grasping something in his coat pocket.  My memory card, she thought.

He still has my memory card.  Why would he still have it?  Wouldn’t he destroy that as soon as he got it?  Maybe it wasn’t her memory card, it could be anything.  Mallory had to find out.  When Doctor Rogers knew the officer was gone, he walked over to Mallory.  “If you ever do something like that again, I will make sure you get something a little stronger than some pain meds that could make you hallucinate.”  “Why haven’t you killed me already?”  Mallory asked, she couldn’t believe that just came out of her mouth but she was curious.  “Too many witnesses before, but I plan on it.  Yes, I have something good planned for you.”  Mallory could see him reaching for whatever was in his jacket pocket.  “Where’s my memory card?”  “Oh I still have it.  I want you to watch me crush it before I kill you.”  At that moment Mallory knew she was dealing with a real psycho.  He wanted her to feel something before he killed her, even if that meant risking getting caught.  Mallory needed a plan.  She needed to get that memory card back and turn him in before he killed her.  “I have to go surgery now but don’t go anywhere, I will be back and then I have something in store for you.”  He winked.  This made Mallory feel sick.  “What are you going to do?  Force me to take a bunch of pills?  You know they will catch you.”  He smiled, “Tisk, tisk, no hints.  I’m going to leave that a surprise for later.  You just rest for right now.  You have an eventful night ahead of you.”  As he walked out of the room Mallory knew she needed to get to get his coat and find out exactly what was in that pocket.

 

7

It wasn’t long before Mallory decided if she was going to get to his coat she was going to have to get out of this room.  She knew it wouldn’t be easy; she couldn’t really disguise the huge cast on her wrist or the hospital gown.  She could probably get around in the halls with her regular clothes on and just look like a guest.  Where were her clothes?  She got up and walked over to an armoire in the room.  When she opened it her shorts, tank under clothes and shoes were sitting at the bottom.  She quickly changed and threw the gown inside.  She walked to the door and looked around.  The nurse’s station was clear and by the sound of it they were back in room 304.  She crept out and started walking down the hall.  She needed to find the physician’s locker room.  His jacket had to be there since he was in surgery. 

Mallory had only been in the hospital a few times, so it was to her luck that she had gotten her own self lost that she found the nurse’s locker room.  She knew if she had found it, she would be close to the physician’s locker room.  A nurse walked back by and gave her a strange look.  She knew she needed to find some scrubs if she didn’t want to get caught.  To her surprise the nurse’s locker room was open and she was able to walk right in.  It appeared to be empty except for someone in the back who seemed to be talking on her cell phone.  It didn’t take Mallory long to find a pair of scrubs and she just slid them over her clothes.  She added a surgical face mask and cap so she would be completely incognito.  She looked like a real nurse!  Except her cast was showing!  She found some gloves and slid them over her hands.  The cast bulged out but she could keep her arms crossed to hide it if anyone walked by.  The other woman that was in the locker room was leaving.  She walked by and waved.  Mallory stopped her, making sure to keep her arms crossed. “Excuse me, I just started here and the surgeon asked me to meet him by the physician’s locker room to go over the next surgery.  I just don’t remember how to get there.”  “Sure hun, just go left when you walk out and you will see the men’s on the left and the ladies on the right.  Which doctor are you working for?”  Oh no, Mallory thought.  She knew of no other doctors there except… “Doctor Rogers and thanks.”  “No problem, it can take a minute to learn your way around here.  By the way, Doctor Rogers is great.  He really takes care of his staff, treats them like his own family.”  Well then they better watch out, Mallory thought.  She smiled as if the nurse could actually see it through the mask, “Thanks again.”  The nurse smiled and walked out. 

Mallory walked over to a mirror hanging on the wall in the locker room.  After tucking in a few loose hairs into her cap she caught herself talking out loud again.  “Ok Mal, here we go.”  She opened the door to the locker room and looked around.  The hall was empty.  She started walking down the hall to the left.  It was a fairly short walk before she saw the men’s and ladies locker rooms.  She looked around again, the hall was still empty.  What if there were men in the locker room?  Could she pass for a man?  What if he came in there?  Would he notice her?  She exhaled loudly, here goes nothing.  She reached for the door handle when it opened so fast it almost knocker her over.  Out came two doctors, one was in normal clothing, probably going home for the night and the other was dressed for surgery.  It was him!  The one in normal clothing spoke first, “Sorry didn’t mean to hit you with the door.”  Then him, “Yeah sorry.”  Mallory tried not to look at them in the face but was also trying not to look suspicious.  She remembered to keep her arms crossed, with the casted arm under the other then she answered in a deeper, what she thought was a more manly voice, “That’s ok.”  Oh God, he was going to know that was her.  She knew it.  She didn’t even give him a chance to do a double take, she rushed inside. 

Once Mallory was sure the locker room was empty, she took the surgical mask off.  She felt like she was suffocating in it.  She held onto it though, just in case she heard someone walk in.  Mallory was glad the locker room was empty.  She could search without looking suspicious (and without that suffocating surgical mask!) but she still had to hurry.  If he had any idea that it could be her he just saw, he would be back.  

Mallory started going up and down each row of lockers.  She saw a mess of scrubs, clothing, shoes and other items but no white coat.  Mallory had been searching what seemed like forever when she wondered if the coat was actually inside a locker.  She hadn’t thought about that, and if it was she would never get her fingers on it.  All of this would have been for nothing and he would come into her room and kill her.  No, she thought.  If I don’t find it, I’m going to leave here and catch the first bus back home to my mom’s.  He wouldn’t be able to find her there.  She was just about to give up when she walked down the last row and there sitting on a bench was a white coat.

She ran over to it.  She prayed it was his.  She picked it up, stitched on the front said, Gary Roberts, M.D.  It was his!  Mallory could feel herself starting to sweat; it felt like the temperature had risen 100 degrees since she walked in.  She searched the pocket she saw him keep his hands in, it was empty.   She frantically searched the other pocket, it was empty as well. Mallory was starting to panic, what if he had already disposed of it or had it with him?  What an idiot she was to think he would just leave it in his coat pocket out in the open like this.  What did she think she was in?  A Nancy Drew mystery?  Feeling desperate, she searched the pockets inside the coat and found them just as empty as the front pockets.  She threw the coat down and could feel the tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes.  She knew if she wanted to live that she needed to get out of the hospital.  She turned to walk out when she heard the door open.

Mallory rushed to put the surgical mask back on.  It felt so hot in the locker room and the mask just made her feel like she was suffocating more than before.  She was trying to decide if she should just walk out or stay where she was, hoping whoever was in there had a locker on another row.  She could hear him getting closer and closer. Then when she was certain she heard him stop she decided she would just keep her head down and walk straight past whoever it was as fast as she could.  She took a deep breath and started walking up the narrow hall that ran beside the rows of lockers.  She passed the first three rows, then as she approached the forth someone stepped out in front of her, stopping her in her tracks.

8

“Hi there Miss. Sims, looking for something?”  Gary Rogers, formally known as Doctor Rogers and before that, killer, was standing right in front of her.  He was grinning and in his right hand was her memory card.  She had never noticed until this moment how much taller than her he seemed.  He knew the entire time that it was her that he crossed at the doorway to the locker room earlier.  She knew that he knew it would be empty right now too.  “Give me that back that belongs to me.  I need some pictures on it for my job, I will delete the other one, I promise.”  Mallory could hear the fear in her own voice.  “Do you think I’m an idiot?”  He asked, “I told you I was going to crush this in front of you before I killed you and I plan on doing so,” he paused, “just not the way I was planning on doing it.”  “Please,” Mallory cried, “Please just let me go, I won’t tell anyone.  You can have it, I don’t care just don’t kill me.”  He laughed at her, “Please don’t kill me,” he mocked.  “I’m not a completely heartless person, I am a doctor.  How about I promise you that I can make it a fairly painless death?”  He started walking towards her.  Mallory decided right then if she was going to get away she needed to do it right then.  She ducked under his arm and started running.  She didn’t get far before tripping over a pair of shoes in the middle of the hall.  He grabbed her by the back of her neck and pushed her against some lockers.  Mallory could taste the warm, salty blood in her mouth.  “Ok, you little bitch, if you want it painful I can do that too.”  He grabbed her again, this time by her hair and pulled her head back to his face.  “You should have never been in those woods that day taking pictures.  Everything would have been just fine if you hadn’t shown up.  You’d still be alive.”  He threw her again.  Mallory fell to her knees; she could feel her wrist swelling up.  It felt like the cast was cutting off the circulation in her wrist.  He saw her twitch at the pain in her wrist so he came over and picked her up by it this time.  Mallory screamed in pain.  “Scream all you want everyone is gone for the night here.”  The pain coming from Mallory’s wrist hurt so bad the room started to spin.  The cast wasn’t protecting her any right now.  Mallory knew though if she didn’t get away he was going to kill her, right here in the locker room.  She realized he was psycho earlier and now he was just confirming it.  He didn’t care that he was in the hospital or not, he was going to kill her right now.  She screamed again.  This was a hospital, certainly someone would hear her.  “You are dumb; I told you everyone was gone.”  He was about to throw her against the lockers again when she somehow gathered the strength to kick him in the knee.  She could feel his knee pop as it bent backwards in the opposite way it was intended to.  He screamed out in pain and dropped to the floor as he vomited all over her.  “I’m going to kill you.”  He hadn’t even realized he had dropped the memory card on the floor.  Mallory immediately reached out for it when he grabbed it first.  “You’re going to have to kill me to get this back.”  He tried to get up but dropped right back to the floor.  She had broken his knee cap.  “At least no one can hear me do it, right?”  She had come this far, she was going to get what was hers back.  He attempted to grab her again and she jumped back.  She kicked his broken knee again.  He howled in pain and fell over but he still had a grip on her card.  She bent down over him, “Is this painful enough for you?”  He laughed; vomit was still covering his mouth and dripping down his chin.  “I would’ve never guessed you had it in you, you know killing?  Too bad I don’t have a camera with me.”  He laughed again.  Mallory could feel a rage inside her that she had never felt before, is this what he had felt like when he found out his wife was cheating?  The same rage that had caused him to kill?  “Just give me the fucking memory card; I don’t want to kill anyone.”  “I told you, you will have to kill me first.”  Mallory could feel the rage building up, between that and fear she couldn’t even feel the pain shooting from her wrist all the way to her neck anymore.  The doctor started attempting to stand up again on his good leg, using the lockers as a support.  Mallory kicked her leg out again but this time he blocked her with his arm and was able to trip her up.  She fell down again and started to panic.  He tried to hop towards her but the pain in his hurt leg was so extreme he couldn’t but he knew if she wanted that memory card she would come back to him.  Mallory was starting to panic and frantically searched for something she could hit him with.  She scanned the small area of the locker room but saw nothing but clothes and shoes.  What was she going to do throw a shoe at him?  He attempted to hop again and was able to and again and again.  He stretched out for Mallory when she got up and ran into him with all her power.  He staggered back and his head against some lockers.  This time when he fell down a trail of blood followed him.  He hit the back of his head on a lock and busted it open.  Mallory sat there for a minute not even sure what just happened.  He had slid almost all the way onto his back and his eyes were closed.  A pool of blood was starting to form under his head.  His hand lay opened with her memory card sitting right on top.  She could just reach over and grab it if she wanted but she hesitated.  What if he was alive and waiting on her so he could grab her and choke her to death?  She kicked the foot of his hurt leg.  He didn’t move.  No way could he fake that.  She slowly walked over and reached down for her memory card watching his face the entire time.  Once she had it in her hand she backed and exhaled.  She realized she had been holding her breath the entire time.  Damn it was hot in there she thought, and ripped the mask and cap off before laughing.  It didn’t matter if she got caught now.  “What in the hell is going on in here?”  Mallory turned to see two men, doctors she supposed, standing in front of her.  She burst into tears.

9

As soon as the doctors found Mallory and heard her side of the story, they called the cops.  She was finally able to tell her story, not drugged, to Officer Brown and show him the pictures that she had taken that day in the park.  Her picture did make the news like she originally wanted, although she never would have guessed she would have had to go through what she did to get it there.  But she got a killer off the streets and would do it again if she had to.  Doctor Rogers wasn’t dead but did suffer some serious injuries.  He spent six months in a coma at the State Prison Hospital and is currently serving life with no parole in the Faysville County Prison.  The cops actually found his wife’s remains buried in the woods of the park. 

Since getting her photo published nationally in the news, Mallory Sims actually became a household name.  She was offered several job offers from well-known magazines.  Mallory declined them all, deciding that maybe photography just wasn’t for her.  Or the city.  She decided that she wanted to move back home (her mom said yes before she could get the entire sentence out) and attend the community college in Grandeville.  Maybe go for something a little safer, like accounting.  Harold, her boss, tried to talk her out of it but it was too late.  She had already made her mind up.  The cops kept her memory card for evidence and she was able to sell her camera on EBay.  “The camera that was used to catch a killer” got her a few more bucks than it was worth. 

Mallory still has reoccurring nightmares from that day in the hospital.  Sometimes she lost the fight and he killed her.  She would awake to those screaming and crying. She attempted to see a psychologist (whom said she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder) but quickly learned she had gained a new phobia, doctors, and had to stop going.  It was a day to day process, some days was better than others.  Mallory knew it would take time, she had always been a smart girl and as long as that psycho was in jail and she stayed away from taking pictures, she’d be ok.