The Camera

Susan listened to her husband’s voicemail, as she was calling him for the 100th time. Or she thought it was. Susan couldn’t really remember anymore. All she knew was that she wanted to hear his voice.

“This is James. I can’t come to the phone right now. If you need to leave a message, call my wonderful wife.”

Susan laughed, feeling a tear roll down her cheek. She brushed at her eyes, remembering how hilarious she found this voicemail when she first called James. They weren’t even married yet, they were barely dating for about two months, but James knew she was the one for him.

Susan had rolled her eyes at this revelation, but on their wedding day, she had remembered, and she had cried buckets of tears.

It was one of the best days of her life.

Susan put down her phone. As much as she wanted to continue, she had to finish up her chores. She hummed a tune as she went up to what was once their bedroom, grabbing a duster.

She began to tidy up the room, going through her husband’s things. He had passed away about six months ago, because of a terrible car accident. It was a head-on collision, killing him instantly.

James was a detective, a good man who was taken far too soon. He did so much good…and he never gave up on anyone. One of the few cases that haunted James was the missing case of a woman named Cassie. She was kidnapped from her college campus.

Her last sighting was her getting kidnapped, being taken by an unknown vehicle. James was determined to find her, but his car accident was what ended his search for good.

Susan felt so sorry for Cassie’s family, watching them cry at his funeral. He was the only person that gave her family hope. The police force promised to find Cassie, to finish what James started.

So far, the investigation was at a standstill. It was truly a shame.

While Susan was cleaning under the bed, she found a shoebox. Susan smiled, and pulled out the box. She opened the lid, finding an old camera. It belonged to James. He loved to take pictures all of the time.

He didn’t believe in phones, and thought taking a selfie with Susan through a camera was ten times better. It would make the experience more memorable, and Susan believed that James was right.

She never forgot every moment with her husband. That camera carried all of their happy memories together, beginning with the day that they met. Susan turned on the camera, not expecting it to work. She was surprised to see that it was still working.

Susan scrolled through the pictures, feeling the tears starting to come back again. There were pictures of their wedding. Their dates. Susan brushing her teeth. Susan cooking with a big smile. James and Susan posing for a picture before they were going to watch a movie together.

Then there was a photo of a crowd of people.

Susan studied the picture, trying to figure it out. She couldn’t understand why James took this photo. It featured a lot of people walking together, several of them with backpacks on. It took a minute for Susan to realize that this was a college campus.

Susan flicked to the next photo. There was a group of college students laughing at a table. There were two young women and three young men. Susan immediately recognized Cassie as one of the women.

Susan gasped.

She moved on to the next photo.

Cassie was all by herself on the college campus, reading a textbook outside on a bench. Susan felt her stomach clench. She didn’t want to continue.

She moved on.

Cassie was walking in the dark, backpack over one of her shoulders. She was looking down at her phone. Susan’s hands were now feeling clammy, covered in sweat.

She closed her eyes for a brief moment, before moving on to the next picture.

Cassie was lying down, duct tape on her mouth. It appeared that she was inside of a car.

Susan dropped the camera. She ran out of the bedroom, almost tripping down the stairs.

She crashed into her kitchen counter, almost dropping her phone. She picked it up with shaky fingers, dialing 911. An operator answered.

“911, what is your emergency?”

“I…I found…evidence…of the missing girl…Cassie Wilkins. Please…come to this address. 1518 New Court Drive. Oh god…my husband killed her.”

Susan dropped her phone. She could faintly hear the 911 operator talking to her. Everything was spinning, the world was fading.

She hit the floor, her head cracking on the tile. While her vision was fading to black, she thought of how determined her husband was to find Cassie.

Little did she know that she was living with the monster who killed her.

Susan passed out.

When the police arrived, they found Susan, and tended to her.

Authorities stated that she couldn’t stop screaming when she awoke in the hospital.

Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn