Shades and Shadows - Part Three

Scene inspired by The Silence of the Lambs:

~Part Three~
When Will the Lambs Stop Screaming?

Dr. Bernard Zslawomir's Office - Psychologist
San Luis Valley, Colorado
8:53 pm
Day One of the Event

A tape was acquired by authorities, which contained the strange and bizarre sessions between psychologist Dr. Zslawomir and twenty seven year old Penny Ford. After loud screams were heard by the recieptionist coming from the doctors office, both Dr. Bernard and Penny Ford went missing on the very day of the last recording. The events of that day still remain a mystery.

Police officer Eric Petty loaded a tape that read "Penny Ford - 4:03 pm" into the recorder, rewinded it a bit, and pressed "Play".

*Tape plays*

Dr. Bernard Zslawomir: Then something woke you, didn't it? Was it a dream? What was it?

Penny: I heard a strange noise.

Dr. Bernard Zslawomir: What was it?

Penny: It was screaming. Some kind of screaming. Like a child's voice.

Dr. Bernard Zslawomir: What did you do?

Penny: I went downstairs... outside, and crept up into the barn. I was so scared to look inside but I had to.

Dr. Bernard Zslawomir: What did you see penny? What did you see?

Penny: Lambs. They were screaming.

Dr. Bernard Zslawomir: They were slaughtering the spring lambs.

Penny: And they were screaming.

Dr. Bernard Zslawomir: And you ran away?

Penny: No, I couldn't.

Dr. Bernard Zslawomir: Why not?

Penny: I.. I can't. It.. it won't.

Dr. Bernard Zslawomir: Tell me, Penny. Tell me!

Penny: They were killing them.

Dr. Bernard Zslawomir: You mean the lambs? Who was killing them?

Penny: Not just the lambs.

Dr. Bernard Zslawomir: What do you mean, Penny? What do you mean?!

Penny: I.. I can't. [sobbing]

Dr. Bernard Zslawomir: You have to tell me, Penny! Tell me!

Penny: Doctor Zslawomir.. When will the lambs stop screaming? [crying]

Penny Ford never believed that seeing her therapist, Dr. Bernard Zslawomir, would be fruitful. She had never been able to get over what had happened when she was thirteen years old; when she watched both her parents and her two older brothers brutally murdered in the family's barn in Southern California.

Outside Penny Ford's Apartment Complex
San Luis Valley, Colorado
3:37 pm
Day One of the Event

Earlier that morning, Penny had received a strange text message from a strange number, and chose to ignore it. The message said:

Why aren't you answering your cell??
Meet us at the barn.
Call me back. M-

Penny never wanted to go back there. She couldn't . Not after what had happened. She looked for an answer in the back of her mind. Could it be Marlena, her sister? No, it couldn't! Marlena knew better than to bring up such a sore subject, let alone ask to meet at the place where only painful memories remain. What could be so important to Marlena that made her call and text her in such a way. Marlena never calls, nor texts Penny. Except on her birthday and at Christmas.

After getting a dozen other calls and messages, and feeling curious about how persistent Marlena was, and quite frankly a little worried, Penny decides to call back, only to be answered by screaming and crying from the other end. A few seconds later, the crying stops.

Penny: Hello?! Is this Marlena? Hello!! Marlena are you ok? Marlena! Answer me!

Eerie Voice: Hello Penny. Have the lambs stopped screaming?

Penny ended the call and turned off her phone, cursing and cussing at the voice. The expression of sheer fear and terror was clearly evident on her face. It was as if she had seen a ghost, and was drained of all the blood in her body.

She hailed a cab, and asked the driver to take her to Dr. Bernard Zslawomir's office on Lexington Street. The call she had just gotten wasn't the first, and knew that it wouldn't be the last. The only person she could talk to was Dr. Bernard, for after what happened, Penny began to distance herself from the world. She hadn't allowed herself to become too attached to anything.. or anyone. The thought of losing somewhen else was unbearable.

On the way to Dr. Bernard's office, Penny began to see things. Things that shouldn't be there. Things that she shouldn't see. Things only nightmares are made of. She took out the pills that Dr. Bernard had perscribed for her two months ealrier, and took two. They certainly did help, though they made her drowsy most of the time. But the truth of the matter is, anything is better than seeing those things. Anything is better than living in a nightmare of a world.

...to be continued.