The man sat in the darkness of the barn and was trembling in fear. He was absolutely certain that he had gone insane. None of this could be real - none of this could be happening to him. He must be imagining it - he had to be imagining everything. There wasn’t an alien called Annabelle. It was just a figment of his imagination - he was experiencing a psychosis, that is all. This thought calmed him a little - the thought that it was all imaginary made him relax. It’s alright - he told himself - you’re just having a breakdown. The whole episode is made up and you are imagining everything. He calmed his breathing, but then he remembered that he was strapped to the chair inside the cage and inside the barn. If he was imagining everything - then how was he strapped to the chair inside the cage and inside the barn? And then he panicked - and began screaming. And then he had a moment of clarity - he thought of the women he had tortured and killed in this barn. They had all sat strapped to a chair in a cage and screamed and begged and cried. And what had happened to them? They were buried in holes in the woodland around the farmhouse. He didn’t know what to think about Annabelle - or whatever she was - but he wasn’t going to wait around for her to come back with her specimen collection equipment, whatever that was.

The light in the barn clicked on - he screamed. His mother was standing inside the barn looking at him.

‘What a disappointment you are’ - she said, shaking her head.

He looked at his mother - but ignored her.

He had made the chair - and he had bolted it to the poured concrete floor. He had sunk two inch bolts into the concrete - and he knew that they were pretty strong - but not that strong. The chair was designed to hold a woman - a smaller woman than him who would not be as strong as him and would be drugged.

He began pushing his feet on the ground, trying to rock the chair forward and back.

‘You had one simple job to do’ - said his mother - ‘and you fucked it up!’

He used every ounce of strength he had - and he managed to lift the front bolts out of the poured concrete half an inch.

‘All this nonsense about aliens - you’re just making excuses!’

He rocked the chair back and forth - and the rear bolts lifted out of the concrete. He continued rocking backwards and forwards until the bolts had broken free of the ground, and then he tipped the chair over - sideways.

‘They will send you to jail - they will send you to the electric chair for what you have done’ - his mother said.

The knife he had stabbed Annabelle with was laying on the floor inside the cage. He grasped it with his hand, and was able to spin it around and slice through the nylon strap that held his left hand in place. With his left hand free, he undid the other straps and was free from the chair.

‘What are you going to do now?’ - His mother asked.

He slammed his naked body against the door to the cage - and after several attempts the lock snapped and he was free. He picked up the knife and walked to the barn door, attacking the lock and ripping the wood from around the locking mechanism. He worked at the barn door, and after a while he managed to kick the barn door open with the lock undermined.

‘She will find you’ - said his mother.

He left the barn and ran - dressed in only the rain boots - out across the fields and away from the farmhouse.

####

He had run all night - across fields and through the woodland. He had stopped briefly to drink some water from a river - but he had moved continuously. He was on the outskirts of a small town. He was crouching behind a dumpster, filthy and sweating and still naked - except for the rain boots. He ran from behind the dumpster towards the main street. It was early in the morning, the street was quiet and empty except for a few people walking dogs and going for breakfast before work at the diner.

He slowed to a fast walk - and headed down the street, constantly looking over his shoulder. An older man was walking two French poodles - and wasn’t paying much attention to what was going on around him. The dogs began barking and he looked up and saw the filthy naked man hurrying down the sidewalk.

‘Where is the sheriff’s office?’ - He said to the man as the dogs barked at him.

The man stared at the naked man as he walked past him.

‘WHERE IS THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE?’ - He shouted at the man.

‘Two blocks down - on the right’ - the man stuttered.

He started running again, and he ran past the diner and the people inside stared as he ran past.

He made it to the sheriff’s office, bursting through the doors.

‘I WANT YOU TO ARREST ME!’ - He shouted as he entered.

A deputy was sitting behind the counter, and he lazily looked up from the newspaper he was reading. He picked up his cup of coffee and took a sip.

‘Well, if you want to be arrested mister - you certainly came dressed for the occasion’ - said the deputy.

He lunged at the desk - ‘I MEAN IT - FUCKING ARREST ME!’

The deputy put down his coffee cup - ‘Chad’ - he called out.

Another deputy stepped from the backroom eating a donut and holding a paper cup of coffee. He walked to the counter and looked at the filthy naked man standing there.

‘This gentleman wants us to arrest him’ - said the first deputy.

Chad continued chewing the donut, and then took a sip of coffee.

‘I think we can oblige this gentleman's request’ - said Chad.

He was given a set of prisoner overalls and flip flops - and was handcuffed and put in the holding cell out the back of the sheriff’s office. The deputies told him that the sheriff was over at the diner having breakfast - and he would speak to him when he got back.

He sat in the holding cell, shivering and trembling. He was twitching and nervous and exhausted. He tried to lay down on his side, but every noise made him jump, and adrenaline coursed through his body.

After about forty minutes the sheriff came back to his office.

‘I was having breakfast over at the diner - and some damn fool came running down the street naked except for a pair of rain boots!’ - Yelled the Sheriff to the two deputies standing at the desk - ‘I don’t suppose you boys happened to see him?’

‘He’s in the cell’ - said Chad.

The sheriff chuckled - ‘Yep, I figured he would be heading over this way. So what’s his story?’

‘He told us to arrest him’ - said the other deputy.

The sheriff chuckled again - ‘Well, I’m sure you two boys were only too happy to help him with his request. Well...let’s see what he has got to say for himself.’

He was collected from the cell by Chad, and brought to the sheriff’s office.

‘You want some coffee or water or anything?’ - Asked the Sheriff as he hung his hat and unclipped his gun belt.

‘A….a….cigarette’ - he said.

‘I am afraid this is a non-smoking facility son - but once we’ve had a chance to have a chat, I’ll get one of the boys to take you out the back so you can have a smoke. Deal?’

He nodded. He looked nervous and was twitching.

‘Are you okay son? You seem a bit on edge. You been taking any drugs or anything?’

‘I want to confess’ - he said.

The Sheriff sat down in his chair and looked at him with a smile. ‘And what do you want to confess to, son?’

Tears began rolling down his cheeks - ‘I want to confess to….murders. Lots of murders!’

The Sheriff sipped his coffee and put his feet up on his desk. He was wearing snakeskin boots.

‘Murders’ - said the Sheriff - ‘Lots of murders...’

‘Yes - five murders.’

The Sheriff sipped his coffee - ‘And who did you murder, son?’

He told the sheriff about the farmhouse, and the sex workers he had murdered and where they were buried. He told the sheriff as much as he could - without telling him about the torture and the necrophilia.

The Sheriff watched him as he told his story, watched him twitching and jumping at every noise or phone ring from outside of the office. The Sheriff sipped his coffee.

‘That’s quite a confession, son. And are you sure that you’re telling me the truth?’

He nodded - ‘Two detectives in the city came looking for one of the girls I killed. Her name was Cindy something. They came to my apartment - if you call them...they were looking for her. I can show you where she’s buried.’

The Sheriff picked up a pen and notepad - ‘And what were the names of these detectives in the city, son?’

He told the Sheriff all he could remember - and that he had been on anti-psychosis medication and his memory was foggy.

‘Anti-psychosis medication…’ - said the Sheriff, still taking notes.

He told the Sheriff how he had been scared after the detectives had visited him, and had faked mental health issues to get the treatment to suppress the urges he had to kill, and that he had recently stopped taking the medication and the urges had returned. He didn’t mention the talking pornographic magazines or his dead mother - or the alien who was trying to put him in a museum.

‘Alright son - you just leave this to me. Now I’m going to get Chad to take you out the back for a cigarette - as we agreed in our deal. But if there is any funny business, I’m going to tell Chad to put a slug in your back - do we understand each other?’

He nodded.

‘And then we’ll get you some food and you can just take it easy here until we’ve had a chance to check things out at your farmhouse and we can try and find these detectives from the city.’

He nodded.

Chad took him out the back and he smoked a cigarette. There was no funny business - but he looked and saw his red Ford parked far down the street. She was watching him.

‘I want to go back inside now.’

‘Take it easy - we just got here. This might be the last cigarette you get for a while, so enjoy this moment.’

‘I SAID I WANT TO FUCKING GO BACK INSIDE!’ - He screamed at Chad.

Todd put his hand on his sidearm - ‘Just take it easy - and calm down!’

Chad opened the rear door and led him back inside to the cell. He sat in the cell with his legs shaking. She was out there - waiting for him. Tears rolled down his cheeks and his teeth chattered. He looked and saw his mother standing outside of the cell, shaking her head.

‘GO THE FUCK AWAY YOU FUCKING BITCH!’ - He screamed.

Moments later Chad appeared.

‘I hope that outburst was a one off deal - because the Sheriff likes things to be nice and calm around here, and so do I. No more screaming!’

He stayed in the cell for the next two days - and then Chad collected him and took him to the Sheriff’s office. The Sheriff was sitting at his desk, and two men in suits were there - they were the two detectives who had visited him looking for Cindy McDonald - Detective Hamm and Detective Cooper.

‘It took a bit of time - but these are the two detectives that visited you, son. Detectives Hamm and Cooper. Now I told them your story - and I told them that we headed out to your farmhouse and we couldn’t see anything amiss. So why don’t you tell them everything - and perhaps we can head out to your place and you can show us what you’re talking about?’

The Sheriff nodded at Detective Hamm.

‘So the Sheriff tells us that you may have information about the whereabouts of Cindy McDonald - is this true?’

He nodded.

‘And the Sheriff informs us that you have confessed to the murder of Cindy McDonald - as well as four other sex workers - is this true?’

He nodded.

‘And that the remains of Cindy McDonald are buried at or near your farmhouse - along with the remains of the other four sex workers. Is this true?’

He nodded.

‘And would you be prepared to show us where these remains are?’

He nodded.

Detective Hamm nodded at the Sheriff.

‘Now I have to let you know son, that you have the right to remain silent and to refuse to answer questions. But anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police, and to have one present during questioning now or in the future. Do you understand that son?’

He nodded.

‘Now we are going to detain you under suspicion of homicide. Do you wish to speak to an attorney?’

He shook his head.

‘Okay - so we’ll take the prisoner out to the farm and you boys can follow.’

‘Am I free and wild - and am I confined and imprisoned and unable to operate without hindrance or let?’ - He asked the Sheriff.

The Sheriff stared at him - and then called Chad to get him ready for the drive.

‘AM I FREE AND WILD - AND AM I CONFINED AND IMPRISONED AND UNABLE TO OPERATE WITHOUT HINDRANCE OR LET?’ - He screamed at the Sheriff and detectives as was dragged back to the cell.

####

They drove to the farm and his red Ford was parked outside the farmhouse. He began screaming that she was there, and he had to be restrained.

The Sheriff and the two detectives checked the farmhouse. They came back to the car and told the deputy to get him out of the car.

He resisted, but was dragged out.

‘SHE IS HERE - SHE IS GOING TO GET ME!!!!’ - He screamed as he was pulled from the car. The detectives and the Sheriff stared at him as his wild eyes darted around.

‘Who's gonna get you, son?’ - Asked the Sheriff.

‘Anna….’ - he started to say, but then he stopped himself.

‘And who is Anna?’ - Detective Cooper asked.

He calmed himself down and stared at the detectives and the Sheriff - ‘No one.’

The deputy had hold of his cuffed hands that were behind his back - and he led him over to the barn. The detectives opened the barn doors and they swung open. The barn was empty - no cage and no torture chair. He stared into the space. The detectives walked into the barn and looked at the floor - there were no holes in the floor where the chair had been bolted to the concrete.

‘You said that this was where you killed them - in the barn?’ - Detective Hamm said.

He stared at the empty barn.

‘The detective asked you a question, son’ - said the Sheriff.

‘Yes - I killed them here.’

But the barn was spotless - there were no signs of anything ever happening there.

‘You said there was a cage’ - said Detective Cooper - ‘Where is it?’

‘It was here - in the barn.’

Detective Cooper walked out of the barn - ‘Well, it ain't here now.’

Another deputy arrived in a car, followed by a small excavator being pulled on a flatbed truck.

‘Okay son - you wanna show us where the girl's body is buried? This girl Cindy McDonald?’ - Asked the Sheriff.

They climbed back in their cars and he directed the Sheriff to the spot where Cindy McDonald was buried. He showed them the exact spot - just inside the tree line. He was put back in the car and the excavator started digging in the spot he had told them to dig at. The machine worked for about an hour as the detectives and the Sheriff and the deputies looked on. Detective Cooper smoked a thin cigar as he watched the hole open up. After about an hour the man was pulled from the car to look at the hole.

‘You said you dug the hole about 8 feet down - is that right?’ - Detective Hamm asked.

He nodded.

‘Well we’ve gone down 15 feet and about ten feet across and there ain’t no body buried down there.’

He looked into the hole. The excavator operator smoked a cigarette and watched him. The two detectives, the sheriff, and the deputies stared at him.

‘She must have moved the body’ - he said after a long pause.

‘Who moved the body?’ - Asked Detective Hamm.

‘Annabelle.’

Detective Hamm glanced at his partner, and then at the Sheriff.

‘And who is Annabelle?’

There was a long silence.

‘She’s an alien - who works for a museum. She wants to put me in the museum. She said she was looking for a serial killer to put in the museum.’

There was an even longer silence.

‘You have to believe me - she was here. I found her advert online and met her in the city. I drugged her with spiked vodka and then drove her out here to kill her. And my mother told me to kill her so that she could come back to life - but I didn’t know that Annabelle was an alien. She used some mind control power to put me in the cage and left to get the equipment she needed to collect me as a specimen, but I escaped from the cage and managed to get to the police station. You have to believe me - she’s trying to get me and is going to take me. I saw her - she peeled off her skin. She had blue and green lizard-like skin and gold eyes. She’s going to get me!’

They all stared at him.

‘She is real - she is a fucking alien. She’s trying to catch me - she works for a museum and wants to put me in the museum. She said she has been hunting for a serial killer for 40 years.’

‘Okay - get him back in the car’ - said the Sheriff.

‘I’M TELLING THE TRUTH - SHE IS A FUCKING ALIEN! FIND HER - HER NAME IS ANNABELLE!!!!’

The deputies had to wrestle him back into the car - and he continued screaming from inside the back of the patrol car.

‘Well - sorry about that guys’ - said the Sheriff to the two detectives.

‘Hey - it’s not your fault’ - said Hamm - ‘And we booked a day of overtime.’

The Sheriff and the detectives spoke for a while longer - and then the Sheriff got back in the driver's seat of the patrol car and headed back to his office.