December 31, 1990

My dearest Valentina,

Oh how I will regret this when it’s all over. But for you,  sweet girl, I will do everything in my willpower to give you the company you need and deserve after all of those years you’ve faced alone. Anything and everything. Always.

-Edward

It’s been years since we haven’t been able to catch our murderer, but now we have him. 

“How about you stop staring at that letter and hop in?” yelled Sergio.

“Oh don’t worry, I know we’ll find him,” I yelled back at him before setting down the letter and hopping onto the truck.

“Don’t get too ahead of yourself, we have less than 24 hours to catch him before New Years hits. And you know what happens if we don’t.”

Sergio, my partner in crime. I met him back a couple years ago after I decided to join the military, and we’ve been inseparable since. Our main goal was to find the man who’s been killing innocent civilians. The unfortunate part is that he disappears for two years then reappears back, but only on New Year’s Eve. The one day that was given for us so we can all start our lives over again.

“You know we could’ve had him by now if it weren’t for those new rules,”  Sergio whispered to my ear, which I ignored after feeling a zap on my neck. He knows that we aren’t supposed to complain about them. We are always being watched.

We arrived at the coordinates that were sent to us. It was an abandoned house.

“Really, a house? Why in the world would he choose a house as his secret base?” Sergio said while laughing. He took the lead and I followed right behind him. When I walked closer my alarm went off. It was a warning that told me I had less than four hours until New Years hit. 

“Everything okay?” 

“No, not really. We have to make this trip quick,” I said quietly

We both headed towards the door. This was the spot he had last been in. We were thinking it might’ve had any clues toward where he would be next.

The house was infested with mold and roaches in every room. There wasn’t much evidence, but I came across a room. It was filled with photos of an unknown woman. “What a creep,” I whispered to myself before turning back around and hearing a crunch. I stepped on flowers, and they were fresh. “Keep an eye out, he’s recently been here,” I yelled to Sergio who was on the other side of the house.

The car ride to report what we saw was oddly quiet. When we arrived, the authorities completely ignored what we had to say. “We don’t have time for this, so get back in your car and follow us. We know where he is, and it ain’t close” said our commander.

For some reason the woman’s face was engraved in my mind. She looked so familiar, like I’d seen her before. Maybe it was all in my head or maybe I’m just tired of this mission.

By the time we arrived, the sun was gone and the moon was up. I woke up to the sound of car doors slamming. I couldn’t believe it. I fell asleep on the way here. The guilt was rushing through me as I looked at Sergios’ tired face. I could’ve sworn I was wide awake before the trip started. Surrounding us were police cars all waiting in a line. They were waiting for someone. 

From afar I heard people yelling the countdown which slowly faded in my head.

10…9… 8…

“Conner, remember this is our mission and we have to be the ones to capture him,” Sergio said while handing me weapons I would need in case things didn’t go to plan.

 7…6

“He’s on his way here at full speed, so get ready to throw the chains Conner,” our commander yelled. 

…5

“Come on, do it. We don’t have much time “

4…

Just as the car he was in passed by, I was quickly interrupted by ringing in my left ear. For a minute the world went quiet, and everything seemed to have been moving in slow motion. Memories that felt as if they’ve been forgotten suddenly came back. I saw Edward. The man we’ve been trying to capture was my father. He was doing all this for my mother. 

3…

Turning around made me feel the warm blood which was dripping down from my ear. He missed on purpose. 

2…

From the corner of my eye I saw him. I saw him mouth the words I dreaded not seeing him do  with a grin on his face.

1…

“New year… New me“,  and, just like that, all of this was for nothing. I had lost him. Again.