fiction
Mystery, crime, murder, unsolved cases. Contribute your own tales of crime to Criminal.
The Magicians' Diary
You see, I have this... Spell Book. Yes, it’s just another Notebook like the one I'm writing in now to the average Passerby, to anyone who would see me with it in public. Of course, only another Practitioner would identify it with any level of certainty. These rare Spell Books only exist as anything more to Magicians, and us alone. Just as someone who doesn't have the romantic heart of a Poet can only see what appears to them to be foolish or manic writings within with pentagram drawings, abbreviations for the Crystals and detailed steps to magnify the intentions, the pronunciations of the Spells and Curses themselves and the energies and vibrational levels as emotional states to channel, such a Spell Book of mine would only pass as someone's kooky scribbles to anyone else. Moreover, even if some average person did read aloud it's contents, which are primarily in Latin as much for concealment as for accuracy, it'd be read aloud to no effect. Save for any rare individuals such as myself who practice such fragile, finely tuned arts, fewer still have even a remote affinity for controlling their emotions enough to cast such powerful Spells.
By Brock Horstman3 years ago in Criminal
The Paper War
I wasn’t used to running, especially not for my life. The night air burned in my lungs like they’d collapse. This was not a coincidence. I stayed in the shadows to catch my breath. I reached into my bag to make sure I hadn’t lost it in the escape. Relief flooded over me as my hand found what it was looking for. Creeping to the edge of the alley I checked for any sign of the car that had been pursuing me. I’d never been chased by a car before and I definitely had never been shot at; all these new experiences. My mind wandered back to the man who’d slipped into my Budapest apartment that morning, the chaos in the square outside my window. What had I done? Or rather, what had I agreed to? The street was silent now, but the roar of engines and bullets echoed in my memory. I hope this is worth it, I thought. My sneakers moved noiselessly across the cobblestones. Staying out in the open on this deserted stretch was out of the question. The train station was close, and in a few hours, I’d be in Zagreb. Then, maybe this would be over. I was never going to help anyone again, I vowed. That was a lie and I knew it. Somehow, I always managed to be knee-deep in someone else’s mess. It was time this bleeding heart bled out. Wasn’t it? I tried to convince myself, but that was only fear talking.
By Serena Kaye3 years ago in Criminal
Road To Disaster
Here I am. How did I get here? Let me take y’all back to yesterday. It was a Thursday my fiancé wakes me up.”Baby I want to take a road trip”, he says. Me, “Babe seriously why you waking me up on bs, Where you trying to go?. Him, I don’t know let’s just go”. I say ok let me get dressed then. I pack a couple outfits in a bag. He gets his things in his bag. We get dressed and we go. We in his 86’ impala with rims on it. We hear someone beep and say nice car several times as we are riding and we just say thank you and smile. We been riding for 6 hours now and decide to take a break in this small town because it was getting dark. We book a room at the only hotel it seemed had rooms available. We get settled down in the room and as I am about to put our bags in the closet I notice a black duffel bag. Me, “Is this yours babe”? Him, “No whats in it”? I go to unzip the bag and there are bundles of money in it and a black book on top. Me” babe I think we just came across some bullshit” , with a shitty look on my face. Him, “What you mean”? He comes over I look at him he looks at me and he gets this huge smile on his face. Me, “ I know wahat you are thinking’s do fuck no is my answer”. Him, “But babe, we can just leave with it and nobody will know”. Me, “ Yeah!! Nobody but everyone that seen us here with your loud car”! Him,” Ok well let’s just see what’s in the book”. I say ok and we open the book and begin reading. We can not believe our eyes at this point. The book is someone’s diary who appears to be a killer. It was a lady at that. She wrote in her diary about several people she had killed and took there money. Me and my fiancé are going back and fourth about rather we should keep the money or not. We decided that we will just leave it there and leave in the morning. We get ready for bed and go straight to sleep because we are tired. I get wake up in the morning to that crazy love from my fiancé. It was like the sex scene in twilight breaking dawn part 1 the movie. We finish and we are just laying there talking. Next thing we know, there’s a knock at the door. Thinking it’s room service we say” just come back later”. But they continue to knock. Then, “ BOOM”!! A lady kicks the door open. Me and my fiancé are get on the ground and under the bed. She just walks and states “ You should have just answered the door stupid mfs”. The lady was armed like she was in the army or some shit. She goes to the closet grabs the bag and leaves. At this point me and my fiancé are in shock and scared to move but we get up anyways. Him, “ Babe you ok?” Me, “Yeah babe let’s get our shit and bounce.” We get our things and I notice my fiancé put something in is pocket. Me,” Babe what’s that?” Him,” Huh” with a stupid look on his face. Me,” What the fuck you got in your pocket.” Him,”I fucked up.” He pulls it out and it’s one of the bundles from the bag. I just shake my head and tell him,” You gonna get us killed.” We get our things back our car and get in to leave. “POW POW POW POW”!! Bullets start flying we hurry up and pull off. Babe ask me if I’m ok,I say I think so, then I look at my arm. Me,”FUCK! Babe I’m bleeding!”
By Mechanic Luv3 years ago in Criminal
The Unexpected Return
There was an hour left until closing time, when suddenly the door slammed open, followed by thudding footsteps and heavy breathing. I looked up from my computer screen to see a man gasping for breath and looking around frantically, searching the entirety of the library. My curiosity was definitely piqued as I asked, “May I help you?” “How often do you check the return drop box?” he asked. I informed him that it was checked at least once a day, but I didn’t think he heard my answer as he hurried to the back of the library, glancing around nervously as he moved. I brush off the strange behavior of our new guest and resume my final tasks of the night. One of our librarians was out sick, so my work load was doubled and I was hoping to finish so I didn’t have to stay too long past closing time.
By Rhonda Klimek3 years ago in Criminal
The Forger
Yes, I had a book. Yes, it was small and black. Yes, it was Moleskine. I felt a little bit fancy using my ink pen to make shapes and draw caricatures of people on the smooth creamy paper inside. True story. Never in a million years did I think I would be looking at one of my copied creations staring back at me from the wall of the Louvre.
By Anna Killick3 years ago in Criminal
No Quitters Allowed
Scrolling through ads I notice an ad guaranteeing twenty thousand dollars in a week or less, not trusting what I was seeing I called my wife to the table and pointed out the ad to her. Her eyes widened in disbelief, shaking her head and telling me "these things are scams or its a catch to it". Who would have known her words would hit so close to home.
By Dashaun Maldonado3 years ago in Criminal
The Black Book
The year is 2018. The weather is cold. It’s snowing. The sun is setting. It’s the weekend before Thanksgiving. And also the worst time to be incarcerated. “Take him up to booking,” says the intake officer. The booking officer tells Dan, “Stand there. We’re gonna take your picture.” Dan proceeds to walk to the tape on the floor that marks where to stand. Though he has had many pictures taken before, he has never had one taken in jail. Dan is feeling a mix of emotions - anger disappointment, rage and frustration - but for some strange reason, he asks himself, “Should I smile?” Before he makes his decision, he hears the click of the camera and sees a flash of light. “Turn to your left so I can take a side view picture,” says the officer. “What am I charged with,” Dan asks. “Battery and second-degree assault,” the officer replies. “But I was just defending myself. The guy tried to shoot me,” Dan protested. “Save it. You don’t need to plead your case to me. Tell it to the judge,” the officer says. He adds, “Since it’s Friday night, you’re spending the weekend here.” The officer proceeds to give Dan his jumpsuit, picks up a mattress, and puts him in a holding cell. “This is your room till we find you a cell.”
By Shu keyaka3 years ago in Criminal