ELECTRICAL

1.

Out of all nine girls born to darkness or of darkness, one would live with somewhat of a regular beginning. Lonnie Turner, it could be said, was and is a bit of a bright spark. Once again, as with many others, the pregnancy for mum came with its difficulties.

At twenty years of age Greta Turner had no intentions of becoming a mother, not yet at that particular time at least. Putting herself through college, training in medicine, she worked a weekday night or two and each weekend at a local bar so there wasn't even time for a relationship never mind time to consider beginning a family.

In the early hours of Saturday the eighteenth of September 1999 Greta began to make the journey home, a journey she had made at such an hour many times before.

Strong willed, confident and capable of taking care of herself, Greta never worried about making such a journey. This night however would be different, very different. She felt it, sensed it less than five minutes after leaving the bar from which she was employed. She often had offers of accompaniment for her journey, some of which coming from customers who would have had consumed more than one or two beverages, and each time an offer came she would turn it down flat.

An offer had come on this night from a co-worker who told her if she waited fifteen minutes that he could drive her home and he even promised that his intentions were honourable. She believed him, well at least seventy five percent so, and still she turned down the offer. She was used to her walks and with the walks being a way to wind down, they generally too would aid her find sleep upon returning home.

Yeah, five minutes into her journey and the bulk of late night into early morning activity had passed, though she couldn't help but feel as if there were eyes near-by watching her. She would stop and take a second or two to take in her surroundings. There appears to be no one close enough to be following her or to be watching her, still the feeling grew with every step she would take.

Picking up speed, she wished she had hung on for that lift, too late now and turning back probably would be worse than going forwards. On she goes. There is a shadow moving near-by. Greta is sure of this, the shadow of a person, a man perhaps. This doesn't make much sense. Streets lights are few and far between and this shadow moves far too freely to even directly be coming from someone near, there is no one near ... but there is.

Greta picks up the speed once again. Her shoes, they are making it difficult for her to move at a faster than walking pace, so she removes them and continues bare foot. How things so happen to be in this moment have those danger feelings within her intensifying by the second. She is sure harm is about to come her way, she is sure too that no matter how capable she is, what is coming may get the better of her.

The shadow, it soon is circling her, in an odd way taunting her, surely such a thing cannot cause her harm, if she can help it Greta doesn't want to find out what this shadow is capable of. Such a thing shouldn't be possible, but it is. She turns onto a street, a street she normally would not come onto, the lighting here is better than anywhere before now, the lighting is more frequent, closer together and stronger. Maybe this can help her. Fearing for her safety she almost collides with a stranger, a man she does not know in any way.

'Miss, are you alright? Can I help you?'

'There's some ... something ... following me ...' she says catching her breath, her panic clear to see.

'You can walk with me a while Miss, if it makes you feel any safer ...' he says being quite sure that no one and nothing has been following her.

The shadow comes close once more and again begins circling her, taunting her some more. The stranger doesn't appear to see it. She tries to evade this shadow as if her life depends on it, as if it burns and the longer this goes on the crazier it seems to her and the more crazy she seems to be. Is she having some sort of odd meltdown?

'Miss, are you alright?'

'You must see that ... right?'

'You'll be fine Miss, look my car is just across the street there, if you like ... I can give you a lift to wherever it is you need to get to.'

Definitely this is not something she would do under most any circumstance; she had already turned down a lift from a colleague, to turn down a stranger now, with all that is happening, how could she say no? She only considers the offer for a brief moment. 'Alright then ... thank you.'

She gets in the front passenger seat and he cannot believe his luck, a beautiful young lady has willingly gotten into his vehicle. He starts the car and takes the turn to exit the street; heading in the wrong direction to where it is Greta needs to get to. He hadn't asked her where she was headed, she told him anyway and when the corner was turned ...

'No, no' she says. 'Where are you taking me?'

'Don't worry Miss, all is well. You are safe now; you are safe with me.'

What to do now? What can she do?

The vehicle comes to a dark out of the way place and he begins to have his way with her. She fights him off as much as she can, confined by positioning he gets the better of her and as he does best her, she manages to reach into her bag.

'C'mon Missy ... be good for Daddy.'

'Get off me ...' fucker ... he'll get his.

She struggles as much as she can, and he tears her clothing. Her hand continues to search her bag and a pen is clutched onto but not before he has had his way. Without hesitation she rams the pen into his neck. He is not to recover from this injury; in fact, he is soon to lose his life. She completes her journey home in a bloody daze.

Nine months pass and a baby girl to be named Lonnie is born ...

2.

Morning comes and blood on the outside of the door to Greta's apartment is cause for concern to her neighbours. None of her neighbours know her well enough to ever interfere with anything she does, still there is concern. Greta has always generally kept to herself and has never offered much more than an hello to her neighbours but the sight of blood, well that indeed would be cause for concern to anyone with a heart and perhaps too to some without.

Knocks to that door go unanswered. In the hallway outside her door, a corridor which accesses a number of apartments, no discernable sounds coming from within Greta's apartment can be heard. It isn't long before police are called and in turn it isn't long for them to put two and two together. Hours prior to their arrival, a dead man had been discovered in his truck having been stabbed in the neck with an as yet unknown instrument. His manhood on display upon discovery, it is easy enough to speculate.

The urge to knock the door in of Greta's apartment is suppressed and a master key wastes little time with arriving to the apartment door. As it would appear, concerned citizens here have a way of getting things done. Their community is their community and they'll always look out for it. Greta Turner is soon discovered cowering in a bedroom corner. Hours pass and investigators at the hospital are told that examinations prove an attack took place and the lady out cold in a bed is a victim who defended herself, still, nothing can be taken for granted, questions still need to be asked.

Rather than wake her, investigators wait until she wakes before putting their questions to her and at that they do not wait very long. The instant Greta wakes, she has company. Introductions are made and as the officers do introduce themselves Greta's eyes search the room as if she were non-verbally asking for help with avoiding having to tell of her experience.

The aid she seeks doesn't come to her, not from any other person at least and another kind of aid is soon very necessary. Bed rails are up either side of her and Greta reaches to use them so she can adjust her own position. What she gets instead, however, is a shock, static shock to her hands from both rails. Her hands retreat quickly, and the brief shock had been strong enough that a spark could be seen on both rails as it had occurred.

Greta reaches again and if the officers had already been baffled by the first rail incident then this one would be difficult to believe even with the fact that they are getting to see it firsthand. Her hands reach tentatively at first then she quickly grabs and holds onto those rails, instantly going into full body convulsions.

Doctors and nurses are quick to get to her, the first three of which are thrown, propelled away from her by whatever it is that is occurring and to each of them it feels as if they have received a sever electrical shock. When things calm this is what they themselves are treated for. The fourth person to reach Greta jabs her with a syringe and manages to administer a sedative while also taking one heck of an electrical punch. Electrical burns will ensure that this person will need a bed of their own for a number of days.

Over the next ten days this is the only instance of whatever it is that occurred. Greta is fine and well or as well as she can be given the circumstances as are those who came into contact with her. No serious harm had been done and any injury imparted will heal in time.

She is released from hospital with appointments to see a specialist and a psychiatrist. She also is not to be charged with any wrongdoing either within or outside of the hospital. She's a victim who defended herself one night on her way home from work and the cause of the electrical charge cannot be identified and its effects are treated as a freak occurrence. A court appearance is still necessary to bring all out into open and to leave all doubt behind.

Her experiences from day one at the hospital and then after's up until the court date gain her people who fight for her and offer up testimonies to her character. Greta Turner is not an evil person. It is six weeks after the attack when things really begin to get ... interesting.