Tears stream down Theo's face as he remembers the awful pain. He has relived the experience many times in his mind, each time believing it could never get worse. Not knowing who the masked people were or why they targeted him still eats at him, even if it is just the tiniest bit. The police were never able to track them down. They identified the woman by the name Celeste, but they had no information on the man. After intense media coverage and a thorough search of the area, the case went cold.
"Good morning Theo," A man in a white coat says as he walks into the small room Theo is confined to. "It's time for your therapy."
He reaches up and turns a large dial until the TV screen says, "Theo - 90%" He makes another adjustment, and Theo's screen goes black. Static spreads across the screen, followed by a garbled image of a person. Theo sits up and observes. The man's mouth moves, but no sound comes out. He slowly tunes the dial, and the man's voice becomes clear.
"Theo, can you hear me? My name is Dr. Rand. I'll be your therapist here at Broadmoor." Theo sits and listens intently to his new doctor. "I'll be helping you with your mental condition. We're going to make a few adjustments to your therapy, so we can get you out of here as soon as possible."
"What do you mean?" Theo asks, unsure of what the doctor means by "adjustments."
The doctor turns down the volume on the TV screen and looks around nervously. "I know who you are," he whispers, his hand hovering over the large dial. "I know what you did, and we can't have you walking around a place like this, a free man."
Theo can hardly believe what he's hearing. He doesn't want to believe it.
“Theo, can you remember? Tell us what happened that afternoon."
"You can tell us," another doctor says, sitting down at the table. He, too, turns down the volume on his TV screen.
"We already know everything. You don't need to hide anything. It'll be easier on you if you just tell us."
"But it wasn't me!" Theo screams in frustration, tears streaming down his face. "It was the man! The man on TikTok! He did it, not me! I just found her like that! You have to believe me!"
"We don't have to believe anything, Theo," the first doctor says sternly. "Now tell us what happened. Tell us how your mother was killed."
Theo knows he's trapped. "Alright! The man on TikTok is called The Paperboy! He killed my mom while I watched and then told me to remember it, or he'd kill me too!"
"But you're here, Theo," the second doctor says. "You survived. Why did The Paperboy let you live?"
"I don't know. I guess he messed up, and you found me before he could kill me too. Or maybe he wanted to play a twisted game of cat and mouse. He loves playing with people's lives. Whatever his reason, it was good for me, but we can't count on him making mistakes like that again."
"Do you know where he is now?"
"No," Theo answers.
"Theo, we can't help you if you don't tell us everything. Where is The Paperboy? What does he look like? What else do you know about him?"
"I don't know anything else! I've told you everything I do know!"
"Theo, do you remember the dollar bills left behind? Do you remember what they looked like?"
Theo thinks about the money he found around his mother's body; they were all in the shape of tiny towers. Each one was a different color, and they were all signed by the same person. Theo picked them up and unfolded them to read the name. The serial killer known online as The Paperboy. With this information, the doctors have all they need to know. They rush out of the room to call the police.
David sits at his computer going through the old videos. Oh, what fun times his mother and I had with him. He relives the moments as he watches Theo's mom on the video. He can still hear the cries of Theo as they cut and beat him.
"It's too bad I had to get rid of her." He says, talking to the computer screen.
She wasn't part of the plan, and she became a liability. Maybe if he hadn’t grown attached to her, he would have let her live, but he was so scared and knew it would be best if he got rid of her.
He says to himself as the rage builds up inside of him. "That damn bitch was going to ruin everything!" he gets up and heads to the shed in his backyard.
With this last video, he knows it is only a matter of time before Theo breaks. It might already be too late! David remembers the first time he met Theo, what a confused boy he was wandering around that park late at night. His mother kept feeding him those drugs to make him forget, but David is worried the doctors will find a way to recover his memories. He needs to act fast. He enters the shed where he keeps all his tools of the trade. He goes to his workbench and places the tape in his pocket, then takes out a syringe filled with liquid.
In the adjacent room, his prisoner lays strapped to a gurney. David enters the room and goes up to him.
"How are you feeling today Detective Gates?" David says in a smug tone.
The man is badly burned on his chest and arms, his face beaten to a bloody pulp, missing teeth, and has a broken nose.
"...Hurts..." he manages to say through his busted lips.
"Good," David replies with a smirk. "I imagine it does."
David walks over to a tray on the other side of the room, which contains several syringes. He injects one into the Detective's arm, which causes him to scream out in pain, then he injects one into his leg. The Detective cries as the burning sensation flows through his body.
"Do you know why you're here, Detective Gates?"
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
He doesn't reply; he just watches David with a stare that could kill.
"Well, let's review, shall we? You found out about my website, True Crimes, where I recount my killings in a series of videos. You also found out about the secret video I posted with footage of one of my torture sessions on a bound and gagged police officer. Now the question is, why did I do that?"
David walks back over to the other tray of syringes and selects one. He goes back over to the Detective.
"It's quite simple really, I posted that video to send a message. See, there are people in this world who get off on seeing others in pain, myself included. That video was for their enjoyment."
He injects the syringe into the Detective's neck, he screams out as his neck begins to bleed.
"Smile for the camera," David says as he injects another syringe.
The Detective begins to lose motor functions as his eyes roll into the back of his head. David starts talking to the camera, broadcasting a live stream on all major social media platforms. This is the first time he has done this. He always sent out messages to his followers to visit a hidden link to watch his videos. But this time, he wants the whole world to see The Paperboy.
"Hello, my name is David Zayim, and I am a killer but not just any killer; I am The Paperboy! For years I have terrorized this city with my findings of your deepest darkest secrets. Now it's time for entertainment."
The Detective is barely breathing as he watches the events unfold.
Patrick Turner's phone rings, and he grabs his cane to get up and answer it.
"Turner." He answers.
"Pat, it's Claire; we just received some damning evidence from the doctors that have Theo about the suspect David Zayim you visited before. He owns a website called True Crimes where he posts anonymously written accounts of killings alongside video footage of the murders. Remember those folded up bills you found in his safe? Theo said they were left behind around his mothers body."
"What?!"
"He is The Paperboy, Pat. Get on Facebook right now. There is a live video broadcasting everywhere."
Patrick hangs up the phone and grabs his laptop from the table beside his recliner. He turns on the live broadcast of The Paperboy's video from David Zayim's Facebook account.
"I thought this guy only posted cryptic messages with videos of his killings." He says to himself as he watches in shock at what is unfolding before him. David is wearing a black hoodie and black jeans. He has a black bandana covering part of his face. His skin is ghostly pale, and he has dark circles under his eyes. Behind the Detective, David is holding up a newspaper. The headline reads: The Paperboy, Lone Wolf or Group? This newspaper is dated for yesterday.
"Hello, my fellow Americans. Today I bring you a story of one of our country's own, someone who took an oath to serve and protect and failed spectacularly in doing so. Let me introduce you to Detective Edmond Gates."
The camera turns towards the Detective as Pat sits up from his chair in shock. Behind him, David lowers the newspaper, revealing a fishing pole and a rifle on the ground.
Gates looks down at his feet to see a fishing line tied around one of his ankles. The other end of the line is connected to the trigger of the gun.
Patrick watches in horror as Gates tries to bend down to examine the trigger.
The trigger is pulled, and a bullet flies through the Gate's head, killing him instantly.
"Now my work here is done," David says as he puts down his phone and begins walking away from the shed.
"Fuck." Pat says as he watches the video. He quickly gets up to call into the Police Station.
"Claire, I'm going in."
He gets up from his chair, quickly puts on his bulletproof vest over his shirt, and puts on his police badge.
"Pat, you're still in recovery! Let us handle it," Claire says.
"Claire, I've been on desk duty for months now while everyone else is out there fighting the good fight. The least I can do is try to end this."
"Fine, if you're going, you're not doing this alone. I'm coming with you."
"You? But you're in charge of the station."
"Pat, the whole fucking station is coming with us!"
Pat shakes his head and sighs. "I can't ask you guys to do that."
"You aren't asking, I'm telling you," She says, walking out of her office with a bulletproof vest and putting it on.
"Theo, are you awake?" "They found him; they found The Paperboy," one of the doctors said over the intercom.
"What?" Theo says, getting off his bed.
One of the doctors walks into his room. It's Dr. Murcheson, the very same one that was so certain Theo was going to die just a few days ago.
"Theo," he says, opening the curtains to let more light in. They both shield their eyes. "How are you feeling?"
"Like shit."
"Well, that's to be expected, yet you're still feeling, that's a good sign. Now the police have found The Paperboy, and he's all over the news."
Theo looks over at the TV on the wall. It's turned to CNN.
--
Breaking News From CNN: “The Paperboy has been found, this just in, the largest manhunt in history has finally come to an end. For the past two weeks, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, The CIA, and the DHS have been going door to door through thousands of leads to locate missing Detective Edmond Gates. This morning they received a phone call saying he could be found at a shed outside Franklin Park. The entire area has been blocked off as hundreds of police and law enforcement officials search for the dangerous killer. They ask everyone to stay inside and avoid the area while they make sure the scene is safe. This has been Jake Watterson with a CNN Breaking News Bulletin.”
Patrick and Claire, along with hundreds of officers, arrive at David's house.
"Search the house! Make sure there's no way he can escape!" Patrick yells.
The police break down the front door and run inside. They tear the whole house apart from top to bottom but find nothing.
"He must have escaped out the back!" One of the officers says. Patrick runs to the backyard and sees that the shed's door has been left open.
"He was here!" He says.
He looks inside the shed to see saws, drills, and other tools used to torture people lying around, including a drill with blood on it. He stops when he sees the corpse of Detective Gates. His body is partially sawed in half with his face torn off.
"Oh my god," Patrick says. "Claire, get over here."
Claire runs over and looks at the body. "The Media's going to have a field day with this," she says. "We need to find him."
Patrick and Claire get into their car.
"Where could he be?" asked Patrick.
"He's been outed as a serial killer. He's not going to wander the streets of Chesapeake trying to blend in; he lost that ability when he broadcasted his face to the world. He could be anywhere."
The two police officers think.
"I have an idea," Patrick says.
"He's been planning this for years. He had dozens of safe houses he used to hide bodies in, we've found all but one. He could be there."
"But how would we know where it is?" Claire asks.
"The one we haven't found..." Patrick trails off, "Was the one they used to torture Theo."
"We have a visit with the doctors then," Claire says.
--
THIS IS A CNN BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: THE MANHUNT CONTINUES FOR SERIAL KILLER DAVID ZAYIM. CURRENTLY, THERE IS NO INFORMATION ON DAVID ZAYIM WHEREABOUTS. IF SEEN, DO NOT APPROACH. CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY.
--
Chesapeake District Police Department Press Release: David Zayim, the suspect in the murder of Detective Gates and the kidnapping of Daniel Mark Dixon, Sara Dawn Arnet, Henry Ian Owens, Olivia Marizza, David William Pacheco III, Emma Jean Campos, and Hannah Priscilla Parsons has been added to FBI's most-wanted list. The search for Zayim has been taken over by the FBI. $500,000 is being offered to any person or persons who can give any information about Zayim's whereabouts.
THE SEARCH FOR ZAYIM CONTINUES...