“It all started with a scream over 911 and ended in a bloodbath that rocked this town…”
I grew up watching movies like Friday the 13th, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street and as I got older, new genres of horror movies such as Scream became known to America. I used to watch them and get this thrill, it was so intriguing to try and figure out just who the killer was and what their motive happened to be. It happened to me and sometimes I still believe it was all a nightmare…but I know it wasn’t and I still have to live with the truth of what happened…
The first thing I should probably do is introduce myself. My name is Marlena Black…Dr. Marlena Black, if you want the fancy title in front of my name. My husband is…was a doctor as well. It sometimes still amazes me that he was killed in this whole mess. My husband along with most of my best friends. I don’t even know where to start when it comes to telling my story. I mean even if I do tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, half of you out there will think it’s all a lie anyway. But I swear on my husband’s grave that everything I write in this book is the absolute truth…starting with the day this all happened up until the day my world came crashing down.
I dedicate this book to my husband John, who even if he can’t be here in flesh he will always be here in spirit.
~Dr. Marlena Evans-Black
Psycho
The rain pounded the windows of University Hospital as the lights flickered with every bang of thunder that penetrated the blackened night sky. The small Salem hospital was quiet and dull, same as almost every other night in the quaint little town. Not much went on there besides the occassional broken arm or leg and when a little food poisoning would hit the high school just around the corner.
Greta Von Amburg sat at the receptionist desk, twirling her hair around her finger. She had had that job for almost three years now…three years of listening to old people bitch and moan about hemorrhoids, stomach pains, arthritis, anything that would keep them away from their other half for at least an hour a day. She had wanted nothing more than to quit and go back to the luxurious lifestyle she had lived while her mother, Princess Gina Von Amburg had still been alive but as a result to a wish in her mother’s will she stayed there.
The phone beside her rang, as she rolled her eyes, picking it up. “Salem University Hospital, Greta speaking. Can I help you?”
“Hey Greta, it’s Marlena.”
“Hey! Are you coming in tonight? The place has been dead as shit, like that’s a surprise.”
“Nope,” Marlena laughed. “I am off tonight, Craig is totally handling surgery and if by some chance he needs me, he knows where I am. John and I are spending our first night together since our damn honeymoon. But I actually called you to check up on his schedule.”
“Oh, so now that you’re married you’ve become his bitch?” Greta teased.
“Something like that,” Marlena laughed. “Actually, he ran out to buy some of that body fudge and a tub of whipped cream and asked me to see if he was working tomorrow. Some pediatrician, huh?”
“He’s the best,” Greta smiled. She looked at the schedule next to her desk and eyed it over looking for John Black’s ID number. “Hmm, yeah he does work tomorrow. Noon to midnight.”
“Great, I work from midnight to noon the day after. I am so glad we are both doctors,” she replied sarcastically. “I’m going to go, I need to um…well you know,” she laughed. “I feel like there was something else I needed to tell you but when I remember, I’ll call back. Bye Greta, have fun tonight.”
“You too, Doc. And do us all a favor and don’t get hurt doing the nasty because we don’t want you in here *that* badly,” Greta teased.
“You got it. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Greta hung up the phone, picking up the new Cosmopolitan laying beside her. She flipped to the center of the magazine, reading the segment highlighted in the middle of the page. “Ex sex is so good, I would almost break up with a guy just to get it,” she read aloud. “Yeah, well I guess I wouldn’t know about that, huh?” she muttered, shoving the magazine aside. She put her head in her hands, as she began to rub her temples, the phone beside her startling her. She jumped up, grabbing her heart as she breathed out. “Holy shit, that scared me. What did Marlena forget now? 100 Ways to Please Your Man in Bed? Naw, she’s got that covered,” she laughed to herself, answering the phone.
“What can I do for you Mar?” she asked sweetly, placing the receiver to her ear.
“Help me…”
It was barely audible but through the static, Greta was able to hear…hear the soft voice that streamed through the receiver. Almost as if a baby was handed a phone and was speaking for the first time…and she heard it again, this time a little louder.
“Help me…I need your help…”
Greta sat up straight in her chair looking around the deserted waiting room. The only staff on duty was asleep in the on-call room and she knew not to wake them unless a clear emergency was happening.
“Wh..what’s wrong?” she asked, trying to calm her nerves.
“Help, I need help…”
“Okay, I’ll go get a doctor, just tell me where you are.”
“No. Please…no doctors. I…I just need someone to talk to. I’m outside…it’s cold and…and I’m alone and I want to…to die. I need someone sane to talk me out of this, please come…it’ll only take five minutes…please.”
“Okay,” Greta replied, standing up. “I will be down in a second, just hold on, all right?”
“Please…please hurry.”
The line went dead as Greta put the phone down. “You can do this, just stay calm and breathe deep,” she said to herself, walking out of the waiting room. She ran outside into the pouring rain, her hair damp, her eyes blurred form the amount of rain suddenly upon her but she knew what she didn’t see…the person who had called only seconds before, pleading for just a little help.
“Hello??? Is anyone out here?” she screamed, her voice echoing. “Someone just called me from right outside. Please come talk to me!”
She stood in the rain, the only sounds heard was the water dancing along the pavement, the thunder clapping its praise every few seconds. She looked around to see anything at all and still failing.
“Hello? Look, it’s cold and wet out here, so if you don’t come out in a second, I am going to have to go back inside. Where are you?” she yelled as she turned around, a flash of lightning striking before her. And it was then she saw it…the masked face…the blackened outfit with nothing more than eye slits cut into it. All black…as dark as the night and the voice…deep, chilling…
“I’m right here,” the voice said, gripping a huge knife as they plunged it into Greta’s back.
Her screams shrilled the night air as they released, only to plunge it right back in as Greta Von Amburg’s body fell onto the solid ground, her scream echoing through the night.
Stab
Dr. Marlena Evans-Black awoke to the sounds of Tony Bennett blasting through the sound system of her penthouse. She rolled over in bed and noticed her husband’s side was empty, laughing silently to herself as she could hear his singing from down the hall.
She pulled her long blonde hair up into a high ponytail and picked up the patient chart that was lying next to her bed. Marlena Evans had wanted ot be a surgeon for almost as long as she could remember. She had spent her childhood watching her father perform the art of surgery and wanted nothing more than to be like him. She had graduaated top of her class at NYU Medical School and done her residency at Cedar Sinai, the most upscale and prestigious hospital in all of California.
But when she had met her now husband John Black at a medical conference in the small town of Salem, she had moved there to share her life with the one man she loved more than anything. They had married in a lavish church with rows of flowers and heartfelt vows, that still rang in her mind every time she closed her eyes.
“Someday, when I’m awfully low, when the world is cold, I will feel a glow just thinking of you and the way you look toooonight,” John Black sang as he grabbed onto the frame of the door swinging into the room, a red rose stuck between his teeth. “Darling, Happy One Month Anniversary,” he smiled, climbing onto the bed and kissing her lips softly.
She giggled, licking his saliva with her lips, placing her hand on his cheek. “Honey, I told you the night we married that if you *ever* sang to me again, I may have to hurt you and what do you do?”
“I sang because I want you to hurt me, Doc,” he said seductively.
John Black was what you would call a ‘Hollywood’ heartthrob. He was the Doug Ross of Salem’s University Hospital with the dark brown hair and the baby blue eyes which could form a smile on any child’s face. Children would deliberately fall off their bikes or bruise their finger, just to get a look at the handsome doc who ruled the children’s pediatric wing. Mothers would fall for his charm, older sisters as well…but she had only loved one woman all his life and that was his wife Marlena.
They had met at some conference the town held every year and he fell in love as soon as his eyes met hers. There was something about her…her charm, her grace..something he knew he had loved the moment their eyes had met. They had gone out for dinner that night and the rest had become history.
Marlena glanced over at the alarm clock on the dresser and smiled, pulling John on top of her. “You know sexy, you only have one hour to ravage me and I do believe you need to shower because you still have hot fudge all over you,” she smiled, licking his chest. She licked her lips and smiled, running her hands through his hair. “You taste yummy.”
He nipped at her neck, making her squeal in delight as she rolled them over so he was on top of her. He noticed the dry remains of whipped cream above her chest and moved down on her, licking the remains off her upper chest. “I want you, Marlena. I *really* want you…”
“So discover me,” she whispered, pulling his lips to her own and kissing him tenderly. “I love you baby. Oooh, I love you,” she moaned as she felt him move inside her.
A loud moan escaped her lips as his body writhed with hers, his hands pinpointing her down in sheer ecstasy. She felt as he pulled out, his body rolling over hers, a bright smile evident on her face.
“How the hell did you become this amazing at sex?” she asked breathlessly.
“I had an *amazing* partner,” he smiled. “Now, I still have…about another 15 minutes until I have to get ready so what do you say we have another round?”
Before Marlena could answer, the phone beside her rang. “I fucking hate being a doctor,” she mumbled, rolling over to pick up the phone. “Hello?… This is she, may I ask who is calling? … Excuse me?” she asked shocked, John eyeing her trying to figure out what the call was about. “I…I spoke to her last night…No, at about 10:15-10:20…Sure, we will both get down there ASAP. Thanks so much. Good-bye.”
Marlena hung up the phone, gazing out the large picturesque windows. She felt as John’s hand touched her heated skin and she jumped, gazing into his deep blue eyes, tears beginning to form within her amber orbs.
“Baby, what’s the matter? What happened?” he asked softly.
Marlena swallowed the lump that had begun to form in her throat and wiped her tears quickly, biting on her lower lip. “Um…Greta…she…well she um…”
Tears began to plummet down her cheeks as John gathered her in his arms. “Shh, just tell me, what happened with Greta? Is she alright?”
“She was killed,” Marlena sobbed. “The police said that…that they found her body outside on the pavement, three stab wounds to her back, three to her chest. They don’t know who did it, just that it was definitely a homicide. They want us to come down to the hospital for questioning. John, I am so scared,” she whispered, feeling his body against hers. “Just please don’t let go,” she said quietly, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.
“I’ll never let go,” he whispered in her ear as he just held her, her body crumbling in his arms, wondering if there was a killer on the loose, were they next?
Suspect
“One hour to go to the store?” Roman asked doubtfully. “What the *hell* could have taken you so long to go food shopping at 10 at night? Were you stocking up for the winter storm watch in fall?” he said sarcastically.
John rolled his eyes, his teeth beginning to grind together from the whiny tone of the man before him. “Do you *really* want to know where I was?” John asked, a smile starting to form on his lips. “Well all right *Captain,*” he said hatefully. “I had to go to about five supermarkets until I could find just what I was looking for. And I assume your next question will be what was I looking for? Well I was in search of Body Fudge and well, it’s just not that easy to find anywhere.”
Marlena smirked at John’s answer, biting down on her lower lip to keep from bursting out in a fit of laughter. She knew how Roman Brady felt about her and she was flattered…but she had not interest and never would have any interest for the man. He was overly confidant which wasn’t a bad trait until that confidence became snottiness and arrogance.
“Look, Roman,” Marlena said stepping in, “neither John nor I would do something like this. Roman, as much as you and John may not see eye to eye about a lot of things, you two were best friends at one point. You *know* that he wouldn’t do this. And I know you don’t know me all that well, but…”
“I know you wouldn’t do anything like this,” he said softly. “I’ll let you two go for now, but if I come across any more evidence, I will have to come and ask some more questions.”
“That’s fine,” Marlena smiled, standing up alongside John. “Good-bye Roman. I hope you catch this guy soon.”
“Me too,” he said.
———————————————————–
“I think he did it,” John said as they walked outside into the fall breeze as they walked towards John’s black Jeep Grand Cherokee. “I mean, come on. Salem having a murder mystery? We’re not exactly New York City. We don’t even have robberies here, let alone murders.”
“And what would be his motive?” Marlena asked, getting into the car.
“To be Salem’s Super Cop? To have women fawn all over the hero, most importantly…you.”
“Oh come on, John. Tomorrow is Halloween. So you have some sicko kill a girl, two days before the biggest fright day of the year. I would hardly call this a murder mystery. Look, the last thing I want to do right now is talk about this *or* think about this and since the hospital is closed now for investigation, why don’t we go home, relax and finish what we began this morning,” Marlena said, running her hand up and down his thigh.
“Yeah, Marlena, keep doing that while I’m driving. That won’t kill us,” he said sarcastically, the touch of her hand against his skin arousing him.
“Fine, fine,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “Then I guess I’ll just have fun with you when we get home,” she winked, leaning up against the cold leather seat, her mind wandering to what would happen tomorrow if this *was* a murder mystery.
Halloween
The rain pounded against the French doors of Dr. Marlena Black’s penthouse bedroom. The sounds of the ocean, just outside the building seeped up the sandy shore, the smell of sea water wafting through the half open window in her bedroom.
As soon as she and John had looked at the place, she knew it was the vision of perfection. The way the building was perfectly positioned on the beach, the waves crashing mixed with the sounds of the red robins that flew over in the summertime. The penthouse mirrored exactly what she and John were…flawless and everlasting beauty.
Marlena stretched in bed, sighing contentedly as she listened to the rain hit the smooth glass. It reminded her of the first night of her honeymoon with John. The rain fell against the sandy beaches of Hawaii, the two fo them content in each others arms. She smiled, rolling over in bed, expecting to feel John’s chest up against her own, but when she felt nothing, she opened her eyes, only to find the right side of the bed empty.
“John?” she called out, sitting up in bed, tying her hair into a bun. “Hey gorgeous, if you come upstairs now, I’ll reenact that sex scene from ‘When a Man Loves a Woman.’ You know you love it when we get down and dirty on the bar,” she teased, yelling throughout the room.
When she received no answer, she shrugged her shoulders, grabbing the remote from the night stand. “Maybe he went running or something,” she muttered, flipping through the channels, finally settling upon an old episode of ‘Friends.’ She began to doze off to sleep once again, until the phone beside her startled her out of her slumber. She reached over and picked it up, rolling over in bed.
“Hello?”
“Hello Doctor. Do you want to die tonight?”
The voice chilled her to her very core, the hair standing up on the edge of her skin. She felt her heart start to beat, as if it were about to pop out, her body shaking violently, not knowing what to expect from this mystery caller.
“Wh…who is this?” she asked, her voice breaking. “Look, you might as well just leave me alone because my husband is here and he will kick your fucking ass if you come anywhere near me.”
“I’m sorry Doc, but your husband isn’t here. So you can scream all you want…”
“I’m…I’m not afraid of you.”
“Oh yes, you are,” John laughed, walking into the room, a cell phone in his right hand, a voice box activator in his left. “You are petrified,” he smiled, getting up on the bed.
“You asshole!” Marlena screamed, slapping his upper arm. “Are you fucking crazy, John? There is a murderer on the loose and you call me up pretending to be the killer? This isn’t Nightmare on Elm Street or something, this is real life! Is your brain lacking neurons or something?”
“Oh come on baby, scary movies are great foreplay, not to mention it’s Halloween. I had to pull *something* on you, but I”m sorry, I scared you,” he winced, putting on his puppy dog face, which would somehow always find itself giving in to his soft pink lips and the twinge of his baby blue eyes.
“Okay, well first off, stop stealing lines from Scream or whatever that movie is. Second of all, I should kick your ass, but you know I can’t resist that face. *But* if you *ever* fucking do that to me again, I will kick your ass right into that water, got me?”
“I got you…and nw that you are done yelling at me, don’t you think it’s about time we got down to business?” he smiled seductively, laying on top of her, softly nipping her neck. “Let me ease your troubled mind,” he smirked.
A smile formed on Marlena’s lips as she held her hands up, feigning surrender. “Okay Mr. Black. You win. Rescue me,” she winked, placing her hands above her head.
“My pleasure,” he smiled, gently pulling her negligee up. He began to kiss her chest as she laid there, her eyes closed, just enjoying hte feel of his lips along her body.
He was about to move up to her lips, when the phone beside them rang once more. Marlena looked at it, raising her eyebrow, and then laughed.
“Hey, maybe you should answer that, in case it is the killer or something,” she laughed, handing him the phone.
“John Black, what can I do to make your day a little bit better?”
“Take your gorgeous wife and pack up…we’re going to the cabin,” Dr. Craig Wesley spoke. “Nancy and I figured since the hospital will be closed for another few days, we should get away from this mess now. Hope and Bo are coming, Lexie is minus Abe since he needs to work on the case, Laura is coming. Come on, it’ll be fun,” Craig pleaded.
“Yeah, well, in a full house like that, I will never get to ravage my wife,” John teased.
“Do her in the woods. You may get poison ivy, but hey, foreplay is foreplay, right?” he laughed.
“Ok, you got yourself a deal. We’ll meet you up there tonight, all right?”
“All right. See you then.”
John hung up the phone and turned to find Marlena putting on a sweater, tight blue jeans already nestled onto her slender legs. He let out a large groan, rolling over in the bed.
“Nooo, Doc, what are you doing?”
“I am going to pack,” she winked. “I heard what Craig asked and I think it sounds like a great idea, except…”
“Except what?” John asked curiously.
“If there is a killer and he is targeted on one of us or all of us, he’ll find us wherever we go…”
I Know What You Did Last Summer
John Black pulled up to the old cabin, just before the woods. It was a solid house, but one that seemed to have been falling apart slowly, inch by inch. Dr. Craig Wesley, chief of staff at University Hospital had bought the cabin when he first came to Salem with his wife Nancy. He found it sort of endearing and had purchased it right on the spot.
He was a good looking guy, brown hair and chocolate cream colored eyes, with looks to die for and a voice filled with sexiness. Marlena had always teased John that she could have fallen in love with him, had he not already been married and her involved with John. His wife was far different than Marlena, with fiery red hair and green eyes, and heavier than Marlena. She had a mouth on her which no one could stand, but put up with it for Craig’s sake. She and Craig were as different as night and day, but as mot say, opposites attract.
“I don’t know why I let you persuade me to take you here,” John whined, unhooking his seatbelt. “I am never going to get to sleep with you here. A house that doesn’t seem to be able to hold two is going to hold seven or so. Maybe I should turn around.”
“Don’t you dare! Besides, we are already here and you need to get over the notion of always being able to sleep with me. Maybe I don’t wanna sleep with you,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him.
“Yeah, nice try, love,” he teased, pulling her over towards him. “Give me some love,” he whispered.
She gently placed her lips against his, breaking the seal of his lips with her tongue as he smiled, returning her passion. He ran his hand down her leg, sending shivers down her spine. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, letting his hands roam freely over her body.
“Hey, enough of that!”
They reluctantly broke from their kiss to see Craig standing at the door of the car, his hands upon his hips, a smile enlightening his handsome face.
“Thanks *dad,*” John said, agitated, stepping out of the car. “I was just about to get laid.”
Marlena laughed, steppingn out into the chilled air. “You were not!” She walked over to Craig, kissing his cheek softly, leaning in towards his ear. “Thanks for saving me.”
Craig laughed, wrapping his arm around her. “My pleasure, beautiful. So are you ready for a weekend of fun?”
“I was ready for a weekend of sex before you called,” John muttered as Marlena turned to him, giving him the evil eye.
“I don’t know about Mr. Grouchy over there, but I certainly am,” she smiled. “Let’s go.”
———————————————–
“I have a good doctor story,” Marlena laughed, sipping her champagne, as she leaned up against John’s legs. She sat on the floor, surrounding a large coffee table, as John sat on the couch above her, his arms wrapped graciously around her neck.
She sat before her colleagues, each of them clad with a glass of wine or champagne, relaxing in front of the warm fire that was brewing.
“Ok, so the year before I became a med student, I worked in some doctor’s office in New York. I was an intern so to speak, okay, more of a receptionist. So I had to call a patient and remind them of their appointment the following day and when I did, I came across Heather Locklear’s phone number. The doctor I worked for had a lot of celebrity clients, so…”
“Wait,” Craig replied, holding his hand up. “Who the hell is Heather Locklear?”
“Dude, that hot blonde from Melrose Place,” John smiled.
“John, they were all blonde,” Bo Brady replied, playing with his wife’s hair.
“Fine, the one with big breasts.”
“Again, all had big breasts,” Bo laughed.
“Fine!” John exclaimed. “The bitch who ran the building and the advertising agency.”
“Oooh, ok,” Craig smiled. “Although I liked the red head who blew up the place. She had an ass on her like…”
“Boys!” Marlena yelled. “Shut up! Now like I was saying, I found her address and phone number and was just kind of curious what agency she used. I was a model when I was in high school and was just wondering who her agent was. So I called the number and she picked up. I totally freaked. I mean Amanda Woodward answered the phone…”
“I thought her name was Heather,” Lexie asked, confused. “Whatever, screw Melrose, it’s all about Days of Our Lives.”
“Yeah, cause that hot chic Deidre Hall is on it,” John smiled, as Marlena turned around and hit him. “What?” he asked innocently.
“Yeah John, well I don’t see her giving you sex,” Marlena said, turning around.
“Yeah and plus, it’s so Kristian Alfonso,” Bo replied. “Hello, did you see her boobs?”
“Did you see Deidre’s?”
“It’s called plastic surgery, boys.” Hope muttered. “The freakiest doctor thing that happened to me was last summer. It was before I came to University and I was living in Colorado with Bo. It was a late night, almost three in the morning, I think, and I had been there for like fifteen hours. I was about to head out when all these ambulances started to pull up. There were about ten teenagers, shot, stabbed…it was terrible. It turns out, there was some 4th of July party and one of their friends just went crazy. He came out with a knife followed by another with a gun. It was the most horrifying thing I ahve ever seen or heard.
“Kinda like now,” Marlena said softly. She looked around the room at all of them and leaned back between John’s legs. “Do you think it was someone we know?”
Craig shrugged his shoulders. “It could be. I mean, we live in a pretty small town. But it could just be some crazy person who targeted a small town because it was easy. But Marlena, you know Abe will find him.
“Yeah…but what if it is too late?”
The Jarlena Journal 