An Apple for Zoe: Book One ~ The Forsaken

don't understand Commander Gusarov, is how did you know what happened to me?'

'Because I was there Inspector James. I saw it with my very own eyes.'

'When?'

'The day I gave birth to them,' she said pointing at the Baranova sisters.

Shelton stared with mouth open. 'You saw this when?'

'Summer 1987.'

Chapter Twenty-Seven Summer 1987

'You saw all of this when you were 13 years old, commander?' asked Shelton. Stasya nodded in agreement. 'Believe me when I tell you I was just as confused as you are now. At first I thought the visions were brought on by the drugs the doctors had been giving me.

'You see, when I first awoke from my coma, the KGB interviewed me relentlessly about what had happened to me. I tried to give them details of the assault, but I couldn't. I was in shock. My shock was not only from the fact I had been raped and survived when no one else had, but I was pregnant and about to deliver within the month.'

'So when you came out of the coma, they thought it might be the only chance to find out who the killer was, right?'

'Exactly. Of course, at the time I did not understand all they were doing to me. I was still practically a child and I was scared. When they interviewed me I would tell them things that even I did not remember or understand. But whatever I was saying seemed important to them.'

James felt chills as he listened to her. 'Do you remember anything while you were in the coma?' he asked.

 'I remember the coma felt like I was simply just sleeping for a along time. But I also remember dreaming. I dreamt of many girls like myself being lured into the woods and never coming home. I dreamt of concentration camps and a grand hotel where a monster lurked and crawled between the walls.'

'You saw all of that while in the coma?' questioned Shelton.

'Yes, but when I gave birth everything changed. I began to see murder.'

'You mean you saw the details of Chikatilo's earlier killings?' asked James.

'Not exactly. I mean, yes I did begin to sense Chikatilo. The more he killed, the more in tune I became to him. In fact the KGB began to know exactly when he had committed a new killing because I would become blind until the victim was completely dead.'

James rubbed his arms as a chill seemed to overpower the entire room. Stasya could see what she said was affecting  James.

'I understand it does not make sense to you yet. At the time it did not make sense to me. I had been subjected to so many tests I was not sure if it was real thoughts or imagined thoughts from all the drugs. The doctors were certain I had severe brain damage from the blow of the hammer. Except now I saw things I had never studied. I saw things that would make a normal person become insane. It was as if giving birth triggered something paranormal inside my mind.'

'Why did you lose your eyesight when Chikatilo killed?' asked James.

'Chikatilo used to stab out the eyes of his victims,' she said.

'Was it just a result of overkill frenzy?'

'No, he feared that the last image a person sees at the time of their death is forever recorded in their eyes.'

'So by stabbing out the eyes he believed it would keep him from being caught,' stated Shelton.

'Precisely. Belief in the human eye taking a final snapshot is an old wives tale. Chikatilo probably learned that Scotland Yard took photographs of Mary Kelly's eyes just in case the myth was true, and it made him paranoid.' added Stasya.

 'So, you said the more Chikatilo killed the more you could sense him,' stated James.

'Yes, even though I would become blind during the murder itself, once he left the victim I was able to see the crime scene with complete clarity. This was of course after my daughters were born. When the KGB were able to go directly to the crime scene within hours of the murders they knew somehow clairvoyantly, I was connected to him. We could never figure out if it was because I survived the rape or gave birth to his children.'

'So because of your gift, the KGB recruited you to hunt down Chikatilo?'

'I would call it a curse, Inspector, but yes you are correct. I was 14 years old by then. I spent the next three years of my life being exposed to every type of paranormal testing the KGB could imagine. After the fall of the Soviet Union your government took charge over me.'

'So you're not really a translator for the FBI are you?' asked Shelton.

'No.'

'Then what have you been doing for our government since you were 17 years old?' asked James.

Stasya looked at James with surprise that it took him this long to ask this question which, to her, was obvious.

'Hunting serial killers.'

Chapter Twenty-Eight Hunting Serial Killers

'When was the last time you saw your daughters, Commander?' asked Shelton.

'They were taken away from me when they were 3 years old.'

'Did they also manifest paranormal behavior?' asked James.

'Yes, but that is not why they took them from me. It was because they had committed their first murder together.'

'What happened?' asked James.

Stasya sat silently for a moment. She attempted to speak but no words came. She made a motion to James and Shelton that she needed a moment to compose herself. They understood and waited patiently. After several minutes of silent meditation Stasya, found her voice again.

'It was November 6, 1990, I was living with the girls at a government detention center. Living in comfort mind you, I was not a prisoner. The KGB is notorious for being as ruthless as the Gestapo, however I was treated very well and now I was also a member of the KGB with limited clearance. I was called to a meeting with the task force who had been looking for Chikatilo for many years now. During the meeting, I was suddenly overcome by an oppressive darkness. I was in the woods alone. I see a young girl enter the woods where I am also. She is close to me in body and age maybe a little older. For the first time since my own attack I was able to clearly see everything that was happening. I knew Chikatilo was coming and I had to warn her. I called to the girl. 'What are you doing here? You must go.' The girl looked at me defiantly and told me to mind my own business. I felt desperate. I knew any moment Chikatilo would arrive and find her.'

James could see the perspiration forming on Stasya's forehead. She began to tremble as she recounted the story to him and Shelton.

'Why weren't you blind this time like all the other times?' he asked.

Stasya waved her hand at James to be silent. 'Please Inspector James, do not speak or I shall never be able to tell this again,' she pleaded.

James quickly nodded that he understood, as he and Shelton shared a worried look.

Stasya returned her focus to her story. 'I rushed up to her and begged her to go. I told the girl it was not safe to be here, but she only cursed at me and pushed me away. My heart pounded with fear. I did not want this girl to suffer the agony I had faced. I kept watching the edge of the woods, when there in the distance I could see a