by Conny Manero

Created on: February 24, 2009   Last Updated: March 10, 2009

It could happen to anyone. If you had been there, you might have made the same mistake. I was working for the Toronto office of a large American movie company. It was my first day on the job and I had a lot to learn.

Overwhelmed with all the new information, I decided to go out during my lunch break to get some fresh air. Even though it was the middle of winter and bitterly cold, I thought a walk would do me good. The building had a beautiful garden and although the grass was covered thick with snow and the trees and bushes encrusted with ice, it appeared to be the perfect place to find peace and quiet.

However, there wasn't much peace and quiet that day. No sooner had I reached the patio or I heard a bone chilling scream. I look around me. Had someone fallen and broken an arm or a leg? I couldn't see another living soul. I hurried into the garden, looking for a human or animal form, but the whole garden seemed undisturbed. Yet I definitely had heard a scream.

Still puzzled by it all I heard another scream, a man's scream, and it was even more bone chilling than the first. I noticed that it came from behind me, from the lower level of the building. Ignoring the snow and the ice on the garden patch, I hurried over and heard him scream again and again.

Just as I reached the building a giant of a man walked out the door. Dressed in pants held up by suspenders, he puffed out his considerable chest, lit a cigarette and with great satisfaction blew the smoke into the air. I skidded to a halt. This was definitely not the man who I heard screaming.

This man, I wondered, what had he been doing? Who else was inside that building? How could he leave a man, who obviously had been in considerable pain a few moments ago, alone while he stood there enjoying a cigarette?

My imagination took a flying leap. Was he perhaps the man who had inflected pain on this poor soul? Being a few feet away from him I searched his clothing for traces of violence or worse ... blood. Had he been torturing someone? Surely not, this was 1999, not the middle ages. Then again, these days, one never knew what went on right under our modern noses.

I tried not to be too obvious as I looked at the man, but at one point our eyes met. He grinned at me. He grunted something, but too occupied with my own thoughts I didn't pay attention to what he was saying.

"Well," he said, louder this time, "what's it gonna be?"

"Euh? I'm sorry, what?" I stammered.

"Do you wanna look," he said, throwing a nod towards the door behind

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