A dark caption.

Natalie Preston, twenty-eight was walking her dog when she noticed something strange. She saw her neighbor who lived a couple of doors up from her had his front door open. At first, she thought little of it, as she assumed he was doing something that required the front door to be open, but once she got to her house and saw it was still open, she got concerned. She put the dog in the house and she walked over.

Natalie was known in the community for being a bit nosy. If there was a mystery or something going on, she needed to know what it was and why it was happening. This was no exception. Now, she knew that could be risks, at least in the abstract, but her little community had so little crime, there was likely a good explanation, or even a situation worthy of gossip!

Either way, she had to know. She walked over to the door and looked inside. It was a strange arrangement, this house, with double doors, a holdover from the previous owner who for some reason thought they were a good idea. She stood by the one door and looked in. Seeing nothing more than his entryway and part of his living room, she got bold and ventured in a little more.

She was fully in when she felt a rush of air like objects moved quickly behind her and she was in shock as the doors slammed shut all on their own! Oh no, this was something out of a cheap horror movie! She tried the doors but to no avail and as she did, she started to feel drowsy, faint even. She tried to move away from the doors and find another exit but the windows were locked and her attempt to bang on a window to get attention was fruitless. She dropped to her knees, and she then slumped over.

So nosy was Natalie, and so predictable, Edward thought as he walked on the sidewalk in his backyard, the local paper in his hand. He walked inside and sat down, crossing his legs and making sure his dress wasn't bunched up as he did. He took a sip of his morning coffee and opened the paper.

He smiled, seeing that Natalie made the front page, though at the bottom of it. Still, he thought, that was something. She always needed to know and be at the center of things and now here she was, very much at the center of a mystery all of her making!

He held the paper with one hand and felt at his neck, rubbing a stitch and then putting his hand back on the paper to read the article better. As he read it, he had to laugh. Whoever was the source of this had no idea what had happened. Possible communists? Really?

He put the paper down and chuckled. No, it wasn't commies, or whatever boogeyman they were looking for, rather it was a simple scientist who really wanted to see if his new machine worked while getting rid of the only person who would be glued to a mystery like this! How he loved when plans come together!