“Jen, what are you talking about?” Becky asked. “Him? What him? When did this “him” come into the conversation? I’m sorry, but I’m so lost.”
Michelle narrowed her eyes at Jen and snarled. “What the hell? Him? Jessica’s killer? How could you be so naïve? Hun, what would you have done if you did run into him? Jessica is gone. I know you miss her, but thinking her killer would happen to come upon you is crazy. I’m not going to lecture you right now because he isn’t the topic of this convo.”
Jen knew she was off-topic. She shook her head and quickly continued. “Sorry, so as I walked down the path, I first heard someone’s muffled cries. It was stupid of me, but I veered off the tracks toward the old asylum. The closer I got to the asylum, the louder the cries became. I was trying to be quiet, but with each step, there was a cracking sound. I didn’t want whoever was causing the cries to know someone was coming. Hell, I don’t even know why I was investigating this by myself. I mean, what did I really think, I could be the hero? I’m a freaking sixteen-year-old girl.”
“I started to have this feeling that someone was watching me. I slowed my pace. I tried to take in my surroundings as well as I could, but the darkness was making it hard as I entered the asylum.”
“Wow, wait a damn second there, girly. You mean you actually cut through the fucking building itself?” Steve interjected with a combo of fascination and fury in his typically calm voice.
The darkness of night had descended upon them, so Jeremy lit a fire. Jen watched with fascination. She could clearly see how each of them was attempting to hide their true feelings from Jen.
“I made it around to the edge of the main entrance to the abandoned asylum. As I was standing behind the side wall of the huge steps that lead up to the main entrance, I heard familiar voices, one male, and one female, and what I heard next sickened me to the core.”
Jen repeated the words she heard spoken.
“First by the male. ‘Oh, stop being a fucking pussy, you bitch. You’re the one who agreed to this date.’ The female said, ‘This is not what I agreed to. I told you by the library I just wanted to go home, I wasn’t coming here with you. If I knew you were going to drag me here, I would never have agreed. I swear to God.’ Then he said, ‘You swear to God, what, bitch? You know you want it. You know you want me. I just can’t be caught dead in public seen with you. You may have a hot-ass body under those rags you call clothes, but imagine what my friends would think.’”
Jen sighed. “She said, ‘I don’t want you. How many times do I have to tell you to get the fuck off me, this is rape.’ I could hear that the girl was sobbing. I wanted to run around and help her, but my gut was telling me to wait. I had to know who it was though, so I backtracked and walked into the woods. I hid behind a big tree with a clear viewpoint of who would be exiting. I was scared.” Jen was almost in tears herself at this point. “That’s when I noticed it was that cocksucker, Brody. You know, the asshole quarterback on the varsity team? He was pulling Tina; you know, the one everyone calls Tiny-Tina by the arm as he pulled her out in the open. I know she’s older than us, so she has to be in eleventh grade I think, if not twelfth.” Jen’s voice was gruff. “But she, well, you know, she has problems, a disability. Her mindset is much younger. Like a child.”
“What a sick fucking bastard, I know exactly who you are talking about, and she is tiny. Brody is fucking huge. I can’t imagine how bad he must have hurt her. I can’t wait to get my hands around his throat in the locker room,” Jeremy said with a growl. His eyes light up with excitement when he mentioned hurting Brody.
“Wait,” Becky jumped in. “Let’s hear the rest of what happened. I also think we should come up with a plan before we do anything. Do you know if she called the cops, Jen?”
Michelle wasted no time in saying, “I agree, Becky. We need a plan.”
Jen explained how it was all a setup from the very beginning, Brody had never wanted a date with Tina. Jen was sure Tina wouldn’t be able to speak from the pain and her terror.
Jen said, “Her clothes were ripped to shreds, so she was basically standing naked. “But that little girl had spunk because she let him have it. She told him that she wouldn’t do as he said. That she wasn’t scared of him. She said she knew he wouldn’t kill her even though he told her he would if she even threatened to tell. He threatened to hurt her little sister, and that he would make sure she watched if she told. That’s when I was going to run up and hit him over the head with a metal bar I found near my hiding spot. But when I stood up, out jumped those two douchebags he is always with, Kevin and Lance.”
Jen paused for a moment. She was shaking badly by now, not from being cold or even being upset. No, this was the shake of rage right before one is going to explode. She knew she needed to calm down. Jen breathed out slowly before she began again. “Those jerks had cameras, and they immediately started taking pictures of her. Tina tried to cover herself as she reached for the tattered remains of her clothes, but Brady wasn’t having it. He positioned her so they could get the perfect pictures. I assessed the situation, trying to figure out how I could take down three guys with one bar. I glanced down at my phone, but I didn’t have a signal so I couldn’t call the cops or anyone for help.”
Chapter Six
Michelle
Bullshit. You never thought of calling the cops did you, Jen? Michelle thought. You wanted to shove that bar right through their fucking heads.
“They told Tina that even if she did go to the cops and cry rape, no one would believe her. They said she was nothing but poor trash. That it would be a case of he-said-she-said. Besides, Brody said he was the one with money and a good lawyer. If she told, it would leave her the laughing stock of the school, they reminded her of what her sister would face if she told anyone. And they also let her know if she didn’t want anyone to see the pictures, she would keep her mouth shut.”
Steve said, “Hell, Jen.”
She nodded. “Well here is where things take a strange turn.” She huffed as she continued. “I thought for sure they were going to do something else. I don’t know what, just a gut feeling I guess. That’s when I heard the whistling. It was coming from behind me. I froze in place and shut my eyes until I couldn’t hear it anymore. When I opened them again, that’s when I saw it.”
“What? Saw what?” Becky couldn’t take it anymore, and it was beginning to show.
“Him, I think,” Jen deliberated. “At least I saw someone that could be him. But it was so dark,” Jen shrugged. “Tiny was still on the steps. So, I knew she wouldn’t have been able to see him. One thing I found interesting, was that Brady and his cronies looked scared to death. They glanced back at Tina and shouted, ‘Tell no one!’ just before they ran off.”
Chapter Seven
Michelle
Shocked looks marred everyone’s faces. Jen said nothing as she paced back and forth, chewing on her fingernails. Michelle could tell that each one of her friends’ minds were spinning with crazy thoughts, and revenge was just one thing Michelle thought was on their mind. She knew this was the opportunity they’d all been waiting for. Michelle watched her four best friends, cold and calculatingly. She believed she was reading them right. The flames from the fire danced across their faces menacingly. This incident just happened to act as the perfect scapegoat.
Michelle was happy. Not over what Tina went through, but happy her friends could act on the desires. Desires that have plagued them. Their inner demons, which connected the five friends in a way no other feeling ever could. Now they would have to make a plan. It would take some time to come up with the perfect one, but with her semi-newfound revelation, she figured it wouldn’t take too long with the five of them brainstorming. After all, it was clear this was something they were going to want to do, even if it meant she would be saying the first word, possibly even doing a little extra pushing.
She had a feeling they may try to say, they were not so sure about this. Just by guessing, she felt Becky and Steve w
ould fight back the hardest, in an attempt to keep their innocent act going. Michelle looked back on their lifelong friendship with new clarity and wondered why she had never fully picked up the signs before. They were there, plain as day, red flags waving around each one. I guess I just didn’t think it was possible to have the perfect set of friends basically handed to me as a birthright, she thought to herself. Sure, the town had more than five founding families. Roughly twenty all had generations still there, each descending line with children around the same age as them, but the connection between these five had been something unbreakable from the moment they were old enough to know what a friend was.
Funny how things always seem to work out the way I need them too. Michelle was lost in her thoughts. It’s like my deepest prayers have been answered. If I believed in fate or destiny, I would certainly think this is our destiny. That somehow, some way a supernatural force brought us all together. But I don’t believe in all that hocus- pocus type shit. Sure, it’s odd for a town so small to have five citizens of the same age with a similar diagnosis, but it’s just what the devil ordered. In this scenario, Brody is the devil, and we shall rain fire and brimstone upon him one way or another. I have to be entirely sure though.
No one had actually said anything since Jen finished with her story. Secretly, Michelle wondered if it was even true, or if her best friend’s mind had finally caved. Michelle knew about the nightmares starting again. She was aware that Jen believed he was back. Michelle knew all about the whistling, scraping, the shadows, and feelings of being watched. But she didn’t believe it was him. After all, he promised her he would stay away. She believed him when he told her that. Was it possible this Tiny and Brody thing wasn’t right either?
“We need to make a plan. We need to get back at these fuckers,” Jeremy said with a growl, breaking the awkward silence that had plagued the group once Jen’s account of what happened was over.
Well fuck, this can’t occur yet, Michelle thought. I need time to analyze the entire situation.
“Wait, guys,” she said, but no one was listening. They had all jumped right on board with Jeremy and were already discussing plans for revenge.
This was a double-edged sword. We are not ready to plunge head-first into punishing those asses. If we act too rashly, it will get us caught. Getting caught is not an option, especially since this is only the beginning of something they have yet to understand. I can’t allow them to go too far this time. No one ever starts big. Starting big only leads to ending badly. While Michelle was busy having an inner debate with herself, everyone else was making plans, plans she didn’t hear.
It was only when Jeremy barked the words: “It’s settled. Tomorrow, shit hits the fan.”
That Michelle was pulled from her own thoughts. “Wait a mother fucking second!”
Silence took hold, as all eyes were fixated on her. She knew at that moment she must look like the crazy one. She could feel her body trembling, and her eyes go wide. But it wasn’t out of fear or even anxiety. It was out of pure bliss and bloodlust, a sensation unlike any she had felt before.
What seemed like hours, but in reality, was only minutes, Michelle explained why they needed to take serious consideration of the what and extreme planning on the how. Warning them that they didn’t want to get caught. She was at least able to convince them to sleep on it before making any quick decisions. Michelle was going to take inventory of her friends. She had a plan, but she needed time to see if there was a weak link among them. She knew it only took one to break the chain, and she knew this was a chain that could never be broken.
Chapter Eight
Michelle
“Mom, Dad,” Michelle called out as she stumbled into her house around midnight.
Of course, no one is waiting up for me. No one worries about me, Michelle thought, aimlessly wandering to the oversized kitchen. The number six flashed on the answering machine from all the missed calls. If she had to guess, Michelle would bet all the calls were left by Jen’s overprotective mother. She couldn’t blame the woman. She had suffered a great loss. Plus, with Jen’s recent behavior changes, Michelle was shocked she hadn’t put Jen on lockdown.
Michelle pushed play on the machine and listened as she made herself a grilled ham and swiss sandwich. She had a long night in front of her, and only one thing left to do before going up to her room.
“Jen, you better have fucking went home,” Michelle muttered to herself as she dialed Jen.
Jen answered, but she didn’t say a word—just let Michelle hear the lecture she was enduring.
She choked back a laugh and hung up the phone. With a wry grin, she slid her sandwich from the frying pan onto her plate. She turned off the stove and made her way up the spiral staircase.
Michelle loved her room. In fact, she loved her entire house. Except on nights like this—when she was already tired and didn’t feel like walking so far. She was also grateful for the freedom her parents gave her, but she wasn’t sure if it was because they were slightly older or if it was guilt.
Michelle sat at her desk, placing some notebook paper and a pen in front of her. She decided that it was time to dig up the past she had locked away in her mind. In order to give Brody and his friends what they deserved, she would have to go back to the beginning first. Michelle was going to have to excavate bad memories. She took in several deep breaths as she slowly plummeted into a dream-like a state. She mentally focused on the dark purple of her curtains, noticing a loose thread. Following it with her eyes, up and over the large picture window and down the built-in bench seat, her sight slowly started to go fuzzy. She shook her head, pushing herself further toward a state of clarity. Michelle silently let her eyes lead her vision, traveling across the hardwood floor to the end of her large mahogany bed. Just before Michelle’s vision became unclear, she saw the huge, thick tree outside of her bay window.
With mechanic- like movements, Michelle began to write the truth of how she saw it. Her truth:
I remember looking at pictures. There was a vague familiarity to them, and I asked once or twice about them—about him specifically when I was little, but I was never given a real answer. So, I stopped questioning, and I slowly forgot his face. Later, all the pictures were burnt after Jessica was murdered. But why?
The phone ringing all afternoon. Lots of people in and out. Police wouldn’t take Jen’s mom seriously.
Police: ‘Mrs. Angelina, it’s way too early to file a missing person’s report. You said it yourself- Jessica loves to roam the woods on her way home from school.’
Jen’s Mom: ‘But not this long! Besides, Jessica got out of school at noon today; it’s already 3 p.m. She never takes over an hour to get home.’
Police: ‘I bet she just lost track of time, or maybe she thought you didn’t know it was a half day and that she would be able to get away with spending some extra time with her friends. You know how kids are.’
Jen’s Mom: ‘Don’t you think I thought of that? I’ve even called all of her friends, and she isn’t with any of them.’
Police: “A boy then? Maybe she met a boy, her first crush and she was too afraid to mention it to you? We both remember our first crushes, and neither of us wanted to tell our parents, so maybe.’
Jen’s Mom had a worried look on her face. All she could do was shake her head back and forth.
Michelle, still in a self-induced trance, continued to write, and as she did, more details from Jessica’s murder were revealed. Michelle was lost, busy writing, but slowly she stepped out of the trance. With a heavy sigh, she pushed the pages she had filled with her memories to the side exhaling. Michelle took one look at them and started to cry.
All the pain and hurt on these pages for me to read.
She loved Jessica, but she couldn’t read what she had written. She knew it would be too hard. Shaking off the bad memories, she grabbed her can of soda, a notebook along with several colored pens, and her pack of menthol cigarettes. She headed over to the bench seat. Slowl
y she laid everything out on her cushion as if she was preparing for a ritual. She reached up and open the bay window. She didn’t want anyone to smell the smoke in her room, and she still didn’t understand why she hid the fact she smoked from her friends.
Finally prepared, Michelle grabbed the Zippo, which was given to her by him. She lit her long-needed cigarette. She glanced up and noticed a silhouette, which was partially hidden from view. The darkness that surrounded the figure had Michelle squinting. Shaking her head, she rubbed her eyes. For some crazy reason, her body started to tremble. Michelle’s rubbed her arms and looked away from the window.
“It’s probably just a damn animal or tree limb,” Michelle whispered.
***
It was time to see if she could analyze each friend. Jen, Becky, Jeremy, and Steve. She wanted to know if she was right about them. Most importantly to her, if she was right about him—a cold-blooded killer.
She picked the pink pen to start on her first criteria list; she intended to complete one on each of them before the night was done.
JEN:
Abandonment issues.
People pleaser.
Intense, unstable, conflicted close relationships – sometimes full of mistrust even with us.
Poor self-image.
Extreme anxiety is leading to panic attacks.
Nervous especially when stressed.
Dwells on the past.
Fear of moving forward.
In and out of control with her life.
Cutter and has suicidal thoughts.
Depressed, angry, hostile even.
Impulsive – takes part in risky behavior.
Delusional Conduct Page 3
