Intentions to Kill

What happens when the one person you've trusted more than anything, was hurting your friends and family members? Killing them?

               I remember the gleam in his olive green eyes, sparkling like the twinkling stars that dotted the deep blue sky at midnight. They traveled like the wind across my body, revealing every curve known and left me without air in my lungs. It was then, when I acknowledged to myself that I had refrained from breathing, no oxygen rushing past from my full lips. A silent cry of delight sounded with a smile as I gazed intently upon him when all was muffled into silence, apart from the crickets who cheerily chimed their melodies to one another and my heart, which pounded inside my chest like a hammer to a nail, slowly pushing me over the edge of satisfaction. I fell against the cold, soft grass and turned my attention to the galaxy above, closing my eyes to feel his warm touch against my cheek, breath against my neck. He planted a kiss and my eyes fluttered open again to see him hover over me.

               The shadows of the night shielded his identity from my vision but his overwhelming presence was unbearable. Shutters of chills ran down my spine in an unruly feeling, sending my nerves skyrocketing at his glowing eyes in the dark of the night. I swallowed the rising lump in my throat and asked the one question that had hung on my tongue for the longest time with so much caution that it made my body tense. "What are you going to do to me?" I inquired, pursing my lips together while waiting for a response.

               He hesitated for a long, thoughtful moment before tucking back a strand of my curly auburn hair and leaned in to whisper in my ear. "Haven't you figured out?" His husky voice cooed, with a smile lurking across his ruby lips tinted the color of blood, "I'm going to kill you."

               My eyes widened at the calming tone of his voice, slithering past his tongue like a snake and a gasp caught my breath, frozen in time as the atmosphere suddenly turned icy and I could see our every exhale in the air. His hands coiled around my wrists, pinning me into place as I felt something cold pressed against my skull, the pressure of a gun resting against my head, ready to blow my brains away in a split second. My lips parted to release a frightening shrill, only to be hushed by his long index finger and the dangerous look in his eyes that told me if I made a noise, I would be finished before things even began. "Hush now, darling. The pain won't last." He informed me, chuckling darkly.

               And then, I heard a stranger scream.

               The trigger was never pulled, no bullet colliding my skull and ending my life. He didn't budge, never surrendered to the guilt that swallowed him whole and haunted him day and night. Instead, I squeezed my eyes shut and inhaled sharply, eyes snapping open and transported me back into my bedroom where I had been all along. His presence, the threat of his existence, was merely a dream that quickly turned into a nightmare and I didn't even know his name, nor his face. He was a mystery, as was the reason why he wanted my body cold, collapsing into his touch with death pulling me under.

               However, even though I was awake, with my subconscious mind shaken back into reality, the screaming continued. They were small streaks as the sound of glass breaking echoed through the quiet, sleeping house and my conscious told me that something was going very, very wrong considering that my little nine year old sister, Abigail was in such an uproar in the early hours of the morning. She was usually a quiet girl, hardly complained and was what my mother called an angel with such a humble personality and easy to raise. Hearing her in such an obnoxious state was far from what anybody would consider normal and it made the hairs on my arms and neck stand up as I rolled out of bed to see what the fuss was about.

               The lights flooded through the cracks of my bedroom door, shuffling feet quickly climbing up the stairs. I grumbled to myself, trying to settle back into my fluffy pillow for more sleep but was kept awake with the noise in the room beside me where she flung her door open and was met by whom I pictured to be my mother, flocking to her youngest daughter's rescue. She too joined in on the commotion, stomping on something I figured to be a bug and called for my father in a shaky voice to come quickly. Curiosity got the best of me as I shook my head and climbed out of bed again, wrapping my blanket around me for warmth, holding onto it with one clenched fist and ran the free hand through my hair.

               When the smoke detector sounded, I froze, my fingers in contact with the doorknob, ready to turn the handle. The smell of smoke seeped through the cracks of my door once again, vexing my nose and made me cough. My mother's voice cried out for me, her fist pounding on the door and made me jump. I saw her worried face when I opened it and spotted Abbey racing down the stairs. "Quickly, grab everything important to you and come to the curb outside." She rushed after my sister and anxiety filled my body along with confusion knitting my brows together.

               Another window shattered from downstairs, evoking me snap out of my daze and grab the closet thing to me and bolted out of my room and into the thick smoke. I fell to my knees and began to crawl on all fours, following the instructions the fire house down the street had taught us when I was a child, shuffling down the long staircase while holding my breath as long as possible, until my lungs began to feel like the fire that caught my house in flames. There was more glass shattered through the window I passed when I made my way toward the entrance, getting back onto my feet and covered my mouth. A glass bottle exploded, a note attached around its ring that slowly burned to ash. My eyes widened, causing my heart to race when I read the two words that shook me until my body trembled.

               Welcome Home.

               I stumbled before opening the front door and took one last glimpse at the house I'd known for so many years, now devastated due to some twisted 'surprise' for my return to my hometown after a year of being away for college. It disturbed me down to the bone that there was someone out there, I was possibly affiliated with, who thought it funny to do this to me. To my family.

               When I was twenty feet from the house, I turned to see the fire licking the sides of my house, engulfing it into flames as I stood and watched it helplessly as everything we once had obtained burned to ashes. An arm grabbed my shoulders, making my heart race like a hummingbird as I turned over to a fireman who looked concerned for my well being. He spoke calmly with an assertive voice, "Miss it's dangerous to be this close to the fire. Your family is waiting beside the fire truck. Is there anybody else inside?" I bit my lip with tears collecting as I nodded my head. The family dog, a Boston Terrier, disappeared under the furniture somewhere in our house just before the fire began. He didn't make it out and was certainly not alive by now. "Who is still inside?"

               The words choked inside of my throat as my hands shook vigorously, becoming out of control with every moment passing by. I didn't know if I could take anything else much longer. Everything was hitting me like a tidal wave, pulling me under and swept me into a current of misery set out to chase me unto the ends of the earth. "Mason - he's the family dog. We lost track of him just before the fire." Tears fell from my eyes as I looked back up to the fireman who nodded his head before reassuring me that our dog would be 'just fine'. But if dead was the definition of just fine then I was sure to believe it.

               He hindered for a moment as if to review the words he had spoken before racing into the house, passing the cluster of firemen who dragged out the hose as water showered down from its spout. I fell back, turning around and went over to my sorrowful family while the reflection of embers of the flames danced in their eyes. "How could this happen to us!" My mother sobbed into my step-father's shirt, "Who would do such a thing?"

               People with intentions to kill, I wanted to answer. But that was a frightening sentence and would only make her worry more for her families' safety. I, myself was concern for their security. The suspect was only a silhouette in the shadows. Not face or voice could possible match to this mysterious figure. All I could make of it was that the figure was a man, nearly six foot and traveled silently like an assassin in the dark hours of the night. I knew nothing more.

               Shivers ran up and down my spine, transcending to my arms while the hairs rose. Everything about this situation scared me. I had no idea who the person is, what their motives are and why they would pick my family as a prime target to kill. None of it made sense to me as my mind clouded with thoughts, swirling all at once while I watched a section of our roof collapse.

               The scream of Abbey, had caused me to throw my head back, eyes widened with fear for her. She had a hand clamped over her mouth, eyes fixated on our burning house where the roof suddenly collapsed and tears streaming down her cheeks. Her face was set out in horror, as if she had seen a ghost pass right before her eyes.

               "Fall back, fall back!" A fireman hollered, instructing the men who carried to hose. The others hesitated, one speaking out over the cracking of wood, "Jamison is still inside, sir!" He shouted to his captain, jogging up to him.

               I bit my lip, terror racing through my body as I turned back to the house. The firefighter who went to go rescue Mason was still inside and the roof was collapsing above him, most likely trapping him from all sides. Imagining the scene inside only caused the feeling of a lump in my throat to rise as I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to wake from this nightmare. But it was all real - all happening at the same time. My worst nightmare had come true.

               When I opened them, the images still lingered. Heat had grown and I found my hair sticking to my face, sweat rolling down my back and that was the moment I realized that my legs had started to move forward in a last effort to save both my dog and the fireman. It was an illogical thing to do, but I couldn't stop myself while tears blurred my vision and dark thoughts threatened my mind. I had become overwhelmed by the situation and as my heart beat into my chest I searched into the deepest shadows for the person responsible for this because ultimately, it was their fault this man's life was in danger, rescuing a family pet. I swore to myself that I would find out who had done this and make them pay.

               My ears picked up on the screams of my mother calling out to me in pure consternation. Other voices formulated into a distant echo while I advanced toward the conflagration. The flames crackled beneath my feet, embers spreading onto the grass, searing patches of grass. Nothing caught my attention but a shadow that flickered to my left, the figure of a person watching the scene leaned against a tree.

               Squinting my eyes, I sucked in my breath while a deep growl rumbled in my throat, anger boiling my blood. I had become more than certain that this figure was the person responsible for the disaster and the fact that they had the guts to sit back, watching everything crumbled to dust sickened me, leaving me furious and revengeful. My hands crumpled together, rolling into fists and shook until my knuckles turned white. A scream lingered on my lips, waiting to be released but all that came out was a choked cry when my knees buckled under my weight, pulling me to the ground.

               "Nice to see you again, Melrose." I heard them scoff in a low chuckled before quickly disappearing into the thick of the woods behind my house.

               Voices rose again in the background, like a siren it accelerated before I tuned out what surrounded me. My fists pounded against the ground, nails digging into the soil before something reached out, pulling me up by my waist. I screeched, clawing at the sturdy fabric that clung to their arms. "Let go of me!" I cried and began to forcefully kick my feet.

               "I'm afraid I can't do that, ma'am. You've caused yourself enough danger tonight. Being this close to the fire can severally burn you or harm your lungs from the smoke. " A man's voice answered, causing my eyes to glance up at him with a scowl on my face, "You should stay away from things that put you in harm."

               As he placed me back on the ground, I shuffled my weight and snapped my eyes over to a man only a few years older than me, who continually held his grasp against my wrist. He held a stern look on his face, as if he were scolding a child. I glared at him, tugging on my arm. "Somebody needs to save him!" My index finger extended toward the house the heat grew even more, water pumping from the hose putting out only a section of the large flame. "Why isn't anybody doing anything?"

               "We're trying our hardest to save him," he responded as we walked back to where my family stood, bewildered looks across each face. Abbey instantly wrapped her frail arms around my waist, crying into my shirt. I pursed my lips and gave her a weak smile when she looked up at me with a pair of large deep blue eyes. "Until then, I'd advise you to remain calm. We're trying to keep the flames under control."

               I looked at him in horror as if he had just committed murder. His words were so vacant, empty to our ears and left no hope for us. Everything he had said had no meaning to it, and I didn't know how to handle it. Still, I fought myself from spitting foul words his direction and only wrapped my arms around Abbey until our mother swept beside us, fumes of anger radiating off her body.

               Her eyes reflected a dangerous substance that only surfaced when she had become furious. "What on earth were you thinking - walking straight through a fire? You could have gotten hurt!" She hollered to me, making both Abbey and I flinch in unison.

               My mother was the type to fret every single detail - even the smallest. She projected her voice and made her emotions known to the entire family. I couldn't possibly understand how my step-father, Eric, could deal with her on a day-to-day basis, but he seemed to be managing quite well and while she hovered over me, I almost felt to urge to ask his secret before she folded her arms and rose her chin to show how serious she was. Which, it was, but nearly beyond serious into another realm to complete pandemonium.

               I closed my eyes, inhaling a slow, deep breath that calmed my raging nerves. "I'm sorry. I was caught up in my thoughts and didn't realize where I was going." My arms dropped to my sides as Abbey finally released me from the frightened hold she had around my waist. I flashed a weak smile toward her and looked back toward the tree where the figure had once stood, now only the shadow of the trunk was the only thing there.

               Eric quickly took my mother aside to help her sooth her rage, coaxing her with gentle words whispered in her ear. I shot him a look full of gratitude before switching my view to my mother who appeared to be struggling in contemplation but soon relaxed her tense body. Her attention turned back to the house, glancing at me twice as if to say that we would discuss this later on when everything died down, but I was afraid that with the warm, scolding welcome I received from the strange figure, things wouldn't be dying down for a long time and that made me speculate what their motives were as I scanned the woods and then analyzed the emotionally torn faces of my family.

               They ushered us aside as an ambulance approached, its siren's blare so piercing it felt as though our ears would bleed. An assembly of five men shuffling their feet could be heard, dropping against the concreted street while they hopped out of the truck, swiftly rushing to the captain for information about the call. Their exchanged words both directed them to eye the house while it continued to burn and the voice of the captain met my ears as he instructed a few firemen into the house to look for the man named Jamison who was still trapped inside.

               My heartbeat continued to incline as my eyes pursued them until they were so distant into the smoke that their figures vanished. The paramedic's faces were blank as the firemen entered enter the house, beginning the search and rescue process. I crossed my fingers for his safety and prayed to God that he would come out alive along with Mason but something inside me told me otherwise. A cold feeling swept over me before I turned to my mother who patted me on the shoulder, pulling me in for a hug of comfort and when we pulled away from one another, I caught a precipitous chill from a breeze and shuddered, eyes never peeling away from the fire until I noticed a paramedic coming toward us with a serious expression, concerned for our well being.

               He greeted us with a warm smile, extending his arm toward Eric and my mother who kept her arm around me. "My name is Boyd," he greeted with a thick country accent ringing in my ears, "I'm here to preform a quick evaluation to see if anybody has any cuts or burns that need to be treated. " A pause of silence hung in the air before he motioned toward Eric, saying, "I'll begin with you, Mr. Melcher."

               All three of us ensued them with our eyes before both Abbey and my mother turned to look at me. I shrunk back for a moment, unsure of what they were thinking and what could possible spew from their mouths. Abbey released a heavy sigh and looked up at my mother, tears rimming her eyes while she queried, "Mommy, is Mason going to be all right?"

               She swallowed her pride hesitated for a long moment before replying, "I'm not sure, sweetheart. Let's pray so."

               Abbey lowered her gaze to the ground, nodding her head and kept her heart hopeful that her first and favorite pet would be just fine. I pulled her closer to me, stroking her hair while she produced a heavy sigh and allowed her weight to rest against mine. She began to watch into the shadows of the woods and I followed her gaze, questions that had not been answered arising within my mind and the anger that boiled my blood rose again, making my temperature rise even more than the fire caused. I was desperate for a reasoning for this to happen to my family. Why had they been the victims to my own cause and what had I done that had been so dreadful to receive this treatment?

               While I pondered in deep thought, the rest of my family had their check-ups completed and it became my turn. Boyd beamed at me, approaching over to our small group before I stammered my words, trying to get out of the situation. "I-I don't think I need to be evaluated. I'm completely fine. There's not a scratch on me."

               None of them looked easily beguiled, tossing skeptical looks my path before my mother shrieked, "Melrose, you're bleeding!" and concern washed over her eyes while her index finger ushered my vision down to my leg where blood trickled down from a wound that looked painful, but in reality felt numb. As I acknowledged the gash, I concluded that I must have cut myself on the glass from the window that had been shattered as I passed, a bottle flew at me with rage, exploding unto the wooden floor and the note that caught a flame, slowly fading away into a crisp but left an imprint inside my mind to haunt me forever. And that was exactly what that stranger wanted.

               Twisting my leg toward me and I merely shrugged my shoulder. "Oh, its no big deal," I assured them, only receiving more looks from my family and Boyd. "Really. It doesn't even hurt!"

               But they didn't believe a word that slipped my mouth, particularly Boyd, who had the hint of a smile lightly tug the corners of his mouth before he straightened up, regaining his posture and professional poise, too stubborn to let me pass. "Let's just make sure we clean it up so it doesn't get infected. Follow me, you'll need to sit down for a moment." He suggested and I reluctantly followed.

               He lead me astray from my family to the curb by my mailbox, only several feet from the ambulance where two paramedics talked to each other, both eying me and my leg before returning to their conversation. Boyd was silent as he set his large leather bag down, rummaging inside it before retrieving a couple of items and looking back up at me with a warm smile. "Have a seat," he instructed, sitting down on the curb beside me, "This will sting for a bit but I just want to get this bandaged so the risk of infection is slimmer."

               I nodded my head, watching him attentively while he whipped the wound clean with rubbing alcohol. My teeth immediately clamped together, wince slicing through the thick silence between the two of us as he intently concentrated on the deep cut. After the wound was clean, he pressed a gauze pad against it and instructed me to keep it in place while he opened a bottle of ointment and when the blood had stopped rushing from the cut, he applied the antibiotic ointment. I flinched once more at the chilly impact against my burning skin and he glanced at me with concern, "Sorry about that," he apologized while I shook my head.

               "No," I grimaced at the sight of the immense amount of blood that had dried down my leg, "I was careless enough not to notice it before. I deserved this."

               "Nobody ever deserves to be wounded," he sternly told me, looking straight into my eyes with a reassurance that told me just to believe everything he would ever say. That all his words were precise and didn't need to doubt any of it for even a moment. My eyes widened slowly before I caught myself from letting my walls down and exposed how much of a shock it truly was. Nobody had ever said anything like that in my entire life and to hear it tonight, caught me off guard.

               Jerking my head, I inhaled sharply and quickly changed the subject. "How long have you been doing this?" I questioned, gesturing toward my leg while he bandaged it up, "In the medical field, I mean."

               "Six years," he responded, continuing in concentration and then returned his eyes to mine with a smile subsiding on his lips. "Okay, you're good to go. Just be sure to change the bandages every day."

               "Thank you." I sincerely said, rising from my seat on the concreted curb and quickly changed the subject after another awkward moment. "Have you ever seen any of this before?"

               He looked over to the house, observing the everything continue to swelter while the firemen attempted to tame the flames. Shaking his head he answered my question indirectly, "I've seen a lot of tragedies and every single one of them are different. You can never be so sure of what to expect."

               A man swiftly emerged from the front door, in his arms holding a lump of fur that was limp and motionless, resulting the body once been my dog. My heart instantly dropped when Abbey perked up, only to have her joyful expression soon vanish the moment she realized that Mason was unresponsive and hadn't made it. She instinctively turned and tried to race to his side but was stopped, pulled in a deep embrace and was allowed to bury her face into my mother's shirt and sobbed deeply. Eric rubbed her back and turned toward me with a sorrowful gaze. My eyes fell to the ground, thinking about the fireman and only hoped that he made it alive but the instant his comrades quickly brought him out, the paramedics set him down onto a stretcher and covered his body completely, it instantly answered all my questions about him.

               As my eyes followed them into the ambulance, I realized that as long as the mysterious figure ran loose with no consequences for their actions, I feared that Jamison wouldn't be the last.

Author's Note

There's some major foreshadowing in this chapter. You'll understand what I mean in a while. It may be choppy in some areas. I tried to smooth them out but some of it just couldn't be rewritten.