Eleven

“YOU MONSTER!” I screeched at Daniel, terrified of the murderer beside me. My legs turned my body around and I pounded my feet one after the other on the concrete as fast as I possibly could. Too slow, though, because within seconds Daniel was right on my tail, chasing after me. I felt a weight crash down onto me and my body came into contact with the cement. Before I even knew what was happening my arms were thrust out and hit the ground with tremendous force. I yelped out in pain.

I felt Daniel’s hands turn me around to face his outraged expression. I could feel the terror behind me eyes, and I’m sure he could see it. Did he enjoy my fear and pain? Or was he mentally ill? “WHAT DID YOU DO?” I sputtered out, in defense so that he wouldn’t hit me. It worked, because a slight smile spread across his hard face and he said softly, “Why don’t you go check at the park?”

Horror washed through my mind. Images splattered the insides of my head. Flashes of the worst Daniel could have done to Steve. What IS the worst he could have done. My legs wouldn’t move. My brain was in too much of a shock. It took me several minutes before I realized that this wasn’t one of my usual terrifying daydreams. This was real. And Daniel was a killer.

As fast as I could I ran back to my house, constantly looking over my shoulder to make sure Daniel wasn’t following me. When I reached my house, my car was parked in the drive way. I guess my mum had gone to the school to pick it up. I shoved my hand into my pocket to dig out my keys, and pulled my hand back out empty. Where were my keys??

They must have fallen out when Daniel tackled me to the ground! I sprinted back to that spot, with Daniel in no sight, just like my keys. I cursed silently to myself and began jogging down the street in the direction of the park. My body was so weary from the day’s activities but I wouldn’t allow myself to stop until I figured out what had happened.

By the time I reached the entrance to the park, I was wheezing out breaths and nearly collapsed, but I kept pushing myself, persistent to solve this mystery. 

 

With tiny jolts of fear in each of my steps I jogged through the park, looking for any obscurities. Everything seemed normal. Little kids swinging on the swings, as their mothers sat on a near by bench reading a book or watching the blue jays.

My heart beat slowed a bit, but my nerves stayed on end. There had to be something wrong here. Or else Daniel wouldn’t have told me to come here. Unless...it was to distract me so he could deal with the actual problem with me out of the way. Does that mean that the red ‘blood’ wasn’t real? Could it have just been paint?

I wasn’t quite sure of my theory, so I couldn’t just give up and leave the park when there might be something or someone in danger here. I decided to take one last jog around to find anything abnormal.

As I finished my circle around the main park area, I remembered that there was a small trail that wove around the park, but it was in the woods. Could the victim be in there? It wouldn’t hurt to try, right?

I neared the entrance of the forest trail and I began to feel a little eery. It was pretty dark in there. It was, after all, past 4:30. My steps slowed to steady thumps on the soft earthy soil beneath me. My breathing quickened however, and my palms grew saturated.

To calm myself, I tried singing a song that I learned when I was in the 3rd grade. “When you feel sad and lonely. Don’t you worry, now, don’t you worry. You are never alone.” But as I sang the song and repeated the words out loud and in my head, it seemed scary. ‘You are never alone.’

My footsteps seemed like the only sounds now. That, and the rhythmic speed of my breathing. As soon as I heard a soft voice, however, I stopped abruptly. The last breathe that was in my throat stuck there like a fly in a spider web.

“Please, anyone! Help...” The small calls for help seemed just below a whisper, even though I knew they were meant to be loud. I tried to find the direction the voice was coming from, but it was so soft that I lost track of it.

Then, it came again, “Help...” Oh no...that voice. It sounded so familiar. A spurt of pain shot through me as I realized who it was. My mind and body were numb as it traveled the course to where the calling came from. A limp body lay between two branches in a small pile of soggy leaves.

His head slowly moved up, “Chel...Chelsea?” I kneeled next to him, horror struck at all the blood on his body. His arms were a deep purple, and his legs were bent in ways that they weren’t supposed to be. My mouth wouldn’t work. I just placed my hands around him and pulled his weak body into my arms. “Shh. Shh.” I barely murmured. “Thank you.” He said, before his eyelids pulled shut and a small breath of air was released from his cracked and bloody lips.