The Quiet Killer

To the reader: This story is just the first draft, and still needs editing. But please read and enjoy, even leave some comments!

“Are you sure it’s not going to rain?” whined Caitlin as she looked towards the sky. Dark, grey clouds were looming in the east.
“Positive.” stated Bella as she struggled with the tent. “We’ve been planning this backyard campout for a month! And even if it does rain, well, don’t be worried about it.”
“Ok.” Said Caitlin and she smiled. Bella was always the care-free one in their group of friends.
Natalya stepped out of her house (where everyone was staying at), and started down the stairs. There was a shriek and everyone turned and saw that she had tripped down the last few steps. They all laughed; Nat was always the clumsy one, but hilariously funny.
It took awhile for Nat to get over to the back of the yard where the other two were. Her backyard was humongous…almost like mini forest. And it might as well have been a forest too, for there were towering trees everywhere. And surrounding the tiny woods was a thick, 7ft log fence.
Caitlin walked towards Bella and started helping her with the tent. Soon Nat joined them and in 5 minutes, a humongous tent stood before them. Just then, far away, they could see another girl stick her head through the sliding glass door on top of the deck. Her crow wing-black hair shone in the sun. It was definitely Sahara.
“Heeeellloooooo!” shouted Sahara from across the huge backyard.
“Hi!” Shouted the other girls and they waved at her.
Even while carrying a gigantic duffel bag, Sahara raced across the yard, dashed around the trees, and dropped her bag into the green grass when she reached the tent. Sahara was known in their group for her undying energy and enthusiasm.
The four friends sat in a circle and chatted for awhile. Soon afterwards, Natalya checked her watch.
“Where’s Alex?” she said. “She was supposed to be here by now!”
Almost as if on queue, Alex rushed out of the glass door and hurried down the steps. She was huffing and puffing when she finally reached the girls.
“I,” she gasped, “am so out of shape!”
Ignoring that statement, head-strong Caitlyn demanded, “Why are you so late?”
Alex gave them a dark look as she set down her unnaturally humongous duffel bag. “Well excuse me! It’s not my fault if nobody answers the door!”
“What?” inquired Natalya, very confused. “My parents are inside the house.”
Alex merely shrugged. “After awhile I just let myself in.”
“Oh. Ok.”
In their group, each friend as you know has a special trait. Caitlyn is headstrong, Bella is care-free. Natalya is clumsy and funny, while Sahara is energetic and enthusiastic. They had been friends ever since the 2nd grade. And Alex was…well…Alex. She was plain and simple, with no unique traits. She had moved into their little town a year ago, and she was so pitiful that the other four girls felt the need to let her in their friendship. The four girls couldn't help but feel a little resentment towards Alex.
After about an hour, all of their stomachs were growling. Someone suggested that they all have pizza, and they all got up to go into the house. It was starting to get darker, and the clouds were too.
“Bella!” accused Caitlyn. “You said it wasn’t going to rain!”
“Oh, cut her some slack, Cait.” said Natalya. “She’s no weatherwoman!”
They all laughed and finally reached the house.
They sat around the table, while Natalya threw in some frozen pizzas. All of a sudden their chatter was broken by a “what’s this?”
They all turned and saw Natalya rip off a note that was taped to a cabinet door. She read aloud, “Dear Nat, Your father and I went to the store to pick up some groceries. Love Mom.”
“We just went grocery shopping yesterday.” Exclaimed Nat. She opened the refrigerator to reveal that it was stocked full.
“Well uh,” Alex said after an awkward silence, “Maybe they forgot something?”
“Whatever.” Said Natalya, and she threw the note in the trash.
Soon the pizzas were done and the five teenagers were making a whole bunch of noise and mess in the kitchen. They forgot all about the absence of Nat’s parents, and soon it was dark.
It was even blacker than normal outside, for the clouds had shielded the moon and stars. The trees towered against the sky; their twisted, black branches seemed to reach for whoever was passing by. The mournful, lone hoot of an owl was heard while the wind rushed through the trees, shaking the leaves. It seemed like the trees were whispering, “Shh.”
This set quite an eerie mood, and the girls found flashlights to light their way. They filed out, one by one, onto the deck and then down the steps. “Shh,” whispered the trees again.
“Its creepy.” stated Sahara.
Sahara shivered because she was cold…and because of something else that she couldn’t quite figure out. She sensed that something wasn’t quite right.
But the feeling soon subsided as the girls entered the huge tent. They collapsed in it all at once, and somebody turned on a huge lantern that lit up the whole tent. The girls laughed at their foolishness. There was no reason to be scared!
The night was filled with card games and gossip. At around 11:00, the girls decided to get ready for bed. But of course, they wouldn’t actually fall asleep yet. You know how teenagers are.
They started their trek towards the house, and they were no longer afraid. They had each other, and that was enough to keep their wits about them. The lights were turned off. Natalya’s parents had not returned from the grocery store yet.
“Mom,” called Natalya nervously, “Dad?”
No answer.
“I don’t like this.” whimpered Bella.
The clouds opened up and the rain started to pour.
Caitlyn shuddered. “I’m standing in something wet.”
Natalya put her hands on the wall to find the light switch. She found it, and flicked it on. They couldn’t see Caitlyn anywhere.
“CAITLYN??” Sahara panicked.
“I-I’m over here.” She said, her voice coming from the hallway. The girls rushed over, quite worried now, and they saw that she was standing in a pool of blood as long as the hallway. Her face was pale as Death.
“I was just…just walking around the c-corner. And I stepped in this…w-why is it so cold?” she asked, her teeth chattering.
The girls couldn’t answer her. All they could do was stare at the trail of blood, which led into Natalya’s parents’ room. They unwillingly moved their feet forward and opened the door, which was splattered with who knows what. The light from the hallway cast itself onto her parents’ bed. Lightning flashed, filling the whole room with a few seconds of bright daylight. Bella could see two figures lying in a bed, still as stone, with a dark comforter covering up whatever was underneath. Someone pushed Caitlyn forward, and she gawked at the scene with horror.
“Well,” whispered someone who might have possibly been Natalya, “See what’s inside…someone’s gotta look!”
Caitlyn peeled back the comforter and saw blood-encrusted hair. In a panic she backed away, but forgot to let go of the comforter. Someone cursed. Another screamed. All were terrified.
There, lying on a mattress that turned spongy from the human fluids, were Natalya’s parents. Their eyes and mouths were open in surprise.
“Mom! Dad!” cried Natalya, but she did not rush towards them. She did not want to be near them when they were…like that. She could feel a lump forming in the back of her throat. They were gone. Gone forever.
However, Bella was thinking other thoughts. It was obvious that they were murdered, no doubt about it. But why? What did Natalya’s parents ever deserve to be dead? A chilling thought came to her mind. What if the killer was still in the house?
Everybody seemed to be in a trance, fixated on the two bodies.
“We’ve got to call 9-1-1!” Bella screamed.
They snapped back to reality and scrambled about. Sahara found a phone and picked it up. No sound. She checked the cord, and it had been cut.
“The line’s been cut!” she shouted.
“What?” cried Caitlyn, “Then we got to run!”
All at once the girls ran towards the front door. Caitlyn tried turning the handle, but it wouldn’t budge. Looking down, she saw that at the end of the knob had been melted down to prevent opening the door. What was going on here? Caitlyn could feel her temperature rise, and her palms became sweaty.
Suddenly Bella was aware that they were not all here…let’s see, there was Caitlyn, Natalya, Sahara, and herself. Who was it…ALEX!
“Hey guys! Alex isn’t here!” she sobbed.
“Well where could she have gone?”
“Umm.” Thought Natalya, “I don’t remember her coming with us into the house.”
Sahara took off sprinting out the back door towards their tent. The lantern was still glowing peacefully. But it was everything but peaceful. Sahara’s heart pounded, and she dreaded looking inside the tent. She could hear the other three girls huffing and puffing behind her.
“Alex?” Sahara said weakly. “Are…are you okay?”
No answer. It was as silent as the grave.
Sahara peeled back the door of the tent, and saw Alex lying on the floor. A trickle of blood was flowing from her mouth like a little stream. There was a deep red stain on her white hoodie near the area of her heart.
“Oh Alex!” Wailed Caitlyn, “Poor, poor Alex.”
The others were crying softly to themselves. Half for Alex and Natalya’s parents and half for themselves. They had never expected their sleepover to turn out like this. After a month of planning, they never dreamed that this would happen. And now someone was butchering them one by one. They couldn’t help but think who was next.
“We gotta bury her somewhere…she can’t stay in the tent like this.” sniveled Caitlyn.
“Well, um. There’s shovels in the shed.” Said Natalya. She felt so weird saying it. She was supposed to be painting her nails and giggling over boys, not burying one of her best friends in a hole.
“You guys go ahead, I’ll stay with her.” exclaimed Caitlyn, looking at Alex in dismay.
Bella, Natalya, and Sahara ran off to get shovels and Caitlyn closed her eyes, with big fat tears spilling out of them. Then a sudden, sharp pain ran down her neck! Someone’s fingers were digging into her neck and all she could muster was a scream before a rock slammed against her head. Her world slowly turned to black.

“Did you hear that?” worried Bella, although everyone had heard the scream.
“Caitlyn!” cried Sahara and they all sprinted for the tent. When they looked inside, not hesitant this time, the tent was vacant.
The rain pelted the three girls, soaking them to the bone. They dropped their shovels and crawled inside the tent, saying nothing to each other. Each knew that somehow Caitlyn was dead, and the murderer was still out there. Probably still in their backyard.
“We’re all going to die.” Natalya finally whispered. She grabbed her knees and rocked back and forth, tears spilling from her face. “None of us will survive this.”
“Don’t you say that!” said Bella shakily. “We’re NOT going to die. You hear me? We are NOT!”
“I’d bet that Caitlyn and Alex didn’t plan on dying either.” Stated Sahara grimly.
The girls were silent and all that they could hear was the soft patter of rain and occasional thunder. They just sat there, drowning in their thoughts. Once they thought they heard high-pitched maniacal laughter. But it had to be a part of their imaginations...right?
“I can’t just sit here and let this guy kill us all off.” said Sahara eventually.
Bella and Natalya had been staring into space, when they snapped back to reality. Bella rolled her eyes. “Well genius, how do you expect us to escape?”
“Well,” she said, leaning forward, “This backyard is surrounded by a fence right? This means it has to have a gate!” She smiled as if she had just won the lottery.
“I’ve thought about that already. This person is smart. He cut all my phone lines and messed with the doors so we can’t get out. What makes you think he would have overlooked the gate?” stated Natalya who had dark circles under her eyes.
“I-I don’t care.” Sahara stammered. “I’ve got to try. I don’t want to give up hope yet. Now, are you guys with me?”
Bella and Natalya stared at her with empty eyes. Their shoulders were sagging as if the weight of the world was on their shoulders. Sahara’s eyes darted back and forth between them, but they did not show any will power to even stand up. Anger boiled up inside of her.
“Fine.” She hissed. “I’m leaving.”
She walked out of the tent’s door into the frigid rain. They could hear her sneakers squelch in the mud as she jogged away.
Natalya felt empty inside. She felt no reason to believe that she would survive this night. And that got her thinking. Thinking about all the things that she would miss. She will never get to go to prom, never ever fall in love and get married. She would never have children to call her own. She would never see them grow older, and she would never have grandchildren to spoil and love. She felt so…incomplete. It made her slink into a depression so deep, she wondered why her oppressor wouldn’t just come and finish her off right then and there.
“I’m not ready.” Whispered Bella.
Natalya turned towards her, and they both hugged each other and wept.
When they were done crying, they wiped their eyes. The two girls felt guilty for leaving Sahara off to fend for herself. They decided to go look for her. They got up and walked cautiously out of the tent, feeling very paranoid.
“Maybe we should split up!” shouted Natalya over the wind, which was starting to pick up. “If we don’t find her in 5 minutes, let’s meet back here in front of the tent.”
“Okay!” shouted Bella and they set off in their different directions.
Natalya walked towards the fence and started to follow it, because after all that had gone on, she didn’t quite remember where the gate was. After a couple minutes, she saw it. It had a padlock on the lock.
A twig snapped. She spun around, but she didn’t see anybody. Lighting flashed in the sky and thunder boomed. Her ears rang for a few minutes, but other than that, all was silent.
“There’s no way out.” whispered a menacing voice.
Natalya’s heart started to race, and she realized that the voice was coming from the other side of the fence. She bent down towards a crack in the wood and peered through. All she could see was a sick smile.
“Only I know the way out, and you will never find it.” The nasty voice rasped.
“Who are you?” Natalya whispered.
The person laughed, and she realized that it was a girl’s laughter. And it seemed like a light bulb had just turned on in Natalya’s head. It was Bella. It had to be. The person behind the fence turned and ran away to the other side of the house.
“She’s coming for me.” Natalya realized. “Bella is coming to kill me.”
She turned around and started to run, but she slipped in some muck about a couple inches deep. She struggled to get out, and in her panic she thought for a second that it might suck her down and drown her. Natalya told herself to calm down, but her brain screamed, “No! Get out! Get away! She’s coming to kill you!”
Somehow she got out of it, and she blindly ran across her backyard, not sure where she was going and not really caring either. Then she tripped over something and scraped her knee. Holding her knee, she turned around and saw that what she tripped on was Sahara. Natalya screamed and leaped away, not wanting to be close to the body. But from looking at her, she saw the Sahara had her mouth and eyes open in shock, kind of like you would if your friend threw a surprise birthday party for you.
“Natalya!” Bella called, “Natalya, are you okay? Where are you?”
Forgetting her suspicions, Natalya hollered back. “I’m over here.”
Bella jogged over and gasped, “Oh my gosh!” and started to cry.
Natalya realized again that it was Bella who did this, and an anger inside her rose up like she had never felt before. “Cut the crap, Bella. I know that you did this.”
Bella sniffed and looked up, her face bewildered. “What?! How could you think…how could you POSSIBLY think that I’m the one who did it?”
“Stop with the stupid act!” Natalya groaned. “Just admit it!”
“You don’t understand…I didn’t do it!” Bella said a little more aggressively, she was standing now, and walking slowly towards Natalya as Natalya backed away. Suddenly she turned quickly and ran into the shed. Bella ran after her, and stopped suddenly at the door.
“Stay away from me!” Natalya shrieked, holding a pitchfork threateningly in Bella’s face. “Don’t come any closer!”
Bella just stared at the sharp garden tool, not believing what she was seeing. She was sure that Natalya would kill her if she tried to take the pitchfork away. Then again, maybe Natalya was the one putting on the act. Maybe Natalya was the killer and was just waiting for Bella to step forward so she could be gorged. If that’s the case, Bella thought, then I have to take the chance and get the pitchfork away.
Bella leaped forward and grabbed the pitchfork. Natalya screamed and ripped it out of her hands, cutting them up. Before Bella could approach her again, Natalya thrust forward and plunged the pitchfork into her abdomen.
It all seemed like it was in slow motion. Bella looked at her stomach, and gazed up at Natalya, blood spurting from her fatal wound. Natalya ripped the weapon out, and that ended it for Bella. Her eyes rolled up to the back of her head, and she fell backwards. Her head make a thunk as it landed on the wooden floor.
Natalya stared at Bella’s body, her heart pounding in her ears. She just killed somebody…even if they were a murderer. She couldn’t believe it. But there was the proof of Bella’s blank eyes, staring at her unmercifully.
At least she was alone now. Alone and safe, she thought. She didn’t know what time it was, but a sliver of the sun appeared on the horizon and the clouds started to shift and whither away. The crickets started to chirp and the birds started to sing.
But something wasn’t right. There was still that crawling sensation in her body, and the burning feeling on her skin that you feel when someone watches you. And then she knew why. Someone stepped out from behind her father’s work bench. Natalya couldn’t believe her eyes. It couldn’t be true! But it was.
“You got the wrong gal.” smiled the person. And Natalya recognized that smile. Before she could react, the girl threw the knife directly to her heart. To Natalya, it seemed like there was a quick explosion inside her brain from the pain that only lasted for a millisecond. Then she collapsed, dead before she hit the ground.
The girl walked towards Natalya and smiled. Her deed was done, her task was finished. Now she had nothing left to live for. The girl took a piece of paper and a pen from her pocket. She wrote furiously and then nodded with satisfaction when she was done. Then she put it in her pocket and took a deep breath. Her fingers reached for the knife. Then with one quick motion she plunged it into her own heart. She died with a smile on her face.

***
“It’s a real shame that this had to happen.” said Chief Alan Darvis, shaking his head as he stood over the parents of a girl named Natalya. He had just gotten there, after some mechanics cut the door frame from the house to get inside.
“Yea, a real tragedy.” agreed Jerry Cooper, who was a policeman working for Darvis at the time. He was very new in the field, and this was his first time dealing with a homicide. He couldn’t believe so much violence had happened.
Darvis left the room to the Crime Scene Investigators, who were now swarming the room. The flashes of the cameras were giving him a headache. Cooper followed closely behind.
It was only that morning when Darvis received a phone call from four families whose daughters had gone missing. They went to pick up their daughters at this house and no one answered, no one picked up the phone either. The families waited a while before calling the police. In fact, they were waiting in the front yard this very moment, praying that their children would be okay.
Darvis opened up the glass door which led to the backyard. Immediately he saw the body of Sahara. More than half the yard was covered with a thick grove of trees. Almost like a mini-forest, he thought, what a perfect place for murder.
Darvis and Cooper went down the steps. They started looking around, but found nothing except for two pairs of footprints. And they all seemed to lead to the shed. Cooper and Darvis were careful not to step in any of the prints. They were part of the scene of the crime, and only CSI could handle with it at the moment. They almost arrived at the shed, and they realized that another set of footprints had come from the woods.
“Cooper!” barked Darvis. “Follow those footprints and see where they came from!”
Cooper nodded and jogged into the woods. Darvis went forward and stepped into the shed. What greeted him was not pretty. Three girls laid there. The first was Bella, with three holes in her abdomen. Next was Natalya with a fatal wound on her chest. And the other girl was lying face down, he couldn’t identify her. But what was most curious was the piece of paper sticking out of her back pocket.
Darvis couldn’t resist. He put on a rubber glove and slipped the note out of her pocket. He unfolded it. It read:

To whoever reads this,
Since you are here, you have probably seen my victims. Yes, all that you see here is because of me. You’re probably asking, why? And I say, because I hated them all. I hated the way they always excluded me all the time, that I was nothing special. Just the chubby tag-along. That’s what they called me. They were friends to my face, but I new they despised me. Eventually I got sick of it. It drove me crazy. I had to end it.
My task wasn’t easy. I cut all their phone lines so they couldn’t call for help, I bought a padlock from the hardware store to lock the gate shut. I even borrowed my dad’s blowtorch to melt the door handles. But it wasn’t that part that was hard, it was the killing. I had to do it when they were alone, so I had to wait. To relieve any suspicion from me, I faked my own death. All it took was a little cut and a little blood on my shirt, and they freaked out. After seeing Natalya’s parents dead, I didn’t think they expected me alive.
I enjoyed seeing the shock and the pain in their faces. And I did it quietly, silently, without them knowing until the very last second. I guess you could call me the Quiet Killer. But I thought, when I’m done, what else will I have to do? The police would probably find some flaw in my plan, no matter how great it was, and then my life would be nothing. So after I killed Caitlyn and dumped her in the deep part of the woods, I walked out and saw that Sahara had left the tent. I eliminated her easily. Then I decided to play a little mind game with Natalya to make her think that Bella was the one to blame for my actions. And I succeeded. I hid in the shed, waiting for the perfect moment. And surprisingly, Natalya and Bella come in, arguing, and Natalya finishes her off right there. Didn’t know she had it in her!
So I waited a little while longer before I jumped out from behind a workbench and let her gawk at me before I let her die. So now I am writing this letter, getting to the last few sentences of my life…
Darvis paused. He could picture this girl writing this letter on the hard wood floor. He could see her pausing as she wrote that sentence. Darvis thought that he would have paused too, if it was going to be the last letter he would ever write. He could hear Cooper’s boots in the distance, crunching on the leaves. He was coming back with news from the woods. But Darvis continued:

…Honestly I don’t know what else to say. I’ve written what I’ve done, and I’ve said all that needs to be said. I guess this means farewell.
Signed,
Alex
Darvis took a deep breath. This girl was Alex. She was the one who caused everyone’s pain and misery. He folded up the letter to its original state.
“Darvis!” called Cooper. Darvis’ head bolted up and he looked at Cooper.
“What is it?”
“I found the girl named Caitlyn…she was near the fence deep in the woods.”
Darvis sighed and he got up off of the floor. His old joints cracked. “I know Cooper, I know. Now let’s tell the families what happened.”
He trudged up the stairs, with Cooper of course, trailing behind. He went through the house and to the front door to the families waiting eagerly. When they saw him, there was a hint of hope on their faces. When they saw his depressed expression, their faces dropped.
“I-” he stopped. “I’m afraid I have some bad news.”
And there you have it. It’s the story of how five girls went happily to a sleepover, and were killed off quietly by one girl who just couldn’t deal with her problems. She killed more than just lives. She killed hope. She killed family. And it all happened quietly, silently, without anyone knowing until it was there; right in their faces. I guess you could call her the Quiet Killer.