MCDOWELLfic

Killer By: Makenzie McDowell It was a dark and rainy night; typical for the small town of Carolina. Most people were resting in their homes as calmness surrounded the streets. The weekend had just past, and tomorrow morning school and work would resume. Kory was 18, a senior in high school, and beautiful both inside and out. She had a lot of friends, but wasn’t caddy. She was the typical nice girl from a small town. She was outside, sitting on her porch swing, reading when the rain turned into hail. She closed her book and walked to her front door to go inside. It was locked. She rang the doorbell. Again. Again. No answer. She started calling and knocking for her parents to answer the door. Again. Again. No answer. “They aren’t going to hear you.” As Kory turned around she had to tilt her head to see the outline of a six foot man standing in front of her. Kory was struck with fear. The only thing she could think of to do was run. She darted left and started running as fast as she could. “Run now. But I will find you.” Kory barely heard the threat he shouted at her as the distance between them grew. She didn’t know what to do or where to go. Where were her parents? Had he already killed them? She didn’t want to go to a friend’s house and put them in danger. She thought of a plan. Kory’s fathers name was Joe, and he was the best farmer in town. The farm that Kory and her family lived on dated back to the Civil War. It had been passed down generation to generation, each person making a few improvements along the way. Joe kept all of his tools in an old shed. //If I go to the shed and find something to protect myself with, I can go in the house and get my phone to call the police and see if my parents are okay.// She figured that the killer had tried to retrace her steps, so she had to move quickly. The shed was on the other side of the house. If Kory took the shortcut home that only she knew, it would take her right to the shed. Kory’s heart was beating fast as she approached the shed; she was always looking over her shoulder. She opened the door and went inside. She was looking for something that could protect her, she saw a chain saw. Too heavy. A rake. Not dangerous enough. She settled for an ax. //Typical// she thought. As she was leaving the shed she couldn’t help but think about how situations like this turned out in movies. When Kory was five, her mom and dad took her to an amusement park. Kory loved everything about it. The rides, the people, the food. The next year for her sixth birthday, Kory asked her parents to take her back. She had a summer birthday so it was the perfect time. Kory couldn’t wait to go, but once she got there, it wasn’t as fun as she remembered. Over the last year she had gotten more impatient, so the lines for the rides seemed too long. There were flies in her food, and on top of everything it started to rain. She thought that maybe going on her favorite ride the Twister, would cheer her up. It didn’t. She ate right before and the whole time she just felt like she was going to throw up. When Kory got off the ride her parents weren’t waiting for her. She thought maybe they went to the bathroom. As she made her way over there, a man about six feet tall stepped in front of her. “Hi there. Are you lost? I think I saw your parents go this way. Let me take you to them.” He began walking towards the gate marked “Exit.” “But that way is out.” “KORY!” Her mother exclaimed. Kory turned around. “Oh thank God! We didn’t see you get off the ride,” her mother paused noticing the tall man, “Who are you?” Before anyone could say anything else, the man took off. Kory wanted to thank him for finding her parents, but she didn’t know where he went. What she didn’t understand was that the man wasn’t trying to help her find her parents. Kory was safely in the house. Now all she had to do was find her parents and her cell phone. She didn’t want to yell for her parents because if the man was nearby or even in the house, he would hear her. She checked the downstairs. Her parents were not there. As she walked up the stairs she had an overwhelming feeling that something wasn’t right. She walked down the hallway to her parent’s room. The door was closed. Kory took a deep breath but nothing could prepare her for what she was about to see. Dead. She couldn’t believe it. Both of her parents were lying there. It looked as if they had been shot but Kory wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she had to call the police before the killer realized she was back in her house. She left her parents room and rushed across the hall to her own. She got her phone and called the police. After Kory explained what had happened the police said they’d be right over. “I can’t believe you called the police.” Kory immediately recognized the voice. “I thought this is what you wanted. That day twelve years ago at the amusement park, you wanted to leave with me. But they, they stopped us. I’m just doing what you wanted.” The memories began to flood back to Kory. “I’ve been keeping my eye on you ever since then. I knew we were supposed to be together. I watched you turn into this beautiful young woman. I thought it would be best if I waited until you were eighteen though. Now we can be together.” “Get away from me, creep! I don’t know you or want to be with you! You tried to kidnap me and now you killed my parents! Besides, the police will be here any minute.” “We can leave before they get here.” Kory ran out the door, but he caught up to her. “Where do you think you are going?” “Away from you,” Kory hit him. She went back to her parent’s room where she had dropped the ax. “You can’t hide from me Kory.” Terrified, Kory hid under her parent’s bed with the ax. “I know you’re in here. Let’s see… the closet?” He opened the closet, surprised not to see Kory hiding there. “Ah, you picked the more obvious place, under the bed. I thought you were smarter than that. Do you think I’m stupid? That I wouldn’t check there?” “Freeze!” The police arrested the man and made sure Kory was safe. She knew that she would be free of him forever.