A look of confusion flashed in Alyssa’s eyes, but it only lasted for a second. Then, she continued recounting what really happened. “When she finally got quiet, it was so peaceful… If I could do it again, I would. I’d do it all over again. Want to know something? Just between the three of us? It’ll be our little secret.” Evil sparkled in Alyssa’s eyes as she waited for the detectives to respond.
“Sure.” Lane seemed reluctant, but pressed her for as much information as he could get.
“Her blood, I licked it. Right off of the blade. It tasted so much better than I expected. It was fun. So fun. You should try.”
“Get her out of here. I’ve heard enough,” Lane told Bentley.
Bentley cuffed Alyssa and began to take her out of the room. Before she could reach the door, she made the detective stop. She looked over her shoulder to stare at Detective Lane, who looked distraught.
“Detective?” Alyssa called out to him. He looked up at her with tears brimming his eyes. “When you go to your daughter’s funeral, tell her Alyssa says hi.”
Run and Hide
The Skillmen brothers run into a girl while playing hide-and-seek. She wants to join them, but she has a different game in mind.
“Dude, come on!” Andy Skillmen yelled at his 11-year-old brother Travis, who seemed to be throwing a tantrum. “I won fair and square, so it’s your turn now.” Andy crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for his brother to stop throwing a fit and start playing the game.
“Why do you always boss me around?” he whined, pouting his lips.
“Because I’m older,” Andy said confidently. He wasn't giving up. They were going to play this game no matter how much his brother complains.
“Only by a year and three months,” Travis retorted, proudly holding his head held high because he thought he’d won the argument. Andy narrowed his eyes at his younger brother while Travis stood there, giving him the same look. Seconds later, Travis dropped his gaze. “This game is stupid if only two people play anyways,” he mumbled under his breath, making his words barely audible to Andy.
Andy dropped his head, sighing with annoyance. His brother never liked any of the games if he had to be “it” first. He looked around, taking in the place they’d chosen for their game of hide-and-seek. It was a huge old construction site filled with building materials and construction holes. The place seemed to be abandoned as the boys never saw any workers coming in and out of there. Near the construction site was a forest, which their parents had told them never to enter. The boys never knew why they weren’t allowed to go there, but they decided to stop questioning their parents’ strict rules after years of responses like “Because I said so.” or “It’s not safe for young kids.” But there were rumors around the town that the forest was haunted by a serial killer, which is why locals call it Devil’s Trail. Whether the rumors were true or not, people still wouldn’t dare take a step into that place.
Andy shuddered as he looked at the direction of the forest. He turned back to see his brother also looking at the place, but with a dazed thousand-yard stare.
“Hey,” Andy said, tapping his brother’s shoulder to get his attention. “I’ll be ‘it’ for this round. Just this once I’ll let you get away with this.” Travis blinked, snapping back to reality. He looked at his older brother with a wide grin.
“This is base.” Andy pointed towards the crane that sat near a hole.
Travis nodded then took off to find a hiding spot as Andy counted to twenty, resting his head on the crane and squeezing his eyes shut.
Nine…Ten…
He counted in his head, listening to any noises that could indicate where his brother was hiding. He heard the faint sound of someone running and it became clearer by the second as if the person was getting closer. “You know the point of hide-and-seek is to not get caught by being so obvious,” Andy yelled, eyes still closed as continued to count in his head.
Fourteen…Fifteen…
A breeze blew past him, giving his arms and legs goosebumps.
Sixteen…Seventeen…
An arm brushed against his and Andy shivered at the feeling. It was really cold, like the arm was made of ice from the Antarctic. “Seriously, Travis. Go find a place to hide, I’m almost done counting.” He was starting to get irritated, but continued to count.
Eighteen…Nineteen…Twenty!
“Find me.” A girlish voice whispered in his ear as he said last number. He turned around to see if someone was there, but there was no one. With hairs on the back of his neck standing up, he cautiously looked around him. The place was deserted.
Andy brushed it off and started looking for his younger brother. But as he searched the place, he couldn’t ignore the odd feeling that bubbled in his stomach.
He checked around the crane and inside it to see if his brother was hiding there. After discovering that wasn’t there, Andy moved onto a different machine. After looking under and over other possible hiding places, he began to get nervous. “Travis!” he called out. Andy began looking in one of the construction holes. “Nope,” he said as he peered in to see it was empty.
Out of nowhere, Andy heard a laugh. He turned his head to the direction of the sound. He saw his brother Travis staring down into a hole, completely still.
“You know, it’s not really a challenge if you’re not hiding.” He laughed at his nervousness earlier. He jogged toward his brother and tagged him on the shoulder. “You’re it.” But Travis didn’t say a word. He just stared into the hole, not acknowledging his brother. “What are you sta—” he stopped dead in the middle of his question as he saw what his brother had discovered.
A girl, about Andy’s age or maybe a little bit older was down in the hole, staring up at them with big green eyes. Her blonde hair had bits of dirt in it and looked like it hadn’t been brushed in ages. The boys stood there speechless. They’ve never seen this girl before in their neighborhood and they had no idea what she was doing in a hole at a construction site.
“Are you going to help me out or what?” she asked them, resting a hand on her hip.
Andy carefully reached his hand down. She grabbed it and he pulled her up. “What were you doing down there?”
“I saw you guys playing hide-and-seek. I wanted to play,” she said nonchalantly. “I hope that’s not a problem.” She brushed off the dirt from her navy blue long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans. “I’m Olivia.”
“It’s not a problem,” Travis piped up. “I’m Travis and that’s my brother, Andy. Wanna join our game?” he asked, staring at her as if she was a trophy. “Newbies have to be the seeker though.”
“That’s not a rule.” Andy snapped at his younger brother, getting tired of his brother always finding a way to get out of being the seeker.
Travis nudged him in the side, giving him a stern look before looking back at the girl. “He doesn’t know what he's talking about.”
“I’m fine with being seeker. But if I am, can we play my game instead?” She looked eagerly into their eyes as she waited for them to answer.
“What’s the game?” Andy asked her.
“Run and hide,” she said with a smile. She held her hands behind her back and started rocking back and forth with her feet.
“Isn’t that the same thing as hide-and-seek?” Travis asked, looking confused. His face scrunched up as he tried to figure out the difference between the two games.
“No, silly.” she giggled, taking a pause before explaining, “You run and hide, but you have to stay hidden. And there is no base.”
“Then how do the hiders win?”
“If you stay hidden for ten minutes and I don’t finding you, you win. If not, you lose.” She shrugged, explaining the rules as if they were common knowledge.
“Interesting.” Andy rubbed his chin. “Okay, we’ll play!” he agreed to the game and took off to find a hiding spot. Travis ran in a different direction while Olivia counted to twenty, resting her head against one of the cold, concrete cylinders p
ipes that lay on the field. The pipes used to be one of the Skillmen brothers’ favorite hangout places when they were small enough get in there without feeling cramped.
The closer Olivia got to twenty, the more nervous Travis got. Andy on the other hand had already found a hiding spot in one of the machines.
“Nineteen! Twenty!” Olivia shouted then opened her eyes and turned around to see Travis. For a few seconds, she stared at him and then she began to chase him. “I’ll get you, Travis!” she laughed.
Andy heard the commotion and peeked out of his hiding spot to see his brother being chased by the girl. Travis panicked and took off into the forest. “Travis!” Andy yelled at his brother, not caring about getting caught. “Come here, Travis!” He screamed on the top of his lungs, running out of his hiding spot to run after him. Not only was he scared of getting in trouble with their parents, he was also worried about his brother getting lost in the forest.
Travis ran like he was on the track team. He weaved around the trees, keeping a good enough distance from Olivia. “You can’t run forever!” She screamed from behind him, sending chills down his spine. She was right, he couldn’t run away forever but neither could she. He was determined to run faster and for a longer time than her without tiring himself out.
Twigs snapped and leaves crunched under his feet as he ran. He never once looked back at her, but he could hear her and that was motivation enough for him to run until he couldn’t anymore.
However, his determination didn’t last long. Soon enough, weariness hit him like a baseball bat. His legs gave out from beneath him and the ground welcomed him. He panted like a dehydrated dog, listening to the sound of Olivia walking towards him. “Okay, I give up, you got me.” He felt and sounded defeated. She walked towards him, saying nothing. She just stared at him with her beady eyes. Fear struck him, surging through his body as if he got hit by lightning.
A scream echoed through the forest. Andy stop in his tracks, listening and trying to figure out where the scream came from. “Travis!” he yelled, hoping for a response. But he was greeted with silence. He didn’t hear another noise as he ran straight forward.
The ground started to dip farther down, making it hard not to trip and roll down the hill. One wrong move and he could break his neck from a nasty fall. Andy's heartbeat raced as he tried to find his brother. Panic surged through him as he wondered if he would ever find Travis.
“There’s something I didn’t tell you.” Olivia’s voice echoed throughout the forest, making it hard for Andy to determine where it came from. He turned around, trying to find the girl. His breathing became ragged and heavy. “If you get caught, I kill you.” The girl emerged from behind a tree, but Andy didn’t see her.
She grabbed hold of him and snapped his neck before he knew what was happening. His lifeless body fell to the ground with a thud. Olivia smiled down at her work, grabbing his leg and dragging him to the field in the middle of the forest. She threw him down into a hole next to Travis. She began to bury them with a satisfied smirk on her face. Then, Olivia began to change. Her once perfect, straight teeth became crooked. Her feminine features turned masculine. The once young girl turned into a man, whose eerie smile grew wider. “Now boys, didn’t your parents tell you not to play games with a serial killer?”
Watching
Do you ever get the feeling that someone’s watching you?
Tyler gazed out the window, looking a family of three inside as they sat around a television set and watched Christmas movies while drinking hot cocoa. They looked happy. “Why can’t I be happy?” he asked, his breath fogging the window.
It was almost evening and for a moment, Tyler looked up to see the sky change from cotton-candy pink color to a dark navy blue shade.
A few seconds later, he turned his attention back to the family inside. The mother got up and Tyler hid behind the bushes. He had to stay hidden because he didn’t want to face the consequences of being caught.
“Do you want any more hot chocolate?” The mother asked her husband.
“No thanks. I don’t think my tongue can take anymore burns.” He laughed, making it a point to stick his tongue out and show the red bumps caused drinking an extremely hot beverage.
“Speak for yourself.” The young boy got up from the floor, running up to his mother in the kitchen, jumping up and down with his mug in hand.
“Trevor, I think you’ve had enough.” She placed a hand on her hip.
“Come on Debra, let the boy have one more.” Her husband tried to persuade her.
Debra smiled, giving in. She turned back to the scorching water in the coffee pot and began pouring it into his cup. She took out of a packet of hot chocolate mix, dumped the contents into the cup and mixed it. “Go to your room and drink it.”
“Thanks, mom.” He hugged her, then passed through the living room and to the hallway that led to his room. “Love you, dad!” Trevor yelled from the hallway.
Debra listened, waiting for the sound of the door closing. “Why do you do that, Rick?”
Rick let out a groan and turned to face his wife while sitting on the couch. “Do what?”
“Let him get away with these things,” she said, sounding irritated.
“It was just hot chocolate.”
“It’s not just about hot chocolate. Everything I say, you go against. You make me out to be the bad parent. And I’m tired of it!” She tried to keep her voice down, but her anger was making her speak louder than she wanted.
“You’re not a bad parent. It’s just that I’m just a fun parent and you’re not,” he joked, but he realized it was a bad idea when he saw the look on his wife’s face. She tapped her fingers on the counter, narrowing her eyes at him. Rick got up from the couch, collecting his wallet and keys from the coffee table. “Obviously, you need to calm down so I’m going to go take a drive. I’ll be back whenever.”
“No! You’re staying here so we can talk.” Her voice echoed through the house. Rick ignored her and headed towards the front door. Anger flashed through her as she grabbed a kitchen knife and stepped in front of the door. “We’re going to talk. Sit down,” she spoke through gritted teeth. The knife pointed was at him and was only a few inches from piercing his skin. “Sit!” she yelled once more.
Trevor sat in his room, covering his ears from his parent’s yelling. He tried to find the TV remote so he could turn up the volume and to tune out their voices. To his bad luck, it was nowhere to be found.
“Where is it?” He let out a groan, frustrated that he couldn’t find what he needed and that now he could hear his mother’s voice growing louder.
He gave up, sitting on his bed again and covering his ears to muffle the sound of his parents’ arguments.
“Looking for this?” Tyler spoke from a corner of Trevor’s room, holding a silver television remote.
Meanwhile in the kitchen, Rick didn’t flinch as his wife pointed the knife at him to prevent him from leaving. “Crazy runs in the family, doesn’t it?” he said, rendering Debra speechless. “Now move out of my way,” he said in a stern voice as he pushed her to the side to open the door and leave.
Debra didn’t fight anymore. She just let him leave. She looked through the peephole, watching as he got in his car and sped off into the night. Regret washed over her, upsetting her more than she already was. With her body pushed against the door, she slid down, knees up to her chest and head bent down crying. She let go of the knife. The sound of the metal hitting the floor filled the quiet house. What her husband said stung her heart as she repeated them in her head. Crazy runs in the family. She told herself the words weren’t true, but somewhere in her head she knew she was just in denial.
The sound of her cell phone ringing brought her back from her thoughts. She wiped away her tears and answered the phone, “Hello?”
“Don’t scream for your mother. I’ll kill her right in front of you if you do,” Tyler warned Trevor. Trevor backed away from him. When his back hit the wall, he realized he ha
d nowhere to go.
“Are you going to hurt me?” Tears spilled from his eyes.
Tyler walked to the young boy, a smile stretching across his face. “I haven’t even hurt you yet and you’re already crying.” He wrapped his hand around Trevor’s neck, lifting him up and pushing him against the wall. “I’ll give you something to cry about.” Trevor grabbed Tyler’s hands, trying with all the strength he could muster to pry the boy’s hands off of his neck.
“Please stop.” Trevor strained for air. “Please,” he begged with his last breath. After a few seconds, his head fell limp. There was no more fighting, no more begging… and no more life left in Trevor.
In another room…
Debra dropped her phone, not caring if it broke. She ran through the hallway to get to her son's room. “Trevor!” She yelled, trying to open the door but it was locked. Debra pounded it with her fists. “Honey, are you in there? Please open the door for mommy!” she screamed, trying to kick the wooden door open. With each kick, the door started to break. Panic rushed through her when she didn’t get a response from her son.
Finally, she was able to kick a hole into the door. She wasted no time as she reached in and unlocked the door from the other side. As she pushed it open and her heart fell into her stomach at what she saw. Trevor’s dead body lay sprawled out on the floor. “No, no, no, no!” She dropped down to her knees, trying to find a pulse but to no avail. She broke down sobbing. “My baby!” she screamed, holding Trevor close to her. “Come back,” she cried, speaking to his dead body. Debra ran her hands through his hair, rocking back and forth. “You’ll be okay, we can fix this.”
“Convince yourself all you want, he isn’t coming back.” Tyler walked into the room, standing in front of Debra.