Casey Horn was your average teen with an average family. She made good
grades in school, and her life seemed to be near perfect. She had medium
curly blonde hair, with deep blue eyes. She was the strong silent type
whom everyone trusted. Casey's mom, Margaret, was a housewife. She always
kept the family organized and made sure things in the household ran
smoothly. Casey's father, Dan, was a lawyer who almost never came home.
When Casey did see him, he was usually about to go to bed. With this type
of arrangement, Margaret felt she needed more from a family. She decided
to divorce Dan, and surprisingly, she didn't file for custody over Casey.
The mere thought of living with someone who was never home sent chills
through Casey. She knew summer was only a week away and, with no school to
attend to, she would be home by herself all day and most of the night. The
last few days of school passed by slowly for other students, but Casey
wished it would never end. The first evening of summer vacation is one
Casey will never forget. She was on her front porch overlooking the dusty
highway when an old, unfamiliar car slowly pulled up to the vacant house
next door to her. Reluctantly, she walked towards the vehicle after it had
pulled into the driveway. An old lady slowly trudged out of the car.
"Hello," said Casey quiet loudly incase the lady was hard of hearing. "Why
hello," said the old lady in a raspy voice. "Who are you?" Casey asked
wearily. "None of your darn business." the old lady said grouchily.
Quickly, Casey knew she must say something a bit more welcoming. "Well, I'm
Casey Horn, your new next door neighbor I presume." she said as if asking a
question. "Yes, I have bought this house, but stay away. What I do in
this house is MY business and will remain MY business. If you do or say
anything about me to anyone else, you will regret it." the old lady said
mysteriously. Casey had a chill run down her spine, and she quickly said
good-bye.
Hastily, Casey ran inside and locked the door. She decided to lie on the
couch for awhile. She noticed every detail in the sitting room from the
cherry hard wood floors to the soft yellow paint on the clean walls. She
began to miss her mother. Casey decided to take a short nap and clear her
mind. Just as she would begin to close her eyes, she would hear those
frightening words the old lady said. She didn't even know her name yet,
and frankly, she didn't care if she ever found out. Little did Casey know,
she would uncover more than just the old lady's name.
Later that night, around 7:00, her eyes wearily opened when the loud
ringing of the telephone echoed from the kitchen. She ran to answer it,
but the person on the other line had hung up already. There was a message
on the answering machine. It was Dan telling Casey he was staying at a
local hotel about 1 hour away from the house for about a week. He said for
Casey to buy food with the money hidden in the safety deposit box. This
was nothing new to her. She knew it just mean her dad found a new
girlfriend for the week. The mere thought sent rage through her.
Suddenly, she heard a soft pecking noise at the front door. Slowly, it
turned into a loud, hard knock. She looked through the peep hole, a bit
frightened. It was Dora, her best friend. Thankfully, she opened the
door. She was extremely happy that it wasn't the old lady. Dora only
dropped by to see if Casey wanted to go to the movies, but after all that
had went on, she decided to stay home. Casey showered and then went
straight upstairs to bed. However, she didn't go to sleep. A soft night's
rain turned into a huge thunder storm. The house creaked and wind blew
harshly through the tree beside her bedroom window. After the storm passed
by, she began to fall asleep.
The soft sunlight peeking through her sheer curtains warmed her face. One eye opened and then shut again. She wanted so badly to just go to sleep and never wake up. She felt as if she was keeping a secret for the old lady, even though she knew nothing about her. She decided to clean up and take breakfast over to the old lady. The worst she could do was telling Casey to leave, so she thought.
Casey knocked politely on the old door of the lady's house. The old lady, gray headed and hunchbacked, answered the door after a few knocks. Casey smiled, and her gorgeous white teeth sparkled. The lady gave an odd smirk. "Hey, I'm .." Casey said. Interrupted by the old lady saying "I know who you are." Casey's smile began to fade into a straight face. The old lady, trying to be nice, finally introduced herself. "Sorry young lady, my name is Mildred." Feeling that she was getting somewhere, Casey politely indulged in a conversation. Mildred wasn't saying much, but Casey kept on and on.
After getting the feeling that she needed to leave, Casey cautiously walked home. She decided to clean the house, and make a cheeseburger. Actually, Casey liked running things around the house. The only thing she hated was the nights. She would get a lump in her throat every time the sun began to dwindle behind the plush green mountains.
She decided to watch the sun go down, thinking that may stifle her fear of the night. She began to have a calm sensation come over her. This was the first time of her summer vacation that she actually felt relaxed. Her eyes began to close as the swing slowly rocked and a sweet summer's breeze hit her face. She must have fallen asleep for when she opened her eyes, Mildred was looking right in her face. Startled, she rudely yelled, "What in the heck are you doing?!" Mildred jumped back as if appalled. Casey apologized and began to explain the situation. As if out of nowhere, Mildred stopped her and told a very long story that Casey wished her ears never heard.
Mildred started with a shy smile and said, "Dear, you must hear this to understand me. A very long time ago, I was a young, shy, nerdy, and naïve girl. I was never the popular kid like you. I had a secret crush, but I kept it to myself. When I was in eleventh grade, this boy, Stew, asked me to our high school's dance. Excitedly, I said yes. When the formal night came, I had a beautiful pink dress on. I knew I would finally make Stew, my crush, my boyfriend. He never showed up. Two hours later, I rode my bike to the school, only to find him kissing another girl during a slow song. The night, I got my vengeance. I killed the school's prom queen. This wasn't just your average killing. The grief and ridicule had built up on me for many years, and that night, it exploded. I was oh so very careful and discrete. I got a certain high from it. During college, my friends did drugs and drank alcohol. I killed young students. Knowing I could be caught and severely punished put a certain mysterious feeling to my little "game." My favorite part was the planning before the killings. I had to make up a believable story for the background of my next victim's death. Also, I would have to make a plan as to how the killing took place and what my alibi would be. To this day, I have killed over a hundred people. I move every year or so, and find fresh and different people to strike on. Now that I'm older and don't have anyone to talk to, I usually go for anyone who tells my little secret ... Usually." Traumatized by what she just heard, Casey felt her inside be gulped up by fear. What would she do next? She was living next door to a murderer, and she was alone. If she would tell, she jeopardized her own life, but if she didn't tell, she was still in danger. What should she do?
The soft sunlight peeking through her sheer curtains warmed her face. One eye opened and then shut again. She wanted so badly to just go to sleep and never wake up. She felt as if she was keeping a secret for the old lady, even though she knew nothing about her. She decided to clean up and take breakfast over to the old lady. The worst she could do was telling Casey to leave, so she thought.
Casey knocked politely on the old door of the lady's house. The old lady, gray headed and hunchbacked, answered the door after a few knocks. Casey smiled, and her gorgeous white teeth sparkled. The lady gave an odd smirk. "Hey, I'm .." Casey said. Interrupted by the old lady saying "I know who you are." Casey's smile began to fade into a straight face. The old lady, trying to be nice, finally introduced herself. "Sorry young lady, my name is Mildred." Feeling that she was getting somewhere, Casey politely indulged in a conversation. Mildred wasn't saying much, but Casey kept on and on.
After getting the feeling that she needed to leave, Casey cautiously walked home. She decided to clean the house, and make a cheeseburger. Actually, Casey liked running things around the house. The only thing she hated was the nights. She would get a lump in her throat every time the sun began to dwindle behind the plush green mountains.
She decided to watch the sun go down, thinking that may stifle her fear of the night. She began to have a calm sensation come over her. This was the first time of her summer vacation that she actually felt relaxed. Her eyes began to close as the swing slowly rocked and a sweet summer's breeze hit her face. She must have fallen asleep for when she opened her eyes, Mildred was looking right in her face. Startled, she rudely yelled, "What in the heck are you doing?!" Mildred jumped back as if appalled. Casey apologized and began to explain the situation. As if out of nowhere, Mildred stopped her and told a very long story that Casey wished her ears never heard.
Mildred started with a shy smile and said, "Dear, you must hear this to understand me. A very long time ago, I was a young, shy, nerdy, and naïve girl. I was never the popular kid like you. I had a secret crush, but I kept it to myself. When I was in eleventh grade, this boy, Stew, asked me to our high school's dance. Excitedly, I said yes. When the formal night came, I had a beautiful pink dress on. I knew I would finally make Stew, my crush, my boyfriend. He never showed up. Two hours later, I rode my bike to the school, only to find him kissing another girl during a slow song. The night, I got my vengeance. I killed the school's prom queen. This wasn't just your average killing. The grief and ridicule had built up on me for many years, and that night, it exploded. I was oh so very careful and discrete. I got a certain high from it. During college, my friends did drugs and drank alcohol. I killed young students. Knowing I could be caught and severely punished put a certain mysterious feeling to my little "game." My favorite part was the planning before the killings. I had to make up a believable story for the background of my next victim's death. Also, I would have to make a plan as to how the killing took place and what my alibi would be. To this day, I have killed over a hundred people. I move every year or so, and find fresh and different people to strike on. Now that I'm older and don't have anyone to talk to, I usually go for anyone who tells my little secret ... Usually." Traumatized by what she just heard, Casey felt her inside be gulped up by fear. What would she do next? She was living next door to a murderer, and she was alone. If she would tell, she jeopardized her own life, but if she didn't tell, she was still in danger. What should she do?