Mystery on Main Street
Disclaimer: I do not own Hot Topi, McDonalds, Claire's, Americas Most Wanted,
West Tampa High (if it exisst), or any street that is or ever was named Main Street.
Chapter 1 Are you sure this dress looks right on me? I asked my friend Abness, It looks fine to me... Besides the fact that it s pink. Abness hated the color pink, she was gothic and nobody in school really understood her, I was her only friend and she was mine. I took the dress off and got dressed then walked out of the dressing room, I m gonna go pay for this. I told her, Ok, do you mind if I go to Hot Topic? I saw some cool earrings and shoes there that I wanted to try out. Ok, meet me back at the food court when your done. She left. After I paid for the dress I went to Claire's. God forbid you ever see Abness Abedier in Claire s, its pink for christ sake. I walked into the store trying to find some earrings that would go good with my dress when I overheard some employees talking, Did you hear about that guy who was stabbed to death on Main Street? Yeah... come to think about it a lot of people have been killed on Main Street. Police can t find any evidence of the murderer though, whoever this person is needs to be put in jail. the other girl nodded in agreement. When I found my earrings I went to the food court and waited for Abness, I waited, and waited, and waited, and waited until 5 p.m, Where the hell is Abness? I asked myself and left the mall.
The next day at school was basically like any other day, hellish and boring. I grabbed my folder, notebook, and pencil out of my locker, when I turned the popular girls were walking by so I stuck my leg out and tripped one of them which made all of them fall to the ground. I laughed so hard I couldn t breathe! What the hell Natalie, you don't have to be such a Bitch! said Jessica their leader and the biggest whore of the school, Payback's a bitch ain't it? I said, Are you trying to fight me? she asked, Bitch please, I ll have your ass on the ground faster than you could try and pull my hair. I folded my arms and waited for her response. She just stuck her nose up and her and her posse left, Abness walked up to me, Damn Nat. I didn't think you had some bad ass in you. she said, Only towards her, god, she pisses me off something fierce. she laughed, Speaking of pissing me off, I turned to her, where did you go last night? What? Oh I was uh- My mom called and picked me up, we head a family problem. Oh, is everyone ok? Yeah We headed to chemistry class.
Abness and I sat down just as the bell rang and the teacher closed her door, Ok class, there was a loud bang on the door, walked over to the door where two of Jessica s friends were late...again, Emily, Shyann you two are late... again, I m afraid that is a detention for both of you. NO! Emily shouted, DO YOU HOW MANY DETENTIONS THAT IS? Well next time you will think about leaving for class for a little bit earlier. BUT I LL GET ISS! That is not my problem. handed them both detentions and they looked at me and Abness, IT WAS ABNESS AND NATALIE'S FAULT! I don t see how it is they were here before the bell rang. THEY TRIPPED US IN THE HALLWAY! Just to let you know Emily can t talk in a normal tone, she shouts when she talks, Preposterous I said getting out of my chair, I couldn t have tripped you today because I never encountered you today, Abness and I were in the cafeteria eating breakfast until the first bell rang. looked at Abness, Is this true? she asked her. Abness nodded, I thought so, Emily, Shyann go take your seats. they went and sat down, Abness and I fist bumped and continued with our chemistry class. Everyone had to do a packet and I will never know what was thinking by giving Emily and Shyann chemicals because they are the dumbest girls in the entire school. So as Abness and I are flying through the packet Emily and Shyann are spilling acid everywhere and burning holes everywhere. ended up sending them to the office, Abness and I laughed.
In art class we had to draw and paint a Picasso painting, Abness painting was awesome because she was a good drawer, me not so much, so she helped me. Mr. Marx was dumb enough to let Morgan and Jennifer (more of Jessica's friends) use paint... That turned out badly. So they got kicked out of class too, Damn I said, The popular people are dropping outta class like flies today. What s the deal? I don t know. Abness shrugged. In the hallway we met up with our friends Mae and Robert, How many popular people got kicked out of your first two hours? Mae asked, Four. Emily, Shyann, Morgan, and Jennifer. Oh we had three, Keely,Caitlyn, and Olivia." just then Olivia walked by, "Are you talking about me?" She asked in a snotty tone, "No," I said sarcastically, "what gave you that idea?" "Iheard you say my name... It sounds like you and your group of losers are trying to start a fight." Just then the group of "populars" walked up... They were the people that got kicked out of class. I stepped up,"Are you challenging me and my friends?" "Nat. No, they want you to have the first hit, you'll get in trouble." Mae whispered in my ear, "Go ahead" I said, "but I'll have your ass on the ground faster than a fat dog goes after a treat." she swung at me and I ducked and punched her in the leg. She went down like a tree, "Mess with my friends again, come on guys." We went to our third hour computer class, "Natalie that was amazing!" Mae said "Why did you decide to stick up for us?" "I have had enough of their crap." I said and walked into the class room.
The rest of the day was pretty boring, the populars learned to stay out of my way or I would have torn them up. I got to my Ford pick-up truck when I heard ambulance sirens and saw my moms cop car speed by, "This can't be good." I said to myself and got into the truck. Big surprise the sirens led me to yet another house on Main Street, I got out of the truck and walked across the crime scene tape, "Officer Manson." I said walking up to Officer Manson, "What's going on?" "Big surprise another murder," he said, "A mother and two young children, maybe two or three." "Twins?" I asked, "Yup." "And no evidence." "You got that right, this is really starting to worry us, some sick bastard is on the loose and we dont have any leads!" Just then my mom walked out of the big two story house, "Mom" I said running up to her, "What is it about Main Street that this person wants?" I asked, "I dont know" she said, "but we need to have 'round the clock watch around the block." "Officer Anderson." Officer Manson walked up to my mom, "Anything to report?" "No Officer Manson, I have searched the entire premisis no evidence to speak of." "Did this happen today?" I asked, "No the murder happened last night, some new neighbors came over today and found that the door was opened so they came in and found the dead bodies and called." Officer Manson said, "Lord help anyone who moves onto Main Street these days." I said Officer Manson and my mom nodded. I left the scene and went home, my sister was hanging out with her friend, "Natalie, where is mom?" She asked, "There was another murder on Main Street." "Another?" "Yep, hopefully they get this cleared up before prom, the hall on Main Street will have tons of teens there, who knows what that creep will do!" I said, "I agree." My sister agreed. I walked into the house and threw my my bag on the couch, a picture of my father hung above the couch. Over five years ago my dad went MIA (Missing in Action) my sister and I were only twelve and thirteen at the time and before he left to go to Iraq he said that he will be safe and he will be back before we move out and got our own life, he lied. My bedroom served as my fortress of solitude, where I always could isolate myself with no invasion of privacy. I sat on my bed and got on Facebook, I checked what came up on my homepage and something caught my attention, an event coming up. It was a masquerade party for Braden Harrison, and anyone could go! I loved Braden, ever since the first grade, but he never noticed a girl like me. I was looking through my home page when my sister shouted, "OH MY GOD NAT. TURN ON THE NEWS!" I grabbed the remote and turned on the news. The report was live, "This just in, another murder on Main Street today. Police were just finishing up yesterdays investigation when a neighbor desperately cried for help. When they got to the scene of the crime the murderer was gone and again police found no evidence. We asked police chief Manson about what he thinks." Officer Manson came on the screen, "We need to find this killer, high school prom may not be going on if we cant find this killer and bring them to justice." "Authorities will not yet release the names of the victims of today's murder but we do know one thing, it's not safe to live on Main Street anymore." I flipped off the tv and ran down stairs. Something weird is going on in Tampa Florida, and I intend to find out.
Chapter 2 That night on America's Most Wanted they had a segment on what they called "Main Street Murderer" "This is ridiculous." I said flipping through the channels after the show was over, "It's people like that who make crime rate in Tampa go up!" "Eh they dont careNat. they just obviously want something. But they just dont know whos house theyre looking for... So why not attack all houses." "You're right Analeigh, obviously they want something."
The next morning at school everyone was quiet and all the popular girls were crying, Abness was nowhere to be seen and all juniors got called down to the gym. Mr. Johnson was down on the floor and almost all of the juniors were crying, "Ok everyone calm down. Now I know that we lost someone dear, but Shyann is in a better place now." "Shyann is dead?" I asked Mae, "Yeah your mom didnt tell you?" "No! I didnt see her all night." "Oh." "but just because Shyann is no longer with us" The principal continued, "doesnt mean that this has to interfere with your school work. If this is hard on you and you are having a hard time in class, just ask your teacher if you can come down to the office, you are more than welcome to." "Principal Johnson!" Said Karlie from the school paper, "If crime on Main Street does not decrease will this affect your decision on if prom should happen?" The students in the stands started uproaring in rage, "Calm down, calm down, no Karlie we will have prom, decrease or not... We already paid for everything but we will have security, cops have agreed to watch all of Main Street on prom night, so I guarantee that we will be safe and hopefully the police will catch that murderer."
Ever since Shyann's death school wasnt the same. The populars were quiet and stayed in class and passed, they werent even fun to mess with... They ignored me and Abness. Finally the Saturday of Bradens party came, I wore a short pink dress with sparkles and wore a pink sparkling mask with it. Everyone in the junior class was there, except Abness. I made my way through the house, Mae was talking to Robert, "Hey guys." Mae looked at me like she didnt even know who I was, "Why are you talking to me?" She asked in a snotty tone like one Jessica would use, "Mae what's happened to you? You used to be my friend." Jessica walked up behind her, Mae, what is this loser doing talking to you? I don't know. Jessica used Mae as a replacement Shyann, Jessica, you re a sick bitch! I said, Corrupting minds of anyone just to replace your friend who has been dead for two days, what is wrong with you? She flipped her ugly red hair and laughed, Shyann was an idiot, I was going to let her go anyway, I needed someone smart anyway. Oh my God, you killed Shyann didn t you? No, someone else did that for me. You bitch! You were never Shyann s friend, you used her, and you re probably using all of your other friends too aren t you? Congratulations, she said clapping, somebody is catching on with the idea. everyone but Robert was laughing. I left the room, I was so pissed that I wasn t paying attention when I ran into someone, Oh sorry. I said, It s ok. said the reason why I came, Hey, you re Natalie Anderson right? Yeah I blushed, and you re Braden Harrison right? Yeah thats me he laughed, I d never thought that I would ever see a pretty face like yours in a lifetime. I knew that Jessica liked him so I was going to go for him, Thanks. I said, You wanna go out on the patio with me? he asked, Sure. I said holding out a pink gloved hand and he took it.
He led me outside and we sat on the swing, So how about that Main Street Murderer? Crazy right? he asked, Yeah I don t get it though, why Main Street? Probably some dumb reason, he looked at me, You know, you re the only girl I ve met who doesn t care about her looks or what other people think about her. Thanks, and you re the only guy I ve met who isn t concerned about sports or finding a girlfriend. he smiled and leaned in to kiss me and I did the same, "OH MY GOD!" Braden and I looked up and saw Jessica standing in the doorway on the patio, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?" Braden got up, "Jessica what are you doing out here?" "WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT HERE WITH... THAT!" She pointed at me when she said that, "Excuse me?" "FYI Jessica, she has a name and also she is way cooler than you ever were, and also, I never liked you." Tears welled up in Jessicas eyes and she left crying, "Come on Nat. lets go to my room." He took my hand and led me into the house and opened a door,"After you." He stepped out of the way and let me go first, "Wow nice room you got here." The walls were a dark blue color with plaques and pictures and shelves with trophies on them. He had a big plasma tv with a bean bag chair in front of it, "Yeah it's my inner sanctum, where I go to get away from my family." "Kinda like my family." He sat on the bed and patted next to him, I sat next to him, "We have a lot in common." He said, "I'm sorry we didn't get to know each other earlier." He kissed me again and we started making out, we fell back onto the bed but I stopped, "Braden, how long are you gonna be alone after the party?" "All night." "We could come back later." his eyes got wide, Ok that sounds good. I got off of the bed, C mon, let's enjoy the party. We danced for the rest of the night and the number of guests dwindled down until it was just me and Braden, You sure your mom won't mind? he asked, I m sure... What about your parents? They don t care about what I do. we walked into the bedroom and I sat on the bed next to him, we started making out then he unzipped my dress and pulled it off. A few hours later we were laying in the bed, That-was-awesome! he said, I regret not getting to know you earlier, I mean I knew you but I didn t, you know. Yeah. we kissed then went at it again. He was kissing my neck when I interrupted him, Braden, I said, What? he asked, What time is it? Uh... 5:30 in the morning. WHAT? Oh my god my mom is gonna freak! I started putting my clothes back on, Natalie wait. What? Will you go to the prom with me? I looked at him and grabbed his hand, Of course I will. I kissed him again, Here is my number, I ll see you monday. I walked out.
Police cars sped by and turned on Main Street... Again. I was kinda glad because my mom wouldn t be home so I wouldn t be killed when I got home. I pulled up to the driveway and walked up to the door and disarmed the alarm and went inside, carefully I shut the door, Ooh you are so in trouble, mom is gonna kill you. I turned and saw Analeigh sitting on the couch, So how was the party last night? she asked me, Ok, I guess,I just hung out with some friends. Is that ALL you did? What do you mean? I was getting nervous, Oh nothing, I just heard some things. Like what? Never mind. I death glared her and walked upstairs into my bedroom. I changed into my pajamas and plopped onto the bed, I fell asleep.
"Natalie! Natalie!" A males voice cried to me, "Hello? Whos there?" "Natalie help!" I heard the voice before, soft, gentle, inviting. I ran towards the sound of the voice but I wasnt going anywhere the voice just kept on calling for me, more and more until I recognized who was calling for me, "Dad!" I woke up. "Natalie Rose Anderson get down here right now!" My mom shouted from downstairs, I got up and went downstairs, "What?" "Where were you last night I was worried sick about you!" "Mom I was at a party, I told you this." "Were you drinking?" "What? No mom I was hanging with Braden." "Come here." She pulled the breathalyzer test from the drawer,"Sit." She said pointing to the counter. I sat on the counter, "Mom, I can't believe you don't trust me!" "Blow into the straw." I blew into the straw, my sister sat at the table and was laughing. There was a beeping noise, "Hm, .08, you're good." "Mom! I can't believe you dont trust me!" "No honey I dont trust peer pressure." "I'm so sure." I said hopping off of the counter. My mom walked out of the kitchen and my sister bursted out laughing, "Wow, I can't believe mom pulled out the breathalyzer on you, she must not trust you enough." She laughed some more, "Oh shut up Anna, I'll remember that when mom finds out that you and your friends smoke weed in the woods." "You wouldn't dare tell mom." "Try me." "Well I'll tell her that you had sex last night with Braden." "I dont know what you're talking about." I tried to keep my voice calm and collective without telling her that I did have sex, "Oh please Natalie" she said, "I know why people stay late after parties and it's either because they are doing drugs, which I know you dont do or they are having sex, you were having sex." My older sister had a lot of experience with this stuff, she's had sex and she does drugs without getting caught. My mom walked back into the kitchen, "I have to go back to Main Street, they need me to do more investigation... And I am on patrol today so I'll be out late." "Ok." My sister and I said at the same time. After my mom left Analeigh stood up and walked next to me, "I hate this, I just want to be a normal teenager..." I said looking down at the floor, "Everyones opinion on normal is different, your normal is straight A's and perfect attendance, mine is forget school its all about drugs... Speaking of which I need to meet up with Addison and her boyfriend, see u later." She grabbed her keys and walked out the garage door. I was home alone so I grabbed the phone and called Braden's cellphone, "Hello." "Hey Braden its Natalie." "Oh hey Nat. I was seriously thinking about calling you." "So I'm home alone, how about you?" "Yeah my parents are still gone." "Wanna meet up somewhere?" "Sure how about you meet me up at McDonald's?" He asked "Sounds good meet you there in 10" "Ok" he hung up, I put the phone on the receiver and left the kitchen.
I went upstairs into my bedroom and ran for the closet. I needed something elegant but not too dressy, I pulled out a pink ruffled tank top and put on my short jean shorts which took five minutes. When I was done I bolted out the kitchen door with my keys and got into my truck. Braden was there waiting for me in a booth, "Sorry I am late." I said half smiling at him, "No, you're not late.. Actually I just got here." He said smiling. We ate some Mcnuggets and talked, we were talking about Jessica when, speak of the devil, she came into the restaurant. Braden and I completely ignored her, but she couldn't ignore us. I could feel her death glare on us as she waited for her food, "What's Jessica's deal?" I whispered to Braden, "I don't know, I think she is just mad because she wants me back but I got you." He put his hand on mine. I heard Jessica growl in the backround... I ignored her, "Want to go see a movie?" I asked, "Sure." We left the restaurant and Jessica behind.
We were at the movie theater on Main Street, we were cautious when we went, "How come the only movie theater in town is on the most violent street in town?" I asked Braden, "I dont know, I just hope it clears up... Next week is prom." "I know, it would be bad if they showed up at prom." We both shuddered at the thought of a murderer wrecking prom. The guy took our tickets and we went into theater 8 which was showing Chernobyl Diaries. About halfway through the movie there were gunshots, in our theater, Braden and I turned to see someone in a mask shooting up the place. We ducked to the floor, "Come on, towards the exit in the front." I started crawling behind him on the sticky floor, "Braden this is gross!" I shouted over the screaming crowd. We crawled to the aisle and ran in the opposite direction of the crowd, someone ran into us and knocked us to the ground, there was more gunshots and before I realized I had been shot a dark figure stood over me and pointed a gun at me. The figure lowered the gun and left.
Chapter 3 I didnt know where I was when I woke up. Braden was in the same room as I was, "Braden." I said trying to reach for him, my back hurt and I couldnt feel my left leg. He wasn't responding when I talked to him, "Natalie!" My sister Analeigh was there in the room with Braden and I, "Anna, where is mom?" "Shes at the movie theater right now, when she found you there she was so devastated she thought you were dead!" "Movie theater?" It was all coming back to me. The shooter I saw looked familiar, "What happened to me?" I asked "Nothing major, thank god, you were shot in the back and your leg was bruised." Now that she mentioned it my leg did hurt a little more now. I looked at Braden, "What about Braden?" "He was hit in the arm, and when he fell to the ground he hit his head." The way he layed there he looked broken and helpless, "Analeigh call mom I need to tell her something." "Ok." She left the room. When she closed the door Braden woke up, "Ow, what happened?" "Braden!" I exclaimed sitting up, "You're ok!" "Yeah... Ow my arm is tore up really bad... Im probably not going to be playing baseball for a while." He said rubbing his bandaged arm, "Braden, that shooter, she looked familiar like someone I know from school." "Who?" "I dont know... But someone I know definitley." My sister came back into the room, "Mom said she will be over in a few minutes." She looked over at Braden, "So this is the kid you had sex with?" "Natalie! You told your sister that we had sex?" "N-" "Nope, I found that out on my own." Braden blushed.
A few minutes later my mom walked in the room, "Natalie! Are you ok? I was so worried that you would have died!" She wrapped me in a big hug, "Ow mom watch my back." I managed to gasp out, "Oh sorry, so your sister said that you wanted to tell m something?" "Yeah its about the shooter, she looked familiar, about my age with deep green eyes. I swear I have seen her before, at school or something." "Oh Natalie I promise that we will find the killer and bring her to justice." "Mom, dont do it for me," I said, "do it for all the families who have suffered from losing loved ones." "Natalie I just thought of something." Braden said, "What?" "We are lucky." "And why is that?" "We survived the Main Street Murderer."
We went home that day, Bradens parents didnt even seem to care that their son had been shot so he decided to come back to my house. My mom was happy that I found a boyfriend, "This is so exciting! My little girl is growing up!" I blushed, "Mom, go away!" she left the room, "Im sorry about my mom." I said to Braden, "Eh, it's ok, at least your mom cares about if you get shot." "Im so sorry, will a kiss make it all better?" "Of course." He leaned in and we kissed, no matter how cliche' this sounds, sparks fly every time I kiss him, the way he shapes his lips around mine makes it feel like im kissing him for the first time again and again. When we were done Braden got off of the couch, "Wanna go to my place?" "Sure." He grabbed my hand and helped me off of the couch. He drove his dark blue Mercedes back to his house, we walked up to the front door, "My parents are home... But the door is locked, let me grab the key." He stood on his tip-toes and grabbed the key off of the door frame, he put the key in the doorknob. There was a click and the door opened, "Mom, dad, I'm home!" He shouted, I walked into the room and looked down, "OH MY GOD!" I shouted at the sight that was in front of me, "Natalie what is- MOM!" There in front of us was his mom laying in a pool of blood. Braden ran over to his mom, "Dont touch her... There might be useful fingerprints on her body." "Nat. we have to find my dad!" Tears were streaming down his face, "Come on lets search the rest of the house." We went through the kitchen and dining room and through all the rooms downstairs, everything was ransacked, every single room in the mansion. We went into Bradens room which was completely destroyed, "MY ROOM!" He walked in,"Who could have done this?" I looked at the western wall too stunned to speak and pointed because on the wall written in his mothers it said, "Main Street Murderer was here."
"THAT BITCH!" Braden shouted, "THAT SICK MOTHERF-" "Braden calm down." I wrapped him in a hug, he was really hot and he was shaking. There was a thumping noise on the wall on the third story, "Come on." I pulled him off of the floor and we went upstairs. The noise got louder and louder as we came closer to a door, "There, in the closet." Braden said running up to the door, something was definitley in there. Braden cautiously reached for the knob and turned it, inside of the closet, tied up, was Bradens father. He was squirming around trying to get free, "Dad!" Braden walked in and ripped the tape off of his dads mouth, "Ow thank god son, you're ok!" His dad said, "Yeah dad im fine,im just glad you're ok." He said untying his dad, "I just cant say the same about mom." "That bastard shot her? Damn, im pissed that someone came in here and just did this to us." Braden finished untying him and a sticky note fell to the ground, "What is it?" I asked, "Its a note. It says 'High School prom next, no survivors!'" "Oh my god, what does it say on the back?" He flipped it over, "It's a list of names, and they're crossed out."
+kids Shyann+family West Tampa High School prom West Tampa High School prom was circled a bunch of times, "Dad what happened?" Braden asked, "Well your mother and I just came home and we were going to go see you in the hospital when this woman dressed in black barged into the house! She demanded that we tell her where you two were, we lied and told her we didnt know, thats when she tied me up and threw me into the closet and knocked me out. That was the last time I saw your mother, when I woke up I heard shouting downstairs and it was you two, so I banged on the wall until you guys came and saved me." "But why kill mom? It doesnt make sense!" " I dont know, but I'm going to call the cops." Minutes after I called the cops they showed up, Braden and I showed my mom the note and the blood on the wall, "What a sick person." My mom said. Officer Manson walked up, "Officer Anderson, we have new intel that our suspect has black hair, deep green eyes and is teenaged, please report the details to our sketch artist ASAP." "Yes sir." My mom said and walked away, "Natalie, Braden, I can not thank you enough for giving us some evidence and details for this investigation we've been going cold on leads for weeks now." "No problem Chief Manson... We are glad we could help." Chief Manson nodded and walked away. Braden and I stood and watched the investigation, "Braden, I fear that prom is going to end up like this." And him and I both knew this would be true.
Chapter 4 That week of school was great... Actually it was the best week that I experienced in years. Sure word got out that Braden and I were dating but that was good on my part becacause my popularity skyrocketed and Jessicas plummeted. Abness didnt show up that whole week, so I mostly hung out with Braden and Robert, my two main men. Finally prom night came, sure I was nervous but that all changed when Braden came to pick me up in a limo. His dad was with him so him and my mom bombarded us with pictures. We picked up Robert and his girlfriend Addison and we went out to eat at a fancy restaurant. Everyone stared in shock and awe when they saw us all coming out of the limo, Abness was waiting for us, "Sorry I couldnt ride with you guys," she said, "I was out with my mom." "Eh it's ok... We didnt do much." "Uh-huh." She looked at the limo, "Sure you didnt." "Hey guys c'mon lets party!" Robert said to distract Abness. Truth was I completely forgot about Abness, but dont tell her I said that. We walked inside the building and Jessica was there with her friends... None with dates, I laughed ,"Hey you wanna dance?" Braden asked me, "Sure lets dance over there." I said pointing over by Jessica. We walked over and started dancing together I was so lost in the moment that when someone tapped me on the shoulder I nearly pissed myself... Nearly. Jessica was tapping me on the shoulder angrily, "You're doing that on purpose!" "What? I'm just dancing with my boyfriend that you dont have." She clenched her fists, "You stole my boyfriend!" "I was never yours to begin with." Braden butted in... Lol butted... Anyway Jessica was getting more pissed at me that she was Braden, "God Jessica, you're so jealous, you think that if you cant have me nobody can!" Braden said. Jessica started to cry and she ran off, "Wow Braden that was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me!" I leaned in to kiss him when someone tapped my shoulder again, "WHAT NOW!" I said irritatedly, "GeezNatalie..." Robert said "Anyway have you seen Abness? She wanted to dance with me... But I haven't seen her." "Well thats not like Abness..." "To stand someone up? I know!" "No I mean to dance with someone... Shes not a dancer." "Nat.!" "What?" "Never mind, help me find Abness." "Braden," I sighed turning to him, "Do you mind if I help Robert find Abness?" "No, no, go ahead." "Ok I'll be right back." I kissed him and walked off with Robert. We walked through the crowd of dancing teens, "Abness!" We shouted, "I don't see her, she could be anywhere!" I shouted to Robert over the music, "She was wearing a long, black dress! She shouldnt be that hard to find!" We kept looking, "You know if you want to dance with someone why don't you dance with Addison?" "Because she doesnt want to dance anymore!" He said in a mocking tone, "Abness!" I shouted again. We looked for her for almost two hours, "Shes not here, she must have left." I said, "Natalie! Come on theyre about to announce prom king and queen." Addison said dragging Robert and I back into the dance hall. Principal Johnson was standing behind a podium on the stage, "And now the moment you all have been waiting for, the announcing of prom king and queen, Karlie the votes please." Karlie walked on stage with two envelopes, "Ok, West Tampa's prom king of 2012 is..." Right when he was going to announce king the power went out. Screams filled the air, "Calm down calm down!" Principle Johnson shouted over the screams, "Everything is fine, its just having a power surge or a minor blackout." "We are going to die!" One girl shouted. The screams uproared again, there was the sound of people running and crashing into tables.
The sound of screams was interrupted by the sound of gunshots, "Oh my god its the Main Street Murderer!" I ducked under the table and pulled my cell phone out. The light lit up under the table where Braden, Addison, and Robert were also hiding, "We gotta find a flashlight or something!" I shouted over the screaming, "We need to get out of here!" Robert shouted, "Robert we are on the third story, thats nearly impossible in the dark!" Addison shouted in response, "Ok guys follow me." I crawled out from under the table, the others followed, "When Robert and I were looking for Abness I think I saw a broom closet up ahead." "I think that is our best bet, maybe there will be flashlights in there." Braden said, "I hope so." Addison agreed.
We bolted towards the closet, there were more gunshots, "Hurry!" Robert shouted over all the noise. I grabbed the doorknob and pried the door open, "There are only three flashlights!" I handed the three flashlights over to them, "Go find an exit, get out of here!" I shouted over more gunshots, "But Nat." "Braden go, I'll be fine." He gave me a worried look then gave me a kiss, "Come on guys lets go." They ran off. I looked around using the light from my cell phone, there were people running in every direction. Cops were swarming trying to get to the shooter, I ran off towards the shooter. There was a dead cop on the ground, it was Officer Charo, I had no time to mourn for her, I grabbed her flashlight and her taser and headed towards the sound of shooting.
No one was on the third story except for me, I was walking when someone ran into me, "Oh Im sor-" It was the murderer. Quickly I got up and ran into the kitchen, I ducked under the table, footsteps got louder and louder. The Murderer was in the kitchen, I listened as the footsteps got louder and closer, then stopped, then walked away. I let out a sigh of relief, a hand grabbed my arm and pulled me out from underneath the table. The murderer came back and threw me against the wall, I hit an oven and fell to the ground, the murderer walked over and grabbed me by the throat and lifted me up. I reached out my hand and pulled the mask off, "Abness!" I gasped out, "How do you know who I am?" She dropped me and shined a light on my face, "Oh my god Nat. Im so sorry." "Why Abness?" I choked out, "Why kill all of these people?" "Because Nat. when I was younger, back when I lived on Main Street I was playing in my front yard and a neighbor came and took me away. I didnt know what house he took me to but I remember him blindfolding me and taking me a short distance down the road and he took me to his house and raped me! I lost everything that day, he thought I was dead so he dumped me in the woods and left me for dead, it was that day I swore I would get my vengance and kill that son of a bitch even if it meant killing every family on Main Street." "But why attack the prom?" I asked, I couldnt believe I was so blind, dark green eyes, black hair, teen ager. No wonder why Abness always disapeared, she was out killing people, innocent people.
"I attacked prom not for my own selfish reasons, but for us Natalie. Think about it, everyone who has made fun of us, called us names, tried to pick fights with us. One day karma was going to get them and today is that day! Come on Natalie join me, we can get revenge on these bitches together." She held out her hand for me go grab, I grabbed it.
She helped me up and smiled, "I knew we were friends for a reason." She said, "Abness I'm sorry, but after today I'll never be your friend again!" I shouted grabbing some knives and whipping them at her, I ran out of the kitchen leaving the flashlight behind. The hallways of the third story were pitch black, sure I couldnt see where I was going, I didnt care, Abness was probably pissed off and chasing me with a gun. The darkness tricked me and put a flight of stairs in front of me, I tripped and fell down. When I stopped rolling my ribs hurt and my leg, my cell phone skidded across the floor along with the taser gun.
I crawled and tried to grab my cell phone when suddenly a hand crushed my hand, I screamed out in pain, "I can see that there is no use reasoning with you. Oh well it was nice knowing you." she shrugged and pointed her gun at me, "NO!" I shouted and grabbed her leg with my other hand and pulled her back. She fell to the ground, while she was struggling to get up I grabbed the taser and pointed it at Abness, "You're a horrible friend and I dont need you to be happy!" "Go ahead shoot me, you dont have the balls to do it." I started to lower the gun then I thought about everything she has done not only to me but to our whole school, and all the innocent families whos members she killed, I closed my eyes and squeezed the trigger.
I made my way outside with Abness in hundcuffs, "I-caught-the-Murderer!" I exclaimed, "Abness?" the crowd said in unison, "Thats not surprising." I heard Jessica say, "Oh my god my baby are you ok?" My mom asked wrapping me in a hug, "Yeah mom im fine." I said hugging her back. Officer Manson walked up to me, "Abness Abedier, why did you do it?" "For revenge everyone has to die!" "Are you gonna take her to jail?" I asked, "Jail? This bitch is crazy, I think someone needs to spend some time in the wako shack!" "What? No not the wako shack!" Two officers put her in the back of the car and drove off, "Natalie I can not think of anything that could show my appreciation." "Please, it wasnt a real big bother, but it was a bother." "Nat. come over to the ambulance, you look like you're about to faint." The pain in my torso suddenly came back much stronger. Braden helped me over to a stretcher and I layed down, my eyes opened and there were flashing lights everywhere, I got up, "Braden, whats going on?" "Natalie, you fell asleep, but the news showed up... They wanted to talk to you but you were sleeping." I started to walk towards the commotion, they ended up coming to me, "Natalie were you aware that your best friend was a cold hearted killer?" One reporter asked, "Natalie were you ever in cahoots with Abness?" "Natalie were to encounter the murderer?" I looked around not sure whos question to answer.
They kept bombarding me with questions, "ONE AT A TIME PLEASE!" They all calmed down, "Ok thank you, now, no I wasnt aware that my best friend was a killer. No I wasn't in cahoots with her, and no I was not scared to encounter her... Ok, I was a little. But that didnt worry me, I put my fear behind because I wanted to put an end to this massacre and one thing the police force taught me was that you shouldnt let fear get in the way of capturing a criminal. Thank you." I walked away, "Wow Natalie nice speech." Braden said giving me a kiss, "I wasnt trying to give a speech." "Oh..." So in the end I guess it was a happy ending, the bad guy was captured, I got the guy I always wanted, I became popular, and Jessica took my place in the "Popular chain". But I realized that the more I thought of it the more my life seemed like a movie, or a storybook. I didnt care, as long as Abness was gone and not hurting anyone I was happy with the way things turn out.
Chapter 5 Epilogue A few months later I decided to visit my friend. I sat down at a booth, Abness sat on the other side of the glass, she and I grabbed the phone at the same time, "Why are you here?" She asked sternly,"Hey at least I came, your parents dont care about you anymore, i'm the only one who at least cares!" "You dont care, I dont need you or my parents or anyone else. You know if you really cared about me you would have joined me, join me, I should have known you wouldnt have joined me, I was so naive to even have that in my mind." "Abness I did that because I cared, and you were trying to kill me!" "Im sorry." She said almost to quiet for me to hear, "I am too, best friends forever?" "Best friends forever." She put her hand on the glass and I did the same, "Maybe someday I'll be able to see you without a wall of glass between us." She said, "Visiting time is over." The police gaurd said. While I was on my way out I thought about the last thing Abness said to me, "Maybe someday I'll be able to see you without a wall of glass between us." I realized that this would never happen, at least not now anyway.