A blood curdling scream echoed through the house as a terrified preteen bound down the stairs two at a time.
"GET BACK HERE" the man roared, following close behind her
She slid around the corner and into the pantry closing the door all but a crack. She watched as the man ran past the door, determined to catch her.
"Bob, what on earth is all the noise?" Miriam complained, stepping out of the kitchen.
The hiding girl heard a loud thud as Bob slammed Miriam into the wall next to the pantry. "Where did she go?" he snarled at his wife "Where is Helga?"
"I didn't see her Bob, what the hell is going on?"
"Liar! She ran through here!"
Helga peered through the crack in the door, just as Bob was pressing a knife blade against her mother's throat.
"I swear I didn't see her." Miriam choked as the blade dug into her skin.
"Well I see you've made your decision, you're going to protect that little slut!" Bob spat. Helga shielded her eyes; she knew something bad was going to happen.
Miriam let out a ragged cry as Bob dragged the blade across her throat. Bob then proceeded to stab Miriam multiple times, she cried out with each stab, until finally she stopped making sound. Helga heard the sickening sound as her mother's body slid down the wall, and laid to rest lifelessly in the hall way.
After Helga had heard Bob's footsteps descend down the hallway, she slowly opened the pantry and bolted for the door. She almost threw up when she had to jump over her mother's lifeless form. As Helga's hand made it to the door knob she heard the loud crack of a gun. Bob was behind her. She just knew it; he was going to shoot her. So Helga ran. She ran, and she never once looked back.
She ran in a daze until she reached the Hilwood county bus station, she couldn't remember how or why she had arrived here of all places, but she decided to go with it. She needed to get far away from Bob, and a train ride would do just that.
The blonde fished in her pockets and came up with 31 dollars and 76 cents. Good thing she had forgotten to pay her lunch money this morning. "How far will $20 get me?" She asked the attendant at the counter.
"Are you old enough to be riding alone?" the lady eyed her suspiciously.
"Of course, I'm 16, if I can drive a car, I'd imagine I'd be old enough to ride in one." Helga lied with a convincing smile. This lady didn't need to know that she had barely just turned twelve.
"Well ok then." The lady checked her itinerary. "We have a train leaving in an hour for Boston…and um…one in ten minutes that leaves for Cincinnati."
"Cincinnati sounds great." Helga grabbed her ticket and stopped at the coke machine before sitting in the waiting area. The girl sipped her coke slowly, stopping every few moments to suspiciously look around. She was shaking, and she knew she looked a mess. She only had to keep it together for a few more minutes, and then she would have plenty of time to break down on the train.
"Now loading H-19 bound for Ohio" She rose to her feet and made her way to the loading gate, it was 1 am, and not many people were traveling." Once on board she made her way to the bathroom.
"If I'm going to stay hidden from Bob" She rambled to herself, "I'm going to need to change my appearance." She took down her pig tails and ruffled her hair, letting it fall down smoothly against her back. She scrunched her face in the mirror, looking at her features. "Tomorrow I'm going to have to fix this eyebrow."
When she returned to her seat, she collapsed. She looked around, making no one was near enough to see, then she cried. She cried hard, until she couldn't cry anymore. After what seemed like an hour, she drifted off into a restless sleep.
~*~*~*~
"Gerald, we're supposed to be studying physics. Turn the T.V. off!" Arnold commanded from the other room.
Gerald rolled his eyes as he flipped through the channels. He paused when he realized that all the local stations were broadcasting the same thing. He turned the volume on and sat up, interested as the flashing red and blue lights lit up the screen.
"To recap on the horrific events that have unfolded here tonight, Authorities were called to the Pataki residence at approximately 12:42 this morning." The reporter began standing in front of a door, which was blocked off with yellow police tape. "Neighbors reported hearing the screaming of a young girl, which prompted them to call 911. What the police found upon entering the residence…"
"Arnold, you need to come in here. This is something you need to hear." Gerald urged.
"Seriously Gerald, I'm not interested in watching South Park, we really need to study." Arnold said as he rounded the corner, snacks in hand. However, when his eyes met the television screen, he dropped the bowl he was carrying, scattering chex mix across the living room. "Gerald, that's Helga's house!"
"This really was a gruesome scene, something out of a horror film." The reporter continued. "Bob and Miriam Pataki, both dead and the too young age of 35. Their 12 year old daughter Helga, nowhere to be found. Investigators on the scene assure us that they will be investigating every possible lead; however it seems that this was the result of a murder-suicide. But the big question now is where is Helga Pataki?"
Gerald clicked off the TV. "Do you think she….that she…"
"I don't know man…" Arnold replied stunned. "I hope that she's ok."