The Chicken Murder
Claire sobbed into her pillow as she tried to fall asleep. He couldn't have just… No, it was impossible. It didn't make sense. Why would he do that?
The broken blonde got up and slipped on her shoes and a baggy blue sweatshirt on over her nightclothes. If she couldn't fall asleep, she might as well do something productive. She grabbed her basket and her fishing pole and made her way off her farm and to the beach.
It was pitch black outside, only the stars illuminating the path the farmer followed. It wasn't very cold, as it was the middle of summer, but her heart felt as freezing and fragile as ice. Ice that had just shattered.
She sat down on the edge of the pier and watched the dark abyss of water swirl beneath her.
Why did he do this? She thought, Why?
She recalled the week before as if it were happening now.
"Rick!" The blonde skipped onto the chicken farm with an armful of spa-boiled eggs, "Rick, look what I brought for us!"
She froze to a stop, her presents spilling to the ground and shattering.
"RICK!" She screeched, running up and kneeling next to the mangled and bloodied body of her boyfriend. "Rick! Oh my goddess, Rick!" She hesitated before poking the still body. It didn't move. She stood slowly, observing the scene.
His glasses were broken and bent lying next to him. His shirt and apron were torn in many places, revealing bright red oozing gashes in his pale flesh. He had an enormous bloodstain on his shirt, right where his heart should be. His legs were sprawled out underneath him, bending in ways that were normally never possible. Claire gagged slightly at the sight of a dirty bone forced out of his knee, the wound there still bleeding.
The young man was completely still and silent. His chest didn't move. He was dead.
Claire couldn't choke back the sobs any longer. She burst into tears; turning away from the unbelievable fate of her loved one. She howled and ran into the nearest building, which just so happened to be the chicken coop.
She gasped at what she saw.
All the chickens that once lived happily on this farm were as mangled –if not more- than Rick. Their corpses were strewn about the small hut, blood splatters all over the floor and walls. Claire inched forward, whimpering as she surveyed her surroundings. Suddenly another body of a fowl fell from the ceiling, causing the blonde farmer to scream and jump back. She looked up to where it came from and saw that it had been caked to the ceiling by dried blood and a butcher's knife was stuck through its wing. The large knife fell almost immediately after she saw this and it skewered the chicken as it hit the ground.
Claire shrieked again and kept sobbing. She leaned forward slowly and grabbed the knife, yanking it out of the body. It was covered everywhere in fresh blood, so Claire was careful when touching it. She eyed it carefully, noticing the word 'Seaside' engraved into the wooden handle.
"Hey, babe,"
Claire jumped around towards the sound stranger's voice. Her eyes widened and she began to tremble when she found the village's own restaurant owning pretty boy leaning against the doorframe. He was covered in blood as well, but didn't appear to have any wounds. His once-purple bandana was now a deep crimson color, torn in some places. His white shirt now had splatters of bright scarlet everywhere, and his shorts were splattered as well.
"What's wrong?" He asked smoothly as he approached the terrified young lady. She shook her head rigidly and backed away from him. He smirked, "What? You don't really think I'D do something like this, do you?"
Claire began to breath heavily, glancing around frantically for an escape route. The traveler was coming dangerously close to her and he was directly in front of the door. "N-No!" Claire cried as she put her free hand –the one that wasn't holding the knife- in front of her. Kai smirked once more.
"I'm not going to kill you. Well, not if you don't know that I killed Rick. Oh, whoops, I just told you…" He grinned. Claire's eyes widened in terror.
"W-why...? Why did you…?" She choked out. Kai threw his head back in laughter.
"Because. He was really getting on my nerves. 'Stay away from Popuri! Stay away from Karen! Stay away from Claire!' Please." He mocked. Claire paled. Kai had killed Rick because he was annoyed with him for trying to protect her? "Now… How do you want to die?"
Claire's head shot up with fury, "NO!" She screamed and hurled the blade in her hand at the bandana-clad madman. Claire turned her head away and her a yell. When she looked back, Kai was lying in a heap on his stomach in front of her. She quickly got up and darted over his limp body and out the door.
"Claire?" The blonde was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of a gruff voice from behind her. She turned around apprehensively but relaxed slightly when she saw no one but the town's local blacksmiths apprentice behind her.
"…What're you doing here so late?" She asked quietly, bringing her gaze back to the ocean's deep churning. She heard him chuckle softly.
"I was about to ask you the same thing," He said, not moving from his spot. He paused before adding, "You know, the whole town has been worried sick about you."
Claire shrugged.
Gray sighed and sat down next to the farmer. "It's not your fault, Claire," He said, annoyance evident in his voice.
Claire shrugged again.
They remained sitting in silence -as Gray couldn't think of anything better to say- until the sky started lighting up with the sunrise when Claire whispered, "Thanks, Gray, for trying to make me feel better," She said, and thought before adding sadly, "trying."
Gray rolled his eyes and Claire smiled slightly at his annoyed reaction. Maybe Claire would feel better sooner than she thought…
Woah, that was awful. I was challenged to write a ClairxRick fic on another site, and I couldn't turn down this opportunity. Evil Laughter Well, please excuse the cruddy-ness of the entire thing, and keep in mind it was jotted down in like fifteen minutes TT