Evening all hope your all well, I've noticed there is a problem with people getting notifications about chapter updates, if you didn't get one make sure you read chapter 24 before this one as that chapter will make an important play in later chapters. anyway this chapter is a bit different from anything I've written before it from the killers POV so you get an insight into his mind and because i thought that might be a bit short i decided to do an POV from a victim. please let me know what you think.

happy reading :)

Chapter 25.

January 23rd

killer POV

Where was she, why wasn't she home, he needed to call her so he could hear her voice. Exhaustion had become his constant companion but it seemed to prolong the thrill in a way he couldn't have imagined. He used the steering wheel as leverage, arched his back and stretched, his muscles felt tight, unyielding he groaned, looked at the clock on the dashboard, it was 3am, he pulled his coat around him and turned up the collar, it had dropped to minus 3 during the night and had been snowing. He had been sat outside her place all night waiting for her to come home, but for some reason she hadn't, she must have known he would call tonight. He felt like her puppet; she pulled the strings and he danced to her manipulative tune. It had been days since she had deigned to speak to him, all he had to sustain him were overheard snippets of conversations she had with her neighbors. As he leaned forward to ease the ache in his spine, he rubbed his hands together the joint on his fingers were red and swollen, his knuckles covered in scratches, he pushed away his frustration closed his and imagined walking her home, cooking for her and then sitting on her sofa just the two of them, her auburn hair would be pulled over one shoulder and she would be wearing her leggings, slippers and hooded jumper, she would probably rest her legs in his lap as she read. His trousers tightened around his crotch as his interest grew, he could almost feel her hands on him. The sound of a car starting up brought him back to the car and out of his fantasy, the warmth of her touch vanished.

She had known the effect she had on him the moment they met, it had been obvious he had seen it in her eyes as she licked her lips when she talked to him, blowing on her coffee, her perfect lips pursed as if waiting for a kiss. She was different from the others, he had watched her for a while before he had introduced himself to her. Where was she, she should be home, maybe she went Lori's after picking up her car and decided to stay. If he hadn't been so busy today he would have been able to follow her. 'selfish…bitch' he whispered. Pulling away from her house he needed to get rid of his anger and then he would find out where she was.

victim POV

Hayley pulled on her boots and tucked her jeans in with a meat fold. It had snowed most of the night, looking out of her bedroom window, it looked as if it had continued. The snow had covered the litter, the cars and dirty concrete that normally decorated Aubyn square. This morning it was an untouched winter wonderland. She tiptoed past Louisa's bedroom door and down the stairs, into the hallway, as she pulled on her coat; it dragged the sleeves of her jumper up her arms; the waxy material of her coat was cold against her skin, she wrapped her pale green scarf around her neck and pushed the ends inside her zipper. She felt a bubble of excitement in her stomach, Richmond park was going to look amazing. She took her keys from the hook by the front and let herself out as quietly as she could, walking Louisa at 7.15am would not be a good idea.

The walk way at the back of the flat was slippery, she lifted her feet and planted them square to the ground, if she hurried and didn't fall too many times on the way, hers might be the first footprints to break the blanket of snow in the park, the thought spurred her on as she negotiated the concrete steps leading down into the estate.

When she reached the gates to the park; she walked in as through entering the vaulted splendor of a cathedral, she didn't know where to look first. The park lay out in front of her like an enormous cloud, to her right the avenue of oak trees provided the only color, their canopy was so thick that the wood-chip path beneath had been left untouched by the snow, it looked like the entrance to another world. The undulating parkland stretched out into nothing, the air was still so dark and thick with snow that it was impossible to decipher where the ground ended and the sky began. It would take 4 hours to walk around the entire park, not that she wanted to do that today, but even if she did it would impossible she would be lost within minutes. Movement to her left made her turn, a man with 3 terriers walked towards her.

"morning" he said

"good morning."

"beautiful morning, isn't it?" with a sweeping arm gesture he indicated the scene before them

"yes it is." that was all she could say, she turned away from him, without smiling and walked towards the trees, he had clearly walked the left hand route, ruining it with his clumsy feet and pesky dogs, so she opt for the fairyland entrance once she was further in she could go off the path and find snow that no-one, not even dog walkers would have spoiled. As she looked down and watched the snow disappear beneath her feet she let the muffled sounds of the morning wash over her. Everything looked clean as she entered the cover of the trees, the sky through the trees was getting lighter. She veered off to the left and climbed over a fallen tree, sending icy flakes down the top off her boots, she found an almost level route and with her down kept on walking.

Haley dug her headphones out of her coat pocket, pulled off one glove and scrolled through her ipod, with her already freezing finger she set the volume as loud as it would go and shoved the earphones as far into her ears as she could, music was her version of white noise, she replaced her glove tucking it into her sleeve. As she entered a small alcove of trees she saw movement out of the corner of her eyes and turned, sometimes there were deer in this part of the park but she couldn't see ant this morning.

The snow was deep here, up to her ankles she lifted her feet higher, her muscles ached with the effort of each step but she smiled, this was exactly what she had needed; fresh air the cocoon of her music and the clean white landscape all around her, she might even go the whole hog and lie down and make a snow angel, another movement to her right made her turn, all she could see was white and the barks of the tree trunks. She reached into her pocket for her fags as the next song come on, the pulsing beat was so loud it made her wince. She held a cigarette with her teeth, digging around in her pocket for her lighter.

As her fingers closed around it she felt something heavy hit the back of her head, she fell to knees and turned in time to see a man towering over her, he pushed her face down and was on top of her before she could react; her right hand was stuck in her pocket, pinned underneath her, her left arm was stretched out in front of her. He was heavy, she tried to move but he was astride her, holding her legs down with his own, his powerful hands pushed down on her shoulders, so all she could do was lift her head away from the snow, freezing against her face. She could see his mouth moving but couldn't hear what he was saying. Her music blared in her ears now accompanied by the pounding of her blood that was rushing to her head. when she tried to speak, she chocked on the snow, she looked up at the side of his face he was smiling. She let out a strangled sob as she watched his lips move, transfixed; it was like watching someone talk under water. She could feel the vibrations of his speech; a low hum against her spine

His hand reached around to her face. Oh god, she thought, please don't touch me. He pulled at her scarf, yanking her earphones out. He exposed her neck to the cold, to his hands Hayley closed her eyes.

He's going to strangle me in the park, in broad daylight. She thought, and there's nothing I can do about it.

She tried to scream but he bent forward at the same time and pushed the air out of her lungs with his body. "shhhh…. Hayley." he stroked her lips with the tip of his gloved index finger. Her whole body shivered with revulsion, it was then she knew who he was, he was the one that had be calling her and following her for weeks.

A scratch, followed by a burning pressure against her necks made every muscle in her body tense, she then felt her whole body relax and her eyelids become heavy. She could see her earphones lying in the snow next to her face,

"shhhh" he said again.

She didn't want to hear any more.