It's time for another new chapter of LOM! The murderers are still on the move, killing innocent people, and today they'll take out another innocent soul. And like the killer said, Who will it be this time? Let's find out.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 7: There Will Be Thorns
After completing the attack and eventual murder of Miss Johnson, the killers continued on to another part of town to seek out their next victim. This one should hopefully be easy. Miss Johnson sure was...
"Alright, dudes... we're heading downtown this time for our next victim..."
With that, the criminals walked down an alleyway. It took a while, but they were able to find the person they were looking for. She was walking through the area with a bouquet of flowers in her hand, "Harold is so sweet..." She said to herself, "He always gives me flowers..."
"Flowers..." The killer whispered with a snort, "You honestly deserve more than flowers, Violet... and luckily we had it put on the door earlier..."
They watched as Violet approached her house, but before she took a step into the house, she found something tapped to the front door. It was... another bouquet of flowers. But this one had thorns on its stems, which were long, and it was actual violets as well.
"More of them..." She wondered, "Must be from Harold... he's so sweet..."
She began to take them, being careful of the thorns, but before she could make another move, she was suddenly grabbed by behind, a hand covering her mouth at the same time. Violet struggled to escape, but to no avail, as the figure spoke, "You sure get a lot of flowers from that dude... but little do you know, is that it will all come to an end..."
With that, the figure grabbed the flowers and began wrapping the thorny stems around Violet's neck. The thorns themselves began to cut into her skin as she choked and gagged.
"Write a message for Violet's mother. Quick." The leader told his partner, who nodded and got to it.
The criminal continued to pull harder and harder, determined to get the thorns as tightly as possible. He wanted Violet to suffer but at the same time, make it quick, as he knew her mother might come out at any moment.
As for poor Violet, she tried and tried to escape, and grab at the stem, but it was no use. She was losing air quickly, "P... P-Please... stop..." She whispered.
The figure smirked, "I will... once you're dead. Any last words...?"
"T-Tell my family... I love them... and tell Harold... I-I-I... love... him..."
With that, Violet Samson took her last breath before her body went limp. In fifty seconds flat... she was gone. The leader dropped her at the doorstep of her room, just as the note was finished and dropped on her body. Blood leaked from her neck from where the thorns cut into her.
"You were too good for him..." he chuckled, "Let's bounce..."
With that, the villains left. Just as the door to the Samson household opened. The leader smirked as he heard the horrified screams of Violet's mother. This was continuing to get worse... and that's just the way he liked it.
As for the note...
'Blood is red, Violet turned blue. Karma's a bitch, he didn't deserve you...'
The next day...
'Twenty-nine-year-old Erica Johnson, a school teacher in the North Philadelphia area, was found dead by some of her former students just last night. Police report that she was stabbed multiple times before a knife was left in her head. And as with the previous murders that have occurred this week, an anonymous note was found. An investigation is still going on for those and this new crime scene...'
The boys were watching the news report this morning. They were still rather unnerved (and frankly traumatized) from their gruesome discovery the night before. Their beloved substitute teacher has now fallen victim to this ongoing murdering spree. Which drew attention to their chart of victim connections.
"I guess we can add Miss Johnson to the chart now..." Albert said as he taped a picture of their teacher to the chart, before drawing a line from her picture to everyone else's. She was our teacher, so she's connected to all of us..."
"I still don't get who could be killing everyone..." Donald wondered.
"That's what we're trying to figure out." Rudy replied.
Bill sighed, "We barely have any idea, though. This murderer is just as obscure as the notes he be leaving. And even those aren't helpful either. At this rate, nobody will know who it is..."
He was right. With little to no evidence left behind, and the notes being practically useless, the killers seemed to be a lost cause at this point. It could take a long time... it could take weeks... months... even years.
As Albert looked over the chart, he then realized something was missing... or rather, someone was missing, "Hey, have you dudes seen Weird Harold today? I just noticed he's not here."
The other boys shrugged before the news popped on again.
'In other news, it appears that the mysterious murderers have struck again last night. As sixteen-year-old Violet Samson was found dead at her front doorstep, apparently strangled to death by flowers with thorns. A note was found at the scene of the crime. We'll update on this further.'
At this point, the boys wanted to say that they weren't surprised. But that didn't mean they weren't horrified. Violet, another friend, and Harold's girlfriend was now a victim.
"Man... Violet's gone now..." Bill shook his head.
"No wonder Harold's not here..." Bucky frowned, "He must be devastated."
"I am..."
The guys turned to the front door of the clubhouse. There stood Harold. From the look on his face, they could tell he was already aware of the situation, and he was indeed devastated.
"Harold..." Albert started to say.
The tall boy sniffled as he leaned against the door frame, "I... I can't believe it... Violet... Violet's dead... how could this happen? Violet never hurt a soul in her life! Why would these crazy people wanna kill her? It doesn't make sense!" He sobbed.
Immediately, everyone's hearts went out to their friend, as Albert walked over to give him a hug, "We know... we know how much she meant to you..." He said.
"I just saw her yesterday too!" Harold cried, "I gave her flowers! I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her! I was planning to propose after we graduated high school!"
Soon, the others joined in, and it was a group hug, as they tried to comfort their distraught friend. They knew how much Harold loved Violet. So to see him so broken up about her untimely demise... it hurt them too.
"We're here for you, man..." Bill assured him.
"If you ever need something..." Russell added.
"We've got you covered." Bucky finished.
"Friendsb tob theb friendb." Mush also added.
Harold wiped away his tears, "T-Thanks, guys... I really needed this. I dunno what I'm gonna do without her... I know she'd probably want me to find another girl... but..."
Albert put a hand on his shoulder, "It'll take some time..."
"What I wanna know, is what heartless prick hates me so much, that they'll go and kill the love of my life?! 'Cause apparently the killer has something against us all!"
"I wish we knew the answer, Harold. Hopefully... the answer will come..."
"Anyways... I went over to Violet's house to pay my respects. Her mom was the one who found her. I've never seen Mrs. Samson so heartbroken. And I heard it shocked Mr. Samson so much, he had a heart attack and went to the hospital again."
This was becoming much more serious than the boys had anticipated. These murders were starting to affect the families physically instead of just mentally.
Harold sighed, "I'm sorry, dudes. I need some time to myself to think. I'm think gonna go back to Violet's house. I feel like her mom needs someone's shoulder to cry on. They treat me like one of their own anyways..."
"You go do that. We'll probably still be here if you need us." Albert smiled.
"Thanks. Well, I'll see you guys later..."
With that, Harold walked out the door. Albert had to admit, he was handling this a little bit better than he thought. The tall boy was heartbroken, for sure, but he was being mature about it, even going as far as to help out her late girlfriend's family. What a gentleman...
But now, everyone's attention was focused back to the chart. Violet was going to have to be added eventually, especially with her connection to Harold. But the mystery still lies ahead...
Who are the killers? Why are they killing everyone? And what sort of grudge do they have against the Junkyard Gang?
Later that day, Rudy decided to take a page out of Harold's book, and go back to visit the Suter's. From what he heard earlier, Devery's memorial was happening the same day as Bobby's funeral, as his parents wanted to have it already and be done with it. At least he had a choice of which one to go to, even though they were happening back to back.
Actually, his reason for visiting was to check up on Melba. He remembered how distraught and utterly broken she had been at the death of her brother. He wanted to make sure she was secure and calm.
Russell wanted to tag along too. At first, Rudy was going to say no. But he remembered that the little boy was close friends with Melba, and he wanted to make sure she was okay too. So the rich boy allowed him to come.
One knock on the door later, and they found themselves sitting with the little girl in her bedroom.
"You doing okay?" Russell asked.
Melba sighed, "I wish I could say yes... but honestly... I don't... not only did I lose my home, and my brother... but I also lost my teacher. Y'know... Miss Johnson."
Both Rudy and Russell nodded with frowns. They knew all too well, considering that they... found her.
"I just don't understand who is behind all of this and why... why are so many people dying lately...?"
Rudy put an arm around her shoulder, "It's hard to say... this killer... whoever he is... might be targeting a certain group of people. Everything happens for a reason, I'm told, so there has to be a reason for these murders..."
"What do you mean a certain group of people?" Melba asked.
The two boys weren't so sure if they should tell her about what the gang has been speculating, but they supposed it wouldn't hurt as Russell explained, "Well... we're not so sure... but the killer seems to be getting people we know."
"Yeah. If you haven't noticed, all the people who've died were either people we knew or were close to. For example, Bobby Hanson. He backed over my bike. Elaine Withrow, she went out with Dumb Donald. Devery... well, you know. Bottom line is, we think the bad guys are out to get us by killing those who are close..."
"But we don't know why..." Russell added.
Melba was shocked, "Wow... if what you're saying is true... then who knows who could be next, goodness forbid."
"Yeah... but, we're trying to figure out who it could be. The last thing we need is more people dying... Weird Harold already lost his girlfriend last night too... there's a pattern... but we don't know where and how to connect the dots..." Rudy said.
"I'm glad you guys came. I'm not ready for... this weekend. In fact, I'm ready for it to go by..."
Rudy hugged her tightly, "It's gonna be hard to say goodbye... but we'll be there for ya..." He assured her.
"Yeah..." Russell joined the hug.
Melba gladly returned the warm gesture. They were right. Despite everything that was happening lately, what was important, was that everyone stuck together to support one another. They shall overcome... someday...
Aww. I wanted to end this chapter on a much more simple and happier note. But poor Harold has lost his beloved Violet (from the episode 'No Place Like Home'). He's handling it a little well, but he's still upset. Next chapter, we'll get a glimpse of both Bobby and Devery's funerals. The chapter may be short though. Oh, and no murders will happen this time. Anyways, as for this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. I'll see you guys later, and don't forget to review, please. Thank you!
