Chapter 3:
The smell of lilac filled my room that night we got home. It was nice to be back home, though Helen had to go back to work for a few more hours. Something about her hard drive crashing.
"I'll be back later Jennifer." she had said to me. "Around 9 or so, if all goes as planned."
"Ok." I said back. "I might go out tonight anyway, so don't worry." About an half hour after Helen left for the University building where Professor Barton worked, there came a knock on the apartment door. I answered it, and to my surprise it was Nolan Campbell, the reporter that I had seen earlier in the day at the University. "Hi." He said. "Did I come at a bad time?"
I shook my head. "No."
"Oh good. I was hoping you had reconsidered regarding the interview."
"Oh." I said. "Please, come in."
"Thank you." Nolan made himself comfortable on the sofa and I got him a cup of tea while he was at the apartment. "So what did you hope to get out of me?" I finally asked.
"Just your version of the story." He replied. "Would you like to go to dinner with me? We could discuss it over dinner.. if you don't mind that is." He was nervous.
"Hee hee, are you asking me out on a date, or an interview?"
"W-well, yes. A date AND an interview! That's it."
I giggled like the school girl that I was, and accepted.
********
Later that night:
As I walked home from my date with Nolan, I smiled to myself. He was a nice guy. After a few minutes, I noticed how dark it was getting so I started walking a bit faster. Suddenly, I heard a sharp cracking noise and swung around to look behind me. Nothing but pitch blackness outside of the comforting glow of the street lamps. Another few moments, and my fear was confirmed. Someone was following me!! I swallowed hard and started to run. My high heeled shoes sounded like cannons on the hard pavement in the eery silence of the night. What could I do but run?
Finally, after what seemed like hours, I reached the University housing building, where Helen and I lived. I stumbled through the high grass near the building's back entrance and almost literally jumped out of my shoes when the door swung open. It was only a security guard. "Help! Someone's following me." I cried.
The guard looked around like he didn't even believe me. "What's wrong? Is it some kind of weirdo?" In the next instant I felt the spray of blood on my face and hands as a giant pair of shears cut the hapless guard in two. He was dead in an instant. Behind the corpse was my attacker... the Scissorman. He was hunched over and his head wobbled back and forth like he was silently laughing. He tore through the guard with his shears, playing with the lifeless body. I had no choice but to run inside the adjacent building and hope someone could save me from the evil creature that followed.
One of the first rooms I came to was a bathroom. I could hear the Scissorman's blades scraping against each other from behind me.
SHING! SHING! SHING!
I hid in one of the stalls in the bathroom until I no longer heard the noise from the shears. When the sound finally stopped, I felt it was ok to leave the relative safety of the stall. I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror. There was blood all over my face, and my hands, it was on my hands too! I started frantically washing it off.
I had to calm down. He would surely find me if I couldn't think straight. I breathed deeply and opened the lavatory door. There was no sign of him to the left or to the right, so I walked down the hall. I came to a large heavy door and opened it. Inside was a room with a partition and a set of heavy duty alarms. I accidentally set off the alarm and a blaring noise sounded throughout the building. Way to go, butterfingers, I thought to myself. If he knows where the security room is, he'll be here directly.
I thought about going back outside the way I came in, but with everyone asleep at this hour, I'd be just as trapped out there. It had to be nearing 11:00. I heard a dripping sound behind the partition just then.. dare I look? I did. I gasped in horror as I saw yet another security guard dead, this one hung on a hook that was meant for coats and hats, his blood soaking his uniform and dripping from his shoes.
Oh God, no! SHING! SHING! SHING! went the giant scissors as they once again searched for prey. I had no choice but to hide, but where?? The thought of being alone in this huge building with a maniac almost scared me motionless, but I had one option. I would crawl under the bench at the left side of the room. Luckily for me, it worked. I heard the door open, then shallow breathing, and the door closing again. I had managed to trick death twice already, and I wasn't about to break the habit. While I was picking myself up from the floor, I noticed a flashlight sitting on the small coffee table in the room, and picked it up. Who knows, I thought to myself, it could very well come in handy. It did just that, as I discovered a ladder on the 3rd floor that led outside of the University building by using the flashlight, and now that I had a light, I would be able to see where I was running in the dark. It was time to get out of that awful place...
I unrolled the aluminum and chain ladder down the escape path and quickly climbed down to safety. As soon as my feet hit the soft earth, I darted towards the direction of the nearest street lights. It would be a while before the Scissorman even noticed I was gone, so I had to keep running. Eventually, I reached the police station and told them the whole story.....
The smell of lilac filled my room that night we got home. It was nice to be back home, though Helen had to go back to work for a few more hours. Something about her hard drive crashing.
"I'll be back later Jennifer." she had said to me. "Around 9 or so, if all goes as planned."
"Ok." I said back. "I might go out tonight anyway, so don't worry." About an half hour after Helen left for the University building where Professor Barton worked, there came a knock on the apartment door. I answered it, and to my surprise it was Nolan Campbell, the reporter that I had seen earlier in the day at the University. "Hi." He said. "Did I come at a bad time?"
I shook my head. "No."
"Oh good. I was hoping you had reconsidered regarding the interview."
"Oh." I said. "Please, come in."
"Thank you." Nolan made himself comfortable on the sofa and I got him a cup of tea while he was at the apartment. "So what did you hope to get out of me?" I finally asked.
"Just your version of the story." He replied. "Would you like to go to dinner with me? We could discuss it over dinner.. if you don't mind that is." He was nervous.
"Hee hee, are you asking me out on a date, or an interview?"
"W-well, yes. A date AND an interview! That's it."
I giggled like the school girl that I was, and accepted.
********
Later that night:
As I walked home from my date with Nolan, I smiled to myself. He was a nice guy. After a few minutes, I noticed how dark it was getting so I started walking a bit faster. Suddenly, I heard a sharp cracking noise and swung around to look behind me. Nothing but pitch blackness outside of the comforting glow of the street lamps. Another few moments, and my fear was confirmed. Someone was following me!! I swallowed hard and started to run. My high heeled shoes sounded like cannons on the hard pavement in the eery silence of the night. What could I do but run?
Finally, after what seemed like hours, I reached the University housing building, where Helen and I lived. I stumbled through the high grass near the building's back entrance and almost literally jumped out of my shoes when the door swung open. It was only a security guard. "Help! Someone's following me." I cried.
The guard looked around like he didn't even believe me. "What's wrong? Is it some kind of weirdo?" In the next instant I felt the spray of blood on my face and hands as a giant pair of shears cut the hapless guard in two. He was dead in an instant. Behind the corpse was my attacker... the Scissorman. He was hunched over and his head wobbled back and forth like he was silently laughing. He tore through the guard with his shears, playing with the lifeless body. I had no choice but to run inside the adjacent building and hope someone could save me from the evil creature that followed.
One of the first rooms I came to was a bathroom. I could hear the Scissorman's blades scraping against each other from behind me.
SHING! SHING! SHING!
I hid in one of the stalls in the bathroom until I no longer heard the noise from the shears. When the sound finally stopped, I felt it was ok to leave the relative safety of the stall. I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror. There was blood all over my face, and my hands, it was on my hands too! I started frantically washing it off.
I had to calm down. He would surely find me if I couldn't think straight. I breathed deeply and opened the lavatory door. There was no sign of him to the left or to the right, so I walked down the hall. I came to a large heavy door and opened it. Inside was a room with a partition and a set of heavy duty alarms. I accidentally set off the alarm and a blaring noise sounded throughout the building. Way to go, butterfingers, I thought to myself. If he knows where the security room is, he'll be here directly.
I thought about going back outside the way I came in, but with everyone asleep at this hour, I'd be just as trapped out there. It had to be nearing 11:00. I heard a dripping sound behind the partition just then.. dare I look? I did. I gasped in horror as I saw yet another security guard dead, this one hung on a hook that was meant for coats and hats, his blood soaking his uniform and dripping from his shoes.
Oh God, no! SHING! SHING! SHING! went the giant scissors as they once again searched for prey. I had no choice but to hide, but where?? The thought of being alone in this huge building with a maniac almost scared me motionless, but I had one option. I would crawl under the bench at the left side of the room. Luckily for me, it worked. I heard the door open, then shallow breathing, and the door closing again. I had managed to trick death twice already, and I wasn't about to break the habit. While I was picking myself up from the floor, I noticed a flashlight sitting on the small coffee table in the room, and picked it up. Who knows, I thought to myself, it could very well come in handy. It did just that, as I discovered a ladder on the 3rd floor that led outside of the University building by using the flashlight, and now that I had a light, I would be able to see where I was running in the dark. It was time to get out of that awful place...
I unrolled the aluminum and chain ladder down the escape path and quickly climbed down to safety. As soon as my feet hit the soft earth, I darted towards the direction of the nearest street lights. It would be a while before the Scissorman even noticed I was gone, so I had to keep running. Eventually, I reached the police station and told them the whole story.....
