Chapter 5
A Legend, Or Real
Once again, the mid afternoon found the remaining occupants of the old manor on the grounds, Kim and Ron were sitting on the front veranda, with Tara, Bonnie, Josh, and Brick,
"So, let me get this straight," Josh said, eyeballing Brick, "the last victims were gutted?"
"Yeah, it looked like something right out of a medieval execution." Brick replied,
"Or something you'd find hanging by it's legs after a successful deer hunt." Ron added,
"That bad, huh?" Bonnie asked, looking at Ron, then Brick, then back to Ron,
"Worse," Ron said, "the looks on their faces, they looked like they were alive through most of it."
Bonnie shuddered, she couldn't think of someone being so heinous, that they would do something like that to another human being,
"Believe it, Bonnie," Ron said, picking up on the reaction, "that's something that'll haunt my nightmares for a long time."
"But you said that Zeta appeared to be the only one that fought back?" Kim said, Ron nodded,
"Yeah," Brick said, "her hands, and arms were cut up pretty bad, but Rena looked the worst."
"How so?" Josh asked,
"She had her throat cut, and it looked like someone tried to bash her face in with something heavy." Ron said,
Josh looked around, and leaned over the railing to his left, where he proceeded to lose this morning's breakfast,
"That is disgusting." he said, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief he pulled from his pants pocket,
"That's only the half of it," Brick said, "from the looks of it, I'd say the killer drug the bodies in there so they could be found."
"What do you mean by that, Brick?" Kim asked,
"Well, before we went in, Ron found a blood trail going into the room, so I think they were dragged into the room, and left there for us to find." Brick said,
"It's true, K.P.," Ron said, his eyes not meeting hers, "there wasn't much on the floor, but there was enough for me to see it without the light directly on it."
"Which means," Bonnie said, "we need to find out where the murders took place, what room?"
"First of all," Kim said, standing up, "let's take time out, and put all of the clues together."
"Okay, first, we got someone, or something sleeping in the caretaker's cottage." Bonnie said,
"And he has an appetite for gore, and torture." Brick added,
"And I would say that he is extremely strong, considering that Jake Miller was the captain of the wrestling team." Tara chimed in,
"And he knows the layout of the house, and the grounds, nobody saw him." Josh interjected,
"Add it all up, and it equals lunatic." Ron finished,
"Maybe the house is haunted?" Brick said,
"There's no such thing as ghosts, Brick." Bonnie said,
"I'm gonna have to agree, whoever did this, is definitely human, and quite sick." Kim said,
"Yeah, completely demented." Monique said, now making her presence known, she was standing directly behind Kim,
"JESUS FUCKING CHRIST, MONIQUE ?!" Josh exclaimed, clutching his chest, "I think you made my heart skip a beat."
"Sorry 'bout that, Josh," Monique said, "I think it's time we got back inside, afternoon head count."
To keep track of each other, the group as a whole, had decided to start a head count, once in the morning, during breakfast, once in the afternoon, and finally, at night, before turning in, and it seemed to be working, since the first four victims, noone had yet to turn up missing,
"Maybe the killer's lost his nerve?" Brick said, when this subject was broached,
"Doubt it," Kim replied, "he's just waiting for the right opportunity."
Ron had trouble sleeping that night, the frozen faces of the first four victims haunting his dreams. He got up, and walked to the door of the bedroom, quietly slipping out, as he walked, he heard a noise at the end of the hall, where two new students were sleeping. Ron walked over to the door, and listened, he could hear someone talking,
"HOLY SHIT, GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE?!" one voice exclaimed, the other voice in the room laughed, a cold laugh that made the hairs on the back of Ron's neck stand up,
'Oh fuck, this is not good.' he thought, he walked to the door, turned the handle, and walked into the room, but the occupants were gone,
"Oh shit." he said out loud, he raced down the hallway, and into the master bedroom,
"K.P., wake up, we got a problem." Ron said, shaking Kim awake,
"Can the sitch wait until morning?" Kim asked, her eyelids drooping,
"No," Ron said, "I think the killer's struck again."
Kim sat bolt upright in bed, and grabbed for her clothes, putting them on as she ran down the hall.