"Hank, don't rush out just yet, wait for your brother!"
"But Dad, we're gonna be late!"
"No buts! Neither of you should be walking alone."
Halfway out the door, I rolled my eyes and scuffed my shoe on the door frame. David always had a habit of being late. And since I had to wait for him, it usually meant I was late as well. After all, there's only so much of my bag slamming into my back that I can take before I give up running and accept another tardy. At this point, I think our teachers just assume we're going to be running in ten minutes after the bell.
I was going to have to somehow teach him time management. Eventually. But not now, because he finally got everything together, and we started our race to school.
When I pushed open the front door, something felt off. David, behind me, said, "Where's Misty?"
Muffled sobbing came from the living room, so we both hurried to find out. Inside, we found Mom and Dad holding each other, Mom quietly crying. David immediately dropped his bag and ran to them, asking, "What happened? Where's Misty?" I didn't move, my eyes locked on the bloodstained collar sitting on the coffee table.
I blindly reached out for David, trying to stifle sudden tears. I could feel his arms instinctively wrap around me. Vaguely, I heard Dad talk. This was all they could find, they didn't know what happened to her, could have been a coyote.
Deep in my mind, I knew there was another possibility.
Two weeks later, I stood outside the house of one of my classmates. Ben. I sat next to him this year. It had taken me a while to discern the slight metallic miasma that sometimes hovered around him. And after Misty was found dead, it was back around him.
Heart and mind set, I knew what I had to do.
I had managed to get out of school early on a day David had to say late, and thus used my time to prepare. I knew they had a shed out back and both his parents were still at work. Quickly making my way to their backyard, I tried my best to make sure no one saw me. I beelined for the shed and opened it. When my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, I took a look around for what I needed.
There was...decidedly more than I expected.
A rat. Three birds. Bits of a stray dog I thought I had seen just a month ago. A cat's foot, grey. There was no way I was turning back now.
Blood boiling, eyes ice cold, I got ready and waited.
He didn't expect it. Immediately, there was blood everywhere. For the next minute, the world was red. A hysterical grin was etched into my face as I went to work.
After a bit, I came to my senses and realized he had been dead for a few minutes. Quietly panting, I looked around to see if anyone had noticed. Miraculously, no one had. I quickly put everything back into the shed, except for the shovel. That, I planted right next to his body. Everything finished, I quickly walked away to meet David.
"That's terrible, that poor boy! I hope whoever did that to him gets caught soon!"
We were watching the news; the main story was about the brutal murder of fifth-grader Ben Howitz, which of course I had nothing to do with. Mom was watching as she moved about the kitchen. Dad was more focused on chopping vegetables to pay much attention.
"Yeah, I hope we don't have a serial killer on the loose."
"Oh, I don't like that! It's not safe for the boys to walk alone."
My eyes glued to the TV, not wanting to miss a word, David's protest faded into the background. I was looking for any hints that anyone suspected me. They didn't, the leads were describing an older person. I was safe for now.
No one ever found out.