Annie ran the brush through her hair as she sat on her bed in front of her mirror, getting rid of the stressful knots that day had caused and reducing it to smooth red waves that ran down her back. She set down the plastic and grabbed her toothbrush, pausing when she heard the laughter of the two girls from two doors away. She chuckled and shook her head. She remembered back when she was just a teenager and had her friends over. Her daughter was the same as her every which way.
The moment she saw Emma, she knew those girls were to be best friends. It was simply obvious. Everyone knew their best friend when they saw them.
Annie shook her head with a gentle laugh as she got up and went to the bathroom, putting a dollop of toothpaste onto the brush and exposing her teeth to the whitening power of baking soda and mint flavoring. She hummed to herself, her mouth filling with foamy bubbles the more she scrubbed.
She was so caught up in remembering what she and her friends would do at sleepovers. There was Gina who always brought a weird Halloween mask and chased them during Ghost in the graveyard.
Annie made an unconscious reach for her floss, however she missed and made the bottle of mouthwash fall to the floor with a light thump.
"Shit," She cursed, foam dripping down her chin as she reached down for the bottle and picked it back up. She had to be more careful or the girls would get spooked.
She cleaned up and walked back out, knowing it had to be close to midnight by now. "Annie Brown, you're gonna give yourself insomnia," She scold herself. She barely noticed how her shoulder brushed against the open door of her wardrobe, pausing once more to close it again. Strange, she could have sworn she closed it after she changed.
She moved her hand away and noticed something. Her ever persnickety way of making sure everything was neat caught onto the fact that one of the handles was slightly turned to the right. Annie always made sure each handle was straight and parallel with each other.
Before she could even begin to wonder just what could have caused that, a hand slapped over her mouth and she was dragged back. She yelped into the hand and kicked out, knocking over a side table in the process before she was pinned to the wall. Her eyes widened as she came face to face with the very person who's motives she had been trying to figure out since the day she got his file.
"Shh..shh shh. Shut up. Just. Shut. Up." Jeff growled as he pressed the knife against her neck. He snickered at the fear he saw flash in her eyes, a sight he was all too familiar with. "Hello, Officer. Been waiting to finally meet ya' and here we are!" He laughed quietly, grinning wide. "I hear you're the one who's snoopin' around in my business and I'll admit you got a whole lot closer than most cops. Then again, all those cops ended up dead. Ain't that weird?" He tilted his head with a grin.
"Mom? Was that you?"
Jeff glanced towards the door before looking back to Annie. "Your little girl's getting worried. I'll make this real quick 'cause I'm feeling nice." He suddenly changed mood and pressed the knife harder as he snarled. "You pissed me off with that little stunt in the kitchen tonight."
"Momma?"
They heard Christian's voice again and he smirked maliciously. "I won't kill you, Anne. Not yet. I'm gonna make you watch as I rip out Chris' insides slowly. Keep her alive for as long as I can before I finally just cut her heart out. I want to make you watch the life from your daughter's eyes get ripped away."
Her could feel her trembling underneath his knife, sweat dripping down her neck with tears stinging her eyes. He dragged the knife blade ever so gently across the side of her face, not cutting but just letting her know the power he had over her.
"Personal gain, right? That's what this is all about but you're confused. There's no reason for me to go after you. You never said you couldn't handle me, never said you could take me on. No..Anne you did the next best thing." He let out a laugh and made a quick cut across her cheek, scaring her and causing her to kick out again, hitting a table and knocking the lamp over.
"I'll tell you this only once, Annie." He put a tight grip on her throat as he leaned in closer to her ear. "She ain't your fuckin' daughter."
Annie's eyes widened in horror at his words.
"She's mine."
She shook her head, screaming denial into his palm loudly. Jeff snarled and shoved her against the wall. "Shut up!" Her head snapped back and collided with the dry wall, her vision spinning as a splitting pain exploded over her skull. They both heard the pounding against the stairs and light flooded the room as the girl threw open the door.
"MOM!"
Jeff froze from the extra voice, glancing back and turning slowly.
Christian gasped, eyes widening in fear as she gripped her friend's arm tightly. "Em, it's him..it's..Jeff."
They watched as the black haired intruder let go of Annie, the limp officer sliding to the floor. Chris slowly backed away, pulling Emma with her as they inched their way out of the room.
However, Emma was frozen in place and staring at the man just feet away from them. There was adrenaline coursing through her veins and telling her to run yet she could not will herself to move. She knew she should run, get her and Christian safely out of the house-so why couldn't she move?
A flash of yellow in her peripheral vision and a sudden, loud crashing sound broke her out of her haze and she took off running down the stairs, Chris' hand held tightly in her own. She would repay them later by buying a new lamp do replace that one.
They heard the tell-tale footsteps of the lunatic pounding down the stairs as they rushed into the study and hid. Chris was foolish enough to hide inside the closet-the murderer always checked the closet first!
Emma squeezed into the spot between the door and the large cabinet that Annie kept Christian's Piano sheet music in along with other stuff she didn't care for at the moment. They remained silent, their eyes locked on each other in a fearful gaze as the floorboards creaked and moaned, Jeffrey wandering too close to their hiding places for comfort. Their worst dear became real when Emma was slowly concealed in shadow from the door getting pushed open. Her heart drummed against her ribcage, filling her ears and causing her to go deaf.
She peeked out from behind the door, trying her best not to breathe too loudly in fear he would hear her. She was finally able to adleast take in his structure now. He was six feet, easily, and from what she could tell he was well built from constantly being on the run and climbing through windows.
Suppose being a mass murderer wanted across the country really put muscle on a guy?
He looked around the room and she heard him clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth as he gazed around the room.
Her brother always did that when he was thinking. Hell, she even did that sometimes!
The clicking stop for a moment and he growled, turning to walk out. Emma held letting out a sigh of relief before something made them all froze.
A sound. The smallest, most minuscule of noises came from the closet. Most would never have picked it up, but in clear silence the noise was a cannon into a china shop.
Jeff's grin widened and he whirled back around, throwing open the closet door and revealing the trembling redhead. Chris let out a shrill scream only to be cut off by his hand on her mouth as he did her mother. She squeaked in fear behind his palm, tears streaking down her face as she stared up at the monster in front of her. Said man chuckle low in his throat, the his knife against her neck and just barely cutting her skin.
"Stupid like your mom," He snickered, dragging her out of the closet and shoving her against the wall. He heard the smallest, most pathetic sob ever to come out of a girl. (And trust him, he's heard a lot of girls crying).
"You scared, Chrissy?" He asked with mock sympathy, earning a glare from her. "Don't worry, it ain't you I'm after. Just be a good girl and tell me where I can find your friend."
Christian let out a muffled noise and shook her head. No way in hell was she telling him where Emma was! She'd die before she did that! Hopefully she wasn't about to eat those words.
He snarled and pressed the blade against her more. "Don't make this difficult! Tell me where she is, you little brat!" Christian let out a muffled curse and brought up her knee in a vicious kick to his groin. The bleached individual howled out in pain and doubled over over as he dropped the knife. The red head was feeling confident now, her self defense class lessons coming back to memory. She was going to give him the ol' one two! She was going to be a hero! She was-
A sudden white blur and exploding pain across her face knocked her free of her thoughts and sent Christian stumbling back with a cry of pain. She only had a second to look up before the second punch sent her down. Her vision was doubling as her head drummed in pain. There was wet wamrth on the side of her face, fresh blood dripping from her now broken nose. She could barely make out the enraged physchopath above her before he pulled his bloodied fist back once more and her world went black with another shock of pain.
Then everything went quiet. It was a sound Emma dreaded most. She trembled in her spot hidden under the bed in the guest bedroom. In hinesight that was a terrible idea, because the girl who hides under the bed always ends up getting killed by the monster. Jeff made her watch all those horror movies, why did she never think to actually pay attention? She froze when the floorboards creaked, her eyes widening in fear everytime the footsteps went pass the room.
Deep breaths, deep breaths, She consuled herself. She silently took a breath through her mouth and let it out, repeating the action until her heart had stopped racing. Okay, think, Emma. Think. You're trapped in the house with a serial killer, you're hiding under a bed and he could come in here at any moment. What do you do?
She stared up at the wooden bedframe inches from her face, pushing away her fear to think rationally. You...find a weapon. From where you are, see if there's something you can use. She turned her head and searched the room, but there was really nothing weapon-like. Candles? I'd need a lighter. He probably wouldn't feel the burn anyway. Emma looked the other way. The mirror. If I could just get a shard of it-
Her rationalism dried up, any courage leaving her swimming in her ocean of fear again as the door slowly opened with a squeak. She covered her mouth to keep from breathing too loudly, trembling in fear. Tears climbed to her eyes and fogged her vision. There was nothing really to see except the black, mud stained hunting boots of Jeff. She watched him move around the room, hearing the closet door open and close quickly with a muttered curse.
She saw the door get whipped to the side, stop suddenly, and heard another curse. He moved again, his movements becoming more frantic in his searching. Emma was running out of time, if she didn't do something there was only going to be one last place for him to look. But all she could do was remain still, staring up at the bed frame as she listened to the deft movements of the murderer. He would stop, that followed by the sounds of things getting pushed around, then he would look again.
When the room fell silent , Emma finally shifted her eyes around. She couldn't see his shoes from either side of her, yet she didn't hear his footsteps on the floorboards. That little voice in the back of her mind told her he was gone and she was safe, yet the feeling that she was still not alone gripped her tightly and would not let go. She didn't dare move until that feeling went away.
There was a tingling forming in her hands and feet, her limbs beginning to turn numb from staying in one place for so long. Her mind begged her to move, to twitch, to do something! But Emma needed to stay absolutely still to make sure she didn't make a sound. This was a life or death situation here!
However, the thousands of nerves running under her skin got the best of her and the electrical messages sent to her brain told it to make sure she wasn't dead. Her leg suddenly twitched and her pajamas scraped against the carpet. Emma froze in horror, the sound practically yelling to the pyscho "Here I am! Come and get me!"
Nothing happened for a fraction of a second.
Then a hand wrapped around her ankle and yanked her out from under the bed.
Emma shrieked and clawed at the floor as she was dragged out and pulled to her feet, struggling furiously to try and escape. "NO! NO! GET OFF ME! LET ME GO!" She tried to free her arms but he held them tightly at her sides as he dragged her back towards the door. He had followed her. Why hadn't she seen it earlier? She saw him in the tree for God's sakes!
Jeff's grip only tightened on her, keeping her arms pinned and unable to use them as he pulled her back in the hall. She could do nothing but stop struggling and wait for the cold blade against her neck, closing her eyes and trembling in his grip.
However, he never made a reach for his knife.
Emma became confused, realizing now that his grip had loosened on her. He still held her tight, but she no longer felt threatened. It was almost as if he wasn't holding her hostage; he was hugging her.
She turned her head some, trying to look at him. His pupild had dilated and grown in size, free of the sphychotic rage from earlier in Annie's room. Now he was looking at her differently. For some reason, she didn't know what compelled her brain to make the connection, but she swore he was looking at her the way a father would his daughter.
"W-What are you-"
"Shh," He cut her off before she could get the words out, tightening his arms around her protectively. Emma knew this was dangerous, being this close to him, not screaming for help or grabbing his knife to defend herself. She knew she was in a life or death situation!
So why wasn't she afraid anymore?
Instead of trying to speak again, to get an answer from the murderer, Emma slowly returned the hug and gripped fistfuls of his sweater tightly. A memory raced through her mind for a split second; the night back at the party. She could see the ground whipping past her blurred vision, only able to clearly see the back clothes of the person carrying her.
He wore a white sweatshirt and black jeans.
Could it be?
And then what he had said...
Emma barely registered how he was smoothing out her hair gently in a comforting manner. She remembered back to a time when she was very young, she had to have been four at the time. There was a thunderstorm outside and she was scared, to frightened to leave her bed and crawl over to her brother and instead staying curled up in her blanket trembling and quietly shrieking into her pillow with every thunder clap. The window had been opened that night, and she remembered hearing footsteps. Heavier ones, as if they were wearing boots, and then the light clicking of heels on the floorboards. Her blanket was pulled back and she curled into a ball with a whimper, the intruder gently picking her up and holding her in their lap. There was a gentle humming from somewhere as her hair was stroked and she cracked her eyes open. The memory from there on was fuzzy, only able to remember vague outlines of a woman by her brother's bed and singing softly to the boy twin.
One distinct feature stuck to her though through all the years. The one who held her close that night of the storm had brilliant blue eyes like her own.
She was brought out of her thoughts when the motion on her head stopped, and she looked back up to him. "Why are you-"
"Shh," He cut her off again. "It's alright, Emma, just go to sleep. Da-"
There was a sudden gunshot that blew a hole in the wall behind him and he stumbled. Emma shrieked out, her hands clamping over her ears as a ringing stole away the noise of the world. Annie stood with her smoking pistol just a few feet away. There was hatred and anger smoldering in her eyes as she readied another shot. "Get away from her."
The rage was back, the man on the ground snarling as he rose to his feet and revealing his knife once more. "I always hated cops," He spat. "They ruin-" he took a step. "-fucking" another. "-EVERYTHING!"Jeff lunged for her, knocking her to the floor and holding the hand with the gun above her head as he raised his knife.
Annie clenched a fist, swinging her left arm and colliding it with his face. The force wasn't enough to knock his off her, only enraging him more and striking her back. She thrashed underneath him, trying to aim her wrist and gun at his head. She pulled the trigger, the noise defeaning in the small space as a new hole was added to the ceiling above them. He lift her up just enough to slam her head against the hardwood floor, repeating the action until her frantic movements stopped and she was dizzy again.
She may have had a concussion, but that wouldn't matter soon enough. Jeff raised the knife above his head, the blade aimed straight for Annie's heart. He wanted to draw out her pain longer, gut her daughter in front of her and make her watch. But he had no time for that now. Not when the sirens were getting louder.
Wait-sirens?
He whipped his head to the window, the flashing blue and red lights able to be seen from the trees and growing closer as the wailing sirens grew in volume. He growled, giving one last hated look to Annie before he forced himself back up. Now wait a moment, he wasn't going to leave her with just a concussion. Jeff grabbed a hold on Annie's arm, pressing his foot into her armpit and pulled. He grinned when he heard the sickening pop of her shoulder and the strangled cry but he wasn't done. After the dislocation, her twisted her arm back as far as it would go and even farther, the satisfying snap of her humerus pulling a demented laugh from him.
He stepped off her now, pocketing his knife and about to leave through the back when he remembered the whole reason he came there in the first place. He glanced over to the girl in the corner, her feared expression back and fresh tears pouring down her cheeks. His grip tightened on the door way before forcing his eyes away and leaving.
Emma watched, trembling against the woodfloor before pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. There were so many thoughts running through her head, emotions she'd never felt before colliding together into a mess. She didn't know what to think anymore. All she could do was sit in her corner as the police broke down the door.
