7. Damien

Anyone who drives by probably doesn't look at me twice, the stranger leaning against the electricity pole with a cigarette dangling from my lips. I stare up into the second story window of the only house in the cul-de-sac and watch the three teenage girls with identical blonde hair talking animatedly.

This is going to be fun. I have a lot of good ideas of what to do with Tiffany Clark, Amanda Biel, and Jessica Dane. My girl might even enjoy the sight of it once I'm done.

I take a long puff off my smoke before letting the slate gray air fall from my lips.

I drop my smoke before crushing it under my boot then grab the police baton I took from Luke's Jeep. I tug down the mask I got earlier at the general store. It's insane that I was able to walk into a store in my hometown, buy a Halloween mask with the cash from Luke's wallet, and no one even batted an eye at it. Not even the cashier looked at me strangely for my purchase. Why? Because it's almost All Hallow's Eve and buying a mask is part of the deal. However, I did get a few weird looks at the hardware store when the cashier tried to talk to me and I didn't say a word. Clearly, it wasn't because of the rope, duct tape, or different array of saws and blades.

It must be my lucky day because I don't even need to risk using Luke's Jeep for this trip. Tiffany Clark lives directly behind the old house. Just an old hop, skip, and jump from my backyard to hers. I needed some fresh air so I took the long way around. When you're not allowed outside for fear that you might escape for as long as I have been, you take in all the fresh air you can get.

Tiffany, Amanda, and Jessica are about to take their last whiff of fresh air and it's going to be delicious. It's been fourteen years since I've planned and executed a kill like this and I have to admit, the suspense of it is addicting.

I walk across the street to Tiffany's house and round the side. I've been stalking her place most of the day and her parents haven"t made an appearance in hours. I can't be certain how long they'll be gone, but considering they were carrying duffle bags when they packed the car, I'd say they"ll be gone for the night at least.

All I have to worry about is them making noise, which shouldn't be an issue with the batton.

Walking around to the back of the house, I jump over the fence, but the one thing I didn't think to do was look in the backyard.

A massive dog, brown with black spots, sits next to the back door, but it doesn't bark even when it sees me. He or she just wags their tail and waddles over to me like a four-legged penguin, panting like the walk took all their energy.

Docile watchdog.

Gently patting the dog's head, she whimpers like she's gone years without attention. The dog might be fed regularly, but isolation is a horrific and terrifying thing.

I scratch behind her ear and within a minute, she flops onto her back, exposing her floppy stomach.

Later, Chunky Monkey.

I step over the fallen dog and walk over to the fuse box before shutting off the main power supply to the house. Within half a second, I can hear the screams from inside. Jesus fucking Joseph, do they really have to do that? There are neighbors. Mrs Harrington from across the street needs her beauty sleep.

Shoving my hand in my pocket, I check to make sure my little treat for these girls is still there and I'm glad to find that they are.

An evil smile pulls at my lips as I quietly slip through the door, being careful not to let Chunky Monkey slip in. She whines in protest and I slowly shake my head at her antics.

Bitches can be so needy, am I right?

"Just calm down, alright?" one of the girls say in the next room. "I'll check the fuse box. If the power isn't back on in five minutes, we'll go to Mandy's house. It's on a separate grid." I hide in the shadows as Tiffany walks into the kitchen and out the door with Chunky Monkey. She nudges the dog away with her leg, but instead of seeming bothered, the dog scratches at the door, whining, looking directly at me.

What a strange animal.

"Hey, Mandy," Jessica whispers a moment before Amanda screams. I peek my head around the corner to see Amanda covering her face and Jessica wearing a Ghostface mask.

"Jessie, you bitch!" Amanda yells as she corrects herself, but her friend is just laughing before pulling off the mask.

"Come on. It was funny."

"No, it wasn't!" Amanda screeches like nails on a chalkboard. "I'm freaked, okay? You do realize the King guy escaped from jail."

"Yeah, like fifty miles from here. Chillax."

"I'm not going to relax. He killed a bunch of people right behind this house. What if he comes back here?"

Maybe Amanda isn't as stupid as she looks.

"Yeah, right. What's he going to do in Chippewa Falls? How's he going to get here, anyway? He was arrested when he was twelve. He can't drive. Is The Boogeyman going to walk fifty miles? Get real. He probably just found a nice sorority house to get his dick wet at before slaughtering the whole place. If you're scared of the dark, just say it. I'm going to use the bathroom." Jessica laughs maniacally. "Look out for The Boogeyman."

She has no clue how close The Boogeyman is. I'm mere feet away. I want to just jump out there and say you summoned me just to give them a good scare, but I have a purpose. I can't have them screaming more than they already have. I have to be sneaky so I can get them out of here before I get caught.

If I get caught, I can't complete my plan and I'll lose my shot of getting Trixie out of this shitty town.

I can't risk that.

Jessica jogs up the stairs and Amanda stands there, shaking like a leaf. Poor thing. She's scared. She should be.

She stairs up the steps, tapping her foot nervously, as I sneak up behind her. For a moment, I just stand there, enjoying the moment of stalking my prey and the scent of her fear.

"Tiff, I swear, it's not funny. Jess already got me. Stop breathing in my ear. Let's just go to my house already. Your house is giving me the creeps." She rubs her arms before she turns and the second she sees me in my mask towering over her, I slam my batton into the side of her head just hard enough to knock her out before she has the chance to scream. I quickly grab her before she can hit the floor and throw her over my shoulder. I gently place her on the floor in the darkest part of the room before pulling the syringe out of my pocket.

Last night I stole a vial of horse tranquilizers from the local vet clinic, knowing it would be easier to access and less suspicious than a human hospital. I needed something quick and efficient.

I stand by Amanda's body as I hear the toilet flush upstairs and smirk behind my mask. One down, two to go.

The light pitter patter of feet on the floor echoes through the dead silence as she makes her way down the hall, whistling to herself.

"Tiff, what is taking so damn long?" Jessica yells as she walks down the stairs, flipping her platinum hair over her shoulder, before looking around. She can't see me. I'm cloaked in darkness and the lights on my mask are turned off. She can't see her friend passed out on the floor either.

My dick stirs from the hunt alone.

"Give me a damn minute! I can't see shit!" Tiffany yells from outside.

Jessica groans before running her fingers through her hair. "Mandy, let's get our stuff together. We can wait for Tiff in the car. She's no electrician." She tries to joke, but she's met with silence, looking around like a confused, lost puppy. "Mandy?" More silence echoes in the night. "Haha. Real funny, bitch. You may be a scaredy cat, but I'm not. You can't get me back." It takes her a minute of walking around the living room and heading into the kitchen before she comes back looking frantic. "Mandy, it's not funny anymore. Let's go!"

"Give me a damn minute!" Tiffany responds from outside, probably thinking her friend is talking to her.

I'm quite enjoying this fear from the girl who claims she can't be scared.

I pull the needle out of my pocket and remove the cap before trailing behind her silently. "I swear, when I find you, I'm going to kill you. I used a mask. I didn't fucking hide from you, bitch!" She spins around and nearly runs into me, but I wrap my hand around her throat and lift her off her feet, squeezing hard enough that she can't scream, but I soak in that fear in her baby blue eyes.

She tries to kick me and claw at my arm, but I can take a hit better than she can.

She rasps. "Damien." It comes out barely audible and I grin behind my mask before giving her a swift nod. Then, I plunge the needle into her neck. She gags around my hold as her eyes slowly drift closed until she falls limp.

No one knows what I look like, but everyone in this town fears my name. Even the girl who claims she doesn't get scared.

I drag little miss Jessica to a separate dark corner of the room and place my batton next to her body before heading to the back door. I stand right inside the door in the shadow and wait for the woman of the hour, the girl who truly deserves my wrath.

Chunky Monkey continues to scratch at the door and lets out a loud bark that sounds more like a scream to let her inside. Sorry, pup.

"Shut the hell up, Betty!" Tiffany groans from outside a moment before the lights turn on. Took her long enough to figure out the breaker was flipped. Idiots like her make me want to murder people. "Keep it up and I'll take you to the pound."

Fucking bitch. The dog only wants attention. That's not asking a lot.

The knob turns and the door flies open before Tiffany walks in and closes it behind her with a groan. "Let's just smoke already," she mutters before she turns and, before she can even register me there, I punch her right in her stupid face. With a loud gasp of pain, she falls back on her ass, her hand coming up to her jaw. Then, her eyes find me right there, but she doesn't yell or scream. She just stares at me blankly.

My head slowly tilts as I wait for her to beg for her life, but she doesn't.

"I swear by all that is holy, I will beat your ass into the ground if one of my teeth falls out, Sullivan."

I didn't think Tiffany Clark had the capacity to surprise me with her ignorance, but I still can't wrap my head around how she could possibly think the masked figure before her is my Trixie. One, Trixie is a petite, plus-sized queen, not a tall, bulky man. Two, Trixie wouldn't waste her time dressing up in a mask just to sneak in her bully's house and punch her in the face.

"I have to admit," Tiffany starts before she jumps to her feet. "I thought you completely lost your backbone years ago. Maybe I just needed to push the right button. Congrats on not being totally dead inside. Now, get the fuck out of my house before I call your dad. As a matter of fact, Lieutenant Sullivan is starting to look mighty fine." She grins maliciously. "So leave before I fuck your daddy. I could, too. I'm legal now and men are such simple creatures."

I don't move. She's one to call someone else simple.

"You heard me, bitch. I said leave." She growls at me and the sound is so pathetic, just like her. So, I show her a real growl and the way she folds in on herself would've made me laugh if she wasn't just trying to intimidate my girl. "Aurora?" She sounds so meek I grin behind my mask before I slowly shake my head then I slam my fist into her stomach and the way she struggles to breathe is music to my ears. "Jess! Mandy!" she tries to yell, but the struggle for air has her nearly as silent as me.

That was kind of the point, except I also want to make her hurt for screwing with Trixie.

Tiffany falls to her knees and tries to crawl away, but the attempt is as pitiful as her generic personality and appearance. She's so plastic and fake it's nauseating. Before she can get far, I pull the needle out of my pocket before grabbing a handful of her reddish blonde hair. She cries out as I pull her head back as far as I can without killing the bitch and stab the needle into her neck before pushing the tranquilizer into her. Without giving her a moment, I drop her back down. Unlike her friends, she doesn't just drop like a ragdoll. She coughs before she screams, trying to move to her feet. Her knees buckle with one step but she keeps fighting the pull of the drugs. It's entertaining watching her get up and fall, stand and fall on her face again. Until she turns on her back, breathing hard.

"No, no, no." The words slowly lose their volume until her eyes close and I stare down at her, tilting my head to watch her. I need to make sure she's out before I do anything.

I can't risk any fuck ups.

* * *

It takesme a good half hour to get all three girls from Tiffany's house back to the rotten crotch's house and tied up in separate chairs in the Samantha's room. Even as they slept, I gagged them with their own socks and sealed it with duct tape over their mouths. It's not to keep people from hearing them scream. No, the only reason is because I don't want to hear them bitch and moan as soon as they come to. Hell, it's late enough that they might not wake up until the morning. Jessica and Amanda will probably have a massive headache, but the cunt Tiffany will be in loads of pain. I can't fucking wait.

I turn to leave the room and stop when I see that damn dog sitting in the doorway, panting softly. I blink a few times because I didn't think there was a way for her to escape that yard, but here she is. At least I think it's a she since Tiffany called her Betty.

I motion for her to go away before heading up the stairs, but the little mutt is right on my heels, even as I head to the second floor, toward my old room.

I turn to her and growl with irritation, but she just whines as she rubs her face against my leg.

I don't know what the hell you are thinking, Chunky Monkey, but I don't have food for you. I'm a fugitive.When Tiffany's parents notice their daughter missing and the dog gone, it will raise several red flags that I don't need.

I continue on to my room and drop down on the palette I made on the floor, throwing my arm behind my neck for support, but in a few seconds, that damn dog is whining and sniffing my neck before she licks my damn cheek. This dog just can't take a hint.

She curls up in the space next to me and yawns before laying her head down, closing her eyes.

Fine. The mutt can stay the night, but tomorrow she is going home if I have to drop kick her over the fence.