Hannah
Johnson
Chapter 1
Zoë Leavenworth was
a nineteen year old freshman and was driving back home to Devil's
Base, Colorado from the state university. The sky was darkening and
the temperature getting colder. “ Please just let me get to a gas
station and get home.” thinking about the weather forecast she
heard earlier that morning. “
Snow with a chance of ice mixed in and hitting sometime after six o
clock.” replayed
over and over in her head.
The radio was on to a rock station and the song was interrupted by a
news bulletin . “This just in the convicted murder Victor Grays has
escaped from prison and is armed with a homemade weapon. He is armed
and dangerous so do not approach him but call 911 instead.” the DJ
said. “ Approach him? Are they nuts?” she said and thought that
it would have been wise to fill up this morning when stopping for
coffee and something to eat but her mind was preoccupied with the
impending storm. Low on gas and her thoughts were running wild not
only with the weather but now with an escaped murderer being out
there on the loose.
She spotted a Shell gas station and pulled in. “ Thank the
Heavens.” she said as she pulled in next to the pumps.
“ Just get the gas and leave.” she said as she turned the car
off. The store looked eerily empty and she would have thought it was
closed except for the lone car sitting in the parking lot. The sun
was still shining a little bit through the clouds and she couldn't
see to make out the car nor to see if there was anyone sitting inside
the car.
She was left with no choice so she grabbed her keys and wallet and
got out. She then headed to the front door and could hear the gravel
crunching under her feet. The wind was sending chills down her back
so she wrapped her coat tighter around her. She could have paid for
the gas with her card but she still had four hours left and she
needed coffee and a sizable snack. She saw a smiling happy person on
the sign outside and it calmed her nerves a bit.
As soon as Zoe opened the door and went inside she turned as white as
a ghost and screamed. What she saw before her eyes she only seen in
horror movies because there were blood and gore everywhere and the
smell of death was lingering in the air and almost made her puke.
Frozen in fear she just stood there and had to try to keep from
throwing up from the smell. She focused on the rack of magazines
while she struggled to catch her breath and calm her rapidly beating
heart.
She finally was able to move so she ran back to the car and was able
to unlock the doors after so many time of trying with her shaking
hands. It wouldn't turn over at first. “ No please don't die on me
now.” she said as she tried to start it once again. She knew she
should have gotten the starter fixed on her car but she was busy with
school and work to take it in.
She cranked it once again and this time it started. “ Thank
Goodness.” she said as she put the car into drive and sped off as
she heard the sirens. She turned the radio on and drove on. She
could see the gas light flash and prayed that she would make it to
the next gas station. She couldn't get the terrible image out of her
head of what she just seen either.
She wasn't sure what happened nor did she care she just wanted to
erase that horrific image she seen. Perhaps it was the work of the
escaped murderer? She didn't know but she was sure not going to
stick around to find out.
Victor Gray was in a nearby cemetery looking on as the authorities
was working the crime scene. He had just cleaned his knife and was in
the process of sharpening it on a headstone. “ They will never get
me alive.” he said and jammed the knife straight down into the
dirt. He was out for revenge and wasn't going to stop until revenge
was done. His next victim would be his first victim's wife just
because he felt like and also so she couldn't testify against him.
He was not going to go back to prison if he could help it. He didn't
belong in prison, although he was found guilty he didn't comment
those murders back then. However he would be guilty now since he was
on a murdering spree. He tilted his head back and laughed his evil
laugh before getting up and heading to the car he stole.
Victor than drove to the second victim's house and as soon as the
door was opened he pushed his way inside and stabbed her before she
could speak. She was trying to gasp for her breath and cry out but
he slit her throat. He then found the closet thing possible and
bashed her head in sending brain and fecal matter all over. He must
have been there for awhile because he heard her baby cry. He didn't
know rather to kill the baby or leave it unharmed. He knew he had to
choose quick though because the cops would soon be there.
He did the thing that was right to do he left the baby unharmed and
fled. Even though he was a killer he wasn't a heartless one. He
wasn't your average killer because he didn't have a scruffy beard or
long greasy hair with tattoos and a wild look but he looked like a
normal person with short hair and no facial hair. He cared about
cleanness and hygiene but had a mind of a killer. Psychologists
deemed him a mentally stable person. Turning on the radio he headed
to an abandoned house he saw right next to the cemetery. It would do
for awhile until he could figure out where to go next and who the
next victim would be.
Zoe reached the next town and spotted an Exxon station and pulled in.
She pulled next too a pump and smiled as she saw this store was more
lively than the first one. She was back to normal now and hoped that
she stayed that way. She got out and grabbed her keys and wallet. And
walked to the front door. The bell clanged as she entered and the
clerk looked up and smiled. “ You ok tonight?” he asked her as
she grabbed a bag of chips and coffee and brought it to the front.
The radio was on and the news of the second murder came on. The
images came back to her head but she wouldn't let them bother her as
much this time.
“ I also need thirty dollars on pump two.” she told him as she
took out her card to pay for her purchases.
“ You by yourself?” he asked her as he handed the card back. She
put it back into her wallet and looked at him. “ Yes going home for
the holidays.” she said as she picked up her purchases and walked
out. The air was a lot colder than what it had been earlier and the
sun wasn't out anymore either. After looking around she started
pumping her gas. The pump clicked and she hung it back up and got
back in.
Taking a sip of coffee she started the car and drove away and didn't
even pay attention to the car coming into the parking lot nor the
person driving the car.
Two hours later the lead detective on the case was looking at the
pictures of the latest murder and comparing them to the ones that
were taken when Victor was convicted and he knew that this had to be
his work. However the police driving to the first scene witnessed a
car driving away from the crime scene and so he had no idea if this
was the work of Victor or the person driving away from the scene.
Perhaps Victor was the one driving away? There were far to many
questions and not enough answers and he knew that this case was going
to be a tough one. He closed the file and got up to head to the next
crime scene and this time it was a personal because the judge who
overseen his case and his wife were the next victims.
Zoe finally made it home and had made it inside when the storm hit. “
Glad you are home dear.” her mother said to her. Zoe fixed herself
a glass of iced tea and set down to join her family at the table.
She had to get that starter fixed while she was home. “ Dad can you
take my car to the shop sometime while I am home?” she asked him.
Her dad was a mechanic who owned and operated his own body shop. He
looked up at her and smiled. “ Sure I can. Is it your starter?”
he asked her. She told him about it on the phone before. “ Yes it
is. I was going to get it fixed but I just didn't find the time.”
she told him. She knew that a lecture would be coming on taking the
time out to get her vehicle taken care of. “ I know you have been
busy but you should have taken the time out to get your vehicle
fixed. I taught you some stuff.” he said to her.
“ I know you did dad and I am sorry that I didn't take it in.”
she told him as the program they were watching was interrupted by a
news bulletin. Once again she was haunted by the images she had
seen. Her mother looked over and noticed that her daughter looked as
white as a ghost. “ You ok dear?” she asked her. Zoe than excused
herself and went up to her room. She wanted to get the horrific
scenes that she seen out of her head. However she knew that was not
going to happen as long as he was still at large.
The detective looking into the case seen the headlines in that days
paper. A copycat murder or the work of escaped murder Victor Gray
the headline read. The detective threw the paper down in disgust. “
I guess that everyone is going to be running scared now.” he said
to himself as he lit a cigarette and leaned back in his chair.
Chapter 2
The next morning Zoe woke up after a fitful night sleep. She tried to
sleep but she couldn't because of the horrible nightmares she was
having. All she dreamed about was the horrific events of yesterday
and Victor came after her in the dreams. She didn't want to re live
what she saw but the images were haunting her. She put her robe on
and went downstairs for a cup of coffee. “ Morning.” her father
said as she came into the kitchen to fix her a cup of coffee. She
fixed her a cup and went over to the table and set down. “
Morning.” she said as she took her a sip. Her father noticed that
she looked tired. “ How did you sleep?” he asked her. She then
clutched the coffee cup and let the steam hit her face.
“ Not good. I had nightmares last night.” she said. She didn't
want to tell anyone what she witnessed because of how gruesome the
scene was. “ What were the nightmares?' her father asked as he
folded up the newspaper and set it aside. He then picked up his
coffee and took a sip.
“ Ok you remember how I acted when the story came on about the
escaped murderer?” she asked him.
“ Yes I remember.” he said to her. He was wondering where this
was coming from. He hoped she had nothing to do with him escaping. “
I cam across one of the horrific crime scenes. I mean horrific. I saw
the blood, brain matter, body fluids, guts, and the body itself. It
looked like something out of a horror movie.” she told him as she
turned as white as a ghost again and started shaking. Her father had
to literally take the cup of coffee that she was holding and set it
down. He held her for a while until she stopped shaking. “ I hope
you can get the images out of your head.” he said as he continued
holding her and letting her cry.
“ I don't want to be haunted by these nightmares.” she said as
she continued to cry and shake. Her father then knew that his
daughter had to do one thing and go to the police about what she saw.
“ Zoe I think you need to go to the police with what you saw. “
he told her. She than sat up. “ No I can't. What if they think I
had something to do with it.” she said as she panicked. Her father
knew that she had to go and say what she saw. “ I promise you they
won't think that.” he told her.
Victor Gray was in the abandoned house and looking at the latest
newspaper article that was written about him. He just threw his head
back and laughed. He then stood up and brushed the dirt off of him.
“ I guess I have to go hunting for food as well as my next victim.”
he said as he picked up the knife and stuck in to his waste band of
his pants. He thought of killing the same way as he thought of sex.
The more he did it the more he wanted and he got off on killing
people. He loved killing and he wanted more of it. He needed some
food so that he could go out hunting for his next victim. He was so
antsy that he could not stand it.
Zoe and her father were sitting at the police station and was waiting
to talk to the lead detective on the case. “ Dad I am scared.”
Zoe told him as she shifted nervously in her seat. He could tell
that she was nervous because of her actions in the car on the way
here. “ Sweetie I know you are scared but trust me there is nothing
to be scared of. Just tell the detective what you saw and your done.”
he told her. The detective than came out and motioned them back to
his office. “ Have a seat.” he said as he sat down at his desk.
He then took out a blank pad and a pen so he could write down
everything she told him about what she saw. “ Would it be ok if I
wrote everything down myself?” she asked him. He then looked at
her and grinned. “ Sure you can.” he said as he handed her the
pen and pad.
She then put her head down and started writing. Can we talk outside
while she is writing her statement?” her father asked him. So the
two men got up and went outside. Zoe looked up from her writing and
seen the two men leave the room and went back to her writing. “
She is scared that she will be charged with the murders.” he told
him. The detective leaned against the wall and looked at the man for
a minute. “ I can understand why she is scared and thinking that,
but I can guarantee that she will not be charged nor placed on the
suspicion list.” he told him. He then was silent for a moment and
looked at the man. “ Thanks. Can you reassure my daughter of that.”
he said to him.
So the two men walked back into the office and set down. Zoe handed
the detective the pad and pen back. “ Thanks.” he said as he
looked over it. He saw that she wrote what she saw in full detail
and it horrified him to know that this young woman had to come across
something this horrific. “ Detective are you done with me?” she
asked him. She was ready to go because being here right now was not
something she wanted to spend her first day of vacation from school
at. “ Yes but just know this. You are not going to be a suspect nor
charged with anything. You try to enjoy the rest of you break from
school. I will call you later on if I need to.” he told her as he
took the paper. The detective feared for the girls safety and well
being because he had a feeling that Victor was going to go after her
next and he wanted to make sure that didn't happen so he would have
to spend countless hours on this case. The two got up and left the
office and he stuck the paper into the already growing file that was
already for this case.
The detective wanted to look at the file that was on Victor before he
went to prison but that was not going to be a easy task because since
he was convicted the file was put up and locked away. He had to see
that file since Victor escaped from prison and was on a murdering
spree once again.. He then picked up the phone and made a phone call
to see if he could have the file released even though he knew that it
would be a lot of red tape that he had to go through to get it
released.
Victor was in the woods across from the police station and watched as
the girl and her father left. He knew that they were there because of
him so he would just have to take the two out. He didn't want to but
he had to since he was out for revenge on everyone who had something
to do with him being put away before. He would stalk them for a few
days before he actually acted out his next gruesome crime.
Chapter 3
Zoe and her father returned home and so she decided that she was
going to try to take a nap since she did not sleep very good the
night before due to the reoccurring nightmares that haunted her in
her sleep. She hoped that she was able to get some sleep and not
have those haunting nightmares appear again. “ I am going to try
and sleep for a little bit.” she said as she walked in the house
and headed upstairs. “ OK dear we won't disturb you.” her mom
said to her as she disappeared upstairs.
Zoe laid down and as soon as she was asleep the nightmares came back
and she woke up screaming. Her parents heard this and ran upstairs
and saw that their daughter was as white as a ghost. Her mom ran over
to her and held her to try to soother her. “ Shh baby it was just a
dream.” she said as she rocked her daughter. “ I am so scared and
I just want these nightmares to go so I can get sleep. “ she said
through her tears. “ I could give you something to help you sleep.”
her father told her as he sat down on the bed and rubbed her back. “
No I don't want to have to take something to help me sleep and
besides it might not help me anyway.” she told him and he held her
until she feel asleep. However as soon as she did the nightmares came
back as well as the gruesome images she saw.
She finally gave up on sleep and got up. “ I gave up on trying to
sleep. The nightmares and the gruesome scenes kept haunting me.”
she said as she fixed her a cup of coffee. She knew that it would be
awhile before she got any good sleep because as long as he was still
out there she would be having these nightmares.
“ Sorry sweetie we can always have the doctor prescribe you
something to help you sleep.” her mother said to her. She really
didn't want to take anything to help her sleep but she knew that
maybe she would have too. “ I guess I am going to have to mom even
though I hate taking anything because of the way it makes me feel the
next morning.” she said to her. So her mother went down stairs and
made the call to the doctor. She wasn't sure he would prescribe her
anything but maybe suggest something over the counter that she could
take.
“ Well the doc couldn't prescribe anything but he did suggest
something over the counter for you so I am going to run to the
drugstore to get it.” her mother said when she came back into her
daughter's room.
“ I will go with you mom.” she said as she got up to put her
shoes on. She didn't want her mom going by herself. “ You sure
dear?” she asked her.
