The haunting Nightmares.

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.