Ultimate Passion

Shit! He’s coming!

Kelly clasped her hands over her mouth, stuffing her words back inside. A pair of leather shoes stopped by her. Drops of blood fell onto the floor. She could hardly breathe, a lump in the throat. Tears of fright streamed down her face. She cried for the victims, she cried for the blood, she cried for herself.

Seconds seemed to last longer as the pair of leather shoes stayed beside the place she was hiding—under a dinner table. She thought about everything in that small period of time. She thought about her life so far, the things she had regretted. She had also thought about her loved ones, her family, her friends, and her beloved—Tim.

Tim… Kelly smiled grimly at the thought. What would he do? I haven’t even said goodbye yet…

Kelly Smith, the eighteen year-old waitress, didn’t want to die.

She wanted to live as long as possible, preferable to pass away after ninety, die of old age. There were still so many things she hadn’t yet experienced; so many things that she had yet to see, yet to do. With her as the only child, who would look after her parents if she wasn’t there? Brutally murdered while she was working, not to mention in her eighteenth birthday, was definitely not the way she like.

The murderer—no, butcher— here, was a ruthless killing machine.

Nobody paid attention to him at first. He came into the diner as Kelly's co-workers were going to throw a party for her. They, including Kelly, thought he was only a comedian because he wore something like a character from Matrix—long leather jacket, leather shoes…all black, and at the same time, he wore a ridiculously whacky animal mask. He looked like a clown. He went onto the stage and began to crack some jokes. It was even more hilarious when he spoke with his squeaky voice.

After a few jokes, he invited a volunteer. Of course, many people raised their hands. Kelly thought she saw his gaze linger on her face, but she shrugged off the feeling. It must be her unusual appearance, curly fiery red hair and sapphire blue eyes.

At last, he chose the little boy next to Kelly. The boy’s name was Adam, the son of the diner’s owner. Adam smiled excitedly as he stepped on the stage. and pulled out a dagger, piercing Adam…

Adam giggled lightly while the man had pulled away the dagger. There wasn’t any wound on the little boy. The owner—Samantha, sighed in relief. It scared the living daylight out of her. Cheers erupted from the crowd. The man bowed and circled Adam once more, only to thrust the dagger into Adam’s head.

Blood spilled on the carpet as he drew his dagger. Adam’s body hit the ground, lifeless. His eyes wide opened, his thrilled smile never left his face. The audiences were shocked to see the sudden turn of events. None of them moved, or breathed for that matter.

Samantha’s terrified scream broke their trance.

Everyone panicked. They ran around, screaming bloody murder. The man jumped down from the stage. All he needed to do was to simply swing his dagger in random fashion, and people would fall victim to it. Nobody died, though they had several wounds. They would’ve escaped, but the murderer blocked the only exit in the diner, so they could only hide.

He moved the tables to replace himself in front of the door, ensuring that none could flee without his notice. ‘You can hide, but you cannot run from me…’ His maniac laughter followed the cliché words. The high-pitched voice made the warning even more fear-provoking than it already was.

Kelly crouched under a table near to the kitchen. Luckily, the tablecloth was quite long, so she could use it to hide from the killer. Others hid behind the kitchen’s counter, inside a cupboard, and any other available places.

But it wasn’t enough.

Somehow, the crazed man was able to locate them, and murder the people one by one, chief among them was Samantha.

Blinded by her boy’s death, Samantha wanted all but vengeance. She picked up a chair. She walked quietly after the murderer. Ignoring the warning signs from her employees, she aimed at his head, and hit it with full strength. The man fell after the impact, small lines of blood flowed down his neck.

Samantha threw away the chair. Although she didn’t feel any satisfaction, it was fine with her, for her little boy was avenged. She turned around and waved, signaling it was okay to come again.

That was her fatal, and final mistake.

The killer rose silently behind her, the dagger readied in his hand. The workers wanted to tell Samantha about the killer. However, no one dared to move as it would give away their hiding places. They could merely watch with anxiety while he stepped closer to their boss.

Bob, the manager, who couldn’t bear to watch anymore, grabbed a knife from the nearest table, and stabbed it into the murderer’s shoulder.

Regardless of his brave action, it was proven futile.

The man didn’t even budge, as if the blood oozing from his shoulder didn't have any affect. He sliced opened Samantha's throat, then shoved the blade into Bob’s chest, where his heart was. It all happened swiftly, no one could’ve reacted to or prevented it.

The following victims fell in a similar way—quick, and painless. Yet, he slowly changed his style of killing, as if he was entertaining himself. In the beginning, he’d stabbed his prey in multiple places, watching the blood with a crooked smile. Then, it grew more gruesome.

Kelly couldn’t see clearly from her hiding spot, but she could hear the sounds of the victims begging for mercy, the horrified screams. Streams of blood colored the black and white flooring. Once, she saw how he murdered Jack, one of her co-workers. The man sliced off Jack’s limbs before he beheaded Jack. She could hardly hold in her gasp when she saw the head rolled pass her.

She’d closed her eyes and covered her ears, wishing all of this was a mere nightmare, that she was still in her home, lying in Tim’s loving arms, watching lousy TV soap dramas. Nevertheless, no matter how hard Kelly tried, she couldn’t be oblivious to the shrieks, the pleas. She nearly vomited when there was a sickening ‘crack’ sound.

Now, Kelly was sure she was the last one, the only survivor, for the blood-curdling cries ceased a few minutes ago. She was glad that she lived but on the other hand, she was more worried than ever. If the butcher was killing in a more…creative way…

How would he torture Kelly?

She closed her eyes again, praying the leather shoes would move away from her, from here. Sweats formed on her forehead. Kelly shook with an unspoken fear, failing to notice the lights were off.

A sharp metal sliced through the thin tablecloth, where Kelly's trembling form had behind.

Kelly felt something warm on the left side of her neck, liquid that felt like…

‘Boo!’ The eerie voice whispered just beside her, warm breath tickling her ear.

Her heart stopped beating for a second, and then picked up into an incredible speed. She lifted her eyelids slowly, afraid of what she might see. Would it be something else?...

She was right.

Blue eyes opened fully at the sight of the animal mask. The man and Kelly were only centimeters apart.

None of them moved. They stared into each other’s eyes. Kelly thought she found something familiar behind the mask, but she ignored it as she was both scared and disgusted to discover happiness in those dark eyes.

The stricken girl made the first movement when something within of her snapped. She flipped over the table and ran inside of the kitchen. Although the man was startled by her sudden action, which brought Kelly the precious time she needed, it was only short-lived. The killer chased after Kelly immediately.

Kelly pushed away anything that blocked her path. Utensils fell on the floor, causing loud noises. She didn’t take anything because she wasn’t sure what it was in the darkness, and she didn’t want to fight. She wanted to get away! She looked fixedly at the window ahead, where she’d make her escape. The teen hadn’t thought of how to break the glass, but she’d find a way. She’d escape into the wilderness behind the diner, and then she’d walk back to the front of the diner, where her car was parked nearby.

Yes, that’s a perfect plan!

The closer she got to the window, the more faith she had. Moonlight shone from the window, which was fortunately, unlocked.

Just a few seconds—

A hand took a hold of her wrists, another hand covered Kelly’s mouth. Shocked beyond words, Kelly fell against the hard torso of her captor. Strength slipped from her body, the stench of blood made her dizzy.

She gave up.

Kelly didn’t pray or utter any sound—she didn’t bother to. She solely closed her eyes, and attempted to relax, though her muscles were completely tensed, while she waited for the inevitable…

Peace entered her mind…

‘Kelly? Kelly! Oh man…Kelly, calm down!’

This was…a dream?!

She opened her eyes reluctantly. She was crestfallen when she saw the same scene, but was delighted to see her lover—Tim, holding her. His muddy brown eyes were full of concern.

‘Tim…’ her voice raspy, she cried her eyes out. ‘Tim, it was horrible! Everyone’s dead!’ Kelly kept talking, telling Tim about this murder. He rocked Kelly back and forth, hushing her.

They sat there for a good five minutes, until Kelly broke the silence. ‘How did you find me?And…Why are you so bloody?! Oh my god! Tim, what happened?’ she shouted, only then she was aware of Tim's condition. Kelly sat as she examined Tim carefully. Blood spattered on his pale face, some stained his white T-shirt. They were some serious and minor wounds, but overall, he looked well.

‘Oh, you mean this?’ Tim wiped away the blood on his cheek. ‘Um…’ he smiled sheepishly. ‘I fell on the floor…Oh, I brought you presents!’ he patted his bag.

‘I’m glad that you’re ok, Tim. You should be more careful! The killer might…’ she trailed off as she realized the danger wasn’t over yet.

The crazed murderer was still roaming outside, waiting for her to step into the trap.

‘Damn,’ Kelly muttered, ‘Tim, we have to go, now. There’s a serial killer outside. We can go through this window, and…’

‘Relax Kelly.’ Tim laughed, drawing suspicious looks from Kelly. ‘There isn’t any killer outside. I came from the front door.’

‘R-really?’ Kelly was surprised. ‘Are you sure’ She couldn't believe her ears. ‘I’m positive, Kelly.’ She was indeed going to live… Perhaps there was hope after all. She wasn’t forsaken!

‘C’mon Tim, we have to—’

…Or so she thought.

Kelly stopped in the middle of her sentence. Bewilderment coursed through her whole body when there was an abrupt pain on her thigh. It hurt so much, as if the dagger burned into her very flesh. Blood started to flow out of the wound.

The unexpected happened.

Tim, her caring, kind boyfriend, was the maniac who killed more than a handful of people.

It couldn't be right…

She turned around, looking at her ‘boyfriend’. His face was expressionless, not a slightest hint of sorrow appeared. It stung her worse than the physical wound. The word Kelly could pronounce at the moment was, ‘Why?’

Emotions returned to Tim’s face, but it wasn’t regret or sorrow. Instead, it was glee. He chuckled. ‘Because…’ He moved forward while Kelly moved backward, ‘You were going to escape away from me, dearest.’

‘Why?...’ Kelly whispered continuously, when she found her voice again, she let out an outraged scream. ‘Why?!’

‘That is a simple question,’ his unsettling grin stretched, ‘I’ve done it for you, for us.’ Kelly shook her head in disbelief as Tim carried on to explain. ‘You said you would’ve spent more time with me if you didn’t have a job. So, I took care of it for you.’ ‘But I didn’t mean like this! I—’ ‘You said,’ he continued talking, regardless of her outburst, ‘if your parents,’ Kelly’s eyes widened, ‘weren’t always there to bother you, we'll stay together, forever. And so,’ Tim laughed in amusement, ‘I brought you these presents.’ Tim pulled out something from his bag. ‘All because I love you.’

Kelly could only see the silhouette of them. They were two balls with uneven surface. Countless strings were attached to their top, which Tim was holding. She had a guess what they might be, and dearly hope it wasn’t real.

Once more, Kelly was correct, as her fear came into reality.

Her parents’ heads.

‘Mother! Father!’ she cried, tears chocked her.

‘Don’t you see Kelly? I love you so much that I’d do anything for you…’

‘Enough!’ Kelly ran to the door, and out of the diner. She closed the door just in time as the dagger was flying towards her.

Kelly entered the car and started it quickly. She turned up the music, hoping to calm herself and ignore Tim, who was calling her name. She worked faster when she spotted Tim coming out.

Kelly stepped on the gas pedal as hard as possible. She drove to the police station in the next town, where she’d be safe…for now.