Killer on the hunt

*next morning*

I fluttered open my eyes when I felt the warm sunlight kiss me good morning. I got out of my bed and finished off the daily routine. I walked to the kitchen and prepared egg toasts for myself— it'd always been my breakfast as far as I could remember, since that was only dish I could cook. My mom, well...she never had time for me so she was never there to cook me breakfast or dinner, I always had to buy takeouts for dinner.

I stuffed the egg toast into my mouth and casually sat on the couch ans switched on the T.V.

"Not the boring news again.." I thought and was about to switch to the next channel but

something caught my attention.

I began listening carefully to what the reporter had to say: "Two victims of assumed murder in the city of Blueburn reported last night at 9:45 pm. Victims were found in a forest close to an orphanage soaked in blood. The forensic reports said that the victims had their hearts and livers missing and stitched skin with signs of brutal torture. There are no witnesses to the murder discovered yet. It seemed as if the victims tortured themselves and committed suicide since no fingerprints or evidence of external force was found, but the cops are still suspicious.The police urges the citizens to stay at home until further notice and immediately contact the police if they notice any suspicious behavior in the neighborhood."

They presented censored photographs of the victims' bodies but that was more than enough to make me feel nauseous. My eyes wandered to the background of the pictures and something caught my attention.

"The field..the grasses..."

I felt a knot in my stomach and adrenaline rushed to my brain, "I-Isn't that the forest we were in yesterday?! What if...we were.....instead of them..."

I felt my world go upside down at the thought of our bodies being torn down and our organs being taken out mercilessly, in the place of those innocent victims. I began imagining the worst case scenario that could take place since the orphanage was THIS close to the forest.

Anxiety plagued my chest and I began questioning if it was right of me to come here.

"If we were an hour late to go home...we would also been killed.." I thanked our luck for saving our lives but at the same time, I could assume how dangerous the man was and how close he was to kill us.

I was lost in my own panicking thoughts when the doorbell rang. I tried to calm myself down and got up to see who was at the door.

"Hi." Hazel greeted me cheerfully.

I smiled at her and invited herself in.

"What's the occasion of coming here?" I asked her.

"Why? Am I not allowed to come here without a reason?" She smirked playfully, "But..I did come here for a reason. The director wants to talk to you. He asked me to bring you to his office."

"Why, though?"

"Who knows?" She shrugged.

"Okay, just give me a minute." I nodded and finished up my toasts.

We headed out and made our way to the director's office. We approached the door of his office. I could see his name plate on the door in large golden fonts which read, "Mr. Ryan Smith"

Hazel gently knocked on the door and it soon swung open. We were greeted by a kind and young face in a black suit beaming at us. I'd expected the director to be a man in his 50's or 40's but this man seemed like he was in his late 20s and he gave off a really professional and sophisticated vibe.

"I assume you're Rai?" He smiled and extended his hand for a handshake.

"You're right." I manage my best professional smile as I shook his hand.

"Please have a seat." He said, "And, Hazel, you can take your leave now."

Hazel nodded politely and left the room before flashing an encouraging smile at me as if to say, "There's nothing to worry about."

As soon as she left, I sat down across from the director who still had a small smile on his face.

"Do you know why I called you?" He asked me.

"For investigating about the murder case in which I am involved." I replied with a stern expression.

"Yes, you are right. I'll ask you just one question, did you murder them?" His smile dissipated from his face and was replaced with an intimidating gaze.

I knew he was trying to force out the 'truth' from me. Trust me, he could get the truth out of someone with that level of intimidation.

"No. I had just woken up and gone to my mother's bedroom to find out why she wasn't awake yet. That's when I saw my mother with my sister's body on the floor. And she committed suicide before I could stop her." I replied, not at all fazed by his tricks.

"That seems legit. But how would you explain the death of that police officer?"

My stomach dropped. I didn't know what to answer. I was startled by how off-the-topic the question was.

"So you did murder him. You know you could get severe punishment for attacking a civil officer, right?" He sighed. "Why did you do it?"

"I-I did it to protect myself..." I looked down at my feet.

"Protect yourself? Was he going to harm you in any way?" He asked.

"He pointed a gun at me."

"Well, that settles it. The cops are tearing the town apart to find you out. They think the murder case of last night was your doing." He shook his head in disappointment.

"What?! But that's sheer lie!!" I slammed down my hands on the table in anger.

"Relax. It's not an issue. I can easily get you out of this mess. It wasn't appropriate for a cop to use deadly force on you so your mistake is on the lesser side. He wouldn't have been excused for his actions even if he was alive. I just wanted to know if you were actually involved in any of this and I got just what I needed." He takes out a recorder from his pocket and smiles.

"Wha-? Why would you record that?!" I looked at him, flabbergasted.

"Just in case they ask for evidence that you were innocent. The truth is always found when the accused is unaware of his surroundings." He smiled slyly.

I smiled back in relief, "Thank you...I guess?"

He stood up and extended his hand for another handshake, "Until next time?"

I got up and shook his hands with a smile. I bid him goodbye and leave the office pondering over how strange and successful the man was. I reached my apartment and was about to take out the key from my pocket, when I remembered that today was the first day of my part time job at 2pm.

"How could I forget that?!" I gasped in panic and scurried out of the building.

Hazel had suggested me a coffee shop nearby a few days ago, so I decided to check it out. Luckily, I got in, but the manager is so atrocious that it's indescribable with words. I hated him the moment I saw him barking at the waiters. But nonetheless, I decided to get a job there since it was quiet close to my apartment.

I ran as fast as I could, as if I was being chased by a monster. I managed to reach the coffee shop in the nick of time. I entered the shop breathlessly, sweat dripping from my forehead. I could see the manager near the counter glaring daggers at me.

I prepared myself for him to fire me out as he approached me with his hands crossed over his chest.

"Where were you?" He asked in a cold yet sinister voice.

I nervously looked down at me feet and replied, "S-Sorry, sir. I was...running some errands."

And that's how I was a victim to his bitter and cold lecture. I was surprised he didn't fire me immediately but he did make me do the night shift instead. There were almost no workers or customers at night which made it really quiet. After I was done for the day, I cleaned up the coffee shop and headed out.

The night was so peaceful and quiet that it soothed my soul. I decided to stop by the park near my apartment for a walk since the weather was perfectly in sync with my mood. The cold air filled my lungs as I entered the park. "Ah...this is refreshing."

I didn't know for how long I was appreciating the peacefulness, but it was soon interrupted by the rustling of the bushes in the distance. I turned and looked around but didn't see a single soul.

"Huh? I must have imagined it..." I shrugged and kept walking.

Just then, I heard the bushes rustle again, but this time it was followed by a muffled voice as if someone was forefully pressing their hand on the mouth of another person. I knew that I wasn't imagining it anymore. There's no way.

I didn't know what'd gotten into me but I guess I followed my gut. I hesitantly walked towards the bushes and parted them slowly without a sound. I gasped in horror and clasped my hands over my mouth when I saw the disgusting scene unfold in front me.

I could see a hooded figure dragging a dead man's body by his hair. I felt nauseous when I vaguely notice the body of the man.

"T-The stitches..." I knew I wasn't mistaken. It was definitely the murderer. It wasn't a suicide after all. I stayed hidden behind the thick bushes and see the scene unfold.

*Riiiiing*

My phone rang. My heart felt like it was about to burst when I saw the hooded man stop in his tracks and look in my direction. I immediately shut down my phone. He halted, stood there and suddenly stared in my direction. I couldn't see his face because of the darkness but it definitely felt like he was staring straight at me.

Within split seconds, I saw him charging straight in my direction with a huge knife in his hand as if he knew that I was definitely there. I began running in the opposite direction while praying to the God to just let me out of this alive. My heart hammered so loud against my chest that I could almost hear it beating. I was scared for the love of my life. I didn't wanna die now.

I soon saw him catching up to me with his huge knife. I could feel my legs getting tired and unluckily, I tripped over a stone and fell down. I turned around and saw him hovering over me. Now when I saw him, I noticed that he was wearing a mask to hide his face.

He aimed his knife at my neck and charged at me. I quickly rolled to the side just in time and kicked him hard in his face but his knife managed to wound my arm deeply which stung uncontrollably.

"Damnit!" I cursed as I fled from the scene before he could recover back from the impact of my kick.

I clutched my arm tightly to stop the bleeding but it kept trickling down from between my fingers. I managed to get to my apartment building without him following me. Blood trailed down the corridor as I walked to my apartment wincing in pain.

I could not help but think....what if I am his next target?