The Executioner

The town seems so cold and lonely this time of night. The street lights flicker in the distance, and trash swirling around her feet only adds to the bleak, abandoned feel. The executioner would much rather have it this way less of a chance of being caught.

Two things she's learned during policing were that taking unnecessary risks and getting cocky will get you a life sentence quicker than shit. It's happened to the most notorious serial killers, but it won't happen to her. No, she's watched and learned from her predecessors what to do and what not to do. It's why she has her mission all mapped out in her head.

The killer picture's her last kill as she heads out of town. She then remembers the look on Bill's face when he realized his life was about to end. I told you what would happen if you touched Janet or Timmy again. She smiles, walking the cold, desolate streets with her head held high. I guess now you know I wasn't joking when I said what I did. Maybe you didn't get it until the end, being slow on the uptake and all. Bill has never been the brightest crayon in the box. His elevator often seems stuck on the first floor. One thing is for sure. The world is a much better place now that you're gone.

The killer recalls her last visit, her friend Janet and how she mentioned going to a school play tonight. It's one of the few rare occasions Janet is allowed to leave the house unaccompanied by Bill. Of course, his mom will be taking his place. God forbid Bill would let her go out alone. Bill's control over her friend is one of many things the killer hates about him. This brief absence gives the assassin the perfect opportunity to take care of him once and for all.

The executioner tried to take Bill down the legal way when she was in the force, but for one lame reason or another, the judge always let him go. Being released on his own Recognizance on a domestic seems odd to her. Especially since he was RORd without so much as a warning to stay clear of his wife? Something didn't sit right with her. So she decided to investigate.

A few days later, the department canned her for possession with the intent to sell. Anyone who really knew her knows she's never done drugs in her life, not after her childhood horrors. Her mom and dad were dopeheads and drunks. It's the reason she became a cop. The higher powers claim they have witness statements stating they saw her selling and using drugs. They also claim they found illegal substances when they searched her house. The drugs they must've planted, the killer thinks, hoping the mandated blood test would exonerate her of the charges. The test supposedly showed positive for the use of cocaine. The assassin then figures she's getting too close to discovering the truth. The real reason they let Bill go. So, they had to make her look like a dirty cop to discredit anything she found. Make her findings seem like revenge.

After wallowing in self-pity for months, the killer decides she can still help the victims the good old-fashioned, southern justice way. She'd start with the two women who mean the world to her, Janet and her sister, Beth. They were the only two who stuck with her when all the lies the fabrication went down.

The killer remembers how good it felt to pull the trigger, knowing he'll never hurt anyone again. With Janet having an alibi, the police will question her and let her go. She smiles, making her way to the edge of town.

One down, one to go, she thinks, spotting her baby sister's house at the end of the block. Like Janet, Beth married the first man that came along. Everyone tried to warn her about Steven, but Beth was so head-over-heels in love that she didn't listen. Her sister has paid for it ever since. Like Bill, the exterminator tried to take Steven down, but he, too, seems untouchable by the law.

I'll take care of Steven and then start on the second part of my plan. The assassin thinks, sneaking into Beth's mud room off the back of the house. She plans to get rid of a child porn ring circulating through town. Another one of her dead daddy's endeavors. A legacy left in his wake.

She uses her cell's flashlight to glance around the small, tidy room. Beth has been a stickler about a clean house since she was young, which drove the killer nuts. Either pick up your things, or I'm throwing them out, Beth would say, mimicking their mom. The killer would call her mommy dearest to piss Beth off.

It's right where I left it. The assassin smiles, grabbing the steal-plated bat. The killer placed it there during their last visit a few days back.

Beth came clean about Steven beating on her, which the assassin already knew. Beth then told her sister Steven was involved in a child porn ring, explaining what she found encrypted on his phone. Two jobs for the price of one, she thinks, stepping into the hall.

During their visit, Beth mentioned being away on a work-related project the next few days, making it a perfect time for the killer to send Steven to hell, where he belongs.

The assassin is just outside the kitchen door when an eerie feeling comes over her. This uneasiness makes its way up her spine. She then realizes the regular creaking of the house seems louder tonight, unsettling somehow like it could sense something was about to occur. I've been watching too many scary movies, she thinks, trying to laugh it off. The heavy tension lurking nearby wouldn't go away. It's just my imagination, she reassures herself, quickly looking around.

The house was a 1920s farmhouse renovated by Steven's parents years ago. They passed, leaving the property and the farm to him. No one has died in here that I know of, she thinks, trying to push the scary feeling aside. Steven's parents died in a car accident while vacationing in Pairs.

The screen door slams shut. Heavy footsteps tromp across the floor.

Jumping, the killer lifts her weapon and takes a batter's stance. That's it, buddy, take your last walk of life, she thinks as he stumbles across the floor. She pictures Steven going down in her mind. She then recalls everything he's done to Beth. I will enjoy this more than you'll possibly know. She smiles to herself.

Her heart pounds furiously against her chest wall as the footsteps get closer. The assassin tightens her sweaty grip as she nervously shifts her stance. Just a few more steps, and you're dead.

Bill staggers through the kitchen door.

The killer starts to take a swing when a familiar voice stops her in her tracks.