Alive

Chapter 5: Thank God For Petty Car Thieves

After raiding Mark's wardrobe I found an old gym bag. I crammed his lifeless body into it, hearing a few snaps here and there as I twisted arms and legs to fit. It's a good thing he wasn't alive to feel them, they sounded like they would've hurt. I swiped his car keys and dumped the bag into the trunk of the silver Volvo.

I remember the first time I ever moved a dead body, I'd completely underestimated how heavy it'd be, but after a few years of practice you learn to lift with your legs and drain the blood out first. It lightens the load, if only a little.

I drove 23 and a half miles to a forest that was fenced off over 10 years ago because the land was declared unstable. There's a small lake inside it, but you have to trek through a load of overgrown bushes and swat an army of branches out of the way before you can even see it. But luckily for me I had a car that could endure the sharp edges of the branches as I would be parting with it soon. The fence was about 12 feet high and secured with padlocks, a considerable obstacle to some teenagers looking to sneak onto the forbidden land, but no match for a vehicle charging at it going 50 miles an hour.

The fence burst open where it had been joined by 3 sets of locks and chains and I continued to drive. Now that it was raining I didn't have to worry about leaving tire tracks in the mud, they'd be washed away in a few hours. I pulled up beside the lake, which was now covered by a layer of silt, it was impossible to see the bottom of the water.

I left the headlights on so that I could see what I was doing, as it was still dark and the rain was really coming down now. I pulled the gym bag out of the trunk of the car and dragged it to the water's edge, the cold biting at my fingers as I'd taken off the gloves I'd been wearing whilst I killed Mark and cleaned up the mess.

I kicked the bag and it rolled down the brief drop into the dirty water, splashing as it made contact. Slowly, it drifted down, down where no one would find it, down where it would remain for as long as the lake did.

I drove the car to some crappy part of town and after wiping the steering wheel and dashboard and every other place I may have touched, I put the keys on the driver's seat and got out leaving it unlocked.

Some thug would find it and take it within 48 hours. Thank God for petty car thieves right? There was a bus stop 15 minutes away from where I left the Volvo, I waited half an hour and had to get onto a second bus after that, but finally, at 5:47 am, I got home.

Now I work at a gas station, stacking shelves and standing behind a till all day. It's boring as hell and the pay is laughable but that's exactly what someone like me needs; something average, normal. Plus, with my job and the money I take from my victims I manage to get by okay. One of my earlier victims kept just over 4 grand in a bedroom drawer alone, which was nice.

I had no reason to stay awake since I don't work weekends, so I fell into my bed and was unconscious the second my head hit the pillow. I'd had a long night's work after all.