The Grabber

Step By Step

"You're the only other one that knows, so let's keep it that way," Andrea started as she pulled out her notepad. She turned to the page that held all the information she had so far about the Grabber. She trusted her best friend with all her heart. She knew she wouldn't tell another soul.
She laid the notepad on the bleacher seat facing Rebecca, who looked at it with confusion at first, which turned into slight shock. "I already showed Michael last night when we got home. This is all of the information I have on the Grabber right now. I wrote down the new information last night. I'm still trying to discover more, but there's only so many ways I can do that. I don't want anyone else to know or suspect anything, so I can't exactly go around asking people."
"Not to mention, it's quite the touchy subject at the moment," Rebecca chimed in. Andrea nodded. "So... you're just researching out of curiosity, right?" The two looked at each other. Andrea pursed her lips. Rebecca tilted her head down a bit and restated. "Right?" Andrea didn't move anything but her gaze back to the notepad. "Oh my god," Rebecca sighed. "Andrea, no."
"You haven't even heard my plan yet," Andrea finally spoke.
"You have a plan?" She asked, slightly annoyed. She looked around as she shook her head. Rebecca finally looked back to Andrea with a sigh. "As your friend, I'm gonna listen to what you have to say. As your best friend, I'm gonna say what the hell, that's dangerous. As your best friend since the first day of elementary school, I'm gonna say what the fuck are you thinking, dumb ass? You're gonna get yourself killed, and I can't just live without you!" Andrea sighed as she nodded, figuring her best friend since the first day of elementary school would say something like this.
"I know, I know, it's crazy. No one in their right mind would want to do anything like this."
"No one would even think about this or him the way you do," Rebecca clarified. Andrea nodded again.
"Yes," she sputtered. "But... I have faith that this will work."
"And if it doesn't?" The two shared eye contact again. Rebecca had worry in her eyes. Andrea didn't want to absorb it, so she looked back to the plan with a clear of her throat.
"It will, I'm sure of it," she lied. "Now, look."
As Andrea explained, a figure walked slowly, just out of eyeshot. He could hear what Andrea was explaining. He stopped for a moment to listen, resting his hand on the metal fence. His head tilted a bit with confusion. As the two girls spoke, he remained out of sight.
"So all I have to do, is figure out his routine. Find out what areas he likes to camp. Then, I start to show up at these places more often to get his attention. Once he has me as his next choice, I simply tell him that I'm gonna go with him. No need for anything to knock me out."
"Wait, wait, wait," Rebecca waved. "You're just gonna... get in the Grabber's van? Just... walk up to the passenger door... and get in?" Andrea shrugged.
"I mean... that's basically the plan." Rebecca sighed and rubbed her temples with closed eyes.
"What were you on when making this plan?"
"What?"
"He's not just gonna let you get in like that. Not that easy. He's a serial killer. What on Earth would make him be that dumb to take someone so keen on going with a stranger? Clearly, something wouldn't be right."
"I just tell him that I know who he is and what he does. If I go with him, he has me, and I can't tell anyone anything. If he doesn't take me, all of that information can be leaked easily," Andrea spoke as she tapped her notepad. There were details underlined, margin notes, highlighted areas, and more.
"You're going to threaten a serial killer," Rebecca rephrased. She covered her face with her hands. "Oh my god, you're gonna die," she groaned.
Slowly removing his hand from the fence, the man turned away, leaving without anyone knowing or seeing.
"It'll be fine," Andrea reassured her friend. "Trust me. I know he's gonna take me, regardless. If anyone knows anything, he's not gonna want to just leave them out in the world. What does he have to lose?" Rebecca sighed as she looked up with her hands in her lap. She thought for a moment to process this plan that she believed to be the worst one she's heard from anyone.
"I just don't want to lose you, An. You're all I've got. If this goes wrong by any small thing you didn't think of..."
"It'll be okay," Andrea said as she grasped her friend's hand. "Trust me. I've survived this long with my father's abuse, my mother's neglect, my own thoughts, and more. With all I've been through so far in my life, I think I can handle this one thing by itself."
"A serial killer... by himself," Rebecca noted. Andrea nodded slowly.
"I'm scared, too," she said softly. "But I need to know what's going on in his head. I need to know why he's doing this. It needs to end. Now." Rebecca stared at their intertwined hands. Andrea could feel her friend's hands tremble. "I just need you to trust me."