The Chosen Ones

CHAPTER ONE

Amanda Carson. The beautiful, blonde,
head cheerleader of Haddon Glen high school walked hand in hand with her boyfriend Greg Jennings. They were the perfect couple. Amanda was seventeen, a junior, and a grade lower than Greg, who was set to graduate a few months from now.

He was still deciding what D1 college he wanted to attend. He was the heavily recruited star quarterback of the same school. The plan was whatever school he picked, Amanda would follow when she graduated next year. They had it all planned out. The star quarterback and the head cheerleader, high school sweethearts. They wanted the fairytale.

But this story wasn't a fairytale, and there would be no happy ending. This was a story that would begin with blood, and it would end with blood.

They stopped walking down the street from her house, on the opposite side. She didn't want her parents to see her. Amanda glanced nervously down the street. Odd, she thought, her parents always left the porch light on for her and her sister, Casey. At first she thought maybe her older sister came home and turned it off, but she noticed her car wasn't there. Amanda blew it off and turned her attention back to Greg. He stood about 6'4 to her 5'4, towering over her. She looked up at him and smiled.

"You gonna sneak me up there tonight?" He asked with a mischievous grin.
"Yeah. Just let me make sure my parents are asleep first." She replied.
This was something Amanda did often. Her sister Casey knew, but her parents never had any idea.
Greg brushed Amanda's long blonde hair away from her face and gave her a long kiss. She returned the favor.

She was going to marry Greg one day. She knew it. He would play in the NFL someday, it was his dream. They would get a big house, have a few kids, have big, family, holiday dinners, and live out the fairytale every girl dreamed about. She smiled as he pulled his lips away. Something caught his eye across the street. A man, dressed in black, just staring at them as they made out.

"Can I help you?" Greg asked. Amanda now turned to see the man also.
"Just out for a stroll." He said, giving them a wave.
"Alright, keep walking then." Greg said, giving himself an edge in his voice to let the man know he didn't appreciate the gawking.
After a brief stare the man turned and disappeared into the night.

"What the hell was that all about?" Amanda asked. She shuddered, not knowing if it was from the cold or being freaked out by the stranger.
"Who knows, just some lonely perv." Greg replied. "Now, where were we?"

Again he bent down and kissed her, this time more passionately. She lost herself in it. All she could think about was bringing Greg up to her room now. He squeezed her tight, gripping her arms with force. He must have been getting as excited as she was because he squeezed harder, so hard that it forced her to pull away and take a step back.
"Greg, what the f.." She started to say.

Amanda looked up at him and saw blood spurt out of his mouth and onto her white sweater. As she backed up a little more, Greg fell to his knees. That's when she saw him. The man from across the street, the one dressed in black. He stared right at her as he pulled a knife out of Greg's back. She was frozen with fear. The man had dark lifeless eyes. He was tall and muscular with slicked black hair. He never took his eyes off her as he grabbed Greg's long brown hair, raised the knife in the air, and with an angry thrust implanted it into his chest.

Greg fell onto his face. Amanda was in so much shock that she couldn't even scream. The man yanked out the bloody, steel knife and grabbed a still frozen Amanda. But the sudden grab snapped her out of it. She hauled off and kicked her assailant in the crotch. If he knew her, he would have known her father made her and her sister take self defense classes. He felt his girls should know how to protect themselves should a situation arise. And there was no bigger instance than this.

As the attacker doubled over in pain, she ran. Her kick was fierce, but the man gave chase. Another thing he didn't know was Amanda was not only a pretty cheerleader, but she was also a standout track star at Haddon Glen high school. She outran him easily as she headed for her front porch.

The door had to be open. It didn't get locked until both the girls were home. She hurdled the neatly trimmed wall of shrubs like she was on her school's track and was on her porch in a blink. Amanda didn't look back to see if the man was still chasing her. She quickly turned the knob and was inside. A small moment of relief washed over her as she quickly locked the door behind her. Now what? Scream for her parents then call the police. That's what she'll do.

"Dad!" Amanda screamed, as she whirled around.
The room started to instantly spin as the scene in front of her began to unfold. She saw both her parents tied to the dining room chairs. Their hands tied to the arms, their ankles to the legs.

Her dad's head hung down, blood soaked the front of his white tee shirt. His throat had been slit. Her mother's chair was knocked over, she laid lifeless on her side, still tied to it. A puddle of blood was all around her.

Amanda started to scream but her mouth was suddenly covered by a man that was waiting behind the front door. She hadn't even noticed him with the scene happening in front of her. She kicked her feet frantically and didn't stop until she felt the cold steel go into her back. Then, she felt nothing, her body went numb, and she fell to the floor.

She couldn't move her legs, the knife must have hit her spine. She used her hands as she clawed at the floor to get to her mother. Two of her newly manicured fingernails broke off. The man slowly walked towards her. He wiped the blade clean with his black glove.

As tears rolled down her cheeks and a thin line of blood ran out of the side of her mouth, she could only think of her sister Casey as she softly said to herself,
"Please don't come home."