The Cater-killers (Short Story)

The Cater-Killers

She knew it was time to send them back. The caterpillars softly wiggled in her hand, spelling out “goodbye”.

“I sure am gonna miss you,” she mumbled, bringing the caterpillars close to her chest. “Promise me you’ll take good care of yourselves.”

The caterpillars didn’t answer with words. They only continued to wiggle anxiously, preparing themselves for their soon-to-be freedom.

“Goodbye,” she whispered. After gathering all the courage she could muster, she carefully placed her little friends in the soft, green grass and watched them squirm along it together. She laughed quietly to herself at how the caterpillars wiggled. It amused her greatly.

After observing the caterpillars for a few more minutes, she finally decided it was time to return home for lunch. She knew her parents would go out searching for her if she wasn’t home on time. Then she stood up, wiped the dirt off her flowing, white dress, and turned around to walk in the direction of her house.

However, before she could even take a single step, a cloaked and masked figure stepped out in front of her. They had come from the trees of the wooded area where both of them stood.

“Hello.” She smiled warmly. “Do you live somewhere around here?”

The cloaked figure didn’t reply. Instead, they took a couple of steps closer to her, then let out a low and menacing growl.

She began to worry a little at every step the figure took. They were getting awfully closer to her, and she didn’t like it one bit.

“Excuse me!” she bellowed. “Would you mind not standing so close to me? You’re creeping me out.”

The figure loomed over her, stretching their arms out towards her. She took a timid step back, but the cloaked figure didn’t seem to notice.

Then, the figure suddenly launched their hands directly at her, wrapping their hands around her neck. She tried to call out for help, but the cloaked figure’s grip was too strong to escape from. Everything was starting to go black. She was struggling to speak.

“Help… me…”

✺ ✺ ✺

It was a peaceful afternoon in London, England. Detective Barrett Webb and his assistant, Chase Taylor, were having their daily tea time in their office, while silently and awkwardly waiting for any calls. It had been a while since they had received any calls, due to the recent recession in crime.

Detective Webb took a sip of his tea. “Business has gotten awfully… slow around here, hasn’t it?”

Taylor stirred some sugar cubes into his tea. “Indeed it has.”

Detective Webb sighed exhaustedly. “I despise these uneventful days. They’re incredibly boring.”

Taylor almost choked on his tea. “Mr. Webb, Sir, a decline in crime is a good thing.”

“It may be good for London, but that doesn’t make it that exciting,” Detective Webb scoffed. “I only wish we’d get more calls.”

Then, almost as if fate had listened to Detective Webb’s plea, the office’s telephone rang, startling Taylor and exciting Detective Webb. Almost immediately, Detective Webb shot up from his seat and lifted the telephone up to his ear.

“Good afternoon, this is Webb and Taylor,” Detective Webb answered eagerly. For two minutes, he talked with the client, taking notes as he listened. Taylor waited anxiously. “Alright, we’ll be right over.”