Chapter Four
“It will just take a minute I swear. Peter this is one of the easiest things you can do. I need you to do this, Peter, or else I’m out. You won’t have anywhere to stay and I’ll be on the streets.” God. I don’t know if I can do this. But of course, I agreed.
I soon found ten hours to have passed. Within that time Paul and I went over the plan and I helped him with his final packing. As he left I waved at him with an uneasy feeling in my gut. He needed me to do this as much as I did for myself. Shit would be going down tonight.
I grabbed my bandana and headed out the door with keys nervously jingling in my pocket. While slowly lurking down the unlit street, I noticed a lanky man dressed in a tweed suit with a dark brown hat leaning against the brick drugstore wall. Perhaps he was just enjoying a summer evening smoke or went out for a walk. It never struck me as odd until I began to cross Northcote Road. In the reflection of the dark storefront window I noticed his image closely following mine. Surely he is walking home?
His reflection was now dangerously close. My heart began to thump uncontrollably. It was ten o’clock at night, if I were to scream who would hear me? He was much bigger than me; surely he would win in any fight against me. I began to pick up my pace only to follow by him quickening his. My breathing became panting as I sprinted for my life. My entire future and past ran through my head as I went hell-bent towards the record shop. But my legs were no matches for his extensive strides.
The next thing I knew I was lying in front of Inbeat with a hideous face looking down at me. The man beat my sides with his foot. I turned my back towards him and did something I still cannot believe. I rolled towards the man, grabbing the base of his legs as I spun, knocking him to the ground. I heard the piercing crack of his skull as he fumbled to the ground. After regaining my composure I stood up and peered down at the fellow. Blood, blood was everywhere.
What had I just done? Blood poured from his temples staining the grey concrete a bright crimson red. Holy Shit. Looking closer I noticed the puddles rapidly enlarging. But above those scarlet pools laid a terribly fractured cranium. Cerebral matter was spilling. His chest was no longer rising. I drew myself towards his neck to verify if there was any pulsation left. This had all happened over a broad amount of minutes but it seemed as if it were only a few mere seconds. It all went by so quickly. Had I just scheduled this man a much to early meeting with death? No, no, no, no. I refused to believe it. There was no way a man could have shattered his head so easily. Nobody had that bitter of bones, nobody!
At this point his blood slowly reached a frail trickle. I couldn’t believe what had just happened before my very eyes. I just killed a man. This man was dead. All because of me. I KILLED THIS BLOODY DAMN MAN! Shit, how would this be explained to the police? I WOULD BE JAILED FOR LIFE! I looked down at my converse now drenched in blood. This was all too quick for me. I was a murderer. With my father being a lawyer I knew all about evidence and I knew I had to get rid of these. So I gave one last look at the blood bathed body and trudged to the river with eyes as wide as saucers. I untied my shoes and slipped them off my feet, tying the laces together. Looking down at them with my horrified eyes, I chucked them into the water, unsatisfied with the lousy lack of splash. The dirty water washed my hands from any traces of blood left behind.
My fearful eyes saw parts of my reflection. I simply could not believe this had happened. This was not Peter. Peter was a respectful, intelligent schoolboy, who had never done any one any harm. Those eyes looking back at me were not mine. Something inside me changed that night; I turned from man to murderer. But perhaps it was all just a nightmare? I would wake up to find myself at home in bed only to find out I had never snuck out this morning, seen the beautiful girl across the street, ran away or committed homicide. The entire day was insane.
All in the very midst of my self-reflection I experienced something so frightening I knew this could never be a dream. A light brighter than none other beamed on my face. But it couldn’t be! It was much too soon! But it in fact, was.
