Murder in the Dark

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" I ask while digging through my purse, making sure I didn't forget anything in the car. After making sure I had everything, I look around while waiting for Luke to answer. "We've been walking for a while, and I don't think it should take this long to get there."  

"Yeah, dude Jane's invite text said Whittmore Street." he says while showing me the text on his phone. I look at the text and check street signs to see what street we're on. 

"You dumbass! This is Baltimore, Whittmore is on the next block." 

"Oops?" He replies while laughing nervously while rubbing the back of his neck. I pull my phone out and open Google Maps. As I look at maps, I see that there's an alleyway we can cut through. 

"Hey, there's an alley we can go through just up ahead, then we circle back to get to the club." I say while closing my phone. We walk a couple feet having random conversations before we reach the entrance of the alley. Getting there, we see someone coming out of the alley carrying a big trash bag. As the streetlights cast an ominous glow over him, we see he's facing us; he stands there before shifting his attention to me giving me an unnervingly big smile. I start to get more anxious when I see his black and white clown suit topped with a little hat and paired with unsettling black and white clown makeup. He's fucking dressed up as the guy that did the Miles County Massacre a couple years back. Grabbing onto Luke's arm and start tugging him back the way we came. "Come on, let's just take the car to the next block." I whispered to him not wanting to go near the clown. 

"Calm down, it's just a costume." 

"I don't give a fuck Luke, anyone that dresses up as an actual killer for Halloween has something wrong with them. So, let's take the damn car cuz I don't like how he's looking at me." 

"Okay okay, if it makes you feel better, we'll take the car." He whispers as he turns and heads back to the car. Taking the car and find a parking spot in front of the brightly lit up club. We get into the club, greet our friends, and have fun at the party. After a couple of hours, we stumble our way out of the club, Luke more wasted than me.  

"I'm calling us an Uber, you're too drunk to drive and I don't want to risk a DUI." I say while pulling out my phone and ordering an Uber, ignoring Luke's slurred arguments. I see that the Uber is a good while away, so I start dragging Luke towards a 7/11. 

"We're getting you some coffee or something so you can sober up a bit before the Uber gets here." I say while opening the door to the store and carefully pushing him in. After getting him some snacks and a Gatorade, I sit with him at a table while he eats keeping watch to see how far our driver is when I get distracted by yelling. I look up and see the worker yelling at someone because of a mess they made in the bathroom, so I move a bit to see who he's yelling at only to see the clown guy again. I get up, ushering Luke up and out the door not liking the vibe I was getting from the clown. We quickly get his car, and we have a back-and-forth argument about the clown and waiting in the car for our Uber. Finally managing to get him in the car, I notice that the tires of the car had been slashed which sets off red flags. I get my phone and start to dial 911 when I feel someone grab the back of my head and slam it against the car then everything goes black. 

I groan feeling a sharp pain in my head as I try to grab my head only to find I can't move my hands. As I become more alert, the realization of being tied to a chair and having my mouth taped shut dawns on me as I open my eyes. Glancing around the room, I notice it was an abandoned room before seeing Luke strapped to a surgical table struggling against the restraints. The clown then comes into the room dragging the same garbage bag we had seen him with. Seeing that I am awake he makes excited motions and digs through his bag pulling out a knife, hacksaw, and cleaver and placing them on a table.  

Picking up the knife he rushes at me; I flinch and close my eyes waiting for the pain of a stab, but it never comes. Slowly opening my eyes, I see him inching from me with the knife laughing like a mime would. He taunts me with the knife for a bit before making his way to Luke. Standing by Luke's head he gives me a smile then stabbing the knife into his eye as he lets out a muffled scream. My muffled screams mix with Luke's as the clown continues to stab him when he suddenly stops and walks to the table, putting the knife down and grabbing the hacksaw. Walking up to Luke he puts the saw to his stomach and starts to saw as Luke's screams intensify. I struggle against my restraints while the clown is preoccupied with Luke, managing to break one of the arms of the chair and untie myself. Getting up quickly, I note that Luke's screams have stopped before making my way to the doorway. Glancing back, I see that the clown has cut Luke in half and is now playing with his intestines. 

Tears stream down my face as I make my way into the hallway, trying to find a phone or exit. Hearing footsteps coming out of the room, I look for a weapon in case he manages to catch up to me. I find a small bar of wood which I pick up and then continue before making my way into a garage-like area. Still hearing the footsteps, I make my way into the garage and hide behind an abandoned car. The sound of the clown walking into the garage and slowly going around the room looking for me. As I hear him get closer, my grip on the bar tightens while my heart starts to race. Once he's close enough, I quickly get up and swing the bar at his head making him stumble back. While he's disoriented, I hit him again and manage to knock him to the ground. Raising the bar to get another hit in as he has his hands near his ankle, I'm stopped by the sound of a gunshot before falling to the ground as a burning pain shoots through my leg. I see him get up holding a gun and firing another shot into my side as I let out a scream. He picks up the axe he had been carrying and walks towards me as I try to crawl away. Suddenly he brings the axe down on my leg as a sickening crack sounds before it is drowned out by the sound of my shriek. Bringing the axe down again this time on my arm, he makes laughing motions as I howl in pain. He then moves up and repeatedly brings the axe down on my stomach; my screams are cut off by me coughing up blood. Satisfied with the damage done, he walks up to my head, throwing the axe to the side, giving me that haunting smile he gave when I first saw him. He waves his fingers in a mocking goodbye gesture, lifting his foot and then bringing his foot down.

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"Tonight, on the eve of the Miles County Massacre, three mutilated bodies were found and are believed to have been victims of the perpetrator from the original massacre, presumed to go by Art. The victims are a seven-eleven worker, twenty-five-year-old Luke Mills, and twenty-three-year-old Anastasia Reid. The killer is still at large, and we encourage everyone to be vigilant and not confront this person if you see him as he is presumed as armed and dangerous."