Durham Killer

8

Durham, Ontario

August 10, 2023

"Happy Birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Moooom! Happy birthday to you!" Leah sang cheerfully. She and her dad clapped happily as her mom smiled.

"Thank you, all." Leah's mom gently picked up cake knife and cut the damp, rich cake into several thin slices.

"Yum! Vanilla!" Leah cried in gladness. Leah took her plate that held a large slice of cake. Light blue icing swirled around the white frosting on top. Crumbs of vanilla flavoured cake lay scattered across the paper plate. Leah took her plastic fork and delicately ate the cake, savouring every bite. She finished about five minutes later and threw the plate and fork away. A car horn honked. 

"Bye mom! I have to go to school now!" Leah snatched her bag and ran out the door. A car was waiting patiently outside her house. A hand waved from the window. It was Leah's friend Renae. Leah hopped in the car and sat next to Maria, who was in the back.

"Hey," Leah smiled.

"Hi, how are you?" Renae asked.

"Good. Today's your mom's birthday, right?" Maria asked.

"Yes. We had cake for breakfast!"

"Sounds delicious!" The car engine started. Maria winced.

"What's wrong?" Leah asked curiously. 

"Hm? Oh, nothing. Nothing..." Maria responded looking away. Leah looked suspicious of her friend for Maria never hid things from her, but she brushed it off. The car started moving forwards slowly. Nothing bad happened so Leah just thought Maria was jumpy today.

"Ready for the math exam?" Leah asked her friends, who were oddly silent today.

"I guess so." Renae said. 

"OK. Well, I studied for about an hour or more last night getting ready for it." Maria replied. 

"Well, you don't have to brag, you know!" Renae burst out harshly. Leah scrunched back into the seat surprised. Maria just sat with her head facing the window.

"I-I wasn't trying to. I was just stating a fact." Marie said plainly. 

"Well, no one cares!" Renae shouted. 

"Sorry, you woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning! Why are you so angry all of sudden?" Maria yelled looking over at Renae, who was in front of her. 

Renae blinked several times. Then she gave a confused look.

"The brake..." She started. 

Leah looked confused too. What was she talking about? Suddenly, the car swerved, sending screams from all three girls. Renae tried to get control of the wheel, but it was out of control.

"HELP! PLEASE! I DON'T WANNA DIE YET!" Leah screamed in terror. Maria covered her head in her arms and laid down on the seat. Leah's life flashed before her eyes. All the beautiful memories of her childhood. The terrible ones from her teenage years. And lastly, the new ones from her college years. She hadn't even gotten married yet, had a baby, graduated college. She shut her eyes tight. Renae stomped on the pedal roughly trying to get it to stop. Leah's heart felt like it was going to burst from her chest.

"Please stop it!" Maria cried out in fright and urgency. "I'm gonna puke!"

"I can't, Maria! The breaks don't work!" Renae cried, frustrated. Tears were spilling down her face. Cars outside swerved their crazy car. Suddenly, Renae screamed. The car stopped abruptly, and Leah went flying into the seat in front of her. Her seatbelt slashed her sensitive skin, causing blood to form. Maria's seatbelt roughly stopped her from rolling off the edge, but choked a bit and threw her back into the seat behind her. She gasped for breath, but then passed out from not being able to breath. Renae was out cold in her seat. Blood dripped from her forehead to her chin. Her white blouse stained with red liquid. The sound of glass shattering and metal ripping was the last thing Leah heard before she passed out and the car rolled quickly down the ditch.

Someone cut Leah's seatbelt and let her fly as the car kept rolling down the steep hill towards a thick brush. Renae's seatbelt had been cut as well and she was tossed by gravity into the passenger seat. Cracking of bones was heard- Renae broke her back.

A phone rang. No answer.

Grace waited impatiently in the school hallway for her three friends. Renae, Maria, and Leah said they were going to come at 7:30 AM. It was 7:50 now. School started in ten minutes.

"Where are they?" She asked herself. She put her phone down from her ear and hung up. "And why are they not answering my calls?"