The Devil In Disguise

The First Death Prologue

    It was a cozy fall night as Destiny sat in front of her fireplace reading chapter 16 of Wuthering Heights for her English assignment. It was early October, two months since the beginning of the semester. She had her Spotify playlist playing in the background to help her focus.

Suddenly, her music stopped, and she checked her phone to see why it had stopped, as it was silent. She sees a call from a No Caller ID number, declines it, and plays her music again. She sets her phone down and goes back to reading. Her phone stops again, and she sees the same No Caller ID. She answers it this time.

     "Who is this?" She asks, annoyed as she tries to finish her chapter. The eerie, deep voice on the other end answers. "I'm looking for Destiny Howard. Is this her?" the voice asks. "Yes, this is she. What's the reason for your call?" she asks worriedly. "Haven't you wondered why your parents haven't come home yet?" the voice asks sinisterly. "They're working late," she says, as she knows they have important high-maintenance clients as they have their own law firm.

"Actually, they're lying next to each other dead in the trunk of your mom's Jeep. They've been dead all day". The line crackles with malevolent intent, and the voice on the other end begins to toy with her, hinting at dark intentions. The hair on the back of Destiny's neck stands up as the caller's voice grows more menacing. She's beginning to realize that this isn't a prank.

   "Why would you say something like that, you sick fuck!" she yells at the phone. She realizes that her mother's Jeep is still in the driveway. She just thought that her parents rode to work together. The voice on the other end laughs in a sinister tone. "You should go see for yourself," the voice says. "I'm going to call the police," Destiny says anxiously. "Don't you hang up on me. Now go see for yourself". Destiny drops her book, gets up, and walks to the door. She looks out the peephole and sees nothing. Part of her asks herself why she hadn't hung up yet but she was scared to.

She cautiously opens the front door and slowly walks outside, scanning the area for danger. She walks to the white Jeep and goes to the trunk. As soon as she reaches the back of the trunk, she sees blood dripping down the back. She cautiously opens the trunk to see her mom and dad. The metallic scent of blood filled the air as the cool night breeze hit her skin, sending shivers down her spine. The sight before her was too horrific to process. Her legs felt like they were sinking into the earth beneath her.

There, her parents lay in the trunk, dead and bloody. Her dad appears to be beaten and stabbed, and she can see his throat is slit. She looks at her mother, who has multiple stab wounds and a tear-streaked face. Her mother's eyes are open but unmoving. Destiny screams and takes off, running inside the house. "This can't be real. This has to be a nightmare. There's no way they're gone, not like this..." She thinks as she runs.

    She runs inside and locks the door. "I'm going to call the police, you psycho! Why would you do this?!" she says as she's sobbing. "No, you're not. You're going to let me inside for a chat", they say, demanding. She knows how to keep him on the line, so she pulls out her phone and texts 911. "Please help," she messages them. She then tells the voice, "I'm not letting you in." The 911 operator then responds, "Can you call?". She messages them back, telling them she can't, and texts them her address. She explains the situation, and they say someone is on the way.

A faint shadow moved outside the window, barely noticeable in the dim light. Destiny's breath caught in her throat. Someone was watching her. Destiny looks closer and sees a man in a suit wearing a red devil mask appear in her front window. Destiny quickly takes off, running up her stairs. She decides to hide in her parent's room and locks the door as he would think she would hide in her room. She mutes herself on the call and takes him off speaker so he can't hear her phone. "Destiny, you should know better," he says, pausing, "I have your parent's house keys."

     She realizes he is probably already in the house and quickly looks for a place to hide in the room. She knows her mom has a library behind a hidden door in her room. Destiny quickly moves the book that unlocks the door and pushes it open. She quickly closes it and hides inside. She looks around the secret library for something to use as a weapon. She sees her mother's letter opener on the desk, grabs it, and stands beside the bookshelf, waiting.

"You're not that smart, Destiny," the voice says on the phone. She hears him in her parent's room. She can hear her heart beating out her chest with fear. Destiny covers her mouth and cries silently. She hears him pulling all the books off the shelf and panics. Finally, the door creaks open.

He walks into the room, and she tries to hide. She takes her phone and captures a photo of him in the dark. She thinks it might be the best way to explain to the cops what she saw. He keeps walking past her, and she sees an opportunity. She slashes his back with the letter opener. He roars in pain. Destiny bolts for the door, her heart pounding.

     He grabs her by her long blonde hair and yanks her to him. "You bitch!" he growls and smashes her head against the wall. She moans in pain as she feels blood dripping from her head and says, "The police are on the way." He gets angrier and says, "That won't be a problem." He pauses and then stabs her in the chest. "You'll be dead when they arrive." He twists the knife into her chest, and she cries out.

He pulls it out and stabs her over and over again. Destiny gasped, her chest burning as the blade sliced deeper with each stab. Her vision blurred, and the pain was so intense it drowned out everything else. She could feel her life slipping away, but she couldn't stop fighting, not yet. Destiny tries to get away and screams, but no help comes.

      She can feel her life fading. "You're going to die just like your dumb fucking father," he says as he holds the knife to her throat. "No, please. I'm begging you", Destiny says, desperately trying to beg for her life through the pain. "Begging won't save you," he says as he slits her throat. Destiny falls to the floor, trying to hold her throat. The wail of sirens filled the air, but they were too far, too late.

    Destiny's vision tunneled, her body going limp as the darkness swallowed her. The world was slipping away. Destiny's vision dimmed, her fingers trembling as they slipped away from her throat. It wasn't fair. She was too young, too alive to die here—like this. But the pain was fading now, replaced by cold. Darkness. The last thing she felt was regret. The last thing she sees as the darkness sets in is his feet walking away.