In the Forest Where I Live

Chapter 2

I run through the woods barefoot, tripping over twigs and silently swearing. I've never been caught before, I can't let them catch me now. I quickly scale a tree and hide myself in the branches and leaves.
"She went this way!" Someone calls out and footsteps hurry in the opposite direction.
I breathe a sigh of relief and sit down on the branch, my back resting against the trunk. I hug myself tightly, shivering from the cool spring night air. "Goodnight," I whisper to myself.
///
I wake up groggily. Where am I? I try to move and almost lose my balance, wobbling on the thin branch. I squeak and quickly catch myself, taking deep breaths to calm my nerves. I shimmy back down the tree and walk deeper into the woods, humming to myself softly.
Last night was risky. There was a light on in the house and I shouldn't have gone in anyway. My blood lust was too strong. The kids went quick, but curse the father who called 911 before I could finish him off. I'm safe now though...lets hope it lasts.
I see a stream up ahead and sigh happily. "Thank god!" I jump in the water fully clothed, washing off the dried blood and giggling. I haven't had a bath in ages. Not like there's much time to, after all, I don't have a home.
My parents were murdered when I was 10. I didn't care. I decided I would kill people too. The first one was hard. Quickly slit the throat. Ran away and didn't look back. I'm not documented. I don't exist in any government papers. They will never find me. I just got to lay low. That's what I'll do. No one will break me.
///
"Elizabeth wake up! You'll be late for school!"
She groans and rolls out of bed. I watch her through the window. Don't mind me, just stalking my next kill. She walks to her bathroom and hops in the shower. I've learned a lot in two days. She's 15, a year younger than me. Blonde hair, brown eyes, pretty basic body type. Mom, Dad, two brothers, and a sister. I'm going to kill them all. She has a dog. That will be my biggest challenge. Kill it too? That may be easier.
I lean against the side of the house and wait for her to get out of the shower. I comb my fingers through my tangled brown hair. I'm wearing ripped jeans and a hoodie. My belt secures my knives in place. I'm a girl. Yes, never thought that would be a thing did you? I call myself Evan.
I hear her open the window above me and sigh. She walks away quickly and I can hear her yell to her mom.
She leaves the house and I follow her in the shadows carefully. She stops and looks behind her, directly at me.
I curse and sprint away. She chases me.
///
I lead her into the woods, where I know the area better. This is my territory now. I hide behind a tree and wait for her footsteps to pass me. I jump out behind her and hold a knife to her throat. "Don't move," I say gruffly.
I can feel her shaking in my tight grip. I turn her to face me and look into her eyes. In another life we might be good friends. Alas, this is real, that is not. I kill people. That is how I live. I push her against a tree and press the knife hard against her throat.
She smiles. "Go ahead. Kill me. Then I don't have to do it myself."
My eyes fill with confusion. "What?"
She laughs. "A suicidal girl getting murdered! What a great story for the newspapers!"
I pull away. "You shouldn't want to die! You live a perfect life!"
She crosses her arms across her chest. "My life may be perfect, but my mind sure as hell isn't."
I sheath my knife and hold out my hand. "Join me. You can let sadistic thoughts show. You can be a killer! Like me!"
She pushes herself against the tree, seemingly trying to disappear. "I may not like who I am, and I may think terrible things, but I'm not someone who could kill a person."
I smirk. "Says someone who would kill themselves if they had a chance. Would you not?"
She looks down at the ground and slowly nods.
How is she doing this? Getting me to let my guard down? I work alone.
I start to walk away. "Have a good life," I say with a hint of sarcasm in my voice.
I shake my head and walk to a little stream. I stand knee deep in the icy cold water before plunging my head under the surface. //Wake up, wake up! You work alone! No one else is allowed near you. You don't talk. You stay by yourself.// I open my eyes under the water and scream. I scream for my parents, I scream for the people who killed them. I scream for everyone that I watched die. I scream for people that bled on my clothes, and I scream for the many that fought me to live. Finally, I scream for me. I scream and I scream and I scream.
When my lungs feel like they are about to burst, I rip my head out of the water and gasp. I cough uncontrollably and sit on the river bank, catching my breath. //Keep going. This is the life you've chosen. Live it.//
I stand up slowly and wring out my hair. I take a slow, deep breath, before walking deeper into the forest.