Where Am I?

2:00:00

I wake up feeling dazed. I'm in a dimly lit white room. Where am I?

Three words written in blood stain the wall in front of me.

DON'T WAKE UP

All I can remember is that Bradley, Sarah, and Thomas are the next targets. A clock sits on a table in front of me. It reads 2:00:00.

As if by instinct, I lean forward, and slam the SNOOZE button. Everything comes rushing back to me.

***

It was a cold and rainy night. I was walking home from work. My jacket was soaked, so when his car came roaring by I didn't care that he would get me wet all over again.

But his car didn't splash me. He slowed to a stop right beside me, and rolled down the window. I peered in to utter darkness.

"Hello? Who's in there?"

Moments later I was staring down the barrell of a loaded gun. I heard the click as he fired. The tranquilizer dart, thank my lucky stars, hit me right in between my eyes.

The next thing I remember is waking up here.

He must be the famed killer of Pewter High. It has to be him. I've been investigating this case since October of last year.

But how did he find me? I can't help but wonder. Fear grips me as I come to the realization that I may die strapped to this chair.

***

1:45:00

At 1:45:00, three pictures light up the wall to my left. They are pictures of Bradley, Sarah, and Thomas.

Above each photo, a time appears.

Bradley - 1:30:00
Sarah - 1:00:00
Thomas - 00:30:00

My picture appears.

00:00:00

Without even thinking, I'm writhing in my seat, trying to undo my bonds.

***

We were so close to finding the killer. I was following a lead from one of the students - her name was Marcy Williams. She had seen someone dressed in red hurrying off to their car.

They were fleeing the scene of their most recent crime from the school's back parking lot. Marcy was out for a smoke when she saw them.

With this memory, the realization occurs to me. I feel like I've seen Marcy somewhere else before, and not just at the police station. The thought sends chills through me.

What if she's been following me this entire time? What if her alibi as a witness is really a ploy to cover her tracks of involvement? 

***

1:30:00

With a thrust of my arm, one of my bonds snaps free. Just as I finally free it, one of the pictures lights up in front of me.

Bradley - 1:30:00

"No!" I shout. A video appears where his picture was. He appears tied to a tree, gagged. The killer in a red buttoned overcoat appears. They unsheath their knife, admist his muffled screams, and...

SLASH! Bright red crimson bursts forth from Bradley's throat.

A fat red ex crosses him out. One victim down. Two to go before it's my turn. I try to cry for help but all that comes out is a nervous laugh.

I feel myself fainting from fear before I can do anything to stop it.

***

1:00:00

When I open my eyes, I awaken to Sarah's death. Her eyes bulge as the killer in red chokes her to death. Blue veins bulge in her neck, and she finally collapses, asphyxiated.

A scream erupts from my own mouth, emanating from deep within me. I writhe, wriggle, squirming desperately to escape my bonds. A knock sounds at the door.

"POLICE! OPEN UP!"

"HELP ME!" I scream, struggling furiously.

***

00:45:00

The pounding on the door continues as Thomas hyperventilates. My breathing swells in my chest along with his. "Please, you don't have to do this!" he cries.

I frown in confusion. He looks like Marcy. The killer steps in front of him, heaving a machete high above his head.

"HELP ME!" he sobs, gasping as he hangs on to his final moments of life.

The police sirens outside are roaring now, and my ears are ringing.

00:30:00

The killer thrusts their machete downwards. Thomas screams as the machete cleanly slices through his skull, cutting his brain in half. His cheek slides to the side, exposing his brain, skull, and teeth. His half grins bleed at the seems.

I gasp, choking desperately for air. I am the final victim. I bend as far as I can, and with my teeth, I rip into my bonds. Blood pours mixed with saliva from my mouth as the ropes rip free of me.

00:15:00

I hobble my way to the door... and open it. I stare at a brick wall. I punch it, my knuckles bleeding. The bricks turn into a mirror, and it shatters. The killer appears through the broken glass. She's arrived to take my soul to the other side.

"I don't want to go with you. I won't. I'm not ready to die yet."

"You don't have a choice." she whispers.

I race at her, but she turns, running for the hill that has suddenly appeared in front of us. It's as if she controls the very ground she walks upon.

00:00:00

Stop right there! Who are you?

The woman in red turns around. Except she's not a woman at all.

She's me.

I fall back in shock, grinning and gasping all at once. Cold air hits me like a brick wall.

***

A final blow breaks the outside lock. I thrust open the door, sheilding my eyes from the blinding sunlight as I stumble out into the snow. The flashing red and blue lights of a thousand cop cars daze me as I feel the first bullet hit me. Then another. And another. And another. As I collapse to the ground, bleeding out and breathing my last admist the chaos, I grin smugly. It's finally over.

I've won.

***