A Trail of Murders

Chapter VI

"BREAKING NEWS!" The television in the small mobile home screamed.

    Myles looked at it briefly, barely interested as he cleaned up the mess caused from killing the girl. I was still bound to the chair, purple bruises up and down my arms, making me wince every time I moved an inch. The rubbing of the ropes didn't help either, but it was nothing in comparison to the torture previously performed on the girl, who's name turned out to be Cate. So innocent. I stared blankly at the TV, waiting for them to elaborate on the so called 'Breaking News'.

    "The Denver Police Department has issued a missing persons for one Elouise Copeland, a 25 year old brunette, green eyed woman at the height of 5'9". She wears glasses, and was last seen wearing a white CSU hoodie with blue jeans and converse. If you see her, please contact the DPD at-" The reporter started.

    My eyes widened as I saw my picture on the screen. Myles growled angrily from behind me, making me jump in my chair. He quickly exited the mobile home and  went to the car, returning with a plastic shopping bag that he must have bought earlier in the day while I was passed out. He spun me around to face him and brought out the items. Black hair dye, scissors, and a revealing dress.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What is this?"

He raised his eyebrow. "Are you that stupid? I'm changing your goddamn appearance."

I glared at him as he untied me and pulled me into the bathroom, shoving me into the disgusting shower. Within minutes, I was soaked in cold water and he was expertly cutting my hair shoulder length, adding bangs as another precaution. Once he finished chopping off my hair, he started with the horrendous black goo. After completely changing my appearance, he sat me in front of the cracked mirror to admire my changes. My eyes widened at the woman before me, and not just because of the hair, but because of the bruises and cuts on my face, as well as the terrified look in my eyes.

I had to look away from the disappointing mess that I could see in my reflection. Myles forced me into the tight dress, ignoring my sounds of hatred. He simply looked me up and down with a grin, re-tied me to the chair as he got back to cleaning up. I watched watched the news with boredom until my mouth fell open in shock as another "BREAKING NEWS" report came on the screen with a reporter standing at a crime scene outside my apartment building. The coroner's van was also there, letting me know that there was a 99.9% chance that it was the man Myles murdered that night in the alley.

Myles chuckled behind me, coming up and placing his hands on my shoulders as we watched the report unfold. Myles was so pleased with his work and for the first time, I saw the scene in the light, seeing the gruesomeness of it. Blood was painted on the wall, across the floor, on the trash cans, everywhere. The camera zoomed in, and I almost threw up at the sight of the poor man chopped up and strung across a low-lying randomly placed telephone wire. HOW THE FUCKING HELL DID HE GET ALL OF THAT UP THERE?! AND WITHOUT GETTING CAUGHT?!

Myles seemed to read my thoughts and suddenly pushed a kiss onto my cheek. I squirmed in awkward disgust. "I'm just that good."

I shuddered and glared back at him. "Fuck off."

Myles slapped me again for the third time today. "Stop pissing me off."

I turned my stinging face away. Myles walked off and I heard him powering on the portable freezer. We would be leaving soon to dump the body and find a new victim. Just the thought of it makes goosebumps burst out of the skin on my arms. Within minutes we were back in the car, heading to a nearby lake that he planned to dump the girl in. He allowed me the simple luxury of staying in the car as he disposed of the parts. I cried in the car as we drove on and I was forced to listen to Myles drone on and on about finding the perfect player in his sick murdering fantasy.

At the third diner we stopped at, an excitedly devilish glint formed in Myles's eyes. I hit my head against the door, knowing that another innocent life was going to be destroyed. He helped me out of the car threatening to kill everyone in there if I did anything out of character. I simply smiled at him in acceptance and followed behind him silently like "a good little girl" as he put it. We sat down at a booth and he ordered for the both of us. While we waited he scoured the diner for prospectable victims. The bell rang as another customer entered, and Myles's entire body tensed up. My blood pressure dropped as the blood drained from my face. Oh god, please, NO! I slowly turned my head to see who it was.

    He was a tall man with curly blonde hair and warm chocolatey eyes. He wore a dark flannel shirt with jeans and dress shoes. When he smiled, his entire face lit up and enchanted you. Sorrow filled me as I saw the wheels turning in Myles's mind as he concocted a plan to kidnap the poor man. I sunk down in my seat and quietly ate the food in front of me, unable to savor the flavor due to the dread building up in me. Myles paid for our food and pulled me to the car, which he had moved at some point during a bathroom break. He suddenly grabbed a hold of me in a rough manner, eliciting a sharp cry from me. The new victim yelled at Myles, coming over to be a good samaritan, exactly Myles's type.

    When the man had come around the corner, out of sight of people, Myles swung around with a quick left hook and knocked him clean out. I stood there with my mouth open, shocked that he had beaten a man so strong looking in one swoop. I continued to stand their in a startled manner as Myles used a tranquilizer on the man as an added bonus and then bound him before shoving him in the back of the car. I was surprised that he could even fit. Myles ushered me in the back of the car, binding my hands and ankles, but this time simply strapping me into the seatbelt and tucking a blanket over my body.

    By the time I noticed that we had stopped in the middle of the woods, Myles had already tied the man to a tree and was preparing his weapons. Noticing I was awake, he dragged me out of the car, not playing nice at all with me. I opened my mouth to yell at him, but his cold glare froze me to the core. I kept my mouth shut as he tied me to a tree opposite of the man. I stared straight ahead, constantly flinching as Myles practiced his technique on another tree nearby. Finally, after what seemed to be hours of torturous wood slashing, the man woke up and began flailing about from his position.

    "WHAT THE FUCK! LET ME GO MAN!" The poor guy screamed out in fear and panic.

    Myles laughed loudly, stopping his slicing. Tears trickled down my face in fear. The man struggling seemed to notice me for the first time. His eyes widened as he looked at me, causing me to look down and screech as I realized that Myles had once again, stripped me of my dignity, barely covering me with the ropes. I yelled at Myles, only to have him slam my head back into the tree.

    "Don't touch her you sick bastard!" The restrained blonde roared, fighting against his ropes.

    A thrilled look filled Myles's face as he looked between us. He hit me again, laughing amusedly at how the other man reacted. He wanted a game. He liked that being able to hurt me also hurt someone else. Myles decided to take advantage of this new knowledge, seeing how far he could push our limits. My voice disappeared somewhere along the third stabbing. He could keep this going forever, considering he was a doctor and could expertely keep me alive for a long time. He swung his fist into my temple, creating a small crunching sound.

Using my last bit of strength, I gasped out two angry words, "FUCK YOU."

Myles stopped what he was doing and both the man and I gulped in fear as his entire demeanor changed. I think I pushed him too far. Is this it? He reached forward to cup my fractured jaw painfully as he stared into my eyes. A smirk danced it's way across his lips. With one swift movement, he managed to slice through my ropes, causing me to drop to the forest floor with a cry of pain. Myles pulled me up by the hair, yanking it against my scalp as he pulled me up eye-level to him.

His lip curled back like an animal's. "This time, I think I will!" He snarled and threw me to the ground.

I cried out for mercy, and the man screamed at Myles to stop, but it was no use. If I had come to know one thing about this deranged madman, it's that he always gets what he wants.