The History of Art

Prologue - 2002

Most ten year olds wouldn't plan the murder of their neighbor’s cat. Most ten year oldswouldn't recruit younger children to steal candy from the local convenience store. And most ten year oldswouldn't fantasize about ways to kill their parents. Well, most ten year olds weren’t like Art Saint.

Art Saint was raised in a strict and abusive home as an only child. From the time he was five his dark brown hair was shoulder length and from the time he was seven there was an evil glint in his baby blue eyes that most took for mischief. At ten years old he started a “club”. He didn’t have a name for it or any written rules, but the four other boys knew the unspoken laws of the club.

David and Ken Olsen were brothers, David the older one and Ken the younger. In 2002 David was nine and Ken five. The older boy had messy blonde hair and soft chocolate eyes. He was an innocent boy before Art took a hold of his soul and warped it. Ken was always an innocent and wide-eyed boy who appeared to be the mirror image of his older brother.

Paul Harris was a different story. No matter how hard he tried to gain control of the club, the twelve year old couldn't reign in Art. His brain was pure evil and his heart was ice. He was one of the few African Americans in his small town in Washington, which just made him stand out even more. He frightened the other children with the malicious look in his dark eyes.

Josh Howell was eight when Art recruited him into the club. He had chestnut brown hair that was spiked up and all over the place. His dark blue eyes were playful and more innocent than even Ken’s. He had never disobeyed his parents, he never lied to them, and he always treated them with respect.

When Art chose Josh as the last member of his club, he decided to watch the boy for a few weeks to see what he was like. The boy would get up in the morning, make his bed and go to the bathroom for a shower. Art would wait at the window that looked into his first floor bedroom and watch as Josh dressed himself, combed his hair, and gathered his books for school. He would leave the house twenty minutes later and board the bus with Art, Paul, Ken, and David, all of them attending the same elementary school.

The ten year old knew what third grade class the eight year old was in and would sometimes sneak by to see what he was doing. Josh would always be deeply involved in his work. After school he would go home and sit at the desk in his room doing his reading, math, and any other homework assigned to him that day. It was only then that he would play. If it was rainy, and it usually was in Washington, he would play inside with his toys and games. On the rare chance it was sunny he’d play on his own in the yard behind his house. Being an only child, he didn’t have a brother or sister to play with. He always wanted a little sister though.

When Art was forced to go home at supper time for Josh, his mother would not be happy with him for being late. The evil boy did not care if his mother hit him. He did not care if his father told him he should have been aborted. He stopped caring years before to prevent himself from hurting. So he hurt others to make the pain he still felt from early childhood stop.

And now, eight years later, his murderous rampage begins.