The One Who Loved

Chapter 1

There has been another murder. With it being the seventh one this month, it is the public's belief that the so-called Mad Murderer has struck again. On the morning of November 6th, the body of 16 year old Jasmine Banners washed up on the shore of Washington Creek. Her body was covered in the knife wounds we have come to expect on all the bodies of the victims so far. When questioned, the Chief of Police did not disclose anything other than that. They have yet to officially identify the murderer, but they no longer need to. We already know that the mass murderer is back at work. 

Samantha Tiller closed the newspaper with a sigh. It was clear, at least to her, that these killings were the works of a serial killer. The police, however, still stood the ground that the murderers were unidentified. They had seemingly turned a blind eye to the fact that the murders had increased in rate over the past month and that all the victims seemed to be girls around her age, with similar wounds all over their bodies. According to them, that was hardly just cause to jump to the conclusion that a mass murderer was on the loose. Oh well, she thought, they are bound to come around to the same conclusion as her and the rest of the general public at some point.

Sam quickly finished the rest of her toast, slung her backpack over one shoulder, and ran out of the door. She paused quickly to turn and wave goodbye to her mother, who was watching her daughter's departure through the window. Spotting the bus coming up the street corner, Sam dashed the rest of the way to the stop. She swiped her card, and sat down in the only empty seat. She looked up, and immediately spotted the boy sitting across from her. He was unusually handsome for someone their age, with dark brown hair pulled back tightly into a man-bun and a jawline that was framed by some stubble. His eyes were a shocking blue, and they sparkled as they caught the light. However, it was none of this that caught Sam's attention. Not even the tight t-shirt clinging to the boy's stomach, which was clearly lined with hard-packed abs. No, it was none of that. It was the way that he looked at her, in such a hostile manner, like a predator might look at his prey.

But then the boy shook his head, as if reprimanding himself for something or another, and the illusion that he despised her was lost. He turned to look out the window, and Sam gathered her thoughts and turned to her book. Half an hour later, the bus arrived at her stop, just a couple of minutes before class started. She jumped out, and ran into the building, up the stairs, and into her homeroom just as the first bell rang. She had made it, but only just nearly. She pulled out her textbook, and got to work.

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It was five periods later, and Sam had just gotten finished with her lunch period. She walked down the hall, talking and laughing with her friends as she went. They walked into the geometry classroom, and Sam stopped shock still. At the corner of the room, near the window, sat the boy from the bus. He looked up and met her eye, but broke the gaze rather fast. It was a gesture that should not be mistook for embarrassment on his part, but rather for discontent with what he was looking at. Sam's friend nudged her, and the spell was broken. She continued on to her seat, at the other side of the room from where the strange boy sat. Sam dimly noted that Christina Bashley must be absent, as it was her seat that the new boy was now occupying. 

All the students sat down, and the teacher entered the classroom, clearing his throat as he went. "Good afternoon, everyone." He waited a moment as everyone grumbled an empty "Good afternoon" back at him. Then, he continued, stating what Sam, and the others who had noticed the newcomer, were waiting for. "Children, we have a new student here with us today." Sam thought that it was rather inappropriate for the teacher to address them as children, as all of them were either 16 or freshly turned 17.

"Everyone, meet Ivar" continued the teacher, pronouncing the name like I-vah. "He will be joining us and staying with your class for the rest of the year, so do keep mind to make him feel welcome. Ivar, care to tell us something about yourself?" Ivar grunted, then stood up and turned to face the room. "Hello. Like our dear teacher over here so kindly mentioned, I am Ivar Osbern. I recently moved here from Norway, about a month ago. I was named after the great Viking leader Ivar the Boneless....the name quite suits me, I suppose. That's all, I believe." He had a slight accent, and his voice was dripping full of sarcasm, but the teacher didn't seem to notice. He sat back down, and went back to staring out the window, although I couldn't find anything of interest that he might be staring at.

"Miss Tiller," called the dear teacher, as Ivar had called him. "As your class representative, I expect you to show especial kindness to your new classmate, and show him around the building. Great. Just what I needed, to spend my day with this strange boy who seemed to hate everything. This incredibly good-looking boy. Stop. You don't even know this kid, do not even dare daydream about those looks....this isn't working, thought Sam, but smiled anyways just for the teacher's benefit. The boy, however, didn't even bother hiding his disinterest. He scowled, ran his fingers through his hair, and resumed his activity of looking out the window.

When class ended, Sam trudged back to her seat, resigned to her fate. He sighed, then put on her brightest smile, in an attempt to make the boy feel at lest a hit welcome. "Hi!" She said, brightly. "My name is Samantha, and it's great to meet you! Remember, if you need anything or just want to know some more things about the school, you can feel free to come to me-" Sam was ready to continue, but Ivar cut her off.

"Listen. I have no interest in any orientation you can provide for me, and I am sure that you also have many things that you would rather do. So, you can feel free to go off on your own business, andI am sure that I will manage to find my way around school without your help. So, there. Off you go." Surprised and enraged by Ivar's words, Sam had no response, and simply watched as Ivar headed off on his own way.

Suddenly, an announcement came unto the speakers. "All students, please report to the football stadium immediately. Once again, all students please report to the football stadium immediately. Thank you." Well, this was new. Usually, all meetings were announced prior to when they occured. Furthermore, there had never before been a meeting where all the students of the school had been required to attend. In any case, it was a mandatory meeting, so Sam, along with the rest of the student body, made her way to the bleachers surrounding the stadium. In the middle of the field stood a podium at which stood the principal, vice principal, and dean of the school.

" Welcome, everybody. We brought  you all here today to report some grim news. I trust that you are all aware of the murders that have been sweeping the town. We have just received word that another murder has recently occurred. We are incredibly saddened by the news that this time, it was one of our own students that was killed. Christina Bashley of class 7A was found today-" The principal's voice cracked, but he continued, straining to get his message across. "She was found dead. Of the murder, I will spare you the details. Naturally, her parents have already been contacted. Learning from this, we want all of you to be very careful, especially those of you around Christina's age. Please, I beg you all to be wary of your surroundings and to go nowhere alone. We will be holding a memorial service for Christina the day after tomorrow, and anyone that knew her please feel free to attend. You are dismissed."

Although they had all been instructed to go back to class, no students got up and left. They were all in a state of shock. They had all known that the murders were happening, but none had ever expected it to affect them this directly. This unanticipated murder had shattered the bubble of perfection that the town had been held in for such a long time. Slowly, the students regained their senses, and began to drift out to class. Sam, after sitting in shock for some more time, also proceeded onto her next class. The rest of the day passed in a somber mood, with nobody really taking in much of what they were being taught. At the end of class, all the students rushed home, eager to be out of the place that had seemed safe for so long, but was now proved otherwise. They came home, told their parents of the terrible news, and proceeded along the rest of their day in a state of disbelief.

As for Samantha, she was also surprised, but unlike others, the shock of the murder did not numb her senses, but rather spurred her into action. She was not delusional, and knew that someone so lacking of power could hardly help solve a case that the police had been investigating for so long. However, after the death, the murder, of one of her close friends, who would she be if she did not promise to try, at least to try, to solve the mystery of the murders? From that day forth, Sam vowed to pour all her time into finding out who was responsible for the death of the girls in this past month. Sam was going to find the killer.