Killing Chris

Day before graduation

   Its been about one week since the incident at Lakes the whole town was on edge. My parents haven't let me leave the house since then, it's almost like I was on house arrest. The police publically declared they had a lead and an arrest was made but he was released because the man had an alibi and clearly wasn't a killer. Margo, Lake, and I had no more run-ins with the killer and with graduation being tomorrow the principle considered canceling but thankfully decided against it. At this part of the story, Margo and Lake debated who, at our school, could be nuts enough to do something like this. They came up with a few names but you could never possibly know what a person is capable of only by assessing the behavior they show you. The behavior kids show you have been tweaked and smoothed over by the cruel norms of society, especially in high school.

The day before graduation was a brutal night, but not for me. The killer chose a different torment that night. Margo, I'm sorry that your parents didn't get to make up for all the shit they put you through, and how unwanted you felt. It would be a long time until the details of that night were put out for the public to see so maybe the details should wait until after graduation...no... the details of that night build the foundation of terror that we felt on graduation night so you'll hear it now. Margo never talked about that night, instead, the people of the world would hear about it from the mouth of the killer themselves.

The lock on the front door was the first victim of the killer that night. I don't know what time exactly this happened as I was at home asleep. The killer made his way through her house and opened the door to her mother's room and mercilessly butchered her, now, she wasn't killed poetically, she was killed in the darkness strangled by a piece of barbed wire. The police report said she was killed by the wounds inflicted around her neck by the jagged pieces sticking out of the barbed wire, but she was stabbed in the leg before she was strangled. That's why Margo blamed herself... As her mother screamed for help Margo was in her room with headphones in listening to music, as the music blocked the sound of her mother screaming for help, the killer left undetected.

I never wore both headphones at the same time ever again because when I did I let my mind go to dark places, imagining a person break into the window of my parents or siblings rooms and just kill them, as they scream for help while being stabbed I lay in my bed peacefully listening to music as my family is gutted across the house.

Margo didn't even realize her mother was dead until the morning, the day of graduation. Margo walks into her mother's room to see a lifeless body on the bed, as she dials 911 shaking I was just getting out of bed, oblivious to the fact that Margo had just endured a loss so great shed never recover. Margo was permanently broken that morning and she would stay that way until the day the killer took her life.

Lakes night before graduation was normal, no one he cared about was killed that night. Its sad isn't it? That our conception of a normal day was reduced to whether or not a person we loved died. Lake started up his Xbox after dinner and didn't turn it off till his mom woke up for work at two in the morning, other details of his night arent important. At my house, I too had a normal night. Derek came over and we watched sad movies because I liked them. I love sad movies so much because of how powerful they are. Listen, sad movies make people feel such a strong emotion when they are all based upon a story from someone's head. Even though the stories fake it can make people all over the world, for generations feel so deeply. I don't know when I started living my own sad movie but I know that I was already in the middle of it when I was told about Margo's mom that morning.

All I wanted to do was talk to her, but as she evaded my calls and texts her dad picked her up and took her to his house. Her dad lived about forty-five minutes away from town in a cabin. As graduation approached the news of the death had spread around town and the super intendant of the school announced that until further notice the graduation ceremony had been canceled.Derek stayed at my house all day just sitting with me. My parents already had work off so they spent the day hanging out with me and Derek in the living room watching movies. At nine pm at night, I had facetimed margo just to see if she'd answer me. When I saw the words connecting my heart dropped. She answered the phone, eyes swollen, tears on her face she just stared at me. Guess all she needed was a familiar face. As high schoolers, we are faced with the unknown all the time and left with the questions: Who are we, why are we here, when will we truly be happy. Attempting to answer those questions is fucking terrifying, the unknown is scary it reminds us of the things we cannot control. I can't think of anything more unknown than death. As Margo sat looking at me she just wanted to be in a situation that was not unknown, she was tired of the unknown.

I eventually had a full conversation with Margo but that won't go down in this story because it was a conversation that lived and died with us. As the body count rose to a whopping three people Lake and I had expected the killer to be caught soon and put behind bars. That is not the case, in fact, the killer never goes to jail. The killer doesn't stop killing until I can no longer tell the story. As the graduation ceremony was delayed so too was the death of the love of my life. 

                                                                                                                                                             Chris logged off