Jᴇғғ ᴛʜᴇ Kɪʟʟᴇʀ

Chapter Five

THIS CHAPTER HAS INSANITY AND MURDER IN IT. INCLUDING A SCARY PERSON.
________________________

     "Jeff," came Mrs. Woods' voice. "Sweetie, are you awake?"

     Jeff opened his eyes, only to find that he couldn't see. That's when he realised, there was something on his face. He panicked, unable to speak, he reached up to see what was on his face, but felt his mother's hands push his hands away from whatever was blinding him.

     "No Jeff, don't do that, it has to stay on," Mrs. Woods said. "It's a cast, because you were so badly ... burnt. You're in the hospital sweetheart."

     Jeff suddenly remembered what had happened, the fire, Randy, Keith and Troy ... and Liu. Jeff laid back in the hospital bed.

     "Guess what," Mrs. Woods started. "After everyone heard what Randy said about Liu, the police agreed to set Liu free."

     Once again, Jeff shot up in the bed, but Mrs. Woods pushed him back down. "Hey Jeff," came a familiar voice. It was Liu. "Are you alright?"

     Jeff nodded slowly, feeling Liu wrap his arms around Jeff made everything seem suddenly ... perfect. Jeff wrapped his bandaged arms around Liu, and a small smile appeared on Jeff's face.

     Then, a gentle knock came from a nearby door, causing Liu to let go of Jeff. Jeff looked in the direction of the knock, hearing slow footsteps approach his bed.

     "Good news," said a woman. "We're allowed to remove the bandages now. Are we excited?"

     Jeff's family quietly clapped and rejoiced, so the nurse put her clipboard down on the table beside Jeff's bed, and began to unwrap his bandages. First she removed the bandages from his arms, then finally started to unwrap the bandages around his head.

     Suddenly, once the bandages had been removed, Jeff furrowed his brows in confusion as his family exchanged looks of pure shock and slight horror, causing Jeff to start panicking.

     "What?" Jeff said anxiously, eyes wide as his hands reached up to feel his face. Jeff's eyes widened even more once he felt the texture of his skin. His skin felt like leather, tight, cold and rough. His breathing hitched. "Give me a mirror."

     "Jeff, you don't have to worry about that, let's get you home," Mrs. Woods turned to the nurse and shook her head, gesturing for the nurse to not even THINK about giving Jeff a mirror. "Come now my sweet."

     "Give me a fucking mirror!" Jeff snapped in quite an aggressive manner, causing his parents to jump back in surprise. Liu watched Jeff carefully, noticing that Jeff's temper had risen quite quickly.

     The nurse slowly handed Jeff a mirror from the top draw of the bedside table. Jeff held his breath as he lifted the mirror. He gazed upon his face in the small oval shaped mirror and gasped. He jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom, staring at himself in the large bathroom mirror.

     He stared into the mirror, struck with awe. He lifted his hands once again to feel his face, running his fingers across his skin. Liu slowly walked up behind him, gazing at Jeff's reflection in the mirror.

     Jeff's hair had turned jett black, and his skin was porcelain white. His lips were red and blotchy, and his skin was still a little scarred from the fire.

     "It really isn't that bad," Liu insisted. "Besides, even if you don't like it, you can always get it fixed."

     Jeff started to chuckle, and he couldn't stop smiling. "Fix it? Oh Liu, but how can you fix what's already PERFECT?"