Hailey

12:00 PM

“You’re such a freak,” Lindsay laughed, throwing a french fry across the table. It landed in Hailey’s wavy, brown hair. Hailey and Lindsay were sitting in the school cafeteria. It was Friday, so both girls were in high spirits. “I can’t believe you think Ted Bundy is hot,” Lindsay said. Her jet-black bob was shining under the cafeteria’s fluorescent lights and the drugstore mascara she’d bought yesterday had formed big, black smudges under her dark, brown eyes. Hailey fished the french fry out of her soft waves and flicked it back across the table.

“He’s hotter than Ed Kemper, you perv,” Hailey said, adjusting her black RayBans. She was wearing dark purple lipstick that was accentuated by her dark locks, along with a black zip-up hoodie she had adorned with Nightmare Before Christmas patches.

“I never said Kemper was hot,” Lindsay huffed, taking a long swig from the straw in her chocolate milk. “I said the guy playing him on Netflix was hot.” She picked up the anemic looking hamburger from her tray and took a bite. Her nails were sloppily coloured black with a Sharpie marker.

“Whatever you say,” Hailey laughed. She shoveled a large forkful of lasagna from a plastic container into her mouth. Her eyelashes were so plied with mascara they looked like little spiders sitting behind her glasses. She spotted Amber in the food lineup and caught her attention, waving her over. Amber grabbed her tray and headed toward the table.

“’Sup, dudes?” Amber said, dropping her red tray onto the cafeteria table. Her slice of pizza bounced halfway off the flimsy, white plate it was on. She had a bottle of Diet Coke tucker underneath her arm that was nearly hidden by her long, straight hair. Amber slid onto the bench next to Lindsay. “What’cha talking about?” She folded her pizza lengthwise and took a bite, using her other hand to throw her fire engine red locks over her left shoulder.

“How to kill you,” Lindsay laughed. She grabbed the plastic fork from her tray and mimed stabbing Amber through the top of the head. Amber took the fork from Lindsay and stuck it in her hamburger. Amber laughed through a mouthful of pizza. Her face was caked in foundation five times lighter than her natural skin tone. Heavy black makeup lined her emerald green eyes.

“I wonder if I could kill somebody if my life depended on it,” Hailey pondered aloud.

“Amber already killed my hamburger, but you can kill one of my fries if you want,” Lindsay giggled. “But not this one,” she picked up a long french fry and folded it into her mouth. Her Bettie Page bangs jostled as she chewed.

“I could do it,” Amber bragged. She stretched her arms out in front of her, cracking her knuckles as if she was ready for a fight.

“You mean, if your life depended on it,” Hailey said. Her purple lipstick had all but worn away and was now just a ring around her mouth.

“Even if it didn’t,” Amber said. She leaned forward and continued on her slice of pizza. “I’ve always said we should have a Purge Night for real,” Amber said before turning her slice around and taking a bite of crust. A piece of pepperoni fell onto her tray.

“Yeah?” Lindsay asked. “Who would you kill?” She was genuinely curious. She had spent countless nights watching every episode of Killer Kids and Deadly Women on Netflix. They all had. Amber shrugged.

“I don’t have anyone in mind right now,” she replied. “But, I’m sure if I hated someone enough I could do it.” She unscrewed the cap of her Diet Coke and took a sip. “I just don’t hate anyone that much.”

“You’re lucky,” Hailey said softly, twirling a brown strand of hair around her bony finger while she stared at her phone. She noticed that Amber and Lindsay fell silent.

“What?” Hailey asked, looking up from her phone.

            “Who is it?” Amber asked. “Who would you kill?” She dabbed her mouth with the back of her sweater sleeve. Hailey let out a sigh.

            “Oh, just Ken,” she replied.

            “Your mom’s boyfriend?” Lindsay asked, shoving the last piece of hamburger into her mouth. “Didn’t they, like, just get together?”

            “A month ago,” Hailey replied scraping the last forkful of lasagna out of her container and into her mouth. “He’s a piece-of-shit junkie and he beats my mom,” Hailey said, mouth full. Her face grew hot. She’d spent the last four weeks watching her mom get physically and verbally abused by a middle-aged drug addict with no job. After Hailey’s dad died, her mom became dependent on alcohol and hooked up with some really awful men. Ken was the worst, hands down. If Hailey had the chance to kill Ken and get away with it, she’d take it.

            “Well,” Amber goaded, “let’s kill him.” She smiled emphatically. Hailey couldn’t tell if she was joking. “I’m serious,” Amber continued as if she’d read Hailey’s mind. “We’ve watched enough Forensic Files to know what not to do,” she said. “He’s a piece-of-shit junkie, you said it yourself. We can easily make it look like a home invasion.” Lindsay’s face lit up.

            “Wait, are we really talking about doing this?” she asked, hopeful.

            “Of course not,” Hailey said.

            “No, shut up. Yes, we are,” Amber interrupted. “Hails, Ken could beat your mom so bad one day that he kills her. Do you really want to take that chance?” Hailey’s expression changed.

            “No,” Hailey started. “But I also don’t want to take the chance of going to jail.”

            “We won’t go to jail,” Amber reassured her. “I promise. We’ll plan everything out perfectly and make sure there’s absolutely no way it can be traced to us.”

            “Awesome,” Lindsay said excitedly. “When do we do this?”

            “Tonight,” Amber said.

            “Tonight?!” Hailey asked shocked. “We don’t even know what we’re doing!”

            “Yes, we do,” Amber replied. “You and I will go to Hailey’s around midnight and slip in through the back door that Hailey will leave unlocked,” Amber said, looking at Lindsay. “We’ll grab a knife from the kitchen, stab Ken before he wakes up, throw some shit around to make it look like a robbery, and be back home before anyone even knows what went down,” Amber said as if she was reciting a recipe for chocolate chip cookies. “We’ll wear gloves so we don’t leave any prints.”

            “What about her mom?” Lindsay asked, looking at Amber. 

“She goes to bed at ten,” Hailey said. “And Ken usually passes out in the living room around eleven. My mom’s room is upstairs so you shouldn’t have a problem.”

            “And alibis?” Lindsay asked. She was very much on board with the plan, but only if it was foolproof.

            “We’ll just run Borderlands 2 on our computers in a custom lobby so it looks like we were online all night,” Amber responded. “Anything else?” Amber pumped her eyebrows at Lindsay.

            “I just want to make sure we’re bulletproof,” Lindsay said, giggling.

            “Wait, what do I do?” Hailey piped up.

            “You just wait in your room,” Amber said. “We’ll text you when we’re finishing up and you can wake up your mom saying you heard something downstairs. When you guys go to investigate, it will look like a burglary gone wrong and Ken will be dead on the floor, just how we like it.” She mimed wiping dirt off her shoulder. Hailey thought about the plan for a minute. This could actually work. Normally, she’d never think of killing someone. Not under any circumstance. But this wasn’t just any circumstance. Her mother’s life could be at stake and as far as Hailey was concerned, Ken didn’t deserve to breathe.

            “Okay,” Hailey said. “I’m in,”

12:00 AM

            Lindsay waited outside Amber’s house. She was wearing black leggings with a black Cradle of Filth hoodie and combat boots. Lindsay’s parents slept like the dead so it was no trouble for her to sneak out. She was waiting for Amber to get past her father in the den. He stayed up late most nights watching old war documentaries, usually until he passed out in his recliner. Amber came around the back of the house and walked toward Lindsay.

            “My dad was in the kitchen making a sandwich,” Amber whispered. “I had to sneak out the back door.” She pulled the hood of her black sweater snug around her face. “You ready?” Amber and Lindsay walked the three blocks to Hailey’s and crept around the back of the house. The air smelled good; the way it smells after a summer rain. The humidity was making the girls uncomfortable in their heavy sweaters. Lindsay tiptoed up the steps to the back patio and gingerly opened the back door, walking into the kitchen. Lindsay took off her boots and motioned for Amber to do the same.  They headed straight for the cutlery drawer. Lindsay and Amber had spent so much time in this kitchen they knew it like the back of their hands. Amber grabbed a butcher knife while Lindsay picked up a large serrated bread knife. They hid the knives behind their backs and crept down the hall to the den. Blue light from the television emanated into the hallway. Lindsay got to the den first. She peeked around the doorway and saw Ken fast asleep on the sofa, one leg hanging off onto the floor. About a dozen empty beer cans littered the coffee table. Lindsay turned around and gave Amber a nod. They crept into the den and stood over Ken’s sleeping body. Looming over him, Amber and Lindsay were in control. It was an entirely new sensation for both of them. Amber stared down at Ken and raised her knife above his abdomen. With her heart pounding, Lindsay copied Amber. “On three,” Amber whispered. “One, two, three,” she plunged her knife deep into Ken’s stomach. Lindsay

With her heart pounding, Lindsay did the same. “On three,” Amber whispered. “One, two, three,” she plunged the knife deep into Ken’s stomach. Lindsay shoved her knife into Ken’s ribcage. Ken’s eyes shot open. He tried to speak, but all he could do was make gurgling noises. Blood began dribbling from his mouth. Amber and Lindsay looked at each other in pure disbelief. They couldn’t believe they had just stabbed somebody. Moreover, they couldn’t believe how great it felt. Amber grabbed her knife from Ken’s stomach and plunged it into his neck. Lindsay took her knife out and aimed for Ken’s heart. The knife didn’t go through as easily as it did the first time, but it felt just as satisfying. Ken’s lifeless body slid onto the hardwood floor. Amber and Lindsay felt powerful; like Gods. They yanked their knives from the corpse. The job was done.

            Sitting at her computer desk, Hailey was startled by a knock on her bedroom door. Reluctantly, she got up from her chair and made her way to the door. She put her ear to the door to see if she could hear anything. Another knock made her nearly jump out of her skin. She opened the door a crack.

            “It’s us,” Lindsay whispered through the crack,

            “What the fuck?” Hailey whispered angrily. “What are you doing up here? You were supposed to text me when you were leaving so I could wake up my mom.” She opened her door wider, taking in the blood on Amber and Lindsay’s clothing. “Is it done?”

            “It’s done,” Amber said with a huge grin. “I think you’ll be pleased.” She looked at Lindsay and winked.

            “Okay, whatever,” Hailey said, exasperated. “Just leave now so I can go get my mom.” Amber and Lindsay obeyed and Hailey watched them head down the hallway, eyeing them until they disappeared down the stairs. Hailey started down the hall to her mom’s room. She knocked on the door and opened it slowly. The room was pitch black.

            “Mom?” Hailey said. Her mother didn’t answer. “Mom?” she said louder. “I think there’s someone in the house.” She turned on the light. Hailey’s mother was face down on the bed, her white linen sheets soaked in dark red blood. “Mom?!” Hailey screamed, racing toward the bed. She shook her mother’s body frantically but it was no use. She grabbed her mother’s cellphone from the nightstand and dialed 9-1-1. As she lifted the phone to her ear, an unspeakable pain radiated in her spine. Amber’s voice came from behind her.

            “Sorry, Hails,” she said, twisting the knife. “We don’t know how to stop.”                        

Matt

“We should head home,” Matt said, looking at me as we strolled along the pavement. We had been out for a walk when it started to rain. “We can cut through here,” he said, pointing ahead of us. Matt and I began walking faster and turned the corner down a dark alley. The sky was now a dull grey. All of a sudden, a low voice came from behind us.

“Gi’mme your wallet,” the voice said. We turned around and were met with a scrawny man, probably in his 30s, wearing dark jeans and a black hoodie with at least a dozen cigarette-sized holes in it. My heart was racing and I swear I could hear Matt’s heart racing, too.

“Now,” the man snapped, his face shrouded by the shadow of his hood. Both of his hands fiddled with something in the front pocket of his sweater.

“C’mon, dude,” Matt said, trying to walk away. The man took a gun out of his pocket and pointed it at Matt.

“Hey, man,” Matt said, putting his hands up in defense. “Take it easy.” I could only see the man’s chin, but it was full of pockmarks. He aimed the gun at Matt’s face. His hand was shaking. He seemed more nervous than us.

“Gim’me your wallet,” he demanded again, steadying the pistol. “Gi’mme everything.” Matt began rifling through his pockets. He handed over his wallet and cell phone. He was panting heavily. We both were.

“Hurry up,” the man said, poking Matt in the chest with his gun. Matt took off his watch and fished a few quarters out of his jacket pocket, then handed them over. I wanted to help, so I opened my mouth to speak, but Matt put his hand out to silence me.

“Shhh,” he whispered. “It’s okay.” He turned out his pockets to show the man he had given him everything.

“The ring,” the man said, pointing the gun at Matt’s left hand. “Hand it over.” Matt’s face fell.

“Please,” Matt pleaded. “It’s my wedding ring.” Matt’s wife had died six months ago. Since then, Matt and I had become inseparable.

“Don’t care,” the man said, pointing the gun back at Matt’s face. “Gi’mme it. Now.” The man was growing more aggravated by the second.

“You don’t understand,” Matt began. Before he could utter another word, a loud bang sounded through the alley. I watched in horror as Matt’s lifeless body fell to the ground. The scrawny man with pockmarks knelt down and snatched Matt’s wedding ring off his hand.

“I’m sorry,” the man whispered before turning around and running down the dark alley. I stood there, my fur damp from the rain, hopeful that somebody would hear my frantic barking.