“Man, I look good today,” I said as I stared at my mirror.
It’s crazy how fast it took me to get ready. My curly hair tends to be a problem, along with my faded tattoo.
“Eddie, stop staring at yourself in the mirror and get downstairs to eat your breakfast!” she yelled.
“Oh, my bad, Ma. Coming!” I answered.
“You have everything packed?” she asked.
“Yes, Ma,” I said, rolling my eyes.
BEEP BEEP
“Yo! Ed! Get in, we gotta get there early or I lose my discount on the house!” I heard from a distance.
Oh yeah, that’s not good. Here goes Brandon screaming from the car.
“Edward Anthony Ortega, don’t even think about it!” she yelled… again.
I hate when she calls me Edward. It’s Eddie!
“I’m coming, B! Sorry Ma, I’ll eat something on the way there.” I kissed her on the cheek. “Love ya!”
“Please be careful, Eddie.” she whispered under her breath.
I grabbed my suitcase and backpack and left.
***
“So dude, you gonna tell Kat how you feel once we get to the Poconos?” Brandon nudged me.
“I don’t know bro, it’s not something you just blurt out,” I said.
Katerina Moore. The love of my life, my future wife, and my best friend who has no clue I am in love with her.
“Oh dude come on! You gotta tell her. You’ve been obsessed with her since we were kids,” said Jax.
Jax is a pretty good looking guy. I mean he’s got blonde hair, brown eyes and he’s tall. Total package and chill personality, but he’d rather hop from girl to girl than stick to just one.
“Alright guys, can we not talk about my non-existent love life at 8 in the morning,” I said annoyed.
They both laughed and moved on to talking about the football game from last night.
Brandon drives like a maniac. It’s like he doesn’t care about our lives or something.
“Yo B, you gotta chill on the breaks when you stop at a red!” I yelled.
“Alright, dude, I’ll chill when you’re the one behind the wheel of YOUR car,” B said to me after he laughed.
I don’t have a car. He thinks it’s funny to make fun of that. I clearly don’t.
RING RING
“Kat’s calling me,” I said.
“Don’t want to keep the lady waiting,” B said.
Brandon’s like that best friend that you know is going to be in your life forever. He’s your stereotypical athlete who’s got brown hair and blue eyes and all the girls are weirdly obsessed with him, but he’s dating Kat’s best friend, Ella Bare.
I picked up the phone and she let me know that her and Ella are on their way to the Poconos house. We’re going for our spring break trip since it’s our last year together. We’ve all pretty much been friends since freshman year, but Ella and Brandon started dating last year. They always fight about stupid stuff. I’ve known Kat since second grade and fell in love with her the second I set eyes on her. She is the definition of perfect.
Katerina has rosy cheeks. She has chocolate brown eyes with a glimpse of hazel and dark brown hair that lies below her neck and touches her shoulders.
***
“Alright boys, we are here. Let’s pick rooms!” B said.
That was fast. Not surprised, like I mentioned earlier, Brandon drives fast.
“Dang this place is a mansion guys!” Jax yelled.
“It really is,” I responded.
BEEP BEEP
“The girls are here!” I yelled, excitedly.
I ran out the door and there she was. My future wife.
“Hi Eddie!” the voice of an angel said.
Hello beautiful angel. Her tone is soft. Like I said, she is perfect.
“Help me with my bags?” she asked.
Anything for you.
“Yeah! Of course!” I said.
LATER THAT NIGHT
“Let’s get this party started!” Ella yelled.
This girl loves to party I swear.
“Yo Ed! You gonna drink tonight? There’s a first for everything ya know,” Jax said.
“Why not? It’ll be my first time and it’s worth it with all of you,” I said.
“Cheers!” everyone said.
***
We had so much fun. We danced the night away. All of us. We talked about our futures and our lives. It was great. It was the best night of my life. Katerina and I talked about everything and where we plan to go to school. She wants to go to Princeton and I want to go wherever she goes. I just didn’t say that to her.
As I was just about to crash, I woke up cause I heard arguing by the pool. I looked out the window. It was Ella and Brandon. What’s new? I watched Ella dive into the pool after and Brandon stormed off. That’s when I decided to knock out.
THE NEXT MORNING
“ELLA!” someone yelled.
They woke me up.
“ELLA WHERE ARE YOU?” the voice said.
It was Brandon.
“Dude, what’s going on?” I said.
“It’s Ella. I don’t know where she is and she left her phone in the house. Dude we had a fight last night and I don’t know where she went when I left,” he said nervously.
“Alright dude, relax. Just wait. Maybe she’ll come back later,” I responded, trying to calm him down.
LATER THAT NIGHT
We all gathered together in the living room, waiting for Ella to return, but nothing. She never did.
Brandon started crying. He seems careless, but he’s emotional. Ella knew that too. I can’t believe she just left him like that.
“Guys,” Kat said. “Ella would never just leave like this. What if something happened to her?”
“No,” Brandon said. “She would. She’s done it before.”
“I’m sorry, man.” I said. “We should all sleep here tonight, together. Maybe she’ll turn up, just in case.”
They agreed.
I lay down next to Katerina on the couch. We fell asleep, but then I woke up. I didn’t see Jax and Brandon.
I heard laughs from the outside. They were outside smoking a cigarette and hoping Ella would come back.
“You guys gonna sleep out here tonight?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Jax responded. “We’ll leave you two lovebirds inside.”
I rolled my eyes, laughed and went back inside to fall asleep.
THE NEXT MORNING
I woke up. She wasn’t next to me. Where is she? Oh my goodness. WHERE IS SHE?
“KAT?!” I yelled.
“KAT?!” I yelled, again.
She ran back inside from the back door.
“Jeez, Kat. Don’t scare me like that,” I said to her.
“Aw someone got scared his crush left him,” she responded.
Wait, um, did I hear that right?
“What’d you just say?” I said, laughing nervously.
“You heard me,” she answered. “I know you like me. I’ve always known, Edward.”
Alright this is the only girl I’ll let call me Edward.
“Well, yeah, but is that okay?” I asked.
She laughed and leaned closer.
“Is this okay?” she asked.
She leaned forward, closed her eyes and kissed me. Katerina Moore just kissed me.
She let go.
Don’t let go.
“Yes,” I responded to her blushing. “Yes, that is more than okay.”
She laughed.
Please keep laughing.
“Okay well anyways, there’s something wrong,” she insisted.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“The guys aren’t here,” she said.
What? They were outside last night. I literally saw them. What is going on?
“Eddie, I’m scared,” she said. “I think someone’s taking our friends.”
Honestly, so do I.
“It’s okay, Kat. You’re not alone. Listen carefully, we will find everyone. Let’s wait in the car tonight and pretend that we’re inside the house. If someone walks in, then we’ll find out who is taking them,” I responded.
LATER THAT NIGHT
***
We sat quietly in the car. It was 12 in the morning. Kat was beginning to get sleepy, but I stayed awake. I couldn’t let someone hurt her. I wouldn’t.
ONE HOUR LATER
I woke up. NO! I. FELL. ASLEEP.
I look over. NO KAT.
I got out of the car. No one was there.
“KATERINA!” I cried. “KATERINA?!”
No answer.
I went inside the house. Empty. Outside the house. Empty.
Wait..
I hear something.
I hear crying and screaming. It’s coming from outside. It’s coming from the shed. Oh no.
The closer I get, the louder the screams. It’s Kat. It’s her scream. Oh goodness, please tell me, I am wrong.
I open up the door to the shed.
Oh
My
God.
It’s everyone. They’re –
They’re all dead.
Who did this? No. I am on my knees, crying, begging. Goodness Katerina. You’re dead. Blood everywhere. They’re cut up. Stabbed.
The screams. I hear it coming from Kat’s pocket. It’s her phone.
I pull her phone out of her pocket. Blood’s all over my hands. It’s a video.
“EDDIE!” she screams. “EDDIE PLEASE STOP I’M BEGGING YOU!”
Its- its me.
She turns the camera around.
I held the knife to her stomach and cut right through her. I killed her. Oh my goodness. I killed all of them. How could I do this? Why did I do this? I don’t know what to do.
I killed them all. I dragged them back into this shed. I blacked out. I did this. This all happened because of me. I fainted.
I woke up.
I dialed 911 on subject 13’s phone.
“911, what’s your emergency?” they said.
“I killed them. Subjects 10 11 12 and 13.”
“It’s you. You murdered Alison Bradley last week,” they said.
“Yes, that was subject 9. And you still won’t find me,” I responded. “45 Milway Drive, Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania.”
I hung up.
I left.
