Victim
“Who is your next victim?” I ask him. He grunts something, not giving me an answer. “Who?” I demand. Mason turns to me, and I immediately become afraid. He has something behind his eyes, something dark, secretive. I can’t quite see it clearly and this frightens me, because I’m not sure if I want to know what exactly it is. I wait for him to answer but he just lets a vicious laugh fall from his mouth while he turns his back to me like I’m nothing more than the air he breaths.
I have been here for two years, but it feels so much longer. It feels like a lifetime, I have been cemented in this house as if I were merely another wooden slab in the floor boards. I can’t get away from this place. I can’t get away from him.
One boy lays in the other room on the table. I know he is unconscious, because I remember Mason giving him something, a pill. Maybe more than just one. I know he won’t be alive much longer, because Mason’s had him for a week now, and it’s time to pick his next victim. The boy is only eleven years old. He hasn’t even gone into middle school yet. He will be number five. I feel my eyes start to tingle with tears, I have to force myself to look away and ease my sadness. Mason catches me wiping my eyes and comes over to me.
“Stop it.” He says, his voice is rougher than usual. He lifts his hand up and I tense. “Relax.” He tells me, slipping some stray hairs behind my ear. “I’d never, ever hurt you. Understand?” I just nod.
“But, why?” I feel like a mouse, being watched by a bobcat. I can almost see his piercing eyes cut into me, while his claws grow.
“Why won’t I hurt you?” His edgy voice retreats a little as he asks this.
I shake my head and look towards the boy again. “Why…” I’m not sure what words to use. Mason seems to understand though.
“I know this is hard for you.” He looks to the boy and back at me. “But there are people out there, that need to be reminded of what’s more important in life.”
I still don’t understand. He continues on.
“Here, you see this boy, Daniel Trevor.” He puts your arm around my shoulders and leans in close, his voice becomes quiet. “This boy’s parents, they are bad people. His mother, a lawyer, is always at work and ignoring his needs. His father is too caught up with this other woman, that his wife has no idea about. Both of them, are more interested in earning more money and gaining personal benefits that they are too selfish to take care of their only son. You see, this is a very sad situation.”
I nod. He speaks again.
“This boy is neglected, and no one will do anything about it, because who is going to speak out against a notable lawyer?” Mason looks at me like he expects an answer, so I just shrug my shoulders trying not to cry.
“So, what I do is, I help these people. I help them come back to reality, and that happens when they find their son is missing and soon discover their body.”
“But why do you have to kill them, Mason, they haven’t done anything.” Don’t cry, don’t cry.
“Ah, because Gracie, they will be sorry for a while, and buy him gifts, and put him first for a little while, but then things will just go back to the way they were. You see, it never ends.” He takes a breath. “So this way, they will feel guilt for the rest of their lives, and the poor boy won’t have to deal anymore. Gracie, it’s just better this way.”
When you say that last part, he sounded annoyed, and I’m afraid to go on about it, and question him more, but I just had a question, that I needed answered.
“Why didn’t you just kill me?” When I say this, he just froze. And my mother didn’t neglect me, she took care of me when she could. “I mean, maybe my mom, wasn’t always great at being a mom, but that’s just because when dad died-”
He cut me off, and sounded angry.
“Who? Andy?” His voice was loud. “Andy was not your father! Your mother made you believe he was, but he was not your father!”
I didn’t know what to do or say. I was the one frozen now.
“Gracie, your mother lied to you, she kept you from the truth. That is why it needed fixed.” His eyes were still angry, but seemed to be a little softer. We stood there silent for a moment before he spoke again.
“Gracie, I…I am your father.”
Suddenly, my heart skipped several beats. I shook my head, slightly as first, but then I exaggerated it more.
“No. No, you are not. My dad, Andy was my dad. You are not him, no.”
I could see Mason trying to find what to say. He started to speak, but I didn’t want to hear.
“No! Just don’t! You’re lying! You’re a liar!” My heart was heavy. That couldn’t be true. It just couldn’t. My father was a good man. He was not this, this, delusional killer.
“Gracie,” He almost sound kind, which is, I don’t know, I’ve never seen him like that. “Your mother, she took you from me, when you were just a little girl, and she wouldn’t let you see me, she wouldn’t even let me write to you, or tell you who I am.”
“Stop.” I didn’t want to hear this. “You, you, are the bad guy here, not my mom, how can you even say that? You’re the one kidnapping and killing these kids. What if that was me? Don’t you think this, is a sad situation? This is worse for me here than if I were with my mom, how could you think this was helping me? How can you think you are actually helping these people? You are sick, you’re sick and you need help, you need to turn yourself in and let me go back to my mom and you need to stop doing this.” I paused for a moment needing to catch my breath.
He looked at me and sighed.
After another long second, he turned away from me, and walked into the room the boy was in then closed the door behind him. He looked at me briefly through the window in the door, before heading towards the boy. Oh, oh no. He wasn’t going to still-
I ran to the door and tried to turn the doorknob. It was stuck.
“No.” I said under my breath. I used all my strength to open that door. “No!” I yelled through.
“I have to finish it!” He yelled back. “I’m sorry!”
“If you were sorry, you wouldn’t do this!” I saw the boy move on the table. He was waking up. Mason saw this too, and hurried himself. I banged on the door, and kicked it with my feet.
“Stop!” I yelled, but you ignored me. I ran and got a chair from across the room. I mustered all my strength and launched it against the door. It did nothing.
“Gracie, look away, I don’t want you to see this. Go upstairs!”
“Please! Please just stop!” I was almost begging him now, like it was my own life that was being threatened.
I saw the boy, Daniel try and sit up, but he was still too weak from the drugs. I tried to urge him on.
“Daniel! Daniel, get up!” I yelled. “Come on! You gotta get up! Please!” I could tell he wasn’t sure were my voice was coming from, but he struggled to obey anyhow.
Mason were searching for something on the shelves. He had a syringe in his hand, and had to fill it with something.
“Daniel, come on, get up!” I kept trying to urge him. Mason grabbed something off the shelf and Daniel was still trying to get off the table. He was swaying, still dizzy and tired.
I watched Mason rush over to him, and tried to get the needle in his arm, but Daniel struggled to fight Mason’s arm away.
“Daniel!” I screamed.
Mason took the syringe and stabbed it into Daniel’s arm. Daniel looked down at it, and then back at Mason.
“No!” I tried opening the door again, even though, I knew it wouldn’t work.
Daniel’s eyes were getting heavy, I could tell. They were pressing more tears down his face and he was leaning back. Mason supported him as he started to fade away, slowly. He laid Daniel down on the table, and when Mason stepped away for a moment, I saw Daniel’s face, frozen with fear. Very still. His eyes stared straight ahead. I felt a cry escape me. And more tears flowed from my eyes.
“Daniel!” I yelled. “Daniel get up!” I knew he wouldn’t. It was impossible. When Mason leaned back over him, and ran his hand down his face to close Daniel’s eyes, and then threw a sheet over the stiff boy. All that I could see, was his small body mass beneath the sheet.
When Mason finally came out, I was huddled over myself outside the room. He stood towering over me.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want you to see that, you should have gone upstairs like I said.”
I snuffled the snot building in my nose. “I just want my mom.” I said to him in almost a whisper.
“Gracie, that’s not possible.” He replied. “I told you I dealt with that problem a while ago.”
I have been here for two years, but it feels so much longer. It feels like a lifetime, I have been cemented in this house as if I were merely another wooden slab in the floor boards. I can’t get away from this place. I can’t get away from him.
One boy lays in the other room on the table. I know he is unconscious, because I remember Mason giving him something, a pill. Maybe more than just one. I know he won’t be alive much longer, because Mason’s had him for a week now, and it’s time to pick his next victim. The boy is only eleven years old. He hasn’t even gone into middle school yet. He will be number five. I feel my eyes start to tingle with tears, I have to force myself to look away and ease my sadness. Mason catches me wiping my eyes and comes over to me.
“Stop it.” He says, his voice is rougher than usual. He lifts his hand up and I tense. “Relax.” He tells me, slipping some stray hairs behind my ear. “I’d never, ever hurt you. Understand?” I just nod.
“But, why?” I feel like a mouse, being watched by a bobcat. I can almost see his piercing eyes cut into me, while his claws grow.
“Why won’t I hurt you?” His edgy voice retreats a little as he asks this.
I shake my head and look towards the boy again. “Why…” I’m not sure what words to use. Mason seems to understand though.
“I know this is hard for you.” He looks to the boy and back at me. “But there are people out there, that need to be reminded of what’s more important in life.”
I still don’t understand. He continues on.
“Here, you see this boy, Daniel Trevor.” He puts your arm around my shoulders and leans in close, his voice becomes quiet. “This boy’s parents, they are bad people. His mother, a lawyer, is always at work and ignoring his needs. His father is too caught up with this other woman, that his wife has no idea about. Both of them, are more interested in earning more money and gaining personal benefits that they are too selfish to take care of their only son. You see, this is a very sad situation.”
I nod. He speaks again.
“This boy is neglected, and no one will do anything about it, because who is going to speak out against a notable lawyer?” Mason looks at me like he expects an answer, so I just shrug my shoulders trying not to cry.
“So, what I do is, I help these people. I help them come back to reality, and that happens when they find their son is missing and soon discover their body.”
“But why do you have to kill them, Mason, they haven’t done anything.” Don’t cry, don’t cry.
“Ah, because Gracie, they will be sorry for a while, and buy him gifts, and put him first for a little while, but then things will just go back to the way they were. You see, it never ends.” He takes a breath. “So this way, they will feel guilt for the rest of their lives, and the poor boy won’t have to deal anymore. Gracie, it’s just better this way.”
When you say that last part, he sounded annoyed, and I’m afraid to go on about it, and question him more, but I just had a question, that I needed answered.
“Why didn’t you just kill me?” When I say this, he just froze. And my mother didn’t neglect me, she took care of me when she could. “I mean, maybe my mom, wasn’t always great at being a mom, but that’s just because when dad died-”
He cut me off, and sounded angry.
“Who? Andy?” His voice was loud. “Andy was not your father! Your mother made you believe he was, but he was not your father!”
I didn’t know what to do or say. I was the one frozen now.
“Gracie, your mother lied to you, she kept you from the truth. That is why it needed fixed.” His eyes were still angry, but seemed to be a little softer. We stood there silent for a moment before he spoke again.
“Gracie, I…I am your father.”
Suddenly, my heart skipped several beats. I shook my head, slightly as first, but then I exaggerated it more.
“No. No, you are not. My dad, Andy was my dad. You are not him, no.”
I could see Mason trying to find what to say. He started to speak, but I didn’t want to hear.
“No! Just don’t! You’re lying! You’re a liar!” My heart was heavy. That couldn’t be true. It just couldn’t. My father was a good man. He was not this, this, delusional killer.
“Gracie,” He almost sound kind, which is, I don’t know, I’ve never seen him like that. “Your mother, she took you from me, when you were just a little girl, and she wouldn’t let you see me, she wouldn’t even let me write to you, or tell you who I am.”
“Stop.” I didn’t want to hear this. “You, you, are the bad guy here, not my mom, how can you even say that? You’re the one kidnapping and killing these kids. What if that was me? Don’t you think this, is a sad situation? This is worse for me here than if I were with my mom, how could you think this was helping me? How can you think you are actually helping these people? You are sick, you’re sick and you need help, you need to turn yourself in and let me go back to my mom and you need to stop doing this.” I paused for a moment needing to catch my breath.
He looked at me and sighed.
After another long second, he turned away from me, and walked into the room the boy was in then closed the door behind him. He looked at me briefly through the window in the door, before heading towards the boy. Oh, oh no. He wasn’t going to still-
I ran to the door and tried to turn the doorknob. It was stuck.
“No.” I said under my breath. I used all my strength to open that door. “No!” I yelled through.
“I have to finish it!” He yelled back. “I’m sorry!”
“If you were sorry, you wouldn’t do this!” I saw the boy move on the table. He was waking up. Mason saw this too, and hurried himself. I banged on the door, and kicked it with my feet.
“Stop!” I yelled, but you ignored me. I ran and got a chair from across the room. I mustered all my strength and launched it against the door. It did nothing.
“Gracie, look away, I don’t want you to see this. Go upstairs!”
“Please! Please just stop!” I was almost begging him now, like it was my own life that was being threatened.
I saw the boy, Daniel try and sit up, but he was still too weak from the drugs. I tried to urge him on.
“Daniel! Daniel, get up!” I yelled. “Come on! You gotta get up! Please!” I could tell he wasn’t sure were my voice was coming from, but he struggled to obey anyhow.
Mason were searching for something on the shelves. He had a syringe in his hand, and had to fill it with something.
“Daniel, come on, get up!” I kept trying to urge him. Mason grabbed something off the shelf and Daniel was still trying to get off the table. He was swaying, still dizzy and tired.
I watched Mason rush over to him, and tried to get the needle in his arm, but Daniel struggled to fight Mason’s arm away.
“Daniel!” I screamed.
Mason took the syringe and stabbed it into Daniel’s arm. Daniel looked down at it, and then back at Mason.
“No!” I tried opening the door again, even though, I knew it wouldn’t work.
Daniel’s eyes were getting heavy, I could tell. They were pressing more tears down his face and he was leaning back. Mason supported him as he started to fade away, slowly. He laid Daniel down on the table, and when Mason stepped away for a moment, I saw Daniel’s face, frozen with fear. Very still. His eyes stared straight ahead. I felt a cry escape me. And more tears flowed from my eyes.
“Daniel!” I yelled. “Daniel get up!” I knew he wouldn’t. It was impossible. When Mason leaned back over him, and ran his hand down his face to close Daniel’s eyes, and then threw a sheet over the stiff boy. All that I could see, was his small body mass beneath the sheet.
When Mason finally came out, I was huddled over myself outside the room. He stood towering over me.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want you to see that, you should have gone upstairs like I said.”
I snuffled the snot building in my nose. “I just want my mom.” I said to him in almost a whisper.
“Gracie, that’s not possible.” He replied. “I told you I dealt with that problem a while ago.”