Murderer On The Street

There was something eerie, about everything.

The television blared, replaying moments of an old-fashioned telenovela with dim salsa music adorning the subtle scene of romance. A clutter of pans erupted from the kitchen, as a smirk played on my lips. Classic Maria, you'd always find her in the depths of packets of Nachos and a slash of grainy salsa on her neck. My mobile phone tinged, the blue screen lighting up in a fraction of a section. Reaching out for my device, I yawned with a smack of my lips, I opened the notification.

"You can't escape."

I stared into the blank screen of the chat, from an unknown number. I raised my eyebrows, a grimace on my lips before Maria came in, her mouth flooding with nachos and a jar of salsa. She frowned, furrowing her eyebrows as she lumbered her way towards me, plunking down onto the sofa, "Que pasa? You don't seem like yourself."

I smacked my lips, shrugging, "Don't know, a message from some random person on the internet."

I grabbed a fistful of nachos from her bowl, stuffed a few in my mouth, munching on it loudly. I could feel my face blanching, as Maria continued to stare into my face, intently with a trace of confusion.

"Amiga, I know something's up. What, is it Derek?"

I groaned, throwing my head back at the sound of his name. Maria scoffed, pushing herself back onto the sofa as she stuffed a mouthful of nachos into her mouth. Derek was an old school-mate of mine, he was the creepy guy of our grade. I thought I'd gotten rid of him, after he tried to gift me a diamond ring, turns out he ran into a police station. As if I'd did anything. "This novella sucks, put something else, babe." Maria coughed out, hitting her chest as she choked on the nacho.

I nodded, tucking in a strand of hair behind my ear and dialling the news channel. There was a sudden news flash, as we were greeted by a priss-face woman, licking her lips and stacking her papers. I scoffed a bit, before she looked up and began to speak, "Welcome to the news, this is Prisilla Menon, and we have some urgent news for you. A murderer has been spotted roaming the street, leaving around threatening notes on the walls. Today, we advise you not to go outside as there are investigations going on."

The reporter droned on about the issues, displaying pictures of graffiti on the walls, the eerie words coated with blood. Maria coughed once more, her eyes wide with bewilderment, "Camila, this wall, I've seen it before."

I wasn't listening to her explanation, I simply picked up my phone and tapped on the chat with the unknown number. "I think you've got the wrong number. Who is this?" I typed, setting it down on my lap after.

Maria snatched away the phone from my lap, setting aside her bowl as he harshly tapped on the chat, furrowing her eyebrows. "Honey, this is Derek's number. I know this number, why is he troubling you?" She showed me the chat, pointing towards the number with pursed lips. I ran a hand across my face, sweat beading my forehead before I sighed, "He's been stalking me ever since I haven't been talking to Josh."

Maria mouthed a 'Oh, right' expression, before nodding with a chuckle to herself, "Now, I understand. Jealousy can take on toll on you, can't it?"

I nodded, a little colour returning to my face, licking my lips. "That wall, it's-it's a wall near the cemetery."

"You mean, the cemetery down the street?" I asked her, perplexed.

"Yeah, the cemetery where we went with Josh and he never returned."

I gulped, closing my eyes as a big tear rolled down my cheek. Nobody expect Maria knew how important Josh was to me. After that day, I'd got to know he was brutally murdered and stabbed with a shovel. They'd showed it on the news, I'd locked myself inside the room. I could almost hear cackles of laughter and heavy pants. Maria stared into my blank eyes and whispered, "What if the Murderer on the Street has been hiding victims there?"

"You do have a point." I murmured back, getting up and rubbing my chin. Maria dusted crumbs of her pants, jumping up to her feet and grabbed a torchlight from under the table. I gazed into her eyes, a look of shock on my face before she retreated to the door, "We're going to be doing the officers a favour."

"This is wrong! We're going to die if we're going there!"

Before I knew it, I sprang up from my seat and stormed towards her, snatching away the torchlight from her clasp. She rolled her eyes, pulling me by the collar of my shirt as she shouted, "Listen to me!"

Her voice echoed throughout the living room, the television playing 'Put Your Head On My Shoulder' in the background. She huffed, letting go off my collar before she raced out of the door in a matter of seconds. I screamed after her, calling out her name, but her footsteps only seemed to fade as she bolted down the pathway. I shook my head, before I ran behind her, slamming the door behind me. My jacket flapped around me in the harsh breeze of an autumn night, overpowering my voice as I cried out, "Maria, stop!"

She ran into the nearest left, and I started sobbing, following her. I could hear the cemetery gates creak open harshly, in the dim light of a flickering lamp, I could barely see her shadow. I followed her inside, feeling the grey, squished mud under the soles of my feet, brushing past tombstones as I saw a human silhouette halt in the middle of their tracks. Right beside the dirty shed.

Brief moments of memories flashed by, my heart began to race, I clamped my hands to my mouth and closed my eyes, sobbing. I mopped my tears and raced next to her, tackling her into a hug. Hugging me back, she sobbed on my shoulder before pulling away, pushing me aside and running into the shed. "Don't, Maria, don't!" I shrieked, running my hands through my hair.

She had already threw open the door, and a stink immediately wafted into the air. I dashed into the door, only to find my heart stop with fear.

There laid, dozens of dead bodies, the stench of rotting flesh flooding the air. Maria gagged, covering her mouth as her bloodless face became evident. "Camila! That's Josh's girlfriend!" She cried out, backtracking as she furiously tapped my shoulder. My eyes widened, there I saw, the familiar face. Caramel hair down her back, a slash of honey on her lips, rose-coloured lips. Everything Josh wanted in a girl. I nodded, taking a big gulp.

"Do you notice something, Camila?"

I turned towards Maria, staring intently at the necks of the victims. "There's a slash on all of their necks. Serial killers usually have a habit of doing that, to make the public afraid of them."

"You're not wrong." I whispered, taking another huge gulp.

"This could be such humongous evidence, you do realise that, right?"

My heart froze for a moment, but I nodded.

She pulled out the camera app, and began taking pictures of the surroundings. She began to laugh, jumping up and down before she pointed to her phone,

"Wait, wait, til I show this to the poli-"

She gagged for a second, I cocked my head to the side and whispered, "What's wrong, sweetie?"

She peered down at her stomach, only to find an enormous knife protruding through. Blood spewed out of her mouth, her eyes filling up with tears. With a swift movement, the knife was pulled out of her stomach, dripping with blood. She fell to the floor, and I watched her with an expressionless face, before it changed into a smile as I cooed, "Derek, why didn't you come before?"

Derek wiped a smear of blood of his lips, running his hands through his hair, "You've got to have that element of surprise, you know?"

I nodded, chuckling. I heard a gurgle from the bottom, as I cooed once more, "Sorry, babe. Couldn't risk you saying anything to the police."

"But, why?" She croaked in pain, tears spewing out of her eyes as she moaned in pain, clutching her stomach.

My airy grin faded into a frown as I muttered, "The day we came here, Josh never returned. He never returned the feelings I felt for him." I took a quick sniff, chuckling with a sob. "He told me he'd already gotten a girlfriend, that she matched his expectations. He never realised I cared for him." I stared down at her face, a mischievous smile returning to my face, "So, I made sure nobody did."

"I thought you were my friend!" She began to cry out, moaning in pain as she rolling over.

"First impressions can be deceiving." I flatly replied.

Derek chuckled, wiping some blood of the knife, "Tell me about it." I winked at him, and we both had a good chuckle. Soon, the moaning had dissolved into eerie silence, and Maria stopped moving, completely.

"Do you know what song I feel like singing now?" Derek asked me, tilting his head to the side. I raised an eyebrows, before he started off, dropping his knife, "I know, I know."

"You belong to somebody new." I began singing softly, picking up Maria's lifeless body.

"But, tonight." Derek helped me, taking her other arm and dragging her across the wooden floor.

"You belong to me." I harmonised, swaying my head before we tossed her into the heap of dead bodies, dusting our hands. I pursed my lips, "No, think of a better song, Derek."

Derek paused for a moment, slashing Maria's neck with a blade and stood up, sucking in his cheeks before he sang, "Put your head on my shoulder."

"Hold me in your arms."

"Baby." We harmonised together, walking outside the shed.

"Squeeze me oh-so-tight, show me."

"That you love me too." I sang softly, sighing to myself as we looked up at the moonless sky.

Classic Maria, you'd always find her in the depths of rotting bodies and a slash of blood on her neck.