The Carnival Killer

Third Times the Charm

Third Times the Charm

"And I will show that nothing can happen more beautiful than death." - Walt Whitman

The second time was strange, almost unfulfilling. I took too much time; I could have been caught. The kill was reckless. Mother always made me look foolish, a gift she still possesses. I feel as if it wasn't even a clean kill, not one I can add to my list. It was sloppy and uncharacteristic of me. I decided no more torture, it takes away the thrill of the kill.

The next few weeks I traveled around living in abandoned houses and small motels with low vacancy. The least amount of people that familiarize themselves with my face, the better off I'll be. It will be winter soon, the carnivals will be closed in most of the country until the summer time brings out the fairs.

Suddenly Troy appeared in my car. "Should I wear my seat-belt big brother?" He asked me with an innocent tone.

I didn't answer him, I decided to ignore all of them.

"Or should I just jump out of the car?" He asked as he opened the door and fell out onto the highway. I slammed on my brakes and swerved off the road. The car behind me that drove straight through Troy honked their horn as the passenger flipped me their middle finger. My heart pounded in my chest. Troy sat on the pavement laughing hysterically at me. I took a deep breath then looked in my rear-view. There sat my mother in the back seat as she knitted another quilt.

"You boys are both acting like children," she said without looking up.

"He does that just to freak me out," I explained.

"He's just a boy, don't you remember what it was like being his age?" She continued to knit her quilt.

I thought about it for a second and without answering I put the car back into drive and got back on the road toward Santa Fe.

"You do, I know you remember it all. Your childhood was hard, I have some blame but it's too late to point fingers and blame others for what you have become." She looked up and her hands stopped, "Your not alone, we're both here for you."

I refused to let either of them control me again. The next two hundred miles to Santa Fe were in complete silence. Once I arrived I decided to skip getting a motel and go straight to the carnival. It will be in town all week, I'll use tonight to scout the place and find a good spot to have my next kill. As I walked through the crowd of people, rides and concession stands I felt something besides fear and anger for the first time all day. It was such a thrill to scout my next kill.

I noticed a family close by. I told myself no kids but after all the s**t Troy has put me through the past few days I think their not so innocent either. I decided to break that rule just this one time. The two boys walked away from their parents. They were headed straight for the portable bathrooms. I shadowed them. There wasn't any trailers nearby like the last carnival. To the east was a field of wheat. It was waist high, I could drag him to the ground and strangle him, it will be quiet and no one will be able to see me.

I waited for the younger brother to go inside the portable bathroom. I shouldn't be doing this, I thought. This is me being reckless again. I have a window of opportunity to get a clean kill so I'm ignoring my rules and routine. I'm here to scout the grounds so I can make a plan for tomorrow night. The police are getting too familiar with my pattern, maybe I should change it up a little. Now is my chance. I'm going for it.

I grabbed the boy and covered his mouth, he reminded me of Troy, that little s**t. I pulled him to the ground and strangled him in the wheat field. Suddenly a woman screamed on one of the rides. My reflexes jerked my head upward to see where it had come from. I met a pair of eyes in the portable bathroom. The eyes that belonged to the brother of the boy I just murdered. I put that boy through exactly what I went through as a child. I am a monster.

I ran back to my car that was parked an eighth of a mile down the road. Once I got to it I went straight for Texas and the border to Mexico. I should lay low for a couple of months. Three murders in three months is a bad pattern I should break. If I get the urge to kill, I"m sure there will be some festivals in Mexico City.

Once I was in Texas I thought the fuzz would cool off but they didn't. They set up road blocks everywhere. My police scanner went crazy for over an hour. I knew the border was going to be impossible to cross. Somehow they knew that's where I was headed. Now I have to change my direction. I drove through the night and got a motel the next morning close to Lincoln, Nebraska.