Chasing Karma

Chapter 4 - Nobody Knows

News report:

"A girl was found dead in the dense area near the bus stop. The abandoned place was filled with tall grass and far from the crowded area. According to the authorities, someone reported the heinous crime to an unknown number. They tried to search for the person who owns it, but they were not able to find it. It also said that the victim was a student who was off from school. They are still investigating the case of who killed the student." said the reporter on the television on the bus.

The silence was broken by the people inside the bus. Everyone reacts except Marianne. She knows who the suspect is of that girl's killer and she's on her way to that killer's place. It's been a week since that crime happened and it seems that justice is too slow. She smirked as she reached the place. She's very familiar with the place because she's been visiting her. She knows when this woman is off from work and where she lives. She works at the market while she lives in a distant deserted place. Before she got off the bus, she heard one of the passengers talk.

"Psh. Whoever the killer is, that person's insane. Hopefully whoever did that gets caught immediately." the old woman said, shaking her head while eating quail eggs. No traces of fear are visible on her face. "That's right! The killer must be a devil. No normal person could do that. I think I would kill that person if only I knew who that person was." said the lady who meddled with the old woman and her friend's conversation.

"Such a pretty girl, what could be the motive for the killing? She must have been raped, I guess. It's really not safe nowadays. Everyone should be extra careful", the driver commented, even though he didn't even see the face of the dead girl.

It was blurred by the television network for privacy purposes. They stopped the commotion when the other old lady got off the bus after her. Before she reached the market, she had already seen the person she was looking for. She's still wearing the same outfit she wore from the last time she saw her. She was heading towards the bus stop. Marianne made sure that she wouldn't be caught following her. She immediately hopped on the bus and sat near the window at the back of the driver.

Marianne walks fast and gets on the bus as well. She sits at the back of the woman she's following. When the bus is near the school, the woman hops off the bus and she follows. The woman didn't waste any time upon reaching the school gate. She went near the girl and kissed her on the cheeks. The girl is wearing a school uniform. And on her estimate, the girl is almost the same age as the previous victim. She thinks that her victims are all students. She's wondering why this lady's prey are pretty and are students.

"Have you been waiting too long?" she heard the woman say. The girl smiles and pinches her nose. "Nope. You're just on time," she replied. Marianne knows that this girl will be the woman's next victim.

She's just wondering why all of the victims are students. She followed her once again and this time she was together with the girl. Holding each other's hands, they'd reached the bus stop. Just on time when the bus arrives. They rode a bus again. After a few minutes, the woman stops the bus somewhere far from the main street. She tried to hide as much as she could so she wouldn't get caught. When they arrived at the place, Marianne didn't even wonder why they were there. Though worries are written on the young girl's face. It's another abandoned place where no one can easily discover any crime that may happen there.

A few cracks showed and the paint was faded. The building is indeed old and it seems like it was there for a decade that no one ever bothered to renovate. The entrance isn't that visible due to the tall grass around it. The lamp post seems to be busted due to it blinking on-off. When they'd reached the door, the girl started to ask.

"What are we doing here? I thought we were going somewhere near your place." but the woman didn't respond. While these two were busy going inside, Marianne stood watching over the two. While she was following these two girls, she was shocked by what she saw although she had an idea that these two might be in a relationship.

"This is near my place. In fact, this is my place," the woman said, then started to caress the girl. She holds her chin and gives a peck on her lips." the girl was hesitant as she saw how it reacted to what the woman did to her.

"Y-your p-place is t-this p-place?" she stutters while looking around. "It's creeping me out. Can we go back now and go to my place instead?" the girl said while she grabbed her hand and attempted to leave. The woman stopped her and pulled her waist against her.

"It's fine here. I'm comfortable in this place. Let me do my thing and we'll go back after." she seemed to convince the girl, though she still looked scared.

She saw how these two pleased themselves in a creepy place like that. Though Marianne doesn't care at all. She loves a place like that. The darker the better. She could stand seeing what these two were doing and so she looked around the area. She knew that something would happen. A few minutes after she left the two, she heard someone screaming. She rushed back to where these two were and witnessed once again a crime. The woman is holding the girl's neck tightly while talking to her.

"Do you think I won't find out about your boyfriend? Are you fooling me?" the woman said while giving a grip on her neck.

"I don't know what you're talking about." she seemed to hardly talk and breathe yet she managed to say those words.

"You don't know! You don't know!" the woman shouted. Fear covers the girl's face as she tries to escape. The girl kicked her and she curled down in pain. But she didn't wait for a few seconds and tried to catch her. The girl manages to escape and gets out of the abandoned building, but it is dark outside and no vehicles are available. She ran as fast as she could. Unfortunately, the woman knows this place more than her and caught her. The woman pulled her hair and tried to take her back to the building.

"Let me go! I don't know what you're saying! You said you loved me. If you love me, please let me go!" she cried.

"Are you nuts? You cheated on me and you have to pay for it.

"He is just a friend. Nothing is going on between us." she insisted, but before she explains more, the woman immediately penetrates the knife in the girl's heart. She stabs her a few times more. She then took her to a room inside the building and lay her near the other victims.

Marianne froze, seeing three more victims other than this girl. She doesn't have any idea about what's the reason why this woman killed those three, but she's positive that it's this woman's modus to victimize students. She then hears the same tune and her urges to protect the victims come back. When she sees the woman staring at her victim smiling, she immediately stabs her in the back. The woman managed to turn around and see who stabbed her but it was too late to make a move. Marianne stabbed her in her chest five more times, causing the woman to fall to the ground.

After a few more minutes, the woman was lifeless. She once again puts an X mark on her victim's forehead and writes on her shirt using the blood with the phrase, I'm a killer. She cleans up herself and walks far from the abandoned building. When she's far enough and reaches the road, she takes her phone and calls the authorities. She doesn't care if they will believe her, but when she's done reporting it, she turns off her phone.

She took the bus as if nothing happened. Looking outside the bus window, she smirked and whispered, 'karma is my name.