The Masked Murderer

Escape

sound of a match striking broke the silence that plagued the darkness of the night. The bright light of the match lit up the room. A candle was lit.

I yawned, trying to lift my hand up to cover my mouth, but I couldn't.

I tried to move my arms, I couldn't, they were restrained behind my back.

"Where am I at?" I sobbed. I felt like I had been drugged. I awoke to what felt like a terrible hangover. I squinted my eyes as I tried to adjust to the candle's bright light illuminating the room.

I saw Charles. He bent down and delicately placed a kiss on my forehead.

"Charles, honey where are we at?" I lazily asked with a foggy memory, looking around my vision was hazy. I couldn't quite make out where we were.

Charles didn't answer me. I looked around and the haziness in my vision began to subside. The walls were made of wood logs. I was in a cabin. It looked familiar, but I didn't know why it looked familiar. I looked down at my legs, I was laying on a bed with a green blanket covering my body.

I tried to move my legs, they were restrained too.

I became alarmed.

What is going on?!

"Charles?" I called. Slowly, my memory began to come back to me.

Charles was the masked murderer!

My eyes frantically lit up. I screamed,"Somebody help me!"

Charles put his finger up to his lips,

"Shhh!" He motioned for me to be quiet then he walked over to my bedside and closed the window that was a few inches above the bed I was laying on.

"Where are we? What are you gonna do to me?" I asked hastily. My demeanor projecting a frightening fear, my eyes wide open. My nerves pulsated throughout my body caushing me to tremble as if internal tremors had taken over.

"We're in the cabin, up in the woods. My parents cabin. Don't you remember spending a weekend here when we first met?!" Charles sarcastically asked in an angry tone.

Taken aback, I distressingly said,

"Charles, what happened to you?! This isn't you Charles. I can help you, I love you," I pleaded, in hopes that I could keep myself alive as I was worried that Charles had plans to kill me.

"Nobody can help me. Not even you, Olivia! Nobody!" Charles yelled. He pulled at his hair and jumped up and down.

"Uhhh!" He screamed.

Oh my, he is totally insane.

I began to tug at the rope with my fingers, but it wasn't loosening.

"Before I kill you, we have to celebrate. I'm going down to the grocery store to buy our anniversary cake. I'll be back,"

"Charles, no, don't. I can help you. Please listen to me Charles," I screamed.

He put a small object up to his mouth and covered it with the mask.

Oh no!

It was same distinctive mask that was worn by the masked murderer.

"Why Charles? Why?!" I cried, tightly closing my eyes to avoid staring at the mask. Tears fell freely from my eyes and down my face.

"Does this voice sound familiar to you, Olivia?" He asked.

I gasped and screamed, "Stop it, Charles! Just stop!"

It was the voice of the masked murderer. He used a small electronic device to help him disguise his voice and it terrified me. It brought me back to those two weeks of torture.

He took off the mask and walked out through the front door of the cabin. I heard his car start, then I saw the headlights of his car shine brightly through the window. He drove off.

I pushed at the rope on my ankle with my foot. I felt it loosen, so I kept pushing. I wiggled my ankle out of the grasp of the thick rope. Then, using my fingers I picked at the rope that binded my wrists. The rope came undone as loose strands started falling apart. It still wasn't completely off.

What am I gonna do?!

Rapidly glancing around the room, I spotted a pair of scissors on the nightstand. I instantly scooted my body over towards them. I took the scissors and cut through the rope that was binding my hands together.

Phew.

I was free.

I ran to the back of the house and opened the backdoor. I recalled coming up here twice before with Charles and the main town wasn't to far away from here. I ran to the backyard and out through the woods in the back. I began to feel extreme pain in my ankle. I looked down at it. Charles made a slight cut into my ankle, probably to prevent me from running away, but I wasn't going to let that stop me from escaping.

Running far into the woods, I focused on getting back to town. Shrubs of bushes rubbed against my legs. Tall weeds glided roughly between my fingers and through my hands. I thought I heard him near, so I stopped and hid behind a big tree. I looked behind me. There was no sign of him. I ran again, as far as my feet would take me. It was very dark and the further I ran into the woods, the less light I had to guide me. My breathing was labored. My chest rapidly inhaling and exhaling the stale air.

I remembered putting my phone in my back pocket, hiding it from Charles. I reached for it, hoping it was still there.

It was!

I retrieved it, and instantaneously I dialed Jess's phone number.

There was no reception.

"Damn it!" I yelled as I threw my phone.

Frustrated, I put my hands on top of my head

What am I going to do?

Downtown Charleston was only ten more minutes away.

I could make it.

I was determined to get to downtown. I wanted to live.

I ran and took brief pauses to catch my breath. My heart beat faster, bullets of sweat dropped from my body and the pain in my ankle was becoming unbearable.

I saw a car coming down the road. The headlights flashed bright into the dark night. I looked again.

It was a truck, a blue Ford, it was him.

I ran the opposite way, remembering there was a small ditch close by as I recalled staying at that cabin with Charles, and one morning I went for a morning jog and nearly fell into a ditch.

It's around here somewhere

I looked around desperately for the ditch.

Where is it?!

My eyes rapidly searched for the ditch. I hastily swiped loose strands of my hair behind my ears.

I found it. And without hesitation, I jumped inside. It was covered by bushes and surrounded by big, tall trees making it indistinguishable at night.

He stopped his truck. I heard the muffled sounds of the engine as it slowly came to a halt. He turned off the engine.

Please God! Oh no, please!

I calmed my labored breathing and tried my best to stay quiet. The pain in my ankle was getting worse. I wanted to scream out in agony, but I remained quiet.

I heard his footsteps shuffling through the weeds as he walked closer to where I laid.

I looked up and saw the big, black boots that covered his feet and the cuffs of his blue Levi's. I laid in the ditch, hoping to go unnoticed. He was right above me, scanning his surroundings.

Please don't look down. Please don't look down.

Once he was done scanning and walking around, he returned to his truck.

Thank goodness.

"You're gonna regret this, Olivia. I loved you, I saved you! I could've killed you the first time, but I didn't. I only tortured you babe, I had too. I had to get you ready to meet the real me, Sweetheart! You were going to help me kill, Baby!" Charles shouted.

Oh my, he's really sick.

I heard him open the door of his truck and then he finally drove off.

I got up out of the small, dirty ditch and limped as fast I could to downtown Charleston.

I spotted a small bar, it looked to have a Western theme, like the bars in the early 1800's. The sign read Midnight Saloon. Then I remembered, that's the bar Jessica and Justin frequented.

I ran to the bar, pulling the heavy steel door open with all of my might, it was difficult because I felt so weak, but I made it inside.

I looked around as loud music blared through the speakers. Women and men danced while some were seated, drinking beers and flirting with each other.

"Help!" I said faintly.

I nearly collapsed when my feet touched the tiled floors. The bartender grabbed me.

"Are you alright, missy?" He asked

"No, call the police. Call them now! He's trying to kill me!" I screamed .

The bartender walked me to a stool at the bar. I sat down on the hard, metal stool as I breathed in and out, trying to gain my composure. I rested my arms on the bar table. I was still trying to process what had happened.

I looked up into the large mirror that was directly in front of me. I saw my reflection and it revealed just how much of a disheveled mess I was, but that was the absolute least of my worries.

Tears started falling down my face.

The bartender immediately picked up the phone and called the police. While he spoke to them, he motioned for me to come near. He handed me the phone. The 911 dispatcher asked me for his description. I gave a clear description and explained everything that happened.

The bartender then gave me a glass of water and some pretzels. I took the cup of water and gulped it down. I was tired and exhausted. The water felt refreshing. The bartender rapidly refilled my glass.

"Thank you," I said as I sat at the bar. The patrons stared at me as if they were watching a Broadway show.

I was in disbelief, I was dumbfounded. I couldn't process the fact that Charles, the man I loved, the man who claimed to love me. The man who I was supposed to marry and start a family with. The man who was going to be the father of my future children was a killer, not just any killer, but a serial killer, but the worse of it all was that he wanted to kill me.

Four cops rushed into the bar.

A short female cop, with a blonde bob and a name tag that read Officer Stanley, looked at me as she put her hand on my shoulder, "We found him and a gunfight ensued. We killed him, he's dead. You don't have to worry anymore, he's not coming back," she said.

As the news settled into my head, I finally felt free. I escaped. Tears of joy ran down my face.

It was over.

It was finally over.

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