The Time After Midnight

January 5

For the next two days, Kiara would tell her brothers she was going to school but never actually go. Instead, she would take a bus to the city and get into all kinds of trouble. She would wait in various allies for unfortunate travelers, big or small. Once she had them alone, she would murder them, nice and slow on the spot. Though it was the opposite of her norm, she enjoyed the screams and suffering of her victims. She loved the feeling of having her knife slicing through their skin and the feel of pulling the trigger on a desired target. When they were officially dead, she would steal whatever she could from them, before she moved on to the next. Every time she killed someone, a rush of enthusiasm would over power her to the point where she wanted to do it again and again. She finally understood the feeling her mother felt on her massacres.

When she eventually got back home, she would be in a bad mood because she wanted her mini-massacres to last longer then they did. The boys would notice her acting weirder then usual. When they went searching through her backpack, they found all of her weapons, bloody, and became concerned.

So, when she came home on the third day of this, which was Thursday, they questioned her, trying to squeeze as much information out of her as possible.

"Where were you today, Kiara?" Jim asked trying to look serious through his adorable ten-year-old face.

"We know you were not at school, so don't try and give us any aspersions about where you were." Tim continued.

Jim turned to his brother and shook his head, "Aspirations? I swear we are not related." Tim shrugged his shoulders and turned back to his sister, who was already halfway up the stairs. "Oh no, you don't, young lady-"

"What are you? My parents? Get off my case!" She screamed back at them.

“But Kiara-” The boys wined.

“Shut up and leave me alone!” Kiara screamed louder than ever.

It was so loud and full of anger that it actually scared the twins. The boys ran into their room and locked the door behind them. They figured it wasn’t a good idea to get on her nerves after all.

Kiara hurried up the stairs and slammed her door shut.

After a rejuvenating shower and some time to calm her nerves, Kiara heard a knock at the front door. When she opened the door, Jasmine was on the other side. Her best friend walked in and placed her stuff on the couch. “Let’s go to the mall.”

“Sure, I guess. I need something to do, besides murdering people,” Kiara couldn’t believe she just said that out loud.

Those words didn’t really calm Jasmine down at all, “I’m in a house with the offspring of the most wanted criminals in the country, and you make a comment like that.” She states her thoughts out loud, trying to calm herself down, “A normal person would be running for their life right about now, but as many people have told me before, I am not the most normal person ever.” She looks up at her best friend, “Ok, I’m good.”

Kiara got a huge smile and ran up to hug her, “Aww, you’re the best ever.”

“Tell me something I don’t know already.” Jasmine said with a smile.

“I can go to the mall but I need to take my brothers with me. I don’t trust them for another minute by themselves.”

“That’s fine. Hurry up though. I heard Jason was going to be there.”

“Maybe I don’t want to go after all.” Kiara said, sitting on the couch, pondering what had happened the other day. They hadn’t talked since the day he climbed her window after the first day of school. Jason had tried to have a nice time with her but she wasn’t feeling it at the time. Her mind kept wandering from school and to her parents. Even Devon made a guest appearance into her thoughts. After a while, Kiara gave up and decided to just ask Jason for a break. With all the commotion in her life, she didn’t think she would be able to handle a boyfriend. Jason tried everything, from texts to calls, but she didn’t want to talk to him for what she thought was his own good.

Jasmine sat next to her friend, not curious, “Why not?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Well tell me the story on the way there.” Jasmine said as she sprung up from her spot. “Apparently, he has this really cute boy with him. I want to see if I have a chance at romance, if you know what I mean.”

“Yes, yes, I know what you mean.” Still skeptical, Kiara got up as well and got her coat on, “Jim! Tim! Come on! We are going to the mall!” she screamed.

The boys came in a flash and put their coats on.

“Can we go to that new video game store, when we get there?” Jim asked.

“No, we should go to the book store. I heard they have that new novel I’ve been waiting for.” Tim concurred while jumping up and down in excitement.

“I asked first. We are going to the videogame store.”

“Who cares? I want to go to the book store.”

“You’re such a nerd.” Jim said as he pushed his brother.

“And you’re just moronic.” Tim retaliated as he pushed back.

“Dude, use English.” Jim pushed harder.

“That was English, stupid.” Tim followed with another push.

Jim pushed Tim onto the floor. Jim then got on top of Tim and started punching him as Tim started to fight back.

“Guys, stop it!” Kiara screamed as she grabbed on each of their coats, trying to stop the madness, but they didn’t show any sign of stopping, “If this doesn’t stop, we are not going anywhere.”

They immediately stopped and looked up at her, “But…but…fine.” They said in unison.

They walked out the door and to the bus. The boys were completely silent the whole ride to the mall as the two girls chatted about what happened the other day with Kiara and Jason. When the story was over, Jasmine had started talking about the latest gossip at school. Kiara was barely listening for she found herself texting Jason for the first time in days and actually having a great time.

“So, where’s Jason?” Jasmine asked when they got off the bus at the mall.

Kiara pulled out her phone, answering her most recent text message from him. “Aww, he’s so sweet.” She looked over at Jasmine with a huge smile, “What you say?”

“Where is he?” Jim screamed at his sister. He and Tim folded their arms and rolled their eyes. They hated how she was always flirting.

“Food court,” she looked over at Jasmine, “and he has that guy, you were talking about, with him. His name is Chris. Come on.”

All four of them walked into the mall, towards the food court. On the way there, Jim spotted the new videogame store that caused such a fuss back at home, but Tim found the bookstore. They both got wide eyed and wanted to go in two opposite directions. They pulled on each of Kiara’s arms gesturing her to go to their desired destination.

“Stop pulling on me or I will kill you both and make it seem like a bloody accident!” Kiara said in her anger. The boys let go and backed away slowly, “Ok. We will go in here first and then we will go in the book store.” Jim ran into the videogame store and Tim stood at the door, upset. Kiara turned around to her friend, “Go on. I’ll meet up with you guys later.”

“Are you sure? I can wait for you. I’m in no rush.” Jasmine said.

“Yes you are.” Kiara laughed. “Go meet your mystery man.”

“Ok, if you insist. I’ll tell Jason to come and find you.” With that, she walked off towards the food court.

About twenty minutes later, Tim started to get eager to get to the bookstore. He was still standing in the same spot, at the door, waiting for his brother to finish his useless search for a new videogame. He was going through each isle and going through every game in great detail. Tim knew that Kiara wasn't going to buy a single thing for him. Tim had been saving up his money for this moment and was eager to get his new book.

Tired of waiting, he walked out of the store when Kiara had her back turned. When he got to the bookstore, he went straight to the section that had his book. He picked out his desired book and went toward the checkout counter.

“Hey, pip squeak,” A random voice called out to Tim. Tim looked around and saw Jason sitting on one of the couches in the reading area. He thought about turning around and going back to Kiara but Jason called him over to the couch next to him. “Where’s Tim?” He asked.

“I am Tim!” He screamed a little louder than he had expected. He took a breath then continued, “Jim’s with Kiara.” Tim didn’t feel right about being alone with Jason. He and his brother always had a bad vibe every time he was around. They could never think of why but they knew he was a bad guy. “I actually need to get back with them.” He tried to leave but Jason grabbed his arm.

“Kiara called me and told me to find you. She told me you should be in here.” Jason got up from his seat. Then he pushed Tim with his big hands and said, “Come with me.”

“Where are we going?” Tim asked in slight fear. He wanted to stop but Jason’s hands were too big and strong for him to escape.

“You’ll see when we get there. I already told Kiara we were going and she’s cool with it.” He snatched Tim’s book out of the little boy’s hands and put it back on the shelf. Tim still didn’t feel right about this. He was skeptical about going with him and Jason spotted his indecisiveness. He knelt down the ground in front of the small boy and said in a soft voice, “I can tell you guys don’t like me. I’m trying to prove to you that I’m not that bad of a guy. Trust me, ok?”

That little voice in Tim’s head was screaming at him, telling him not to go but he followed Jason anyway. He figured if Kiara could trust him, then there was no reason for him no to. They walked through the mall and outside. Once Tim saw the rays of sunlight, the voice in his head screamed at him again. Something wasn’t right. They walked all the way to the back of the mall and stopped.

“Why are we back here?” Tim started to get a little scared when he saw Jason looking around to make sure no one was around.

“Does it matter? You can’t get away anyway. Come here!” Jason’s voice thundered as he walked towards him.

Tim backed up and looked around for the easiest way out. Unfortunately, Jason was blocking the only exit. He was backed against the wall and no one was around to help him. “Do you think we can get Jim? I would feel better if he was here.” Tim wailed, trying to stall so he could think of plan. He didn’t like where this was going.

“Unlikely,” Jason pushed Tim against the wall and held him up against it. “You’re staying right here, you little maggot.” Jason punched him in his stomach sending him straight to the ground. He then grabbed Tim up by his neck and squeezed tight.

Tim struggled to get Jason off of him. It was quite difficult since his hands were almost three times bigger and stronger then his small, ten-year-old hands. He figured he would have to use brains rather then bronze if he was going to make it out alive. He tried everything in his might to calm down and think. He thought fast and tried to reach up his sleeve to get his knife as he battled for breath. He quickly got his knife in his hand and sliced Jason in his arm. Jason dropped him with a scream. He looked at his arm and found only a scratch. Tim didn’t want to wait around for Jason to realize there was no severity to his cut, so he ran past him and charged into the mall to the videogame store and realized that his siblings didn't yet notice his absence. He sat on the floor so he could regain his breath. Cleverly, he zipped up his turtle-necked fleece, so he could hide his battle scars for now.

"Let's go, Jim! You've been in here long enough. It's Tim's turn." Kiara said as she pulled Jim by the arm towards the door.

"Umm...actually...I think I don't need to go in the bookstore anymore." Tim stated, still gasping for breath as he blocked the exit trying everything he could to prevent his sister from going to Jason.

"Why?" She noticed his face, "What are you trying to hide, you little rat!"

"N-n-nothing. I just don't see a purpose in observing a book that I can't even purchase." Tim said, trying to sound as normal as possible.

"I think we should take him up on his offer." Jim suggested as he too saw his brother's face. He knew something was wrong with something. “Hey Tim, I want to show you something real quick.” Jim was hoping to get his brother alone but Kiara followed them, trying to figure out what was going on. Jim picked up a random game and showed it to Tim, so Kiara wouldn’t get suspicious.

This only raised Kiara’s suspicions higher since it was a game with Disney princesses. The twins looked at another game, then another, before Kiara just got tired of watching them stall for time.

“Let’s just go to the food court and meet up with Jasmine and the others." Kiara suggested as she walked out the store. The boys followed close behind but every time Tim tried to explain what had happened, Kiara would eavesdrop on their conversation. They were halfway to their destination when Jason crossed their path. Tim backed away, still frightened by what just happened. He ran over to sit on a bench that was close enough for Kiara not to make a fuss but far enough where she couldn’t hear.

Jim followed him and sat right next to him. "So, what's the deal?"

"Jason tried to kill me!” Tim screamed as he trembled a little but only loud enough for his brother to hear.

Jim put his arm around him and tried his best to comfort him but still confused, “What do you mean he tried to kill you? You were with us the whole time.”

“I snuck out when you were looking at the games. Jason came and took me out back. He tired to choke me so I stabbed him but I didn’t stab him well enough. I ran off after that."

"Well are you going to tell Kiara or what?"

"I can't tell her right now. Just look at her." They both glanced over at their sister who was flirting, like always, and having a great time, "Besides, she would never believe me. You've seen the movies about stuff like this. The girl believes a guy can do no wrong when they really like them."

"True, but dad always said that movies were nothing but lies.”

“I know but I’m still not telling her.”

“You can't just not tell her. Stop being such a wimp and get over there! We have to tell her so he can’t try this again. He almost killed you! This is a big deal, so go!" Jim urged as he pushed him out of the seat.

Tim got a sudden burst of bravery and marched over to Jason. Once he got over there his bravery turned to instant fear as he looked up at the six-foot guy. He was so frightened that he tripped over himself and fell backwards.

Jim realized what an i***t he must look like to his sister so he went over to help him. "Kiara, you're boyfriend's a murderer.”

Kiara's eyes got big as she heard the news. "Umm...what?"

“He tried to kill Tim!” He exclaimed as he helped his little brother off the ground.

Kiara looked are Jason, hoping for an explanation "Kiara, I don’t know what they are talking about.” Jason urged. “They have such a wild imagination. You know they don’t like me. They’ve been trying to break us up since we got together." Jason said with a big grin as he grabbed her hand, wrapped his arm around her waist, and pulled her close.

"Oh, brother!" Tim said as he snapped out of his trance, "Are you really going to fall for that? He tried to kill me. I cut him on his arm. Just look."

Kiara got herself loose from Jason's grasp and looked at his arm and saw the scratch that was applied just moments ago. Jason didn’t wait for her to make any assumptions so he sprung into action with his lie; “I got that scratch during football practice earlier day. I tripped on the field.”

“Awe.” Kiara said as he rubbed down his arm, “Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. It didn’t stop me.” He looked at Tim and made a cocky smile, making sure Kiara didn’t see, “It didn’t hurt me at all.”

Tim had the urge to attack him but then he realized it wouldn’t be a good idea, here in the mall. Jim made sure to give him an evil look, for his brother’s sake.

Kiara, on the other hand, didn’t give into their attempt. She turned to them and said, "You two are ridiculous! I know you hate him but that’s no reason to make up lies."

“We aren’t lying!” Jim tried.

“Shut up!” She screamed. Both of the boys got wide-eyed in shocked. They were debating whether to keep fighting, but Kiara’s glare made them rethink their thoughts. Kiara looked over to Jason, "Sorry about that, baby. Hey, you want to come over my house for a bit?"

"Sure." Jason said with a charming smile and an evil glance at the twins when Kiara wasn’t looking.

On the bus ride back home, Kiara texted Jasmine the situation and she didn’t seem so upset that she left her and Chris alone. The boys sat behind the couple, plotting how they were going to reveal Jason of his little secret.

Once they got home, the boys threw their coats on the floor, ran into their room and slammed the door shut.

When they were completely alone, Kiara walked up really close to Jason and whispered, "Let's go to the woods out back.”

“I was thinking we were going to give that bed scene another try.” He grabbed under her butt and sat on the couch nearby.

She kissed him, “I was going to try it somewhere else. The bed is getting boring, too predictable. I need something a little more… exotic and unusual.”

“Let’s do it here.” He nibbled on her neck.

"No, the boys might see. It's too risky.”

“You really need to stop worrying about your brothers seeing us.”

She got a little closer to him and rubbed down his chest, “I don’t want an audience, is all.”

“There’s nothing wrong with an audience.”

“Maybe so but I don’t want one.” He started making out with her and exploring all over her body. Kiara stopped him, “So about those woods.”

 Jason was still for a while as he thought about it, and reluctantly gave in, "Let's go."

They went out the back door and into the woods behind the house, holding hands. They went deep into them where they couldn't see anything but trees all around. They stopped and Kiara turned to Jason and put her arms around his neck and got really close, "I'm sorry about my brothers. They can be kind of stupid sometimes."

"Don't worry about it, baby. It’s cool as long as you don't believe them.”

Kiara leaned up against a nearby tree and pulled him close. "Let me show whether I believe them or not." He got the hint and started to kiss her. He rubbed her up and down her body to the point where she almost lost focus of why she was there. They kept going till Jason was completely hypnotized by what they were doing. Kiara rubbed her hands down his body. She took off his jacket and his shirt, revealing his chest then she rubbed him the same he did to her, up and down the ridges of his chest and his strong arms. He reached down to her pants and starting unbuttoning them but Kiara stopped him before he inched them down. He eased his hands up and unzipped her coat, went up her shirt and traced her bra before he unsnapped it. Kiara took off his belt and threw it to the ground and unbuckled his jeans.

“Kiara, I don’t have protection.” He stated, fearfully.

“You don’t need it.” She pulled him back into her lips. Once he was seduced once again, Kiara decided to make her move.

She reached into her coat and pulled out her knife and sliced through his stomach. Once he fell to the ground, Kiara sliced his throat.

Kiara got up off the tree and used a part of his shirt, to clean off the knife and put it back in her coat. She leaned over him and got really close, “I sure hope the boys were right. It would be shame if I killed you for no reason.” She got off him and got herself dressed again, “See, I told you, you didn’t need protection…” She laughed, “…that kind of protection anyway. It’s amazing how you managed to get my bra unsnapped, though. Shh! Don’t tell my parents, ok?” She laughed at herself at her clever humor, and then continued. “You are crazy if you actually thought we were going to do it out here. Who do you think I am, boy?” She walked away with a smile, leaving what used to be her boyfriend lying there in the dirt and grass. She went directly home, and knocked on her brothers' door hoping they would answer.

Jim opened the door with Tim right behind him, "Where's your precious boyfriend?"

"Wait a second, Jim," Tim stopped his brother when he noticed the knife and signaled him to look in Kiara's coat, "Kiara did you just..."

“Not again,” Jim said annoyed, “I’ve actually lost count of the number of boyfriends you’ve slaughtered.”

“So did I, and that’s saying something.” Tim added, shaking his head.

"This never leaves this house, understood?" Kiara asked with a fearsome look on her face. The boys nodded their heads. She looked at her youngest brother’s uncovered neck and realized the hardship he went through just moments ago. “Are you ok, Tim?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” He said quietly, now realizing that Jason’s death was his fault.

Kiara rubbed her hand on his hair and calmly stated, “It’s ok, Tim.” Then with that, she walked off towards her room.