Breaks And Bodies

An unknown period of time passes before Gray concludes that they need to move. He hasn’t the foggiest as to where or what it will achieve, yet that is the decision he’s reached. It’s taken minutes to reach such a decision.

“Brie, we have to move. We can’t stay here.”

Briana misinterprets what Gray means and exclaims, “What else are we supposed to be Gray? You heard that guy; he’s coming to get us. We can’t get out of here. We’re dead, just like Cody.” Tears resume their trickle down her face.

Gray sees little option but to grab hold of Briana’s arms and shake her out of the state she is in. It appears to work as she switches to sniffing but otherwise stops her crying. It might not last long so Gray better make the most of it while he can. Not that he feels much better, he doesn’t.

“We don’t have to go anywhere. We can hole up here. If we barricade all the…” Just as he’s about to say it he is reminded how vulnerable they are. His back goes rigid and he becomes paralysed. His face turns white like he’s seen the dead rise from their graves.

Sniffing, Briana asks, “What’s wrong Gray? Come on, this isn’t funny. Talk to me, will you. What’s wrong?”

“We need to get upstairs right now.” Is the response that finally comes from him while he stares into Briana’s eyes unintentionally.

Briana doesn’t like this look on Gray’s face and though he’s given a demand she feels it important to know why they need to… It dawns on her then what has paralysed Gray and now she is aware her eyes go wide.

The tank top wearing adolescent manages to shake himself free of his paralysis at which point he grabs a hold of Briana’s one hand and urges, “Come on, we’ve got no time to waste.”

He pulls her forward. The sudden wrenching does the trick and tears her from her own immobility and into motion.

They blitz across the open living space together and then begin to scale the dog leg staircase. They get as far as the turn in the stairs when something grabs Gray and hauls him upward. He screams. Briana shrieks at the top of her lungs. Preston, having gained access, hurls the bolt cutters in the girls’ direction. They collide with her forehead and she is knocked backwards. Two stumbled steps in reverse are followed by a tumble back down the steps she’s just scaled.

Gray explodes exclaiming fearfully, “Brie!” He’s terrified she might be dead, or at the very least badly injured. Preston couldn’t care less. If the fall has broken her neck and ended her life it’ll be disappointing, to a point, but he’ll still have secured a kill. It’s all he truly cares about. Plus, he still has Gray and he slams the seventeen year old boy against the nearest wall. The adolescent struggles and thrashes, even tries kicking Preston but it doesn’t work. The hand around his throat is too tight and is squeezing the life from him.

“Shush shush shush. It’s going to be alright, Gray.” Preston says with an insane look in his eyes. “Well, actually, for you it’s not.” The killer erupts into jaw chattering laughter. Gray can’t breathe at all anymore. To make matters worse his body is weak and his sight is little more than pinpricks. Yet, Preston continues to tighten his grip on the cusp of being an adults’ throat.

The adolescent with so few options but unwilling to accept defeat has settled on attempting a last ditch effort. His hope is to break free and so swings his arm. Preston, as if clairvoyant, catches the balled fist mid swing only to wrench the arm against the bend of the joint.

Gray screams, or at least he attempts to scream. In truth all that comes out of his gasping mouth is a choked rough gurgling air sound followed by a crack. Gray’s eyes go blank, his windpipe and vertebrae crushed.

Preston smiles pleased with his kill. His pleasure is cut short when he is hit in the back by the bolt cutters a couple seconds after. The serial killer releases his hold on the now dead Gray. The lifeless body crumples to the floor which permits Preston the ability to spin around and get a full view of the injured Briana preparing for another attempt.

He hadn’t heard her bound up the stairs, he should have. In fact, he was convinced she’d still be out cold at the very least. His mistake, he knows. Still, he smiles nonetheless but waits for her swing. He could stop her sooner but isn’t inclined too.

Briana makes the mistake of taking her eyes off Preston for a moment. What she glimpses is the staring heap of a body that had once been Gray. She gasps shocked and heartbroken. Quickly her fear is replaced by anger. She turns her focus back toward the killer to unleash her swing. Half way through Preston does a side step. Right after that the killer grabs the hand holding the bolt cutters, crushes it painfully resulting in a yelp of pain from the blonde and then spins her about only to yank her arm violently up her back. Her shoulder pops. She screams in agony. Preston adores the sound, which is why once he has secured a firm grip around her neck he whispers in her ear, “Bet you never thought you’d be the last to die.” A trio of chuckles follows and fills her ears. She tries to thrash but finds she is entirely immobilised by the serial killer. “Rarely have I had the pleasure of killing one as pretty as you. I would call it wasteful, if I didn’t enjoy killing so much.”

Briana goes to speak only to find that she cannot. The blonde was not aware how tight the crushing grip on her throat was so can do little more than gasp. Out of nowhere, and much to her surprise, the grip holding her arm in place releases. She sees that error as her chance and goes to thrash with all her remaining might. Unfortunately, she’s been lured into a trap that she isn’t quick enough to execute on and that is why Preston a second after snaps her neck, ending her life.

“Dad, come on they’re going to have nightmares for a week after that.” Melissa exclaims in frustration at the ending to her father’s story. She arrived back from her cancelled meeting some five minutes ago and since has listened in relative silence to the tale that he has spun.

“Of course they won’t.” Don protests in the short period prior to him turning to his grandchildren, who have remained tightly pressed against him, to add, “And that is because…”

“…It’s a story!” Vanessa and Charlie cry in tandem at the top of their lungs. To complete the setup their grandfather had prepared for them. He knew full well they would finish his statement. It’s why he did it.

The three of them explode into uncontrollable laughter. Melissa shakes her head from side to side. This is exactly what it was like for her as a young girl and she’s missed seeing her dad like this, happy. He’s been so sombre as of late. Today has clearly been a big help. It cements in her mind the idea that they’ll have to do it more often.

It is then that there is a slow trio of knocks upon the front door of the isolated house. There is a couple seconds between each of the heavy pounding slams.