Chapter 7.

After the morning at the dog pound, the months seemed to fly by. Randy found himself enjoying himself every night and sometimes during the day. The cops hadn't been able to find anything incriminating at the pound. When the skinny man arrived for work Monday morning, he was also attacked and killed by the dogs that were free of their cages.

Many of the animals escaped the pound to run around the town as strays, getting hit by cars or picked up by a family taking pity on the animal. Some of the others were picked up later by police and dog catchers.

The skinny man had tried to escape the pound when he was attacked, actually making it outside, but the animals now had a taste for human meat and he was quickly brought down at the front walk. A nearby car had seen the skinny man being attacked and called the police, who arrived at the scene less than ten minutes later.

By the time they arrived the man was dead. His throat had been ripped out by the escaping dogs. When the police walked inside the pound, they were forced to kill some of the other dogs that had tried to attack them.

They had to shoot about twelve dogs before the others took the hint and silently retreated back into their cages.

The police found pools of Nancy's blood in the hallway and backroom, as well as pieces of her clothes, keys and gla.s.ses. But that was it. Nothing else whatsoever. Over the weekend, the dogs had devoured the rest.

So there was nothing to go on. The cops eventually decided it was just a freak accident, the dogs somehow getting out of their cages to attack Nancy with some kind of pack mentality.

This information had come on the news that Monday night and since then the pound had been taken over and security cameras installed. Imagine that, no cameras were even installed at the time, Randy mused. He could have simply waltzed into the pound, killed her and left at anytime. He could have done it all stark naked and no one ever would have known! All because the original owner had been too d.a.m.n cheap to buy security cameras, believing that people would be too stupid and afraid to try anything because they automatically a.s.sumed there were cameras. After all, who the h.e.l.l doesn't have a security system installed in this day and age?

Well, obviously cheap p.r.i.c.ks like the dog pound's owner, Rick Ramesteiz.

Randy met Rick a few weeks later while boozing it up at the local bar. They had bulls.h.i.tted about nothing that mattered until Rick's date arrived an hour later. She was late. She wore a s.k.a.n.ky outfit and her makeup was running. Even Randy decided he wouldn't want to screw her with an elephant sized strap-on.

Rick left with the s.k.a.n.k and Randy stayed at the bar, finishing his beer before he left. As he walked along the sidewalk back towards his house, he pa.s.sed the local elementary school.

That was when he noticed the sign on the front of the building. The school itself looked more like a college, the architect trying to give it some cla.s.s, not letting it look like another ma.s.s-produced building for city education. It was a large, brown, brick building with rows of windows plastered along its facade. At the front of the school, was a small flight of stairs with two metal railings on each side that led up towards two gla.s.s entrance doors.

In front of the building was a park area with a yellow slide and a swing set. A sandbox was next to that along with a tire swing and an area for smaller children made up of different colored plastic parts that led to another, smaller bright orange slide.

The sign on the front of the school with the large black letters were crisp and new, as if it had just been made.

School Begins August Fourteenth.

An idea formed in Randy's mind as he stared at the sign, one where he would have lots of playthings for quite a while.

It was perfect. He could watch the children everyday to see what he liked and then pick out a new victim the next morning.

In the afternoon, he could grab himself one of them with promises of sweets and other surprises.

Kids are so easy to fool, after all.

The school opened on schedule on Monday, August 14th.

It was another dark and gloomy day.

A cold wind ran through the air as Randy stood at the fence, watching children being dropped off and walked along the sidewalk. He watched the children going up to the front of the building, the younger kids all being walked into the school by their parents. It wasn't too long before Randy picked off his first catch of the day.

A little girl no older than eight strolled along the sidewalk towards the school. She hadn't been dropped off like the others; she had been walking from an unknown nearby house.

The child had bright yellow hair and a purple backpack slung over her shoulders. She smiled joyfully as she skipped towards the school stairs. Randy watched her as if he was a hawk watching its prey.

She entered the school and Randy smiled.

He would have fun with her, he thought.

He went home to get ready for the afternoon, barely able to contain his excitement. He cleaned his house and carried the chains he'd recently purchased into the bas.e.m.e.nt.

When he was in the bas.e.m.e.nt, he fastened the chains to the far wall and put a large bright light up in front of it. His bas.e.m.e.nt had become a place for torture, a dungeon made specifically for s.e.xual torture and mutilation.

In the middle of the room was a metal table. On top of the table, neatly lined up, was a set of knives. On the other side of the bas.e.m.e.nt was his most prized possession, a huge furnace he had built just for burning body pieces. He figured if he was going to keep killing, he'd better make sure to get it right, and a big part of that was disposal of the corpses.

The smoke was filtered through a vent that led to the outside. For some reason that he didn't give much thought to, he still had no neighbors to worry about. So with the smoke filtering through the vent, it would go unnoticed as it rose into the air over his house.

He now had his own personal crematorium just for victims that were foolish enough to follow him home.

Or he forcefully brought home.

He spent the rest of the day at Caruthers until it was two in the afternoon, drinking coffee and watching the clock closely. When the hand hit two, it was time to go. He walked casually back towards the school, reaching it with time to spare.

The children were just beginning to leave, many of them getting into cars with their parents.

As he walked across the road towards the fence at the front of the school, he was almost hit by a brown car. He looked into the interior of the car and saw an aggravated man staring him down. A little brunette girl sat in the backseat, moving her lips quickly. She must have been singing something. The man yelled at the girl and she stopped moving her lips. Randy stepped onto the sidewalk and out of the car's way, the car tires screeching as it spun away from the school. Obviously the man wasn't worried about speeding in a school zone, Randy figured.

Many of the children were gone now, the schoolyard clearing out fast, and he started to get worried that he would be unable to find the girl he'd seen that morning. Until he saw her running away from the school, headed towards the main sidewalk. He walked quickly towards her, then turned and followed her down the road, having to almost jog to keep pace with her.

She was now running, or jogging rather, so he had to pick up his pace even more. He could only hope that no one else noticed him following the girl.

He began to reconsider, thinking this was a stupid plan of action. His heart was racing in his chest and he began to sweat. If anybody noticed him then it would be all over. He started to turn back when she turned and ran into a driveway. He realized quickly that n.o.body was home; no cars were in the driveway, and she had her own key.

He quietly watched her as she opened the front door and walked inside. He looked around the street to make sure no one was around. No one was on their front steps, no cars with people in them, and no one peering out of windows of neighboring homes.

When he was satisfied it was safe, he rushed the front door before she could close it completely, his left foot jamming the door open like a vacuum salesman of old. She wasn't even away from the door. He placed a hand over her mouth and slammed the door behind him.

She was trying to scream, so he kneeled down and said quickly, "I'm not trying to scare you, honest. I just wanted to tell you a secret. Can I take my hand off your mouth without you screaming?" She nodded her head yes so he took his hand away.

"What secret?" she asked with fear still gripped in her voice "Oh, it's a good secret. Your parents don't want you to know it. Do you?"

The fear was fading gradually as she said, "Yes, Yes. What is it?"

"Well, do you like school?"

"School? Yes, I love school!"

"Really, that's good. How would you like to be placed in a special school that's all about fun?"

She started laughing and replied, "Yes, but there's nothing like that, silly."

"Oh, yes, there is. But only for those who really want to go."

She started to say something but Randy heard a car pulling into the driveway outside. Out of time to play anymore games with the girl, he replaced his hand over her mouth, and with a clenched fist, he punched the top of her head. Her body slumped and was falling but he grabbed her up and headed towards the back door.

In the back of this bland white house was an even more boring white kitchen. Here, there was a gla.s.s door that led out into the backyard. He left the house quickly and quietly, closing the door behind him. He was standing on a wooden patio with a silver grill; the girl slumped over his shoulder, blood trickling out of her nose and down his back. He jumped over the patio railing, holding tightly onto the girl as he fell to the gra.s.s below. He ran around the house and peered around the corner. Whoever had been driving the car was gone now, having entered the house. He snuck around the house and glanced around the street once again. No one else was around so he quickly ran across the road and into another backyard. He took another glance around but the area around him was empty of life.

By coincidence or design, he wasn't sure; he could actually see his house clearly through the trees from this spot. So quickly and carefully, he made his way towards his house. He finally reached the safety of his home, made his way to the front door, and then inside the house.

She was starting to wake up and she was trying to say something as she squirmed about. He shook her and hissed, "Quiet, you little b.i.t.c.h. I'm about to show you a secret. Don't worry, you're gonna love it."

He started laughing chaotically, as though he'd just told a funny joke. She was still squirming and started to scream and cry. He opened the bas.e.m.e.nt door and smiled at her. Seeing his face, she stopped crying as he held her in front of him.

"Are you ready for the secret?"

She shook her head yes and he smiled and gave her the secret. Without batting an eyelash, he leaned back and tossed her down the stairs like he was tossing a bag of trash. He watched as she bounced down the steps and slammed onto the concrete floor below, her body going limp immediately. She lay there, immobile, not so much as flinching an inch.

Casually, he began to climb down the bas.e.m.e.nt steps, pausing only to close the door behind him. Darkness enveloped him but Randy just smiled as he made his way down towards the still girl. He found her ankle with his hand and dragged her over to the chains. He dropped her roughly and checked her pulse.

But he had miscalculated the fall to the bas.e.m.e.nt floor and found she was no longer breathing. He sighed to himself, disappointed and stood back up. He kicked the girl's lifeless body in anger. He flicked the light back on and glared at her small body.

He got back down on his knees and tried CPR. He breathed air into her lungs and beat upon her chest. No response. The girl was dead. The fall had broken her neck.

Frustrated, he stood back up and kicked her again.

With nothing left to do, he carried her body to the new furnace and shoved her inside it. Then he started the fire. It grew quickly, the flames licking over the girl's pet.i.te frame, and then something happened that Randy would never have expected.

She started to move again.

She was alive!

He turned off the furnace and reached in to her but the metal burned his hands and he flew backwards, cursing a blue streak. He fell to the floor, landing hard. He laid there for a minute, dealing with his burned hands, until he heard her crying inside the furnace. Then he heard her moving around and whimpering, as if a scream wasn't possible, like an animal run over on the road which now had half its body flattened.

And she was trying to come out, to come to him.

He stood up and saw her at the edge of the furnace's door. The fire had only been on for a few seconds but it had still left its mark on her fragile flesh. Half of her face was now burnt and bleeding. The hair on her head had turned to ash as did the first few layers of her skin.

Seeping blood covered her skin, across her body, and her clothes were gone, one shoe still clinging to her tiny foot but only halfway on.

So she was halfway burnt, half naked and bleeding all over her body with third degree burns on the right side of her head and body. She reached out towards him and silently, between tears pleaded, "Help...please...help me."

He reached out to her and nodded his head. He took her hand and pulled her out, never realizing that the sharp metal of the furnace had caught her by her skin at the bottom of her neck. As he pulled her, the metal dug into her flesh and tore her skin as if she was being filleted like a fish. The pain was too intense for her to comprehend and she began to pa.s.s out. When he laid her out on the bas.e.m.e.nt floor, she slumped to the cement floor in a heap, unconscious again. He realized what had happened and stepped back. The skin that had been pulled off of her now flapped like a sheet against the side of the furnace.

She was lying face down against the floor, just barely breathing. Blood pooled around her body as the stench of burnt flesh invaded his nose and he flipped her over and threw up. The skin had been ripped off her, leaving behind nothing but muscle and blood in its trail. A large piece of flesh, almost like a triangle of skin, was now missing.

He decided to finish her off quickly, to show her mercy. He walked over to the closet in the corner of the bas.e.m.e.nt and opened the door.

Reaching in, he retrieved a large sledgehammer and dragged it over to the girl. She was awake again but could barely hold her eyes open. He brought the sledge above his head and brought it down with all his strength onto her head. Resembling a circus goer trying to ring the bell.

As soon as the hammer connected with her small skull, the weight of it crushed her head and went straight into the cement floor. Her body started to shake wildly all over as blood shot out of her throat in a steady stream like a cracked water hose.

Her body was still shaking as he brought the sledge up again and brought it down again and then a third time, and then a fourth. He dropped the sledge to the ground, picked up the headless body, and threw it into the furnace.

He peeled the skin which was now sticking to the side of the furnace off and tossed it into the furnace. It fell across her body and began to curl as it succ.u.mbed to the growing heat.

He then slammed the metal door closed and flipped the switch back on again so the fire would rise in earnest. The flames flared up immediately.

He didn't stay to watch her body burn. He was angry at himself as he went upstairs to get cleaned up with a nice hot shower.

Now he would have to figure out how to find another one to play with.

Chapter 8.

Although he hated to admit it, he knew he'd screwed up really bad with the child. He promised himself right then and there not to ever f.u.c.k up so bad again; not to lose his temper and especially not to chase the girl along the side of the school.

The cops hadn't come to see him, so no one had seen him with the child, and he was lucky for that. He knew he wouldn't get away so easily next time.

The public, demanding justice for the disappearance of the child had put pressure on the police, who arrested a teacher for kidnapping the girl. The police said that her blood was found in his house, but not her body. The teacher was accused of other things as well. It had come out that he was molesting several students and one of the students was her, whose name he now knew was Toni Scarlett.

For the next few nights she was talked about on the news. The school held a memorial service the following Friday. The teacher was sent to prison; her death being the only thing he didn't confess to. It didn't matter if there was enough proof. He'd done enough things to take the blame and that was fine with Randy.

Randy laughed at that. If only the authorities knew all the things he had done, his prison time would have been terrible, that is if they didn't go right for the death penalty.

It would probably be that he would receive the death penalty, though, his crimes more heinous than the average killer, more brutal.

Before he went to try his luck again he decided to come up with an actual plan instead of just winging it. Doing what he did with the girl had been stupid and a good way to get busted, which was something he didn't want to happen.

He'd gotten away too many times to get caught now.

He laid low for the next few weeks, the town still abuzz with watchful eyes as parents kept their children in sight. But as always, people had short memories and three weeks later the city was back to normal.

Randy didn't rush his next one, wanting to find something perfect.

And then his time came, the perfect time to strike. The local newspaper had written in the events section about how next month the school was going to hold a talent show on the last Friday night of the month.

It was perfect. A night time kidnapping. He started watching the school again, this time watching kids practicing their skits in the schoolyard. Within the first day that he started watching he noticed two girls practicing their skit together. One girl he recognized from a few weeks earlier. She had been the brunette, singing girl in the back of the car that had almost struck him down. The other girl he didn't know. This girl was taller and thinner. She looked at least thirteen with curly blonde hair that fell down to her back. The skit they were performing together was a rendition of some teeny bop song he'd never heard of. It sounded like something even a deaf girl couldn't stand. These two seemed to love it, though. Their dance wasn't that bad really. It was composed of tap-dancing for the first half then it became a type of odd ballet. The two twirled around each other like ice skaters. Then they started tap-dancing again. It was obvious they would never win the compet.i.tion.

He watched silently from his car every afternoon as the pair practiced. He wasn't the only one. The man who had nearly killed him was there, too, but only sometimes.

Randy was starting to worry about this guy. He seemed to look at Randy more than he did his daughter, as if he knew something about Randy he shouldn't.

There was something very off about the guy.

The last day of them practicing was the day before the talent show. That afternoon, the pair messed up their act bad. Neither of them seemed to be in the mood to dance anymore. While they were twirling, the brunette fell down, which then tripped the blonde girl. The teacher who had been watching from nearby, walked over to help them up.