4 Chapter Four: A Walk In The Park
GHOST'S P.O.V.
Feels like I’ve been sleeping for years when I finally woke up to the buzzing sound of the alarm coming from my alarm clock on top of the brown wooden nightstand on the right side of my king size bed. After tossing and turning, I opened my eyes and checked the time on the clock. It was a few minutes past midnight. I sat up on my bed and took in a deep breath. Breathing in oxygen and breathing out the tired from inside of me. I was finally up and ready to begin my hunt and probably capture my next victim (that is if I was lucky).
Hopped into the bathroom to wash my face and rinse my mouth with my minty flavored mouthwash. I got out and threw on some dark clothes to easily blend into the night. Grabbed my black face mask and a black baseball cap, slipped it on my face and I was ready. Escaping through the back door to avoid been seen by anyone that might recognize me.
I walked around the neighborhood for about thirty minutes but I couldn't seem to find anyone who seemed like the perfect fit for me to take. Seems everyone was indoors or asleep (Bunch of weirdos).
Walking towards the park hoping to find someone else there because well I was lucky the first time to capture my first victim there even though I followed her to the park, maybe I might be lucky again.
For the first thirty minutes of walking around the park I found nothing and no one. Not even a stray dog sniffing dirt on the ground but then I struck gold. I saw a girl sitting on one of the wooden benches just on the other end of the huge fountain that never seemed to lack water. She sat down with her head bent down as her hands covered her face. Her silver hair glistened under the moonlight as it fell on her shoulders. She seemed to either be lost or she was drunk but either way I just stood there watching from afar hoping to see some sort of reaction from her.
She finally raised her head and tucked the stray strands of hair behind her ear and wiped away what seemed to be tears from her eyes, but then again I can't really tell what was happening from where I am standing. Following the little trail through the trees that surrounded the fountain I walked round to get a closer look at the girl in the park. The closer I got I realized that she was actually really beautiful. Asides from her silver hair, she had perfect milky skin and blue eyes that seemed to shine brighter with the tears in them. She had on a black gown and white leggings with sandals to match.
The longer I stood there watching her and taking account of her features the more I wondered what would have happened to her to make her cry in the park in the middle of the night. Who would hurt such a perfect being I wondered. My presence became noticed when I accidentally stepped on a twig that was on the ground
"Is anyone there?" she called out as she wiped the tears from her eyes "You better come out" She added
There was no way I could hide anymore since my cover was already blown. I stepped out of the dark and into the light where she could see me clearly
"Sorry I didn't mean to stare" I said as I walked towards her
"Who are you and what do you want?" She asked as she stood up from the bench and took a few steps back
"I was just passing by and I saw you sitting there. I mean no harm" I said raising my hands
"Walking around at night with a face mask and gloves seems really suspicious" She said
"Oh this. Its an habit of mine I've always had" I said as I took off my gloves and face mask revealing my face to her "See I mean no harm" I added
"What do you want?" She asked again
"I just thought you needed help. I heard you crying" I said trying to walk closer to her
"Stay where you are" She commanded "I don’t need any help" She added
"I’m sorry but my instincts wouldn’t let me walk away knowing that you might be hurt or in some form of pain" I said flashing an honest smile
"And what if I turned out to be a thief or worse a serial killer?" She asked
[That's my line]
"Well then I probably died or got robbed doing what I felt was right" I said to her. The response seemed to have made a difference because I could tell that she dropped her guard a bit and became less tense.
"I'll sit on that bench over there" I said pointing to the bench behind me "So you don't feel threatened by my presence" I added
"Do whatever you want" She said as she took her seat back on the bench she was sitting on earlier. I walked towards the bench on the other side and sat down. It was far enough that I couldn't hold her but close enough that I could watch her and that was okay for me.
We sat in silence for what felt like thirty minutes and for the most of the time she had her face buried in her hands. She finally lifted her face up and she turned to look at me. She caught me staring at her
"Why are you staring at me?" she asked as our eyes met
"Just trying to figure out why you're crying out here alone in the dark" I said to her "Do you mind if I put my gloves back on? Its freezing out here" I added
"Feel free to" She said as she turned away
I grabbed my gloves out from my pocket and slipped them back on. I don't plan on leaving any kind of fingerprints here and also it was really cold out tonight.
"Who's the angel up in heaven playing with the earth's thermostat? Dial it down a little" I said.
I heard her chuckle a bit that's when I realized I said it out loud.
And then the silence between us resumed as she folded her hands and threw her back, now she was looking at the moon that stood right above our heads
"The moon looks beautiful tonight. I wish I could catch it and keep it locked up in my basement" She said breaking the silence
"Why catch something that isn't as beautiful as you are" I said
"So cheesy" I thought
She turned to look at me and then she smiled "So cheesy"
"If only the world was as beautiful as the moon we wouldn't have any problems" She added
"Then we'd be living in a very boring world" I said lifting my head to look at the moon and back at her
"I'd rather be bored than unhappy" She said as she wiped at a tear that dropped from her left eye
For someone who actually enjoys the thrill of watching people suffer I couldn't bear to see her in pain. I wanted to take all of her pain away.
"Why are you so unhappy?" I asked
"I don't have a reason to be happy" She said as she flashed a smile that completely destroyed me
"Who hurt you? Tell me and I would make them suffer" I said as I got up and walked towards her
She laughed a little as I made the comment and I honestly don't know how to react. I got close to her and made the notion to sit besides her and she agreed with a slight nod. I sat down next to her and turned to look at her as she sat in silence. The thoughts in my head were more about who hurt her and why.
"I was sixteen living with my mom at the time but things weren't so rosy. Half way through into the year my mom got arrested for possession of contraband and assault on a police officer and then she was sentenced to twenty years" She said breaking the silence "After the incident I was thrown into the system and I stayed there for a few months because no one really wanted to adopt a teenager" She added as she tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her ear
I want to ask a lot of questions but I’d rather let her continue talking.
"A few months into the year I think around October, a man and his wife came in, Mr and Mrs Peterson and I guess we hit it off because a few weeks later I moved in with them as their new daughter. They never had kids and they said I was a perfect fit for them, so I lived with them until two years ago. His wife got diagnosed with brain cancer and died a few months after so it was just me and him" She said
[The name Mr Peterson sounds so familiar, I’ve heard it before but where]
"After the death of his wife he changed completely, ended up blaming me for the death of his wife saying if I didn't come into their family she probably would still be alive" She said as she wiped the tears that was gathering at the side of her eyes "That he was okay with not wanting to have kids but his wife made him and now look at her" She added
[Mr Damien Peterson, I remember now. A man in his mid fifties, tall probably around 5'11 to 6'0 feet tall. Blonde, grey eyes and fair skin. A Lawyer and the founder of Peterson and Co associate law firm]
"I basically ran the house after wards because he stopped coming home and stopped treating me like a daughter. How was it my fault that his wife died? How am I to be blamed for any of this?" She said in-between screams and tears "After that he started to beat me up for little things, leaving scars and bruises all over my body. I ran away from home so many times but he would always find me eventually and drag me back there" She added
"Did you ever report him to the police?" I asked finally forcing words come out of my mouth
"I did once but it was never proven and he threatened to kill me if I did it again and then he beat me up afterwards" She said as she turned to look at me with teary eyes and my heart broke almost instantly.
"On my 20th birthday I just came back in after having fun and celebrating with my friends I went up to my bedroom to sleep because I was pretty much exhausted. At about a few minutes before midnight I felt someone’s hands touching my legs when I woke up I saw him there in my room naked and looking at me, his eyes red and full of rage and he reeked of alcohol. He said since his wife wasn't there to please him I’m going to fill in. I begged him not to but the more I resisted the angrier he got and the more aggressive he became, hitting me when I tried to push him off." She said as she pulled her hair. "He raped me." She added as she burst into tears
"He's being doing it to me for a year now and I no longer have the strength to carry on, he tried to again today but I but my body moved on it's own and I managed to kick him in the groin, escaping from under him and then I ran here" She said as she buried her head into her arms and cried
I sat down in silence as I watched her cry her eyes out and scream at the top of her voice. I put my hand around her shoulder and pulled her into my chest. She grabbed my shirt tight as she cried into it. Stroking her hair with my right hand trying to calm her down without saying anything. Its better to let her stop when she's done than to stop her halfway through.
After a few minutes she let go off my shirt as she pulled away from me and wiped her eyes.
I'm tired" She said as she turned to look at me
"There's a motel down the road, you can stay there for the night so you don't have to go back home" I said to her
"Okay" She said as she stood up and brushed off some dirt from her butt
We walked towards the entrance of the motel and I handed her some money to pay for a room while I walked to a vending machine to get snacks. We both walked to the room and she stepped inside
"I never got to know your name" I said as the door was about to shut
"Its Anna" She said before she closed the door behind her.
I slipped my mask back on and walked out of the vicinity of the motel. When I got out I stood outside and took a last look at the room she was sleeping in as the light in the room went out.
I turned around and started walking. I walked and walked and walked until I finally arrived at my destination, a huge house at the east end of the county not too far from the park where I found Anna. Standing in front of the door, I rang the door bell and banged on the door. A voice from the inside yelled as the footsteps approached the door.
The door swung open and a man wearing a sky blue pajama pants and robe stood at the entrance as he looked at me furiously
"Hello Mr Peterson" I said to him before stabbing him in the stomach with a knife I held in my hand
He grunted as he fell downwards, clutching his injured abdomen before he got up and ran inside the house as he continued to stumble and fall. I walked into the house and locked the door behind me. Following the trail of blood to the bedroom upstairs, I walked in to find him on the ground at the edge of the bed with his phone in his hand probably trying to call for help but struggling considering his hands were bloody. I kicked the phone out of his hand and then knocked him out with a fist to the side of his face.
With some rope I found in his basement I tied his legs together and then his hands to the bed frame. After a while he was finally awake and conscious of his environment and I was ready to exact my own personal judgement and revenge.
