As a teenager, nestled within a suburban white-picket fence town, I grew living in a standard neighborhood home. We were just people; a standard middle class family, trying to get by.
The town had never had too much crime, a few car break-ins here and there, maybe a porch pirate or four every other month.
Of course, it didn’t stay that way for long.
The first victim was a young woman named Emilia. She vanished without a trace, leaving her friends and family desperate for answers. The police launched an investigation, but their efforts were in vain. Days turned into weeks, and Emilia was nowhere to be found. I remember the day the news broke about Emilia’s disappearance. The entire town was shaken to its core. We held vigils, hoping against hope that she would be found safe and sound. But as the weeks turned into months, the realization sank in that she might never return.
Then, another young woman, Melissa, vanished. The pattern was chillingly similar, a loyal and loving young woman. The police were baffled, unable to find any leads. The town became a fortress of fear, with parents locking their doors and children walking in pairs. The streets that were once filled with laughter and chatter turned desolate and haunted.
Whispers circulated, painting a grim picture of a predator lurking in the shadows. Some said it was a ghost seeking revenge, while others believed it was a demented serial killer. The town became plagued with anxiety, the once-close-knit community now divided by suspicion and paranoia.
Disappearances followed one another with horrifying regularity. Each victim, all young women, vanished without a trace, leaving behind only the haunting echoes of their absence. The town lived in perpetual fear, with its residents constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering who would be next.
The police were desperate for leads, but the case seemed unsolvable. They combed through evidence, interviewed witnesses, and pursued every possible lead, but the cruel truth remained elusive.
Until the day they found Emilia.
Her body was facing a brick wall, tossed like garbage. Blood trailed from the wall above down to her head, dried blood stained the concrete beneath her. The discovery of Emilia’s lifeless body sent shockwaves through the town, further intensifying the atmosphere of terror. The brutality of her murder was chilling—her eyes had been gruesomely removed, leaving empty sockets that stared into the abyss.
As the weeks went by, the grisly pattern continued. Melissa’s body was discovered, discarded like trash in a dumpster, her eyes missing, mirroring Emilia’s fate. The town plunged deeper into darkness, its residents paralyzed by fear.
Then, the third victim, Jess, was found hanging from a tree, a haunting sight that sent chills down the spines of all who saw it. Her lifeless body swayed gently in the breeze, her eyes hollow and vacant. The presence of a single missing shoe hinted at a sinister and calculated cruelty.
And finally, the fourth victim, Sarah, met a fate as gruesome as the others. Her lifeless body was discovered in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. The eerie silence of the place was shattered by the horrific scene that unfolded before the investigators’ eyes.
Sarah’s eyes were not only missing but replaced with a pair of mismatched eyes, sewn crudely into the empty sockets. One eye was hazel, the other a piercing blue, creating a grotesque and unsettling sight.
As the investigation reached its peak, suspicion fell upon a seemingly unassuming woman named Angelina. Her calm demeanor and unremarkable appearance masked a darkness that few could comprehend. When confronted by the evidence, Angelina confessed without a trace of remorse.
“Why, you ask?”
In a chilling twist, the authorities discovered Angelina’s apartment transformed into a gruesome shrine dedicated to her obsession. The walls were adorned with photographs of her beloved ex-boyfriend. The dismembered eyes were scattered throughout the apartment, tossed like unneeded litter.
“Because his eyes were tainted, you see.”
But the most horrifying discovery awaited them in a locked room. Behind the door lay the lifeless body of Angelina’s boyfriend, his vacant gaze staring a hundred yards. Sarah’s eyes were still sewn into his eye sockets, a testament to Angelina’s twisted attempt to make him see her differently, to love her once more.
“I needed him to see that I was still beautiful.”
As the town grappled with the shocking revelations, Angelina showed no remorse for her crimes. Her motives remained a sadistic poem of love and beauty, leaving a scar on the once so loving community.
“I needed him to see me… through a different lens, of course…”