I work retail in a pretty busy part of town. I’m scheduled almost everyday and often end up working late into the night. I live pretty close to the store; so I’ve always walked to and from. On this particular night, it was already in the am. The usually crowded sidewalks were now barren. I was alone out here and honestly…it felt pretty creepy. As I continued to walk, I noticed a guy standing to himself. He seemed kinda strange, all fidgety and staring at the ground. He was dressed in all black and had a hood on, so I couldn’t see his face. He made me feel uncomfortable, like I should’ve taken a different path.
Then again, I had been working all day. I wanted to go home and I wasn’t gonna let some weirdo worry me. So I switched my attention to my phone and walked right past him. I wished that was the end of our meeting; but it was just beginning. “Hey man, got a smoke”, he asked. I didn’t smoke, so I shook my head and kept walking. What happened next though, was downright terrifying. As the guy casually started to follow me. Whats worse, was that I finally got a glimpse at his face…or lack thereof. This freak was wearing a Halloween mask in April. It was one of those scary orange pumpkin mask with bloody teeth. In fact, I think our store sold them.
Knowing his intentions weren’t good, I started to walk faster. And of course, he did the same. I considered myself to be a brave guy, and I was getting sick of his game. So I turned around and gave this loser a piece of my mind. “Get out of here before I hurt you…freak!!”. Instead of scaring him like I’d hoped; my words seemed to excite the man. “Oooh tough guy, this is gonna be fun”, he chuckled. He then pulled an extremely long kitchen knife from his jacket and held it in the air.
My first and only instinct was to run and not stop. He seemed to enjoy this; as he pursued me while giggling like an excited child. I ran from this freak at full speed, but he didn’t have any issues keeping up with me. I had never been in the best of shape; and maybe tonight I was paying for it. Thankfully, I saw an alleyway as I was fleeing. I quickly took a turn and sprinted into the darkness. Figuring he wasn’t far behind; I dived behind a dumpster for cover. By this point I was out of breath; but I had to stay quiet. I covered my mouth and prayed for this psycho to go away. Unfortunately for me, I heard footsteps coming in my direction. I poked my head out and saw him dragging his knife down a brick wall. He then let out another twisted giggle before speaking again.
“A game of hide and seek? Sounds like a blast my little piggie”. He then started to playfully prance around like a ballerina. Humming an upbeat tune while searching for me. There was no other word to describe his behavior except for absolute madness. This masked psychopath was having the time of his life chasing after me. Pretty soon he’d approach my hiding spot, it was safe to say that I was terrified. What happened next however, was something neither of us expected. As a seemingly drunk homeless man stumbled onto the scene. He held a bottle of liquor and gave the psycho a ticked off look. “Hey man, this is my territory here! You need to roll on before you get hurt”.
Clearly the old man didn’t know what kind of person he was dealing with. Seeing the creepy jack-o-lantern mask made him take a step back. “Hey man, are you on something?”, the guy asked. Saying nothing, my stalker approached the man with his knife drawn. I then watched in horror as he plunged his blade into the man’s stomach. I watched helplessly as he stabbed this innocent old guy over and over. The blood gushed out like a fountain; his groans of pain were something I’d never forget. I should’ve tried to help the guy; but I was in utter shock. Watching the life slowly leave this person’s body was something I didn’t want to see.
Proud of his work; the killer began smearing the fresh crimson onto his mask. Afterwards he let out this creepy moan; feeling utter bliss from killing someone. I couldn’t watch anymore; I had to get out of here now! I darted from behind the dumpster in an attempt to escape. Unfortunately though, the killer was closer to me than I thought. As he reached out and slashed my back with his already blood soaked knife. I yelled out in pain, but I did not stop moving. One could only imagine what he’d do if I did. On top of my current circumstances; I had already worked an eight hour shift. I was utterly exhausted and didn’t know how much longer I could run. Meanwhile my stalker kept pursuing me; like his stamina was infinite.
It was only a matter of time before I ended up his second victim. Thankfully, as if fate wanted me to survive this night. I came upon a police station, the relief I felt was unreal. Naturally I dashed up the steps and entered into this safe haven. Inside officers sat around talking and sipping late night cups of coffee. I looked back with a smile; thinking my worries were over. However, this nightmare wouldn’t end just yet. As the killer ran into the station after me; knife drawn and everything. He had to be out of his mind; it’s as if the only thing that mattered to him was taking my life. “Hey, that freak’s trying to kill me!!”, I yelled out. The officers were quick to react and sprung into action. Within seconds tasers were drawn and the pumpkin masked killer was brought to his knees.
I swear he’d been hit about six times; regardless of this…he kept coming. Now on the ground, he gripped his knife and began crawling towards me. The officers were in shock; meanwhile I was freaking petrified. He crawled and crawled, wanting so desperately to reach me. Thankfully, his body would succumb to all of the electricity flowing through his veins. As he passed out right in front of me; it was finally over. The cops cuffed him up and pulled his mask off. His face was covered in deep scratches and sores. His curly red hair was matted and covered in grease. Everyone could tell this guy was sick; maybe he was on something.
I’d soon be brought to the hospital where I received eight stitches in my back. In the following weeks a lot happened. I was questioned by police, got to pay my respects at the old man’s funeral. But things culminated when the trial started. I testified and recounted the entire bloody story. Meanwhile the killer sat with a huge smile as I took the stand. It turned out that he was a nutcase who was extremely obsessed with serial killers. He idolized people that brutally murdered others and wanted to start his own legacy.
Thankfully his bloody dream would never be realized. As he was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in an asylum. I’ll never forget his final words to me before being taken away in shackles. “Goodbye my little piggie, I’m gonna miss you!!!”. I’d never see him again after that. While I was relieved, my life quickly changed. I joined a gym and got into shape; I also started taking self defense classes. I even carried a concealed weapon in case all else failed. I refused to become another statistic. The terror that I felt that night would not define who I am. Next time I was going to be ready, I was going to survive…no matter what.