The white bar scrolled across the bottom of my television, interrupting my re-run of the (poorly written) series finale of Game of Thrones.
“Again?” I whispered to myself as I watched the Breaking News bulletin scroll across the bottom of my television.
I grunted as I sat up from my slouched position on the couch, squinting my eyes as I attempted to read the script.
‘BREAKING NEWS: Body of missing 16 year-old Brenda Baker found near Penny Creek bordering the town of Elms. Visit the local news channel for more info.’
I sighed, as I grabbed my phone and pressed the unlock button, the screen light momentarily blinding me.
I blinked repeatedly as my eyes adjusted to the light, opening up to the local news channel’s Top Stories page.
‘16 year-Old Brenda Baker found by a local hunter after being missing for a week. Authorities claim foul play is involved, adding to a 3 month string of murders in the town of Elms. Police advise a curfew, beginning at 9:00pm weeknights…’
My thoughts wandered as the text went on, explaining the brutality of the murder and the condition that the body was found in.
That was the eleventh body found over the course of 3 months in the town of Elms.
My little cabin sat on the edge of town limits, in a heavily forested area near that very creek.
I had bought this property for it’s seclusion, but it seemed as though it had become quite the hotbed of activity lately.
The other victims had been found near the creek as well, and frustratingly enough, meant that I’d again have the Police knocking at my door in the morning.
All of this began three months ago, during the winter months. The only exception was that the body that was found near Penny Creek was that of my 10 ear-old niece, Lily.
I remember the call from my sister, her hysterical cries still haunt my nightmares.
I felt my face redden and my eyes begin to tear up as I thought of my sweet niece Lily. She loved her Uncle Darren, and I loved her like my own.
Some of the happiest moments I’d had over the past 5 years, since I came back from active duty, involved Lily. The week wouldn’t go by fast enough when my sister would ask me if Lily could come stay the weekend.
Full of life and full of spirit, she would run through the trees laughing as I chased her. I would scoop her up in my arms when I caught up to her, both of us wailing in laughter. She would pat me on the head and say, “My turn, Uncle Darren! You’d better run!” She made my heart so full, and I wouldn’t be able to wipe the grin off of my face.
I don’t think I’d cracked a smile since the last time I saw her.
I buried my head into my hands after turning off the television and putting down my phone. In the dark, I shook violently as the flashbacks began yet again.
I would see myself strapped down to a large metal table, a sharp sting in my arm jolting my entire body. I could not understand the language of my captor and had no idea what I was injected with. I could see as my body thrashed about, followed by an instant complete darkness.
My mind flashed back to waking up covered in blood, being drug by my Sergeant. What had I done? How had he found me?
“We gotcha bud. It’s over.”
That phrase would repeat over and over inside of my head as I gritted my teeth and squeezed my head and eyes shut.
It was never “over”.
I don’t remember the events that took place after I blacked out on that table. I was told afterwards of the slaughter I had committed in that foreign military hospital; My Sergeant outlined the bloodshed that took place by my own hands.
I would not fully understand until much later, after returning to the States, what I had become.
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The only peace I had found was in that little girl, my niece Lily. She brought me back from that dark place; she kept the flashbacks from taking hold of my mind.
She kept the blood and trauma confined in the dark recesses of my mind; she replaced those thoughts with a semblance of hope.
My hope was gone. Now, yet another family had lost theirs as well.
I shoved myself up off of the couch, and without turning a light on or putting on my shoes, bolted out of my front door.
Escaping those thoughts was much harder these days. I would walk through the dark forest until my feet bled, almost in a trauma-induced trance, until I could regain my composure.
I would picture myself and Lily running through the trees as I stomped along the well-trodden path along my property. Eventually, my heartbeat would decrease and I’d be able to breathe again, the nightmares then subsided. Even in death, my little Lily would still be there to bring me back down to Earth again.
This time though, was different.
I was pounding my bare feet along the path furiously when I heard it.
A soft sobbing rang out near my property line. I stopped dead in my tracks, immediately whipping my head towards the mournful cries.
I thought that maybe this was a figment of my mind, an intrusive voice among the shadows. That is, until I heard the second voice.
This voice was a deep, loud, booming one, spitting obscenities and vulgarities. The other voice, which I assumed was a child, would whimper quietly after the shouting subsided.
Instinctively, I crouched as low to the ground as I could, inching my way towards the sounds in the distance.
As I got closer to the commotion playing out in the darkness, I saw a light. It looked to me to be a handheld flashlight, violently being slung back and forth. As it swung forward, I’d hear the thud of it making contact with something, followed by a soft, guttural moan.
My mind was racing. My thoughts tore through my head at an alarming speed, as I attempted to regain consciousness of my surroundings.
As I crept along, not making a noise, my front foot eventually hit something wet.
It was the beginning of the shallows of the creek. Penny Creek.
Slowly, I purposefully placed my steps forward, as to make sure that I made no noise and alert the individuals to my presence. I followed the light with my eyes, as it glowed brightly in the black-dark of the forest.
After carefully slinking myself forward, I came to the edge of an opening next to the creek, surrounded by thick, bristled brush.
My hand shook violently and my heart beat loudly in my chest as I lifted it from my side, to make an opening in the brush to where I could see what was taking place.
To this day, when I close my eyes, I can still see the scene taking place ahead of me in my mind.
A large, bearded man stood with his back facing me and his large hand in the air, gripping the flashlight. As he brought it down, I could make out where the loud thud was coming from.
A small girl, no older than 12, was crouched in fear at the base of a large oak tree. She was smeared with blood, and her clothes were in shambles. Her hands were raised in a defensive position over her head, pitifully attempting to block the blows from the large man and his flashlight.
She screamed with each crack of the heavy flashlight on her body; the force from the first blow was enough to physically push her to the ground.
Before I could even register what was taking place, my eyes closed and I felt my mind go into that dark void once again. My blood boiled as I forced my eyes open, to look upon the scene once again.
Except there, instead of the little girl, my mind showed me my Lily. My beautiful little niece, being beaten to death by this giant of a man.
The last time I had felt this kind of rage, I had blacked out completely, after lying there on that metal table in that hospital.
This time, however, it felt as though I had given up the rights to my own body.
I felt strangely calm, despite the tearing of my flesh being replaced with a dark, black fur; despite my teeth growing and gnashing abruptly.
The man had resumed screaming and loudly berating the child, unaware of his immediate surroundings.
I watched myself through my own eyes as I crept up behind the man, feeling my own lips curl up into a snarl. I had no control over myself.
But it was okay.
I couldn’t help but feel joy when my claws first dug into the man’s back.
I couldn’t help but internally smile as I whipped him around, facing me; a horrified look plastered on his face.
I couldn’t help but enjoy the taste, and I wrapped my maw around the man’s head.
And I couldn’t help but feel a surge of satisfaction as I crunched down, the man’s screams finally silenced for the last time.
I ripped the man’s head from his shoulders, just in time to see the little girl slouched over behind him.
As my body threw the body of the large man to the side, I focused on the little girl.
I could hear the faint beat of her heart. She was still alive.
All at once, I felt the control come back over my body completely. My hands and arms, along with my mouth, dripped with blood of a murderer- my own niece’s murderer.
Still shaken and sore, I had dropped the little girl off at the local hospital, and left before I was noticed. I didn’t think a man covered with blood dropping off a little girl also covered in blood would fare too well for me.
The next day, I saw another Breaking News statement scroll across my television as I was slouched over on my couch.
‘BREAKING NEWS: 11 year-old Peyton Darling recovering after brutal attempt on her life- man tied to serial killings found dead near Penny Creek.’
They showed a picture of the little girl from a school yearbook on the screen, and I smiled gently.
She looked just like my Lily.