The Making of a Psychopath
"JACK STRAW STILL AT LARGE."
Local serial killer claims his fourteenth victim, Adam Rhodes, 17, who was found this morning hacked to death with some kind of axe, just like the other victims. If anyone has any leads, contact the police department immediately. Lock your doors, and don't go out alone at night. No one is safe."
You've seen the movie killers. Jason, Freddy, Michael – the list goes on. They all live inside our fantasies, right? Well what happens when someone like them actually exists? A killer with something about them, something different. Something... inhuman. My name is Michael James Thomas, and I'm going to share with you the story of, who the media has dubbed, Jack Straw, for reasons that will be clear to you very soon.
Part I
It all began when I moved to a new school in a town called Cherokee. It wasn't exactly New York, but my dad has just got transferred from his old company so that he'd still have a job to go too. Mum died of cancer when I was 5, so I don't really remember her, but I still miss her every day. Dad never re-married, he'd dated a few women but they were all, for lack of a better word, whores. He told me he was going to focus on family and business, which was fine by me. I was 17 at the time, studying Law and Psychology at Cherokee's only college. The house we had moved into was only five minutes away from the campus, so it had its upsides. The house itself was your average American house. Two bedrooms, one for me and one for Dad; a kitchen; two bathrooms; you get the idea. I had my first day at college tomorrow, so I hit the sack quiet early.
The semester had just started, so everyone in my Law class the next morning was starting out new, just like me. They were still only vaguely familiar with each other, where as I was that stereotypical "new kid". I was the second kid in class, the first was this really dirty kid. He smelt like animal shit too. I wish I was over exaggerating, I really do. He gave me a weird look as I walked past him; I gave an awkward smile either way then hurried to the back of the class. Could still smell him though. The next student that entered into the class hurried past the kid and sat near me. I welcomed this, as I saw a chance to socialize, so I took it.
"Hey, you're taking law too then?" I asked
"Yeah, hope you don't me sitting here, Jack freaks me the fuck out." He replied.
"Jack the kid sat over there, the one who smells really bad?"
"Yeah, there's something really off with him. He lives on a farm with his Dad but it's like he never washes" He informed me.
"Yeah, got that impression when I walked in"
"I talked to him once, he's a really fucked up kid. Asked me if I ever hurt animals, hit him with a lunch tray and walked away" "Anyway, I'm Brett, nice to meet you, erm" he stopped mid-sentence, hoping I'd tell him my name.
"Michael. Nice to meet you too, Brett"
Brett seemed like a nice guy, despite his story of hitting a kid with a lunch tray. Never-the-less he seemed harmless enough. I stuck with him for the rest of the day, he had a small circle of friends who I hit it off with as well as I did with Brett, so my first day was a relative success. My dad picked me up after school. He did the usual parent routine
"How was your day?", "Did you learn anything new?", "Did you meet any friends?", etc. I told him how my day was and we drove to the farmers market to pick up some fruit and such. On the way there we drove past the farm. School had only finished, what, 30 minutes ago at this point, but Jack was already working like it was his life. He was chopping wood with an axe, and you could see his muscles working under his torn shirt. He wasn't exactly a scrawny kid, and I wouldn't want to get into a fight with him. After getting his groceries, Dad and I went home; I went up to my room intending to play some Xbox. Brett and I had shared Gamer Tags and phone numbers, so I was gonna check whether or not he was playing anything. Before I could, however, my phone jumped to life. It was Brett, so I answered.
"Hello?"
"Michael, me and everyone else are hanging out, we thought It'd be cool if you came with us, what'dya say?" He asked me
"Sure, where are you all now? I'll come meet you" I replied
"Meet us at the old barn, about 10 minutes away from school"
"Will do Brett, cya soon"
"Don't take too long dude" and with that I got ready. I put on a grey hoodie and some old jeans. Not really dressing to impress, but hey, I was already friends with them. I told Dad I was going out, he told me to be back by 12 and I was off. The old barn Brett was talking about was about a 20 minute walk from my house, so I met Brett and everyone else quite quickly.
There were 4 people besides Brett;
There was Steven, guy my age, quiet but tall as shit. Could easily mistake him for 20 or 21. He was a nice guy though; he couldn't harm a fly.
Then there was Victoria, really pretty girl, loud and annoying voice though. She wanted Brett bad. But he was oblivious to her. It was kinda funny to watch.
Victoria had a friend, Stephanie. She was cute as can be. She was small, even for a girl, but that was only a setback. She was pretty and funny, I was hoping for single too.
After meeting them all, Brett told me of the days plan. He pulled out a can of gas, tissues, glass bottles and a lighter. My heart sank into my stomach with what he said to me next.
"You know Jack right Michael? That smelly fucker in Law?"
"Yeah..." I replied nervously
"He barged into my man Steven here in the halls, knocked his burger right out of his hands, didn't even apologize. We're gonna burn down this fucking barn of his to teach him a lesson. You in?"
I was in shock. Brett seemed a nice guy, I had no idea why he was getting this agitated over a lost burger.
"Wow, that's extreme man, you sure that's wise?" I said, trying to not sound like I was shitting myself.
"Well we can either do this with you or without you, it's happening either way." He replied instantly. The group walked off. Brett and Steven made some fire bomb things... Molotov cocktails I heard Steven refer to them as. He made 3; one for Brett, one for Steven, then one for me. I took it - hesitantly - but I still took it. We walked through some bushes and trees till the came to the barn. There was a large opening at the top. Brett chucked his Molotov through it, boasting about how good a shot he was. Steven was next; he hit the wood around the opening and was greeted by criticism by Brett upon his return to the group. He handed me the lighter, I lit the tissue sticking out of the bottle, closed my eyes and threw.
"Great shot man, haha right in there." I heard Brett shout.
The fire grew, it ate the barn up and the structure was going to collapse at any second. That's when the screaming started.
It was Jack. He was sleeping in the barn, and now his screams filled the night. The barn then collapsed, the door was now blocked by debris, and Jack was trapped in the burning barn. Or so I thought. He chopped through the side of the barn with an axe; all of this while he was still on fire. He looked me in the eye, then slumped dead. He just layed there, his skin on his face was melting. The axe remained tightly gripped in his hand. The silence was quickly broken when the sirens sounded in the distance; we packed up our stuff and ran. We ran, ran and ran. We separated without another word to each other. I just ran home and ran straight to my room. My Dad was too busy with his work to notice, I cried and cried into the early hours of the morning, I don't remember falling asleep.
When I woke up, I turned the news on. The fire was all over the place. I was thankful to hear "Police have no suspects and there were no witnesses" gave me a little sense of relief, but what it said next is what really shook me up.
"Police report there were no deaths as a result of the fire, although one resident of the nearby residence, Jack Turner, is currently missing. He is not a suspect but may hold some information about who carried out the arson."
I broke into tears again. With what Brett and told me, Jack was a psychopath. I was terrified about what would happen. I tried calling Brett, but no response, It went to voicemail each time. Stephanie then called me, I answered trying to sound like I hadn't been crying
"Michael, Hi, Have you heard from Brett, he hasn't talked to anyone since the fire"
"He isn't answering his phone, I don't know what the fuck he's playing at but it isn't funny" I said, trying to seem tough.
"Well text me if you find anything cutie" she said before hanging up. Despite everything that was happening, the fact she thought I was a cutie still gave me a tiny bit of happiness. Until the next news report came up.
Part II
"Police have found the body of a dead college student in the meadow near the barn that was burned to the ground yesterday. It is believed to be the perpetrator of the arson. His ID confirms his identity as one Brett Cromack. He was hacked to death with an axe or similar weapon. Police have no suspects and want anyone with information to contact the Cherokee Police Department immediately. A nearby scarecrow's head was also taken; police feel this could be important to the case."
It was true. My fears had come to fruition. Jack had somehow survived and murdered Brett. He'd surely do the same to the rest of us, too. I knew the police couldn't help us, they'd know we were responsible for the arson too then. Dad was too busy with work, and I didn't want to endanger him. I phoned Steven and told him to get everyone else and meet me at the nearby park to discuss our options. I took a knife from the kitchen with me, just in case.
Steven, Stephanie and Victoria were already there. The park was empty, typical of a cold summers evening. Victoria was freaking the fuck out screaming and yelling. If we were being hunted, I hoped she was next.
"Everyone shut the fuck up for one second." I demanded.
Silence took over.
"Well, I fucking told you that fire thing was a bad idea. And now we have a psychopath hunting us. We can't go to the police; I don't feel like going down for Arson, that's a life bid." No one spoke.
"So we stick together, no one is alone. If were together he can't pick us off one at a time, Like those stupid slasher movies. This is real, no one else dies."
I must say, I was quite pleased with my brave, heart-style speech. Didn't stop the panicking. Steven was silent. Victoria just cried at the loss of her beloved Brett. Stephanie was the only one to voice out with her angelic voice
"I agree with Michael, we can go my house, my parents are on their honeymoon so we can stay there until the police catch him"
"Sounds like a plan, everyone go home and get what you need, not want. Need. Then go to Stephanie's"
The plan was set, night comes quick in Cherokee, and I went straight to Stephanie's, if anything else to be alone with her for a while. She bolted and locked the door after we went inside. She hugged me and started crying, the embrace was heart-warming but brief, as there were poundings at the door. It was Victoria. Unfortunately, she was perfectly fine, Stephanie rushed her in and bolted the door. Steven was with Victoria when we left, I was worried at what had happened, so I took it out on Victoria.
"Where's Steven?" I asked, the anger was evident at this point.
"I don't know, we got to my place and I went upstairs. When I went back downstairs he was gone, I got scared so I ran over here" She replied, in tears. I just walked away, trying to get in touch, I was hoping he had just gone to the bathroom and Victoria had over reacted. That's when the power went out. Victoria screamed in an inhuman tone. Stephanie tried assuring her it was down to the weather, but that wouldn't explain what happened next.
Part III
The window smashed open, scaring everyone, including myself, half to death. Stephanie handed me a flashlight, I slowly approached and shined the light onto whatever had been hurled through the window. It was Steven. His face and torso had been hacked at so much that I could actually see his organs. His eyes were hanging out of their sockets, still attached by the Optic Nerve. Stephanie and Victoria both came up to look at our dead friend. Then it sank in. Jack knew where we were, we had no power, and no escape. This was it. Victoria ran for the door screaming. Before me or Stephanie could do anything she was outside, running. Jack then stepped out of the shadows and swung his axe into her stomach. She was split in half instantly. He looked up and saw us. He was wearing the head of a scarecrow to cover his face. His overalls were stained with blood, torn and muddy. He stepped over the now dead Victoria and approached us. He did not run. He walked menacingly. He was our executioner if we didn't get away. I urged Stephanie to run out of the back door, while I bought some time. She kissed me quickly then ran. I bolted the back door behind her, leaving the front one open so that Jack would come for me instead of her. I climbed out of the kitchen window and circled around to the front door. Jack had just walked inside; he was looking around for me. I grabbed the closest thing to me – a brick – and smashed him in the back of the head. He stumbled forward; I hit him again with the brick, on his spine this time. He fell to the floor, but quickly rolled over and kicked me over. He swung his axe, which I managed to avoid. I was the second swing that got me. My arm was hit right down the bone, I was in agony, he pulled it out of my arm with force. He was looking to finish the job. I kicked his legs out from under him, buying me some time to do what I had planned.
I pulled out the knife I had grabbed from my kitchen and sank it into Jack's arm. He let go of his axe to writhe in pain. I pulled it out and stabbed him again, in the chest. I pulled off his scarecrow mask. His skin was burned to a crisp from the fire, the same as I remembered it. His piercing white eyes met mine, and I looked into them. These were the eyes of a psychopath. I picked up his axe, and swung it into his head. I dropped to the floor in pain, welcomed by the sound of sirens approaching the house.
Conclusion
Stephanie managed to get to the police. She was with the police when they arrived and pulled me out of the house. I was unconscious due to the pain from the axe wound in my arm. They questioned me about everything. Jack's outfit (The scarecrow head was likely where "Jack Straw" came from) his motive and everything else. I blamed Brett for the fire, saying me and Stephanie met the group afterwards. I told them I had killed Jack, the officer questioning then got a worrying look on his face.
"You killed the suspect?" he asked
"Yeah, axe to the head." I replied
"Kid... There were no other bodies in the house. You were the only one in there."
That's when I noticed Stephanie was gone.
Credited to LandMineTurtle
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