Chapter 19 The serial killer
VICTORIA
A gasp escaped my lips, and my body died at that moment. The horror of killing someone gripped me as I panted for breath.
“Oh, Lord, help me," I whimpered as I got out of the car and rushed towards the person that I had hit.
“Are you okay?" I inquired as I bent over to help the person up. A gloved hand grabbed my outstretched hand and pushed me back as the person staggered up to his feet.
It turned out to be a man in a mask with gloves over his hands. No inch of his body was in view aside from his eyes.
Fear slowly replaced the guilt that bubbled in me as I stared at the man who could be a criminal if defined by his dressing.
“Are you okay? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hit you with my car, it's such a relief that you're…”
He raised his hand, and my lips slammed shut. I could feel his glare on my skin as he turned around and began to stagger away. My heart gave a leap, and the guilt returned when I noticed blood drop on the ground as he limped away.
I had injured him. There was nothing to be relieved about.
“Wait!" I called and rushed towards him, willing to bear the bills for what I caused.
To my confusion, he didn't stop or spare me a glance. Instead, his pace increased.
Due to the wound on his belly and knee, I was able to overtake him. I gripped him by the hand and spun him around, reaching for the black jacket to see how deep the wound was.
He growled and tried to push me away, but I had already seen what he was trying to hide, and that alone left me dumbstruck.
My breath ceased as I stared at the slash on his belly and the tattoo on the lower part of his chest.
“The trinity," I whispered, and a cold air hit me so hard that my head swirled in circles. I staggered back and raised my gaze to see his masked face.
Our eyes locked, and for a moment, I felt like I had died.
I was standing face to face with a serial killer. The same person who just wiped out an entire family a few hours ago!
I gasped again at the thought and kept staggering back, shuddering in fear.
Was he going to kill me, too?
That question crossed my mind when I glanced at his hand and watched his fist clench.
I felt the sickening feeling in my belly intensify so high that I gripped my belly to ease the pain that came with it.
“You… you…” I stammered.
‘You have to do something, Victoria! You have to do something right now!’ a voice screamed in my head, and my survival instincts kicked in.
“Bastard!" I growled and rushed towards him blindly, my balled fist aiming for his eyes.
He dodged it skillfully and pushed me down on the ground. Before I could stand up and challenge him, he was gone like he had never been here in the first place.
“Damn!" I spat and stomped my feet on the ground.
I cursed again and headed into my car, then slammed the door shut.
I reached for my phone and dialed the number of the police, but stopped before I could send the call across.
How would it sound to hear that the serial killer was spotted? Knowing them well, they wouldn't take me seriously. Instead, they would lecture me on his I almost got someone killed with my car.
I sighed and tossed my phone to the seat, then gripped the wheel.
I was still shaking from that horrifying encounter and could barely move, but I needed to be home if I wanted to be safe.
I took deep breaths and turned on the ignition, then drove back home.
When my eyes landed on my house, I felt my belly knot. I didn't know why, but the place looked eerily nice but horrifying inside.
The woman's words and the dreadful eyes that I came in contact with haunted me so greatly that my legs could barely hold on to the ground.
I staggered and swayed until I got to the porch. My shaking hand reached for the key in my purse, and I slipped it into the keyhole and unlocked the door before staggering in.
I turned on the lights and quickly locked the door, then released a breath I didn't know I had been holding.
I turned around and walked into my bathroom, then dipped my shivering body into the pool. His gaze and the mark filled my head. I thought of nothing else aside from that killer. I lay in the bathtub with the rain splattering on my roof.
I should have been asleep by now, but the horror that filled my heart made that impossible.
Who is he? How could he be this heartless?
These questions filled my head as I chewed on my nails to remain calm, even though I was still shaking in the hot water.
I didn't know who would be his next victim, but I was sure that I wasn't safe anymore.
The sharp ringtone of the phone caused me to jolt in fear.
I glanced at my closed bathroom door and gulped hard before picking up the phone.
Relief washed over me when I realized that it was my father.
“Hey, father,” I whispered in a quivering voice.
“Are you okay? Are you still upset from what you saw?” He asked.
I bit my lips and gulped again, hoping I would not break into tears.
“I'm fine now, Father. I was about to go to sleep," I muttered, and he hummed in response.
“Sleep tight, my princess, and don't think about what is going on, hmm?" He said, and I nodded even though he couldn't see me.
That would have been a little possible if I hadn't come across the devil.
“Goodnight, father," I muttered and disconnected the call, then got out of the bathtub and dried my body. I picked out a nightdress and dressed up for bed while searching for things that could help induce sleep.
As I read through the options displayed on my phone, my doorbell rang.
I sighed loudly and dropped my phone, then headed to the living room. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be one of those annoying neighbors. The doorbell rang multiple times, and I groaned in anger.
“Take it easy, you…”
The rest of my words went down my throat when I found no one in front of the door.
I turned on the lights of the porch and stepped out, clutching the nightdress as the cold air grazed my skin and caused goosebumps to appear on my skin.
I looked around and turned to walk back into the house with a racing heart and conscious mind.
A paper on the ground caught my eye as I shuffled in.
I looked around the empty street again and carefully picked up the note left at my doorstep before closing the door.
I locked the door, turned off the lights on the porch, before turning the note over.
My head swirled in despair, and my legs lost their balance when I read out the words scribbled down on the note.
“I am watching."