There is No Escape IX

All of them whirled around to face the man, who was still standing in the shadows.  They backed up until their backs were against the glass doors. None of them could move any more, they were frozen; it was as if time had just stopped. For just a moment everyone was still, nothing could be heard except for the man's raspy breathing. Tom wanted to scream, he pulled Mel close to him, while trying to force her behind him. 1

“Teens now-a-days are just so… naïve. You may have tried to lose me, but do you seriously think that you could? I followed you through every fucking turn you took. You see, it pays to have learned how to walk stealthily from the best of the best. I think you know who that is, X.”2

X didn’t say anything, he just stood still, he didn’t look like he was even breathing. Mel slid her hand into Tom’s and awaited the next move. Her hand that was usually so warm was now stone cold. Tom looked at her and squeezed her hand. 3

“Do you kids know ANYTHING about your friend X’s life?” the man asked.4

None of them responded. They just stood staring at the man while X remained wide-eyed and motionless. 5

“Well, I guess I shall update you then. You see, we take money from people’s bank accounts, and houses. Why do you think they have so much stuff? He has a bunch of people that work with him; I was one of them. X’s dad isn’t exactly…fair when he decides who gets what. That’s why his mom is dead; we wanted to get a message to his dad. Same thing with these killings, his dad is connected to all of them in some way. It must have been just bad luck that you’re stuck in here tonight, but you are. I don’t like his dad very much; his dad owes me money, a lot of money,” the man said in his rasping voice.6

“I guess you were right X, and that dude said almost exactly what you said. That’s amazing,” Tom said shaking. Why did he always make the jokes at the wrong time?7

“Shut up, Tom,” X said to him. “Pat, how did you get in here?”8

“What the mall? You moron, it’s a public place; I could have gotten stuck in here the same way you did. That isn’t true, though. It wasn’t just ‘bad luck’ that caused you to get stuck in here, it was a plan. I know kids, especially you, X. I knew you wouldn’t leave, I’m not as stupid as I look, you know,” Pat said. He did not look normal for a serial killer, like the ones you usually see in movies, you know the hot guys that go on killing sprees? Pat had grey hair, and a grey beard. His glasses were like Coke bottles and he was short and round. In his right pudgy hand he held a pistol. 9

Every one knows the saying that animals can smell fear. Well, with all the fear that had accumulated in the past two minutes anyone could smell it. Mel’s breathing had become short and quick and loud. Leah’s legs were just barely supporting her; she had to lean against the wall to keep on her feet. X was still frozen at Pat standing in front of him. Tom thought he was going to piss his pants; he had never been so scared in his life. 10

“Pat, what did you do for my dad?” X asked in a hoarse voice. Tom had been wondering the same thing, he had hoped that Pat had just kept a look out to make sure no one could arrest them.11

Pat laughed, hard. He stared at the teens and after about thirty seconds of his laughter he answered, “I would kill whoever got in the way.”12

That was all Tom had needed. If he could feel any part of himself he was sure he would be wet. Everything was spinning and it suddenly got very cold in the mall. His breathing sharpened and his brain was just a fuzz of meaningless information. Y=mx+b, Newton’s theories, how to draw a stick figure, all the information they had learned in school and none of it was helpful in a life threatening situation. He just wanted to close his eyes and wake up in his bedroom. So he closed his eyes and visualized being home lying next to Mel. “There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home,” he recited in his head and opened his eyes to see Pat with the gun pointed at Mel.13

Mel fell from Tom’s side and sank down against the doors of American Eagle. Tom looked down and saw her holding her stomach, blood gushing between her fingers. He hadn’t heard anything, and she was bleeding. She was looking up at Tom with tears in her eyes. Those eyes once green and deep and loving had turned shallow and cold and empty. Tom’s eyes began to water as he looked down at his best friend, his girlfriend dieing. 14

“No," he whispered and he looked up to see the gun pointed at the figure of Leah lying on the ground, holding her right side. 15

“PAT!” X screamed, crying just as much as Tom was. 16

“Oh, my, God, Mel!” Tom cried. He saw her eyes begin to close. “No, please no!” Mel’s eyes finally shut and her breathing began to slow…17