Madeline
“I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. I must not.” Ted paced the room. He turned on the television and sat on the edge of the bed made neatly by a maid hours prior. He tried to concentrate on Columbo on the television. But his focus was elsewhere. His focus was on his urge. He had to give into his urge. He could not stand it anymore.
If he was to walk out of this motel room and give into his urge, it would not be the first time. In fact, he had gotten quite good at hiding his urge from his friends, family, and his unforeseen victims. He knew he could give in and not get caught, but he also knew that giving into the urge was culturally frowned upon.
He stood taking one last look in the mirror before clicking off the boxed television, and shutting the motel room door behind him. It was dark outside but the warm Florida air felt nice to his bare arms. He was unsure of where he was going but he figured the nearby university, crawling with college students, would be a great place to start.
He thought about where he could target as he climbed into his Volkswagen. He drove north. He kept the university in his mind. He surely could find someone there to take his urges out on.
He drove through the streets, taking the mindless driving opportunity on dark empty streets to think through his plan. It still was not complete but it was coming to fruition. He parked the car on a quiet tree-lined street. He glanced at the large houses that lined the street. Ted knew the dormitories would be a great place to find victims, but the security may be difficult to get past. They would similarly fill the sorority houses with college kids but with minimal security. He knew that each sorority house held several college kids that would be a perfect target, but which house would be the best house? He didn’t know.
He looked at each house, taking in the inventory. They all looked the same from the outside. He got out of the car, quietly shutting the door, examining the handful of houses in his vision.
A figure walked down the street right at him. Ted didn’t know what to do, he didn’t want to be seen and was worried that his age would give away that he should not be there. But right as Ted started making it back to the car, the figure walked up the path to one house. From the figure’s high ponytail and mounds on the chest, he could see that the figure was female. She was entering a sorority house. Bingo!
Ted waited for a few minutes as the figure entered the house. He saw the woman lock the front door, so that would not be the best way in. He approached the house and opted to go around to the side of the house. A door with a window was situated on the side of the house and down a slope. He tried the knob. It was locked.
He looked around for something he could break the glass with. A pile of firewood stood a mear ten feet from him. He took a log from the top of the pile. Without thinking he swung the log through the window of the door to hear a shuddering of glass.. He covered his arm with the bottom of his tee-shirt and reached inside with his free hand and unlocked the door. He was in!
The house was dark and smelled of cleaning products. When his eyes adjusted to the black without the moon, he figured he was standing in the sorority house’s kitchen.
With the firewood still in hand, he found the grand stairs near the front of the house. Before climbing, he listened for any movement from the woman upstairs. When he heard nothing, he proceeded, being sure to step lightly to not attract any attention.
He reached the landing and looked around. There were plenty of doors to choose from, he figured all would fulfill his craving. He turned to the left and picked a door at random.
He placed his free hand on the doorknob and turned it with care. The room inside was dark. Two beds sat on either side of the room each with a figure tucked away inside. This would do nicely to subtle down his urge.
This was the turning point. He could turn around and leave now. He could order KFC at the drive thru and go back to his hotel room. He could save himself and the demons he carried inside. But his urges were too much. He wanted to go through with it. He needed to go through with it. He closed the door behind him to give him a feeling of privacy.
He looked at the figures and wondered which he should choose first. He raised the firewood above his head, pausing before bringing it down on the figure sleeping in the bed to the right. He brought the fire wood above his head again and brought it down.
He repeated this action until he heard a scream come from the other side of the room. Ted turned around bringing the firewood along with him, making a connection with the side of the girl’s head. He gave the girl who was screaming a second ago, one last wack before dropping the piece of wood and escaping the room, down the stairs, and out the front door. He padded down the sidewalk, careful to not attract any unwanted attention.
He glanced back in time to see lights in the sorority house flickering on and screams coming from the house. He reached his car, opened the door, turned over the engine and fled the scene. He was free.
He felt good. He felt powerful. He felt his urges melt away.
Ted gave a low grunt. Damn it felt good!
But then he saddened. It did not feel as good as it did with his other victims. In the past, he would lure them in, he would make them trust him, and then he would hit them with the true reality of their fate. Finding his victims randomly did not fulfill his urges in the same way. He suddenly felt remorseful and unfulfilled.
Ted drove in his thoughts when blue and white lights appeared in his rearview mirror. It must be for someone else, he thought as he pulled to the side. The lights in the rearview mirror followed him to the side of the road. What could they do? They couldn’t know what he had done? So, he stopped the car.
When the policewoman approached his window he rolled down the window, “what seems to be the problem, officer?”
