William

Dark was the night, the only light emanated from a rusty unkempt car as it drove through the abandoned city streets. The rain poured down heavily, washing the blood stained streets. There could never be enough rain to wash away the scars, the blood, the nightmare. John could feel the spirits of the dead that haunted the streets around him. Their murders were believed to be that of serial killer, Scott King. Scott was found guilty of thirteen murders and put in a maximum security prison, to serve life. Two days ago, rumour has it, he escaped, was this fresh round of killing his?

 

William had called John, his long-time friend, he told John to meet him in room twenty-four on the eleventh level of the corner hotel, it was derelict and had been for years. The part that John worried about the most was William saying “I have him”. Three of the people Scott murdered were William’s wife and children; William was planning revenge back then and still regularly thought about it. William could be throwing away his life, his career.

 

John pulled up in front of the hotel, he got out of his car, backup was still a few minutes away but he went in on his own. He made his way into the building; the lights were off John got out his torch to illuminate his way. John needed to get to the eleventh floor; he cautiously made his way over to what appeared to be the elevators. He tried to activate them without any luck; they must be out of order or the power to the building down.

 

Beside the elevators was the door to the stairwell. He pushed it open, the stairwell was lit up, relieving some of John’s apprehension, the building was not without power. John moved quickly up the stairs, he had to help William, or to stop him. John reached the eleventh floor with signs indicating which way the rooms ran, John had no problems finding room 24. The door was open no sound seemed to be coming from the room. John drew his gun knowing he very well may have to use it. He pushed the door open, standing there aiming his weapon into the dark room; he felt exposed standing in the light and not being able to see in front of him, not knowing what might lie ahead.

 

‘What took you so long John?’ he heard a calm and familiar voice come from the other side of the room.     ‘William is that you?’

The light turned on, it took a second for John’s eyes to adjust; when they had he could see William standing beside the wall his hand still on the light switch ‘look’ he pointed to the left. Horror took John’s face as he saw the scene, blood stained walls, weapons, knives, guns scattered across the room. ‘What is this place?’ John asked.

‘It’s Scott’s lair’ Will replied ‘where he killed all those innocent people on the street’ Scott King only escaped jail two days ago he couldn’t have done all this in that time. 

‘Where is he now?’

‘In the bedroom’

John ran to the door on the other side of the room, he could hear Will laughing behind him.

  

John opened the door, the light from the living room allowed him to clearly see the centre of the room. There was a man tied to a chair covered in blood. John couldn’t make out who it was. As he stepped into the room an over-powering smell took him. He fell back into the living room gaging, it was a smell he was familiar with, but never got used to. It was the smell of rotting corpses. Once John recovered his senses, he went back to the room. He didn’t enter this time; he just stood in the doorway observing his surroundings from the light of his torch. There in front of the man were the bodies; a woman and three children.

‘Is that Scott King?’ John asked bewildered by the man’s condition, he appeared to have been beaten and tortured. ‘Was that his family? Did you kill them?’ William did not answer. ‘William, did you do this?’

‘He had to know my pain. He had to know HOW I FELT’. William aimed his gun at John as he moved closer.

‘William we have been friends and partners for years. This is not you’ John cried.

Will moved his aim to Scott’s head ‘it is now, he made ME’.

 John drew his gun and aimed at William shouting ‘Will, drop it’.

‘NO I WANT HIM DEAD’

BANG

BANG the room was lit this time from the gunfire

BANG…