Nefarious

The rain fell harder as he pushed his way through the overgrown brush that appeared sporadically throughout the woods. It drowned out the sounds of snapping twigs as he hurried to get out; gratefully, it also covered the noise of the screams that had occurred only a few moments before…

He and Maddie had met up at their secret spot, a small cabin that had been abandoned years before. The cabin was in the middle of the woods, located just at the edge of town. Tall trees and overgrown bushes surrounded it. The cabin itself was weathered and worn, with peeling paint, cracked and broken windows, and a sagging roof. The wooden porch that once wrapped around the cabin was now partially collapsed, with rotting floorboards and rickety railings. Inside the cabin, the air was musty and stale, with a dampness that permeated every corner. The furniture that remained was old and worn, with frayed upholstery and broken springs. They had shoved a lone wooden table up against one wall. On it sat a small oil lantern.

Madeleine Clarke was captain of the cheer team: short, thin, bubbly and blonde. She was the poster child for high school cheerleaders. She had a smile that could light up the room and her laugh rang through whatever space she occupied. He, on the other hand, was an orphaned, social outcast being raised by his eccentric aunt. Awkward in most situations and shorter than those his age, he stuck to himself and shied away from any real social interactions.

It would harm Maddie’s social status to be seen with him or to even step in and try to defend him when one of the other teens started tormenting him. And so, even though they had been friends for over five years, they met up once or twice a week in their secret spot to share what was new in their lives.

This time was different, though. After chatting about school drama, who was dating who, who had dumped who, and what teachers were being pervs, he had mustered up the courage to ask Maddie a question that had been heavy on his mind.

“Hey, Mads?” he began tentatively.

“Yeah?”

“Why can’t we be seen together? I mean, we’ve been friends for ages and I’d really like to take you out sometime.”

Maddie stared at him with wide eyes and then did something he hadn’t expected: she doubled over laughing.

It felt like she laughed forever; the minutes dragging out as his fury and embarrassment grew. Finally, she straightened herself up and wiped tears from her eyes.

“You can’t be serious, J. You know I could never be seen with someone like you! It would destroy me! I’d be the laughingstock of the entire school. Me? Madeleine Clarke dating the boy who can’t even talk to another person without stumbling over his words like a giant bafoon? Never.”

Anger ripped through his body like lightning had just struck him. His vision went hazy and before he knew what he was doing, he had struck her, hard, across the face. Maddie screamed and stumbled back. She looked at him, shock fleeting across her face as she touched it gingerly with her hand.

“Are you fucking crazy?” she screamed, her face reddening in anger.

He stepped closer to her and struck her again, knocking her backwards. She tripped and fell onto her back with an audible oomph. The back of her head hit the corner of the old wooden table and began to bleed. He straddled her and placed his hands around her neck.

“Stop!” she pleaded. “Please, don’t do this. I’m sorry.”

“You’re not sorry, you bitch.”

He squeezed, and she clawed at his hands in vain. She bucked and writhed beneath him, but he held on tighter. Her eyes appeared to be about to pop from their sockets as she desperately tried to force him off of her. The more desperate she became, the harder he squeezed. Terror flittered across her eyes as she stared up at him. He furrowed his brow and maintained the pressure.

Finally, he felt her body go limp, but he could still feel her breathing shallowly. He grabbed a handful of her hair in his hands and, dragging her body up slightly, slammed her head against the corner of the table again, watching as more blood gushed out. Her breathing got shallower the more she bled, and he struck her head against the corner one more time. He felt and watched as her last breath left her body and stood.

He looked down at her in fascination and then looked at his hands. He flexed them as if shocked he even had the strength to do such a thing. Slowly, a smile crept across his face and he threw his head back as he laughed. He thought about spitting on her before he left, but didn’t want to leave any definitive evidence behind that could link him to her death if they found her body.

He grabbed his bag off of the table and slung it over his shoulder. Stepping out of the cabin, he realized it had began to rain and cursed himself. His aunt was going to be ticked that he wasn’t home before the rain began. She got weird over things like that. Feeling lighter than he had in a long time, he began the trek back home. Humming to himself, he contemplated the fact that murdering someone excited him so much. And then… He thought about who would be next.

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