Page 238 of Shhh…It’s A Killer Story

Yes.

You.

Still reading? Most people would've stopped by now.

Two days passed. Two whole days in Hollow Springs, completely unaccounted for. Elias didn't know what happened in those forty-eight hours. Nobody knew. Except for the quiet roads, the shadows, and me.

Now, I was driving back to Blackridge. The truck hummed steadily on the highway, the distance closing between me and the cottage. But in my head, the final scene was blooming. The final chapter of the book was practically writing itself, forcing its way out of my mind and onto the imaginary pages.

Joey

The warehouse was silent. Not a peaceful silence. The heavy, suffocating kind of silence that only came after a human being was done screaming. Water dripped steadily from a rusted pipe somewhere overhead, each drop echoing through the empty, cavernous building like the ticking of a countdown clock.

A man tried to crawl. His fingers trembled, slipping through the thick, warm blood pooling beneath his broken body. The other one wasn't doing much better a few feet away. One of his legs was twisted entirely beneath him at an unnatural angle, his breathing coming in ragged, wet, desperate gasps.

They hadn't seen my face yet. They couldn't. I was just a silhouette standing in the darkness. A woman dressed entirely in black, a heavy hunting knife glinting beneath the swinging, single warehouse light. Slow. Patient. Almost terrifyingly graceful. Each of my steps echoed against the concrete.

Closer.

Closer.

Closer.

The one swallowed hard, tasting copper. "W-Who are you...?" he croaked.

I didn't answer. Instead, I stepped fully into the harsh, flickering light. Dark, unblinking eyes. A soft, serene smile.

Recognition hit both men at the same fraction of a second. The reality of who was standing over them slammed into their chests, and their faces drained of what little colour they had left.

"...You?"

The single, strangled word escaped both men together. It was a cocktail of pure shock, total disbelief, and horrifying understanding.

I smiled wider.

Slowly... very slowly... I lifted one pale, steady finger to her lips.

"Shhh..."

The quiet whisper floated through the freezing air of the warehouse, completely cutting off their air. The knife flashed.

He screamed first. The other one followed a second later.

Steel carved through flesh with practiced, chilling precision. One deep cut. Then another. Then another. I never rushed. I didn't want a quick ending. I wanted them to feel every single second of the agony. Every ounce of terror. Every frantic, dying heartbeat.

He sobbed, tears mixing with the grime on his face. "P-Please... no..."

The other one tried reaching for a discarded pistol lying several feet away on the floor. I didn't blink. I simply stepped forward and brought my boot down on his hand. The sound of small bones cracking echoed into the rafters.

His scream was deafening.

"I said..." My smile never faltered for a fraction of a second. "...shhh."

The knife plunged deep into his shoulder. Then his stomach. Then deeper, twisting until he went entirely limp. The other one watched it happen, unable to move, unable to look away from the monster before him. I turned toward him, my movements almost gentle as I crouched down until they were at eye level.

Blood dripped steadily from the hunting knife hanging loosely in my hand. The two men who had terrorised this town were entirely broken, bleeding, and crying at my feet.

I leaned close enough for the one to smell the iron on her breath, ensuring her final words would be the last thing he ever processed.