Page 239 of Shhh…It’s A Killer Story

"The monsters..." she whispered, her smile becoming impossibly wide, "...are never the monsters we think they are."

The blade came down one last time, cutting through the final breath.

Silence.

I smiled to myself.

"It'll do."

Frank stretched dramatically somewhere in the back of my mind.

"Not bad."

A beat.

"A little bloody."

Another.

"Actually... a lot bloody."

Gerald sighed.

"You forgot something."

"I did not."

"You absolutely did," Frank argued. "Did you tell them?"

I frowned at the road ahead.

"Tell them what?"

Gerald's groan was loud enough to make me roll my eyes.

"That this was your last story."

Rain began tapping softly against the windshield. The wipers swept lazily back and forth. Max lifted his head from the passenger seat, watching the road ahead while I thought about it.

"My last story..."

I smiled. A quiet one.

"No."

Frank snorted.

"Thought so."

Gerald pinched the bridge of his nose.

"She can't help herself."

I laughed.

"No."

I glanced toward you for only a heartbeat before returning my attention to the road.