| It was a cold night in September. The rain was drumming on the car roof as a teenaged couple drove through the empty country dirt roads. As they drove, they listened to the local radio station, which was playing classical music. They parked under a huge oak tree so they wouldn't see seen by any of they're friends. They left the engine running and the heat on because it was close to halloween. The boy was about to make a move when the music on the radio was interrupted by a news announcement: "The Cheshire police have issued a serious warning after a man escaped from Colford Mental Hospital earlier this evening. The man, John Downey, is a murderer who killed six people before he was captured two years ago. He is described as large, very strong and extremely dangerous with a hunting knife that he carried when he was arrested. People in the Cheshire area are warned to keep their doors and windows locked, and to call the police immediately if they see anyone acting strangely." "A crazy killer. And he's out there somewhere. That's scary." said the girl. She was afriad, and insisted that they drove somewhere lighter to park. "Don't worry about it," said her boyfriend. The boy put the car into gear, but it died-they parked there too long and ran out of gas. The boys family were friends with the farm family that lived just up the road. The boy got out and took a metal gas can from the trunk. "Lock all the doors and lie on the floor in the back, under this blanket. No-one will see you. When I come back, I'll knock three times on the door. Then you can get up and open it. Don't open it unless you hear three knocks." He opened the door and slipped out into the rain. He quickly disappeared into the blackness. The doors were quickly locked and she settled down under the blanket in the back for a long wait. She was frightened and worried, but she was a strong-minded woman. She had not been waiting long, however, when she heard a strange scratching noise. It seemed to be coming from the roof of the car. She was a bit cold and nearly asleep when she heard three slow knocks, one after the other, also on the roof of the car. Was it her boyfriend? Should she open the door? Then she heard another knock, and another. This was not her him. It was somebody -- or something -- else. She was shaking with fear, but she forced herself to lie still. The knocking continued -- bump, bump, bump, bump. Many hours later, she awoke to see darkness but she felt awake . She had not slept for a moment. The knocking had never stopped, all night long. She did not know what to do. Who was it? Why had he not come for her? Finally she sat up. It wasn't night at all. The windows were covered in what looked to be mud or something. She found the keys and put them in the igition. She turned on the keys and flipped on the windsheild wipers. The wipers flipped back and forth, and cleared the windsheild enough so that shecould finally see out through the thick red stain. She learned that it was actually dbout dawn. Suddenly, she saw three or four vehicles, racing quickly down the road. All of them pulled up around her. At last! Someone had come! The three vehicles were all police cars, and two still had their lights flashing. Several policemen leapt out. One of them rushed towards the car as Marie opened the door. He took her by the hand. A police man opened the door, grabbed the girls arm and said "Get out of the car and walk with me to the police vehicle. miss. You're safe now. Look straight ahead. Keep looking at the police car. Don't look back. Just don't look back." Something in the way he spoke filled the teen with cold horror. She could not help herself. About ten yards from the police car, she stopped, turned and looked back at the empty vehicle. Her old boyfriend was hanging from the tree above the car, a rope tied around his neck just above the car. As the wind blew his body back and forth, his feet were bumping gently on the roof of the car. Blood ran down his face, down his arms, down the car. His throat was cut. |
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