2- New Beginnings

"New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings." -Lao Tzu

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[Two Years After The Accident]

"...And, in further news, the unknown killer is still on the rise, driving terror into the hearts of many citizens throughout the county. There have been three accounts of murder, all of which pinpoint to the unknown killer's doing. A thirty-five year old white male, Tucker Abbot, was found brutally murdered within his own home, along with a twenty-eight year old Hispanic male, Victor Jimenez, who had suffered the same fate. The third victim was a twenty-six year old white woman, Wendy Johnson, who was found dead along Cherry Street. All victims had the same signatures; cut cheeks that represent a smile. Police are still searching for the killer and are trying their best to hunt him down and take him off of the streets for good. More details of the murders and the polices' progress will be told, after the commercial break."

"Those poor people."

"They wouldn't be dead if the police would arrest the bastard already..."

"Seriously, they have a load of evidence on this guy and they can't even figure out his whereabouts, let alone figure out his name?"

"To Hell with this guy!!! He thinks he's all mighty. Like he's playing God or something. Sick twisted son of a bitch...!"

"Man, screw the police right now! Even us guys could hunt down that guy and kick his ass!"

"That'd be a much better option than the police right now."

"Hell yeah, it's a better option. Not even silly straws could compare to his bones when we're done with him...!"

"Guys, come on, pipe down. You're sounding like killers right now. The last thing you all want is to end up becoming ones. Just let the police do their jobs. They'll find him eventually. They always find a criminal. This guy is just harder to catch than the others right now."

"Well, when you put it that way..."

"Ah, it's just the booze talkin', I guess."

"Speaking of booze, how about another round?"

The men all laughed and roared together, too intoxicated to lower their volume. But then again, the whole bar was full of people like that. What was the point in having a TV and radio if no one can ever hear it?

All of the people within the bar were laughing and conversing, either drunk or sober. Tables never seemed to be left without a few mugs of beer and glasses of liquor, whiskey, all of the works. All of the people...but one.

He didn't really belong in the bar. He was underage, but everyone was too busy to ask for his age, let alone any ID. He was fifteen-years-old, too young to be in such a rowdy, alcohol scented bar. He doesn't know why he comes in here if all of the noise is bothersome. Maybe he just loves hearing the intoxicated patrons running their mouths off about his actions. He can't help but smirk and snicker every time. He doesn't drink here, nor does he take any sort of drug. His only intoxication is his disoriented psyche.

This is Jeff. At age thirteen he murdered his family within a psychotic meltdown and has been on the run ever since. He's heard countless death threats from the citizens of the towns and cities he goes through. Countless gangs have beaten him around and have nearly left him for dead. And, of course, one cannot go on without a few bullets in their arms and legs. His porcelain white body is lined with scars of every kind. And he's not even legal yet.

Jeff got up from his seat in the darkest, loneliest corner of the bar and he left. He walked out of the bar and down the empty side-walk. It was ten o'clock. Not many people were out this late. That's good. Jeff was growing tired. He wasn't up to hurt anyone tonight. He just wanted some quiet and rest. He kept walking away from all of the city bustle and towards a more desolate area of the city. Some cars passed by and thankfully none of them were police squad cars.

Jeff yawned, knowing he was just about ready to knock out. Over a few minutes, he spotted the local park up ahead and jogged forward a bit. He stopped at the gate and sighed, preparing himself to jump it. He leaped onto the chain link fence and climbed up to the very top, then leaped over and climbed down the other side. He jumped down once he was close enough to not break anything in his body and he walked into a tree-line. It was dark beneath the canopy of the trees but Jeff didn't mind. It soothed him. He managed to make it over the rocks and tree-roots on the ground and he came to a point in the grove of trees where he could stop and rest. He looked around quickly, before leaping up to grab a tree branch and hulling himself up. He climbed the tree and sat in a position that would hold him through the night. Yawning again, Jeff pulled out a cloth from his back pocket and tied it around his lid-less eyes. He always has to do this when he rests, if not then his eyes wouldn't last through the nights.

When he was finally ready to rest, he leaned his head back against the tree and relaxed his body. Soon enough, his exhaustion got the better of him and he was out like a light.

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Birds chirped within the trees, making nests, just resting their wings, or pecking away at little bugs that crawled along the bark of trees. These sounds were enough to disturb Jeff's sleep, despite that they are supposed to be peaceful. He groaned as he sat up and removed the cloth from his eyes. Bright light flashed within his vision and he flinched away. "Shit..," he grumbled with a hoarse voice. He stretched his arms out over his head, grazing a few leaves with his fingers, and he yawned. Sleeping on a branch wasn't always comfortable but he got rest and that's all that mattered. His back hurt but he popped it, like he usually did, and sighed in relief. Now to start another day.

Jeff leaped off of the branch and landed on his feet, feeling a slight jolt run up his legs and to his waist, but it was nothing fatal. He began making his trek out of the park to scavenge for something to eat. Finding food isn't always the easiest, especially since he can never reveal his face, but Jeff just recently found a perfect source for food that was far too easy to take advantage of.

Up ahead, past some trees, he saw a little cement shack. The park security office. A smirk made its way upon his pale face and he crouched the rest of the way to the small building. There was one window for the office. He snuck up under it and then took a quick peek inside. Inside was a security guard, Edwin Jones as Jeff had found out; the man was in his thirties and a bit on the burly side. After watching the bald man for weeks, Jeff found out that he always took the most filling of lunches to work such as club sandwiches, burgers, the like. And ever since then, Jeff has been stealing the poor man's lunches every other day. Unfortunately for Edwin Jones, his BLT would have to please Jeff instead.

Edwin Jones sat at a desk, staring at multiple screens that showed what was happening around the park. Ironically, no cameras filmed the happenings around the park security shack, which was all the more easier for Jeff. Carefully and quietly, Jeff grabbed several rocks and stuffed them into his hoodie pocket. He grabbed one and threw it at the metal door, which clanged loudly upon impact. With this, Edwin Jones grew startled and he rushed to see what was happening. Jeff took this chance to climb up into the ventilation crate, jump for the roof's ledge and hull himself up, all with a quiet precision. Edwin Jones made it outside by the time Jeff was on the roof and he scanned the area suspiciously. Jeff grabbed another rock and threw it into the trees and bushes, startling the poor security guard.

Jeff could easily drop down onto the man and kill him before the guard could even figure out what was going on, but Jeff wasn't up for getting his hands dirty this time, and he was still feeling the morning tiredness. So, instead, he kept distracting the guard with rocks until the man finally had enough and went to search the area in frustration. Jeff smirked and went for the air vent lid on the roof. He removed it as it was left removed ever since he first started doing this. He carefully sank inside the vent and crawled his way to the opening that led right to the office, above the security desk. He quietly removed the lid and jumped down. Quickly, Jeff dashed for the door and locked it, just in case if big ol' Edwin Jones came back sooner than expected. After he secured the door, Jeff went for the mini fridge that sat next to the desk and opened it up. Triumph coursed through the smiling killer as he snatched Edwin Jones' lunch and shut the fridge closed.

Stuffing the sandwich into his hoodie pocket, Jeff climbed up onto the desk and jumped for the vent opening. He hulled himself inside and closed the lid, then made his way back outside onto the rooftop. Once outside, he closed the other lid for the vent opening and scanned the area for Edwin Jones. Jeff waited to see him again and watched secretly as the security guard struggled to open the door and growled in frustration. After the man had opened it up with a key, he went back inside to get back to work. Jeff chuckled slyly to himself and so he made his way down the roof, the same way he came up. Once back on the ground, Jeff made a run for it back into the trees.

The young killer found himself a peaceful spot to eat his stolen snack under a big tree and he wasted no time to devour the food hungrily. He felt animalistic every time he ever ate. His savage hunger never allows him to savor whatever food he gets, or more correctly, steals. It's how he lives and it's how he will continue to live. Stealing has gotten easier for him, though. That Edwin Jones never seems to figure out how the hell his lunch keeps disappearing. Jeff bets the poor sap is probably muddling over it now.

As Jeff was eating, he started hearing voices. They weren't the ones in his head this time, but they did bother him quite a bit. The voices were a few ways away so Jeff knew it wasn't anywhere dangerously close. Though, his curiosity bested him, and he quickly stuffed the rest of the sandwich into his mouth and harshly swallowed it, his throat muscles slightly aching afterwards.

Jeff quietly snuck around through the trees and bushes towards the sound of the voices. Once he was about ten feet away from the source of the voices, he stopped and stayed hidden within a few bushes. Immediately the voices were clear and he heard two people arguing despite that there were four people in total. All of them were girls. Three of them looked dolled up, with perfect curls, radiant lip sticks, expensive looking handbags and what Jeff deduced as the trendiest clothes. They fourth one was incredibly different from the three; she wore her hair up, she wore jean shorts with black leggings under them with sneakers that were past their prime; she wore a moss green coat with a baggy shirt that had some sort of writing on it but Jeff couldn't make it out from his distance; the girl also had a ragged looking messenger back with badges all over it and head phones around her neck. She had no sort of business with the three other girls yet there she was, arguing with who Jeff guessed was the "leader".

"What do you mean you're not making anymore bootlegs?" The dolled up girl asked.

"I'm not making anymore, simple as that," the other girl replies very coolly, like she didn't care for the subject at all.

The dolled up girl sneered and asked, "Well, how about ID cards? Hmm?"

"I gave you one last month," the hipster girl said - Jeff decided she was hipster.

"I lost it," the doll said - Jeff decided on this too. "Now I need another one," she added.

"Well, sorry but I'm on hiatus right now," the hipster said, "besides, you don't really need it, you just want it. I think it's time you take a break from the club grinding scene for a while and do something productive."

"Says the no-life," the doll snapped.

The hipster smirked and replied, "I'm still making money. Are you? No, you're not."

"I have money! More money than you'll ever get in your life!"

"That's your corporate daddy's money," the hipster corrected, "You just so happen to get a bigger allowance than most girls. You never actually earn it. I, on the other hand, work for it. All you do is paint your nails and break relationships."

The doll growled and hissed, "You little bitch..! You better sell me a fuckin' ID card or else!"

"Or else what?"

"I'll have people find you and fuck you up, that's what," the doll threatened, "so you better start working, Six, unless you want to end up with broken legs like your long dead cripple of a mom!!"

The hipster named Six had no reaction to what was supposed to be an incredibly morbid insult. The three girls left Six with a whirl of their bodies and hair and the click of their heels. The girl named Six stood there silent and still for a few moments. Jeff wondered when she'd start moving again. Finally, Six moved as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a pack of gum. Without a care in the world in her chocolate brown eyes, she popped in a stick of gum in her mouth, slipped her headphones over her ears and practically skipped off out of the park. Jeff followed her despite that there was no reason for him to be intrigued anymore. Those three girls were gone and there were no more arguments. Why was he still watching her?

He stayed within the tree-line and watched her leave towards the more busier area of the park. Six was far too busy listening to her music and chewing her gum to notice the young killer. Jeff's thoughts were running wild, filling with questions that shouldn't matter to him. How could a girl like that do such things that are illegal? Selling bootlegs and fake IDs? Jeff wondered what else she's got up her sleeve. He examined her, inferring what sort of person she was by how she moved, how she looked and how she talked. This is what he always does, especially when someone is "worthy" enough for his attention.

As Jeff was watching her and following her around, Six had suddenly stopped and Jeff froze in place. The young man didn't even so much as breathe. Jeff waited for her to do something that would either have him waiting still or pulling out his knife. His hand slipped into his hoodie pocket for the simple kitchen knife, preparing himself for the worst case scenario. To him it would be fine; he could already determine what he'd do to finish her, but to her it would be the most hellish scenario everyone wishes to avoid. Jeff waited and waited, his pure black eyes fixated on her body, his fingers twitching for his knife. Six stayed silent and still for a time that bothered Jeff to no end, until she finally moved. Disappointment lined Jeff's eyes as she had only sneezed.

"Damn things take forever, I swear," she muttered to herself as she began walking again. Jeff rolled his eyes. She had only meant to sneeze. Despite that it was best for there to be no confrontation, he wished something had happened. Now he was jittery and he hates being jittery for no apparent reason. The young man continued following Six until it came time for him to stop. They were almost near the open areas of the park, which Jeff avoided completely, at least until night.

Six fixed her jacket a bit as she was slowing down where the tree-line met the fields. She adjusted her ponytail and as she did, she said aloud in a monotonous voice, "It's not cool to follow people around, you know. In this century, people get arrested or fined for that."

Jeff's breath hitched. His body stopped fidgeting in anticipation and a heavy feeling came upon his chest. She had known. She had known that he was following her all along. Why hadn't she run, though? Why hadn't she said anything? Why was she still so calm even now as she directly spoke to Jeff?

Six slipped her headphones down to let them rest around her neck. "You can come out now. Nobody's here but you and me. Besides, I'd like to see the face of my creep before I kick 'em in the groin and run for the police." She turned directly towards Jeff, which unnerved him even greater. He was had; there was no way for him to run from this situation. She was too close to the open area for him to kill her or even knock her unconscious. Things clicked inside Jeff's disturbed head and he scowled. She knew all along that he was following her and she played dumb, and she kept up the act until she came to this point in he park, where he could still come out yet he couldn't do a thing that would bring attention. She deliberately trapped him and he hadn't even noticed.

Jeff had no choice. With a gruff, irritable sigh, he revealed himself from the cover of the bushes and stepped out onto the path. He turned his head down so she wouldn't see his face behind his black hair and white hood. He kept his hands in the pocket of his white hoodie, his right hand gripping the handle of his knife tightly, just in case. Six stared at him in silence, until she remarked rather flatly, "You don't look like much. Do you even lift bro?" He knew she was making a joke and could sense the smile lurking upon her face.

"Seriously though," she continued, "why are you following me?" Jeff didn't give her so much as a sniff. Six pursed her lips and then said, "Not much of a talker, I see. Or maybe you don't speak English?" She cleared her throat rather loudly and said, "Quien eres, hombre? Habla el español? No? Habla el otro idiomas? No quiero hablas? Si? No? Maybe so?"

Jeff frowned behind his hair, noting just how peeving she was. "Ah, I could talk more Spanish but I'm not exactly passing that class," she deadpanned. Jeff didn't care. "Anyways," Six continued on again, "lemme get a good look of that face of yours, hmm?" Suddenly, without any warning, Six stepped up and leaned in close to Jeff's face, which caused Jeff to snap. Within the blink of an eye, Six was shoved up against a tree, with Jeff's forearm compressing against her neck and a knife to her gut. Jeff was shaking with excitement as he stared deep into her eyes, giving her the most deadliest of glares. Six stared back with a flabbergasted look upon her face which was soon disrupted by an amused grin. "Oh sh-shit," she choked, "you're stronger than you look. And pretty f-fast too-o.."

Jeff was confused but that didn't falter his cold gaze or the weight he put onto her. Unfortunately though, Six now had a full view of the face Jeff mutated so long ago. "What an award winning smile you've got there, buddy," she jested and Jeff growled in response. Stifling some laughter, Six croaked, "Oh, lighten up! It's nice make-up. You don't have to go and get so butt-hurt."

The young killer thought about her words. Make-up? She thinks he's wearing a make-up? How ridiculous, he thought to himself as he released his hold on her and backed off, allowing her to breathe better and stand up on her own. She rubbed at her neck and looked up at him, still smirking playfully. "Thanks for not squeezing out my trachea, man." Once she was feeling better, she adjusted her coat again and held out a hand towards Jeff. "My name is Violet, but around these parts, people call me Six," she introduced herself. Jeff stared down at her hand in silence, doing nothing.

There was a long, awkward silence between the two of them, until Jeff rudely turned away and started walking off. Six stared at him with a disappointed look but she quickly changed that and shrugged. "Alright then," she called out to him, "Be careful out there, buddy. Wouldn't want to run into a perv hoping to show the goods."

Jeff scowled harder, shuddering at the memory of when that actually almost happened once. Good thing he has a screwed up face... The young killer kept walking deeper into the park, away from people and away from Six.

Six had stayed in her place until Jeff's figure disappeared behind trees and bushes and shadows. She stared at where he last saw his body and thought. He was strong and stupidly fast, considering the guy looks like he rarely eats. He's obviously homeless but she knows he's too smart for that, despite him never saying a word. She could feel it once she laid her gaze upon those deathly black eyes of his. A delicious yet dangerous idea started forming within her mind and she couldn't help but smirk in response to yet another ingenious plan. This would be better than bootlegs or fake IDs.

And so with this, Six slipped her headphones on yet again, and began trotting off out of the park, leaving her schedule open to come back again tomorrow. Hopefully the man would have something to say by then.