Friends (2)

Sitting beneath a tree, Brian relaxed and let all his burdens disappear. The wind blowing through his hair, the leaves rustling beside him, even in the most peaceful environment, there was still an odd presence. He felt as if someone were watching him. But he wasn’t sure. Letting the peacefulness overtake him, Brian fell asleep against the tree.

“Hey!”

Brian awoke, scared to the point where he couldn’t breathe. Out of the corner of his left eye, he saw a small boy, perhaps 9 years of age.

Confused, Brian asked, “Who are you?”

The little boy jumped and spun around with a smile on his face. He quickly answered, “My name is Alex!”

“Well, alright, Alex. What possessed you to startle me while I was sleeping?”

Alex sat down beside Brian.

“I was watching you for a little while, you seemed lonely. I thought I would come over here and give you someone to talk to.”

“Oh.” Brian replied. “Well, thank you for your kindness, but if you don’t mind, I think I’m going to try to get some shut eye. It’s been a long day.” After saying that, Brian rested his back against the tree and closed his eyes.

THUD

“Ouch!” Brian yelled. “What the hell was that?!”

Brian looked around and saw a rock the size of a tennis ball laying beside him, one side covered in blood.

Brian put his hand against his head where the rock struck him, then pulled it back and inspected his bloody palm.

Angry, Brian screamed “Who threw this?!”

Brian heard a faint giggle from behind the tree. He looked around it and saw Alex.

“Alex.” Brian said softly. “Did you throw this?”

With a shy look on his face, Alex giggled again and looked Brian in the eyes and said “May-“

Before Alex could finish his sentence, Brian grabbed him by the throat and pushed him up against the tree.

“Never throw something at me again!” Brian shouted. “Or next time, the rock will be down your throat!”

Alex continued to laugh.

Brian, feeling embarrassed that his threats did no harm to the boy, slowly backed away.

“What do you want?” Brian asked.

“It’s simple,” Alex said with a frightening smirk on his face. “I just want to be your friend.”

Brian, feeling scared, backed away. “Well… Uhh… That’s cool and all, but I really must be heading home.”

Brian darted away from Alex until he felt that he was far enough away from that creepy little child, and he sat down in the grass to catch his breath.

“What is the matter with that kid?” Brian said, talking to himself. “His creepiness level is off the charts. I wonder if he-“

A small cough came from behind Brian. He turned around and saw Alex, still with that creepy expression on his face.

“Whatcha talking about, Brian?” Alex asked.

“How…. How do you know my name? I never once told you it,” Brian said, confused.

Alex smiled again. “Oh, I know more about you than you think, Brian. From what size shoe you wear, to what the last thing you said to your mother was.”

Brian stood up and started running. Feeling too scared to stop and rest, knowing that Alex would catch up to him, Brian kept running until he reached his home.

He burst through the front door and shut it as quickly as he possibly could. He leaned against the front door long enough to catch his breath.

While resting, he realized all the lights in the house were off. He thought to himself “That’s odd… both of their cars are in the driveway and the door would be locked if they had left the house this late”. “Hello?” Brian said. “Mom? Dad?” There was no answer.

He began to walk down the hallway that led to the living room. He slowly turned the corner, and couldn’t believe his eyes. His mother and father were hanging by hooks from the ceiling, their bodies mutilated beyond belief. There was blood dripping from the lacerations on their throats. Their limbs had the skin ripped off of them. And their chests were cut open, revealing their organs.

Brian stared in horror at the mutilated sight of his beloved parents. At that moment, Brian heard an all too familiar voice.

“It’s a beautiful sight, isn’t it?”

Brian turned around to see Alex leaning against the wall, holding a blood smeared knife in his hand.

“You sick freak!” Brian shouted.

Alex began to walk towards Brian. “Why do you say that, Brian?”

With tears gathering in Brian’s eyes, he shouted, “Why did you do this?!”

Alex stood a foot away from Brian, twirling the knife in his hand. “Because you didn’t want to be my friend.”

Alex jabbed the knife into Brian’s stomach repeatedly.

Brian fell to the floor and watched, his vision fading, as Alex ran out the door.

The next morning, the headline of the town newspaper read: "3 found dead, brutally murdered, in local home. There are currently no suspects in the case".

Three weeks later

“Yes mom, I’ll do it when I get home,” Thomas said as he talked to his mother on his cell phone. THUD

“Ow! Mom, let me call you back.”

Thomas bent over to pick up the rock. He turned around and saw a figure standing a few feet away from him.

“What do you want?” Thomas asked.

The figure replied, “I just want to be your friend.”