Prologue
Prologue
Killer’s POV
Date: October 31st, 2023
Location: Willow Creek, Cansentien
The air was unusually cold that night.
As we trampled through the brown and orange leaves lining the path, she had no idea what was coming.
I loved that.
Lacey was too drunk to realize this was a trap. Dressed in her Little Red Riding Hood costume, her blonde curls cascaded down her shoulders as she babbled endlessly about some guy she’d met at the party. I did my best to conceal the anger boiling inside me.
Poor Camren, I thought. He really was blind to that witch’s manipulation.
Then again, they all were. If they’d never met Lacey, none of this would be necessary. They wouldn’t have to suffer for her sins.
“Earth to Asteroid!” Lacey’s voice cut through my thoughts, nasal, obnoxious, and congested, just like always.
“Ah, sorry,” I said, forcing the sweetest smile I could muster. “What were you saying?”
She rolled her eyes. “I was saying Camren really is a sweetheart, but Troy…” She smirked. “He just does something to me, if you know what I mean.”
As she rambled on about her conquests, my gaze drifted to her neck, right to that stupid necklace.
“Is everything alright?” she asked, clutching it when she noticed my stare.
“Yeah,” I said calmly. “I was just admiring your necklace. It really is beautiful.”
She giggled and stumbled forward, her heels sinking into the dirt. The alcohol made every step clumsier.
“Whatever it is you’ve got to show me better be good,” she continued. “Lance and I were getting to know each other so well.”
“Oh yeah,” I said lightly. “I definitely saw that. College parties really are the best… even for a high schooler, huh?”
She stopped.
I watched sobriety return to her eyes as she slowly turned around. Confusion etched across her face.
“Wait,” she said. “How did you even know it was a college party?”
I smiled,but said nothing.
The realization hit her like a ton of bricks.
I wasn’t supposed to know that.
In that single second, she understood: her past transgressions had finally caught up to her.
“Did you set me up?” she whispered.
I could see her true self beginning to surface, and that’s exactly what I wanted.
I stepped forward. Calm. Careful. Cold.
When I moved into the light, she saw the weapon in my hand, a silver dagger. Old-fashioned, I know. But this needed to be poetic.
“You think you’re so untouchable, don’t you, Lacey?” I said softly. “That you can do whatever you want and everyone should fall at your feet.”
She froze. Ironic, really. I always thought sociopaths, psychopaths, and narcissists feared nothing.
“Do you remember what you did to her at the lake last year?” I asked. “On this very day?”
I traced the knife along her face.
She scoffed. “What are you talking about? That was an accident. We did nothing wrong.”
I shoved her hard, cutting her off, and dragged her the rest of the way to the lake’s edge.
“You did nothing wrong, huh?” I grabbed her hair and dunked her face into the freezing water, holding her under just a second too long. When I pulled her up, she coughed violently.
“You don’t remember luring my sister here?” I asked as she shook her head in denial.
“Beating her?” I flipped her over and slapped her hard.
Still, she denied it.
“No? Really?” I snarled. “You don’t remember smashing her face in with a rock?!”
“No!” she screamed, not in fear, but in irritation. “I never did!”
“Maybe we should ask her,” I said.
Confusion flickered across her face until she saw her.
Standing at the edge of the clearing. Red Hood. Mask engraved with a single X.
When the figure removed the mask, Lacey froze. Shock flickered… then faded.
Her true nature surfaced.
“I knew it,” she chuckled. “I knew it wasn’t really you. You were too ugly before. You’ve changed so much.”
She laughed hysterically.
“So what is this? Some revenge plot?”
She looked unimpressed. “You got me good, I’ll admit that. But you’re going to have to do a lot more than this to get back at me.”
She turned back to me. “Because when I get out of here, I’m going to make both your lives a living hell.”
I chuckled slowly.
“Oh, Lacey. Narcissistic. Psychopathic Lacey.”
I crouched beside her and whispered, “There’s just one small flaw in your plan.”
I brushed her golden hair back gently… then yanked her head with all the force I could muster.
“You aren’t leaving,” I said coldly. “Not alive, anyway.”
I pinned her down just like her friends had done to my sister and stepped aside for my partner in crime.
“X” began punching her mercilessly. Her screams echoed through the empty woods. When it stopped, Lacey’s once-beautiful face was swollen, red, and battered.
Still, she taunted.
“Ha. Is that all you’ve got?” she laughed. “I remember hitting you much harder than that.”
“X” was shaking with rage.
“You were useless then,” Lacey sneered, “and you’re still useless now.”
She laughed, savoring her final moments of control.
“X” grabbed the dagger and began stabbing everywhere that wasn’t vital.
It went on for an hour.
Barely clinging to life, Lacey finally rasped, “If you’re going to kill me… then do it.”
“You’ll always be beneath me anyway.”
“Shut up!” “X” screamed.
“You’re not brave enough, are you?” Lacey mocked.
“I said shut up!”
“DO IT!” Lacey yelled.
I saw the hesitation slip from “X’s” demeanor.
“I SAID DO IT, AM”
The knife plunged straight through Lacey’s heart.
We watched the light drain from her eyes.
And with that…
The vengeful war began.
Author's Note
Hey Guys, I hope you enjoyed your read!
The pintrest picture above is how I envision Lacey Greene
