Go to Sleep: Another Jeff the Killer Rewrite

## Go to Sleep: Another Jeff the Killer Rewrite by Master of Cringe

"Don't think that you're actually going to win this, because guess what? Ha! You're not."

The other team's center man mumbled in a mocking tone, obviously to throw the other off his game. However, the other center kept quiet. The constant chirps had been going on for the whole game. Every shift they were on together, every face off, the other team's center had said something. It was almost as if his coach had told him to do so.

The ref blew his whistle, the rink going silent beside parents cheering in the bleachers. The two center-men placed their sticks down, ready for the puck to drop at any second. When it did, the two players soon leaned into each other as they battled to get control of the puck to draw it back to one of their defensemen. However, in a second or two, the puck was already gone, now in the stick of the left defenseman of the opposing team.

There were a few seconds before the play would disperse, the rude player letting out a chuckle.

"Woah Woods, I thought you were actually supposed to be good..."

"Ugh back off!"

Jeff immediately yelled out, bringing his hockey stick up to crosscheck the other in the chest. The other player immediately stumbled back on his skates, almost losing balance and falling back from the unexpected blow. When he regained his stance, he narrowed his eyes on the other. Almost immediately after he dropped his stick and threw his gloved fists at Woods.

The ref's whistle blew loudly a few times in attempts to break up the play between the two teams players. However, the two kept on going at center ice. Punches, insults, and curses were thrown back and forth until their teammates grabbed their jerseys to pull them off of each other. However, their fighting didn't stop.

Jeff had thrown off his right glove as he felt his teammates grabbing his left arm. Without a second thought, he grabbed the cage mask of the other player's helmet, violently pushing him backward before letting go. The other player fell on the ice almost instantly, but before he got up his teammates held him down.

"Ugh, Woods you son of a bic- UGH! Let go!"

"Boys! That is enough!" One of the refs yelled out as he skated between the swarm, as he kept his arms out beside him. The commotion of the players subsided, the rink going quiet.

"34, you get two minutes in the box and 62, you're out for the next two games."

Jeff's crystal blue eyes widened, now the realization of his actions hit him like a knife to his heart. "B-but ref- sir! He was asking for it! You can't just give him two minutes!"

"Woods, there's no negotiation. It's either that or I'll double your suspension."

Jeff opened his mouth to reply, but instead, shut it when the truth dawned over him. He looked around, the parents, players and even couches along with the players on the bench were all staring right at him. Everyone was silent.

Jeff frowned, before picking up his stick and skated over to the door in the boards. On the way, he peered at his bench as he passed it. All of his teammates and coaching staff were looking at him, most in shock, some disappointed. He sighed before looking forward again, continuing his skate of shame down to the door.

Jeff pulled off his helmet as he stayed seated on the dressing room bench, releasing his long layered dark brown hair. The dressing room was decently new, but the smell of sweat and axe spray lingered around the smaller space. He moved his side swept away from his face to wipe a few beads of sweat from his forehead. He held his helmet by the cage, as he placed it beside him. He frowned, letting out a loud sigh.

"Great job Jeff, you really screwed up this time..." He mumbled to himself.

He couldn't believe himself; he had completely lost it out there. Growing up Jeff had always dealt with anger problems. Before they were quite minor, he'd get mad once in a while, but it was nothing too bad. However, a more recent loss of his caused him to snap at the smallest of things.

"Hey, Jeff...are you alright?"

Jeff lifted his head up a little to look at the change room door. His younger brother Liu stood at the doorway in his full hockey gear and stick. He panted a little as if he just got off a shift.

Jeff sighed. "Umm yeah, I guess. Does coach know that you're here? Shouldn't you be on?"

"I just got off, I wanted to check on you quickly."

Jeff nodded, running his hand through his shoulder-length hair before looking back down at his skates. "Is coach mad at me?"

"No, no one's mad at you," Liu explained as he walked over to his older brother, sitting beside him on the change rooms wooden bench. "Everyone's more worried."

The longer haired brother sighed, continuing to stare at the red laces on his skates. Besides his brief sigh, he stayed quiet, not giving a response through words.

Liu caught onto the fact that Jeff wasn't replying, so he decided to continue the conversation, onto a bit more of a lighter note. "Well besides that fight you had a great game, you almost scored a few tim-" Liu was able to say before Jeff interrupted him.

"Liu, you know why I snapped."

Liu's eyes widened a little, him frowning at the reminder why. "Oh, Jeff."

"You know. E-ever since the incident I haven't been the same. I'm admitting it b-because I just can't handle it anymore. You saw me snap out there, that wasn't me."

"I know and trust me: it hurt me too but it's not healthy anymore...I know I sound like mom and dad, but you just have to accept that he's gone."

Jeff didn't frown or even blink. He just stared at the ground with a monotone expression, feeling his eyes starting to well up.

Liu frowned, knowing that probably wasn't the best to say. He got up from the bench and headed to the change room door. "I umm, I think I should go back on...I'll ask mom and dad if we can get ice cream after, maybe that'll cheer you up. But yeah, I'll see you after!" The younger brother said as he stepped out, the metal door closing behind him.

Jeff's expressionless face soon changed the moment he looked back up. His mouth curved into a frown as a single tear rolled down his cheek. He sniffled, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his jersey. He knew ice cream wasn't going to solve what he was going through, the loss of someone he was extremely close to.

....................

"Hey, Jeff wait up!"

Jeff stopped in his tracks as he turned around, being met with his younger brother rushing up to him. He smiled a little as Liu came by his side. Once they were beside each other the two started to walk down the sidewalk.

"So, am I going to get an update on your freshman year?"

Jeff shrugged a little, truth be told his first few weeks in high school had been a bit of a struggle. The adjustment from grade school to his freshman year was already enough to handle, but on top of that, the events that took place early in the summer didn't make things any better. In addition, not having Liu in the same school was another blow. "Umm, it's been alright. You know, the classic 'minor niner' shit that all the freshmen get called in the halls. It's been really weird not seeing you at lunch though."

"Yeah, I was just about to say the same thing. But it's ok, I'll be in grade nine next year so we'll just have lunch then."

Jeff kept that same small smile and nodded, keeping a hold of the straps of his backpack. "So, how's grade eight been?"

"Exactly what you told me, teachers putting too much stress on the high school adjustment."

"Heh, I told you. But don't worry, you'll have a good year, Mrs. Lockson's a good teacher."

The two brothers continued to walk down the sidewalks of each block and street they passed as they got closer to their home. It was probably around a ten to fifteen-minute walk to their house, for the high school and junior high were relatively close. They were probably a good five minutes away from their house, as they walked down a strip of houses with a park across from it. On the weekends it was usually bustling with children playing, but right after school, it was merely dead. However, something stood out to the two boys, especially Jeff. Three teenagers stood by the jungle gym, laughing up a storm. That wasn't what mainly caught Jeff's attention though. That sight of the teenager with bright red dyed hair and cigarette in hand did. His hair is what caught his eye the most.

The longer haired brother immediately stopped in his tracks, staring at the teen in shock, his jaw dropping slightly. "It can't be..." He muttered quietly.

Liu stopped in front of Jeff, tilting his head a little as he looked at him in confusion. "You alright?" He questioned quietly, before looking at Jeff's view. "Oh, isn't that the kid from the 'crazy house'? You know, the one where the police are always called to? Why is he here though? He doesn't even live oh this block."

Liu's older brother turned his head to look back at him, his eyes burned with anger and rage. "T-that's Randy. Why isn't he in juvie? This isn't right, this is fucking bullshit." He muttered in anger. His hands balled up into fists, him walking over to across the street.

Liu's jaw dropped as he stood there in shock for a few moments. After snapping out of his trance he rushed over to Jeff who was already halfway to the park, grabbing his wrist immediately. "Jeff what are you doing?" Liu whispered.

"I'm setting things straight." He replied without looking back, tugging his wrist out of Liu's grip as he continued his angered walk.

All Liu could do was just stare at his older brother as he made his way to the three teens. He knew Jeff's anger was going to get him hurt.

On the other side of the street, a teen with long black wavy hair sat at the top of the playground, looking at Jeff as he walked over. "Randy, Troy? Do you guys know that kid?"

Troy, the bigger teen that sat at the bottom of the slide shook his head, gulping down the rest of his soft drink.

The bright red-haired teen took a puff from his cigarette, exhaling a cloud of smoke afterward. His eyes narrowed on the early teenaged boy walking towards him, letting out a sigh immediately. "Oh shit, it's this kid again." Randy muttered.

"What? You know him?" The black-haired teen questioned. He jumped off the platform he had previously been sitting on.

"I'll handle him, Keith." Randy replied, keeping his eyes fixed on Jeff.

Jeff now stood a good meter in front of Randy, his blue eyes flaming with anger and fist quivering by his side. There was a few years difference between the two, which made this encounter a little intimidating to Woods. Jeff was 14 where Randy was 17 and in his senior year of high school. It also didn't help that the red-haired teen had a bit of facial hair, which made him seem a lot older than the reality.

"Why aren't you in juvie?"

Randy sighed as he rolled his green eyes. He brought his cigarette back to his lips as he inhaled, moving the paper roll of tobacco and other harmful chemicals away from his lips, exhaling in the young teens face. Young Jeff immediately coughed the moment fumes entered his system.

"You know why I wasn't arrested, I didn't fuckin' kill him."

"You-" Jeff started but was interrupted by his own bodily reaction to the puff of smoke. He coughed into his elbow before continuing his sentence. "Y-you pushed him! What did you expect to happen!"

"I didn't know that he couldn't swim, you dumbass!! If the cops didn't think it was my fault, then it wasn't my fault!"

A big frown curved into the blue-eyed teen, his breathing instantly starting to speed up a bit as he felt the rage growing inside of him.

"Not replying now, huh?"

A small smirk crept onto Randy's face, Keith stood by the structure as Troy stood up from the bottom of the slide, tossing his can over his shoulder.

Liu rushed behind his older brother, grabbing his arm as he tugged on it a little, gesturing for him to turn around. Jeff felt his brothers hand quivering on his shoulder, indicating that he was anxious. "Jeff come on, let's go" Liu explained quietly, as he started to walk in an attempt to pull the longer haired teen with him.

At first, Jeff showed no resistance to his brother, allowing him to pull him away from the three as if he were a ragdoll. However, the teen's stare was fixated on Randy, his icy blue eyes continued staring into his very being.

"Heh, if I knew this emo lookin' fucker was going to be like this, I would've pushed him instead."

Jeff immediately stopped in his tracks as he stood still as a statue. His eyes widened, as his pupils and irises appeared to shrink.

His younger brother caught onto that immediately, letting go of his arm, looking at him in concern afterward.

"Don't listen to him, he's just trying to get to you. Just breathe." Liu reassured him quietly. However, Jeff was completely spaced out. He looked out into the distance with a blank yet shocked stare. The younger brother gulped nervously, patting his older brother's cheek to get him to look back at him.

"Jeff!" He whispered.

Jeff snapped out of his sudden trance, him instantly starting to breathe rapidly as he could practically hear his heart pounding in his chest. However, he barely even acknowledged his brother. Without warning, Jeff rushed over to the blood red-haired teen, going into what felt like a blind rage.

A cigarette bud and backpack dropped to the soft ground. Randy stumbled back with a groan, his ears ringing as he felt a warm substance quickly leak from his nose and into his mouth, tasting its warm metal-like properties.

Jeff recoiled his fist back, which now had a smudge of blood on his knuckle.

"You son of a fuckin' bitch."

Jeff nearly choked as he felt the collar of his t-shirt being tugged violently.

"Jeff!" Liu screamed out as his older brother was thrown to the ground. He went running at Randy, but he felt two people get ahold of him. Keith and Troy had run at Liu, grabbing his arms to hold him back from being able to help his brother.

"Let go!" Liu yelled out as he struggled against the two's grip.

This was Jeff's mistake, not his.

Jeff let out a whine of pain the moment he felt another hard kick to his side. He attempted to rise up but was instead greeted by another sudden restriction of his breath.

Randy kept his grip on the collar of his 'Friday the 13th' shirt, as he plunged his fist into the teens face.

Jeff let out a shriek as his head whipped back violently. His vision blurred as he felt his ears begin to ring, his whole head began to throb. Before he could recover Randy recoiled his fist back. Jeff's upper body fell to the ground as the collar of his shirt was released. He moaned in pain as his face started to sting. He could taste blood in his mouth as his vision cleared, watching Randy stand back up. "You gotta start choosing your fights better." The older teen said before he wiped the blood gushing from his nose. "Just wanna let you know that you're the one to blame for this, not me. You came at me first."

The younger teen lay on the ground, the ringing in his ears only grew louder to the point where it consumed his hearing. He felt extremely light-headed but felt burning strength and hatred grow inside of him. He felt as if he wasn't in reality, but in a dream for a little.

"Ugh fuck!" Randy yelled out the moment he felt the sharp stinging pain in his shin. He staggered back and hunched over slightly.

Jeff moved his foot away; he wasn't done fighting yet. He stood up, the ringing in his ears was the only thing that he was able to hear.

Randy wheezed and hunched forward; Jeff drew his fist back after jabbing it straight into his stomach.

They were at the same height level now, all of this happening too fast for the older teen to comprehend, he was losing.

He grabbed a handful of Randy's dyed hair, Jeff bringing his knee up with brute force.

Randy fell to the ground with a groan, holding his face as his nose squirted out blood again. The metallic-like odor started to fill the air.

Jeff stood above him, his mouth gushing blood as it poured out onto his chin. He finally felt the ringing in his ear subside, his eyes widening in horror at the realization of his actions. He stumbled back as he stared at Randy in terror, who had an angered look on his face as he began to sit up. "Oh no..."

He felt a strong tug on his arm, which instantly pulled him out of his horrified trance. It was Liu, who had been able to tug his arm out of the other twos grip, who had just been staring at Randy in shock.

Jeff knew that it was time to go, he grabbed his backpack off the ground as him and his brother booked it out of the park.

"Why are you two shit heads just standing there? Ugh, why do I always have to do this myself! Don't think you can run away ass-wipe, I'll kill you!"

The two brothers didn't look back but only continued to run down the sidewalk. Jeff breathed heavily as his breath hitched the moment, he heard Randy's hollering threat. He wouldn't have taken it so seriously if what happened in the summer didn't occur, where the red-haired bully had actually killed someone, Jeff's best friend.

..............................

*A small blonde teen giggled quietly, seeing the back of his long-haired friend sitting on a log as he looked out into the camps shimmering lake. He snuck behind him, with a big smile on his fair freckled face.*

*“Boo!” He shouted out as he grabbed the backs of his friends shoulders. The brunet jumped a bit, turning around to see his friend. He let out a laugh, patting the spot on the log beside him.*

*“Did I get you?” The blonde asked with a wide smile, the metal of his braces shining a little in the sun. He jumped over the wooden cylinder, sitting beside his best friend.*

*“Yes, yes you did. I’m going to get you back next time though, so you better watch out!*

*“Yeah sure broski, I’d like to see you try.” The freckled friend said jokingly, sticking out his tongue a little.*

*The longer haired teen laughed a little at that, patting his childhood friend’s shoulder. “So, did you end up talking with the counselors?”*

*“Oh yeah, I just did! They said there were still lots of the activities I can do, but I just need to have a life jacket.” The blonde replied.*

*“Oh okay, that’s not too bad. Good thing too, I’m really looking forward to doing the canoeing activity with you.”*

*“That makes two of us!”*

*The brunet smiled widely, looking back out into the shimmering lake waters. He and his friend had heard of this really fun away camp that a few kids had gone to in their grade. Everyone had been talking about it, and how much fun the kids had from staying over for the week. So naturally, the two friends begged their parents to let them go that summer. The long-haired teen’s parents were perfectly fine with it. In fact, they thought it was a great idea and experience for their eldest son. However, the blonde boy’s parents were a little on the fence about it. Sure, they did want their kid to have the experience but at the same time, they were extremely nervous to do so. Their son wasn’t the strongest of swimmers, in fact, he couldn’t swim at all. They had planned for him to for to swimming classes that summer, but the available time span for the boys to go was the first week of summer vacation. They ended up talking with the counselors and owners of the camp and explained their situation. They reassured the son’s parents that he’d still have a great experience but would have to wear a lifejacket and have a counselor observe him carefully.*

*“Oh, crap...I think I forgot to put sunscreen on.” The brunet friend said, pulling up his backpack that was behind the log onto his lap. He unzipped it, rummaging through its continents. “Damnit, I forgot to pack it. It figures that’s what the counselors stressed us to have.”*

*The freckled teen smiled a little, patting his friend’s shoulder. “It’s ok, just run back to the cabin to grab it.”*

*“But we’re going to start activities soon!”*

*“It’s okay, I’ll just tell our group leaders that you had to get something.”*

*The long-haired teen stood up and nodded. “Okay, okay, I promise I’ll be quick though!” He said, jumping over the log and running out of the beach area afterward.*

*The blonde laughed a little and looked at his friend rushing off. “Don’t trip on anything Jeff!” He called out.*

*Jeff rushed back to the beach, sunscreen in hand. He panted a little, he had literally run to their cabin and back. However, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening as he saw the sudden commotion near the docks of the camp’s lake. It could’ve just been the kids joining together for their camp groups before breaking off into their activities. However, Jeff couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that was crawling inside the pit of his stomach. Especially when he didn’t see his friend sitting on the log they were previously at.*

*“Oh no.” He dropped the bottle, instantly running over to the crowd of campers. However, he still didn’t see his small blonde friend. He knew something wasn’t right, he didn’t know why but he could just feel it in his gut.*

*“Excuse me, excuse me, pardon me!” He said quickly as he pushed through the group of teenagers that were all gathered around. Once he pushed and excused his way through to the front, he was met with a terrifying sight. He instantly let out a scream the moment he saw the commotion.*

*“Ben!”*

*His best friend, Ben, was lying on the dock, soaking wet, unresponsive and pale. A counselor desperately performed CPR and chest compressions on him. Other young adults and teens working as leaders for the camp tried to keep the kids and teens away from the scene, attempting to reassure them even when panic was clear in their voices and expressions.*

*“T-that’s my best friend!” Jeff cried out, already feeling tears filling in his eyes at the surreal sight.*

*He tried to run to his friend, but one of the male counselors grabbed ahold of him, to keep him away from the scene and to not cause distractions to the young adult trying to revive the blonde boy.*

*“It’s okay, the paramedics are on their way!”*

*“L-let go! I need to help him!” Jeff whaled out, pushing against the grip of the older teen. He yanked himself away from him, instantly rushing over to Ben.*

*He kneeled down, instantly grabbing ahold of his friend’s hand, as the young adult continued to press down on the blonde’s chest before plugging his nose and giving a few more breaths to him.*

*He stayed unresponsive.*

*Jeff squeezed Ben’s hand, closing his eyes tightly as he felt tears spilling onto his cheek.*

*“Come on Benny, come on. Stay with me, you can’t leave me! Please wake up!” The teen stammered out in panic.*

*The talking and yelling of the crowd stopped, all eyes were on the heartbreaking sight.*

*He was still unresponsive.*

*“Ben no! Stay with me! Please...please!” He was on the brink of sobbing, more tears rolling down his eyes as he waited for him to show any signs of life.*

*He stayed unresponsive.*

*Jeff bowed his head, shutting his eyes tightly. He let out a shudder, he felt himself about to break down into sobs. He felt the slightest of grip in his hand. His red puffy eyes shot open, seeing the small clutch his friend had on his hand.*

*“B-Benny?”*

*In the few minutes of him being at the surreal scene, Jeff began to feel some kind of hope. Maybe Ben was going to pull through, maybe he’d be ok. All of those hopes were thrown in a raging inferno when he felt his friend’s weak grip go completely limp.*

*Though there was no doctor to declare it Jeff knew that his best friend, Benjamin Lawman, was dead.*

*At that moment, the long-haired teen felt his whole world collapse around him. He screamed and cried harder than he had ever before. He felt as if his emotions had been thrown into a cauldron, that boiled into anger and cool down into heartbreaking sorrow. Nonetheless, he couldn’t hear himself sobbing, for he had a ringing and lightheadedness that caused him not to.*

*Counselors came by Jeff’s side, trying to reassure and calm him down, but they couldn’t clear up the storm that the boy had become.*

*The ambulance came quickly. A small hospital was luckily located near the campgrounds. Nonetheless, once they got a call about a drowned camper, they came minutes faster.*

*The paramedics hurriedly carried the stretcher out to the docks, only then the counselor had stopped performing CPR. The leaders continued to calm Jeff down, but they weren’t at all successful. He moved away from them, as he grabbed a hold of Ben’s limp figure before the paramedics took him onto the stretcher.*

*For a few moments, Jeff felt that the world and everyone around him went still, except for the glistening lake and pine trees in the distance that softly dancing in the wind. One of the paramedics placing his arm on his shoulder.*

*“I’m sorry, but we have to get your friend to the hospital.” The paramedic said calmly, but with sighs of urgency in her voice.*

*Jeff looked up at her, his eyes puffy and red from crying.*

*He reluctantly let go of him. The two paramedics grabbed Ben before they picked him up and strapped him to the stretcher.*

*Jeff watched them carrying Ben away, warm tears staining his cheeks. He shakily stood up as he wiped his eyes with his hand, even when he felt new tears forming, letting out a shudder.*

*He looked around, everyone was staring at him, most frowning or whispering to a friend beside them. Everyone seemed to be a blur to him. He heard the counselors trying to comfort him still, but their voices were all mashed together in Jeff’s ears.*

*However, though everything was a complete blur, one person stood out in the crowd. An older teen, with blood red hair that had turned around to run away. There was no court to confirm it, but Jeff knew then and there that the red-haired teen killed Ben.*

................................

The two brothers hurriedly ran into their house, Liu slamming and locking the door in a split second. He dropped his backpack and leaned his back against the door, panting heavily and letting his head hang. The two had run all the way back home, without looking back or stopping.

When Liu looked up, he saw Jeff wasn’t in front of him. The younger brother heard him running into the house, most likely to the bathroom. His suspicions were confirmed the moment he heard his older brother spitting into the sink.

Even though he was exhausted and breathing heavily, he rushed to the powder room.

Jeff stood over the sink; his hands gripped onto the ends of the countertop. The sink was now a red splattered mess, the longhaired teen spitting more blood into the crimson mess.

Liu stared in horror, “J-Jeff what the hell! W-what happened?’

“I’m fine.” He spat out another few drops, wiping his blood covered mouth with the side of his hand. “I think I just bit my tongue.”

Liu wanted to feel sympathy for his brother, but he just couldn’t. For a turn, the calm brother felt anger boiling inside of him.

“What were you even thinking!”

Jeff stood up straight, looking at his reflection rather than his brother. “I-I wasn’t.”

“Wasn’t thinking, huh? Are you kidding me! Jeff- What were you trying to do?”

Jeff turned around to face him, an angered look present on his beaten face. “How could I not Liu? Y-you know what he did! I-if you lost your best friend to an asshole like him you would’ve done the same!”

“No Jeff, no I wouldn’t have! Unlike you, I can actually control myself! You’re lucky he didn’t hurt you any worse!” Liu screamed out.

“I-I could have taken him on if I had your help! But no, you got caught by those other two jackasses!” Jeff yelled back in anger.

“Now you’re blaming me. I was going to pull you away from him, not help! Unlike you, I’m not a hothead that can’t control myself!”

Jeff’s eyes widened; the realization really sunk in. Liu rarely yelled or even got angry. So, it was clear that he was furious. Jeff felt more blood gushing out from the gash in his tongue. He turned his head to spit in the sink.

“Look at you. You’re a mess! Mom and Dad are going to kill you if they find out!”

After Liu said that, Jeff looked back at him. His right eye twitched in anger slightly. “You don’t understand Liu, you don’t fucking understand! I thought you’d actually be on my side with this, you always are!”

“I can’t put up with it anymore! The truth is that you need to accept that Ben is dead, and Randy isn’t going to JDC because of it! This isn’t healthy Jeff; you need to move on and except everything! Ben wouldn’t have wanted you to beat him up! No, he’d want you to mourn in a healthy way and move on!”

Those words were what silenced Jeff, realizing that he wasn’t right, and that Liu was. He looked away, spitting another few drops into the sink.

Liu took a deep breath, bring his hands to rub his face, letting out a sigh into his hands. He moved some of his side-swept hair away from his face before it fell back down onto his forehead. He knew his words were a little too harsh, but he needed to give his brother the cold hard truth of the situation.

“Listen, Jeff, I’m sorry.”, he said, inching closer to him. He placed his hand on his shoulder.

Jeff stood straight, wiping his mouth with his hand. He stared into the mirror, looking at his reflection with a frown. The bridge with his nose was cut and bloodied, along with his nose, that had dried maroon blood coming from his nostrils. Liu stood behind him, keeping his hand on his shoulder.

“No, you’re right Liu.” Jeff bowed his head, looking away from his reflection. “Ben wouldn’t want this.”

Liu sighed a little, patting his shoulder a bit “Let’s clean you up.”

The following week had been quite unpleasant for the teen. Word had gotten out about the fight to the high school’s students like wildfire shortly after. Apparently, a student had lived in the house across from the playground and witnessed the whole scene. Hearing rumors of Randy getting into a fight wasn’t new to any of the students. He was known to be someone that caused and got himself into trouble a lot. Once people heard that it was a ninth grader he fought, they were shocked, especially when rumors spread that Jeff had won the fight.

A majority of the school feared Randy, for stories and rumors had spread of people getting hurt over agitating him. So, when word got out of a freshman knocking him to the ground, students were amazed. However, something like this did have a price.

Jeff quickly got a reputation; one he didn’t exactly want to fit into. He was seen as the kid that knocked the big pest down. Whenever he walked down the hallway, he could feel eyes observing him, and people whispering to each other quietly. The word had even got out to his group of friends from hockey and middle school. No one dared to question the blue-eyed teen about it. Word hadn’t got out to the teachers or principle yet, so no official punishment had been made. Even better, Jeff’s parents were oblivious of it too. The Woods brothers had found some of their mom’s concealer, which they used to cover up the cut on his nose whenever they were home.

Jeff held the straps of his backpack as he headed out of the high school’s boundaries, other students poured out. He headed towards the middle school that was in view in the near distance, to meet Liu after he got out.

He heard a voice over the sounds of his music. Someone placed their hand on his shoulder, making Jeff stop in his tracks. He pulled his earbuds out with a tug, as he peered over his shoulder. The person trying to get his attention was another teenage boy. There really wasn’t anything significant to his, he just looked like any other teenage boy. However, it was clear to Jeff that he was a senior.

“Can I help you?” Jeff asked.

“Are you, Jeff? You know, the Jeff everyone’s been talking about...” He asked quietly.

Jeff sighed, pressing his lips together slightly. He was tempted to lie and say it wasn’t him, but at the same time, he knew it wasn’t worth it.

“Um yeah…” Jeff replied quietly.

The older teen looked around, before grabbing Jeff’s arm lightly and tugging him away from the sidewalk. The younger teen’s eyes widened, him moving his arm out of the teen’s grip.

“What is it?!-” Jeff questioned before the older male shushed him.

“Just, listen...Okay?”

Jeff looked at him in utter confusion, his brows knitted together. The senior student looked around once more, before turning attention to the freshman.

“I don’t know if all of the rumors are true, but shit man. You’ve gotten yourself in a bad situation. Do you even understand who Randy is?”

“I-it’s a long story that I’d rather not explain, things just got way out of hand…”

The older teen sighed, shaking his head a little. “You have a big storm ahead of you kid…”

Jeff’s crystal blue eyes widened a little. His mind instantly rushed to conclusions of the school finding out about it, and police getting involved. “A-am I going to be suspended?”

“Wait no, that’s not what I mean. It’s Randy, he’s who you have to be worrying about.”

“Uhh, yeah thanks. I’ll be sure to keep avoiding him.” Jeff says quietly, grabbing his earbuds to place them in his ears again, turning around to walk off. He was fed up with the reputation he had gained. Even this offer of help wasn’t something that he wanted to be hearing.

“Wait!” The older teen said, placing his hand on the freshman’s shoulder. Jeff sighed again, looking back at him with a monotone expression.

“I don’t think you understand kid, this is serious. Randy isn’t someone to mess with, there’s a reason why a majority of kids are scared shitless of him.”

Jeff’s monotoned, yet slightly annoyed expression suddenly changed. He didn’t realize people actually feared Randy, he was new to high school after all.

The older teen was about to continue but sighed, trying to conjure up the best way to explain the rumors surrounding Randy. He caught onto Jeff’s t-shirt, seeing a familiar horror icon on it. Michael Myers, one of the most famous slashers in cinematic horror.

“Have you seen Rob Zombie’s take on ‘Halloween’ by any chance?”

Jeff immediately perked up, a little confused by the random question, but caught onto the fact that he was looking at his shirt. “Oh, umm yeah, I don’t think I was supposed to though- I’ve seen all the Halloween movies.”

“Jeff, Randy is literally the young Michael Myers from that movie.”

The long-haired teen gulped down a huge lump that formed in his throat.

“It’s pretty much the same situation. Abusive father, whore mother, unstable home and siblings. Yeah, it’s a cliche but it happens in real life. It’s rumored that he kills animals just for the fun of it. He’s really messed up, you don’t understand. Everyone thinks he’s going to become a school shooter. Apparently, his band of misfits are terrified of him too.”

Jeff shook his head, not believing any of this. Okay yeah, maybe Randy was a bad and troubled teen but this was taking things too far. To him, all these rumors seemed cliche to be true. “As you said, it’s all just rumors. I’m sorry but I doubt all of that is true. I appreciate your warning though.”

“The police are always called to the house and everyone in town knows about it. Sure, maybe everything isn’t true but the fact that the cops are there doesn’t make it too far-fetched.”

“So what am I supposed to do?”

“Lay low, try not to run into him. Honestly just let it be, don’t push things any further. Okay?”

The freshman nodded his head.

“I gotta get going...Just please take my advice!” The older teen stated as he begun to walk off.

“I will!”

Jeff got a sour taste in his mouth and heavy feeling in his stomach after watching the teen walk off. He started to feel anxiety build up inside of him once reality soaked in, Randy was worse than he thought…

Jeff walked down the sidewalk cautiously, his hockey stick in hand that he grabbed from home. The sun was setting, the sky painted with numerous shades of orange, yellow and pink.

Earlier that evening, Jeff’s mother had called him, explaining that his father and she wouldn’t be home from work in time to pick up Liu. Who was over at a friends house that evening, working on a project.

As the day went on, the words the senior student shared with him sunk into Jeff more, and more. It had gotten to the point where that was all he could think of. He feared for the rest of his school year, Randy was only at the school for another year, but Woods couldn’t imagine not running to him again. Now Jeff was walking the streets, foolishly armed with a hockey stick. Praying Randy and his two followers weren’t stalking the streets.

“It’s ok Jeff. You’re more than halfway there.” He whispered to himself in reassurance.

He turned a corner onto the next street minutes later. He looked behind his shoulder for reassurance, even though he hadn’t expected to see anyone. He nearly felt his insides churn the moment he saw the three standing at the end of the street.

“Hey there lil’ bugger, miss me?” Called out the blood-red haired teen. His two pathetic sidekicks standing by his sides. From Jeff’s view, he could see the overweight kid Troy held a six pack of some type of liquor, where the ‘leader’ held something completely different. Even from a distance, it was clear that Randy was holding what looked like a bottle of a liquid chemical.

He felt frozen in fear for a mere moment, the young teen turned around and booked it down the sidewalk.

“Oh, he wants to run, ha! Three can play that game!”

He breathed heavily in terror as he turned into the entrance to the neighborhoods forest, which had trails connecting to different streets, including his own. The quick plan that he formulated at that moment was to go through the trail leading to his street, run into his house and just explain the situation to his younger brother on text. Liu could figure out a way home because Jeff knew this wouldn’t end well for him if he decided to walk over to the friend’s house.

He sprinted down the trail, hearing the soft dirt squishing beneath his sneakers and his heart pound inside his chest. He kept his grip on his stick tight, hearing three pairs of fast footsteps close behind. Seconds felt like minutes, and minutes felt like hours. His situation felt like a horror movie to him, feeling if he was the helpless prey and Randy was the bloodthirsty slasher.

Jeff looked over his shoulder as a natural instinct, seeing the three close on his tail. He looked forward again, the brown bark of a tree close in his view.

“Oh sh-” He was able to mutter out before his vision went completely black.

Jeff moaned in pain and opened his eyes slowly. His head throbbed, ears ringing and feeling as if he was in a fog. His nose stung with sharp pain, feeling a warm substance gushing out from his nostrils. He let his eyes wander around, even though he felt that everything was a blur. However, he did see three figures standing over him.

“Heh, you’re awake now? Get ahold of him, boys.”

Keith and Troy grabbed ahold of Jeff’s arms, keeping him down on the ground. Jeff suddenly began to wave off the fog in his head. He began to try and pull his arms away from the two’s grip, clearly sobering up from the blow to his head quickly. However, he still felt throbbing agony burning in his head and nose.

“W-what’s happening? Let go!”

The two didn’t loosen their grips, only tightening them around his arms.

Randy held the young teen’s hockey stick in one hand, and that bottle in the other.

“Awh, did you bring this as a weapon? What? Were you trying to be Casey Jones or something?” The red-haired teen mocked, dropping the stick to the side with a chuckle.

“C-can I just go? Please.” Jeff muttered groggily.

Randy looked back at him, a smile crept onto his face. It wasn’t a normal smile, no, it was a deranged smile that reeked of trouble and mischief. He stepped closer to Jeff, placing the white chemical-filled bottle on the ground. He crouched, to stay on the young teen’s level as he was forcibly held down. His smile was now gone, an angered expression replacing it.

“No. I’m here to make things fucking even. Y-you- You made me the laughing stock of the school in a week!”

He practically screamed out, Jeff wincing and letting out a whine as the loud sound made his head throb even more.

“No one beats me! No one! But you, you come fucking around and think you can make things even? Oh no, I don’t go for even, I go for winning!” He hollered out, drawing his right fist back.

Jeff let out a scream, his face whipping to the side from the unexpected blow. Randy grabbed a hold of the collar of Jeff’s shirt, making him stare right at him.

“I always win…”

A tear seeped out from Jeff’s eye, partly from pain, but from fear as well.

“I-I’m sorry! I just wanted to get back for m-my friend! P-please don’t kill me!” He begged, still trying to pull away from the other two, more tears streaming down his face.

Randy’s smile returned on his paler face, making him look like a sadistic madman.“Kill you?... Are you kidding me?” He let out a chuckle. “What good would killing you do for me? No, I’m just going to teach you. Well, a good lesson.”

He grabbed the big white bottle, bringing it up into Jeff’s view, bleach. “One time my dad pulled a bottle of bleach on me. You know, a well-known cleaning product. He heard about all the shit I cause, though that dick is no saint. He claimed that I needed to clean my act up. So, he held me down and poured it all over me. It stung like a bitch but meh, I got out of it fine. So, now it’s your turn.”He said, twisting the cap off.

Jeff’s eyes immediately widened, feeling more tears streaming out from his eyes. “N-No please no! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to start that fight!” He screamed out, trying to move his arms and kicked his legs desperately.

Randy ignored Jeff’s cries out for help, he stood up as the other two continued to hold him down. The artificial red-head stood up, holding the bottle of open bleach by his side.

“Now, it’s your turn to have your act cleaned up.” He said with that same sadistic smile plastered on his face.Then poured the bleach onto the young teen.

Jeff kept his eyes and mouth shut the moment he felt the liquid chemical fall onto his face and clothes. He stopped struggling completely, not wanting to risk ingesting or getting the harmful liquid in his eyes. He lay there, motionless as the twisted teen poured the bleach all over him. After Randy stopped, he felt the reaction with his skin begin. It started to send an irritating and burning pain throughout his skin. Likely if it had just been one drop he would’ve been fine, but this was a whole bottle all over him. He let out muffled moans and whines of pain as he kept his eyes and mouth shut. He couldn’t keep still any longer, rolling around as he tried to get the liquid off of his skin.

The slim and overweight teens let go of Jeff, standing straight again as they looked at Randy, mostly in concern. The look in the blood-red haired male’s green eyes was not sane. He let out a laugh, watching Jeff on the ground in pain, taking some sort of sick pleasure from it. Troy gulped, nudging Keith.

“Say something.” He muttered.

Keith cleared his throat, as he looked at the cackling sadistic mess Randy had become. “So, what now?

Randy continued to stare down at Jeff with that sick, power-lusting smile plastered on his face. “We’ll give it a few minutes, then we’ll just dump him in the stream…” He said, bringing his hand out, as a gesture for the big to give him a drink.

Troy caught onto this, quickly grabbing a can of liquor from the six pack that Randy forced him to bring. He tossed it to him, still being a little creeped out by the smile on his face. The twisted teen caught it, quickly busting the can open. He took a sip of the strong vodka beverage, before pouring some of its contents down on Jeff, who was still on the ground and covered in bleach.

“Heh, maybe that’ll ease the pain a bit.” He said mockingly.

Jeff winced when he felt another liquid being spilled onto him, his eyes and mouth still shut as he just prayed the three would throw him into the stream soon.

Randy chugged down the rest of the drink, flinging it over his shoulder. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and matches. He pulled one of each out, placing the cigarette on his lip and ran the match against its box, igniting it. He began to bring the match to the tip of the cigarette but felt it slip from his grip.

“Fuck!” He screeched out the moment it fell, the realization dropped on him hard. His eyes widened in horror, watching the flaming match in slow motion.

Flames soon spread onto what the match had fallen on, Jeffery Woods. Jeff let out a loud blood-curdling scream of agony, the orange and yellow flames had nearly engulfed the young teen.

“Randy! What did you fucking do!” Troy screamed out.

“I-I don’t know! Holy shit!”

All the three could do was watch in terror at the boy screamed in agony. He crawled his way to the small stream that was a few meters in front of him with all the energy and strength he could build up. He felt himself falling, a cold rush of water soon putting out the scalding heat. He turned onto his back, staring up at the sunset sky. Everything but his face was under water, for the stream wasn’t too deep. He couldn’t see himself, but he knew his physical condition wasn’t good. He let out a scream of pain again, followed by more. The flames had been put out, but the excruciating burns that covered his whole body gave him an indescribable pain that no one should ever have to endure. Suddenly, he felt darkness consume him.

Jeff felt light being welcomed into his darkness, as he slowly started to feel reality sink in, and gravity keeping him down. He opened his eyes slowly, but surely, wincing at the sudden bright lights of the room. Once his eyes adjusted, he was able to let his eyes wander around the room. He was now in a hospital, which just made him question how long he was really out for. He tried to sit up, but his body didn’t allow him to. He could soft bandages on some portions of his face, as well as a majority of his body.

“Oh, hello Jeff! Well, you choose a good time to wake up, I just came in to make some notes.” A male voice said from the doorway. He walked over to Jeff’s bedside. He wore a lab coat and tie, holding a clipboard and pen by his side. He smiled warmly at the boy, knowing Jeff needed all the smiles he could get after what happened. “I’m Doctor Patterson, I’m your assigned doctor for the remainder of your stay. I’ll be along with you through treatments.”

Jeff, still in a daze, looked at him with a tired yet confused look, clearly, he hadn’t fully processed everything yet. “Treatment?”

“I’m not sure if you’ll be able to remember because you did suffer some brain trauma, but you were burnt, severely.”

Jeff sleepy eyes widened in terror. Tears began to well up in his eyes, recalling bits and pieces of that night. He was terrified, how disfigured would be?

The doctor took into account that the young teen was in deep distress, just from seeing the tears in his blue eyes. He smiled down at him warmly, as an attempt to reassure him. “The damage isn’t nearly as bad as it could’ve been, we all considered you an extremely lucky boy. Numerous surgeries had been conducted, and surgeons were able to restore your face the best they could. You had gone through some plastic surgery procedures as well to further fix everything.”

Jeff felt relief wash over him smiling ever so slightly, as he let out a sigh.

“However, you still have a long road of recovery. As well as the burns you’ve suffered from a terrible concussion as well as a broken nose. You had been put under a medically induced coma for a few weeks because your body and brain really needed the time to heal. However, there is one thing that my team and I haven’t been able to explain, your skin didn’t burn in a way we’d expect.”

“Huh?” Jeff asked, a little confused.

“Well, it defies everything we know, and we believe has never been seen in medical history. Your skin, it turned wh-”

“Jeff? Oh, Jeff, you’re awake!” Said a familiar female voice.

Both the young teen and Doctor Patterson looked at the doorway, seeing the boy's parents, Mrs. and Mr. Woods, along with his younger brother Liu. All had big smiles on their faces. Jeff’s mother was the first to rush in, excited and relieved that her son was finally conscious. The Doctor smiled and stepped away, feeling it was best for him to see his family first.

Jeff’s mother, Margaret Woods, came by his bedside, kneeling down to be by her bandaged son’s side. “Oh, honey we’ve missed and been worried sick about you…”

The boys’ father, Peter Woods walked in with Liu by his side, who was excited to see his older brother was okay.

“We’re happy to have you back Jeff, what a tough kid you are to power through all those surgeries.” His father said a smile.

Jeff, still a little dazed, smiled at them. Even in his state, he knew there was going to be a long road of recovery, but he was relieved knowing he’d have his family by his side.

The next little while had gone by, treatments, check-ups and bandage changes came every few days. Now that Jeff was fully conscious and aware, the whole hospital process seemed much longer than the month he spent in the temporary coma. When family and friends weren’t visiting him, he’d watch his favorite movies, slasher films due to the fact that he had been hospitalized all the way up into October. The goal for the team of nurses and doctors that treated him of his burns was to get him out and healed sometime before Halloween. For they knew that no kid would want to spend a fun holiday in the hospital.

Though Jeff’s recovery was quite smooth considering what happened, he became more and more anxious to see his face. He’d ask, but Doctor Patterson suggested it would be best to see once everything was healed.

The day was October 29th, the day before Jeff was told he’d be able to return home. His parents had been informed of the condition of his face and skin, so they had been able to process it on their own. However, Jeff had no idea. The nurse who would routinely change his bandages was there to take them off one last time.

“Are you ready?” She asked once the last bandage had been removed from his face.

He nodded his head as he stayed sat up on the hospital bed. His mother stood by his side as she held his hand, Mr. Woods and Liu stood beside her.

The nurse held a mirror in front of the boy's face, his blue eyes instantly widened. His face was not something you would think could ever be possible. As his doctor said, his face wasn’t fully deformed and still had structure to it. However, his skin was not the same as it once was. His skin was literally white. His lips had been burnt to a slight tint of red, and his eyes were bordered in black. His longer layered hair was also extremely different, it had literally changed from dark brown to black.

He stared in shock for what felt like hours, trying to begin to process how any of this was even possible. He was not your typical burnt victim.

“Mrs. and Mr. Woods? May I speak to you for a second?” Doctor Patterson called from the entrance door, gesturing for them to step out into the hall with him. The two complied, both a little shocked to see their son like this for the first time.

“Is it about...his face?” Margaret asked quietly.

“Oh no, your son will be alright, the damage could’ve been a lot worse. I just, want to bring something else to your attention...Your son physically is okay and healed, it’s just…” He sighed and took a deep breath. “We believe your son has been showing symptoms of mental disorders.”

Margaret’s eyes widen, as he instantly covered her mouth with her hand. Peter was equally concerned, staring at Mr. Patterson in shock.

“Doctor, what do you mean? Can you please explain?” Jeff’s father questioned.

“Well, from the time he had woken up to now my team and I have seen changes...It could honestly be nothing, but we are concerned because he did suffer brain damage, the concussion he was diagnosed with could’ve caused damage.” He explained, still being a little vague. "I booked an appointment for Jeff with a child psychiatrist. He’ll run some test on your son and make any diagnoses if needed.”

The two parents continued to stand there, now processing everything better. Nonetheless, they were still shocked and a little upset. Already praying and hoping everything was okay with their son.

“What day is the appointment?” Mrs. Woods questioned, worry clear in her voice.

“October 31, which is the soonest day I could book anything.”

“Doctor, that’s Halloween.”

“I know Mrs. Woods, but I assure you, the appointment won’t take the whole day.”

The parents looked at each other, Margret was clearly upset with this. She looked back at the doctor, shaking her head. “Is there any way you can change the appointment? Halloween is our son’s favorite holiday; we just want him to celebrate it without being in the hospital…” She pleaded.

Doctor Patterson, a father himself, understood fully. He nodded his head, putting on a warm smile. “I’ll have to see what I can do.”

“Thank you. “Margaret said with a relieved smile, Peter looking relieved as well. However, back in the room, things took a turn.

Jeff giggled as he stroked his face, now holding the mirror in front of him. Liu stood beside him, still trying to process his brother’s new face. He felt a little creeped out by Jeff’s odd reaction. However, he figured it was better than his older brother crying over his disfigurement.

“So umm...I’m guessing you like your face?”

Jeff let out another laugh, turning his head to look at Liu. “How could I not Liu? I finally have my own look now!”

Liu gulped, letting out a nervous and slightly forced laugh. He figured it was just the pain medication or something that made Jeff act like that. However, that was far from the reality.

Jeff returned home before Halloween as was promised, and he was extremely excited and happy. His parents agreed that he shouldn’t go to school just yet and thought it would be easier if he went after his current mental state was all figured out. While Liu had gone to school, the two parents took the day off work to spend it with their son. They did the traditions centered around the holiday that he wasn’t able to do that month during his stay. They also knew this was probably going to be Jeff’s last year of trick-or-treating, so they really wanted to make the best out of it for their son. Earlier that month, Margret ended up buying him a costume. It was a black hockey jersey with accents of red and white and his all-time favorite slasher’s mask in the center, Jason Vorhees. Jeff was obviously excited about it, wearing it that whole Halloween day along with his white hoodie underneath and Jason Vorhees’ goalie mask.

However, there was something that everyone had overlooked that Halloween night, the way Jeff smiled as he carved a huge grin onto his jack-o-lantern pumpkin…

“Mom? Dad? Are you guys, ok?” Liu questioned, knocking on their closed bedroom door. After being awoken by a loud scream, the boy was understandably frightened. He figured that his parents could’ve been watching a horror movie, however, the cry of pain seemed all too real for him to comprehend.

“G-Guys?” Liu started to get freaked out and anxious at the lack of response, beginning to grow extremely worried. He gripped the metal doorknob, taking a deep breath as he slowly pushed it open, nearly falling back at the sudden sight.

Jeff stood in the darkroom, inches away from the doorway the little bit of light in the hallway casting onto his hockey mask.

Liu let out a wheezy breath, backing up a step as he stared at his brother in confusion. “J-Jeff! What- Y-you scared me!”

He didn’t reply. He stood still as his eyes stared at Liu behind the mask.

As the younger brother’s eyes began to adjust to the darkness, he could make out a certain detail on Jeff’s mask that wasn’t there before...Blood splatters.

“O-okay Jeff, you got me. Now, can you please just take off the mask?”

The hockey-masked brother still stayed silent, Liu feeling as if this was a joke or prank that was going way too far. He brought his hands to Jeff’s mask, slowly pulling it off onto his black mound of hair. Liu screamed and fell back as he stared at him in shock.

Jeff had an outstretched smile, that was gushing and squirting out blood, it was running down his neck and was pooling out of his mouth. He smiled in a sick and twisted way, his wide eyes only adding to the insane look even more. He had tears streaming down his face. He kneeled down to Liu’s level.

The younger brother stared in shock, not even being able to stand up out of sheer fear and terror. Liu began to scoot back, shaking his head as he felt tears leaking from his eyes. Jeff crawled forward, keeping that same mad smile on his face.

“What do you think Liu? I carved it myself.” He said in an almost playful, but sad voice.

Liu shook his head in terror, continuing his attempts in crawling backward. He couldn’t even speak, but only let out shutters and small sobs.

Jeff grabbed ahold of his ankle with a firm tug, bringing a large kitchen knife into his brother’s view, only making more tears spill out from his green eyes.

“Jeff p-please! Stop!”

The long-haired brother ignored his plea, crawling on top of him as he pinned his brother down.

“S-stop moving Liu! I want this to be as pain-free as possible! The more you move, the more it’s gonna hurt!”

Jeff raised the knife, letting out a sob as he himself felt more tears streaming from his own eyes. He brought the knife down, but Liu and thrashed his head to the side, the knife cutting a line into the bridge of his nose and cheek. He let out a shriek, his eyes shut.

“S-Stop!” He cried out.

“Please Liu, s-stop moving! I-I don’t want to do this, but I have to!” He cried out as he brought the kitchen knife up, stabbing it down on his brother’s chest.

Liu let out a loud cry of pain the moment the knife broke through his skin and was pushed into his chest cavity. Jeff ripped the knife out, repeating the same motion again, and again.

Jeff ripped the knife out one last time, his face, Jason Vorhees jersey, and white hoodie were now drenched in more blood. He let out a sob as he saw his brothers face, he was still alive, but barely. He green eyes were filled with tears and betrayal, a large frown curved into his now pale and bloodied face.

“W-why?”

“I-I had to Liu.I promise you’ll go to a better place now. You’ll be asleep with Mommy and Daddy, and not have to live in this sick and terrible world. Please, go to sleep.”

Liu’s tear-filled eyes stared at Jeff a little while longer, before closing slowly, not opening again.

Jeff let out a sob, staring at the frowning and bloodied corpse of his brother. Liu was such a happy kid, and Jeff couldn’t bear to ever see him frown. He leaned in, giving him a small kiss on the cheek.

“I love you, Liu…” He said quietly, bringing his bloodied knife to Liu’s face, pressing the blade against his cheek. He pressed down, running the blade along his cheek. He drew the knife back, looking at Liu’s face, now with a smile carved into his cheeks.

“Now, you can smile forever…”

...............................................

“Have you found the eldest son yet?”

“No, only the bodies of the three.’

“How bad is it?”

“It’s the worst crime scene I’ve seen in all my years being a cop...”

The young female police officer gulped nervously, staring at the open door of the house. “Oh jeez” She replied.

Another officer walked up to the crowd of neighbors that heard the sirens and screams from within the house, standing outside to know what happened. Police cars and an ambulance were parked in the driveway. The red and blue siren lights illuminating the crime scene. Yellow police tape surrounded the premises.

“We’re still trying to gather evidence and an explanation, but the eldest son is still to be found. Had anyone witnessed or seen him within the past hour?” He questioned, grabbing his pen and notepad.

In the background, a few paramedics rolled out three stretchers, with the three family members in body bags. Some of the neighbors instantly started to cry the moment they saw this, now confirming that at least three of the beloved Woods family were dead.

A young teenager stepped out from the back of the small crowd, nodding her head. She wore a fluffy robe over her pajamas, her wavy brown hair just past her shoulders.

“I’m one of the people that called 911, I think I saw Jeff running out and onto the street.” She explained, the officer writing her statement down.

“What is your name?”

“My names Jane...Jane Arkensaw.”

A young man walked down the trails of the community park. The lamp next to the concrete trail was the only thing illuminating the path. He stopped beneath the lamp post, looking down as he took one last puff of his cigarette, letting it fall as he stomped it out with his shoe.

Randy Harrison, the teen everyone feared back in high school was now a grown man in his mid-20s. Though Keith and Troy moved away from their dangerous lifestyles and worked hard for a new beginning, Randy was still an utter mess. He wasn’t a school shooter like everyone estimated, but now a drug dealer. He had been in and out of jail after being released from JDC when he was charged for the damage he caused to the young Woods boy. He still had his signature blood-red hair, even though it was now unkempt and faded with his natural roots growing in. He also appeared to look older and have dark bags under his eyes, as a result of the harder drugs he had gotten himself into.

He heard leaves rustling in the forest beside, instantly turning to it and pulling out his switchblade. “Who’s there?” He called out.

The lamp suddenly flickered, the surroundings going completely dark before it went back on. Once it did, a person stood on the outskirts of the forest who was not there before. The young man, who stood at about 6’0 had a lean build, that was covered by his baggy white hoodie but shown in his ripped black skinny jeans. He wore his hood over his head, it casting a shadow down on his face. However, Randy was able to see the long black hair that came out from his hood, it nearly touching his stomach.

“Heh, I’ve been trying to find you for years.”

Randy backed up a little but still felt as if he was paralyzed with fear. “Who the fuck are you?...”

The long-haired man let out a chuckle, bringing his hands to pull his hood off. His long black hair covered his right eye, as the left side of his head was buzzed down to stubble. His white face was decorated with piercings, along with his ears, that had black gauges stretching his earlobe out. His crystal blue eyes were bordered with black. However, the most off-putting feature was his unnaturally large smile, that had literally been made of two large cuts. “Does the name, Jeff Woods ring any bells?”

“N-no- It can’t fucking be.” Randy muttered out, in complete shock and terror.

He nodded his head. “Oh, you fucking bet that it’s me, I’ve just, changed a little from the last time you’ve seen me.” 19-year-old Jeff said with a chuckle. “You know, you’re the real blame for all of this. If you hadn’t decided to set me on fire none of this would’ve happened. But I do have to thank you, because of your dumbassness I’m one of the countries most wanted serial killers.”

“It was a mistake, I swear.” He muttered out.

“I’m not the only mistake you’ve caused.”

The lamp flickered once again, however, when it went back on a new sight was to be seen. A small boy was now beside Jeff. His skin was white with a tint of blue, his hair was a golden shade of blonde with elf ears sticking out, a long green hat over his mound of hair. He wore a green shirt with a white collar, shorts, and boots. He also wore a long black tattered coat that touched the back of his knees. He floated a few inches off the ground, his black and red glowing eyes stared at Randy with hate, bloodied tears staining his white childlike cheeks.

"I think you owe Ben an apology."

Randy shook his head, his eyes continuing to stare at the two in utter shock and terror. "This isn't real, this isn't real." He muttered to himself before turning around, sprinting down the street.

Ben looked up at Jeff, tilting his head a little. "What do you suggest?"

Jeff watched Randy helplessly running away, before smiling down at his best friend.

"I say it's your turn to make him go to sleep."