The Carter Hollow Murders

"Trace" - Twentieth / Twenty-first Official Murders

I feel strangely nervous as I get ready for my next kill. My head is buzzzing, my stomach is fluttering, and I can feel my blood surging through my veins. I haven't felt this excited in ages. But the time is here--finally here--when I get to kill Danielle Wilde. I didn't intend to kill her at first. I though my conscience would stop me before then. I'm running out of victims, and my heart hasn't said a peep. Offing Danielle should be a pleasant challenge.

I shrug on a coat go outside, keeeping my head down as I slip through the night. My thoughts torment me as I head to the dorms. 'What if I mess up? What if I fail? What if I don't feel sorrow that she's dead?' But the whisper of cool air against my face soothes me. 'It's one kill,' I remind myself. 'You've done this plenty of times before.'

But this isn't like the other times. All my previous actions were spur-of-the moment. This one is the first killing I've planned. No more hiding in the shadows. No more pleading involuntary manslaughter if caught. This is first-degree murder. There's no more denying the fact.

Reaching the dorm, I head for the electrical box. A splash of water shorts it out, plunging the dorm's shining windows into darkness. Shrieks and squeals pierce the night as giddy girls run past me and tumble out the door, chattering excitedly about the unexpected blackout.

After a few seconds later, I see Danielle's face in the glow of a streetlight. She pauses, grabs a blonde by the wrist, and works her way to the edge of the crowd which now includes curious passerby. Carefully. I make my way to where she is and tap Danielle on the shoulder. Her surprised expression melts into anger when she sees who I am.

"You..." she hisses, swatting my hand away. I shake my head slightly and beckon her towards the bushes next to her dorm, away from the path. Arms crossed and stormy-faced she follows me, telling the blonde, "I'll be right back, Joan."

Around the dorm's corner, I pull Danielle into the shrubbery. She scowls at my secrecy, but her eyes widen in comprehension when I show her 'the knives I've found belonging to Trace.' Breathing softly, she touches a blade gently, almost with reverence. While she''s distracted, I quietly move behind her and slide a razor-sharp knife across her throat.

As Danielle chokes on her own blood, I crouch next to her and wait, gazing into her lovely eyes until she dies. Bile rises in my throat as I realized it wasn't supposed to be this way. I was supposed to feel some remorse after killing Danielle, something to convict me of being the monster I am. But planned murder felt nothing different than surprise killings.

Frustrated and disappointed, I bump into Joan as she rounds the corner. She stammers that she's looking for Danielle. Quickly, I assess her potential, looking for some way to explain away her end. Young, pretty, snoopy, and rich, Joan will provide a nice contrast to Danielle's death.

So I take Joan behind the bushes, and show her what I 'found,' and add her to the list of sorry lives I've ended. I feel a little calmer, now that I'm back to killing spontaneously. I'm also pleasantly surprised by the guilt I feel for killing Joan because I was angry. But, honestly. It's not like beautiful, intelligent athletes are supposed to exist anyways.

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Okay, finale! You have one last shot to guess the murderer. You must PM me the answer. And whomever gets it right first is the winner of the contest. I imagine everyone is tired of this stretching on for millennium and school is hogging a lot of everyone's time.

So, welcome to the end! Guess smart! If no one guesses the murderer then "Trace" is the winner and will kill you all after their big reveal.

You have 24 hours to give me a guess.

Thank you all for participating! I hope you had fun! :D