Autumn of Terror || h.s. au

Chapter 9: Yours Truly

     "Don't read it," Harry warns me, taking the letter from my hands. I take a shaky breath and step away from the front door.

     "Give me the letter," I say, and Harry shakes his head. "Please, I need to read it."

     "What's going on?" Niall asks. "Who's that letter from?" Harry hands it to Niall, and Niall gasps.

     I snatch it from Niall and look at the envelope. It's addressed to "Cute Little Ginger Girl". He knows I'm looking for him.

     "Mary, I'm serious. Don't read that," Harry says. "Let's at least get inside the house, it's freezing."

     I sigh, "Okay," we all go inside the house and I don't even bother taking my coat off. I merely sit on a cushioned chair by the fireplace, and Harry sets the fire. The three of us are sitting by the fire as I stare at the letter. I almost don't want to open it, but I need to know what it says. Jack the Ripper himself wrote this specifically for me, and I'm scared. My hands can't stop shaking, making it difficult for me to open it. Eventually, I manage to tear open the envelope and open the letter, which is written in red ink.

     "Mary, let me read it first," Harry says, holding out his hand.

     "Why?" I ask. I don't want him to get scared.

     "I want to know what he wrote," he replies, his hand still outstretched. I sigh, and hand it to him. He takes the letter and begins reading it.

     "Read it out l-loud," my voice falters, and I clear my throat. He looks up at me and takes a deep breath before reading it to us.

     "Dear Ginger,

     You think you can find me, you make me laugh. Stupid men cant find me, so how can you find me. I am right under your nose and you dont know it you're stupid like them. Think you can track me down? Stupid, I am nothing but a shadow in the streets. Those men think they saw me, they are gonna get whats coming to them. You cant save them, and you cant save you either. You can deduce to your hearts content, but you will never find me. I didnt have time to cut any ears off last time. Back off, or the ears I send to those stupid men will be yours. I aint a doctor or anything, but you say I am. Like how I took the kidney? I sent it to the stupid men ask them they will show you. Dont look for me unless you want to be like the other ladies, ha ha.

     Yours Truly

     Jack the Ripper

     ps guess this means I know where you live, eh?"

     "Holy crap!" Niall exclaims, standing up. "Oh, my God! This is bad, this is really fucking bad," he starts pacing around the room.

     "We have to show this to the police," Harry's voice shakes. I can't seem to find my voice. He knows we're looking for him, and he knows where we live. How does he know all of this? "Mary?"

     "I..." I whisper. I've never been more scared in my life. "We need to find him."

     "Mary, did you not just listen to what the letter says?!" Harry shouts. "If we don't stop looking for him, he's going to...he's going to go after y-you."

     "We need to find him," I repeat. I know I'm putting my life on the line, but he needs to be stopped. This letter is meant to make me feel fear, that's what the Ripper feeds on. That's all that he is, a monster who only exists to instill fear into the hearts of people. Of course I'm terrified, but that won't stop me from trying to find him. "We need to leave, we can't stay here anymore."