After Dusk

Chapter Twenty Three

I stumble through the darkened woods aimlessly, hoping that I'm on the right path. It'd be just my luck to get lost out here and get killed by the white masked man.

Can death be killed?

My feet begin to ache, so I slip off my pumps and carry them in my hand. Twigs and leaves crunch under my bare feet, making me louder than I'd like to be. The cold night air blows steadily against me, chilling me to the bone. Tonight was definitely not the night to wear a strapless dress.

Cautiously, I scan the woods around me, searching for the white masked man. I'm certain that this is the killer, who else would stand in the trees next to two dead, obviously murdered, bodies wearing a mask? If I'm right, underneath that mask will be the face of Declan Keaton. My heart aches to think about it. I'd liked Declan, even though he's tried to- and succeeded in- get me to be unfaithful to Theo. I'm ashamed to even think about it.

Realizing that my eyes have been glued to the ground this whole time, I raise up my gaze. When I do, I leap back, clutching my chest and letting out a yelp of surprise. My blue eyes widen in fear as I stare at the figure before me.

The white masked man stands barely a foot in front of me. His head tilts to the side as he stares at me silently. The mask casts a shadow over his eyes but I know they must burn a bright green. Something shiny catches my eye. A sinister looking knife glints in his hand.

Horrified, I stumble back a step. I watch as he looks down at his blade and then back up at me. Teasingly, he waves the knife at me, taunting me. I know that if I could see his eyes, they'd be gleaming with sadistic humor.

My breath catches in my throat. This was a mistake. I shouldn't have come alone. He's going to kill me!

"Wh-who?" I ask in a whisper.

Out of it's own accord, my hand reaches up towards his mask. He doesn't stop me, so I keep going. I hook my fingers underneath his mask and pull. With a shaky hand, I take the mask from his face. My heart stutters to a stop. The mask slips from my fingers, revealing the face of the monster before me.

As I stare into the eyes of the murderer, I think back to the night of the Halloween masquerade ball. Now that I think of it, Declan couldn't have been the killer. When I'd first seen the masked man, Declan had been standing right next to me.

I let out a shuddering breath as I recall how, just yesterday, I'd been positive that Declan was the killer because he hadn't been present when I'd seen the masked man. Until now, I hadn't seen the problem with my conclusion. You see, Declan wasn't the only one missing that day.

Theo Blair had also been absent when the masked man had appeared.

Now here I stand, staring into the golden eyes of the killer as my heart breaks softly. Those eyes, the ones that I had grown so fond of, stare back at me with a sick amusement. The lips that I had kissed so many times curl into a sadistic smile.

"Wh-why?" I choke out, holding back tears, "why would you do this, Theo?"

His next grin is so menacing that I stumble back a step, whimpering. Taking power in my fear, Theo stalks forward a step.

"Why?" he purrs darkly, "Honey, you're going to have to be a bit more specific. I've done a lot of naughty things in my life."

Poseidon and Zeus! What else has he done? Disgust curls in my stomach along with my fear. How could he do this? He's so sweet and innocent. . . what happened to him?

"Why did you kill those people?" I ask in a sorrowful whisper. My eyes swim with tears. Angrily, I wipe some of them away with the back of my hand.