Average Joe (2018)

29

The few weeks leading up to the start of my sophomore year were interesting, to say the least. Me, Cora, and Bryan trained like there was no tomorrow. Cora and Bryan were heavily skilled in combat and whenever I went up against one of them I ended up battered and beaten.

I found out I would be going back to Hillcrest, which meant it would be the first time I went to the same school for more than one school year. Phil and his friend who beat me up were expelled.

I hung out with Darwin and Tori as I promised. Soon, all of our spirits were going well.

Three more of the Chronicle's victims were found. Me, Cora, and Bryan studied the audio journals religiously, trying to find a connection. Cora learned that he seemed to hunt in heavily populated areas until he could get his victim alone. That's when he kidnaps them and keeps them alive for a little bit then kills them. The hard drive decrypted the chat message by message. It was a slow process and so far we didn't find much.

"What happens when we find him?" I had asked Bryan.

"Don't worry about that. Let's just keep all of this on the down low. Cora and I will handle him as soon as we find him."

"And what if we don't?"

"We will."

Cora knocked me flat.

"Seriously?" She has asked me.

"We've only been training for two weeks."

"And you've only slightly improved."

"Sorry..."

"You need a good motivator, like when Bryan messed with you." I stood up.

"You're not going to strangle me, are you?"

"Not yet. Look, you just need to get angry."

"How?"

"Think about things that make you angry."

"Like what?"

"Well... when's the angriest you've ever been?"

"I guess when the Chronicle beat my Dad." Cora stood there for a moment as if pondering a thought.

"You know that little storage closet upstairs?"

"Yeah?"

"Meet me there in five minutes." Cora ran upstairs and I sat down, counting down the minutes. After five minutes had passed I walked upstairs.

"Cora?" I asked as I walked into the dark storage closet. She wasn't there. I walked past the doorway to the back wall.

"Cora?" The door behind me suddenly shut and locked. I ran to it and banged on it hard.

"Cora? Cora! Bryan! Guys, it's not funny, let me out!" Sounds suddenly filled the closet, raspy, and had a weak audio quality to them.

"I do it as a man plays the violin. At first, you're inadequate at it...." My chest tightened. The voice shivered up my spine.

"Guys? Guys, this isn't funny, let me out."

"...The other day is a good example. I was in Central Park by the Guggenheim museum..."

"Guys," I pleaded, my heart pounding against my rib cage. I punched the door. "Cora!"

"He didn't even seem to notice me..." The man's voice blended in my ears forming a separate sentence.

"Nobody gets in the way of my hunt." A wave of smoke shimmered and covered the wooden door.

Paperwhite skin... cherry red eyes.... gray hair flowing like silver lace in the wind...

"What are you going to do, Norman?" Chronicle smiled.

It wasn't the recording. He was here. With me.

"Suck my dick!" I screamed as I kicked him. The door flew outwards in a spray of splintered wood, my leg screaming in pain. Cora stood behind the door, smiling.

"I think I'm gonna have fun training you."