My head is killing me. I open my eyes slowly, seeing a series of stars floating around in my vision. Everything around me seems almost black and white, dark and blurry. I keep blinking, trying to focus and make sense of my surroundings. I feel sick, my head swimming. I try to move, my arms are in an uncomfortable position, my wrists tied together behind my back with something rough. I try to get up but I’m stuck, my back against something thick and cold. It’s so dark in here, I can't believe it's nighttime already. Something hits my left leg. I look down and see familiar black boots, one lightly kicking me in the leg again.

“You awake?” I can’t see his face from here but I know Luke’s voice.

“You’re not going to get away with this again.” I spit out.

“I think I’ll be just fine Elena. Don't you worry about me.” He leans down and grabs my face, holding my chin in his hand, lifting it to look up at him.

“Did you kill my dad?” I ask.

There’s a pause before he starts to speak again. “You know it’s nice when I can be honest. It’s a good feeling, freeing, to finally be able to be myself. It’s so hard trying to pretend all the time.”

“You didn’t answer the question.”

“It’s hard to keep track sometimes. Your dad, some tourists, sometimes it all blurs together. Feels like a dream.”

"You're the Ridgemont Butcher?"

“Look at you, aren’t you smart.” He squeezes my face hard in his hand and lets go. “Figuring it all out. Unfortunately a bit too late, I don’t know how you escaped me the first time but you won’t have a second chance."

“Why are you doing this?”

"This feels like an interrogation Elena. You know, I’ve always been fond of that name, the Butcher, it's simple, I like it."

"Please, I need to know."

"It's like a higher calling, like it's what I was born to do. Then I met someone who saw my talent, who supported me. When they found me, it was fate, I knew I was meant to keep going. I was young, I messed up. They saw me. It was the best thing that could've happened."

“Why didn’t you just kill them too?”

“They made me a deal I couldn’t refuse. I was fifteen, they offered me a good job, a roof over my head, I was able to blend in and live a normal life. They said if I could solve a problem for them that they’d offer me a whole new life and protect me."

“Who?”

Luke sighs. “You ask too many questions. You’ll find out eventually. Why rush it? Good things take time Elena.”

I’m beginning to feel better. My vision has cleared and I can see around the room now. I look up at Luke’s face, his eyes blank, illuminated by the dim light of a lantern he’s holding in his hand.

“Where’s Maida?” I ask.

Luke says nothing and wanders further away from me, enveloped by the darkness.

“Where is she?” I yell.

“You’ll see her again soon enough.” He says in a monotone, he turns away, striding out of the room, taking the flickering lantern’s weak light with him. He slams the door behind him. I hear a bolt slide on the other side, the sound of a lock clicking shut.

Now’s my chance. I look around for a way to escape. It’s so dark, so cold. My eyes have adjusted and I can see what's close but anything farther away is an empty void. I glance around my feet, there’s straw on the ground. I look up and see wooden beams above me. It looks like I’m in an old barn, I know where this is, right at the back of our property. I remember coming in here years ago, it was in even worse condition now. The roof has holes, boards have split and broken in half. Snow is falling in above me, it feels like ice in here, cold enough for someone to freeze to death. I shift my weight, my arms are tied behind my back against a wooden post, parts of the post are splintered, rough and sharp against my wrists. I push myself forward and back, the post shifting in the ground, making creaking noises as I move. It’s loose, the old building is falling apart. I pull forward with more force, then lean back. Something cracks, I look up, part of the roof collapsing, some small pieces of old wood falling down onto me.

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I’m still trapped but now more snow is falling onto me, the extra moonlight is helping me see a bit better though. The snow is piling up, my legs are beginning to disappear underneath it, they start to feel numb. I look at my icy surroundings. Is this the end? Is this really how it all ends? I try to move the rope up and down, trying to wear it down, to cut through it. The soft wood starts to splinter further, the rope tougher than the old support beam. It’s useless, I lean back and look above me, the snow falling down onto my face, swimming quickly towards me from above. I sigh and give up. I lean forward feeling exhausted, I can feel the snow hitting the back of my neck, I close my eyes, take a deep breath and try to think.

I hear the click of the lock and the bolt sliding outside the door. Luke’s back, he clomps over to me in his heavy boots, caked with snow. “What the hell did you do?” He looks up at the roof in disbelief. “Aww, did you try to escape?” He laughs at me. Luke walks behind me. “I’m going to have to fix that now, you know?”

“Why? It doesn't seem like you fix anything around here. Why start now?”

He jerks my wrist back, a sharp pain goes up my arm. "I'd have some respect if I were you." I feel him tugging at the rope holding my wrists, untying it, it loosens and I’m finally free.

“Get up.” He pulls me up by the collar of my jumper and keeps a tight hold, not wanting me to escape. He reties my wrists and pushes me forward. We’re going towards the door, it's just mere feet away now. His grip loosens slightly as he opens the door. We’re almost through it, I spin around and attempt to kick at him but the grip he has on me is too strong. I just wind up sliding in the snow. “Stop it!” He yells at me. We’re outside now. The wind has picked up, I barely hear him yelling even though he’s right behind me. The harsh wind hits me, it feels like knifes cutting into my skin, taking my breath away, I can barely keep my eyes open, I turn my face away from the wind. I squint as he keeps pushing me forward. It’s dark outside, even if I could escape I’d have no idea which direction to go. I can only just see the trees in front of me, surrounded by endless white. He keeps prodding me forward, my feet falling deep into the thick heavy snow. My toes are on fire. I close my eyes and wonder if in another life I'm in a different town and none of this is happening, if my parents hadn't stayed here, I'd probably be alive, so would my father. One decision could have altered our fate.

We continue to trudge through the snow, I have no idea where we’re going, I have no idea what to do. I bet Maida would know. He didn’t tell me where she was before, she's probably dead. The shock of this realisation hits me. It’s so nice to live in denial, to have hope. Ignorance truly is bliss. Here I am, my father’s murderer walking directly behind me, finally finding him but feeling powerless to stop him. I wouldn't let him get away with it again. I had to end this. Through the thick snow I can see a dark figure in the distance. We get closer, they're walking briskly toward us, struggling in the snow and wind. I feel a sense of relief, somebody else is out here, they can help, maybe they’ve come to save me. It looks like a woman, too short to be Agnes or Maida. They're in clear view now. I look at their face. I know those dark eyes.

“Mother!” Thank god, I’m so glad to see her. She’ll save me. I attempt to run forward but Luke holds me back. I pull away again and this time his grip is loose enough for me to escape. I make a run for it, moving forward awkwardly, almost falling again and again but somehow catching my balance and forcing myself to keep going.

“Elena!” My mother yells back. Her voice partially caught by the wind.

“Help me! It was Luke, he did it!” I get closer, moving far slower than I'd like to. My mother is just sheer feet away from me now, I look at her face, even in the dark I can see her nose and cheeks are red from the cold. She stands in front of me, unmoving. So still, I wonder if she's really there.

“Did you hear me?” I ask. “He killed dad. He's the Ridgemont Butcher! We need to go to the police!” I yell against the strong wind. I’m getting drowned out.

“Yes, Elena.” She puts her hand out to stop me from getting closer.

“Oh, thank god you're here. Come on,” I grab her arm, “we need to get out of here. Run! He’ll hurt us!” I try to pull her with me but she doesn’t budge. “What are you doing?” I yell, my voice cracking.

“Just stop Elena, stop running. It’s too late.” My mother yells back.

I look at her bewildered, she stares back emotionless. Luke is gaining on me, he appears calm, striding closer. I’m confused, I don’t want him to hurt my mother too. He’s done enough damage. I grab the arm of her jacket and try to pull her forward, she still won’t move. “What are you doing? Come on! We need to go!”

What’s happening?

The sharp pain in my head comes back, I groan in pain and fall to my knees in the snow.