Chapter 163 – The Journey of a Vigilante – Holly Hayfield

My frame of mind before a mission was usually one of total focus and intense concentration. Before every mission I’d spend minutes or hours throwing my knives at the trees just behind Autumn Eden. It was hard for me to stay focused today while I was practicing out in the snow.

There was no shortage of time to practice my aim. Alyssa was busy taking Silver back home and would return for me soon. It was perfect for me since I needed the extra time to train. I had about ten knives tied to my waist along with two vials of hastily made poison.

The poison’s online recipe called for an overnight slow-cook step, but the recipe was questionable to begin with. The person who created it was using it for bow-and-arrow hunting. It was meant to slow animals hit in non-vital locations.

He didn’t have a background in chemistry. He developed the recipe through experimentation on small animals. The man posted several logs about his experience on a hunter’s forum and got significant feedback about his ideas. All of the feedback and documentation was what drove me to adopt it.

It took some experimentation of my own through hours and hours of research, but eventually I developed my own derivative recipe. This recipe was less trial-by-fire than the original since the bulk of my research was about comparing various drugs and chemicals I was familiar with.

My version was more potent than the original. The downside was that it didn’t have a long shelf life. The liquid was viscous and prone to disassociating when freely exposed to the air. It had to be kept bottled tightly until it was ready to be coated. It lasted roughly an hour after coating, depending on temperature.

The come up from the original recipe to my refined recipe wasn’t easy. The same was true of my knives and throwing skills. The very first knives I used were homemade, made from old kitchen knives that we had stored in a closet. I modified their weight for throwing using small rocks like ballast.

Everything was rough in the beginning. It was made worse by the fact that I had limited amounts of time to train per day. Every time I went out to train I had to come up with an excuse for my mother. Sometimes I told her I was going out to run. Other times I created fake babysitting appointments.

Since I actually worked babysitting gigs from time-to-time it wasn’t hard to get away with, but it gave her a weird impression of me. She got the idea that I was building up money for something, and that I had more money than I actually did. That was amusing since it was literally the opposite.

I was burning through my cash faster than ever as the Killing Cat. All of my new supplies and knives didn’t come cheap. Thankfully Helga was allowing to me make the purchases through her post office box. My mother might otherwise worry about a constant flow of boxes coming into our house.

Before meeting Helga, and driving around with Alyssa, I had to act far more cautiously. Things were riskier back then. Now, my mother just assumed that I was spending a lot of time with Alyssa. She even asked me if Alyssa was replacing Lilith as my new best friend. That question made me feel guilty.

There was some truth in it. I wasn’t as active with my closest friends recently as I’d like to be. Before, I was spending almost every weekend I could spare with them. Now I probably seemed mysteriously unavailable to them. They, like my mother, probably believed I was busy working outside of school.

I planned for things to return to normal soon. I couldn’t go on as the Killing Cat forever. Even if I could, I didn’t want to. I didn’t like harming people, but I was capable of doing so if I felt the reason was just. Before, I was reluctant to lean into my violent side. Now it was becoming an integral part of my self-identity.

That’s why I put so much emotional consideration into Silver’s argument.

Everything she said made perfect sense and I agreed with all of it. The core problem was the likelihood of things working as intended. I was ready to go in and assassinate another one of Malorie’s murderers if I had to. But with each new target crossed out, I felt like I was becoming more like them.

“Holly! There you are!” Alyssa said as she came around the corner. “I’ve been looking for you! I guess I should’ve checked here first…”

We were outside, behind Autumn Eden Elementary School. This area behind the school had densely packed trees that were good for training my knife skills on. It wasn’t the same as a real target since the trees couldn’t move, but still useful. This type of training helped me hone my hand-eye coordination.

“Did you call me? Sorry, I already turned my phone off in preparation for the mission.”

“No problem,” Alyssa said as she walked up beside me. “I see you’re giving this poor tree a hell of a time.”

She pointed at the tree with several stab marks in it. Normally I rotated between targets while practicing. I was so lost in my thoughts that the practice routine slipped my mind. This could hardly even be considered training at this point since I was functioning on autopilot. I was just wasting time here.

“There’s a lot on my mind.” I admitted. “I’m not at full focus.”

“Do you want to call off the mission?” She asked warily.

“No! Not yet… I’m not ready to give up over a few second thoughts.”

“Is it because of what Silver said?”

“Not just that,” I said. “It’s because I was the one that originally said so much of that to Silver. Her points came from me, from a conversation we had the other day. What am I doing if I can’t even live up to my own ideas?”

I walked over to take my knives out of the tree. Alyssa stayed in place to watch me.

“I don’t think you need to worry about killing killers.” Alyssa said. “It’s poetic justice.”

“It was.” I agreed. “But only when there was no other alternative. Now…”

“You think the police will do what they should’ve done long ago?” Alyssa asked with a doubtful look.

“Long ago they didn’t have the information that they have now. We’ve been slowly moving pieces into position and now they have just about everything they need to handle this case carefully. Handing a cooperative Sarah Rivera over to them would be the cherry on top of this sundae.”

“The ‘cooperative’ part is a lot easier said than done. Isn’t that why you turned Silver down in the first place? You said yourself that you can’t manufacture that situation.”

“Maybe…”

“The longer she’s left alive then the more of a chance she has to prepare for us. We should strike now while she isn’t expecting us. And we should strike to kill!”

Alyssa sounded too excited about all this. I knew that she was trying to cheer me up, but it was hard to feel that myself. I gave her an exhausted look.

“And could you do that yourself, if the situation called for it?” I asked. “Would you be willing to kill all these people and get their warm blood all over your hands?”

Alyssa flinched back at my cold words, but this was harsh reality. She was a lot less upbeat now that she was forced to place herself inside my shoes. However, she still had a determined look in her eyes like she wanted to go through with this.

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“Show me what you can do with this.” I said.

I handed her one of my knives as I walked back to my throwing spot.

“Throw it from here.” I said, indicating my line in the snow.

She stood in my place and mimicked my throwing stance as she prepared to hit the tree.

“And remember,” I said. “That’s not a tree you’re aiming for. It’s a person with their own memories, hopes, and dreams. Imagine Sarah standing there, not the tree.”

Alyssa shook her head.

“I can do it.” Alyssa said confidently. “She’s a killer.”

I snorted heavily in dark amusement.

“So am I.” I said flatly. “And so are you the moment that knife lands on the target.”

That threw Alyssa off balance. She looked between me and the tree with a wide-eyed expression. She doubled down and focused intensely on the tree. The longer she held this tense stance the more she began to shake. She took a deep breath and held it before throwing the knife.

The knife missed by a wide margin. It landed in the nearby bushes, somewhere that would take at least a few minutes to find. Alyssa stared at the bushes blankly for a moment before turning back to me with a look of defeat. That finally caused me to genuinely smile. I put a hand on her back.

“Now you see where I’m coming from… Where Silver was coming from… It’s hard not to feel like the villain when I’m the one on the offensive. Anger can only take you so far. I want vengeance, but I need justice. That’s the type of motivation I long for.”

Alyssa didn’t say anything in return this time. She just stared down at the ground in contemplation.

“Come on, let’s get going.” I said.

“What about that other knife?” She asked, pointing into the bushes.

“We’ll find it later. I don’t need all ten to take down Sarah. In fact, given what I know about her physique and skills, I doubt I need more than one.”

The streets were empty at this time of night mostly due to the weather. People normally preferred to stay in on nights like this. Alyssa had to drive slower than usual because of the ice on some of the roads. We were both dressed in thick clothing to combat the cold.

I was wearing an old hand-me-down jacket given to me by Helga. It was a long black trench coat that she said was from her embarrassing high school phase. It was valuable to me not only because it was warm, but because I had never worn it before.

I tried to avoid wearing the same thing too often as the Killing Cat, lest the police find an easy way to identify me. I also avoided clothes that would instantly make me look suspicious. This type of jacket wasn’t unreasonable in cold weather, despite Helga’s unnecessary comment that I looked like a street-punk anarchist in it.

I was wearing my hoodie under it for the sake of the hood and the additional warmth. My mask was still in the sling bag on my back. I never put it on until I was relatively close to my target to minimize the chance of detection. My clothing alone wasn’t that suspicious, but the mask would instantly out me.

“We’re here.” Alyssa said as we slowed to a stop. “Are you sure you want me to let you off here at this random spot on the side of the road? The house is still a few blocks from here…”

“I’m sure. We can’t just roll up in front of her house. I need to approach the house in a way that we won’t be caught on any domestic camera. Even here is sort of risking it… I picked this spot specifically because the lighting is poor here. If there’s a camera around it won’t be able to make out any details.”

“Smart…” Alyssa said. “Should I pick you up here too?”

“Yes. I’ll give you the call when I’m ready. For now, you should just find somewhere warm to hangout. I’m not sure how long this will take.”

“Roger that.” She said. “Good luck!”

“Thanks… Be safe on the road.”

“I will.”

Alyssa drove away, leaving me alone on the sidewalk. It was good that the house was a few blocks away. I needed more time for contemplation. My plan was to sneak in from the backdoor, not the front. It was just a matter of getting there undetected. I lowered my hood over my face as far as it would go.

No one noticed me sneaking into her backyard, as far as I could tell at least. All of the neighboring houses had their front lights out. This was a quiet neighborhood, probably not the type of place that break-ins and murder happened. What sort of public response would killing her here cause?

I waited behind the only tree in the backyard, planning my next move. The backyard light wasn’t even on. Sarah must’ve realized that she’d be one of the Killing Cat’s next targets, right? How could she be this careless? She wasn’t as paranoid about me as I imagined.

I turned my phone back on and lowered the brightness all the way. Coincidentally, Lilith was talking to Val, Sam, and Jay in our group’s ChatCat server about the Killing Cat’s next potential targets. Val disagreed that someone would be attacked so soon after Angel. Things were too hot.

I would’ve smiled at her assessment if I wasn’t trying to compose myself for my mission. All things considered she had a good point. That was another reason to weigh Silver’s argument against my current plans.

I noticed that Lilith tried calling me while I was busy training. I wanted to jump into their conversation, but this would be exceptionally poor timing. It could wait. Instead, I opened up the baby monitor app on my phone. There, I was able to connect to the doll inside Sarah’s house.

It looked like she was just now finishing dinner. She cleaned up her living room area a little before leaving the room for an extended amount of time. I couldn’t tell where she went between the doll app and the windows in her backyard. I momentarily turned up the volume on my phone and realized.

She was busy taking a shower. This could be my best opportunity to sneak inside! I put my Killing Cat mask on and crept into position. As I suspected, the lock on her back door was fairly similar to the front. It took me a couple of minutes of dedicated concentration, but I was able to unlock it.

There was a thin brass door-chain that kept the backdoor from opening all the way. I snapped the chain loose in a single attempt using the large pair of cutters I brought with me. I put everything back inside my bag and stepped inside. As easily as that, I was standing on the inside of her house.

I closed the door behind me gently, not that she was likely to hear it from inside the shower. The inside of the house felt different in person. It was surprisingly cozy, having come in from the snow. It was like visiting a friend’s place for the first time. Her kitchen was cleaner than the living room area was.

The dinner plate she was just using was soaking inside the sink’s water. There were still some ingredients left out from her cooking session, with a recipe notecard lying on the counter beside the oven. I caught her in the middle of her regular nightly routine.

What a night this was going to be for her…

Eventually the sounds of showering stopped, and I steeled myself for an attack. I crouched down behind the hallway corner leading into the living room-kitchen area. The bathroom door opened and I heard Sarah step out, humming some pop song. The sounds of her footsteps came closer and closer…

I sprang out from my hiding spot, one knife in hand! Sarah stumbled back, dropping her dirty clothes in surprise. She froze solid in an awkward position. She opened her mouth to scream but didn’t make a single peep in her absolute terror. She was wearing her pajamas, completely unprepared for this type of situation.

She took one small step back. I took one small step forwards. She kept slowly backpedaling as I slowly approached. Eventually she broke into a full sprint and ran towards a bedroom in the back. She slammed the door in front of me, but was too slow to lock it. I busted my way through the door, right on her heels.

She finally screamed.

“Please! Please, don’t hurt me!” She shouted in intense panic. “I… I… I’m sorry! I…”

She was backing up, trying to move behind the bed and go into the closet. I wasn’t stupid. I knew what she was aiming for based on her positioning. I jumped on the bed, cornering her into one side of the room. She went pale white when she realized that she couldn’t get into the closet without getting past me.

She looked around her, struggling to come up with any sort of plan. She pulled a golf club out of the bag behind her. She held the golf club shakily in her hands. She pointed it at me threateningly. I stood in place, wholly unconcerned. She gave me an uncertain look as she pulled it back and tried to strike at me.

The golf club came down so weakly that I didn’t even move to dodge it. I simply grabbed the shaft, snatched the golf club out of her meager grasp, and tossed it down to the floor. She fell backwards to the ground in response, knocking over several things behind her. She was shaking and trembling like a beaten animal.

I lazily hopped off the bed. This woman couldn’t even be considered a minor threat to me. She curled into the fetal position and made pitiful sniveling sounds, perhaps preparing for the worst. She covered her head with her arms and braced herself.

She slowly peeked at me from behind her arms. She realized that I wasn’t going in for the kill. I slowly crouched down so that I could face her at eye-level. I waved my hand at her, gesturing for her to sit up. She reluctantly did so, giving me a suspicious look the entire time.

“I don’t want to kill you.” I admitted in a whisper. “Do you want to live?”

She seemed to be expecting that this was a trick. She didn’t say anything in response, just watched my every movement like a hawk. She flinched back and pulled away as I moved the dagger in my hand. However, I was just putting it into its holder on my belt.

“Do you want to live?” I asked again in a hushed voice.

She nodded slowly.

“Good.” I said, clapping my hands together. “Then you’re going to do two things for me.”

This time when she sat back up to face me, she did so more confidently.

“What do you want from me?” She asked.

“First, you’re going to give me information on a different target I’ve been researching. Crystal Gray… Can you tell me about her?”

Sarah nodded slowly.

“Next, you’re going to contact the police and say that you’ll tell them everything you know about the murder of Malorie Noelle and Mrs. Duluth.”

“I can’t…! I…!”

“Otherwise, I can deal with you in the same manner I dealt with your friends.” I whispered through my mask. “Tell me, Sarah, which option do you prefer?”