Bad News
I could feel my heart pounding against my chest heavily, to the rhythm of the pounding on my back door. My mind was racing through the events that had transpired in the past few weeks. I felt a chill run down my skin...I was going to die!
It all started about four weeks ago. Every Tuesday I get my town’s weekly newspaper in the mail, that I like to read while having a hot cup of coffee. Except for that one week the newspaper arrived a day late. It didn't bother me much. I read the newspaper on Wednesday instead.
The cover-page story was about a serial killer who had escaped from prison. All this happened on the outskirts of this town. Although it concerned me a little, I dismissed my worries figuring that a deranged person would stand out like a sore thumb in this quiet town.
The next week the newspaper was not delivered again. I called up the delivery man, who insisted that he had delivered the newspaper. I waited till the next morning. The newspaper was there Wednesday morning. I took the newspaper inside, poured a cup of coffee, and settled in my armchair. As I went through the newspaper, I noticed that several words were circled. I found it strange and wrote them down on a piece of paper to understand. All they read was “living”, “the home”, “you”, “thank”. I could not make any sense out of it, so I let it go. I got dressed and went to work.
I returned home late in the evening. As I headed into the kitchen to pour myself some water, my eyes fell on the newspaper. A thought suddenly came across in my head that someone was ruining my newspapers, and that's how they were showing up the next day. I thought it must have been some trouble making kids' antics' around the neighbourhood. I decided to catch the culprit next week.
On the next Tuesday morning, I woke up early and waited for the newspaper to be delivered. The newspaper usually is delivered by 7:30 in the morning. But when the clock struck 7:30 there was no sign of the newspaper. Still, I waited. After five minutes or so, I heard a loud crash coming from the kitchen. As I ran into my kitchen, I found a series of vessels on the floor and the window beside which they were hanging wide open.
I realized that it was a distraction and rushed to the front porch only to see the delivery man cycling away at a distance and the newspaper gone. This incident maddened me. I decided to confront the kid responsible for this tomorrow morning. I woke up early the next morning again. I was pacing in my hall, watching now and then from my window. At about 7:35 I heard something hitting my front door. I had missed him!
I opened the door and found the newspaper there. I took the newspaper and settled in my armchair with my coffee. There were many words circled this time. I started to write these words down, “sorry”, “for”, “breaking”, “you”, “must”, “see”, “me”. As I turned to the next page the words circled sent a shiver down my spine. “Will”, “gut”, “you”, “like”, “fish”.
I immediately called up the police. This matter had gotten out of hand and could no longer be treated as a joke. I narrated the entire incident without leaving any information. As I was sitting at my breakfast table, I saw a shadow slide past my window. I immediately reached out for a hammer and swiftly ran to the front porch. I stood there for a while, but nobody was there. I felt it was best to get back to the security of my home.
When the police arrived, they informed me that the circling words in the newspapers was the calling card of the escaped serial killer that I had read about a few weeks ago. As the police searched my home thoroughly they found the serial killer hiding in my bedroom closet. He was waiting for me upstairs!
As the police were taking him away, I caught a glance of the man's face. He stared at me with his maniacal eyes and his face stretched into a grin as if he was parting with an old friend. It made me uneasy. The police later found out that he had been living in my basement, which had easy access to the front porch.
This incident shook me to my core. I could not believe that I was so close to death. I had trouble sleeping at night as the serial killer's manic and deranged face loomed in front of my eyes. The next Tuesday, I found my newspaper lying on the porch. I took it inside, poured a cup of coffee, and started to read it.
As I read the headlines my mind went blank and my hands numb. The serial killer had escaped again! The bodies of the officers who had detained him were found mutilated inside their car. As I flipped the page the sight shocked me. The entire page was scribbled with the word “sorry”. The entire newspaper was covered with the same message. As I got to the last page I saw a cartoon of a man stabbing another and that's when I heard loud crashing noise towards the back door of the house.