Why is it so dark?

The high schooler then opened her eyes slightly. When did I-? Her thoughts were disrupted when she froze in absolute horror. She couldn't move her hands nor her legs, yet she could see. As she tried to let out a sentence, a phrase, even a word, everything Diana said came out as muffled and unrecognizable.

She was tied to a chair; she finally realized that at least. What happened? What the hell happened?! She mentally yelled, trying to wriggle her way out. "Doing that is pretty damn useless," what seemed like a male's voice advised, walking from behind the kitchen counter.

Diana couldn't expand her eyelids anymore. Her eyes were practically locked onto the culprit's, but that was far beyond her control. His hair was pitch black, shoulder length like her's. His skin was as pale as snow, and he didn't seem to blink for he had black rings around his dark coloured, insane looking eyes. And his smile- the smile that wouldn't leave Diana's mind anytime soon haunted her; being cut so far into his cheeks left an impression that could scar.

He placed his right hand into the bloody hoodie, grasping onto a butcher knife. He then traced his fingers on top of it gently, grinning ear to ear. The girl's heart raced, as tears filled her eyes. I can't die now-

Please- someone save me... Before she knew it, a warm liquid had been streaming down her face as she stared in terror. "Shhhh," the male maniacally smiled, grabbing a bleach bottle from under her kitchen sink. That's what happened- as soon as Diana got up to investigate around, she was hit with a solid object in the back of the head. A throbbing pain located behind her skull was that evidence.

Why is it me? Diana cried more as she dropped her head low, eyes boring into the ground of her house. I can't leave mom like this-

I just made friends with Alice, the 10th grader started to sob silently, as the man with the white hoodie came walking towards her slowly. I never got to talk to Slain this week. "Do you think crying will get you anywhere~?" The psychopath lightly dragged the top of the blade on Diana's face, causing her to close her eyes and halt from any excess movement. The knife had been so sharp, it happened to make a slight cut on her cheek.

"Hey," the culprit grabbed the back of Diana's hair and pulled it back harshly, "you're going to answer me when I talk to you, alright?" The girl nodded almost immediately, freeing herself from the male's grasp. "Good," he opened the bleach bottle and crouched down to her eye level. He then whispered in her ear with a somewhat raspy tone. "Just go to-"

His phrase was disrupted by the sirens going off in the distance. Diana opened her eyes, knowing that had been her ray of sunshine; her hope. "What a shame," he smirked, making Diana look back over towards him. As soon as the sirens got louder, the killer had stated, "I'll be back~" He opened the kitchen window and jumped out and at that exact moment, the police had broken down the door.

"Diana!" A specific mother called, running in through the door. She untied her shortly before hugging her tightly. The daughter bursted into tears. "I'm so glad you're okay," her mother started to cry as well.

¤

She was given a jacket and she sat down of the stairs. Alice had been there as well; she gave her worry and thanked god Diana was alright. "Ms. Diana? Is it alright if we ask you some questions?" The girl nodded lifeless, shivering with every thought that involved her death. What could she do?

She almost died. The worst way, too. The investigator sat down on a chair in front of her, grabbing a pen and notepad. "Before we start off, I'm Detective Nick Roland. You're free to call me whatever you want."

"Alright, A-Agent Nick." Diana stuttered, still a little fazed by the situation. "I'm sorry to bring this up suddenly."

"N-No," Diana mumbled, "no worries." The investigator smiled, trying to lift the mood since he knew how scarred this poor girl may be. "Do you know how the trespasser looked like? Could you possibly tell me?" Nick placed his blue pen on the plain sheet of paper, ready to jot down almost anything. A thousand different forms of memories flashed through Diana's mind.

The eyelids, the blood, the inhumane colour of skin. But the thing that Diana could never forget- was the smile permanently plastered onto his face. She had to snap out of it. She couldn't give the maniac trying to kill her an easy route. Diana breathed, clenching her grasp that had been latched onto the warm, blue jacket.

"I-It was a male, I'm pretty sure," she made sure to avoid eye contact. "He had worn a white hoodie that had been covered in blood- fresh blood. His skin was awfully pale and he had black hair that reached his shoulders." The detective's eyes had widened. He listed down everything this 15 year old had said. He then looked at her seriously, "was there anything else about this male? Something more distinctive?"

"Y-Yeah," Diana took a pause, "black rims around his eyes, almost like they were burned. A cut smile that reached from ear to ear." She then chuckled slightly, "it looked painful..."

"That's right," Nick played along cheerfully as his hand shook, "it was probably painful." Diana's eyes started to tear up, and the agent decided to give her a moment as she wiped her tears away. "You're alive. You're alright," he smiled warmly. "Could you tell me if you knew who he was before the incident?" Diana tried to smile as she spoke, "no. Not at all."

"Could you tell me what happened from the morning until now? And maybe some prior weird behavior?" She nodded to that, "I went to school and went home early due to my ill feeling. I went to bed, only to be awoken about 4 hours later by Alice who had called." Nick made sure to remember Alice's part of the story and the school's. Just in case something was off. "Go on."

"She told me someone had breached our classroom. That the male had been covered in blood and threatened to kill unless they told him where I was... I don't even know what I've done wrong... Did someone die because of me?" She felt a liquid stream down her face. Nick grabbed a tissue and handed it to her and she gladly took it. "So he was the one who broke into your house? Do tell."

"I grabbed my bat- my baseball bat that I keep in there for security reasons. I should've stayed in my room- I should've hid there... The next moment, I was tied to a chair with my mouth duck taped. The back of my head feels bruised..."

"What was he going to do? What did he say??" Nick got too into it before he shook it off, "I apologize."

"He told me that crying wasn't going to get me anywhere. When I didn't reply, he pulled my hair... He was going to do something with that bleach," she glanced over at the bottle, making the detective do so as well. "Do you know why he kept you alive?" Diana's eyes widened. "Look me in the eyes when I talk to you, Diana." Brown eyes then met black ones and she also noticed his brown hair; his fringe over top of his left eye.

"A-Alright... It seemed like he ran out of time... He said that he'd be back..."

"It seems like he hesitated to me," Nick sighed. "What do you mean?"

"He could have killed you differently. Stabbed your chest, set you on fire even. But he didn't. He didn't want to kill you somewhere deep down."

"That doesn't make any sense-"

"Tell me, did you really not see anything prior?" He tapped the pen on the page full of notes. "Th-There was a suspicious man the day before-" she stopped herself. Nick smirked. "I bought his equipment."

"There you have it," he grinned, "we'd like to have special forces look after you. But then he wouldn't come again."

"What do you mean?" Diana frowned as he got up to leave. "Could you cooperate with us? Keep yourself alive. Help us bring him to justice." Nick turned around and walked off. Diana couldn't believe it.

They were forcing her to see that face again. Risking her life. She ran her fingers through her hair, trembling, was capturing him worth more than my life? "May I know who he is? The person I'm helping you get?"

"Of course," Nick smiled sweetly, looking behind him. "It's the infamous Jeff the Killer."

¤¤

After everyone left, Diana stared blankly at the small piece of paper Nick had left behind. "There's nothing wrong with a number," she mumbled, taking her mind off of everything that happened today. Her mother had been upstairs, settling her room for she had decided to 'move in' to the guest room located right next to Diana's. She didn't mind that of course. In fact, she was glad.

What if he does come back? What was he going to do with the bleach? Diana wondered, shivering with every thought that had to do with Jeff the Killer. She should've never made fun of his name, no matter how stupid it was. Now she was in danger.

Better yet, her mother. Diana swore to protect her parent. After all they went through together, she couldn't just die here. Now. She would never forgive herself if someone layed a finger on her mom.

Diana breathed. This entire situation was overwhelming. She placed her bat back from where it was. Laying downwards in the hallway, the place Diana knew she had been hit with either it, or the back of that man's knife. I wonder if Slain is okay...

R u okay?!?!

Today was pretty damn hectic! I heard from Alice that you were okay. Thank god. I don't know what I'd do without you...

Diana felt her face heat up. She threw herself onto her bed. "Saying dumb things so straightforward! Idiot!!" She yelled into her pillow, before turning onto her back, holding her phone closely to her chest. Of course I'm alright! I'm glad you seem okay as well. She replied, staring up at her white ceiling.

Her mother rushed in, making Diana jolt up onto her feet. "Are you okay-?! Why were you screaming?!?? You had me worried sick!" Mrs. Creeon crossed her arms, clearly in a frenzy. "Oh... yeah- sorry mom..." Diana softened her tone. Her mother sighed, pulling her into a hug, "that's alright. If you're safe, that's all that matters."

"Thank you, mom." Freeing herself from her grasp, her parent left the room. "If you need anything, scream super loud!"

"Yeah- okay!" Diana smiled, watching as her mother left the room. Her expression neutralized as she sat down on her bed. Will we really be okay? Is it really okay to leave things like this?

"Diana, I'm going to bed!" Her mother yelled, also telling her daughter to get to bed since it had also been pretty late. Diana listened, turning off all of her lights. School had been cancelled for the following 2 weeks, or so Alice had said. Innocent people died, Diana knew that.

She had also been better off dead if her mother's safety had been promised. But she couldn't leave her like that- alone again. Diana tried to sleep, but something had irked her. She would be alone the next day. Her mother had work.

¤¤¤

"Will you really be alright?" Her mother asked, one foot out of the door. "I'll be A-okay! I told you I would lock the windows and doors. I can pretty much handle myself now that I have Agent Nick's number." Her mother then kissed her forehead, "I trust you. See you later! If you need anything, call me, okay?"

"Okay," Diana gave a fake smile, closing the door. It had been about 11:30AM. Mrs. Creeon's appointments have been postponed after her work heard about her daughter's incident. "Let's see," the grade 10 female stretched, grabbing her oatmeal from the microwave. "I wanted to read a little more on this Jeff the Killer but-" she stopped before shaking her head, "I can't coward out now..."

"It'd be better if you do so," a voice darkly answered to Diana's self talk, making her eyes resort to fear and expand. That voice! No way- I locked the windows and doors. I didn't even hear him. She slowly reached over to her pocket to not feel anything. Sh*t! My phone's on the charger upstairs.

I'm screwed. I'm so dead. Diana's breath hitched as she shut her eyes. Maybe this way she wouldn't have to see him. Maybe this would decrease the pain of her death- If Diana couldn't see.

"Keep yourself alive," a familiar yet new voice told the girl, making her calm down a bit. If this really is the truth, Diana slowly turned around, Jeff the Killer should have some troubles killing me. "I told you I'd come back," the male hummed as he had sat down on top of the dining table. Should I reply? Last time I didn't-

Diana brushed off the hurt of yesterday, "I didn't think y-you would, honestly."

"You stuttered," the intruder pointed out, grinning a little more maniacally than usual. Damn, Diana clicked her tongue. "What do you want with me?" She asked sternly, placing her bowl of oatmeal down on the counter. Without a second thought, Jeff the Killer pulled out his knife.

"I want you to go to sleep."