The Creep

            Nothing ever happened here in this small, mountain town.  Until one day something did, and it just so happened to ruin her life.  Jess stared absent-mindedly at the whiteboard, zoning until the straight lines of the writing all blurred together.  The tick-tock of the clock hanging on the wall above her seemed to further hypnotize her.  She startled to a tap on her elbow, her best friend for pretty much her whole life Jackie, was passing her a folded up note. The note read:

                                  Let's go get a movie and snacks for tonight.

                                                    P.s. I invited Trevor.

                           Don't bitch, he already agreed so you can't get out of it.

                                                             XoXo

            Irritated that Jackie didn't even bother to ask her, she crumbled up the note and shoved it in her backpack.  Sixteen-year-old Jess had never been worried about boys but, Trevor made her cheeks feel hot.  Glancing over her shoulder she noticed him staring at her. "Briingg!" Saved by the bell.  Jess brushed her straight as a board hair behind her ear, grabbed her bag, and dashed for the door.  She made it halfway down the hall when Jackie breathless caught up.

"Hey, what's with the mad dash lady?" Jackie struggled to throw her bag over her shoulder.

"You know I'm not supposed to have any boys over when my parents aren't home Jackie! You always get me in trouble. I just wanted to watch a movie in my pajamas, pig out and be comfortable." Jess pouted all the way to the car.

"Oh, get off it Jess." Jackie said rolling her eyes as she started her pearl painted BMW. 

"You know your parents aren't going to find out, they aren't even in Colorado! Trevor is so obviously into you." Jackie always felt like she knew what was best for Jess including and not limited to who she should date.

            Pulling into one of the last Blockbusters on the planet the parking lot was empty except for one beat up old, blue, rusted, Ford truck.

"My God, who would drive such a P.O.S!?" Jackie sneered motioning over her shoulder towards the truck.  Shrugging Jess climbed out of the car.  She didn't bother waiting for Jackie.  She knew that she would be the one to pick the movie, while Jackie stood at the counter to flirt with Cole. She strolled the aisles of outdated movies and found herself standing in the Horror section.

"You're a pretty girl," a low voice said from behind her.

Jess snapped her head around crossing her arms.

            The middle-aged scruffy looking man the voice belonged to was standing close enough to Jackie she could smell him. He smelt like he hadn't had a bath in months.  A putrid mix of too much booze, no deodorant and not enough Listerine burned her nose.  Jess just stood there as if her legs didn't work as the stranger reached out and smelt her hair.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing you CREEP!" Jackie yelled as she ran over.

"Let's go Jess." Jackie pulled her by the arm and they rushed for the door.

            Jess could hear the guy talking to himself as he watched them leave, "Such a pretty girl, I'm gonna getcha pretty girl." Jess noticed that he was missing a few teeth when he smiled at her through the storefront window.

"What a creep, what the hell was wrong with that guy?  He was probably some kind of pedophile. Why did you even let him close enough to touch you?" Jackie went on rambling as Jess sat in silence.

"Jess are you ok?" Jackie asked while pulling on to Dead Man's Gorge.  It was a the most dangerous stretch of highway in the county and it led right up to the ridge for Jess' house.

            Jackie was always a crazy driver, but then again what sixteen-year-old wasn't?  On this road, in particular, Jess noticed Jackie drove much more careful.

"I don't know, that guy really gave me the creeps, maybe we should have called the cops.  I have never seen him before." Jess felt chills go down her spine just thinking about his creepy smile.

"It's a big world Jess, there's life out of this town.  A life that we are only two years away from discovering.  Who knows where that dirt bag came from.  When I am eighteen I am so out of this one-stoplight town.  If you were smart you would-"

"The Truck!" Was all Jess could scream out.

            Suddenly it was dark, it was dark in the middle of the day. 

            There was an overwhelming smell of something burning and pine trees.

            Then pain. Undeniable, bone breaking, surging pain.

            Jess went to speak and screamed instead, inhaling the earth that laid beneath her.  Opening her eye's, she was blinded by her blood-soaked hair.  The burning smell was Jackie's car.  Jess could see her best friends limp body in the blaze.

"JACKIE!!!" Jess screamed.  Aware that it hurt too much to move her legs she started to crawl towards the blaze.

"Uh, uh, pretty girl." said the creep.

            Jess smelt the stench from the video store.

            Her injured legs screamed for help underneath the weight of this stranger.  She felt a huge blow to her knees and the pain was so unbearable she slipped into night again.  When Jess came to she could see trees, they blurred together like the black lines on the whiteboard.  Only this time it was because she was moving and dizzy, the whole world seemed to blur together.  But, the familiar stink of the unfamiliar creep burnt her nose.  The rag in her mouth tasted of motor oil and dirt.  She couldn't wipe the blood from her eyes because her arms were bound behind her back.  Attempting to move she found that she could not work her legs the pain was to severe.  She was unable to move just like in the damn video store only this time she physically couldn't move.  Jess began to sob uncontrollably.

"It's ok pretty girl, I've gotcha." Smirked the creep as he stroked Jess's hair, running his fingers through it like a comb.

            Jess let out a muffled, blood-curdling scream as the rusty two-door Ford flew past the city limit sign.  She had always wondered what life would be like outside of this town.  Now she doubted she would ever know.