From A Killers Perspective | Teen Ink

From A Killers Perspective

March 26, 2012
By NickM. BRONZE, Ocoee, Florida
NickM. BRONZE, Ocoee, Florida
3 articles 0 photos 1 comment

It has been one year. One year since I came home to find my wife and children lying in pools of blood on our living room floor, dead. One year from this night that I tried desperately to save my family’s life even though I knew there was no life left in them to be saved. One year since I started hunting down the heartless man that killed my wife and kids. My name in James Walker, and I, for the first time in my life, am about to commit a murder.

A cool breeze weaved through the trees above me as I stood at the edge of a forest looking up to an old two story home perched high on a hill a few hundred feet away from me. I could tell that it was once a fine looking house. But now with a lawn over gown with weeds, and paint peeling from its unchecked face, it was the most unsightly house for miles around.

Dim light peered through the windows illuminating the surrounding lawn. I watched from behind a thick layer of underbrush as a dark shadow from inside the house moved toward a window to survey their property. When a nearby clock tower struck twelve, the shadow disappeared back into the light and I knew it was time to make my move.

I started toward the house, keeping a close vigil on the dim windows. I walked along the edge of the forest in an attempt to keep myself hidden. When the strip of forest ended I was forced to crawl through the thick weeds. I could feel the blade of my knife rubbing against my upper thigh, and the inflammation in my side grew in the spot where my gun met my hip. Before I knew it however, I was face to face with the oak front doors of the house.

I stood up and put my ear to the door, trying to get an idea of where the killer was. From what I could hear, they were up stairs.

Picking the lock was harder than when I was practicing. It took me three tries which was much longer than it should have taken. My nerves were kicking in.

I try keeping my hand steady as I move it toward the brass door knob. I pushed open the door and enter a small, muggy living room, lit by a single lamp. I know immediately that I am in the right house when I smell the scent of mold and air freshener. The same scent that lingered on my wife’s body when I found her.

I proceed into a dark hallway which leads to a flight of stairs. As I ascend to the second floor I hear movement, and I know I am headed in the right direction. However I can’t tell where the movement is coming from.

Along the hallway, all of the doors are locked. Almost like someone is expecting me.

When I reach the window at the end of the hallway, I realize that something is wrong. The only sound I hear is my own heartbeat, and I have the strangest feeling that I am being watched. It then becomes clear to me. I am no longer the hunter. I’m the hunted.

When I turn around to face the hallway, I have no time to react to the hooded man sprinting toward me. He crashes into me and I feel glass shatter on my back, and I am falling.

When I was a child I fell out of trees on many occasions. I would land on my back and the wind would flee from my lungs. The pain I felt then was nothing compared to the pain I felt now. It was as though my throat had sealed its self on impact and refused to reopen.

As I struggled for breath I could feel blood seeping from wounds in my back where the glass had pierced my skin.

When I gained the energy to do so, I got on to all fours and looked up. I saw the hooded man walking toward me like a spider coming home to its web. He stopped in front of me with a knife clutched in his hand.

Without hesitation I pulled the knife from my belt and jabbed him in the side of the leg with it. As he collapsed, he swung his knife toward me cutting a deep gash in my arm. The man’s screams echoed through the hills around us as I struck his thigh with my knife. He doubled over in pain and I saw my chance.

I tackled him to the ground and pinned him down. I needed to know something before I did anything else.

With the blade of my knife up to his neck, I asked, “Why them?”

The man looked into my face and recognized my children’s eyes in mine. He then smiled, “Because they were home.”

I smiled back, and thrust my knife through his heart.



Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 120 comments.


DogLover1 GOLD said...
on Jan. 13 2016 at 9:22 pm
DogLover1 GOLD, Olympia, Washington
10 articles 0 photos 7 comments

Favorite Quote:
The Only Dancer You Should Compare Yourself To, Is The One You Used To Be

This is so good! I really like the detail!

CarolM. BRONZE said...
on Nov. 4 2015 at 6:37 pm
CarolM. BRONZE, Fairfield, California
3 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure." - Rowena Ravenclaw

Definitely a fantastic piece you wrote. Wonderful use in mood setting and perspective.

on Nov. 4 2015 at 1:04 pm
emilyjumonville BRONZE, White Castle, Louisiana
4 articles 0 photos 3 comments
This story was so intense and well written. When I first started reading it, I couldn’t stop. I liked how it was in the killers point of view.

HuntShot732 said...
on Oct. 23 2015 at 3:39 pm
HuntShot732, Thornton, Colorado
0 articles 0 photos 15 comments
Holy Snapple Crack! That was amazing! I was hooked!

on Oct. 19 2015 at 1:42 pm
BabySnickers15 SILVER, Columbus, Ohio
9 articles 0 photos 38 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying" ~Michael Jordan~
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams" ~Franklin Delano Roosevelt~

OMG!!!! I WAS SURPRISED WITH THE ENDING!!!

on Sep. 9 2015 at 11:57 am
Danggggggggg!!! this story was intense and well written!

on Jun. 24 2015 at 7:56 pm
alaina_h BRONZE, Wilmington, Delaware
4 articles 3 photos 35 comments

Favorite Quote:
I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. -Audrey Hepburn

Wow, I was hooked in from the beginning. Made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.I would so appreciate if you could read one of my articles and give me some feedback, you're so talented!

on Apr. 28 2015 at 1:01 pm
LittleRedDeliriousPrince SILVER, Parma Heights, Ohio
7 articles 0 photos 100 comments
I love how you told the story from such an uncommon perspective: the killer. It's very Edgar-Allen-Poe-like.

M.G.H BRONZE said...
on Apr. 11 2015 at 2:34 pm
M.G.H BRONZE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
3 articles 1 photo 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Hope is the only thing stronger than fear"

I love the intensity of the story and how it is deep and I love the thrill or it. Great job!!!

Kirika GOLD said...
on Mar. 12 2015 at 12:50 pm
Kirika GOLD, Worcester, Massachusetts
14 articles 8 photos 24 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Without music, life would be a mistake." - Friedrich Nietzsche

he died >w> serves him right... not to sound like a murderess or something XD

on Feb. 25 2015 at 1:45 pm
emmyb1998 BRONZE, Bunker Hill, West Virginia
4 articles 0 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
If only our eyes saw souls instead of bodies, how very different our ideals of beauty would be.

this is awesome!! I love the deep intensity of the story, the inner battle, and the brutal end. very nice work :)

Comrad BRONZE said...
on Feb. 20 2015 at 10:13 am
Comrad BRONZE, Enterprise, Utah
4 articles 2 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul."
-William Ernest Henley, Invictus

I like the dark setting right from the start, but I just feel that something's missing.

on Jan. 8 2015 at 8:33 pm
kimberlyguzmanx SILVER, Holbrook, New York
5 articles 0 photos 35 comments

Favorite Quote:
The next chapter in your life, will always be more interesting than the last..

I agree with @jimi211

on Dec. 2 2014 at 9:40 pm
Isabel Shaina BRONZE, San Jose, California
1 article 0 photos 1 comment
The differences in verb tense kind of threw me off a little, but otherwise great job!

ShuviTheGeek said...
on Nov. 18 2014 at 11:34 pm
ShuviTheGeek, Cupertino, California
0 articles 0 photos 9 comments
I absolutely loved your story! Great job! :D

jimi211 said...
on Oct. 13 2014 at 11:12 am
jimi211, Las Vegas, Nevada
0 articles 0 photos 6 comments
Hello NickM.   Personally I feel your story lacked creative depth. It felt like a one track story. A story without depth will not have believable, dynamic characters. However, I must say you're line:   "With the blade of my knife up to his neck, I asked, 'why them?'   The man looked into my face and recognized my children's eyes in mine. He then smiled, 'because they were home.' "   was very stunning. That was a diabolical line.

Iselle said...
on Aug. 30 2014 at 3:35 pm
Iselle, Goose Creek, South Carolina
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."









-Mahatma Gandi

Although you kept me hooked on your work, you have "show-don't-tell" me the emotions that your protagonist was feeling. I would have also liked it even more if you created a better explanation for "because they were home" without giving away a clear resolution... other than that kudos to you and your work! :D  

on Apr. 26 2014 at 11:36 pm
Lovelydecay BRONZE, Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
1 article 14 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
Do one thing every day that scares you. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt.

I think this is absolutely lovely.

freeday15 GOLD said...
on Mar. 26 2014 at 5:37 pm
freeday15 GOLD, Paramus, New Jersey
18 articles 0 photos 62 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Love is Blind" i truly believe in this it is in all of my pieces, and if u read between the lines then u will find it there...

I think it needs more about the plot maybe, because we know nothing about the characters or what really happened. I enjoyed reading it though

on Mar. 19 2014 at 10:18 am
Breemckinney SILVER, Bradford, Pennsylvania
6 articles 1 photo 17 comments

Favorite Quote:
Broken hearts and scars in only places she could see. She just wanted to feel something.

I was thinking the same thing. Even though it was a good short story, it lacked detail.