When we get back to the building, the place is a mess. Trash is strewn about, our blankets we sleep on are covering one of the mannequins and our cans of food are smashed and dented. This is not what worries me though. What worries me is how the building got this way. It definitely wasn't a tornado. Oh god...it was him. Nobody else comes to this ghost town. I've lived here for over a month and the only other person that has come here has been him.
Happy paces back and forth and I follow closely behind. Not because I am looking for clues he left, but because I'm a little scared. He's discovered where I'm living and knows someone is messing with him. Hopefully, he hasn't figured out my identity. I need to figure out a more discrete way to watch him.
The back door is opened which is obviously the way he came and went. Why would he put the blankets on top of a mannequin? Why didn't he just take the mannequin? Clearly, this guy has a fetish that involves mannequins. If he didn't, then he wouldn't have stored them in the shed. As the days go by, I have more and more questions.
Solia hasn't given me any more signs pointing me in the right direction.. I could use some guidance and help. Then again, maybe my sister had me go to the trailer park for reasons other than my lack of hygiene. She knew I needed friends I could talk to. Laura and Chaney are easy going and two of the nicest people I have met in a while. They also gave me the same perfume my sister used to wear as a gift.
I reach for the grocery bag of items and pull out the perfume. The smell is very fruity, a scent I never would have worn before with accents of raspberry and vanilla. Now, I love it. Anything is better than my stench. I put a few sprays on my wrists and neck and inhale, thinking of the good times with my sister.
One summer, when she was twelve and I was sixteen, we had a lemonade stand to help us start our college funds. It was dumb, but it was my sister's idea and I wanted to make her happy. We knew we wouldn't make much because there were mostly kids around during the day. All the adults got home around dinner time. The very first day we set our lemonade stand up, a group of teenage boys came by and drank all the lemonade we made without paying. Solia had a genius idea to get even.
On our last day of selling lemonade, we decided to fill one of the pitchers up with pee and when they came by we would be ready. We even added lemon slices in the pitcher to make our urine more appetizing. Luckily, we sold all of the lemonade from our first pitcher and had the other one on the table, front and center. It worked. They came by to drink our lemonade just like they've done everyday that we've had our stand up. At first, they didn't notice what they were drinking was urine. Solia and I couldn't contain our laughter any longer. Then, they realized they weren't drinking lemonade and started projectile vomiting in the street. Best summer ever. God, I miss her. She was hilarious. I wish she knew how important she was to me.
Happy startles me out of my memories, scratching at the foot of the mannequin that's covered with the blankets. The quick clicking noises her nails are making on the floor shows her desperation to uncover what's hidden. Whatever is under there is upsetting her. After everything I've seen this sick fucker do, I'm terrified to lift the blankets. I slowly make my way over, waiting for something to jump out at me. "Happy, step back. Let's see what you've found."
"It's like ripping off a band-aid, right?" I exhale and rip the blankets off in one tug. My eyes scan the mannequin up and down. I don't see anything, at first. Happy starts scratching at the right foot of the mannequin. She pulls out something and puts it in her mouth to take it somewhere. "What do you have? Come on, spit it out," I say, gently. She spits it out at my feet and then lays down.
I gasp and bend down to pick it up. It's a clump of hair and not just any hair, red hair. I gag, realizing where this hair came from. This is from one of his victims. He left me a clue. I walk over to the bag with the brush inside and decide to put the hair in it for safekeeping. The brush actually did come in handy. For all I know, this is a clump of my sister's hair. Whoever's hair this belongs to is one of the most important pieces of evidence left behind so far. When I find out what happened to my sister and the other missing girls, I can provide closure to the family of the person the hair belongs to.I cringe and clench my fists, with anger. If I find out that this is in fact, Solia's hair, I won't hesitate to kill him myself.
I must keep a clear head to stay one step ahead of him. I sit down by Happy and try to collect my thoughts. While observing this guy and his behaviors, I've learned a few things. For one thing, he's arrogant and obviously thinks he will get away with his heinous crimes. The second thing I've learned is this guy is playing with me. Why else would he leave me a clump of hair? He is looking forward to meeting me and awaiting my next move.
The problem is, I'm not sure what my next move is yet. Whatever I come up with has to be good. I want this asshole to fear me. In order for him to fear me, there's one thing I must break. His confidence.