Running away

         

Running Away



A blur was all her eyes could make out, her leg's muscles ached and cramps began to form in her stomach but she still showed no signs to abate. She knew she had to keep running, it was her only option left.

Stella had spent ten years of her life trying to run and run away from her life, the one mistake she made that led to her downward spiral that is now her life. Her life was not an easy one, no she was not adopted but her real parents did not seem to take any interest in her, always comparing her to their other obnoxious son, whom she despised. She came from a very backwards household that believed that sons were more precious than daughters and so he got whatever he desired: a new phone, laptop, game boy, anything. Her parents even forked out loans to get him into an elite school while she got stuck in the bad-reputed school a minute's walk away from their house. Her whole life she was shadowed by her brother and since she went to a bad school where children and teachers alike were mostly uneducated and taught only the basic's, the environment there was also very patriarchal. These two factors combined made her hatred for the male gender grow each day, and even though she knew this was not right and they were probably some good boys out there, she could not help but feel a certain jealousy and hatred for them.

Due to her foundations and life she could not forget the injustice she had suffered through out her life, but at the time it was a only a source of working harder and more to prove to her family that girls could do just as well as any other boy. During this time she taught herself a lot and although she went to a state university (against her parents wishes), because of her hard work and dedication was able to snag an impressive job as an engineer at a firm.

A few years after this period is when the troubles began. On a wet winters morning, she had followed her daily routine of getting ready and driving to work. The day looked like any other day would, but the second she stepped into the facilities private conference room she knew things would turn out for the worst; entering the room she quickly found out that she had lost her promotion opportunity to her forever rival, John Hudson.

The moment she heard the committee's a surge of anger welled up inside her and when she asked the reason for his promotion all she got was a lot of hogwash about how men were "proved" as better leaders and engineers. She reached her boiling point and with tears of anger in her eyes fled the room, into the ladies bathroom.

There she thought about the situation again and again, each time more flames of anger ignited inside her heart, her feelings were so intense the hotness could be felt in her exterior. Pain, anger, and fury unleashed inside of her, all of a sudden it felt like something had finally opened inside her, a voice telling her to take revenge. She knew it was injustice and after all these years Stella was sick of it, she knew today was the day to take action, otherwise she would forever live in the regret of not acting.

There were many ways of choosing a certain form of revenge but she chose the worst option in the heat of the moment: murder, this final thought before the act changed her life forever. Peaking outside she saw John proudly boasting about his "achievement" and discussing the so-called "boy's group's" favorite topic, bashing on the female gender! He was the most chauvinistic and misogynistic man she had ever met, and she knew he did not deserve this position. Sitting back at her desk, Stella spent the rest of the afternoon plotting the scene and time of the murder that was about to take place.

Midnight, the clock chimed she unlocked the buildings door and exited the firm with a giant muddy shovel that was used to dig up mud in their test laboratories. Although Stella was supposed to leave seven hours ago she quietly hid in her office watching her future-victim leave the building and head off to dinner with his friends at a nearby pub.

Walking through the darkened street, with nothing other than dimly lit lights to guide her way, reaching the pub where she had shared a few drinks with her female colleagues the night before and where John was dining, suddenly a group of men came out and among them was her victim, she waited quietly, until they left and walked silently behind him towards the isolated car park.

As she held her weapon positioned behind his head she did not nearly feel as confident as she did before but convinced herself to do it, as she knew later she would regret it.

BAM! BAM! BAM! Thrice she hit him right in the middle of his skull and with a barely audible scream fell face-downwards into the cold cement. Suddenly shocked at the action committed by her that she dropped the weapon right there and ran as far as her five-inch heels could take her.

Next morning as hard as she tried to follow her daily routine of getting ready to go to work, she couldn't help but ponder at the sin she had committed. It was a naive thought but maybe they wouldn't find him just yet, it could take a few days as the place where she has struck him had been underground and a secluded corner of the restaurant, but that day as she drove her car across that area a number of police vans and ambulances in the normally peaceful and quite morning road. Many groups of people stood in the area and when they spread apart a little she saw what cause the look of terror on everyone's face. On the ambulances stretcher laid a white corpse; it was John! She didn't know how to react she had already seen the back of him but seeing the front just made her feel insecure and scared. The police had already been informed and what worsened the feeling was in the policemen's hand. The murder weapon, the shovel was sealed on a plastic bag and labeled as "evidence" it would only be a matter of time that they would find her finger prints. Suddenly she didn't feel that well, she hit her car on drive and zoomed passed the road.

Finding a small cafes bathroom to use, Stella locked herself in and suddenly the horrible and blood-curdling images were still in her mind. As hard as she tried the morbid images of blood oozing out of his skull mortified her. Looking over the day's events she realized it was a big mistake it was just pure anger mixed with envy that caused her to make this mistake and all she felt was remorse, today she did not even know what had caused her to commit it.

Skipping to a few days later of anxiety and stress, finally the police were able to match her fingerprints to the shovel and when she saw the red and blue sirens wailing at her door she knew she had to leave everything behind and escape. The only thing that kept her going at this point was that she had made the plan right then and there after the police found his body.

Money had been taken out of the bank, passports and fake identities had been made very short notice and her bag was packed. Opening a window out of her apartment she jumped through and as she headed towards the forest she felt free of all the anxiety and stress she had felt over the few days.

This was how it had begun and as she heard the police sirens wailed she longed for her old simple life back, one simple mistake had caused her downfall, but she was used this mistake to its utmost importance.

When she escaped that night she found a simple village in which she changes her entire identity and identified herself as "Roxie". Knowing after losing everything that she had nothing to lose she formed a hatred against all men, and every week on a specific night she would go out and kill an innocent or guilty man, and when finally the police found out is was her she quickly vanished into the depths of the night.

Over the years she had learnt the skills needed to become a traveler she knew not to stay to long anywhere, because as of now her face had been plastered on the states many different walls and places labeling her as the second most wanted in the state. She had become a vicious serial killer who knew no mercy and had a heart of steel.

Finally tired of running Stella reached her next destination a small but busy suburban town, it had its unique charm she thought seeing the view, she quickly entered the streets and blended into the crowd, everyone saw her but no one would remember her. Walking on she scanned the crowd for her next target and as she locked her gaze a vicious smile spread across her face.