Black Hood

Submitted into Contest #37 in response to: Write a story that takes place in the woods.... view prompt

0 comments

Mystery

It was in the small town of Porterville, where everyone knew each other. The town had taken a dark turn this summer. Kids weren’t able to be out at night. People were going missing and were being killed. They were always last seen or heard of being near or inside the mysterious woods. Their body would always be found in the woods. No one knew who was doing this horrible thing. The only detail people gave was that they saw a man in a black hood. I was curious and wanted to get to the bottom of it. I didn’t want any of my close friends or family to get hurt. 

Things began to get worse. More people were dying and the killer was not getting caught. Every time someone was killed it was always the same clue. The black hood. This serial killer was now called “The Black Hood”. Whenever someone would talk about this person they'd refer to this killer as “The Black Hood”. The police department did what they could to prevent more murders by setting a 9 P.M. curfew and having more patrol at night. 

I was worried for the people in my town. I didn’t want anymore deaths. I wanted all this madness to stop. I wanted to put a stop to it once and for all. I wanted to catch the black hood and turn him in. Which meant I would have to sneak out at night and go into the woods. Although I was a little anxious, I wanted to do it. 

This night was different from the others. It wasn’t a clear night like all the other summer nights. It was a very foggy and gloomy night. The woods were quite a walk away from where I lived. This gave me time to prepare myself for what I was getting into. While I was walking I had that feeling as though someone was watching me. I couldn’t see them but I just had that sense that someone was either following me or watching.I made sure to stay prepared and to watch my back at all times. I was near the woods. I heard a young girl's voice cry out for help. I sprinted over to the woods to go and try to stop the black hood from murdering another person and catch him. I followed the screams while running as fast as I could. As I got closer I saw the black hood and his poor victim. I ran towards him to try to stop whatever he was going to do. As I got closer I realized that the poor victim was my sister. This got me even more angry. The black hood was targeting people in my town and now he was trying to hurt the people closest to me. The black hood was holding my sister at gunpoint. I yelled at him with anger, “Let go of my sister, NOW!”. His voice sounded too deep to be real, as though he had a voice changer inside his black hood. He replied to me in a dark voice, “Take another step and you sister is dead.” I stopped walking. I did not want anything to happen to my sister. I had no idea how the black hood was even able to capture her. I charged towards him to try and tackle him. We both started to tumble down a little will and I yelled for my little sister to run home and not look back. From a distance I saw her running and I was hoping that she would call the police or try to get some type of help. I was finally able to have my confrontation with the black hood. The gun he had fell out of his hand and was lost somewhere. It was hard to see because it was so dark. The only light we had was from the moon but even with that, it was a cloudy night. I asked the black hood, “What is your problem? Why are you killing these innocent people?”. He stayed silent and just stood there looking right into my eyes. I did not know what he was going to do next. He had big dark brown eyes. The way his eyes were wide open and blood shot red you could just tell he was a killer. I was going to call the police but as I checked my pocket for my phone, it was not there. I panicked because I knew I had my phone in my pocket. The black hood looked at me, reached into his pocket and pulled out my phone. He threw it on the ground and smashed it with his foot. He looked at me and made a run for it. I chased after him but it was as though he had vanished into thin air. I had to go to the police department to report this criminal and try to capture him. I began to run to the police department. I had almost made it there and was going to the chief of police’s office. He would know what to do. As I arrived I was out of breath and could barely talk. I asked one of the officer’s where the chief was. They directed me to him and I walked into his office. It seemed like he was just arriving. As he was sitting down I saw something in his hand. It was A BLACK HOOD. I scolded him, “So you’re the monster who’s been trying to kill people in the woods at night.” He replied somewhat nervously, “I have no idea what you are talking about young man.” This is when I yelled for the other officers to come and help. I explained to them how the chief officer had walked into his office with a black hood. They searched his office and of course found the black hood and the weapon that matched up with all the murders. 

Finally, the black hood was caught. He would serve time behind bars for many years if not for life. Who would have thought. The man you expect to protect your town is the one who is causing chaos and freight. This had changed the town forever. No one was allowed in the woods after the sun went down. Now everyone would be just a little more cautious. 

April 16, 2020 15:18

You must sign up or log in to submit a comment.

0 comments

RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

Bring your short stories to life

Fuse character, story, and conflict with tools in Reedsy Studio. 100% free.