Too Late Now

   Waking up on Monday is always hard. As I unenthusiastically get out of bed and start to get dressed, I hear a loud crashing noise coming from another room. “I live alone. I have no pets. No one would visit me this time of year. What made that noise? A robber. With a gun.  Tall, wearing all black, but more scared of me than I am of him." I whisper to myself. I grab my phone and a fork from a bedside table, the nearest thing available to me that I can use as a makeshift weapon. I cautiously creep out of my bedroom and into the hallway while dialing 911, the tension overtaking the air and choking me. I slowly turn my head around the corner, and sure enough, there he is. A tall man with a gun wearing all black digging frantically through anything and everything. I tell the 911 operator what's happening as quickly and as quietly as possible, and after they reassure me they will be there soon, I hang up. He looks even more terrified than I feel. As he continues to scour through every drawer and cabinet, I jump out from the hallway holding the ever-so-terrifying fork. He turns around, looking horrified. “Put everything down, and get out. If you don’t, you won’t be going home tonight, or ever again. Got it?” I say as calmly as possible. He nods furiously, and the look in his icy blue eyes tells me that it wasn’t his choice to rob me, and was probably told to do it for another person. He quickly sets everything down and bolts through the front door of my apartment, only to run head-on into a police officer. A half-hour later, after the authorities question me, I remember that I’m supposed to meet up with Minsun at the coffee shop at eight-thirty, which is now only 23 minutes away. I run to the elevator and back to my apartment bedroom on the seventh floor from outside the apartment where I was questioned. Once inside, I quickly finish getting dressed and walk to the bathroom where I comb my hair and brush my teeth. I take one last look into the mirror before leaving. I guess the whole incident of the man trying to rob me took a toll on my looks in a way, too. My face is pale, and my usually calm and tired-looking amber eyes now make me look nervous and alert. My black and electric blue hair is still knotted in the back, so I wrestle the comb through my hair one more time and then run out of my apartment to meet up with Minsun. I’m halfway there when I realize it. “She’s missing.” I whisper, stopping in the middle of the road I was crossing. “She won’t be there.” I was so caught up thinking about where she could be that I didn’t see the truck barreling towards me. I’m able to run to the side, but not without getting scrapes all over me. I start sprinting towards the small coffee shop we were supposed to meet up. I get there at eight-thirty four, and look for our usual table, then scan the restaurant for her pink and purple-dyed hair, usually in dutch braids. Just like I thought, no Min. Minsun is never late. Minsun never cancels or bails unless she absolutely has to, and she always tells you when she does. I take a few minutes to calm down, as I’m still out of breath from running here. After I  chill out a little, I start worriedly texting Min and walking to her house. It’s pretty far away, so I realize it’s going to be around a forty-five-minute walk. I’ve always known what was going on. I’ve always been able to just realize what was happening before I saw or was told anything. The rest of the walk is pretty quiet. It's cold outside today again, it has been for the past two weeks. New York City is huge, and even though I’ve lived here for almost 6 years, I still have trouble finding my way almost anywhere. Minsun’s place is easy to get to, though. It's almost a straight line down from the coffee shop. She’s loaded rich and lives in a penthouse, but she’s not snobby or mean. I walk into the building and take the elevator up to the top floor. As I enter the penthouse, I’m hit again with the sheer beauty of it. I’ve been here plenty of times, but I can never get used to how amazing and modern everything is. The view is definitely the best part, especially at night when you can see all the lights. I’m getting distracted. I need to look for Minsun. I think to myself. I sprint through her place, yelling her name. It’s been about twenty minutes when I see it. Her purse. Her purse has her car keys, the keys to her company office, her penthouse keys, her phone, her wallet, and everything else that she would always take with her at all times. “Ok, I don’t know where Min is, and the only way to find her is by looking. And the only way to look is by knowing where to look. So in normal circumstances, this would be screwed up, however, these are not normal circumstances, and therefore it is acceptable to look through only the parts that would be useful to the search on her phone. Right?” I say to myself. I pick up her phone slowly, thinking again about how it’s okay because I have to in order to find Minsun. I press the button, turning it on. Her wallpaper is an old picture of us from 2015 when we were at a concert, and she still says today that it was the best night of her life. We did a lot of stuff that night, and it was probably the best night of my life too. I press the button again, and it asks for a password. Right. Of course, it needs a password. I say in my head. Ok. If I were Minsun, what would my password be? No doubt she spelled something out using the letters on the button of each button, she always does. 246786, maybe? That spells out Minsun. Password incorrect. I furiously press the buttons, typing out more numbers quickly, tyring more passwords, trying to get into her phone. Password incorrect. What does Min love the most? After a few more tries, I almost give up. And then it comes to me. No way. It wouldn’t be this, not anymore. Right? I slowly press the buttons on the screen, typing out 65682 which would spell out Okoua. It won't be this. She made that nickname up in middle school. She probably doesn’t even remember it. Password correct. “Really, Minsun?” I say with a smile. Okay. Where should I look first? I ask myself silently. Messages. I open the app and look through her contacts until I find one that looks interesting. The name is just unknown, but the last message sent read, “Come alone.” I click on the contact and scroll to the top, back to the first messages. “You have no choice. You know you can’t avoid me any longer.” “ What is wrong with you? I told you to leave me alone!” Minsun replies. “It’s your fault, you know.” “SHUT UP! It was your fault just as much as mine and everyone else's. It was years ago! Find someone else to bother.” “I’ll tell him.” “Who? There’s no one to tell.” “OH but there is. Your new friend. He doesn’t know, now does he?” Are they talking about me? “Leave him out of this.” Suddenly, the silence starts to choke me. I walk out of her bedroom and into the living room. I turn on the tv and sit on the floor in front of the couch, feeling how soft the gray fluffy rug is. I keep reading. It's them massaging back and forth about something they did, and the unknown person saying it was all Min’s fault. I’m focusing on the things they’re saying until I hear what’s happening on the tv. The news is on, and they’re talking about a suspected killer named Seiro Komoka “ After years of investigating the 207 murders that were all done by the same person or group of people, police have finally found a huge detail that was nearly impossible to find that tells them that Seiro Komoka is the perpetrator in this case. The killer in question is often called by the nickname ‘Eye Obsessed Abducter’, as he takes each of his murdered victims eyes, sometimes taking them from the people he has injured or kidnapped that managed to survive him and has been confirmed to have murdered at least over 207 people, injured 457 more, and kidnapped 289 people, and this is just what has been confirmed. For all we know, the ‘Eye obsessed abductor’ could have done much more damage than we thought. Although there is evidence we have here whatsoever as to who this mysterious murderer is, Seiro Komoka is being looked for and is still around somewhere, and police have found that he has been spotted talking to many of the victim's families lately. The only other knowledge we have of the murderer is that all of the murders, abductions and harm have in fact been done by him. Although it is possible that everything has been done by a group of people, chief of police Neil Kamri has said that it is highly doubtful for reasons that were not shared.” the broody reporter says. They still haven’t caught that guy? They’ve been looking for such a long time. They do finally have a suspect. I go back to reading the messages, still thinking about the Eye Obsessed abductor I’m almost at the end. “ You have to do it. It’s not a choice, Minsun.” Says the unknown person. Min doesn’t reply. “ 67 Sanra drive at 5:30 next Monday. Be there.” Again, Minsun says nothing. “Don’t bring anything. I will give you what you need.” They say. “Come alone.” He adds. I check when the last message was sent. Monday last week. She’s going there today. I check the time on her phone, and it’s three thirty-two. Did she leave early? I run back to her bedroom, stuff her phone into her purse, take out her car keys, grab the purse and run to the car garage underneath the building to her car. I get in, not bothering to have a valet do it for me. I type the address into the GPS and start driving. It’s an hour and a half later before I get there. I park behind a large rock, hidden from anyone else. I start walking to where everything was.  How did even Min get here? A taxi wouldn’t take her here, and there’s no way she walked so far.  I take a look around. What is this place? Everywhere I look seems dead and abandoned. There are deserted restaurants and houses, stores, and other buildings all around. All the plants and trees and grass, all of it is dead and withered. A nearly dried-up pond is beside the uninhabited town, and the only water left is brown and disgusting looking.  What happened? Who and why does someone want to meet Minsun here? What is happening? My thoughts are abruptly interrupted by a loud bang. Something is about to explode. I run towards the car, away from the rundown settlement. I get there and hide behind the rock, hoping it’s far enough away. Seconds later, a building from the back of the abandoned town bursts into pieces and two buildings around it erupt into flames. Debris from the explosion goes flying in every direction, and a flaming half of a door lands in a dead bush about 14 feet away from where I’m hiding and sets it ablaze. I look at all the other flying wreckage, some are on fire, some aren’t. Then I see the bloodied body soaring with the rest of the debris. It lands in the dried-up pond with a snap. I turn my head around the side of the rock to check if anyone is there, and when I’m sure no one will see me, I run to where the body lies dead. I don’t know who it is, and even if I did, I wouldn’t be able to tell. The heat devoured half of their face off, and the rest of their body was a mangled mess of bones, flesh and blood. I hear a low, smooth, voice. “See, it wasn’t that hard now was it?” and then after they say that, I hear another soft, quiet voice say, “It’s done, okay? Now you have to leave me alone, and you can’t tell anyone I ever knew you.” It's Minsun. I freeze, wondering if it’s too late to hide somewhere, anywhere, somehow.  Then they see me, still crouched next to the body in the dried-up pond. “WHY ARE YOU HERE?” Yells Minsun with a twisted, shocked expression on her face. “I just- I uhm…” I utter. “You can either keep this secret or you get killed.” The man next to Min announces. “What secret? I have no idea what’s happening.” I ask. “We used to be in the mafia.It wasn’t our choice, though. The rest of them died and we fled. How they died though, was our fault. A group of friends we were in.” “Minsun? Is that true? Is this the guy named unknown in your contacts that you were talking to?”I urge quietly.  “Yes…” Whispers Minsun, her face scared-looking, staring intensely at the ground.”Wait, how did you know I was texting him?” She says, looking up suddenly, the expression on her face changing from grave to suspicious in a matter of seconds. “Uh- That's…That’s not important right now.” I reply nervously. “Wait a minute- I know who you are!” Says the guy Minsun was talking to. “You…You’re Seiro Komoka! You may have changed your looks, but you can’t get rid of that look in your eyes! You killed my SISTER.” He shouts, his face seething with hate and rage. “What are you talking about? I’m not a murderer! You’re insane.” I yell. “Don’t lie to me! You’re the Eye Obsessed Killer!” He roars. Minsun looks really confused. She starts saying “ No, he’s not the killer, there’s no way-”. She stops talking when she sees the giant smirk on my face. “What?” “Let me explain.” I say calmly, still smiling. “ I’m not following you anywhere you psychotic kil-” I pull a knife out of my pocket, start running the flat part of the blade through my fingers, focusing on the sharp part. “You have such nice beautiful green amber and green eyes. It would be such a shame if someone were to…I don’t know…” I turn to face him, knife in hand, and rotate my head to the side a bit. “Take them.” He looks terrified. Perfect. His eyes look so worried, just like all the smart people’s did. If you’re not scared, your risk of death goes up by a high amount. “W-where do you want to go?” He asks nervously. I pocket the knife and point to a building in the back. Minsu and I walk there together, answering each other's questions, while the other guy walks far behind us. We get there and walk around the buildings, avoiding the debris from the explosion from earlier. “It’s not that I wanted to become a killer. But once you start.. You can't stop. It’s addicting. So at first, it was bad. But then…It became the only thing that gave me joy. So much joy, that I would do anything to kill someone, anyone. And I mean anyone. Like family, teachers, friends, strangers…I say the word strangers with a smirk on my face, and stop walking right where I planned to stop. They turn to me. “Hello, stranger.” I say, pushing ‘unknown’ into the fire, laughing. He shrieks and cries, but very soon he goes limp as the fire devours him. Minsun is frozen in horror, too scared to do anything. I do it as a joining, my instincts tell me she’ll move. She won’t get hurt. I would never want to hurt her. “Hello friend.” I say, widening my eyes and launching manically, trying to scare. I playfully shove her towards the fire, but she doesn’t move. She lays there, screaming in agony as the scorching, flaming monster eats her whole. I let out a scream too. I didn’t want that. After she dies, I spend ten minutes sitting there, next to the fire, convincing myself not to jump in with them, let me drown in the pool of flames with their bodies, and that she was dead-weight. She wasn’t. She was the only one there for me when everyone else hated me. She was the reason why I started killing. To protect her. And now she’s gone. It’s my fault. The one person I didn’t want dead, the one person that was safe from me, who I wanted to protect, was dead. And I had killed her. I get all the ‘monster’ comments now. The people telling me to die. I hadn’t before, but my mind is clear now. I start walking towards the rock, tears in my eyes, knife in my hand. I start the car up and start driving. I don’t know where I’m going, just that it’s going to be far, far away from New York. For a fresh start. Where no one will no know me or what I've done.

Authors note: Ok yes the transitions were horrible. I’m not good with word limits, sorry and this is my first time doing one of these.