And Then There Was Silence

The pale, October sun had begun to set, and the frosty air outside had developed a bitter, cold edge that stung the cheeks of the passers-by like a gilded knife.

 

“Sara?”, she called out, draping her bulky, black coat over him slim shoulders.

“Sara”, she repeated louder this time, but to no avail. There was no sign of her light-haired co-worker. She sighed, exhausted after an 8-hour shift at the video rental store she worked at.

 

She wearily pushed open the heavy wooden door of the store, after scribbling a hasty I’ll see you tonight on a piece of scrap paper, which she left for Sara- under a stack of cassettes on the counter. As she walked over to her car, she gazed up at the purple-pink sky above, embroidered with pale smudges of white paint- and smiled quietly.

 

“Someday”, she promised herself. “I’ll have enough money to travel by airplane, and I’ll stick my head out of the windows and taste the clouds.”

 

She glanced at her watch; 7:00 pm. The Halloween party started at 9 pm, which left her with roughly an hour to shower, dress, dab on make-up, battle her unruly, frizzy hair and grab something to eat.

Her pace quickened.

 

As soon as she yanked open the door to her second-hand, vintage car- a flash of white caught her eye. There was a note attached to the steering wheel. She paused for a moment, before reaching out for the crumpled, white sheet of paper, with trembling hands.

 

The words, To: Judy Butler, were scrawled untidily at the top of the sheet. Judy froze. The note hadn’t been there when she’d left her car 8 hours ago… Someone had entered the car whilst she had been on a shift.

 

Heart beating wildly, she scanned the rest of the note: You look gorgeous in that black top and those shimmery leggings that hug your figure. I’ll bet you’d look even more stunning with a knife stuck in your backside, blood dripping down your lifeless body.

 

 She was wearing a black top and shimmery leggings on that particular day. The note was anonymous.

 

Her breath caught in her throat, eyes wide open with fear, hands trembling wildly- Judy stood frozen in time- alone in the deserted parking lot for 40 seconds that stretched out like years- her vision hazy, her lungs burning…

 

Until suddenly, her cloudy eyes cleared- and she laughed out loud.

Of course! Why hadn’t she thought of it earlier? Today was Halloween day- it was a prank! And who did she know, loved playing pranks on people… oh no... she sighed, feeling a little ridiculous. Sara had a spare key to Judy’s car, in case Judy ever lost hers- and she’d probably used the key to give her access to the car, and slipped the note in as a prank. That was probably why she wasn’t at the store when Judy had left. It was all falling into place! She’d have a firm word with Sara when she’d meet her at the party.

 

Chuckling to herself, Judy plumped herself at the driver’s seat- and backed out of the parking lot. 

Sara was probably gloating right now, she thought, rolling her eyes good-naturedly.

 

 

 

 

 

The party was at a gigantic, run-down shack to mimic a haunted house; in each corner of the shack, 6 feet-high loudspeakers blared pop music- as yellow and orange artificial lights, shaped like jack-o-lanterns flickered to create a spooky atmosphere.

 

“All of you look fantastic”, Valerie cooed, as she floated over to Judy’s table. Judy and a few of her friends from high school were seated around a table, munching hungrily on candies and dried pumpkin slices, as they exchanged news and stories- occasionally swaying to the beat of the music.

 

“You don’t look bad yourself, Val”, Sara laughed, as she patted her sister’s cheek.

 

“Girls, this is my sister, Valerie. Valerie, this is Judy, we work together….And these-“ she gestured at the rest of the girls around the table, “-are her friends”. The girls exchanged greetings, after which Valerie floated away to grab a drink.

 

At around 1 am, Judy stood up shakily. She’d lost track of time, and the alcohol was having its effect on her, she realized as her vision grew hazy. The crowd had thinned, and only Sara, Valerie and a few of her friends, including the host, remained- quietly conversing amongst themselves. I should leave immediately.

 

She staggered over to where Sara and Valerie were chatting and announced that she was leaving.

 

“You’re drunk, and it’s really late”, Sara noted warily.

 

“I’m not too drunk. I can drive”, Judy slurred confidently.

 

“I know, but I’m still driving you home. You could fetch your car before work tomorrow.”

 

Too exhausted to argue, Judy agreed.

 

The girls approached Sara’s car, after they bid goodbye to their friends, Sara humming a tune to herself. The ride home was quiet, punctuated by the occasional screeching of the tyres or the honking of the odd car that passed by. But apart from the sporadic flash of light or burst of sound, a thick blanket of silence lay sprawled upon the town.

 

As they approached Judy’s ancient cottage, Judy remembered the events of the evening.

 

“Hey, Sara, I received the little present you left for me”, she smirked playfully.

 

“Hm?”, Sara glanced at her, confused. “What do you mean?”

 

“Oh, don’t play dumb! I know all about it now, so it doesn’t matter. But I’ll have my revenge, you’ll see!”

 

Sara drove the car to a screechy halt in front of Judy’s front step, before staring at her weirdly- “Judy, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

 

Judy’s gleeful expression melted as she saw the seriousness in Sara’s liquid, brown eyes.

 

“W-what do you m-mean? The n-note….You didn’t write…?”, she faltered. It was growing exceedingly difficult to breathe.

 

“No, I have no clue what you’re harping about”, Sara repeated impatiently.

 

As Sara’s car zoomed off into the distance, Judy fumbled in her purse for her cottage keys, her hands trembling- when suddenly, she paused and looked behind her with bated breath.

 

A tall, shadowy figure was standing some distance away, behind a cluster of trees, watching her. Judy almost cried out in anguish, terrified. At last, she found her bunch of keys, and hastily jammed the key into the lock. Wrong key.

 

She tried again, her hands trembling, adrenaline rushing through her veins. Wrong key again

 

 She looked back fearfully, and discovered that the shadowy figure had gotten closer and was now a few seconds away from reaching her door. He could reach her at any second now. The world had slowed down; it was a race- between her and the tall figure following her.

 

She jammed another key into the lock, finally. The familiar click of the key turning in the lock.

 

She pushed open the door, and slammed it behind her, panting loudly, tears running down her cheeks as she realized how close she’d come to….having a knife stuck in her backside.

 

If the note hadn’t been written by Sara, whoever had written it, had a key to her car…Whoever had written it was serious about what they’d written…

 

Who’d want to hurt me, Judy wondered.

 

That night, she couldn’t sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

The next day, Sara arrived at exactly 9 am to pick Judy up for work.

 

“Let’s go get your car first”, she said, as she drove them towards the shack.

 

“You’re awfully quiet today”, Sara remarked, glancing at Judy.

 

Judy had purple bags under her bloodshot eyes, and she had a terrified look about her, rather like a deer in the headlights. She didn’t answer. All night, she had replayed the moment of sheer panic, when the tall shadowy figure had almost reached her. One more wrong key and I’d be dead right now.

 

“Is it the hangover? You really shouldn’t have drunk so much”, Sara said softly, interrupting her train of thought. “I keep a jar of aspirin in the store. That’ll help with the headache… Yeah?”

 

Judy nodded. If only Sara knew why she felt so sick.

 

Her car was parked in the same position, and Sara waited until Judy revved up the engine, before driving off. She was puzzled by her co-worker’s behaviour, but assumed that she was merely hungover and exhausted.

 

Judy arrived a couple of minutes before Sara did, and she leaned back against the seat, her eyes closed, trying to calm herself.

 

She got out of the car a minute later, and locked it. As she turned, she felt a sharp, metallic edge against her back. She tried to scream, tried to make noise, call for help, but a gloved hand muffled her voice. She tried to look around at her attacker, but all she could see was a black mask.

 

Her attacker tightly wrapped a thick black blindfold around her eyes, until shimmering stars danced beneath her eyelids.

 

The knife drove deeper into her skin, and she felt her warm blood ooze out. She flailed helplessly, but her attacker was too strong for her- they cuffed her wrists behind her back with a single hand, chuckling. A deep, unfamiliar voice that sent shivers down her spine.

 

This was it. This was the end. Her life was flashing before her eyes.

 

“Judy! Judy! Judy!” In the distance, she heard Sara sprinting towards her.

 

“I heard the commotion from the other side of the parking lot, and I…I came running. W-what happened, Judy? I saw you holding the knife and I figured that something was wrong”, she panted, loosening the blindfold around her friend’s eyes.

 

Holding a knife? Judy paused, confused, until she glanced at her hand.

 

She was holding the knife. And the…the…

 

“The attacker? The attacker!”, she yelled. “Where is the person who did this to me?”, she cried out loudly. Her attacker had disappeared without a trace.

 

Sara was looking at her strangely. “Attacker? Judy… What person?”

 

“The person. This person who wants to kill me. They tried attacking me last night, and now they’ve stabbed my back. Look!”, she turned her back to Sara, tears dripping down her face.

 

Sara gasped.

 

“Oh no, Judy, your back has been cut up. It’s drenched in blood! We must rush you to the hospital immediately”, she exclaimed, panicking.

 

“B-but the attacker!”, Judy exclaimed indignantly.

 

Sara held her shoulders firmly, and asserted gently- “Judy, there is no man anywhere around here. You’ve been alone the entire time. Your arms were all contorted and cuffed behind you, your eyes were blindfolded, whilst you held the knife in one hand, and tried to hurt yourself. You’re obviously sleep-deprived, and in the middle of a mental breakdown. You need a break, okay?”

 

Judy felt angry.

 

Why didn’t Sara believe her? A man had just tried to kill her, and Sara was claiming that she was just… overworked?

 

“Call the police”, she murmured softly.

 

Sara stared at her for a few seconds, “Are you sure about that, Judy? They’re not going to be happy if this turns out to be a case of bad sleep deprivation.”

 

“HE’S STILL HERE, SARA. THE MAN WHO TRIED TO KILL ME IS STILL SOMEWHERE AROUND HERE. THEY NEED TO FIND HIM. OR I’LL DIE. I’LL D-DIE”, she broke down sobbing, her shoulders shaking.

 

Sara held the trembling girl to her chest and murmured softly, “Okay, okay, it’ll all be okay. The police will be here soon.” The two girls held hands, as Sara called the police.

 

 

 

 

 

The following week, the police called Judy Butler to the police station, and seated her down.

 

“Have you found out who it is? I gave you the note and the CCTV surveillance footage. I’m sure you saw who it was”, Judy began anxiously, her fingers twitching restlessly.

 

The 2 police officers at the table exchanged glances, before they looked at Judy with pity.

 

“We did do a handwriting analysis, and sifted through the surveillance footage”, one of them began apprehensively.

 

“And?” Judy probed impatiently.

 

The police officer sighed, and continued, “And…we found that the handwriting on the note is a match with your handwriting, madam. And the CCTV surveillance footage showed us that the wounds on your back were self-inflicted. You were struggling with yourself the entire time…There was no man.”

 

What? No! Judy almost laughed. Of course not, they were mistaken.

 

“Sir, you’ve committed a grave blunder. I was being followed and attacked by an attacker, I told you everything last week, remember?”

 

The officer shook his head slowly and reasserted himself, more firmly this time, “Madam, the handwriting on the note is yours. Our agency has some of the best handwriting experts in the country- it’s yours, and there’s no doubt about it. And as for the CCTV footage: it’s rather hazy, but we could make it out alright- you were the only person in the frame for the entirety of your ‘attack’.”

 

Judy was confused. She didn’t know what was happening. What were these madmen talking about? What about…the shadow?

 

“What about the person who tried to stab my back?” she whispered.

 

The officer softened his gaze, and softly mumbled, “Madam, we’ve scheduled an appointment for you. One with our best psychiatrist. We suspect that you may be suffering from multiple personality disorder.

 

Multiple who? Judy chuckled.

 

“I’m sorry, sir, but this is just plain disrespectful. You’re calling me… crazy. Psycho. That’s what you’re saying, hm?”

 

“No, madam”, the officer stated resignedly. “We merely have our suspicions.”

 

 

 

 

 

Two months later, Judy Butler was transferred to a rehabilitation centre for the treatment of multiple personality disorder.

 

That evening, an odd combination of three people met at an abandoned bar: Sara and the two police officers.

 

They clinked beers and smiled eagerly at each other.

 

“To our success”, they chorused, before chugging down their drinks.

 

“$80,000? In cash?”, Sara asked.

 

The officers nodded.

 

“$35,000 to each of us”, one of them grinned ambitiously. And $10,000 to the psychiatrist, for the misdiagnosis.”

 

“Don’t you think your fee is too high? Getting rid of her was quite easy a task, I must say”, Sara knitted her brows thoughtfully.

 

“Oh no, she was quite difficult to convince”, the blond-haired officer rolled his eyes. “She was all over us, “Oh, but officer, you’ve made a mistake!”, he mocked Judy’s thin, girlish voice, as the others laughed raucously.

“Also, if anyone finds out, we’re done for”, his voice softened to a guttural whisper. “This is a risky business. Our fee needs to be high.”

 

“She was getting too nosey, poking around in my business. She’d discovered the money I was stealing from work, even though I convinced her that I was merely transferring it to the store’s bank account. But I knew that sooner or later, she’d find out that the account was empty…

Planting the note was easy, but scaring her after the party was difficult. I had to park my car a little distance away and sprint until I reached the yard outside her cottage.

Attacking her the next day was even more difficult. I had to make sure that she didn’t see me get rid of the mask, and that the knife was in her hand when I pretended to run towards her…. Very easy to get rid of though. I must say, she’s rather naïve. Gullible. Never questioned any of our intentions. Believed what she was told…” Sara smirked humorously.

 

A few moments later, the three paid their bartender and left the bar together. None of them felt any remorse for ruining a young girl’s life.

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, Judy was rocking herself back and forth in her rehabilitation cell.

 

Maybe mama was right. I am crazy. I’m psycho. I’m an abnormal freak. I wonder if I’ll ever be normal again…I wonder if Sara misses me. I miss her.

 

And slowly, as the night grew dim, a blanket of starry silence enveloped the village. The young girl’s eyes were shut. She was fast, fast asleep.

 

She didn’t know that her own friend had betrayed her. She didn’t know that she’d been betrayed by the legal system. All she knew was that she was an abnormal distortion of nature. She was nothing but a disorder.

 

In the distance, an owl hooted.

 

And then there was silence.