The thuds of footsteps on the pier quieted as a sick cloak of dread weighed on Dani’s shoulders. She was at the end of the line. Cornered. And her pursuer was right behind her.
“Dani, Dani, Dani.” Matt bellowed. “You can’t get away.”
A shudder rippled through her body as she let go of the fisherman’s jacket. Her legs grew weak as she turned to face her stalker. Matt stood less than twenty feet away from them, a crazed hulk drenched in blood and sweat blocking their path of escape. She caught the glint of his hunting knife under the yellow pier light and her stomach dropped.
“Fuck this.” The fisherman released his pole and scrambled toward the railing. In one swift move, he threw his legs over the side of the rail and dove into the churning, dark water below. Dani let out a cry of disbelief as her last hope of being helped disappeared beneath the waves. She wailed and gripped the edge of the pier, unable to find the courage to escape her fate the same way.
Matt took a tentative step forward. “I just wanted to talk, Dani. Why won’t you talk to me?”
Her pulse thudded in her ears as she stared him down, terror ripping through her entire being in a way that she had never experienced before. She had been taught to fear unfamiliar men all her life, to believe in stranger danger and never trust anyone she didn’t know. She wasn’t afraid of monsters or ghosts, but ofreal flesh and blood humans who could do her harm. Now, at barely eighteen-years-old and with her entire life ahead of her, Dani’s lifelong fears were coming true, and she had to make a choice.
Face the human monster and live, or shrink away and die.
Dani pulled as much air into her aching lungs as possible and let out a roar. “Get the fuck away from me!”
“I just wanna talk,” Matt chuckled. “I’m not gonna hurt you.”
“You killed them,” she said. “You fuckingpsycho!”
“They were in my way.” Matt slipped the hunting knife into a sheath at his waist and held up his hands. “See? I would never hurt you. You know that, right?”
“No.” The words squeaked from her throat as a fresh crop of tears burst through. “I don’t believe you.”
“You’re special, Dani. I knew it the first time I came into the video store. Remember? You flirted with me.”
“What?”
“You told me I should rentNatural Born Killers. So I did. I watched that movie a dozen times and realized you were trying to tell me something. Well, message received.”
Dani gritted her teeth as her hand curled into a fist at her side. “I wasn’t trying to send you a message.”
“Yes, you were!” He shouted. “Come on, Dani. We can be just like Mickey and Mallory! Just us and the open road. We’ll take care of anyone that gets in our way. It’ll be a killer summer!”
“You’re fucked! I would never goanywherewith you!”
“No, no, no, no.” Matt mumbled, shook his head and waved his pointer finger at her. The massive muscles in his arms and shoulders rippled, his face twitching with ticks. He took a step forward and rapped at his temple hard and fast with a closed fist, his teeth bared as he flashed her his terrifying million- dollar smile. “You were trying to send me a signal! I know that now!You weren’t happy, and you needed someone to save you and take you away from all this. You wantedmeto save you.”
“No.” She shook her head and leaned against the railing. The ocean churned, dangerous and inky at her back as foamy waves whipped in the wind. She glanced over Matt’s shoulder at flashing blue and red lights in the distance. The police. A glimmer of hope filled her heart. Help was on the way! Someone must have heard her shouting. Dani glanced back at the ocean again, dreading her next move. She wasn’t a strong swimmer, but jumping in behind the fisherman seemed like her only option.
“I think if you just give me a chance—really get to know me—you’ll see I’m actually a good guy!” Matt opened his arms wide as he walked toward her.
Dani focused on his pink polo shirt splattered with Tommy’s and Kyle’s blood. His left eyebrow cocked in a way that made him look as crazed as he was acting. For a split second, the fear in her heart was replaced with another emotion.
Revenge.
Fresh rage bubbled up under her skin. She wasn’t going to let this psycho get her, and she wasn’t going to let him get away either. Her energy reserves were renewed with vengeance as she shouted into the balmy summer wind, “LEAVE ME ALONE!”
Matt lunged forward, his wide hands outstretched and ready to envelope her in an eternal hug. Dani harnessed every last ounce of energy she could muster and ducked out from under his unwanted embrace. Her right leg caught the front of his shin in an electric wave of pain, knocking him off balance. His features contorted into a look of childish surprise as his body continued on its unstoppable trajectory.
"Fuck!”
The accusatory curse disappeared against the roar of the ocean as his hips crashed into the railing instead of her. Tall, top-heavy Matt Vickers tumbled over the side of the pier, head over heels. She caught one last glimpse of his dark, soulless gaze as he disappeared into the churning waves below. Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes, as Dani limped toward the flashing police lights and didn’t look back.
“She’s in shock, Jim. Give the poor kid a minute.”
Dani pulled an emergency blanket around her shoulders as she sat in the back of an ambulance later that night. A dozen police cars had arrived on the scene, and nearly as many journalists too. Her head was spinning from the attack, her heartbeat still elevated as she struggled to answer the police officer’s questions. Even though it was warm out and she was wearing Tommy’s hoodie, she was still chilled to the bone.
“Are my mom and dad coming?” She asked, her voice just above a whisper.
