Chapter Three

The smell of blood flooded her nostrils, and she felt her stomach churn at the scent. The light was off in the room, so Ellie reached for the switch on the wall. She froze momentarily as her fingers brushed against something wet. Swallowing her bile, she managed to find the light switch and flicked it on. Then, she screamed at the scene in front of her.

John had, in fact, been in the room with a woman. However, that was not why she had screamed. John sat on the ground next to the woman, surrounded by a pool of their blood. He was propped up against the wall, holding his side. Blood leaked profusely between his fingers as he tried to apply pressure.

“What the hell happened?” Ellie asked shakily. She turned away from him and scanned the numerous shelves lining the walls. She spotted a roll of paper towels and grabbed it, then made her way carefully to his side, trying to avoid the bloodly mess. She unrolled as much as she could and kneeled next to him. He removed his hand from his side and pushed the paper towels against the gaping wound.

“I was… meeting up… with Sandy,” he coughed out. Ellie nodded her head, waiting patiently for him to continue. “We were… getting ready to go at it when,” he coughed again and blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth, “A man came in. He was… off.

"Man? What man?" Her heart thundered in her chest. Please, don't be who I think it is, she prayed silently.

"It was the man… from earlier. He wanted you... to know when you… worked again. I told him no,” John said, shaking his head slowly.

Ellie's heart sank, and she felt her eyes glisten with tears. John may have been a scumbag that was sleeping around with a known prostitute, but he cared enough about Ellie to not put her in danger.

“Oh, John. What did he do?” Ellie asked, tears spilling from her wide, hazel eyes.

“He got mad. Left. Me and Sandy came here to…” he gestured around the room in general and Ellie nodded, understanding his meaning. “He got me… from behind. Stabbed me… in the back... and here,” he croaked out, moving his fingers slightly above the paper towels covering the wound. “Sandy… got it worse.” Sorrow showed on his haggard face and tears pooled in the corners of his eyes. “She tried… to fight. He… he sliced her belly… and pulled her insides out – while she was… still alive. He just… watched her as… as she struggled… What kind of a person...” He trailed off, either too overcome with grief or to weak to continue.

Ellie was horrified. She glanced at the amount of blood surrounding Sandy’s body and trembled. John was right -- what kind of a person could do that? To murder someone and then just watch them as they died? Of course, Ellie knew exactly what kind of a person could do something like that -- a monster.

She turned her attention back to John. He had closed his eyes and was leaning his head on the wall. Despite all her negative thoughts and feelings about John, her heart broke to see him sitting there like this. His face had grown much paler in the two minutes that they had talked, his breathing slower than it should be. She knew he wouldn't make it, but she couldn't just sit there and do nothing.

“Okay, John. Listen to me. I need you to stay awake. I’m going to go call 911. I’ll be right back, okay?” John gave her a weak nod and Ellie jumped up. She ran to the counter, not caring about the blood on her sneakers or the blood covering her hands. She picked up the phone on the counter with shaking hands and dialed 911. It was only when she put the phone up to ear that she realized there was no dial tone. “Damn it!” she yelled as she angrily threw the phone against the wall. The bastard that owned the shop must not have paid the phone bill for the month. Again.

Cursing once more, Ellie ran out of the shop and to her car, flinging the driver door open. She fumbled around in the dim light, searching for her phone. Finally, she found it on the passenger side floorboard. She grabbed it and dialed 911. Please, work. Please. This time, it rang and was almost immediately answered.

“911, what’s your emergency?” a female’s gentle voice said over the phone.

“There’s been a stabbing at my work! One person is dead, the other is barely alive! I need an ambulance, immediately!” Ellie practically shouted into the phone. She scanned the parking lot as she spoke, searching for any sign of danger.

“Okay, ma’am. Just calm down. I need to know what your location is,” the woman said calmly.

“It’s the Hail Mary Gas Station, twenty miles outside of –”

“Ma’am? I'm sorry, you’re breaking up. I’m going to try to track yo—” Ellie’s phone suddenly went quiet. She pulled her phone away from ear to see that she had lost all cell service.

“You have got to be shitting me!” she screamed angrily. She threw her phone into her car and rushed back inside. She swallowed a lump that was forming in her throat and hurried back into the storage room, hoping with all her heart that John would be okay. Ellie knew his odds, but she was still shocked when she saw him. John was much paler now and barely breathing. She placed her hands over his and gasped at how cold they had become since she left him minutes ago.

“John, I’m so sorry." Her voice broke, but she cleared her throat and continued in a steady voice. "I can’t get a hold of anyone. My phone lost service in the middle of the call and the landline is down. I... I’ll have to leave you here,” she said thickly. She swallowed down another lump in her throat and blinked away tears as John gave her a small, sad smile.

"It's okay... It's my time." He coughed again, and Ellie stifled a sob as more blood spilled from his mouth. “You… get out… of here,” he gasped. “The man… he’s looking… for you.” Ellie wiped her tears away with the back of her hand and leaned in closer to John. “Run. He’s… coming.” John breathed a shallow, ragged breath and went still, his dark eyes glazing over, lifeless. Ellie’s own breath caught in her chest as John’s dying words sunk in. The man – that mysterious, dangerous man – was looking for her. She still wasn't safe. Reluctantly, Ellie searched John’s pockets until she found his car keys and stepped away from his body.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered as she backed out of the storage room. She turned to leave the storage room and slipped on some of Sandy’s blood. She fell into the large puddle around her, slipping twice more as she tried frantically to escape the storage room. Blood covered her arms and legs, soaked through her shirt and jeans. She fought the urge to vomit as she ran out of the store and to John’s car. Ellie unlocked the door and clambered inside, not bothering to buckle up. She started the engine and peeled out of the parking lot, heading towards her town. She glanced at the gas station in her rearview mirror and prayed silently that she would make it to safety before the man found her.