Charity Case (Creepypasta/Jeff the Killer Love Story)

Chapter 8

It was only about eight o'clock when we arrived at Aspen Park. It probably would have been a quicker trip if we hadn't moved so slowly to take less of a toll on my aching legs, but there hadn't been much I could do to help. Jeff didn't seem too irritated by it, though. Of course, I didn't know how to take anything he did anymore. What was real? What was fake? I just couldn't tell with him.

The only thing illuminating the town was the streetlamps that casted a yellow-orange tint down on us. There weren't many people out, but I didn't think it was a very populated area, and it was a weekday. Still, I expected more teenagers to be out. Maybe they were afraid of the guy walking next to me.

I asked, not really worried about the volume of my voice, "What time are we supposed to be at Thomas's house?"

"Probably not for an hour or two. We have a little time, but I'd rather be there sooner than later. It's kinda weird, though. There's no one here," Jeff voiced what I had been thinking, looking around.

"I noticed that, too. Maybe everyone's scared," I suggested.

He hesitated, "Maybe, but Liu only strikes people in their houses. Why would they put themselves in more danger? He and I have never done anything to anyone on the streets."

It was then that the sound of sirens pierced the air and grew louder in seconds. Jeff shoved me against the wall under an awning of a flower shop where it was dark. Three police cars sped by and made a turn, never paying any mind to us. Jeff whispered to me, "Why would police cars speed through a small, quiet town while no one was around right in the direction of Thomas's house?" I stared at him for a few moments. Then, he grabbed my hand and pulled me off the course we were originally on, taking a series of back roads that were even more deserted than the main ones.

We reached a neighborhood, and down the street, we could see blue and red lights lighting up the houses. Jeff led me behind a small car near the house that had the police stopped in front of it. Some of the officers were already beginning to put up yellow crime scene tape while a few others kept the neighbors away from the scene, probably wondering what was with all the chaos. A woman and man were crying in each other's arms, and an officer was trying to convince them to leave the site and get in the car, but the woman kept screaming about her son being gone. Only about a minute later did the ambulance arrive, and the EMS team rushed out of the truck and into the house. Two of the first responders stayed behind to get a gurney out, and they wheeled it into the one-story house. Jeff and I waited for about ten minutes before the paramedics returned, pushing a gurney that had a blue blanket over it. The outline of the body was the size of a child, and the mother fell to her knees at the sight.

"Liu got to Thomas earlier than usual," Jeff mumbled to himself.

I breathed, horrified, "Oh, my god. Thomas was murdered." I glanced over at the boy standing next to me. How had there been another murder when Jeff had never left my side the entire day? Sure, he left while I was sleeping for a little while, but there hadn't been enough time to reach Aspen Park, and his parents would have noticed their son dead a lot sooner. Was it possible it was a coincidence? I mean, those did happen. Of course, it was possible! It was the only thing that made sense!

Jeff turned me away from the scene and said, "Let's get out of here. I don't want to be here when they start searching for Liu." I nodded and allowed him to lead us out of town and back into the woods. I didn't say anything to him that entire night, and I went to sleep, wanting to forget seeing the parents who just lost a child.

My legs felt better in the morning, but my mind wasn't any clearer. If anything, I was more confused. The only way to know if Jeff was really telling the truth was to see Liu, but if Jeff was being truthful, there was a slim chance I would actually see him. Still, a lot was pointing to Jeff not being a killer, from the way he acted to how Thomas was murdered by someone else, and I had no clue what to do or how to act around him.