He was just a punk kid about eighteen , well built and

 tough looking.

He had a mop of red hair hanging from beneath a

blue baseball cap.

He wore a black leather wind breaker and blue jeans

and he stood

almost in the centre of the highway, waving me

down. I felt sorry for

him, so I pulled over and stopped .

"Where you going, kid?" I asked.

"To Kimberly." he replied with a toothy smile.

Kimberly was the next town about 10 miles ahead.

"Okay, Get in " I said.

He thanked me , unstrapped his haversack from his

, and got in.

After he had buckled up, I found a gear, and drove

off .

I turned on the radio which was playing some

country music.

"So, what are you doing on the road at this time,

there’s a killer on the loose in

these parts, you know’

"Yeah, I know," he said," a real nut if you ask me, he

already killed six people…axed them to death, he did"

I checked the fuel gauge . It was almost empty.

"Looks like I’ve got to get some gas." I said.

"A good idea," He replied," I also need to take a leak. "

We pulled into a three pump gas station a couple

miles down the road.

The Gas Station stood all alone in the midst of

prairie land. A few rolls of Hay laid

scattered about in the distance next to an old red

Barn.

An old guy came out of the store wiping his hands

on a dirty rag as I parked the car.

"Well, What will it be?" asked the guy coming around

to the driver’s window.

"Fill her up," I said.

"Any washroom around here,  pop ? " asked the kid .

"Yeah."  replied the old guy, " at the back of the store

on your left."

The kid got out and went around the building.

The old guy uncapped the fuel tank and placed a

pump inside.

He said in a raspy voice, "Say, did you hear about

them murders ?"

"Yeah ," I replied," it’s all over the news. Pretty grim

stuff."

I was feeling kind of tired from the long trip and

didn’t really feel like talking, but

being a nice guy, I figured that the old guy was a bit

lonely out here in the prairie so I let him talk.

"Pretty sick guy, hacking up all them people like

that". He continued, replacing the

fuel pump."

"Yeah, I heard he sure butchered them alright, I can't

figure what's this world coming to."He

slipped the rag into his back pocket and said,

"Well, that will be ten bucks"

I paid him.

He thanked me, told me to be careful and went back

inside the building,

Just then the kid came back outside carrying two

bags of chips and a couple of Coke.

After we finished eating the snacks, I drove out of

the gas station and headed

down the highway.

After a few minutes of silence elapsed the kid said,

"You know, I was wondering about the killings,"

"Yeah?  what about them?"I asked.

"What makes a guy go on a rampage like that."

"Well, people kill for various reasons” I

replied,”Revenge, greed, jealousy. Sometimes, they

are just plain psychos, killing just for the pleasure of

it". I explained."He surprises people. Never

know where nor when he will pop up next. Or who his

next target will be, It’s difficult to catch a

man like that."

"These nutcases are usually very clever" The kid said

licking his lips" but I say they will get him.

He can’t go on killing people like that. He will make a

slip up some time. "

"Well, I guess that after awhile it didn't make any

difference to him who they were, men , women,

kids. They were all the same to him," I said.

I heard they got a description of him."

"Yeah? what did they say he looked like ?"I asked

"Well , for one thing, the survivor said he had red

hair.".

"How about me, don’t I fit the description?"I asked

playfully.

"Naw, you've got brown hair."He answered.

I said. "Well, you know,I could have dyed it ."

The kid’s eyes widened in fear and disbelief when he

realize the possibilities.

I stopped the car and reached for my machete.

The kid unlocked the door and tried to run then he

stumbled

He was was strong and dispatching him was difficult.

I scattered his body parts in some nearby bushes

and threw his head in the river as I drove home.

"Well done, David"said the Voice in my head.

The Voice keeps telling me to do these awful things

to people and I can’t help myself. I must obey.

I must !

The End

Copyright 2006 Michael Lance Kersting