Tavern of Terror vol. 8: Short Horror Stories Anthology

209 pages

Broken Time

“Our university officially has a murder house,” Jean declared.

“Hush,” Bianca whispered as they neared the old two-story home.

The three women inched closer to each other, their sneakers scuffing the damp sidewalk. The rain had dissipated shortly after they left Hannigan’s. Tonight, everyone had avoided the nearby college bars. The long walk was better than risking a killer’s attention.

Hugging herself against the cool breeze, Bianca glanced across the street. People had started settling into the campus dorms only a week ago. The buildings surrounded a courtyard on three sides. Independent rental properties lined this side of the street. Naturally, the courtyard had become a meeting place. There was always something going on. Bianca had grown accustomed to the constant noise—laughter, playful screams, and drunken outbursts. No one lingered tonight. Those who had decided to go out for a drink had left long before sunset. It was still early, but people were already trickling back in.

“God, I never realized how easy it would be to stalk someone on this campus,” Jean said. “All he had to do was hang out in the yard. We could have walked past him a dozen times and never noticed.”

A chilled breeze swept the street, making the yellow police tape tremble.

“It’s a serial killer,” Bianca said softly.

“There were only two victims. You have to kill at least three people to be a serial killer,” Jean said.

“How do you know that?” Lizzy asked.

“Everybody knows that.”

“He killed two in this attack,” Bianca cut in. “But he’s done this at least thirty times before.”

Feeling her friends staring at her, Bianca shifted her weight.

“You can’t just throw that out there and not elaborate,” Lizzy said.

“Someone told me it was part of a pattern.” Bianca shrugged.

“Wait.” A smile pulled at Jean’s lips. “Please tell me that this ‘someone’ isn’t the crazy lady from the pub.”

“She’s not crazy.”

“It’s common knowledge that she is,” Lizzy said.

“She’s a reporter,” Bianca snapped. “She said there have been murders like this all over the country. They wouldn’t let her write about it.”

“Why?” Her friends demanded in unison.

“Because they were all as weird as this one.”

“Bi, I love you. But you’re going a little conspiracy theory here,” Jean said.

“What’s weird about this? Someone murdered two pretty college girls. It’s kinda standard.”

Jean scoffed. “Standard? I heard he set their decapitated heads on the dresser. So they could watch him—”

“Jean,” Bianca whined as she gagged.

“Weird murders get attention,” Lizzy said. “If there were others, the papers would be salivating. Not burying them.”

“He’s struck thirty times in seven states. And that’s just the ones she knew about,” Bianca insisted. “They were all like this. Like, the timing never added up. Come on, you heard what he did to them. How did he do that?”

“Power of crazy,” Jean said.

“No, I mean physically. You heard what Paula said. They went inside while she was getting her bags out of the car. They were dead, and the killer was gone by the time she got in the house. That’s what? Three minutes? Ten if she was super lazy. How could anyone do all… that in less than ten minutes and not leave a trace? Not be seen? Or heard? There’s no way it could happen, but it did.”

“Or Paula’s lying,” Lizzy added in a rush. “Or confused. I can’t imagine keeping an eye on the time after seeing that.”

“I thought one of the dorm security cameras backed her up,” Bianca said.

Jean shrugged. “It did. But it didn’t catch the killer coming or going.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because, Liz, while you drooled over that hockey player, I was charming a law student.”

Lizzy arched her eyebrows.

“He’s got a brother on the police force. Big bro let a few things slip. And yeah, there’s a tape that backs up Paula’s story. So they think the killer might have access to the campus security network.”

“But it’s happened before,” Bianca insisted. “Thirty attacks. All over the country. All with the same sick brutality. All with impossible timelines.”

A scream cut through the night. They spun around, staring across the street at a group of passing students. They clustered together, joining forces to scold a man that began to cackle.

Suddenly, Bianca could feel the building lurking behind her. Creeping closer. Threatening to swallow her whole. She knew it was a stupid thought, but it didn’t stop dread from filling her stomach like rancid bile. Bianca glanced over her shoulder. The dark house didn’t seem empty anymore.

“You know what I don’t get?” Jean abruptly asked.

“Now that’s a long list,” Lizzy said, earning an elbow to the ribs.

“Why didn’t they scream?” Jean swept an arm around, indicating the nearby buildings. “They knew the dorms were filling up. Why didn’t they try to get help?”

Lizzy rubbed her shoulders against the chill. “It isn’t that hard to keep people quiet. Given the right setup. Or threats.”

Jean snorted. “Yeah, couldn’t be me. The second the screwdriver came out, I’d happily take the bullet.”

“Screwdriver?” Lizzy asked.

“Oh, yeah, don’t tell people that part. Big bro was not supposed to mention that.”

“How the hell did any of that come up while flirting?” Lizzy shrieked.

Bianca winced and tried to tune out the conversation. Two women were brutalized. Butchered. And she had slept peacefully only a few yards away.

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