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"The best way to describe a man who got ahead by destroying others is 'the dead man on the counter'." That was always what Anne's father had told her when he was still at the house that was. Ever since he had left to go to the war, Anne had been reciting that line over and over to everyone she met. Every word she memorized clearly and could say it verbatim wherever she was. 10 essays she wrote she used the line as the topic. Though as many times as she could say it, and write about it, she had never experienced the real thing. She could only guess what the line had actually meant to anyone. Often she would associate it with a story of a man who had actually killed to get ahead. Often her mother would tell her that the story is only of a man who had used a person's trust in him to get ahead. Ever since her mother explained it to her, she had a different aspect on life, and took each person's trust in value.

The sun shown through the glass to the bronze desk that Anne had sat at. With her chin propped on her palm, she looked lazily out the window to the sunny, beautiful day outside. Unfortunately she was stuck inside the class room, stuck with morons with the IQ of 15, or it seemed. Even the teacher hadn't looked like she knew exactly what she was doing. Rolling her eyes to meet the teacher's, the announcement buzzer had rang a few times. Usually this meant that there was going to be an announcement over the intercom, and the teachers should be prepared to be interrupted. Curiosity filled Anne's mind as she could only guess what the announcement was going to be.

"Would Anne Elsiry please come to the main office," The speakers sounded out.

Anne raised an eyebrow in curiosity as she could only question why she was going to the main office in the first place. Did she forget her lunch? Quickly looking down to her bag near her desk at the floor, she shook her head as she noticed she had the brown paper bagged lunch sitting inside the first zippered area of her back pack. What could it possibly be? Did she forget some of her homework at home?

"Anne? Are you going to go?" A sound of the teacher came to her ears as Anne looked up, finding the whole class watching as if vultures, waiting for their next meal.

After a few blinks, Anne nodded and silently slipped out of her chair, not wanting to cause more of a scene then she already had. Once out of her seat, she quickly walked pass the whole class, feeling all eyes on her... Slipping her hands behind her, she intertwined her fingers and almost ran for the door. Once outside in the hallways though, she found it rather quiet for a normal day. Looking both ways, there wasn't many people out. Perhaps it was simply because it was the middle of the class, and every student was sitting in their seat patiently waiting for the bell. Slightly shrugging it off, Anne continued her way skillfully down each hallway, wondering when she had become so familiar with the school. Being only her second year at the middle school, she found she could tell wherever she needed to go by simply being told which room.

Soon finding herself in front of the large door of the main office, she gained a slightly worried expression, still wondering what she could possibly be taken here for. The office was for bad children, or those who had forgotten something at their homes and had someone come drop it off for them. Gaining the courage to open the door, she pushed it open to reveal dim lights. Just beyond her was a large counter that separated the secretaries from the people who had need of their service. The rest of the room was awkwardly empty, as anyone would guess. Stepping forwards, Anne slightly raised her hand to catch the attention of the old girl behind the counter who typed steadily at the computer in front of her.

"H-hello? M-my name is A-Anne. You c-called f-for me...?" She asked, slowly retracting her hand and simply watching the girl behind the desk type.

The old woman's attention shifted from the computer to the girl, then to whatever was behind Anne. Trying to follow the woman's gaze, Anne turned her body but almost fell back after finding a large figure standing over her. By the looks of it, there was a moderately tall man standing in back of the small girl. Quickly trying to take in what she saw, the man had all black clothing on. The thing that had stood out the most was the man's content smile. Almost staring at the smile, Anne felt her head tilting, and her hand being grabbed. Not noticing the man grabbing her hand, Anne looked back to the Woman, wondering what was going on.

"Thank you. Now come along, Sweetie. We have things to do!" The man said, pushing the sunglasses he wore farther up his nose. His voice was so deep, and somewhat mysterious... however you got your voice to have that feture was beyond Anne.

Though before she really had a chance to object going with this man, he was gently dragging her out of the doors of the school. The bright sun had cast rays of sunshine on the two as they exited the school. Though the moment was brief, and Anne had no time to bask in the beautiful freedom for she was being taken out of the school's parking lot to a car. The glare from the car had somewhat blinded the girl, but obviously not the man, as he had been guiding the two to the car. The man must have been able to see due to the sunglasses he wore, though being defenseless, Anne was slightly blinded. Once she was somehow pushed into the car, she regained slight eyesight. Finally grasping her mind around the situation, she had found she was being kidnapped. What else could have been happening?! This man that she did not know was taking her away! Trying to remember what the police had taught her in 5th grade, she gained a worried expression, sitting idly in the back seat of the expensive looking car. Hearing the front door open and the man step in, Anne huddled between the front seats and almost came face to face with the man. Feeling him too close, her cheeks grew a light red and she pushed herself back into the back seat. The man though had simply looked back ahead and closed the front door, then put the keys into the car and started it.

"W...who are you?" Anne asked quietly.

"That's not really the question you need to be asking," The man had responded, all kindness slightly slipping from his voice. Now his tone had just seemed expressionless and cold...

Trying to refuse listening to this man's cryptic talking any further, she simply sat quietly, holding her arms around her chest. Fear was coursing through her body as she questioned if she was going to die. Anne's head had began pulsing as she questioned what this man wanted her for. Often in the books she read, the older man was the criminal who had taken advantage of the poor unsuspecting girl... Feeling as if she was about to become a 'poor unsuspecting' victim, she felt her pocket to find nothing there. It was a time like this when she had cursed the school rules for keeping all cellular devices in the assigned lockers.

Silently she sat in the back seat, not taking the chance of saying another word. At times she felt as if she was getting car sick, but pushed the thought back in her mind. What if she puked in this man's expensive car? Any thoughts of killing her would definitely pulse through his mind then... Taking a deep breath, she found the car parked, and the man from ahead stepping out with the keys in his hand. Bringing her knees to her chest, she didn't want to be taken from the car... not into the unsuspecting world where she was unfamiliar... Though despite her mental cries, the door to her right was opened and the man had stepped in, sitting next to her casually. Feeling almost to tears, Anne held her knees closer to her chest, glancing fearfully to the man who had taken her.

"Why haven't you talked? Are you not angry?" The man asked, his voice somewhat comforting. Giving a slight nod as a reply, Anne blinked a few times to the man and shook her head, implying she wasn't angry. "You're not?" The man continued to ask.

Again, Anne shook her head, unable to really talk to the man. Hearing a slight shift of the man, she noticed him coming closer to her, but she pressed her back against the door in response. She was so afraid, afraid that she would be taken advantage of. Though her eyes were becoming blurry with tears, she saw a white blob come closer to her, and a cloth material covering her mouth and nose. Before she could understand what was going on, the whole world was getting blurry and confusing. Feeling her senses go numb, the last thing she saw before the word go dark was the man holding a rope, with a slight grin on his face.



The world came back slowly with a large black blur ahead of Anne. For some reason her whole body ached heavily, and her limbs felt restricted. Moving her head, she tried to regain some mental capacity and try to figure out what was going on. Awkwardly she couldn't remember much of what had happened, and all she knew was that she was tied to something... Finally feeling herself come to, she opened her eyes wide, finding it hard to adjust them in the dark setting. Only 3 lights were spread in the horribly dark room. The three lights weren't normal lights, they were large tall sticks with a torch on each. Wondering where she was, the pain from her limbs came back, making her go back to the question of what she was tied to. Her body was being pulled down by gravity, though er hands were tied together preventing her from falling. Trying to move herself, she bent slightly, rubbing her arms against what she could make out as a pole. Feeling the whole occurrence coming back to her, she remembered the weird man and being abducted from school. Panic entering her body, she gained a worried expression and looked around desperately.

"Hello?!" She called out, wondering if she was even alone in the room or not.

Suddenly the feeling of someone watching had come to Anne as she quickly looked around to find the eyes that were looking to her. Unfortunately there was nothing she could see. Her breath had began to quicken as her panic increased drastically. Almost to tears, she tilted her head down, feeling completely helpless.

What seemed like hours passed by, though she couldn't tell, when a slight rustle ahead of her caught her attention. The abrupt sound in the silence had made her ears twitch, and her head shot up quickly. When her face was up, ready to search wildly for whoever made the sound, she quickly was caught eye to eye with what seemed like a soulless being. It's eyes had captivated her, though in all the wrong ways. The stare of the being ahead of her had made her shiver and fear had filled her head to toe. Her mind went blank as she could only feel her heart racing inside her chest. She wanted to run, get out, just get away from that being and never see it again. Though the eyes alone could cause nightmares. The eyes of the being ahead of her seemed as if they were all a tangy yellow, almost matching the pale skin they surfaced. Letting her gaze travel, she only got to the being's pale chin when she saw the being give a smirk to her.

How evil the smirk was, it made her sick with fear. What seemed like wet hair had dripped around his face, some dipping over this man's eyes. Hearing a slight gushing sound from below the man's chin, she didn't have to let her eyes travel far to find that there was a hole in the being's chest, right where his heart had been held. Taking a few feared blinks, Anne's eyes widened in fright as she quickly looked back to the man's face. This man was different, and the paleness of his skin made him seem... dead. Constantly she tried to make herself free from the ropes that held her to the pole, but only rewarded with failed attempts. Tears began streaking down her face as her voice became choked. This man was bleeding, and it seemed like someone had shot him right through the heart... Sobbing a bit through her choked voice, Anne dared a look at the bullet hole then the man's smirk before quickly looking away to close her eyes.

A cold hand with long growing nails had been placed forcefully on her chin, pushing it back towards the being. Opening her eyes, Anne saw the being holding her chin, even closer then before. Wanting to scream, she found her voice short as the being's pale skin showed it was pealing off. The skin was dry looking, and by the look of it, his eyes were as well. Not being able to scream, her voice was propelled into short whimpers as if begging the being not to hurt her. The being only responded by letting go of the girl's chin, but gliding his fingernail down the girl's chin, to the area of her heart. Following the sharp nail of the being was a slight trail of scratched skin, where a line of blood began to show itself through the slice of his fingernail. Unfortunately there was a light next to the two, letting Anne watch every feature of this being, even the large amount of blood poring from the hole in it's chest.

"The best way to describe a man who got ahead is 'the dead man on the counter', isn't that right, girl?" The being asked.

The voice of the being was raspy, and it made the small hairs on Anne's arms to stand. Tears continued to fall down the girl's chin as the slight cut down to her heart continued to bleed slowly. The simple words the being had said... she knew them too well. Why is this happening?! Those words continued to scream in Anne's mind as this being lingered it's fingernail at the skin protecting Anne's heart.

"You try to get ahead... and you get shot," The raspy, cold voice had muttered angrily to her, slightly digging his fingernail into the girl's chest cavity.

Feeling the nail pierce skin, Anne let out a cry of pain and tried to back to the pole, trying to take his fingernail out of her chest. Though her attempt failed, and only caused the being to gain a frightening smile followed with his extending fingernail pushing its way deeper into her chest. Flinching in pain, she couldn't describe how horrifyingly difficult it was to not scream. It felt like she was being stabbed, but couldn't do anything about it. Already she was pressed as far as she could be against the poll she was tied to. Giving in, she let out a cry of the horrible pain, and the fingernail had stopped pushing into the girl's chest.

"On my grave they had no decency... 'Jonathan I Hughes, here lies one better dead', it said..." The being growled with it's harsh voice. Having it's fingernail firmly placed in the girl's body, he knew there wasn't much more room between his finger nail and the girl's heart, though all Anne knew was how incredibly painful it was. Feeling warm drips of blood falling from the hole now in her chest, she shivered against the pole and let out another cry, as if begging this thing to stop, wishing the pain would end.

"Better... off... dead..." The thing muttered quietly and angrily, it's voice even more rugged then before. With each word he inched his nail into the girl's body slowly, knowing it made the process even more painful.

The loud scream of the girl showed that it was right, as the last word had caused his nail to be scratching her heart. Inside her mind she couldn't think anything, but only pain was in her mind. How much it hurt was unbearable, and she wondered why she hadn't been knocked out already, left to bare this horrible pain.

An evil smile placed itself on the being--Jonathan's blue lips as he had retracted his fingernail, pulling it out of the girl quickly. Blood began poring out of the hole quickly, the warm liquid falling in streaks down her body like his own. Knowing that he had just reached the heart, it wouldn't take much more to pierce it. Just a simple push and it would pop like a water balloon, though effects much more fatal.

Trying to think of how to make this a bit more entertaining, Jonathan had slipped his free hand behind the girl's body, pushing it a little forwards from the pole it leaned on. Looking at the ropes that tied the girl's hands together, he traced his finger down the girl's body, then back to the hole he had pierced. Taking a good look through the hole, blood had been forcing itself out of the hole. Though the piercing wasn't completely a hole, simply the crescent shape of his nail. Shifting his hands so he held the girl's side, he pushed her against the pole she was trapped at and began to dig his fingernail the opposite way of the crescent piercing he had previously made, almost making a perfect circle with the two shapes. The girl above had simply screamed more and more with each pushing rip of her flesh. Blood of the girl was now covering Jonathan's hand, and it felt somewhat warming on his cold pale skin. Now that there was an almost perfect hole in the girl's chest, he looked directly at the heart that was beating overtime in her chest cavity. Just extending his finger slightly would make it pop, and then no more girly.

Shifting his hand again, he held the side of the girl, getting ready for his deceitful action. Not wanting to kill her right away, he placed quickly tore off the shirt of the girl, relieving a small tank top under her school shirt. The tank was drenched in a path of blood coming from the hole in her chest as Jonathan had tossed the shirt aside. Using his blood drenched hand, he placed the tip of his sharpest finger against bare skin of the girl as she was pressed against the pole. Knowing it wasn't near any vital organs, he had to do this quickly before she became unconscience and didn't feel what he was about to do. Without much hesitation, he pushed the girl's body to his nail. The nail had cut deep into the girl's body as her waist was left almost a foot away from the pole. This meant almost 12 inches of his long fingernail was inside of this girl, piercing a few organs and cutting a few veins and arteries. A loud and shrieking scream came from the girl. It simply was music to Jonathan's ears. Quickly though he had to finish the job, as content as he was about the act he had done. Slowly retracting his nail from the pierce he had just cut, he placed his finger back in the hole, his nail only centimeters away from the girl's heart. Quickly it beated, causing blood to spur almost everywhere.

Before she had the chance to get knocked out by her own body, Jonathan had pushed his nail further, finally piercing the heart. As he expected, it popped and blood was squirted all around. A slight grimace came from the girl as she coughed up some of the blood, some landing on Jonathan's shirt.

With an evil grin, he retracted his finger and let the child bleed to death all on it's own now. In the dim room, he watched as blood dripped from her knees to the ground below, wiping the blood from his finger on the bottom of his shirt.