The stars littered the skies like pimples decorate a teenager’s face. Brittany Parker did not stagger out of her best friend Rachel Howards' house like some of the drunken whores from Crescent Valley High School did. Rachel Howard’s birthday party was over and everyone was filing out of Rachel’s house. Brittany noticed that the windows to her boyfriend’s Chevy Pickup truck were all fogged up. She walked over and knocked on the window.

Her boyfriend’s name was Tony. Tony rolled down the window and he squealed.

‘’Oh shit, hi honey,’’ Tony stammered.

Emma Jean Watkins removed her head from Tony’s lap and raised her head to look into Brittany’s eyes. Brittany’s eyes began watering.

‘’You son of a bitch, I tell you I’m not ready to make love to you yet so you fuck the head cheerleader for your fucking football team? You both can go straight to Hell!’’ Brittany screamed.

Brittany stormed off and Tony placed his junk back in his underwear and zipped up his jeans and hurried after his angry girlfriend.

‘’Baby you have to let me explain,’’

‘’I understand perfectly Tony you’re an evil bastard who can’t keep it in his pants and as a result were breaking up goodbye Tony.’’

Tony grabbed Brittany’s arm and Brittany punched Tony with her free hand in the bread basket. Tony doubled over and grunted. Brittany hurried to her car and sped off. Tony hung his head and watched his former, sweetheart of a girlfriend leave his life forever. Tony hung his head in shame.

While Tony was away a man wearing blue jeans, a black t – shirt and clown makeup climbed into the driver’s seat. The clown held a small knife in his left hand. Luckily for the maniac the keys were already in the ignition. The maniac pressed his foot to the gas pedal and the truck rocketed to the oblivious, dunce, Tony. Tony turned around just in time to see the truck barreling at him right before it flattened him.

‘’Jesus Christ you’re the devil,’’

‘’I know.’’

‘’Are you going to kill me?’’

‘’I’m afraid so.’’

‘’What the Fuck did I ever do to you?’’

‘’You helped Tony break that poor girl’s heart and that would make you a whore and well I hate whores.’’

‘’I didn’t even know Tony and Brittany had anything.’’

‘’Now dear I’d hate to call bullshit but bullshit!’’

‘’Everybody knows that for the last three months Brittany Parker and Tony Gonzalez had been going out exclusively.’’

‘’He’s not married and I really liked Tony.’’

‘’Well now actually, a lack of a ring doesn’t make what you any less of a whore; now you saw I married Tony didn’t you?’’

Emma Jean nodded.

‘’Emma Jean what kind of a gentleman would I be if I let you live after killing that garbage Tony?’’

‘’Please if you let me go I won’t tell anybody anything I swear.’’

The psycho laughed as the truck tore down the residential area at sixty five miles an hour.

‘’Sweetie I don’t care if you told on me. I’m not afraid of prison or getting killed; I just can’t justify letting a whore who would willing help a man betray his girlfriend’s trust live, maybe before I kill you can learn not to be so malicious as to blatantly destroy other people’s relationships.’’

‘’I’m so sorry please let me go I’ve learned my lesson and I’m real sorry.’’

The clown smiled.

He placed his free hand on the girl’s shoulder. ‘’I’m sorry dear I wish I didn’t have to murder you but what if you break someone else’s heart and ruin another relationship? Do you see that I don’t have many options here?’’

Emma Jean sobbed.

The maniac drove deep into a local set of woods. He removed the keys from the ignition and buried the keys deep in his front jean pocket. The psycho marched the terrified girl out into the woods. She wore a pink blouse and a black mini skirt. Her nipples poked through the pink blouse slightly.

‘’Take off all your clothes and fold them neatly in a pile at your feet.’’

Emma Jean stripped naked and folded the clothes at her feet. ‘’Now rest your chest across this hickory stump and arch your buttocks high into the air. A whore like you doesn’t deserve to die with dignity.’’

Emma Jean reluctantly did as she was told. She cried and whimpered. ‘’Please God save me; I’m a wretched sinner.’’

The clown grabbed the girl by the back of the neck and stabbed her hard, repeatedly eighteen times in the face with the blade of the knife. Soon the dead girl’s face looked like ham covered in chocolate syrup. The blood dripped profusely out of the massive hole in the dead girl’s face.

The maniac climbed back into the stolen truck and sped off. The killer turned up the Radio and blasted dark, modern heavy metal music. His dirty, shaggy, brown hair hung down slightly past his slender shoulders. His feet were bare. He played over the murders he had just committed in his mind over and over again. First he pictured, Tony, gazing dumbly at him, through the windshield of Tony’s own truck before getting killed.

He could still hear the snapping of Tony’s bones as the truck squashed him. He could still feel the skull give way when Tony stabbed Emma Jean hard through the face repeatedly. In his own mind the killer had done well. He felt he was purging the world of evil.

After all the police had gone home all that was left in the Howard household was the Howard family. Rachel called Brittany that night.

‘’Hello Brittany,’’

‘’Yeah,’’

‘’It’s Rachel.’’

‘’Hi Rachel, what’s up?’’

‘’ Brittany Tony’s dead.’’

‘’I see.’’

There was silence between the two friends for a long time before it was eventually broken.

‘’I see.’’

‘’You don’t sound too upset?’’

‘’Can I tell you something a little disturbing?’’

‘’Sure, I guess.’’

‘’I caught Emma Jean Watkins giving Tony head out in his truck as I was coming out of your party earlier.’’

‘’Yuck, that’s totally gross!’’

‘’Tell me about it; I just don’t feel sympathy for Ton right now. I know that sounds awful but Tony really broke my heart tonight and I guess I’m a little messed up about it.’’

‘’Well Emma Jean Watkins is missing.’’

‘’I see.’’

‘’I suppose you don’t care about her either huh?’’

‘’Not really,’’

‘’You sound like a total psycho; you realize this don’t you?’’

‘’ I guess so.’’

Brittany laughed. ‘’I’m just a little messed up tonight I think after a good night’s sleep I’ll be able to grieve more properly.’’

‘’I see well goodnight psycho.’’

‘’Goodnight and Happy Birthday sweetie,’’

‘’Thanks, later,’’

‘’Later,’’

That night the youngest member of the Howard family dreamt horrible dreams. His name was Danny Howard and he was the youngest son of Margaret and Marshal Howard. In his dream Danny found himself walking through the gates of a carnival. Eerie, metallic carnival music blared out of the loud speaker. A clown approached the boy and handed him an orange balloon.

‘’The balloon read I heart Crescent Valley.’’ The clown, lead the boy into a funhouse. The inside of the funhouse was dark. It was filled with windy corridors. A trap floor dropped out from under Danny’s feet. Danny screamed as he clutched at the darkness for some kind of wall or crater in which he slide his hand in and hoist himself back up the narrow tunnel he was falling down. He landed on his butt in a darkened cave. He screamed as a humongous bear raised, up on its hind legs and growled.

Danny felt urine drip down his leg. As the bear lunged at him Danny shrieked. Danny awoke in his room with a terrible start. He was drenched in sweat. He desperately gasped for breath. The inside of the bedroom was dark except for a small bit of light that crept underneath the door. Danny did not dare awaken his family.

He did not want them to find he was a wussy or anything like that. In his mind Danny could hear his sister’s voice now. ‘’You’re so lame Danny.’’

He saw an old Batman doll lying on the bottom shelf housing his Universal Studios, movie monster, figurine collection. Danny leapt out of his bed and raced over to the shelf. He grabbed the doll and dashed back to his bed. He dove under the covers and cradled Batman in his arms. Intoxicated, by the sheer relief of feeling protected, by the dark knight, Danny quickly drifted off to sleep.

The next day Rachel visited her friend Margo Sullivan. Margo had kinky, frizzy, black hair and almond shaped eyes. Her skin was light brown. Her mother was black and her father was white. Last year her father had and mother had gotten a divorce. After the divorce Margo’s father had moved to Seattle and, Margo nor her mother had seen him ever since that time. Margo sat on the edge of her bed. Her stereo was seated on the dresser. Jimi Hendrix music blasted out of the speakers.

Rachel was seated Indian style on the floor in Margo’s bedroom. Margo noticed the puzzled expression resting on her friend’s face and decided to ask her what was wrong. ‘’What’s wrong, Rachel,’’

‘’I’m just upset.’’

‘’About what,’’

‘’I’m just awestruck by the fact that Brittany is so blasé about Tony’s death.’’

‘’He broke her heart last night; she’s still hurting.’’

‘’Yeah but Tony’s dead.’’

‘’Did you hear they found that Emma Jean Watkins out in Hammond woods?’’

‘’Oh my God are you serious?’’ Rachel spoke and shuddered.

Margo nodded.

‘’They found her completely nude and her face was totally bloody and mutilated and part skull was caved in.’’

Rachel felt her stomach lurch. ‘’What kind of a person could do that to a person?’’

‘’People are nuts,’’ Margo said.

Rachel’s cellphone rang. Rachel dug through her little, white purse and pulled out her cellphone with the pretty, pink case. The cellphone itself was purple. ‘’Hello,’’ Rachel said.

‘’I’m going to kill you slowly,’’ The voice on the phone hissed.

‘’Fuck off creep.’’

Rachel clicked the end button on her cell phone and indignantly buried her phone back into her purse.

‘’What’s wrong Rachel?’’

‘’Some asshole just threatened to kill me.’’

‘’Did you see the number?’’

‘’It came up private caller.’’

‘’That’s creepy.’’

‘’Tell me about it.’’

Rachel rolled her eyes. Margo’s fat cat Charlie strolled into the bedroom. He was mainly black but had white paws and a white belly. Charlie crawled into Rachel’s lap and curled up and fell asleep. Rachel patted the sleeping feline on top of his wide head.

The sun was starting to set. A man by the name of Trenton Cole sat at a booth by himself. The waitress brought him his milkshake and his bill. The milkshake was housed inside a Styrofoam cup. He pressed the straw against his lips and took a sip of the banana shake. He saw a red haired woman wearing pink, stretch pants and matching, pink high heels beating her son in the parking lot. The boys chubby cheeks were streaked with tears and his screams sent shivers down Trenton’s spine. The waitress that brought Trenton his milkshake frowned. She shook her head.

‘’That poor child, what an awful woman his mother is,’’ The waitress muttered.

‘’She looks like a real bitch,’’ Trenton said.

Trenton pulled a five dollar bill out of his pocket. He had no wallet. He did not believe in them.

‘’Keep the change.’’

As Trenton spoke his gaze never left the sight of the woman beating her son. Trenton’s green eyes were so cold he looked like a wolf. Trenton pulled a container that was supposed to hold a breath freshening spray. What he used it for was much more sinister. The boy ran into the car and tossed his coat over his head. He sobbed inconsolably. Trenton bumped into the woman.

‘’Watch where you’re going dickhead,’’ The woman hissed.

Trenton sprayed the woman in the face with the cyanide spray. She dropped to the floor. The spray flowed through her veins and suffocated her from the inside. Her heart shut down first and shortly after that her brain followed suit. Within the time of three or four eye blinks a son was left motherless. Trenton climbed into his stolen truck and casually drove away. Trenton drove to the farm house where he lived. The farmhouse sat at the end of a long, windy, gravelly driveway.

The farmhouse was painted a dark red like fresh blood oozing out of a gaping wound. The killer walked into his house and he found his wife sitting at the kitchen table reading a book. ‘’Hey beautiful how are you?’’

Trenton leaned down and kissed his wife on the lips. Molly looked down at the Styrofoam cup her husband was holding in his right hand.

‘’I take it you’ve eaten already?’’

‘’Yeah I stopped off at this nice, quiet, little diner just off Marble Street; the place looked pretty fancy. Marble floors and even a 1950’s style juke box.’’

‘’Wow seems pretty nice; we’ll have to go together sometime.’’

‘’That sounds great, we can go tomorrow after work if you like.’’

‘’That sounds great. It’s a date.’’

‘’How was work?’’

‘’It was great they are naming me teacher of the year Saturday night.’’

‘’Wow babe that’s really great congratulations,’’

Molly placed her book face down on the kitchen table and wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck. ‘’What do you say you and I go upstairs and celebrate?’’

‘’I’d love to honey but I’m real tired honey can we take a rain check?’’

Molly looked down at the floor.

‘’I guess so.’’

Trenton grabbed his wife by the chin and gently kissed her lips.

‘’I love you.’’

‘’I know.’’

Trenton walked upstairs and Molly grabbed a towel from the linen closet and proceeded to make love to the shower head on turbo setting.