Lady Killer

[Oxidizer]

Type of Story Oneshot

Rating A (VD)

Main Characters Eve Jacobsen, Zoe McCallister

Genre Angst

Warnings Scenes of murder and body disposal

Is Story being proof read No

Summary How Eve murdered Zoe after Sarah's death

Lady Killer

"Come on," She warned. "It's this way."

Psychiatric Nurse, Eve Jacobsen, threw an arm around her patient and escorted her down the corridors of the institution; the sound of their rushed steps echoed from the walls.

"It's down here." Eve pointed towards the emergency fire exit that stood only a matter of metres away, still guiding the redheaded psychopath in her arms.

She looked up at her nurse with placating eyes before resuming focus on the glass doors of the emergency exit. A deep sigh escaped her lips as she looked on at the sunlight that blinded.

Eve held the bar and took a moment to brace herself, it was bad enough letting a patient out of her room to wander restricted areas, let alone allow one to escape. If she opened that door, she'd lock the door permanently on her career. She cringed as she pushed it down; the redhead looked on, wide-eyed and intense, at the thought of emergency alarms being sounded.

Click.

Luckily, no sound. Just the soft, cool breeze that blew inwards as she pushed the door open. They both looked outside at the sunlight, gently blowing leaves from trees, the greens and the blues and whites, in unison.

"This is it," Eve turned to face her. "You're free."

The redhead looked up at her and smiled blankly, her head at a slight tilt. "Thank you, Eve. I'll come back for you. I promise."

"Remember where we said? You can't come back here, you'll only end up getting sectioned again, and then even I won't be able to help you."

She turned around and nodded with a hopeful smile before running down the pavement, leading towards the main road from across the street. From there she could hitch a ride to Summer Bay just like Eve had told her when they were finalizing the escape in her room.

Eve watched on sullenly as she saw her beloved disappear into the distance, her grey and black clothes clashing with her fiery hair as she turned a corner and vanished from her view forever.

The blinded-by-love nurse sighed as she unclipped her ID tag and placed it in her pocket before turning around, leaving the door open in the process. She had to go see the review board.

Walking blankly down the corridors, she eventually came to a gradual stop outside a door. The door didn’t look like the others, just looking at it you could tell it was of importance. She took a moment to brace herself before opening it, her hands shaking nervously. She'd never had to act before.

"She's gone!" Eve shouted as she rushed in, the VIPs and consultants at the table, discussing the very person she was talking about release, turned their heads in concern at the panicked nurse.

Dr. Foley roused from the table, pushing his chair backwards in the process. "What?"

"Sarah Lewis has escaped!"

The others quickly leaped up from their seats and rushed out, a woman stood with Dr. Foley as he asked for more details. They had to know what happened. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Eve spat her words out in a panicked rush. "She's knocked me to the ground, taken my security pass and she's gone!"

"Wait here." Dr. Foley pressed his hand on her upper arm comfortingly before rushing off with the others in search of the escaped psychiatric patient.

Eve waited a couple of minutes before collapsing in his chair. She smirked to herself as she slowly whipped out her ID tag and examined it. Everything had worked just as they planned.

The swift breeze blew the strands of hair from her face that fell loose from her tightly tied back ponytail. Eve rested her arm on the bench of the yard, daydreaming of what life would be like later that day, when she met up with Sarah and ran away together.

Her concentration was interrupted by Dr. Foley approaching, she looked up at him as he sat next to her, snapped out of her thoughts. "Is everything okay, Sir?"

"I need to tell you something." He revealed with a rueful smile. "It's about Sarah Lewis."

"What?" Eve stammered. "They've found her?"

"In a way, yes."

She looked at him; he looked at her apologetically. He knew that her being Sarah's nurse, that she was the one who she used to escape, being the type of person that Eve was, that she'd take it hardly and blame herself. It was in her nature.

"Last night Sarah took a small group of locals hostage in Summer Bay at gunpoint; she's battered a detective into comatose, shot a resident dead, a guy named Noah Lawson, before turning the gun on herself." Dr. Foley sullenly explained. "I'm sorry, Eve. She's dead."

Eve didn’t know where to look, tears pricked at her eyeballs, almost making her choke; the emptiness in the pit of her stomach made her want to vomit. Her Sarah? Dead?

"No." She whimpered, a tear streamed down the side of her face, dropping on to the neutral green of her work shirt below, perforating the fabric with her loss.

Dr. Foley looked at her apologetically, hesitating whether or not he should hold her hand or not; he chose not to. "I've been told that her funeral will be in two weeks time, the police need to keep the body until then for their investigations or something. It's a homicide case now."

A mixture of severe grief and hatred bubbled to the surface. Those animals in Summer Bay murdered her beloved and the second Sarah was put in the ground they were going to pay.

They were just fantasies to begin with. Dreams of revenge. Until she sneaked into the hospital and stole files confirming Sarah's death the week before. At least that way it seemed as if she didn't really die. At least then it didn't hurt so much. She switched records with another woman, someone bearing a scar and mole, two things that she didn't have, with Sarah's files. That way she couldn't be dead, their bodies didn't match. Plus, when the time would come, it would freak out the police in Summer Bay if they thought for a second that she could still be alive. Until then, she would put her plans on hold. This was their time now.

Eve looked down at the disturbed earth below, light rain began to fall from the grey and thunderous skies; it seemed like such a cliché, what you'd expect after a funeral.

She looked down at the fresh grave and crouched down to place a lily on the tainted soil. She looked up at the epitaph and sighed, tears stinging her eyes and blurring her vision.

Sarah Lewis

1978-2004

It wasn't just the loss that made her feel like she was drowning, that the flood of tears rising made her suffocate, beckon for breath. Only at the end there was no release, just an endless ache. It was looking up at her gravestone: No one had bothered to put an inscription on it. It was just... blank.

She rose up from her spot until she stood on her feet. She looked down at the ground. It didn’t seem real; how could she be underneath all of that dirt, buried like a dead dog.

She'd be damned if she was going to let those responsible get away with it. But first she needed a drink. Something to numb the everlasting and searing pain that pulled on the inside, straining her eyes until tears poured out like a ruptured artery, making cracks appear on her aching heart, like porcelain being dropped from a small height; not completely shattered.

The faint sound of Crazy by Kidney Thieves was audible in the smoky bar. The place reeked of cigarettes and stale beer. It had ambience.

Eve wiped a stream of dripping tears which stained her face away as she heard a woman’s voice emanate from behind her.

"Excuse me? Do you mind if I sit here? The place is pretty full tonight." She looked up at the brunette woman, who held a cocktail in her hand, pulling the straps on her bag over her shoulder as it began to slip down with every second she had to wait for a simple reply.

"Sure." Eve smiled through teary eyes. She didn't want company but then remembered that saying; something about misery and love. Those two always seemed intertwined.

The brunette saddled down on the stool beside Eve and smiled, dropping her bag to the floor and taking a sip from her drink before noticing the tear stains on her acquaintance's face. "Are you okay?"

Eve wiped her eyes. "Yeah."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Actually," Eve turned to face her, half-glaring, half looking on apologetically. "I really don't. I don't mean to be rude, it's just..."

"I understand." The brunette smiled warmly. "But if you change your mind, I'm a very good listener. It's even my job. Sort of, anyway."

Eve twisted her face in confusion at the woman's words. "You're a counsellor?"

"Close," She chuckled. "I'm a nurse. I just graduated from training college, I came here to celebrate, but I think it’s a bit out of taste now."

"Oh, God!" Eve exclaimed, wiping her tears, and for the first time since she was informed of Sarah's death, genuinely laughed; despite it being light. "I hope I'm not to blame!"

"Not at all." The woman pressed a comforting hand on the other's arm. "I'm just not in the mood because I've got to move yet again. I'm from Perth, you see, and I've not long moved here to go to training college, but now I've got to move again to where I've been posted."

"And where's that?" Eve asked with genuine interested.

"Yabbie Creek District Hospital, I'm moving to Summer Bay early next week."

Now that caught her attention. She looked up at her and smiled, her tears suddenly dried. "I almost forgot; I'm Eve, by the way."

"Zoe." The brunette introduced herself. "Zoe McCallister."

They walked across the rushed campus; students scattered the area as the sun's beating rays beamed down brightly. The sun raked through the green leaves on trees.

Walking with her new friend on her way to class, Eve suggested. "Okay, so I've got loads of holidays coming up, and I was planning a roadtrip. Why don't I come with you?"

Zoe walked slower, taking the time to take what her friend was saying in. "Are you serious?"

"Well, we could share a car down to Summer Bay, I could help you settle in and continue on my way." Eve made numerous hand gestures to punctuate her words.

"Are you kidding?"

She looked at the brunette and cringed expectantly at her friend's potential response. "Well, if you'll have me."

"Yes!" Zoe exclaimed excitedly. "That'd be fantastic!"

"Really?!"

Eve clutched on to Zoe's arm. A rush of euphoria invaded her. "Yes!"

"Oh, my God!" The vengeful sociopath exclaimed. "So we're going to Summer Bay?"

"Yes!" They both leaped into a hug and walked further through the campus, discussing with anticipation about the following week. There was so much they had to plan.

Eve drummed her fingers nervously on the dashboard as she looked out of the window at her surroundings. They had been driving all day and the ride was beginning to take its toll - on both of them.

Zoe yawned as she continued to drive through the wooded road. "Not long now, I can see the Welcome sign just a little further down."

"Great." Eve looked up and forced a smile. "Hey, I was thinking; how 'bout we take a picture by the Welcome sign, you know, as a momento of our journey."

"That's an awesome idea!" Zoe beamed. "I better go down a gear, slow down at bit then."

The sunlight reflected in the car's windscreen caught Eve's eyes, bringing those two orbs of mixed navy and hazel out perfectly.

The car came to a slow and gradual halt alongside a big billboard-type-sign, reading; Welcome to Summer Bay.

"Here we are." Zoe grinned. "Got a camera?"

"Yeah, you go on ahead; I'll just dig it out of my backpack."

"Okay." Zoe pushed the door on her side outward and stood up, breathing a heavy sigh as the fresh air emanating from the beach afar washed over her. For the last couple of hours all she had to smell was the sickly and tedious scent of the car freshener.

Eve leant over the car and liberate her backpack from the back seats and began rummaging around, she shot an agitated smile in Zoe's direction when she looked through the windscreen at her expectantly, making gestures with her watch playfully.

Pulling out her polaroid camera, Eve let out a little cry victoriously. She glanced over at Zoe who tapped her foot impatiently, and held her index finger up, as a sign to indicate that she was coming. She pulled out a plastic, see-through bag and creased it up in the back pocket of her jeans before breathing a deep and heavy sigh of relief. She was ready to go.

"About time!" Zoe exclaimed playfully as Eve walked towards her. "I was beginning to get lonely out here by myself."

"I know, I'm sorry." Eve apologised genuinely, masked behind the façade of taking up precious time.

Eve threw an arm around Zoe and lead her further by the Welcome sign, they both smiled brightly, staring into the lens of the camera. "Ready?" Eve asked through gritted teeth, her artificial smile beginning to ache.

"Uh-huh." Zoe followed suit, fighting back the urge to laugh there and then at what they must’ve looked like. Eve chuckled nervously and took the snapshot. A moment captured perfectly.

"So where to now? Straight to the Caravan Park or Diner?" Zoe pondered. Eve stood a few feet behind her and pulled out the plastic back from the back of her jeans.

Zoe turned around and twisted her face in confusion. "Eve?"

Before she could do anything about it, the bag was draped over her face, pulled down by Eve’s brute strength, jerking the brunette backwards as she gripped at her hands, beckoning for the oxygen she was being deprived of. Her legs kicked out and thrashed.

The see-through plastic fogged up and flared outwards as Zoe's face swelled up in a rush of red. Eve pulled the bag back tighter, pulling it hard over her nose and mouth, leaving no room for her apparent friend to breathe. Zoe's fingers clenched shut and tightened; her eyes rolled back in her head as her consciousness was wiped clear from her. She collapsed to the ground, Eve just catching her fall, gently letting her fall to the dirt track below.

She leant down and removed the bag, Zoe's lips were a light violet, her eyes wide open, her face slowly resuming back to its previous pale complexion. Eve held her hand over Zoe's face for two minutes, just to make sure that she was dead. For those two minutes not even the slightest gasp of breath escaped her open mouth.

Zoe McCallister was dead.

Eve continued to drag Zoe's body through the dense woodland and dropped her arms for a moment to wipe the sweat that moistened her forehead. She breathed a heavy sigh to brace herself before holding her wrists, which no longer bear a pulse, and continuing, dragging her further into the woods. Her backpack slung over her shoulder.

She eventually came to a stop, letting go of the dead girl's arms and allowing her to slump to the ground, dirt and dried leaves caught in her once clean hair, dirt underneath her fingernails and a trail where she was dragged, from the car to the stop she was stationed now, by her DMs.

Eve slumped the backpack on the ground and crouched down to open it, the zip making a velcro-tearing sound as it opened. She liberated a 12" canister of fire lighter and began spraying it on the body which stared up at her from her crumpled positioned on the ground. Eve glared at her apologetically as she doused her friend in flammable substances and covered her mouth to prevent inhaling the tocsins.

She whipped out a matchbox and opened it with shaky hands, she whipped out a match and stood up, striking it on the rough side, igniting the stick's head and taking a moment to step back before dropping it on Zoe.

"Forgive me." She muttered quietly to herself as her apparent friend was set aflame, a blaze roared up into the woods, smoke spiralled up into the blue skies, polluting and contaminating the once fresh air and white clouds that swarmed across.

She walked further into the woods, a small distance from the burning corpse, and opened Zoe's bag where she liberated her driving license and ID cards, before burying it in a hole at the root of a tree, before covering it up with debris and leaves.

On the way back to the car, Eve continued to spray the wooded area with various accelerants and lighting them up, creating a small bush fire, which, in a matter of minutes, would combust and spread, a flame consuming everything within reach.

Eve sat in the driver's seat of Zoe's car and sighed. She pulled out a picture of her from the psychiatric institution and held it up against Zoe's driving license. A rueful smile spread across her face as she removed Zoe's mugshot and replaced it with her own.

She used a moment to brace herself before putting her foot down, flooring the accelerator and tearing down the wooded lane, driving past the Welcome to Summer Bay sign. The bush fire beginning to spiral out of control.

It was the day she was reborn from fire; the Summer Bay stalker's legacy began. Eve Jacobsen was now Zoe McCallister and Summer Bay will pay.

END

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