(This is a story imma enter in a writing contest for 6th graders in my school. I'm probably not gonna make the top ten lol. I had to write no more than 1000 words. I did 1500. #rebel)

February 7, 1986

Faren's hand shook as she searched her purse. 'It isn't real. It didn't happen. 'None of this happened,' she thought, repeating the lines over and over until they were meaningless. She felt like she was dreaming. At least, she managed to convince herself that she was dreaming. Her body was light, her mind fixed on finding that thing. That one thing she had brought along, the one choice that she didn't regret.

It was dark in that barren, run down room. The sound of rushing water was nearby, and there was not a candle, not a single beam of light. Of course, it had to be that way. If there were any light, then people would come running. Come running to save her. But, Faren didn't care. All they will find was her corpse, and that one thing that was very, very important.

She had to find it before he came back. Came back to torture, to torment her. To kill her. Faren's hand brushed the surface of some object she could not see. It was cold, smooth, and was in a very peculiar shape. Her heart jumped a bit as she pulled that object out of the things she now considered as rubble. What she pulled out was an old black audio recorder with the tape inside of it. She wasn't sure if the device still worked, but she had to try. Faren set the audio recorder gently on the ground like it was the most precious diamond in the world. With a small defeated sigh, she pressed the play button.

"Ah. So this thing actually works," Faren said quietly. She cleared her throat almost immediately after. "My name is Faren Stronach. To whoever might be listening, I am a reporter. At least, I was a reporter. I could've ignored everything. I could've saved my blooming career. I could've fluttered by innocently, like a butterfly. But no, I had to come towards that flower. That flower called my opportunity. If I had ignored that flower, then I would've had other chances. But I cannot go back now. I don't have any more chances. I fell into the spider's web." Faren paused for a few painful moments, then started speaking again. "I thought that this case was interesting. A series of murders, all connected. Connected by the words 'you have sinned' written in the victims' blood... It was intriguing. And if I could solve it, then I was guaranteed a spot in stardom." Faren then sighed, a sorrowful on her face.

"I leapt for that chance. But that soon would be the worst mistake in my life. One morning, after getting a cup of coffee from a local Starbucks, I saw a boy of about seventeen years staring at two other boys from behind a tree in a local park. I soon learned that his name was Velius. I don't know anything else about him, except that he got even worse." Faren took a shaky breath, as if she was afraid to utter her next words.

"The two boys' bodies were found in a ditch the very next day. I thought it was just a mere coincidence, but no... I followed Velius around for a while a few weeks later, then noticing that his movements were the same as mine. He was also following someone. A girl, to be exact. A little girl around the age of ten. He was stalking her. Following her every movement. Then... I heard a shriek when the two turned the corner. And that was when I ran. I ran for my life, but I knew that I couldn't run any more. That would be the last time I ran away. I knew who he was now."

Faren shook her head. "I did some research when I got home. Apparently, that little girl was the sister of Akemi Otaki, a Japanese high school student. The two boys that were murdered both had crushes on Akemi. Everybody that was murdered had some type of relationship with Akemi. So, I tracked down Velius again. He went in all sorts of directions, so I lost him. Lost him in an alleyway. But when I turned around... There he was, with a syringe. He was grinning, grinning so maliciously. And then his hand, the one with the syringe, went to my chest."



Faren looked around frantically. "You should know what will happen to me. He caught me. I'm going to die. I'm going to run out of time. So please, please! Help the future! I can't do anything anymore, so please! Take this to the police! Anything! My efforts cannot be wasted!" Faren shrieked. "The quicker he gets to hell..." Breathing heavily, she fumbled inside her purse once more and pulled out a large glass jar. Silently mouthing prayers, she dropped the tape inside of the jar. Faren's heart threatened to climb out of her throat as she fastened the cap on the jar, then climbed to her feet. Luckily, there was a small crack in the wall that was big enough to let the jar through. Faren pushed the jar out of the room, and through the small crack, watched as it rolled down the hill and was carried away by the nearby river's rough waters. Faren slumped against the wall, sobbing. "Why," she muttered, almost choking on that word. "Why?"

"Yes, why?" A silhouette stood near the doorway, which was now open. "Why is it that I have to waste my time with you?" The silhouette drew closer to Faren, but his expression was unreadable. He stopped when he was only a few feet away from her. It seemed like the world was waiting for this very moment. Waiting, waiting... Waiting for the last witness to shrivel up and die. Velius kneeled down in front of her. "Stupid woman," he growled. It was only when Faren felt the chill of metal on her skin was when she could see his face. An emotionless expression. Soulless eyes. She was frozen in place. He wasn't even human.

She couldn't even scream.

December 30, 2017

Sarah flipped over the newspaper.

Another Murder, This Time Young Reporter Faren Stronach! Found in a Garbage Bin!

Sarah had played the tape she found over again and again. Who was this person? She felt puzzled and doubtful. This was probably just a prank left by some weirdos. But still, she had to check. Sarah walked over to the front desk of the library.

"Mr. Kikyo! Um, what year was this paper published?" she asked shyly, showing the old librarian the newspaper. Mr. Kikyo furrowed his brow. "1986. Why? Is there something you're researching?"

Sarah nodded. "Yes, Mr. Kikyo. I found a tape talking about this murder, and I'm going to look into it!" she exclaimed, puffing out her chest in pride.

"Oh. That's interesting. Hope your research goes well," Mr. Kikyo said, smiling. "After you leave, I shall close up. Hurry back to your house, child."

Sara grinned, then went back to her table and slung her backpack over her shoulder, carrying the newspaper. She waved goodbye to Mr. Kikyo before dashing out of the library.

Mr. Kikyo chuckled. "Sly woman. I guess I underestimated her that night. She could've become a very bright reporter. Pity that she had to go out so soon." He reached inside his coat pocket for a pocket knife. "Well Sarah, I don't think you should go any deeper into that research project. It might not be pretty." The blade reflected the library lights.

"Better to get out of my business, or you'll have to end up like her."

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Trivia

•Velius means "concealed", while Kikyo means "evil". So, Velius Kikyo literally means "concealed evil" (even though the name and the surname came from different origins).

•Faren means "adventurous", while Stronach means "curious". Faren is curious and willing to take risks, which is why she became a reporter and got involved with Velius' murders.

•Velius is a yandere, which is a popular character trait in Japanese media (which seemed appropriate since he came from Japanese roots, hence the surname "Kikyo"). Yanderes have a sweet, bubbly nature, but can turn emotionless and overprotective of their loved ones. They can even resort to violence if other people become too close to a person that they care about (which is Akemi Otaki in Velius' case).

•Sarah is a little girl that is in the 5th grade. You would question why she would get into such dark matters at that age, but since she is partially inspired myself, I cannot question why she would do that when I am doing the same.

•The two boys that were murdered were twins. They were childhood friends of Akemi, which is why they both developed crushes on her.

•Faren is very organized and a skilled planner. Originally, the audio recorder was for her to record Velius' speech, and the glass jar was for collecting evidence. The two items obviously were not used in a way that she expected they would.