Once upon a time there was a sweet child. I take that back. She wasn't very sweet. Or nice for that matter. Where to begin? Ah yes, the girl started off nice enough. Always helping out her teachers and mother when needed. I'm not sure what changed. It was like a switch was flipped and they changed into another person entirely. It was slow at first: a little white lie here or there and being late for class.

Then came the murder. No one could see this sweet child doing something so heinous as the brutal killing of her once upon a time best friend. The two would always be seen playing out in the fields together playing make believe games. The child would typically play the role of the villain. Perhaps it was just foreshadowing her crimes. One thing was certain however, the child was a great manipulator. She was able to fool all the detectives, psychiatrists, and jurors that everything was only an accident.

They were only playing pirates and her friend insisted on using machetes in place of swords to provide a sense of realism. It was only an accident when the innocent child hit her friend in the neck, directly slicing the carotid artery. Everyone bought the story. Everyone but the class tattletale, Aniya. Maybe the first killing was an accident, but the second would not be. Aniya was keeping a close eye on our golden child, Kacey. A much too close eye. It drew too much attention. Attention that must be stopped.

Poor little Aniya should have known her spot and stayed out of Kacey's business. It shouldn't be that hard to just drop it. Besides, it was already ruled as an accident and nothing more. It wasn't hard to follow the tattletale home. She had no reason to be paranoid about being followed. She had no reason not to take the path through the woods. It was only a squirrel scuttering over twigs and pebbles behind her. At least that's what she kept telling herself. And it must've been the very same squirrel that hit her head what a massive rock. It was the squirrel that left her unconscious and bleeding, left to die.

The child wasn't naive, she knew police could get fingerprints off of the rock. Unless she made it look like an accident. Perhaps the girl was spooked by a deer or something and fell upon the rock. They would have no cause to look for foul play. Things like this happen all the time after all. She should have been more careful of where she was going.

It wouldn't be long before someone would stumble upon the body. Not long at all on the well-traveled trail. The goal then was to gain distance from the accident. Following the main trail would prove too difficult so Kacey was forced to use one of the winding, overgrown deer trails. All the while taking careful steps not to disturb the ground too much.

Our sweet child was long gone- doing homework like the responsible kid she was- before a couple on an evening stroll spotted the corpse. That poor couple, stumbling upon a corpse of a young child in a pool of their own blood. Police were called out and a news team was quick to follow. Sure enough, it was ruled as a freak accident. Tears were shed for the loss. Even Kacey would feign grief stricken when out in public. However, in the safety of her own room, she was able to feel proud of the deed. It's not every day that one can get away with two murders in their lifetime. Much less at the age of twelve.

Now, don't get Kacey wrong, she would feel genuine grief for her crimes occasionally. But to deal with these changes, she had to learn just to detach herself and let it happen. Sadly, the child couldn't stop even if she wanted to, poor thing. She would just have to learn to love it.

Maybe she was showing too much grief over the loss of her classmate, or perhaps not enough for the tragedy. Whatever the reason, her mother thought it was best to find a therapist. Kacey would have to up her acting game. It must be so exhausting.

Dr. Douglass was the therapist's name. A real lovely lady. Good at her job too. It would take a lot of effort to hide anything from her. Luckily, Kacey wouldn't be on her own. She would have to have some help with keeping just enough composure without letting anything slip.

 Sessions always ran long. It was draining trying to hide. The only thing to feel alive again was to witness more accidents. Even small things that didn't end in death; a wreck on the side of the road on the way home, a child falling off a swing set, seeing a run-away pet and knowing that its owners are distressed. You know, the simple things in life. Kacey was just about an empty shell at this point, housing something more sinister: me.

Which brings us to this point in our story. Now, you might be wondering who, or rather what, I am. I'm just the same as you, except I'm trapped in this child's mind, fighting for control. As for a name, just call me Alex. Make no mistake, I care deeply for the safety of Kacey. Without her, where would that leave me?

This therapist of ours has been getting on my nerves, trying to dissect the way we think. I doubt this is just grief therapy at this point. No. It feels much darker. I think I might even sense fear from Dr. Douglass. I expect nothing less. She reminds me of Aniya who just wouldn't stop trying to but into our life. She learned her lesson, perhaps we just had to do the same for Douglass. This was a more difficult case however. I couldn't just follow her home and make it look like an accident. No. I'd have to do something more, personal.

This could prove to be quite the challenge. The question is if I'm up for it. If it went poorly, it doesn't look like a good outcome for sweet Kacey. But if no action is taken, it may just be a worse fate. For now, I'll just lie low and let Kacey take more control. Show Dr. Douglass that there is compassion in us, that what happened was truly a tragedy for everyone, including us.

While Kacey takes the front seat, I'll start formulating a foolproof plan. Something that wouldn't link us to the death. A break in would leave far too much evidence behind, besides, we had no idea if she has any sort of security system. Kacey keeps trying to but in about how Dr. Douglass may have a family, what I was thinking was wrong. She never learns that I'm just trying to protect her. Protect her from the world and anyone who tries to harm her. And Douglass was far too close to looking through the curtains and seeing the true evil within us.

For now, I'll let Kacey rest for the night. Come our next appointment, I'll be ready. We'll be ready. She'll have no option but to let me take over and fix the situation. Sure, she'll be sad, upset at me even, but she'll get over it. She always gets over it. 

The week flew by, preparations for our session later after school were nearly complete. All that was left was to execute it. The most effective plan was to strangle Douglass near the end of the session and leave before anyone can find the body. I was able to convince Kacey's mother to let us walk home after the session. By the time the body is discovered, I'm hoping that we've already skipped town.

Last class of the day, last day in town, last session. A lot of last, but also many firsts. First personal murder, first day of true freedom, first day of a new life. Ten minutes to walk to the therapist's office, another five minutes waiting in the lobby, three minutes to walk to the room, two seconds to open the door, one millisecond to see the world crashing down around us. Sitting beside Douglass was a man, a man in a starch white coat.

Douglass motioned towards my usual seat on the too comfortable couch meant to lure people into false security. Reluctantly sitting down, against my best intuition, I stared at the other doctor and then back to Douglass who had a plastered, kind smile. 

Five words from the doctor that sent chills down our spine, "Kacey, we're here to help."

The only words I needed to jump from the couch and try to run out of the room only to slam into a brick wall of an officer. A pinch in the shoulder and I knew the battle was done. But war was just beginning.