Rainy Night

It's a Friday night, and you are driving through a small town. You increase the speed of the windshield wipers as the rain heavily beats down on the car. Flipping through the radio stations, you come across a news station in which the anchor is discussing a recent string of murders.

“Apparently he killed his fourth victim last Thursday. If you have any leads, you can report it to-”

You turn the radio off, not wanting to hear any more. After roughly five more minutes of driving, you hear the engine of your car grinding as the car comes to a stop.

“Shit!”

You are certain the car isn't going anywhere, you angrily open the door and get out, swearing again as you step into a puddle. You tread through the pouring rain until you come across a fairly large neighborhood. You are not surprised that all the houses are dark, as it is late and everyone is most likely asleep; however, it's unusual to find that not even a porch light or two is lit. It makes no difference to you; you need help now.

You walk up to the fifth house in the neighborhood and knock on the door. After about a minute of waiting, you are about to leave, until you see the door swing open. You are greeted by a friendly-looking man holding a lit candle.

“I'm really sorry if I woke you,” you begin, “but my car just broke down, and my cell phone is dead. If you just let me call someone then I can be out of here by tonight.”

“Come in.” He says, smiling.

Desperate to get out of the rain, you comply. “Thank you.”

“I'm sorry to hear about your predicament, but I'm afraid there is nothing I can do at the moment. You see, the power went out not long ago, and I left my cell phone at work. But I'd be glad to let you use the phone once the power comes back on.”

Filled with gratitude, you say, “Thank you so much!”

“Could you wait right here for a moment? I'll get you a towel.”

Without waiting for a response he quickly leaves the room. While waiting you look at the walls and notice several different paintings of a woman and a little girl. You are able to closely examine all of them before the man returns with a towel.

“Here you go.” He says.

You take the towel, and wrap it around your body, slowly becoming more comfortable in this home.

“Feel free to sit down,” he says as he points to the couch sitting behind a glass coffee table in the living room.

You sit down on the couch, and he sits down next to you. The next minute or so is filled with awkward silence before he finally says something else.

“Sorry, I can't believe I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Gregory. What's your name?”

You tell him your name.

“That's a nice name.”

“Thanks. Say, who were those people in the pictures on the wall?”

“Oh, that's my wife and daughter.”

“Are they here?”

“No… They left me a few years ago.”

“Oh. I'm sorry I asked.”

“It's fi-”

Gregory is interrupted by the sound of your phone ringing in your pocket.

“Shit!” You say aloud.

“...I thought you said your phone was dead.” Gregory says, his eyes widening in confusion.

“You would think that after doing this four times I would at least remember to turn off my damn phone.” You say, standing up.

“What?”

You grab Gregory by his head, and bash it into the glass coffee table, squinting as glass shards fly everywhere. You pick up the largest glass shard within your reach and slit Gregory's throat with it. You smile and enjoy this euphoric feeling as Gregory bleeds out on the floor. You try your best to clean up your finger prints, and head out the door. The rain has become much lighter now. You walk all the way back to your car, start it up, and drive away.

It is now a Saturday night, and you are driving by a neighborhood not far from the last one. You put your foot on the brakes and bring your car to a stop.

“Oh no. Looks like my car has broken down.”

You reach into your pocket, and turn off your cell phone.

“And it looks like my phone is dead too.”

You get out of your car, and walk into the neighborhood. You walk up to the sixth house and knock on the door.

“I'm really sorry if I woke you, but my car just broke down, and my cell phone is dead. If you could just let me call someone then I can be out of here by tonight.”