Kim

Kim was unhappy with her life. Sure, she had everything a girl her age could ask for. A nice house, hot boyfriend, rich parents, and anything a girl her age could ever want. Yet, she felt like it was all useless to her. She barely ever saw her parents, and when she did, they were always too stressed and busy to talk to her unless they were going to buy her something just to shut her up. To be honest, she wasn’t the prettiest girl in the world. She bought all the clothes and stuff to try to make herself look prettier in her own eyes. And even though she had a ton of “friends” in town and school, she still felt like people were talking about her behind her back. It made her paranoid.

When her parents told her that they were moving somewhere more secluded, she was actually pretty pleased, to say the least. She hated the town she lived in, since it was so superficial and fake. Breaking up with her boyfriend and saying goodbye to her friends brought up no sadness for her. The happiness of leaving this town once and for all was more than enough for her. At the last yard sale her parents held before they moved, she got rid of all of her high-end clothes, fancy jewelry, and expensive make-up. She only kept a few things to wear on special occasions. The yard sale brought a nice profit for her and her parents, since they were selling such nice things in a fairly high-income area. In her new town, she didn’t have to act anymore. She could really be herself.

---

Several hours of driving and about a week of unpacking later, Kim was finally able to relax and enjoy her new home. It was a nice, small house, but big enough for a family of four or five. Taking advantage of her free time, Kim took the liberty of exploring her new town. It was small, friendly, and quiet. 'An average mountain town,' Kim thought to herself. She liked it here already. After a few minutes of looking around, she came across a nice little clothing store. Walking inside, she saw that there were hardly any high-end brand name items. Just generic clothes and a few cheap accessories. She looked around for a while, picking up some clothes here and there. Eventually, she came across a nice hoodie that looked like it would fit perfectly. Oddly, even though it was just a plain hoodie with no prints or designs, she fell in love with it. Luckily for her, she had enough cash on hand to get it along with practically a whole new wardrobe. Finally, after years of all those fancy things, she could have a simple, normal wardrobe.

This new wardrobe consisted of one hoodie, many shirts, a few pairs of pants, a couple jackets, mittens, and two pairs of shoes; sneakers and flats. Surprisingly to her, she still had a lot of cash on hand. But that was fine by Kim. A new town like this was a blessing for her. She headed home after her shopping was done. Her parents didn’t even seem to notice her walk inside. Doubtful that they even noticed she left in the first place, either. She headed up to her room and started putting her stuff away. Not long after she finished, her parents called her downstairs. It was odd they would do this, since usually they just ignored her.

“Kim,” her father started once she was in front of her parents. “You’re okay with this move, right? Because the reason we did this was because your mother and I wanted to try to get closer as a family.” His statement took Kim by surprise. She didn’t think either of them really cared.

“Honey, I noticed that you didn’t seem very happy back at our old home,” her mother interjected. “I wanted our little girl to have a happier life than before. Yes, we are used to a more expensive lifestyle. But you didn’t want that, right?” Kim looked at the ground. She felt bad for making her parents leave the life they loved so much behind for her sake.

“Not really,” she said with a hint of guilt in her voice. “I was sad that all my friends just liked me because my family and I were rich. They talked about me behind my back and it hurt a lot. I felt so lonely.”

Her father smiled warmly. “Well, don’t worry about that anymore. The people in this town are very nice. In fact, one of the neighbors is having a barbeque next Sunday. Would you like to go? I’m sure you’ll make some friends there.” Kim smiled and nodded in acceptance. She had never been to a barbeque before and now she was really looking forward to this one. How exciting.

---

The next day’s agenda for Kim held exploring and some more shopping. A large forest stood just outside of the town. People didn’t like to go in there due to all of the legends and myths. Kim, however, did not hear the stories of the forest. Of how it was supposedly haunted by an evil force. But even if she did hear the story, she wouldn’t have believed it. Legends were just things made up to scare people in her eyes.

She approached the forest with caution, for she knew there were some dangerous animals there, even through there were few. Carefully, she made her way into the forest. It was your average forest, aside from the multitude of pine trees. Nothing seemed strange about it to Kim. After walking around for a while, she came across an odd house. The structure looked abandoned and had the resemblance of a log cabin. Curious, Kim walked up to the cabin and knocked on the door. No answer. She tried to open the door from the outside. Locked. She circled the house and tried to look inside one of the windows. It was too dark inside to see anything. Sighing in disappointment and some frustration, she turned to leave when she heard a slow creaking. Turning around to the door of the house, she saw it was opened.

“How the hell did that happen?” she asked herself. That door wouldn't budge just a minute ago. But, confusion soon gave way to curiosity and she walked inside to begin exploring. It looked just as abandoned on the inside as it did on the outside. A lot creepier, too. The house almost seemed frightening to Kim. Yet she continued through the cabin and kept looking for something at least remotely interesting. After what seemed like forever to the bored teen, she came across a small bedroom. On the dresser was a jewelry box. Interested, Kim lifted the lid up and looked inside. Inside of it was a simple pendant. The gem was smooth and in an oval shape with a silver chain. Simple, yet beautiful none the less. It was just the kind of thing Kim loved. Now, since the place seemed abandoned, she saw no harm in gaining a new accessory. Casually and calmly, she slipped the necklace into her pocket and left the creepy place, in hopes she'll never have to go back.

---

Friday before the barbeque, Kim decided to go on one last shopping trip to have a nice outfit to wear. Nice meaning a t-shirt that has some actual print on it. Ever since going into the forest, however, Kim has been wearing her pendant nearly all the time. And that's when they started. The whispers. At first they only came in her dreams, waking her up every now and then. But now she hears them constantly. They tell her strange and disturbing things.

Cleanse them.

They're tainted.

All of them hate you.

Purify the world.

It frightened Kim greatly, but she started to think about what they said to her. She thought of what they could possibly mean and noticed that since getting the necklace, things have started reverting. Her parents talked less. People whispered and glanced at her before smirking and laughing to themselves. Day by day, Kim became more paranoid and angry at them all.

She wanted those monsters dead and gone forever, to keep them from hurting anyone else ever again.

---

"Kim," a voice called out. "It's time to wake up."

The teen rolled around in her bed to face her mother, who looked like she was going to a semi-casual business party.

"Come on, Kim. Get up and get dressed so we can get to the barbeque." Faster than she arrives, her mother was gone. Her heals could be heard going down the wooden steps of their home. Kim sat up in her bed, stretching and yawning. It was finally Sunday, the day she had been waiting for. Awake and excited now, she got out of her bed and put on her outfit. A green Mario 1-up mushroom v-neck, her favorite blue zipper hoodie, a pair of jeans, her sneakers, and her pendant. In her opinion, she looked pretty damn good.

But nothing, not even this day, could subside the voices. Louder now, they keep talking to her. Telling her to purify and cleanse the corrupt world she lived in. She still wasn't clear on what they wanted from her and they confused her more and more with each passing hour.

For now, though, she ignored it as best she could as she decended the stairs to meet with her parents. To her surprised, she was not greeted by two smiling, loving guardians that raised her. Her mother and father were arguing, something they had been doing every since they had moved. The adults tried to hide it from Kim, but she knew the truth. Moving to this town and leaving their old life behind was her father's idea to make Kim happier, and her mother didn't like it at all. All she wanted was the glamore of being a wealthy socialite being on the arm of an also rich and successful man, while being able to have all the men she wanted on the side that no one could know of. Even though she put on a loving facade, Kim knew her mother resented her since the day she was born. She probably never wanted children in the first place. She doubted the man she called "dad" was really even her biological father.

The moment Kim's father saw her, he stopped arguing with his wife and put on a fake smile to try to hide what had been going on. Seeing her daughter, her mother followed suit. 'It's ridiculous,' Kim thought to herself, 'that they think they can hide what was happening from me.' But it seemed that all adults were like that. Thinking that they could hide anything from a child by just acting like nothing happened.

"Are you ready to go, dear?" her father asked her. His false happiness was still plastered all over his face. Trying and failing to mimic his fake smile, she gave a nod to him to confirm she was indeed ready to leave. How she was related to either of these lying scum bags she would never know. Nor would she know why her so called "father" would be so kind to her if there was a chance that she wasn't even really related to him.

Within a half an hour, the three of them were at the barbeque. It seemed like the whole block was there, parents and kids alike. Though Kim was much older, she prefered to hang around with the younger children. Most, if not all of them, were so innocent and happy. None of them had a care in the world, and they didn't pass judgement like the teenagers and adults that occupied this town. The children made her feel happy and secure.

But despite the company of the kids, she could hear the people all around her. Gossiping, talking about others behind their backs, rumors spreading, insults being thrown left and right that couldn't be heard. All of it made Kim sick to her stomach. She couldn't understand what made these people so cruel and heartless toward each other. It made her so angry how tainted and impure they-

It finally dawned on her. All the voices she had been hearing since the day she got that necklace. Everything made sense to her now. These people who are so cruel and heartless to each other, yet acted so warm and kind face-to-face. All of them were tainting the youth around them, infecting them to grow up just like them. The pendant was trying to tell her that she needed to dispose of these impurities. 'But how could I do that without being caught?' Kim asked herself. And, as if being able to hear her thoughts, the voices all silenced but one.

We can give you the power to kill without fear of capture.

Like being controlled by the voices inside her, she looked over to the man grilling the food. Without warning or reason, the knife in his hand that he was using to cut the steaks was driven right into a woman's back. She screamed in pain and terror at what was happening to her, and a look of shock washed over the man's face. Kim couldn't believe it, yet she had just pictured this even happening while looking at this man. All she could do was stare in shock as others were sent into a panic.

Our power will let you take over people and objects.

You can kill as you please and you will never be caught.

Slowly, a grin spread across her face. After all this time, she finally had the power to punish those with ice in their veins and hearts of malice. She kept her eyes locked on the man as she let her mind run wild. Under her control, he acted out every physically possible kill she could think to make him do. The place became a bloodfest, and they kept dropping until all that was left were the kid, pure children and the man Kim had controlled. As a final act, she had him slit his own throat with his Chef's knife. As he bled to death, Kim tried to keep the children away from the grusome sight. But inside, she was happier than ever. She had done what she wanted to do for a long time now, and she would never be suspected.

---

The cops arrived about a half an hour later. Out of all that were attacked, only one survived the initial assult. A thirteen year old boy had just barely made it, losing much of his blood. He was immediately taken to the hospital, but died hours later. After being questioned by police, Kim went home alone, not wanting to see her parents' corpses. She was finally free from the grip of her guardians.

It was a long walk to her house, but Kim didn't care. Walking was nice to her, and she would walk everywhere if she could. Once home, she grabbed all the money she had left as well as all the money she could carry that was left in the house, and left town. Even though this town was taken care of, there was still much evil left in the world. Who else was going to clean it up but her?