It was a stormy night in Cardwell, Missouri. The sky was like charcoal, and the floor was
sopping wet. The only source of light was a lone, flickering streetlight illuminating the foggy street. The clock just struck midnight, and the only detectable sound was raindrops violently striking the floor. No one was roaming the streets; every man was in his house. There was a sudden shriek that pierced the silence which was quickly muzzled. The front door at the Maxx’s residence creaked open hesitantly, and out came Chris grasping his daughter. Her long, luscious, ebony hair dangled towards the floor. She was bound at the hands, feet, and mouth.
She was struggling to get away from his firm grasp, but her attempt was in vain. She was placed in the back seat of his rusty, old, red pick up truck. Raven was laying down in a position that made it very difficult for her to move. Chris started the car and bolted away.
“Let me go! I’m warning you!” Raven managed to bellow past the cloth wrapped around her mouth. She harshly bashed her legs against her father’s seat. Her father remained completely silent as if he was holding his breath. Raven was able to remove the cloth restraining her from speaking. She lashed out, “If I ever get my hands on you I’ll-” She groaned in pain after her back was nicked by a sharp object in the back seat.
“Silence!” commanded Chris, “Not another word!” Raven remained quiet as she began to free her feet from the ties. She unraveled the rope by pushing one foot forward and the other one backwards. She finally broke the weak rope around her ankles. The storm was growing worse and the raindrops penetrated through the air and thrashed the car windows. The windshield wipers aggressively cut back and forth. Chris could barely perceive anything more than five feet in front of the car. Meanwhile, Raven sat up and unlocked the car door. Her hands were still bound, like a slave to its master. I have to do anything to stay away from this man, Raven thought to herself. Her whole body was trembling. She could barely even move. She finally gained enough strength to thrust the door open and dive out of the moving vehicle.
“Oh my Gosh!” Chris choked. He tried stopping the car, but it slid down the slick road until the car finally came to a complete stop. Raven darted away from the car, disappearing into the woods. Chris unlatched the door and burst through it as fast as he could. He had to find Raven. She helplessly picked herself up and just kept on sprinting. She didn’t dare to look back.
“I’m finally free! Now no one will ever find out what happened.” She smirked to herself. Raven clumsily tripped over a tree root and landed flat on her face; she couldn’t catch her fall because her hands were still tied. She glanced up and saw a jagged tree branch right where she could reach. She sawed the cloth right off and felt free at last. She still had a sharp pain in her back, but she had to keep moving forward. Raven knew that in her small town there wasn’t another house for many miles. Chris panicked and ran after his daughter.
The storm was progressively getting worse. There was a dense fog and the thunder made the ground tremble as if it was breaking in half. Bright flashes of lightning illuminated and split the obsidian sky. This catastrophic storm frightened the old man who was rummaging through the woods.
“Raven! Where are you? Raven!” He shouted. After three laborious hours searching, Chris simply gave up. He returned to his car and continued his way to the police station to inform the authorities about everything that had taken place. His heart was pounding out of his chest and he was breathing heavy.
Raven was out of steam and completely exhausted. She has been running from her father for three straight hours. Raven didn't think she could make it all the way to the nearest house. She kept going anyway, for she knew she had no choice. She had to get away as soon as she could.
“Agh!” Raven clenched her teeth. She grabbed where the pain was in her back and noticed it was bleeding. Slowly, tears began to fill her eyes which blurred her vision. She stumbled on in one direction for hours. Occasionally, she would trip and lay on the floor for a while before getting back up. Finally, she saw the most magnificent thing she could imagine in her situation: a house. She read the address written across the garage.
214 North West 22nd Avenue
She was so relieved. Raven took a deep breath and started her way to the house. She knocked on the door. It was around seven o’clock in the morning. Moments later, a tall, strong, handsome man swung the door open.
“Hello, what’s wrong?” Joshua questioned. “Why are you soaking wet? Come on in and I’ll get you dried off.” He motioned his arm in a way that showed his hospitality. Raven entered his house. Joshua gave her a change of fresh clothes and cleaned her wound in her back. He sat her down at the table to have something to eat. You could tell he had just arrived back home a short time ago. His police uniform was thrown near the stairs and his cap was hanging by the door. He was cooking eggs for himself. “So young lady, what happened? Oh, and would you like some eggs?”
“Sure, thanks. Well last night my father threw me into the woods and abandoned me during that horrible storm.” Raven lied right through her teeth. She knew what the real reason was; she had finally carried out her horrific plans. Her older brother, Eric, was supposed to get most of the inheritance since he was the first born. Greed festered in Raven’s heart. She ended his life that stormy night.
“Why would he do such a thing? He wouldn't do that for no reason, would he?” Joshua replied, acting not as surprised as you would think.
“I’m confused about that too. It just came out of nowhere.” Raven began to get nervous because she realized that Chris still knew her secret. She couldn't let that get out or she would be in deep trouble. Joshua sat down across the table from Raven. He set her plate down in front of her and they ate together. Joshua had a paper that looked almost like a newspaper in his hand.
“Hey, check this out,” He slid the paper to Raven with a smirk on his face. She read it.
Local News
Last night, due to the terrible storm, an old man was found in his red pickup truck crashed into a tree. The man was severely injured, but still alive. He was taken to the Local Hospital last night.
Raven gasped. She tried speaking, but she only prattled. She thought this over in her head. Joshua intently stared into Raven’s eyes while she read the letter and took in what she read.
“That man,” She paused, “is my father, Chris Maxx.” Joshua immediately stood up and grabbed his coat. Raven stared at him in a peculiar manner.
All he said was, “What? Aren’t we going to go visit him? Come on!”
“Oh, yes of course.” Raven proposed. They hustled into Joshua’s car and were on their way to the hospital. They arrived in minutes; it wasn’t very far away. They paced their way up to Chris’ hospital room. The doctor alerted them about how Chris was half asleep, and couldn't move. Raven ran to her dad’s bedside.
“Are you going to be ok Raven?” Joshua asked.
“I don't know. Please everyone leave me alone so I can speak with my father.” She demanded. Everyone left the room, but Joshua stayed close to the door.
“Hello Chris.” Raven stated coldly.
“What do you want with me Raven?” He answered. Raven said nothing. She picked up a pillow on his bed and tried suffocating him. She forced it down onto his face harshly; she then felt a strong tugging on her wrists. It was Joshua.
“Raven Maxx, you are under arrest for murder of Eric Maxx and attempted murder of Chris Maxx.” Joshua informed. Raven’s jaw dropped wide open.
“What? How in the world di-”
“I told him!” Chris announced. He stood up out of bed and took off the hospital garments revealing himself in his regular attire. He was never injured. “After you ran from me the night you killed your brother, I drove right down to the police station. I told Joshua the whole story of what happened. It just so happened that out of all the houses you could have ended up at, it was Joshua’s. He knew who you were and what you did the instant you walked in the door.”
“But, but, the newspaper! Wasn’t that true?” Babbled Raven.
“Well,” Joshua stated proudly, “I expected you might come to my house so I typed that up myself so we could get you here to arrest you.” He tightened her handcuffs as he spoke. She was speechless. Chris stared at his daughter in utter disappointment. He firmly grasped her and led her downstairs into the parking lot. It was pouring down rain, and she broke into a loud sob. He violently forced her into the backseat of his police car with her hands bound.