FDD 14

6. Haddonfield Saw Serial Murder Case

Luca thought that perhaps it would be better to just stay in the bathroom. There was water and toilets, and he thought that if he just endured the hunger, he might somehow manage to be okay. Hr knew it was a ridiculous thought, but he wanted to calm his mind by entertaining even foolish thoughts.

Alone in the bathroom, which was so quiet it almost felt isolated from everything else, he deliberately made noise while relieving himself, he even flushed the toilets he hadn’t used, and filled the sink with water to submerge his head. He knew that making noises could be dangerous, but this was the first time he had been alone since falling into this crazy situation.

Luca felt that he needed to create the sensation of someone else being there to keep himself from going insane. Although the restroom was not small, with a total of four partitioned stalls, Luca felt stifled. When he felt the same sensation as when Baphomet had strangled him, he tugged at the neckline of his T-shirt.

Because of that, the neck of his T-shirt was stretched out, exposing a little of his skin. There was a dark red bruise on his neck from being choked by Baphomet twice.

He took out the knife he had kept submerged in water and used the blade to tighten and loosen the screws on the sink. Repeating such simple and meaningless actions made him feel like he was going crazy, so he stood up. He then walked back and forth across the restroom from one end to the other.

However, just because Luca complained of frustration and loneliness did not mean he wanted anyone to come near him. Therefore, when he heard sounds from outside, Luca hid himself in the very last stall. He heard the door clank as someone attempted to open it. He cursed under his breath as he recalled the flimsy mop stuck in the door.

He crouched on the toilet seat to hide his feet out of sight. At the same time, the door opened.

The person checked by opening the stall doors starting from the one closest to the door. Then the next one, then the next, and not long after they had reached the stall Luca was in.

Luca tried to come up with a plan. Pushing the man with the door to escape was impossible, as it only opened inward. Crawling out under the visit our sitestall was impossible too. It was too narrow, and he would get caught immediately.

There was no other way but a frontal assault. Luca grabbed his knife tightly with both hands. He had to strike down and escape as soon as the door opened. He quietly unlocked the door and saw it about to be pushed open. Then, when the gap had opened just right, he swung the knife.

“Argh! What the hell?!”

Fortunately or unfortunately, the knife missed, and Gerald, who had suddenly appeared, screamed instead. Luca was so enraged that he punched him in the abdomen. Gerald groaned “Ugh!” before slumping to the ground.

“How did you open the door?”

“It opened, so I opened it!”

As Luca demanded an explanation, Gerald clutched his stomach and pointed at the door. The mop stuck in the doorknob had slipped out and was rolling on the floor.

“Then why were you sneaking around suspiciously! And why did you even come here?!”

As Luca did not sheathe his knife, Gerald shouted as he stumbled backward.

“Ah, just to relieve myself!”

“This is the women’s restroom!”

Luca pointed with his hand at the bare wall devoid of urinals. A tampon vending machine hung all alone on that wall. Gerald became furious.

“You were here first, so why are you blaming me!”

“I just entered the nearest room! Why are you here?!”

When Luca questioned him, Gerald didn’t lower his voice but shouted even louder.

“When else would I ever get a chance to come into a women’s restroom?!”

“Ughhhh…”

Luca found Gerald’s response so disgusting that he let out a drawn-out groan.

“Fucking pervert.”

“You were the one who was here first. Ah, just keep watch so I can do my business. I’ve been holding it in for ages.”

Gerald pushed Luca aside, went inside the stall, and pulled down his pants without even closing the door properly. Luca could guarantee that the sight was the most horrific he had ever witnessed in his life. As he closed the stall door, Luca stood by the door without even turning his head toward Gerald. He tried hard to ignore the thunderous sound coming from the restroom, but it was a sound he simply could not ignore.

Luca tried his best to recall the animated series featuring rabbits that had made him happy as a child. He tried to use the characters from that animation to erase this crazy situation (keeping watch because Gerald was loudly pooping, while he might be killed by a resurrected undead serial killer).

However, the rabbits in Luca’s mind soon turned into mad March hares¹. They became rabbits wearing dead goat heads with terrifying horns, just like Baphomet, who Luca saw again.

Baphomet appeared around the corner at the end of the hallway, but Luca remained unseen thanks to quickly turning around before Baphomet’s gaze could fall upon him. He backed away as quietly as possible, approached the stall where Gerald was sitting, and whispered.

“Hey. Stop and come out. Unless you want to die while pooping.”

Fortunately, Gerald seemed to understand what Luca was saying, as the sound of him fumbling to pull up his clothes could be heard from inside the stall. Relieved, Luca turned his back and told Gerald to hurry so they could leave, but then a loud sound echoed throughout the restroom.

Shooooosh!

The water pressure was so strong that the sound of the water flushing was deafening.

“…….”

“……”

Luca punched Gerald directly in the chest as he came out of the stall.

“Are you crazy?”

“No, I just flushed it out of habit…”

Gerald mumbled in a flustered voice. The bathroom door was open, the building was quiet, and the sound of the toilet flushing was loud. Then, heavy footsteps became clear enough to be heard distinctly in both their ears.

“We’re screwed…”

Luca muttered to himself. In that brief moment, he had thought faster than he had in his life. If he went out and ran away, he would be like a deer exposing itself to a lion; if he stayed inside, he would be like a deer trapped in a hunter’s snare. Even if Baphomet was the one with the horns, Luca and Gerald were the prey no matter what happened.

Judging that it was already too late to escape, Luca hid behind the far end stall just as he had before, after putting Gerald, who wanted to run away, inside first.

“Let’s just run away!”

It was already cramped, but Gerald resisted by moving his big body. Annoyed, Luca punched him in the shoulder.

“It’s none of my business if you die, but I don’t want to see you die right in front of my eyes. Just be quiet!”

Gerald almost let out a groan at the punch, but Luca quickly covered his mouth, so he could only manage a muffled “Mmph!”

Luca irritably wiped Gerald’s saliva from his hand onto Gerald’s clothes. Soon after, Baphomet’s heavy footsteps echoed through the restroom.

Just as Gerald had done, he opened each stall one by one to check. Unlike before, Gerald and Luca were standing on solid ground, so anyone could tell through the gaps under the stalls that they were inside the restroom. However, Baphomet deliberately started searching elsewhere first. He seemed to enjoy watching his prey tremble in fear.

Luca gripped the knife tightly in his hand. If he timed it right, he probably couldn’t kill him, but he might be able to create an opening.

Baphomet stood in front of the stall where Luca and Gerald were. Luca clutched the latch closing the stall as if it were a lifeline. This flimsy piece of metal wouldn’t protect them, but he needed at least that.

Baphomet stood so close that his horns slipped through the gap between the stall and the ceiling, making it look as if horns had sprouted from the door itself. The shadow of the horns fell over Luca and Gerald’s heads. Baphomet lifted his severed wrist through the gap.

The shadow of the handless arm darkened Luca’s face, and he could see the uneven cross section of the cut bone and muscle.

Afraid of being consumed by the encroaching darkness, Luca could not even bring himself to close his eyes; he simply wiped the sweat from his hands and adjusted his grip on the knife. As if Luca’s resistance were ridiculous, Baphomet did not even bother to try shaking the door. He simply pushed to open it.

“Ack!”

Because the space inside the stall was cramped due to the grown teenagers, the door did not open completely as it was pushed against their bodies. However, there was enough space for the saw blade to pass through. The saw suddenly thrust into the stall and attempted to cut Luca and Gerald.

They struggled to move their bodies in that narrow space to avoid it, but it was too cramped, and Luca’s back was exposed.

Luca bit his lip against the pain in his back. Although the cut was deep, fortunately, it seemed his bones were not damaged. He squeezed through the gap in the door and pushed it shut with his back.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The force pushing the door from the outside made it feel like Luca would be pushed back as well. He had no choice but to brace himself by planting his legs against the wall and putting all his weight into holding the door shut. The fresh wound hurt, but he had to endure it. Gerald, who had been whining about his arm being cut, panicked when he saw what Luca was doing, and Luca, annoyed by his behavior, yelled at him.

“Fuck! Go into the next stall!”

“How am I supposed to go!”

“Figure it out!”

At Luca’s shout, Gerald crouched flat on the ground and tried to crawl into the next stall. However, he was a giant, and the gap was far too narrow. With no other choice, he stepped onto the toilet seat and managed to climb onto the partition

When he saw Gerald move, Baphomet seemed to think that the other side would ​Read on​be easier than Luca’s. He stopped pushing the stall Luca was in, grabbed the door of the next stall, and shook it. It looked like shaking a bug hanging from a spiderweb to knock it off.

Once the force pushing his back disappeared, the pain in Luca’s back subsided a little, but that was no relief.

He hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to run away now or help that big idiot. While resenting his parents, who had brainwashed him into believing he had to live a good life and be generous to others, Luca unlocked the stall and picked up the trash can.

He placed the bottom of the cylindrical trash can against his stomach. Then, he quickly slipped out of the stall and pushed Baphomet as hard as he could.

“You bastard!”

Bang!

Baphomet was left standing with a wall behind him and the trash can Luca had pushed against his stomach. Thanks to the trash can, a suitable distance was created between him and Luca. However, the knife Luca was holding was short, while the saw Baphomet was holding was long. Therefore, Luca could not attack with his knife and had no choice but to dodging the saw as best he could.

Baphomet swung his arm, and Luca blocked the saw with the trash can.

Bang! The blue plastic trash can was struck by the saw blade and shattered. And the barrier between Baphomet and Luca was now gone.

Baphomet pinned Luca down with his handless arm, and Luca struggled as he was strangled by Baphomet’s solid arm. The killer held a saw in his only hand, but he did not use it immediately. It seemed he was keeping Luca alive to consider how to deal with the brat who dared to cut off his hand.

“Ugh, damn, fuck!”

Luca had nothing to say but curses, as he had already been strangled three times today alone. No, actually, he couldn’t speak properly because his throat was being constricted, so he just choked. Then, suddenly, cold water splashed over Luca’s body.

“Ugh! Ahh!”

Water droplets hung on his eyelashes, making it difficult to see properly. He blinked several times because he couldn’t wipe them away with his hands. When he finally regained his vision, he saw Gerald spraying water with a hose.

He had somehow slipped out of the way before. The hose was equipped with a pressure-boosting device, as the water hitting his wounds was more than just stinging; it was painful. When Baphomet didn’t let go of Luca even after being hit, Gerald shot water at him again.

“Guh! Hey! Ack!”

Baphomet wore a mask, and Luca’s body blocked some of the water, but Luca had nothing protecting him from the pouring water.

It was now water torture.

However, Baphomet was flustered enough to leave a slight opening, and thanks to Gerald, Luca was able to escape from Baphomet’s arm. He quickly snatched the hose Gerald was holding, made a loop with it, and wrapped it around Baphomet’s neck.

As Gerald pulled one side and Luca pulled the other, the loose hose tightened and strangled Baphomet’s neck. Luca, who was standing near Baphomet’s arm – which lacked a hand – quickly wrapped the hose around Baphomet’s neck one more time and shouted.

“Run!”

The floor was wet and slippery, but Gerald and Luca managed to avoid falling and ran out of the bathroom. However, the rubber hose was too weak to stop Baphomet. Gerald slipped away quickly, but Luca, who had been strangled and soaked in water, was grabbed by the waist before he could even get out of the bathroom.

Baphomet was furious and tried to swing the saw at Luca without giving him any breathing room. Then, a loud voice was heard from somewhere.

“Luca! Duck!”

The wounds on his stomach and back hurt from the pull, but he endured the pain as best he could and bent over.

Pop!

A burning smell accompanied by smoke invaded his nostrils, and he felt a burning pain in his back. At the sight of a blinding, intense light, Luca closed his eyes. Then, another loud noise rang out.

Pop!

The grip holding Luca’s waist slipped. In order not to feel the previous impact again, Luca lay flat on the floor and rolled to the side. He coughed from the smoke as he looked around to see what had happened.

More than half of Baphomet’s goat head had been blown away, revealing the burning dead flesh inside. The remaining fur had burned away, and both horns were gone. Baphomet’s dry clothes were also on fire. Fortunately, Luca’s body was wet, so the flames didn’t spread to him.

“…Noah!”

Luca shouted in delight. Noah stood there with a bruise on his cheek and an empty firework case in his hand.