The cool autumn breeze hitting my face as I'm walking back home. To my displeasure none of the fallen leaves were crunchy as it had rained an hour ago. School was exhausting today, and my English teacher had given the most boring book ever to read over fall break. 

I got back home and took a shower. After getting out of the shower I checked my phone as it was blowing up with notifications. As I unlocked my phone to read my messages I got a call from my best friend.

“Where are you Ava I've been texting you for the past 30 minutes” Emily, my best friend exclaimed.

 
“I was showering, sorry what’s up” I replied. 

“Ava be ready by 7 tonight all of us are going to the fair also wear the sweaters we got together I want to do matching sweaters with you, also I will come to your house so we can walk together” she replied.

 
I said OK and hung-up. I went downstairs and checked the fridge, yes, we had some leftover spaghetti. I reheated the spaghetti and went upstairs, I put on a new show I had been wanting to watch for a while. Around 5 my mom came home; I went downstairs to go meet her.  
“Mom I'm going out with my friends tonight to the fair, I'll be back around 10 don't wait on me for dinner” I said.

  
“Be back by 9 and no later no argument” she said.  

“But mom it's the fair please let me stay out late this once please mom please” I pleaded.  

“Just this once but be home by 10 or no going out all fall break” she said back.  

“Thank you, mom, love you so much I'm going to get ready” I said and ran upstairs to my room.  

I wore the sweater Emily and I got matching, I wore light blue jeans with it and black sneakers. I also decided to wear the silver necklace with a small heart charm attached to it. My dad had given it to me a few days before his death. My dad's death, it was a big thing in our small town, The Brookdale Butcher.  

Brookdale, a relatively small town, had a great history, gruesome but great. Every 6 years or so he or she would strike, killing exactly 6 people each time and disappearing. The Brookdale Butcher was never caught and the police had no suspects either. All we knew is that these killings had been happening every 6 years ever since the town was built and around Halloween time.  
 
As I was twirling the necklace in my hands my phone rang, it was Emily. I quickly rushed downstairs said goodbye to my mom who was in the living room reading a book and headed out. 

“Hey girl so Tom and Leo will meet us there and we will stop by at Leah’s house to pick her up” Emily said.  

“ok” I replied.

 
We talked as we were walking to Leah’s house, we talked about school, the boring book our teacher had given. Once we reached Leah’s house, we said hi to her and left for the fair. The Brookdale Fall Fair was the best fair, it had amazing food, rides that got better by years, and fun fair games. It happened every year around our fall break, and I always went.  
Before reaching the fair, I started having this feeling that something terrible was going to happen. This horrible feeling I couldn't get rid of it. I quickly texted my mom that I love her. We saw Tom and Leo, they waved at us and I saw that Liam was also with them. All 6 of us got our fair tickets and headed inside the fair. Liam and Leah were complaining about how hungry they were so we headed towards the food stalls. Right next to the food stalls people were showing their Halloween costumes. All of them were so realistic and cool, I really liked this guy dressed up as a vampire. 

I was looking at all of the costumes when I saw it. Away from everyone, way in the back a guy dressed up as a, I couldn't quite figure out what I was looking at...a butcher. I froze, paralyzed in fear. Whoever it was had a mask on, the mask was featureless with what looked like blood stains. He also had an apron, with various cuts and blood stains. On top of everything he wore a long trench coat, it looked very worn from what I could make out. With a pair of black gloves. I was frozen, I couldn't make a sound, I couldn't move. Everything had seemed to have slowed down, all the noise of the fair had seemed to stop as The Butcher made eye contact with me. Someone walked in front of me breaking me out of my trance like state. I heard Emily calling my name, “Ava, Ava, Ava, dude we are going to house of mirrors come”  
I walked with the rest of them to the house of mirrors, thinking about what I saw. It could be anyone in a dumb costume trying to scare people, but then again, I was having that feeling earlier.  

All 6 of us entered the house of mirrors, all of us went in different directions, I had only made 3 turns when I heard a scream, a blood curdling scream. It sounded like Leah, “Leah LEAH, LEAH” I screamed. No response, I thought it could have been one of the guys scaring her. I continued trying to find my way out, I was done, I wanted to get out and leave.  
I heard two more screams, probably the guys trying to scare each other. A minute later I heard two people screaming and running. Liam and Emily came running towards to me and screamed “RUN”. I ran soon we found our way out.  

“What happened why were you running where are the other” I said as I was out of breath.

 
“Ava” Liam said while panting, “the others are dead, the butcher, got them” 

I was shocked I couldn't reply, now I was cursing myself for not telling anyone about what I saw. My friends were dead because of me. I felt the tears coming up in my eyes. Liam held my shoulders, “you got to stay strong he's still out there”

 
Liam was close to the exit and the butcher came and stuck a knife in his stomach in front of us. Me and Emily screamed and ran into the woods behind the fair. The butcher was chasing us. Emily was starting to slow down and the butcher got. At this point I was crying but I kept on running.  

I tripped over a rock and fell, my scream caught in my throat, replaced by a gasp as I hit the ground hard, the rough asphalt scraping against my hands and knees. My eyes darted towards the figure coming to me, “please no” I cried out, my voice trembling with fear. His pace didn't slow.  

He came up to me and grabbed me by my collar, “poetic isn't it Ava” he said studying my face, “your dad was my sixth victim 6 years ago, and you're going to be my sixth victim 6 years later” he laughed, a sinister laugh that pierced through the silence of the night.

“Fitting isn't it” he said “the cycle continues” as he raised his knife.