Audrey 43-46

Chapter 12.
Everything around Taryn was now a grey smear filling her peripheral vision. The only thing she saw were the feet under the garage door, slowly turning into legs. Time was moving too slowly. So many thoughts raced through Taryn’s mind until it was completely impossible to pick out a single one. She thought about running, but her feet wouldn’t budge. She thought about screaming for help, but who would hear? She thought about the consequences all these actions could have, and one in particular filled her with fear. Miranda could be dead, and doing something drastic might grant her the same fate.
The garage door rose in slow motion, revealing, inch by inch, the tattered clothes the person was wearing. The shirt was familiar, but Taryn couldn’t remember who had been wearing it. She stumbled back a few steps when she realized it could be him, coming to now hurt her.
Taryn’s eyes widened, absorbing the now visible scene in front of her. Miranda’s face was in so much pain, and she was shaking uncontrollably. Taryn followed Miranda’s shaking right arm with her eyes, until she abruptly stopped at her hand. Miranda’s hand was gripped so tightly around a knife her knuckles were slowly turning purple.
The knife wasn’t what scared Taryn the most; it was the fresh, red blood dripping from it. It hit the ground in small splatters, creating a puddle. Taryn couldn’t remove her eyes from the gruesome sight. What lay in the background was even worse. When Taryn forced herself to look, a large lump lay on the cold ground, with blood covering and surrounding it.
It was like the ending of a horror movie was being played in front of her. She didn’t know if it was real, and didn’t know how she should react. Miranda was motionless except for the uncontrollable spasms shaking her body. Taryn wanted to run over to her but the knife dangling from her iron grip wasn’t very inviting.
Taryn heard the sirens behind her and turned around to see a line of red and blue flashing lights approaching the house. The officers told Miranda to drop the knife, and she did. They ran up to her and noticed the mutilated body hunched over in the garage.
Miranda’s gaze wouldn’t disconnect with Taryn’s. Miranda looked so terrified, and Taryn could only imagine the thoughts filling her head. She had just done something Taryn thought only the psycho paths on television were capable of doing. Even though it was an awful thing to think, Taryn was glad Miranda had the guts to end this man’s life. If she hadn’t, they would probably both be dead now. Taryn felt the ground shaking beneath her, and her surroundings twisting into one big blur. Miranda had saved both of their lives, and she knew she wasn’t giving her enough credit.
The last thing Taryn remembered was an officer ask her if she was okay and some other questions she didn’t remember. She couldn’t recall what her answers had been, all she knew was she was now riding in the back of a police car. Her head was still spinning. What did they do with Miranda? She didn’t want to ask the officers, fearing what the answer might be.
The car pulled up to Taryn’s house all too slowly. The officer told her they’d call if they had anymore questions. Taryn flung open the door and stumbled onto her door step. In the same moment, she was resting in her mother’s arms. Taryn broke away after a few seconds and questioned her mother about where Miranda was.
The look on her mother’s face changed. It was no longer the look of relief it had been a few moments ago.
“Honey, she’s okay. She’s just not acting right.” Her mother said sounding concerned.