Chapter 1: Beginning

Noah Jones was my best, and possibly, only friend throughout my teenage years. We had the same classes together, and he lived in my neighborhood. We met each other at a cookout during the summer. My mom was hosting one at our house, and she invited all of the neighbors. She said she was just “being friendly”, but I knew what she was really doing.

She was hoping to find friends for me.

I did not get along with others very well. I had a hard time caring about someone’s feelings and emotions.

I was a bit of a sociopath. I did not like being around other people, nor did I enjoy being with my family together.

In the best possible word, I was a loner.

Noah and I met right after we ate dinner at the cookout. She invited him to play catch with me in the backyard. I went reluctantly.

I was 12 years old at the time, and so was Noah. I had short, blonde hair, brown eyes, and I was 5’6.

Noah looked a bit like me, except his blonde hair was down to the bottom of his neck, and he had blue eyes. We threw the kickball back and forth without talking. This went on for a few minutes until he decided to speak up.

“What is your name?” He asked.

I did not speak at first, but I soon felt bad, and I spoke up.

“Mason Smith, what about you?”

“I am Noah, Noah Jones.”

“Cool.” I said awkwardly. I could not think of anything else to say without being rude to him. He was a nice kid from the looks of it.

“Do you have any friends?” He asked.

“No I do not.”

“Do you need one?”

“Not particularly.”

“Well, I need a friend. I am a bit of a loner. People do not want to be around me because I am “weird.” He used his fingers to quote. 

“I do not really get along with others, but I guess you are okay.” I tried to say nicely.

“Well, I guess I am not the friendliest person either.” He said.

“You too?” I asked.

"Yeah, the doctor said I was a sociopath. Pretty weird, right?" He said.

"I might be one too." I said, now hoping he would be a good friend.

He smiled quickly and we talked some more, mainly about our bad experiences, and slowly, and surely, we bonded together. We started to hang out more often. We got the same classes together in sixth grade, and eventually, we became best friends. 

After that, middle school was a blur for me. Sure, it was fun while it lasted, but high school was way better. Noah was still my best, and only, friend, which made it better. 

Then, something happened in my junior year. Something that changed the way I looked at things for a while. It scares me to think about it still, and some nights I have nightmares about it. It didn’t have anything to do with Noah himself, but it had something to do with his family. His father murdered his mother in front of Noah. His father was an alcoholic and he was drunk most of the time. One day, things got bad, and his mother was right in front of the mess.

Noah was traumatized afterwards, and he didn’t talk as much as he used to.

I stayed with him through all of it though, and we stayed friends. I like to believe that I helped him, but he never told me if I did.

Eventually, it got better, and we forgot about the whole incident.

Noah got a girlfriend, which was very unexpected. Her name was Kayla Joanne. I guess that they liked each other, but I never really saw the connection between them. They didn’t talk in person, but instead, they texted. I never once saw them stare at each other in school, which was even weirder.

I gave him some advice, but he ignored me. 

Soon, he became obsessed with her. He would talk about her all the time and would describe what he would do with her.

He described going to the movies, making out, and all kinds of stuff.

The topic of captivation came up, which scared me a bit, but it went away as soon as it came. 

They dated for a few months, but she broke up with him at the beginning of the senior year. She claimed that he was "very morbid" and that he was just plain weird for her. This wasn’t a surprise to me. Noah had always enjoyed disturbing stuff, like school shootings and the holocaust. In fact, he enjoyed them so much, that he scared teachers and his grandparents.

They took him to a counselor, which kind of straightened him out, but it didn’t fully heal him.

He soon lost interest in that stuff, and we bonded back together, but not for long.

God, not long at all.

Chapter 2: Murders

It wasn’t until the middle of our senior year that the serial murders started occurring. They happened every week, and it was inside the town area. The town ended up having a curfew.

The first victim was Noah's girlfriend, which was a little scary because that meant that someone had to have known her. 

The other victims were kids at the school, and eventually, kids stopped going to school. Parents threatened the school board and it was total chaos.

Not once did I see Noah scared by all of this, in fact, Noah seemed to be enjoying all of it. He would stifle a laugh if the murders were brought up, which creeped me out. I knew he enjoyed morbid things, but I didn’t expect this to be funny to him.

The murders stopped as soon as they started. Eight murders in a matter of a month and a half. They didn’t see a connection with the murders until a while later.

They said that most of the victims were bullies at the school. Most of the victims were snobby kids who teased the weird kids.

No one suspected Noah though.

Even I didn’t suspect him.

One day though, everything changed between him and I. Something happened that is seared in everyone's mind who was at school that day.

Chapter 3: Revealed

It all started on the last day of school. It was June the 6th and it was last block. Noah wasn’t at school that day, and everyone was excited about summer. My English class was right beside the school office, so we could see when they pushed the button to ring the bell.

It wasn’t until the middle of the class when we saw a black figure walk into the office. The secretary looked scared, and then I knew why.

The black figure had a gun.

He shot the secretary in the head twice and her brains splattered all over the wall behind her. He shot the cop before he could get his gun out, and he dragged the principal out of the office.

We went on lockdown, but the black figure broke down our door and walked in. We stayed where we were while the black figure blocked the door with a few bookshelves.

A few of the girls in our class screamed as he shot the principal twice too. The black figure didn’t say a word through the whole process, but he did after he shot our teacher.

The black figure had a gas mask on, so we couldn’t see her or his face.

"As you all know, what you have just witnessed is murder." The figure said in a deep voice.

"Not all of it is murder though, in fact, none of the "murders" I have committed are murders. They are simply cleansings." He said once more.

Then, a light clicked on in my head.

"You're the serial killer." I breathed.

The black figure looked my way and said, "Yes I am, and I am here to rid this class of the sins it has committed."

With that, out of its huge, black coat, it pulled a machine gun and started to gun down all my class mates. I scrambled behind the teacher's desk while he did so.

I could hear screams and I started to cry.

A few minutes later, the shooting ceased, and I could hear blood and brains splattering on the floor.

The black figure squished his way towards the desk and helped me up. I tried to fight it, but it hit me with the gun and dazed me.

He helped me walk out into the hallway, but before it did that, he made me remove the bookshelves.

Police officers were in the hallway and I could hear them scream, "Don’t shoot!"

The figure held a pistol to my head and stood in front of the door.

"I am the serial killer." It announced to all the police officers.

"What I did was not bad at all though. What I did cleansed this school of the filth it contained. All the sins that have piled up over the last years. Today is the day that the last cleansing will take place." It said.

With that, the figure handed me the gun and pulled off his mask.

It was Noah.

He was smiling at me and he said, "Long time, no see."

"I'm not going to kill you Noah." I said.

"Do it." He breathed, and he tilted his head up to the sky and screamed.

At that moment, I shot Noah in the foot and he fell to the ground. The cops swarmed on him, and it was all over.

In all, Noah ruthlessly killed 22 people.

He was the first known teenage serial killer.

Chapter 4: Aftermath

At the trial, they found him guilty by insanity. Noah made a full confession. It turns out that he really was the serial killer. He described in full detail how accomplished these murders. He described how he felt no mercy doing these things and how he felt like he was doing the right thing.

He believed that killing all the snobby and bullying kids would cleanse him of his sins. He also stated that he wanted revenge for his mother, and that it was her murder that inspired him from the start. The break-up with his girlfriend also made him unstable. 

The doctors are criticizing me for not seeing all these clues that he was legally insane. I admit, I should have gotten the hints from the morbid thoughts he had, but it wasn’t all his fault.

It turns out, Noah suffered from severe paranoid schizophrenia. He had voices in his head telling him to take out his revenge and to cleanse the town of filth.

The voices also criticized him and mistreated him.

The voices were like bullies, and it's horrible to think of it that way.

He had no control over himself, and I feel like I am the one at fault.

I have constant nightmares about the whole event. I will wake up screaming; my parents will run in and ask me what's wrong. I tell them lies and they believe them.

They think that I'm over it, but I'm not.

God, I am far from over it.

Chapter 5: Noah

As for Noah, well, one of the inmates at the psychiatric hospital nearly beat him to death and caused permanent amnesia. That means that he doesn’t remember anything that has happened. The only thing that he remembers is me, and I'm glad.

The medicine is helping him. I've been telling him good times that we have had, and he laughs when I tell him. The amnesia has made his brain slide backwards, and by that, I mean that he has the mind of a 6-year-old.

And I'm afraid that he will be that way for the rest of his life.

I try to visit him almost every day. He jumps up and down when I see him and holds my hand.

We draw pictures together while I tell him stories.

I continued to graduate high school and college and now I am a full-time horror writer.

Noah is still the same, and we are still best friends.

After all that has happened, through thick and thin, we are still best friends.

In fact, he told me the other day that I was his best friend.

I love Noah, and he loves me. What could be better than that?