Full moon part 1 By Zara Iko

With the whole of her might, Nelly dug her heels into the ground as she increased her pace running for her life. After a while running with no one behind her, she stopped to catch her breath. Would have been dead silence but for the cricking of crickets and the chirping of birds. The night was unusually bright being that it was a full moon. Realising her environment she felt a sharp pain on her right foot, she raise it up and blood was dripping out.  She seemed doomed, pain not only emotional but physical as well. 
Attending to her foot, she noticed a flash of light get brighter and brighter, she looked at the from her teary eyes and noticed a car approaching with speed. she pulled out the piece of glass protruding out of her skin so she could run instead before the car got close, but the pain was overbearing so she fell  groaning in pain. Lying by the side of the road crying she shut her eyes and reminisced about the event that led to her fleeing for her life and landing on the side of the highway.

The fateful day, Nelly left the house early to help her sister prepare for her niece’s 5th birthday party. The day had gone so well until she arrived home after the party. She entered the house quietly so she could surprise her husband who could not make the party because he had work to do. However what she met was a greater surprise from Frederick an older gentlemen, two decades her senior, handsome, suave and a chic magnet even at fifty-five. 

She met  him while she worked as a cashier in a bank. Frederick really had his way with the ladies; he charmed her with the experience he gathered from wooing women even before she was born, he provided for every and any of her need, showering her with gifts of the finer things plus all of his affection until he had her hooked on him then he proposed and married her.She got to the front of his home office wanting to sneak in and give him a cuddle  but what she was hearing made her freeze in front of the door. Backing the door Frederick didn't notice she was behind him,he was on the phone“Nelly should be back soon I know she would give me a ring before she gets here, so start coming here now. I will put things in place before both of you arrive. I become a widower today. Let me continue to brush up my acting skills. See you soon and remember I want it quick and painless”.

Disheveled by what she heard, she stepped back silently as he continued with his pretense mourning. She quietly went down the stairs. Getting to the front of the door, she peeked out of the window and saw a truck pull up in front of the house. Fear spiraled through her.Pulling herself back together, she decided to make a run for it without her car so she does not attract any one's attention. Nelly swung the door open, poised to take off and went for it. She didn't even get out of the house when a huge frame appeared in front of the door. She slammed right on it  and landed right back in the house. The noise attracted Fredrick's attention and he rushed down to her pretending to try to save her. Frederick in panic mode said to her “we are being robbed!” signaling the mercenary who had a machete in his hand to do the deed. Nelly shaken, got back on her feet, looked her husband in the eye and said “you don’t have to pretend Frederick, I know your plan". What have I ever done to you to make you want to kill me! I will disappear from your life you will never hear from me I promise. No one will ever hear about this I promise! Please let me go!” she said as she went on her knees grabbing Frederick's leg tightly. Fredrick reached for her neck with his right hand and held it tightly, raised her back to her feet and at arm’s length distance from him. Nelly squeaked in pain trying to wiggle her way out of his grip, but his grip got tighter, his intent in his eyes. Whatever the reason was she could not phantom. Just as Nelly slipped from consciousness, he threw her to the floor live a pack of rubbish and approached the mercenary, “now I want a quick stab to her heart but first hit me, I need to look like I struggled.” Landing a blow across Frederick’s face, he fell to the ground and was helped up immediately by the mercenary. Back on his feet he called on the mercenary to help him create a mess in the house like there had been a struggle. In the process of their creating a mess, Nelly came back to consciousness and with the speed of light made it on her feet and out of the door running for her dear life. The noise from her heels attracted their attention and they chased her frantically.

Lying by the side of the road, Nelly was brought back to reality by the sound of a car door getting shut. she opened her eyes and saw a hand reaching to grab her.He jacked  her to her feet and she recognised it was the mercenary, then she heard Frederick's voice saying, “bring her to the car! We have to take her back home, I reckon we haven’t attracted any one's attention yet”. As he pulled her to the car, she raised her head and looked up at the sky, the full moon shone brightly. As if energised by its light she freed herself from his hold, but still unable to run she fell right back to the ground. A group of drunken teenagers driving by saw Nelly sprawled on the road and the mercenary reaching to lift her up, pulled up their car demanding to know what was happening , they made a lot of drunken noises but  Fredrick flashed a gun at them and they scrambled back to the car and drove off. Pulling her back to her feet, Frederick felt he was wasting time, he rushed and grabbed her from the mercenary, holding her by the neck with his left hand, collected the knife from the mercenary with the right hand and said to her, “the only way I can be happy again is you dead. You are a burden, besides I would rather have you dead than you running off to be with another man". Using the knife, he pierced through her belly. He was watched as life eased out of her and then he Bundled her bleeding body into the back seat of the car, the mercenary sat in the front seat and they drove back to the house.

Arriving at the house he got down to drag Nelly out of the car, he met the door opened; and she was nowhere to be found."Take your car, i will go in mine.she couldn't have gotten far i will met you back here" Frederick said to the mercenary.  Frederick drove back through the path he came from. He fell upon a small gathering, packed his car and went through them. As soon as he saw Nelly he thought it was a perfect situation. He would pick her up, put her at the back of the car again and her blood would stain the car making whoever investigated her blood stains believe he got there as he tried to rescue her, hence the blood stains. With her in the car he would dash to the house and set things in order, wasting enough time so she bleed and didn't make it to the hospital alive. In the midst of the crowd he put up an act  wailing  and screaming “that’s my wife,Nelly! That’s my wife! Please help me , get her to my car!”

At the back of the car with no energy left, she opened her eyes, looked into the eyes of one of the by-standers eyes,shaking her head as if to say "no, don’t let him take me". Trying to understand, he scanned through the car. The light from the full moon shone brightly so he could see a silver object protruding slightly from the under the front seat of the car with blood stains on it. The car started moving, quickly he jumped right in the front seat screaming “call the police there is something going on here”. he pulled out the knife from underneath the seat,  pointing it at Frederick's neck, he asked him to stop the car. Men from the Fredrick's  side of the car forced the door open and pulled him out of the car before he could increase speed.escape. The police arrived quickly at the scene with an ambulance. Frederick was held down on the ground while Nelly was removed from the back of the car, strapped on the ambulance bed, about to be wheeled off. A police man walked up to her and said, “Just nod your head. Is he, pointing at Frederick still on the floor- responsible for this?” she nodded in affirmation and was wheeled away. Frederick was handcuffed and taken away.