Rewrite of Jeff the Killer

Jet.98’s rewrite of Jeff the Killer

The first day at the new school was as uneventful as Jeff had expected. The thirteen year old sat slumped at the back of the bus, flicking between songs on his iPod, not really listening to any of them with much interest. He brushed his fringe from his face with his index finger as he sat up to ring the bell. Even the buses sounded different around here, he thought to himself.  Jeff's family had only moved so that his brother Liu, who had Asperger's syndrome, could be closer the university he was starting at next year. Jeff didn't mind; Liu was the smarter of the two brothers  anyway and Jeff just wanted him to be happy.

A group of kids had caught his eye at school, three boys who watched and sniggered as he ate lunch outside the library. Jeff tried to forget about them, but as the week carried on, it became increasingly harder to ignore. One of the boys, a greasy haired little scrap of a kid, was in his Geography class, and Jeff would watch him chattering amongst his group of friends, the lot of them occasionally all glancing up to stare at him and laugh.  Jeff quickly found out that the boy's name was Randy Chambers, due to how often the teacher shouted at him to be quiet or stop misbehaving. He was one of the most popular kids in the year, a stereotypically cheeky troublemaker who seemed to spend most of his time in detention. Randy, and his two sidekicks, lanky Keith and a pudgy kid called Troy, always seemed to appear in the wrong place and at the wrong time for Jeff.  They seemed to be fixated on him. With a lack of confidence and no friends, the shy new boy seemed an easy, perfect target. Almost every day it seemed that one of them would turn up with the others not far behind, to tease him or make stupid jokes. They were making Jeff's time at his new school unbearable.

At the weekend, Jeff went to his brother for advice, “Hey, Liu, at school there’s some boys that are always staring at me and laughing and stuff. I mean they don’t actually say anything that bad to me, but…” Jeff tried to finish his sentence but couldn’t, stroking his messy black hair as he waited for his brother to reply.
Liu closed his laptop and turned his chair to face him. “Being thirteen is tough Jeff, kids are idiots. It's hard but try to ignore it, they probably think that because you’re quiet and you keep to yourself they can make fun of you,” he said, his fingers clicking as he stretched them, “Kids picked on me all the time when I was your age, they leave me alone now.”
Jeff thought over what Liu had said as he sat down on his brother’s bed. There were papers all over it, mostly essays and pages of notes. At the end of the bed, Oreo the cat slept in a little furry heap, with her tail curled around her small black and white body. One of her green eyes opened a crack as Jeff picked one of the papers up: “An evaluation of the economic policies of Mussolini, by Lucas P. Woods”. It was odd to see his brother’s full name. The boy had been nicknamed Liu as a child and it stuck, and since he’d first learnt to speak Jeff had never called him anything else. Leafing through it, Jeff didn’t understand much of what he read. He put it down and looked through a couple of the others.  “You’re a smart guy, Liu,” Jeff said, organising the papers back how he found them.
Liu smiled awkwardly at Jeff, "You are too though, just work hard and don't let the bullies get to you. You're better than that." Jeff smiled back at him, although he wondered if was as strong as his brother believed.

Over the next few weeks, things only got worse. One morning someone stole one of Jeff’s textbooks from his bag as he left to go to the bathroom during class. He only found it later in the week, stuffed in one of the toilets. At lunchtimes he hung around in the library, flicking through books that looked vaguely interesting and trying to finish a seemingly ever increasing list of homework tasks that had already built up. Randy, Keith and Troy often turned up as Jeff tried to hurry around school between his classes, usually just to make some kind of snide remark.

Jeff thought about going to his parents, but his dad was always away on business and his mum was constantly caught up in her new job. He knew the teachers at school wouldn't listen. School seemed more daunting every day and Jeff dreaded what would happen next. Every time he was tripped, or laughed at, or shoved in the school corridors, the anger just flared up inside of him. Yet, Jeff knew he had no chance of fighting back against all three of them and their other friends. He didn't want to get in trouble at school either, that was the last thing he needed.

That Sunday, Jeff and Liu sat in the park on an old beach towel. Their mum had suggested they go outside for a while since she was concerned about Liu spending too much time in his room. Liu had brought some of his books, and he browsed through one, sitting cross legged on the ground. His expression was focussed as he squinted to read the words against the glare of the bright afternoon sun. "You okay Liu? Do you want anything? We could go and get some drinks from the newsagents if you want," Jeff said, attempting to start a conversation.
"No, I'm okay," replied Liu. Jeff rolled a football around in front of him. He'd been hoping to kick it around with his brother, but even as he walked to the park, Jeff knew he was being optimistic. He never wanted to make Liu do anything he didn't want to. It was hot anyway, and he was tired.  Liu carried on reading as Jeff put the ball to the side and laid back on the towel, his hands behind his head.

Jeff had dozed off in the midday sun, and was only awoken by the sound of familiar voices nearby. He opened his eyes, dozily, propping himself up. Randy, Keith and Troy were marching across the park towards him. Jeff sighed, knowing his peaceful afternoon was ruined. “It’s those boys from school, the ones that pick on me,” he whispered to his brother. Liu didn’t look up from his book, turning a page slowly and following the line of text. “Please just walk by, please…” thought Jeff desperately as he saw them getting closer. He knew it was hopeless.

“Oh, hi kids!” Randy taunted, “Having a nice little afternoon picnic are we? Is there anything left for us?” Liu picked up on his obvious sarcasm, peering at Randy over his glasses. Randy jogged forward from his group of friends, sitting down next to Liu like an over-excited child. “Hey, what you reading?” he said, reaching over and trying to pull the book from Liu’s hands. The older boy turned away and hugged it closer to him. “Don't you know it’s naughty not to share?” mocked Randy, pushing out his bottom lip in exaggerated frown.
“Just leave my brother alone, Randy. He hasn’t done anything to you,” Jeff said.
“Oh, this guy’s your brother? I thought he was your boyfriend,” sniggered Randy, causing a titter from the other two.
Jeff exhaled deeply through his nose, “Look, just go away. I’m not bothering you, Liu’s not bothering you; just get lost and do whatever the hell you do for fun.”
“This is what we do for fun,” Troy replied, and a stepped a little closer.

The fight began in a flash, as Randy launched himself at Liu, again trying to grab the book from his hands. Jeff went to pull Randy away but Keith’s foot crashed into the side of his head, knocking him down. Troy stamped down on Jeff’s hand and Keith yanked his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans. Jeff was still too stunned to move, his hand and ear burning. Liu fought against Randy, as Troy stole one of the older boy's shoes and stood swinging it from the laces.

Liu was trying to back away, his lip cut and bleeding from where Randy had been punching him and his face contorted with fear.  “Damn, you guys really suck at fighting. Your retard brother just stands there!” laughed Randy as Keith pawed through Jeff’s wallet. Keith pulled out the bank notes and everything else he could find, stuffing them in his pocket and tossing the emptied wallet back to Jeff. Liu sat huddled on the ground. In the struggle with Randy, his glasses had been smacked off of his face, the frame bent with one of the lenses popped out. Troy threw down the shoe he had taken. It hit Liu in the face but he barely reacted. Randy watched Jeff, circling him like a shark as he prepared to strike. There was a little penknife in Randy's hand, the dull blade only a couple of inches long. Jeff scanned around the park, but could see no one else nearby who could help.

Randy shoved Jeff down, and the pair fought, rolling about in the bristly summer grass. As they hit and kicked Randy's penknife caught Jeff's face. The blade cut the corner of his mouth, slipping up across his right cheek. Jeff screamed as the pain ripped across his face and blood seeped into his mouth. The metallic taste of it was warm and salty. Randy realised what had happened and backed off, flipping the blade down and shoving the knife back into his pocket.

Jeff reached up and stroked the cut gingerly. It stung and he pulled his hand back in shock. He felt it with his tongue inside of his mouth: a curved slit stretching across his cheek. The blood was running down his face and dripping from under his chin. Jeff was almost crying. He dreaded what his parents would say when they saw it. The bullies had decided that they had attacked the brothers enough for now, and took off across the park without another word. Troy took a moment   to spit on Liu as he struggled to catch up with his speedier friends.

The brothers were left stunned by the attack. The beach towel was stained with spots of blood and the ball had been kicked away into a bush during the struggle. Liu’s books were scattered about, several with pages crumpled and torn. Jeff pressed a bundle of tissues to his face as he watched the bullies as they congregated in the distance. The three of them stood by the edge of the park, huddled together. Jeff was sure they were probably still making fun of him or poor Liu.

Liu was sniffling quietly, gently rubbing a red bruise under his eye from where he had been hit during the fight. The remains of his glasses were in his hand and he gathered slowly up his belongings. Jeff felt awful for letting his brother get attacked like that; he knew he should’ve done much more to protect him. The thought of having to explain everything to his parents later on made him feel sick. Jeff's face had stopped bleeding as he brushed the bits of dry grass from his clothes. At least at his old school he was just ignored; he didn’t have to put up with that attacks like that back there. Waiting until the bullies had disappeared from view, the two brothers headed home.

Their parents were out as usual. Jeff stopped to look at himself in the mirror in the hall as he walked to the kitchen. The cut wasn’t too bad and Jeff thought that in a way it actually looked quite cool. He cleaned the wound with damp kitchen roll as he poured himself a glass of lemonade. At least Randy and the others couldn’t get him in his own house. Jeff signed in relief as he went to the lounge and sat down, grabbing the TV remote off of the table. “I’m just going to water the plants,” Liu said as he unlocked the back door and stepped outside into the garden. He looked strange without his glasses and still sounded shaken from what had happened. Jeff sat back on the sofa and put his feet up on the table, breathing deeply and closing his eyes.

Jeff had only been sitting down with the lemonade for a moment when he heard his brother crying. He slammed the glass down onto a coaster on the table and got to his feet, darting out into the garden. Jeff knew something awful must have happened to make Liu cry like that, much worse than what had happened with the bullies. Liu was crouched in the middle of the garden with his back to the house, looking down at something. “What is it, Liu? What happened?” the concern
was clear in Jeff’s voice as he hurried over to his older brother.

“Oreo… those bullies…” Liu snivelled through tears. Only then did Jeff see the body of the cat splayed out on the grass. She had been stabbed in the neck, her blood staining her patches of white fur pink. The wounds were the exact size as Randy’s penknife blade. Jeff felt the rage burning inside him for the second time in the afternoon as he looked down, watching the tears roll off of Liu’s bruised cheeks onto the ground. “Don’t look at her, Liu,” Jeff said, trying to gently pull his brother to his feet. Liu didn’t struggle and was silent as he got to his feet and was slowly led away to the house.


Jeff sat him down on the sofa, “You can have my lemonade,” he said as he went upstairs to find something to put Oreo in. There was an old shoe box in his wardrobe, and he tipped his things out of it and brought it down. Liu was still sitting on the sofa. He hadn't touched the lemonade, staring at the wall in front of him with a blank expression, his face red and wet with tears. Jeff hugged the box close to him and slipped away outside.

The cat was cold and her fur was stiff and sticky. Jeff gently scooped up Oreo and laid her in the box, trying to make her look like she was curled up asleep. A tear dripped from Jeff's cheek. He'd never really been interested in pets and Oreo had always belonged to Liu, but the sheer cruelness of what had been done to the animal made his anger boil. The side gate had been left open. The piece of card with Jeff’s new address written on it, stolen along with the money from his wallet, was left by the cat’s body. It couldn't have been anyone other than Randy and his stupid friends. That's where they were heading after they attacked Jeff and Liu. That's what they were discussing before they slipped away.  As Jeff closed the lid of the shoe box, he got to his feet, fists clenched. As he looked around the garden as to where he could bury their pet, he breathed deeply through his nose, trying to suppress his rage at what those bullies had done to Liu.

Jeff sat alone up in his room for most of the evening. Liu had been quiet since he'd found Oreo, and had slunk away to his bedroom not long after. Jeff felt that only now were his parents actually starting to take the bullying seriously, as he told them in detail what had happened that afternoon. Their father had said he would go to the police if there was enough time after to work tomorrow, but he doubted much action would be taken. The teachers didn't seem to care about the bullying. Jeff felt so helpless, and so alone.

In boredom, he thought back to his most recent day at school last Friday. There was still an essay he needed to do for Geography on Monday. Randy never did his homework. Jeff tried thinking back to what his latest excuse was, something about how he'd gone to buy a new tent for a camping trip in the woods he was planning at the weekend with his two best friends. As he laid on his bed an idea started to from in Jeff's angry, tormented mind, an idea that brought a smile to his face. He stayed in his room, occasionally giggling to himself as daydreamed over his plan until night fell.

Later that night, Jeff crept over to his wardrobe. He quickly pulled on a pair of black jeans and his darkest plain hoodie. Jeff tip-toed around his room silently in bouncy strides, grinning as his scheme played out in his head. Everything was so perfect, so easy. Determined not to wake Liu or his parents, Jeff gradually opened his bedroom door and slinked out, pulling it behind him until it clicked shut. All the lights were off and there was no noise except for the occasional rasp of the water heater. Jeff took each step at a time as he went downstairs, testing each one with his foot as he went.

The smile still hadn’t left his face as he walked into the kitchen. Jeff went straight to the cutlery drawer and pulled it open completely. His parents kept all the big knives at the back, probably an old habit from when he and Liu were younger. Jeff reached in, feeling around until his fingers curled around a cold metal handle. The boy giggled as he pulled it out. He walked over the back door, where the moonlight shone in through the frost-effect glass and made distorted patterns on the floor. Bringing the knife up to his face, Jeff inspected it. In the weak light he could see his own wonky reflection in the blade. He tucked the knife into the pocket of his hoodie and closed the drawer. Back in the hall, on the shoe rack, were a pair of boots which Jeff rarely wore, but they were his only black shoes so he tugged them on. He grabbed his key from the bookshelf by the door, and disappeared out into the night.

The woods were only about ten minutes away from where Jeff lived. He didn’t run. Jeff sauntered through the grass as the dew soaked the bottoms of his trousers. The sky wasn’t completely black, instead it was a sort of rich navy which gave Jeff just enough light to see where he was going. He tried to imagine the looks on their faces if they saw him; Randy realising he was no match for this blade, Keith with flailing arms and legs like a panicked stick insect and fat Troy huddled up in a corner and trying to crawl away. The thought made Jeff snicker again, his grin hurting his cheeks as he almost pranced through the grass. Too early for joggers or dog walkers, the park was deserted. The woods were near now, the only woods in the area. Jeff's quiet titters turned into a laugh as he broke from his skip into a messy loping run.

It didn't take long for Jeff to spot the tent amongst the trees. It was the same as Jeff has imagined it, the red material appearing grey in the low light, with taut neon guy ropes pegged into the dry ground. He could hear muffled voices within it, and he paused, trying to focus on the noise. Jeff wandered slowly towards it, treading carefully over the leaf litter, not wanting to disturb the boys. Crouching down, Jeff inspected the side of the tent. To his surprise, it wasn't even zipped up, and instead the entrance flap just hung loosely. "It's like these idiots want to get killed," he thought, using his index finger to gently hook it to the side a little.

In the low light Jeff could see Keith lying in front of him, facing away, the boy's long frame stretched out down the length of the tent. Further back was Troy, lying on his back with his arms folded behind his head. They were chatting about some console game Jeff had never heard of, completely unaware they were being watched. In one swift, silent movement, he pulled the knife from his hoodie, reaching around and pressing it to Keith's throat. There was something solid beneath the blade, but as he pressed down and pulled it along, whatever it was gave way and the knife slid through. Keith let out a gurgling cry. Before Troy could react or even fully realise what had happened to his friend, Jeff lurched into the tent, crawling over Keith as the boy thrashed about underneath him and clutched at his wound.

Trapped in the dark against the back wall of the tent, there was nothing Troy could do as Jeff pushed his hand into the boy's face, feeling around until his hand was pressed over his mouth. Troy tried to scream and tear Jeff's hand away. Jeff stabbed down, aiming for something soft, as he couldn't even see what he was doing. As the knife pierced his flesh, Troy screeched out in pain, his cries muffled as he clawed desperately at the tent fabric surrounding him. Keith was still and quiet now. Jeff slid the knife across Troy's throat as he heard something outside which made him freeze. Troy’s choking squeals were beginning to fade, and Jeff drew his hand away. The boy's body slumped flat on the ground.

"That you making those noises, Troy? What’re you trying to do? Freak me out?" It was Randy, crashing through the undergrowth, "I was just following a rabbit, you scared it off, man." Jeff turned quietly, trying to peer out of the crack of the tent flap. He crept forwards a little, once again hooking the piece of fabric to the side. "Keith?" asked Randy, stopping in his tracks. Jeff could just about make out his face, squinting towards him. "Oh, it’s you, what the hell are you doing here?" Randy took a couple of steps towards Jeff. He was holding something long and thin in his arms. The breath caught in Jeff's throat as he realised what it was: a hunting rifle. The moonlight glinted off of the black metal and Jeff was transfixed for a second. Yet, he felt nothing. The smile begin to reappear, his eyes wide as he crouched just outside the tent.

“Look, if you don’t run now, you little freak, I’ll have to-”
Before Randy could even finish his threat, Jeff flew up at him, springing from the ground and shoving the other boy down. The rifle flew from Randy’s hands and landed with a dull thud in the leaf litter. “Get off me! What is wrong with you!?” yelled Randy, his skinny frame pinned under Jeff. There was clear panic in his voice. Jeff didn’t reply, only staring back at him. Randy squirmed, trying to wriggle out as his eyes were drawn to the bloodied knife Jeff gripped in his fist, “What did you do to my friends!?” In the struggle, Randy knocked the cut on Jeff’s face, and it opened up again. The blood began to ooze down his face and leak into his mouth, dripping down onto Randy.

No longer able to speak, Jeff grinned down at his prey. He brought one of his boots down onto Randy’s ankle and the boy howled, Jeff taking the opportunity to stab Randy in the shoulder. He brought the knife down over and over again, the warm stickiness making the handle even more slippery. Randy reached up and tried grasping at Jeff’s throat, squeezing and digging his nails into the older boy’s skin. He knocked the knife from Jeff’s hand. Managing to crawl away, Randy dragged himself towards the tent, pulling his injured leg behind him.

Jeff didn’t try stopping him, sitting up on his knees and feeling around for his knife. He wiped his face, smearing the blood across his cheek. His throat was sore from Randy’s frantic attempt to strangle him. Jeff rose to his feet, polishing his knife clean on the sleeve of his hoodie. The pale moonlight was broken by the trees.
“I’m getting my gun, I’m going to… I’m gonna…” Randy’s voice was cracking, as if he was going to cry. He tried to get to his feet, the pain from where Jeff had kicked him making him hobble. Randy stumbled, spawling out onto the ground again. The boy tried to scramble to the tent, as blood seeped through his clothes from the wounds dotted across his chest. Randy pulled himself in, "Keith! Troy! Come on guys, we need to-" Randy was silent, and a small whimper escaped his throat as he discovered the bloody fate of his friends. Jeff just stood watching, arms folded and knife clutched in his hand. He licked the blood away from the corner of his mouth.

Jeff was concerned about the time. It would start getting light soon, and he knew he had to get home before anyone saw him. His dad woke up at 6am for work, and naturally would be suspicious if he noticed his son missing. "Alright Randy, you've suffered enough now," thought Jeff, as he wiped his blade once more. He walked up to the tent, where Randy lay face down, pawing at Keith's lifeless body in the shadows. "I think it's past your bedtime, kid," Jeff muttered in a raspy voice, mocking how Randy had spoken to him earlier that day. Jeff plunged the knife into the side of Randy's neck, yanking it back out and swiftly wiping it dry on Randy's jacket. The already weakened boy struggled little as blood spurted from his wound. Jeff shoved him inside the tent between the bodies of his friends. Jeff stood calmly, zipping the tent up and slipping his knife back into his pocket. He turned and headed for home, chuckling away.

It was 3.22am on Monday morning. Jeff laid in bed as he thought about the other knives he had just taken from the kitchen and slipped between the textbooks in his school bag. He thought about the other kids at school. Those girls that sat behind him in Maths, making him the butt of all the silly jokes that he could hear perfectly. That kid who hung out by vending machines and usually tried to trip him as he walked past. The rest of Randy's stupid little gang. Jeff wondered how many of them he'd be able to deal with before anyone stopped him. Jeff reached over to his bedside table and made sure his alarm clock was set for school tomorrow. He settled down in bed, pulling the covers up to his chin. Tomorrow would be the first good day in a while.