A few years back, a serial killer named Lyle lurked the
streets of Lincoln, Nebraska. Lyle always wore a mask so his identity would
always remain unknown. He was notorious for abducting people at gas stations
and convenient stories late at night.
Lyle killed approximately six people over the course of four
months and the entire city was terrified of this murderer. As more killings
occurred, more and more pressure was placed on authorities to find this serial
killer. The police department tried various strategies, but they could not find
the killer.
One day, the sheriff of Lincoln decided to take matters into
his own hand. He set a trap at a local convenient store to see if he could
catch the serial killer. The sheriff placed a disguised mannequin getting gas
and placed a trap that would catch Lyle when trying to abduct the fake person.
After the sheriff set up his trap, he waiting and watched
down the street. As time passed, the sheriff grew restless and figured the
serial killer was not going to fall for his trap. As the night grew old, the
sheriff walked into the convenient store to grab a cup of coffee for an energy
boost.
While the sheriff was inside, Lyle snuck up to the gas pump
to abduct what he thought was a woman getting gas. Suddenly, Lyle was snagged
by the trap and couldn’t escape. A pedestrian nearby stopped to see what the
commotion was about.
“It’s you! The killer!” yelled the pedestrian, “And you’re
trapped!”
“I’m not trapped, I want to be here, and this is my wife. We
just wanted some air and need gas,” said Lyle.
“Whatever, you are lying! I’m going to tell the sheriff,”
said the pedestrian.
“That’s a lye! Come over here and see for yourself,” said
Lyle.
Hesitant, the pedestrian decided to walk over to Lyle and
see for himself. When he got close, Lyle grabbed him and stuck him in the trap
releasing himself to freedom.
“Hey! You can’t do this! I’m trapped, you are the killer!”
screamed the pedestrian.
Lyle saw the sheriff walking toward the door of the convenient
store and darted into the darkness leaving the pedestrian in the trap.
“Aha! It’s you! The killer!” yelled the sheriff to the pedestrian.
“No, no! I’m innocent, I promise!” the pedestrian pleaded
while trying to escape the trap.
Boom.
The sheriff shot the pedestrian dead. He believed he had
shot the killer who was trying to escape his trap. To this day, Lyle has not
been found.
Sheriff of Lincoln.
Photo Cred: Huron County
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is based on the South African Folktale, the Jackal and the Monkey. In the story, the jackal steals sheep and a farmer sets a trap to catch the criminal. When the jackal is caught, he convinces a monkey to come to the trap and the monkey gets stuck setting the jackal free. When the farmer found the monkey in the trap, he killed him and the jackal lived. My story is a modern spin on this folktale using real people instead of humans.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Author: James Honey
Year: 1910
I find this story refreshing in a sense of there was no cliché ending of the bad guy gets caught and the good guy goes free. I kind of like that this story ends in tension! I also think it was a great decision to make the characters something more relatable to the reader. I also read part of these folktales, and didn't really even know what a jackal looked like until I looked it up! Overall, great job!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this story. I think your decision to change the setting and characters to humans made the story more relatable and I really liked that with your changes you were able to stay true to the original story. I really liked your ending line. It creates a suspenseful feeling that makes you wonder and want to read more. I love those kinds of open endings. Overall you did a great job.
ReplyDeleteWow, this story is really dark! I liked how you grabbed my attention right from the start, and you kept my attention through the whole story. I liked how you let the killer escape, it defiantly adds to the darkness of the story. I thought it was interesting that you chose a gas station as part of the killer's ritual, especially since a gas station at night can be pretty eerie.
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