"Oh, my god," Hailie gasped as she watched the eleven o'clock news.

Jen O'Connell, a regular at CNN in Manhattan, was warning her viewers in New York that a serial killer was on the loose. The reporter said to remain indoors at night and to keep all doors and windows locked. The killer--who was believed to be a man--had decapitated at least seven people, all of whom resided on or near West St. Carlos Street. Officials stated all of the victims had been murdered while sleeping in their beds, between the hours of 10 PM and 5 AM, last night.

Hearing that news, Hailie jumped to her feet and hurried to the television, turning it off. When she pushed the button and the TV went dark, a cold chill trickled down her spine. Panicked at the thought of a crazed killer in the area, Hailie figured she should get her mind off of the murders, so she went into the kitchen to cut herself a piece of watermelon, since food was the best known stress reliever.

In the midst of preparing her snack, she noticed something strange; the large carving knife was missing from the block of knives on her counter. Hailie could not remember when she last used that particular knife and as she frantically searched the kitchen, a wave of paranoia washed over her as she realized the weapon was nowhere to be found.

An insane thought flashed through her mind--could she possibly be the next victim of the serial killer? After all, she did live on St. Carlos Street. Working herself to the point of near hysterics, she ran to the couch and covered her head with a red throw blanket. After shivering in fear for a few minutes, she finally came to her senses and said, "God, Hai, snap out of it."

Hailie pulled the blanket from her head--'Yeah, a lot of protection that would have been' she thought as she tossed the blanket onto the back of the couch--and decided to clear her thoughts with a shower. She headed up the long staircase and tried to turn on the hall light when she reached the landing at the top of the stairs. Nothing happened. She flipped the switch several times, but the bulb must have been burned out.

"Damn," she mumbled and made her way down the semi-dark hall to her bedroom. Once in her room, she flipped on the overhead light and sighed with relief as it flooded the room with brightness.

Hailie moved to her dresser and opened a drawer to remove fresh underwear. When she put her hand in the drawer to get a pair of panties, her fingers slid over something hard and smooth. Clutching the object, she pulled it out and discovered that it was a small axe.