THE HOOK 


A young couple out on a date parked along an old country road to be alone. 
They were listening to the car radio and kissing and hugging. 
Suddenly the music was interrupted by a news bulletin.  
"A convicted murder has escaped from a hospttal for the criminally insane. 
The man was mutilated in a car wreck following a high-speed chase and is missing his right hand. 
A temporary hook has been attached to his right arm, which will make him easier to identify. 
The criminal's name is...." The boy turned the radio off. 
He leaned over to his girlfriend, expecting that the frightening news flash 
would make her snuggle even closer. 
Instead, she was so scared that she didn't want to make out anymore. 
"I'm afraid," she said "lets get out of here." 
The boy tried and tried to convince her that they were in no danger, but she refused to listen. 
He decided that maybe she didn't like him as much as he had thought, 
and was just using this as an excuse. 
The girl reached over and locked her door as the boy angrily started the car. 
Just at that moment, they heard a thud on the passenger side of the car. 
The boy slammed the car into drive and spun out onto the road.
The girl screamed and held onto the boy as they fished-tailed around the road. 
On the way back to town they both clamed down, but the girl still held on so tightly 
that the boy decided he had been wrong after all. 
As they came closer and closer to her house, he tried to think of a way to impress her. 
They pulled up in front of the house and the boy said, I'll make sure it's safe first." 
He left the keys in the ignition but locked the door as he got out. 
He came around to her side to politely open the door, like a hero. 
For a long time the boy just stood there, looking at the door. 
At first the girl couldn't figure out what was wrong, then she realized that her door 
was still locked. She smiled and unlocked it. 
The boy still just stood there.
The girl looked puzzled and rolled down her window. 
Then she saw that the boy was looking down at the door handle. 
She slowly looked down herself. 
A long splatter of blood ran across the door all the way to the back bumper. 
Hanging from the door handle was a stainless steel hook.