You know how in the movies when people run their footsteps sound like a pitter patter or a clapping? Mine sound like an unpleasant and irritable flop or plop. My size 9 Converse hitting the dark pavement are carrying me further away from my job, my house, my cat, my friends and all my struggles. Carrying me closer to my victim. Usually when I kill it is out of random demonly desires or fate but tonight I just so happen to be in a particularly bad mood. I tried talking to Krow so that he could console me but I should have known that my serial killer mentor wouldn't do a good job of talking me down, but I will let you read that for yourself.
~~~~~~~40 minutes earlier~~~~~
"Sssssh." I make a hissing noise as I inhale through clenched teeth. My hand and arm are physically shaking. At this phase in my life I don't usually take my anger out on myself but when I was younger I was very abusive, mentally and physically, to myself. I look at the blood oozing from the filthy and uneven cuts on my knuckles. My hand is somehow numb and throbbing. I have been punching a brick pillar, it is my way of coping that doesn't involve hitting myself. I have never cut myself because that felt too easy. A clean, sharp knife doesn't hurt that bad
"Why are you thinking of these after such a long time? Why do you let them bother you?" I question myself out loud as I lean my head against the pillar, watching my blood drip down the rough bricks. Sometimes when I have bad days I let myself think about the things that happened back then. I really shouldn't. I need to stop this. I pull out my phone and call Krow. It is 1:20 AM so he is probably going to be mad. To my surprise, he picks up right away.
"Soul? What's up?" He asks in a perfectly alert voice.
"Hey, Sorry... I need to talk..." I say in between breaths. I am still pretty worked up so my breathing is not fluid.
"....."
"Okay, hold on for a second." Krow hesitates from the other end of the line. I can hear some rustling in the background, he must be changing locations or maybe turning something off.
"Start talking." He says flatly.
"I want to kill someone." I say in a concerned voice. Krow chuckles from the other end.
"And? You have killed lots of people, what will one more change?" He questions me with a light tone of voice.
"No.. this is different. This isn't out of desire or hunger. This is out of revenge. It is someone from before all this happened." I admit to him.
"No Soul. You know that its forbidden to contact people who knew you, that includes killing them. Usually I would back you on this but I can't openly condone this." He says in a loud voice but I hear him moving around a lot and then a door closes in the background.
"Listen to me and listen good, if you are asking me for help then I know its serious and that you have thought about it. I wont stop you but I will warn you to not leave any witnesses. I can't help you with this Soul." He whispers into the phone receiver. The change in tone confuses me but I respect it none the less. I can't say anything back because I don't know what to say. I am not good at communicating "Feelings".
"hmmm... " Krow sighs from the other side of the line.
"Where are you?" he asks me. I question telling him as the rain drops start to fall.
"I am walking by the river." I tell him. It's true, I am. However the river in our town is supposedly "haunted". An abnormal amount of people who were supposedly happy and healthy have committed suicide here. It is eerie and almost always has a thick bank of fog. I walk slowly along the bank and watch the cars go over the bridge. The pillar I have been hitting is one of the supports for it. I slide down and am enveloped in the fog.
"Do you want me to come get you?" He asks after contemplating the situation. Since this place is haunted, if I jump if might actually kill me. I wouldn't do it because I just wouldn't but I guess it is a legitimate concern.
"No. I am not going to do anything to me." I say as I decide. I sit up and escape the depressing atmosphere. I climb the hill towards the road.
"I am going to do something stupid though... I have to.. I can't let this go until I do." I tell him while carefully picking my way through the brush.
"At least tell me why. " He whispers. I bite my lip and consider this.
"I can't. It's not my story to tell." I deny him. The reason for my anger is not something that I can even tell you guys... I do regret that... Sadly, this is a real thing that happens everyday and I can't talk about it to anyone and the weight of keeping that secret has been eating at me from the inside. I can't talk about it, but I can kill the person who did it. By the time morning comes I will have been liberated from the prison of guilt.
"Soul, come to my place in the morning. The last thing I need is you getting caught. Don't be flashy about this. Just get it done. Be careful. Bye." He whispers and hangs up. He worries too much. What would happen if I got caught? The world would have one less serial killer? I wouldn't be in chains for long. I sigh as I hang up the phone. If I am still alive I will go to his place. If not... Well, he doesn't care anyways.
I start running.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back to the present~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am drenched. I tried to take a bus to my old town but got into a dispute on the way and got thrown off so I had to walk the rest of the way in the rain. This is just making my mood worse. The blood lust is growing.
"Gahh!" I yell in frustration as I wipe some rain from my face and take off running again. I can't stand this idle nothingness. In fact, writing about it is ticking me off so let my give you guys a special privilege and do a time skip.
~~~~~~~On the schmucks doorsteps~~~~~~~
I knock on the door. I know he lives here. Even though its 4 A.M. I know he will answer the door.
I knock again, a little louder this time. I hear footsteps from inside and some grumbling.
"Somebody better be dead." A boy in his 20's says as he opens the door and rubs the sleep out of his eyes. I stare at him coldly as I push my way inside.
"You know they are." I say while he stares at me in shock and confusion.
"Cole... I haven't seen you in a while. Where have you been?" He says calmly while we relocate to his living room. I sit down on his couch as he sits on the edge of a lounge chair across from me.
"Where do you think I have been? Surely you know the stories." I ask him with a smug smile. He forces a laugh.
"So did you do it?" He asks and holds his breath. I clench my fists but try not to display my anger.
"What do you think?" I flip it back on him. If he thinks I am capable of murder than this wont take so long.
"You? You aren't capable of that. Geez... You were always soft on the inside." He starts making small talk about the old me. I glance around the living rooms and see the pictures. There are only a few but they tell the story of why I am here. On the end table there is a picture of him with his brother and me and a few other guys. On the wall is various awards for him and his brother and on the mantle... On the mantle is the picture used at his funeral. You see a small boy with brown hair and pale skin smiling. That was one of the crappy school picture day photos but it was the best he could provide.
The one rambling across from me name is Brycon(Pronounced Br-ison). He killed his little brother, Miles.
"You know what, I did do it." I say interrupting his idle chat. He looks at me suspiciously.
"Cole, you might have the eyes of a killer now but when I visited you in the hospital you sure as heck didn't." He says with an edge in his voice. The tension in the room fills the void of silence.
"How can you hang his pictures on the walls after what you did?" I ask him, my voice slightly raised in anger.
"It's not that hard. It's actually a little exhilarating to look at them. To know I got away with it and you didn't." He says while casting a satisfied glance at the mantle.
This is what I grew to hate about Bryc. (Bryce, shortened nickname)
That "holyier than thou" attitude. He always knew the best and was the best. If you were good, he was better. Especially when it came to Miles.
"So we never did get to talk about this like mature adults. When did you first find out what I was doing?" He asks me while settling properly into the couch. I think back to when I first started putting the pieces together.
"Looking back now there were a lot of signs... Like when he grew his bangs out so he could hide the frequent black eyes. I guess what really stood out to me was when he started obeying your every word. That was weird because Miles was never really into being a sheep." I watch Bryc wince when I say his name.
~~~~~~~~~~~~Back in Highschool, sometime in the spring~~~~~~~~~
"Miles. I haven't seen you eat in three days and you have been skipping classes. What is up with you?" I question my friend from across the lunch table. Him and I have been friends for a while. I met him because of his brother.
"Just drop it, Cole. I'm fine." He snaps, the frustration clearly showing in his voice.
"You don't have to be so defensive I just want to know what's going on." I say while inspecting him curiously. He gets up and slams his hands down on the table.
"Leave it alone!" He yells and walks away while gripping his side.
~~~Later at their house~~~
"What did you do?" I ask Bryson. His knuckles are bruised and he has been acting like he owns Miles lately. Whatever is wrong with Miles is probably Bryc's fault. He looks at me with a cold look I have never seen from him before. He grabs my shirt collar and pushes me into the wall.
"What do you think I did?" He asks me with a smile. I bit my lip and breath a little. I shouldn't fight with him so instead I push his hand away and back off.
"Nevermind. Forget it. I have to go." I say as I grab my backpack and head towards the living room where Miles is. I have always protected my friends but I don't know what to do here.. I walk into the living room and go over to Miles before Bryc gets in here.
"Hey, I am leaving but I have a question first." I say while approaching him. He turns to me with an eyebrow raised but I just gently punch him in the stomach. He collapses to the floor in pain and grips his side while breathing heavy. I knew it. I pull his shirt up and see a barrage of bruises and cuts, his skin is more purple and blue than it is pale white.
"Did Bryc do this?" I ask him in a hushed voice. He nods his head with tears in his eyes. I grab his arm and pull him up despite his painful groans. I have to take him to the hospital.
"Where are you guys going?" An angry voice from behind asks. I look over to see Bryson heading towards us. That's not good. Miles pushes me away with a smile.
"He was just helping me up." He says positioning himself between Bryc and I. He angles himself so that he is mostly facing Bryc.
"He is leaving." He says with a forceful tone. I don't know what to do here. I don't think I should leave.
"No I wasn't, Bryc he is hurt! I need to get him to a doctor!" I tell him as try to pull Miles with me. Miles looks at me with a smile and sighs.
"I think you are confused." Bryc says as he grabs my arm and pulls me to the door. He pushes me through the door and slams it behind him. I hear the lock click. I pound the door but they wont open it again.
"Wait!... He wont tell!...." I hear Miles muffled voice through the door. I kick the door one more time and walk away. I made him really mad.
The next morning I found out that Miles "died" in a "mugging" earlier last night. Plans for a funeral were made and the case went cold. I stopped talking to Bryson but I was still too afraid to say anything, until now.
~~~~Present time~~~~~
"So after all these years why did you come back? Do you feel guilty because you didn't stop me?" He asks me teasingly. I can see that he is just as twisted now as he was before. Now... I do something evil.
"No. I don't really feel things like being guilty or having regrets anymore. I do have a question for you though, why didn't you kill me when you visited me in the hospital? That was why you went wasn't it?" If he had gone to see me then that would have been the only reason why. I was in a coma for a while and it would have been the perfect opportunity.
"By the time I got to you, you were already dead inside." He says as he stands and heads into the kitchen. I follow him. As I round the corner he lunges towards me with a knife. I dodge and easily disarm him. He might be a sick human being but we are on different levels now. I am the better one in this situation. I tackle him and put him in a choke hold until he passes out. I have bigger plans for him. He doesn't get to die a peaceful death.
~~~~not long later ~~~~
I have him tied to a chair, hands and feet bound and a rope around his torso just for extra enforcement. There is no way he is going anywhere. To my right is an array of dull knives and sharp objects fit to torture someone. All that's left now is waiting for him to wake up.
I grab one of the knives and balance it in my hand idly while I think about this situation. Chances are if I left now he would think it was all a nightmare and I can leave without making things worse. His parents didn't know about Miles death so when they find him their hearts will shatter. They were good people that just so happened to raise a monster. To late to think about that now, if they are really that heartbroken I will just come kill them too. Is that cruel of me? I never said I was the good guy, I am definitely the opposite. I am the enemy and will do many terrible things in the years to come so please do not think that I am some sort of antihero. Bryc stirs a little and I prepare myself mentally.
He opens his eyes and glares at me. I am mildly surprised that he isn't struggling or panicking. I smile at him warmly- wait no, that's not right. Usually that is how I would do this. Light hearted with an uncaring demeanor. I grab on of the knives and force it into his leg right up the hilt and then I twist it. His body lurches forward and his face distorts in pain.
"Tell me everything. " I seethe with rage as I say this. He looks up at me and frowns.
"It wont change anything." He says while exhaling slowly, trying to control his breathing and calm down. I grab the knife and pull it forward just a little bit.
"Alright... If you want to know that badly..." he says from between clenched teeth. I sit back and make myself comfortable.
"We had a good relationship. I didn't realize how much I truly resented him until one day I was just so worked up over something that had nothing to do with him and I hit him out of anger. Usually when people hit a family member their rage instantly crumbles and they apologize and make sure they are alright but that wasn't what happened. After the first punch landed it felt so good I knew I wouldn't stop. He would always cry out different things." He says as his eyes wander off and he is taken back in time.
"Bryson! Stop! Please!" is what he called the first few times." He says in a mocking voice that makes me disgusted.
"After that he would do whatever I wanted him to out of fear, and you know what? I liked him better that way. He wasn't so insufferable when I had complete control over him. I got to make him to stupid and embarrassing stuff for fun. I could make him do illegal stuff when I didn't feel like getting in trouble and thanks to him I got good grades. One little tempter tantrum fixed my problems." He says while looking completely at peace.
"Ugh. Why did he never tell on you? Surely there was more to it than fear." I question him. Miles may have been on the nerdier side of things but he wasn't a coward. He would have told someone.
"Secrets. I knew things about him that no one else did. He didn't want me to tell so whatever I said became law.
The beatings got worse and worse. There were days where he would stay home all day and not move. That time when you found out and tried to take him to a hospital, turns out I had broken a few of his ribs. Do you want to know what I did when I closed the door?" He taunts me with a smug face. Even now he is acting like he is in control of everything. I hate that. I grab the knife and pull it out of his leg.
"Do I need to say it again? Tell. Me. Everything." I say for good measure. I am almost out of self control so he better hurry it up.
He drops the cocky attitude and tells it to me straight.
"He begged me not to kill you."
Out of all the things I was expecting, that was not one of them.
"What?" Did I hear him right?
"I was getting ready to kill you because you knew. He stood between me and the door and wouldn't let me out. I threw him aside and he clung to my legs. I beat him so badly that night that I punctured a lung and he suffered a horribly slow death. Well, it probably only took around 10 minutes but the agony in his face has stayed with me for a lifetime. All that so I wouldn't hurt you, and you thought that you were the one always protecting your friends. Who feels bad now?" He finishes with a grin.
So everything I knew back then was a lie too.... I will think about this late. I can't react in front of him, or rather I can't fully comprehend what I just heard. Instead of thinking about it I stab the knife into his stomach and then start punching him in the face. I throw my full force into every hit. Anytime he makes a noise of pain a shiver runs up my spine, not fear but pleasure. Nonono wait, I can't kill him yet. I pull myself back and admire my work. He has blood oozing from his nose and a cut just beneath his eye.
I grab another knife and stab it into one of his shoulders.
"Where was your favorite place to hit him?" I ask out of curiosity. I plan to return the favor.
"Was it here?" I ask as I twist the knife. He winces but shakes his head. I grab another sharp object and drag it across his cheek.
"You are the type to aim for the face, right?" I say as I grab his jaw and force his mouth open. I cut from his lips up to his jawline leaving long trails of blood and a gaping mouth. This time he screams. It started as words but the bigger the cuts got the less identifiable the noises were.
"You know, I have killed more than a few people by now but your screams will always be my favorite." I sat as I plunge the knife into his chest, from the side and at an angle where we will hit a lung. As much as I want to drag him off into the woods and let his corpse be mauled by wild animals, I need to leave the body here for his family. I am leaving a little surprise along with the body though... I dip my fingers in the bloody mess that is Bryson and I write out his testimony on the wall.
"Bryson killed Miles after years of abuse. I killed Bryson after years of regret, you raised a monster and I want to kill you for that but I wont. Living with this will hurt more."
The sun peaks through a window as I turn to leave. I will probably be sought out by the police or worse now but I don't mind. I will kill whoever comes after me and raise the body count as high as I can before this is over. I don't need praise or understanding, after this life.... all I need is Blood."
This has been the extra Summer edition of Soul Thief. There will probably be an !Extra! for when Soul goes back to Krows but that doesn't have a date yet.
To be honest I had other plans but this problem that I had in life kept coming back to me and mentally harassing me so I thought "Lets write it. If they hate it then so be it.".
Never turn a blind eye to domestic abuse. Please." -Soul
