by Nolon King
He shook his head as he walked to the dresser, doused the rag he’d used earlier with chloroform, then went back to the bed.
She shook her head and thrashed some more. But the tramp was small, no match for his size and weight. He held her down, forcing the rag over her mouth and nose until she stopped moving.
He stared at the T-shirt rising over her swelling breasts, the bottom pulled up past her piercing. Imagined the whore in some shop, teasing some man as he pierced her navel. Like Stephanie had teased him before laughing.
Mister K appeared in shadows behind him. “Touch her, Howie. You know you want to. Look at her lying there, just waiting. She wants it … needs a man’s touch.”
“No.” Howard shook his head, trying to clear the impurity from his mind. He left the bedroom before he was tempted to do something he shouldn’t, something that would prove him unworthy of the coming glories.
Mister K followed in the shadows. “You think I care what you do to her? Whores are only good for …” Mister K trailed off, perhaps trying to let Howard’s head fill in the blanks with his perversions.
“I’m trying to keep my head clear. Can you tell me now? What are we going to do when the cop gets here?”
Mister K’s shadowy form shifted from one wall to the other. “Soooon.”
“Can you at least show yourself to me? I’ve been patient.”
“You’re far too eager, Howie. I thought you were learning to wait.” Mister K laughed.
“I am. I have. And I’ve done everything you asked. Always.”
Silence.
Maybe he’d pushed Mister K too far. Howard felt stupid, weak, like the dumb impatient child his mother had always accused him of being.
“Sorry,” he said, disgusted with both his eagerness and his meekness.
“I will reveal myself to you once this is over. Then you will know our master plan once and for all.”
“Can … can you spare my mother?”
“You hate her. We hate her.”
“I don’t hate her. I love her. I don’t want her to suffer.”
“Then she will have a place in our kingdom, Howard. I promise.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s almost time. We must prepare.”
“Yes.” Howard went back downstairs, slid on his body armor, then double checked his guns and knives.
Mister K, shifting in the shadows beside him, belted a long and rattling breath as if he were gathering strength from what he saw, or perhaps merely voicing his pleasure.
“Tonight, Howard. Tonight is The End of everything you’ve ever known. Tonight, you will finally become what you were always meant to be.”
Howard smiled in the darkness. For the first time in his life, he felt he had a purpose that wasn’t Mother’s, or his employer’s, and surely not some worthless whore’s.
Tonight was his destiny.
Chapter 41 - Mallory Black
They stood on the balcony, overlooking the city lights, Mal slowly digesting everything Jasper had just told her.
She wanted to call Mike and give him the name, have deputies track him down, maybe get a location from the man’s cell phone pings. Itched to call for backup, get the SWAT team mobilized, along with a hostage negotiator.
But Jasper forbade it. “You can’t do things by the book.”
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’m doing this by the book.”
“You trust your sheriff to do the right thing?”
“No, but I trust my fellow deputies. And Mike has my back.”
“Doing this textbook means that Katie will die. I’ve seen what he has in mind, along with his security cameras. Send anyone and he’ll see you. He will kill her. He’s paranoid and schizoid.”
“Pot meet kettle,” she joked.
“What?” Jasper turned to his left. “Oh, yeah,” he said, turning back to Mal. “You still don’t think she’s here. That’s fine, I don’t need you to believe everything I say. But please, believe me on this. Helping you is the only reason I’m here when I should be on the run. I’m risking a lot to be here.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to make things right.”
“What do you mean?”
“I should’ve done something myself when I found out about Ashley. I should’ve killed Dodd instead of leaving him to you. If I’d taken him out, then everything that happened after — Mexico, the pedo network, Spider and the others — all that shit would never have happened. All that suffering was because I didn’t do what needed to be done. I suppose some part of me felt if you killed Dodd, that meant I wasn’t so bad. But you didn’t.”
“I did. Don’t you remember?”
“That wasn’t you.” Jasper shook his head. “I pushed you into that. And the other things you did.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I know what you were doing after you got back from Mexico. And … it’s okay. I pushed you to that, too. You’re not a killer. That isn’t you.”
“I didn’t kill anyone here.” Mal crossed her arms, uncomfortably vulnerable.
“I know. But … you regret what you did, don’t you?”
She nodded. It was weird discussing this. But she couldn’t get into the depths of her feelings with Katie’s life on the line.
“That’s why you’re back at work, why you feel a need to do this by the book, to do things right. You want to prove you’re a good person. But trust me, Mallory. You can’t do this ‘the right way.’”
“What am I supposed to do then? Go meet this guy? Then what? What’s his plan?”
“I’ve only seen a few flashes of what he’s planning, or rather what the thing he thinks is talking to him wants him to do. The thing he calls Mister K.”
“What does Mister K want him to do?”
“He’s confused and chaotic. It’s all a mess. Everything running through his head is ultra-violent. He wants to send a message.”
“To who?”
“To the world. He thinks the world is going to end and he and this Mister K are going to herald in whatever’s coming. Lots of demons and angels and shit.”
“So, he’s a fucking madman with a messiah complex? Is he going to kill her? Is she already dead?”
“She’s still alive. But she’s dead if you go. Howard wants you to see her suffer. He wants you to suffer. He really hates you. I’d say he’s obsessed.”
“Perfect.” She sighed. “So, what are my options?
“I have an idea.”
“Well, please, don’t keep it to yourself.”
“It’s definitely not by the book.”
Mal was waiting for Jasper to finish, then gestured for him to get on with it when he didn’t.
“There’s only one person he cares about, one thing that’ll get him to stand down.”
“Who?” Mal asked.
“His mother.”
Chapter 42 - Howard Loomis
Fifteen minutes to go as Howard watched the monitors for any sign of police activity.
The slut was stirring in the next room, still trying to break free and whimpering, but at least she was no longer kicking the wall.
Howard had resisted his urges. Now that his head was clear of her temptations, he could finally focus. He had an AR-15 on the bed behind him and a pistol in its holster at his side. There were more weapons, smoke grenades, flash bangs, and a machete for the sheathe meant for his hip, opposite the holster. He had enough ammo to take out an entire police department if they were foolish enough to come at him.
Of course, Howard hoped it never came to that. If the detective obeyed his instructions and came alone, it wouldn’t.
Anxiety gnawed at him because he still didn’t know what he would do once she got here. Howard had a few ideas, things he wasn’t sure if he’d dreamed up himself or if Mister K had sent them into his mind through their psychic connection.
Mister K wanted to test her and see if she was a good person or not. Would she really sacrifice
herself to save a worthless whore?
Howard doubted she would.
Mallory Black was a selfish woman who couldn’t even care for her own child and nearly got another little girl murdered. A reckless, drunken whore. People like her raised the monsters who made Howard’s life a living hell.
Terrible parents raising vapid children who didn’t appreciate purity or intellect, ridiculing anyone even remotely different or “weird.”
Detective Black was a horrible person.
“It’s almost time, Howard. Are you ready to seize your destiny?”
“Yes,” Howard said, though he still didn’t know what they were going to do. What if he doubted himself once he was called upon to prove his greatness? What if he’d come this far just to fail when it mattered most?
Would Mister K deny him the answers he’d been seeking all his life?
“You have doubts?”
“No, I—”
“I need you to remove all fear from this. You have lived your entire life like a scared little baby, Howie. You’ve been afraid of your mother, the church, and women. You’ve been frightened by men and everything else. Now is the time to finally shed your fear and embrace the unknown. Only by stepping through it can you become what you were always meant to be.”
“What if you’re wrong? What if I’m not who you think I am?”
“You are exactly what I believe you to be, Howard. You must believe and disregard the empty shell you have been. Are you ready for The End?”
“Yes.” Howard slowly slid the mask over his head.
The things that made him good and pure would no longer be a liability.
Howard would now prove himself worthy — no matter the cost.
Chapter 43 - Mallory Black
Mal knocked on Enid Loomis’s door with her gun drawn and ready.
Howard could be here, and armed. Jasper was around back, just in case their suspect was home and attempted an escape.
“Who is it?” An old woman’s voice from the other side of the closed front door.
“Creek County Sheriff’s Office.” Mal held her badge in front of the peephole. “It’s about your son. He’s in trouble.”
“Trouble?” Enid repeated, opening the door.
She was a tall woman with her hair pulled back tight, wearing a long, floral print nightgown that looked like a costume from Little House on the Prairie.
“Yes, I’m going to need you to come with me, Mrs. Loomis. Your son is in danger.”
“What kind of danger?” Confusion and concern drew down the corners of her mouth.
“I’ll tell you on the way. I just need you to come with us. We don’t have much time.”
“Can I grab my purse?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Mal watched the woman go back inside and grab her purse and keys off a credenza. She kept her gun at the ready just in case the old woman pulled a weapon on her. No telling what Enid knew about Howard’s activities or what lengths she might go to protect him. A glint of insanity gleamed in the old woman’s eyes.
Mal relaxed her grip on the gun as Enid came outside.
She locked her front door then looked toward the street. “Don’t you have a police car?”
Mal escorted her to the SUV. “Detectives drive unmarked vehicles, ma’am.” She opened the back door for Enid.
The woman paused, suspicion furrowing her brow. “Can I see your badge again?”
Mal reached into her coat, grabbed her badge, held it up for inspection.
Enid eyed both it and Mal with suspicion. “You’re that cop who lost her kid?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Mal said, an uneasiness rooting in her gut.
Is this bitch about to flake?
“You wouldn’t mind if I called the sheriff’s office, would you?”
Jasper closed the distance and put his pistol against the back of Enid’s head. “Actually, we would mind, Mrs. Loomis. Now get in the car.”
Chapter 44 - Howard Loomis
Howard sat on the couch, staring into the darkness beyond the living room’s large open window while he waited for the detective to appear.
The dirty slut was standing in front of him, just in case any sniper tried taking a shot at him. Hands cuffed behind her back, gag still covering her mouth.
The whore mumbled something, eyes widening.
Howard put the gun to her head. “I’ll remove the gag, but if you scream, there’s two things you should know. Nobody will hear you, and I will pull this trigger. Nod if you understand me.”
She nodded.
He removed the gag.
“I need to pee.”
Mister K shuffled in the shadows behind him. “The whore can piss herself.”
“Not now.” Howard sat back on the couch to keep the harlot between himself and the window.
“Please, I’m gonna wet myself.”
“Go ahead. We don’t have time.”
Howard looked down at the laptops he’d brought downstairs and arranged on the coffee table. None of the security cameras trained on a 360 perimeter of the house and surrounding area had triggered any events.
“Please,” the Jezabel begged him again.
“Piss yourself, I don’t care.”
He heard the trickle of piss running down her legs and onto the hardwood floor. The scent was hot and acrid.
Howard shook his head.
The human disease said nothing.
He kept his eyes on the monitors. Four more minutes to go.
“Why are you doing this? You know I’m a kid, right?”
“Do you know how much you shame the Lord with what you’ve done to your body and with what you’ve let others do to it? Your virginity is sacred and you just … gave it up. To who?”
“You sound like my dad.”
“Maybe you should have listened to him.”
“You two have a lot in common.”
“Yeah?” Howard said.
“You’re gonna have something else in common.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
“Detective Mallory Black is gonna shoot you dead, too.”
Howard glared up at her. To his shock, the whore started laughing.
“What’s so funny?”
“I guess it’s hilarious that there’s a fat fucking loser in a stupid mask looking at me.”
He leapt up and punched her in the back of the head. The whore fell, crying out as she hit the ground, awkwardly with bound hands still behind her.
She was frozen, and for a moment, Howard thought he might have accidentally killed her too soon. But then her shoulders moved slowly up and down as she started laughing again.
“You are so fucking dead,” the sinner said with a smile.
Howard grabbed the back of her hair, shoved his gun back into its holster, then yanked the slut to her feet. He shoved the gag into her depraved little mouth.
Car lights turned at the end of the street outside. A lone car, driving slowly.
“It’s showtime, Howie,” Mister K said.
Chapter 45 - Jasper Parish
Jasper held the gun to the back of Enid’s head as Mallory pulled into the driveway of a two-story house at the end of a quiet cul de sac with only two other homes.
“I don’t know what you think my boy did, but you’re making a big mistake.” Enid’s voice was weaker than it had been.
He wasn’t sure if she was putting on a frail old lady act or slipping in and out of senility, but she’d changed a few times during their short drive. Confusion gave way to a bitterness, her eyes sharp enough to slice right through him.
She wasn’t a good person, Jasper knew that for certain. He’d seen Howard’s memories of his tortured upbringing at the hands of this supposedly godly woman.
“Your son is a killer, lady. He’s got a young woman in there right now, a teenager he’s threatening to kill.”
“Howard would never do that,” Enid said with a disgusted defiance that Jasper would ever suggest such a thing.
“I want yo
u to slowly get out of the car. Slowly. Don’t make any sudden moves, or I’ll have to spray your brains all over the driveway.”
Enid harrumphed as she reached for the handle.
Chapter 46 - Howard Loomis
Howard watched as the car door opened. Then the woman stepped out.
“Go, take the whore to the porch,” said Mister K.
Howard grabbed her by the shoulder. As he shoved her toward the door, he said, “Walk slowly. If you run or try to escape, I’ll kill you. Do you understand?”
The harlot nodded, tears now soaking her cheeks. The bravery was gone, pure humility now in its place. Something in those tears tugged at him, made him doubt what he was doing.
“Do not let the whore’s tears deceive you. She is playing you, Howie, playing you for a fool like they all do. Stay strong. The End is here. Now is the time for bold action. Not weakness.”
“Yes.” Howard nodded and prompted the whore forward. “Unlock the door then open it.”
She did, her hand shaking as she fumbled with the locks.
After the last tumbler turned, they stepped onto the porch.
Chapter 47 - Mallory Black
Mal crouched in the brush, waiting for Jasper’s call.
She was about two hundred yards away, and there wasn’t any way to approach without the cameras spotting her. They would have to wait until Howard was no longer looking.
She hoped Jasper’s visions were correct — that the cameras were where he said and Howard would be preoccupied once he left the house. She had no reason to doubt his visions as he’d been right so many times. But still, it was difficult.
And now, as Mal waited in the woods with Katie’s life on the line, she was starting to question everything. Maybe she should’ve called Mike. The SWAT team was trained for this type of situation. Mal was a detective, which meant she usually arrived after shit went down, not during the hottest part of a standoff.
Jasper’s radio silence grew more ominous by the moment.
