by Tim Miller
“I must have somehow channeled it back at him because he suddenly screamed, turned around and ran out the door. The kid never came back. I’m standing there like, what the fuck just happened? So over the next few weeks, I tried it out here and there on some employees. Even customers sometimes. It’s somehow attached to my hand. I lift my hand and start focusing on their mind and I can feel what they feel. I can redirect that pain back into their mind, like a weapon, kind of. It didn’t always go so well. Almost killed one girl who worked for me. That would have been tough to explain. A bunch of employees quit during that time, that or just never came back to work at all.”
"So a few weeks later I had a meet up with a guy named Spider.”
“Spider?”
“Yeah. He was a real shithead. So I use my new power on him and one of his thugs. Blew out the back of their fucking skulls without even touching them! You should have seen it. It was crazy shit. I’m like holy shit! Did I do that? Oh, and let me tell you, the arousal. I’m not kidding you. It fucking turned me on! I was so horny after, I had the biggest hard-on of my life. It was crazy. Every time I do it, it’s like holy shit! Boner city. So from that day, I knew what I could do and everything changed.”
“But you didn’t change. You’re still you. Just because you can do this thing doesn’t mean you have to. You can walk away right now. You can use that ability for good. You got plenty of money, move to somewhere really nice and make a fresh start. You have the choice.”
She had a point. Up until this moment, all the pain and death he’d ever inflicted had been using his own ability.
“See? That’s why I say it’s not that simple. Each time I do it, something changes inside me. It’s like whatever it is, there is something behind it. It takes over a little more each time.”
“Then just stop.”
“I can’t!” He ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s not that simple, ok? I can’t just stop. It’s almost like it’s hungry. Now that it’s been fed it wants more and more. So this is what I do.” He turned and picked up one of the knives. He’d never in his life had the urge to do what he was about to do. Yet at this very moment, he was like a fifteen-year-old in the shower with a raging hard on. Only one thing would fix it, and that was to rub one out.
“So what are you going to do?” Debra asked. “You going to kill me? Torture me? Or can you at least set my son free?”
He took a deep breath as he picked up one of the knives and turned around.
“As a matter of fact, I am,” he said. He turned to her son and grabbed the boy’s hair as he started screaming.
“What? Why?” she screamed.
“Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!” the boy screamed as Henry sliced through the skin at the top of his head and continued cutting away. The boy thrashed and screamed helplessly as Debra began screaming as well. Her outward toughness had faded away just like that. Henry continued slicing while pulling on the boy’s hair until the scalp ripped free. The boy shrieked in terror as Henry held up the scalp to Debra.
“I will torture you. But you get to watch me kill your son first.”
Chapter 14
Sable woke up to her phone buzzing on the coffee table. She’d fallen asleep on her mom’s couch. After the creepy guy had left the night before, she’d stopped to see her mom, who was gradually getting worse. A small part of her wished if her mom was going to die, at least let her die quickly and painlessly. This slowly withering away was just too much for her. She had no idea how her mom could even bear it. Her mom was sound asleep when she arrived, but Sable had just felt the need to be near her.
She picked up the phone and saw it was Maria was calling.
“What time is it?” Sable asked into the phone.
“It’s almost nine, bitch,” Maria said. “So I take it you haven’t heard?”
“Heard what?”
“Some nightclub burned down last night. Like while everyone was inside. They said on the news over a hundred people were burned alive. That’s fucked up! CNN and all the networks are out there.”
“Holy shit,” Sable said. “Why did you have to call me so early? You know I was working last night.”
“Because it’s fucked up. You think you can help them? Maybe like interview the dead like you do to find out who did it.”
“I can’t. The only time it doesn’t work is if they’ve been burned. It’s like there is nothing left for me to feel. So they’re just gone.”
“Wow, that sucks. You want to go get breakfast?”
“What the fuck? You just called to tell me about people burned alive and now you want to go eat?”
“Shit, I’m still hungry. You’re the one who fondles dead people.”
“I don’t fondle them, dumbass.”
“I know. Meet me at Jim’s in an hour,” Maria said before she hung up. Jim’s was a chain of family restaurants around the San Antonio area. An hour later, Sable was sitting in Jim’s as Maria came walking in. She sat down and they ordered their food. Maria looked over at Sable.
“What’s wrong? You’re quiet today.”
“Well someone woke me up, for one.”
“Whatever, I was hungry.”
“Yeah. That and just…I don’t know. This guy last night was creepy as fuck.”
“Really? Why? What did he do?”
“That’s just it. I mean right when he walked in. Something about him just gave me chills.”
“What did he want? You shove a brick up his ass or something?”
“No, that was the other thing. He paid like over a thousand for a fucking happy ending massage. I mean it was easy money. Then he gets all mad I won’t go for a second time. I told him I had another appointment, which I did, even though that guy canceled later, but still. He flipped out and started moving his hands around all weird, like he was waving his hands at me. Then he freaked out and ran.”
“You always get the weirdest mother fuckers. Why not just be a stripper like a normal person?”
“I’m not going to work in some nasty ass club getting groped by drunks. Besides, I don’t want to get burned down.”
“That wasn’t a strip club. Was one of the upscale ones.”
“Which one was it?”
“Had a weird name. Kluzos Martini bar. Supposed to be all classy and shit.”
“Oh my God. I was at that place once,” Sable said. “God, they were such assholes. I was there on a date. They kicked us out because they didn’t like my shoes.”
“What the fuck?”
“Yeah they had a stupid dress code. They let us in but then one of the bouncers said my shoes were too loud.”
“You wore the zebra ones?”
“Fuck yeah! I love my fucking zebra shoes.”
“I’d have thrown you out too,” Maria said as their food arrived. She immediately stabbed her omelet with her fork as she spoke.
“Well fuck you. I’m glad they burned the fuck down.”
“Jesus Sable! A lot of people died!”
“If they were hanging out there, they were probably stuck up assholes.”
“Right? So what’s the plan for today?”
“I don’t know. Apparently sleeping is out.”
“You said that guy paid you a few thousand last night; you should take me shopping.”
“Oh, I should, huh?”
“Fuck yeah. I’m just the loser with the real job. Seriously I wish I had the balls you do. I’d do what you do if I knew my family wouldn’t disown me.”
“At least you have a family.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. How is your mom?”
“Not good. The nurse said last night they are just keeping her comfortable.” Sable looked down and mixed her scrambled eggs around her plate with her fork, but had only taken a bite or two.
“Man, that sucks. I’m so sorry. I would take you shopping but I’m broke.”
“No, it's ok. Maybe I’ll take you just to get my mind off things. This past week has been creepers and dead p
eople.”
“You find anything else out on those weirdos you felt up the other night? The guy with the severed head?”
“No. I have no idea. Whatever happened to him is fucking weird. I just get the info for Santiago and he does whatever. I don’t get involved.”
“Don’t you ever wonder, like if the info you provide gets someone killed?”
“I used to. But these guys are all douchebag criminals. So why should I give a shit if they kill each other? If anything, I’m performing a service.”
“I guess that’s one way to look at it. You ever thought of like using your powers for good?”
“You mean like Spiderman?”
“Maybe. Can you shoot webs out of your vag?”
“Fuck, I wish. I’d take that over this one, any day.”
“You think that’s all you can do? I mean, have you ever tried anything else?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. You can wake up the dead right. Like as long as you’re touching their guts or whatever.”
“Yeah.”
“Ever made one like sit up or stand up?”
“No. Why would I?”
“I don’t know. Maybe Eugene would know. He seemed to know a lot about your whole NecroWitch thing.”
Sable shook her head.
“That guy. I have a feeling whatever I am is way out of your friend’s realm of knowledge.”
“Maybe. We have another meeting tonight. You should come by. They’d all love that.”
“Thanks, but I’m going to spend tonight with mom. Not sure how many more nights she has left.”
“Yeah. Well, I guess I’ll give you that this once. You done eating?” Maria asked.
“Almost.”
“Hurry up. I need a new purse.”
Chapter 15
Debra hung from the meat hook trying to scream. Over the past few hours, she had screamed so much her throat had gone hoarse as she watched Henry do the most unspeakable things to her little boy. She closed her eyes as he cried for his mommy to save him. Except she was helpless to save herself, let alone her only child. His screams at one point didn’t even sound human.
Henry had a twisted smile on his face as he peeled the skin from the boy’s body inch by inch. She cringed as she heard her son’s bones snap or the squishing sounds it made when Henry cut into him. It was more than she could take. Finally, he went silent. Debra knew that meant he was dead, but it also meant his suffering was over. Henry set his tools down on the table and looked up at Debra.
“Well, that was fun. Tiring, but fun.” He waved his bloody hands at the boy’s dangling corpse. “I’ve never done anything like that. Hell, I had no idea a kid so small could withstand so much. He was a trooper.”
“Fuck you! Fuck you, you worthless fucking prick!”
“I’m glad to see you’ve simplified the conversation.”
“Why don’t you untie me and kill me when I’m not so helpless?”
“I could. But that’s no fun. I’m working on a form of art here. I need to focus. Can’t have you all flailing around.” He waved his arms at his sides as he spoke. He grabbed a smaller knife from the table and walked up to Debra. Using the knife he cut away her blouse, then her pants, before finally slicing off her underwear and leaving her totally naked. She hung there glaring at him. Henry was impressed. She still had a lot of fight left in her after what he’d done to her son. That fight wasn’t going to last very much longer, however.
He reached under the table and grabbed a cord, walked to the wall and plugged it in. Back at the table he turned and faced her holding an item in his hand. A speed sander.
“So you seem a little rough around the edges,” he said as he revved the engine. “Time to smooth things over.”
He pressed the sander against her stomach. The sander burned into her flesh as the rapid speed and rotation hurled chunks of blood and flesh into all directions. He took a step back and looked at his hands and felt his face.
“Hang on a second,” he said as he walked to the table and grabbed a set of safety goggles and put them on. “There we go. Safety first, you know.”
He revved the sander back up and pressed it against her left breast. She screamed and gyrated as globs of tissue, blood, and flesh flung in every direction as the sander burned right through. He pulled the sander away and examined the remains of her breast. It looked like a gory, blown tire. It sagged as thick yellow and red tissue oozed out. He pressed the sander against her other breast as she screamed yet again. She flailed around helplessly on the hook as he pressed the sander harder and harder against her skin. He almost gagged when a clump of flesh shot into his mouth. He stopped for a few minutes to spit it out. He managed to keep from throwing up in the process.
After coughing up a storm, he looked at her. There was no fight left in her. She hung there, her head sagging, staring down at her mutilated and deflated tits. He walked over to her as she looked up at him. Her eyes still glared at him through her blood soaked face. He grabbed a handful of her hair with one hand, and with the other fired up the sander and pressed it against the side of her face. She screamed and wailed as he used her hair to hold the head steady while moving the sander all around. The whirring sound of the sander filled the room along with the sounds of her screams and ripping flesh splattering against the walls and floor.
After a few minutes, her whole face was an unrecognizable mess of dark red ribbons. He tossed the sander down and walked out of the room. Several of his men were standing there with horrified looks on their faces. He glanced back and forth at them.
“What? You guys act like I just killed your dog or something. I’d never hurt an animal. Now go clean that mess up.” He took a few steps and stopped. “Actually. Leave them there and have Kellen List come and see me.”
He went up the stairs and to his room, into the bathroom. No wonder his men looked so horrified at him. His face, hands, and clothing were saturated. He peeled off his sticky clothes, threw them onto the floor, and climbed into the shower. As the hot water poured over him, he watched the blood run off his body and down the drain. This was the first time he’d really killed someone. Granted, he’d killed a lot in the past few weeks. Maybe a dozen or more men lost their lives, but he hadn’t put his hands on any of them.
After what he’d just experienced, he could understand serial killers. While killing his way did come with a certain power and extreme arousal, this way there was something primal about it. Something savage. Looking down, he saw his erection was back and harder than ever. He squirted some body wash into his hands and rubbed them together, making a nice, foamy lather. Looking up at the ceiling, he closed his eyes and began rubbing his cock with his soapy hands.
He thought about Debra and her son’s mutilated corpses hanging there as he grew harder and harder. He immediately regretted not fucking her greasy dead body. Her pussy would have been so soft and warm with all that fresh blood. He let out a sigh as he ejaculated, shooting his load into the drain. He turned off the water and toweled off before pulling his robe on. As he stepped into the bedroom, Jimmy was sitting on the bed playing on his phone. He jumped up at the sight of his boss.
“Jimmy? What the hell are you doing here?”
“Thought you’d want to know, Beltran and Esteban are planning a meet. I texted you the address. Not sure what it’s about. I’m sure they are discussing if you’re dead, the fire and everything else we’ve done.”
“Ok. Good.”
“Also, Kellen List is here. He’s downstairs.”
“Fine. When is the meeting?”
“In a couple hours.”
“Good. I’ll get ready and we’ll head to the meeting. Lock Kellen in the room with his dead wife and kid.”
Chapter 16
Beltran sat in empty office building until Esteban showed up. He came walking inside and looked around. Just like they’d agreed to on the phone, Esteban was alone. Not even his private security came along. He walked inside and looked
around. Beltran was sitting at a lone desk in the corner. There was a small chair across from him.
“So what is this all about?” Esteban asked.
“It would seem the string of odd deaths from both our crews came from one of your guys.”
Esteban glared at him and leaned across the desk.
“Oh really? How do I know it’s not one of yours? Who’s to say you didn’t set this whole thing up just to start some kind of a war?”
“Henry J. Thomas.”
“Who the fuck is that?”
“Who is that? Santiago, he’s your fucking guy. Pawn shop owner. Street dealer from the looks of it. Sells your crap out of the back of his shithole store.”
Esteban nodded. The guy who’d killed his men. The guy Sable told him about. He remembered the little shithead getting away that night.
“So what about him?”
“So he’s taken out both our men. I’m still not sure how. Security footage at one of my bars shows him doing something. They fell like they were being shot, but he had no gun in his hand. So, fuck if I know. Doesn’t matter anyway. He’s dead now.”
“My club,” Esteban said.
“It wasn’t really your club. I mean he’d pretty much taken it over and was hanging out there every night. I’m not sure how you can be so out of the loop in your own organization. I took extreme measures. Sent my guys in and yeah, we fucking burned it to the ground.”
“You asshole! I had men in there. Some of my whores were in there.”
“You can buy new ones. Whatever the deal was with this guy, if you could see what he did, well I wasn’t going to put anyone in a room with him. No. I was going to trap him like the fucking dirty weasel he is and burn his ass to the ground. That’s exactly what I did. I would have told you ahead of time, but I couldn’t take the risk. Had to keep it quiet. But now it’s over and done. Back to business as usual.”
