The Worst Kind of Monsters

by Elias Witherow

  He called me on Thursday night and asked if I wanted to hang out on Friday. I told him I was hanging out with Kate but that he could join us. We were just going to drink and chill at her new place. Daniel and Kate had a good friendship, with me as their medium. They never hung out with each other without me, but when I brought him along he was always welcomed.

  Daniel was charming in his own way and he usually brought life and energy to a conversation that my sister found amusing. After hanging up, I dialed my sister and told her he was coming. She enthusiastically approved and I felt like things were finally settling down. Even though I hadn’t killed Andrew, the relief of getting my friend back overshadowed the whole episode.

  Friday came and after a dull day at the grocery store, I went home, changed, and drove over to Kate’s.

  Kate met me at the door and gave me a big hug. I told her it was good to see her, and she invited me in. I was impressed with the modern look of her new apartment. It was clean and sparse in that hip way successful adults like their living space. Black leather, bright white tile, and cool soothing light filled the space.

  “This is awesome,” I said, taking it all in. I went to the kitchen and opened the stainless steel fridge. “Oh, even had the foresight to buy some beers.”

  Kate walked in behind me dressed in a tight black T-shirt and jeans. “Well, I knew my alcoholic brother and friend were coming over, so yeah.”

  I chuckled. “Bitch. How was the party last weekend? That was last weekend, right? I remember getting a text from you, but I forgot to respond.”

  She joined me by the fridge and grabbed two beers. “It was good. I think everyone was super-impressed by what a responsible adult I’ve become.”

  “If only they knew the truth,” I smiled, taking one of the beers from her.

  “If only,” she said, opening her beer.

  I propped myself up on a barstool and we chatted idly, both of us recapping the time in between seeing one other and all that entailed. Well. I left out the torture bit.

  After a little while we heard a knock at the door. Kate went to answer and I heard Daniel from the entranceway give my sister a hearty hello. They walked into the kitchen together and I stood up and gave my friend a hug.

  “You look good, man, it’s been a while,” I said, smiling. And he did look good. His long hair was pulled back from his face, smelling clean, and his face was freshly shaven and glowed with life. In his hand he held an assortment of flowers.

  “Those better be for me,” I said.

  “If only you were prettier,” he laughed, handing them across the counter to Kate, who was digging out another beer for him. Kate rolled her eyes and they exchanged beer for flowers.

  “You’re wasting your money on me, but it’s sweet of you. Thanks,” Kate said, searching through the cupboards for a vase.

  “I wish you’d stop hitting on my sister all the time,” I said, sucking beer down.

  Daniel laughed. “I’ll get that date one day. The key is to keep trying. You have to wear them down.”

  “Speaking of dates,” Kate said, finding a vase and filling it with water, “have you gone on any lately, little bro? Have you found the apple of your eye yet?”

  I stared dead-eyed at her. “Yeah, she was a real Golden Delicious. Baked her into a pie then made sweet sweet love to it.”

  Kate laughed. “Gross…just gross.” She fluffed the flowers and nodded approvingly. “Thanks again, Daniel, that was really sweet.”

  He winked at her. “All this and more could be yours. If only you would give me the chance.”

  This was an old game, Daniel flirting with her and Kate rejecting him with fluttering eyelashes. It made me uncomfortable at times, but I knew my sister wouldn’t even dream of entertaining the idea. But she liked the flattery and attention, and so she let it continue.

  “You guys wanna play cards or something?” I asked, breaking into their flirty banter.

  “Let’s do it!” Daniel cried, pumping his fist into the air.

  “Hope you losers are ready to get slaughtered!” Kate said smugly.

  Daniel threw me a wink that only I saw. I grinned.

  The night grew late, the conversation light and playful. We played cards, drank heavily, laughed and joked, all of us enjoying each other’s company. It was a good night, free from the stress of life, away from all our problems and worries. Daniel was in high spirits, his quick wit and flirty personality birthing smiles from my sister and I. Time seemed to freeze for us, that whole evening wrapped in a bubble of happiness and contentment.

  Eventually, as the beer began to run out and eyelids started to droop, we decided to call it a night. I went to the bathroom and splashed water on my face, slapping sobriety into my cheeks. I blinked at myself in the mirror a few times, then nodded and went to leave.

  Kate begged us to call a taxi, but we both waved her off, assuring her we were fine. We hugged her, thanking her for a good night, and left after she made us promise we’d do this again soon.

  It was cold as I made my way to my car. Daniel walked beside me, hands in his pockets.

  “That was great, man,” I said, laughing as my mind replayed some of his antics.

  He smiled and nodded. “Yeah, dude, that was fun. I’m glad I came.”

  “I’ll see you around, dude,” I said, offering a fist for him to bump.

  He bumped my fist and then pulled me in for a hug. “Take care, buddy.”

  We detached from one another and got in our cars. As I pulled away, throwing a peace sign at Daniel, I felt more content than I could remember feeling in recent memory.

  Then my phone buzzed.

  I hit the brake and pulled up the text from Daniel.

  “I need it again. Soon.”

  I looked across the parking lot and saw him sitting in his car, his white face smiling at me from his window.

  “Fuck,” I said out loud.

  * * *

  At this point, it was just a waiting game. I knew sometime in the next week I would get a call from him, telling me he had taken someone. He was always the one who took them ever since this bizarre partnership started. In the beginning, it had seemed fair. After all, he spent the most time with the victims, torturing them, and I would step in at the end and finish them off.

  At first I thought he chose and kidnapped the victims because he felt like he got the most out of it. That his prolonged sessions with the poor souls were somehow more meaningful than mine. That he owed me the work and effort of going out and retrieving them. He didn’t understand that when I plunged my knife into their hearts, that was all I needed. The feeling of the blade sinking into their chest, the way they always gasped, the shape and dilation of their eyes. That was all I needed. I didn’t need them to suffer, didn’t need them to scream. I didn’t take pleasure in those things.

  Now, though, I had begun to understand why Daniel was the one who chose who to kill. It was because he enjoyed watching them, staking them out. He enjoyed seeing them live their life before exposing them to his tools and fire. He wanted to know exactly what it was he was stripping them of. And he wanted to beat misery and despair into his victims before allowing me to kill them. He wanted to replace all the happiness he saw them live out with horror and pain. He wanted to take every smile away from them, tooth by bloody tooth.

  He watched them so he could learn how to hate them.

  My phone rang in my pocket and before I even checked the number, I knew it was him. It had been five days since our get-together. I had just finished dinner, a lovely meal of hot dogs and ramen. I turned off the TV, took a deep breath, and answered my cell.

  “Hey, Daniel.”

  “You up for a little something different tonight?” he asked, his voice raspy.

  I shifted the phone to my other ear. “What do you mean?”

  He was breathing heavily as he spoke. “Come to our spot. Make sure you’re not followed.” I began to feel uneasy. Something was off. I could hear it in Daniel’s voice.
Memories of how he had been last time came flooding back. The way he had lost control, the way he had threatened me. I was hoping all of that had been repaired, that all of that was in the past, washed away by a good night of drinking and laughter. It was stupid of me to think that.

  I could hear how dangerous he was through the phone. I could hear the volcano of rage waiting to erupt, boiling just under the surface of his words.

  “Can you tell me what’s going on?” I finally said.

  He was frustrated. “Just get your ass to our spot. And could you bring your axe and a hammer? I can’t find mine.”

  I steadied myself, “Yeah…OK, man. No problem. But…you have to give me some kind of clue about what’s going on.”

  I heard him breathing into the phone, then finally, “I have two of them. And…they’re sisters. You better get over here.”

  “Daniel, wait!” I started. The line was dead. I threw my phone down onto the couch, frustrated. Two? We had never done two before. This was spinning out of control. We were going to get caught, someone was going to notice something. The rate at which we were killing was worrisome. It made my stomach churn just thinking about it. We had to slow down. We needed to let things cool off.

  And he took two girls. Sisters. I gritted my teeth, shaking my head. He knew I didn’t like killing girls. He knew I felt the slightest twang of empathy for them, the same as I would a cute little kitten.

  I sighed. Maybe this was what I needed. Maybe a good kill would help settle my mind. Push away the worry, push away the stress, and clear the air. Fucking girls, though…why did it have to be girls?

  “A kill is a kill,” I reminded myself. I went to the closet and dug out a hammer and axe from the bag I kept there.

  Throwing on my jacket, I turned off the lights to my place and stuffed my leather gloves into my back pocket. Time to go kill. I heard thunder rumble across the sky as I left.

  3. THE SISTERS

  It was pouring as I pulled up to the warehouse. The rain was coming down in sheets of blustering, cold waves, soaking me as soon as I got out of my car. I pulled my jacket up tight around my neck, making a break for the warehouse. I stumbled inside, shaking the wet off of me, listening to the drum of rain on metal sheeting. It was loud, almost sounding like an audience applauding. If only they knew what lie below.

  I trotted down the stairs, already hearing Daniel’s voice. As I reached the bottom, I saw he had adjusted the kill floor. Both girls were stripped down to their bras and underwear, dirty bags covering their heads. One of them was tied to the familiar metal chair, hands bound behind her.

  The other was bent over Daniel’s workbench, now empty of tools and dragged into the middle of the room. She was bound in a semi-standing position, her arms stretched out and tied to the legs of the table opposite her. Her ankles were secured to the other set of metal legs where she was folded over. I could see goosebumps where her bare torso met the surface of the workbench.

  They were both gagged and from the muted sounds they made it sounded like Daniel had done an extra good job stuffing their mouths. I heard small whimpers come from both of them as they twisted hopelessly in their restraints.

  “About fucking time,” Daniel said, acknowledging me.

  “The storm slowed me down,” I muttered. “It’s pouring out there.”

  Daniel looked like hell. He was naked from the waist up and his hair hung down in greasy strands. He looked pale and sick, dark puffy bags clinging to his eyes.

  “Did you bring the hammer and axe?” he asked.

  “Shit, I left them in the car,” I said.

  He waved me off. “Forget it. I feel like getting creative tonight.”

  He was quiet, but I could hear the darkness behind it. His tone was black ice, his movements fluid and deliberate like he had a plan. He went over to the pile of tools on the floor and began picking through them.

  Cautiously, I sat down on the couch, watching the two girls. They looked like they were in college, but I couldn’t be sure because of the sacks that covered their faces. They were fit, both of them sporting tight bodies that looked taken care of. I could hear the one bent over the table weeping into her gag.

  Picked the wrong night to go out, I thought to myself, should have just stayed in and studied.

  Daniel turned from his pile of tools and walked back to the girls. He crouched down in front of the one tied to the chair, placing a hand on her thigh.

  He said nothing, just stayed in that position, staring up at her covered face with unblinking eyes. His hand gently ran over her leg, back and forth, fingers tracing patterns on her skin. Finally, he reached under the hood and pulled the gag out, letting the sack fall back over her face. The girl sucked in air, whimpering, but wisely remained silent.

  Daniel continued to stare up her, his fingers in constant motion on her thigh.

  Then, his voice like cold fire, “Do you want me to rape you tonight?”

  My breath caught in my lungs, heart skipping a beat. Fuck…

  The girl shook her head back and forth. “N-no…please…” She was trying her best to be brave, not letting him show how terrified she was.

  Daniel’s fingers traced up her thigh. “Don’t you types…like to get fucked, though?”

  “I’m so scared, just please, let us go…” she sobbed, sniffling.

  Daniel stood, the light reflecting off his bare chest. “I think I’m going to rape one of you tonight. I’m not sure which one, though.”

  He strolled over to the girl who was bent over the bench and grabbed her ass that stuck out because of the way she was bound. She immediately shrieked into her gag, rolling her head around in her sack, trying to get it off, trying to get away from this clawing menace.

  “Maybe I’ll do you both,” he said darkly, his eyes two black holes in his head.

  I was terrified at this point. I could see that over the past week Daniel had transformed into the demon I knew he was becoming. This wasn’t about having fun anymore, this wasn’t about the things we could get away with. This wasn’t about the rush anymore.

  This was about something deeper, something darker. This beast that had spread its black wings over my friend wasn’t leaving anytime soon. It grew by the day, its fury increasing, ripping the strings of humanity away from him.

  This wasn’t fun. This wasn’t something I wanted to be a part of.

  “Daniel,” I called, my voice weak.

  He took his hand off the girl’s ass and turned to me, shadows spilling across his body like dark coffins.

  I licked my suddenly dry lips. “Dude…I don’t want to do this. Can we just kill them? Really do something different for a change? I’ll take this one in the chair, you take that one. What do you say?” I just wanted to get out of here, get away from whatever it was that was about to happen. Get away from Daniel.

  He said nothing at first, just stared at me with empty eyes. Then he slowly made his way to where I was sitting and placed a foot on the lip of the couch, leaning forward.

  His voice rasped. “You’re going to sit here and watch everything tonight. Do you understand me?”

  I shrank into the cushions, heart thumping in my chest. “Look, man, I know things have been kinda rocky the last couple of times…” I trailed off miserably. He was shaking his head, back and forth, his mouth a thin line.

  “Shut up. Sit there. And watch.” He turned to the girls but paused, instead turning back to me. He lowered his face to mine, inches apart.

  “If you get up and leave before I’m done, I’m not going to be pleased,” he said quietly, his breath smelling like a dead animal.

  I said nothing, gulping and feeling the first trace of sweat form on my brow. He turned away from me and back to the girls.

  Wordlessly, he began beating the one in the chair. She screamed as his fists rained down on her, pummeling her body and face. I felt sick just sitting there and watching it happen. He was hitting her hard, his blows coming fast and frequent. With the sack covering her
face, she had no way of knowing where the next one was coming from, and I could see her body rock with each strike.

  Finally, Daniel stopped. He ripped the bag off her head and grabbed her face. She was beautiful, probably early twenties, maybe a senior in college. Her light-brown eyes were filled with tears and her honey-colored hair spilled out over her face and mixed with the blood that poured from her nose.

  She met Daniel’s eyes, wincing from his grip on her face.

  “Do you want to leave?” he asked, his voice like frozen iron.

  She nodded, face contorted in pain and fear. She didn’t know why she was here, didn’t know why this animal was beating her, didn’t know what she had done to deserve this.

  Daniel leaned in and kissed her forehead, using his thumbs to wipe away her tears. “Don’t cry. I just get angry sometimes and snap. It’s not your fault. You want to go? I’ll let you go. I’m sorry about all this. I really am.”

  He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small knife. He leaned over the girl and cut her wrists free, then stepped back.

  “Be careful on your way out. It’s a little dark once you get to the top of the stairs,” Daniel said, turning away from her.

  I couldn’t believe it. My heart was pounding in my chest, every ounce of me screaming for the girl to get out. I didn’t care if she went to the police, didn’t care if she led them back here. I would be long gone and maybe that would force Daniel to go into hiding for a while and get his head on straight.

  The girl stood, her legs wobbling beneath her. She rubbed her face, staring at Daniel with eyes full of fear and mistrust. She looked at me, then back at him, then to her sister on the table.

  She pointed, her voice weak. “Please, let her go, too…”