by Jaden Wilkes
Happy. It was beyond my reach.
“It feels…” She smiled and reached for the words to explain how she felt. I walked towards her and edged her closer to the table. I looked at the counter; I had several weapons within arm’s length. What would I use on this one?
“Go on,” I said and ran my hand along her arm. She had goose bumps. It wasn’t that cold in here, she knew what was going to happen and she was excited by it.
“It’s like I’m flying but I haven’t left my body. Everything feels lighter, and my problems disappear.”
“So you’re completely content right now?”
“Yes,” she replied and smiled dreamily. “I feel good.”
“That makes me happy,” I lied and lunged for the baseball bat, swung it and hit the side of her head before she could open her mouth to ask what the hell I was doing.
She dropped to the floor in a crumpled heap. She looked tiny like that, barely human sized, more like a little pile of flesh and rags that somebody had discarded.
I picked her up and laid her out on the table, strapped her down and felt the growing lump on the side of her head.
I hoped I hadn’t killed her with that blow; I had so much to do.
She moaned and moved her head on the table, whispered, “Sarah?” and appeared to slip back into her dreams.
I cut the clothes from her body and stood back to admire my work. She wasn’t the most beautiful girl I’d killed, and most certainly not the most beautiful I’d ever seen naked now that I had Pet.
I ran my hands along her body, felt her lax muscles and the ridges of her ribs under my touch. She wasn’t the most athletic, or charming, or obviously educated, but this one was special.
She was the first girl I took after being with Pet.
She was the one I would use to keep Pet safe, to keep myself sane and in control.
I draped a blanket over her and turned out the lights. I would have felt better leaving her in the basement, but couldn’t take the risk again. If she accidentally perished, I don’t know what I’d do.
I heard her moan and flipped the switch again. The light flared, the fluorescent bulbs buzzed and the pock marked, dingy walls were highlighted with unsettling clarity. I stepped back, peered at the girl and furrowed my brow.
There it was again, that déjà vu, the sense that I’d seen her before…it rose up in my head and flitted away.
She moved her head back and forth and her eyes fluttered, then shut. The small crust of blood at the side of her head was drying and she looked stronger, her breath steadier.
I stepped away, turned back and it hit me.
She reminded me of Pet.
And I knew where I’d seen her before.
I knew where Pet had crossed my path years ago. Something she’d said echoed in my head and I remembered knowing her.
And the revelation was fucking stunning.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
