Page 4 of Bloody Quarter

“You’re correct, you don’t know me. But I know people like you, and you’re what’s wrong with this city.”

“Please, man, I swear I’ll give you whatever you want. I’ll do whatever you want. Just let me go.”

I was tempted to torture him. I could derive so much more pleasure from the screams that would echo along the walls, but when I turned over a new leaf six years ago, I had to curb those urges. To remain in control of my darkness was difficult for me and had been worse as a teen. Some days were harder than others, and I admittedly had fallen off the wagon multiple times, but I was in control tonight.

Bending over so I could look him in the eyes, I watched as tears slid down his face and dropped into the trough below.

“You know what’s ironic, Giles? Not so long ago, I wouldn’t have given a fuck what you did to anyone in your life, but then I found a higher calling. My mentor changed his ways, and I had to conform, so now here you are. Do you think that means you were chosen to die? Meant to die? Did the Grim Reaper touch your shoulder as you walked down the street and say today is the day?”

“I don’t know…please, what will it take for you to let me go? Choose someone else.”

Sighing, I tapped my chin with the tip of the blade, giving him a moment to think that there really was hope for another chance. Like I was some vigilante do-gooder looking for him to say, ‘I’ll be a better person, I promise.’ But that was not who I was.

Grabbing a handful of his hair, he opened his mouth to beg or scream, but I was fast with my blade and slit his neck open like he was cow strung up for slaughter. His eyes bugged out as he choked on his blood. The red streamed along his face and into the trough below.

I stared into his eyes, silently watching as the panic began to fade and a calmness took over right before the light went out completely. I rolled my shoulders, my body shuddering with the thrill of the kill complete. Clenching my fists, I let out a frustrated roar that echoed around the cavernous space. I slammed them into his stomach, swinging his limp carcass.

“Fuck.” There was something so unsatisfying about killing this way, and yet I knew that I had to change or get caught. But I missed the screams and blood coating the walls. I missed the terror in their eyes and the cat-and-mouse game of chasing them from room to room as they tried to escape. There was no escape once I had them in my grasp.

“Stop swinging already, fuck you’re annoying even in death,” I growled at Giles as I grabbed his body to stop the momentum. Once the blood had drained into the jugs stored underneath, I pulled them out and capped them for later, then slipped the catcher tray under the trough. Time to get to work. The process of skinning took skill, patience, and precision to do it right. Luckily, I had all three when it came to my work. Turning on my favorite music, I started with his legs and let each piece of skin drop into the trough with a thud. The hands and feet were the trickiest part. They took some time to master, but now I could peel it off in one go like a glove or sock. Once all the skin was stripped and gathered into a pile, I cut out the fat. There wasn’t much, considering Giles was in good shape, but what there was got collected into a large pot. I walked out and into the next room that I had set up for this process and dumped it into two separate slow cookers. It had taken some time to figure out how to run electricity down here, but once I had, it made my life so much easier.

Setting the cookers on low, I sang along with the next song as I extracted his organs and put them in the cooler before starting on the muscle. Each piece was carefully carved away from the bones, leaving them completely clean. That meat was layered into a larger cooler along with the tendons. Last but not least were Giles’s bones. With each tendon cut, the bones separated from the rest of the skeleton, just like I was back in school dismantling the dummies for class. Pre-med had taught me a lot, and all my teachers said I had a bright future in medicine. I wonder what they would’ve said if they knew the real reason I’d been taking the courses.

Once the bones were collected, they went into the other room to be boiled and cleaned of the little bits of flesh still stuck to them. This was the lengthiest portion of the process. I could only boil half of the bones at a time. While my goodies were being prepared for transport, I began my thorough cleaning process. Everything needed to be scrubbed, and I was meticulous with every link of chain and crevice of the trough. Using some of the cleaner, I made sure my pants and boots were once more perfect and placed into their storage area as I redressed into my jeans and t-shirt.

It would take a few trips to get it all out to the car, so I hauled everything I could to the bottom of the stairs and then took it up one by one into the mausoleum. Would it have been easier to use a different location? Yes, but I preferred doing it here among the dead. It felt right.

On my last trip from the car to do a final check and lock up, I spotted a figure crouched in the darkness a little further down the row. Blending with the shadows, I moved quickly and silently as I veered between the tall walls until I’d circled and was almost right behind them.

It was late, too late for normal visits to loved ones, and yet the way the person was hunched over and running their finger over the name engraved into the stone told me this was someone special. They were cloaked in all black like they, too, were trying to blend with their surroundings. With their head covered, I couldn't tell if the person was male or female, but from the slender frame, I guessed female.

“I made it six months.” I stood up straighter with the soft and soothing sound of her voice. She had enough of a Cajun lilt that I knew she was from an Acadian parish, but it was bastardized enough that she hadn’t lived there for a long time. “I know, it’s not much considering, but…shit no….” She sighed. “It’s a big deal, and I know I should celebrate the victory, but somehow, it still feels like a loss. I don’t know if that makes any sense, but it’s how I feel right or wrong.”

The woman stood and placed her hand on the front of the small tomb before leaving something on the top. The breeze caught her scent, and it drifted toward me. Something stirred inside my chest when I took a deep inhale. Closing my eyes, I tried to place the combination of light and woodsy with a spicy nuance. The closest that I could come to was an iris flower with a dash of cinnamon.

“Anyway, I don’t have anything new to tell you. Mom is still not speaking to me. I don’t blame her, I guess. I’m still working the same diner job cause no one else will hire me, and I’m at least a solid year away from having enough saved to buy my own shoebox of a house. I know I could rent, but this would be mine. The first real thing that I worked for and the first real step forward. I don't know, maybe that doesn't make an ounce of sense, but you know me, I always have to do things the hard way.” There was a long pause before she shivered and then looked around like she knew someone was watching her. “I miss you,” she finally said, and then turned and walked away with her hands stuffed into the pockets of her hoodie as strands of hair blew out from under the black material.

I waited until she was out of sight before walking over, picking up what she left behind, and running my thumb over the six-month chip. Interesting. She spoke like she’d been here before, but this was the first time I’d seen her. Taking note of the name she’d traced, I set the chip down and went back to finish my work.

For whatever reason, the sound of the girl’s voice was stuck in my head. I kept repeating her words while her sweet smell lingered in my nose. It took a lot to intrigue me, but my interest was officially piqued.

Alora

There was an eerie gloom tonight, and although you couldn't see the clouds, you knew they were blocking out the stars and only letting a sliver of moonlight penetrate the blanket of darkness. When I was little, I was afraid of the dark and the monsters that hid within it. I guess most kids were, except for my little sister. Evie was fearless, more fearless than I ever was about anything. Which was hysterical because my mother blamed me for Evie wanting to be like me, and all the while, I rebelled to prove I could be as carefree as she was.

My scuffed boots kicked along little pebbles as I walked. I was trying hard to pretend that I wasn’t freaked out, but I could have sworn that someone was watching me back at the cemetery. Nothing had seemed out of place per se, and I certainly hadn’t seen or heard anything, but there was this feeling like ice water slowly running down my spine.

It was the one place where I usually never had to worry about anything or anyone. Not like out here. Here on the streets, everyone was fair game, and if you walked down the wrong alley, there was a good chance you’d never make it home again. The sound of someone laughing made me look over my shoulder, but it was just a couple of guys stumbling out of a bar. Luckily, they turned and walked in the other direction.

I spotted Rex standing on the next corner, his cigarette tip glowing as he inhaled. I’d met him on my second day at the homeless shelter when he’d taken pity on me. I had graduated from the halfway house, but my on-and-off-the-wagon drinking put me right here. Homeless, and each time I fell off for more than a week, having to start saving all over again. Rex took me under his wing to help keep me safe. I loved his stories, especially his times of being overseas with the army. As sad as they could be, they were emotionally gripping and powerful. I think we got along so well because we both understood loss.

“There you are. I was starting to worry you had gotten yourself into some trouble,” Rex stated like I was his daughter out after curfew.

“Naw, you know me. I try to avoid trouble at all costs.” I smirked as Rex laughed.

“Who are you trying to fool, girl? We both know that trouble follows you around whether you want it to or not.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” I looked up and down the street. A few people sat outside leaning against buildings, which was nothing out of the ordinary for this time of night. “Are they full up inside?”