The warm air permeated Red’s nostrils. The window of his car pulled down as he sniffed the air around him. His dark car is parked along a noisy, neon-lighted street. A couple of young men casually strolled pass his car, wearing their night clothes. Some of them, so scantily clad that you could almost see their souls. But Red did not notice them, did not even see them. He is not even interested. His keen senses are not focused on these fellows who are merely looking for the next sexual conquest for that night. He had grand designs tonight. He can almost taste it.
Red closed his eyes. His nostrils twitched, forcing itself to zero in on its intended target. He knew the smell of his quarry very well. This is the night that he will claim it. He has waited days, weeks even for this special night. His stalking days are now over. He must perform the act now or he will never will. This thought made him quite uneasy. He rubbed his hands against his kaki pants and absent-mindedly patted his left chest with his right hand. He should look immaculate tonight. Destiny awaits him.
Then he found it, that distinct smell. After weeks of following his prey, he cannot mistake that stink for somebody else. Its sweat during this scorching summer nights is unmistakable to Red. It encapsulated his whole-being. It drove him insane. It is utterly intoxicating.
He scanned the thoughts of the men passing by his car. No indication that they have seen his prey. His mind jumped from one man to another. No images of his intended victim. He followed the smell with his thoughts, farther and farther away from where his car is parked. The thoughts of these men are all the same it seems. But he should not be distracted. He should find Roger as soon as possible. The night will not last long.
At last, at the corner of a street facing a huge mall, Red found what he is looking for. His prey. Through the eyes of an old lady, a cigarette vendor to be sure, he saw Roger. The fiend was in his usual shabby attire. The potbellied man was wearing his favorite faded jeans. Tonight he opted for a plain gray shirt. His attempt to hide his identity by wearing a cap is truly futile. Anyone who knows him will surely recognize him despite the cap. Not that he is attempting to hide himself. To the contrary, the cap is part of his uniform nowadays. Red thought that it’s because of Roger’s fading hairline.
Red entered Roger’s mind. As usual, his mind was filled with thoughts of lechery and money. Red could barely go through all the muck in Roger’s brain. Red wanted to vomit. Roger was ogling at a girl standing near the façade of the mall, scantily clad, as to be expected at this particular place. But he perished his carnal thoughts. He has a different agenda tonight. He must sell his wares first before he can take home this bacon. He’s been waiting for almost an hour now. But his usual customer is still nowhere in sight. He is late as usual. But Roger did not care. As long as the junkie arrives and pays for the paraphernalia, Roger is happy.
Roger disliked waiting for customers this way. He is used to asking his customers to drop by his house in Pasay to pick up the wares that they want to get from him. But times have been tough these last few days. Roger is desperate to find money.
He slammed his right hand into his pocket, making sure that his goldmine is still there. The shitbag requested for a few tablets of E tonight. He could only bring four tablets. But that’s ok, his customer said.
A few blocks away, Red revved up his car and proceeded to Roger’s location. After less than a minute, he parked his car on the street across from Roger, and waited.
A few minutes pass by. Then a white Toyota Corolla stopped in front of Roger. The bastard then leaned forward, handed the packet to the guy in the passenger seat. Roger counted the wad of money handed over to him and smiled. He is not the only with a smile on his lips, though. Red’s lips also curled into a smile. The fiend has finally finished his business. Red’s business is now about to start.
After the transaction, with his usual lumbering gait, Roger ambled to the direction of Taft Avenue. Red’s hands trembled with anticipation. His left hand brushed pass the knife concealed in his pockets. He looked at the rifle on the passenger seat. It won’t be long now, Red. He thought to himself. He wanted Roger badly. He slowly drove his car to follow Roger.
The street before Taft Avenue, Roger made a right turn. Perfect, Red thought. Roger was following his routine tonight to a tee. Roger followed slowly. He then parked the car under a small tree and got out. He decided to follow Roger on foot.
The light posts on this street have not been working for sometime now. Red thought that Roger goes through this street because of the darkness. This suited Red fine. He got the rifle from the passenger seat and followed Roger.
Roger is oblivious. His lumbering gait did not change. Red is gaining on him: seven meters, five, four…then Red fell to his knees and aimed. He pulled the trigger and the tranquilizer dart hit Roger on his nape. He fell to the ground, asleep.
Red quickly went to him. He held on to Roger’s belt and lifted him to his shoulder. He then quickly brought him to his car, opened the passenger seat and shoved Roger inside. Red could barely hold his excitement.
The engine of his car blasted into life and he sped away. Roger was fast asleep on the passenger seat, open-mouthed. His sweaty smell filling Red’s nostrils. Red almost vomited.
Upon reaching his house, Red took the controls of the garage door and opened it. The squeaking door was grating to Red’s ears. More importantly, Red feared that the noise might wake Roger. He looked at his prey. No sign of life there. Red grinned.
Red opened the door to his house. But he did not open any of the lights. He did not want to wake Leda up again tonight, especially considering the package that he was carrying. Roger weighed a ton. His squatter’s life apparently had no effect on his weight.
Red immediately brought Roger to the basement. He opened the lights. The basement is immaculately clean. The steel operating table reflects the lights so well. This only increased Red’s anticipation.
Roger began to moan. Red carefully placed him on top of the table. He strapped Roger’s hands and feet to the table. Roger’s moans increased in intensity. Red worked quickly. He took the knife from his pocket and slashed Roger’s gray t-shirt. He then removed Roger’s shoes and pants. Red sat on the stool by the table, waited for his prey to wake up. Red liked it this way. He loved to see the reaction of his victims.
The grand father clock upstairs chimed four times. With that, Roger opened his eyes. This is one of Red’s favorite parts. Red entered Roger’s mind.
Roger is aghast. Where the hell is he? He looked to the left and sees the dark corner of the basement. He then veered his vision to the right, clearly confused at seeing Red staring at him. A mischievous smile permeating his lips.
“Who are you?” Roger at last said, groggily.
“Who do you want me to be?” replied Red.
“What am I doing here?” Roger asked.
“You are here to be cleansed,” Red answered.
Immediately, Red stood from his stool. He placed a rag inside Roger’s mouth. Roger attempted to scream, but to no avail. Roger attempted to break from the straps. But the straps were strong enough to hold down a horse. Red made sure of that.
While Roger was trying to break free, Red held on to his beautiful knife. He smiled. He changed his grip, the knife’s point facing downward. He closed in on Roger and plunged the knife deep into Roger’s belly. Roger gasped. Red laughed, quietly at first, then louder and louder. He then slashed through Roger’s potbelly, all the way down to his navel. Roger silently screamed, blood sputtering through his mouth, soaking the rag.
Red then plunged his hands into Roger’s stomach. He is sure at what he is looking for. There it is. Red then took out Roger’s large intestines and sliced a small part of it. Roger convulsed.
With a small portion of the intestines in his hands, Red finally took the rag out of Roger’s mouth. Roger could no longer scream even if he wanted to. The blood was oozing freely from his mouth now. Red then slammed the piece of flesh into Roger’s mouth. He forced the piece down Roger’s throat. Roger gagged. But Red continued.
Red looks into Roger’s eyes, entering his mind for the last time.
Before the darkness came, through Roger's eyes, Red saw himself smiling.
No comments:
Post a Comment