No Happily Ever After

Chapter 30

BenjaminBar was only three years old when he discovered the "special"room in the basement. The door to it had been locked then, but hewas a resourceful child and easily earned entry unbeknownst to hisparents.

He remembered itclearly. He'd wandered into the room, wide eyed and open mouthed. Perhaps if he'd been a normal child, he would've instinctively known,even at such a young age, to be frightened of such a place. Perhapshe'd have turned and ran away screaming. However, by that time,Benjamin already had a history of butchering woodland creatures andhad set several rooms in the house on fire. He was already far froma normal child. And so, when Benjamin walked into the fascinatingplace, he suddenly felt at home. He knew he was where he belonged.

When Madre Barwalked in that day to find Benjamin happily playing on the flooramong a collection of restraints, syringes, and knives, she clappedher hands over her mouth to stifle a scream. Because she knew. Of course, she'd already had suspicions, but she'd denied them toherself. Seeing him there confirmed her worst fears about her youngson. The same evil darkness that infected his father infectedBenjamin as well.

Times ten.

She'd only beenmarried to Abraham for a year when she'd discovered what he was allabout. She'd found remains of a victim of Abraham's in the gardenshed outside the house they'd shared during those early days of theirlife together. And Abraham had found her finding them. She'd spun around when he entered behind her and caught the darklook on his face. The threatening look. A look of pure evil. Hedidn't have to speak his threat; one look into those bottomless eyestold her that she was no longer safe. She would never be safe again. And the look of terror on her face told Abraham that he was safe. This spineless mouse of a woman would never be brave enough tobetray his secret.

For a time, she'dseen no more traces of her husband's sinister double life. As timepassed, she successfully tricked her brain into forgetting therotting body parts she'd once discovered. Mr. Bar saw success aftersuccess in the business world, and soon they were living in highstyle and had moved into Bar Estate.

Throughout thefirst year there, Mr. Bar spent a lot of time down in the basementthat he said he was remodeling. Though years had gone by since herdiscovery in the garden shed, and she'd all but forgiven andforgotten, something inside her had warned never to go into thebasement. But eventually, Mr. Bar proudly informed her that his workwas finished and he had something to show her. Madre would neverforget the sick feeling of dread as he'd happily lead her down to thebasement, and how she'd wept when she saw what he'd built. She wasmarried to a rich and powerful man. He informed her he was ready totake his games to a new level of enjoyment. And that she would help.

Three years later,Benjamin came along. She was able to refocus her efforts away fromthe activities that periodically took place in her husband'sbasement, onto her beautiful new baby. Abraham seemed content toleave her and the baby alone. She spent every available moment onBenjamin.

All the while,trying to ignore that same vacant look in the baby's eyes that shesaw in his father's. Trying to pretend that Benjamin wasn't far tooquiet and sullen. Trying to believe that all of his inappropriatebehaviors, even as early as infancy, meant nothing.

As Benjamin grew,she further told herself that the disemboweled birds, squirrels andcats turning up all about the yard were victims of nature. Tried totell herself that other children were just rude, not that they shiedaway from her child because he triggered their instincts to beafraid.

But the day shefound him in the torture chamber, happy as a lamb, the truth camecrashing in.

"Benjamin?"she said softly with a shaky voice. The little boy continued playingand ignored her, as he often did. "Benjamin?" she saidagain. "You... You aren't frightened in this place?"

His eyes snappedup. He gave her a beautiful smile. This was only the third timeshe'd ever known her toddler to smile. The other two times had beenwhen he'd proudly carried a bloody squirrel carcass to her in theyard, and another time when she'd thought he was in bed and he'dsnuck into the family room and found his parents watching a violent,gory slasher movie.

"No, Mommy! This is WONDERFUL!"

So that was it,then. The only two people she loved in the world were monsters.

***

For the longesttime, Benjamin didn't realize he was different. He didn't know thatit wasn't normal to think about blood. To love the warmth of it onhis hands. To love the taste of it. He didn't know he wasn'tsupposed to see violent scenes behind his eye lids, every time hiseyes closed. He didn't know nightmares weren't supposed to make himhappy.

He didn't know thatkilling was bad.

After the day hismom found him playing in Dad's special room, she started teachinghim. By the time he reached kindergarten, he'd been trained not tospeak of the things he thought about. Not to draw pictures. Andmost of all, not to hurt people, where other people might see. Itmade it kind of hard for him. He couldn't find much to talk aboutwith people around him since he wasn't allowed to say what was on hismind, so he didn't talk much at all. And his mind was constantly sobusy with his bloody imaginings that he found it hard to concentrateon mundane school work. Luckily, he was super smart about boringstuff like that so he could just quickly do it and then set it aside. Therefore, his teachers didn't hassle him much. His mother promisedhim from the first day she sent him to school, that if he followedher instructions carefully, that she would always make sure he hadsomething to play with down in the basement. Because if he didn'ttrust her to take care of his needs, then he'd have to go away andnever be allowed to play again.

Often time it wouldjust be a dog or some other wild creature that his parents brought tohim in the basement room. On rare occasions, his father brought oneof his own findings down; a vagrant or prostitute, someone from thedregs of society who wouldn't be missed. And then they indulged intheir bloody hobby and disposed of whatever remained.

Abraham could gofor much longer than Benjamin in waiting to satisfy his dark tastes. And as Benjamin grew, Abraham grew more and more satisfied to justlive vicariously through his son. He let Benjamin take the reins. Benjamin's tastes changed as well. He became full of hate toward theworld around him. He came to love toying with his victims for a longwhile before the final show. He loved playing games with their mindsand watching their torment. He couldn't grasp why they didn't thinkthe same way that he did, so he wanted to punish them. To make surethey know what evils exist in the world right around them, beforethey died.

Benjamin Bar's loveof his macabre slow dance with his victims was the only reason thathis classmates were still alive. He enjoyed coming home from schooland going down to the basement. Watching their faces and hearingtheir whimpers when he entered the room. Each day he had a new gameto play with one or the other of them. He'd remove one at a timefrom the cells to impose some sort of bloody torture on the victim infront of all the rest. Then he'd return that victim to the cell,bleeding and terrified. He fed and watered them just enough to keepthem alive. And he spent his days trying to decide how they wouldmeet their maker.

This bunch was thefirst he'd ever taken victims straight from his own town. He'dlooked upon their faces nearly all his life. Maybe that's why hehated them so much more than victim's past. Maybe that's why he wasso attached to the game with them; so unprepared to part with them.

But the familiaranxiety was mounting in him. That electric, tense energy coursingthrough him. When it was time to end them he would know by a decidedshift in his mood. He would suddenly feel unearthly calm, and hewould meticulously and peacefully murder them one by one. And then,all that anxious energy would subside and he'd feel better.

The time for thatwas near. He could feel it.