Delusional Devotion

Chapter 3: Caged Heart

     "I'm going off to visit Noah" Clare calls out to Wallace from the front door, Wallace jolting up with surprise at Clare's shout. Clare had been visiting Noah regularly ever since she became his apprentice, so this wasn't exactly an odd occurrence. Perhaps that's why Wallace thought nothing was strange when Clare started to announce her visits to see her large feline friend on a daily basis. He would have gone along with her, but he was aware that she would likely end up being the one protecting him rather than him protecting her. There was also the matter that Wallace was still rather...intimidated by Noah, and would rather not risk another close encounter with the feisty feline.

"Alright, please be careful out there, the monsters have been growing more aggressive than usual lately" Wallace replied with mild concern. He watched silently as Clare walked out the front door, a smile spread across her face like always as she waved at him with a blush across her face. Wallace sighs as he grabs the newspaper from his desk, he knew that Clare was more than capable of handling herself, that was never in question, yet he couldn't help but worry that she might get too careless. He tried to repress those thoughts as his eyes scanned over the newspaper in his hands, only for his mouth to go dry as he read the headline.

Murder in Mostro Town: Women In Danger. Wallace felt his face turn pale as he read these words, tugging at the collar of his shirt, he carefully read the article, detailing how several women over the past few days had been mysteriously murdered over the past few days, each one stabbed brutally in the chest, with no witnesses to identify the killer. Wallace eyes were wide with horror, while Clare was an unlikely target, it wasn't impossible for a truly insane killer who targeted women exclusively to set there sights on her, was it? With this terrible thought circling his mind, he nearly jumps out of his seat as he hears the front door close.

"Wallace are you ok!? I'm so sorry I scared you, Noah was sleeping so I decided to go back later" Clare explained. She sprints to Wallace side with concern on her face, this only serves to strengthen Wallace resolve to keep Clare safe. While Clare was a monster, she was also a very kind and sweet person at her core, and his dear friend, he'd never forgive himself if something ever happened to her.

"I'm ok...but, why don't I go with you to visit Noah from now on? I...worry about you, sometimes. I would just feel much better if I was there so I knew you were safe" Wallace explains with a nervous smile. Clare's pupil lights up with glee as she eagerly nods her head. From that point forward, Wallace would rarely ever leave Clare's side, much to the female monsters delight. News of women being murdered in the town also seemed to stop, and while this did bring Wallace some sense of relief, he still stayed close to Clare's side.

Wallace was tending to their roses, it became his favorite hobby that him and Clare would do together, and he could tell from the smile on her face that Clare was just as happy about it as he was. That's when he noticed something, an unusual amount of worms all gathered in one spot in the dirt. Curious, Wallace began to dig around that area, being careful not to damage any of the roses that the two had worked so hard to grow. Wallace eyes widen in horror and the blood drains from his face when he uncovers the rotting remains of a woman with golden curls. "Clare...what...what is this?" Wallace questions, he was in a state of shock. No one would ever think to come this close to the monsters forest, so there was really only one person who could have done this.

Clare's red hand grasped Wallace wrist tightly as she dragged him inside the house roughly, letting him fall to the floor as she let go to close the door behind them. As soon as Wallace was about to pick himself up, Clare had him pinned to the floor, her knife arm lay close to his neck and her face inches away from his. "You...you are mine...all mine...I won't let anyone take you away from me" she whispers, something about the way she talked, the way she looked, it was completely unhinged, and it sent a shiver up Wallace spine. Whatever the case though, he was trapped, and his captor was a monster, one he had once considered a friend.

Many escape attempts were made in the months Clare held him hostage. He tried running away when Clare would let him outside to tend to the garden with her, he lost the ability to be outside after that. He broke the window and tried to escape while Clare was away to visit Noah, Clare caught him before he could make it to town. Yet despite all of his attempts, Clare never treated him harshly or cruelly. Apart from holding him hostage in his own home, Clare would continue to be as sweet and polite as she'd always been. That's why this was so difficult for him to do, even though in his heart he always knew that it would come to this...he didn't want it to. As he stared at the knife grasped in his hands, he wondered, 'can I really kill her?'

As Wallace started to approach Clare, the knife carefully clutched in his hand, he could hear his thoughts, screaming to stop, screaming that there had to be a way...but was there? "Are you here to kill me, doctor?" Clare questioned, that same sweet smile ever present on her face, only make this more difficult for him. All he could do was nods, as Clare turned to face him and hold out her arms, "then do it" she encouraged him. Wallace felt the weight on his shoulders get heavier, why wouldn't she fight back? Yet he couldn't focus on that now. With one blow, he stabbed Clare in the chest, the monster looking at his with adoration in her pupil, even as her dress became bloodied. With her final breath, she uttered the words "I love you" before soon passing away, stabbed to death by the man she loved most. The knife fell to the ground with a clang, Wallace falling to his knees as he held Clare's corpse in his arms. As he looked upon Clare's smiling face, he realized she was gone, he had killed her, and he was alone. Wallace burst into tears as he held the monsters corpse tightly, morning not the loss of a monster, but of a woman who loved him too much.