NIGHT STRANGLER

FATEFUL NIGHT

The pattering of soft rain was the only sound echoing through the dark night. It got pleasantly cool and there was no sign of the hot summer weather. The streets were dark and empty, a car sped here and there between the descent of apartment buildings.

A lone cloaked person wandered by the apartment building at the end of the street. The hood of a bulky black sweatshirt hid his face, his hands were tucked into the holey pockets of his old dark blue jeans. He expertly crept between the trees which were growing between the apartment buildings. They provided him with greater protection from the unwanted glances of the residents of the apartment building.

He leaned thoughtfully against the bark of the nearest tree. It wasn't the first time. He returned to this place regularly. Always at night. Always in the dark. It's almost the fourth week. Patience was his middle name. He ran a hand over his stubbled chin. 

There was still light in some of the windows of the apartment building. It was not unusual, he knew that on the third floor the husband was coming home late from work and the wife was waiting for him. He observed that the pensioners on the first floor did not go to bed until after midnight. He also discovered that the little girl on the second probably has trouble sleeping because she often looks out the window late at night.

The apartment building he looked at was at the end of a group of apartment buildings. It was separated from the penultimate apartment building by densely leafed trees and bushes. There was nothing on the other side, actually no people. There were long fields covered with tall corn and sunflowers.

A sudden darkness snapped him out of his thoughts. He tore his eyes from the fields and turned them to the windows of the apartment building. The lights in the windows went out. Street lamps remained the only source of illumination, but tall trees prevented their light from reaching the apartment. Almost complete darkness, that was his favorite. He praised himself for finding such a great place.

He broke away from the tree trunk he was still leaning against. He made his way to the ground floor window with a slow but confident step.

Heat. In the middle of August, everyone around was warm. This rainy night gave people the opportunity to ventilate the disgusting heat from the stuffy apartments. He smiled under his breath, waiting for just such an opportunity.

The window he chose was wide open. It was covered only by a net, it was supposed to prevent the entry of unpleasant insects. It did not present any obstacle to him, the superior mammal. He reached his long muscular arms to the upper edges of the net and pulled it off as quietly as he could. The window frame cracked, not loud enough to wake anyone from a deep sleep. He threw the net on the ground and carefully put one foot over the parapet and the other behind it.

He found himself in the tiny kitchen of a two-room ground-floor apartment. He turned and quietly closed the window behind him. To be sure, he thought. His breath deepened, adrenaline rushing through his veins. He was waiting for this. He dared to wait for this. He left the small kitchen, found his way around the apartment in the dark as if he knew it there.

After a while he found the bedroom. Moonlight entered the room through a small window above the bed. The room was small. On the left side, two old cupboards stretched from the ground to the ceiling. One with hangers, the other with shelves. On the right side was a single chair with piled up clothes and a bedside table with a charging phone. However, he did not notice it, he was only interested in what was in the middle of the room. A small modest bed with only one person in it.

He watched her, she was beautiful when she slept. She was beautiful when he saw her at the mall for the first time. Then he followed her home. He was so happy when he found out how hidden her home was.

The woman squirmed on the bed. As if she felt his presence. He gathered courage and approached her. He bent over her, his nose against her forehead. He inhaled her feminine scent and savored the moment. He wanted to touch her, to feel the soft skin on his thumb.

He took his hands out of the pocket, but then the woman suddenly opened her eyes. At first she was confused, she didn't know if she was dreaming or if the huge figure above her bed was real. She opened her mouth but was too slow or the attacker was fast enough. He grabbed her by the neck so hard that he disabled her larynx and vocal cords. The woman's eyes went dark, but she fought as best she could. She scratched, kicked, pinched but could not deter the attacker.

Rupture. A single, faint snap in the woman's neck ended her torment. Her arms and legs fell down beside her body. Only the eyes remained open, scared to death. The attacker smiled, listening to the resulting silence. No one in the apartment building noticed anything, he knew it and it made him happy.

He tossed the crumpled blanket off the bed, pulled a hunting knife from his pocket, and plunged it into the woman's still warm body. He grabbed her wildly and pulled out the knife and stuck it into her body until sweat poured from his face.

He looked at his work, felt a rush of satisfaction. He couldn't take his eyes off the bed for a while yet, the tremors didn't leave his body. But then he looked at his hands and decided to look for the bathroom.

He washed the bloody knife and bloody forearm in the sink. He hummed contentedly. He closed the knife and put it back in the pocket. He used the woman's towel, still fragrant with washing powder.

The sleeve of his sweatshirt was soaked in blood, but it was not visible against the black color. Will he burn it at home, or will he keep it, he will decide soon.

He left the bathroom swimming in blood. He didn't care, he didn't worry about any fingerprints.

The time has come to leave this place behind. But how will he leave? He did not want to escape through the window. He knew that the residents of the apartment building were still asleep.

He went out into a small hall. He unlocked the front door from the inside, stepped out and locked it behind him. He put the keys to the woman's apartment in his jeans pocket.

AUTHOR : What do you think of my very first chapter? Did it catch you? Was it too harsh or not described enough? Feel free to let me know in the comments...