December 30th, 2023
Day Seven
"What did you say?"
There was a tense silence. Alfred was clearly afraid to restate the information he just gave, based on JJ's reaction - a silently enraged, cold glare.
"I, uhm..." He swallowed nervously, debating what to say. "Couldn't get anyone down here. It was just too risky; things were busy today, a-as you probably saw. I couldn't get anybody alone."
"This is all I eat." JJ responded, with an intimdiatingly calm tone. The glare remained, showing that it was merely a hiding of his rage. "It's the only thing my body is used to; anything else, I would throw it right back up. It's all I'm capable of eating. Sometimes, I'm so busy with my priorities that I don't even come down here; I go nights without eating at all. I need this."
"Well I definitely couldn't do it now, everybody's sleeping-"
"You have one job!" JJ snapped, causing Alfred to flinch and back up. "One job, yet you can't even do that! I've had an absolute shithole of a day, and you've just made the biggest mistake contributing to that! I swear to god, I will get sick if you don't get me something right now!"
He turned away from his frustration just for a moment, trying to recollect himself the best he could, but to hardly any avail.
"You irritate me; every aspect of you." He began. "Except for one, small thing - the fact that you bring me my meals. That's the very reason that I tolerate you. But now that you can't even do that?"
He turned and looked back at Alfred.
"I don't see any point in letting you live anymore."
"What?" Alfred's quiet, disbelieving response what barely audible, but grew as the reality of what JJ was planning sunk in. "What do you mean? I-I'm useful! I just couldn't get anyone down here tonight, that's all! I promise, next time, I'll-"
Letting out his anger to the fullest, JJ hauled an axe off one of the steel racks, let out a rageful cry, and charged straight for him. Alfred screamed as he dodged the attack, just barely, and his axe was swung into the wall where he once stood.
Alfred barely had any time to recover before JJ reeled back and struck again. Due to the weight of the weapon, his aim was slightly disproportionate, and he merely slashed Alfred's arm instead of where he wanted to. Another wail filled the room, echoing, threatning to alert anyone outside, but that was always the risk of killing people down here.
Tonight would be no different.
With him weakened, JJ was easily able to pin him, using both his legs against his ribcage and an axe to his throat as a way to keep him down. He felt a burst of exhilaration as he drank in Alfred's terrified expression, a surge stronger than the other times he'd slaughtered his previous victims. And it took a moment to realize why.
"Do you know what intensifies the excitement and thrill of murder?" JJ asked, menacingly grinning as Alfred began to tremble even harder, his anger quickly fading. "Doing it to people you know. Teasing, killing, eating... it all feels so much more, pleasurable when you're doing something so horrid to people you once knew. Breaking their trust; betraying them, it makes it all so much more worth it. I don't know you too well, Alfred, but you didn't expect this, did you?"
"Y-You don't want to do this-" Alfred wheezed, out of breath and nearly petrified as JJ teasingly moved the blade of the axe across his neck, threatening to cut just deep enough to draw blood. "T-Trust me, please, I'm still useful!"
"He's this scared because he knows what I'm capable of." JJ thought, more excitement coursing through him. "He heard of me from the news, and they described the worst of my crimes. My other victims, they have no idea what to expect when I'm about to kill them. But Alfred? He knows exactly what I'll do to him."
