Mortal Man & The 7 Deadly Sins

Part 1

Here I am, another lost soul in the corner of a raggedy bar, owned by my foolish older brother. I was drowning my problems in the depths of a whiskey bottle. With no reason to live, other than taking the lives of those who don't deserve it. The walls reverberated from the bass, as the music shot into the crowd giving every soul dancing through the bar a sense of freedom. Their bodies loosened with every sip of alcohol, their spirits brightened like the full moon amid the night. I watched as they lived like there was no tomorrow. But I could feel the sorrow they were attempting to disguise, I could see the true feelings of each person behind their masked smiles. The alcohol and drugs were a cloak of invisibility for their emotions. It was true for everyone in this rundown bar tonight.

Except for me, there was no facade. I felt all the pain, the grief of every grudge I held, the horrors of my past trauma. It lives inside me, growing like a child in their mother's womb. Every person I am contracted to kill feels my agony, when I see fear enter their bodies, then life leaves their eyes, that is the only time I am comforted. There was one other man at this bar, I could sense hiding his trauma at the bottom of a shallow glass filled with despair, disguised as joy, in the form of a draft beer.

"I got a job for you" a dry raspy voice shouted across the bar. An old man filled with pain and grief stumbled over to my table. He had a full glass of beer that spilled with every step he took, I could see the look of terror on his face. His lips were dry and his hands rough, dirty, and callus-ridden. He had long shaggy white hair, with a beer belly that pushed against the table as he sat across from me. The low-hanging lights throughout the bar were dimmed, and I kept myself in the corner of the room, concealing my presence. The man couldn't see much of my face but I could see his eyes squinting trying to get a better look at me.

The old man grunted and burped "You're the bastard who kills child molesters right!?" I leaned forward out of the darkness, and locked my eyes onto him, seeping fear into his heart, "How much?" I asked him. "You don't even know who I am-" "How much are you willing to?" I asked again before he could finish.

Drunk and disgruntled, he scrambled through his pockets and threw 5,000$ on the table. "This is all I could scrape together.. please! He raped and killed my wife and daughter!" He cried out to me, "Evidence?" I asked, the man grabbed some papers he had stuffed into his ripped, dirty button-up shirt.

"Here you go, sir!" He handed me the papers with his hands shaking anxiously. I scanned the documents to ensure they weren't tampered with or manipulated. I quickly snatched the money off the table, "The job will be done come noon tomorrow, have another 5,000$ ready when the jobs are done." I said to the man in a menacing tone.

The old man stutters and slurs over his words, "I d-don't t-t-think I can have it by then.." I quickly reply, "Then decide which limb you can live without, or I'll decide for you." Then he fell to his knees, "Please! I beg you! I need more time-" I backhanded him, knocking the spit out of his mouth as he pleaded. He looks at me with shame and guilt in his bloodshot eyes. The people surrounding us dancing and drinking, stopped in their tracks and watched as the man sobbed in distress. There a group of friends watching the man and I discuss business. One of the girls stopped dancing and urged her boyfriend to do something, just as he attempted to step in and defend the old drunk. He noticed who I was the moment we made eye contact, he stared at me and nervously took a step back, "Babe.. I think it's best if we just get out of here..." His voice cracking as he spoke. She responds in disappointment, "Fine then I'll help him myself! Always such a pussy." She walks urgently to the man's aide.

"Are you okay sir?" She asks him just before I smash a beer bottle on the top of her head, it shatters and every little piece drops to the floor, her body slams into the ground as she falls unconscious. I side-eye the boyfriend and the rest of the bystanders, they quickly scatter from the scene in fear.