Jackal - Nightmare Grotto

The Nightmare Grotto - Chapter Zero

  There isn't much to be said about the Lady Killer that news anchors haven't already. For a couple of months, the pattern has been the same; a damsel disappears into the night only to be find murdered the next evening when a hotel maid finds the body. The rooms are always bought in the victim's name, usually drunk. Cameras can never get a clean look at the guy due to the three-piece suit he swaggers around in, with the hat tipped low. All they can see, for the most part, is the smile he wore.

By the time they even find a clue to pin the murder on the mysterious fellow, he has moved on as quickly as he has appeared.

Fast forward to the present, and we have our Lady Killer, known to himself and to the dead by the name Jackal and nothing more, with yet another victim...

"Oh, Jackal, you're such a tease! Come on." The woman in question, completely out of her wits, said as her nicely manicured hands push lightly against the nicely dressed man. The fact he picked her up from bar was one thing, but it was a completely different story when he has her buy the two drinks from room service. She continued to lightly push at his chest as he chuckled lightly. "You promised a good time, didn't you! Well, take it off already!"

"Are you sure you'd like that from me, madam?" Jackal teased back with a smug grin. "I'm not exactly all that much of a looker."

"Oh, I bet you're just fine under that coat of yours!" She howled out, tugging a little at the vest he wore. "Come on, come on! Take it off!"

"If you truly insist." He spoke quietly before getting some space away from the drunken lady. With that, he slowly stripped away his coat and vestments from his torso to reveal to her... a very scarred body. "Do you like what you see?"

"Well, of course! Scars are hot, hun!" She smirked. "What happened, though?"

"To be completely frank, the big one in the middle was from when someone was struggling against me and tried to use the bottle of alcohol in self defense. That was the bloodiest murder I've had to date."

The woman laughed loudly, rolling back onto the bed in the drunken stupur. "Oh, my God, you are just a riot! Come and get in this bed already!"

Jackal only rolled his eyes with a growing smirk. "Why would that be, Miss? Do you think I'm lying?"

She smirked. "Well, of course! If you truly were a murderer, why would you tell me that you are!"

"Because you are so blatantly drunk, you wouldn't believe me until it was too late."

Those words made the woman shrink back a bit as she thought it was still a ruse... up until she saw the shirtless man quickly flick a balisong from his pants pocket. Try as she could to scream out, the weapon was thrown with deadly aim straight into her throat... hilt-side. She gagged and coughed over the blunt trauma, trying to get away from the man. It was too late as he said, though. His body quickly made it's way on top of her with his left hand forcing itself over her throat tightly. His knees pinned her arms down firmly. She was trapped under his weight and strength. His lips curled more and more into a sadistic grin.

"Oh, it is the naive ones like you that truly get me going. You know that?" Jackal remarked as his right hand reached back for his weapon. "I do have to work on my throwing, though. I could never get this damn thing to go blade-side in."

The woman stared up at the man as she struggled to breathe against his choking hand. He merely shook his head with a smirk and leaned down. He planted one last kiss on her lips...

"A pity the night has to end like this... but, hey, at least I'll have a good time!"

With that... his arm raised itself high into the air, blade in hand...

Jackal slept soundly that night. He lays quietly in the bed with his latest victim quietly in his arms. Jackal did not care if he was leaving any and all sorts of evidence over the crime scene; he would be gone within the day anyway. All he wanted to do was enjoy his morning with his swiss-cheese-like maiden.

As the sun rose into the sky, as did Jackal from his slumber, almost routine. The time was only barely past six in the morning as the man pried himself from the bed. His clothes were a mess of blood, but it sure looked better than the woman and the bed she lay in. Taking everything into account for a moment, he quietly stepped into the shower to rinse the blood from his hands and body.

"What is the count at now, Jackal... I do believe we're at a count of eleven mistresses. I do have to say, this one has been my favorite. Always had a thing for the dumb blonde types. Easiest to manipulate..." He muttered to himself with a chuckle. He dried himself off with a nearby towel as he stepped from the bathroom. Despite the lingering scent of death in the air, he managed to keep the scene clean. He kept most of the blood on the bed and on the sheets, which he covered up with the blanket. The victim's head and neck and upper torso were unscathed, it was the lower body that was impaled to no end. With a smirk of satisfaction, Jackal changed into a spare set of clothes he kept in his bag. With one final check of the room, he made sure to take the poor woman's wallet. She wouldn't be needing it anymore anyway. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, though. All she had were credit cards. No cash to use what-so-ever.

"Dumb blonde without her stripper's pay? Not a lucky find, Jackal... not a lucky find."

With that, he gathered up her cards into his wallet, packed his things, and left--

"Hello, Lady Killer."

Jackal's eyes went wide as he stared startled by the man staring at him through his doorway with the biggest of smiles across his lips. That smile was all Jackal could see under the dark cloak he wore over the rest of his body from top to bottom. Near instantly, Jackal reached back for the knife in his pocket, but the man simply held up his hand before speaking again.

"I have not come to turn you in, fight, or otherwise, Mr. Jackal. Quite the contrary, I come to offer you the reverse."

If he was not in a public area, the Lady Killer would have easily added a male on his list of victims, but reluctantly, he slowly put the butterfly knife away. As the hooded man saw Jackal calm his tension, he simply offered an envelope. Jackal raised an eyebrow in suspicion for a moment before snatching it away from the man.

"Do enjoy your day, sir. We hope to see you soon enough."

"Yeah... you, too." He said with his voice going low in volume. The man slowly walked from the hallway and around the corner. Jackal glared at him before attempting to follow him... only to find the mysterious man had already disappeared. Without a second thought, Jackal quickly tore into the letter to read it's contents.

"You're invited to the biggest costume party of the year! So grand, you could only dream of something better! Come in your own costume, or choose one out of our own wide selection. Meet at the abandoned house outside of town this evening. Costumes are required. Present this invitation for entry."

"A costume party, huh? Sure... okay." Jackal smirked before walking down the hallway. "I'll be sure to dig out the masquerade mask."

The date was October 31st, 2015. Time was 8:35 in the evening. Jackal followed the directions given to him in his invitation. Sure enough, at the edge of the town he found himself in, was the abandoned manor in question. With a mix of both anticipation and suspicion, he stared up to the tall house. It certainly fit the theme of the night: creepy. Windows were broken here and there on the house. The boards were peeling. The only nice thing about the house was the door on the front porch.

Jackal methodically walked himself up to the door, making sure to pay special attention to the corners of his eyes the best he could to avoid any sort of ambush. He was still dressed in the attire from before, only with a simple masquerade mask on his face. He made his way up the stairs all the way to the door before giving it a series of knocks.

"One... Tw-" He started to count in his head before he could instantly hear the locks behind the door clicking off. As the door creaked open, Jackal was greeted by a butler just a bit taller than he was. He was wearing a tight outfit, showing off just how strong the man was physically.

"Hello. I presume you are the one they call Jackal, are you not?" The butler asked before giving him a respectful bow to the man. "Welcome to the party."

"Yeah. Thanks." Jackal said quietly to the butler as he looked around one last time outside. "May I come in?"

"Only with your invitation, sir."

Jackal nodded in agreement before reaching into his pocket. He provided the invitation to the butler, albeit bent up from being in his pocket. The butler looked it over before giving his approval and moving out of the way. "Right this way, Jackal. I'll show you to the meeting room."

Jackal followed the butler without another word to him as he was escorted to a dining room. The Lady Killer looked cautiously around at the line of food on the table with labels in-front of each one. He could not read them all in detail from the distance yet, but the smells were alluring enough to bring him over. The butler chuckled as he allowed the man to do as he pleased. Jackal looked over all the treats hungrily. His stomach growled like a beast as he moved along the plates with gluttonous curiosity. That is, until he stopped dead at one plate in particular. The tray was of steaks, barely cooked. You could still see the blood slightly oozing from the bottom. As hungry as he was, he turned up something he would quite literally kill for. He turned his attention back to the butler.

'"A plate fit for the jackals.' You guys are clever, you really are." He remarked at the label of the steaks. "But I'm afraid this party is too... Dead for me. My regards to the owner of this house, but I will be leaving now."

"Oh, Jackal, I am sorry..." The butler said before slowly pulling a syringe from his coat pocket. "I cannot let you leave."

Jackal raised a curious brow before flicking out his knife again. "You don't want to do this. A needle surely cannot take on a knife."

"You're right. Surely, I cannot take on your skills, Mister Lady Killer."

Before Jackal could even take his surroundings into consideration, two burly men in dark cloaks, much like the one who invited him, grabbed him firmly by the arms. The knife instantly was dropped to the floor as the man struggled in their grasp. The butler bellowed out a chuckle as he inched over towards him.

"You are right. I cannot take you on. But, why do that when I can cheat? It's about as fair as getting my victims drunk."

"I will END you!" Jackal shouted in a rage. "I'll slit your fat gut and make a harp of your entrails!"

"Sure, you will..." The butler said as one if the men holding Jackal exposed the murderer's neck. "Fight to your last breath, then..."

With that, the drug was injected... And Jackal quickly fell limp into the arms of the assailants.

"Boy, do I have a fitting costume for you..."