The Pleasures of an Eternal Nightmare

Chapter 17

Kent nibbled on his arm until the bleeding started. He started drinking the blood as he stared off into the distance with empty eyes. The sight made Kaleb uneasy. The prison had transformed his friend into something strange.

"You know the plan, right?" Kaleb asked as he pulled out a small suit case from the back of the car.

Kent nodded. "Just make sure you have enough bullets for me, too."

Kaleb shook his head and ran off into the trees. A few minutes later, John Wern stumbled into view and sat down beside Kent. He took a long swig of his beer and let out a deep sigh. "So... after nearly a month in that Hell hole, you come out drinking your own blood."

Kent nodded. "The voice told me it was healthy."

John laughed. "The voice? Do you even know who that is?"

Kent shrugged and licked his lips. "They told me to paint the eyes, so I did. They told me to fight someone, so I did. They told me to drink my blood..." Kent sucked on his arm again and sighed. "So I did."

"That voice was me," John said. "I've been trying to kill you from the start."

"That means you're the one killing my friends, huh?"

John laughed again. "You're catching on. What are you gonna do about it?"

"Nothing." Kent laid down in the grass and let the blood from his arm drip to the ground, staining the green grass under the moonlight. "I don't care what you do. I don't even know what to do with myself."

John looked disappointed. "I saw what you did to that teacher. I paid him to hold you hostage so I could make a quick profit but then you killed him. It was amazing! You killed without mercy and made him suffer even after he died! I wanted to see that power myself, so I thought killing your girl would help trigger you. I even tried to trick Marker into doing it for me."

Kent nodded. "If you're just going to talk, please go away. I want to be alone."

John frowned. "You're really hurting me, kid. I was really hoping for an epic fight to the death."

Kent rolled over on his side and pulled his arms and legs in. "I can't even feel pain anymore. I don't feel, I don't care, and I can't see anymore. I lost my vision after I drew those eyes."

John cursed under his breath. "I guess I don't have a reason to kill you, then."

"Just do it. I don't have a reason to live."

John stood up and swayed before he gained his balance. "I'll come back for you when I have a reason to kill you."

Kent sighed and grabbed John's leg. Before John could react, Kent pulled it and sunk his teeth into his leg. John began to scream, scrambling to crawl away. Kent let him go and John pulled his leg in, revealing a large gap pumping blood from his ankle.

"If that isn't enough reason," Kent said, "I can always start eating you."

John pulled out a gun and pointed it at Kent. "You bastard! Why did you do that!?"

"You said you didn't have a reason to kill me," Kent said. "I just gave you one."

John grunted as he stood up and pointed the pistol at Kent. "Then let me grant your wish."

A gunshot sounded and blood sprayed into the air. John dropped to one knee and screamed in pain. Caroline walked out from the bushes and held a gun toward John's head. "I won't be allowing you to kill the kid," Caroline said.

John looked at her with hate. "You... what are you doing here!?"

Caroline grinned. "Saving a friend. Any other questions?"

John laughed. "Actually, I do... die."

Caroline tilted her head. "That's not a question."

"That's because I don't have any."

John fired a shot at Caroline but she stepped aside and fired a shot back. The bullet hit John's shoulder and he held it with his free arm. Caroline kicked his face and the gun flew from his hand.

"You're done," Caroline said. "Give up."

"As if I'd give up that easily..."

A gunshot sounded from the distance and a bullet went through John's head. His body went limp and he collapsed to the floor. Caroline pointed her pistol to the source and looked around. Another shot sounded and a bullet hit Caroline in the leg. She let out a grunt of pain and dropped to one knee. She limped over to Kent and picked him up.

"Come on, K.C.," she said. "We're getting out of here."

Kent sighed. "Why? Why can't you just let me die?"

"Because I want you to live for me. I want you to live!"

Another sniper shot sounded and a bullet landed next to her. Caroline grit her teeth and quickly hurried to the police car parked nearby. She threw Kent into the back seat and hurried to the driver seat before starting to drive off. Another shot sounded and a bullet smashed the passenger side window. Caroline hit the gas and sped off into the distance.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The phone rang in Julie's office, the sound carried throughout the station until Julie picked up the phone and pulled it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Julie, this is Kaleb," Kaleb said. "Do you have a minute to talk?"

Julie sighed. "Where the Hell have you been? After you left the hospital, people have been labeling you as a missing person."

"You found him, right? The killer's body?"

"Yeah, we found him." Julie held the phone to her ear with her shoulder and took a sip of her coffee as she read over the files concerning the mystery killer case. "John was found dead with three gunshot wounds. One in the head, one in the leg, and one in the shoulder. Anything you want to add?"

"I killed him. Some chick in a prison outfit wounded him and kidnapped K.C.. I tried to stop her but she got away in one of your police car."

"I know who you're talking about," Julie said as she put the files away in the file cabinet. "She escaped the facility during a lock down. She hasn't come back and there have been no signs of K.C. being around either."

Kaleb sighed. "Of course not. How is Marker doing? Or... do you even know?"

"Marker is in rehab regaining strength in his arms." Julie closed the file cabinet drawer and took another sip of her coffee. "He is making progress at a slow rate. He just learned how to type on a keyboard."

"That's good to hear. He'll be back into pranking people in no time."

Julie shook her head. "But there is still a hole in this case, Kaleb. What happened to John's goons? We know he hired people to kill his targets just like Marker did."

"I'm hunting them down right now. I always find a ton of money on them so I always have enough for some ammo."

Julie sighed. "We're gonna have to arrest you when we find you."

"For what? Ensuring justice reaches everyone? You're too slow. And the way the system works allows criminals to get away if they are clever enough. My way ensures death reaches everyone."

"This isn't a game, Kaleb."

"18-48-12-28, 56-36-48."

The line went dead and Julie tossed her cell phone onto her desk. "I can never get what I want in this town."

Officer John walked in with a cup of coffee and a box of donuts. "You look stressed."

"You have no idea," Julie said as she sat down.

"The case is closed, right? All evidence pointed to John and the killing stopped after he died."

"Yeah, but now one of our witnesses is going around killing off his goons. We're gonna have to deal with him at some point in time."

Officer John nodded. "Wanna donut? I have your favorite, chocolate sprinkles~."

Julie sighed and grabbed one from the box. "Thanks, John."