He was not expecting to leave the city with blood on his hands, but once again the thirst for pain had taken control of him, leaving no choice.
As the steady pulse of the vibrant city separated from the growl of the engine and his eyes began to close, he finally let the remorse of his earlier actions flood his mind. He hated these moments, when the steel wall dissolved and the feelings came tumbling through to greet him; the blood crusted onto his coat was another reminder of the monster he truly was.
"Everything alright?" Boomed an unfamiliar voice from the front seat.
His muscles tensed and he reached for the knife concealed in his inside pocket before recalling that the man was, in fact, his taxi driver. He cursed his paranoid self and hurriedly wiped the sweat off his forehead.
Replying with a nervous "Yeah" he rested his head against his shoulder and stared out the window at the endless fields and hills rolling past.
Knowing it would be a while until he reached his destination, he once again closed his eyes, letting himself plummet into the abyss of his subconscious mind.
The hours crawled by, and he willed the wheels to spin faster, telling himself it was because he wanted to arrive quicker; But the truth was, it was because the monsters were catching up. Each stop gave them time to get closer.
Nobody else saw them, but they were always there, in his head at least- For now.
******
Darkness penetrated his eyes but he could still see. The buzz of the forest guided him, and a sixth sense told him where to go. What was he doing? Why was he offering himself up like this?
No, he knew it. Nobody else was going to die because of him, granted, they weren't exactly human, the things he killed- not to him anyway. Maybe he had turned them into monsters, maybe it was all in his head- He didn't even know anymore; He just knew he had had to kill them.
As he walked in deeper, the truth started to seep out of the trees, like sap. Clarity, for one moment cleared the dark cloud fogging his mind, and pale, wavering figures began to reach out, revealing themselves from behind the shadows.
"You killed us..." They whispered.
"You killed us."
They began to reach out and clasp their icy fingers around his neck, strangling him with relentless grips. Coughing weakly, he fell to the floor, and bones crunched beneath him as the lights left his eyes and the spirits receded into his head.
******
The boy had been silent for a while. The driver peered round at him, checking if he was alright, and swerved the car to the side in shock. His head was resting on his shoulder- But his eyes! They were lifeless and glassy, full of shock.
What had happened?
Urgently pulling out his phone, he dialed the police and an ambulance. How would he explain this? Would they think he had done it?
He started to panic, staring at the body wide eyed with horror, when he noticed something on the boy's neck. On closer inspection, it appeared to be- No it couldn't be...
Handprints?
******
They found nothing. No blood. No weapons- But how had he done it? How had he killed himself? The hand marks around his neck were just as confusing- It was almost as if he'd been strangled...
What they did find, however, was a diary. Filled to the brim with drawings. The twisted, monstrous forms he had drawn, contrasted by lifelike portraits of people- But there was one thing in common.
All their eyes had been scribbled out.
It was concluded that he had had some sort of mental illness- They had seen similar things- Well not this, but the drawings...
There was no family they could find, no friends, nobody even knew his name- It was almost as if the boy had never existed.
But maybe some thing were best left unexplained.
