Ralph was a sadist. A schizophrenic sadist, though he could hide it very well. He learned not to speak to the voices, only listen. Most people can't manage that, working as a chef. Those people were locked up in an asylum. Trying to hide his secret got difficult at times. For one, the voices hated Mark, the dishwasher, he wasn't sure why, but he hated him too. He had to restrain himself from killing him on the spot. Every time he would get close, the voices would groan and scream "DOoooOOO IIIiiiiIiiitttttTttt..." "kKilllll... him..." "Do it... You worthless fool...". Another problem was that the rat poison was kept close to the spices, and he would have to stop himself from poisoning the customers. He would get sent to the asylum. Just like the others. As he stirred the soup, Mark came close to him, the voices cursing, some in languages he didn't find human. One whispered to him, "Sssset... up.... a trap..... invite him.... kill... him....", "Yessss..." they all whispered in unison. So the plan was set, he would torture him and kill him, disposing of his body in hydrochloric acid. At home, in his small one bedroom apartment, Ralph was cleaning up from his last visitor, just in case Mark accepted his invitation. Besides, if his landlord comes in, he'll have to kill her too, and that would raise questions. As he scrubbed the blood of his bathroom rug, he tried to remember who it belonged to. He remembered the face, he could not forget a beautiful face such as that. Her face was smooth and obviously well cared for. Her eyes, her sky blue eyes, the terror in them almost made him cringe, almost made the voices silent, almost made him merciful. That didn't last long as a second later, the voices screamed louder, forced him to gouge her eyes out, making the voices scream with delight at her suffering, just the thought of her not being able to see. total darkness just before she dies, that's what fueled the voices, what fueled him to do this. She started to scream, and he noticed her hair. Her hair was a chocolate brown, it could actually be described as a rich and creamy color. Like the chocolate kisses in his therapist's office from childhood. How he hated those chocolates, how he hated that office, and how he HATED that therapist. She made him feel different, her questions would never stop, she put him in that classroom with the other "freaks", his rage builded, and he took the same knife he used on the woman's eyes, and began to cut every hair off her head, with doctor-like precision. He poured water into the chemicalresistant bathtub, and the chlorine hydrate turned into hydrochloric acid. Each one of her hairs was dissolved, until she was bald, and ugly. She screamed louder, and Ralph laughed, she did not know that the apartment was soundproofed with egg cartons, she thought a knight in blue uniform would come and save her, she was wrong. Ignorance, that made him laugh, ignorance was hilarious, and infuriating. As the smell of bleach entered his nostrils, he woke up from his reminiscing. Cleanup was complete. He went into his small kitchen, went under the sink and took out a couple of things;
•A powerful sedative for use on Mark. •Some more chlorine hydrate. (In a well sealed container, of course.)
• Strong ropes for binding Mark (Torture is difficult when a victim is flailing around like a buffoon)
•And a set of chef's knifes, all perfectly sharpened and for his use. He took them and hid them under the bathtub, for easy access. He made sure he had some beer as a decoy, something's up if a football game has no beer. Now prepared, he went to bed, so excited for tomorrow, that he didn't pay attention to the confusing conversation every single voice was having. The next morning, he double checked the items, everything has to be perfect. He went to work, and before the lunch rush, he asked Mark. "Mark, you've been my dishwasher for two years, and we've never met outside of work, you're a great friend. Would you like to watch the game over at my place?" Mark thought about it for a minute, and in his Sideshow-Bob-Like voice, he replied; "I'd be delighted to, I'll come over at six, I heard the Ravens are playing.", "Great, don't forget," reminded Ralph. The trap was set, he couldn't believe it. Sure, Mark was a dishwasher, but he seemed like an intelligent man. He couldn't believe that he actually fell for it! But, then again, he didn't know. Nobody knew, except his previous victims. They're all dead, dissolved, in the sewers, with the rest of the waste. That evening, he made quick work of the beer cans, he put a small green circular sticker on one of the cans, and injected it with the sedative, he would make sure to give it to Mark. He went into the living room and turned on the TV, flipping the channel to ESPN, the game was about to begin, and so was his. Right on cue, he heard a knock at the front door. He smiled and opened the door, trying to contain his excitement. He welcomed Mark in with a big "Hey man!", to which Mark replied "Thank you for inviting me.". He offered Mark a beer, giving him the can with the green sticker. They set the cans down on the plastic coffee table, and began to watch the game on the small couch. Mark didn't drink his beer, and neither did Ralph. They were distracted by the game and barely spoke to each other, until the Ravens scored a touchdown. "YES!" They yelled in unison, they both took a victory swig of the beer, and Ralph remembered the sedative. He waited patiently for about ten seconds, and he started to get tired, he quickly turned his can and was shocked by the green dot. He was sure he didn't mix them up, this can't be happening! He turned to Mark who had a big grin on his face. "Goodnight, dear Ralphie." said the gentleman. Ralph woke up with a sharp pain on the back half of his body, he looked up and saw Mark, laughing at him. "I love this setup, Ralph, this is a great way to get rid of bodies, I'll be sure to use it in the future. I can't believe you went two years without noticing how similar we are!" Ralph started to dissolve, the last thing he heard were the voices, they were somehow different, they were laughing like they usually do, but they sounded like voices that didn't belong to him. Voices that are unfamiliar. Mark's voices.
