Pretty Twisted (short story)

chapter 1

Chapter 1.

There she was. She comes every evening to run in peace, the wood is such a tranquil place at night. Which is a bad idea, but of course, it's great for me. Creeping forward in the dark undergrowth; silence and stealth is key to make this work. Against the silent night sky the baseline from her headphones blasts, alerting me of her nearing presence. I have everything I need for what I'm about to do. As she rounds the final corner I ready myself and pounce.

She falls with a scream, I hold her down and she thrashes beneath me. I tie her hands with the wire, giving me more time to make my masterpiece. I open my bag and lay out my equipment beside me; MIG wire, a butterfly knife, a range of scalpels; a lighter and my favourite weapon my ruby encrusted dagger.

Going back to my screaming victim, kneeling over her I select my thinnest scalpel. With a steady hand I carefully carve the letter A in to her soft cheek. Enjoying the look pure terror she has in her eyes and her screams of agony as she withers beneath me. Now the fun begins. I take my butterfly knife and gently caress it down her arm, she pleads with me to stop, sending a shivers of pleasure down my spine. I begin to press harder on the glinting blade, gliding down her arm, slicing open the skin.

The scarlet blood pumps from her veins pooling beneath her, the sweet metallic sent filling the air. She looks down at her arm as her hysteria rises, seeing all the blood and me grinning with delight as I begin to make another incision. She thrashes wildly kicking me hard is the shin before her eyes roll back in their sockets and she faints. Now I'm angry.

I make use of the time she is unconscious, taking my knife out her arm I select one of the larger scalpels. Cutting open the skin above her knees, pressing deep just above her tendons, I quickly find both the quadriceps tendon and the patellar tendon and severing them, immobilising both her knees.

Not liking the sudden silence, the absence of her pleas, wanting her screams to fill the night air like the wonderful song it is, I slap her sharply round the face wincing as a red handprint appears ruining her perfect beauty. Knowing it can be easily covered my regret subsides overtaken by my elation as she begins to wake.

I continue my torture for the next few hours, methodically cutting, burning and skinning her until not one inch of flesh is left unmarked. My victim had since ceased screaming and given up with her pleas, much to my dismay, she had neither the energy nor breath left. Instead she sobbed quietly to her herself, the fear in her eyes replaced with a dull glazed look of knowing, I had of course cut her eyelids off so she could always see what I was doing.

It was nearing midnight, only a few minutes left; the time was too long to wait without cutting her, I needed the rush quickly before it ended. I took my serrated blade and placed my lighter too it, waiting until it burned a bright orange before I placed it on her back loving the hiss of the burning flesh and the smell so heavenly it is good enough to eat. Waiting for her final ear piercing scream to take me over the edge into bliss, I was left disappointed when she didn't make a sound, knowing then I had taken it too far that if I wasn't lucky she wouldn't survive until midnight, I gently tried to revive her for those last 4 minutes, gently calling her name with my voice hoarse from worry.

She stirs and I check her pulse, she would last. I pick up my dagger and wait until the clock strikes midnight before plunging it into her heart, watching her life pump out of her wounds I feel content with tonight's work. Ever so slowly I lean forward and touch my tongue to the scarlet blood pumping from the wound enjoying the coppery taste invading my taste buds and I...

Wake up screaming.