In The Black

The bitter sweet end

I wake up drenched in sweat, again, knowing full well, that last night, ......something horrific happened, something that will surely rear its head soon.

I am soaked from head to toe and sore all over.
Must've been a big night.
Shit, .....what has he done.

Looking in the bathroom mirror, I look like shit, I have to get it together, .......its another day.
I brush my teeth, then look back up....

"FUCK"..... I yell out in surprise.
Behind me is Demon, his face covered in blood, but my gut tells me its not his blood. He leans forward and whspers it my ear.

"Good morning Rac. How are you feeling, a bit sore?
We had an awesome time last night, it was a real humdinger.
You would have been so proud of me, such a glorious event, ...our collection is growing nicely, and pretty soon we will be displaying our hard work to the deserving public."

Blood drips off his brow onto my shoulder.
I slowly turn my head to face him, but nothing.
Demon has vanished, as quickly as he appeared.

I know exacly what he is talking about, I have seen his work time and time again, his fucked up mind games, his tormenting obsession over his collection.
This has to stop, I cant live with this guilt any more.... It has to fucking stop, no matter what the cost.
Those poor souls, his victims, my clients, ....and some my friends.

What did they do to deserve this, apart from trust me with their artwork. How could they know that by seeing me, they were sealing their fate.

"Fucking monster" slips out of my mouth.
I was now fucking furious.
My knuckles turn white in my fisted hands,.... eyes tight shut, as if trying to squeeze Demon out of my head, to destroy him.

Nothing.......frustrated, and now with a major fucking headache, I head off to work.
My mind is on fire trying to work out a solution.
There has to be a way, either that monster dies, or I die killing the prick, either way he has to go.
................................................................................

A thought passes my mind,to that creepy barman.
That phonecall.
Where the fuck did I put that number.

I start going through everything at work looking for the number, fuck... it was so long ago.
My Studio was booming till around a year ago, since the tattoo killings, as I call them.
Staff started slowly going.
Too much for them, too much bad ju ju in tbe place, they said.
Your such a fucking misery guts, they said.

Well fuck em all, I dont need them, Im doing just fine on my own. I had 10 years of fame, professional stardom, on top of the world, on top of my game............
Then came Demon, and he fucked it all up.
Me, Demon and Johnny Walker...what a fucking team.

Finaly I open the last draw in my workstation.
Under some stencils the card pops out.

"You must be fucking kidding me.
Its been sitting there the whole time...

My hands are shaking uncontrollably. I dial the number... then wait.

.......................................................................

Same as last time, it rings out.

48 hours later and I just finished my last client for the night.

A beautiful stone angel, gracing my clients back. It was her final session, another masterpiece complete.

The phone rings.
What if its him? What if its the creepy barman returning my call?
Have to pic up......fuck.

"This is Rac" I say nervously
Nothing just quiet
"Hello, who is this?" I say........ "Listen, if its you, we need to talk, I cant go on like this"....