mad world: joshler

chapter four.

joshua groaned as he struggled to open his eyes and adjust it to the light illuminating the room. his head pounded against the cages of his skull, repeatedly slamming into the steel bars and causing him to feel a little light headed.

last night's events came rushing to him in a frenzy. in his drunken stupor, he could barely make out the stranger rushing towards him and knocking him out, blackness clouding his vision. he groaned again, throat dry, and attempted to bring his hand towards the back of his head in a bid to cradle and perhaps subdue the pain.

but he realised he could not move his hands, as they were secured tightly to a wooden chair. his legs joining in on the party. he blinked in confusion, not quite getting where in the middle of finding a stranger repeatedly stabbing another stranger, he had ended up tied to a chair in some unfamiliar place.

as his eyes finally fully opened, he could make out a single lightbulb in the middle of the room, a steel bed and some very sharp assortment of knives.

“this is not my room,” he muttered lowly to himself, allowing a groan to seep past his lips for the third time.

if the squeaky clean environment didn't give it away, the mere largeness of the room or the smell of disinfectant clouding the air would've.

“indeed it isn't,” a voice broke out of the scarcely illuminated room and finally, joshua looked towards the end of the room.

there was a steel door and the silhouette of a man and a chair very close to it. the light barely reached that part of the vast room, so he was unable to make out any features. if he squinted hard enough though, he could see that the man had one leg crossed over the other.

after a beat, the stranger stood up and walked into the light. the sole of his shoe reverberating around the almost empty room. there was an echo each step he took and his countenance screamed determination, menace and something sinister.

joshua squirmed in his seat, “why am i here,” for the first time, he could hear how scratched his voice was. he needed water.

“why, dear, why are any of us here if it weren't for rather abominable circumstances?” the stranger let his question linger as he finally stopped in front of joshua.

joshua could see clearly now. it was the guy from last night. the one who'd killed the other one and without the blood splayed face, he could see his features pretty well. he was rather attractive. voice, deep and meaningful. eyes a golden honey set.

joshua was aware of the current situation. he was trapped in some kind of room with some kind of killer. hands and feet tied, no possible way to defend himself. yet he couldn't feel scared, instead he was excited.

“you killed that guy last night,” he more likely stated, as they were both aware it was a fact, “why?”

the stranger merely smiled and crouched to joshua's height on the chair, “abominable circumstances,” he simply said, then stood back up, brushing invincible dust off of his dark blue skinny jeans.

“you're the columbus killer aren't you? you're responsible for all those deaths, all those missing cases. its all you?” joshua could not help himself from asking, as the pounding at the back of his reduced to a dull throb from the excitement. if he could move forward in his seat, he would've.

the stranger spared him a glance with brows raised, “you're a rather curious one aren't you?” he paused and walked a few steps behind joshua so he could not see him, “columbus killer. that's a rather unoriginal name, don't you think?”

joshua struggled to turn back and look at him but he could not, instead slumping in his chair and facing his gaze to the end of the room. he realised the man evaded the question, not quite giving him an answer.

“are you, though?” he asked, ears tingling just to hear the answer, palms sweating.

the room was silent for a little while, and all joshua could hear was his very own breathing. for a minute or so, he thought the stranger had left but he knew he'd have heard him so he waited patiently for an answer.

“yes,” the stranger confessed, “all those cases are linked to me,”

“wow! that is so cool, you're like a legend!” joshua exclaimed, breathing getting heavier with excitement as he realised he was in the very same room as the infamous columbus killer. a thought flashed past his mind, “wait, why're you telling me so easily?”

“because you won't be alive to tell anyone else,” the stranger misses no beat to inform and finally, his footsteps are heard as he walks past joshua and towards the exit, about to leave.

there was utter silence as he walked by, joshua contemplating his words and the fact that he was most likely going to be dead in a few minutes, or even seconds.

“well, if you were gonna kill me anyway, why did you bring me here? why not kill me the same way you killed that other guy. i mean you did have a weapon on you, i seem to recall,” joshua asked curiously, feeling he had the right to know if he was going to die anyway.

“i didn't have time to hide two bodies, and there'd be too much blood to cover up. after i am done with you, i will have to go back to the forest and dispose of the other body completely,” the stranger says in a completely bored tone, “i will return in a moment and —”

“i can help,” joshua interrupts with a smirk on his face. wanting to feel the rush the stranger most likely always did before he died.

“what?” the stranger asked, lost on the conversation.

“the body you need to dispose of, i can help,”