What They Deserve

TWO

He had seen the pretty auburn-haired one glance at him and was positive that she even stopped and turned around to gawk. But he wasn't ready for her to get a good look just yet; all she'd get was a peek for now, just a little tease to keep her curious. The grand reveal, whenever he was ready for that, would be the moment she had been waiting for. After all, a special form of punishment was coming her way. She made it seem as if she cared, made it seem like she wanted more than a casual fling.

His first love, his first victim, had been just like the auburn beauty. She had taunted him, flirted and led him on, but turned him down when he'd gotten the nerve up and asked her out.

He had planned her punishment within days and knew the perfect place to end her. It was an added bonus that he already had her trust. He wouldn't have to waste time on that. All he had to do was figure out how to get her there. Then he'd torture her, make her wish she'd never been born.

Taking her during prom had been exhilarating and the adrenaline rush intoxicating. Fueled by his hate, it had been as if he hadn't even done the work, but something else that controlled his actions. It was almost impossible to wait for her to wake up from the injection he'd given her. After all of his research, he had been very precise with how much of the drug he put into her body, not wanting her to die; at least not yet.

He had kept her in the abandoned warehouse for months, always making sure to stagger his visits to her, keeping her scared and worried.

What he'd gleaned from watching countless horror movies and reading any book he deemed valuable in his search, was an amazing amount of ideas for different ways that he could punish her. Even before finishing with her, it was in the back of his mind that all he'd learned would come in handy later on.

His favorite form of torture had been the branding iron. He cursed himself for leaving it behind. Several times he'd considered going back to retrieve it, but was it really worth the risk? He could always just get a new one. The sentimental attachment would just have to be one to let go of.

The joy he got from watching the people in his city begin to worry and hunt for her triggered something in him. The experience opened his eyes to see just how many women were like her and there were other women out there, even worse than her. Plenty of women.

The police had no leads and no suspects. Who would suspect the quiet boy that kept to himself? They were just as clueless as everyone else.

And this was all the confirmation he needed to know what he was going to do. He knew what he had to do. It was his calling to rid the world of them, make everything better. And he already had a good start.

On the pretense of leaving for college, he left for a different city and began to stalk his next victim. He did the same thing for each one of them in every city he went to, taking his time to give them what they deserved. There was no need to rush through the process. The two most important things were to ensure they trusted him and to make sure they'd never be found.

He'd been in this city for almost three months now and had chosen to step outside of his comfort zone this time. It was almost a bizarre plan, but he decided to take care of two women instead of just one. It made him wonder if he was getting restless. That didn't change his precautions though, as he started to follow them around, to get to know them from afar. It worked out well since they spent a few hours together every day. They even worked at the same architecture firm. But he picked which one of them would be his first victim almost right away.

The gorgeous one with the black hair was a different case from her friend. It was obvious she didn't give two hoots what anyone felt. She made his anger surge, a quick rush that made him work harder to control his thoughts and actions. That's who he wanted to notice him at this point in time. And he'd found a way to make sure that she did.

He already knew where she lived, had a good idea of the places she liked to frequent, and had formed a plan.

Sometimes, the stalking phase could be boring, but these two had riled him up right from the start.

It was his first night there and all he wanted was to relax. His last victim had been a royal pain in his butt, the worst one yet. Nursing an ice cold Grape Lime Rickey, he overheard two women talking about the guys they were with.

"They're lame." The shock of such a statement caused him to lean over enough to see around the edge of his booth. The woman wore a bored expression. "You wanna ditch them?"

There was a giggle followed by an agreement. They gathered their purses, took one last sip of their drinks, and left. That was the moment he knew they were going to be his next victims.

Victims. Plural, as in more than one.

It came as a shock. Never had the thought to punish two women at once entered his mind. But he knew this was how things were going to be done this time around. It would just take a little more effort and a lot more planning. They couldn't be taken at the same time and it would be stupid to give them to the same ending place.

His attention on the young ladies, he watched them go into the movie theater and later come out with some poor saps they would lead on all night. Later, he witnessed them exchange numbers with the guys, sure the women had given them fake ones.

The girls walked together to the end of the street and then went their separate ways. He followed the black-haired one he decided to call Raven, the one that had suggested ditching their dates all those nights ago. Despite the fact that knew her name was April, he felt that the pet name better suited her.

Knowing Raven's route home, he ran into a bar, grabbed a mug of beer, and dipped his fingers in, sprinkling a few drops on the front of his shirt. He swished a mouthful around and spit it back into the mug before stumbling out onto the sidewalk, allowing her to run into him. If she thought an attractive man was a little less than sober, he'd have a better chance of getting her attention. She'd see him as weaker because women like her wanted to have control, needed it.

A look of annoyance crossed her face at first, but then after checking out his features and body, the look changed to one of interest. In fact, her whole demeanor shifted. Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she pushed out her chest as she took a step closer to him.

He made sure to let her do the talking, let her feel like she was running things. After a few minutes of placating her, he told her he had to run but wanted to take her out sometime. He even took a chance and touched her hand. For a split second, he considered trailing his fingers along her arm but decided that would be too creepy.

She blushed while digging a pen out of her small purse and scribbling her phone number on his forearm, even drawing a small heart which made him smirk. How could she be so brazen?

He watched as she gave him a dainty finger wave and sashayed away. She was definitely going to get what she had coming. It was only a question of how soon that would be.