Chapter 9:

I’m running.

Running…running…running….

I have a side cramp and my breathing is so ragged. This is hard. Hardest thing I’ve ever done? No. No, that was leaving home, leaving Grams, and all my plans of revenge that have meant so much to me since Syra was murdered. I’ve left all that behind; for this.

I’m drenched in sweat. I hate this place. Must be nearly 80° and the sun isn’t even up yet. There’s nothing pleasant about it... But I guess maybe that’s why this place is here. You’re not supposed to love it. It’s supposed to be as miserable as possible.

I’m sweating so much that it’s getting in my eyes and making them burn like hell. Great, now my vision is blurry. My shirt is sticking to me. Now and again I have to bring my hand to my mouth to wipe away the sweat that always seems to find its way into my mouth. Salty.

Every so often I feel the relief of a slight breeze. Although it’s still fairly warm, it feels nice. Can’t say it smells very nice, though.

I’m surrounded by people. And the smell of body odor and bad breath is almost enough to knock a possum off its feet. It’s almost as though we’re running in a herd. But unlike animals, that usually run with a particular purpose, we’re all running in circles. Most of us are within close proximity of each other, but of course there are the stragglers that lag behind.

I’m coming up on one now, which only means that I’m about to lap her. She’s going from a slow trot down to a walk. Hand on her side and heaving. As I run past her I can’t help but notice the agony in her face.

Too bad, shouldn’t be here if you can’t cut it.

The only thing I can do to keep my mind off of my own exhaustion is to try to dwell on other thoughts. This leads me to start to thinking about why I’m even here…

Once I explained to Draven the incident with Mitch, and by incident I mean my killing him. Draven did help me, like he promised.

After giving me a shirt and pants to wear, we ate the sandwiches he had prepared. He started talking about nonsense, which immediately put me on edge. I knew where it was all leading to, and I didn’t want to have to kill him. Truth be told, by that point, I was actually enjoying being worshiped by him.

He beat around the bush a lot. I had already admitted to him I didn’t want to attack him. I couldn’t understand what else he wanted from me. Then he finally worked up the nerve to ask me. He wanted me to tell him exactly what I had done that night.

Of course, I didn’t want to come clean. But I had no other choice. And I figured, if he flipped out on me, I could easily seduce him, make him drop his guard, and then silence him permanently so he wouldn’t rat me out to the cops. But I really didn’t want it to have to come to that. So I battled my own thoughts for some time. While he just stared at me. He liked to do that a lot. His eyes displayed an emotion that I couldn’t decipher. But it wasn’t anger, or mistrust, so I knew that I didn’t have to worry about either of those, at least not at that time.

Finally, after a long while of him awkwardly staring at me, I had him promise to help me one last time. I then decided to go ahead and tell him my story. There was no time for the long, extended, tearjerker version of it. What with Mitch still out there, his head probably being made love to by horny raccoons by that time. Ergo, I just gave Draven the highlights.

I told him how Syra was basically my sister, how we grew up together, how she was horribly murdered, how her mother had shunned me, and how I felt responsible for what happened to her. At that point I paused. He hadn’t said anything, just nodded from time to time to show me that he was paying close attention. I wanted to keep going, it kind of felt nice telling someone all of that. Letting my thoughts into the open, rather than having them bottled up inside like they had been for the past three years. I must have been quiet for too long because he finally chimed in.

“I can see how all this must’ve been unbearable for you…” He said to me. He looked really sad. His sad face was almost pathetic...and it was almost enough to make me sad…for him.

I took his statement as a signal that he was still waiting for me to tell him what I had done in the woods. So it had come time for me to start talking again and to reveal the darkest part of my story.

I wanted to soften the edges of it, so his fragile psyche wouldn’t explode. But how do you not only explain, but also justify murder to someone who doesn’t know, doesn’t understand, what you’re going through and have gone through? 

I decided it was best to just let it all out. I was brutally honest and let it hit him like a ton of bricks.

I divulged him that in my grieving I had promised Syra that I would get revenge. And how I planned to do my part to rid the world of those that hurt people the way that she was hurt. I told him about how I met Mitch and lured him to the woods. I left out the more squishy parts of the how I ended Mitch's life, though. And I also left out the part of being able to hear Syra. I knew she would've been even more furious with me if I had told him that part and let him live.

When I finished my story his pathetic sad face was gone. It had turned serious. ‘Better than him looking outraged and clamoring to get to his phone to dial 911’ I thought. He didn’t say anything, just stared at me in silence again. I looked away from him and instead looked down at my lap. God, he really knew how to make me feel awkward.

The tuxedo cat moved onto my lap and settled himself down for a nap. Everything was still in the apartment. All I could hear was the cat’s content loud purring. Draven and I both sat there in perpetual silence.

“…So you just killed him.” He said, looking away from me and now staring at our reflection on his TV screen.

“…I did it for Syra…” I said, just glad that he wasn’t looking directly at me anymore.

“…I see.” He said. He clasped his hands together, and we remained sitting in the stillness of the room for a long time. Then he got up, stretched, and looked at his watch.

He turned and looked down at me. A big smile formed on his face, he held out his hand for me to grab and said “...we're all mad here.”

Chapter 10:

His smile, handsome as it was, sent a chill running down my spine and made my stomach drop…like the kind of feeling you get when you’re on a roller coaster. I gave him my hand. At that point, I didn’t know else to do. I had no clue what he meant by reference to Wonderland, but I didn’t get the chance to ask or even wonder about it because before I knew it he had taken my hand and pulled me off the couch.

Still holding onto my hand, he looked into my eyes and sternly said “We have a lot to do and not very much time. Don’t question anything I ask you to do. Got it?”

I nodded my response. I couldn’t find my words. And for the first time that night, I felt like I was in real danger.

We covered the back seat of his car with a tarp he had hidden away in the back of his closet. He made sure to collect my blood covered outfit from the bathroom floor and put it all in a black garbage bag. He packed some shirts and pants while I sat on the kitchen floor putting my boots back on.

He was completely silent while we drove back to where dear old Mitch had met his end. During the entire ride my mind raced. I wondered why he hadn’t explained what he meant with his creepy comment. I was really uneasy and couldn’t bring myself to relax. I started thinking he was going to take me out there to kill me and leave me there in the mess that I had made. I was so uneasy in fact, that I was contemplating jumping out of the moving car. But I knew that I couldn’t do that. If I had ran, there would have been way too many loose ends. And he could’ve easily used all the evidence I left behind against me. I was mid new-Draven-assassination-plot when I realized we were almost at the park.

The engine in his car roared as he made a sharp turn and pulled into a small gravel parking lot. This spot was as far away from the strip and any lights as possible, but close to one of the paths leading into the park. The rain beat down against the windshield as he finally turned to me and asked me to take him to Mitch’s body.

I just nodded and pushed open the heavy car door.

My boots sinking into the mud and gravel as soon as I stepped out made me realize that just getting to the body was going to be tougher than I had hoped. I felt like it was all my fault. ‘I should’ve planned this out better’, I thought, 'maybe if I had watched the Weather Channel…'

He got out of his car and went around to the back of it. He opened the trunk, leaned in and moved some things around. He was looking for something. I stood there and shivered. There was a sudden wind that chilled me to the bone. I could feel the cold fabric of the hoodie he had given me to wear getting heavier and heavier with rain water, and starting to stick to my skin.

He finally emerged from the depths of his trunk with something that appeared to be a rolled up blanket. 'Great he probably has a gun in there or something' I thought to myself. He shut the trunk and pushed a button on his keys that made the doors lock, this time without the loud beep. He put his keys in his pocket and walked over to where I stood.

“Lead the way.” He said, his voice a bit frigid. His hood was over his head so I couldn’t make out his expression in the darkness. I was unsure of what he was doing or what he was holding. And, worst of all, I had no clue what he was feeling. 

He towered over me. He was probably about a foot taller than I am. He could easily over power me if he wanted to. I was scared of him. Terrified. The chill ran down my spine again and I felt my body go numb. Maybe from fear, maybe from the cold, I wasn’t sure. Whatever it had been, after a moment of being frozen, I gathered my thoughts and managed to turn around and start walking towards the path.

‘We are all mad here…’ His words rang through my head over and over as I did my best not to slip or fall while we made our way in the darkness, off of the path and onto the wet grass and mud. As we walked towards where Mitch’s body lied, I tried to think up ways I could take down Draven before he attempted to attack me. I then realized I was completely unarmed. I had been too frightened by him after his “mad” comment to try to look for the switchblade I had thrown aside in his apartment. There just no way I could make an attack on someone his size without a weapon. I was screwed. I had to do as he told me…at least until I found a good way to silence him and get away.

Draven trailed behind me as we made our way through the woods. When got to the place where I had collapsed into his arms, I heard his foot steps cease. I turned back to look at him, half expecting him to charge at me, but instead I saw him lean down to pick up something. Then my blood ran cold. I remembered the switchblade I had used on Mitch. Draven had found it and was putting it in his pocket as I stared in horror. ‘He’s going to kill me with my own switchblade…how the hell did he even see it there?’ I thought to myself.

He noticed me looking and just stood there, waiting for me to keep going. I looked at him and thought about finding a way to get the switchblade back. ‘Once we get to Mitch…he’ll be distracted then’ I told myself. I turned away from him and continued walking until we were finally in the clearing. There lied Mitch, still on his back.

He walked towards the body first. I followed. I knew I had to get the knife away from Draven, but I wanted to take the one last chance I had to admire what I had done. As we got closer to the body I noticed a small black figure scurry away.

Draven got to Mitch first and squatted down to get a better look at his lifeless body. He took out a small flashlight from his pocket and shone the light onto Mitch’s face.

I squatted down on the other side of Mitch and looked down in awe. His face was incredibly pale, his lips blue, and his mouth and eyes were slightly open. The cut across his throat was dark red in the light. His green eyes had turned into a disgusting bluish gray.

“Well…” Draven broke the silence as he shone the light away from Mitch’s face and down his body to find that he not only had his throat slit but also had a missing member. “…talk about overkill. But I can’t really say I disapprove.” 

In the light of the flashlight I could see him smiling. I remained silent. Once again, he had me at a complete loss. I had no idea what he was going to do next. For all I knew he was going to hug me and congratulate me on a great first kill...or kill me and leave me lying there next to Mitch. 

He stood back up and said “Hold this for a minute.” He handed me the flashlight. He dug into his right pocket and drew a pair of black latex gloves. I shone the light back down on Mitch’s face. I was still so amazed I had actually done that to him. As I looked at my handy work a slug slowly crawled out of his partially open mouth. Draven caught sight of it and said, “Wow…well, that’s what he gets for not keeping it in his pants”. His voice trailed off as he concentrated on putting his gloves on. “Speaking of…it…where is it? We have to find it, we can’t leave anything behind. You look for it, I’m going to pack this guy up.” He reached into his pocket again and pulled out another pair of gloves. “Here, put these on. I doubt you’ll want to use your bare hands to pick it up once you find it.”

He then took the rolled up thing he had under his arm and unrolled it. There were no weapons hidden in it, like I had feared. It was a body bag.

The fact that Draven only had one body bag, helped to finally put my mind at ease. It meant he wasn’t planning to put me in one as well. I held the flashlight in between my teeth as I put on the gloves he had given me. I watched as he set the bag on the ground next to Mitch. I wanted to keep watching, but I had to do as I had been instructed. I took the flashlight out of my mouth and shone it on the ground, looking for that foul pathetic excuse for a penis. I knew it couldn’t have been that far away from Mitch. The grass was long, making it a difficult search, until finally I spotted it. It looked like it had been chewed on. I wanted to laugh. That figure I saw scurry away had probably been the culprit. 'Good raccoon.' I thought. And then, as much as I didn’t want to, I picked it up. Having it in my hand made my stomach turn.

I walked back to where Draven was knelt down on the ground. He had bent Mitch’s right knee and had put the opposite arm stretched out above his head. I stood there shining the light down on him.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Good to hear you talking again. You hadn’t said a word since before we left.” He smiled, “positioning him this way will make it easier to roll him onto the bag. I need you to make sure the bag doesn’t move, OK? Everything’s so slippery out here.”

“OK.” I dropped Mitch’s member next to my feet and put the flashlight in between my teeth again.

I knelt down and held the bag in place as Draven pulled on Mitch’s shoulder and side and rolled him onto it. He then pulled on the sides of the bag freeing the zipper from underneath Mitch.

“He’s face down, but seeing as how we don’t care much for him, it doesn’t matter.” He said looking down at Mitch with a smirk. I picked up what was next to my feet and tossed it onto Mitch's back. “Least now they're reunited...bet you he never thought it could touch his back." Draven grinned. "...he’s starting to stink. We need to hurry. You know, we’re actually lucky it’s raining the way it is”, he said looking up at the sky. “Hopefully it’ll take care of washing away most of the blood.”

He zipped up the body bag and we both stood up. “You’re going to have to help me carry him back to the car. Think you can handle it?” He asked. I then understood why we had put the tarp on the backseat.

“I think so.” I replied.

“I modified this bag a bit. So there are handles at each end. Still, be careful, lift with your legs. Dead bodies are heavy.” He said as he squatted down and I did the same. I turned off the flashlight and put it in my hoodie pocket before finding the handles and grabbing onto them. At the same time I wondered why the hell he would ever need a modified body bag. I wanted to ask, but figured to it was best to keep my mouth shut, least until we got Mitch back to the car.

He lifted the top part of the body and I got the feet. He was right. The fucker was definitely heavy. There would have been no way I could have ever moved him, even an inch, by myself. Draven shifted so he could face away from me and lead the way back

The whole way I kept slipping on the wet grass and mud. “You’re doing great, we’re almost there.” He kept saying to me but I was getting exhausted. My hands hurt like hell. I concluded that Draven was built like a bull, because there I was dying to take a break and he just kept going.

“Can we stop just for minute?” I asked.

“We can, but we’re almost there. And I’m serious this time.” He said with a chuckle.

“This isn’t funny, I feel like my arms are about to fall off.” I protested.

“Just think of what it would’ve been like if you hadn’t ran into me.” He said. 

He was right about that, so I shut up and sucked it up.

By the time we were back on the path I felt like I was going to faint. I was sweating a ton and my arms hurt to the bone.

When we were finally at the car he looked back at me. “You can put your end down.”

I gladly and instantly dropped my end and it fell onto the gravel. Draven dropped his end too. None of this process was gentle.

“OK, time to take this guy for a ride.” He said and grabbed his keys from his pocket, pressed the button and unlocked the doors. “Hold this open.” He said as he opened the passenger door as wide as it would go.

I did as I was told and watched as Draven picked up the body bag and put it over his shoulder and then managed to set it down in the back seat.

“Alright, get in. We need to hurry.” He said. I sat in the front seat and shut the door.

He went around to his side and got in. I could see that he too was sweating profusely. I wanted to ask him so many questions, but I was almost in shock by all that had happened, I didn’t know what to ask first.

“Where are we going?” Must have been the most prominent question I had because the words left my mouth without my permission.

He looked down at my muddy boots as he put his key in the ignition

“You’ll know when we get there.” He replied. 

I can pinpoint the exact moment I first heard Chris Cornell's voice come through on the radio. I was 17 years old driving, driving my dad's '97 Dodge Stratus, and taking a left turn onto 356th St. from Enchanted Pkwy in Federal Way, WA. The song I that played that night was "Be Yourself" by Audioslave.

Being born in the late 80's, I had was too young to have appreciated the Grunge movement of the 90's. And although I'm sure I had heard a Soundgarden song here and there (having grown up in the Seattle area and all) I had never really listened to it.

Anyway, back to that first moment: 

The melancholy sound of the guitar caught my attention, but it was the voice and the way the words streamed through the radio that actually held it. The voice was unlike anything I've ever heard before. I could actually feel the emotion from each syllable uttered. And the song itself seemed to encompass every little thing I was feeling at that precise moment in my life. 

I was a depressed teenager with way too many issues to handle. I was ready to give up...but there, on the radio, was this man singing, basically reading my mind and still telling me not to lose any sleep, because everything would be alright.

From that moment on, I've been a die-hard fan. I know that many, many people have had their lives touched by Chris Cornell. And now that he's gone...our souls weep, not only for him, but for his family as well. We only got a small part of all that he was, and we are brokenhearted, I can't even begin to imagine how his loved ones must feel.

Chris Cornell is gone, but he will never be forgotten. In a world where people rarely make ripples, he made everlasting waves.

The smell of coffee soon filled the tiny apartment. He could hear the water running in the bathroom. He paused for a second, his hand on the fridge door. He envisioned her body wet and clean from all the gore. For just a second he let himself become engulfed in the thought, he was only human after all.

He was startled from his thoughts when the cat rubbed himself on his leg. He shook the visions of Luna off of his mind and opened the fridge. He peered inside and instantly became disappointed. Being a bachelor meant he ordered pizza or went to fast food places when hunger struck him. His fridge was barren except for some left over sandwich makings, a carton of expired milk and a solitary strip of bacon on a paper plate. ‘Why do I even bother having a fridge? I hope these are still good’ he thought to himself as he held up the bag of wheat bread and eyeballed it.

He took plates from the cupboards and began making simple turkey and cheese sandwiches.

As he made these his thoughts once again were on Luna. She trusted him. Of that he was now sure, since her death swing died halfway, and she had started to cry. He knew he could at least count on her trust when it came time get her to open up about what happened in the woods.

He stood there, leaning against his kitchen counter trying to envision how their conversation was going to go. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was afraid. Afraid of what she might say or do. Afraid of what she HAD done. He was worried that she might try to attack him again. Although he knew that he could easily subdue her, he didn’t want that to have to happen. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her.

He was also worried that she might just run out and go to where she would get into more trouble and he’d never be able to see her again.

After a while of being completely lost in his mind, he finally heard her rustling around in the bathroom. He didn’t think much of it, until he realized he’d just done laundry and hadn’t gotten around to replenishing the towel supply in there.

‘Shit, she must think that I tricked her into getting naked! Fuck!’ He ran to his laundry basket and pulled out a towel for her. He walked over to the door and stood there for a minute, wondering just how to deliver the much needed item. He thought about leaving the towel on the floor and just knock and run, childish as the idea was. He finally brought himself to knock and quickly turn away holding out the towel. She opened the door a hair, thanked him and shut it instantly. It happened so fast he was a little dumbfounded, having trouble believing anything had happened at all.

He went back to his leaning place against counter began thinking some more. The more he thought about the different scenarios she might’ve been in to have ended up covered in someone’s entire blood supply, the more he became distraught

At last, heard the door open, he turned towards the sandwiches neatly placed on their plates and pretended to fuss with them as he calmed himself and his thoughts before she walked in the room.

She made her way from the bathroom, and towards him. He heard her soft footsteps on the carpet and then felt her gaze on him. He looked up at her and was taken aback. She looked so beautiful to him, like she had just walk out of a waterfall. Her dark hair, still a little wet, clung to her face and shoulders. Her skin looked so soft and it glistened with droplets of water, that ran down slowly. Although it took all his strength to stop himself from continuing to admire her, he knew that there was business at hand. And if it so happened that this girl turned out to be some kind of monster…well, at least she was a damned gorgeous one…and he did promise to help her no matter what.

He offered her the coffee and sandwich, and to his great relief she accepted.

“Great. I was afraid I was going to have to make something else. And I don’t have much else.” He said with a shy smile. “You want to sit on the couch? I’ll bring the food out there. Sorry I know this place is pretty small. I don’t have a proper place to eat at. But the coffee table and couch work out ok.”

Draven watched a small smile form on her face as she nodded and turned to make her way to the couch. He turned back to the plates. He took one last deep breath, before placing the sandwiches, cups and the coffee pot on a silver tray.

‘Well, here goes…’ He thought to himself as he picked up the tray and made his way to Luna. She sat there on the couch, gripping tightly at her towel.

“Oh shit, I’m sorry. I forgot to look for something for you to wear. I’m so sorry.” He said as he set the tray down on the coffee table in front of her.

“It’s ok.” She responded. “But I am getting a little cold.”

“I’ll try to find something that’ll fit you.” He said as he rushed back to his sleeping area, more thankful than ever that he had just down laundry. He reached in the basket and managed to pull out a black tee-shirt and some black pajama bottoms. ‘These should fit her ok, for now at least’

He triumphantly brought back the ensemble and handed it to her. She smiled, got up from the couch, careful to not let anything show, and made her way back to the bathroom.

Before Draven sat down on the couch he gathered her muddy, bloody boots and placed them on the linoleum kitchen floor, away from the carpet. ‘We have to get these cleaned…and our jackets too.’

As he made his way back to the living area she emerged from the bathroom. They caught each other’s gaze. He could look at her all damn day.

“I hung up the towel to dry…thank you…for being so kind…” she said to him as she walked to the couch and sat down.

“It’s the least I can do after what you’ve been through…” he replied, although he knew that he needed to get the exact truth about what she had survived that night.

She watched him as he made his way to the couch and sat down next to her. He was careful not to sit too close. He didn’t want to give her the opportunity to catch him off guard with another knife.

He poured some coffee into a cup and handed it to her. She must’ve noticed the obvious caution he was using because she thanked him in a barely audible whisper and then just stared at her cup.

“You should really try to eat.” He insisted, trying to defeat the awkwardness. He grabbed his sandwich and took a bite.

“…I’m sorry.” She said still looking down at her cup. I’m sorry that I…tried to hurt…you.” She looked up at him. “I don’t want to. I never really did.”

Draven swallowed the bite he had taken. “Look, I’m not going to say I’m thrilled about it…but I promised to help you. And I always keep my promises.” He flashed her his award winning smile, but she seemed unmoved and instead looked back down at her cup and finally took a sip.

He made small talk for the rest of the time they ate. He didn’t want to upset her by digging for the truth while she was still on an empty stomach. If she did decide to leave and not come back into his life, at least he would have the peace of mind of having at least provided her with some food.

She ate the sandwich fairly fast, making Draven feel ashamed that he didn’t have the needed makings to prepare more. Once the plates were empty and the cups were full with the last of the coffee he decided that it was time to find out about Luna’s deeds. He glanced at the watch he had on his left wrist. The digital letters read 1:44am.

‘If there is a body out there…we should figure this out as soon as possible’ he thought to himself. 'unsuspecting people shouldn't have to stumble upon such a scene'

He cleared his throat once…twice…and then finally found his voice. “Luna…” She looked up at him. Her big brown eyes the peeking at him from behind the brim of the cup. He paused, took a deep breath and started again, his gaze now on his own cup. “Luna, I promise to help, no matter what. I think you are pretty sure of that by now.” He glanced her way to reassure her. She nodded in response. “That being said, I need to know…I need to know what happened out there.” He paused again. Holding his breath, half expecting her to storm out of the apartment. A few seconds went by and he still had no response from her. He tore his glance off of his cup and looked at her again. She looked like she was on the brink of tears. ‘It’s now or never. Just get it all out and hope she understands the position you’re in’ he made up his mind at that point. “If that fuck did try to rape you, I don’t need to know anything about the details of that. I don’t think I really want to know the details of something like that happening to you. But what I mean is…” He paused yet again, wishing he knew what was going on through her mind. “I think there might be more that you’re not telling me. And I think maybe it’s because you didn’t want to tell me that you…that you…tried to stab me.” His gaze had fallen from her face down to the cat that had hopped up on the couch between them.

Minutes passed by. Her silence met by his. He was starting to regret having said anything at all. ‘No, I need to know…’ he concluded.

“I wish you would say something… I told you, you can trust me. You could tell me that you were out there, dancing naked, sacrificing that guy to Satan.” He said with a slight chuckle. “But I would still help you. Because I promised that I would.”

He took her now empty cup out of her hands and placed it on the coffee table. Then he took her left hand in his hands. She tried to take it away but he held his grip a bit more firm.

“Luna. Please. I need to know how to help you. I need to know. Otherwise I might end up making things worse. You can understand that, can’t you?”

“Are you...threatening me…?” She asked in a cold whisper, still looking down at cup that was now on the table.

“What?! No! I’m trying to help you. But first I need to know how.”

She looked up at him for a long time. He gazed back into her eyes trying to convey how he felt towards her without using any words.

“You promise to still help me once I tell you…?”

“Of course. I’ve already promised.”