Daniel opened his eyes. His dirty room was lit with the orange glow of the morning sun. His cat Jasmine meowed from next to him. Daniel rolled over and rubbed her head. She purred and gave a loving lick. Daniel forced himself out of bed and rubbed his eyes. He walked into the kitchen groggily. The trash was overflowing and so was his laundry hamper. A roach skitters past and Jasmine pounces on it. Daniel opened his pantry and saw only a single can of soup. A spider crawled over the top. Disappointed in his lack of food he goes to his fridge and pulls back the doors to reveal a box of pizza and some left over Chinese food. He grabs the Chinese and opens it to see some Kung pao chicken and fried rice. He pushes the chicken on the table and sits down. Jasmine jumps on the table and starts eating the chicken. Daniel took a dirty fork lying on the table and wiped it off then started eating. After taking a bite of a big chunk of rice he hears a crunch. He pulls the crunchy thing out of his mouth. It was a roach. Daniel just flings it to the side and continues eating. After he finished his meal he went back into his bedroom and sat down at his computer table. He pulled up Photoshop and began drawing on his tablet.
This had been Daniel's life for the past five years. He ordered delivery food every night instead of going out and getting it himself. Daniel's job was simply drawing commissions on Deviantart. He never went outside and his hair had grown to about his shoulders. Daniel's cat, Jasmine, was one of the fattest cats ever. Daniel never went out and bought cat food so she was fed on nothing but pizza and Chinese for the past three years. She was only five but her hair was grey and she wobbled like she was ten. The only social interaction either of them had was with the delivery men and women. In the five years of ordering from the same places he had learned all of their names. He never thought of them as friends though. Daniel only saw them as frequent acquaintances.
As Daniel began coloring in his line art of a beautiful woman he felt himself fading into a trance. These would happen a lot. He would black out for short periods of time while drawing and every time hewoke up he had drawn something so morbid and gory. This time when he woke up the woman was covered in scars and blood. He let out a sigh and deleted the layers. Jasmine came in and jumped up on Daniel's lap. She purred and lay down. Her purring would always calm Daniel down. His thoughts of blood had become stronger. He had started cutting himself just to ease the bloodlust. He didn't get much sleep that night so Daniel was very tired. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He could still feel the early morning sun on his face. Then he took a deep breath and fell asleep.
"Daniel." Someone said. Daniel found himself in the familiar white room that he went to in his dreams. The woman's voice that he talked to said his name again. "Daniel"
"Yes?" Daniel said looking around. The woman appeared in front of him. Her blond hair fell in tresses over her shoulders and her blue eyes stared at him.
"Why do you fight it Daniel?" She said. Her lips were so red in comparison to her pale complexion.
"It's wrong." Daniel said as his eye twitched. He was thinking about seeing that pale skin painted in blood as red as her lips. Daniel clenched his fists. The woman put a dainty hand on Daniel's cheek
"It's who you are Daniel." She said. The woman put a knife in Daniel's hand. "This is who you are." She said and raised Daniel's hand with the knife to her chest. Daniel looked at her confused. "Kill me." She said. Daniel pushed on the knife slightly and a thin trail of blood ran down her pale skin. He pushed harder.
Daniel awoke abruptly. Ripped from the dream with so much force he almost jumped out of his chair. The sun was still out but it was nearing evening. Jasmine still sat on his lap. She wasn't purring anymore. Daniel put a hand on her. To his surprise she was cold. He looked down at her. Her eyes were open, but glazed over.
"Jasmine?" Daniel said and shook her slightly. She wasn't breathing. Jasmine was dead. Daniel's face went pale. He held her to his chest. He wanted to feel the purr that calmed him. He wanted to hear her sweet meow, but she was so quiet. He got up and carried his dead cat into the dining room. He sat her on the table. Daniel didn't know what to do. He couldn't go outside to bury her because he never went outside. He could throw her down the trash shoot, but he didn't want to throw her away like she was nothing and he couldn't leave her to rot. As he looked around for something his eyes landed on the oven. And idea popped in his head and he felt his cat. She hasn't been dead for too long. He thought.
Daniel finished eating his first home cooked meal in five years. He put his dish in the sink and wet a rag. His counter was covered in blood and cat hair. He wiped the blood away and then heard the voice of the woman in the back of his mind.
"It's not enough is it?" she said. Daniel stopped.
"No. It's not." Daniel replied. He needed more to sooth his blood lust.
"You know what you need to do."
"I'm not going to."
"Yes you will." Suddenly a pigeon landed on Daniel's balcony. Daniel stared for a moment. Morbid thoughts ran through his mind. He wanted to see its grey feathers covered in blood. He wanted to squeeze its heart until it stopped beating. Daniel looked away.
"This isn't normal!" Daniel yelled and ran into his room. He fell on his bed and wrapped himself in his dirty sheets.
"It's who you are Daniel." The woman said. Daniel shook his head.
"No it's not! I'm not a killer. I'm not a killer." Daniel whispered these words to himself over and over until the sun went down. He sat under his sheets thinking. He was so tired, but he didn't want to go to sleep. He didn't want to see her, but he was just too tired.
"Daniel." The woman said. Daniel hit the white wall with his head. "Daniel look at me." She said. Daniel shook his head. He felt the woman place a hand on his shoulder. "You can't run from this forever Daniel." Daniel pushed her away.
"Get away from me! This isn't who I am! I'm not a killer!" Daniel yelled. He turned around and faced her. "Who the hell do you think you are, putting these thoughts inside my head?" He screamed at her. "I am not a killer!" He raised his hand and slapped her across the face. She stared at Daniel's brown eyes. Daniel stared back panting.
"There your own thoughts Daniel." She said. Daniel went into a rage. He tackled the woman and began mercilessly punching her in the face. Her nose began to bleed and he knocked out three of her teeth. A knife appeared next to her head and Daniel snatched it up quickly. He raised it above his head with both hands. The woman looked up at him scared. For some odd reason it all seemed so familiar. She coughed up some blood right before Daniel brought the knife down.
Daniel's eyes shot open and he immediately jumped out of bed. He ran to his computer table and searched through his drawer. He got out his razor and began cutting his scarred arm. He watched the blood slowly trickle out. It's not enough! Daniel thought to himself. He ran out of the room and into the kitchen. Quickly he grabbed a knife from the sink. I need more blood! I need more! He thought as he put his hand on the counter and brought the knife to his pinky finger. His whole body shook. Just do it! Daniel shut his eyes as tight as they could shut and slammed the knife down.
"AHHHHHHHHH!!" Daniel screamed. He fell to the ground and held his quivering hand. He looked at it and watched the blood ooze out of where his pinky used to be. He held it to his chest. Why is it still not enough?! "Why are you doing this to me?!" He screamed. The woman's voice didn't respond. Daniel got up and stumbled to his phone. He dialed with his good hand and held it up to his ear. It rung twice before a man answered.
"Thank you for calling Pizza Castle how may I help you?" The man said.
"Large cheese pizza delivered to 3837 Jacquie drive, fourth floor, and apartment number 15.Daniel Williams" Daniel said in a shaky voice.
"Okay your total is going to be $6.00. We'll get that to you in ten to fifteen minutes Daniel." He said then hung up. Daniel rushed to his cabinets and pulled out a first aid kit. He took out ace bandages and rapped his hand in them. Blood seeped through them. He took the knife and stood at the door. He stood for the ten minutes it took for the pizza man to get there. He was so set on what he was about to do that time flew by. He heard the creaky elevator reach his floor and his heart began beating faster. When he heard the ding his palms got sweaty. He waited in anticipation as he heard the footsteps getting closer. When he heard the knock on the door he immediately opened it. It was Todd. He usually delivers pizza this late at night.
"Hey Daniel." He said. Daniel reached out to get the pizza and Todd handed it to him. Then Daniel took the knife and stabbed Todd in the stomach. Todd looked at Daniel in shock. Daniel stabbed him three more times and Todd fell to the ground he held his stomach. "Someone help!" He yelled out. Daniel dragged Todd inside then started stabbing him in the chest over and over. Todd had died but Daniel kept stabbing. He was, by now, covered in blood. He let out a laugh.
"Finally!" He yelled and looked at the blood on his hands. "Finally!!" He yelled louder. Suddenly he heard the woman's voice again.
"Congratulations Daniel. You are a killer." She said.
Daniel was caught that same night. The authorities got there minutes after his neighbor called them reporting that she heard a cry for help. Daniel fought hard. He managed to bite one of the officer's ears off. The outside world was too much for him to handle. After being locked in his house for five years the social interaction was too much. Daniel sat in his jail cell awaiting trial. He clung to the unfamiliar sheets.
"What are you waiting for Daniel?" Daniel heard the woman say to him. "They're going to lock you up for life with other people. You don't want that. You can't live like that." She said to him. Daniel sat up in his bed, his eyes in a haze. "Do it Daniel." She whispered. Daniel got on his bed and tied the sheet to the light. He tied a noose with it then put his head through. "The ultimate release of life." Daniel shut his eyes then stepped off of the bed.
When Daniel opened his eyes he was back in the white room. The woman stood over him. She had a sad expression on her face. Daniel looked around confused.
"Am I still dreaming?" He asked. The woman shook her head.
"This is the final stop before you leave." She said.
"Leave where?"
"This world. This room is your mind Daniel. Soon you'll leave it and pass on." The woman traced her hand on the wall. Daniel walked over to her.
"Who are you? Why do I keep dreaming about you? Why are you here right now?" the woman looked at him.
"You really have forgotten haven't you?" She said. Daniel looked at her confused. "I'm Abigail." Abigail's face morphed into a familiar face and her hair turned brown. Daniel froze in shock. "Remember me now Daniel?"
"No. No it can't be." Daniel took a few steps back.
"Remember why you locked yourself up Daniel? Remember who I am?" She said. Daniel backed against the wall. "September 16, 2004. Abigail Williams was murdered by a stab wound to the heart." Daniel covered his ears.
"No! No! Stop!" Daniel screamed.
"The killer was never convicted due to lack of evidence. Now he lives by himself in apartment 15, third floor, on Jacquie drive. He's been there for five years." All the memories started flowing back into Daniel's mind. He remembered sneaking in and beating her until her teeth fell out. He remembered fighting over the knife. He remembered watching her die.
"It wasn't me! It wasn't me! It wasn't me! It wasn't me! It wasn't me!!!" He screamed. Daniel charged forward and pushed Abigail to the ground. "You're wrong! I didn't do it! You're wrong!" Abigail stared at him.
"September 16, 2004. I was murdered by my own brother." She said and spat at him. Daniel raised a fist to hit her but something held it back. He felt himself get pulled off of her by a strong force.
"What's happening?!" he yelled. Abigail brushed herself off.
"You're passing on." She said with a smirk. The force started dragging him down. "Have fun in Hell." She said. Daniel began screaming from feeling the heat beneath him.
"IM SORRY!! PLEASE HELP! I DON'T WANT TO GO THERE!! HELP!!!!" He screamed. Abigail stood there and watched him.
"I hope they make you feel my pain for the rest of eternity."
