Faceless

Prologue

I stared at the silver clock on the yellow wall, the hours ticking away. I sighed a deep breath as each tick took its toll and counted each one down. 3 -2 -1. "Jake, could you bring me a glass of water?" So typical of people, so predictable. They all created habits and stuck to those habits no matter how everything around them changed. "Sure," I answered in my cheeriest voice, fake as hell. The water dribbled into the glass, each drop adding to the whole. As I walked into her office the usual scent met my nose with warmth and irritation; sickly sweet lavender with a touch of cinnamon, kind of like this woman. She was kind, not just in her practice, but in all that she was, but her picture could have been on the cover of a magazine; her tight leather skirt showed the smoothness of her thighs and her scarlet blouse showed the defined slimness of her body. If she was my Psychiatrist I would feign madness just to see her. As I took myself back to my desk I lifted my head and found a beautiful woman holding herself up. A new client it seemed. Her blue eyes were reddened from the call of hopelessness, but her fiery mane and pursed lips showed determination and a desperate need for release. She was a vision of perfection. "Good morning," I said, "how can I help you today?" Her eyes brightened a little, but still held onto that hopelessness. "I'm here to see Doctor Sykes." I smiled and hoped it was filled with warmth. "Please take a seat. I know it's frustrating to fill out forms, but it's only one page." She stared at me for a moment and I smiled at myself, I knew how to get them. I listened intently as her pen scribbled across the page, letting her vital information stain it. She brought it back and, handing it to me, her fingers brushed against mine. Unexpectedly my heart leapt within its confines. Glancing over the page I memorised her address just as I had memorised my work in school. "This looks amazing, thank you." Her eyes brightened, the blue calming slightly. The moment was broken when the doctor opened her door, her smile calling the new client in, and I started my shopping list.

The wheels of my trolley tracked the floor as my thoughts turned to the events of the day. I had lost my grip for a second, letting my heart leap. Weakness. My father had tried to beat it out of me; he had certainly beaten it out of my mother, that and her life. I would make up for it later, but for now I had to focus on making my fantasies a reality, and for that I needed some ingredients: Soap, firewood, cloths and clingwrap, to name a few. The trolley was overflowing with my needs and as I glanced at my watch I realised how time had picked up its bags and walked away from me. The drive home was a fade as darkness devoured each corner of land. My stomach called me to attention with a grumble, but I had more important things to worry about. I slipped off my khaki pants and found my black tracksuit exactly where I knew it would be. Staring into the mirror my glasses reflected the stubble on my cheeks which seemed to have sprouted over the day and there in the corner of my envious eyes I noticed the shadows grasping for my mind, their fingertips brushing, but not being able to take hold. This was no time to examine the encroaching darkness though.

Driving up to her block I checked the clock on the dashboard, 02:00 a.m. My energy was starting to lag, but the adrenaline kept me going. My black truck had been stripped of its plates and my black hoodie confined my face. My eyes blinked through the binoculars as I surveyed her house. A white tooth stood as the doorway and windows seemed to peer from each side. Curtains covered the windows and denied me view of the internal organs, but it could also be to my advantage as no one else could see inside either. I saw no dog running around, although that didn't surprise me; people in this area thought they were safe so they didn't bother with alarms or dogs, but that was as far as her insecurities went. Tomorrow night I would finally get the chance to follow the plans I'd been forming for so long.

The blue haze of morning filled my room, but I had been awake for hours. A circus had been running in my mind, performing tricks and filling me with a fountain of excitement. The Sixth day of the week was good for many things; riding a bicycle, fixing a car or just watching some tv, but today it was only good for the final coming together of my plans. So I jumped out of bed and let my feet brush the hardwood floor. I wanted to believe that this would be like building a house, but houses weren't built in a day, maybe like baking a cake? I had certainly bought 'ingredients' and I was going to put them all together, but maybe this was something no one had ever made a recipe for murder. 'I could be the first,' I thought to myself. These plans had been brewing for months, I had to be certain that nothing went wrong. My hands trembled slightly as I picked up the duct tape and for a moment I stared at the ingredients all piled on the table. Uncertainty had never called my name, yet now I heard it echoing in my mind, the telling of a weak man. I shook my head and suddenly it all went by in the haze of a scientist mixing chemicals. As I dusted the woodchips from my worked hands I glanced at the ticker on my wrist; it was almost time, I just needed to double check everything. I glanced around the lounge, fit for the Queen to visit, the fire I had just made warming its emptiness. Turning towards the dungeon of my house my feet found the zigzag of stairs leading to the heart of my darkness that would soon give life to death. The padded walls, draped in plastic curtains would dictate sound to its place; her screams would never be heard. A wooden table, the alter for my ceremony, was placed precisely in the centre of the room, and to the left stood the bomb suit I would use as well as the cling wrap and gloves needed to keep my DNA to myself. It was all perfect; the only thing missing was the guest of honour.

I glanced at the dashboard; 2:00 a.m. The secure neighbourhood was silent in its darkness. I had parked further up the road than before my number plates were covered too. Once I had gotten my guest of honour and knocked her out, I would pull up to the garage and open the garage from the inside, no one would even see me putting the plastic covered body in the back of the truck. As I pulled my cap down over my face my hands trembled again. The uncertainty of tonight was starting to pull over my mind, I had to fight it. I got out of my truck and crossed the black river that held me from her. Trying to walk as casually as possible I made my way around the side of the house and started trying to pick the lock, why did all these things look so much easier in movies? I finally got it and almost shouted at my victory, but reminded myself of the situation at hand. I touched the left pocket of my pants, feeling the small bottle of chloroform and the cloth that I needed, and continued. I snaked my way through the door and glanced around as my eyes grabbed as much light as possible in the dark room. Apparently I had walked right into the lounge; a couch lay across the floor observing an old box standing on wood, while faces of relations of some kind marched the walls. The carpet as a bottle green colour, and had been aged by the sunlight that would sometimes pour through the windows. No cats it seemed, no smell of them either, but the distinct smell of roasted meat moon-walked through the air from the left of the room, which I guessed to be the kitchen. My eyes picked through all the spaces trying to find the thing I wanted most and then it caught me; to the right stood a wooden, still escalator that would take me to her. As I turned to walk towards it a sudden pain spread across the back of my head and as I fell I caught a glance of a fiery mane in the corner of my eye, and then...darkness.

I felt a floor slithering beneath my back as I was dragged to the unknown, but the throbbing in the back of my head drew curtains across my mind and before I could fully open my eyes all the feeling faded and then...darkness. A bright light awoke me, it was as though the sun had decided to kiss me and instead burnt my defenceless eyes. I slowly lifted my neck and found my wrists and ankles shackled to some wooden horse. The entire room looked like it had grown from a tree and I understood the need for the sun so near as there were no windows for this room to see from. As I swivelled my neck around my eyes seemed to blur and then refocus, my head felt as though it was a passenger on a Ferris-wheel, so maybe this wooden horse was a good thing, but the shackles reminded me of a stranger: fear. As I slowly started remembering the plans and events of the evening a fiery mane approached me. The look on her face brought that stranger closer, there wasn't anger or hopelessness locked in those blue eyes, only a smirk of joy and control. "So," she said, "you thought you could get the better of me in my 'fragile' state?" I shook my head fiercely knowing it would do no good. "You sick bastard. How many women have you preyed on in your cosy chair? Hmm?" "None, I swear!" I was a mouse who'd been caught in my own trap. "Well," she continued, "tonight we'll end your reign for you." She floated over to a table near the bottom of my feet and picked up a pair of black wire cutters. "Let's start small," she sang cheerily, "it will make you last longer." She approached my right hand, no trembling took her, but salty sweat stained my shirt. Lifting my pinky she wrapped the blades around it. I felt the pressure around my smallest finger mounting and then, snip! Blood came rushing, spreading, and flowing to the floor, the bone protruding its head as though gasping for air. I screamed, my lungs burning as I ran out of breath, but her terror continued. Taking a lighter she burnt the open wound, flames licking the flesh, stopping the blood. Tears breached my eyes as the pain seeped through my body. She smirked again, but found no need to stop. She lifted my right hand again and wrapped the blades around the next trembling finger. "Wait!" I pleaded, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'll never even think about doing it again. Just please, stop!" She lifted her head for a moment, shook it with her smirk in place, and continued. Again the pressure mounted and then...snip! I couldn't believe that she was doing this to me, couldn't she just kill me and get it over with? I screamed and screamed, but then I started to fade as though someone was dimming my lights.