KILLING DARKNESS

Chapter 1: The Heart

     It was an unusual evening. Not just for her; none of them had thought that their evening was going to proceed like this.

     There was so much noise. The place they were in was almost airless. She wasn't even know why she was there. And even with her consent. Maybe she wanted to start to live for once. But she wasn't thinking like that anymore.
     When her roommate Zeynep told her about the evening that they will meet with her coworkers, her first reaction was to reject the offer. But after half a minute she accepted it. At that moment, she was regretting but obviously, it was too late.
     The table was full of Zeynep's friends. She knew only two of the girls from formality greetings. She was biased toward all of them. There was nothing pleasant about the evening. She kept shifting on her chair. She had no idea about how to tolerate the smoke that fills her lungs. Her eyes were kept sticking to the girls' glasses. They were filled with alcohol. On the other hand, Zeynep kept looking at her warningly. She buried her head in her palms to mentally move away from the place. After seconds, she heard girls' excited noises coming from the table. She ignored it. But she could be able to resist it only for a minute or so. Even the place is dusk, her sight couldn't restore itself for a while. That's why, she couldn't see the person who was sitting in front of her. After her sight came back she wished to be not seeing it again. She turned to her friend and asked: "Are you the one who invited him?"
     "Of course. I've told you that we'll be with the people from the hospital." She said it listlessly but was terrified of the reaction she might give. She might embarrass not just herself but also her too.
     "Good evening Hayal. How are you?" The questions came from the other side of the table. She wasn't caring about any of those people except for Zeynep, but he was the person who she wanted to talk least. It wasn't like she doesn't like him. In the end, every girl at the table -including Zeynep- was admiring him. Even this alone was a reason for her to like him. But she never liked insistence but he kept bothering her with it.
     She answered: "I didn't know you'll be here."
     "I've decided to come when I've learned you'll come too."
    "You should've done the opposite." She turned her head to the side; hadn't wanted to look at him anymore. Her hand went to her glass. She was about to drink but left it when she remembered what was it filled with.
Iced tea wasn't the thing she needed. At that moment, the waiter came with the Barış's drink. And that was the thing she needed. She grabbed the glass from the waiter and drank it in one gulp.
     "Hayal, what are you doing?!" It was Zeynep. Her behavior was weird but aside from that, she wasn't supposed to drink any alcohol. She wanted to take it away from her but it was too late.

✘

     That glass was merely a beginning. It was keep coming. When she got drunk, she wasn't like herself anymore. She mixed among the dancing people like normally she would never do. Others were concerned. Only two of them were truly caring about the situation but because all the girls were focused on Barış they made themselves a part of it.
     A strange man started to dance with her too intimately. And that's why he couldn't hold back himself anymore. He first put himself between them and then took her with him. Unfortunately, it didn't continue like one of those romantic movies. She pulled her wrist back and started to yell at him:
     "What do you think you are doing?!" She was drunk. Her words wasn't that understandable.
     "I am saving you from a disturbing situation."
     "Who told you that I was disturbed?"
     "You were trying to get away from him."
     She knew that he was right. She had been caught. But she wasn't going to accept it. "Still, it's none of your business. Stay out of my life." She was going to leave after taking her things from the table. She couldn't take it anymore. But the sudden movement caused her to feel dizzy. Barış held her.
     "You are drunk. Where will you go like this, by yourself?"
     "It doesn't concern you." She pushed him to the side and walked towards the door.
     He wanted to follow her but remembered his jacket and the others. They all had seen what happened but still, he should've said something before leaving:
     "Girls, I am sorry but I need to leave right now. Have fun." And then he looked at Zeynep. "Don't worry, I'll take care of her."
     She nodded with gratitude. She was hoping her friend to be fine.

     He hadn't lost much time. But she was nowhere to be seen. His body filled with panic. Where did she go in that drunk state?

✘

     "You were the one without a heart. The one who doesn't afraid to hurt others; who doesn't feel remorse. Who can't feel love. The one that destroys others' lives and doesn't even care about it."
     When the murderer took a step closer to his victim, the victim took a step back from his murderer. They both had a different kind of excitement.
     "You've never looked back what you did. You've never understood the pain they experienced. You've never understood the pain... you've caused. You still don't care. Now, the only thing you care about is to save yourself. You are trying to make plans in that little head of yours. But your fear doesn't let your already useless brain. It's not important how smart you are anyways. Because, you already know that you can't leave this place alive. I can see it in your eyes that filled with horror, and your shaking body. You are giving me everything I want right now."
     While the murderer moving on to their killing moment step by step; the victim was trying to remove the thoughts of his unknown death.
     "I know what you are wondering. You are thinking how I'll kill you. Probably, I too would think that. And you are lucky because I'll tell you all about it before I kill you."
     The killer looked at the knife that he took out from his pocket with admiration and brushed it carefully with his fingers. The victim was watching his every move, in horror.
     "No, no. I am not a mere killer. I don't want you to misjudge me. I am not doing this just for fun. I am doing it for revenge. Your death is specially designed like the others'. Of course, I can't say that I won't enjoy it."
     The smirk on the killer's face was making the victim even more terrified. He was wanting to do something to get rid of this maniac but he was aware that he was helpless just like he said. The killer took a step closer. While he got closer his heart started to flutter rapidly. And then one more step and one more. Was it the knife he was holding or his hunger for pain more irritating, he couldn't decide. One step closer and one more. Everything had ended now. He was going to die pathetically with the biggest fear that he had never experienced before. Now, he was finally started to feel the regret of what he did. For the first time he wanted to take everything back, but it was something that belonged to the impossibility as much as the possibility of his survival.
     "I can finally see the regret in your eyes. And it means the time of your death. It going to be just like the feelings you've caused. You'll experience the same things that you made them live. While you are still breathing someone will rip your heart out of your chest."
     The victim's eyes opened impossibly. They were almost jumping from their places from the shock and the fear. And then he understood that the feelings he's felt before weren't even that bad. Now, he was struggling with the purest form of the worst feelings. All he wanted was that everything come to an end as quickly as possible.
     The killer approached his victim as much as it needed. He stabbed him carefully while trying not to damage the heart. The victim's screams were mostly because of the crushing feelings than the pain. The killer laughed with pleasure. Then he continued his job. While he was trying to remove the heart; the victim had already given his last breath...