The infamous hitman Jeff the Killer sat in a brown leather chair, petting a huge lioness, who he named Zira. Zira had golden fur and yellow eyes, flicking her tail and purring as her master pet her. The other lioness, Lief, had fur that was a bit brighter yellow, and two male lions were with him as well. They, like their sisters, had golden fur and yellow eyes, and they were nigh-identical. The difference between the brothers was that Jag had a darker mane, while Inkosana's was a dull red.
Jefferson Gray, Jeff the Killer, was a tall man, around 6'6, and muscular, 450 lbs. He wore a white suit of armor with black markings on it. On the chest plate of his armor was a painting of a black lion, his snarling maw wide open and full of fangs. Under the armor, Jeff wore a black shirt, black jeans, black boots and black gloves. He wore a white helmet, his long black hair still hanging through the creases. As for his face, it was so pale it was almost white, adorning several scars. One of them was a straight slice over one of his eyes. Another was a jagged, stitched slice going from his cheek to his forehead.
His eyes were bright green and bloodshot, his eyelids black as midnight. His eyes burned with complete and utter hate. At one point, a loud-mouthed man asked Jeff if his eyes were like that from booze or weed. Some say Jeff tore out his tongue and made him eat it. Others say Jeff went for the eyes.
His hair was similarly black, and so long that it reached past his shoulders, a scruffy black goatee on his burnt chin.. Finally, he had a smile carved into his face, a sickly beige from the burns he suffered. The Glasgow smile, juxtaposed with his otherwise expressionless face, made him all the more unnerving.
Jeff held a bottle of Captain Morgan's rum in his other hand, taking a nice long drink. Gazing upon his lioness with affection , he threw the empty bottle to the ground, as it crashed, and he grinned, showing off his fanged teeth, stained sallow from years of being addicted to meth.
"What makes a murderer?", muttered Jeff as he gently stroked Zira and Jag and smiled at their purring. "That question has been on your mind, don't deny it. The answer is very simple: pain. Pain is what makes us wonder...what it feels like to kill. But what was the source of said pain? Abusive parents? Unbearable mental illness? Heh...repressed sexuality?"
Rising from his chair and walking toward his table, Jeff picked up a bong with a Deadpool icon on it. Jeff started up the bong and blew out a smoke ring, coughing and snickering as the weed kicked in.
He got to his knees and petted the lioness's cheeks, his green eyes gazing into her gold ones.
"I remember my first kill perfectly," said Jeff matter-of-factly. "Dumb cunt, weak as hell. I killed him in ten seconds flat. "
Nostalgic now, Jeff chuckled "You should have seen the blood, Zira! It was like a volcano. "
Enraptured with what her 'father', was saying, Zira rubbed her head against his massive clawed fist affectionately. Jag licked Jeff's leg, and Jeff scratched him behind the ears. Lief and Inkosana curled up by their master's feet.
Jeff laughed. "No worries, guys. There's plenty of Daddy to go around. But going back to the point, how did I become..."Jeff casually gestured at himself. " It all started when I saw my mother beat up my father, while me and my brother, and my twin sister cowered in the corner. Dad was trying to take us to see a movie. But Mom caught him, and she punished him, because she thought that he was trying to leave her, and take us with him. Now, Dad was by no means weak, but he was no match for my mom. She was too powerful when she was messed up. We screamed and screamed as we watched Mom hit our dad with her beer bottle. "
Jeff sighed painfully for a moment. He grinned halfheartedly, and said, "You see? Pain. Anguish. Fear and confusion are the first emotions we feel the minute we're born. Happiness is pleasurable, but fleeting. Anger sticks with you for far, far longer. But there's one thing that truly soothes the mind and soul." Jeff grinned, his fanged teeth were shining like knives, and his green eyes glowed with malice, the pupils turned to slits. "Insanity. I lost my sanity when I was a boy. But I also lost my weakness. My chains were broken. I don't have to worry about getting in trouble for doing any of the crazy shit I do, because I don't have sanity or normality to hold me back anymore."
Jeff rose from his chair and stroked Zira on the head. He walked towards his desk, and on top of it was a dead blonde man missing an arm and a leg. Jeff snapped his fingers, and Zira jumped onto the desk. She started chewing on the cadaver's stomach, while Jag started pulling on an arm. Inkosana growled at his brother, and scratched at him, and Jag roared indignantly.
"Jag, share with Inkosana." Jeff said calmly. "Do Daddy a favor and let Lief have a taste of that cunt, too."
Lief was more than happy to take up her father on his offer. She started chewing on the dead man's head, and Jeff grinned. "Good babies. You're learning well. Just like I learned. Is there really anything so wrong with causing death? After all, everything feeds on death. It's just as precious as life, if not more so. Hundreds of the people I've killed begged for mercy before my blade fell down on them. " Jeff snorted. "Pathetic. They have no understanding of the important role that we all play. Everybody's so desperate to cheat death. As if not having it would make life better. No, no, no, no, no. You see, I've learned a very important lesson when I was a kid. Life is natural, and it's considered to be a gift. Rightfully so. Death is natural, and yet the masses treat it like it's a curse."
Jeff frowned. That notion still confused him after all these years. It made him feel sorry for the people who just didn't get it. Why would somebody cling so tightly to life? Why would anybody be so terrified by something as natural as death? Jeff had known for a long time that there was nothing to fear from death. However, Jeff supposed the reason he had that notion was because he had danced close to death for years, and he had fully dedicated himself to causing death when he was just 16 years old....
Author's note: This part of the story onward takes place during 2015. Jefferson Gray is 16 years old in this origin story.
9 years ago....
An 16 year old Jefferson Gray was sitting on a school bus, sitting next to his brother Draco, who was 15 at the time, and sitting next to them was Jane, Jeff's twin sister. Jeff was wearing a black Nirvana T-shirt and black jeans and painted black nails. He was tall for a sophomore, 6 ft 3, and he had short black hair, pale skin, bright, mischievous green eyes, and a content smile. He was muscular, and had a black trench coat on.
Draco was shorter than his brother and sister, his skin tone was slightly less pale, his hair was even shorter, and his red eyes were filled with disinterest and sadness. He was often mocked by kids from previous schools for heaving red eyes, much to his displeasure. But, hey, whenever somebody made fun of him, either Draco or Jeff would scare them straight. Draco also wore a black shirt with water designs, and black khakis.
Jane was pretty much a more feminine version of Jeff, with the same pale skin, black hair and green eyes. But she was a bit shorter, her hair was done up in a pony tail, and she had black eyeliner. Jane wore a black T-shirt of Venom from Spider-Man and brown combat boots, reading the Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Draco was glaring at everybody on the bus, venom in his eyes. Jeff was used to this, but he didn't care at the moment. He was listening to his favorite song, " War Pigs", by Black Sabbath. It wasn't until Draco flicked his ear that Jeff turned off his iPod and looked at his brother.
" Listen up, shit-head.", Draco snapped, sternly looking at him.
Jeff raised an eyebrow and replied, "Oh, Draco. How many times have I told you? Nobody--and I mean nobody--comes between me and Black Sabbath."
Draco chuckled and said, " Well, I just did. Anyway, what do think this year will be like, guys?"
Jane dog-eared her book, closed it, and looked at her brothers.
" I think it'll turn out okay. What about you, Jeff? You think things will be better this year?" asked Jane.
Jeff smirked and answered, "Not likely, Sweet Jane. Every single one of those cunts are gonna treat us like shit just because of who we are. That's what it was like last year, so it makes sense that it'll be like it this year." Jeff pointed at a 16 year old blonde haired girl and continued, "Take her, for example. The minute she years my name, she'll act like she's talking to the Devil."
After saying his piece, Jeff looked at Draco. Might as well as him what he thinks.
" What do you think about that dude there?", Jeff inquired, pointing at a 16 year old boy with spiky red hair and a black " My Chemical Romance T-shirt". "What's your position on him? Me personally, I'd be a top and he'd be the bottom." Jeff winked.
Draco looked at the kid, and snorted. "First of all, too much information. Second of all, most likely he's some loser who'll do anything his buddies say. Fuck, he might even rob and murder an old couple just to buy some more drugs because his friends got him hooked on that shit. He's a sheep, no doubt.", he muttered darkly.
Jane retorted, " I really doubt that he's capable of doing that, Draco. I mean, look at him! He looks like...okay, he looks like an emo, but he doesn't peg me as the junkie type."
"You should never, ever judge someone by their looks, sister." Draco said.
"Unless you're just interested in some casual sexy times." Jeff added.
'Sides, who's to say he won't become a junkie just because his buddies thought it was a good idea?" Draco replied. Glaring at Jeff, he muttered, "And will you stop being such a fucking pervert?"
Jeff chuckled and replied, "First of all, no Second of all, I'm glad to see you know the same truth as me. Humans ain't exactly my cup of tea either."
" Tell me about it, dude. So, ready for another year at Douchebag High?" asked Draco.
"Ready as I'll ever be." Jeff replied.
Jane tapped Jeff on the shoulder. Jeff was a bit irritated, as he always hated being tapped.
"What is it, Jane?", Jeff asked.
"I don't know if all these guys are gonna turn out to be jerks like Draco says they are. Who knows? Maybe that emo kid will run a charity! And that girl could be a doctor. Let's try for a little optimism." Jane said all this with a nervous smile. She was the odd-ball when it came to the Gray siblings, always seeing things with a positive outlook, a sharp contrast with the pessimist Draco and cynical Jeff.
Once again, Jeff showed his trademark cynicism. He shrugged and replied, " Well, I want to believe that, but with everything we've been through, I don't really have much faith in humanity. These people are part of the vast majority."
"Hope you're not including me in the majority, Jeff." said a voice from the bench behind Jeff. He turned around and saw his old friend Jessica, a pretty and petite girl with hazel eyes, hair that was black on the left side and dyed red on the right, and purple eyeliner which Jeff always found cute. She wore a silver necklace, a red shirt and black pants. Her real name was Jessica, but everybody called her Jinx.
Jeff grinned. "Jinx! Good to see you!"
"Likewise, likewise!"
"Ready for another year of bullshit and assholes, Jinx?", asked Draco. "Personally I can't wait." He gasped excitedly and said, "Maybe we'll be the first ones to get swirlies!"
Jinx laughed and replied, "Still a comedian, huh, Draco?"
"Nah, just a realist."
"Or a pessimist." Jane added. "How've you been, Jinxy?"
"Not bad, Jane. I've been taking guitar lessons lately, and I don't like to brag--"
"Bullshit!" said Jeff, pretending to cough into his arm. Jinx glared at him, and Jeff blinked innocently.
"As I was saying, I think I'm getting good." Jinx said.
"You really are good," Jeff said. "I've been playing my piano some more, and I was kinda hoping to join the school band. Maybe we could do it together, baby-doll."
"That'd be dope." Jinx said with a grin.
The bus finally stopped at Fresno High. The school was a huge building, with brown bricks, big windows over the front doors, and beige linings on the sides of said windows. Above the door in bold letters were the words Fresno High School. On the building were two banners with the school mascot, a Native American warrior, and written on each banner was the motto: Tradition, Honor, Excellence.
That's a good a motto as any, Jeff thought.
The Gray siblings got off the bus, and headed toward the main campus building. Dozens of other kids were headed the same way. A blonde boy with a LA Lakers jersey approached Jeff and smiled.
"Hi, I'm new here. I'm Eddie. What's your names?", he asked.
Jeff smiled back and replied, "Nice to meet you. My name's Jeff Gray, this is my sister Jane and my brother Draco."
The smile faded from Eddie's face, replaced by a stricken look. He slowly turned around and headed into the building, briskly walking away from Jeff. He knew why. Ever since 2011, Jeff had a reputation for having a short temper. Whenever somebody bullied his siblings, Jeff would give them black eyes, bloody noses and broken bones. One day, when a bully to Draco was found dead, washed up on the dock, naturally almost everybody thought Jeff was the killer. Even when Jeff was declared innocent, that didn't stop anybody. So they called him Jeff the Killer.
Jeff's fists trembled in rage.
"Fucking judgmental, cocksucking piece of shit." Draco hissed, glaring at Eddie.
Jane put her hand on Jeff's shoulder. "It's gonna be okay, buddy. This is a fresh start for us."
"If you say so, Sweet Jane." Jeff muttered. He stayed calm for their sake, but inside Jeff felt the fury rising in him again, as he had felt it rise for so long. Sometimes he wished he could unleash his fury on his ostracizers, but he knew that would only prove them right.
Still, it would feel so good.