The Monster Inside: Part 1

Monotony. He sighed. His regret at every one of these get-togethers was the only thing that could drown out his exasperation. Every single time. He would be mildly surprised whenever this happened. It went against his very nature to feel.

"Max, look. Doesn't Richie look so cute?", said Karen, shoving her phone into his nose to show her toddler wearing what looked like a tree costume.

"Yes. What a splendid tree, let me guess a Banyan", he said knowing full well the maker didn't have a species in mind when designing the costume.

"No, silly. It's just a tree", Karen giggled and proceed to show the other three women in their team the same thing. The ladies then proceeded to gush over each other's kids' costumes, leaving him to his own devices. He did not understand, what exactly these women found so endearing in their children. They all looked like ugly bats to him. Must have taken after their mothers.

He felt irritated. He was never this agitated. Once he had sat straight through half an hour of Baby Shark children karaoke. That experience was one of the most traumatic ones, he has ever had. However, in every get-together with his team, not only managed to beat the Baby Shark incident, but also the experience of the previous one, month after month. The current one was proving to be no exception. Nevertheless, no experience could top the one that kick-started this all.

Don't think about that.

He had to give it to these broads. They didn't even realize the amount of danger they would be in, every month. He looked at the fork in his hand and then Charlotte's jugular. No. He gritted his teeth.

He hated these meetings. He hated these women. He hated their ugly off-springs. Why should he be subjected to this? You deserve this though. Divine justice, Max. He remembered a verse from Eminem's '97 Bonnie and Clyde

".…there's a place called Heaven, And a place called Hell,

A place called prison, And a place called Jail.

And Dada's probably on his way to all of 'em except one"

He almost chuckled.

"Max, you aren't eating anything", Liz said. She looked like an inbred toad. He would have pitied her child and her husband. If he could, that is. 

"I am. Watch", He said popping the spoon full of soup in his mouth and gulping it down. She showed her buck teeth, which he figured must have been an attempt at a smile, and went back to the group's gushing session.

Not wanting to make himself the media's favorite news for the following week, he looked away to distract himself. He could imagine what that would look like. 

"And a truly bizarre, yet horrifying news coming in. A 19-year-old, murdered his entire team", The reporter would wave her hand and his mugshot would appear behind her. His mugshot would show his head touching the 69-inch mark and the name Maximus Gluteus on the placard he would be holding. 

"Yes, that's right. His entire team consisted of himself and 3 other middle-aged women with loving families. Authorities have arrested him and have taken him away for questioning. Let's talk to an eyewitness, Mr. Justin Teakpond, a server at the restaurant where this gruesome act took place", he could imagine the anchor saying in her sensationalizing reporter voice. 

"It all happened suddenly. The chap definitely looked suspicious", the red-headed server would say in his Birmingham accent. "He barely ate anything, and every time one of those women would talk to him, he would start grinding his teeth and would tighten his grip on his fork. It looked like he was trying to take a giant s**t, he was", The reporter nodded vigorously."Blimey, I swear he almost killed me too. When I asked for his order, he looked at me as if he wanted to open me up."

He snapped back. These team outings were a monthly affair for their 4 members' small online magazine team. They all worked remotely from their homes and that suited him well. What did not suit him very well, however, was when the Editor and the owner Serena, insisted on a monthly dinner for "team building". He would have left a long time ago but the pay was good and not many organizations were offering him hundred percent remote work. Idiots, I ask for your own good. And mine.

He noticed the girl at the table in front of him. She was staring at him with an amused smirk and a glint in her eyes. She was what people would call conventionally attractive. Heart-shaped face framed by her long thick chestnut hair, which flowed down her body like a cascading waterfall. He looked away.

"I am sorry, I have to go", he stood up abruptly. "Thank you, Serena, the pasta and soup was really nice". She smiled and all of them bid him farewell. He paid his share and made his way out.

 He didn't understand how he had become this monster. The only thing he could feel now was disdain for others. How could one incident affect him so much? How could it change his entire being? Or was he born like this and it was just triggered somehow? He did not want to give the monster any breathing space. Any opportunities to rear its ugly head. So he kept himself away. He would never even surface but he did not have a benefactor. He needed money to live. 

It was getting colder though. His jacket kept him warm enough. He wanted to get back to his place and lock himself up there. He would not be joining the next meeting. He had given the excuse of being sick ample times and initially it had worked. Soon they figured it out and were badgering him about it till he was forced to accept. And since then, he had been attending every meeting just to get those banshees off his back.

He came across his shortcut into the dark alley and jumped across the fence. Once in a while whenever the urge became unbearable, he would venture out and find himself a prey. As a child, they were rabbits or kittens. As he grew up, so did the size of his prey. His urge soon led him from rabbits to dogs. His father had found out and had made it his life's work, from thereon, to keep him hidden away from society. He knew where the natural progression of the urge to kill would take his son. He could not let him venture out as it would only be a matter of time before law enforcement would catch up with him.

But then his father died and then there was no one left to control the monster. No one but him. 

He could not win. Yet, could not let the monster win, either. So he had proposed an arrangement. The monster had grudgingly agreed.

The night was dark. It was a new moon night. He could barely see anything in the dark network of alleys he was walking in. He stopped suddenly and looked back. No one, it seems. His instincts had always been on point though. He felt for the dagger in his jacket's pocket and found it to be there still.

"Whoever's here, please come out", He said. He would need to be careful. The reason he took this shortcut precisely was that no one would be there. 

And now he could have potentially put someone at risk.

"Relax, my man, just smokin'", said a man's voice. The source of the voice stood up from behind a dumpster. "Nothing like a smoke after a hunt, know what I mean", he chuckled as he took a whiff.

Under the fluctuating tube light, he could make out a familiar face. A face he remembered from the wanted photographs that the police had circulated on every  newspape, social media and online magazines. Including his own.

He felt something inside him change. Its time. He felt somewhat relieved. Now he could let the beast out. 

"Hey man, you alright?", said the man. He must have taken note of the change in his expression and stance. He reached into his pocket and took out what seemed to be a box cutter.

"I am gonna slice you up like that bitch I just did an hour ago", he spat as he threw away the cigarette.

He smiled. 

-----------------------------------

Plink.…Plink….Plink.The drops of blood sounded positively like gunshots to him. Adrenaline coursing through his body, he eyed him. He could see the terror in his eyes as he circled him, taking pleasure in his distress. He was an apex predator and this was his prey. He liked to take his time. Watch the life drain away from their eyes.

"Nate", a man's voice screamed.

He turned around. Another familiar face. The monster chuckled with pleasure. Two kills tonight. 

He flipped the dagger in his hands.

He jerked away as he heard two, what looked like gunshots which had gone through a silencer, from behind him. It took the man in his forehead and his chest. He was surprised by the sheer precision.

He turned around. 

It was the girl from the restaurant. He stared at her. She pocketed her gun in her overcoat and smiled at Nate's corpse. She came towards him and stood surprisingly close. It did not bother him. She looked up and stared directly into his eyes.

Both of them said nothing. They just looked at each other. The dance going on in their heads. He didn't know for how long they were there. Could have been hours? Or was it days? Neither did he know nor care. He understood why the eyes were called the window to the soul. For the first time in his life, he felt something inside of him stir. 

And it was not the monster.

The girl smiled at him. She took the knife off of his hands and pocketed it in her coat. She took his hand in hers. For the first time ever, the night came to life.