The Camera Fades in

A mysterious anomaly steps out of the woods, near an empty road. It is a shadow stepping out of the dark, walking south. It’s a demon, covered in leather, faded denim, dirty boots, long tangled hair, slim with a long pale face and a stern chin. It becomes clear, it is a man, he approaches closer. He is clean shaven and covered in blood, a knife dangled on his belt in its sheath.

He lifts his thumb up while walking, hitchhiking, waiting for any fool to pull over. As he turns around, a car pulls over. It is a bald man, looking for fun.

“Hey, where you headed?” The bald man asked.

The Stranger says nothing.

“If your headed south, then hop in”

He opens the door still covered in blood. The bald man did not notice until the stranger got in. He saw blood all over his denim jacket. He than began to tremble.

“Hey, mister, I don’t want any trouble, ill take you where you want to go, just tell me when to stop, I wont say a word, I promise”.

The Stranger said nothing but looked forward with his back straight on the seat and both hands placed perfectly on his lap.

The bald man was a cruiser, he would go out looking for sexual favors in exchange for rides but this time he regret ever staying out so late. He thought about his wife, his children, all his mistakes and dirty thoughts he knew he should never have ever had. He just drove with one eye looking in the corner at the Stranger. He was scared to die and kept promising he would become a better man and not indulge in his dark sexual thoughts and needs.

“Look, I’m going to drop you off here, I’ll give you everything I have, even the car. I’ll walk from here, okay?”

He pulled over to the side of the road and began taking out his wallet and his watch. The Stranger unclipped the knife from his hip, stuck it into the man’s gut and twisted it in circles. The bald man could not scream but just look at the Stranger. He saw no facial expressions in his face, just the Stranger staring into his eyes and he can feel everything single bit of his insides being cut as the knife twisted in him. He blacked out from the pain and bled to death.

The Stranger pulled the knife out, placed it back in his leather sheath, took the cash in the man’s wallet. He got out the car and walked over to the drivers side, dragged the blood covered body out, threw it into the road and got into the drivers seat. He started the car and drove south.

Chapter 2

The Stranger got to a small town, Avalon in California, he parked the car in an alley way, left the keys in it and continued on foot. It was still dark out, he needed a new car and some more cash. He lit a cigarette and walked around in his heavy boots looking for a bar. After walking a a few miles, staying in the shadows to conceal the blood covered cloths, he found a loud bar, with dark lighting. He stood in the corner smoking, looking at the people. There were plenty of men and women, some were in groups but a man drinking alone at the bar caught his eye.

He watched him for an hour to the bar closed. The bartender started escorting everyone out and the lonely man went out last. The man could nearly walk, each step was like walking on water for him, the Stranger followed him from afar. The man was walking home alone and was clearly drunk. The stranger walked faster without making a sound in his heavy boots to he was close behind the man. He turned on a dark alley way, it was pitch black. He came up behind the drunk man, unclipped the knife and stuck it straight into his back, he could feel the bone of the man’s spine grinding against the knife as he twisted it, the man collapsed on the ground. The Stranger searched his pockets for his wallet and took the $200 and $8 dollars from his wallet and wiped the blood on the man’s shirt then switched his blue jeans with his own. He clipped his sheath and put the money in his pocket and made his way out of the city back to the highway.

He got back to the highway in the dark and stuck his thumb up again. He walked for nine miles but no-one pulled over, only four cars had passed. It was dark and few hours to sunlight so he walked another mile to he found a tree to sleep under. The sun started to come out and the sky was almost lit with burning orange, he got up and started to hitchhike again. The sixth car stopped on the side and waited in front of the Stranger to he walked up to the driver side.

“Where you hea….”

Before the woman could finish her sentence the knife was already in her throat, blood gushed all over the seat, steering wheel, and windshield. Her son laid in the back asleep, he was only two years old. The Stranger pulled the knife out and more blood poured like a waterfall, he slid her body to the passenger side and got in. He lit a cigarette and sat in the woman’s blood. Then got the sons towel from the back and wiped the blood off the windshield. He drove north this time.

Chapter 3

Driving for three straight hours and almost out of gas he stopped at a gas station outside of L.A and parked in the back. The boy still laid asleep with sweat dripping from his forehead, holding onto his blanket against his cheek. The Stranger got out, left the car there with the woman dead, pale as white with her son asleep. He made his way to the city walking with blood still covered on his black jeans and some on his jacket.

He got to his destination on foot, it was an apartment complex on the lower east side of L.A. He made his way up the stairs to the third floor to room, 308, he knocked softly against the door with his fist, only two small knocks. A woman answered from behind the door.

“Who is it is?” She said.

“It’s me”

She opened the door.

“Johnny! What the fuck! Where have you been?”

“Let me come in”, he said.

“You expect me to allow you inside my apartment after you took off before our wedding? Get the fuck out of here Johnny, its been months since I’ve seen you! I want nothing to do with you anymore! I’m fucking done! You hear me! DONE!”

He slammed the door open and grabbed her by the neck and picked her up off the ground and slammed her against the wall.

He choked her as she scratched his face all over and held her up off her feet to she blacked out then proceeded to stomp her head to her skull caved in and blood splattered all over the floor like an egg.

“Ash! Baby! Whats going on out there? Who is at the door?”, a man came out the bathroom with a towel around his waist. Johnny stared at him straight into the his eyes. The man ran across the room to the door and Johnny grabbed him by his hair, pulling him onto his back on the floor and took his knife out and cut the man’s throat open as blood squirted all over his hands. The man went limped and Johnny got up, dragged both their bodies to the bathroom. He got naked and started a cold bath, laid in the water as it turned red and lit a cigarette, he stared at both their bodies laying in the corner and flicked his ashes towards them. The blood from the bodies formed into a small river as it made its way towards the tub and Johnny put his cigarette out in it.

After cleaning the blood off himself, he put some of the man’s cloths on and locked the door and made his way back towards the city, it was night time already and the city lights brighten up the night sky of L.A.

Chapter 4

It had been one year and two months since he been back to L.A, he walked the streets alone looking at all the old bars he’d go to with his friend when he was younger, he looked for a payphone he always used. He called his own friend Steven who was his best man at his would be wedding.

“Whats up? This is Steve”

“Its me, I need to see you”

“me who?”, Steve asked.

“Jon”

“what the hell, brother! Where have you been?”

“I’m back in town, I need to see you”

“yeah, man, when?”

“tonight”

“okay, meet me at the old bar! Ill see you there in 30 minutes?”

“30 is good”

“see you then!”.

Jon hung up, he was already at the old bar they’d drink at. He sat at the bus stop and waited in silence as people sat near him not knowing he had a 11’ inch blade covered in dry blood inside his jacket.

Steve walked up to the bar, entered and got two beers then sat near the window. Jon got up from the bench, walked across the street to the bar and entered. Walking in, Steve heard the stomping of heavy boots and looked up, there was Jon.

“Hey! How have you been Johnny!” Steve got up to give him a hug but Jon sat down.

“lets go” Jon said

“I got us a beer though”

“forget it, I have more at my house”

“Is that where were going?”

“yes”

Steve and Jon got up and walked out the bar towards the street where Jon lead them to the apartment, walking in complete silence. Steve followed behind but could feel nothing but eeriness, Jon was not the same as he remembered and all he could think of was coming up with excuses to leave but he felt to scared to even speak, he felt compelled to follow and not say a word. Jon was in control.

As they walked up the stairs, Steve grew more scared, Jon never once turned around to see if Steve was following him or not, he never said a word. Jon opened the door and let Steve in first. The place was clean besides the two dead lovers rotting in the restroom tub.

“nice place, Jon, I didn’t know you were already living here in town, wished you called me sooner”

“have a seat on the bed”

Steve sat as Jon grabbed a beer out the small refrigerator and tossed it to him

“so tell me something… why did you do it?”

“do what Jon?” Steve’s heart was racing but opened the beer to play it off as he was not terrified of his old friend. Steve knew what he was talking about but was not sure if it was the same thing Jon was.

“why did you fuck me over?

“Jon, I'm scared, I don’t know what you're talked about, man. I didn’t do anything to you, I’ve been straight with you since I’ve met you!”

“why did you fuck me over?”

“what are you talking about? I didn’t do anything to hurt you!”

“tell me, tell me now and I wont do what I was planning on doing”

“Jon! I seriously don’t know what you are talking about! Please! I don’t know! Im sorry if I did, I didn’t mean to, man!”

“alright lets see if you talk now” Jon pulled out his huge knife from his jacket with red still on it.

“HELP!HELP!”

Jon horizontally sliced Steves mouth from left to right in one hand motion cutting his mouth and tongue. Steves mouth opened wider and his tongue was split in two. Blood poured profusely onto the floor, onto Steves cloths and onto Jons boots. He grabbed his mouth and could not speak but only moan in agony like a dying lamb. He tried to get up off the bed to the door but Jon grabbed him by the back of his shirt and as Steve came falling backwards, Jons knife went straight into his heart, he could feel the coldness of the blade as it pierced through his heart and as his heart still beat he could feel it rubbing against that sharp coldness of the knife. Jon pulled it out and Steve laid on the floor looking into Jons eyes.

For the first time Jon showed some sign of emotion since his departure from his hometown, He stood over Steve and grinned and out came a chuckle.

“i told you to tell me, now look what you made me do”

Jon began to stomp on Steve face to he was knocked out unconscious then to his skull caved in and brains spat out.

He unzipped Steves pants and began cutting off his penis then left his body there and went to the restroom to cut off the other man’s penis that was in the apartment with Ashley. He washed his blade after and took a piss on her body, stuck both of the mens penises into her mouth and carved whore into her forehead as deep as he could. After he was done, he wiped the blood off on her breast, put the knife away and made his way out the apartment. He walked down the stairs, into the streets, and towards the city. Once he got into the middle of town where the buildings were so high they blocked the sun, he stopped at a hotdog stand, bought one and sat down on the curb of a alley way, as he was about to bite into it after not eating for days, he could not help it as he stared at the covered hotdog and began to laugh. He laughed so hard he dropped the hotdog onto the pavement and got up, calmed himself down, took a cigarette and lit.

“i have to get out of here” he whispered to himself.