Sanity

“Although I can mask my harsh glance, you can shake my hand, feel flesh grabbing you, and perhaps even sense that our lifestyles are probably similar, there is no real Paul Adler; only an abstraction. I am only an entity, something unreal. I'm simply just not there.” said from the mouth of Paul Adler, aged 27 who stares into his bold brownish eyes looking into his 3-bedroom apartment bathroom’s mirror alongside applying several creams on his slightly puffy face. Committing the murder of his fellow peer, Ricky and a handful of innocent unarmed civilians all while taping these crimes and potentially even eating their brains out, this is the story of a young-looking gentleman who was the biggest figure in the company he worked in, Excel Co., loved by almost everyone around him turned into a mentally-deranged killer on a rampage.

Suspenseful music starts to surround the atmosphere, more specifically Mr. Kitty's after dark which was trending around the City of Treville. Turns out it was just Paul listening to the majestic and well composed song through his supra-aural headphones thinking the song was flowing all around the building where he worked. He arrived with a happy, well-lit up face greeting all of his co-workers. “Morning Hamilton” said Paul as he was about to enter his office. “Nice tan Adler” replied Hamilton. Paul sits on his comfortable chair inside his greyish office filled with famous paintings and an enormous portrait of himself and is greeted by his assistant, Jean. “You’re late again?” asked Jean, “Yoga class, my bad.” Paul laughs amusingly. Paul asks his wonderful assistant for any messages left to him since yesterday and his buddy Ben left him one. “Ben wanted to ask if you’re available at 8:30 tonight?” “Where at?” asked Paul, “Five Guys” replied Jean.”How did a guy like him get a reservation there, that lucky rascal” said Paul jokingly. “You look nice today,” added Paul. Jean blushed and just replied with a shyful “thank you”. Come the night where two old friends meet after ages. Paul makes his way in and sees a patiently waiting Ben Bullard. “Hey Paul!” shouted Ben after seeing Paul. “Can’t believe it's been 12 years since we last saw each other.”.”Well that’s what happens when you leave for some girl you met online” replied Paul comically. The two men in suits started to order, with Ben getting the peanut butter soup with smoked duck and mashed squatch and Paul, getting the red snapper with violets and pine nuts.Conversations moved along till the dead of night, recollecting their pasts and discussing what is happening these days. Ben, fully drunk and not being able to control what he says, Paul generously dropped him to this condo. “It was great seeing you, Paul,” said Ben while having hiccups. “Same Ben, see you soon” replied Paul.

In comes the next day, Paul and his colleagues are about to have a meeting. In comes Ricky Baston, the handler of the fisher account, a very big role to take. “Halberstram, how are you?” says Ricky mistakenly taking Paul as Robert Alberstram who is kind of a good-for-nothing guy but it was logical as Robert works in the same company, wears the same Valentino suits and sometimes the similar John Jacobs glasses. “How’s the ransom account going?” asked Ricky. “Well you know how it is,” Paul responded. Walks in Bryce, Baxter and Van Batten, three of Paul’s companions. “Hey Ricky, tennis on Friday?” questioned Bryce as Ricky pulled out his card from his visiting card holder. “No can do, i’ve got an 8:30 reservation at Dorsia” everybody freezes, almost paralyzed and looking at each other. “Dorsia on a Friday night, how’d he swing by that?” “He has to be lying” stated Baxter with Paul simultaneously pulling his own silver, shiny visiting card holder and taking out his new printed card he got yesterday. “Is that a gram?” questioned Bryce with Paul replying with “New card”. Showing to his peers, Paul explains all the major and minor details of his newly acquired card, “Colouring is something known as Bone and the lettering, Silian rail.” explains Paul. “Whoa-ho, very nice” complimented Baxter while smoking a Cuban cigar. "That's impressive Alder, but that’s nothing, check this” told Van Batten as he put his card on the office table next to Paul’s comparing the two. “What do you think?” asked Van Batten. The feeling of competition and jealousy started to fill up Paul and he just said “Nice” under his breath in a low voice but just loud enough that his colleagues could hear the compliment. “Let’s see Ricky Baston’s card” Paul requested. Everybody looked away subtly with Bryce picking Ricky’s card from earlier from his pocket, shining it into the light and handing it to Paul. Paul, staring at it menacingly, says to himself “Look at the delicate off-white hue. The elegant thickness of it even has a watermark, my God.” Adler lifts the card and looks at it while his hand is shaking and forming it into a fist all while sweating profusely at the same time.

Leaving his office building, Paul spots Ricky, half-drunk, coming from Evelyn’s (Paul’s other colleague) Christmas party. “Hey Ricky, you okay? Let me take you to my apartment” said Paul as he starts to help Ricky on his feet. Arriving at the apartment, Ricky immediately sits on the enormous red-velvet sofa all drunk and fuzzy inside.”You like Crush 40?” asked Paul. “They’re alright *hiccup*” replied Ricky. Paul starts explaining all about crush 40’s achievements, best albums and their rise to fame as well as going into the bathroom and equipping a white translucent raincoat wielding an axe! Paul remembers all the times his father told him to not let anyone beat him to anything and never be last. All these memories fill Paul with more hatred and jealousy as he brings the ace into the same room as Ricky. Paul heads to the VHS player and plays Crush 40’s “Hip to be Square''. Paul picks up the axe, standing behind Ricky and yells “HEY RICKY!”. Ricky looks behind with a shock on his face and gets slated through the head. His body dropping on the full-white concrete floor with blood spilling everywhere and some getting on Paul’s face and raincoat. “TRY GETTING A RESERVATION AT DORSIA NOW YOU STUPID FRICKING PRICK!” screams Paul as he keeps swinging the bloody axe at Ricky spewing even more blood each time there is contact. All this happening while the funky music is being played in the background. After countless times of swinging his axe, Paul takes off his blood-covered raincoat while staring at Ricky’s dead body. He skips the body and sits on the sofa, pulling out a Robina cuban cigar and lighting it up, one leg in a ninety- degree angle to the other. His first murder.

Next morning, Paul sits in his chair, listening to beats, reminiscing the events of yesterday all while staring out his office window. Jean walks in. “Yes Jean, what do you want?” asked Paul. “There’s a John Pill to see you.” replied Jean. “Who?” said Paul, confused. “Detective John Pill” Paul had a look of shock on his face as he looks outside to his assistant's table. “Send him I guess, '' requested Paul. Enter Detective John, an old-wrinkly man, but don’t let these features fool you, he’s the best in the business. “Hi, sorry to run into you at a bad time, i should have made an appointment” said the detective as he comes in to shake Paul’s hand . “No problem” responded Paul as they both firmly grip hands. “I wanted to ask about the disappearance of Ricky Baston, I wanted to know if you know anything about it?” questioned Pill. Paul not being able to find his words due to fear that the detective might catch him out stutters “N- no..”. “Well, there was a message on his ‘answering machine’ saying he went to London, but I don't think so” said Pill. “But has anyone seen him in London?” asked Paul. “Yes actually but i couldn’t get a solid confirmation, his family and friends have been worried sick and want this to be kept quiet.” replied Pill. Pill interrogated Paul for a while asking questions relating to Ricky and his habits, hobbies etc. The detective left requesting Paul to pin down the times where he was during the time of the murder. Paul knew he had to do something to stop his bloodlust before he gets caught. Paul could hear the voices in his head, reaching the full potential of becoming insane. All this hatred, jealousy and his enjoyment of killing innocent civilians is turning his sanity upside down. He thinks to just go out with a bang. He reaches out to his assistant Jean and asks her if she would like to go out with him. “No i don't have any plans, you can choose any restaurant you want” says Jean while she blushes. “No you silly goose, choose come on.” said Paul “How about Dorsia?” asked Jean. Paul looks at her slowly, lifting his head from the newspaper he was reading and picks up the brick phone and calls the restaurant's number. “Hi, can I get a reservation at 8 or 8:30 tonight? ”Sorry we’re fully booked tonight” replied the voice on the phone. Not to look like a fool in front of his assistant, Paul replied with an enthusiastic “GREAT” with Jean smiling. “No, I said we’re fully booked” interrupted the voice. Paul hangs up the phone. “Make sure you wear something nice and come around my house by 7pm.” Jean nods her head and returns to her office duties, all giggly inside

Paul uses the atm below his office building and spots a cat who’s rubbing against his leg. Paul picks up the feline and starts petting it. The atm screen reads out “FEED ME A STRAY CAT” with Paul obeying what the screen tells him to and tries to shove the cat through the card reader. An old lady approaches him and asks him what he’s trying to do. Paul pulls out a M9 pistol and shoots the poor lady. She drops like a shattered vase, dead to the floor. Police sirens grew louder, Paul runs to the middle of the street and starts blasting the officers. A whole gun fight had been started with Paul putting one of the officers down with a shot to the head. He kept shooting to the point the whole police car gets blown up with Paul confused, looking wondering how a small-scale gun caused such a big blast. He turns his back slowly and runs back to his office building not before taking a shortcut through the deep black night into the Vice building. Inside, he struts quickly trying to avoid any human interaction. He meets a security guard doing his night shift. “Late work Mr.Paul?” asks the guard. Paul pulls out his gun and shoots the innocent man. Paul exits the building with success. Upon reaching his office building, he opened his shirt collar being unable to breath, he entered the lifts and started sobbing. Suddenly, THE SOUND OF A HELICOPTER draws near. Frightened, he drops to the floor behind his desk. Helicopter searchlights scan the building, illuminating Paul's office for a few moments with a blaze of light.. He is crouched in one corner, half-sobbing, talking into the phone, as the searchlight keeps circling. “Saul, you're my lawyer, so I feel like you should be aware that I've killed quite a few people. Some homeless persons and escort females are housed in an apartment in the city. And Ricky Baston, I killed Ricky Baston with an axe, in the face. His body is dissolving in a bathtub in Hell's Kitchen. I don't want to leave anything out here... I guess I've killed 20 people, maybe 40-I have tapes of a lot of it. Tonight I just, well, I had to kill a lot of people and I'm not sure I 'm going to get away with it this time-I mean I guess I'm a pretty sick guy.” laughs Paul hysterically as he hangs up the phone and he just ponders.

Morning. Paul arrives at the pay-phone and calls Jean. Paul can’t even speak proper words, starts crying with Jean being worried. Paul starts cussing her out and isn't able to breath. Jean hangs up the phone on him and moves into his office and starts searching his drawers until she finds a notebook. She goes through it and is in disbelief, seeing all the sketches of Paul’s murders, from escort girls, homless people to Ricky’s. She starts crying, not believing she worked for a murderer. Paul skips the office and heads to the Five Guys Bar, where he spots Saul, his lawyer. Paul rushes in and starts talking to him. “So, uh Saul did you get my message?” asked Paul. “Jesus, yes that was hilarious” replied Saul. “Paul Adler killing Ricky baston and those escort girls, good story man!” added Saul. “NO SAUL!” Paul shouts as everyone looks towards their direction. “I killed Ricky Baston… and I liked it.” “But that’s simply not possible” said Saul “Why not?!” replied Paul. “Because I had dinner with Ricky twice in London '' Saul builded on. “Now I would excuse me” says Saul one last time before leaving the scene. Paul, utterly confused not knowing what to do, sits down and has a drink. He has a sip and talks to himself, to the voices in his head when suddenly he wakes up! Paul jumps from his bed looking around, pinching himself to see if he is in a dream, a mad fantasy, he wasn’t. This “nightmare” was a rollercoaster of emotions for Paul. He stares blankly around his home as he says to himself “My pain is constant and sharp and I do not hope for a better world for anyone. In fact I want my pain to be inflicted on others. I want no escape. I'm just simply not there”.