Predators

Beast

"You shouldn't be here. Your unclean soul will taint them. Walk away."Placing my hands to my head, I try to push out my mother's voice.

Despite telling myself repeatedly I should leave them alone, I find myself in this park watching them. Summer is sitting on a bench reading a book. She looks so different from the first time I saw her.

Gone are the sunken face and jaundiced eyes. Her cheeks are much fuller, giving her face a more angelic look. Her hair is in long thin braids that fall to her waist. Even her body has filled out, looking much healthier than that night. She is beautiful. More beautiful than I even remembered.

I clinch my hands at my sides with the desire to touch her. The memory of how she felt that night as she rode my cock plays back in my head. The way her skin felt underneath mine. The sound of her whimpers and feel of her nails digging in my skin as she found her release.

I groan as my dick lengthens down my leg.

"The whore has sullied you further. Sex is a sin."

"Not with her," I growl through clenched teeth.

When we were sixteen, Priest sat us all down to give us the sex talk. He explained the basics and had us all practice placing condoms on bananas. He also explained that in two short years he would take us all to the Nunnery to pick out our first Nun. He talked about making a wise decision because we would never get another first-time experience. He said we would always remember our first.

After my experience with Summer, I finally understood what he meant. The memory of her and that night got me through my five years in lock down.

"Hulk," a small voice says grabbing my attention.

I open my eyes, look down, and come face to face with the replica of myself. My son. From the day Albany told me that Summer was pregnant I have both craved and feared this day.

I've wanted to see what she and I created. The two broken souls that were lit aflame one night. What could we possibly create? Would he have her soulful eyes and charming smile. Would my evil rub off on him. Would the darkness that's inside of me reside in him as well. I should've remembered the banana and condom lesson. I'm not worthy of that gift.

Yet, even though I know this, when I look down at his round face, all I see is perfection. He is the best of me.

"Hulk," he says again, holding up a green action figure.

I squat down, getting to his level. My mother is screaming in my head to get away from him, to not ruin him. I take a deep breath fighting her words. I'd rather die than cause him any harm. I've never wanted to touch someone so bad in my life. The desire to wrap my arms around him and hug him to my chest burns my skin.

"You will ruin him. Your darkness will taint his pure soul,"Mother growls. I clench my fist.

"Hello, Gabriel."

The young boy smiles at me. My heart knocks against my chest. I wonder how it still beats in my chest even though it's standing before me. He looks so much like me. He has his mother's complexion, only a few shades lighter, but his eyes, smile, nose, even the way he holds his head is all mine.

His caramel golden blonde spiral curls are in a thick afro. Some of the pieces fall into his eyes. I want to push the hair away from his face so that I can see him better, yet my hands remain at my side.

Gabe reaches out a small hand and touches an old scar on the side of my face. I try my best to remain as still as possible so that I don't scare him away.

"Are you hurt?" He asks, looking up at me.

Shaking my head, I reply. "No, not anymore."

He holds out his hand. Slowly, I place my large one in his, swallowing it almost entirely.

"You will hurt him. You are not made to be gentle."Mother warns.

I quickly pull my hand out of his, in fear that I may somehow cause harm to him.

He looks up at me confused with his large hazel green eyes. "Play with me," he demands grabbing my hand back.

I smile at his forwardness. "I wish I could. But not today."

Disappointment fills his face. My stomach turns at the sight. His bottom lip drops and he rakes a hand over his curls pushing the hair out of his eyes. For only a second, he gives me a brief glimpse of his full face.

"Gabe?" His name is shouted across the playground.

From where I'm standing at the back of the park, I was close to the furthest end of the playground near the trash cans. I was able to see Summer, but without knowing where to look she couldn't see me.

Looking down at Gabe, I once again get eye level with him. As much as I want him to stay right here with me, I know he can't. It's for the best. I tell myself.

"Go to your mother. She's worried about you."

He nods his head, before turning and walking away. Before he gets too far, he turns back and waves at me. I stand, and wave back.

I watch as Summer grabs him in her arms and hugs him tight. She squats down in front of him like I did and speaks to him. I'm too far away to hear what she says.

After a brief conversation, she then takes his hand, and they walk out of the park together. I don't leave my spot. I keep my eyes on them, fighting the draw to follow them. Only the reminder of what I need to do keeps me in my place.

Summer places Gabe in the back seat of her car, fastening him into his car seat. She then comes over to the driver's side. She opens the door but stops. Her head comes up and she scans her surroundings. I smile proudly at her instincts as I slip behind the nearest tree. Waiting a few seconds, I look back in her direction. She's in the car now, backing out of the parking lot. I watch her back license plate grow smaller.

Even being this close to Summer has that odd feeling in my chest going haywire. She's like a magnet, and I'm the metal being drawn to her. She's better without me though. I would only mess things up for them.

A gray car pulls out of the parking lot going in the same direction that Summer went. I shake off the suspicious feeling I get watching the car. I have stuff to do. Turning away from the park, I make my way back to my apartment. I've spent enough time being distracted from my mission, it's time I get back to work.

***

I watch as my victim walks out of the airport. The concierge places his suitcase in the trunk I have opened. I pull my chauffeur hat lower over my head concealing most of my face.

Jason Averil walks up to me, and I open the back door for him. He doesn't glance in my direction as he says, "I don't want to talk. Just get me home."

He climbs in the car, and I shut the door for him.

Keeping my head down, I walk around the front of the vehicle and climb into the driver's seat. As soon as the concierge is done with the bags, I pull away from the airport curb and head to my destination.

Halfway through the ride, I glance in the rearview mirror at my victim as I make my way down the highway.

In my thirty-two years on this earth, I've come to realize the world is made up of predators and prey. When you are at the top of the food chain, you don't have fears. It's why the lion will take naps during the day under the shade and the Zebra will sleep standing. The rich and powerful of the world are like the lion. Their money and status have granted them a security they think is untouchable. It's the reason my passenger hasn't looked up from his phone to realize we are not going in the direction of his home.

"There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked."My mother says in my head. "For the love of money is at the root of all kinds of evil. Kill the sinner."

In this, she and I agreed. He will die a slow and horrible death tonight.

I pull the black Lincoln Town car with tinted windows into the lower garage at the back of my apartment building. It isn't until I turn off the ignition that Jason thinks to look up from his phone.

"Wait," he says finally realizing we aren't at his house. "Where are we."

I don't answer, instead I climb out of the car, walk over to the wall and push the button to lower the garage door. I don't worry about him calling for help, he won't be able to get a signal. I go around to his side of the vehicle and pull his door open. He looks at me for the first time.

"You're not Sam. Who are you?" The right amount of panic has made its way into his voice.

I still don't answer, instead I reach into the back seat and pull him out. He attempts to fight me, but I easily overpower him, hauling him out of the back seat. I shove his body up against the side of the car.

"Listen," he says, holding his hands out in front of him to hold me off. "Is it money you want? I can pay you whatever you want."

I point to the door to my underground work room. It's a metal door with a combination lock on it. It isn't anything fancy, but the way Jason's eyes enlarge when he looks at it you would think it was covered in blood or something.

"Alright, you don't want money," he shakes his head. The rich and powerful believe that money can get them out of anything. I guess in their world it does. Unfortunately for him, I'm not a part of his world.

"Whatever you want I can get it. My uncle is a powerful man. There isn't anything he can't get."

"He tempts you with his wicked wealth. He is an abomination."Mother claims in my head.

"Walk," I demand as I grab him by the neck and lift him off the ground before shoving him in the direction of the door. He falls to the ground, sliding across the concrete floor before quickly getting back to his feet.

"Please, don't do this."

His pleas fall on deaf ears as I escort him to the metal door. After punching the code in, I push him forward. The lights come up as soon as we enter the room.

Jason flinches from the bright lights but once his eyes adjust, he gasps as he looks around the room.

The walls are a dingy beige. No matter how many times I clean them they will not go back to their original white color. Thick metal chains are embedded into the concrete at different levels along the walls from the floor to the ceiling. Large cabinets run along one wall. A fully functioning work bench is in the corner of the room.

Peg boards run along two of the free walls with every tool you can imagine. I have more supplies than your local Home Depot. A dental chair with attached cuffs is in the middle of the floor along with two large drums against the far-right wall. And at the furthest part of the room is my favorite addition, an incinerator that reaches temperatures of nearly 3,000 degrees. It can turn a human body to ash within two hours.

"Sit in the chair," I demand.

Jason looks at me as if I've just asked him to lick the seat of a toilet.

"I will not. Look, I don't know who you are, but you clearly have no idea who I am or the people I'm associated with…"

"You are Jason Averil. Son of Glenda and James Averil. Glenda is the granddaughter of Harold Smith, former CEO of one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world."

Moving away from the door I go to my cabinet and start pulling out the tools I'll be using. Starting with a handheld torch. I place it on the rolling cart beside the work bench.

"You graduated top of your class at Harvard Law School. You are a partner at Smith, Smith, and Stein law firm. One of the youngest partners at the firm. A job you only got because of your family's connections."

I drop a hacksaw on the cart before looking over my shoulder at Jason. He's standing in the same spot I left him, trembling as his gaze stays glued to the objects I've placed on the cart.

"You're married to Vanessa who is currently working with a specialist because she's having issues getting pregnant. Yet, your mistress who is ten years younger than you seems to not have those problems. In fact, you would have at least two kids by now if you'd stop forcing her to get abortions."

Placing the last object on the cart, which happens to be a pair of ratchet cutters, I turn back to face Jason.

"Did I leave anything out?"

He shakes his head, still seeming to be dazed.

I wheel the cart over to the dental chair and start to adjust the straps.

"You see, I know all about you. Even the things you don't want me to know. However, I'm not here to talk about your affair, your gambling debt, or the offshore account you've been laundering money into. I'm here to talk about April 15th your sophomore year in college."

The moment the date is out of my mouth his eyes widen. He turns and runs to the door trying to open it as he screams for help. I don't worry about anyone hearing because not only are we underground, but this room and the entire building is soundproof. Even if anyone else lived in the apartments above they wouldn't hear him.

I finish preparing the chair for him before I walk over and yank him away from the door. He tries to fight my arm off as I haul him back to the center of the room. After slinging his body into the seat, I try to strap him down into the restraints, but he fights and squirms like a fish on a hook.

I give up trying to do this the easy way. Instead, I punch him in the side of the head, the force causing his head to bounce against the headrest. He's immediately put to sleep. Finally, having him still, I go back to placing him in the restraints. His arms are tied to the arm rests and his legs are individually tied to the footrests.

After making sure he's secured, I get the smelling salts out of one of the cabinets and place them under his nose.

He comes awake suddenly gasping. He then flinches and tries to lift his hand to the fast-forming knot on the side of his head. Once he realizes his hands are restrained, panic forms in his eyes again as he tugs against his restraints.

"You're wasting my time," I say.

When his gaze falls back on me his shoulders drop and his head falls forward.

"I didn't hurt that girl. She even admitted to the courts that she lied," he explains.

"Liar. All Liars will have their part in the lake of fire," Mother seethes in my head.

"You raped and brutally beat a sixteen-year-old girl. Then your family and their connections drug her name through the dirt to the point she recanted her story on the stand and later committed suicide."

"No, I…"

I hold up a hand to stop him. I didn't need him to collaborate on the story of Tiffany Williams. I already knew it was true. I wasn't here for that.

"The cop that found her body knew you were behind it and somehow, he ended up dead. I want to know how."

His brows pinch together as he stares back at me. "You're here for the cop?"

I remain silent. He shakes his head.

"I don't know anything about the cop."

I was hoping he would say that. Picking up the ratchet cutters from the cart, I go over to his left hand. Grabbing it with my left hand I hold it still.

"What are you doing?"

Placing his thumb in the circle opening of the cutters I snip the appendage off. It falls to the floor at my feet. Jason screams as he thrashes against the chair. I make quick work of cutting off three more fingers from that hand leaving only his pinky. Once I'm done. I toss the cutters on the cart and grab the blow torch to cauterize the injury stopping the bleeding.

Once that's done, I place the torch down. At some point during that process, Jason passed out. I grab the smelling salts and bring him back. He comes awake abruptly, crying and screaming.

"You fucking psycho," he shouts.

I allow him only a few minutes to get ahold of himself.

"I will ask you only one more time. Who killed the cop?"

"I don't know," Jason shouts as spittle flies out of his mouth. He once again starts sobbing. "My Uncle handled the cop." His head drops between his shoulders as tears and snot run down his face.

"My father tried to pay him off, but the cop didn't want the money, he wanted justice. We tried to find dirt on him, but we couldn't find any. So, my mother called her cousin who's like an uncle to me. He told us not to worry. Next thing I knew the cop was dead. I didn't have anything to do with it."

I don't explain to him that it didn't matter that he didn't directly call for the hit, he was the reason the cop was killed. It's because of his crime against Tiffany, and his attempt to get away with it, that an innocent man died. He will have to face that sin once he meets his maker.

"What's your uncle's name."

He lifts his head and looks at me before glancing at the wall.

"Timothy Aldean Smith."

I had my next victim. I need to know how Tim was able to get the cop on a Church menu.

I nod my head at Jason. I no longer needed him.

"Will you let me go now, I promise I won't say anything to anyone about this."

"You must punish the wicked for their evil. Your job is not done."

"As you wish, Mother," I agree.

The red haze takes over me and it doesn't let me go until early the next morning.