I led her into my penthouse. It was the first time she had visited, a big moment for any budding relationship. I had kept her away from my home for as long as possible. I wanted to enjoy her company for longer. But when I did finally bring her, I wanted to make it special. We entered my living space and she gasped in delight. Framed over my fireplace her painting hung. The painting we first discussed when we met.
“Oh my god!” She said, “How did you do this!? I sold it to the gallery, and they only sell artwork after the showings are done!”
“It was easy enough, I just offered the right price,” I grinned, the correct price was the Curators love affairs life. Not my most dignified moment, though the taste of their fear was well worth it, but I wanted tonight to be special and any accompanying risks to make it special were well worth the cost.
Sarah looked at me with tears in her eyes, “Thank you…”
“I am glad you like it,” I said, “I was worried it might have been to forward of a gesture.”
She shook her head, “No it’s perfect.”
“I agree,” I lied. It soon would be though, once the collection was complete. We kissed and I nuzzled her nose with mine after our lips separated. I said, “Would you like a drink? I am quite thirsty.”
She nodded, “I would love one.”
I smiled warmly, “Perfect, I will be right back.”
I turned to head to the kitchen and my smile turned into its true self, the sinister grin. Everything was already laid out. I was truly excited and could not help but get everything ready before hand, it felt like what I imagine Christmas would feel like as a child. I poured a wonderful Cabernet Sauvignon that I purchased at an auction a few years ago. It was an old bottle that I had decided I would only open on a very special occasion. This was a very special occasion.
The small powdered herb capsule opened without a sound. It was a special blend that I had devised from a delightful journey through the wilder portions of Asia. It was a potent mix that took some time to develop. It impairs the higher cognitive functions, essentially affecting the decision making process. The drug does not complete inhibit the more primitive parts of the brain, emotions were felt more fiercely such as fear and anger. It also affected their balance and motor skills. In many ways it got them drunk quickly. The drug would eventually cause the victim to pass out a few minutes after initial ingestion. But the truly important aspect was when they woke they would be paralyzed and it did not numb the nerves in any way. They still felt everything physically, most importantly pain.
A brilliant botanist helped me create it. He was one of my first, at the time it was a truly wonderful experience I had him describe in detail how he felt as I did my work to him. I think he obliged because he was a scientist at his core but the drug definitely helped. I poured the white powder into both glasses, this was a strategy I had developed long ago. It was easier to accomplish the desired effect.
I walked smoothly from the kitchen and offered Sarah a glass, she smiled and said, “Thank you, cheers!”
“This is a very special vintage, very rare, I was lucky to win it in an auction a few years ago,” I saw no point in lying. Our glasses clinked and as I brought the glass to my mouth it happened to slip from my grasp, “Oh damn!”
Sarah gulped down her sip and asked, “Are you okay?”
I smiled, feinting embracement, the other great part of the drug was it only required the smallest amount to give the desired effects, “Yes, yes… the glass slipped right from my hand. Such a waste of a good wine. My apologies, let me clean this mess, you must have me nervous!”
She smiled, “I don’t think you ever feel nervous Alex.”
“Not usually, it would take someone particularly special to cause it,” I said with a wink, “I will be right back.”
She giggled slightly, taking another sip and I could see her cheeks begin to turn red. I only had a few moments before the drugs first phase would be in full effect, I checked my watch and set a timer. I raced back to the kitchen. The knife was in its usual spot. It was a crude instrument and not one that I would let do any major physical harm. It was large, intending to scare more than anything and was very much just foreplay. Fear was important while the drug enhanced those qualities in the subject.
I walked slowly and knew the drug was already ravaging her mind. Sarah was on the couch looking unsteady despite having taken a seat. I came behind her and kissed the nap of her neck gently. She moaned somewhat in pleasure, somewhat in surprise as I had not made a sound when I approached.
“This really good wine,” She slurred with a somewhat nervous laugh, “It’s already got me little light headed.”
“As I said it is very rare, do you like it?” I said as a brought the knife from behind my back and placed the edge at the top of her breast.
“I do…” She said before recognizing what was touching her, her scream was music, “What are you doing!?”
I slide the knife skillfully across her skin causing a small superficial cut as she got off the couch and stumbled on her heels falling to the ground. I stocked around the couch slowly like a wolf finally being let loose, to hunt its prey. I was able to let the mask I had worn for so long slip. My mouth twisted into the grin I had hidden up until now.
“What do you mean?” I asked in the most reassuring voice I could muster. It did little but add to the tension in I saw build up in her. “Are you okay?”
“Stay away from me!” She struggled to get up as I rounded the couch and flicked the knife sideways, brandishing its full length.
My smile grew, “What’s matter Sarah?”
She kicked at me and finally got to her feet. She half ran, half stumbled towards the front foyer. I stocked after her slowly. They always ran to the front door, so predictable. A long time ago I had installed a security system that kept the door locked from both inside and outside manipulation. It could only be opened with a special key that had a computer chip which emitted a signal into the lock and by enter a code in the keypad. A bit paranoid some would say but after the first bird managed to fly the coup I had to take precautions.
I rounded the corner and watched her struggling with the knob. She saw me over her shoulder and cried out the sweetest signal note of music I have ever heard. I pressed a small button in my pocket causing the keypad to chirp, that was not so much a precaution but added to the flavour of the chase. She instantly lifted the cover as expected and began, hopelessly, pressing in combinations on the keypad.
I came within a few feet and she turned to look at me. Her face was the most beautiful it had ever been, now that it was distorted in fear, “Please stop… you are scaring me Alex.”
“I know,” I said darkly and lifted the knife in a threatening gesture.
She screamed out again and looked around in panic. I could almost taste it, her fear was so potent. At the last second she noticed the door to a small powder room. She dived for it and slammed the door behind her. I made a slight squeal of joy, this could not be more perfect! I heard the hammer of the lock close and I looked at my watch. Thirty seconds before she would be unconscious, I had to be quick.
The false ceiling opened with the ease from well use. I lifted myself up easily. Physical fitness was extremely important when you are a predator. A large portion of my daily routine was exercise, it was not the most enjoyable activity but it was necessary to preform my true calling, so there was a small amount of pleasure to be had from it.
I lifted the ceiling slab to the powder room and lowered myself slowly and methodically down. Sarah was in the corner curled into a ball with tears running the makeup down her face. I knew she saw my intrusion despite her heavy laden, almost closed, eyes. I placed the tip of the blade on her chin and slowly slid it, without cutting, to her throat. The timer on my watch began to beep and I smiled again, perfect.
“I love you Sarah,” I said honestly before her eyes closed.
Her eyes fluttered open just as my watch timer repeated its song, again perfect timing. It took her a moment to realize her situation and I saw the influx of emotions fill her when she determined she was unable to move. Her mouth twitched in an attempt to speak and when she was unable, her eyes conveyed all the words of panic she needed to speak.
“That is the one upgrade I made to the drug you ingested after I killed the botanist who made it. Normally you would be able to speak but I began to find the screaming less musical overtime,” I shrugged, “I think your screams would be the exception but I did not want to risk it.”
A tear rolled out of the corner of her eye and I took a moment to look at her. She was on her back with her arms and legs spread. I had cut her dress apart to reveal her stomach but left her breasts covered. It was a truly beautiful sight and I might have even felt a slight hesitation in having to do what I had to do.
I rolled my tools out across the side table and pulled free a scalpel. Before I set the record player’s needle onto a vinyl disk, I showed her the surgical instrument in an effort to receive the same panic look as before. Mozart’s Requiem in D minor began to play as I was reward for my showmanship and I said, “You are a truly beautiful creature Sarah. You have changed me in ways you will never understand. I have felt a connection with you that can only be described as magical. I am almost sad that you are required to make my masterpiece. You know I have never hesitated until I met you… I think you would enjoy it if you could be around to see it. But we cannot have everything and as I said I need your perfection to complete the perfect piece.”
I sat on the table she laid, beside her and toyed with the scalpel, “I truly love you, I know that may seem weird considering the circumstances we find ourselves in but I do.”
I stood up and looked to make sure everything was in place, “Oh! I almost forgot. This is actually kind of funny. I knew your fiancé. I had no idea who you were when we met so do not think I am a stocker, stockers are pathetic. It was simple chance that we met… but I am getting distracted. I think it will please you to know he did not leave you of his own free will. He was very important, he provided me with a lot of assets I needed to maintain my preferred lifestyle. I wonder if he ever mentioned me? No matter. He seemed quite excited by the deal we negotiated. Of course in the end I made him disappear, just like you will. He actually got me onto the list for the party where we met. Small world, don’t you think? Look on the bright side, at least you will not have to feel heartbroken for much longer.”
I made my last checks and ensured the medical equipment was correctly connected to her and put a breathing mask around her nose and mouth, “You know I really do love modern medicine. It’s truly amazing what it can do. It can keep people alive longer, long after they should have passed from life. I believe it should be more treasured than it is. We as a species take a lot for granted. I do not. I cherish every moment I am given, though this will be different. I think I will cherish this more than any other.”
I stepped towards her and drew a dotted line just below her belly button with a medical marker and bent over placing the tip of the scalpel at the end of the line, “Are you ready to begin?”
She said nothing and just stared at me with tear drenched eyes.
“… oh yes, I forgot you cannot talk,” I chuckled as I pressed the scalpel into her flesh, drawing the first bead of blood and carefully slid it towards myself, her eyes squeezed tight, “I am very forgetful around you, you’ve gotten me quite enchanted. I have never experienced anything like it.”
I finished the incision and her blood reminded me of the crimson drapes and the dress that had taken my breath away. I smiled with glee and placed my hands inside her. I watched her gasp as I carefully began to pull out her digestive system. That was odd, she should not be able to move. I guess my most recent batch of the drug was not quite right. Oh well, it added to the beauty of the moment.
I worked slowly enjoying the small changes in her expression and even feeling her feelings through her flesh. I arranged the organs on the table beside me and was overwhelmed by how the piece was turning. I went back to work. She was truly amazing, I know it was not just my skill alone that kept her alive. She clung to life like no one before and no one since. Her slight pulse faded just as I touched her heart. My eyes rolled back in ecstasy as I placed it in the center of the other organs.
“Marvellous perfection,” were the only word that crossed my thoughts as the music hit is crescendo.
Sarah had changed me in ways I cannot fully define. I no longer found joy in simple murder. It took more effort and my victim could no longer be selected at random. Though just like a first love, my further actions cannot ever duplicate. I still shiver at the raw intensity of those last moments I spent with her. Of course there are times where ones needs become overwhelming, so simple violence is necessary. I would describe this as masturbation I guess. A temporary relief when the desires become too much.
In the past I have never understood why others of my vocations would keep a memento of their victims. It seemed to me like a sure way to get caught and with the strength of my memory all I had to do was pour a glass of wine and lay back to relive the truly pleasurable moments. But Sarah had changed me as I have mentioned over and over again. Whenever I looked at the masterpiece that hung over my fireplace that she created, I felt the raw emotions she felt at her end. We were forever linked until the end of my days. Love is a beautiful thing.
I walked from my kitchen and looked at the paintings. My breast swelled with raw emotion and it took some effort to retain my composure.
“These paintings are so unique,” She said standing in front of the paintings, “Where did you get them?”
“The painting on the left was done by a fabulous artist I use to know. The painting on the right is a collaboration between myself and the artist that painted the one on the left,” I said as I looked at the canvas on the right. It had aged well in its vacuum sealed frame. The reds remained vivid and had a slight gloss to them as if not quite dry. Very much like the sheen that oil paints gave. The impressions from the blood of Sarah’s organs were perfectly artistic, captured in a way that almost looked like Rorschach ink blots. I said, “How are you enjoying the wine?”
Her checks were red and she smiled at me somewhat unsteady on her feet, “It’s very good, thank you.”
“I am glad you like it,” I replied while my true smile crossing my features when she turned back to the paintings. I moved her soft raven black hair from her shoulder and kissed the nape of her neck, causing her to moan slightly. I looked up at the paintings and my smile grew as I pulled the knife from behind my back and placed its edge gingerly on the top of my latest prey’s breast.
