Again. Inspired by too much wine, too much metal music and a very disturbed imagination. ................. It happened again. One moment he was sitting in front of his computer. A fat, lazy cat warming his feet the way no slippers ever could. His fingers had been busy clacking away at the keys typing almost as much nonsense as was gently flowing from his radio. When the faint buzzing started in his head, it distracted him. But it grew to more than a distraction. He knew it would. Buzzing, static that drilled deeply into his head. He ran his fingers lightly in a circle around the "S" key. Concentrate, concentrate. He felt his eyes begin to water. NO. Fuck. He jumped from his seat knocking the chair to the floor. It's ineffective wheels rolling in squeaky little circles. No. Grab the cat. Get the cat. He grabbed the furry little shit by the neck and quickly pushed it into the bathroom locking the door behind it. Locking it in and him out. Not another, can't do that to another. He put his hands to his ears, squeezing against the sides of his head. That noise, that fucking noise. That noise that grated on his every nerve. Sharp metalic grinding. Deep breaths, deep breaths, DEEP FUCKING BREATHS. He paced before the window shouting against the noise in his head. Stop! That fucking banging the unrelenting banging. It rattled his teeth. It made his blood rush hot. It made him lose control. He stopped in front of the window, drew a deep breath and screamed. He screamed loud and long and as hard as he could until his throat felt raw. Over and over and over. Again and again. His hands curled into claws he scratched at the window casement. Get it out. Soothe it. Feed it. Get the cat get the cat get the cat. He banged on the bathroom door, splintering the wood of the door frame. OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!. He clawed until red slashes decorated the wood. Hands in a ball, fingernails digging into the flesh of his palm, he kicked the door and shrieked. A sound that came from deep within his chest. Raw and caustic. More animal than human. The unrelenting drilling continued in his head until he could feel each rapid beat of his heart in his bulging eyes. GET THE FUCK OUT He paced like an animal before making his way into the kitchen. The knife fit so well in his hand. An extension of his own arm. Flesh to wood. Feed it feed it. He left the safety of his apartment. His cave. His hell. The sidewalks were crowded. No one would ever see him. He laughed. Or at least he thought of it as a laugh. No one else would ever consider that sound a laugh. One young girl away from the rest. There. Take her take her take her. He didn't even pause as he stalked by her and wrapped one hand around her waist. The hand with the knife pressed against her mouth as he drug her into the alley behind the apartment complex. No one complained. No one said a thing. Knife flashing, shiny silver and thick red. Warmth sprayed across him. Again and again and again. Slashing down, never hearing her screams or pleas. Over and over. Firm flesh into soft jagged meat. Red rose petals. A stream of wet heat hit his lips and the sweet coppery taste flooded his mouth. His hand filled with her hair he slammed her head against the concrete floor until she stopped squirming. When his teeth sunk into that mangled flesh and his hands began to pull skin from bone he lost all thought. It happened again. He awoke in a dark, dirty alley. Covered in the oozing streams of blood that fed him. He stared at the body on the ground. It must have been a girl, there was a purse nearby and one pink high heel. He kicked the shoe into the corner. He took the familiar back entrance into the stairwell of his apartment. Unlocked the bathroom door with the hidden key and his fat, lazy cat strolled out and rubbed its body against his blood splattered legs lovingly. He'd shower and take his clothes down to the furnace. Then he would sit back at his computer and clack away. Until it happened again. word count: 738