Chapter 18: Side Story - Mark and Alice
After killing his best friend Jax and stealing all of his lottery winnings, Mark had decided to lay low and not draw attention to himself.
After giving a fake testimony to the police, they had come to the conclusion Jax's death was suicide, and the case was closed.
Without the threat of the police looking for Jax's killer, he began to spend the money he had stolen. At first he just purchased little things, like a new phone and clothes.
Then he started buying expensive things like diamond jewelry, brand new cars and going out to high class bars and restaurants. For a time he was living a great life. Unfortunately, Fate and Karma, had other plans.
One day, a few years after Jax's death, Mark was out shopping at the mall, when he ran into Alice. He still held a deep obsession of Alice, and this was a perfect opportunity for him to try to get her in his bed, like he always wanted.
"Alice, fancy meeting you here! How have you been these last few years?" He asked
"Mark!? Is that you? I didn't recognize you in all that fancy clothing! It's good to see an old friend again, I've been doing ok, trying to move on after losing Jax." She replies
Mark instantly gets mad when she mentioned Jax, but does his best not to let it show. "Yeah, it's been tough without having him around. I know, how about we go out tonight, catch up and hang out for old times sake? What do you think?" Asks Mark
"Ok, yeah, that sounds like a great idea. I need to take my mind off my depressing thoughts and this would be a perfect distraction." Answers Alice
'I'm only a distraction from her depression huh? She still can't tell that I have feelings for her!?' Mark thought in his mind, he didn't like the thought of being a distraction, we wanted her to love him.
"How about I pick you up at eight? Do you still live at the old apartment building?" Asks Mark after getting his thoughts under control.
"Yea, I still live in my old apartment. It's where I met Jax for the first time, it's too hard to move away. eight o'clock sounds good, I'll be ready to go by then. See you later tonight. Bye" says Alice as she turns to leave.
"Yes, see you later tonight." Said Mark out loud but in his mind, he says 'I can't believe she hasn't gotten over that good for nothing piece of garbage. He's nothing compared to me, nothing.'
'I will ask her later tonight if she would consider getting together with me. I could make her so much happier than that piece of shit ever could. I will explain to her my feelings, and we will live happily ever after!' Thought Mark.
He didn't know it yet, but his obsession with Alice and his disdain for her feelings of Jax, would lead him to another dark deed and even his own death.
*****
Several hours have passed and it's now almost 8 o'clock. Mark leaves his high-rise apartment and heads down the elevator to the car park. He makes his way to his favorite car, that he bought with Jax's stolen money. It was a brand new electric blue Neeson Giant.
He had spent well over $100,000 getting all the latest and greatest technology and accessories that were available for it. It could literally drive him where he wanted to go, and he wouldn't need to do anything.
He programmed Alice's address and the vehicle began making its way to the destination. Mark was feeling somewhat nervous and anxious. He hoped by confessing his love for Alice, she would forget about that piece of trash, and become his woman.
He didn't even consider the fact that she might not have the same feelings for him, all he cared about was making her his.
Traffic was light tonight, so the drive to Alice's apartment didn't take very long. Within 30 minutes of leaving his apartment, he had arrived at Alice's.
Getting out, he makes his way to the front entrance and buzzes Alice's room.
Buzzzz
Alice hears the buzzer, letting her know someone is here to see her. She makes her way to the panel on the wall and presses the 'receive' button. "Hello, who's there?" She asks.
"It's me Mark, I'm here to pick you up." Mark replies.
"Oh ok, I'll be right down, just give me two minutes." Came Alice's reply.
"Take your time, I have all night." Said Mark
A few minutes later the elevator opens to reveal a gorgeous Alice. She stood just under 5 foot with shoulder length brownish black hair. Ample breasts and to die for body, with curves in all the right places.
She wasn't a typical Barbie Doll kind of women. She had curves and she wasn't ashamed of it. As long as the one she loved, loved her for who she was, that's all that matters to her.
She was wearing an elegant calf length blue dress, that matched well with her blue eyes. A necklace of black pearls and black stiletto heels finished off her beautiful appearance.
Speechless at Alice's beauty, Mark couldn't help but stand and stare at her. He was captivated by her, and many thoughts and images ran through his mind.
Snapping out of his daze he says, "Wow, Alice, you look stunningly beautiful. I'm glad you decided to go out with me tonight."
"Thank you for the compliment, Mark. It's been so long since I went out with friends." Replies Alice
'Friends!? This is a date is it not?' Exclaimed Mark in his mind
"Why don't we head out to dinner and maybe we can catch a movie afterwards?" Asked Mark
"Yes, that sounds lovely." Answers Alice
Mark leads Alice to his vehicle and helps her inside, he then enters himself and sets the destination for the restaurant he made reservations at. It was the most famous and expensive restaurant in town, and in an attempt to impress Alice, Mark decides to turn off auto pilot and drive himself.
On the way, Mark does his best to make conversation with Alice, but it gets tense and awkward whenever Jax is mentioned.
Alice realizes Mark doesn't want to talk about Jax, however she believes the reason is because he still misses his friend. She doesn't realize, every time she mentions Jax's name or even refers to him, Mark is getting more and more angry.
He had hoped Alice could eventually get over Jax, but it's clear to him that she would never want him the way he wants her.
They managed to make it through the awkward dinner, and Alice was looking forward to the movie to clear her mind.
After paying for the meal, they head back to the car and once their inside and on their way, Mark turns to Alice and says, "Alice there's been something I've always wanted to tell you. I love you and I have loved for a long time now. I even loved you when you loved Jax, and he didn't return your feelings."
"Have you never realized that I had feelings for you? Did you ever wonder why I was trying to be around you whenever I could? Do you have any feelings for me?" Asked Mark
Alice lowers her head, closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She opens her eyes and looks Mark in his and says, "Mark, I'm very sorry, but I don't have feelings for you in that way. I care for you and love you as a friend, but that's where it ends, I'm sorry."
At this time Mark stops the car in an old parking lot just a short distance away from the movie theater. He was getting extremely angry and couldn't pay attention to the road.
"I think it'd be best if we skip the movie, and you take me home. I don't want to hurt you; I still care about your feelings." Said Alice after Mark's sudden confession.
"You don't love me in that way? After everything I've done for you! You care for me as a friend! A fucking friend!" Shouts Mark angrily.
Frightened and surprised by Mark's sudden angry outburst Alice says, "I'm very sorry Mark, I do care for you as a friend, but I don't love you. What have you done for me to warrant such anger? Ever since Jax passed away, I haven't even heard from you. It was coincidence we even bumped into each other. If all you're going to do is yell at me, I'd prefer for you to take me home."
"What have I done for you!? And why are you bringing up that dead piece of garbage, he's dead and gone and he's not coming back so get over it already! There're other people in the world that care for you, but you stubbornly love a man who never showed interest in you. It's utterly ridiculous and truly sad." Shouted Mark
"How dare you speak of Jax like that? Was he not your friend, did he not do countless things to help your life? How dare you speak ill of the dead, just because I don't share your feelings? Stop the car and let me out, I will find my own way home." Said Alice angrily, she was beyond mad at what Mark had said about Jax.
"You wouldn't understand what I've done for you! He never wanted to accept your love; he didn't deserve your love. He ignored and hurt you, so I killed him and stole all of his money. With him gone, I will love you the way you deserve." Mark said crazily, when Alice rejected him, something in his mind snapped.
He was so angry and hurt, his mind was a mess of different feelings and emotions. He unconsciously revealed that he killed Jax.
"You did what? You killed him? Why? He did love me, we spent all of our time together. The only time he'd be distant with me was when you were around. Did you ever think that he might be trying to save from hurting you, by not being intimate with me while you were around? No, you probably never even thought about it. You only cared about yourself and what you wanted! I can't believe you would do that to your best friend." Alice replies, she had kept this secret on Jax's request. He really didn't want to hurt his friend, but it seems his "friend" wasn't worth the effort.
"What!? He did tell you how he felt? He tried to protect my feelings. Well, it doesn't matter now, he's dead and since you know I killed him, you'll have to die too." Saying this, Mark pulls out the same gun he used to kill Jax, points it at Alice's head and pulls the trigger.
Up to this moment, even after he confessed to killing Jax, Alice hadn't thought Mark would harm her. When she saw the gun, she wasn't scared for some reason. She knew, somewhere somehow, she'd see Jax again. She closed her eyes and said, "I'm sorry…" and that's all she could say before the bullet entered her head.
Mark, shocked and terrified of what he just did, just sits there frozen. His mind unable to process what he had just done.
At the moment Mark pulled the trigger of his gun and killed Alice, a police officer was patrolling the area and heard the noise of the shot. He had just finished his rounds and was about to leave. Making his way over to the parked vehicle, the police officer Quinten, sees the gruesome sight of a female, who has been clearly shot. He radios into base to send an ambulance and backup. He slowly makes his way around the vehicle, checking windows for any other people. The driver side door is ajar, and a man can be seen kneeling on the ground beside it, with a gun in his hand.
Quinten, seeing the gun, orders the man to drop it and lay flat on the ground. The man is unresponsive, and Quinten repeats the commands even louder. Quinten is now a few feet from the man with the gun, he still hasn't complied to his commands.
Quinten chooses to get a little closer and repeats his command again. This time, there's a reaction from the man. Only, not the one Quinten wanted. The man suddenly jumps to his feet, turns to face Quinten and aims his gun at him.
Quinten, not taking any chances fires four times before the man drops the gun. He shot him three times in the chest and once in the head. The head shot came after he took a step towards Quinten, even after taking three to the chest.
After the man falls, Quinten rushes over to move the gun away and check the mana vitals. 'He's dead, damn why did he have to point the gun at me? This is my first officer involved shooting. This is going to require lots of paperwork.' While calming his racing heart and thoughts, Quinten check the female to make sure she dead.
"Damn, it's a shame for such a young girl to be killed like this. I hope and pray your spirit finds peace and happiness in your next life young lady." Quinten says as he prays for the deceased young woman.
*********
Alice didn't feel the pain of death. In fact, she couldn't feel or see anything. She knew she was dead but couldn't understand why she could still think normally.
All of a sudden, a bright light, blinked into existence right beside her. A voice then enters her mind and says, "Your deeds and actions in life have been overwhelmingly positive, you have little to no negative karma at all! Interesting, you also seem to know and care about my chosen champion."
"Therefore, I Magnus, the God of Karma will send you to the same world I sent him. Unfortunately, I won't be able to let you keep your memories, but I won't tamper with your mind or feelings. I won't take your memories, but I will seal them for now, if you fall in love with Jax a second time, your memories will be returned to you." Said Magnus
Before Alice could collect her thoughts and ask this mysterious man any questions, her vision was filled with golden light, and she disappeared from this world.
********
Mark didn't know where he was, but he knew he was dead. After being rejected by Alice, his rage and the darkness within his soul took over and he shot and killed her. The fact that he killed Jax because he thought he didn't care for Alice, was in fact incorrect.
Jax had loved Alice, but he didn't want to hurt his friend, so he kept his feelings to himself while they were all around each other. He was so ashamed of himself, and he knew he deserved to go to hell for his actions. That's why, when the police officer found him near Alice's body still holding the gun, he decided to make the cop kill him, because he knew he was too cowardly to take his own life.
After dying, Mark found himself adrift in an endless sea of darkness. Even the ambient energy around him felt heavy from the darkness.
As with Alice, a light suddenly began condensing around him. However, this time it wasn't bright, this time it was a dark grey light, that gave off a heavy pressure and foreboding aura.
"Your deeds and actions in life have been incredibly and intensely evil. You have very little positive karma! Good, very good! I will send your soul to be reincarnated so that you may serve the Dark One with your body and soul." The voice of the evil God Tyrin said in Mark's mind.
"Will you willfully give your soul and new body over to the Dark One, so that he may walk the land and spread his darkness once again?" Tyrin asked
"Yes! I do hereby swear, my life, body and soul are for the Dark One to use however he needs." Answers Mark
"So, it shall be!" Tyrin shouts and a blinding light blooms in the darkness. When the light fades, Mark is gone and only the voice of the Evil God Tyrin remains.
"Foolish Mortal, your body and soul will become my disciple's vessel. I must thank you though, I didn't think I'd find a suitable vessel on such a crap hole of a planet like this. The evil energy in this solar system hasn't spread far enough yet. I need to send more evil souls to this solar system through the reincarnation gate. So much evil to spread, so very little time to get it done." Said Tyrin.
After speaking these last words, the heavy pressure in the area begins to dissipate. After a few more moments, it's like nothing happened here at all.
AN - What will become of Alice and Mark?
How will their appearance affect our MC?
As always, thank you for reading and supporting my book.
Questions, concerns or ideas, I'd like to hear them all. So please, don't hesitate to comment.
This is my longest chapter to date; it has the equivalent words of two previous chapters together. There was a lot of information needed to tie these two characters back into the story.
I hope you like that I brought them back, instead of just forgetting them.
Again, Thanks for reading and supporting my book.
Blessed Be!!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone