Chapter 5: Probably Time To Head Out
The Book was acting more and more erratic. It slammed against me like a second heartbeat, and my thoughts grew confused and jumbled. If I didn't get out soon, I wouldn't have the cognition to form an escape plan.
I checked my watch. It was about 11:30PM, late enough to justify my exit. I made an exaggerated show of looking at my wrist, and gave what I hope looked like an authentic frown. "It's getting a little late, I think I'm gonna head home."
"Really?" Riley asked, "We haven't gotten into enough trouble yet." Laura shot me a glance that turned my knees to jelly. "Yeah Bryce, kind of lame. You won't get to meet Monica."
"Sorry guys, but I have to be up early tomorrow. And I'm sure I'll meet Monica eventually." The second part was definitely true, just not in the way she was imagining. And to be honest, I really did want to stay, but the consequences of doing so were too severe.
No one asked me if I was sober enough to get home; they probably weren't sober enough to figure that one out themselves. In spite of my anxiety, I managed to rattle off what I thought was a socially acceptable farewell, and I burst out of the door and back into the night.
I was fuming. I hadn't enjoyed myself that much in months, and now I had to dash out to avoid a complete catastrophe. I buried my head in my hands. I wanted to get to know my co-workers better, I wanted to be their friend. And, if I was being honest with myself, I was totally smitten with Laura. I had seen her out of the corner in my eye once or twice at the plant, but out here, in the full light of the bar, she was something else entirely.
But whether she knew it or not, her friend was a bad person, a very bad person. As far as I could tell so far, the Book only contained the names of truly heinous human beings. Often, when I was tracking a target, my nerve would start to waver. I was still extremely uncomfortable with the idea of taking a human life, and on many occasions I almost bailed out entirely.
After I crossed a name off my list, I would try and use news, social media, and just general digital snooping to try and figure out what kind of person they were. I wanted to make sure that those on the receiving end of my fury were well deserving of it. I couldn't get the information on everyone, but for those I did find, their sins were damning.
The first man I killed had abused his spouse to the point of torture, had driven away his own son with violent death threats, and had been making frequent sexual advances on his own daughter. The third had been an elementary school teacher that was grooming young girls for sex trafficking. The fourth had stolen tens of thousands of dollars from a local non-profit children's hospital.
This information came out after the fact, as the police and local government would conduct extensive searches on their personal lives and property to try and better understand their untimely death. And while I did my best to not leave behind evidence, I was sure the Book played a role in protecting my secrecy. I was always lucky; witnesses were always absent, and my targets were oblivious to my attacks until the moment they occurred.
I was fairly certain that every person I killed had quite a few skeletons in their closet, that was what the Book had promised, anyway. Those that were not exposed post modem had just hidden theirs a little better. In those moments where my courage began to fade, I remembered all of these things, and it usually helped me stomach what I was about to do.
A plan surged into my mind. The way I had been dealing with my victims had been excessively brutal and extremely risky. If I kept up at this pace, the sheer number of murders would rile the entire city into a frenzy. I needed something more sophisticated, albeit a bit darker.
I opened up my phone and looked for local liquor stores still open near midnight, and found one about a mile away. I was under the Book's physical influence at this point, and managed to run there in about six minutes or so.
It was a seedy little place, and the clerk seemed utterly disinterested in me. I purchased a large handle of popular vodka with cash, and tucked the bottle into my jacket, awkwardly zipping it up around the glass. I tucked my shirt into my pants, and pulled my belt in as tightly as I could. It was very uncomfortable, and at a short distance, it was obvious that there was something under my clothes.
But it would be hard to tell at a distance, especially at night, and it lent me free use of my hands. I made the trip back to the bar, at a place halfway between a walk and a jog, more of an aggressive stumble than anything else. By the time I arrived back, bottle in jacket, it was nearing 12:30 AM. There was an abandoned lot a few buildings down, it's perimeter overgrown with bushes and foliage.
From my location I could vaguely make out the front of the bar, which was over on my right. I set my phone camera to maximum zoom, and laid in the dirt, waiting for Monica to exit. From this distance, I doubted I would be able to identify her; I didn't know what she looked like, and she had no social media presence whatsoever.
But I would be able to identify the group I suspected she would be leaving with, and I could figure out who she was by process of elimination. And if I still couldn't tell, the Book's frantic heartbeat would come to my aid. She was definitely still in the bar; the Book could sense her closeness, and slammed against me and groaned like a hungry and obstinate animal.
It was torturous, trying to sit there and wait without moving. The Book wanted nothing more than for me to run in, violently stab her to death, and then run back out. Even with the luck of the Book on my side, that would get me exposed and probably arrested or killed. But the Book did not want to hear that, and it's insane rattling made me anxious and jumpy.
Finally, a group of five left the bar, and I could pick out the silhouettes of my acquaintances. I could make out Riley's height, and the blue jacket he had been wearing. Jess had a weird walking gait, and I could see it, even at the distance I was observing from. The Book grew even more restless, indicating that Monica was probably among them.
Now came the hard part; following them through the city and attempting to separate Monica from their ranks.
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