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ON HIS WAY HOME, HE stopped at an out of the way bar and grill for a drink and a quick bite to eat. For a weekday, the joint was busy. He sat at a table in the back, secluded by darkness.
The bartender hollered over to him, “What can I get for you mon ami?”
“Double bacon cheeseburger, fries and a pale ale.”
“Coming right up.”
As he waited for his food, he surveyed the area. It looked as if he’d chosen the right place. He didn’t see any familiar faces here. He could eat in peace and quiet before leaving.
The waitress placed the greasy, yet aromatic, bacon cheeseburger and even greasier fries in front of him and an ice cold mug of pale ale. As he went to bite into the juicy goodness of the burger, a voluptuous brown haired goddess sat down at the table with him. She picked up a fry, seductively dipped it in the ketchup he’d just poured and placed it in her mouth, gently sucking off some of the ketchup before eating the fry.
Her hair was thick and wavy. Her cleavage spilled out of her tight, way too short dress. He felt his groin stir. She looked at him with her big brown doe eyes, “I haven’t seen you in here before honey.”
He bit deep into the cheeseburger, savoring the well-seasoned morsel, “First time.”
He took another enthusiastic bite of his burger while looking her up and down. She asked, “You have plans for tonight.”
He took a swig of beer before replying, “Nope. Just came in for a bite to eat before heading home.”
She let out a flirtatious laugh, “Got a wife waiting at home for you?”
As he bit into his burger once more, he felt a change in the atmosphere. Something dark and ominous seemed to have moved into the bar. Shadows rippled out of the walls like a pebble being dropped into a puddle of water. They had no distinct form, but he knew what they were. He stopped eating and watched, waiting for the shapes to take form. It had to be a trick of light. They could not have found him here.
The woman didn’t seem to notice his quietness. She linked her hands around his massive forearm and whispered in his ear, “Why don’t we get out of here?”
He tried to focus on the woman, but his eyes kept wandering over to the shadows as they took form. It was the ghosts of those who haunted his every movement; although, they were keeping to the shadows. As hard as he tried to bring his focus back to the voluptuous brunette, his gaze traveled back to the shadows.
Looking over her shoulder to see what he kept staring at, she asked, “What is back there? Who could possibly be more interesting than me?”
He looked into her eyes and saw his mother once more, “Nothing. I’m sorry. You said something about getting out of here?”
She smiled at him as the tip of her tongue slipped out of her mouth and moved back and forth along her lips. “You up for the ride of your life honey?”
Suddenly the shadows moved in closer to him. He stood up abruptly, knocking his chair to the ground in his haste to get the hell out of there. He grasped her arm, pulled her through the crowd of people on the dance floor and out the door.
The need to kill was too strong to go far. He pulled her into the alley. She started to protest, “Aren’t we going to go back to your place honey?”
“Too far away.”
“Oh baby, you are anxious aren’t you.”
He gave her a wicked smile, “You have no idea.”
As soon as he was sure they were deep enough, he pushed her against the brick wall. In one swift movement, he had the knife out and slit her throat wide open. She fell ungracefully to the ground. Blood spewed from the massive gap. He wiped the knife and his hands on the back of her dress. Never even bothering to look at the body, he calmly walked back to his car. He kept to the shadows in case he had any blood on him.