friend. The wine slipped down his throat, the pungent taste souring his taste buds.
***
Richard lowered Nathan’s body onto the backseat of the car. His friend stirred slightly as his head made contact with the leather.
‘What……what happened?’ he asked curiously
‘You passed out mate, hit the deck pretty hard!’
‘Jesus, sorry….I’m just….I’m exhausted’ he explained drearily
‘Look, it’s a new thing to you. I didn’t take you as the type of guy who does this stuff every Friday night!’ he chuckled
‘No way’
‘Well, I’m not done yet, what do you want to do?’
‘I’m seriously in favour of going to bed’
‘No dramas, I’ll finish up and we’ll head back, okay?’
‘Cheers mate’ his eyes closed
Richard closed the door carefully as not to catch his friend’s feet. He moved with speed back to the room, the cries could be heard from down the hall. He stormed into the living room and approached the man.
‘Right, the Wolf….do you know him?’
‘No!’ his head shook violently
‘You’re a Paedophile aren’t you?’
‘What….no…no I’m not’
Richard moved towards the monitor and located the mouse. He brought up the internet explorer page and allowed it to load fully. His eyes moved back to the bleeding beast upon the chair.
‘We’ll see!’
The page was up and he dragged the cursor to the history bar. It opened as he clicked it, the details of his recent searches appeared in a separate box. He clicked on the
‘Please….I can’t…..it’s an illness…..honestly’ the monster pleaded.
Richard steadied his breathing, the sounds from the room were blocked as his ears began to ring. He stood quickly, the nail gun picked up from the floor. He stood in front of the beast and raised his eyes to the ceiling. The weapon climbed up, the dangerous end pointing at his chest and slowly climbing. He held it steady, the man screamed for him to stop. He lowered his head, allowing his eyes to connect with the person in front of him. He watched the fear engulf the monsters eyes, the lids widening as the muzzle sat aimed at his face.
The nails entered its face in rapid succession. The skin pierced by the points, the metal digging deep through the flesh. The skull cracked open from the force. One eye punctured, turned to pulp by the weapon. The blood flowed from each hole, a trickle exited the nostrils.
Richard watched the life escape the obese shell of the beast. The final pulls of the trigger ending its reign of terror inflicting. He gathered his collection of tools and exited the building with haste, he didn’t look back.
The car rocked as the engine was started. Nathan had passed out again, his body closed up tight to keep the heat in his core. Richard pressed the button rapidly on the dash, the heat increasing. He sat the bag upon the front passenger seat and drove away from the flats. He still had two more addresses to visit, but knew that his friend would not last the night. The phone in his coat pocket vibrated as the vehicle cornered onto the main road. He removed it, the screen stung his eyes. The text was from a friend, someone he had worked with on several occasions. He opened the file.
He smiled, knowing the meaning behind the text. He checked the clock in the dashboard, it displayed
***
Jack awoke in a puddle of his own vomit. His mind raced with questions as to how he ended up on the floor. The unconscious hour had passed slowly and his body felt weak, the alcohol began the slow process of evacuating his system. His head and neck throbbed; his shoulder offered a constant sharp pain. He pulled himself from the carpet and staggered to the chair; it spun to the side as he landed upon it, stopping the motion that caused the pounding in his skull to intensify. He rested upon the desk, unaware that it had been moved.
‘Jesus Jack, you fool!’ he mumbled.
***
Lime sat at an angle, his lady had not returned and he felt cheated. He contemplated ordering another drink but decided against it. His blood had been weakened by the liquid and dehydration had set in. He stood, setting his next destination as home and bed. The music decreased in volume as the door closed behind him, he staggered out onto the street, the cold breeze waking him up.
‘Jesus’ he shivered.
He watched as a black taxi passed by, he thought about calling one but decided that a walk may help sober him up. The night had closed in since he had been in the pub, still upset about the woman’s let down, he shuffled back to his flat, the collar of his suit jacket raised to protect his neck. The streets were quiet, the roads dead also. The nipping of falling snowflakes quickened his pace, the walk turned into a slow jog as he aimed to get away from the cold.
He pushed the glass door open and entered the new building where his flat was located. He sighed as he spotted the sign on the lift stating it was out of service.
‘Stairs it is then!’
Each step became harder, his legs feeling as though he had lead weights attached to them. His breath became sharper and his chest began to tighten under the strain. He wasn’t the fittest of men, he hardly trained and his figure was not that of an athlete. He kept climbing, passing the number of each level as he reached the platform. He reached the fourth floor, his temple echoed the rapid pulse from his heart as he leaned over to get his breath.
The flat door opened and crashed into the wall as William followed its momentum. His clothes were slowly removed and he shuffled to the bedroom with a t-shirt and underpants donned. The lamp at the entrance had been left on all day, results of his rushing around in the morning. The mattress was cold but he didn’t care. His head hit the pillow and he drifted into a dizzy state, afraid to open his eyes to the spinning room. Minutes had passed and he gradually fell asleep, snoring wildly.
