Darkness Rising part 3

Daren convinces himself that he doesn't have a choice. This man must die for the crimes he committed. Daren tears the tape from the man's mouth. "Daren, untie me." The man whispers so the figure doesn't hear him. "You saw what it did to my friends. You have a gun. We need to kill it. That thing is a monster."

Daren disagrees. These past weeks have been torture for him. All the sleepless nights, the thoughts of suicide. They were all because of this guy. "Did you spread those rumors about me?"

"I...I mean..." The man stumbles over his words. "We need to get out of here first.It could come back in here any second."

"It's a simple yes or no question." Daren says in a calm voice while his face remains expressionless.

"We don't have time for this bullshit." The man accidently raises his voice. "It's going to kill both of us unless we do something."

"I don't think it will." Daren says as he stands up. He takes his pocket knife out and flips it one. "I think it wants me to kill you." Daren stands over the man while pointing the knife at him. "Do you realize what I went through because of you?" Daren kneels down next to him and places the knife against the man's throat. "I can make you feel the same pain I did."

"Alright. They bribed me to do it." The man says, his voice shaking uncontrollably. "I don't know who they are. They wore plague doctor masks and made me an offer that I couldn't refuse."

"What kind of offer?" Daren is curious if they will offer him the same deal, or at least something similar. He can't imagine that it's money, though. Rich kids like him are the ones who bribe others with money.

The man is about to answer him when the bathroom door slams open. The figure walks back inside, holding something in its hand. It walks up to the man and a pair of socks into the man's mouth. Daren is starting to get the idea that this thing doesn't want him talking to the man. Or at least to find out what it offered him.

The figure walks back over to the door and leans against it while keeping an eye on Daren. The bathroom lights are directly hitting the glass eye holes of the mask. It's clear to Daren what it wants. He was going to do it anyway, but its stare adds more incentive.

Daren looks down at the man who ruined his life, trying to remember his name. Travis? 'Yeah, now I remember.' Daren holds the knife up to Travis' face, guiding the dull end of the blade across his cheek. He watches the way he squirms. The way his body begs to be set free. The fear in his eyes is a wonderful sight to behold.

Daren places a hand on Travis' heart. His chest is warm, his heart beating so fast it feels like it's going to explode. 'His heart. I want to see it.'

Daren rolls Travis onto his back and sits on top of him, preventing Travis from moving around too much. Daren takes his pocket knife and starts cutting into Travis' flesh, right below his sternum. His muffled screams echo off the bathroom walls.

This isn't enough for Daren. He wants to hear him suffer even more. Knowing that Travis is in too much pain to tell him anything about the offer they made him, he takes the socks out of his mouth. "AAAAAAAHH!" Travis screams as Daren keeps cutting into his flesh. "FUAAAAH. I'M SORRY. I DON'T WANT TO DIEAAAH."

Daren keeps cutting, tracing the lower edge of his ribcage. A pool of blood starts to form as it runs off Travis' abdomen. When Daren is satisfied with the size of the incision, he sets the knife down and shoves his hand into the wound.

He feels around inside Travis' chest cavity, trying to find his heart. He runs his hand across the liver, feeling the smoothness and vulnerability of the organ. The texture is tantalizing. As he runs his hand against the top of the organ, he feels something even more incredible. His lungs. They way they move up and down with each breath they take. It's soft and spongy. It's almost impossible to resist squeezing it.

Daren pushes down on his right lung, temporarily causing Travis to stop breathing. But his other lung picks up the burden. Toying with Travis is fun and all, but he wants to get to the good part.

Daren slides his had a few inches over and finds his beating heart. He takes hold of it, gently gripping it. He enjoys the way it pulses in his hand. 'This is the core of the body. This is the essence of life. The cog in the machine.' And it's all his to take.

Daren squeezes his heart, being careful not to kill him just yet. But at this point, Travis is in shock. It doesn't look like he feels much of anything anymore. The blood loss doesn't help either.

Daren stares into Travis' eyes while his heart still beats. He wants to see the exact moment when a person dies. Seeing the light fade. 'It won't be long now.' Daren pulls on his heart, trying to rip it out of his chest. He hears the large blood arteries tearing as he pulls it out with less force than he thought he needed. After pulling the entire thing out, Daren sees it. The moment Travis died. When a person's so-called soul leaves the body.

This is a moment Daren will cherish for the rest of his life. His first kill. Nothing else will compare to this moment.

Daren snaps back to reality after the adrenaline rush wears off. He didn't realize how heavy he was breathing. And even worse, he got turned on. He looks down to see the outline of the boner underneath his pants. He feels something wet and sticky. 'Is that precum? Did I almost get off by killing someone?'

Daren heard about this before. How some serial killers get sexually aroused by murder. But he never thought he would be like them. Watching documentaries about serial killers was fascinating. But he never thought his brain was hardwired to become like them.

The figure dressed in black walks over to Daren. Stopping right in front of him. It takes off its mask and hat to reveal the face of a wolf. An anthromorphic werewolf with black fur.

Daren's heart skips a beat. 'Is this what they bribed Travis with? The opportunity to turn into a werewolf?' It would make sense how fast it killed those two humans and ripped their heads off. Daren waits for it. He doesn't know what's going to happen to him. It won't turn him into one. He's never been that lucky before.

It stares down at him with cold yellow-golden eyes. Expressionless. 'Was this all a test? Did I pass?'

Daren is afraid to move his body. 'It's going to kill me next.' Daren accepts his fate. He can't think of a reason for it not to kill him. 'There's no way I won the lottery. Nothing good like that ever happens to me. It's never going to make me on of them.' But on the small chance that it will. Daren thinks about how it's possible for werewolves to exist in the first place. They're not supposed to be real.

The werewolf kneels down next to him, staring deeply into his eyes and caressing his face with its hand. Its hand consists of five fingers covered in short fur and razor-sharp claws that it drags along his skin without puncturing his flesh.

"He was right about you." The werewolf says in a feminine voice. This takes Daren by surprise. He didn't consider that she is a female. He looks down at her chest and notices the outline of her boobs underneath the cloak. 'Can this day get any better?'