Prologue
Most adults wouldn’t want to move to a college town in a tourist area such as this. They would automatically write it off as troublesome without thinking of the benefits. To someone like me, there are many... and the man three tables over from me right now has given me a reason to stay.
I lower the bill of my hat to hide my face. To anyone casually noticing me, they would assume I’m enthralled in the latest social media has to offer… but if anyone happens to glance over my should in more than just a passing glance, they’ll realize it’s not just anyone’s profile. It belongs to the man three tables over… and boy does he share… Every detail of his life is written here, perfectly documented with pictures providing valuable information.
Though he’s in the best-known fraternity on campus he lives alone in an apartment in a gated community, no pets. Mommy and daddy foot all the bills from a state on the other side of the country where daddy is a politician and mommy is a surgeon. He comes to this same café every morning ordering something different and photographs it each time.
I casually gather my things and place a twenty on the table. He will be going for his morning jog next. He’ll run the loops three times before jogging to the beach to watch the sunrise… except this morning he will not live long enough to see the beautiful rays of dawn rise over the horizon of the turbulent ocean. I will be waiting there for him…
I can feel the corners of my lips turn up in anticipation as the pieces of my plan fall into place. I rise from the spot I’ve been sitting on the beach and approach not saying a word.
Angry eyes turn to me, but I keep my head low, my face hidden by the hat.
“You! You’re following me!” His lip turns up in a snarl. “What do you want? Are you another friend of that bitch? You here to threaten me? Ha, well it’s not going to work-” His words died off as brilliantly glowing eyes met his. He takes an involuntary step back. “What are you?”
I can’t help the amused smile that curves my lips. “Sam? Sam Rogers?”
“Yes… Who are you? What do you want?” He takes another step back, panic replacing the arrogance of only moments ago. His focus is locked on straight, pearly white teeth… razor-sharp teeth…
I begin walking toward him and he begins moving faster away. “Come on Sam, don’t make this any more difficult than it should be.”
“What more difficult?!” He’s all but babbling now as his backward steps increase in speed.
My smile widens and I know my eyes will be glowing even brighter in the predawn darkness. “Your death…”
Just as expected, he turns and runs. I chuckle as I give him a five-second head start. “It’s not fair, the girls’ you victimized were too drugged to run from you. I should have slipped something into your coffee earlier… Maybe some of the date rape drugs you’re known for using…” He stumbles as I capture his arm. I yank him around to face me. “The only question left is what all I should do with you… I am definitely hungry, so eating your heart will happen without a doubt… but how should I kill you?” I rub my chin thoughtfully.
“M-monster!” He stammers as he struggles uselessly against my grip.
“Who me? I was thinking rather the same about you… You see I only intentionally kill those like you. Those who have victimized others and are too smart or too wealthy to get properly punished… though mundane punishments are much too lax for the vile things you’ve done.” I shrug nonchalantly. “You and your friends drug and rape young women. When one of them is brave enough to turn you in, your powerful families step in and find ways to flip the roles. They twist the stories playing you out as victims instead of the ones you’ve actually hurt. No, I think it’s you who is the monster, and your turn to be an actual victim. It is a public service really.”
Before he could argue or plea for his useless life, I’d already penetrated his chest and gripped down on his rapidly beating heart. Holding his gaze, I whisper. “It’s odd how humans with no regard for others lives cling to their own with such determination… up until the very last beat of their heart.” To emphasize the word heart, I squeezed down tightly, causing a loud cry to echo through the dark silence of the early morning. “Ah, yes… scream… Like I’m sure those girls tried to do… Will you beg me to spare you? Ha, it’s too late for that…” With one swift jerk, his body is on the ground surrounded by a growing puddle of blood that stained the beautiful white sands of the beach crimson. “What a waste.” My gaze moves to his now motionless heart resting in the palm of my hand. “Well at least there’s this, I suppose. It will have to do for breakfast.”