Posted by AlOmega on February 28, 2002 at 18:31:13:
They met in early March after a spring shower. She seemed a frail looking thing with short blond hair and glasses. She was still puffing when he joined her inside the PemMex Building. She looked at him with an interested - though shy - glance. To her, he was tall with a slight bulge to his waistline. Still, he wasn’t much older than her twenty-two years.
“Hi”, they both said at the same time. Then both laughed a little as if not to frighten the other away.
That was how they met.
All is not how it seems sometimes.
They dated on and off for three weeks before Tom asked Sarah to move in with him. Each was thrilled at this turn of events and all seemed to be going well between them. Each looked into the eyes of the other and sparks seemed to gather. It was as if each fed off the other. When Tom was down, Sarah prodded and coaxed until he was happy again. And when Sarah was morose, Tom would cajole and flatter her until she was bright and springy. Of course each had their own odd moments.
On the third Thursday of each month, Tom would leave the house and visit with his male friends. They all comprised a club of which Tom was the thirteenth member. Each member prepared the main dish for a large meal that they had which was one of the reasons Tom had such a large kitchen and a plethora of pots and pans. What else went on at those meetings, Tom never told Sarah. Nor did she ask. He generally took off the Friday after the third Thursday and resting until noon. He claimed it was because the meal was so large. Yet she never met any of his friends from the club.
On each Tuesday morning, Sarah would go to town and shop for clothes and other things. She said that this was her only time to herself. Tom followed her once but other then going to a couple of dress shops and visiting the drugstore for her medicine, she didn’t do much. He thought himself too much of a man to enter the shops and see what she did there. And he knew the medicines were for her allergies. Besides he trusted her.
And she trusting him in all matters concerning herself even to placing all their money in a joint bank account. She claimed that finance just was too much for her and she would rather have Tom take care of that.
Then on the third month on the third Friday of the month, the doorbell rang and Sarah answered. Signing a slip and receive an envelope and a small package. The envelope she would then place it in her dress and cast it into the fire. She always took the package to the bathroom. The only reason Tom noticed it was that this happened at the same time for the next three successive months. Still he did not have a problem with that reasoning that Sarah needed a secret or two for herself. To him, she was trusting and simple. Just the right woman for him.
About four months later after Sarah had gotten back from her trip to the dress shops and pharmacy, Tom came up behind her and placed a chloroformed handkerchief over her mouth and nose. Afraid to fight, she allowed him to render her unconscious. But sleep wouldn’t remain with her for long. Regaining consciousness, she found herself tightly bound to a kitchen chair. Her hands were tied behind her, to the back of the chair and, again to each foot. Ropes around her waist pulled her back into the chair. She struggled a little but soon resigned herself to the bondage. Tom returned from the living room with a videocamera. He connected the camera to a VCR and a 32 inch TV. Sarah was silent.
After turning on the electronics equipment, Tom stopped and looked at her. He sensed something about the resigned look on her face as if she had figured what he had in mind. That shook him more then if she had started screaming through her cloth gag. He was almost afraid to speak as he began unbuttoning her blouse. When her blouse was completely unbuttoned, he removed a pair of cloth scissors from a drawer and proceeded to cut her blouse off. The same he did for her skirt. At no time did he look at her. With his scissors, he removed panties and bra straps. From behind Tom unhooked her bra snap from between her breasts. Gently, slowly, he removed her bra revealing to the camera her petite white breasts capped by small pink nipples. He stroked them gently before looking at the TV. Her eyes from the TV seemed to draw him into them as if he could taste her soul. And though fear appeared to lie just under the surface, there was more than simple resignation. Transfixed by her eyes, Tom released her breasts not realizing he had been gripping each harder and harder. Red hand marks were still visible.
Shaken by the experience, Tom went to the refrigerator, poured , and gulped down a long drink of water afraid to look at her again. But the VCR was still rolling and he knew what must be done next. Again going behind Sarah, he placed his hands on her shoulders and slowly slid them up and around her slim neck. In all the videos he had seen and even the four he had made, the girl would scream and try futilely to free herself. Sarah just lifted her chin, looked at his eyes, and smiled. He released her soft neck almost as quickly as he had her breasts. What was she doing to him? he wondered.
Sarah sighed. “Tom Darling, do what you started to do. I’m ready. Just take my neck and kill me. I’m waiting.”
This unnerved him even more. Without looking at her, he violently squeezed her neck from behind in an attempt to kill her quickly. He hadn’t even explained what would come next which was what he had always done. Tighter and tighter he squeezed. Finally her eyes grew larger and her smile left her eyes to be replaced by terror at her coming fate. However, although she struggled, she did it halfheartedly as if she wanted to die. The more she seemed to accept her fate, the tighter he squeezed. Tighter and tighter. No space for fingers, for breath. Her slim snow white neck getting slimmer, smaller. Yet even though small sounds escaped her darkened lips, even though her eyes now bulged from her face, even though her mouth silently screamed her last, he never looked at her nor at the TV recording all this. Always he looked at the ceiling afraid to see in her eyes something that terrified him. Her silent scream came out of his mouth as he felt her neck bones break. Even though she was dead, he continued to choke her as if afraid she would come alive again. Finally, he stopped squeezing. Looking at her now, she was just a terrified woman who had just been strangled. Her tongue impossibly out of her mouth bitten half in twain; veins coiled on her forehead a couple of them leaking blood; burst capillaries reddening impossibly huge eyes - these spoke of her death. Her pale body showed little strain other than the curled toes and fingers. Even the ropes had not cut her skin. It was as if she had let herself be killed.
Tom finally realized he was still squeezing her neck and tried releasing it. He seemed to hear his fingers crack as pain shot up his arms. He had held her neck too long, he knew feeling the skin of her neck clinging to his fingers. Looking at her now, he knew finally she was dead. Her neck was broken which made her head lopsided. Quickly, he removed her bonds; and, picking her up, placed her onto the table which had been covered in newspapers as was the floor. She had never asked why he needed such a long table in the kitchen just to eat on. Now she knew but it was too late. He cleaned her up removing urine and feces. He gather three knives and a cleaver for the next operation.
The sound of the VCR rewinding startled him so much, he almost excrement in his pants. With shaking hands, took a long butcher knife and made the initial incision in her abdomen. Slowly he pushed the blade into her belly button but only deep enough to cut the muscle wall. Blood welled up as he cut. Opening up her stomach, he began removing her viscera. Different people liked different things, he knew. Most of her insides would be ground up and disposed of as would most of the bones. He would eat her heart for he did love her still. Someone else would want the liver and that would be it for the viscera. He cut the body up like anyone would butcher an animal. But this time he neither whistled nor sang. Her death bothered him a little but it was her eyes that he saw that night. Her eyes that woke him twice in the early morning.
Sarah’s head was all that was left to show that a living woman had existed. Her various body parts had been boned and the cooking started the next day. Finally he was finished. It was the Third Thursday. The feast could now begin.
Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, Tom thought as a smile tentatively teased his lips. He started the video first. This was what had to be done before the repast. Each member looked at Sarah as she struggled a little and died. But all of them clapped at the completion of the video. The dining room table was well set with Sarah’s head as the center piece. Each enjoyed what Tom had prepared. A few congratulated him on the best meal any of them had ever had. Tom was please but still something bothered him. He couldn’t figure out what it was but he would. After brandy and cigars, Jack announced that a young girl he had just met would be the main course at his house. She was a quite striking redhead, named Therese. He passed a few pictures of her to the rest of the Club members. When Tom saw her, he felt his stomach turn a little queasy.
Later that night after he had cleaned up and prepared the trash for secretion in a ten acre lot the Club owned, he started up to bed. From the stairs he seemed to hear a voice calling his name. But no one was there. He tried to sleep but his stomach was starting to give him fits. He took a tablet for that which seemed to ease the pain - at least for a while. But when he rose the next day, the pain shot through his body again. It was after noon when the door bell rang. He went to the door still unshaven and in pain. A messenger was there. The messenger asked for Sarah but since she wasn’t there said that only the envelope could be delivered. After Tom signed a slip, the messenger gave him the envelope. Shutting the door, he felt another stab of pain hit his abdomen. He barely made it to his couch. But as he sat, the pain receded. Opening the letter, Tom was surprised to read it was a message from Sarah.
Dearest Tom:
I’m terribly sorry you chose to kill me. I expected it which was why I wrote this. Remember that day we met? It was no accident for either of us. I knew what you wanted and reasoned I would fill the fare. The Club was not something I was unaware of either. I knew each and every member. Do you remember about three years ago? You met a girl called Cindy. She was sweet and lovely. She was also my older sister. She told me about you and how she expected to marry you. She use to call me every week. Then one day the calls stopped. She had disappeared. I didn’t know about the Club then but I watched and studied each one of you. I soon reasoned what the Club was about. I saw Zeb pick up that blond - Megan was it? And she disappeared, too. It didn’t take long to find out all about your little Club. So I arranged to meet you in the rain knowing you would pick me. Did you know I tried six times before you saw me?
But that’s not why I wrote this. I knew some Tuesday I would die and prepared before hand. Remember the two dress shops? If you had had the nerve to follow me in, you would have seen I went out the back door. There was a chemical store nearby. Did you know I had a degree in Chemical Engineering? I think not. You just thought I was some sweet thing that you could have lunch with and show off to the boys. But I digress. Yes, dear man, I created a lovely poison for me. Each time I would visit the chemical store, I created the poison out back and drank it. Its an interesting combination of chemicals. It would have killed me eventually if I had taken enough of it. But I knew you were due to host the Club soon; and, a few months of drinking the poison would not hurt me in that length of time - that is, if I drank the antidote. Poor Tom. If only you knew. You see, I poisoned myself as usual on Tuesday morning. I expect you killed me Tuesday afternoon and began preparation for your Thursday romp with the boys. Too bad I wasn’t there to sign for the package. It contained the antidote; for you see, sweet Tom, if I was killed before drinking the antidote, the poison which resides in the muscle tissue would stay for at least two weeks. By the way, do you feel a pain in your stomach. Your friends should also. My experiments indicate that all of you should be dead by morning. The pain will be really bad before then. You see the poison reacts with the digestive tract after I reached a cooking temperature of three hundred degrees. Your insides will start to dissolve very soon. I’m sorry, Dear, but you should be careful of what you eat. After all, you are what you eat.
Sarah
Tom was dumbstruck. What was he to do? He started laughing and didn’t stop until he died.