Reminisce

Darkness surrounded him, the only source of light were the moon and the stars. He pulled his jacket tight around him to hold off the chill. The air was still as were his surroundings, there was no birds overhead, no nocturnal animals hunting their prey, just silence, well apart from the sound of his heavy breathing and footsteps. He sensed he was being followed and he kept walking to rid himself of the feeling, but he couldn’t. As the terrifying feeling grew stronger he began to run. An invisible grabbed a hold of him and knocked him to the ground, he tried to scream, but no sound escaped his lips.

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It was dark, and the atmosphere surrounding him was as could as the night was. There was a light, swaying back and forth, coming closer, blinking every now and again. He tried to move his hands and feet, but his attempts were futile. His hands and feet were bound and after another minute of two he stopped, and watched the eerie light continue to approach him. it stopped about ten feet in front of him, and the light raised it’s position.

A ghastly face, a man, with gleaming white teeth, slicked back black hair and scars across his face appeared in front of him, his green eyes twinkled in the light. A black tuxedo fit snugly on his body. He watched the man walk around his chair, once, twice, three times and then stopped. A big screen appeared in front of him, flickering a few times and then settling on a stable picture.

“Hello Patrick, how about we watch a few videos, that sounds like fun doesn’t it?” The man asked, his face further contorting as he spoke. Before Patrick was able to answer the screen popped to life

He was fifteen, the top dog, the man. He would strut around where ever and whenever he wanted and always got what he desired. His nights consisted of one-night stands and smoking drugs in alleyways. Nothing mattered to him, the outcome of his actions or anyone else. The clips showed the girls he had banged and the drug dealers.

The clip paused and Patrick looked to the mysterious man, “Aww, see? You had one-night stands, quick fucks, and nothing could go wrong right? Nothing will happen to you!” he seethed and continued to play the clip.

It showed each girl he had fucked, all becoming pregnant. Their emotions, reactions and situations. Most of them were kicked onto the streets by their disgraced families, it was hard times and nobody could afford a pregnant fifteen year old. The videos fast forward to the girls, dead in alley ways, dying during labor and the kids, growing up in foster homes, born already addicted to drugs, and their lives didn’t get much better after that.

The clip ended and the man turned sharply towards him, the sound of his shoes softly tapping as he continued to pace. “Look what you did, where were you? Still fucking? One thing is for sure, you weren’t there, were you?" The man yelled.
Patrick sat still, gaping at him and the now blank screen. The man pulled out a knife and slashed across Patrick’s chest. He cried out in pain while the man laughed “I think another video is in order, I’m sure you feel the same.”

The clip started again, showing Patrick at nineteen of age, now he was even worse. His concerned mother came into his room to discuss his future.

“Hon, I was looking at some community colleges a-”

“I’m not going to fucking college you bitch!” Patrick cut her off.

Her face showed a mix of shame and hurt. She continued with a new subject “Umm, also, there are some apartments in-”

Once again, she was cut off, “You shit face, why do you want to kick me out, so you two old, saggy bitches can fuck whenever? Piss off!”

His mom broke down crying, sobbing, the ads crumpling in her hands. His father was in his room minutes later, yelling at him. He had had enough. Within hours, he had packed a few possessions and left home. His mother, all too caring for him ran out with some money in hand, begging him to take it.

“You ass, I don’t want your fucking money!” He slapped her across the face and stole the car. He drove off, leaving his mother crying on the sidewalk.

Once again, the video paused, “So, that’s the last you heard from them right? You didn’t take her money but you took the car, that is alright, isn’t it? Well let’s see shall we?” The video resumed and Patrick was forced to watch the consequences of his past actions before his very eyes.

His mother lay on the sidewalk, gasping for air. The doctors had warned her only days before about possible heart attacks and she was having one now. The reason she wanted him to move out was that she needed the space for all the medical equipment she now needed. In addition, she did not want him to see her have a heart attack.

“Olivia? Olivia!” her husband yelled running up to her, “Oh God, my love, hold on, I’ll get the car. It’ll be fine.” he ran over to where the car would usually be. Upon the realization that the car had been stolen he screamed and cried. He stopped when his throat ran dry. Tears began to pour from his eyes and move down his slightly wrinkled face. He turned back to his wife and knelt down to her, this was the worst attack she had ever had. She died a minute later, in his arms, her lifeless hand holding the crumpled money and a red hand print across her face.

The video ended and Patrick had not shed a tear, he was stunned and the pains in his chest now making him heave, “W-who are you?” He gasped.

“Oh Patrick, here’s another cliché for you, you’re in no position to ask questions. Look at your mother of nineteen years, dead on the side walk you used to play on. Your strong, tough father there, crying on the pavement while you were in the car, driving the car they would have used to get your mother to hospital!” The man leaned into Patrick, plunging a knife into his thigh. Patrick let out a dry scream, tears fell from his eyes “One more video should be good, don’t you think?”

He was twenty-five, being an adult gave him a new air of confidence. He could drink, drive or even do both. One night he left the wife he had managed to find, she said he was going out with the boys to play some card games. She kissed him goodbye and watched some old videos; she was of course, pregnant. Patrick went to a strip club, slept with a few girls around the back and paid for several lap dances. By the end of the night, he was satisfied and his alcohol level was high. His worried wife had headed out to find him.

Driving down a narrow road, drunk he hit a car. Cussing at the driver and its wrecked car, he continued on home. He arrived home and passed out on the couch. The next afternoon when he woke up, he could not find Alice, his wife. He waited until 11:00 that night, grabbed his coat, and left the house, grumbling the words, “Bitch is probably cheating on me, it’s probably not even my child.”

It all sunk into Patrick, the man waited to see the realization on his face and smiled “Yes, that’s right. You see that car, the one that hit you no, you hit them, your future wife and child, who were out, looking for you. You’ve killed countless women, torn apart family, are you proud?” he slashed Patrick’s face and laughed as blood flowed from his cuts.

“This is where I take bastards like you to give you... a trial. We come here and reminisce the past, the memories that would have haunted you if you knew. Do you feel guilty yet? Well let’s say this, I hope this was a fun for you as it was for me; you deserve this you piece of shit! Let’s use another cliché here, before you died, at least some of your life flashed before your eyes.” With that, the man grinned widely and plunged the bloody knife into Patrick's chest.

The man snapped his bloody fingers and the screen turned black, he picked up his lantern and left the room the same way he had came, the light swaying in time with his steps. Patrick’s cuffs released him and his bloody, limp body fell to the stone cold floor.

“Until the next one, until the next one...” the man mumbled and flicked off the light, letting the room return to its eerie darkness.