Only Vengeance

I was a storm.

I swiped the zip of my jacket up, pulled on my gloves, stepped briskly into my boots. Briefly glancing in the mirror before I left, I opened my eyes a little wider, allowing a half-sadistic smile to touch my face. Blended in almost seamlessly with it was malice. Maybe I looked evil. Maybe I looked fucking psychopathic. I didn’t care. He was going to pay.

Almost subconsciously, I brushed my hand over the pocket of my skin-tight, black jeans. I was wearing all black tonight; black jeans, black top, black jacket and black boots. I was darkness. I was the night.

It was still there, where it should be. Even though it was, essentially, rather light, it felt like a great, leaden weight dragging me down.

But I wasn’t going to let it drag me down. I wasn’t going to let anything drag me down anymore.

With one last glance in the mirror, I turned sharply on the spot, my dark veil of hair catching on the air and whipping out like a weapon all on its own.

I didn’t care anymore. I was frozen inside. All my emotions were consumed with one thing:

Vengeance.

Vengeance was the only thing that was going to make me feel better. I was not going to stop, not even for a moment. Not until it was done.

My boots echoed on every one of the concrete steps as I strode down to the ground floor. Without hesitation, I continued out into the front drive, the cold night air clawing at any part of my skin that still remained on show, scratching at my face and my fingertips.

A frozen night to match my frozen heart.

I didn’t know what time it was anymore, but it was late. There were no cars around. The streets were deserted, and the widely spaced street lights did little to penetrate the darkness, their misty orange glows reaching out into the space around them as though trying to fight the night. So far, the night was winning.

I turned sharply left, my eyes widening a little as I took in the world around me. Each stride I took propelled me on a little faster; I was here, I was ready, I was going to do it.

I had never felt more alive than tonight. I could feel everything, hear everything, see everything. And the more I could sense, the more I realised how the world had gone astray. Nothing was right anymore. Everything had spiralled way out of control.

But tonight, things would change. After tonight, things would be right again.

I was on fire. Each strand of my hair was a black flame, catching on the wind and billowing out behind me, dancing on the breeze. My feet and my shallow, rhythmic breathing were the only sounds left in this deserted darkness.

Tonight, things would change. They wouldn’t end; not until I’d finished completely, anyway, but they would change. I had been searching for weeks now, scouring the country, and at last I had locked onto him.

And now I was coming.

I reached the end of the road, turning right towards the bar. He was in there. I knew he was in there.

It was quiet. Unusually quiet. The moment I stopped, there was no sound besides that of my tempestuous mind, churning and raging like a violent ocean caught in a hurricane. It was as if the entire city was hiding from me, cowering in fear as I searched the shadows.

But they didn’t need to worry. There was only one person in this city who really needed to worry.

I started walking again.

Once not so long ago, I made a promise to the one I loved. Only a few years ago, we had been two solitary workers, but once we had met each other, we didn’t have to stand alone anymore. And since that day, we had had each other, no matter what else went wrong in this twisted world. And on that day we met, I made a promise that his life would never be in vain.

I was going to keep that promise if it killed me.

I reached the bar. My breath caught in my throat. My eyes widened. Every muscle in my body tensed up, ready. I had waited for this moment for far too long.

My mind was more than just a hurricane now...it was the fucking apocalypse in there.

I stepped through the doors, pushing them wide open and striding in, making a somewhat dramatic entrance, even though most people inside were far too preoccupied to notice me.
That didn’t matter. If anything, it gave me more time.

Giving my eyes a moment to adjust to the strobe lighting inside, and feeling the thumping club music penetrate my ears, I began to look around, my eagle eyes scouring the bar for that one person.

He was sitting at a table alone, sideways on to me.

Moving through the throngs of people, trying my best to keep a low profile, I strode towards his table. I was scared; of course I was scared, but I didn’t dare show it. I didn’t, for one moment, let fear catch up with me.

Tonight, things would change.

I was barely two steps away from him by the time he noticed me; the black shadow gliding through the chaotic nightclub.

When he looked up, his dark eyes met mine. They were emotionless; eyes made of granite, framed with stone.

Half a smile danced on his lips as he made to get to his feet.

‘No need to show so many manners,’ I commented.

I reached into my pocket and withdrew the gun.

His breath seemed to catch for a moment, and I could finally see fear in his expression, his eyes freezing over. I would make him afraid. I would make him terrified. Only then could I make him even slightly remorseful.

I pointed the gun in his face. We were at point blank. I couldn't miss.

He was as good as dead.

And vengeance was mine.

The room seemed to have frozen around me. Whether everyone really had stopped to watch, or whether it was only my imagination, I had no idea. But nothing else mattered anymore. I had been closing my eyes for too long; I had allowed this world to go completely astray, and now that was going to change.

I pulled the trigger.

Vengeance had been achieved.