The Conductor

Heavy, rusted chains locked around my wrists.
Clothes, still stained with my blood from the other day.

I’m starving.
I’m parched.

I’m tired – I hadn’t slept for the past two days.

Tomorrow, I stand before the court. Tomorrow, I am judged for a murder that I did not commit.

I wasn’t in the forest with blood and dirt coating my hands.
I didn’t see the blood-soaked remains with flies buzzing around them.

It was just a nightmare…like Tyler said.

Yet, I knew that I was lying to myself.

I leant back against the concrete wall and ran my hands through my hair.

I wish he hadn’t found out.
I wish he hadn’t run away.

I hope that he’s okay. I hope that he’s back home.

I wish he was here with me, comforting me with a hug followed by an unexpected kiss.

I bit down on my lip, my hands gripping at my hair.

If I really did murder him in his previous life…and I didn’t remember my actions in doing so…

Then…

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of keys and the creaking of the gated door.
Two pairs of footsteps echoed off the walls before they stopped in front of the cell.

The guard, and – surprisingly – Dr. Richards from the next town over – the one Elizabeth and I made constant house calls for when she was ill and then when she was pregnant.

“A man like you doesn’t deserve visitors, but the magistrate will allow it. I will return in fifteen minutes.”
And the guard walked off, closing and locking the door behind him.

“It has been a long time, Michael. Three years, was it?” He gave me a small smile.
I brought my gaze to the floor.

“How are Elizabeth and the child?”
“Elizabeth was murdered before the child was born. I thought you were aware of that…”

“Oh, I was.”

I looked up at him – his smile was now replaced with a sneer.

He came closer and knelt down so that he was level with me.

“Tell me, Michael. Have you ever wondered who murdered dear Elizabeth? Have you ever questioned why you couldn’t remember what happened beforehand?”

I swallowed thickly as he let out a dark chuckle.

“Well, the answer is very simple; you were just in denial for the past three years!”

My eyes widened at his statement as my hands started to tremble.

“That’s right, Michael. It was you. You. Murdered. Elizabeth. In the most gruesome of ways, too!”
He let out another chuckle.

“N-No…No, I did not! I loved Elizabeth! Loved her! I would never dream of harming her!”
Tears spilled from my eyes, remembering the grotesque images that never stopped haunting me.

“Oh, of course not! You would never dream of harming her! However…”
His expression went dark.

“I would.”

I froze, not knowing how to respond.

“Your dear Elizabeth had an affair with me, and she had failed to tell me that she was already married, to you. I was in love; I had fallen in too deep; and when she announced that she was pregnant, without mentioning that it was my child…Well…I didn’t take too kindly to it.”

A devious smile made its way onto his lips.

“Then I thought of an idea: why not have her own husband exact my revenge? It’s the perfect crime!”

My breath caught in my throat; the trembling of my hands has yet to cease.

“How did I do it? Let’s just say…I was a little busy in my laboratory, and I developed a serum: a stimulant that could cause a man to go berserk within a matter of minutes – in my opinion, The Conductor seemed like a fitting name. And guess who the test subject was?”

“No…!”
“That’s right. As soon as you came back home that day, I injected you with the serum, told you that your wife was involved in an affair and the child wasn’t yours, and you did the rest of the work for me.”

My blood started to boil as I rushed towards him and tried to grab a hold of him through the bars.

“You monster!!! You fucking monster!!! You murdered my wife!!!”

“Correction: you murdered your wife. As far as everyone else is concerned, my hands are clean. Just like how my hands are clean when you murdered Ms. Goodwife. I’m impressed how long the serum is lasting.”

I growled at him as I still struggled to get my hands through the bars.

The door to the building was opened before the guard stepped inside.

“Time is up.”

I collapsed to the ground as more tears fell from my eyes.
All of the anger that I had was drained from my body.

“May God have mercy on your soul tomorrow, Michael.”

One last dark chuckle before I was alone again.

I lay flat on the floor, moving my hands to my hair again.

This whole time…all along…I…

Sobs racked through my body non-stop.

All of those gruesome wounds…the binds on her wrists and ankles…

What must she have thought of me when all of that occurred?

I finally managed to dry my tears and sat in silence for half an hour, thinking – reasons, alternative futures, reminiscence, guilt, pain, fear of what is to come.

What is going to become of me?

What is going to become of Tyler?

I bit down harshly on my lip.

I hope he is okay.
I hope he won’t stay angry with me for long.

I want him to be here.
I want him to forgive me.

I want him to tell me that he loves me…

My heart skipped a beat with the last statement.
And with that, the tears started again.

…because, I’ve come to love him as well.

And if I see him again, I will make sure to tell him.