Page 2 of Unhinged Cain

“What did you see,” I asked, my tone soft as I brushed her bloodied hair away from her face. “I want to know what you saw.” Her skin was damp, and yet I could still feel the softness under my touch. “I have to say that you were very unhelpful. Completely useless, just like all the others.” Sighing, I shook my head. “Just once, can one of you fucking people say what you see before you die? Is that too much to ask?”

Straightening, I stared down at the woman. I needed to find a way to bring them right to that moment of death but force them to hang on just long enough to tell me what they saw. I brushed the few stubborn strands still clinging to her forehead out of the way so I could continue to work. The warmth in her skin would remain for some time yet. I stared at her exposed body, taking a moment to marvel at my work.

The carved lines that created the intricate pattern on her pale skin were stunning. It was some of my finest art to date, and I appreciated this moment. I didn’t fully understand what it meant to be happy or experience happiness, but I was able to comprehend that these moments with my prey were the closest that I’d get to that feeling. I’d heard all the clinical reasons why I was the way I was, but it didn’t matter to me why I took pleasure in killing others. I was simply myself, which meant I was at the top of the food chain.

My father insisted they put me in therapy after finding me in their bedroom with the knife. It was the only smart decision I’d ever seen them try to make, but what they failed to understand was that I didn’t need help. Their smart decision turned into stupidity when they continued to throw good money at a non-issue. They truly thought the help would fix me, but I didn’t want to be fixed.

I lasted two sessions before swapping places with Abel, who enjoyed the game of becoming me. I scoffed at the memory of the psychiatrist’s stuffy office and the idiot doctor who thought he was treating me the entire time. Or worse yet, my parents drove us both there but didn’t notice which son went into the room. On the other hand, I should thank them if they weren’t already dead. The doctor’s ignorance and my parent’s idiocy gave me the idea to make sure that from that moment on, Abel and I remained one hundred percent identical. If he cut himself and it turned into a scar, I’d purposely cut myself in the same spot. When I broke my left arm falling from my bike, Abel followed suit and fell the exact same way I did, so our breaks would be as close as possible to matching.

We may have been two people, but we slowly became one person to the rest of the world.

I picked up the expensive professional camera and took pictures of the woman from every angle. I wanted to capture this moment. The last image I took was of her eyes, and I made sure to get close enough to see all the detail.

Setting the camera aside, I softly whistled Edelweiss, the lullaby that my mother used to sing. My lip curled as I remembered exactly what it felt like to cut her tongue out and how her voice was no longer soft and beautiful as she choked around the blood pooling in her mouth. Sadly, she’d already been close to death by the time I got to have any fun. It had been important to me that she understood who and what I was as she reached for me, silently begging for help. Abel had lost his cool and decided to kill her. Not surprising with my brother, and that was when I put my rules in place that he needed to follow.

I quickly adjusted my cock in my jeans as the image sent a shot of adrenaline through my body. This woman hadn’t screamed as sweetly as my mother had. No one had since, and it was always disappointing to think that the best kill I’d ever experienced was already behind me. Then again, like plucking a virgin’s cherry from her pussy, maybe it was always the first time that was the best.

I designed all my tools. Each one was specifically crafted to fit my hand and be used for a specific purpose. My favorite tool had a curved end to the blade, like a subtle scoop. Picking it up, I held it in the light, admiring my invention.

“Well, Heather, our time together has almost come to an end,” I said, and I leaned over the woman to peel her eyelid back. Grabbing the small suction cup tool, I placed it over the colored portion of her eye and gave it a gentle tug so it was forced away from the rest of her face. My other hand worked quickly with the blade that could cut silk as easily as any ninja sword. With two small swipes, the pretty hazel eye that held golden specs in its iris was cut free. I held up the eyeball and smirked at yet another flawless job. A soft sucking sound was created as my little device released the eye into the collection jar I’d created for her eye color.

A little of the formaldehyde jumped out of the jar as the eye landed in the clear liquid with an audible plop. I quickly cleaned up the smattering of liquid and then turned my attention to cleaning up the room. I had many laws, but when in came to my work, there were only two laws I lived or died by—Don’t get caught, and be smart, precise, and clean with my work.

I sighed as the outer door’s alarm announced a new arrival. The large television I used as a monitor in the corner showed Abel swaying his way inside the house.

Lovely.

I loved my brother, at least what I thought was love, but I didn’t know for sure. I genuinely enjoyed his company and didn’t dream of killing him or dismembering his still-breathing corpse. For me, those understandings were the closest I came to the feeling that many described as love. Unfortunately, my brother reminded me of a cartoon character of a peacock with its dick out, wanting to fuck every hole it could find. He was a show-off, loud, messy, overbearing, unpredictable, and tended to be a pest like a cockroach trapped inside your boxers.

I actually knew what that looked like—I’d created an inescapable pair of metal shorts designed after the chastity belt. It was amusing to take notes of the man’s reaction as I released the cockroaches through a small trap door in the armor-looking shorts and then locked the hole back up. A smile spread across my face, remembering how that man screamed.

Bang!

The door slammed open, but I was used to Abel’s dramatic entrances and didn’t jump as the sound of the heavy metal door echoed through my work area.

“Blame it on the rain,” my brother sang out, the sound grating on the ears.

I was sure that only cats in heat would be interested in the caterwauling he tried to claim was “singing.” The ridiculous walk he was performing made him look like a monkey who needed to take a shit while trying to be a circus clown. I lifted a brow at the latest ass wiggle he called a walk. The chain he kept on his jeans jingled as he continued to bop oddly forward.

During moments like this, I had to wonder how we could be identical twins. How could the DNA of the same people create such opposite personalities? Abel stopped when he saw Heather on the table, his face shifting from shocked to annoyed and then angry within the span of a heartbeat.

“What the fuck, man?” Abel said as he held his hands out toward the body.

I closed the lid on my bobbing eyes before they got knocked over. When Abel was around, I made sure that nothing was left out and that I didn’t mind getting messy or broken. Anything within arms reach was fair game for Abel. I turned my back on my brother to return the treasure to my special storage.

“What has you all annoyed now, Abel?”

“You’re supposed to wait for me. You know I like to kill them together, and you never include me anymore.” I rolled my eyes as I turned around to take in his theatrics. “I mean, look at her. She has hot tits even without her nipples and a fuckable face. You could’ve killed her while I fucked her. Why are you no fun?” He held his hand out to me, clutching a brown paper bag in his fist. “I even got you your favorite cookies, man, and you do this to me. No chocolatey chip for you.” He snatched his arm back.

I shook my head at him.

“First, I never make it a habit always to include you. Besides, you have kills that you do without me.” I held up my finger to stop his objection. “Don’t fucking lie to me. I know exactly what holes you stick your cock in and when.”

Abel snapped his mouth shut and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Second, I don’t mind sharing, but there are times I prefer my way of doing things, and that doesn’t include you,” I said and closed the massive refrigerator before pulling the panel back to cover my hiding spot. The large metal shelves were next, and they slid soundlessly into place.

My brother could pout like a petulant child better than anyone else I’d ever seen, just as he was doing now. His face morphed into an innocent person, his eyes going to the floor and his lip jutting out. It was an act. It was always an act when it came to Abel. He’d become a master at emotional manipulation.