Sweet Tooth (2) 'Oh, don't worry Janet. I'm not going to eat you now. At first, I was going to eat you, but now I don't think so. No, I've been waiting for this moment a long time, and now it's going to happen. I've got something great in store for you Janet. You'll see what it is.' Kathy entered the busy nightclub nervously, for this building was the last place in which she was going to search for Janet before turning to the local police for help. All of the places that Janet usually went to had been thoroughly examined by Kathy; the local supermarket, Debenhams in Rington town centre (Janet loved shopping for clothes), the cinema, the Cafe Loco and Janet's favourite place to find sanctuary from the modern world when she was depressed: the graveyard. Janet would kneel on the moist ground, a stranger among the corpses beneath her, hidden at the heart of an intricate maze of tombstones. There she would think about everything: the sadness she had experienced, the current joys of her life and reflect on past memories. So far her search had been in vain. Janet wasn't in any of the places, the shopkeepers hadn't even seen her. It was starting to look bleak again. Janet had better be here, Kathy thought to herself as she looked around the spacious club, crowds of people merging into other crowds, forming a huge throng of dancing individuals. Kathy thought she should ask the staff whether they had seen Janet or not, and if she found her hunt had been in vain, then she would turn to the police. But she must not give up hope, she knew she would find Janet. Somehow, she would see Janet again. Kathy nervously edged forwards, afraid of what the answer from the young people working on the bar might be. She sidestepped through groups of friends with warm smiles on their faces, envious that they still had their loved ones with them. The sudden strobe lighting that swept through the club, a tide bringing erratic movement to enhance the customer's experience, caused Kathy to bump into many people. One second they were out of her way, a sudden flickering of light and then they had walked straight into her. After this had happened a few times Kathy became very irritated and barged straight through crowds of friends, oblivious to their looks of disdain when their night out was interrupted by a scowling woman rampaging through the club. When she finally arrived at the bar she saw there was a rather long queue obstructing her way. Kathy was now so desperate to discover what had happened to Janet that she rushed to the front of the queue and pushed the woman at the front out of the way. The woman,tall with bleached blonde hair and a very short skirt, looked at her assailant with a grimace. 'Oi, you! What d'you think you're playin at, eh? What's your game?' The woman screeched in a London accent, annoyed that Kathy had shoved her from the queue as if she were merely a fly that had settled on her shoulder; easily flicked away. Kathy was now becoming extremely irate, and this unhappy woman had just pushed her over the edge. 'Oh, piss off! Leave me alone you stupid slag, I'm here on really important business, and you're just worried about buying some booze and showing a bloke a good time in the alleyway!' Kathy shouted at the upset woman. 'Don't you talk to me like that! I oughta bust your face open!' The woman shouted back in a grating voice. Kathy stared at the woman in disgust, wondering how anyone could be so selfish. The woman then waltzed over to Kathy and promptly slapped her on the cheek, the loud smack grabbing the attention of all those in the queue. Kathy's cheek was starting to sting, and she was now infuriated. 'Bitch!' Kathy flatly said, before closing her fist into a ball and swinging it at the stranger, relishing the feeling of fist connecting with cheekbone at a high speed. The woman fell backwards with a pained expression on her face. Kathy turned to address the barman. 'Sorry about that.' She said. The barman, a short man with a pink long-sleeved shirt and black hair, styled with gel into curtains, looked at her quizzically, as if to say Well, that was something else all right!. 'What do you want?' The barman enquired. 'Have you seen a girl, about five foot eight, medium build, really blonde hair and she acts quite shy.' Kathy asked. 'What was she wearing, 'cos we get a lot of girls like that here.' The barman wearily explained. 'Well, she was wearing a blue tank top with a black stripe across the chest, a short red leather jacket, black leather trousers and high heels.' Kathy described. 'Hmmmm. Yeah! I remember her. She was here yesterday, but I haven't seen her today. She left yesterday when she spilt some drink on a man's shirt. He started to have a go at her, and I was gonna go over and sort it out but when I got there she'd already left. I don't know what happened to her after that. I'm sorry.' The barman said, suddenly feeling sorry for Kathy. 'Hey it's okay, don't worry about it. I mean, you've helped me a little bit.' 'Yeah, but this isn't too serious is it. Your friend isn't in trouble is she?' The barman asked. 'Actually yeah, I think my friend might be in trouble. She didn't come home last nght, and she always lets me know if she's going out somewhere. I haven't seen her since she went to the club yesterday.' Kathy said. 'Look, I'll tell you what. My shift finishes in ten minutes. If it's okay, I'd like to help you find your friend.' The barman sincerely offered. 'Oh, that'd be great. Seeing as you're going to be helping me out soon, we should probably know each other's names. I'm Kathy.' 'I'm Zakk. If you just wait by the fire exit over there, then I'll meet you in ten minutes.' Zakk suggested, pointing at the aforementioned exit. 'Ok, thanks.' Kathy replied. Kathy turned around and walked towards the exit, thinking only about Janet's safety. The fire exit was a single dilapidated green door situated at the back of the club, free from the noise and aggravation of the many people. The only company there was a solitary lighter dispenser. Kathy made her way to the door with no trouble this time, and when she reached the door she leaned against the wall and awaited Zakks arrival. Janet slowly lifted the fork to her mouth, staring at the hunk of meat impaled on the end of it. She popped it into her mouth and began to chew; the soft flesh being broken up by her teeth. It tasted a bit like pork, but richer, darker and somehow tasted sinister. Perhaps it was because she knew that an innocent person had been mercilessly slaughtered for this cruel man's pleasure. Not wanting to upset the savage Janet offered a weak smile, and started to cut another piece from the slab of meat on her plate. 'Y'see. It's nice, isn't it Janet.' Steve said, grinning proudly. 'Yeah, that is nice. That's actually really good Steve.' Janet said, holding back a grimace. 'Now what did I tell you? Not so bad after all is it? And that's about a week old now. Fresh meat is the nicest. Raw has to be the best though. It has the nicest flavour.' Steve said. 'Do you think I could try some raw meat later?' Janet asked, hoping that she could please him, so he might drop his guard and somehow she could get away. 'Sure. Actually, you can have some in a minute.' Steve said. 'But first, I've got an offer for you Janet. I think that since you just took your first step into cannibalism, and you've opened up your eyes a lot, that we've got an understanding now. Do you know what I mean, do you feel this connection that we have Janet?' Steve questioned. 'Yeah, I do know what you mean. I think that we really understand each other now.' Janet agreed. 'That's great! Now here's my proposition: I'm gonna buy a new house out in the country, and I want you to come and live with me. I'm not talking about a relationship or anything, I just want us to live together. What do you say?' Steve asked Janet, hope brimming up inside him, completely falling for Janet's act. 'Steve, I'd love to. That's really nice of you.' Janet responded, agreeing to anything so that she could just escape. 'I'm so glad you've agreed to Janet, and now here's my surprise for you.' Steve said enthusiastically. Steve then got off of the chair in his bedroom and stepped towards a door to his left, smiling gleefully as he did so. As Steve opened the cupboard door, Janet heard a faint ululation emanating from inside. It was a weak mewing sound, like someone quietly weeping. There was the sound of Steve grunting, as if lifting something heavy, and then Steve emerged from the cupboard with two bodies drooped over his shoulders, hanging limply like rag dolls. 'Now Janet, I want you to turn around. I'm going to do something that I don't want you to see.' Steve ordered, a hint of authority in his voice. Janet saw a toolbox on the floor and wondered what it was for, then turned around and placed her hand on Steve's bedroom desk to steady herself. The desk was littered with books and magazines, mainly about the anatomy of the human body from the looks of it. Steve's bedroom was quite small, but lavishly decorated with creamy blue coloured walls, and many chests of brown drawers, their contents remaining hidden. While Janet was surveying Steve's room, Steve was busy preparing his next meal. He was hunched over a man's body, and was frantically sawing into the man's chest with a breadknife. Blood flowed copiously from the thin, yet deep cut. It spilled out from the man's chest and over his body, onto the carpet. Steve cursed as he saw the mess he was making, and a sigh of relief came from him when the high, grating noise came that meant he had struck the ribcage. Steve picked up a mallet from the floor beside him, and proceeded to smash it into the man's ribcage. Each impact made blood jet into the air and splash onto the walls and the floor. Soon the man's chest was a bloody mess of ravaged skin, congealing blood and protruding ribcage; stained red by the spilt blood. Steve grabbed the two edges of the man's fatal wound, and stretched them apart, revealing even more gore underneath. Steve then plunged his hand into the gaping maw, oblivious to the oozing blood displaced by the pressure his hand was putting on the wound. He then grabbed the toolbox by his side with his free hand and pulled it closer to him. Then he took a small knife out of it and the hand with the knife in it went into the wound to sever all the veins and arteries connected to the heart. Even more blood now flowed from the wound, and Steve's arms were covered in blood up to the elbow. Steve's hands came out from the hole with their prize; the man's heart. It was moist with blood and was a sickening yellow colour. 'Janet, it's time for your surprise.' Steve said. Janet turned around, and a look of disgust passed across her face when she laid her eyes upon the mess that lay before her. Then she looked down at Steve, kneeling down with blood all over him and a small bloody pulp in his hands and looked quizzical. 'You want me to eat that?' Janet surprisedly asked, her stomach almost heaving from seeing the ravaged organ. 'No, I don't want you to eat this silly! That's for later. This is for you.' Steve answered. Steve then reached behind him and dragged a limp body in front of him. It was that of a woman, lying on her stomach. Part of her hair had a red tinge to it, from a wound on the back of her head, no doubt. 'I want you to taste fresh, raw meat. Once you try this Janet, I know that you'll be ready for the life ahead of us.' Steve explained. 'What do you want me to do it with?' Janet nervously asked, very scared by what she was going to have to do. 'Just use a knife and fork like everyone else does.' Steve said, almost surprised by what Janet asked. Janet then picked up a knife and fork from Steve's desk and advanced towards the body. Suddenly the motionless body began to stir, and Janet stepped back in shock. A small moan came from the body on the floor, and it rolled over onto it's back. 'Don't worry, I've got it.' Steve said, then grabbed the person by the shoulders, holding the arms against the sides of the body. Janet got a look at the face of the woman in Steve's arms, and her mouth opened into a circle of surprise. The woman was Kathy. Kathy opened her eyes, and when she saw Janet above her she squealed in shock. Unfortunately, Kathy had duct tape stuck over her mouth, and all that came out was a garbled mess. 'Where did you get them from?' Janet enquired. 'When I went out earlier to grab some food, I saw them walking through Horsesham woods together. It was dark, and there was no-one about, so I took advantage of the situation. I found quite a big stone, came up behind them and hit the bloke with it. Then I hit the woman afterwards. You can guess the rest. Do you know them or something?' Steve said plainly. Janet thought hard about what she should say. Should she say that she knew Kathy and couldn't eat her, and they might both end up dead. Or should she do.........the alternative. Janet couldn't make up her mind. Either way, she'd be sacrificing something dear to her. 'No Steve, I've never seen her before. I just wondered.' Janet lied. When Kathy heard this she became hysterical, thrashing about in Steve's stern grip, trying to scream through the tape covering her mouth, tears streaming down her face. Janet advanced towards Kathy, nervous and full of shame. Janet gingerly extended her arm towards Kathy, the fork nearly touching Kathy's arm. Janet sucked in a deep breath of anticipation, and pressed the fork against Kathy's skin. Janet then dug the fork into Kathy's skin, ignoring the piercing shriek that Kathy wailed, audible even through the tape. Janet then cut out a large chunk of Kathy's flesh and popped it into her mouth, her mind starting to replay all the memories that they had shared, but the memories were washed from her mind when the familiar taste swept through her. She looked at Kathy writhing in pain, blood staining her bare arm and tears freely running down her face, and no longer saw her as her friend, but as her ticket to survival. If she could convince Steve that she had willingly become a cannibal then he would definitely trust her, soon he would trust her enough so that she could get away. Maybe she'd say she was ready to go and get some food. Whatever she did, she would almost certainly escape. It was like Steve said, it was survival of the fittest. That phrase stuck in Janet's mind, and repeated itself over and over, as Janet jabbed the fork into Kathy's raw, exposed flesh and ripped off another lump of meat. Survival of the fittest.
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