The Tale of David Patrick Gardner

The Alley

Butterflies. You've felt them. Flapping their wings inside your stomach, fighting their way upward, trying to escape the fire of excitement that was set off by a surprise, a nervous anticipation, a disturbing scene, or maybe, even by your own actions. You remember the time when you did that thing that you probably, perhaps certainly, shouldn't have done. Did you enjoy the thrill? Or was the fear too much for you to handle? We've all been there, to one extent or another. However, there's little chance you ever felt what the two shadowy figures in the dimly lit alley were feeling while they watched an end-of-summer rain mix with warm human blood, creating a series of little red rivers that washed into a nearby storm drain. The sensation was unlike anything either of them had experienced before. A rush so powerful that nothing in their pasts even came close. Their bodies reacting wildly in response to the storm raging inside their spirits. The woman, tall, blonde, slender but strong, with an ordinary although attractive face, stood on her tip toes, unable to stand still, bouncing from one foot to the other, appearing like a tap dancer feeling out a new pair of shoes. A young male companion was positioned close by her side, clutching onto her arm, his masculinity made mute by his childlike demeanor. You couldn't call him large, he wasn't, (well, maybe we'll need to make some distinctions later on) standing an average height, his body appearing to lack a single ounce of fat. Even his face was strangely muscular, one could become hypnotized watching the bulging strength of his jaw as he chewed. If you happened to glance at his shoes you'd be left with questions, the laces tied in a way that defied all convention.

Looking at a life slip away caused him to feel a bit faint, his stomach clenched involuntarily, his hand squeezed more tightly onto the woman's arm. Both stood staring at their victim as he bled out before them.

Merely a month prior and neither of the killers would've ever imagined anything like this happening, but that's life- unpredictable.