Killing Mind - Editing

Part Four

Just as Marcus was about to press the knife to Cara's skin she began to stir. It was clear that she was about to wake up so he stepped back and hid the knife in his hand. A surge of pain ran through his palm as he realised he'd cut himself.

"What's going on?" She mumbled as she turned over onto her back.

He panicked and replied with "I had a nightmare. That's all. Go back to sleep."

He must have looked crazy because she quickly jumped out of bed and put her dress on.

"Maybe I should just get a cab home."
She got her bag and made her way out into the lounge to dial a number into her cell.

"But it's almost four. You can stay if you want."

"No I think I should just go." She called out.

What is wrong with me?
I almost stabbed her.

Thoughts ran through his head as he began to feel faint. He put the knife down on his bedside table and grabbed a towel from the bathroom which he wrapped around his hand.
He didn't want her seeing the blood.

"It's coming in five. I'm going to wait outside in the lobby."

"Okay." Marcus didn't know what else to say.

He'd almost killed Cara.
Looking down at his hand he saw the grey towel was turning scarlet.
She must of spotted it because she took a few steps away from him.

"I'm going to wait outside now. See you at work Marcus." She opened the front door and ran out.

"I can explain Cara!" He watched her dissappear down the hall before returning back into his apartment.

Not long after he found a first aid kit in his bathroom and tended to his wound. Thankfully the cut wasn't deep but he still needed to bandage it up. He looked at his reflection in the mirror.

What have I become?

He splashed his face with cold water as if to wash the negative thoughts away.

I need to sort myself out.

He got back into bed and managed to fall asleep without another nightmare.

His alarm clock rang as usual at 7:00am. He got ready for work and skipped breakfast, he didn't have much of an appetite. Instead he downed a shot of coffee and popped an extra prozac than his required daily dose.

Hopefully this will keep the thoughts at bay.

He got into his car and drove to work.
Soon after he'd arrived he spotted Kayleigh and Cara sat at their desks.
They saw him and began to whisper.
He had a flashback from last night and felt his face redden with embarrassment. Quickly he walked to his office. He sat down behind his desk and turned on his computer.
A few minutes after he heard a knock at his door and before he could answer Rick walked in.

"How are you today Marcus?" He looked down at the bandage wrapped around his hand.

Marcus hid it under his desk.
"I'm fine thanks. How are you?"

"Good. It's just you look very tired today. So does Cara actually. Did you know I'm promoting her soon?"

"Yeah, she told me that."

"I expect she did. Anyway I've got a job for you today. You're going to check out the first estate. It's on Union Street so not far from your place.
Get out there after four and I may think about giving you a pay rise too." He gave Marcus a thumbs up and left the office.

After Marcus had finished his lunch break his cell rang. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the name on the screen.

"Hey man! Sorry I never called back yesterday. The case files took way longer than expected. I fell asleep around ten at my desk!"

"Oh no worries Billy. I was kinda worried about you that's all."

"Again apologies man. How about we go out Friday night for drinks at our favourite bar? It's on me!"

"Yeah sounds good."

"Cool. I've been meaning to ask how your OCD is?"

"It hasn't been too good man. I took an extra pill this morning. I shouldn't really. I'm thinking about maybe going to see a therapist again."

"Oh yeah? We can talk more about it on Friday if I don't see you before. Look I gotta go. Take care dude."

"Sure, talk to you later." He hung up.

Marcus was glad he'd spoken to Billy.
Now he knew the thoughts from last night were irrational because he hadn't gone through with what he was told to do and no one was hurt.
This put him in a better frame of mind.

Marcus pulled up outside the destination on Union Street.  The house was painted a light shade of yellow with white windows and door.
There was not much of a front porch but according to Rick the back yard made up for it. He got out of his car and dug in his pocket for the front door key. Inside the rooms were fairly large.

A decent sized lounge area, spacious kitchen, three bedrooms, one bathroom and an on suite.
It also had a basement.
He thought to himself how perhaps one day he could have his own place like this with a hot wife and two kids.
But not anytime soon. He was too young and still needed to experience more things. After an hour or so of going around the house checking everything was in order and calculating the pricing Marcus realised he hadn't checked the basement.

He looked at the blue prints of the house and located the trap door which was in one of the cupboards.
It was just outside the kitchen.
He found the door and climbed down the ladder which led to the basement.
When his foot stepped off the last step he shivered. It seemed awfully familiar.

He turned on the light by pulling the cord and looked around. It was quite big. There was a small window straight ahead which showed the quiet street outside. He tried to shake off the bad feeling that he felt.
After ticking a few boxes on his list he quickly made his way up the ladder to exit.

Once he'd finished he sat in his car.
It was coming up to seven. He looked around at the street outside and took in his surroundings. His place was only a five minute walk away from here.

He cruised slowly along the road until he saw something flash out the corner of his eye. An object was sticking out from under the passenger's seat. He stopped the car and reached over. It was the knife.
The same one he had cut himself with last night.

What the fuck is this doing here?!

Was he going mad?
He picked it up by the handle and examined it. It was definitely the same one. He quickly put it in the glove compartment and drove off ahead.

Bad thoughts rushed into his mind. He pulled up on the corner of a street which had a 24 hour convenience store. Breathing slowly he tried to compose himself.

"Any spare cents please?"
He heard a croaky voice coming from the side of the store.

Looking around he spotted a homeless man begging.

Kill him.

Marcus looked up at himself in the mirror and then down at the glove compartment. A sinister smile spread across his face when he saw the knife.

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