Ace

He slammed the door of his musty apartment and walked about, breathing heavily. His hands were clammy and he was drenched with sweat while his heart was beating so hard he felt its going to jump right out. There were so many complex emotions running through his head that he was scared he’ll end up insane. That brought a smile to his face… “Insane?” “Could an insane person have planned it so cleverly?” “Could an insane person have made sure that nobody would ever know about it?” “Everybody is going to miss ‘nice sweet Ace’ sooo much” he sneered. ‘Ace’ – the name sent a wave of repulsion through his head. Even more so because he was the one who’d come up with that nickname for his best friend, he thought bitterly. Who knew that Ace of all people, the person he’d trusted to be his best friend, the person with whom he had shared all his secrets would do this to him? Could any true friend have ripped another’s life into pieces? And then there was she, she was so beautiful, the most beautiful thing that he’d ever set his eyes upon. Her skin used to glow in the dark – in the night when they used to go for long walks… “Had she known how much he’d loved her?” “Could it be that she was never aware of his emotions?” These thoughts made him hold on for a second and wonder… “Hmm…well it’s too late to think about it now” he reminded himself with a grin. Then the thought of Ace’s handsome face brought the fury back into him…Of course she’d have known. “YES! They were all involved in it.” It’s all a conspiracy, he knew it! He had seen the guilt in their eyes as they pleaded to him, begging him to let them go. He’d looked at her one last time and had smiled that trademark smile of his and at that moment she’d have known that this was what the last moments of life felt like, that it was the end. It was a very quick job actually and would have been a very clean job had Ace not tried to act funny at the last moment… “Oh well, atleast she saw the mutilation of her beloved Ace in front of her” he recollected. She had an utterly futile and lost look in her eyes during those last moments and after that she went real quiet…In fact he was disgusted with himself for ever liking a girl who was so pathetic and was begging for mercy at the time of her end, when she should have been brave enough to accept the penance for her sins…She went next, but hers was a very eventless one. By the time he was half way through, she’d stopped trying…hmmm like it would have made any difference. He looked around now smiling, amused with the whole thing and wondering as to how he could have been so silly to be scared of anything at all. “He’d nothing to be scared of” he reassured himself. In fact after he’d discovered his extra special mind, that was so intelligent and clever, he knew that he’d become invincible. He let out one of his favorite crazy laughs and was staring at the mirror when he noticed that there was a blot of blood on his cheek. This caught him halfway and his smile waned slightly as he carelessly splashed his face with water to wash away the blood. He was surprised to see that the spot was still there, and began to furiously rub it and was alarmed to find it still there. Soon he began to scratch at it frantically – trying to make it go away. His eyes grew larger as he noticed that the blot was becoming bigger slowly, and it was the stinging on his face that finally brought him back and he realized that the blood mark was growing larger because of a cut on his own face. He sat down breathing heavily, the weed in his blood was getting to his head now and he curled up on his couch trying to keep the cold out. He closed his eyes and tried to relax, and as he spread his hands, he touched something under the couch which sent a sharp pain through his hand. He sat up in a hurry wondering what it could be. Slowly he pulled out the culprit and dropped it in horror, because he found himself staring at the large steel knife that he’d picked up after long consideration for the job. It was sparkling clean and reflected his pale face off its polished shining surface. The image of his throwing the blood stained knife over the bridge into the river flitted across his mind. He stumbled out of the house now scared out of his wits, unable to understand these crazy inconsistencies. He felt a push on his back and went tumbling down the stairs, each roll making ugly crunching noises. He hardly felt the pain as he was consumed the confusion of the situation. He slowly dragged himself to his feet and stood there like an animal crouching and he could feel his extra sensory mind switch on. He looked about quickly trying to locate the perpetrator. As he looked about his eyes fell upon a pair of brown shoes just like the ones she’d given Ace. The sense of disbelief almost killed him as he back away trying to get free. Then he realized what was happening…Somehow he’d not managed to kill Ace and Ace was after him to get him… The thrill of excitement lit up his eyes and he started running. He knew pretty boy Ace couldn’t keep up with him. But the footsteps followed effortlessly and the faster he ran, the faster did his follower. Soon he came to the end of a deserted alley and came crashing down to the floor…He let out another hyenical laugh and then there was complete silence…..

Epilogue:
The next morning the milk man’s bike came crashing down on the floor as he crossed his daily alley. For in the middle of the floor lay a young man drenched in his own blood with cuts on his face that looked like he’d been scratched by some animal. The white milk created an eerie scene as it mingled with the pool of blood while the milkman fled the scene unable to bear the atmosphere….
Not too far away, a young couple was having breakfast…The girl looked at he young man and murmured “Ace, Where are your brown shoes?”, the young man grinned “Sorry dear, but I left it at his place last week, I’ll get it back” The young girl continued “Hey! That reminds me, Why do you think he called us yesterday night? Do you think he wanted to meet us?” “What? Uh oh I don’t know we’ll catch up with him later today” replied Ace distractedly and went back to attacking the eggs on his plate with enthusiasm.