A word of caution to anyone reading, this is very graphic, and can be considered by some to be disturbing. While the story itself is not based on a true story (obviously), the crimes committed by the character, “Mr. Downs” on the character “Elisa Bradford” sadly are. Names were changed, and more vulgar and disturbing crimes were removed from the story for the reader’s sake.
Tl;dr? The crimes described really did happen, it’s kind of graphic, read at your own risk.
He watched, silently and patiently as he waited for the man to wake up. On his face, he wore nothing but a white mask with the eyes cut out so that he may see, and a hood, to cover his hair. Every inch of him was covered as to protect his identity. He couldn’t risk the man seeing him in case things came to a turn for the worst.
The man, however, wore his everyday street clothes. Admittedly, they were somewhat ruined after the struggle through bring him to the shrouded man’s place. The unconscious man wore a red, now torn, shirt, and black pants. His shoes were removed, and on his ankle he wore a shackle, chaining him on the bed in order to make escape impossible.
If one could see the shrouded man’s face, they would see a smile. For this was a moment he had been waiting on for years. He dreamt about it, longed for it, and embraced the mere thought of it. For over 20 years the man lying on that bed had gone without proper punishment for his crimes, and for 20 years, the man whose face was covered had made this man his obsession. It was his “castle in the sky”, his “Moby Dick”, if you would.
The unconscious man was now waking up. In response, the shrouded man leaned forward in his chair, his gloved hands neatly folded in his lap. Of course, as he predicted, shock was the first expression across the man’s face. A shock that the masked man found funny, and ironic. After the man had quieted down, he looked around the room. The room he was in was obviously old, and out of place. Paint was peeling off the walls, glass from the window was broken, and from the looks of it patched up with duct tape. Over the duct tape was paint that painted the windows black, as to not let any light through. He had no way of knowing what time of day it was, or even where he was at.
However, the main thing on his mind was the masked man, sitting so elegantly in the chair near his bed. “I do hope you’re done, Mr. Downs.” Said the man, in a voice that matched the way he sat, elegant. “You see, I’ve been waiting for quite some time for this, and I would really like the chance to speak with you without you repugnant screaming.”
Mr. Downs, still somewhat in panic, began to plead, “Look, man, I can get you money, drugs if th-“, he was interrupted, as the masked man tilted his head to the side. “Look, man,” he began in a mocking tone, “I would really enjoy it if you didn’t assume that I’m on the same level as you. You see, Mr. Downs, you are trash. I do not want, desire, or need your drugs, and people like me don’t need money. Also, if you thought for a second that you could threaten me with death like you’ve done with other before, you’ll find that I won’t fear your idle threats.”
“However, what you can do, Mr. Downs, is speak. I’ve been waiting years for the chance to speak to you, and through some loopholes, and all the planning in the world, I have my chance. However, do bear in mind to watch what you say. These, rest assured, are going to be some of the last words you ever speak. Make them dignified.”
Downs was now scared, just as the masked man had planned. “I don’t know what you want me to say.” He said. “If I can’t offer you money, if I can’t do anything, what do you want to talk about, man?” At this, the masked man was slightly annoyed. “You’re 41 years old, Mr. Downs, quit speaking as if you’re a pre-adolescent child. I can do without the ‘man’s and any other slang that you can manage out of the dust covered ‘hood rat’ dictionary you call a brain.”
“Whatever, what do you want to talk about?”
“Guess.”
“I don’t know, man.”
“Oh, I believe you do.”
“Look, I ju-“
“Elisa Bradford, age 17, year 1991, red hair, blue eyes, upstanding student, Student Council Treasurer , daughter of two loving parents, younger sister of Jake Bradford. Whom of which killed himself after killing your ‘friend’ after he was found guilty of the crime. Good sir, you may fool others, but you will not fool me.”
There was a long silence, as Downs struggled to get the next words out. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Lies, it was your ‘friend’ that did nothing. You, however, did everything.”
“This is some kind of mista-“
“In my line of business, I find that that there are no mistakes. I’m incapable of making them.”
“What kind of bullshit i-“
“You scared a poor little boy with threats of how you were going to kill him if he said anything. Poor little Zack, almost as small and frail as poor Elisa, he didn’t want to die. Little did he know, you didn’t have power over anything, your ‘gang’ consisted of figments of your own imagination. Scared and distraught, he helped you with what newspapers, would call ‘the most sickening crime of the century’.”
“Once everything was over, he helped you hide the body to which he found peace in the bottom of a Jack Daniels glass. Once the body was found, you used that guilt to make him confess to everything. His only crime was meeting with you. His punishment was a revenge that was sought on the wrong person by poor Elisa’s brother. Whom was guilty that he couldn’t be the big brother he always wanted to be. He couldn’t protect his younger sister. Do you want me to stop, or would you like me to continue?”
“STOP!”, Downs yelled. He knew exactly what he was talking about, but who was this man, and why was he here now? He could hardly think straight. “I was young, stupid, I didn’t know what I was doing.”
The masked man then tilted his head to the side again. “You are old and stupid now. Yet, I’m far older, and I know you knew what you were doing. Just as I know you enjoyed it then, and sometimes, at night, when you’re all alone you’ll think back of the things that you did to her, and you’ll get off on it. I’ve met some sick bastards in my life, Mr. Downs, but you’re easily in the top… Well, 100 at this point.”
“Tell me, how long did it take you to come up with the plan after she rejected you in front of your friends? Was it instantaneous? Or did an idiot like you manage to plan this all out? Come on, I want to hear you say it.”
Scared, and now stuttering, he started, “L-look, man. I’m sorry, i-is that what you want to hear? I made some mistakes, I found God, man. I tried to straighten out, I-I did. I swear.” The masked man sat quietly, for a minute or two, but his gaze never left Downs’ eyes. He could see the fear in them, but he saw very little truth.
“Mistakes, huh? So, I suppose torture, rape, and murder constitute as mistakes in that pea sized brain of yours. I hope you don’t mean to tell me that you think that you’re the first criminal that gives me the ‘ I found God’ treatment. Neither I, nor any God, cares that you’ve made a turn around. The fact of the matter here, Mr. Downs, is that you have, I will put it in your terms, ‘fucked up’ and I am here to ensure you pay for it; dearly.”
“Allow me to remind you of what you’ve been trying to forget all these years.” With a movement of his arms, Downs could see everything as clearly as day. He saw Elisa Bradford, walking home from school, alone. He could never forget how beautiful she was. Then, that’s when he saw himself, walking behind her, quietly. Behind him was little Zack, he really was quite tiny, and with that, he was easily manipulated. He watched as he saw himself grab the girl from behind and place a knife to her throat, and he watched as Zack got tears in his eyes upon seeing the look of disappointment from Elisa.
“Oh, I guess you never knew that, did you? You see, Elisa had a schoolgirls crush on Zack. Zack was nice, and sweet, it broke her heart to see him with you, as you did this to her.” The masked man smiled, “Too bad, eh? Let’s continue.”
The scene changed, to something very similar to what Mr. Downs was currently facing himself. Elisa was strapped down to an old bed, much like the one Downs was in. Her long red hair was now a tangled mess, and the tears in her eyes didn’t suit her. Zack, was sitting in the corner, wishing he wasn’t there, crying and rocking himself back and forth, like a child in hysterics. Downs then saw him climb on top of her, as he began to have his way with Elisa.
“You can I both know what happened here, Downs. There is no need to repeat it.” There was an obvious displeasure in his voice. “What you did continued for an hour, twenty six minutes, and thirty seven seconds. Of course, this was only the first time; I believe this continues for a grand total of forty four days.” With a wave of his arm, the scene changed again.
Downs felt a knot in his stomach as he watched himself dropping fifteen pound weights on her stomach. “I believe this was the ‘punishment’ for her trying to escape. You remember when I called you ‘trash’ earlier? That was insulting trash.” Downs remembered, she did try to escape, she had grabbed the key to her shackle as he was about to rape her again. She then kicked him in the groin as she almost got the lock undone, but Downs was unfortunately too fast.
“It doesn’t end here. There is a lot more, and I do intend on making you watch your crimes, Mr. Downs. I do hope you’re comfortable, or not, it does not matter to me.” He then changed the scene again. Downs witnessed himself beating her, after forcing her to eat cockroaches. Downs couldn’t afford to bring her food. He remembered thinking that cockroaches would supply nutrients. “Oh, yes. Because we all know that when showing a girl a good time, that it is best to order the cockroach supreme. Downs, you sicken me, you really do. Trust me, that is not easy to get me to say.”
“Oh dear, time is running out. Here, let me give you some more reminders before I get to the last little detail. You broke her legs, you beat, and raped her daily, you forced her to strip, of course this was back when she was able to walk. You also tortured her by burning her, putting lit cigarettes out on her, etc. etc. Need I remind you that when she had to crawl fifty meters to the bucket you laid down for her to use as a restroom, the crawl took her forty minutes to make!” The masked man leaned forward, and whispered into Mr. Downs ear. “They have special places just for people like you where you are going.”
He then leaned back in his chair, and waved his hand a final time. “This one, Mr. Downs, takes the cake.” He watched, as he played Chess with Elisa, the only attempt at making the poor girl happy. He listened to them talk. Elisa spoke in her now broken, frail and fragile voice, “If I win, you will kill me, right? You promised.” Downs then replied, “Of course, I wouldn’t lie to you.”
The masked man scoffed, “Oh, you wouldn’t lie, but you sure have a unique way of showing people that you care.”
Elisa then moved her queen in place, and for the first time in 44 days, she smiled, “Checkmate”. Downs was in rage, completely, and uncontrollably in rage. He picked up the board and hit her with it, and in his madness, he poured lighter oil on the poor girl, and lit her on fire. Realizing what he had done, he put her out. Still alive, at least for the meantime, he watched in horror of what he had done. “That’s all I’m showing. It took her two hours to die… Of shock. You then called Zack over, and you dumped her body in a barrel and filled it with cement.”
Downs was now seeing the room he was in. The masked man continued, “Normally, when I do my job, I use a long, sharp, pointy weapon. However, as I said, this is a special case. You’re a loophole. For the next 44 days, you are mine. I will make you beg for death as much as she did. You will suffer every scrap of pain that she suffered, and there will be nothing you can do about it.”
“WAIT! PLEASE!”
“No time to wait.”
“W-WHO ARE YOU?”
The masked man tilted his head again, “You should already know. Everyone meets the same end as you. Sure, not the same way, but the same destination. Let us begin, shall we?”
The masked man laughed as Mr. Downs punishment had begun.
Tl;dr? The crimes described really did happen, it’s kind of graphic, read at your own risk.
He watched, silently and patiently as he waited for the man to wake up. On his face, he wore nothing but a white mask with the eyes cut out so that he may see, and a hood, to cover his hair. Every inch of him was covered as to protect his identity. He couldn’t risk the man seeing him in case things came to a turn for the worst.
The man, however, wore his everyday street clothes. Admittedly, they were somewhat ruined after the struggle through bring him to the shrouded man’s place. The unconscious man wore a red, now torn, shirt, and black pants. His shoes were removed, and on his ankle he wore a shackle, chaining him on the bed in order to make escape impossible.
If one could see the shrouded man’s face, they would see a smile. For this was a moment he had been waiting on for years. He dreamt about it, longed for it, and embraced the mere thought of it. For over 20 years the man lying on that bed had gone without proper punishment for his crimes, and for 20 years, the man whose face was covered had made this man his obsession. It was his “castle in the sky”, his “Moby Dick”, if you would.
The unconscious man was now waking up. In response, the shrouded man leaned forward in his chair, his gloved hands neatly folded in his lap. Of course, as he predicted, shock was the first expression across the man’s face. A shock that the masked man found funny, and ironic. After the man had quieted down, he looked around the room. The room he was in was obviously old, and out of place. Paint was peeling off the walls, glass from the window was broken, and from the looks of it patched up with duct tape. Over the duct tape was paint that painted the windows black, as to not let any light through. He had no way of knowing what time of day it was, or even where he was at.
However, the main thing on his mind was the masked man, sitting so elegantly in the chair near his bed. “I do hope you’re done, Mr. Downs.” Said the man, in a voice that matched the way he sat, elegant. “You see, I’ve been waiting for quite some time for this, and I would really like the chance to speak with you without you repugnant screaming.”
Mr. Downs, still somewhat in panic, began to plead, “Look, man, I can get you money, drugs if th-“, he was interrupted, as the masked man tilted his head to the side. “Look, man,” he began in a mocking tone, “I would really enjoy it if you didn’t assume that I’m on the same level as you. You see, Mr. Downs, you are trash. I do not want, desire, or need your drugs, and people like me don’t need money. Also, if you thought for a second that you could threaten me with death like you’ve done with other before, you’ll find that I won’t fear your idle threats.”
“However, what you can do, Mr. Downs, is speak. I’ve been waiting years for the chance to speak to you, and through some loopholes, and all the planning in the world, I have my chance. However, do bear in mind to watch what you say. These, rest assured, are going to be some of the last words you ever speak. Make them dignified.”
Downs was now scared, just as the masked man had planned. “I don’t know what you want me to say.” He said. “If I can’t offer you money, if I can’t do anything, what do you want to talk about, man?” At this, the masked man was slightly annoyed. “You’re 41 years old, Mr. Downs, quit speaking as if you’re a pre-adolescent child. I can do without the ‘man’s and any other slang that you can manage out of the dust covered ‘hood rat’ dictionary you call a brain.”
“Whatever, what do you want to talk about?”
“Guess.”
“I don’t know, man.”
“Oh, I believe you do.”
“Look, I ju-“
“Elisa Bradford, age 17, year 1991, red hair, blue eyes, upstanding student, Student Council Treasurer , daughter of two loving parents, younger sister of Jake Bradford. Whom of which killed himself after killing your ‘friend’ after he was found guilty of the crime. Good sir, you may fool others, but you will not fool me.”
There was a long silence, as Downs struggled to get the next words out. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Lies, it was your ‘friend’ that did nothing. You, however, did everything.”
“This is some kind of mista-“
“In my line of business, I find that that there are no mistakes. I’m incapable of making them.”
“What kind of bullshit i-“
“You scared a poor little boy with threats of how you were going to kill him if he said anything. Poor little Zack, almost as small and frail as poor Elisa, he didn’t want to die. Little did he know, you didn’t have power over anything, your ‘gang’ consisted of figments of your own imagination. Scared and distraught, he helped you with what newspapers, would call ‘the most sickening crime of the century’.”
“Once everything was over, he helped you hide the body to which he found peace in the bottom of a Jack Daniels glass. Once the body was found, you used that guilt to make him confess to everything. His only crime was meeting with you. His punishment was a revenge that was sought on the wrong person by poor Elisa’s brother. Whom was guilty that he couldn’t be the big brother he always wanted to be. He couldn’t protect his younger sister. Do you want me to stop, or would you like me to continue?”
“STOP!”, Downs yelled. He knew exactly what he was talking about, but who was this man, and why was he here now? He could hardly think straight. “I was young, stupid, I didn’t know what I was doing.”
The masked man then tilted his head to the side again. “You are old and stupid now. Yet, I’m far older, and I know you knew what you were doing. Just as I know you enjoyed it then, and sometimes, at night, when you’re all alone you’ll think back of the things that you did to her, and you’ll get off on it. I’ve met some sick bastards in my life, Mr. Downs, but you’re easily in the top… Well, 100 at this point.”
“Tell me, how long did it take you to come up with the plan after she rejected you in front of your friends? Was it instantaneous? Or did an idiot like you manage to plan this all out? Come on, I want to hear you say it.”
Scared, and now stuttering, he started, “L-look, man. I’m sorry, i-is that what you want to hear? I made some mistakes, I found God, man. I tried to straighten out, I-I did. I swear.” The masked man sat quietly, for a minute or two, but his gaze never left Downs’ eyes. He could see the fear in them, but he saw very little truth.
“Mistakes, huh? So, I suppose torture, rape, and murder constitute as mistakes in that pea sized brain of yours. I hope you don’t mean to tell me that you think that you’re the first criminal that gives me the ‘ I found God’ treatment. Neither I, nor any God, cares that you’ve made a turn around. The fact of the matter here, Mr. Downs, is that you have, I will put it in your terms, ‘fucked up’ and I am here to ensure you pay for it; dearly.”
“Allow me to remind you of what you’ve been trying to forget all these years.” With a movement of his arms, Downs could see everything as clearly as day. He saw Elisa Bradford, walking home from school, alone. He could never forget how beautiful she was. Then, that’s when he saw himself, walking behind her, quietly. Behind him was little Zack, he really was quite tiny, and with that, he was easily manipulated. He watched as he saw himself grab the girl from behind and place a knife to her throat, and he watched as Zack got tears in his eyes upon seeing the look of disappointment from Elisa.
“Oh, I guess you never knew that, did you? You see, Elisa had a schoolgirls crush on Zack. Zack was nice, and sweet, it broke her heart to see him with you, as you did this to her.” The masked man smiled, “Too bad, eh? Let’s continue.”
The scene changed, to something very similar to what Mr. Downs was currently facing himself. Elisa was strapped down to an old bed, much like the one Downs was in. Her long red hair was now a tangled mess, and the tears in her eyes didn’t suit her. Zack, was sitting in the corner, wishing he wasn’t there, crying and rocking himself back and forth, like a child in hysterics. Downs then saw him climb on top of her, as he began to have his way with Elisa.
“You can I both know what happened here, Downs. There is no need to repeat it.” There was an obvious displeasure in his voice. “What you did continued for an hour, twenty six minutes, and thirty seven seconds. Of course, this was only the first time; I believe this continues for a grand total of forty four days.” With a wave of his arm, the scene changed again.
Downs felt a knot in his stomach as he watched himself dropping fifteen pound weights on her stomach. “I believe this was the ‘punishment’ for her trying to escape. You remember when I called you ‘trash’ earlier? That was insulting trash.” Downs remembered, she did try to escape, she had grabbed the key to her shackle as he was about to rape her again. She then kicked him in the groin as she almost got the lock undone, but Downs was unfortunately too fast.
“It doesn’t end here. There is a lot more, and I do intend on making you watch your crimes, Mr. Downs. I do hope you’re comfortable, or not, it does not matter to me.” He then changed the scene again. Downs witnessed himself beating her, after forcing her to eat cockroaches. Downs couldn’t afford to bring her food. He remembered thinking that cockroaches would supply nutrients. “Oh, yes. Because we all know that when showing a girl a good time, that it is best to order the cockroach supreme. Downs, you sicken me, you really do. Trust me, that is not easy to get me to say.”
“Oh dear, time is running out. Here, let me give you some more reminders before I get to the last little detail. You broke her legs, you beat, and raped her daily, you forced her to strip, of course this was back when she was able to walk. You also tortured her by burning her, putting lit cigarettes out on her, etc. etc. Need I remind you that when she had to crawl fifty meters to the bucket you laid down for her to use as a restroom, the crawl took her forty minutes to make!” The masked man leaned forward, and whispered into Mr. Downs ear. “They have special places just for people like you where you are going.”
He then leaned back in his chair, and waved his hand a final time. “This one, Mr. Downs, takes the cake.” He watched, as he played Chess with Elisa, the only attempt at making the poor girl happy. He listened to them talk. Elisa spoke in her now broken, frail and fragile voice, “If I win, you will kill me, right? You promised.” Downs then replied, “Of course, I wouldn’t lie to you.”
The masked man scoffed, “Oh, you wouldn’t lie, but you sure have a unique way of showing people that you care.”
Elisa then moved her queen in place, and for the first time in 44 days, she smiled, “Checkmate”. Downs was in rage, completely, and uncontrollably in rage. He picked up the board and hit her with it, and in his madness, he poured lighter oil on the poor girl, and lit her on fire. Realizing what he had done, he put her out. Still alive, at least for the meantime, he watched in horror of what he had done. “That’s all I’m showing. It took her two hours to die… Of shock. You then called Zack over, and you dumped her body in a barrel and filled it with cement.”
Downs was now seeing the room he was in. The masked man continued, “Normally, when I do my job, I use a long, sharp, pointy weapon. However, as I said, this is a special case. You’re a loophole. For the next 44 days, you are mine. I will make you beg for death as much as she did. You will suffer every scrap of pain that she suffered, and there will be nothing you can do about it.”
“WAIT! PLEASE!”
“No time to wait.”
“W-WHO ARE YOU?”
The masked man tilted his head again, “You should already know. Everyone meets the same end as you. Sure, not the same way, but the same destination. Let us begin, shall we?”
The masked man laughed as Mr. Downs punishment had begun.
I will say that I was somehow let down at the end because the masked man didn't reveal his identity or say how the criminal would be tortured but I guess that parts up to imagination. ^^ I like the story! The crimes weren't too graphic...although I'll pass on the cockroach feast >.< someone really did that? 
