Doug had first his taste of blood that afternoon. A farmer in Texas whom he beat up to death with a baseball bat. How that farmer must be wishing his TV wasn't broken that day. But it was something else about that man which triggered Doug's actions. It reminded him of his own father. An abusive drunken man who abandoned his own family because he just couldn't handle the responsibility. Abandoned his own son, abandoned his wife who loved him even though he beat her black and blue after every drunken tirade of his. That day, Doug felt strong. He felt empowered. That man deserved to die, he said to himself. And the revenge felt almost like a drug. And he needed more of it.
That summer, Doug went on to kill twenty five other people. He was almost impeccable with his skills. He left no evidence. No witnesses. Just the baseball bat. That became his signature. The county sheriff was out of his wits trying to find the "baseball bludgeoner ". Doug was busy preparing for his day ahead. He only had five repair jobs today and he had his baseball bat with him.
Meanwhile, in another part of town, Billy was just about to begin another one of his break-ins. He was a robber. Breaking into peoples houses. Snatching whatever he could before the inhabitants showed up and disappearing into thin air. Typically. But there were also many houses which weren't so easy, so peaceful. Sometimes the owners showed up too early, and when they saw Billy, they just panicked. Sometimes they tried to fight back. Billy did not like that one bit. He even told them to stop or else. Else he would have to make them stop. Billy was never proud of the people he killed. But if they just would listen. If only they would have let him take everything and leave. They didn't understand. Billy was hoping he didn't have to use his gun today. The owners were out. He had seen them leave in their car. Probably on their way to an afternoon lunch and some shopping.
He broke in. These houses were becoming almost too easy for Billy. Tripping the alarms was a bit tricky, but he had mastered the technique. Billy looked around. This was always an exciting moment for him. Scanning the house for valuables. Picking whatever caught his fancy. He was just about to enter the bedroom when he heard a noise. He heard someone talking. Yes. Someone was in the house. He began rushing towards the bedroom. Just as he entered the room, he saw her. A young girl, barely thirteen, holding a phone in her hand. What did she do ! "Did you just call the police ?" He roared. "You shouldn't have." But she was too scared to say anything. Just then he heard the the door open. Did she call her parents ? Billy went into the living to check. And his worst fears came true. There in front of him stood the owners of the house. And the husband was just about to use his phone. The following few moments were like a blur. And when it all ended, Billy was standing there with the gun in his hand, two shells at his foot and just one thought in his head. If only the man had listened to him. Why did he need to call the police. Now his daughter will have to suffer the consequences. She will have to go through life without her parents. And all because her father didn't listen.
Billy was rudely brought out of the shock by the doorbell. Who could it be ? The police ? Did the father manage to call them ? Could it be the neighbors ? Billy was too shocked to be thinking straight. He probably shouldn't have opened the door. But he did. "Hi ! I am Doug. I am here to repair your Tv. Could I come in ?"
Mavdiary by Rhishikesh Joshi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
