Still in a daze from the whirlwind of the last few days, Jakob wearily sat on the edge of his bed, rubbed his swollen, sleepy eyes and watched the dust float in front of the blinds, dancing on the rays of sunshine. He glanced at his phone, Shit, overslept. He thought to himself. 12 missed calls, several missed texts and only God knows how many other notifications, they’d just have to wait. Today was the day. Today he would finally break his father’s most important rule. It had to be done.

As he walked down the dimly lit hallway, his heart raced as the time seemed to stand still. Every inch he walked seemed like an eternity stretched out ahead of him. He had no idea what hid behind that door. The door that he has feared since he was small boy, the door that has always been mysterious yet beckoning, almost pulling him towards it, now more than ever. As a child it had been his father’s study and it had been strictly off limits. He never understood why until several days after his father’s death he had learned all of the fears he had as a child were warranted. His father had a dark secret, one that he felt he knew all along but lived in denial.

His Father was a serial killer.

It was by mere chance that he had met his fate that cold November night, just several nights ago. His death actually saved another’s life, as he was out on the prowl for his next victim. His primal urge gone ignored for too long, his judgment was far too cloudy to notice the light turning red as he passed thru that intersection, as did a large delivery truck.

In that instance he died, and his son was finally born. Jakob had been under his father’s thumb for as far back as he could remember. His mother died when he was 4, he had very few memories of her now, all he knew was his Dad.

As he went to reach for the doorknob, his phone rang loudly in the silence and scared him half to death. I’ll make it quick, he decided. If I don’t answer she will never stop calling.

He hit the green button, “Yea?” his greeting far less than friendly.

“Is that how we answer the phone now?” the amused playful sarcasm from his best friend Ashley eased his tension a bit.

“I’m sorry Ash, you know what today is”, Jakob replied.

“Oh I know, that’s why I have been calling you all morning, I thought you could use some company.” She offered.

Jakob paused a moment to weigh out some pros and cons in his head before finally saying,

“On any other day, there is no one I rather look at, but today, I need to do this alone.”

There was silence on the other end.

“Ash, you there?” He asked.

Ye..yea.. I’m here, I was just hoping I could be of some kind of help, I know this is going to be tough.” She offered, he could hear the disappointment in her voice. She had always been there for him, the closest thing he had to a sister, hell his only friend, the only person that could tolerate him, he might never understand how.

“Look, if I get overwhelmed I will call you ok?” Jakob pleaded, he was ready to get off the phone and get this exploration underway.

“Ok ass, just call me if you need me!”

They said their goodbyes and he silenced his phone and stuffed it in the pocket of his pajama pants.

The happiness quickly dissipated and the tension returned. Jakob slid the key into the lock, heard the bolt release and he turned the knob. His heart was pounding in his head. He opened the door and, well, it was a study. Not knowing what he expected behind that door after all these years, Jakob let out a nervous laugh. “Well I’ll be damned” he said out loud, to no one. This might not be so bad after all, he thought. The police had already been there and made a mess of the house, Jakob had barely left his room in the days following his Dad’s death. He wasn’t as interested in the blood and gore details, as he was sure they had probably confiscated most of it during their searches. He just wanted a glimpse of this part of his Father’s life, the part that he never saw.

He wanted desperately to understand what made him what he was.

More importantly what made Jakob the same way. Most of the kids in his high school just thought he was one of those edgy hipsters that couldn’t be bothered with conformity or socializing with kids their own age. But in truth, Jakob wanted very much to be like the other kids, he just wasn’t. Ashley was the only person he felt comfortable with; he could be almost completely himself.

Almost.

Do things like this run in the family? He wondered. He had researched it some online but hadn’t found any definitive answers.

Jakob had struggled for years with the thoughts that seemed to preoccupy him almost daily. The thought of slicing through human flesh was intoxicating, erotic. He wanted to feel what it was like to have another persons life in his hands. He wanted to feel their fear, their pain.

He wanted to feel.

In middle school, he had killed a cat, it was a stray, no one would miss it, this was his reasoning, but it wasn’t good enough. He didn’t feel the release he needed. Most boys his age were obsessed with sports and girls. He fawned over forensic shows and true crime dramas.

His father had seen this in Jakob and was especially strict, in the hopes that he could help control and prevent his son from following in his footsteps.

His death released the beast within his son.

As Jakob sat there at his fathers desk, thumbing through his affairs, he felt an odd sensation race though him. Now was the perfect time. The perfect time, and he knew the perfect person.

He dug his phone from his pocket, scrolled through the call log, and touched Ashley’s name.

It rang only once.

“Did ya change your mind?” She chirped on the other end.

“Indeed I did” Jakob replied, slowly grinning.

“Great! Do you need me to bring you anything?” She asked enthusiastically.

“No…No, just you” He responded with a chuckle.

“See you soon!” Silence. He sat there for a moment then thought,

Yes you will Ash. You will see me soon.

To be Continued...