CHAPTER 6: Why Do I Feel Like I’m Going Insane?

"Tick tock.? Tick Tock.? Tick Tock."

Waking up, I keep my eyes closed for a few minutes and try to recall the day before or the day before that for the matter.? Increasingly, the last few weeks have all started to blur together and there are times when I don't even remember what I did for days on end.? Turning over, I sense something next to me on the edge of the bed and hesitate to open my eyes.? I could swear I get a whiff of something pungent in my nostrils.

My blood starts pumping when I feel something familiar next to me.? I open my eyes to see the red-haired woman right in front of me, with a sickening smile on her face.? Knowing that she has been stalking me, more and more I get used to seeing glimpses of her.? However, this time she has purposely shown herself and that bothers me more than anything.??

As I stare at her, she says nothing.? She never does, but rather gives the impression that if she wanted to, she could easily make me her meal.? On the outside, her facade is that of a beautifully pale, red-haired woman.? This is what she normally shows others to get in close before taking their souls.?

Although admittedly I have seen her many times when she isn't trying to seduce men.? With those rows of teeth and her sharp claw like nails, she no doubted could eat my skin off my face in a second.? Right now, she is mere inches from it and that not only makes me nervous, but I find that it makes me unusually aroused.??

I blink and she is gone before my eyes open again, but that stench is still in the air.? It's still night out, because the room is dark and the only reason why I could see her was she laid right next to me, and her silhouette was framed in the moonlight.? Climbing out of bed, I decide that I must find out what is responsible for that pungent smell and where it is coming from.

The minute my feet touch the floor, I discover the root of the toxic fumes.? Beneath my toes I feel something cold and slimy.? Trying to step around it carefully, I realize that it is far bigger than I first had thought and almost stumble over it.? What on earth is on my floor??

Eventually reaching the wall switch, I flip it on and gape at the dead bodies on the floor in front of me.? The slimy feeling that I felt is blood dripping off my toes and I quickly run to the bathroom to throw up.? Barely making it to the toilet, I clean myself up with a towel and glance in the mirror.??

That awful feeling starts seeping into my brain when I focus on the blood that is dried on my face.? A partial handprint is also dried in blood on the wall behind me and I soon understand what must have happened.? I have become a psychopathic killer and that would explain my bouts of memory loss.? I start to go down a dark path and wonder just how many others I have killed.

As I stare at my reflection in the mirror, I try to figure out how long I have been sitting in this hotel room before today and if these bodies are from last night or from several days ago.? Walking out carefully into the main room, I inspect the bodies without touching them anymore than I already have and come to the realization that from the deterioration of their skin, they must have been here for several days.? The stench starts to get to me as the maggots have already started to break down the tissues and flies swarm around them.

Knowing that the only thing I can do at this point is to leave and hope that I didn't leave any DNA on them, I hurriedly get cleaned up by washing off all evidence of the crime.? Once I get done showering, I collect all my things and am just about to walk out the door when my sister calls.? Putting down my laptop on the bed, I sit down on the edge and answer it.

"Hey, what's up?" I say, sounding exhausted and out of breath.

"Little brother, I am surprised to catch you.? You haven't answered my calls for weeks or replied to my messages.? Where are you and where have you been?"? She states with concern in her voice.??

Taking a brief look around the room, I settle on a coffee cup that says Billings Montana on it and quickly answer her.? "I am in Billings, why?"

"Montana?"

"Yeah, why?"

"It's over 27 hours to Montana.? What are you doing there?"? She sounds clearly upset and won't quit till I give her some tidbit of information.? Even if it is a complete fabrication.

"I told you before, I am trying to find the red-haired woman.? She is the key to all of this and till I find her, I can't rest."? Hoping to hurry her along, I wait for her reply.

"Fine.? If that is the only thing that will bring you home, then find her.? Listen, I need to go.? Max has a parent teacher conference in a few minutes, and I am next in line.? I love you."

"O.K., I love you too Tara."??

She hangs up and the end call screen comes up on my phone.? Placing it in the front pocket of my jean jacket, I pick up my things and make sure there is no one by my door before I leave.? When I get to the jeep, I check my bags and notice that one of them is open a bit.? Unzipping it, I find a big stash of cash and subconsciously scratch the back of my neck while I try to figure out just where it came from.

Nervously scanning the area surrounding me, I hurry and zip the bag back up after grabbing a handful of bills and stuffing them in my jeans pocket.? Getting into the jeep, I feel odd and look in the rearview mirror.? A flash of red gets my attention and then it disappears just as fast as it came.? Shaking my head, I put the vehicle into gear and drive away.??

After putting some distance between me and the hotel, I stop at a diner on I-94 and grab some lunch.? The waitress doesn't seem to mind when I pull out my laptop and search for my next destination.? When I see a link to another possible sighting, I click on it and read the screen while I eat my breakfast.? It turns out that the soul eater has been very busy lately and at this rate, if I don't stop blacking out, I will never catch her in the act.??

When the waitress walks by, I grab her arm and ask, "Can I get another of these sandwiches and some more fries to go?"? She glances over at me and nods before making her way to the back room.

Packing up my laptop and patiently waiting for the waitress, I survey the room and stop on a little girl in the corner by her mom.? Ironically, she has blood red hair the color of the soul eater's and on closer inspection I notice that she has black soulless eyes too.? Are there more than one or is she merely changing form?? I find myself wondering this and then the waitress strolls out of the back with a bag containing the items I asked for.

Once I have paid and left a tip, I stand up and glance over to the corner where the girl was and of course she is staring right at me with that same smile on her face that I always see, but now she is standing up and walking towards me.? I pick up the stench of death and watch as she walks right by me and into the women's bathroom.? Deciding that it is best that I leave before something bad happens, I make my escape and wait patiently in the parking lot for her and her mother.

About a half an hour later, I get the same eerie feeling I always do.? I watch as the mother and girl walk out before I start to get out of the jeep.? With machete in one hand and a knife in the other, I rush up to them.? When they turn around in shock as I raise the machete and aim, it hits me that it is not the same girl from the diner and the red-haired woman is playing games with me again.

Realizing my mistake, it all comes together.? My memory loss, the dead bodies and seeing her everywhere.? She is framing me so I have no chance of catching her, because if I am behind bars then I can't kill her.? The woman screams and I turn and quickly run to the jeep.? Barely making my escape before everyone else runs out, I drive away and hope that no one got a good look at me.??

That night as I lie awake in bed in another hotel in Tacoma Washington, I try to relax but can't stop thinking about her.? My obsession with her has grown to the extent that I keep seeing her everywhere and when I black out again, I am not surprised at all.