Lifetimes of Blood - The Origin!

It's been one of those weeks where I feel like there's a ton of stuff that I either need or want to get done, and just not enough hours in the day to do so.

This couch isn't going to sleep on itself, for example.

So as usual when that happens, I dig up something a wrote a decade ago and post that instead. This week, in light of my collection of short stories being released, (Sometimes Evil Just Don't Pay, in case you forgot,) I've decided to post one of my short stories that I didn't include in the book. And to tie it in with my other book, (Lifetimes of Blood, in case you forgot that, too,) it's the short story that Lifetimes of Blood was based off of.

This was my second story ever published, although it was the third or fourth accepted for publication. The first sentence of the story had been stuck in my head for a day or two, and eventually I came up with the story to go with it. After it was published, the editor that had published my first story emailed me to say he had read and liked it, and thought it would make for a good screenplay. I didn't feel ready to tackle writing a screenplay at that point, but thinking about it caused me to fill in more of the story. Once I came up with the idea for The Other One that was pretty much the missing piece and I turned it into a novella.

Those who have read Lifetimes of Blood will notice that I used a good portion of this story as the third chapter in LOB. I basically just cut out the flashbacks, since they were chapters of their own now, and embellished a little. Incidentally, I had forgot until re-reading this story just now that I pretty clearly insinuated that Jonas was Jeffrey Dahmer. At the time it was current.

So here you go, after the jump - The Origin of Lifetimes of Blood. I know you'll sleep better knowing all this.

Laughing Jonas

            The poverty and filth disgusted him. Everywhere he looked, wretchedly poor excuses for human beings stumbled around. The stench was nearly overpowering, but he forced himself to continue on. Somewhere in this pile of human refuse was the man he was looking for. It was time for the switch.

            The man continued to wander through the crowd of the homeless. He kept a slow pace, but even the casual observer could tell he had a purpose. The derelicts stared at him through tangled, dirty masses of hair that covered much of their face. How he hated these people.

            Their stares were understandable at least. He was a handsome man, strikingly so. Close cropped black hair, square chin, and smooth skin. He was a nearly perfect specimen. His clothes were of the finest quality as well. He wore a dark gray three-piece suit that probably cost more than any ten of these people had seen in their lifetime. He practically reeked of prosperity, especially when compared to those around him.

            Despite his obvious wealth, none of the derelicts confronted him. He could tell that many of them would usually have no qualms about mugging a lone man. He knew many of these people had killed for less than half of what was currently in his wallet. Yet none approached him. In fact, after glancing curiously at him, most turned their eyes away. Prosperity wasn’t the only scent he was giving off. He also gave off another very clear message. “I am not a person to be trifled with.”

            Over the years, he had been called many things. He almost always changed his name after a switch. But to himself he was Jonas, the name he was born with. Of course, there was no one left on this planet that knew his real name anymore, which suited him just fine.

            He didn’t like having to do the switch this way. Ordinarily, he would plan it out long in advance. Searching for and studying the perfect specimen. But this time he was rushed. He had gotten careless once again, and needed to switch quickly. After the last time, he should’ve learned to be more careful. But it was too late to worry about that now. He needed something fast. When he wasn’t able to control every aspect of the switch, then this was what he resorted to. Trolling the homeless masses for his next candidate.

            A drunken bum stumbled across is path, oblivious to Jonas’ presence. As he passed directly in front of Jonas, something managed to make its way through the alcoholic haze in the derelict’s mind. He looked up, warily, into Jonas’ face. The homeless man trembled slightly, but didn’t move. He was a deer caught in headlights.

            Something in the man’s eyes sparked the faintest hint of memory in Jonas. There was something there that reminded him of himself. A self that was long in the past and nearly forgotten to the man he had now become.

            The country had been at war. Not with another world power, but with itself. Jonas lived with his family in a rural area of Southeastern Kentucky. They lived in a house he had built himself, but not very well. He had been a much different man back then. He possessed nowhere near the skills and education that he now had. But that had been out of his control back then.

            The area they lived in was on the side of the North, but very close to Southern territory. The 14^th Cavalry was the protector of the area, but in little more than name. Raiding parties from the Southern army regularly scourged the area, taking anything they thought to be of value. Jonas didn’t own much back then, but the Southern forces swiftly took the few meager possessions that belonged to him and his family.

            Jonas detested his own poverty. He knew he was destined for greater things than scraping out a living in rural Kentucky. But try as he might, fortune always eluded him. He started to drink heavily, squandering his family’s few remaining coins on cheap moonshine. His wife pleaded with him to quit drinking, but he ignored her. After all, wasn’t she one of the main causes for his financial state?

            As time wore on and Jonas’ drinking and poverty grew worse, he started to blame his family more and more for everything that had happened to him. If it weren’t for them, he would have plenty of money to get by. But a wife and three kids weren’t free.

            One day after a heavy drinking binge, Jonas stumbled out of his squalid house and started wandering through the forest. He lamented his ill fortune, convincing himself further that his family was at fault.

            To this day, Jonas still could not fully explain what happened next. He felt a pulling deep inside of his mind. Without realizing it, he had left the familiar path and was trudging through unknown territory. The trees grew taller and taller around him, blotting out the sunlight, plunging him into a perpetual gray twilight.

            After a time, Jonas couldn’t say how long, he came upon a clearing. The clearing was littered with strange artifacts and markings. Jonas believed them to be Native American, but he still wasn’t sure. He still didn’t care either. Although nothing was familiar around him, Jonas knew he had reached his destination. The area pulsated with a power that seemed to emanate from the earth itself.

            In the middle of the clearing, one object in particular drew him to it. It seemed to be calling out to him. It was a strange medallion on a golden chain. The medallion was in the shape of a circle, made up of numerous other connected circles. The smaller circles, upon closer inspection, were in the design of different objects. One a snake, one a sword, one a phallus, and many others he could not identify. As if being controlled by an outside source, Jonas reached down and placed the medallion around his neck. Instantly, a wave of power washed over him. Strength and knowledge that he had only dreamed of before now possessed him.

            With a new sense of purpose, Jonas traveled back to his home. As he approached the house, he spied his oldest son outside chopping wood. The boy was as worthless as the rest of his family, but physically he was a fine specimen. He was handsome in a boyish way, and in good physical shape.

            Moving as quietly as he could, Jonas snuck up behind his first born. Grabbing a nearby piece of wood, he struck the boy over the back of the head. The boy fell without a sound. A small pool of blood started to form from the gash in his head, but he still lived. Jonas had plans for him.

            Leaving his unconscious son behind, Jonas proceeded into the house. His wife and two younger children were inside, preparing dinner. None of them even looked at Jonas as he entered. They were accustomed to his random comings and goings by this point.

            Without a word, Jonas entered the area that passed as a kitchen. He picked up a knife from the table, walked over to his wife, and plunged it up to the hilt in her neck. She turned and stared at him in disbelief, a gurgling sound escaping from her throat. A wicked grin slowly spread over Jonas’ face as he continued to hold the knife firm in his dying wife’s neck. He watched as the life passed from her eyes, reveling in every moment. At the last second, it seemed she saw something inside of him, like a great realization had come to her. But Jonas wasn’t sure about that either. He didn’t even like to think about her anymore.

            By now the remaining children were screaming. Unfortunately for them, they were too terrified to do anything other than that. Jonas took care of each of them in turn. He was grateful they were gone, but took no pleasure in their deaths. Not like he had with his wife.

            Covered in the blood of his family, Jonas went outside and got his son. He brought him in, tied him to a chair, and waited. After a short time, his son began to wake. Jonas stood before the boy, sneering evilly as his son stared in horror at his blood soaked father.

            “I wanted to make sure you were awake to witness my triumph,” Jonas told the dazed boy. “Your father is off to better things.”

            Before his son could say anything, Jonas began the switch. Even though he had never done it before, he knew exactly what to do, exactly what to expect. A few seconds later it was finished. Jonas stretched out in his new body. A much older, ragged looking man covered in blood was now tied to the chair his son had been in. It took a moment to realize that the man was he. More accurately, the man he used to be.

            After the switch was completed, Jonas untied the man from the chair and plunged a knife deep into his chest. Then he left. He fabricated a story about his father going crazy, killing everyone before stabbing himself in the heart. Everybody bought it. After all, he was a wide - eyed, innocent teenage boy. Who would doubt him?

             Jonas snapped out of his reflective daze. The bum still stood before him, shaking violently. It might have been because of his alcohol abuse, but more likely it was terror that caused the man to shake. Jonas had that effect on people.

            “Get out of my sight, you cockroach,” Jonas muttered in disgust. The man shuffled away as quickly as possible, eyes never quite meeting Jonas’.

            Jonas continued to walk through the colony of the damned, searching for something that was unknown to those around him.

            After the initial switch, Jonas’ life improved dramatically. He possessed knowledge that he hadn’t even dreamed about before, and used it to quickly raise a fortune. He used the money to indulge in every excess he could imagine. Women, booze, opiates, all were readily at hand for him. He spent his money freely, but there was always more than enough. He didn’t even know where it was coming from anymore, nor did he care.

Eventually, his lifestyle would begin to catch up with him, and his body would begin to deteriorate. When this happened, he simply made another switch. He always planned out the next switch, studying the person for weeks before actually going through with it. He always chose a man, and he always chose someone that was physically attractive and in good health. Humankind was his feeding ground; he was entitled to the choicest cuts.

            Jonas never took the amulet off. Not to sleep, not to bathe, not even to switch. When he made the switch, the amulet switched with him. Even during the period when he had been careless, the amulet had never left his body.

            Movement to his right caught Jonas’ eye. One of the homeless was approaching him. He was a young man, with dirty brown hair in a tangled mass on top of his face. His eyes had the look of a cornered cat. Desperate, and ready to strike.

            Jonas stopped walking and waited for the man to come up to him. He consciously suppressed the knowing grin that wanted to cross his lips. When the man was within a few feet, Jonas saw a flash of metal from his pocket. It was a switchblade. Jonas nearly laughed.

            “Alright, fuckhead. I don’t know if you’re stupid or if you’re crazy to walk around here dressed like that, but unless you wanna end up dead, you’re gonna give me everything you got on ya.”

            Now Jonas did laugh. The lines were so rehearsed it was as if the man was reading them off a cue card. The man bristled at Jonas’ laughter, and brought the knife up to his face.

            “You think this is some kind of fuckin’ joke? You ain’t the first person I’ve gutted. Now hand it over.”

            Jonas stopped laughing and stared deep into the man’s eyes. The eyes contained a look of determination, which slowly changed to uncertainty as Jonas gazed into them.

            “You have no idea who you’re dealing with, human,” Jonas told him in an icy tone.

            “I don’t give a shit who I’m dealing with! Give me the fuckin’ money! I’m the one with the knife here, in case you forgot.” His fear from a moment before was gone, now replaced with anger.

            “Oh, I’m quite aware of the knife. But were you aware of this?”

            As Jonas spoke the last word, he thrust his hand around the man’s throat. His fingers dug deeply into the flesh causing blood to ripple down onto his sleeve.

            A blank look of surprise was on the man’s face. Blood slowly drooled out the corners of his mouth as Jonas crushed his larynx. Jonas released his grip and smiled as the man lifelessly sank to his knees.

            Jonas loved the moment of death. The look on someone’s face when they knew it was over. This wasn’t a joke, it was done. He loved feeling the heart pump one last time, before going still forever. It all fascinated him, because he never had to experience it.

            He noticed this fascination almost immediately after his first switch. Suddenly he had an almost mad desire to see the moment of death. For years he would kill people at random, studying everything about them as they died. His victims back then were chosen at random and often killed rather messily.

            Then, early in this century, he changed his methods. Instead of randomly selecting his prey, he studied them before hand. Found out what they were like in life, before watching their journey into death. He also would go through phases where all of his victims had common characteristics. They all would be hookers, all construction workers, all college girls. He would pick the first victim at random, then continue on that trend until it no longer interested him.

            Being discovered by the police never worried him. Before they could ever get too close he would make another switch, and the police would be back at square one. Except that one time.

            He had been selecting young, gay men for a period of several years. He would lure them to his apartment, drug them, and then dismember the body. Often the victim was still alive. He had also taken to the habit of keeping souvenirs. Hands, feet, hearts, heads, whatever struck him at the moment. This was what finally got him. He had continued on this pattern for too long, and eventually got careless. The police found him. He was arrested and convicted, and even sent to prison. Throughout the whole process, Jonas cursed himself for his carelessness. But he could not switch, not yet. It would be too noticeable.

            As soon as he went to prison, Jonas started studying the guards. They were the only people he had contact with that could leave freely. After almost a year he finally selected one. He managed to work it out so he was alone for a short period of time with the guard. He made the switch, then beat his old body severely. It was reported on the news that a fellow inmate had killed him. After a couple of weeks, Jonas switched again, shooting the guard’s body and dumping it in a river. That had been just over three years ago.

            He had promised himself he would never be so careless again. He could not go back to prison. But here he was, surrounded by derelicts, looking for a fast switch. He looked down at his blood-drenched hand. Blood dripped down his wrist and stained the cuff of his coat. It was because of impulsive acts such as this that he was forced to make a switch without studying first. He should be smarter than that, but he couldn’t stop himself.

            The sound of footsteps running towards him brought Jonas out of his thoughts. He turned to see another young man running in his direction. The man was beautiful. Even though he was very dirty and under-nourished, Jonas could see that with a little cleaning, he would shine.

            The young man crouched by the lifeless body at Jonas’ feet. His blue eyes shone brightly in the dim light, blond hair sticking to his brow. Even though it was apparent that the man hadn’t eaten well in quite some time, Jonas could detect a muscular frame underneath the man’s baggy clothes. Hatred filled his face as he looked up into Jonas’ eyes. For the first time in longer than Jonas cared to remember, there was no trace of fear in the man’s eyes.

            “You’re perfect,” Jonas whispered.

            “You fucking bastard. You’ll bleed for this,” the man said as he started to rise.

            “Oh, I doubt that very much,” Jonas uttered in a monotone voice. He was already preparing to make the switch. His body always switched over to auto-pilot when it was time to switch.

            The young man recoiled in horror as Jonas reached for him with outstretched hands. On the palm of each hand there was a hole about an inch in diameter. Jagged triangles of a bone like substance filled the inside of the holes. They looked like tiny mouths with rows of sharp teeth.

            Before the young man could react, Jonas had clamped his hands on both of the man’s temples. Both of them jerked as if being hit by high voltage current. As the convulsions lessened, both started to change. Slowly, their faces began to lose their form. It appeared that they were slowly melting. Their bodies heaved and swelled. After a few moments, they were both faceless humanoid forms. Once again the faces and bodies began to melt and bubble, this time gaining form as they did so. After a few more moments it was complete.

            Jonas took a deep breath, enjoying the taste of the air as it filled his new lungs. He was still in the same clothes he had been wearing before, but now in the body of the young man. His old body lay on the ground, crumpled next to the dead man. The old body still lived. They always stayed alive for a few minutes after a switch, but remained paralyzed. This was quite helpful to Jonas. It gave him the opportunity to mask the true cause of death.

            Jonas knelt next to his old body, peering into the eyes. Although the body was paralyzed and slowly dying, the mind was still alert.

            “So sorry it had to end this way. I rather enjoyed that body,” Jonas said to the motionless face before him. He took the hand of his old body and placed it on the other corpse’s neck. He then took the knife of the dead man and plunged it into the neck of his old body. His old body didn’t move, but he knew it still felt pain. The blood slowly pumped out onto the dirty pavement, until finally the eyes were as lifeless as the rest of the body.

            Jonas wiped the blood from his hands onto the jacket of his old body. He stood and studied his handiwork for a moment. The scene would still be strange to the police, but it will definitely keep them looking in the wrong direction.

            Jonas looked back and forth across the area. Very few people were around, and none were paying any attention to him. That was exactly why he came here when he needed a fast switch. The homeless had a knack for not seeing things.

            Smiling to himself, Jonas began to walk back the way he came from. He needed a shower and a shave, not to mention food. But this was a very fine body. Very fine indeed. If he was careful, it could serve him for a very long time. And although he had said it before, Jonas was going to be careful from now on. Jonas began to laugh out loud as he disappeared back into the night.