sixteen

Three months later

"Mr Hyde strikes again. Victim found in South Perth near the swan river, residents and civilians warned to be cautious." I inhaled slowly, my system responding to the smoke, it felt as though my lungs were being wrapped in a warm blanket. Taking small, slow draws of the cigarette I continued to listen. "A young woman, black hair...eyes missing, many gashes and bruises cover her skin, no sexual play suspected. Look they even put your picture in," Ximena, flipped the paper over, showing the rather unflattering picture they managed to find of me. This was to be expected, of course, I had shown them my face.

"Keep reading," I flicked my wrist at her, inhaling another puff of smoke. She gave me a disapproving glare but did as I said. "While in his 'Dr Jekall' persona this man,..., may come off as charming and friendly but this is a form of manipulation, please if you see this man make no attempt to interact with him, call the police immediately."

She finished and looked up at me expectantly. humming, I reached over, pressing the red embers of my cigarette into her shirt sleeve extinguishing it and leaving a grey stain. "They really are getting desperate huh?"

"Well its been three months, they know your identity and yet still haven't managed to catch you, it makes them look bad," A lazy smile grew across my face as I eyed her.                                                         "That's because I'm not finished yet," She opened her mouth but closed it again, probably a good move on her part. "Until then, they'll just have to try harder," She nodded.                                   "Where did you even manage to buy a brail newspaper?" She smirked at me, white hair flowing around her face in unorganised tendrils. "Secret," I squinted at her, and she clearly got the message that I didn't appreciate her not co-operating. "It's unimportant," Shrugging, I heaved myself up from the rickety, plastic motel chair I had found out on the balcony.

"What do you want to do next?" Her eyes lit up at me asking her opinion, in truth I just couldn't be bothered thinking up our next plan of action, we couldn't stay here, what with us being wanted for murder and all. "Have you been craving?" I rolled my eyes, this was her way of checking whether or not I needed to kill without being obvious, instead, it just caused people to question how far along I was in the pregnancy. After that, I would begin 'craving.'

"Not really, that girl's screams are still fresh in my mind, that should be enough to tie me over for the next few days," Padding over the mouldy tiles, I relished in the zaps of cold that stung my toes. "However, I have been thinking about teasing the police a bit more," I look of disapproval managed to rear its head before she could mask it. 'Are you su-"

"Xim, this isn't fun if we don't let everyone participate," I bent down next to her, lips against her ear, "Now is it," I smirked at the visual shiver she let rock her body and the blush the colour of blood that tinged her ears. "Y-you're right," She may be a crazy bitch, but she was quite easy to subdue once you knew how. "I say we kill a recruit," I popped the tab of a soda I had found in the fridge before sprawling out on the musky couch that reminded me of the one back at my house. A nervous smile spread across her face and I couldn't help but laugh. "It's fine we won't get caught," I said waving my hand at her.

I'm not going to lie, I have a small grudge against the police, the morning after I killed the two prostitutes, they made themselves real cosy in my apartment and confiscated all my treasures. "You seem a little more carefree than usual," She was right, the adrenaline of being wanted by the police and having my work be put on display, was almost dizzying. It's like I'm on a constant high, and in order to maintain the pleasure of it, I must continue to kill and destroy things. My life really has become perfect.

"Hey Xim, do you ever want kids?" I wanted to distract her from the current topic and judging by the straightening of her shoulders and the crimson dusting her cheeks, it must have worked. "W-well, I have thought about it," Her index finger curled a runaway strand of hair, I found the motion almost hypnotic. "What about you?" I paused for a moment, I had never really thought about it, I mean I was still a virgin, I feel like I would need to complete a few steps before I got to that point. "Maybe for the sake of it,"

"The sake of it?" She was intrigued, I could tell by her firm gaze and fidgeting.                                               "Yeah, I might as well, I mean how ironic right? A man who only caused death, leaving behind small amounts of life, imagine their reputation, they'll forever be known as Mr Hyde's kids,"

"I don't think that would benefit them," I shrugged, taking a sip from the soda can I had almost forgotten about. "Be a cool conversation starter though," She hummed, eyes still glued in my direction. "Hey Xim?" She hummed once again, resting her chin in her palm.

"Why did you become blind?" She went completely silent, the only sounds that could be heard was our combined breathing. "Maybe another time then," I eyed her from the corner of my eye, slowly taking another sip.

"Yeah," She replied.