ELAPID MISANDRY1

"Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned / Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned."
~William Congreve2

In the dark room, the amber light of a cigarette was all that could be seen. The room smelt of cigarette smoke and sweat. Lying naked on her back, in bed next to her most recent partner, Lucy was smoking and pinching her lips with her fingernails. A nervous habit she had formed when she was little. Sometimes, in times like these, she would pinch so hard that she would leave blood blisters on her lips but her lipstick was so dark red that anyone hardly ever noticed. Chris, lying next to her, rolled over and draped his arm over her stomach. 3

“What did you think?” He asked her. She kissed his forehead, her lipstick long worn off since three hours ago.4

“It was definitely something.” She followed her sentence up with a final drag of the cigarette before dropping it in a can on the old nightstand next to her. She reached over and clicked on the small lamp, which washed the room in a dull light revealing two doors on the far wall. The far left was the door that opened to the living room and small kitchen and the one on the right led to the small bathroom. This was the first time she had actually looked at his room since she came home with Chris from the bar, she realized as she sat up. The walls looked like they used to be white but were now stained in years of smoke. The small room of his cheap apartment was messy with dirty clothes and dishes all over. Feeling slightly modest, she held the scratchy brown blanket over her breast. 32 years old and here she was, carrying on her same old habits.5

“Tell you what,” she said, turning to Chris who now seemed less attractive then he had at the bar. He had big ears, brown hair that matched almost exactly the color of his eyes, and a horrible goofy smile that revealed a gap between the two bottom teeth. “You go start us a bath and I’ll pour us some wine.”6

“I don’t have any wine” he said through his smile, not hiding his gap. 7

“I brought some. I always carry some on occasions like this just in case.”8

“Mmm, sounds romantic.” He said, getting up without bothering to be modest. “What kind did you bring?”9

Lucy doesn’t smile often but she loved her wine like a mother loved her child and she would shine with pride when she talked about her wine. 10

“Cabernet Sauvignon” She said very proudly as she stood up and slipped her thin, dark red dress over her head. She walked to her bag and pulled out a dark green bottle that was almost full. Chris disappeared out of the room then shortly re-emerged with two plastic wine glasses. He handed them to Lucy, kissed her on the cheek then walked into the bathroom. Lucy could hear the squeaking of the knob that was immediately followed by the sound of rushing water. She looked towards the bathroom. The door was ajar but she couldn’t see the tub or Chris from where she was standing. With her back to the bathroom door, she dug deep into the side pocket of her black bag and pulled out two red capsules. She looked behind her again. Chris was at the door.11

“Do you want bubbles” he asked as seductively as he could. He now appeared so ugly to her that it was getting hard to pretend anymore. ‘Why does this always happen to me? Every time they get uglier and uglier. Every time!’ she thought. 12

“I just want you in it. I’ll be there in a second, get comfortable” she said. He shrugged his shoulders and disappeared back into the bathroom. She shivered as she turned her attention back to the empty glasses. She set them down on the night stand then emptied the contents in the capsules into the glass on the left. She poured the Cabernet into both glasses only half full. She started pinching her lips as she looked anxiously back to the bathroom door then looked at her bag and saw her lipstick on top. 13

Chris had a square mirror on the wall. Lucy grabbed her dark red lipstick and walked to the mirror. She played with her short blonde curly hair for a minute then applied lipstick to her spotty red and pink lips. She made a popping sound with her lips, tossed the lipstick back in her bag and grabbed the glasses. She took a deep breath before walking in there. ‘I won’t have to look at his face much longer’ she reminded herself before pushing the door open with her hips and walking in. 14

He was laying in the bathtub, the water still going and steam rising from the top, staring at the door when she walked in. He smiled his big goofy smile, exposing his gap. It was all she could do to keep the look of disgust off her face. She walked up to him and, with being surprisingly steady, handed him the wine in the left glass. The water had already passed the brown ring around the tub. 15

“Are you going to take your dress off and join me?” He asked, eyeing her from head to toe. She shivered a little inside and put the toilet seat down and sat on top of it. She knew it had to be dirty but it wasn’t as dirty as being in the tub with that creep. 16

“In a minute I will. Let the tub fill up first.”17

“Ok, a toast” He said holding up his glass “To the most beautiful woman in the world.” She rolled her eyes, not at him calling her beautiful, but at him making a toast. She touched her glass to his then took a sip. He gulped the whole thing down in two swallows. ‘It’s really annoying when guys drink wine just for the alcohol’ she thought to herself as she took a sip of hers. She realized she had let the disgusted look take over her face and quickly changed her expression before he looked at her. 18

He shook his head real fast and shivered. His face looked like he had just eaten a lemon. “Wow that is bitter. How old is that wine?” She smiled. “Seven years. But if it’s too mature for you I can. . .”19

“No no, it’s cool. I like it, just . . . wasn’t expecting it” He said looking at the glass. He handed her the glass and said “I’ll take some more though.” She took his glass and went into his room, closing the door behind her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 20

As she walked to the bedroom door, she passed the mirror and couldn’t help but to stop and stare for a minute, after all, she had about ten minutes to kill before the pills kicked in. She messed with her hair some then just stared at her reflection. She looked unhappy, she always looked unhappy when she needed to confess. To be truthful, she just always looked unhappy. That was why she was here anyways. She needed someone to confess too. Someone to hear what she was doing, what she had done. It was a vicious cycle; she always needed someone new to confess too. Whoever she confessed to would eventually know too much about her. She took a sip of her wine, her gaze not wavering from her reflection. Finally, she walked into the kitchen and set his cup in his sink. 21

Knowing what would happen at the end of the night, Lucy allowed Chris to drive her car back to his place so she would have her car with her. More importantly, she would have her package with her. She dug into Chris’s pockets of the pants that were lying on the couch and found the keys to her black convertible. She opened the door and the chill November air pressed against every inch of her body. Her jacket was in his room but the cold never bothered her that much. 22

She walked out to her car and opened the trunk. ‘What if I just do it myself this time’ she wondered as she pulled a box out. ‘Maybe that could end the cycle’ she quietly laughed. She was more of a traditional woman. “No need to break tradition now” she said aloud to herself. She looked around the apartment complex. No one was peering through their window nor was there anybody outside. Surely someone saw her but she wasn’t worried. A lot of people had seen her the many times before, and most of them could even describe her accurately. Not many people thought much of it though and those who did, described her as “A young pretty blonde woman.” Like there was only one of those in Illinois. 23

Chicago was a big bright place but this apartment complex seemed to find a little space perfectly out of sight of other buildings. Chris lived on the first floor which made a speedy and inconspicuous get-a-way. She finished looking around and took her box inside, wasting no time to shut the door behind her. 24

Chris cried out in a shaky voice, “Lucy?” She slowly walked back to his bedroom and sat the box on the bed. She then walked into the bathroom where Chris had both hands on the side of the tub trying to stand up with no avail. 25

“Lucy, what was in that wine? Did you. . .” he looked her in the eyes to which she averted his by looking in the mirror. “Did you drug me?” He asked sounding scared. Lucy began messing with her hair to keep herself from pinching her lips and messing up her lipstick.26

“Sodium Seconal. Or, at least, that’s what the guy I bought it from calls it. Wonderful thing about drug dealers, they don’t care what you do with the drugs, as long as you pay them.”27

“It’s . . . it’s making me sleepy and I feel very weak.”28

“Yea, I know what it does. Best thing to do is just not to fight it. It won’t kill you.” 29

“Why” He asked. He sounded so pathetic.30

“I need to talk to you.” She said as she went and took her seat on the toilet lid. He was breathing heavy but his breathing was slowing down and she knew she needed to confess before he went to sleep. She didn’t have any more drugs on her. 31

“Your heart beat will slow down and so will your breathing but try to stay awake just a few more minutes.” He looked at her and she stared at the wall. She began pinching her lips. She looked at her dark red fingers and didn’t care at this point; she allowed her habit to take hold. 32

“Chris, do you believe Eve made Adam bite into the apple? Do you blame all of the world’s misfortune on her?” Chris just stared at her, wide eyed. His breathing was slowing at a scary pace. When he didn’t reply, Lucy shook her head and kept talking. 33

“Danny did. After we had sex in my home, he told me that in a way I owed it to him to repay him for what Eve had done to the world. Danny believed that women were supposed to please men, bare the children, and cook supper. He told me this Chris, and he firmly believed it. He was so nice to me at first, I really liked him.34

We dated for two weeks. He wasn’t my first, or my last but he put a mask on to get me in bed. It was my fault for being naïve but I felt he owed me for using me. While he was in the shower, I got my pet Coral snake, which by the way, are fatally poisonous, and slipped it in the shower with him. He killed my poor snake. He stepped on my snakes head and killed it. Not after it bit him three times though. He called to me while he was lying on the bathroom floor dying. He wanted me to call for help. He never mentioned anything about woman saving men’s lives so I left him there until he was dead. 35

Then I took his body to his house and dumped him on his front steps. I didn’t know he was married. Do you know what the worst part of it was, Chris? He beat her all the time and she missed him! She actually missed him! I went to her, pretending to be with the police, and she cried over him. They didn’t have any children together, lucky her, so she had nothing to lose.” 36

Chris’s eyes started drooping and Lucy realized she needed to hurry her story along or she wouldn’t get to finish confessing. 37

“Stay with me. I’m almost done and then you can sleep. I felt a little bad about murdering someone and I had to confess. I found another guy who had the wrong idea about woman so I did pretty much what I’m doing here and I confessed. Then I killed him.” Chris looked to her really worried them he said “I don’t think that about women”38

“I know but don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you. Anyways, it felt great and all, solving another problem in the world and confessing but then a couple of months later, I needed to confess again. Five more times I’ve carried on this ritual. Some men hated women and some did not. Either way, they all deserved it. I felt better each time for a couple of months and then I needed to confess. Sex, wine and death.” She sighed and looked at Chris. His eyes were completely shut and he was no longer awake. 39

Strangely, for the first time, she felt a little guilty, but it quickly passed. She wiped down the toilet seat, walked into the kitchen, emptied the trash into the floor and threw the cups into it. She went back into the room and grabbed the box which she opened to find her pillow case in it. It was moving and what was in it, was anxious to get out. She pulled the heavy pillow case out of the box and took it into the bathroom. She untied it and turned it upside down over the tub. Out sled a beautiful snake, black, red, and yellow. A Coral snake. Upon falling on the body, the snake bit Chris twice in his stomach then slid into the water. She had three more at home, she could spare this one she figured as she walked out and shut the bathroom door. The crack under the door was too small for the snake to squeeze through. She grabbed the sheets and the bedroom trash and shoved it all into the kitchen trash can. She grabbed her underwear and wine and put them into her purse. 40

Finally, with her shoes on, she looked around to see if she had forgotten anything. She pulled out her cigarettes and matches, lit the cigarette and threw the match into the trash. The sheets caught first and the fire grew in no time. She stared at it for a minute, took a drag of her cigarette and left. 41

She walked into her quiet, small, one bedroom apartment. The furniture was dark green and the white walls were bare except for three mirrors and one poster. The one poster hanging up was of a little girl in a white dress holding a sunflower. She always thought the girl looked a little sad. She set her keys on the small brown table under the mirror and walked into her room. She walked over to the tank that held three beautiful, red, yellow, and black snakes and cooed at them for a second, opening the tank to drop in a mouse.42

“My ritual, part two” she said to herself as she walked into the bathroom from her room, and began filling her tub with scolding hot water. The bathroom had two doors, one leading to the hallway and the other to her room. She walked into the living room on the way to her kitchen, and turned on the television to drown out the loud silence that filled her apartment. An infomercial immediately began telling her how she couldn’t live without some exercise machine but she ignored it and went to the kitchen. She poured a glass of wine and grabbed her cigarettes. 43

There was something nagging at her since she left Chris’s apartment. It bubbled up from deep within her and as it began coming clear to her what that feeling was, she violently threw her glass of wine against the wall. As the impact began to fade, she fell to the floor sobbing. This sudden uproar of her conscious made her realize that despite the seething hatred she had for men, she didn’t want to be caught in this vicious cycle forever. 44

She took some deep breaths and began to make a plan. ‘One more’ she thought, ‘one more guy and I’m done. The only thing I need to end this all is someone who deserves so much worse than what I’m going to do to him. No more from this point on except for that last one. He will clear my conscious.’ She took one more deep breath then collected herself. She didn’t know how to find this guy and she wasn’t sure she ever would. Did she make this deal with herself to stop the cycle now, knowing she would probably never find this guy, or was she convinced she would find him? Either way it calmed her and she began cleaning the white wall and tile floor, more concerned now that the wine will stain it. 45

She lit a cigarette and walked to the bathroom. The tub was almost completely full and she had caught it just in time. As she turned to walk out the door linking to the hall, she saw something small and black just as it finished sneaking under the open door, by the wall. She sat her cigarette in the small ash tray by the sink and, prepared to stomp on the disgusting insect that had invaded her home. She slammed the door shut and began lifting her foot just when she realized what it was. It was one of her snakes and in an attempt to keep from stomping on it, she fell back and her head hit the side of the tub. Trying to remain conscious, she sat up against the tub and realized the snake had made its way to rest against her leg. 46

It laid there, still and unmoving. She fought the urge to rub her throbbing head and make any movement. After what seemed like forever, the snake slid behind the toilet and Lucy jumped up and got against the wall. Contemplating what to do, Lucy considered picking it up with her bare hands and taking her chance. If it bit her, she could escape the guilt. It wouldn’t be long until the cops would pick her up anyway. They knew that the killer always used Coral snakes and she was only lucky that when she bought them, she didn’t have a card and had to use cash. But eventually, she would be found out. She watched the snake as it coiled up and hid behind the toilet. 47

She took a deep breath and walked to the living room, closing the door behind her. She then walked to her bedroom, grabbed her umbrella and went back to the bathroom. Using the umbrella, she managed to pull the snake out from behind the toilet and pin its head down. She grabbed it behind its neck so it couldn’t bite her and it coiled around her arm. She stared at her arm for a minute, thinking about Eve and the snake. Nothing had ever been so tempting as to let go of its head at that minute, watch it travel around her arm trying to escape. 48

She shook her head, escaping the trance that the beauty of the snake had lulled her into. She walked back to the aquarium that she had kept the snakes in, and seeing that she had left the lid open, gently uncoiled the snake and slipped it back in. She closed the aquarium with the mesh lid, satisfied none of the others followed in the snakes journey to freedom. 49

She walked back into the bathroom to discover her cigarette had burned out and she had no desire to relight it. She actually felt no desire to do anything at that moment. Instead, she slowly undressed, not taking her gaze from the mirror and stared at herself for a long moment. Eventually the faint noise coming from her television had drug her back to reality and she slowly sunk into the warm bath water. No longer scolding hot, she let out some of the water and turned the hot water back on. She slipped further and further into the water until her knees were out of the water and her head rested on the bottom of the ceramic tub. She held her breath, feeling strangely at ease, until her lungs burned. She slowly let out the air, not wanting to rise out of the water. Her head began throbbing, still in pain from her fall, and her vision started getting dark. The water that surrounded her began turning a light red and the surface got further and further away. In protest of her lungs, she knew she was about to take in a lung full of water and sat up slowly. As she gasped for air, she wiped the water off her face and sat back, leaning her throbbing head against the wall. 50

She looked down at the water in the tub, examining how much time was needed until the water needed to be shut off, and found that it had not turned red from lack of oxygen but from blood. She felt the back of her head and found a tender spot that felt cut. Turning the water off and emptying the tub, she located a second mirror and peered at the back of her head. She noticed a cut that made her question rather or not to go to the hospital. Deciding it best not to have proof of her existence until the last victim, she doctored it herself. The tub had a light film of blood in the bottom and she decided not to deal with it until the next day, thinking red was not a bad color if the tub stained. She put on light makeup, she never liked being without any on even to sleep, and went to bed, falling asleep to the lullaby of the television in the living room. 51

The cut kept her from going in search of her last victim immediately because the bandage would make it easier for her to be identified. Besides, what man was going to take home a girl with a bandage around her head? Not the type of man she was looking for. 52

At work, being a secretary for Mrs. Stants, everyone noticed the bandage that had fallen from inside the hat Lucy wore to hide the incident, but no one approached her about it. No one approached her for anything but work related business. Lucy had an air to her that made her seem like she didn’t belong there nor enjoyed being somewhere she didn’t belong. She was uninterested in any type of relationship anyone there had to offer. She never attended the work parties, though few and far between, and she despised small talk as if it were a disease which drew you into an ordinary, predictable life you couldn’t escape. Lucy knew she was already in that life but the small talk and petty friendship that inhabited the work place just brought the reality on so much more. 53

That’s all Lucy did for the next three months. She worked, went home and read horror books, slept and went back to work. Her life had fallen into a depressing lull but three months after her last confession, she knew that she needed to find the last victim and free herself. She would free herself from murder, from work, from everything around her that cried out ‘escape before its too late’ if it wasn’t already too late. If it were, Lucy would escape undoubtedly, even if it involved working as a waitress. 54

Friday night, she took a shower, fixed her hair and put on makeup. The last thing she had to do, after everything, was put on her lipstick. She enjoyed this part. It was like putting on a mask, being another person who was strong and independent. It was the real her she couldn’t let out unless she was ready to hunt. That’s what she always called it when looking for a victim; the term seemed to fit so perfectly. Someone strong and smart preying on the ugly and weak, and to her, all men were ugly. They had a disgusting desire that they liked to pretend no one knew they had. 55

Lucy found a bar that she had never been too, grabbed a drink and sat quietly in a corner booth that allowed her a view of the entire bar. There were a lot of people and more than half of them men. After about an hour, a man, who many women would see as attractive, walked over to her. 56

“Looking for someone?” He asked politely. Not smiling, she looked at him and looked back at the bar. “Is that a yes?” he asked in a humorous tone “I’m not trying to annoy you. I just don’t think it’s safe for a woman of your beauty to be sitting alone at a bar.”57

Without looking at him she said “It’s not safe for a man to sit next to a woman in a bar whom he barely knows.” She looked back at him and he seemed so nice. He had the appearance of a man who loved his mother and father, did well at his job, and was liked by everyone. 58

“You have a girlfriend?” Lucy asked him?59

“Of course not.” He said with a cheesy smile as if she had just complimented him.60

“I’m only interested in men who have a girlfriend” she said as she looked away, hoping he would go away. 61

“Well I can buy you a drink and if things go right, I might end up having one.”62

“Go away” she said finally annoyed. He sighed and left her alone to go sit at the bar and wait for another attractive young girl. 63

That’s how the next month went, every Friday and Saturday night Lucy sat alone with a glass of coke, surveying the bar waiting for someone who was begging to die. Occasionally, a man would summon up the courage to approach her only to be completely insulted and turned down within one minute. Finally, one Friday night, a muscular man walked in happily with a small woman who looked as if she felt out of place. The man had brown hair, blue eyes and a tight T-shirt on to show off his muscles. The woman wore a short red dress that she was constantly pulling down to cover more of her legs and pulling the top up to cover up her chest. The woman looked miserable and Lucy did not fail to notice. 64

The couple sat down at a table three tables down from Lucy, the man sat to where Lucy could see his face and the woman sat in front of him. He ordered something to drink for the both of them, from the leggy waitress and he gave her a tap on the rear. 65

Lucy watched them for about twenty minutes, the man saying something and the woman appearing to laugh quietly and forcefully. He stood up, kissed the woman on the lips and walked away. After a quick dance, and a lot of groping, he went to the bathroom. Lucy followed him. She looked behind her and when no one was looking, she slipped into the men’s bathroom. The urinals were on the wall opposite of the door and the man didn’t bother to look back at who had just entered. She looked under the stalls to find that to her approval, they were alone. The door had no lock so Lucy leaned against it. The man finished up and zipped his pants, and upon turning around towards the door, was startled by Lucy.66

“This is the men’s bathroom. I don’t know how much you’ve had to drink but the woman’s is right next door.”67

“I have had enough to follow you in here but not so much that I don’t know how handsome you are.” She said as seductively as she could, walking towards him. He smiled and walked to the sinks to wash his hands. Lucy continued “I noticed you with your sister out there.”68

“She’s not my sister, she’s my girlfriend.”69

“Oh, well she must be a good one because she knows her place. Doesn’t dance but humors you. I think the art of being a good girlfriend has been lost on today’s feminist.” She said, letting out a small laugh.70

He looked at her through the mirror and smiled “She is a good girlfriend, doesn’t mean we don’t always see eye to eye though. We eventually work it out and she see’s my point of view.”71

He turned around and Lucy kissed him, he grabbed her and pulled her closer, kissing harder. Lucy fought back the shiver running up her spine and the urge to hurt him but she knew he could take her. Here was not the place to exact her revenge on the male race. She pulled back and put a hand on his chest to keep him away while she spoke.72

“Well, I wouldn’t want you losing such a good girlfriend. Sorry, I couldn’t help it but I guess I will see you around.” She said smiling. As she turned to leave he grabbed her hand and pulled her back.73

“Part of being a good girlfriend is she understands I’m a man and I have urges. She is okay with me being with another woman.” This was the only time in her life Lucy hadn’t been able to hold back a smile. She found the perfect victim. He leaned down to kiss her but she backed away a bit.74

“Still,” she began, “I would rather wait until it’s just you.”75

“You just need a little incentive” he said taking his shirt off. He pushed her against the wall and kissed her so hard, she couldn’t back away. He put his hand around her waist and as she put her hands on his chest to push him away, someone walked in distracting him long enough for her to escape from between him and the wall. 76

“Some other time when I’m . . . prepared.” Lucy said as she slipped out the door. The man who walked in looked a bit confused but went to the urinal anyway. Even though the man didn’t follow her, she went straight to her car and drove home. 77

‘That was too close’ she thought to herself. She never wanted to be in that situation but at least he had proven to be exactly who she was looking for. When she got home, she immediately took a bath. After her bath, she went to her snakes and cooed at them for a moment. One snake wouldn’t be enough for him. She decided it was time to part ways with her beautiful pets. It was a depressing thought but it would cut all ties with that time in her life and she could start new after this last victim. She looked in her drawer, she had three pills left. 78

For the next month, she showed up at the same bar every Friday and Saturday to watch the couple. The man always saw her, gave her a wink and a nod to the bathroom but she would just throw him back a fake smile. Sometimes, his girlfriend would show up with a bruise on her wrist or upper arm. One Friday, she looked completely frightened and Lucy knew she had to make her move soon before it was too late for this woman. It might have been too late anyway, Lucy knew and this filled her with so much rage, it took a lot of self control to calm down. The next Friday, the man showed up alone. Lucy decided that this was the night to make her move.79

Sitting alone at her usual table, she watched him dance and grope with many different women until he finally noticed her. Without thinking she began pinching her lips as he walked over to her. She wiped her fingers off and rubbed her lips together. As he took his seat, she asked him the question that had been haunting her since he walked in.80

“Where’s your girlfriend?”81

“Leslie? I broke up with her. She just wasn’t my type. Yesterday’s news, you know?” He asked light heartedly. 82

“I never caught your name.”83

“Benjamin.” He said holding out his hand “Nice to officially meet you.” She shook his hand, being as dainty as she could manage. Lucy’s thoughts immediately drifted to the cardboard box in her car that contained three pillow cases. She had been bringing it and two of the pills since she met him.84

“You want to go back to your place or something?” She asked looking in her purse realizing something very important. She forgot the wine. Her heart sunk. She didn’t want to break the ritual and it was almost enough of an excuse to keep her from going through with the plan. 85

“Umm,” he said looking around “I guess it’s a little slow tonight.” He said standing up grabbing his keys. 86

“Do you have any wine?” She asked without having made a move from her spot. “I just can’t enjoy the night without wine.”87

“Should I be insulted?” he asked as he let out a small laugh. “Actually, I have some wine at my place.” He held out his hand to help her up. She looked in her purse at the two pills in the hidden pocket then grabbed his hand. She could do this. This was it, this was the last one and this guy really did not deserve to live. 88

“Um, well I have my car and I would like to take it if you don’t mind.” She said as they reached the door. He looked a little puzzled then shrugged his shoulder. He pointed to a green mustang and said “That’s my car. I’ll wait for you so you can follow me.”89

She got in her car and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and thought the plan all the way through. Same as always only this time, she wouldn’t, couldn’t, sleep with him. This would be the first guy she couldn’t manage to sleep with but she saw that as a good thing. Nothing about this guy seemed safe. It was very dangerous but that was the reason she had to do this. One more dangerous man out of the picture, she thought to herself. 90

When they arrived at a house, she could see it was a duplex in a rundown neighborhood. ‘Perfect’ she thought to herself, still seeing the plans over and over in her mind so as not to screw this up. She had done this before but something about this time made it feel like her first. Maybe it had to do with him being her last, or maybe no man had seemed like such a threat to her. 91

She got out and he escorted her inside. It was a two bed, one bath duplex with a decent size living room and the kitchen back and to the right of the door. Since there wasn’t a coat rack, she slipped her keys in her jacket and laid her jacket on the back of the couch close to the door. 92

Immediately after closing the door, Benjamin grabbed her and kissed her. She pushed him away a little and said “How about we act romantic. You go run us a bath, get in and I’ll pour us some wine and meet you in there.” 93

He looked like he was about to protest but instead he said “Wine is in the refrigerator and I don’t have any wine glasses.” He kissed her again and headed to the door on the right of the small hallway. As soon as she heard the water running, she searched the cabinets until she found two red Coca Cola glasses. She looked behind her and found herself to be alone. She quickly found the capsules in her purse and emptied them into the left glass. She looked behind her again, feeling very nervous, and saw Benjamin head into a room that was at the end of the hall. He looked back at her and, smiling, said “We have clean towels somewhere”.94

That was the first time she noticed the messy house. In the trash can by the counter was broken glass and a broken lamp. The sink was filled with dirty dishes and left out food. The living room had clothes everywhere and was covered in beer cans. The house smelt like a garbage can and suddenly Lucy felt a strong urge to vomit. She took a deep breath and swallowed a big gulp of air. Benjamin walked back into the bathroom, smiling at her the whole time. She walked to the fridge for the wine and saw that he had a box of wine instead of a bottle like she was expecting. 95

“Oh well” she mumbled to herself as she pulled the tab and filled both glasses half full. She swirled the left glass around until she was confident the contents were dissolved. 96

“You better be in the tub by the time I get in there” She yelled. She sat her purse by her jacket and walked back to the bathroom. She walked in and discovered Benjamin had done as she requested. His dirty clothes were piled up next to the tub and she walked in and handed him the cup on the left. The toilet lid was up and stained with yellow. Dirty clothes, both men and women’s clothing, lined the wall beside the sink and around the toilet. She closed the lid and put the towel on top of the toilet to sit on. She couldn’t stand how dirty everything seemed to be. 97

“You getting in?” He asked eyeing her from head to toe.98

“When we finish this glass of wine so I can go get us another glass.” At that, he took a big gulp but hadn’t even swallowed half of what she had supplied him with. She frowned and looked down at her glass. Maybe she had poured too much. Her mind began wandering, something it was doing often, and she realized she had been pinching her lips. 99

“That’s cute” he said staring at her. She pulled her fingers down and said “bottoms up” and began trying to drink all the wine at once. Happily, he followed in her example. Once they both finished what they had, she grabbed their cups and went back to the kitchen. The smell wasn’t as bad in the bathroom, and when she entered the kitchen, the smell hit her hard. With the wine lingering in her throat and the smell that inhabited the front of the house, she couldn’t hold back the vomit. She went to the trash can and threw up as quietly as she could. 100

“Are you okay?” Benjamin asked from the bathroom. Scared he was going to get out she quickly replied “yea, yea I’m good. I guess I just can’t handle my alcohol.” He laughed short and quietly and did not emerge from the bathroom. There were no mirrors in his living room or kitchen so she grabbed her purse and jacket and yelled back to him “I forgot something in my car. Give me two minutes.” 101

She didn’t wait for a reply. She ran out to her car and put the keys in her ignition. As she was about to leave, her mind drifted back to Danny. Then she thought about the other men. When she realized she was crying she took a deep breath. She stopped thinking about killing those men and started thinking about how some of them had treated her. Finally, her mind drifted back to Danny and one phrase kept echoing in her mind. ‘You owe me this. You’re a woman.’ 102

She pulled the keys out of her ignition, and with a new found rage, she grabbed her box. If she would have known what the rest of the night had in store for her, maybe she would have re done her makeup. She was in such a hurry that she didn’t even bother to look in the mirror. Black mascara was running down her face, her lipstick was spotty and her face was red. She needed to get this done though. When she was back inside, she didn’t notice the smell or the mess, she just saw the bathroom door that seemed so far away. 103

Then she heard a satisfying sound. It was the sound of an angry man calling out helplessly to her. She must have been in the car longer than she thought but then again, she had given him a lot of wine.104

“Lucy, is that you? What was in that wine?” She set the box on the couch and walked into the bathroom. Benjamin tried to stand up with no success. She didn’t sit on the toilet. It was too close to the bathtub and she didn’t know how much strength he had left. She didn’t even notice the mirror that was right next to her when she entered. 105

When he saw her, his eyes went wide and began yelling at her. “Why are you doing this? What are you going to do? You’re never going to get away with this!” Then he did something that no other man had got the chance to do, he began screaming for help. Lucy’s heart started racing as she ran into the kitchen and grabbed the toaster. She ran back into the bathroom and yelled “Shut up or I will plug this in and throw it in there.” She noticed an outlet by the sink and it appeared as though the bathtub was close enough.106

Luckily, she had successfully quieted the frightened Benjamin. “I’m not going to kill you” she said, setting the toaster down by the sink. “I need you to listen to me.” She said as calmly as she could. Benjamin went quiet, rather it was from the drugs or fear but he didn’t make a sound.107

“I need to confess something to you before you fall asleep. The drugs will just put you to sleep so don’t freak out.” She said. She sat down on the toilet, confident now that he couldn’t hurt her. “See, a long time ago there was this man named Danny.” She said and she told him the whole story in under two minutes. Being nervous, she stood up and leaned against the wall opposite of the toilet. Benjamin’s stare didn’t not leave her face, though his eyes began to droop. She finished the story and looked back at the toilet, considering having a seat again. She saw something on top of the pile of clothes between the toilet and bathtub. Barley covered by a black shirt was a cell phone. 108

Lucy quickly picked it up and saw that the screen was in the middle of a call with 911. Lucy pressed end and dropped it in the tub with Benjamin. His eyes went wide as he watched it sink to the bottom. Lucy looked at him only to notice he was crying.109

“Really? You’re crying?” She asked him disgusted. “Let me ask you something. Where is your girlfriend really? Where did all of those bruises come from?” She asked him angrily. He opened his mouth but only looked away. 110

Lucy ran to the kitchen, not knowing how much time she had. She knew she would probably get caught but she had to finish. He was her last one. She had to finish. Cussing all the way, she grabbed the box and upon entering the bathroom, she found Benjamin to be asleep.111

“Pitiful” She said to herself, as one by one, she released the snakes into the bathtub. They bit him multiple times in multiple places. Lucy walked back into the living room and found her purse. She looked at the window and saw blinking blue and red lights dancing on the shade. She pulled out her lipstick and walked back into the bathroom. She applied the lipstick without looking in the mirror and sat on the toilet staring at the snakes. They were so beautiful. 112

Outside the police were yelling in the bullhorn but Lucy couldn’t make out what they were saying. The beautiful snakes had her full attention and never before had she been so incredibly tempted to pick one up. A loud bang came from the living room and the outside noise got louder. Lucy couldn’t stop staring at the snakes, coiling and dancing around Benjamin’s body. At the door appeared a man dressed in black, holding a gun. She lowered her hand into the tub without glancing at him. He shot at her, hitting her in her leg causing her to scream out in pain. Immediately he stepped back lowering the gun as guilt washed over him. He hadn't realized she wasn't reaching for a weapon, as she pulled her hand out of the tub, spotted with small drops of blood and poison.