The Stinging Stalker (1)
1023 Words
One rainy night.
“You've wronged me; now I'll wrong you in return.”
This is the statement of a man who's so obsessed with a woman who has rejected his advances seconds ago.
Once the woman leaves him with great disgust, he just smirks as he transforms into an insect-like humanoid, and uses his wings to fly and easily track down the woman who just jilted him.
The woman spots the creature immediately; and knowing that her life is in danger, she runs as fast as she can.
Despite hiding in several alleyways that dot Rain Marginal's downtown area, she still gets spotted by the creature, who then doesn't hesitate to rain down several stingers on her.
One of those stingers then lands on her arm.
She screams in horrible pain as something is being injected into her via said stinger.
She loses consciousness afterwards; but ten seconds later, she wakes up.
Only that there's something different about her.
Her eyes are empty.
And she can say nothing but the following.
“I will love only Randall Flaherty with all my life. He is the perfect guy, and no one else will surpass him. He is the ultimate alpha that all other males should look up to.”
She then walks in a slow, uncanny cadence towards a huge mansion, where she is greeted by a bunch of other girls who all have the same empty eyes as her and sing the same praises to the man named Randall Flaherty.
Verily, this man has all the girls falling for him... in a twisted, unethical way.
It's another day at the hospital.
And I'm about to finish my work for today, as the clock is ticking towards the end of the workday, which is 5pm.
Berenice asks me, “Hey, Bernard. Have any plans for tonight?”
“Well, I'm planning to watch a Korean drama series on BusterFlix right at the comfort of my own home.”
“Oh, that's too bad. I was planning to have a casual, non-romantic date with you... right at the La Mer Watershed.”
“Yeah, but that date proposal of yours will catch the ire of my childhood friend.”
“Ah, yes. Lilette. She's beautiful, alright, but she can have a few screws loose.”
“Oh, I didn't know you are aware of her propensity to perform pranks on me.”
“No sweat. I learned it from Jacob.”
“Ah, one of our classmates back at pre-med, huh.”
“Indeed. It's such a small world we live in. Alright, then. I'll just have to go to an open-air orchestral concert at the public park instead.”
“No prob. Anyway, I really have to go. See you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.”
Nighttime. My own humble home.
I grab some frozen TV dinner (five-cheese pizza with mushrooms, to be exact), heat it in the microwave, and place it on the coffee table in my living room alongside some non-alcoholic Blue Hawaii cocktail.
With my 4K TV all set, I'm ready to watch a Korean drama series, The Legion of Stallions.
The title was recommended by an old friend of mine who is so into Korean media (it also helps that she's part-Korean herself).
Hmm... this opening scene sure gets me gripped. It gets me hooked for what is happening for the rest of the episode.
Sure enough, the rest of the episode has so many twists and turns.
We get some accidental incest (with matching “disgusting” reactions from the parties involved), criminal syndicates, and a Canadian wrestler just casually stopping by in the midst of all that chaos.
Most likely, the writers have been inspired by that famous dark fantasy show with an absolutely awful final season.
But before the first episode segues into the credits, I'm being interrupted by something.
My phone keeps on vibrating, as it is currently on silent mode.
Ah, a call from Berenice.
What's up with her?
I readily pause the playback, grab my phone, and press the call button.
“Hello, Berenice?”
“G-Good thing you called, Bernard! I'm being attacked by some bee-like giant!”
She sure ain't lying, as I can hear her panting, her hurried footsteps, and a glaring buzzing noise in the background.
“Wait! Where are you now, currently?”
“MacDougal Stre-- AAAAAHHHH!!!”
Her cries of pain can be heard over the line, immediately followed by the impact sound of a phone hitting the ground.
Oh no! She's being attacked by whoever that bee creature is!
And I already know where MacDougal Street is!
It's the typical road I take in commuting from my house to the hospital!
Crud, I have to cut my “BusterFlix and chill” session short!
No sooner do I arrive at the sufficiently-lighted corners of MacDougal Street.
“Berenice? Berenice! Where are you!”
I can find nary a trace of her.
Fortunately, I find her phone on the pavement.
Its screen is partially cracked from the impact; but otherwise, it should still be functional.
I should pick it up and return it to her when I save her.
Now comes the more difficult part: Tracking her down.
Well... scratch the difficult part.
Because I can hear a lifeless-sounding murmur from someone so familiar, so far away.
Amidst the crying of cicadas, I can Berenice's voice saying (from what I can interpret)...
“I w... love ..ly R... Fl... ..th all my ...ife. He is the p.... ...y, and n... ...e ...lse ...ill surp... ...im.”
And her voice comes from... this mansion I can see in the distance?
Now I have an inkling!
I run towards the mansion; and obviously enough, I can spot Berenice, as well as several other girls, gathering in front of the mansion.
But then, her eyes are empty. More like bereft of life.
And the equally-lifeless chanting of the following is the only thing leaving her mouth.
“I will love only Randall Flaherty with all my life. He is the perfect guy, and no one else will surpass him. He is the ultimate alpha that all other males should look up to.”
Obviously, I attempt to make her snap out of her trance.
“Berenice! Berenice! Please, stop this! Please go home, since we still have work to do tomorrow! You don't want to be deprived of sleep, do you?!”
But that attempt fails, as I can hear the creepy voice of a man from not that far away.
“Hey! You're meddling into my business of inspecting for radioactive contamination.”
He then shows up.
He is a green-shirted man who is admittedly more handsome than me.
But that handsomeness is neutralized by his disgustingly cocky attitude.
He is the man the girls are singing their praises towards.
Randall Flaherty.
- Writer
