A police station interview


Why did you hurt her?

I had to. Otherwise she would hurt me. It’s a simple matter of self defense.

What did she do?

You mean you don’t know?

I never said-

Oh. I see. You want to study me, like a rat. You want to see what I tell you. You want to see if it’s the same as it is on your records. I assure you it isn’t- you know nothing.

What don’t we know?

The thing is you don’t know anything. Nothing at all. But why would you? You might be the one questioning me, but you’re at the bottom. You’re just an innocent little police officer. Something as big as Menafrod wouldn’t want you to know anything. Lucky for them, that’s just how it is.

What is Menafrod?

Oh my, this is worse than I thought. You work for them, yet you haven’t even heard of them? This is bad, this is very bad.
Care to explain what Menafrod is?
Why would I do that? It’s so fun to see you squirming, dying to know the answer that you’ll never get. But why won’t you ever get it? I’ll tell you that much- because then they’d have to kill you. Then it’s kill or be killed. They wouldn’t want that for someone they could keep it a secret from. Such a big secret, that you don’t even know their name. You don’t even know the name of the company you work for. I do suppose, though, that no one here does.

What are they keeping from us? Why are they keeping it?

They are keeping everything that they are doing from you. Everything. And if you go looking for answers, they’ll kill you. That or you’ll kill their assassin. Somehow I doubt that happens often. They’re pretty hard to beat. But you see…, I don’t like killing, so I just hurt her. I know you don’t believe me, and you have no reason to believe me, but can’t you see my side? Look at me. You know I could kill someone in a second if I wanted to. But I didn’t kill her, I just hurt her. Hopefully she won’t wake up for a while though… Then I’d just have to do it again. People like her never learn, they don’t back down. Stubborn, I guess you could call it.

She was… an assassin?

Didn’t I just tell you that? Yes, she is an assassin. Sent from yours truly, Menafrod. She almost got me too- almost. I wasn’t paying attention anymore. I won’t tell you anything else, so you so you can live.

What if I don’t care about living anymore?

(He half smiles) I see. You want to know the secret so bad, you are now willing to die for it. So many people have done exactly that. Then they die. And I’m sure it wasn’t a happy death. Menafrod does order its assassins to… kill them slowly. That’s where all the fun is at. They torture them until they wish they never knew. That is, if they didn’t already wish that in the first place. Most people don’t like what they hear.

And what do they hear?

You really think you can handle it?

What if I do?

It shouldn’t matter. I can’t tell you. I won’t tell you. I don’t want to get another innocent bystander killed. I already told you I don’t like killing if I can avoid it. It’s really that I don’t like death.

Another innocent bystander?

I’ve already told you too much. I’m sure you can guess what happened. I told someone about Menafrod, about everything I know about it, and they were killed. I don’t want a repeat, and I don’t think you really do either.

Why don’t you like death?

(His body stiffens) I’ve hated it ever since I can remember.

What made you hate it?

My brother.

And?

He was my best friend. Then he went and killed himself right in front of me. I was 8 years old. My brother was 14. He told me how the kids at school were mean to him. They called him Vampire because he was so pale. I didn’t understand that it was worse than a simple nickname. I didn’t understand that kids are always jerks. One day, he told me he’d had enough. I was happy for him; I thought he meant he was going to stand up to them. I thought that he was never going to have to come home sad anymore. I was right about the last part. He never came home sad anymore…. But it was because he wasn’t around to come home at all.

Go on.

Why?

Because I’m interested.

And because you’ll shock me with these stupid wires if I don’t spin you a story, isn’t that right?

Choose whichever you like.

He wanted to be remembered. He never wanted to be forgotten. So he went to his school and set up stakes on the ground, all over the school yard. So he couldn’t miss. Then he climbed up to the top of the school- three stories- and he jumped. I don’t think he knew I was there until I screamed. I screamed when I saw him falling. I ran towards where he was falling, into the stakes. I thought maybe I could catch him. I was 5 feet away when he landed. He fell feet first, but when his leg bones cracked he fell backward. Two stakes pierced right through him, on either side of his chest. I saw them covered in blood. I saw my brother with two stakes in his body. I watched as the life left his eyes. He never looked peaceful. I hear when people die they are supposed to be put at peace. But he looked sadder, and more scared than I’ve ever seen him before. I cried and cried. That’s where Menafrod found me. They saw me crying over a dead boy, a horribly mangled body. Zachary Menafrod was his name. He took me in. I could never go back to my life after that. But I didn’t have to- he saved me. I only realized a few years ago that he never saved me.

What did he do?

I suppose I’ll tell you now. It’s the more comfortable option for me, anyway. You’re probably already going to be killed. Or be forced to turn into a killing machine, living on the run for the rest of your life. Either way.

Tell me.

He used me as a test subject. He would give me shots of medicine that hadn’t been clarified safe yet. Most of them never even got clarified. Most of them didn’t do anything. Some of them even made me feel better. But then all of a sudden there was a catch. To feel better, I had to eat a lot. But not normal food, I had to eat raw meat. I was a kid. I did what I was told. I was scared of what would happen if I didn’t. So I ate it. But then it got worse. I had to hunt it on my own. I’m not just saying I had to because that’s what he wanted me to do, there was a need. A need that scared the living daylights out of me. That was our first fight, when I was 13. I didn’t want to kill anything, and he knew exactly why. But that didn’t matter. He told me to do it, or he’d send me to a public school instead of being homeschooled. I didn’t want to go there. I thought the kids would all be mean to me, like they were to my brother. So I did the hunting. I caught small things at first- alley cats and such. Then it escalated. I needed more food. So I started catching bigger and bigger, until I got deer, and finally bears. I was 17 by then, five years ago.
I started thinking it was worth it, because I felt so great. I never got sick, I was really strong- abnormally strong, and I had extraordinary vision and hearing. I got a little crazed, lost in what I thought were superpowers. I thought I could be a super hero. It wasn’t until I attacked a human that I realized I would never be a superhero this way. I’d be a villain. I went to my ‘father figure’ Zach. He told me it was fine, I was perfectly okay. He said he was surprised I didn’t kill them.
That was when I realized he didn’t save me. I was 19, almost 20. I ran away. He sent her after me. I moved from town to town so fast that she didn’t catch up with me until last month. Because I was on the run, of course I didn’t have the medicine with me, but I didn’t lose my “powers”. The only thing I lost was my appetite. I barely had to eat anything, and my mind was a lot clearer than it used to be. I finally had my own thoughts running through my head instead of Menafrod’s. I was getting tired of running so much. I wanted to settle down, to see what it was like to have a friend, maybe even a girlfriend. So I stopped paying attention to everything. That’s when she caught up with me. I think Menafrod thought I’d lose my powers if I didn’t take his “medicine”. All I did was bump her on the head, just enough for her to pass out. Or put her in a coma… I suppose that’s a good thing, though.

Wow.

A lot to take in, I know. Any more questions?

How am I working for Menafrod?

Well, everyone works for Menafrod. He rules the world.

What?

He rules the world. Discreetly, of course. He owns everything. You see his symbol every day. You just don’t realize it, because you’re so used to it. It’s something that no one realizes is even a symbol.

What is it? What’s the symbol?

How many circles do you have in your house? How many do you see every day? It’s a very strange symbol, but that is Menafrod. Think about it. Clocks, movies, cups, bouncy balls. All have circles. They’re all his. What is your police station’s symbol? What is the Olympics’ symbol? Circles. All circles. The world is run by Menafrod. The only thing he doesn’t own is Minecraft, for God’s sakes! And I’m almost positive that’s on purpose.

Was there any other test subjects?

Oh I didn’t say that already? Yes, there were thousands. There still are thousands. Not all of them work. Some of them die; some of them lose their memory, or their sanity. The “lucky” ones turn out like me. With a hunger like I used to have. Only now do I realize that it wasn’t a hunger for food. It was a hunger for killing, for hurting people. It’s a sick joke considering why he took me in. I do believe I turned out the best though. And I don’t mean to sound conceited. What I mean is that I never lost my “powers”, and I don’t have a hunger for killing anymore. I think that it worked because I started out so early, before my body was set. Before I was fully grown.

Are you the youngest one?

Yes. I was one of the first five hundred, and I was the youngest out of all of them. All the others were at least 15, as opposed to my 8 years old.

Wow.

Now, you have to answer this question: will you be the killer, or will you be the one being killed?

I’m going to be the killer. And I’m going to get recruits. Menafrod is about to get a reality check- people like him can’t rule the world. Will you help me spread your story?

I’ll help you, but I don’t think everyone needs to know about my brother.

Deal.