Cannibal

". . . an eighth victim has been found, mutilated beyond recognition. Her arm and part of her legs were reported missing with teeth marks on her abdomen. The Cannibal has taken another li--" Donny's father frowned and turned off the radio. 7 year-old Donny looked up from his toys.

"Da-aa-ady, what is a cannibal?" Donny asked with curiosity. He was very bright and clever for and average 7 year old and knew a lot of big words. The word 'cannibal' intrigued him.

"It's a person who devours human flesh, son," his father replied, turning another page of his newspaper.

"Why does he eat people?"

"Maybe he thinks human meat tastes yummy."

"Does it, daddy?"

His father sighed, annoyed. "I don't know. Now, go to bed. It's past your bedtime."

Little Donny pouted and picked up his teddy bear. He really did not want to sleep now, and he spent a good 15 minutes tossing and turning around before his brain started to think up a prank to play on his father.

He yelled, "DADDY! THE CANNIBAL IS IN MY ROOM!!" Then, he let out a loud scream and fell backwards giggling.

His father ran up the stairs with a shotgun and into Donny's room. "Where?!" he yelled.

He saw that Donny was laughing. "Not funny, Donny." his father grumbled. "Go to sleep."

His father closed the door and went away.

Donny tried to sleep, but still couldn't. He decided to play again. "DADDY!! THE CANNIBAL!!! HELP!!!" And threw his storybook on the wall to make a loud noise.

His father ran up again with his gun and flung open the door.

Then, he saw that Donny was giggling uncontrollably again. "Donny! It's not funny! The cannibal is a really serious matter okay?! Don't you remember the story of the boy who cried wolf?"

"Yes, daddy," Donny replied meekly and snuggled into his pillows. "Sorry, daddy."

His father angrily closed his door and stomped downstairs. Donny eventually drifted off to sleep.

A few hours later, Donny awoke the the sound of something being dragged outside his room. Being a typical 7 year old, he immediately started screaming, "DADDY!! THE CANNIBAL!!"  

This time, his father ran in with an axe. He stared at Donny and licked his lips. Drool dripped from the corner of his mouth.

"Daddy?" Donny asked his father weakly and recoiled from his father's hungry gaze.

"Yes, Donny. The cannibal," his father raised the axe and bared his teeth.

Little Donny's screams were cut short when swung the axe and chopped off his head.

The Collector

It was dark and smoky in the bar.

The music blared loud from the ancient speakers, and the carpet was stained from years of spilt cocktails.

The pretty blonde sat on a stool at the back of the bar, sipping her apple martini while surveying the room for someone to take her home tonight. She adjusted the neckline of her strapless red dress.

When she was on her fourth martini, she spotted a dark haired young man staring at her from across the room.

He was tall and good looking, but he had dark, sinister eyes that shone with malicious excitement. Startled by his intense eyes, the blonde blinked, but when she looked up at him again, the cruel glint was gone.

Maybe a trick of the light, coupled with alcohol?

The dark haired stranger started coming her way. Red Dress smiled, and put down her cocktail glass. This night is about to turn interesting, she hoped.

"Hello," the stranger greeted her and gestured to the empty seat to her left. "May I sit?"

Red Dress nodded, batting her eyelashes seductively. Of course, how could she refuse? Chances are he was a rich, lonely bachelor looking for someone to spend his life with.

They talked throughout the night. Red Dress started to drink stronger brews. By 2am, her head started to feel heavy.

"I should be going, it's late," Red Dress slurred and tried to stand up but fell back to her seat. She was pretending, of course.

As she'd hoped, the stranger steadied her with concerning eyes. "Maybe it ought to best if I take you home. Where do you live?"

"I live out of town."

He frowned. "You are in no state to take the long drive home. Would you like to come home with me and rest for a night?"

That was what Red Dress was hoping for. "Su...ure." she mumbled, pretending to be worse off than she really was.

She looked up at him with sleepy eyes, and to her surprise, he was looking at her with a look so hungry it would've scared off lions. He grinned at her wolfishly, but the grin did not reach his eyes, which shone with cruel excitement and longing.

Red Dress shivered. His look unsettled her. But she shook the feeling off.

The stranger half carried her to the car. "You are very beautiful," he whispered. "You have an exquisite neck. So slim and delicate."

Red Dress frowned. Her neck?

She dozed off to his quiet rantings of her slim neck.

Hours later, Red Dress woke up with a start.

Her mind was still groggy, and she could dimly see daylight coming in from the small spaces between wooden planks that were used to board up a window.

Where was she?

She tried to get up, but a sharp pain around her wrists informed her that she was tied up. She could not scream, as a piece of cloth was wadded up and taped into her mouth. She was gagged, trussed up and left alone, seemingly in an old abandoned house.

Terrified, she tried to get up again but only succeeded in kicking over an old lamp. It made a loud BAM when it went down.

Footsteps. She could hear footsteps. They were downstairs . . . coming up . . . getting closer.

Outside the door.

The door was pushed open, and Red Dress squinted up to see who it was. The dark stranger look back impassively.

"You're awake," he smiled, and closed the door softly behind him.

Let me go, Red Dress thought furiously and tried to pull her wrists free.

He tsked softly. "Struggling wont help, my sweet. Keep still. Look up at me," he crooned, almost like he was talking to a lover.

A pair of defiant eyes glared back at him.

"You have such beautiful eyes, but you neck is the most beautiful. I've never seen one so perfect in my entire life. And your skin . . . so smooth, so flawless."

He pulled out a french razor and looked her her hungrily.

"You see, darling, some people like to collect things. Some collect stamps, or coins."

He smiled and walked over to the horrified girl.

"I collect necks."

Mirror, Mirror

They say mirrors are a portal to another world.

Do you ever get the feeling that sometimes the person in the mirror is watching you?

Let's test it.

Grab a mirror, not too small but still big enough to cover your face. Put it in front of your face, reflective side facing outward and slowly walk towards a full-length mirror. Careful, don't let it see you holding the mirror to your face in the first place.

Slowly inch towards the big mirror. Peek at it. When you see it, don't scream. Don't drop the mirror you are holding. It musn't know.

Back out of the room with the mirror still covering your face. Don't put it down until you are sure that the person in the mirror can't see you anymore.

It must not realize what you have done.

You'll never want to look into a mirror again.