Chapter Ten
A dark festering reality could be found here. A collection of rundown storefronts had become the rotten façade of this place. It was a far cry from the more prosperous commercial enterprises to be found further up town, towards the main part of the city.
Which was surprising considering that sex was the main commodity on sale both here and there. Only difference being – here, there was no attempt at hiding the immorality of such a transaction.
Girls stood around in small gatherings, faces drawn and hollowed-out by years of abuse. Drugs had taken their freedom, totally, a dependency for the needle, and a lifetime of neglect, both spiritually and physically, had robbed them of life. The girls looked more like the undead than a group of twenty somethings.
Jonus had come to the right place then.
Lust for carnal pleasures had not brought him here, however. He had had his fix of that earlier. Now, he was here looking for something else entirely - the pleasures of the mortal soul.
By now he should have been bathing in the blood of his mortal nemesis – the hateful Anna. She was what had originally driven him here, to Chicago. Driven him with a demented single-mindedness that was not unfamiliar to the patrons that inhabited this dreadful place.
It was revenge that fuelled his need though, not the dirty barrel of a hypodermic needle. Anna had betrayed him, a long time ago. When they had ridden the night together, taking the souls of men at their pleasure.
She had stolen something from him. Something he was here to get back.
One of the women approached Jonus, pulling him away from his thoughts. She was tall, emaciated, and stumbled on weak limbs. One of the living dead, Jonus had no use of such a thing. He simply waved her away, before stepping towards another solitary figure.
The girl was slightly younger than the rest. And her features had not, as yet, fallen foul to the ravages of drug abuse. Maybe, thought Jonus, something other than the need to get high had brought this girl here.
Once he neared her – his mind began to tune into some of her thoughts. She was nervous, this being only her second week on the streets. Jonus probed deeper. A young man came to mind, full of false bravado and bluster, her partner, a school dropout with only a low double-digit IQ, and a quick temper to match. The crying of a baby filled Jonus’s head with a deafening wail. The next picture to flash before his eyes was the hothead leaving with a single bag packed and an undisclosed destination in mind.
Jonus looked down at the girl before him. What made her different to all the rest? Hope. That was it. She was here trying to make a better life for herself and her young child.
Jonus almost laughed out loud at the absurdity of that. What did she really hope to achieve? Would a knight in shining armour take her from these dark streets? And in doing so, save her and her bastard child from a life of misery and ruin?
Maybe.
Anything was possible.
Only thing was, this girl had now chanced upon Jonus. And he wasn’t the type for happy endings. No, he hadn’t come here looking for redemption. Quite the opposite, he was here to feed the forbidden hunger that coursed throughout his veins. Jonus reached out, using one of his bony fingers to tilt her head up slightly.
She tried to smile, bending her lips more into a crooked grimace. He was a paying customer after all. And at least nicer looking than most. Her heart beat a little faster. Maybe it wouldn’t be quite as bad this time. Not like the first time. That had been not only been physically painful but also agonising to her soul.
Jonus read all these thoughts and concerns in curious silence. Silly little bug didn’t know anything. What did she know about pain and suffering? He felt anger then. How dare this pathetic bug before him have any self-pity.
He took her hand, smiling slightly, pulling her away from the main body of prostitutes gathered there.
He would take her somewhere quieter.
And dark.
And there, he would show her what suffering was.
What real pain the human soul could endure.