(I did prompt one and three and am turning this in minutes before the deadline because this is my life.)
The Revenge
Reuben laid a bouquet of white lilies on his older sister’s grave. His heart sank as he said goodbye for the hundredth, no, thousandth time. He then swore, as he had so many times before, “I will find who did this to you. I will get your revenge. No matter what it takes, no matter what horrors I must endure or inflict, I can promise you this: your hardships, your murder, it will not go unavenged.”
He then slowly got up and walked out of the graveyard, knowing that this time, for the first time, he wasn’t just handing her an empty promise. He knew that he could really do this. Reuben’s sister, Jennifer, had died one year ago to the day and he had given her the same promise every single day since she was murdered in her own home. Of course, the official report told a story about an accidental overdose of her prescription medication, but Jen’s little brother knew that was a lie.
Reuben walked home, not wanting to take the bus, despite the December cold. This time, he had a plan for how to take his revenge. He knew who did it, who killed her. It was a horrible, evil organization, full of grotesque monsters and vile creatures. They had poisoned Jen, killed her because she knew too much. His only hope was that he could stop them from continuing their wickedness and killing others like his innocent sister.
The twenty three year old man walked around a mile to the public park and ducked into a restroom. He took off his backpack in one of the stalls and began his transformation. Off went his jeans, long sleeve shirt, and windbreaker, and on went the outfit he'd been designing for months. It featured black pants, black gloves, and a black turtle neck accompanied by a long black silk cloak with a hood. He wore a wooden mask on his face painted all black except an intricately painted blue Mari Gras mask design. There were holes for the eyes and tiny, unnoticeable holes around the mouth for breathing purposes. Reuben thought himself very clever for pinning the hood of the cloak to the mask's strap so that it wouldn't slip off his head and expose his fiery red hair.
Once his black shoes were tied, he exited the public bathroom, ditching the backpack with his street clothes inside. Dusk was just beginning to hit and the streets were practically empty, but he snuck along the woods anyways, not wanting to be seen. Reuben snuck two miles to the headquarters of the evil organization that killed his sister. It was a plain, white building with a red sign to signify all the blood they had spilled.
The man stood by the front door, waiting for one of those murderers to step out. After about half an hour, one did. It was a horrible creature! Nine feet tall, claws sharper than knives, bared teeth even sharper than its claws, and blonde fur matted all over its body. Reuben had a recently sharpened seven inch knife in his hand and did what he had to do. One stab, two stabs, three, then he lost count. Finally, the evil monster was dead.
Looking around, he noticed two more evil creatures coming through the door of the building. They cried out a battle cry that assuredly meant his death. Reuben ran. The monsters in close pursuit. He ran and ran and ran and ran and ran. Soon enough, they were no longer behind him and he thanked every god he knew that he was such a good athlete. He placed first in New Hampshire in the 1600 meter in high school track. Eventually, he arrived back at the park's public restroom. After a quick outfit change, he sauntered home, already planning the next monster hunt.
Across town, detective Simon Banks received a phone call that stopped him dead in his tracks. He rushed over to the downtown Rite Aid and was horrified by the sight before him. The first thing he noticed was blood. Blood was everywhere. The five steps leading to the front entrance had become a red waterfall. The source of the blood was a cadaver laying sprawled out in front of the front entrance to the pharmacy. Upon inspection, the body was a young girl, not a day over twenty, around five feet tall and with a mess of blonde hair on her head caked with her own blood. Detective Banks was shocked and abhorred, but mostly, he felt a strong sense of sympathy for the girl. Just beginning her life, and suddenly being brutally stabbed to death outside her place of work. He bent down beside the girl and told her, "I promise I will avenge your death. Your murderer will not walk free."
By dawn, the body was identified as nineteen year old Emily Ross, a part time employee at the Rite Aid. She had taken a gap year and was saving up to pay for college, hoping to enroll in the University of New Hampshire the following fall. Luckily, there were two eye witnesses to Emily's murder. They apparently ran after the masked assailant but the suspect was too fast. After an interview, Simon Banks learned the suspect wore all black, including a shiny black cloak. The most striking characteristic was a blue Mardi gras mask design on the otherwise all black mask. One of the interviewees sketched the mask so the detective could have a better handle on what he was dealing with. Detective Banks began interviewing everyone even slightly connected to the girl, hoping for some kind of lead, but none seemed to come in. Dead end tips were flying in after the media went into a frenzy about the murder. Hours passed, then days, and he was at a complete loss in the case.
Reuben, on the other hand, was amazed at how much mourning was going on for this one monster. It had been a week since he killed that evil creature and the world should be glad to be rid of it. "Oh well," he thought to himself, "I'll finish them all off next time. No point in taking them out one by one, that'll take forever and I'll be caught before I finish."
Reuben didn't mind being caught, in fact, he expected it sooner or later. All he wanted was to finish his revenge beforehand. He feared surveillance cameras for the park would be found and he'd become a suspect, as he was in the park at the right time. If he became a suspect, he'd most likely have police tailing him. If police were tailing him, he couldn't exactly finish the job, now could he? He had to act now. Reuben grabbed his necessary supplies and headed towards the public park. Once again, he ducked into the restroom and changed in into the same outfit as he had worn when he killed the first of his sister's murderers.
Once night fell, Reuben exited the bathroom and walked to the evil organization's headquarters. This time, it would all be over. He strolled into the just reopened Rite Aid and was surprisingly not stopped. He ran to the center of the store and stashed a hunk of metal in the aisle in the center of the monsters' lair. Once the item was deposited, Rueben dashed outside.
A customer noticed him and immediately began shouting and running towards the masked intruder. The customer, Enrico Martinez, recognized the description given by the news as the same as the masked person who just ran out of the store. Enrico immediately ran after the suspect. Unluckily for Reuben, Enrico was an even faster runner than him and caught up before long. The Rite Aid customer tackled the murderer to the ground and tried to pin him down. However, Reuben pulled out his knife and stabbed Enrico in the throat, killing him instantly.
In the distance, Reuben heard a loud bang and smiled to himself. The deed was done. He had officially blown up that horrible, evil, murderous organization and taken revenge for his sister. The only thing left to do was to fake his own death so that maybe, just maybe, he might be able to get away with it. He quickly and quietly stripped, then dressed the deceased man in the outfit of the masked killer. Reuben knew the police didn't understand how horrific those evil monsters were. He looked down at the innocent man he had just killed. He felt a small pang of guilt for killing a human, but he consoled himself by thinking of the monsters he killed. Pathetic. They were pathetic. So easily taken down. He hoped his sister was looking down on him and proud of him for ridding the world of the monsters that killed her. Reuben then stalked his way back to the public restroom in the park, grabbed his things, then walked back to his small apartment.
Simon was called yet again and looked on in horror at the remnants of the Rite Aid. It was completely destroyed. Witnesses say they saw a masked man enter the store holding a large hunk of metal, then saw him run out, a man in close pursuit. A handful of witnesses called 9-1-1 but by the time the police came, the Rite Aid had completely exploded. There was no doubt in Simon's mind that the 'hunk of metal' was a bomb. Soon after the bomb squad showed up, another call came to 9-1-1. Someone found the masked bomber. Dead.
There was evidence that suggested Enrico Martinez might not be the masked bomber, but he still hadn't been scratched off the list of perpetrators. The main reason being he was still the only name on that list. The family denied the possibility of his guilt and demanded he have a proper funeral. His body was still being used for investigation related reasons three days later, but a funeral was held anyways.
Detective Simon Banks decided he couldn't not go to the funeral. He hoped he could get Enrico's family to work with police by showing he cared enough to come to the funeral. Simon hated to go alone so he brought his little brother, Reuben Banks. Reuben enjoyed the funeral immensely. "I never thought I'd enjoy my own funeral so much." He whispered in Simon's ear when one of the speakers said this was undoubtedly the funeral of the masked bomber.
Detective Banks' blood went cold. "What are you talking about, Reuben?"
Reuben gave a sly smile. "You didn't really think Enrico did it, did you?" He figured if anyone would understand the killing of all those monsters, it would be his brother, who also witnessed Jen's murder.
"Reuben, what in the hell are you talking about?"
"Well someone had to do it. I wasn't going to let Jen's murderers stay free."
Simon's mind fell into a state of panic and shock, but he somehow managed to keep his composure. "Jen wasn't murdered. She accidentally took too many of her pain medication and overdosed. How is Rite Aid at fault for that?"
"Those monsters gave her poisoned pills. You're a detective, how did you not notice she was swallowing poison?"
"Reuben, she had an autopsy. There was nothing in her system except the opioids she accidentally overdosed on. That's it."
"You're just blind to the truth. Those monsters had to be taken care of."
Simon didn't know what to do: turn in his own brother or take vengeance for all those Rite Aid employees and customers murdered by his own brother. He fought himself for a moment, then remembered where his true loyalties lie. Despite his promise to Emily, he had already promised his older sister years and years ago that he would take care of poor, mentally ill little Reuben no matter what. Simon supposed it was only a matter of time before his brother was caught, but for now, the murderous secret was safe with him.
A few weeks later, Christmas Day arrived and the brothers were at their parent's house the next town over. They were sitting around the table, a giant turkey in front of them. Simon was carving, their father was telling a horrible turkey pun, their mother was stressing over her son using such a big knife, and Reuben sat laughing at them all. He was so glad his family was together, if only Jen was there to see it. He consoled himself with the fact that he got her revenge for her.
Before the turkey was even carved, the door burst open. Five police officers stormed into he house and nabbed Reuben on the spot. His mother screamed in horror and his father sat in silent shock. Simon didn't realize they found the true masked bomber so quickly. He cursed himself on not doing more to protect his murderous brother. Reuben was handcuffed and dragged out the front door, screaming all the way. Simon watched with stoic eyes as his brother was stuffed into a police car.
