Page 24 of Twisted Diaries of a Monster Groupie

Dear Diary,

Don’t be afraid of monsters. It’s the living that you have to worry about.

XOXO – Roxy

The warehouse the mafia group used for handling their enemies reeked of stale blood and musty shipping boxes. Donnie sat in a metal chair, his fingers rhythmically tapping the armrest as he stared at the man in the opposite chair. The man’s face was bruised, blood trickling down from his nose and a cut on his lip. He whimpered softly as he pleaded for mercy. Fat chance. He was in a bad way and there was no way out.

“I don’t like people messing with my money, Johnny boy. The cartels are going to be breathing down my neck over this.”

The man stammered, trying to speak through his swollen lips. “Please. I’ll get the money. I’ll sell my house. Just don’t kill me.”

Donnie almost looked like he felt bad about this for a moment as if considering the offer, but he wasn’t that nice. In fact, he enjoyed people’s suffering. Without warning, he jammed a knife into the man’s thigh. The shrill scream echoed off the metal walls. There was no one to hear him over the sounds of load docks.

He leaned back, stretching his arms above his head, clearly enjoying the sound of his victim’s cries. But before he could continue, one of his men butt in, breaking up his sick game.

“Boss! They’re gone. They’re all gone. Even Lumberjack!”

Donnie’s eyes narrowed in irritation. “What the hell are you talking about? I’m in the middle of something here, in case you didn’t notice.”

“Acid and that girl. That guy we were shaking down by theCuban bistro. He said they came in and… They fucking killed Trevor. He said there was blood everywhere and the crazy bitch was dancing!” The man looked terrified. “She was dancing, boss!”

That got Donnie’s attention. He stood up, wiping his hands on his pants. “Sounds like a girl after my own heart, but I thought I told you idiots to bring her and that green fuck boy to me. His time is up.”

The goon scratched his head, not wanting to admit what he was about to say. “We... uh... We lost him again. He killed two more of our men and we can’t even get near the girl’s house. Someone’s helping them.”

Donnie’s lip curled when he realized what was happening. “Well, I’ll be damned. That little science freak is building herself an army,” he whispered to himself. “Gotta give it to her, she’s got some balls.”

Not hearing him, the man was frantic. “Boss our guys... They keep going missing.”

Donnie stared at the man, his jaw clenching. “Missing? You mean dead. Don’t you see what’s going on here? They’re killing off our men and reanimating them to protect her little freakshow.”

“You think she’s using our guys against us?”

Throwing the knife still in his hand to lodge in the wall next to the man’s head, Donnie yelled, “Of course they are!”

“What do we do?”

The crime boss’ patience snapped. He grabbed the man by the collar and slammed him against the wall. “You find the lovebirds and you bring them to me. I’ll deal with the rest.”

He held his hands up defensively. “There’s more, boss. That computer… We found the guy who stole it from the lab. He sold it online.”

“Dr. Malone’s.”

“Yeah. The one with the evidence you killed those people and was forcing him to black market Frankie’s as sex slaves. If the cops find out Dr. Malone was innocent of all his crimes, we’re all in a world of hurt.”

“Find who bought that laptop, but for now, get the car ready.”

His man looked confused. “Where arewe going, boss?”

“To see Dr. Malone,” Donnie replied. “I think it’s time we had a little chat with our former business partner.”

Thanks to Donnie having his hands in the pockets of a few prison guards, he was welcomed in with open arms, ready to have a chat with the good doctor. He and two of his henchmen walked through the gates, their every step watched by the guards to put up a good face. The prisoners they passed gave them a mix of anger and respect, but no one dared to approach thembecause even as a low-level thug, Donnie had connections that ran deep.

Dr. William Malone sat in a small, windowless room; his hands cuffed to the table in front of him. His once handsome features wereworn by the stress of prison life. When the door opened and Donnie walked in, he quickly stood.

“What do you want?” he asked, his voice cold.

Donnie smiled, pulling out a chair and sitting across from him. “Nice to see you too, Doc Freak-n-stein. How’s life on the inside treating you?”

“Not good, thanks to you.”

“Oh, don’t be so bitter. When you finally get out of here one day, you’ll thank me.”

“I’m doing life. There is no getting out.”

“Yeah. Tough break.” The loan shark leaned back, sucking his teeth as he looked over his handy work. It should have been him in that orange jumpsuit, not the doctor. “It’s about your daughter.”

That got Malone’s attention as his eyes narrowed. “What about her? If you touch one hair on her head I’ll—”

“Me? I’m not the one you should worry about. That’s why I’m here.” Donnie sighed dramatically, full of fake concern. “You know, she’s been keeping some pretty dangerous company lately. Word is, she’s running around with Acid.”

Her father’s expression hardened, but he didn’t speak as the man leaned in like he was telling a secret.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Acid’s gone rogue. We have the same enemy here, Doctor. He’s killing my men, and I worry for your poor, sweet Roxy. Now, I’ve got no problem dealing with that freak myself, but your daughter… Well, I’m sure you don’t want her getting caught up in this mess.”

“You’re lying.”

“Am I? Think about it, Doc. Acid lets you rot in here and you take the heat. I admit my wrongdoing, but Acid, he’s the real enemy here. He’s dangerous. The fact is, he didn’t lift a finger to help you, did he? And now he’s dragging your little girl into his mess, too. I think…”

Malone clenched his fists, the chains rattling against the table. “You think what?”

“I think he’s seducing her to make more Frankie’s. He’s losing it, William. You know about his gambling addiction. He’s flat broke and I think he’s planning to turn your mentally ill daughter into a… serial killer. He’ll make her create more monsters he can sell. It’ll be an uprising when the word gets out. You know how much people hated your studies.” Donnie leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. “I want to stop Acid, but I can’t do it alone. I need your help.”

Malone scoffed. “You think I’d help you?”

“If it means keeping your daughter safe. Yeah, I do. I know you don’t like me, but my men have families, too. He’s killing them right and left and I think he’s making her help him.”

There was a long pause as Dr. Malone wrestled with his emotions. He hated Donnie and everything he stood for, but the thought of Roxy in danger was killing him. He had never been the best father, but he couldn’t let her fall victim to the monster he’d helped create. Finally, “What do you need from me?”

Donnie grinned, knowing he’d won. “You worked on Acid, didn’t you? You know how he was made.”

“I know his systems. But what does that have to do with anything?”

“Simple. I need a way to shut him down.”

“Shut him down? Acid’s not a machine.”

Donnie’s grin widened. “Oh, but he is, isn’t he? You gave him the same chip as the others. There’s got to be a way to take him out remotely.”

For a moment, Malone hesitated, but his back was against the wall. Acid had left him to die for his crimes, and now his daughter was caught in the middle of a nightmare.

“There is a way,” Malone admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. “I built in an emergency shut-off code that can be sent remotely to disable him, but you have to be within the closest cell phone tower to his location. It was in case something went wrong after building the Frankie’s. I wasn’t sure if they’d come back like that damn Pet Cemetery movie or not, so I had to be safe.” He shivered, always being creeped out by that film.

“And how do we send this code?”

“Through a phone app. I created it before I went to prison. It’s easily found. It’s in that game that went viral with Acid’s likeness.”

“The Walking Green?”

“Yes, that’s the one. You just have to use the chat feature to message my old profile and type in my daughter’s name. The code panel will pop right up.”

“Well, look at that. That stupid game I can’t stop playing online is the one thing I had in my hands all this time to stop that green pile of shit. Old man, you really are a genius.”

After a few more details, Donnie had all he needed.

Little did Dr. Malone know, he just handed over his daughter on a digital platter to the very man who was out to use her talents for his own gain.