The Dispossessed.

Hello. It's me.

Look, I know I promised never to call you, to leave you alone and, well, I'm sorry but I had to. Look... Look... no don't hang up, please? Dammit…

It's me again, please, don't hang up. I know how much you hate me and I just wanted to say you were right all along. Are you still there?

Ah, good... The noise? It's rain believe it or not. It's teeming at the moment. What do I want? Okay, first of all I'm sorry I got you fired. It was never my intent to harm you in any way but you just got too close to me and I didn't want to get into trouble. I kept my nose as clean as I could but you couldn't let it go. You just kept pestering me. Yes I reported you to your superiors but you could have stayed away, you didn't. Anyway, that doesn't matter now. I'm sorry I got you fired.

Why are you laughing? I wasn't giving you any pity. Look I haven't got much time so I'm going to tell you what you wanted to hear. I killed Lil and Simon and Marie and Stacy and Gary and... Yes I was getting to that, yes I killed little Harriet too.

Yes that's fair, I suppose I am a sick bastard. I certainly feel sick... Yes I confess, I'm a murderer, though that's hardly the worst of it… I'm sure you do want me to turn myself in…

What others? Oh them, well no, I'm not copping to them, though I suppose if you want you could get me on a technicality.

I'll tell you what, let's play a game. I'm currently at St George's Cross walking towards the city centre up Sauchiehall Street, let's see if your boys at Pitt Street can get their arses in gear and catch me before, well, before something else does. Did you hear that? Yeah, thunder, I'm soaked to the bone and everyone else is heading indoors. That should make it a bit easier for them to find me.

Why? Well I'm telling you now because I've nothing to lose. I finally bit off more than I can chew and because, despite your actions, I actually admired you...Yes I know I've got a cheek to criticise your actions, you're right. Just, well, you worked so hard I thought you had a right to know at least.

It's not like it will make any difference.

Why did I kill them? Well there's the tale. I don't know if I'll have time to tell it. Are you sure you wish to know?

Okay, settle down, no need to get angry, you've won for god's sake. You wish answers well here they are. I am an addict...

Diminished Responsibility? No I'm not attempting to create a story to cop a plea. You want to hear this or not? As I was saying, I'm an addict, not to drugs, though I did become addicted to drugs, rather I was addicted to perfection. You can laugh but as far back as I can remember I was always dissatisfied with almost everything, especially myself. Yet I thought that I could, if only given the right tools, fix everything, make everything better, make it all perfect.

Why I would come into the world with such an arrogant, monomaniacal obsession is not something I could comment on, all I know is that I did and behaved exactly as if it was reality. I spent my youth learning mathematics and languages. The trivial fairy stories of childhood did not interest me. By the time I left school, at fourteen, I was well versed in seven languages and maths, physics and economics. I took two years working abroad, saved up every penny I could and worked on my rather ratty physique…

Well it's kind of you to say so, I'm little more than skin and bones these days. I'll be even less than that before this storm ends the way it's going. The lights on all the shops have gone out. You can probably see the lightning up your end…

Yeah it's ferocious here. Anyway I worked on body and mind and while working on body I started taking steroids...

Why would a smart guy take steroids? Heh, aye. I guess I wasn't as smart as I thought. I suffered through that though, came out on top with the help of some friends. Who? Oh they were a kind of self-help support group. The Astra Sophia Foundation...

Yes, that is important, yes, you should write that down. No I've not got time to go on about that, the space between flash and thunder is reducing and there is so much lightning. Have you ever seen anything like this? I suppose I should be flattered...

Why? I'll get to that. Anyway, the Foundation taught me to access my “divine other” which I thought was just mystic bullshit to tart up some psychosomatic tricks. Like the alcoholics “higher self” I guess. Know about that do you?

...Your sister. Sorry to hear that…

Okay okay, I'm getting to the murders. Thing is, I did quite well with my rehab and was so impressed I purchased some more advanced literature from the foundation. I was reading through that stuff and discovered something about my “divine other”...

No it didn't want me to kill little girls, Jesus Christ, you took that one personally didn't you? Holy Shit! Yes I'm still here, the lightning just hit the frame of one of the buildings nearby, the windows just exploded out and rained down onto the street, that's the screaming, nothing to do with me. So where was I? Ah yes, I found the divine other was not alone. In fact with the sources from the leaflets and booklets from the Foundation I was able to contact all manner of others and trade with them.

Why? I wanted perfection I told you that, and these odd intelligences could, so it seemed, offer me that…

No, not at first. At first it was only objects of value. I traded my Rolex watch for the ability to read and write Mandarin. My car, an Aston Martin, I swapped for a reduction in body fat and cholesterol an increase in over-all muscle mass and, well without getting too crude, a little extension of the old man. My business was sold over to one enterprising entity who got rid of my pancreatic cancer. It's all on record, one day I'm terminal the next I'm not. Things got tough after that.

Why? Well I had less and less of any value to them but I was addicted, I wanted more, more power to change things, I wanted more perfection…

How did they what? Oh, direct possession. Yes, like The Exorcist, but without all the pea-soup and ridiculous blasphemy.

Wow that was loud, Did you hear that? The thunder yes. It was a rush I can tell you. I felt like a superhero at first, my brain raced and my body felt like iron. Eventually though I became as addicted to that as I did perfection. I gave everything I could until I was nearly destitute. Life without them became a dull insipid blur. I needed them to work wonders upon my self and the world and instead they feigned disinterest despite my desperation, probably because of it.

Yes, that's when I started killing. The first thing was a chicken, it was horrible but the trade gave me such a high. I can't even recall what it was I asked for now; all I remember was it slithering through my synapses and tugging on my nerves. By that point it was all I was after. They still kept up the pretence of trade for a while but like every good junkie, they keep chasing a greater high and the costs kept going up and up…

Yes, I killed them in order to become possessed by more and more potent intelligences. Demons makes it sound a bit silly but if you're happy with that yes... No I don't suppose you are happy with it, but it is the truth. That's why I say I didn't kill the others. My passengers could often be quite depraved or excessive. No I don't expect you to believe it but that's the truth. In an attempt to become perfect, I lost everything, I've wandered the streets for months, I'm starving, I'm fucking dying…

Did I mention I had a bomb? No no don't panic. I see the cavalry are here and listening in. They don't need the guns. The bomb is not set. I was supposed to blow it up earlier. Stay back!

Why? Well because I tried to quit, I really did, but the craving was just too much and well, I was duped. The only thing willing to trade with me wanted me to blow up a lot of people. I agreed but when I woke up I decided enough was enough. So now it 's after me… Jesus the sky, wait… Oh god no...

Stay back! The lightning's for me... Stay b…

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