- Prior Note for recent commentary : yes, you are correct, the real name of James wife is Mary. But James used the title Maria. To this day I do not know why, perhaps he enjoyed the so called woman Maria over Mary. Who knows, for now, let us continue.-

My evening plans had gone from a calm dinner with Mr. Sunderland to an night of terror. He had vanished completely from my dinner table, hidden within the refuge of darkness.

"James?" I called out once again, hoping he would reappear from the shadows. I was answered with all the lights in my house turning off. "Oh boy…"

It seemed that James had found my fuse box resting in the basement, and if that was the case it meant I would have to venture after him. I stumbled through the darkness, making my way to a small closet near my bathroom's door. Inside I found a large flash light and a fly swatter.

Why a fly swatter you ask? To explain bluntly, it was the only object I could find that would qualify as a weapon at the time. The good news was that I now had a source of light, which would aid me in my search for James. However, what I didn't realize at the time was that I wasn't hunting James… no… he was hunting me.

"Maria…" James's voice cackled off in the distance. He began to laugh, I could hear sobs in between his dark chuckles.

"James, this isn't funny!" I called out into the darkness. I flashed my light this way and that, slowly making my way to the basement. It was my only lead to finding this madman.

"I've been thinking Alex… that maybe you were the one who took Maria from me." James said. I could hear him perfectly, but he was nowhere near me.

"No… James… you killed her." I called back. I will be the first to admit my attempts to calm James down were feeble, but it was worth a shot.

James laughed, "No… that wasn't Maria. It… couldn't have been… I was… she… we were happy." The walls of my house began to shift and creek, as I found the staircase to the basement they slowly covered themselves with rust.

"Me and Maria, we were… we…" James began to laugh once more, it blared in my ears and forced me to cover them.

Indeed, my evening had taken a turn for the worst. James continued to ramble on about who knows what. I did my best to block him out. My basement was a modest place, I had laid throw rugs and wall décor intelligently throughout its interior. But thanks to James little freak-out session everything was dripping with blood now. Needless to say, I was more than upset.

"James! My flipping basement is covered in blood!"

"They're tears… tears of children lost, women suffering, men dying… of Maria… she was everything I had…" I could hear James begin to cry, I shook my head and let out a sigh.

"Freaking James…" I continued to walk towards my fuse box as James wept in the background, once again sad music began to play.

It surprises me, even to this day, how well I handled that situation. I think it was because James seemed more hell-bent on Maria then on me. So, despite the gruesome setting slowly forming in around me, I carried no fear whatsoever.

My flashlight shined onto the fuse box, sure enough James had turned off all the switches. If that wasn't enough, he'd taken the liberty to completely severe the main power line to the rest of the house. Flipping the switches was no longer an option, I would have to hunt down James in the dark - and then kick him the frick out of my house.

"James… it's late, I'm tired your tired, look let's…"

"I am tired… I'm so tired Alex. Maria, I keep dreaming about her, I can see her face. But, then you're there, with her. You and Maria are… together… why?"

In case you didn't fully understand what was happening, James was slowly making me into an enemy in his mind. At the time I didn't realize this, I thought maybe that he'd simply taken some drugs and was in the middle of hallucinating.

My theory was corrected however, when I felt cold steel slide across my calf muscle, cutting into my flesh with ease.

"Mother of pearl!" I screamed dropping to the floor.

James laughed, "The pain." He whispered gently in my ear, "Is… your friend."

I spun my head around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the man who slashed me. I did, I watched his body slowly slink back into the darkness. It was when I gazed down at my bleeding leg that I realized the situation was slightly more serious than I had realized.

Clamping down the wound, I thought of the best way to remove this man from my house. Calling the police was an option, but something told if I tried to use my landline it would be severed. The only option then was my cell phone, which lay happily in my room two floors above me.

"James… let's have some rules about this engagement." I called out into the dark. Surprisingly the madman answered.

"Ok."

"Uh… let's see… you can't slice me anymore. You have to use a weapon like the one I have." I stated holding out my fly swatter. Would this actually work? I could only pray it would.

"Ok." He replied indifferently. Remarkable! Never did I think James would actually approve of such ridicules rules. "I will… find a fly swatter." he stated, the pattering of his footsteps followed.

"Good, that gives me some time." I muttered to myself trying to stand on my sliced leg. Background music continued to play as I slowly limped up two flights of stairs to my second floor. By this point my entire house had become… rusty. The drywall hand been replaced with iron gates, my ceiling fixtures were now hooks covered with blood. I remember thinking clearly that James would never be allowed in my house again after this day. My bare feet clanked against the metal floor beneath me, my blood seeped into its cracks.

Amusing no? I didn't think so at the time, but looking back on it how many people can say they lived through such an event? But I digress, eventually I made it to my room. I checked it as swiftly as possible, making sure James wasn't hiding in some corner. When it seemed clear I entered, and when I did, the final battle began.

The main door shut behind me, my flashlight began to dim and the room grew at least twenty times in size! It felt like I was standing in the middle of an arena. Then, he began to speak once again.

"Were you… following me?" James asked.

Unsure how to reply I said, "Maybe?" an easy enough answer.

"What about Maria, you left her behind… doesn't she mean anything to you?"

"You mean the spaghetti?" I asked limping forward some. I will admit that the blood loss had made me slightly light headed. "It's there… on the table… waiting for you!" I called out to him.

James mumbled something under his breath, "Oh? What about you? Why isn't Maria for you? I thought you two were… in love."

"James, I'm not gonna lie I am so confused right now." I peered around to see if James was nearby, still no sign of him. It was difficult to see anything at this point, in fact, it didn't even feel like there was a floor beneath me. I floated, in an abyss of darkness, the only sense that was strong was my ears picking up the music playing in the background.

"Let's put this to rest. It's time to end this." James said to me with a dry voice.

I shrugged my shoulders, "Whatever man, lets just do this so you can go home."

There was silence, and I waited for his strike. He came from behind, or was it the side… strange I can't really remember. His moves were so swift, he came down upon me with all his might. In his hand rested a black flyswatter, I first met it when it struck across my face. It stung my flesh, I attempted to fight back but James was in a fury! He swatted with vigor and poise, every movement was thought out and planned. His swats so powerful, they overwhelmed me! I was forced to cover myself for protection. His swats continued, hammering me over and over. My bare skin was red and throbbing, James would not cease.

He never made a sound during that time, he never laughed, grunted, or screamed. I caught a glimpse of his face, he was completely indifferent on the matter. Only his hand moved as he sent judgment upon me with that… flyswatter. Like I child who had learned self -helplessness, and curled into the fetal position. At this point my only hope was that I wouldn't be killed by swats.

Then, just as quickly as it had begun, it ended. The swats stopped, the room feel silent, and once again I felt ground underneath my feet. I uncurled from my defensive position and looked around. My room had returned to normal, and James was nowhere to be found.

Later on, as I limped to my kitchen, I found a note resting there. It was signed by James, and simply read,

Maria…

As for James himself, I never saw him after that fateful day. I believe that to be for the better, for if our paths ever did cross again… I would be sure to flee as quickly as my feet would allow.

And so ends another tale of my extraordinary life. If you enjoyed that ramble, perhaps it is time for you to see my others. Being as old as I, the stories start to pile up. Till then,

- Acid35