Vending Machine Lunch (12 page)

The thought
quickly diminished after his hands came into contact with his ID
card. He thrust it in the line of sight of the riot Enforcer, who,
after inspecting it, let him pass.

Jack slipped
through the riot barrier and into the crowd ahead, accidentally
dropping his ID card to the ground as he tried to return it to his
pocket. He instantly went to pick it up, however, after being
pushed back into the crowd by oncoming people he decided that he
didn’t really care that much about the ID card. After all, it
wasn’t as if he’d need it again after today. An Enforcer who
watched the surveillance camera screens would find him guilty of
murder and shoot him. And that would be that.

Jack considered
as he walked, what it must be like to be shot in the head. One
second; life. Your head filled with gossip, tax raises,
girlfriends, work colleagues, CRT casuals, tobacco, politics,
lottery, the war against Union, stupid animated paperclips that get
in the way of your word processing, neo-terrorists, PP drugs,
riots, the land’s father, the fluff poking out of the hole on the
seat in the Metro. Next second; pain.

And then…
nothing. Jack found it quite hard to imagine nothing. No thoughts,
no movement, no vision, no sound, no smell, no taste, no breathing,
no not-breathing, no… nothing.

Zero
anything.

His mind
chuckled immorally as he thought that Eliza would very soon not
have the privilege of a quick and easy death as he was soon would
be entitled to. His body shook with excitement at the thought of
bringing his switchblade to her naked body. Her reaction would be
inexplicably beautiful; at last he would be bringing her back to
reality. Showing her what life was really like. Showing her how
much she had hurt him.

Jack knew why
he was angry with her. He could no longer stand her not being with
him anymore and he was almost ashamed of the fact. The thought that
he would never again be able to see her beautiful face light up
with happiness when they met tormented him like a child poking a
dragon with a stick. He missed the happiness they both felt, he
missed the sex, he missed everything about her. Eliza had become
his life and now it was over and never to be repaired, he couldn’t
stand living. He still loved her with all his heart, but hated her
with all his fury and might at the same time.

And now his
fury wanted to commit obscene acts of torture on her. He knew full
well that there was no chance she’d go back to him. Raping her
before chopping her into tiny little pieces wouldn’t bring her
back. It would make things worse, and yet, he still felt compelled
to do it. Horrifically compelled.

Another right
turn and he was at the block of flats that Eliza lived in. He knew
she would be in. She was always in at this time. They’d spend this
time together. Every week. Week after week. Loving and sharing what
happiness they had together. But no more. And today, Jack would put
an end to his frustration, his fury, his hatred.

The
receptionist eyed Jack suspiciously as he entered the block.

“Excuse me sir,
what is your business here?” she demanded rudely, as Jack attempted
to get through the barrier without acknowledging her. Jack turned
and looked at the monstrosity the landlord called a
receptionist.

“Wow, they
really do put lipstick on pigs,” Jack muttered, grinning slightly
and letting out a breath of genuine laughter rather quietly.

“Excuse me!”
the woman’s face screwed itself up, resembling a pitbull dog, “If
you’re here to cause trouble and insult me you can leave
immediately. You do realise that the Enforcers are not too far
away, so I can get you thrown out of here quite easily.”

“The Enforcers
may not be far away,” smirked Jack, his voice straining constantly,
“But believe me, they are far too busy to be bothered with a nobody
like me. That said, I do apologise, for, insulting you.”

“Apology noted.
What do you want?” the receptionist snapped, glancing over to a CRT
screen on her right and tapping a few keys on a control desk.

“I believe
Eliza lives here,” said Jack, still smiling as though he was in
some sort of hypnotised trance, “In fact I know Eliza lives
here.”

“Room six,”
said both the woman and Jack at the same time.

“What is your
business here sir?” said the woman, clearly unimpressed and
suspicious.

“Do not assume
to understand,” said Jack with a smile, “Because hypothetically,
you won’t. In fact, literally, you won’t. You must not
underestimate me for I am capable of so much more than what this
life can achieve for me. To you, I’ll be speaking nonsensical
nonsense, whereas to someone who has been blessed, someone such as
myself, I’m speaking the words of God.”

“Wha-?” the
woman looked baffled.

“I can’t get
the inconvenient truth out of my head,” Jack blurted, “I need to
see her.”

There was a
pause as the receptionist idly tapped a few buttons on her control
desk. Her eyes lifted from the glare of the CRT screen and back
onto Jack, where they stayed, starting at him curiously.

“Mister, you
haven’t explained what your business is here,” she said, becoming
bored of Jack’s lunatic act.

“That would be
because I am not here to commit an act of business. No, I am here
for strictly personal matters only.”

The woman
sighed, “Why didn’t you say that in the first place? As much as I
dislike you, there is no need for the bashfulness. Eliza is a
lovely girl; you’ve done well to pull her. I do need to see your
intercourse card however.”

Jack let out
another uneasy breath of laughter, “Do not assume to understand. I
am not here for that kind of personal business. I am assuming that
Eliza is inside.”

The woman
checked the CRT screen and tapped a few buttons.

“Yes.”

“Good. I’m
going in.”

“Excuse me
sir!” the woman called as Jack began to head down the corridor to
room six, “You have not explained what you are doing here.”

“Is it such a
crime nowadays to visit a friend? My Eliza has been waiting for my
visit for a while now. I wish to see that she receives what is
coming to her. And that would be my visit.”

“But I need to
know what you are doing. If you do really visit Eliza often, you
should know the questioning procedure when arriving without her
presence.”

“Eating protein
bars and watching sleazy daytime casuals,” repLIED Jack.

“Really?”

“No. Can I go
in now?”

The woman
sighed again, “Go on. Get out of my sight. Any sign of trouble and
I’ll get Enforcers on you.”

“You’ve already
played that card,” smirked Jack as he walked away, “And it wasn’t
that brilliant the first time round.”

Jack walked to
room six. Ignoring the slot for a magnetic strip card, he knocked
on the door.

“You,” was the
reply as the face emerged from the crack of the open door.

“We need to
talk,” Jack said lamely at the door.

“I don’t want
to,” Eliza snapped back and started the close the door. But Jack
got has arm in the gap and stopped her.

“Do not assume
to understand,” said Jack, putting on his rather inane smile, “I
don’t want that sort of chat. Give me five. That is all I ask.
Five.”

Eliza narrowed
her eyes slightly. Jack liked her inquisitive look; it reminded him
of when they were together. All he needed, all he desired was to
get inside. To see her beautiful body and soul in the full again.
The days of being alone without her had almost driven him insane,
driven him to destruction. Eliza was his drug and he needed his
fix. It’s what made him happy.

Jack’s mind was
dragged back to when she first left him. Oh how he howled with
fury. They say the bigger you are, the harder you fall and this was
certainly the case for Jack’s ego. In a matter of hours he turned
from Mr Proud himself to savage beast, incapable of pronouncing
words. He furiously clawed at the wallpaper in his flat shrieking
vowels. Jack had been the biggest faller that night.

“Okay then,”
said Eliza, reopening the door, “Five. And this better be good
Jack.”

Fireworks of
sheer joy exploded in Jack’s mind, his body tingled with
excitement. The same feeling he had before he first had sex with
her. Apart from this time he knew that they would be sharing
something quite different from sexual intercourse. His mind
chuckled at the thought that he wouldn’t even be able to have legal
sex with her anyway for his intercourse card lacked points. He’d
have to wait a couple of months to collect enough points. Or buy
some. But they were extortionate.

“Let’s hear it
then,” Eliza said as she closed the door and stared at Jack. He
stared back.

She was just as
beautiful as he remembered. Gorgeous long ginger hair flowing down
her sexy face and onto her firm breasts. His eyes continued down,
past the hair, lovingly lapping in the sight of her supple waist.
Perfection itself was there in front of him. She was the perfect
person, the perfect human.

Lust for her
turned into jealousy as it dawned on him that she was no longer
his. Zealous vigilance pumped around his body, its energy making
his heart pump faster, generating fury. Oh how he hated her. With
every second has hatred grew by enormous lengths. Entire planets
and solar systems were filled with Jack’s hatred for the… thing… in
front of his eyes. Imperfection itself was there in front of him.
She was the most imperfect object in the land.

“Jack-“ she
began worriedly, looking at him eye her up. That is as far as she
got. With effective force, Jack picked her up by her clothes and
threw her onto her bed. She began to scream, but was quickly
stopped by a rough hand over her mouth and a switchblade knife in
her face.

“Shut up!”
growled Jack, “Or I’ll have you turned into a requiem.”

Eliza continued
to struggle on the bed for a few seconds longer, before deciding
that it was getting her nowhere. Now laid back on the bed, her eyes
focused fearfully on the knife. Jack could see tears were welling
up already. She was shaking, just like he was. But not with
excitement, with fear.

Jack stared
into her eyes. They were hazel, now glassy with the tears. The
eternal depth of her iris was almost overwhelming. He was here now,
why wasn’t he doing something? He had dreamed of this moment for
days now, and yet, now he was here, he didn’t want to be. Now he
could see, he didn’t want to see anymore.

What am I here
to do again, he thought. Jack gently let go of Eliza and stepped
back off the bed.

Tu tu tu tu tu.
Tu tu tu tu tu.

Eliza sat up,
still tearful. She began taking off her clothes.

“What are you
doing?” asked Jack, not quite believing what was happening.

“This is what
you want isn’t it?” she replied, blinking back tears and fighting
to take the fear out of her voice, “You can have it. Just don’t
hurt me, whatever you do, don’t hurt me.”

“Are you thick
or something!?” burst Jack, pointing the knife at her from a
distance, “I don’t want your sex! I don’t want you! I want you
dead! I want you out of my life! Out of my mind!”

Discontinuing
her undressing, Eliza slumped. Speechless.

“Get up! Get up
and get dressed you pleb!” ordered Jack. Eliza obeyed.

“Jack, whatever
this is, we can sort it out. Don’t make me have to get the
Enforcers,” said Eliza.

“It’s too damn
late for that!” Jack hissed, approaching her with the switchblade
knife still pointing at her chest.

“Clearly it
isn’t Jack,” snapped Eliza, “If your heart was really set to this
you’d have raped and killed me already. You’re floundering. You’re
having doubts. You’re seeing the monster the green eyed monster has
made you become.”

“Do not assume
to understand, Eliza the second,” Jack straightened himself up, his
face in her face, “You must not underestimate what your departure
has done to me. You’re fabulous. You’re beautiful. Even you’re name
seems different from everyone else’s. You’re a unique snowflake.
It’s a damned shame that everyone else is also a God-damn unique
snowflake! You need to die!”

“You must not
underestimate what PP drugs can do to you,” snapped Eliza, “What
was it? Bliss? Happy? Ecstasy? Whatever it was it’s screwed with
your mind. And since we are on the topic; no, I am not getting back
together with you and I am not going to let you kill me either.
You’re a sick man Jack. It’s just a damned shame that everyone else
is so God-damn sick in this land as well!” she glanced out her
window where the masses on the street were still protesting.

“Shut the hell
up!” screamed Jack, grabbing Eliza by the neck and pinning her up
against the wall, “I hate you!”

Eliza struggled
to get Jack off her, attempting to make a sound.

“I hate you!”
screamed Jack again; fighting to keep Eliza pinned on the wall. He
pointed the knife at her face, “So what about it huh?! Let’s see
what the great Eliza can do when I remove something! How about an
eye?! I’ll let you choose which, God-damn, one!”

“You were
having doubts about this a minute ago!” yelled Eliza in panic,
unintentionally spitting in Jack’s face, “Is this what you want? To
murder the person you love? You moron get the hell off me!”

“What makes you
think I love you?” hissed Jack bringing the knife alarmingly close
to Eliza’s left eye.

Eliza shrieked
with terror as the blade came painfully close to her eyeball. She
attempted to back off in panic, but found her back was already sunk
into the wall as far as physically possible. The very tip of the
blade made contact with her eyeball and she froze in terror. She
stared up at the madman in front of her, pupils making contact,
irises contracting. All it would take was another slight movement
off Jack and her eyeball would be history. Her eyes began watering,
silent tears pouring down her face.