A cold, sharp pain ran down his spine. He could feel it now, even without having taken the medicine. Sebastian could feel the man watching him, every step he took. The world spinning, the blood on the walls blurring, some of it real and some of it his. The rest belonged to the corpse on the floor.

Sebastian grabbed a cloth and began to dust his forehead and wipe off the sweat beads that were dripping down his nose. He looked in the mirror, and staring back was the familiar stranger who he never wished he’d met. They were the one covered in blood, not him. Their ties were matching, their suits stained in the same way, but he forced himself to believe that he was not the man who was looking back at him.

He pulled the medicine down off the shelf. The bright label scorned him for thinking about trying this, but he had to. It was the only way he could escape the vile creature he could become. His mind shut off for a brief moment, and Sebastian was looking at himself in the mirror once again. The familiar stranger smiled at his new reflection.

Returning back to the mangled corpse, he took out a knife and ripped off a small memento. A single finger, the ring still stuck firmly on. The blood dripped out from the wound, but it was not as much as the pool that had spilled out when he last killed.

The familiar stranger stepped out into the dark, black night. A shroud would allow him to take the body to where he intended to. Hoisting it up using his newfound strength, he dragged it over to his car.

No witnesses must see it, but he so loved the thrill of having to kill, so having a witness for him to pull apart increased the excitement he got from this. He’d hoped that by carrying this over into the river, he’d get caught more easily… and his knife would taste blood sooner.

Sure enough, a young man was waiting by a lamppost. He was the only one around, and he appeared to be watching. The moment he saw the body fall into the river and sink beneath, he opened his mouth. The familiar stranger had already cupped a hand over it, and the knife was at his throat. Sebastian hissed silently, and pulled the man aside. A quick flick of his wrist and the man was on the floor, twitching violently and making a fruitless effort to cry out for help. Another strike, straight into the heart. The man fell silent, and Sebastian ripped off a ring finger, the wounds much more clean this time.

Hurling the other body into the river, he watched them both drift downstream. He had made sure that there was as little DNA on either body as possible, but his bloodthirsty smile showed his enjoyment of the hunt.