Artistic Slashing Ch.16 (Patreon)

Chapter 16

Hitchhiker II

Betty lay back, her hooves resting on the tub's edge, and enjoyed the warmth as steam rose gently from the bath. The advantage of such a large bath was being able to revert to her true self.

Having a tail sounded cool and different, but really, it was a hassle. You could never sit comfortably, even with the weird gap they had in the seat backs here. And there was no way to be truly comfortable laying on your back.

As she soaked in the tub, Betty was spying on her neighbors. Her Slasher Senses were developed enough at this point that the life signs of everyone in the little complex were clearly visible to her.

Her focus was currently on the couple in the chalet next to hers. They were acting… strangely. So far, they had only been in the same room for ten minutes of vigorous ‘cuddling.’ Betty grinned to herself, remembering the flickering and color shifts of the life signs. She had not, up until now, observed many Bovinians purely through their life signs. The strange amorphous glow indicating a living person was easy to ignore if you could see the person.

But now, only observing through walls, Betty was once more struck by how much information she could get from the weird glow. When two people interacted, their life signs showed it. When they liked each other, their life signs seemed to reach toward each other. It was kind of sweet.

Which is why the couple seemed to be acting so strangely. Their life signs reached toward each other, yet if one entered the room, the other immediately left.

Betty rose and got out of the tub. Drying herself on a towel, she looked speculatively out the frosted glass of the bathroom window. It was almost fully dark now. Dinner would soon be served in the restaurant in the main Chalet, and Betty was hungry.

She still had hours left on the cooldown of Shift Form, so someone had to die so she could go to dinner.

Betty dressed, her clothes once more having cleaned and pressed themselves. Her T-shirt was currently depicting the Necronomicon from the Evil Dead movie series eating ice cream.

She had no idea what that was about, but she liked it.

Slipping out the back door of the chalet, she slunk around the side and darted across to the neighboring chalet. It was all quiet inside as Betty pressed her ear to the side.

Betty moved to the back door and quietly broke the lock. Being this strong was incredibly fun!

“Darling, it’s fine.” The voice was female and sounded irritated.

“I know, but I still want a minute to myself,” This voice was male and sounded sulky.

“You did fine, sweetheart.” The woman said. “You will last longer next time.”

“I… just want some time to myself.” The man grumped.

Betty slapped her hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing. Oops, guess it was a case of hair-trigger syndrome.

Betty quietly slipped into the room, the life signs on the other side of the chalet. They were on either side of a door.

He was hiding in the bathroom.

Bless.

“Well, I want to go to dinner,” The woman sighed again.

“Go then, I’m fine.” The man snapped.

The woman kicked the door and stormed out of the chalet. Betty watched her life signs move over to the main chalet. Once they seemed to settle, she moved forward.

Keeping one eye on the distant life signs, Betty approached the door to the bathroom. Grumbling came from within.

“Not my fault, I was just nervous….” A pause, “Come on, big guy, we can do this!”

Betty couldn’t help it.

She laughed.

Loudly.

“Hello?” A nervous squeaky voice. A cough, “Who’s out there?” The voice tried to sound gruff and threatening.

It didn’t work.

“Your lady sent me over as a surprise!” Betty said, still fighting the laughter. “She said I should try to help you last a little longer when she returns!”

“You fucking Bitch!” The door slammed back, and a short, squat bovinian male rushed out.

Betty stared in shock.

“Wow, it really is a big guy,” Betty said as he stared up and up and up at her.

He opened his mouth to scream, so she hit him in the throat. He bent over, coughing and spluttering. The man was short, even for a Bovinian, but he made up for it in muscle mass. He was almost as wide as he was tall.

Betty struck before he recovered from the shock of her punching him in the throat. Hacky and Slashy both hit him, severing his legs at the knee.

As he went to scream again, this time in pain, her hoof caught him in the head, his neck snapping with the force of the blow.

Shift Form - Cooldown Reset!

Betty blinked away the notification and smiled. It was a convenient way to reset a cooldown. She grinned as the corpse slowly toppled forward onto the floor. Blood pooled behind it as the severed legs continued to leak fitfully.

The smell of steak filled the air, and Betty’s stomach growled.

She needed to eat.

Betty looked down at the dead Bovinian and changed her dinner plans.

There was a grill on the back patio of her chalet; it’d be a shame not to use it.

=============

Just over an hour later, Betty was just finishing her second leg steak. It had cooked up perfectly on the outside grill. She had only taken a couple of steaks from the body.

It would have been nice to take more, maybe set up a smoker of some sort. The little guy had definitely been the ‘my body’s a temple’ type, and it really showed in the flavor of the meat. Top marks, honestly.

She washed the last bite down with a swig of the weird, beer-like drink she had found in the walker’s backpack and stared out into the night. She was vaguely aware of the life sign approaching her chalet and didn’t jump at the knock on the door.

“Out back!” She yelled over her shoulder.

Ja’net came round the side of the chalet and knocked theatrically on the wooden posts of the patio. “Evening, I noticed you weren’t at dinner. Is everything okay?”

“Perfect, thanks.” Betty smiled contentedly. “I had some meat I wanted to grill up, so when I saw the grill….” She trailed off.

“Great, well, I just wanted to let you know that the unknown is out again. We will get it fixed tomorrow when it’s light.”

“No problem,” Betty said happily.

“Also, it looks like a pretty bad storm is coming. We get it pretty bad up here on the hill, so if you go out tonight, be careful. These storms can last for days around here.” She smiled nervously at Betty, “We don’t want any accidents.”

Betty mentally flashed back to Hat-on-Field and the kill she missed out on when the woman accidentally killed herself.

“No, no, we don’t,” Betty said. “Want a drink?” Betty offered another bottle of what she was assuming was beer to Ja’net.

“I can’t, sorry,” Ja’net said. “I have to keep a clear head until everyone goes to bed. Maybe I can come by later?” She smiled at Betty.

“Oh, I think that would be just perfect,” Betty smiled back.

“Just to talk!” Ja’net said quickly.

“Oh, I love the cut and thrust of a good conversation,” Betty said with a laugh.

Ja’net nodded uncertainly and waved as she hurried off to the next chalet.

Betty hoped she didn’t go in.

It would be a waste to kill her now when she had offered to come by in secret later.

By the time Ja’net had finished her rounds of the chalets, dinner was evidently over. The woman from next door was still in there, however. The wind and rain were really starting to fall now, lighting danced over the valley below, and the first peals of thunder echoed over the hill.

Betty gave a happy little cheer. She would bet those damn vehicles couldn’t fly in this weather. That left the winding road as the only way up to this little hotel. For days, Ja’net had said.

Betty slipped off her porch and into the shrubbery, moving toward the road in long, low strides. Once she was out of sight of the hotel, she broke into a jog.

The wind pulled at her jacket as she ran down the road; lightning split the sky. It was just like the storm back at the camp.

Arriving at the bottom of the road, Betty was surprised to see the two large trees that had flanked the turn had already come down.

Huh.

That saved her a job, at least.

Something caught her eye as she was turning to go back up the road. It was the trees. She moved closer, examining the base of the trees. They didn’t look like they fell in the storm. The bases had a slightly burnt look to them, and the holes themselves….

Betty leaned into the holes that had so recently held these great trees. Scraping the top layer of mud away, she grinned.

Scortched and blackened ground lay under the mud. Someone had planted an explosive under each tree and detonated them as the storm started. It must have been when the thunder had rolled over the valley, or there was no way it would have been hidden from her Senses.

Someone else wanted this place closed off, isolated.

Betty laughed to herself in the pouring rain.

“For a planet full of herd animals, there sure are a lot of killers about.” Betty kept chuckling to herself as she trotted back up the road and slipped into her chalet.

It looked like this weekend might be more fun than she had expected.

==========

The woman next door finally returned to her chalet, weaving back and forth as she stumbled her way through the rain. She was very clearly pissed off her head as she fumbled with her key.

“Need a hand?” Betty asked kindly as she came up beside the woman.

“I need more than a hand, hunny,” She laughed drunkenly at her own joke. “But I’m a get what I need once I open this damn door!” She kicked the door and almost fell over.

Betty took the key from her and opened the door before pulling her to her feet and ‘helping’ her inside.

“Wow, you’re strong.” The woman said blearily. “Chu’cka, I’m home!” She giggled.

“Sure you don’t need a hand?” Betty asked as she closed the door.

“Well, you’re strong and all, but I only like guys, sorry.” She grinned and fell over the corpse on the floor.

“Chuck’s a little busy.” Betty chuckled. “Let me give you a hand,” Betty threw Ch’ucka’s severed hand at the woman, stunning her. “Way to ruin a great joke, by the way.”

Betty leaped over the corpse and landed on the woman as she lay sprawled on the floor. Placing one hand over her mouth and the other on the back of the woman’s head, she slowly twisted until the head faced the other way.

Betty placed the body in the bed, laying Ch’ucka’s corpse next to her in bed. She entwined their arms and pulled up the sheets. As the final touch, she jabbed one of the severed legs onto each of the bedposts at the base of the bed.

With a final look around, she felt something was missing.

Inspiration struck, and she dipped two fingers in one of the rapidly drying pools of blood and drew a stylized heart on the wall over the bed.

That was better.

With the storm raging, the short walk back over to her chalet was enough to wash the little blood from her clothes and hands.

She was just drying herself off when the knock on the door reminded her Ja’net was coming over.

Wrapping her hair in a towel, she trotted over to the front door and opened it.

“Hey,” Ja’net whispered, “I’m not too late, am I?”

“No, no. Come on in.” Betty smiled at the younger woman as she stood aside.

Ja’net ducked her head as she came in.

Betty took a moment to really look at the little Bovinian for the first time. She had gotten out of the habit as they had just merged into an interchangeable set of victims to her.

Ja’net was darker skinned than most Bovinians, and her horns were almost metallic-looking. Lithe muscles rippled along her frame as she turned and placed a pair of glasses on the small table in the main room. She winked and pulled a bottle of something dark and spicy smelling from the little black bag she was carrying over her shoulder.

Combined with the black and white dress, complete with a little white apron, the whole effect should have rendered her a ‘background person.’ You know, the kind you forget is there a second after they leave your sight.

But Ja’net’s crowning glory, her raven black hair, made her green eyes almost seem to shine out of her face. The whole effect just screamed, ‘Notice me.’

“I’m glad we decided to do this,” She said shyly, handing Betty a glass of the spicy-smelling alcohol. Betty took a sip, finding it to be similar to a heavily spiced Rum.

“Me too,” Betty said, “I’ve been looking forward to it.”

Ja’net winked again. “It’s funny you said how much you like the cut and thrust of a good conversation,” She said as she rummaged in her bag. “I’m quite a fan myself.”

Betty felt like the world lurched out from underneath her as she crumpled, landing awkwardly in one of the large, comfy chairs. Her head was spinning, and her heart was beating out of her chest.

At long last, she remembered to use the investigate spell on the young Ja’net.

Changeling Female Lvl 30

Class: Death Cultist

Class: Serial Killer

Fuck!

Betty struggled to pull herself up as a beaming Ja’net turned from her bag, a large kitchen knife in her hand.

“Oh, yes. Do get comfortable!” Ja’net laughed. “I do so like my guests to be relaxed.” She paced over to Betty and climbed onto her lap, sitting astride her and lovingly running the tip of the knife along her face.

Betty struggled, finding her whole body paralyzed. Where the hell was her regeneration when she needed it?

“So, what’s a Slasher?” Ja’net whispered in her ear, “Is it like me?” She giggled and gave Betty a peck on the cheek. “I think it is, which is why I’m going to save you till last!” She kissed Betty full on the lips, nipping her bottom lip for a second before she pulled away. “Just kidding!”

Ja’net giggled, and Betty felt a sharp blade slice across her throat. It snagged slightly on her skin on the way out as blood flowed from the wound. Ja’net leaned down and licked at the blood as it flowed out of the wide cut.

“Off to work now, Babe!” Ja’net said as she climbed off Betty. “I promise you; I’ll be back to play with you later!” She walked out the door, laughing in a high-pitched hyena-like way as her hair blew in the wind.

Betty lay there for another minute, feeling her life’s blood trickling down her chest before it stopped. Feeling began to return to her body. She stretched and growled as the regeneration flushed the last of the drug from her system.

If the crazy bitch hadn’t slit Betty’s throat, her regeneration wouldn’t have activated. It apparently didn’t consider paralyzing agents to be damage.

She would have to be careful of that in the future.

In the meantime… she stood and started a series of stretches as a terrified scream came from across the hexagonal parking lot. The wild hyena laugh came just as the scream cut off, and Betty grabbed Hacky and Slashy from her pack.

It was time to hunt!