Author’s POV:

Word of the Red Ants Gang destruction was spreading like wildfire among the criminal syndicate of Clown City. Every rat on every corner was passing whispers among themselves. Eventually. Word got to the police department and they sent their officers to investigate the crime scene but when they got there, they only discovered a handful of bodies far less than what Smoke Pac had killed.

No one among the cops or crime lords had any solid information on the identity of the culprit who was so bold enough to massacre a protected gang. They were some speculation about the ghost of Smoke Pac resurrecting from the dead to claim his vengeance but this theory was quickly bypassed by men with rational minds who didn’t believe in superstitions.

Similar adverse events that transpired in Clown City since Smoke Pac’s resurrection was being talked about by a group of ladies who were having their hair styled inside a respectable salon named, Silky Gel Care.

An objectively attractive brunette voiced a question for the other ladies to hear, “Hey, girls did you hear about that fire that broke out the other day at the morgue?”

“I sure did, Caral. It was blowing up on my social, I couldn’t ignore it.” Said a portly lady who had her phone in her hand.

Another lady voiced her thoughts, “There was a series of murders that occurred earlier that night. Early investigation suggests that the culprit might be the same guy.”

Hearing this, Caral inquired, “How can you be so certain that the culprit is a man, Miranda?”

Stylishly flashing her long fingernails, Miranda answered, “Well, duh, only men alone are stupid enough to kill so many people in that grotesque format. No woman in their right mind could ever achieve that level of brutality.”

“I beg to differ. By the way, Miranda, aren’t you the one who was talking about women can do anything that men can do ten times better? So why do you believe that these string of murders were only caused by men?” Caral made a cogent point that got Miranda thinking.

Miranda tried glossing over the question by saying, “That’s a different thing girl. I didn’t mean what I said in that way.”

“But fair is fair. If you are going to put women in the same league as men then at least consider both possibilities.” Carl looked through the mirror to direct her attention to the fabulous lady styling her hair and asked, “What do you think, Delilah?”

“About what?” Delilah wanted more clarity on the context of the question being asked before she give an answer. She was Smoke Pac’s ex-wife who left him to shack up with Sharp Stepper, therefore, she had a lot of experience with the criminal scenery. She had also witnessed a few people getting killed before, so when Caral clarified to her the plain context of her question, she gave a reasonable answer based on her experience.

Delilah agreed with Miranda’s statement that it was a man without a doubt who murdered those people and set ablaze the morgue. When she was instructed to give a reason she said that women are more likely to do things more sneaking as opposed to men who are usually outright with their violence. The female customers in the shop agreed with her answer 100%.

“Wow, Delilah. You really opened my eyes today.” Commented Caral. She observed her hairstyle through the mirror and was pleased with it. “Damn girl, I’m looking fine as hell. My man will be drooling when I visit him later tonight.”

“I’m glad you like it.” Delilah smiled as she removed the thin plastic covering from around Caral. “Who’s next?”

“I am.” The lady who was next in line for Delilah’s services got up from where she was waiting and went over to take her seat in the hairdressing chair. However, someone else beat her to the chair. Contrary to what they expected, it wasn’t another woman but a husky man who had a razor tattoo around his neck who commandeered the chair.

“Hey, where the fuck did you come from cutting ahead of me like this.” Miranda was genuinely pissed off by the man’s abrasive manner of shoving her out of the path to settle within Delilah’s chair. She even caused a scene in the salon that made everyone direct their focus to the rude fellow. The disturbed women had much to say about him.

“What’s that man’s deal? Couldn’t he have waited his turn instead of cutting her off like that?”

“Is he that eager to get his hair done?”

“But they are other available seats in the shop, why did he rush for that one specifically?”

“Who knows, probably he has a thing for Delilah. Come to think of it, he looks really hot.”

“Of course, you would say that, Shari. You love the bad boy types.”

“I can’t help it, I’m wired that way. Assholes are fun to sleep with.”

“Try telling that to Miranda. She looks like she is about to set a fuse on that man.”

“Excuse me, mister.” Miranda kept buzzing her fingers on the man’s shoulder. “I said you’re in my chair. Now get the fuck up.” She received no response from the man.

“Are you fucking deaf?” Miranda couldn’t take it anymore, she switched her focus to Delilah and said, “Do something about this guy. This is your joint. You can’t tend to his hair before mine.” She plucked a strand of the man’s hair and continued her derisive rant, “Why the fuck is your hair so long. Are you queer or something?”

No matter how many insults, Miranda tossed at the man, he remained silent with his reflecting gaze fixated on Delilah.

“Ahm…” Staring back through the mirror at the man sitting before her, Delilah couldn’t prevent her hands from shaking. She looked veritably terrified as if she had an encounter with a living ghost. Eventually, she opened her mouth and spoke.

“I’m sorry, I have to step out for a bit.” Delilah dropped her comb on the floor as she hastily motioned her feet to the back of her establishment.

“What’s up with her?” The onlookers in the salon had no clue why Delilah reacted the way she did. Some thought she wanted to use the bathroom and others thought that she was afraid of the man.

“What the…?” Giving her attention back to the chair, Miranda saw that the man was no longer sitting there. “Where the hell did he go?” This was a mystery to all who were present in the salon.

Creek!

The rear door of Silky Gel Care swung open with an intensity that loosened the hinges. Delilah rushed into the alley with her fingers sunk deep in her hair. She was in a disbelieving state about what she saw earlier, but she knew she wasn’t insane because the other customers in the shop saw him too.

“That was definitely Chris or was it just his look alike?” Delilah started thinking that it was a case of mistaken identity. “But the way he was looking at me… those savage eyes were surely his. I’ve heard rumours that Chris had risen from the dead but I just can’t believe it. I need to cool off my head.”

On her way to the alley’s exit, Delilah walked right into something that felt like a brick wall. She had her head hanging low so she didn’t realize what she had bumped into until she lifted her head.

“Huh!” Her eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw who it was standing before her. It wasn’t a wall she had run into, but a solid person who had come back for vengeance. “Chris is that you?”

“In the flesh.”