Den of Iniquity

Ramón and Lachlan had been friends for a long time. The look on Lachlan’s face as they stood across the street from the new place was foreboding. “What’s wrong, Lachie? You look paler than usual.”

“Don’t go in there. I mean it, Ramón. There’s something about the place...”

“Relax, Lachie. I checked the place out. It’s just a brothel. No one will care if a few of the girls go missing.”

“It’s not that. I’m more worried about us going missing.”

“When is the last time you got laid?” Ramón asked. Lachie frowned. “C’mon. Take a look. Let me prove that it’s safe. You don’t have to go in right away.” Ramón dragged Lachlan across the street and pushed him up the fire escape. When they reached the third floor, Ramón pushed ajar one of the windows.

Lachlan pressed his face up against the glass and watched the couple in the room having sex. Their grunts and moans leaked out through the opening that Ramón had made. Lachie thought about throwing open the sash and lunging into the room. A sudden wave of dread stopped him. He turned to Ramón, “you can go in there if you want. I’m leaving.” He leapt down to the alley and ran across the street. Ramón followed, laughing.

Edgar strode out of the darkness. “You crazy, man? Ramón finds this cherry bordello ripe for the picking and you don’t want any of it?” He shook his head and spoke to Ramón, “Where’d you find this loco vamp? Edgar was the one who clued Ramón in to the place.

“Don’t mind Edgar. It’s a free country. If you don’t want to go in for a bite to eat, that’s fine. I’ll catch you later.” Ramón slapped Lachlan on the back. “Maybe bring you some takeout,” he winked.

Lachlan watched as Ramón and Edgar crossed over to the bordello. Maybe Ramón was right. Maybe he was just being crazy as Edgar had claimed. He decided to have another look at the place, but this time from higher up, closer to the roof. He peeked into the third-floor window to see the couple still at it. They were in the same position as before, their grunts and moans maintaining the same rhythm as before. He found another room with the shades open on the fifth floor. Inside the room, another couple who looked remarkably like the third-floor couple were busy sucking each other off.

Lachlan decided to check out one more room and climbed up to the eighth floor. He raised the sash on the unlocked window to listen in on what sounded like another couple engaged in some seriously wet sex. Lachie parted the drapes to peek inside and recognized Ramón’s tattooed wrist as it fell to the floor. The creature inside was busy tearing out Ramón’s internal organs and had a mouthful of liver when it spotted Lachie peering in through the window.

It lunged toward him as he quickly withdrew his arms and head. As he backed up against the railing of the fire escape the creature slammed into an invisible barrier. It ripped down the drapes in anger before going back to its feast. Lachlan watched as Edgar entered the room and listened to him as he spoke to the beast. “You’ll have to share, love. The other pigeon wouldn’t bite.”

“Outside,” the monster croaked pointing to the open window.