Kitch

Kitch was a happy go lucky lad in his youth with a devil may care attitude about things . He left school early and spent a lot of time chasing girls , going to parties and in between he played football for his hometown Auberville . After every the game he enjoyed a drink with his team mates .

Kitch found himself a regular job in the Centre Cellars working as a kitchen hand . As time passed they offered him an apprenticeship as a Chef .
Kitch soon found his way in the kitchen and had a passion for cooking . One of his greatest abilities was in creating meals from nothing . The end product was astonishing . It wasn’t long before he earned a reputation as being one famous cook . Many of the top restaurants had tried to persuade him to work for them but Kitch was loyal and happy where he was . Another reason why Kitch remained at there at Centre Cellars was the you8ng girl who always delivered fresh fish from the market . Her name was Molly but he called her his Fishy Dishy .

It was only a matter of time when love took a hold of him and he asked Sally to be his wife .

She was swept away with him and said yes .

For three years they were so happy together and then suddenly tragedy struck . One afternoon in the back alleyway Sally was on her way to deliver an order of seafood when she walked into a dispute between a group of young men . A gun was produced and a shot fired . Sally was killed by a ricochet bullet that was meant for someone else .

People said Kitch had died with her that day . He had withdrawn from life completely and was rarely ever seen .
His disappearance was felt by many people .
He was well liked and respected in Auberville .

Suddenly after ten years he resurfaced and started to work in a few of the local fast food joints .
He was now just a shadow of the person he once was . His hair was straggly long and grey . His face was covered in deep tracks and his two eye sockets
were dark lifeless holes .

Kitch worked away night after night making burgers and hot dogs for the usual street life passers by .

One stormy night Kitch finished his shift and was walking home down the same alleyway where his darling Molly was shot dead and suddenly a bolt of lightening struck an electrical sign nearby which caused all the lights to black out . Then as quickly as they went out they flickered back on again .

As the lights came back on he heard a car screech to a stop at the end of the alley . Then a girl came running down towards him . Three men jumped from the car and chased the girl .

Kitch watched helpless as he watched one of the men point a handgun and before his very eyes three shots were fired and the girl fell to the ground at Kitchs feet .

Something snapped inside Kitch , he took out a chefs knife from his bag and cut the throat of the killer . His accomplices turned and fled into the nigh .

Kitch dropped out of sight after that night and it was about at this time when
people began to go missing . Each week more people disappeared without a trace .

Police began an investigation and hunted the streets for clues, but they came up empty .

Then they found a mutilated body without a head in a toilet in the Cellar Café .
Another in an alleyway was discovered and a third headless corpse was found in the cool room of a fast food joint .

Even though the police told people to remain calm a panic had taken over and people in Auberville were leaving in their droves .

With more people going missing Auberville was fast becoming a ghost town .
In a brief time many small businesses were forced to shut .
One of the first to shut was the Cellar Café .
The sight of places boarded up had become a normal thing around the town .
The police had never made an arrest and ten years passed .

With the marching past of time a lot of the dark history behind the Auberville massacres had been forgotten .

A new wave of industry had begun to emerge at the outskirts of Auberville .
A wealthy stockbroker had started a plastics manufacturing plant and a number of small factories began to appear .

A outside builder and developer by the name of Mc Ilhenny was hired to establish a housing estate for the workers who would soon be on their way to work in the new industrial area .

Mc Ilhenny saw an opportunity to get rich quick and approached a number of business men and polititicians with his plan to rebuild Auberville. He presented his ideas with a silver tongue and soon it was all agreed and approved .
McIlheeny’s name was to included in all of the properties owned by the powerful syndicate .

Now times had changed and Auberville brimmed over with a new found confidence . There was a promise of jobs with new developments taking place everywhere .

McIlhenny had a look at the boarded up Centre Cellars and enquired about leasing or buying the site .
Everyone he spoke to seemed reluctant to talk to him about the idea of renovating the old restaurant .

This only spurred McIlhenny on further and he pushed harder to take on the
Business himself . McIlhenny was stubborn and arrogant

Apart from being a shrewd business man he was driven by an enormous ego .
After making a generous offer the real Estate agent was glad to due the last negotiations and have all the paperwork signed .

Now the old Cellar Café had a new manager and a new name .

McIlhenny was dreaming of all the money he was going to make .

As soon as McIlhenny was handed the keys to the Cellar Café he started renovations immediately .
Architects arrived and had to put up with all the demands of a greedy business man by the name of McIlhenny .
He wanted the plans drawn up for the new Kings Cellars and approval of those within a week .
McIlhenny had many contacts in the building game and always got what he wanted .
Within a week workmen arrived and they began pulling down walls and putting up fixtures .
The foreman contacted McIlhenny about a large steel container that was on the site .

Out in the back alleyway of café was a mysterious steel box construction .
It looked like a cool room or a storage area of some kind .
McIlhenny had no keys to the place and when he asked the Real Estate for them he was told that the site in question was not included as part of the lease agreement and a private individual owned the place .

He wasn’t happy about the thing being there but there was nothing he could do about it . The container seemed to be sealed and no one was able to opem it or see inside it . So it was a project on hold .

Three months passed and the final touches were being done to the Café .
McIlhenny had decided to begin advertising for employees .
Once the interviews were complete Mcllhenny selected a crew of people who fitted perfectly into his operation . The kitchen staff were all willing to work as casuals and be on call . They also had to multi task and be happy with the low wages offered .

With only a few days left until opening McIlhenny had managed to hire everyone except for a cook . A number of people were interviewed but none of them accepted the position to work in the Kings Cellars .
Mc Ilhenny was getting desperate as it was clearly seen by the way he spoke to his staff . Apart from being rude and arrogant he was also stressed .

One evening at dusk McIlhenny decided to go and spend some time alone in the Kings Cellars . He wanted to get a feel of the place .

He arrived in his fancy silver sports car and parked it in his personal reserved car spot . He got out of his car and made his way to the front door .
With a turn of a key he walked inside and switched on the lights .
He grunted as he walked across the room .

There were too many empty chairs for his liking .

When he made his way to the bar and bistro the telephone rang .
He proceeded to answer the call but when he picked up the handset the lights began to flicker on and off .

“Hello .“
He said .

“Yeah .I believe you’re looking for a chef .“
Came the reply .

“That’s right .Who am I talking to . ?”
He said .

“I am Kitch.“
The caller replied .

“Are you able to come in for an interview ?”
Mc Ilhenny said .

“Sure when ?”

“As soon as possible .“
McIlhenny said .

“Well it so happens I’m in the area now .”

“That’s great Kitch . Come right over then .”

“I’ll do that . “
The caller replied .

“Ok I’ll see you soon then .”
McIlhenny said .

“You will .“
The caller replied and the phone went dead .

McIlhenny turned around and came face to face with Kitch .
He was wearing a Chefs hat and holding a meat cleaver .

“Hello”. I’ve come about the job “

Mc Ilhenny froze in fear .
“What do you want ?”
He said .

“I want your business .“
Came the reply .

It was then the lights started to flicker again .
Between light and darkness Kitch was swinging the meat cleaver .
When the lights returned the headless body of McIlhenny was lying on the floor in pool of blood .
Kitch dragged the body over into the corner and opened the cellar door and dragged the body down the stairs into the wine cellars where he opened took a large butchers knife and cut McIlhenny down the middle .
Like opening a tin of sardines he ripped the skin off its bones and proceeded to hoist the remains up on a hook suspended from a chain that was fixed to a pulley on the rafters of the wine cellar roof .

When opening night came around Kitch explained to the understaffed kitchen crew that McIlhenny had given total control of Kings Cellars to him .
The new kitchen staff never contested Kitch’s authority .

The first two customers walked through the door .
Each of them were holding a bottle of wine . They were brought to their table by a waiter who said ,
“We do have a wine cellar here .“
They replied
“Yes we know . Why is there no menu on the table . ?”

The waiter went red in the face and said ,

“I’m sorry sir . I’ll see if I can bring you one .”

The customer continued ,
“I’d like to speak with the manager and can you bring two clean glasses .”

“I’m sorry sir but the managers not in this evening .”
The waiter replied .

“Well that’s strange . Opening night and the managers not in sight >”
said the disgruntled customer .

Then the front door opened and a group of six people walked inside .
The waiter was glad of an out and put two tables together and showed the party to their chairs .

Then he spun around and said .

“I’ll just get you those glasses .”

One of the large group asked .
“Have you a wine list ?”

The waiter replied ,

“I’ll get one for you sir.“

The waiter went to the bar and returned with the wine list and two glasses .
Suddenly Kitch appeared from nowhere .
He stood there and gazed at the customers for a moment .There was a sudden chill in the room .
Kitch turned his back and returned to the kitchen where he began to shout obscenities .
Some of the customers heard and were a little uneasy .

The waiter improvised and said ,
“Don’t let that worry you . He has been to some of the bet restaurants .”

The customers settled down again .
Looking for the menus he went into the kitchen and said ,

“Where are the menus Kitch ?

kitch stood there with his back to the waiter staring into space and then suddenly he turned around and held up the severed head of McIlhenny .

“It’s the managers special tonight .“
Came the reply .

The waiter screamed and tried to run out the door but the latches began to bolt close as if by some unseen hand .

The lights in the kitchen flickered on and offand when they came back on the waiter lay on the floor tied and gagged .
Kitch put the waiter inside the cool room along with the rest of the kitchen staff who where also in there tied and gagged .

Kitch brought out the menus to the customers and apologised saying ,

“The managers special for opening night is on the house.”

“What is it ?”
Asked one of the customers .

“It’s a combination of beef and rice with sauce . The main ingredients are my own . Sweets afterwards are a delicacy called Jelly Belly Ice Cream .”

“Did you say , on the house ?
Said one .

“Yes . Tonight its all for free and you are all the lucky customers .“
Kitch said with a loud laugh .

“Where is the waiter ?”
asked one .

Kitch replied .
“He quit .“

Kitch pointed to the door in the corner and said ,

“The cellar choice is yours .I’ll bring you meals shortly .“

Everyone seemed easy and one left the table and made his way to the cellar door where he descended down the stairs where he turned on a light switch .
Barrels and bottles of wine where on stacked in shelves and racks covered in dust as if they had been stores there for years .

The customer smelt something burning . The stench was unpleasant .
As he walked up and down the aisles the lights in the cellar began to flicker on and off .

When they came back on he saw blood dripping down .
Looking up he saw the headless and mutilated body of McIlhenny .
He screamed and ran for the stairs but was stopped in his tracks by the sight of McIlhennys head sitting on a hot plate of a gas barbeque

The smell of burning hair and flesh was horrible .

Trying to cover his mouth from the stench the customer stood in fear as the lights began to flicker on and off again .

When the lights returned he saw the uncanny figure of a girl . She was holding a bucket of fish in her hand .

“If you want to live , don’t move . Don’t scream .
She said and continued
When he comes you must run as fast as you can far away from here . “

When the lights came back on Kitch was standing there holding the waiters head in one hand and a meat cleaver dripping with blood in the other .

He stopped and looked at the figure of his dead wife Molly.
Dropping the head and meat cleaver he reached out his arms to her .

”Where have you been . Don’t you know I’ve been worried sick ?”

As the ghost of his dead wife lifted the meat cleaver the customer ran up the stairs and then opened the cellar door .
The floor of the restaurant was covered with blood and mutilated bodies .

The customer ran out into the street and as he was running away a loud bang from the Kings Cellars was heard and then flames leapt from the building .
By the time the fire brigade arrived there was nothing but ashes left and some remains of dead bodies burnt beyond recognition .

The police were interested in what the survivor had to say and began their investigation .
The container in the alley way was cut open with an oxy and what was revealed sent a shudder inside all those who saw .

Kitch had entombed the body of his dead wife . She sat there in her wedding dress on an armchair .
In front of her on a steel table were the heads of different people lined up like trophies . There were other corpses of the missing people stacked up on top of one another .
They were all preserved in cold storage . One of the bodies held a gun in his hand and another a shopping bag .
The shed was like a stage and its actors depicted an image of daily life frozen in time .

The police closed the case to the missing persons and the serial killer .
Auberville became a busy place again .

By Paul McCann

The End