“Our sales were up from last month and our stocks have increased quite a bit; up 2.96. I see a lot of great news coming in and I am sure we all have secured our quarterly bonus.” The meeting room all applauded as Max Rutten modestly held his hands up. “I couldn’t have done it without all of your hard work, I assure you. Honestly, your sacrifices have all paid off and allowed me to bring this good news to the table.”
“Max, you have always been the modest one.” Ralph Turner spoke up from the table. They all laughed as Max turned several shades of red.
“Come on Ralph, you’re making me blush.” He smiled as he felt the phone vibrating in his pocket. He turned and shook the hands of co-workers as he made his way back to his chair. A man next to him gripped Max’s shoulder and gave him thumbs up. Once he sat down he immediately pulled the phone from his pocket. It was a text message.
2435 Hazy Creek Edge
8:00 PM Sharp
As his boss continued to carry the rest of the meeting, Max obsessively read and re-read the text message. All morning he had been excited about this conference, to deliver this good news, but now he was impatiently waiting for the minutes to count down. This text was much bigger.
As soon as the meeting concluded he made his way to the bathroom. With a well-manicured finger he scrolled through the contacts of his cell phone and dialed a number.
“Hey Max honey, how was your meeting?”
“Baby it was amazing, nothing short of it.” He spoke a little distracted, but tried desperately to sound genuine.
“When will you be home?” By the sound of her voice she was not suspicious of anything. This was good; this is what Max needed for this to work tonight. He smiled as he thought more of the text.
“Well we are having a few drinks at the hotel bar so I think it might be a late night. I wouldn’t wait up hun; you know how these meetings go.”
“Yeah I do; cocaine and hookers.” She responded. Max assumed she was only half joking.
“Please baby, my days of hookers and cocaine are long behind me, now it’s all about Heroin and Trannies.”
“Ha, you are something Mr. Rutten. Well you behave yourself. Don’t get too drunk, and if you do make sure you take a cab home. I don’t need the Bense damaged again.”
“Ok; goodnight sugar.” Max anxiously ended the call and stared into the mirror. His hair was perfect, parted on the right side of his head in a flawless line. His Versace eye glasses sat impeccably upon his well-defined face. His skin was unblemished with a smooth shave. This was the face of a wealthy, successful, all American businessman…but the mind inside was far from normal.
He needed to find a way to duck out of this place. He needed to get to that address…he couldn’t afford to miss this night. It took him months reach out to those who shared his fetish; his obsession. Tonight he finally got to indulge. If he didn’t he knew there may never be a second chance.
The bathroom door opened and in walked a fit young man named Clayton Kettler. He was a rising star in the company, a real prodigy at only twenty seven years old. He walked over to the sink and like a magician he revealed a small clear tube full of his favorite white powder. He raised his eye brows as he winked at Max.
“Want to do a line bro?” Before he could answer Clayton already had some of the powder dumped out. He used a corporate credit card to form the small pile into four perfect lines. Max shrugged his shoulders as he reached for the rolled up one hundred dollar bill Clayton handed him. Like a vacuum he snorted two lines and passed the bill.
“I defiantly could use it.” Max closed his eyes as he tried to snort the residue lost in the walls of his nasal passage. When the rush hit him she shook his head. “Holy fuck, you got this from Blake didn’t you?”
“Man knows his coke.”
“Damn, that shits like $350 a gram.”
“Hey bro, your hard work keeps bringing me the money to buy this magical white powder.” He smiled as he caught his reflection in the mirror. “Goddamn I look good. Want to go get a woman in town, my treat.”
“Na, I got to leave. My wife is expecting me.”
“Listen to you man. I offer free strange pussy and you want to go home to the wife. You are whipped man.”
“When you eventually are old enough to grow pubes, you will understand.” With this Clayton laughed as he bent down to snort his two lines. Max made his way for the door when Clayton shouted behind him.
“You don’t know what you’re missing.”
He couldn’t help but laugh. If only he knew what was planned.
The guard at the front gate checked his ID. After examining the license he shook his head approvingly. “They are expecting you Mr. Rutten. At the front door a valet will take your vehicle and a butler will lead you in. Enjoy your evening.”
Max nodded as he drove his silver Mercedes down the curving driveway. The way had been illuminated by small glass globes of light. He took particular notice of the perfectly trimmed bushes and the beautiful yard statues. As he approached the front door he felt an overwhelming excitement throughout his body.
This is really happening.
“Mr. Rutten, I will take your vehicle. I assume the title is signed over and inside?” The valet, a tall black man with a nice suit asked as he opened the door for him. Max stepped out.
“Yes it is.”
“Very well sir.” As he made his way closer to the door another man greeted him. This one was an old white man, short and a little chubby.
“Welcome Mr. Rutten. They all are waiting for you. Please, come this way and we will prepare you for the event.”
“Very well, lead the way.”
They entered the house. The main hall was breathtakingly beautiful. Hanging in the center was a crystal chandelier. The shadows it cast jumped all over the room. The carpet was amazing, a Persian import for sure. He walked across it in his leather Italian shoes and let his feet sink into the soft fabric.
The butler led him to a room. “This is where I leave you sir. Please get undressed and meet the rest of the guests in the main hall. When you are ready simply walk out to the left and follow until you see the party. They are anxiously awaiting your arrival sir.”
With this the butler turned and left him alone in the room. Max walked over to a vanity. For a second he fingered the little trinkets on the counter, but he knew he was just delaying what he wanted to do. Reaching into his pocket he retrieved his phone and searched for his wife’s number. He dangled his finger over the call button, but stopped short of pressing it.
He wanted to call her but new it would be a bad idea. Hearing her voice would bring him back to reality. He would realize the insanity in this all. He would go home and return to his mundane world wondering what he gave up this night. He loved his wife, but his obsession pushed him.
Don’t do it Max.
He put down the phone.
He slowly took off his expensive suit. With each article of clothing he neatly folded it and placed it in a well-ordered pile. On top he placed his leather shoes, the ones with the flawless polish. Now completely naked he looked at himself in the vanity mirror.
He had muscles, tone, a perfect stomach; he was well endowed and always had a year round tan. His wife back home was a gorgeous hard body herself. She was a gym rat and nutrition nut. Their house was full of all the things anyone could ever want…his life was perfect, yet why was he here?
Max, you don’t have to go in there. It’s not too late. You can turn around and return to the world.
But he knew this wasn’t true. There was no turning back. He made his way into the hallway. The air was full of drunken laugher; people having a good time.
In the main hall were nearly two dozen men and woman. They were all well dressed and each one a covered their face with a beautifully decorated Venetian mask. His presence silenced the crowd.
“Our guest of honor has arrived. Are our appetites strong?” A man yelled out. To this they all hollered with joy. The man approached Max and held out a hand. “Please, take my hand and let me show you something.”
Max reached out and gripped the man’s gloved hand. He allowed the man to lead him deeper into the room. Many of the guests were licking their lips as others nervously sipped wine to hide her excitement.
Max was led to a wall. Here there were pictures of good looking men and woman. In each picture the person was naked and standing in this exact room.
“You see this one here. It is dated 1923. This is the year our secret society was formed. Her name was Natasha Vates. She was a Russian immigrant who worked at a cat house. She was depressed, and one night she tried to kill herself. Then she met a man who understood her sorrow.
“My great grandfather, Irwin Leishner was a wealthy man and rather extravagant. He discovered early in life that he had a taste for human meat. It was during World War One while in the trenches that he came across a German man. This soldier was killed by a flame thrower. Irwin was trapped in the trench for three days. He ran out of ammo, food and water. In an act of desperation he used a knife to cut away the real crispy parts. He got to the parts which were more…medium well.
“Getting back to Natasha, he expressed a wanting to eat her. At first she was disgusted but after a few days she warmed up to the idea. My great grandfather took this picture of her just moments before he laid her on a table and ate her…alive.”
Max couldn’t hide his erection. The conversations all around proved that they welcomed his arousal.
“So now this leads to you.” A woman approached them with a camera and took a picture of Max. She smiled as she looked at it in the digital display.
“This came out perfect.” She spoke in a soft voice. “You look very nice Mr. Rutten.”
“Thank you.” Max responded.
“Max this night we both will indulge in our fetish. We, the Order of Tantalus, will indulge in devouring you alive. You will enjoy being eaten alive. That is what separates us from criminals. We do not need to force people to fall victim to our needs; willing sacrifices are everywhere. We are not criminals; we are not thugs. We are the ones who run this country’s corporations, military, government and banks. We are professionals just like you.” Max looked at the wall. There was a picture for every year; willing sacrifices. Soon he would be added to this wall.
“I am honored. How do we do this?” Max asked. The host could barely hide his smile as he grabbed hold of Max’s arm and brought him to a table.
The table was short, the length of a body, and made of African Blackwood. There was a small set of stairs in front of the table. Max climbed them with the host’s assistance and stood on the table.
“Ladies and Gentlemen who help form the Order of Tantalus; this year our feast will be on Sir Maximilian Rutten. This fine young man will go down in history among the likes of Tania Fales, Javier Sege, Kurt Ines, and let us not forget the great and beautiful Natasha Vates. Now get your cutlery in order.” With this the masked guests all reached into their pockets and eagerly pulled out silver forks and knives. “These forks and knives have been with the order for many years now. This cutlery has cut and pulled apart the meat of men and woman and tonight the tradition continues. Mr. Rutten, I ask you to lie down in the center of the table.” Max dropped down and spread out upon the table. The guests all gathered around him. “Now, let us indulge.”
The group feverishly began to stick their forks into his body. He felt their sharp knives cutting into his flesh. He looked down and saw chunks of his meat being pulled away from his body and shoveled into the mouths of those too eager to even chew it before swallowing. All around him were bloody masks as arteries were nicked and blood began to pour heavily out of his body.
A fork jammed into his eye. He felt the metal inside the jelly like material as the partaker scooped it out like it was ice cream. Max watched with his good eye as the woman sucked it down.
All around him they devoured, feverishly pulling meat and now entrails from his body. Never had he felt such pleasure. As the room began to fade to black and as he began to die he imagined his meat inside all their stomachs digesting.
Outside the butler shook his head.
“They never scream.” The butler walked down the hall and into the room where Max had changed. Without emotion he picked up the clothes and placed them in a plastic bag. A vibrating sound stole his attention. It was Max’s phone.
The butler picked it up and saw that he had received a picture message. He pressed accept and opened it. In the picture was a beautiful brown haired woman sitting on a couch with two cute children; one boy and one girl. Below the picture it said Daddy come home soon we miss you so much.
The butler closed the phone and tossed it into the bag. He exited the room and made his way to the front door. Outside he handed the bag off to a man posting security. The man took the bag down a walkway which wrapped the house. He made his way to what looked like a mausoleum.
Inside this stone building there were hundreds of bags containing various personal articles. The man took the belongings of Max and tossed them on the pile, and secured the door.
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