May's anthology

Valentine Murderer- My Bloody Valentine prompt extended version

I thought that tonight would go better. I mean, why wouldn't I when the night started with me going out with my amazing boyfriend on a romantic dinner date.

What happened during dinner was not something I anticipated. I mean, who dumps their girlfriend on Valentine's day? What kind of monster would do something like that?

To top it all, he waited for the desserts to bring up the subject, acting as if everything was fine during the whole night. Then, together with the delicious chocolate cake, I was served a side dish of break up.

That's how I find myself here, standing in the rain, trying to hail a cab to take me as far away as possible. All I want to do is go home, drink some hot cocoa and forget that this night ever happened.

After all, it's not the first time someone had broken up with me, and it probably won't be the last. I just need to eat some comfort food and enjoy a good movie.

Finally, a cab stops, and I don't pay attention to anything but the thought of reaching the dry comfort of it. After all, it has been a while since I started trying to get a cab and I am dripping wet.

As I sit down, the cab driver starts driving quickly, to my utter relief. I am happy we are finally leaving Cooper behind.

"Where to?" She asks me.

As I give her my address, I start feeling guilty that my wet clothes are destroying the leather upholstery of her cab. I am surprised that it has such nice upholstery, but that doesn't mean I should destroy it.

"I am sorry about getting your seats wet," I say, apologetically.

"Don't worry about it. It's raining cats and dogs out there! If you don't mind me saying, you don't look so good. Rough night?" She asks.

"You could say that," I answer, not wanting to talk about it.

As I try to check the damage I am doing to the woman's cab I notice that there is a black coat on the seat next to me.

Wanting to return it to its rightful owner, I lift it to check the pockets for any identification. Once I do, I have to clamp my mouth to stop myself from screaming.

First of all, the overwhelming stench of stale blood hits me, how I missed it before I have no idea, but at that moment it's overwhelming. The second and more horrifying realization is that of what I can see lying underneath the coat.

It's as if being on a lousy date wasn't enough, but I've just discovered that I've entered a death cab. What I can see, dripping blood all over the seat, are human hearts. I pray I am wrong, but my limited knowledge of anatomy says otherwise.

Many different ideas flash through my mind, but neither one sounds like the right move. Besides, having in mind the number of bleeding hearts I can see, I am pretty sure she has more experience in murdering people then I have in escaping psychotic killers.

The funny thing is that she looks like a regular person. Although I wasn't able to see her face clearly in the darkness of the cab from the little interaction we had, she sounded normal, pleasant even.

Some part of me found her voice rather familiar, comforting. She was not the type of person to incite fear, but maybe that's how serial killers manage to kill so many people, they lull them into a false sense of security.

"Don't worry. You're safe. Honestly, you are the only person who is safe tonight. I couldn't kill you even if I wanted to." She says.

"Why not?" I ask in disbelief.

"I can't hurt you without hurting myself, and I love myself too much to do that." She says.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Ah, I remember how it is to be so young, so naive. You just accept everything hoping that the next time it would be better, that the next guy won't break your heart, but they do, they always do," she says.

I don't know what to say, but she seems to notice me looking at the hearts with wonderment and disgust.

"Those are the hearts of people who caused you pain," she explains.

Then, she turns on the lights and faces me. My heart skips a beat, and I start stammering in confusion, unable to grasp the impossibility of what I am seeing.

She is me but ten years older me. It is clear from the lines that have marked her face that she is older but everything else is the same. There is no doubt about it. I am being driven around in a taxi by future me.

"There are two things you need to know. Time travel is possible. You are the Valentine Murderer." She says.