The Tattoo Artist

The tattoo artist entered his small shop and turned the sign on the door to read, "OPEN".

He readied the tools of his trade...inks, guns, sterilized needles...and of course the book. All good tattoo artists had at least one book, filled with pictures of tattoos for people to choose from if they didn't have any ideas of their own.

A lot of people didn't even know his little store even existed even though it was situated on the main street of town. It was cozily snuggled between two larger stores, one that sold old records and video games and the other was an office supply store.

People had a tendency to walk right past "Dark Cloud Tattoo's" without evening noticing it.

Dark Cloud wasn't really a Native American, like his name implied. Dark Cloud wasn't even his real name. He just liked the sound of it. He wished he was a Native American. He studied their culture, their folklore. It fascinated him. He had just moved to the small town of Winona, Minnesota a couple months prior. Opening the small store in an abandoned storefront, he had only had a few customers, so far. This was just fine with Dark Cloud. He wasn't in this for the money. He hated doing silly hearts and names like "Jenny" or "Mom" on people's arms.

He knew, sooner or later, the perfect customer would walk in. Someone with imagination, creativity. Someone who would ask for something dark and original. He had a feeling today would be the day. The sky was dark, the weather cold and windy. He glanced up at the clock. Four p.m.

The little bell above the door jingled, and Dark Cloud looked up, hopefully. A large man, about six feet tall and at least 300 pounds was standing in the doorway, looking around with curiousity in his eyes.

"Welcome, friend," Dark Cloud spoke in a friendly tone. "What can I do for you, today?"
The man picked up the book of tattoos and browsed through it. After a couple minutes, he set it back down, frowning.

"I want something different," he replied. "Something original."
"That's my specialty," Dark Cloud assured him. "Any particular theme in mind?"

The man removed his stained, red t-shirt revealing about thirty tattoos. Skulls, daggers, gargoyles...all done professionally and with amazing attention to detail.

"Wow!" Dark Cloud was impressed. "I think I know just the thing to complete your collection. Come, sit down."

The man sat down in the black leather recliner and Dark Cloud tilted it back.
"Comfortable?"
"Yes, thank you."
"Just relax." Dark Cloud pulled out a new needle and dipped in a small jar of black ink. A small smile on his face, he poked the man in the left shoulder blade.

A few seconds later, the man was out like a light, snoring softly. Dark Cloud giggled, an odd little giggle, almost girlish, strange coming from his 5'10", 210 pound frame.

He carefully examined the man's tattoos before deciding on the one he wanted. It was a white skull with glowing red eyes and a black and grey dagger stuck down through the top of it.

Taking his filet knife out of his back jeans pocket, Dark Cloud very carefully cut around the tattoo, about two inches deep. The blood flowed profusely, but he ignored it. Then, as if the man were a fish, he sliced the tattoo off of his shoulder blade and placed it into a small pan that he kept on the table next to the recliner.

A noxious smell floated up from the pan, but Dark Cloud ignored this too. He had to preserve his new tattoo. The man began to stir, moaning.
Dark Cloud quickly poked him with the needle again, and the man lapsed back into silence, his breating slow and even.

The tattoo artist closely surveyed the other tattoos. There were so many, and they were all beautifully done. He was very impressed. He only wished he could create them himself instead of having to take them from other people. Dark Cloud had no artistic talent whatsoever and was extremely jealous of those who had it.

He finally decided on a small gargoyle. The detail was exquisite, though it was done only in black ink, it seemed to be almost alive, breathing. He cut slowly around it, again, ignoring the blood. Once he had placed his second acquisition in the preservation pan,
Dark Cloud quickly slit the man's throat with the filet knife and then hurried back to the back room where he kept a large tarp. Bringing it back out with him, he rolled the big man off of the chair and wrapped him in the black, plastic tarp.

He dragged the body into the back room and then grabbed a mop and bucket. Quickly and efficiently he cleaned up his work area. He'd dispose of the body later, after he closed.

He checked on his new tattoos and noticed that the special preservation potion that he had invented three years ago had done it's job. He removed them carefully and placed them on the table. He looked them over, lovingly. Caressing them first with his eyes, then gently with his fingers. The gargoyle seemed to stare up at him, angrily, as if it was offended at being kidnapped by the likes of him.

He was beginning to feel a little nervous, so he tucked his latest acquisitions into a manila envelope to take home with him at the end of the night. He hoped he'd get at least one more customer before the day was over. He had a collection of over three hundred tattoos already and was always eager to gain more.

The bell rang, signally a new customer.

A woman stood in the doorway, tall, slender and stunningly beautiful. She had long, burgundy hair, fair skin and the most amazing green eyes he had ever seen.

"Can I help you, ma'am?" he inquired, politely.
"I hope so," she responded, her voice soft and elegant. "I have always dreamed of having a tattoo, but have never had the guts to do it. Tonight, I am ready."

Dark Cloud tried not to show his fear, but inside he was shaking. He couldn't draw worth a damn! What am I going to do? his panicked thoughts raced. He had to figure out a way to get rid of her without making her suspicious.

"I was about to close for the night," he lied. "Could you come back tomorrow?"
"No, I'll lose my nerve if I don't do it now. Please? Just something small, nothing too fancy," she begged.

He had no idea how to get out of this predicament gracefully, so he motioned for her to sit in the chair.
"Any ideas as to what you'd like?"
"How about a small heart red heart on my left breast?" she inquired, blushing slightly.
"All right," he pulled out his special needle.

She lifted her shirt, revealing the most beautiful breasts he had ever seen. Firm and high with small nipples. He felt himself getting an erection and hoped she didn't notice. His hand shaking slightly, he put the tip of the needle against the upper swell of her left breast. She looked to be about a 36B, but he didn't have that much experience with women and was only guessing.

"Here ok?" he asked, trying to sound normal.
"That's fine," she replied, not looking him in the eye.
Part of him regretted what he was about to do, but if he let her go, she might get suspicious and he surely couldn't give her a tattoo, she'd be furious when he botched it.

Sighing inside, he poked her with the needle. Immediately, she fell into a deep sleep.

Sadly, he pulled out his trusty filet knife and carefully cut around her entire breast. It was so incredibly soft and beautiful, he took great care to remove it cleanly.

As the breast soaked in the preserving pan, he watched sadly as she bled out before his very eyes. Then, he went to the backroom and got another tarp. After she had been safely hidden away in the back with the first customer, he once again cleaned up the blood and mess and put the breast, still in the pan, in the backroom as well. He thought it might need a little longer to be sure it wouldn't decay.

He came back out into the store feeling strangely depressed. Killing people had never bothered him before, but there was something different about this woman, something special. He had a bad feeling that he may have made a dreadful mistake. Sighing, he tried to put the thoughts of her out of his mind. At least for the time being.

He sat back in his chair and picked up a magazine. Humming softly, he waited for the next customer.





Thanks goes to Amber, a manager where I work, for helping me come up with the idea for this story!