This is a rather dark bit of work; it's ever so fun to get inside the mind of a madman. It was partly inspired by the serial killers in Sandman 2: the Doll's House.

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“Savior”

I never had any children of my own. It is a shame, really. I love children. They are so pure, so innocent. They know nothing of human cruelty, of the brutality of the realm of grown-ups. To them, an ice cream cone fallen on the sidewalk is the end of the world. A tiny scrape is like a mortal wound, a stuck out tongue the nastiest of insults. They play dress-up and try to be just like Mommy and Daddy, not realizing that childlike is the best way to be.

I love children so. So much that I must kill them.

I am saving them, you see. Their parents would only encourage them to grow up,
toughening them up so they can survive in the great big world. Then they would just send them out into the storm to fend for themselves. By then their innocence would be all but lost. It is hard to hang onto these days, as the public stops frowning upon so many things that a child ought not to see. One can scarcely turn on the television without seeing images of carnage and words of hate. The young ones are exposed to this long before they can comprehend it, and they accept it as normalcy, as acceptable. Leave them out of it all; leave them to their nursery rhymes and their games of “let’s pretend.”

But such is not the way of this bitter world. No, it must nurture the young through corruption and twist their malleable little minds so early. It is because of this that I must take them when they are small. Not so in the old days, when a teenager might yet retain innocence. The children today are jaded, grown old before their time, and so I must take them young, ideally before they reach ten. Then, they will die pure and untouched by the cold hand of reality.

Sometimes, I almost feel guilty for what I am about to do when I look into a pair of big, trusting eyes. But then I think of all the world’s lowest people – the business tycoon, so greedy he thinks of nothing but money and younger women; the criminal, who spits on the law and morality; the porn star, who sells her body for quick cash – and realize that each once was a happy child with a gap-toothed smile. And I realize once more that what I am doing is right.

They never die frightened. Oh, no, I would not do that. I know of some who do unspeakable things to children, beating or mutilating or touching them. These children die afraid and in pain – I would never do any such thing. No, my children die happy, as they always should be. They never suspect a thing; it merely seems to them that they are falling asleep.

It is simple, really – candy from a stranger. Sometimes I even give them a balloon if they are especially pretty. They smile as their brains shut down. And then I drive away, never to be seen again. No need to thank me, little one. I do it only because I know it is what is right and good.

Sometimes, though, I make things extra-special. Once I saw a woman in a supermarket hit her young son because he would not stop crying. It backfired; he only began to cry harder. When she exasperatedly left him alone on her shopping cart to quickly go to another aisle, I took him into my care. Such a woman was not worthy of such a lovely boy.

I took him to the amusement park. We had a wonderful time. The boy’s name was Tommy, and he loved the carousel more than anything. We must have ridden it at least five times, but I did not mind because of his continuous laughs of delight as the ride slowly rotated, because of the childlike simplicity of it all. When it got late, he fell asleep as I carried him out of the park. The gate attendant smiled at me and the sleeping angel in my arms.

In my car, I gave him an injection.

Tommy never woke up, but he died with cotton candy smeared all over his little face, and dreaming of painted horses.

I saved him from corruption, as I have saved so many others. I cannot stop until I myself die. I can only hope that someone will continue my work after I am gone. If only I had a child...

But no, I suppose I can never have a child of my own – it would destroy all that I have worked for. I would never want to bring another innocent life into this cruel world. I would never want to be held responsible for making any child suffer.

Fin.