The Devil’s Work is a short story I created to explore one man’s experience of Hell as a serial killer and cannibal. The Devil’s Work is the story of the first time Wesley Black dies and captures a brief moment during his multiple life prison sentences. Wesley Black is an inmate in the world’s most secure prison, Outpost 86. Outpost 86 is a structure with several levels below ground and several above. It is situated near the South Pole next to the Transantarctic Mountains and was built as part of the creation of a new branch of government in charge of overpopulation of prisons. Wesley chooses to live underground because of greater opportunity for privacy, and the permafrost helps extend the shelf-life of the meat of his victims.
Outpost 86’s remote location offers a unique opportunity to create a prison without cells or guards. A single cyanide filled chamber facilitates entry and exit from the prison making local security obsolete. The prisoners regulate themselves through survival of the fittest and security is provided by its remote location and the inhospitable environment escapees would face in the unlikely event they got out of the prison.
Because of the lack of formal security, Wesley can continue to murder and eat people in the nearly vacant lower levels. Only society’s worst criminals are committed to Outpost 86 which makes the population relatively sparse in such a huge facility. At the time The Devil’s Work takes place Outpost 86 is less than 25% filled, and with total square footage several times larger than The Pentagon, there are plenty of isolated places. Wesley uses this isolation to carry out his nefarious practices and lives his life in relative peace as the other inmates lack the stomach for his lifestyle. As one of the initial inmates, he has always carried an imposing presence and instilled a certain level of fear into subsequent arrivals who are happy to leave him alone in his subterranean lair.
Before his time at Outpost 86, Wesley was a medical doctor who exhibited acute psychopathic behavior. Wesley controlled this behavior well, but occasionally the urge would get so strong he would have to act on his impulses to get it out of his system for a while. This recurring theme led to the longest and most prolific serial killing spree in history and launched Dr. Wesley Black into the history books upon his conviction.
His mental illness influenced the decision to opt out of the death penalty and to place Wesley into the newly constructed Outpost 86 where he could serve his time and subsequently fulfill the facilities’ medical needs. This alleviated the need for outside doctors and put Wesley’s medical expertise to some use. Unfortunately, it also gave him all the tools necessary to continue his psychotic episodes and raise his victim count.
Wesley lived a normal childhood devoid of the normal tragic experiences traditionally associated with mental illness like molestation or abuse, so the circumstances surrounding his affliction are unclear. He earned excellent grades throughout his education and graduated with honors from John Hopkins University. On paper, his life was the model of success and control, but he waged a constant war with an unseen inner demon that forced him to carve a normal existence from the cacophony of psychological disharmony in which he perpetually existed.
Outpost 86 will be featured in its own full-length novel that is currently in work, in which Wesley Black plays a significant role in the story. It portrays the moment Wesley Black dies and sets the stage for the events in The Devil’s Work. This spin-off story grew from an urge to explore events in Wesley Black’s life that I felt did not fit into Outpost 86. I am also planning to write a novel about Wesley Black’s life before he was sentenced to Outpost 86 and chronicle his life as a serial cannibal. Click on the cover below to buy The Devil’s Work from Amazon for only .99 cents.
MARK TOMPKINS 