I start thinking of all the scary movies that woman has made me watch over the years. A lot of the Saw franchise comes to mind. I grab a pair of pliers and stalk back over to him. Through swollen eyes, he realizes what I hold in my hand. He starts thrashing, trying to free himself from the restraints, but it’s no use. I look over at Jayme, and he understands my silent command. He grabs Theo by the jaw, pinching his nose closed until he is forced to open his mouth. Jayme grabs his bottom jaw, and pries open his mouth for me. His screams echo throughout the warehouse as I remove the remaining teeth, one by one.
“This is just the beginning, you sick fuck!” I say as I spit on the ground at Theo’s feet. “I’m going to enjoy this.”
After about an hour of slices, punches, and breaks, all that sits before me is a slumped-over shell of a man. Bloodied and broken beyond recovery. And man, do I feel good. But it still doesn’t feel like it’s enough.
"Jayme, can you ask a few men to run down to the fishing docks and bring me some buckets of the left-over guts?" I ask. He has been standing by my side, watching, and studying me. He looks at me with a brotherly pride.
"Guts? For what?" He asks but doesn’t wait for an answer. "Boys, you heard him." He addresses the men behind him. I look back over at Theo.
"You worthless piece of shit. I was going to end you now, but death now would be too much of a treat for your pathetic soul. No, I think we will leave you to rot while rats feast on you. You stalked her, abused her, tortured her. I can’t even imagine what you put her through this past week, so that’s why I’m going to leave you sitting here alone in the dark. Covered in fish guts." I smile a sinister smile. "Yes, the rats will come. They love fish." The men bring me three buckets filled with ripe fish guts that had been sitting in the hot sun all day.
"Perfect," I hiss.
He tries to gurgle out the word "no," but it comes out all bubbly from the blood in his throat.
"Too late to beg, you fucker. Now, rot in hell." I douse his body in the fish guts, then smack him upside the head with the bucket. Jayme comes and puts a hand on my shoulder.
"I’m proud of you, brother. You showed zero hesitation. You were made for this life." I’m not so sure I could ever get used to torturing people, only if they hurt my own.
"Aight, boys, clear out and leave him for the rats," Jayme shouts. "Let’s go see your woman." He says to me.
My woman.
66. Cassie
The darkness wraps around me like a warm fog. It is endless like I could keep walking forever and never find even a sliver of light. Yet, somehow, my body is at peace. I don’t feel pain. I don’t feel scared. Only peace. If this is what death feels like, then I happily accept my fate.
A shrill whining noise and a displeasing beeping cuts through the darkness. I can’t see where it is coming from. There still is no light. It gets louder. Please, someone, make it stop. It’s so loud and annoying. Pain. Pounding, excruciating pain hits my body like a wave crashing against a rock. Over and Over and Over again. Wave after wave. The pounding pain grows worse. I want to move; I want to run. But I can’t. I feel sluggish. My entire body feels like dead weight now. Each limb weighing 100 lbs.
There’s another noise cutting through the darkness. It’s a voice. The beeping is slowing down.
"When will she wake up? It’s been over two weeks!" I hear a familiar voice through the darkness. Lucian? Yep, I’m dead. Is this Limbo? Purgatory? Heaven or hell?
"She will most likely be in this state for a while, Sir. I’m sorry. There was so much swelling on her brain. It's actually that good she is in the coma, though, because it gives her body time to heal. She needs time." Ok, so I'm not dead. I'm assuming that was a doctor.
Wait, what happened? The last thing I remember was the shower. Oh God, I had the razor in my hand. Did I do it? Did I cause this? No, wait. Theo came busting in. The memoriescome flooding back. Being dragged to the bed, pinned down. He attacked me, beat me. Fuck, he raped me again. But the last thing I remember was him landing on me on the floor.
*Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep*
That damn beeping is getting louder again. I feel trapped. Like there is an alarm going off that I can’t hit snooze on, just let me go back to the quiet darkness. I don’t want to wake up. I’ll have to go back to Theo. I can’t. Just let me die.
"Nurse! What’s happening?" I hear someone shout.
"Nurse, push 5mg of benzodiazepines. Her body is fighting, almost like a panic attack. She might be coming out of the coma, which is good, but we have to keep her calm."
“Cassie...” The familiar voice trails off.
That's the last thing I hear before the waves of velvety darkness pull me away. Silence. Serenity. Just let me stay here a bit longer.
I’m unsure of how much time has passed. I want to open my eyes to find out where I am. I crack one eye open and immediately regret my decision. It feels like a knife has been stabbed into my head. The pain is almost too much to handle. I try to lift my arm to shield my eyes from the light, but my arm feels like it is a lump of dead nerves. Numb. As if it isn’t there. Well, that’s horrifying.
"Nurse, she’s waking up." Someone yells. God why is everyone so damn loud. Just let me go back to the peaceful darkness. I don’t want to be here.
"Cassie? Can you hear me?" A light is shining in my eyes. It feels like there's a film over them; everything looks fuzzy as if I’m looking through a frosted window. "I’m Doctor Adams. You've been in a coma for over two weeks. Try to breathe slowly. You've suffered a lot of trauma." The light goes away, thankfully.
I try to speak but realize the reason my throat hurts is there is a tube still down it. A nurse and doctor come in to take out thetube. It is one of the most strange and painful things to feel it sliding out of me. My throat is so dry and sore as if I have been inhaling hot air through a tube for weeks, which I guess isn’t far off.
"Here, this should help." A damp sponge is placed on my tongue. The bit of cool water coming out of it feels like heaven. After a few more dabs of the sponge, my mouth doesn’t feel so dry. My vision is becoming less cloudy.
