At that point, none of the cuts were life-threatening, but it wouldn’t take long for the continued blood loss to affect my ability to think clearly.I have to keep her talking, so she stops using the knife.
“What are you going to do to me?”
“I’m glad you asked.” Her eyes sparkled with demonic pleasure in the rays of the moonlight.
“First, I’m going to make sure you bleed.” She waved the knife around my face. “And destroy that ugly face of yours.”
I’d hoped she only meant to make me suffer, but it seemed she wanted to kill me. Slowly.
“Then I’ll set small fires all along the walls of the building.” She looked around. “But not in here. I want you to sit here thinking about what you did to Paul while you slowly roast to death.”
Cold sweat covered my now trembling body.
Please let them find me.
I forced myself to take deep, calming breaths, so the fear didn’t take over. If I wanted to survive, I had to keep my wits.
Her words, while you slowly roast to death, echoed in my head.
Involuntary shivers racked my body.
I thought about telling her I’d suffocate from the smoke before the exposure to the heat could kill me, but she wouldn’t care and it didn’t matter. The result would be the same.
I’d be dead.
I continued to pray that my brothers would find me as Pamela berated me for hurting her brother.
My apologies earned me slaps to the face and knife pokes to my chest.
Not wanting to further escalate the situation, I stopped talking. Only answering if she asked me a direct question.
I had cuts on my face, torso, and all four limbs. She’d stabbed me twice, once in each thigh, luckily missing my femoral artery both times.
Adrenaline dulled the worst of the pain, but that would only help for so long.
Pamela had dragged the knife across my neck several times, causing nasty scratches but not doing any real damage.
Tears I couldn’t stop mixed with the blood rolling down my cheeks. The salt stinging the open wounds.
“Time to light the fires.” She pulled a long neck lighter out of her backpack.
“Aren’t you afraid you’ll get trapped in here with me?”
“No. I’ll start the fires in those rooms there. Just little ones near the back door.” She pointed and cackled. “Then I’ll start fires all over the second floor.”
A shiver ran down my spine.
“I’ll leave a string of fires behind me as I walk to the front door.”
She’d thought this through. How could someone so unhinged plan so thoroughly?
“I’ll have time to exit before the fires grow and spread.”
Her pride was palpable as she explained her plan.
I couldn’t blame her. The plan was brilliant. Diabolical and insane, but brilliant.
“Bye, Madi,” she said cheerfully, waving as she skipped towards the rooms she wanted to light first.
