Before I can say anything further, I hear a door rattling as if a key is turning in different locks. I heed the person's advice and lie back on the floor and shut my eyes. Not from being scared but to play the little game for now. The door swings open, crashing against the wall, and heavy steps descend down. I can hear him stop in front of me for a brief moment before he shuffles to the other side of me and sets something down. He whispers some sort of prayer as if he’s going to be saved for whatever he’s done. He asks for forgiveness and that he vows to send the evil away from these lands. Doesn’t he know that he doesn’t answer to God?
“I know you’re awake, Celeste Hansley. I can smell your sins and mischief.” He turns as I open my eyes and meet a familiar face.
He’s exactly who we thought it was and the smile on his face reveals the crazy that stirs in his eyes.
“Oliver, so nice to finally meet you. Seems you’re just as much of a sinner as I am. Tell me, how will you repent for the acts you have done? Did you enjoy the way my body swayed? Were you tempted to touch, just for a second?” I purr at him as I move into a sitting position.
I should have kept my mouth shut and observed him. Apparently my mouth had other motives.
His chest begins to rise up and down and his eyes bulge out of his eye sockets. His hand rises and strikes me against the face. My head snaps to the side and I can already taste the copper pool in my mouth. A sadistic laugh leaves my lips and I can’t help but look at him and smile in defiance.
“You will answer for yours, Little Reaper. Your soul is tainted and I fear you might not survive what I have to do to save you.” Without another word, he hurries up the steps, locking the door behind him.
So, he has heard of me. My nickname echoes in my mind with the way he said it. A hint of fear was noted and stored for later usage. He promised to be rid of the evil inside me but what he doesn’t know is that it's embedded deep, unable to be removed.
“Celeste?” That voice speaks up with a sob. “H-How did he find you?” The person gets up from the floor, causing chains to clang together from the movement. She steps into a small light and that’s when I see who it is.
“Samantha! You’re alive! I wasn’t too late.” My heart flutters. “I swore I would come for you and this was the only way.”
Grunts bring my attention to the thing that was dropped next to me, making me realize it’s a whole-ass other person. This wasn’t the plan. I was the only one supposed to be captured. She moves slowly, struggling to get in an upright position. She’s dressed in the same white dress I’m in and tied up in thick ropes. As she turns to face me, my eyebrows pinch in confusion. Why the fuck is Monroe here?
“Welcome to the party. Please, tell us what sin you committed to land yourself here?” I startle her before she turns to face me with confusion.
I lift my arms up, showing that I’m bound like her giving her a sweet smile. Her eyes narrow at me with annoyance. Well. I guess she’s going to observe my true nature after all. Maybe she will think I’m crazy and leave my man alone.
“I was following you, wondering what the fuck you were up to.” She winces before she observes our surroundings. “Where the hell are we? How are you so calm about this?”
So she’s the one I heard following me. I’ll give it to her for doing a good job and keeping out of sight, hiding in the shadows each time I turned around.
“Well, that was a stupid thing to do. Seems you’re a little obsessed with me. From the looks of it, we’re at our little friend's lair and I seemed to have pissed him off,” I respond, shrugging.
“How are you so calm about this? We’re in a literal manic’s hands and you’re over here joking and pissing him off. What was your plan here? Get captured on purpose and become the hero?” she sneers at me, clearly pissed off.
She worded it better than I would have, but I’m no hero. Just taking back what was stolen and killing a pathetic little creature.
“You weren’t invited, so it's not my fault you were caught. If you must know, yes, I planned to get myself here because of that scared girl over there.” I nod to the corner in the opposite direction where Samantha’s watching us with wide eyes. She’s already sitting back on the floor with her arms hugging her knees. “She’s the reason I’m here. I take care of my own and I’ll be damned if I let her suffer any longer while you lot take your damn time.”
Before she can argue with me further, the door unlocks andOliver closes the door behind him before coming back down the stairs. He brings a plate of bread and cheese and sets it in front of Samantha as if it is a reward for good behavior. She doesn’t make a move towards her gift but he doesn’t linger to see if she will eat her feast. Instead he goes back towards the stairs and flips a switch and fluorescent lights shine almost blinding us.
I take the moment and look around to see what I’m working with. Samantha is chained to some sort of hook on the wall by the legs and a stained mattress lays next to her with a ragged blanket on top. Her hair and body are dirty and matted, her cheeks are sunken in with dark circles under her eyes. She has bruises that line her legs and burn marks up her arms. Other than that, she doesn’t appear to have any major injuries.
There's a chair with machines hooked up to it, a tub that has hooks next to the edge on the floor and there's a table with different trinkets, knives, a Bible, and holy water. No shit, this guy really does think he’s doing the Lord's work. There’s a cross in the middle of each wall and two other mattresses separated from each other. He didn’t plan to stop just at one; he planned to take more and take turns with them. He’s evolving.
“The faster the devil leaves your body, the less painful and torturous it’ll be. Some of the other women weren’t as successful. They screamed, cried, and begged for me to let them go but how could I when they were still tainted. They claimed to have done nothing wrong, they said they were so sorry but they had no idea why they were sorry. When the water of the Lord touched their skin, it sizzled, confirming they were too far gone. I failed him repeatedly. All I want is for this world to be pure, but the more I take, the more masks of evil come to surface. Tedious work, I may say, but it must be done. It mustbe done.” He paces back and forth, hands trembling up to his head as he presses them into his temple.
“You,” he turns to me, “will be my biggest redemption. If you can repent, this will prove that this world can be a better place. It must be done.”
Killing and torturing women doesn’t make it a better place. Forcing something on me or killing me won’t stop whatever sin he claims I am. I don’t claim to be a saint; I’m far from it. In fact, he’s probably right about punishing me for all my evil deeds but there will be someone new to take my place and continue the cycle.
“How can you be so sure I can be saved? Let them go. The one in the corner, she’s had enough. The one next to me was caught in the crossfire. She has nothing to do with this,” I try to negotiate with him.
I know it won’t be any use, but maybe if I sacrifice myself, he’ll let them go. He looks at each girl and a manic look appears on his face.
“See, I can’t do that Little Reaper. I know you have connections with the FBI, in fact this one is one of them. She was caught snooping in my home. She ruined everything. I had to move here, away from nature. So honorable of you, though. Evil always tries to appear innocent but will quickly strike without warning. I know who you are and what you’re capable of. Heiress of the Mafia and owner of a disgusting club. She acts before asking, bringing death everywhere she goes. I’ve been watching you for some time. I hope your father was able to save himself before he took his last breath.” He traces a cross in the air.
I see red and act before even thinking and lunge forward, forgetting that I’m bound. He lifts his foot and kicks me backwards and I fly, hitting my head on the wall. My head begins to spin from the impact and he laughs before grabbing me bythe wrists and dragging me to one of the unoccupied walls. He places metal cuffs on each of my ankles and locks them in place before pulling out a knife and cutting the rope from both arms and legs. I don’t move, still reeling from the impact.
I lie there squinting, watching as he does the same to Monroe. She tries to resist but she's met with a back hand making her disoriented before he locks her in place. Once he’s finished, he takes the next couple of hours to read the scripture to us, or that’s what it feels like.
