I tighten my grip on the handle and, with everything I have, yank the blade upward, slicing his belly open. He screams, the sound filled with so much rage and pain that it shakes me to my core, but I don’t stop. I keep slicing at him, digging the blade as deep as it’ll go.
He needs to die. The monster needs to die. That’s the only thought in my head as I attack.
Blood, gore and other things I don’t want to mention spill out from his gaping wounds. He fights back, clawing and grabbing at me but he’s blind with agony so I easily brush off his attacks.
I don’t stop stabbing him until he finally collapses on top of me, silent and still.
Aftermath
Rhys
My fist slams intothe side of Mark’s face, causing the older man to grunt and stagger back.
Blood drips from his broken nose, split lips and various cuts and bruises on his face and jaw. He looks thoroughly beaten, his eyes so swollen I’m not sure he can see out of them, and his breathing laboured. His limbs tremble so hard that he’s seconds from collapsing to the ground, again.
It still isn’t enough.
After everything that’s happened, after everything he’s done, he deserves nothing less than tosuffer. I want him crying and begging for mercy, for him to be so overcome with agony that he can barely string two words together. I want him to experience even afractionof the pain, terror and misery he’s inflicted on others, on the people I love andcare for.
On Ollie.
With a growl, I kick out and slam my boot into Mark’s stomach. His breath rushes out with a pained wheeze, and his body gives up the fight, collapsing to the ground. But even beaten and almost broken, he still doesn’t beg.
Cold, hard rage slams into me as I stalk over to his crumpled form. The fighting around us has thinned out dramatically, with dead bodies littering the ground. The only ones left alive are my friends and allies and the handful of enemies still left to die.
Mark spits out blood and stares up at me in defiance as I stop in front of him. “Do you seriously think killing me and Luke will end this? Will stop others from attacking Haven?” he asks, sounding far too amused for a man whose face looks like minced meat.
I know what he’s trying to do. He’s trying to save face, to take back control of the situation.
Too bad for him, I’m not about to let that happen.
I scoff at his question. “Of course not.” I crouch next to him, grab his salt and pepper hair and wrench his head back. He hisses at the pain but doesn’t struggle. Not that he could, considering how fucked up he is. “I’m not so naïve to think killing either of you will stop greedy assholes from trying to take what isn’t theirs. Or from trying to possess human beings like they’re toys for their amusement.”
My fist tightens in his hair, and I move closer to whisper into his ear. “But just like you and the disgusting pieces of shit you brought with you, they’ll fail. And then they’ll get to watch the silly little empire they tried to build crumble beneath their feet.” My smile is ice-cold and savage as I lean back from him.
Mark’s lips pull back into a snarl and he struggles in my hold, but just like I expected, he’s as weak as a lamb.
I laugh in his face. “Maybe I’ll keep you alive so you’ll have a front-row seat to witness it.”
A string of curses fly from his lips, all of them directed at me, but I’m done with him. My bloodlust is sated regardless of his lack of begging, and now I want to see Ollie and my friends and make sure they’re okay. Cocking my other hand back, I clock his temple with my fist and he drops like a sack of shit, out cold.
I drop his body into the mud, stand and survey my surroundings for the first time since the fight began.
Anthony and Colin stand side by side, covered in blood with bodies surrounding them. Off to the side is Tobias, who’s holding a gun to a terrified-looking Elsa while Rachel leans casually against the wall beside them. Harlow and a preening Ketchup are beside them. Theo and Alex are finishing the last of the stragglers—mostly infected—and appear unharmed. Although Theo is heavily favouring his uninjured side, and there’s a permanent grimace on his face as he fights.
Everyone else is either unconscious or dead.
My heart stutters at that realisation. Where the fuck is Ollie?
I stride forward, frantically scanning every body lying in the dirt, but I don’t see the familiar chestnut hair of my girl. Frigid fear drips down my spine.
“Ollie?” I shout as I whirl around. “Princess?”
There’s no reply, and now everyone has their attention on me, frowns deepening with horror when they realise the same thing I have.
Ollie is missing.
Everyone explodes into action. Theo and Alex curse as they finish the last of the infected before hurrying—or limping in Theo’s case—over to me.
