I hoist the rope against my shoulder, pulling him behind me as I hike through the woods.The leaves beneath him rustle and crumble, leaving a trail of trampled foliage in our wake.He moans and whimpers as branches snap against him.When we arrive, his hair and clothing are embedded with leaves and sticks while his face is scratched and bleeding.
I leave him on the damp ground in the center of the clearing.His panicked eyes dart back and forth, searching.Searching for help, for a way out, for rescue.He’ll find none of those here.The moonlight glints off my shovel as I pull it out from behind a tree.The reflection bounces through the air, flitting over his face.A gasp wheezes out from around his gag as it catches his attention.I throw him a wink before I begin to dig into the packed soil.His dull whimpers turn to muffled screams as he watches me dig his grave.
By the time the hole is sufficiently deep and wide, I’m covered in dirt.A thin sheen of perspiration coats my skin.Wiping my stained hands down my thighs, I look over my girl’s aspiring savior.Sweat beads down his forehead, dripping between his wide, frightened eyes.His hair is matted with mud and debris clings to his damp forehead.His body lies crumpled on the dirt, quivering and whining like a cornered rodent.Some hero he turned out to be.My little bird deserves better.
His legs thrash against his binds as I pull him upright.Gouged lines appear in the earth as I drag him to the grave.My leg connects with the back of his knees, sending him toppling to the ground.The crack of his knees connecting with the dirt echoes in the quiet clearing.I look down at him, my mouth pulling into a smug grin.
“I was planning to kill you quickly, Deputy,” I say, loosening the rope from his mouth.“I was going to make this very easy for you…until you touched my girl.”
He coughs and gasps.Dirt and saliva dribbles down his chin as the rope falls away.
He shoots me a quizzical look.“Y-your girl?”
I widen my stance, arms crossing in front of my chest.My eyebrows raise as if to saythink.
His eyes widen in sudden recognition.“Jesus, you mean Ava?!”
His head rocks to the side as my fist collides with his nose.The crunch and squelch reverberate against my hand as the bone fragments beneath his skin.He yells in pain, the sound loud enough to shake a few birds from the branches above us.Fluttering black shapes soar across the moonlight.
Sputtering against the blood running from his nose, his howls turn into pleas, “Someone help!I need help!”
“Don’t waste your breath,” I chuckle as my fist rams into his gut, “no one can hear you out here.”
He groans, folding in on his stomach.His throat bobs as he swallows hard, gagging.
Between ragged breaths, he pleads, “D-don’t do this.I’m…I’m a cop.They’ll come.They’ll come looking for me.”
I throw my head back and bark a laugh.“Oh, I very much doubt that.Not after they read the suicide note you left on your laptop.”I crouch down to meet him at eye level, my voice soft with mock sadness.“It’s too bad you were struggling with so many demons that you couldn’t talk about.”
Despite balking at me over the phone for several irritating minutes, Shawn did as I asked and hacked into the deputy’s personal computer.A clever trick to ease the suspicion of him going missing.Along with disabling his cell phone, there won't be a way to find him.
For a kid who’s lived around criminals for most of his life, Shawn still gets testy about “killing the good guys without reason”.In this case, I’d say I have a very good reason.Whether or not he believes that is another matter entirely.
The deputy’s face shatters in shock and his eyes turn glassy with unshed tears.I swear I saw a flash of acceptance in those eyes as he blinked away the tears.
“Now, tell me,” I continue, “which hand?”
“W-what?”
“Which hand did you touch her with?”I snap.
“Oh, God.Oh, God, please,” he chants.His eyes are wide, laser focused on the serrated knife I pull from the back of my jeans.
A pointless question, really, given that I already know the answer.
The putrid stench of urine wafts into my nose as I slice the rope at his wrists.The moment his hands are free, he lashes out, trying to push me away.I grab his hands, shoving them to the ground.The fingers of his left hand crunch under my boot as I pin the other to the dirt with my own hand.At the ragged kiss of the blade against his wrist, his pained screams flow through the forest.
The skin gives easily as I saw, quickly giving way to the dense muscle tissue beneath.The coppery tang of his blood fills the air, masking the scent of his cowardice.My grip tightens against the handle of the slick knife as I tear through tissue and bone.Amidst the song of his agonized wails, plays an orchestra of squelching and spattering.His screams quiet into hoarse whispers.
For several moments, he stares at the severed hand on the ground—his hand.His mouth opens and closes as the shock sets in.
“Please…please…don’t kill me,” he begs.“I-I won’t tell a-anyone.”
Grasping his severed hand and pulling it from the puddle of mud and gore, I smack it against his cheek.“You can’t bargain with monsters, Deputy.Not after you touch what belongs to them.”
He turns his eyes to me and I watch them change.They harden with pride and defiance.“Ava deserves better than you,” he declares.
I chuckle lightly.“Well, on that, we agree.”
My knife slides into the corded muscles of his neck.As I pull the knife out, he gurgles and gasps.Blood erupts from him, soaking his clothes and the ground beneath.I shove my boot against his back, shoving his body into the grave.
Now, it’s time to teach my little bird a lesson.
