Page 40 of Straightjacket

Aim for the jugular.

Aim for the jugular.

Aim for the... And I do. Without even thinking or breathing, I lift my hand and ram the shiv into the side of his neck then I yank it free, causing blood to spray like a burst pipe all over the floor. The thick liquid drenches me and the guard panics, gurgling as he tries to stop the bleeding but it’s no use, it squirts between his fingers and he begins to choke, coughing up chunks of blood as he falls to his knees.

Behind me, chaos erupts. The women, chanting and screaming at the violent act. They run towards the guard like hungry vultures, and I shove Dolly out of the way and grab the keycard from his belt just in time. Blood sprays across the floor as the rest of the women claw and scrape at the guard's skin, using their fists to smash his face to pieces until he’s completely unrecognisable. There, right before my eyes, a horror film plays out, and I struggle to breath as adrenaline tries to suffocate me.

The room begins to spin, causing my vision to blur and I stumble over my own feet, hands trembling until I feel a tight grip on my arm, yanking me back into the present.

“We need to go!” Dolly cries out and pulls me towards the door. She takes the keycard from my fist and swipes it across the lock.

“What about them?” I say, turning to face the others in the room. Dolly grins and pulls me aside to open the door.

“It’s their playtime.”

In the blink of an eye, the panic in my chest quickly turns into excitement. A rush of exhilaration courses through my veins at the chaos that’s about to erupt and I can’t seem to find an ounce of remorse in me for what I’ve done.

These women have been abused and battered, tortured for Thorne’s entertainment and now it’s finally time for them to have their revenge, and I’ll watch with a smile on my face as it happens.

Slamming my fist on the door, I grab the group's attention. They all turn to look at me, each one hungrier than the other.

“Release the inmates and kill every last fucking guard in this place. This is our house now.”

“I can see why Silas loves you so much.” Dolly teases, nudging me with her elbow and I grin, feeling the blood as it trails down my face then I step aside, swinging my arm down the hallway. Crazed laughs and howling screams echo around the place as the women storm the hallways, running around like starving creatures on a hunt for blood.

“I’m gonna get my man.” My words come out true and strong, a fire burning brightly in my chest as I take Dolly’s hand, my other armed with the shiv, and lead us through the halls of Salem Penitentiary.

One last time.

Keeping my hand firmly around the gun, I lean against the wall, my hand firmly pressed against my stomach. Blood begins to bloom, spreading out slowly as the fabric of my jumpsuit starts to soak it up.

“Uh, fuck...” I groan out, leaning my head back slightly. “I’ve got ten rounds and a woman to save; I’m not going yet.”

Glitter spreads across the edges of my vision and I can feel my skin growing clammier. My body aches for rest but my mind is the one that’s driving this train, it’s the one who keeps pushing me forward, even when I’m ready to fall back.

I close my eyes for a second, forcing the sparks away then I pull myself away from the wall and shake my shoulders– pushing the energy back into my limbs, and with the keycard in my hand, I swipe it across the lock. My gun is aimed and ready for whoever is standing on the other side as I step through the door, ears focusing on every single sound.

The hallway is quiet, an eerie silence settling over me as I walk the short distance to yet another door. I might have walked these halls before, but my mind is hazy and I’m having trouble remembering exactly where I am. Each wall leads to another, a door opening to another one until it becomes a maze of clinical white paint and the only choice, I have is to keep pushing on, hoping that I make it to the finish line with Iris by my side.

Turning left at a junction in the hallway, my finger hovers over the trigger, the gun trembling slightly in my grip as I head towards the next locked door just ahead of me. I go over the same movements, swiping the card, opening the door and aiming the gun but this time, I’m forced to pull the trigger. The bullet fires out of the barrel but with my hazy state, it misses the guard who barrels towards me. Bullets whizz past my head and I jump back into the corridor, barely having a chance to fucking breath when I aim the gun again, firing off another shot. This time it smashes into his kneecap, blowing the bone to pieces. He crumbles to the floor, and I waste no time in grabbing the baton from his belt.

“You’re... gonna fucking die here, Riggs.” He stutters over his words as he looks up at me, fear swimming in his eyes. I grip the baton in my butchered hand and even though the pain is radiating through my arm, I hold it tighter, lifting it higher.

“That may be true, but I ain’t going anywhere until I’m fucking done.” I spit out, then swing the baton across his face. Broken teeth clatter on the floor like marbles, blood sprays up the walls as I continue to smash his face to a bloodied pulp. With every blow the bones in his face crack open, revealing the slimy flesh beneath.

I keep going until there’s nothing left of his face. Until he’s unrecognisable. Until I can feel his brain matter and sticky blood, raining down my face then I stop, dropping the baton with a heavy thud.

Eight rounds left.

I nod to myself and move on. Pushing my body to its absolute limit because there’s no fucking way that I’m ending it like this. I’ll drench these walls in blood; I'll leave bodies in my wake until every last fucker is dead. Until there’s no one left in this shithole who can hurt Iris.

Images of her flash in my mind and it’s the push I need to keep going because if I fail now, it’ll all be for nothing and I can’t fail again, not this time.

Stepping over the guard, I head towards the door he came through. Echoes of carnage penetrate the walls around me, the ear-splitting screams of violence surge through the hallways. I pause for a moment to listen closely, the sound creeping towards me. Before it can reach me, I turn down another hallway to find what looks like a security office. Glass panes make up the room, and I can just about see several computer screens, each one flicking through various cameras.

If I can get in there, I should be able to find Iris. The idea alone is enough to surge me on whilst keeping my steps wary. I keep the gun aimed, my shoulders solid and strong as I walk towards it, my gaze flicking around for any fucker who decides that they wanna jump me but the place is empty, the door to the office is wide open and I take my only opportunity to go inside.

Screens line the walls and just underneath is a board, the surface covered in various buttons and switches. Alongside them is a list of each block, and inside those blocks are inmates. Behind those bars, vicious creatures lay waiting and at the push of a button, I could release them.