Wyatt looked at Todd. “Hey, that’s not a bad deal, considering your other choice.”
Todd stared at him. “I’ll do anything but that. Or cut off my penis or feet.”
Wyatt shook his head. “Trust me. You’re getting off easy.”
Seth looked at his watch. “If we’re going to do this we need to get moving—we’ve been fucking around long enough.”
Wyatt felt relieved. “Let’s get it done.” Wyatt had no idea that Seth’s plan was the most horrifying thing that he could conjure up for Todd.
Seth stood up and looked at Wyatt. “Go see if one of these boats has a key. If so, get it started, if not, go into the building and try to find one. I’m going to drag Todd back in the building and get him suited up.”
“I’m on it.” Wyatt took off.
Todd started freaking out when Seth approached him, so he injected him with a tranquilizer.
Thirty minutes later Seth came driving down the dock in a golf cart. Wyatt was waiting on the boat. He looked down, noticing Todd was lying in the dump bed. He was nude and only wearing an old-school diving helmet. Seth pulled close, then handed Wyatt five air tanks, some hoses, fittings, small anchor, a chain and some tools, then rolled Todd into the boat. Wyatt looked confused. “Why is he unconscious?”
“He started freaking out so I tranq’ed him.”
“Why is he naked?”
“I told you he would be.”
“I didn’t hear that part. But what’s the reason?”
“So, his skin will rub against all the tree branches and weeds.”
“That was thoughtful.” Wyatt noticed the helmet was old. “Is that going to leak?”
“No. The oxygen tanks will create a positive pressure on the inside.”
“Why didn’t you use the regulator you had earlier?”
“He will be panicking and could suck in water around it. I want him concentrating on all the shit laying on the bottom instead of worrying about his air. Plus, the helmet will give him better vision.”
“I had seen a modern helmet in the cabinet. Why didn’t you use that one?”
“Because this one is creepy as fuck.” Seth looked across the lake and pointed. “Head out that way. I’ll get him ready.”
“You can’t throw him in unconscious. He might drown.”
“I’m not. I will inject him with adrenaline first and wake him up.”
“Got it.” Wyatt drove the boat out of the dock, then headed out.
Seth secured the tanks together with numerous layers of duct tape, then connected hoses from the tanks to a manifold. The manifold had a line running to the diving helmet. He fed a chain through the eyehole on a small anchor, then wrapped the chain tightly around Todd’s waist, securing it in place with two padlocks. A few minutes later Wyatt shut down the motor. He walked up to Seth, noticing Todd was hanging off the side of the boat by a rope. “How’s he doing?”
“See for yourself.”
Wyatt looked in the window of the helmet and noticed Todd was wide-awake. “You must have already given him the shot?”
“Yep.”
When Todd noticed Wyatt, he started yelling for help. Wyatt looked back at Seth. “He’s having a panic attack.”
“I’m sure. He’s terrified of water.”
Wyatt noticed Todd’s arms were secured to his side with rope. “You going to leave him tied up?”
“No, I will cut him loose right before he takes the plunge.”
Wyatt looked over the side of the boat. “How deep do you think that is?”
“I’m not sure. Let’s go see if there’s a depth finder on board.” Seth and Wyatt went to the boat’s console. Seth started the boat, moving at a slow speed for a few minutes, then shut it down. He tossed an anchor overboard, then he and Wyatt went back to the rear of the boat. Seth tapped on Todd’s helmet as he looked through the window. “The depth finder indicates the water is almost thirty feet deep.”
Todd started shaking his head. “Please don’t do this! I beg you.”
Seth smiled. “There’s more. I positioned the boat right above a pile of debris. It appears to be an old home site that was left behind when the dam was built.”
Todd’s body started shaking. “No, no, no! You can’t do this! I will do whatever you ask.”
“I saw old trees lying on the bottom. A couple of them are still standing, so you might get tangled up in one when you’re descending.”
Todd hysterically jerked his body around as he stared with wide eyes at Seth and Wyatt. Seth patted the top of the helmet. “It’ll be alright. You just have to walk about a mile on the murky, limb and stump covered floor.” Seth secured an underwater magnetic compass to Todd’s wrist. “Follow the compass so you can walk in circles.”
Wyatt interrupted. “You mean so he won’t walk in circles.”
“I know what I said.”
Todd started screaming. Wyatt could hear the muffled sounds. “Why is he freaking out so much?”
“I told you, he’s terrified of water and the shit lying on the bottom.”
“That’s weird.”
“It’s his phobia. For him it will be like scuba diving in hell.”
“That doesn’t scare me.”
Seth knew Wyatt feared needles and confined places. “Look at it this way. He is as scared of his phobia as you are of yours. What he is going to do is the same as if you were trapped on one end of a dimly lit tunnel that was not much bigger than you when you’re on all fours. The floor is covered in syringes, and there are syringes sticking out of the walls. The syringes are filled with a dark colored fluid; some might even have blood in them. You have to crawl out before you run out of air.”
Wyatt’s face was flush. “I… I should have let you cut off his dick and feet.”
“Since you mentioned that, we can give him a way out once he hits bottom.”
“How?”
“We can secure a chain around each of his ankles. A key can be secured to each of the chains. The two keys will unlock the two padlocks securing the chain and anchor around his waist.”
“How would he get the keys?”
“I will give him a knife so he can cut off his feet.”
“That’s too twisted. We can’t do that.”
“We aren’t going to do shit. That will be left up to him. He can still take the low road and try to walk his ass out, or take the high road by cutting off his feet and swimming to the surface. Wouldn’t you want another way out of the tunnel?”
Wyatt thought for a moment. “That’s fine. We’ve already come this far.”
Seth smiled. “Wow! That was surprising.”
“That’s what he gets for being a rapist. Fuck him.” Wyatt looked across the lake. “No one can see us anyway, and if they did, I will blame the whole thing on you.”
Seth laughed. “That’s the spirit.” Seth tied a small piece of rope to the end of a knife, then tied the other end to Todd’s left wrist so he wouldn’t drop it. He tapped on the helmet to get Todd to calm down and pay attention. “Hey! You have two keys around your ankles that unlock the padlocks to the chain around your waist.” Seth pulled on the knife. “Here’s a knife so you can cut off your feet.”
Seth set the air tanks in their upright position. “We’ll have to throw these overboard the same time we cut him loose.”
Wyatt looked confused. “Don’t forget about the keys.”
Seth looked guilty. “They’re already secured to his ankles.”
Wyatt leaned over the side of the boat, noticing Todd had a chain around each of his ankles. “I like how you had already planned on that.”
“I wasn’t going to follow through with it unless you approved. And besides, I knew you would come around.”
“Fuck it. It is what it is.”
“At least he still gets to keep his dick.” Seth laughed.
“Isn’t he just the lucky one?” Wyatt looked around the lake, noticing a boat in the distance. “Oh shit! A boat.”
�
�They’re not coming this way.” Seth leaned over the boat and put his face next to the window on the helmet. “Have you ever heard of The Angel of Death?”
“I beg you! Please don’t do this!”
Seth hit the top of the helmet. “Listen! Have you heard of The Angel of Death?”
Todd was gasping for air. “Yes.”
“That’s me. If you survive this and say a word to anyone, I will hunt you down and do some real barbaric shit to you. Do you understand?”
Todd’s eyes were huge as he stared at Seth. “What? You can’t be.”
“Run your mouth and you’ll find out. You better feel lucky that my friend was here or I would have done something a lot more fucked up than this.” Seth started to move away, then leaned back over. “You definitely picked on the wrong Yankee today.” Seth pulled out a knife and cut Todd’s arms loose. Todd immediately grabbed the handrails and tried to pull himself up, but he wasn’t strong enough to lift the weight of the anchor and helmet. Seth handed his knife to Wyatt, then picked up the air tanks and balanced them on the side of the boat. He looked at Wyatt as he reached out for his knife. “Hand me the knife so I can cut the rope.”
Wyatt looked at Seth for a moment, then reached over and cut the rope that was holding Todd above the water. Seth pushed the tanks overboard the same time Todd made a splash. Wyatt handed Seth his knife. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
Seth holstered it, then looked at Wyatt. “I… I…”
Wyatt laughed. “The cat has finally got your fucking tongue.” Wyatt went to the console and started the boat. Seth sat next to him and smoked a cigarette as they headed for shore. When they docked, Seth pulled out his silenced pistol and emptied his magazine in the side of the hull slightly below the water line.
Wyatt looked confused as the boat started sinking. “Why did you do that?”
“Just to make it harder on the cops when they go snooping for evidence. And I’m going to burn down the building as well.”
When Seth got to the building he set up gas cans on a teeter tottering system like he had done at Earl’s place, then he and Wyatt took off in the Z71.
Tangled Web We Weave
Seth noticed some smoke pouring into the sky as they drove down the highway. “Check it out.” He pointed. “That’s Todd’s building.”
Wyatt was nervous as he stared out the window. “How far have we gone?”
“About five miles.”
“I shouldn’t have cut the rope. I don’t know what got into me.” He looked at Seth. “I don’t want to get in trouble.”
“First off, you know I would take the blame, so don’t let that worry you. And secondly, deep inside you know he got what he deserved.”
Wyatt took a deep breath. “I know, I know.” He looked out the window. “What do you think Todd is doing right now? Do you think he’s already cut off his feet?”
Seth had a mischievous expression. “I doubt it—the knife was very dull.”
His eyes opened wide as he looked at Seth. “What? Did you do that on purpose?”
“I do everything for one reason or another.”
“Why would you do that?”
“I couldn’t take a chance that he would survive—he would have ratted on us.”
Wyatt looked confused. “What does that have to do with a dull knife?”
“If it was sharp he could have easily cut through the joints of his ankles and made it to the surface. If there happened to be a boat in the area he could have been rescued before he bled out.”
Wyatt’s heart was beating fast. “I got caught up in the moment and didn’t think any of that through. Do you think there is a chance he could still do it even with a dull knife?”
“No.”
“Even if he’s panicking?”
“Nope. The knife will never cut through cartilage and tendons.”
Wyatt thought for a moment, then a feeling of relief overcame him. “You’re right. Even with a sharp knife he probably couldn’t have done that anyway.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because it would have been too painful.”
“Not really. His adrenaline rush would have helped him overcome the pain. People will do some amazing things when they’re desperate.”
Wyatt’s heart started beating fast again. “Could there be a chance that he could still do it since he’s desperate?”
“No. I told you he won’t be able to do it. And if he tries, he will only cause a lot of tissue damage and will bleed out before he reaches the shoreline.”
“Do you think there is a chance he could still walk out?”
“I thought you didn’t want him to die?”
“I don’t want him to tell on us, especially since I helped.”
“He’s not. He will run out of air before he makes it out.”
Wyatt frowned. “Why, were some of the tanks empty?”
“No.”
“Did you do something that will cause his air to run out sooner?”
“Yes and no.”
“You told me he had plenty of air to make it out.” Wyatt wasn’t concerned for Todd any more; he was worried that Seth hadn’t been honest with him. “Did you lie to me?”
“No. His air tanks are full and if he walks in a straight line and doesn’t fuck around he can get out.”
“Then how can you say he will run out of air?”
“Remember what I told him about following the compass so he could walk in circles?”
“Yeah. You meant to say so he wouldn’t walk in circles.”
“No, I meant what I said. I had taken the compass apart and demagnetized it by heating the magnet to its curie point with a torch. The damn thing will be pointing no telling where every time he raises his arm to look at it.”
Wyatt shook his head. “That’s messed up. The fucker will be stomping around in the mud, going in circles.”
“Maybe, but at first, he will probably just stand in the same spot where he landed for a while due to his extreme phobia, then he will get desperate when his air starts to get low and either try to cut himself free or start walking, but either way he’s fucked.” Seth noticed Wyatt looked sad. “What’s wrong? Something bothering you?”
“Maybe.”
“Don’t worry; Todd is suffering immensely for his transgressions.”
Wyatt looked confused. “What? That’s not what I meant.”
“You don’t want him to suffer?”
“I haven’t given it any thought.”
“Then what’s wrong with you?”
“I’m bothered about the fact you kept me in the dark about what you were planning on doing with him. You might not have lied to me, but you did mislead me.”
“That’s not entirely accurate. You just didn’t put two and two together. And I was just doing what was in your best interest. Leaving a loose end like that could cost us.”
“From here on out I want to be aware of everything, even if you are trying to protect me.”
Seth nodded. “I can do that—you’ve come a long way since the hotel.”
Wyatt couldn’t see the smoke any more. “Now that we’re in the clear we need to change vehicles.”
Seth was proud of Wyatt. “I’m glad you’re thinking ahead.”
Wyatt noticed a sign that read, San Augustine, five miles. “A town is coming up. We can find another car there?”
Seth turned on his left turn signal. “That’s not a good idea. In fact, we’re going to take this road coming up and completely avoid San Augustine.”
“Why?”
Seth turned on a rural road. “We need to avoid the next few towns because someone could recognize this truck. We also need to pull over in a secluded area and see if there’s something in the tool box that we can use to disguise it.”
“That’s a good idea.”
A few miles down the road, Seth pulled into a cemetery and parked in the back. He opened the toolbox and found a razor knife and some spray paint (two cans of gra
y primer and one black). He removed the razor blade from the knife and handed it to Wyatt. “Scrape off the stickers on the back window and the Z71 decals on the sides.”
Wyatt looked at the side of the truck. “You mean that one?”
“Yes.”
“I might scratch the paint.”
“You want to go to prison and get pounded by a big black dude?”
Wyatt started removing the decals as Seth painted the hood and both front fenders gray. When he was done, he painted the chrome bumpers and rims black, then he used a rolled-up piece of paper as a paintbrush and started changing some of the letters and number on the license plate. Wyatt was squatting next to him, watching as he changed the letter C to an O, S to an 8, T to an I and a 7 to a 2. “Good thing you have black paint.”
Seth stood up. “I would have used pieces of rolled up electrical tape to form the numbers and letters if I didn’t.”
“What if you didn’t have tape?”
“There is always black tape; it’s used all over the wiring system.”
“Sounds like you’ve done this before.”
“Once or twice.” Seth nodded to a wooded area. “We need to unload the toolbox over there.” Seth backed up to some trees. They unbolted the toolbox, pushed it onto the ground, then took off. Wyatt was staring at the hood as Seth drove down the highway. “That makes the truck look like shit.”
“Yeah, but if it’s reported stolen the cops will be looking for something different. We’re fine for now, but we might swap it out if something comes up.”
“What about getting one from a used car lot?”
“The police will be checking all the nearby towns for any vehicles that were stolen or sold today.”
“Then where are we going to get one?”
“We have several choices; we can take one off a lowlife…”
Wyatt interrupted. “I don’t want to do that. Throwing Todd’s ass in the lake was enough excitement for one day. What’s another option?”
“We can go to my house. I have several vehicles we can use, and you said you wanted to see the new chamber anyway.”
“Is it close to here?”
The complete “A Glimpse into Hell” series - 5 books, 195 chapters, 1700 pages, 600K words of pure gore Page 92