“I can help. I have before.” Tyler said, reassuringly.
Marie shook her head, “You need to just stand in the corner and not get killed. Let me deal with this the way I know how.”
“No, no, seriously, I can help. You distract him, I shoot him.” Tyler said eagerly. He stopped himself as Marie looked puzzled at him. He was excited about this, the idea of killing a person made him excited.
Marie just shook her head, her eyes had gone dark again, “He is mine. He dies by my hand.” She said firmly. “You are to do nothing to interfere with what I am going to do.”
Tyler realized he wasn’t going to win this argument, and he was almost disgusted with what he had said and how he felt about the situation. He felt totally ok with the idea of taking Bruce’s life; in fact, he liked the idea. Marie had such a blank expression, and yet she looked so deep in thought. Tyler moved to the corner of the room and sat down. He just stared at Marie sitting on the desk, staring at the chair she had pushed across the room. It was almost as if she was envisioning Bruce sitting in the chair. The day grew on and the light of the day started to fade. Marie was still sitting on the desk not moving an inch. Tyler had struggled to stay awake in the darkness.
Lights appeared down the road through the front window. It was a truck pulling up the driveway. Tyler instantly stood up and pulled his gun from the back of his pants and readied it in his hands. Marie turned on the desk to face the front door. She leaned back onto her hands. She looked calm and collected. Tyler felt himself shake, but gained control. He wanted this man dead and anything she did to him was deserved. They heard the engine shut off on the truck and the door open and then close. Tyler could hear his heart beating as he stared at the front door. Marie didn’t move. They heard the door knob start to turn and the door slowly open, a hand reached in and flipped the light switch on the wall turning the lamp on the desk on. Marie didn’t flinch. The door opened the rest of the way and there he stood, Bruce. He had lost some of his flare, his hair was greying and his face showed his age. Bruce instantly made eye contact with Marie who was still sitting on the desk. Bruce smiled as he walked in the door closing it behind him.
“I was wondering when you would get to me.” Bruce said with a chuckle. “I figured it would be sooner”
“Well, you know, daddy, I didn’t want to disappoint you.” She said in a sweet tone, a smile on her face as she unbuttoned her trench coat. She pulled it open and allowed it to fall off her shoulders to reveal a hot pink lace bra and panties. Tyler stood in shock. He was hidden by the shadows of the room. Bruce hadn’t noticed him yet.
‘What is she doing?’ Tyler thought to himself.
“My, my, you have not disappointed,” Bruce said with a smile walking over to his desk chair and sitting down. “Now, why did you make such a mess of my desk?”
“I’m sorry” she said in almost a little girl tone. “I’ve been a very bad little girl,” She continued on.
“That you have.” Bruce said with a smile. “To think I thought you were here to kill me. Did you miss me?” he said leaning back in his chair.
“Very much so.” Marie said sweetly standing up and slowly walking over to Bruce. Bruce watched her every step. So did Tyler. He was confused. This man was her victimizer and she was flirting with him. Tyler started to panic. Had it all been a front? Was she secretly in love with him? Was this her plan to get back to him? Tyler clenched his gun tight. Marie stepped up to Bruce, reached her hands out and placed them on Bruce’s chest. Marie knelt, straddling Bruce’s body.
Bruce reached up and placed his hands on her thighs. “I do like what you have become. These snakes are a nice touch,” Bruce rubbed her thighs and followed the snakes up her back and onto her breasts.
Tyler could feel his blood starting to boil. He cocked his gun.
Bruce heard it and looked to his left and saw Tyler. “So, what about your pet? What should I do with him?” Bruce said with a smile.
“Oh, baby, don’t worry about him, he likes to watch.” Marie said turning Bruce’s chin so he was looking at her again. Marie looked over to Tyler, “Sit, boy, the big kids are playing.” Her eyes were dark.
Tyler was enraged but sat down in the corner as she directed.
Bruce let out a chuckle. “You have him trained well,” he said rubbing her breasts.
“Yes I do.” Marie reached behind her back and grasped the clasp of her bra.
“Oh, I like where this is going!” Bruce said with a smile as he moved his hands to her hips.
“Oh, I bet you do,” Marie said, reaching into the back of the bra. Tyler saw what she had hidden, two small blades. Marie quickly pulled them out and planted them in each of Bruce’s eyes. He let out a scream as Marie pushed the knives deeper into his eye sockets. The blood ran from his eyes, as he screamed in pain. Marie was smiling. Tyler had stood back up and was watching in shock. “Do you like that, baby?” She said licking her lips. Bruce’s body was convulsing as the blood fell from his eyes. He couldn’t move. Marie had his legs pinned between her thighs. Her eyes were filled with joy as she watched Bruce die. Bruce finally stopped shaking as his body slumped in the chair, the knives stuck in his eyes. Marie got up, staring at Bruce’s body. Tyler stepped out of the corner and started to walk towards Marie. She grabbed the chair and dragged it to the bedroom door and threw the door open. Marie grabbed Bruce by the chest and threw him onto the bed, and just stood there staring at his body. Tyler followed her. He stood behind her. Then, she turned and walked out of the room. She walked back over to her backpack and opened it up. She reached in and pulled out a lighter. Tyler was just standing in the bedroom staring at Bruce’s body. Marie walked back into the bedroom and stood there clicking the lighter. “I have waited so long to watch this piece of shit die.” Marie said, tears of rage running down her cheeks. She handed the lighter to Tyler, “Burn this piece of shit.” Marie walked from the room.
Tyler looked down at the lighter and to Bruce’s body lying dead on the bed. He lifted it directly in front of his face and clicked the lighter. The flame shot up. Tyler smiled and threw it onto the bed. It immediately burst into flames. Tyler just stood there and watched Bruce burn. Tyler was fixated on the sight, the body burning, destroying what was left of the monster that was Bruce. Tyler suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Marie.
“Let’s go,” she said.
Tyler turned to see she was wearing the black trench coat again with her backpack on her back and duffle bag over her shoulder. Her touch brought him back to reality. He turned and started to follow her. She was walking quickly and he had to rush to catch up as she exited the house and started walking down the road. Tyler didn’t know what to say. He was still struggling to accept what he had just seen, he was still shocked every time he saw it. Marie was silent as she just kept walking. Tyler followed behind, just moving to keep up. The road was dark. There were no street lights on the road. Tyler grabbed onto Marie’s hand so he wouldn’t lose her. She turned and looked at him. Her eyes were filled with tears.
“I’m trying not to lose you out here.” Tyler said gripping her hand. “Why did you do that to yourself?”
“It was what had to be done, or he would have killed you. I had to distract him I had to put him off his game or we both would have not walked out of that house,” Marie said turning around and continued down the road.
Tyler rushed to keep up. “Where are we going?”
“Straight to the train station, we are headed back.”
“Back to California?”
“Yes, it’s going to be a long trip.”
Tyler could see her wiping tears from her face. Tyler just followed behind. He was still at a loss for words on what to say about what had happened or what she had just told him. She did that to save him, to protect him. She did care. He didn’t know what to think or make of it. He had feelings for her and now he knew she had some feelings for him. No matter what they actually were, they weren’t hate. The rest of the walk to the train stati
on was silent as Tyler tried to get a grip of what had just happened.
They arrived at the train station and Marie immediately went and bought tickets for the long trip back to California. Tyler had found a bench and sat down to wait for her. She returned from the ticket counter with two tickets in hand.
“The train leaves in the morning.” She said handing the tickets to Tyler and sitting down beside him.
“Do you want to try to find a place to stay the night?” Tyler asked
“No” she said quietly, just staring off at the train tracks ahead of them.
“Ok” Tyler replied, sitting back against the wall. He still didn’t know what to say or do anymore. Marie looked so empty, so lost, as if nothing was left of her spark. Tyler knew this was taking its toll. Marie gently leaned over and rested her head on Tyler’s shoulder. He felt himself relax as he reached his arm around her. Her eyes were closed. He gently leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. She didn’t move but he could feel her body relaxing. She quickly fell asleep. Tyler stayed awake to keep an eye out. She had protected him he had to do the same for her.
The morning came quicker than Tyler realized. He heard the boarding call for their train. Despite the noise, Marie was still asleep. He gently nudged her, “Hey, it’s time to go.” He said sweetly in her ear. Marie nodded her head as she sat up. They boarded the train as they had before, Tyler checking again to make sure it was a full car. Marie just walked straight in and laid down on the bench. It was becoming routine. Tyler sat down next to her and brushed her hair off her face. She was just staring again off into space. Tyler grabbed a blanket from the overhead compartment and then took her backpack off her back and duffle bag off her shoulder and placed them on the floor next to his satchel. He didn’t say a word as he placed the blanket over her. He started to get up to move to the chair but she grabbed his arm.
“Please, don’t go,” she said, looking up at him. Her eyes were glimmering as they were tearing up again.
Tyler nodded his head as he lifted the blanket and laid down next to her cradling her in his arms. He stroked her hair until she fell asleep again. This time Tyler couldn’t keep himself awake. He fell asleep clutching her tight. They slept for what felt like forever. When Tyler awoke it was night. He was unsure of the time and with the traveling he didn’t really care anymore. Marie was still asleep in his arms. He tried not to move for fear of waking her, but she stirred anyway. “Morning,” he said with a smile, “or at least I think it may be morningish” Tyler said with a laugh.
Marie sat up and looked around. She realized she was still in the trench coat as she felt it with her hands. “Where’s my bag?”
He reached over and grabbed it off the floor. “Do you even remember boarding the train?”
Marie shook her head, no. “How long have we been on the train?”
Tyler realized she had so detached herself she was unaware of even where she was or how she got there. “We are approaching twenty four hours on the train back to California.” Tyler replied rubbing her arm.
“Ok” she replied, climbing over him and standing up. She tossed her bag on the chair and took the trench coat off. She just stood there and looked at herself. Tyler just watched. Suddenly, she started to laugh.
Tyler couldn’t help it. He was smiling too, “What’s so funny?”
“In a sick way, I kinda like this outfit.” She said with a laugh turning around and putting her hands on her hips. Her eyes were bright again. She was back.
Tyler let out a laugh. “It does have a bright flash to it.”
“Don’t think I can get away with wearing this off the train though.” Marie said, smiling.
“I don’t think you would blend in well” Tyler reached out his hand and grabbed hers. He pulled her back to the bench. Marie knelt down on it. “But in here you can keep it on as long as you want.” Marie smiled. Tyler pulled her close and kissed her, wrapping her in his arms again. “I think we can spend the rest of this trip just doing this,” he said with a smile. Marie smiled back, nuzzling her face in his chest.
Chapter 29
The train arrived back in California three days later.
“So, where did we park the bike again?” Tyler said with a chuckle, holding Marie’s hand.
“I have no clue. We can just get another.” Marie replied, smiling back.
“Oh, on to grand theft moto, huh?” Tyler said laughing
“Hey, I’ve done worse.” Marie replied pulling Tyler close to her and kissing him.
“Pick one,” she said pointing to the parking lot in front of them.
“So any car or just bikes?”
“Pick a bike.” She replied, walking towards the lot.
“How about that Harley?” Tyler pointed to a red Harley Davidson Night Rod Special parked at the back of the lot.
Marie was still smiling, “Good choice.” She said as she approached it. “Keep watch,” she said as she started to mess with the ignition. Tyler looked around the parking lot for anyone. It looked clear. He then heard the roar of the engine. “Got it,” she said straddling the bike. “This time I’m driving.” Marie tapped her hand on the back of the bike for Tyler to get on. He climbed quickly on the back, as Marie revved the engine. They took off and headed back to the bunker. This time Tyler was keeping track of the time, he wanted to know where it really was. He was able to figure they were about fifteen miles outside of Los Angeles, based on the amount of time and approximate speed they were going. His directions were off so he wasn’t sure if they were north or east or both.
They arrived back at the property and it was as they left it. Marie pulled the bike to the same spot she kept the previous bike and covered it up as she headed towards the bunker. Tyler started to follow, but stopped. He looked over at the dilapidated house and then back towards Marie.
“Hey, question, why don’t you live in the house?” he asked
“Look at it. Would you live in there?” She replied “Plus the smell is awful.”
Tyler looked confused, “Why does it smell?”
Marie took a deep breath, “Go look for yourself,” she said as she opened the doors to enter the bunker.
Tyler’s curiosity was getting the better of him. What was in there? He started walking towards the house and as he got closer he could smell it. It was a putrid smell, like something was rotting. Tyler slowly opened the faded yellow front door. The door opened and the smell hit him hard, it was so foul. He started to cough, he covered his nose as he entered the house. It didn’t take him long to find the source of the smell. It was a rotting human corpse. The man, or at least what Tyler figured was a man, was tied up to a chair in the middle of the living room, dried blood surrounded the body. Tyler moved closer to examine the body closer. As he approached, what he saw made him jump back in horror as he tried to stop himself from vomiting. Tyler was sure it was a man now as the remains of his penis had been severed and were in his mouth. Tyler heaved, trying not to vomit, the smell and the sight were so appalling to him. He stumbled away from the body and found himself in a bedroom. Tyler grasped at the wall to steady himself but all his hands landed on were pictures on the walls. He moved to the window and pulled open the shredded black curtains to get more light in. As the light hit the walls, Tyler felt himself get weak. The pictures were of dead women, mutilated. The walls were covered with them. Tyler averted his eyes to avoid seeing them but they were everywhere. The room was spinning. Tyler stumbled out of the room and ran out of the front door but he didn’t get far. He collapsed to his knees only feet from the house. He couldn’t hold it in anymore, he vomited on the ground. He could barely hold himself up. He just knelt there staring at the ground trying to catch his breath, playing in his head what Marie had said about the owner of the property, ‘He got what he deserved.’ Tyler sat back on his heels as he caught his breath. He slowly got to his feet. He looked back over his shoulder at the house, then looked away again and walked to the bunker.
Tyler took the stairs down int
o the bunker and saw Marie sitting on her bed sharpening one of her knives. Tyler was shaking, Marie noticed immediately.
“You actually went in there, didn’t you?” Marie said, looking up from her knife.
“What the hell was all that about?” Tyler asked “That was disgusting. Why did you leave it like that?” Tyler was still trying to fully catch his breath.
“The sick fuck got what he deserved,” Marie replied, going back to her knives.
Tyler was still breathing heavily, “You killed him and fed him his dick. You realize how sick that is?”
“Really, are you shocked? And just to clarify I didn’t kill him and then feed him his dick. I tied him up the same way he tied up those girls and I cut it off and fed it to him, A-L-I-V-E. I let him bleed out choking on it.” Marie stood up putting the knife down. “Did you see the pictures? Did you see what he was, what he was doing? I don’t regret it one bit. I don’t regret any of the bodies I have created.” Marie walked up to Tyler. “Think about it. You’re better world, the world you seem to want to protect so much, is made up of monsters like him. He deserved to see the devil.” Marie looked Tyler directly in the eyes. “Can you tell me you would have just allowed him to continue what he was doing or would you have done something about it?”
Tyler realized she was right. Like her method or not, she had stopped this man. “I see he deserved to die. I agree with you. I am not questioning that. What bothers me is how and the fact that you are so comfortable with doing what I have seen you do to another living person.” Tyler grabbed her arms
“Death is death. It really doesn’t matter in what form it comes. You enjoyed burning Bruce’s body. Don’t stand there and say you didn’t. You can try to say you are different, that the way we think is different, but it’s not. I just have the balls to do what is necessary.”
“Wait a fucking minute. You were all ok with all those innocent people dying at Willis Tower, but you killed a man to protect a bunch of potential women?”
Marie (Teumessian Trilogy Book 1) Page 17