by W. A. R.
“You think you are some kind of badass?” the man countered angrily. Brian recognized him as the man that had assisted Ryder in the cabin before they attempted to make a run for it. Justin stepped up from around Brian, and everyone watched him testily. There was a desperate, crazed look in Justin’s eyes and Brian didn’t like that one bit. “You have royally fucked up.”
“You think so, Cory?”
“I know so.” Cory replied. Justin sneered and placed both hands on his hips, beginning to pace nervously. After a tense moment of silence, the man addressed as Cory finally spoke again, though a little less heatedly. Cory was more or less taunting him now, Brian could see, and was attempting to play the heaviest card he seemed to have. “You killed her.”
Brian smirked. It had the desired effect. “Watch your mouth!” Justin hissed angrily and Brian felt a light-headedness take over. He was so very weak.
“You killed her, even after knowing….”
“Shut up!” Justin bellowed, his face red and the bulging vein in his forehead told Brian he was straining. There were murmurings among the other men, whispers of telling Adrian something, of someone being sentenced to death. Cory, however, stepped forward, his eyes flashing at the shorter man. Brian was surprised to see the normally gentle Cory this heated.
“You have a short temper and that temper led you here. You took out the one person that could…”
“I said shut up!” His fists were clenched at his sides and suddenly he turned to Brian. “Did you know?” he all but screamed at Brian. Brian tensed, unsure of what he was talking about. Still, he refused to answer. He didn’t want to talk to this man again until he was taking his life.
The horrible cracking that whipped against his skull made him grunt and stumble in his weakened state. Justin had hit him with every bit of force he had. He was angry, psychotic even, judging by the look in his eyes. Brian was curious, knowing that something tense had happened with Amber up on that bridge; something major. He was left to wonder however, as most of their trip from the day before until then had been in silence. It wasn’t your typical silence, no; it was deeper than that, more heated than that. It was as if something had been festering for the whole twenty-four hours within all of these men and it was bringing out the beasts within. He had been kept in the dark along with the other prisoners as they all discussed it. Something wasn’t adding up, he could tell, something was wrong, but they were all kept out of hearing range, being held and bound as captives with guards, far away enough to not provoke any outbursts and listen in, but close enough to smell the delicious food they were kept without.
The pain hit him for the second time within two days. His sister; this had something to do with her, he knew it. It had to. That was the only thing they could be talking about that correlated with him. He didn’t know anything, so he wasn’t sure why they were asking him. Hell, even if he did know, he most certainly would not tell them. He’d spit in their faces and die before telling them anything they found useful. He may be weak but his morals and loyalty weren’t.
Another blow to the side of his head. “Did you know?!” Justin hollered into Brian’s face. His vision became dizzy for a moment and easily he gathered what was left of his strength, straightening once again. Justin reared back to swing again and this time he was caught by the two men that reminded him of soldiers. They drug him back, though obviously frightened of the man, and removed him from Brian’s presence.
“He doesn’t know.”
“I don’t think he ever did.” The two men tried to console Justin, whose chest was heaving with every breath he took. One of the two men leveled his eyes at Justin. “You need to calm down.”
Justin jerked from the man, shrugging from his grip. “Calm? I want to kill him! He knew! He had to know!”
Cory stepped forward and shoved Justin back, towering above him. “And what good would that serve. Keep him alive and he may be able to give us the answer his sister couldn’t.”
“Yeah.” One of the two soldiers responded, squaring his shoulders. “You get rid of him too and things will only be worse for you.”
Justin’s wild eyes grew even more crazed. “That bitch did this to me on purpose!” he exclaimed and Brian wondered whether or not he was talking about the hole in his arm.
“How could she, Justin? Really? She died.” The other man said condescendingly.
“She wanted me to kill her!” he shouted and the two men tensed up, as if guarding Brian from the angry prowl of the short man with the neck tattoo. He sneered a little at Justin before lifting his chin defiantly. This anger and hostility had been building up within him for the past day since it happened and now it seemed as if he were on the verge of desperation. In his eyes, he was scared, frightened, of what, Brian was unsure, but whatever it was, he was grateful for it. It was refreshing to see the man terrified. Still, that look in his eyes would belong to Brian one day; he vowed it. He would make Justin as terrified of him as he was of whatever was frightening him right then.
“If she wanted to die, she would have killed herself.” Cory, the first one that had defied him stated, stepping forward. Odd, Brian considered, these three men were the only ones to defy him. The others watched on with uncertainty, as if weighing their options or waiting for their master’s orders.
“She deserved to die!”
The heat in Brian’s veins threatened to overtake him, and he broke his vow of not speaking to the man. The protective big brother in him, the unadulterated agony over losing both Amber and Shelly zipped through him like an electric jolt. “No, she didn’t.” All eyes turned to him. Justin’s left eye twitched. “And certainly not by your hand.” He stated as evenly as possible. Justin narrowed his eyes at him menacingly and Brian prepared himself for anything that might be said next.
“You can’t do anything about it now, can you? Whatever is left of her is floating downriver with the gators.” He tensed, obviously unnerved by Brian’s constant force of will in his good eye. “And if she isn’t, she better hope I never get my hands on her.” Brian refused to back down. “What can you do about it?’
“I’m going to kill you.” Brian said firmly and Justin merely laughed in response. Brian clenched his jaw and resolved to remain silent from that point on, regardless of the pain and the anger that threatened to consume him.
“You will pay for that remark, Justin.” Cory declared evenly then, referring to the desecration of her body. “You know he is going to send you searching for whatever’s left.” Brian felt sick again.
“No.”
“You aren’t in charge here. I am. You’ve taken things too far, Justin.” Cory stated and there was yet again a murmuring among the crowd. Cory was in charge? Since when?
“Did you forget who I am?!” Justin questioned, his eyes wild. His hands shook and balled into fists and Brian had to admit that he was nervous. He had had this look about him since they had all watched Amber take that fall.
Cory squared his shoulders. “I know exactly who you are. Which is going to make that demise of yours so much sweeter.”
Justin shook his head vehemently. “No. No, no, no…”
Cory stepped forward bravely, his eyes narrowed into slits as he took Justin’s short stature. “You lost it on that bridge and killed her and now it is going to cost you. Adrian is going to have your head.”
“No!” He bellowed suddenly. With a quickness that Brian didn’t know Justin had, he retrieved his gun from his hip and lifted it, aiming quickly at Cory’s face. Cory’s eyes widened briefly, but before he could act Justin pulled the trigger. Brian gasped and flinched as blood and brain matter plastered themselves across his face. Hollers were heard from the other men but no one moved. They were properly scared then. Justin was immediately the alpha male among them. Everyone took an instant step back from him as Cory’s body landed on the ground at Brian’s knees. His eyes stared into oblivion and his head marred with blood and matter. The sticky wetness of Cory’s life-force on Brian’s face brou
ght his stomach to his throat and he felt the bile rise and leave him before he could stop it. He tilted forward and heaved, the vomit of what little he had in his stomach leaving him and landing on Cory’s now dead body. He felt like passing out. Why did he have to suffer like this?
Justin waved his gun at them all and the prisoners whimpered even more so. “Anyone else have anything to say?” he bellowed, his chest heaving. No one replied, and there were only the faint sounds of guns moving as the men and women shook their heads. The two soldiers stood before Brian, hands raised in surrender, their eyes wide and calculating. Justin never missed this. “Fred and Xay…. come secure Doug and Rich.”
“What?!” one of the two soldiers exclaimed. He launched forward but Justin aimed at his leg and fired. The soldier fell to the ground and writhed in pain, his kneecap shattered. Brian’s ears were ringing with the sound of gunshots fired so close to his head. He felt the dizzy spell once again calling to him and he felt the lightness of coming fainting calling to him. He struggled to push it to the side. He needed to stay focused; he needed to see what these men knew. Something in their discussion was giving him hope; that some things were not exactly quite what they seemed.
“Now!” Justin shouted and immediately two men rushed forward and began securing the two soldiers, Doug and Rich, by their hands and their feet. They never uttered a word; wouldn’t, as Justin pointed the gun at the back of their heads as they worked. Justin watched on with a crazed look of satisfaction, his greasy hair in a mess, his hands trembling just the slightest. Once satisfied they were secure and going nowhere, he turned to everyone else in the group. There was a hesitation in which they all tensed as his eyes landed on them. Justin smirked. “I am in charge now, so listen up. I killed no one. Doug and Rich killed her. They killed her.” He repeated. “If any one of you decides to say a word otherwise I will kill you and make your families’ lives a living hell. Understood?” he asked, his voice demanding and urgent. A heavy silence hung in the air. Brian wondered what it was about this short shell of a man that frightened them so, and he knew that once they all nodded their consent, he would have to find out.
“You can’t do that to us!” Either Doug or Rich exclaimed, fear and anger now in their eyes. Justin turned then, returning his gun to its holster. Brian could see that he now held all the cards, that the power Justin just realized he had was going to his head. Slowly, Justin knelt down, his eyes devious and no longer afraid. They were, however, still crazed.
“It seems as if I can do whatever I like.” With that, he swiftly swung back and brought his hand around, meeting one of the men on the jaw with his fist. He laughed hatefully. “Let’s see how Adrian decides to handle the two men that took her life away.” He stated and before they could protest. He turned to an uncertain Xay and Fred. “Knock em out.”
And they did.
Justin paced then, rubbing his hand along his jaw. He appeared deep in thought. “Anyone against anything that just happened?” he asked and everything went silent for a moment. The other men and women exchanged looks with one another, uncertainty etched into all of their features. Finally, a middle-aged woman stepped forward, her hand placed tightly on the assault rifle at her side. Everyone watched on with interest and curiosity. All Brian saw when he looked at her was bravery while everyone else stared at her, peppering her with glances that told her that she was foolish. Justin smirked and she lifted her chin defiantly.
“I am.” She stated firmly. Justin glanced around at everyone else before turning back to her.
“Is that so?”
“Yes.” She nodded slightly. “Cory was a great leader. You killed that girl and now you have killed your troop leader and are condemning two others to death because of something you did? You are a monster and are completely unreasonable.” She spat out at him. Brian swallowed thickly, his heart racing faster and faster as he watched on. He knew something was going to happen, he just wasn’t sure what.
The evil glint in Justin’s eyes returned, twinkling and lighting up with excitement. “A monster? My dear, you must forget what it is that we do.” He stated before taking a step towards her. She narrowed her eyes at him. “Look at these people. Where are we taking them?” he asked her and she swallowed thickly. She didn’t answer. “Why are we taking them there?” he asked another question and the woman merely squared her shoulders and stared at him.
“When Ryder hears of this, you will be going down.” She stated and for a brief moment he saw fear in Justin’s eyes. His eye twitched just the slightest and he reached for his gun. She never faltered.
“I guess we will just have to make sure no one tells him, then won’t we?” he asked before pulling his gun out and advancing toward the two men that were unconscious. In an instant, the woman surged forward to stop him and he gripped the first man’s hair, jerking his head up. He placed the barrel of his gun against the man’s cheek, tilting his at an angle before pulling the trigger. The man’s face blew apart, and yet he maintained his unconsciousness.
“No! What are you doing?” she exclaimed as she surged forward but another man was holding her back, trying desperately to comfort her in his firm way. She struggled against the man, anger evident in her eyes.
Justin never answered, and instead he merely walked to the next man and mirrored his actions. Brian felt sick again, his stomach heaving. He doubled over, releasing stomach acid that burned his chest and his throat. Justin stood and tiled his head to the side, cracking his neck. Brian studied the two now deformed men on the ground. They were still alive. They would live…but at what cost?
“Now then, should I do the same to you?” he asked, turning to the woman who stared angrily at him from over the other man’s shoulder.
“Why would you do that to them? Just kill them!”
Justin shrugged and moved to face her fully. “I will enjoy watching them get tortured.”
“For your mistake!” she exclaimed.
“Entertainment is entertainment.” He stated, taking purposeful strides in order to reach the woman. Brian kneeled there by force, fighting the urge to try to stand, to try to save this brave woman.
“You’re evil.”
“Newsflash, honey. We all are.” Justin smiled manically over the man’s shoulder at her. “So, will you keep your mouth shut or will I have to end you like I did everyone else?” he asked and she narrowed her eyes at him. The two stared at one another for a long moment before finally, she shrugged away from the man holding her back and returned to her previous post, though not without tossing another glare at Justin. She never did utter another word.
Justin waved his gun exaggeratedly in the air. “Anyone else?” he looked around and smiled. “No? Good. As far as Ryder and Adrian are concerned, Cory disappeared, and as stated before, these two killed Amber. I had to do what I had to do to make them cooperate.” He shrugged in feigned innocence and Brian wanted nothing more than to wipe that look off his face. He wanted to kill the man so badly he could feel the fire run through his veins. “So, are we all on the same page?”
He stood and waited, lifting a brow until they chorused. “Yes sir.”
He offered a twisted laugh. “Good. Now, I am going to check something out.” He turned towards the bloodied mess on the ground before Brian and grimaced. Cory’s dead body sprawled out amongst two other deformed living ones that would no longer be hardly identifiable. Brian gulped. Yes, he was scared now. This man was utterly terrifying and was insane; completely batshit crazy. And apparently, he wasn’t the only one to think so. Still, it was obvious he had some leverage with Adrian, some kind of ties that allowed to the others to fear him. On the bright side, Justin seemed threatened by Ryder. Brian knew that he would need to find out exactly what ties Justin had. Justin sucked his teeth in disdain. “Clean this mess up.” He stated before tossing a taunting look at Brian and disappearing into the woods behind him.
It wasn’t long before Cory’s body was drug away, seemingly tossed somewhere uncaringly and it made
him sick to think that Shelly and Miles, Amber’s bodies, they were all out there getting the same treatment. They had been left wherever they fell to rot. The thought made him feel sick to his stomach. Still, there was nothing that could be done and he knew that those thoughts would forever sit with him for the rest of his life. He wondered what the last thing anyone had said to one another was before they all took their last breath. He would never know. It was getting dark, and everyone had calmed down from Justin’s outburst. Justin himself had ventured off for a while after it was all said and done, ordering the others to clean up the mess that he had made. Truth be told, Brian was glad he was gone. The shock from Cory’s life being taken so forcefully was wearing off of everyone around. He was unsure what the other men and women did with Doug and Rich, and he was sure he wouldn’t know anymore that night, or maybe not until they made it to the compound where he would wait for his eminent death.
It was hours later before Justin decide to make his way back, his eyes scouring the prisoners before they landed on Brian. He stopped walking, and the blood appeared black on his clothes and skin in the darkness. His eyes were black liquid, evil, as they bore down on Brian. Brian met his stare with his own, not backing down, even as he was sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree. And then, after a moment’s hesitation where it seemed as if Justin made some sort of malicious decision, he turned to face Brian fully. Very slowly, thoughtfully, he knelt on his haunches before the weakened Brian who merely narrowed his eyes at him.
“You like what you saw earlier?” he prompted. Brian continued to stare ahead past him, unable to make eye contact, unwilling to. “You knew didn’t you?” he asked and Brian continued to stare at him, refusing to give him an answer. It amazed Brian how easily he had managed to take charge over this group. He had gone crazy, killed Cory and taken his place, placing the blame on two innocent men. He seriously wondered how he was going to get away with all of this. Surely these men weren’t that scared of this short little bastard. Yes, Brian was scared, but he was also bound and weakened. Justin snickered. “Alright then.” He glanced over his shoulder at the other prisoners before turning to Brian. “You’re a moral guy, huh?” he asked. Brian finally turned his eyes to the man. His enemy seemed to take pleasure out of this and he chuckled lightly. “Then you are going to love this.” Justin studied Brian before standing and turning to advance on the prisoners.