by Carver Pike
Fuck he was hard. His cock throbbed in his pants and he couldn’t wait to bury it in her snatch.
“I want to eat your pussy,” he said.
She howled with laughter.
“Well if you put it that way, who do ya think is gonna resist? Not this girl!”
“You don’t understand,” he said. “I want to rip off your pants and chew on your clit.”
“Oh shit, baby. That sounds un-fucking-real.”
“I want to bury my face in your cunt and nibble on your swollen pussy until it bleeds.”
The first look of nervousness crossed her face. She scooted back on the bed a little and playfully pushed him away.
“You certainly have a way with words.”
“I’m hard for you,” he said as he gripped the outline of his cock through his jeans.
“Wait, can I use the bathroom first?” She asked.
Cutter simply groped her breasts in response.
“Come on. I have to pee,” she squealed.
Cutter rolled over and allowed her to get up. She flopped out of the bed and dragged herself towards the bathroom.
“Geez, you’re a horn ball!” she called out over her shoulder.
Cutter watched her walk into the bathroom and close the door. He smiled at the thought of the woman squatting to pee on the other side of the door. Closing his eyes, he savored the thought.
***
The bartender entered the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She sat on the toilet with her jeans around her ankles, staring at the dirty room around her. This wasn’t her first stay at the hotel. In fact, she considered the establishment her second home.
She’d even screwed the hotel’s night manager once or twice because she didn’t feel like going all the way home after work and a girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do if she wants a free room, right?
She thought about the strange man out in the other room. He was aggressive and mean. She knew he’d be the type to beat his girlfriend, for sure. He definitely wasn’t the dating type but bad boys were the fucking ultimate in the sack.
She reached for the toilet paper and as she went to wipe herself she let her fingers linger a little longer than necessary, feeling the clit beneath the paper. He made her nervous but the way he talked about eating her pussy, wow. That sounded amazing.
She stared at the shower curtain off to her right as she wiped herself. The pattern was God-awful. As she concentrated on the ugly green curtain, she noticed it move a little.
She froze in place and watched as the curtain jerked again. A loud moan and grunt came next along with the sound of someone breathing heavily. The bartender pulled up her pants and quietly moved closer to the shower.
She reached out and pulled the curtain back, gasping when she saw the battered girl, hands and feet tied, crumpled up in the tub.
The girl wiggled, squirmed, and tried to cry out with the duct tape over her mouth. The bartender was confused and didn’t understand what was going on. She leaned in closer and pulled the tape away from Ivy’s mouth.
“What is this? Who are you?” she asked, too shocked to form any other intelligent questions.
“My name’s Ivy. Please, you have to untie me and then we have to get out of here,” Ivy said.
The bartender shook her head, knowing that whatever was going on was too deep for her to get involved.
“He’s dangerous,” Ivy added. “Please. Help me.”
The girl only shook her head, unwilling to involve herself any further. She looked back at the bathroom door, terrified that the stranger on the other side, the one she’d been so heatedly wrapped up in before, might come crashing through at any moment.
“He will kill you. You know that, right? He knew when you came into this bathroom that you’d see me. I’m your only hope.”
The bartender leaned forward and slapped the tape softly back into place over Ivy’s mouth. Ivy groaned and thrashed around. As the bartender began to back away from the shower, the door exploded inward, the doorknob crashing into her ribcage, sending a shot of hot pain through her bones.
She flew into the sink counter, where the other side of her ribs were smashed. She screamed and tried to swing a fist in Cutter’s direction, but the pain in her sides was too strong and caused her to double up. Cutter grabbed her by her hair and slammed her face against the tile wall. Her nose shattered and blood ran down her face.
The bartender was barely conscious when Cutter dragged her out of the bathroom and threw her onto the bed. He straddled her, using his knife to cut the rest of her clothes off. Blood had run across her face and gotten into her eyes.
Through the red haze, she saw Cutter checking out her naked body with his knife clenched in his teeth. The last thing she saw was Cutter’s crazed grin as he slid the knife from his clenched teeth with a sickening scrape. She blacked out, never to open her eyes again.
***
Later, when Cutter was finished with the bartender, he lay naked on the bed with his eyes closed. The blood-soaked sheets surrounded him like a red velvet comforter. His hair was sweaty and stuck to his forehead. He placed both hands behind his head and opened his eyes to gaze up at the ceiling.
“Allie,” he said. “Sweet…sweet…Allie.”
Next to the bed, on the floor, lied the naked body of the bartender. Her neck and stomach had been cut open.
Chapter 10 – Bounty Hunted
The inside of the passenger car was filthy. An old neon light overhead crackled as it blinked constantly. Seats lined both sides of the car. Only one other passenger was aboard and he clearly wanted nothing to do with the newcomers. He wore a long black coat and had a hat on, pulled down to cover his face. He snored as he slept.
Dozier gestured with a wave of his hand for everyone to stay far from the resting passenger.
“Stay on this side,” Dozier suggested.
Gabe turned to look at Sergio. “You gave that conductor guy money, royce you called it? What do they need money over here for anyway?” he asked.
“It’s almost worthless nowadays, but they use it to buy food from the farmers and alcohol and drugs mostly,” Sergio answered.
“I guess there’s always got to be some type of system in place,” Gabe replied as he sat down.
The car began to move slowly, chugging along, getting faster and faster. At one point, the train seemed to find its footing and shot forward, causing everyone on the train to shift in their seats. The train was moving at a remarkable speed.
“Aren’t we going a little fast?” Lisa asked as she gripped Gabe’s arm.
“Insanely,” Gabe replied.
“It makes sense,” Ty said. “The faster they go the less likely they are to get ambushed.”
“We should try to get some rest,” Sergio recommended. “This may be the last chance we get for a while. I don’t imagine that the Slums is a very relaxing place.”
Everyone agreed except for Dozier, who sat staring at the sleeping passenger. “Y’all go ahead,” he said. “I don’t trust images.”
He looked over at Language and gave her a wink. “No offense.”
She wrinkled the corner of her mouth and rolled her eyes as if to say, “whatever.”
“I’ll take guard duty while y’all rest,” he said.
***
He watched over them as they stole what little rest they could. His eyes remained glued on the sleeping passenger, who continued to snore loudly. Finally, growing tired of sitting in one place, Dozier stood and walked over to the mud-smeared window.
He watched in awe as volcanic mountains littered the background and everything closer to the train whizzed by too quickly to make out most of their shapes.
“Ugly cursed world,” he muttered.
Behind him, the sleeping image continued to make the snoring sound as he quietly sat up and removed his hat. He set it down on the seat next to him and carefully made his way down the car towards Dozier.
He bared his jagged teeth, ready to attac
k. As he grew closer, he crisscrossed his arms and reached into his jacket, pulling out two blades with spiked knuckle guards.
Dozier was staring through the window, eyes on the rapidly moving terrain, when he noticed movement in the reflection of the window.
Instinctively, he yanked the battle-axe from where it was strapped to his back. He spun and simultaneously swung the axe straight at the image’s head.
The killer ducked in time and the axe smashed through the wall, jerking the others from their sleep. Dozier yanked on the axe, trying to remove it from the wall, but it was stuck. He turned back to the crazed image and realized who it was.
“T-Nate!” he screamed. “It’s Nic Nac! Help!”
Nic Nac kicked Dozier’s chest. As his hands slid off the axe handle and he toppled backwards, Nic Nac leapt into the air and stabbed downwards with both of his blades. His blades were only an inch from Dozier’s neck when T-Nate pounced forward and caught the maniac in midair, driving him into the wall.
As the killer gasped for air, he swung his right elbow around and smashed it into T-Nate’s eye. T-Nate wobbled back a few steps.
Nic Nac jumped quickly to his feet and swung his blades around like a tornado of metal. He slashed at T-Nate’s left arm, ripping through the flesh. The ex-football player howled in pain.
Language sat huddled in the corner, looking like she’d seen a ghost. It took Gabe and the others a moment to realize what was going on. They had no idea who the strange attacker was or what his motivation was for fighting so furiously.
When Gabe saw Language’s normally tough exterior melt away, he remembered what the Soothsayer had said about the killer who’d cut out her tongue. He was pretty sure the image’s name had been Nic Nac.
While Gabe tried to put it all together, Ty went into auto mode and rushed at Nic Nac, swinging both his wooden stakes around. The two clashed like samurai warriors fighting a great battle. They fought martial arts style, each blocking the other’s attack. Wooden splinters flung this way and that as Ty tried his hardest to stop the killer’s constant forward movement with his blades.
Nic Nac swung his blades at Ty’s face. Ty leaned backwards far enough for one of the blades to cut his neck. The immediate pain only angered Ty. He shoved forward, swinging his weapons at the madman.
Nic Nac slid backwards, step after step, confidently warding off each attack like a skilled fighter participating in a sparring session. Ty’s wooden stakes proved to be no match for the metal blades, and the killer chopped through one of them.
The others attacked Nic Nac, who defended himself flawlessly, tossing away each attacker. Dozier finally freed his axe from the train wall and rushed at him. He raised it high over his head and swung it down at the crown of the maniac’s head, but Nic Nac dropped onto the floor, sending the axe crashing down in between his legs. He sprung back up to his feet, stood on the handle of the axe, and smashed his elbow against Dozier’s jaw.
Dozier stumbled backwards, but in the process, swung his left fist and punched him in the mouth. A punch from someone the size of Dozier would usually stun even the biggest of foes, but Nic Nac wasn’t right in the head, and what most would feel as severe pain, registered as the thrill of the fight for him.
The deranged stalker laughed wickedly and focused his attention on the man who’d just hit him. He swung his blades at Dozier. Ty stuck out his last wooden stake and blocked the blades before they hit Dozier’s face. The wooden stake was only a preventative method, allowing Dozier a second to move out of the way before the blades shattered it.
Ty had no weapon left to defend himself, and even if he did, he wouldn’t have been able to react quickly enough. Nic Nac was too fast. He swung his blades around and like a giant pair of scissors, tore through Ty’s neck, sending his severed head rolling across the ground.
Lisa screamed. Her hands shook as she raised her gun and pointed it at Nic Nac. Gabe saw that she was about to fire and ran to her.
“No! You’ll hit the others!” he shouted at her.
Nic Nac stopped fighting and turned his attention to Gabe. His eyes opened wide and he pointed.
“I’ve been looking for you, Cutter. The bounty is mine!” Nic Nac announced with his phlegm-filled voice.
It was obvious the fighting had worn him out. He moved his thumb across his throat, making a “cut throat” motion.
T-Nate grabbed him from behind and pinned his arms at his side. Sergio ran up and punched Nic Nac in the gut and then his face.
Language, who’d been paralyzed by fear only moments earlier, seemed to find the motivation to fight. She and Dozier both ran at Nic Nac. With the killer’s blades pinned down at his sides, everyone was willing to fight.
“This seems slightly unfair, doesn’t it?” Nic Nac growled.
“You want this bounty?” Gabe asked. “Let him go.”
Dozier pointed at Gabe and shook his head. “You stay back,” he commanded. “If you’re really as important as we’ve been led to believe, you need to stay the fuck away from him.”
Nic Nac’s eyes focused on Gabe, never leaving his face as Sergio pummeled his stomach. Then, without warning, he raised both of his feet and kicked Sergio in the chest. He flew backwards and crashed into Dozier.
Language advanced, but Nic Nac again lifted himself up. T-Nate tried to wrestle him down, but he quickly wrapped his legs around Language’s neck and began choking her. He dropped his blades and tightened his grip on Language’s throat.
“Back up! Get away from him!” Lisa yelled with her gun pointed at Nic Nac’s chest.
T-Nate couldn’t hold the wriggling man and they both crashed to the floor, with Nic Nac’s legs still wrapped firmly around Language’s neck. Gabe raced at Nic Nac and stomped on his face, smashing his nose and turning his face into a bloody mess.
Nic Nac relaxed his grip on Language.
“You want to play with me?” he asked, blood spitting out with each syllable he spoke.
“Back up!” Lisa said.
Everyone did as she ordered. Nic Nac quickly climbed to his feet.
“His knives!” T-Nate yelled, but it was too late.
Nic Nac had already bent over to retrieve his weapons.
Lisa’s hands shook as she took aim. As Nic Nac stood up with both of his blades in his outstretched hands, she closed her eyes and pulled the trigger.
The shot was deafening. The bullet slammed into Nic Nac’s chest and clanged off something metal hidden beneath his shirt. He lowered his head like an animal about to attack. His lip curled up in anger. He growled as he stalked towards her.
Gabe raised his gun to shoot, and as he pulled the trigger, the room around them exploded.
***
Dazed, Gabe sat on the floor and stared around at the smoky car. He spotted Lisa and crawled over to where she sat. She looked to be okay.
Everyone seemed to be unscathed, but confused. Through the smoke, Gabe saw Nic Nac rise to his feet with his blades out at his sides, but before the image had a chance to come after him, a second fireball slammed into the car.
The rear of the car exploded. The front half, where Gabe and the others were located, continued forward as the back half crumbled.
Gabe grabbed Lisa’s hand and pulled her towards the front of the car, trying to get as far away from the destroyed end as possible. The train screeched to a halt. When it finally stopped, Gabe and the others picked themselves up off the ground and surveyed the damage. None of them knew what was going on.
Nic Nac rose to his feet. His clothes and face were scorched. Flames danced all around him. The second fireball seemed to be directed at him as he had taken on most of the damage. He patted out the flames on his clothing and glanced around.
“What was that?” Lisa asked Gabe. She rubbed at her forehead where there was a small cut.
Standing on the tracks about a hundred yards away from the rear of the train was a tall, muscular man with melted skin. He stood on the tracks and watched them through his facemask made o
f metal and black rubber. There were two oxygen tubes running down to a pack on his back. His chest heaved with each breath.
“Who’s that?” Gabe asked.
“Singe,” Sergio informed him.
“But we got past the outer rings,” Gabe said, confused.
Dozier brushed himself off and looked at Gabe. “This ain’t got nothin’ to do with the outer rings,” he shouted. “You heard what the Soothsayer said. There’s a bounty on your head now.”
Behind them, Singe clapped his hands and rubbed them together as if warming them. He rubbed them faster and faster, his breath quickening, and his muscles flexing, as his hands heated.