Jess put the heels of her palms to her temples and pressed. She had no idea what to do, but she knew she’d have to act sooner or later. If she didn’t show up eventually, the ax man would arrive and definitely finish Chris off.
Chris continued to bleat like a sheep. Every time he seemed to get a large enough gulp of air, he’d bellow or groan. He was playing right into the ax man’s hands and she was going to do the same.
Her courage was practically shot. Sneaking around in the shadows and slipping in when the wolf was away was less of a struggle for her, but blowing right out of hiding into the blade of the killer was not something she was going to have an easy time overcoming. Her heart felt like it was seizing up over the mere thought of it all.
Her knees trembled and she gripped them trying to steady herself. This was going to be the place she died. She’d throw herself headfirst into the lion’s den and knew she couldn’t possibly walk out of it alive. She could feel her pulse under every inch of her skin. She could almost feel the blood rushing through her veins. Every blink was precious and she could hear the click of her eyelids coming together. She was certain she could just barely smell the body wash she’d used two days ago. Was this what it felt like to accept death? Moments before you get heightened senses, you’re trying to take in every last detail you’d ever experience, and then darkness?
She inhaled more deeply to take in the scent of the forest and accepted it would be the last time she would smell such a luxurious natural scent. She was glad it would be the last thing she remembered vividly. She looked up through the leaves at the pinpricks of blue visible through the vibrant green leaves, fluorescent in the few rays of sun poking through.
The forest around her buzzed with insects she hadn’t heard before. They’d definitely been there, but it had been a backdrop to the huge number of chirping, twittering birds. It was the music of the forest accompanied by the swishing of leaves in the breeze.
She worked herself up to finding the gall to step out from her hiding spot. Her body no longer shook with fear. Her personal acceptance was beginning to take a stand over the negative feelings that kept her pinned behind the tree before rushing into battle with a psychopath. Her husband needed her and she didn’t want to run away again. She was going to put up enough of a fight that he would have to kill her instead of taking her hostage.
She’d bite, kick, and scream. She’d claw and stab. He was a monster, but she’d be savage. Every single thing he’d done to everyone else was going to be handed straight back to him ten-fold. She might not manage to kill him, but she might still manage to make him wish he’d never fucked with the wrong people.
She rose to her feet and began to step around the tree when she heard someone else walking carelessly and loudly in their direction. Cautiously, she kept alert and dared a peek at the approaching figure.
Mark came into view. He was covered in mud and filth. His hair was greasy and plastered to his forehead. His grey shirt had dark spots all over it that Jess assumed had to be blood.
“Kevin,” he said firmly. “I got Steph back.”
Chris was left alone lying face first in the dirt as they stepped away.
Kevin patted Mark on the back heartily. Like a father or a proud baseball coach. “Good job. But where’s the other one?”
“Not sure.”
Kevin returned with Mark at his side to Chris’s prone body. Handing over the ax, he said, “How about an appetizer? Steph will be the main course.”
Mark took the weapon into his hand and turned it around a few times as if inspecting the weight. He shifted his hands up and down the handle and ran a thumb down the blade. Jess observed from a distance, hearing and seeing all of it.
“I told you before I don’t like this,” Mark said bitterly. “This is the kind of shit you do. Not me.”
“You brought me your girlfriend. You have to have the killer instinct like me or you would have let her go free.”
“You said you’d let him go.”
“And we will! He’ll go to the Great Beyond!”
“No. Untie him.”
Kevin smacked his brother upside the back of the head. “And do what? Let him get the police on our asses? He saw too much and now he’s going to have to die.”
Mark gripped the ax tightly and stared at Kevin. With the two of them face to face it was easier to pick out the similarities. The shapes of their noses, the mannerisms of their facial expressions, the way they walked. Jess hoped that blood wasn’t thicker than water and that Mark might take a whack at Kevin and save her a lot of trouble.
“How many have to die before you’re happy?” Mark growled. The ax looked heavy in his grip, as if the weight of it was dragging him to the earth. It looked like a load to bear though it couldn’t possibly weigh more than a few pounds.
“I just want you to prove your loyalty to me. Your kin. I want to show you why I have chosen the path in life that I’ve taken. To help you understand. I want you to have a taste. You’re telling me you’re not bored with waking up and going to work every day? Piss-ant little shopping trips for nail polish and shoes on the weekends with a shallow whore?”
Mark shoved the ax back into Kevin’s hands and backed up. “I do understand. As soon as that girl went missing the other day, that’s when I knew. You didn’t have to say a goddamn word. I knew before you ever told me. If that’s not saying something, then I don’t know how you expect me to get your fucked-up mind by butchering people.”
Jess thought that Kevin was going to lay into Mark, maybe even take out his violent temper on him. Chris let out a pitiful moan at their feet. Kevin kicked him hard enough in the side to turn him over.
“You shut up a minute,” he said down to Chris. Leaving the ax in one hand he approached Mark. “Dearest brother, I would like to repeat myself one more time. You could have just left, ran to the cops yourself, but you clearly want more. You know you’re just like me.” He placed his free hand on Mark’s shoulder and gave an encouraging squeeze.
Mark brushed him off and stood, dejected and staring at the ground. “Fuck you.”
Kevin lashed out again and brought a strong backhand across his brother’s face hard enough to throw them both off balance. The crack of the force startled the birds and Jess jumped. “You do not speak to me with such vulgarities. We are brothers, and we may fight, but you save your filth for talking to the trash of this world.”
Mark clutched his jaw looking fearfully into Kevin’s eyes. Jess could only see Kevin’s back, but knew from Mark’s expression there must be fire and destruction in the face that she couldn’t see. Her will was faltering and she couldn’t think of anyone that evil and vile she’d ever actually met in her life.
Kevin turned away. “I’m going to pay your girl a visit. Found her wandering around again. Bring this pompous meatbag back with you. I’ll give you a lesson in something that might strike your fancy.”
As soon as Kevin was out of sight, Mark knelt down next to Chris.
“I’m sorry, but… I’m sorry.”
Chris kicked himself away from Mark. “Get the fuck away from me.”
Mark stood back up. Weakly he said, “Hold still or I’ll gag you again.”
Chris rolled over and tried to push himself up to his feet, but couldn’t manage to get past his knees without Mark pushing him back down. He rested an elbow on Chris’s back. “Come on, man. You heard him. You heard what he’s doing here. Every few years Kevin’s got to taste a little blood, get out his frustrations. If you’re lucky your stupid wife will have gotten out of here. Maybe if she gets the hell out of here, you’ll stand a chance. It’s like Russian fucking roulette.”
Jess gauged Mark one more time, assessing what would be best. The ax had left with Kevin. Mark appeared to be empty handed. The terrifying knife was sheathed and tucked into Mark’s back pocket on his jeans. Chris groaned as he circled him and began to tie his feet. While he was absorbed in the task, Jess arose once more from her crouch. Silently, she edged her
way right up to the two men.
Her rage boiled inside. She was so completely over and done with it all. Mark was an absolute loser with no backbone for anything but causing pain to those weaker or incapacitated. Jess was confident and dangerous.
With a guttural growl she lunged from the trees and did her best field goal kick right into Mark’s stomach. She could hear the wind get kicked out of him. In one smooth motion, she brought down the open pocketknife. It took less than a second and the blade wasn’t particularly sharp having been made so cheaply, but she tore through him fast and hard.
The wide handle of the knife was the only thing that stopped her from pushing it all the way through to his lungs and out the back. It had been repulsive to hear the flesh give way to the knife and even more disgusting to have felt the initial puncture as it burst past the layers of skin. Mark fell back onto the ground and she fell with him, keeping the knife in his chest all the way to the hilt. She straddled him and grappled with his flailing arms with her free hand.
Pulling the blade back out, she let out a hiss of air between her teeth as she drove it in one more time. Mark was clawing at her, his fists hitting her. A solid punch connected with her left cheek so hard she saw stars, but her fury couldn’t be contained and she slapped him with her left hand. Even being the non-dominant hand, it left a ferocious red mark. Still not done with her hate, she swung her arm back the other way and hit him on the other side.
Her wedding ring gashed into his jaw. Blood flowed freely down his chin in a twisting river of red. She twisted the knife knowing it would hurt. Wanting it to hurt.
“If this is how I have to serve justice,” she thought, “then so be it. His brother will know hell before ever meeting the Devil.”
Mark was kicking and thrashing. He kept trying to swing his knees into her back, but she was leaned too far forward over him. He kept grabbing at her right hand as she pulled to get in a really solid punch. Jess couldn’t believe how ruthless she was. It was like being disconnected from her own body. Her limbs did all the work and her brain simply stood to the side as a bystander observing the events from afar.
Chris was trying to turn around while lying on the ground. The rope was still tangled around his ankles and he was facing the complete opposite direction from the main action. Chris kept shouting at her. “What’s happening? Jess! What’s happening?”
Mark was bellowing so loudly that Jess was absolutely certain Kevin could hear it. Everything in the forest would hear his guttural screams. Jess didn’t make a sound. Like a deadly mercenary taking out a target during a clandestine mission, even her breathing was controlled and perfect.
Mark couldn’t get a solid grip around her arm or the handle of the knife. His blood was everywhere and his hands were too slippery to grab on. He finally had the foresight to reach for her shirt, something he was able to get a hold of. His fist balled around her collar and he tried to throw her off. His pain and adrenaline fueled his strength, but she had the same hormone flooding through her body driving her with equal fervor. Her legs were clamped on so tightly around him he couldn’t unlatch her.
While still holding her shirt, he thrust a hand up into her chin driving her head back. She leaned back as he stressed her neck backward. When she leaned back far enough, he drove his knee right into her spine. The force knocked her forward and threw her off balance just enough that he was able to throw her away. She landed in a heap.
Mark jolted to his feet and began to run. The knife dropped to the ground. He took a running leap over Chris who was still trying to roll over. He sprinted like an Olympian. His feet propelling him almost supernaturally. He was clutching his stomach, but it didn’t seem to slow him down any.
Jess took off after him, snatching the blade as she ran. She wasn’t going to let her prey get away. She was a tiger and he was a scared little rabbit. Hurdling over her husband, she flew through the woods like the wind itself carried her. Mark spared a glance over his shoulder and screamed again putting his arms up to shield his face as she jumped on him and hit him with the knife again.
Jess drove the knife in several more times. She couldn’t even keep track. Her mind simply blanked out as she destroyed the coward.
All of a sudden, she realized that he was dead and Chris was calling out to her frantically. He was far enough away that he’d been unable to watch her. She wondered if he would know it was a blessing he hadn’t seen.
She looked down at herself. The scent of her kill was vivid in the air. It was an overpowering, sickening stink. The slimy feel of all the viscera that covered her was slick and hot. Her whole body was splattered in crimson, she could even feel it on her face. She spared a glance at the body under her and felt ill that she could have possibly done what was before her.
The stab wounds were numerous and wet. His face was mostly intact, but his hands were sliced up quite severely from trying to defend himself. She had ripped apart his chest and stomach. His shirt was barely clinging in shreds and his torso was almost akin to fresh ground meat.
Jess fell backward off of him still clutching the knife. Trying to drive the image of what she had done from her mind she raced back to Chris. He took one look at her and his wide eyes told her how horrified he was.
“Is he dead?” Chris asked hesitantly. It seemed stupidly obvious to ask, but he wondered if by some miracle Mark was still slowly dying out there in the woods.
Jess opted to not speak. She needed a minute to try and process everything. She nodded and left it at that. Chris seemed happy to do the same.
She carefully cut the ropes that had bound him. He rubbed his wrists as they sat down together.
“I was really scared for you,” he said.
Jess shrugged. She hadn’t been scared for herself at all. She had been a little scared for Chris perhaps, but mostly she’d been so angry. Maybe it was the lack of food over the last several days. Maybe it was just reaching a point of uncaring for herself. All she knew was that a bloodlust had taken hold of her and she’d let it do exactly whatever it wanted to.
Chapter 6
After a short rest, she finally found her voice. “You have anything to drink yet?”
Chris nodded. “Yeah, he gave me water to wake me up. What about you?”
“Pond water.”
“How’s your leg?”
Jess turned so that he could see. It had become really painful, but until they got out, there wasn’t a lot that could be done about it. Chris didn’t even touch it and didn’t look that closely.
“So did you figure out which way is out?” he asked optimistically.
Jess smiled. It felt foreign and absurd. Smiling was something that hadn’t occurred over the last couple days. Her face had been a constant cinched up frown most of the time. The smile was heavily pained.
“Yeah, but there’s business to take care of,” she said in a grim tone.
Chris looked startled. “You don’t want to leave?”
“They’ve got Steph.”
“I thought you didn’t like Steph.”
“I didn’t, but we each manned up and sorted our shit out over a can of beans in the rain.”
Chris raised an eyebrow, but didn’t press further. They both sat in a contemplative repose, then Chris turned to her and said, “So… you think Kevin has really low blood sugar?”
There was the smile again and this time it was accompanied by a full-blown laugh. It was wildly inappropriate to find something like that so funny, but the more she thought about it the more hilarious it became. The laughter intensified and she soon thought she might crack a rib. It was what she and Chris had always referred to as the Church Giggles. It meant that it was the worst possible time to laugh and that only made it funnier and harder to stop, such as an outburst during a religious sermon.
Chris grinned at her as he wiped a tear from his eye. A few stray chortles escaped, but he was largely under control once again. Their eyes met and he snorted, but held it together.
“I wonder if
that will still be funny when we get home,” Jess mused.
Chris put his hand on top of hers. “I like that you said that.”
“Said what?”
“You said ‘when we get home.’ I’m glad you still can talk like that.”
Jess hadn’t realized she’d said that, but felt relieved herself to know that it was close. The goal was in sight and she wanted it.
They rested a bit more. Chris was insistent after what she’d done that she take a minute to calm down. Her adrenal glands wouldn’t be pushing out any more epinephrine, more commonly called adrenaline, and she’d probably feel all sorts of aches and hurts that it had blocked in the heat of battle. Sometimes people vomited after coming down from the natural high. All sorts of things could happen after the rush and he didn’t want her running off to try and chop up a murderer when she might unexpectedly short circuit.
With his arm around her, she nestled in close and they both laid down. It wasn’t comfortable, but having each other they felt more secure and relaxed. Chris was proven right when he heard Jess’s deep rhythmic breathing as she fell asleep. He’d seen the dark circles under her eyes and knew he probably had a set of his own that looked just as much like a raccoon. He didn’t sleep though. He couldn’t stand the thought of how stupid it would be to be caught out unawares in broad daylight.
Brushing his fingers against her hair, he let her sleep. Steph might need help, but warriors needed their strength.
Jess woke with a start and shoved away from Chris kicking and scratching. He screamed and she snapped out of it quickly.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I had a bad dream.”
He took a deep breath. “Well, I can’t blame you. What did you dream about?”
Without a word, she looked past him to where Mark’s body lay among some tall grass. There was a trail of red leading to the area, but the foliage blocked her view of the carnage. It was as if a dye pack had burst in that spot. Jess was glad she couldn’t see the body lying there.
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