Torment

by R. S. Broadhead

  “We do have some info. I need you to get your pleasant ass out to the training camp. Everyone else is on the way too.” He ended the call before I could say anything else. I’d pissed him off. I jumped up and balled the blanket into a messy pile. This was the first time all of us had been called to meet in a while. Ever since that night everyone seemed to bail. I was the one who’d stuck by Fuzz, doing whatever he needed me to do. Honestly, I had nothing else to do, so I was glad when he sent me somewhere. It put my mind on other things.

  Once back in the car, I floored it around the curvy roads leading to the training camp. The adrenaline rush of possibly getting a job worth my time made me reckless and forget about my fear of other drivers. At this moment, they needed to fear me. I veered off the pavement onto a tiny dirt road, sending dust everywhere. A horn screeched behind me. Yeah, maybe I forgot to use a blinker, served them right for riding my ass. I slowed as I approached a creek, and pushed the button on my rearview mirror. The water churned and sloshed against the bank. A metal box big enough for a vehicle emerged and extended a ramp for me to navigate the car inside. The door slid close behind me and I descended into the earth. After Casey escaped our first entrance, the shell of a house was compromised. One thing was for sure; Fuzz knew how to keep a place hidden from the spying eye. The bottom door slid open. I sped down the tunnel until I came out in the garage and parked between Dax’s SUV and Lance’s Gremlin, which must have sprung an oil leak from the look of the ground underneath his car. He would no doubt be complaining about this to anyone who’d listen. He was delusional thinking this car was a classic.

  “Finally,” Abby said as I entered the debriefing room. “Now, can we please get started?” I cut her a look. Before, I would let Abby’s snarky attitude roll off my back, but now wasn’t the time to act that way.

  I threw my bag down on the table and kicked a chair back, which slid into hers. “I guess we can finally get started now that the only one who’s been doing shit is here.” I plopped in the seat and crossed my arms, hoping she’d say something else. She was bigger and stronger than me, no doubt, but I craved a fight. She didn’t respond. Fuzz walked to the front of the room and chatted with Dax. They both glanced at me and started quietly talking again. What was going on? Had they found Reese dead? My heart rate increased as I chewed on my fingernails, unable to keep my leg from bouncing.

  “We got word today somethin’ big is going down soon,” Fuzz said as he linked a screen to the monitor he was standing at.

  “How did we find that out?” Lance asked. He leaned up, putting his elbows on his knees. I rolled my eyes at him. It still didn’t sit well with me about him staying here when all the other guys left.

  “Let’s just say it’s a tip from someone we haven’t seen in a while. We’re gonna pull him up so he can tell everyone what they’ve found out. Please try to remain quiet during this so we don’t miss anything. Sometimes the feed breaks up so the quality might not be as good as we need to begin with,” Fuzz said. I caught Dax’s eyes and knew that statement was directed at me. It better not be who I thought it was. His face popped up on the screen and I couldn’t breathe. It had been months. His face haunted my dreams. It haunted me every time I closed my eyes. I wanted to forget him and the memories we made together … the life I wanted to share with him.

  The screen was taunting me with none other than Jace Taylor.

  Chapter Five

  Shayla

  “Thanks, Fuzz. It’s good to see everyone. It’s been a minute,” Jace said. I slid down in my seat, hoping he wouldn’t see me. Maybe he wouldn’t recognize me since I did a makeover, but I wasn’t so lucky. His eyes found me and stopped. “I … um …” he looked down and rubbed his chin. He had stubble and his hair was longer than I had ever seen it. It covered his ears, flipping out. I wanted to reach through the screen and run my fingers through it. Anything to touch him for just a second, but I couldn’t. He was across the world, not worrying about being with me. I gripped the arm of the chair as I sat up. My knuckles turned white as I squeezed as hard as I could to keep from jumping up and yelling at him. Every piece of my inner being felt like they were all contorting, practically withering away. What did I do to him? Didn’t he love me the way I loved him? He needed to know I wasn’t drowning in my sorrow for him. I was strong without him.

  “You um what, Jace? Go ahead and tell us. We ain’t got time to sit here doing nothing,” I said. My voice was nasty and received raised eyebrows from everyone in the room. “Some of us stayed here to keep fighting and didn’t run away from the problems.” Dax shook his head and exhaled deeply. Now I knew what he and Fuzz were talking about. They were hoping I wouldn’t act like a crazed bitch during this thing. I had news for them. I had every right to. This was the first time I had seen Jace since the night he disappeared without telling me goodbye. No letters, no calls, nothing until now.

  He looked back at me and then shifted his attention to Fuzz, completely ignoring what I’d said. This infuriated me even more. I was boiling over to the point of eruption and when it happened, I felt sorry for everyone in this room. “Fuzz, we’ve found out some pretty interesting info. I know you guys have hit a wall there.”

  Fuck this. He wasn’t going to ignore me. I jumped from my seat, grabbed the back of it, practically hitting Abby, and hurled it against the wall. The wood splintered into tiny pieces, with a few larger ones lying at Lance’s feet. Everyone jumped and stared at me. Fuzz and Dax exchanged looks, making Dax chuckle. Fuzz stepped toward me, with a hand outstretched. “Shayla, calm down.”

  My chest heaved. Now I knew how the Hulk felt. I half expected my skin to be green and my words to start coming out one or two at a time. I cast a look around the room and laughed. I don’t know why. I was a crazed woman, every inch of sanity left in me quivered in fear. I stalked to the front of the room, to a desk directly in front of the camera Jace could see. Shoving everything to the floor with the swipe of my arm, I sat down with my feet in the chair in front of me. A monitor shot sparks up, making my insanely cool move even more dramatic. “That’s not what I want to hear from you right now, Jace.”

  “We need to hear this. You need to get your ass under control.” Abby’s voice raked across my senses like it was practically digging under my flesh. Enough was enough. I had put up with her for a long time without any retaliation. Judging from my actions, she should know now was not the time for little comments. As fast as lighting, I snatched up a metal three-ring hole punch and hurled it at her. She never expected it as it hit her in the nose, sending blood raining over Masey. Masey’s mouth dropped as she wiped it from her face.

  I turned back around, facing the screen. “Now, where were we?” Screams and the chair scraps filled the room behind me. I ignored them. As far as I was concerned, I was alone in this room with Jace. I would force him to talk to me, address why he abandoned his responsibilities.

  Why he abandoned me.

  Jace’s mouth hung open, trying to form words. “What’s wrong with you?” he finally asked, looking at me like I was a stranger. A stranger! Not like the woman he made out with the very first night we met, or the one he slept with every night, cuddled into his body. Was it too much to want him to look at me like that again? To hear him say I love you? Rage filled me again, a welcoming sensation.

  I wanted to put my hands on him. Muscles tightened all over my body. I slammed a fist into the desk, and pain attacked all my nerves. It didn’t matter. I welcomed it. I needed it now. “You know what’s wrong with me!” I screamed through scolding hot tears. Traitors. I was suppose to look tough, not vulnerable. “You weren’t supposed to leave me. Why would you do that?” My breaths came out in short, tight spasms. “I thought you loved me …” I trailed off, letting the tight sealed bottle of emotion I had buried spill. I can’t do this. He wasn’t supposed to see me like this. I looked up at the screen, ashamed of what I was doing in front of him.

  His shoulders slumped, letting his hair hang just over his eyes. His chee
kbones looked as though they were threatening to burst through his tan skin. He wasn’t eating. This had to be bothering him too. Why didn’t he just come back? I could take care of him. I could help him through everything. I needed him just as much. “I don’t know what to say. Sorry isn’t gonna justify what I did.” His lack of acknowledging the “love” part of what I said crushed me. Maybe I was wrong this entire time. Maybe he never cared and loved me, but just used me. He pushed his hair back and sat up in the chair suddenly. “Fuzz, I think this was a bad idea. I may get Payne to patch into you guys later.” His hand raised and came toward the camera.

  “No! Jace, don’t turn that camera off. We need this information. Someone get her outta here,” Fuzz commanded. The bass in his voice seemed to vibrate my chest. When he talked like that he meant business and I was in the way. I was defeated.

  Hands around my arms pulled me back. My body threatened to give out as my limp frame left the surface of the desk. I glanced up. Jace’s face stared back at me. This might be the last time I saw him. I couldn’t leave. It was all I had left now. “Please! Please, no! Let me stay.” My feet dragged behind me, closer to the door. “I can’t live without you. Just come back to me,” I cried out in one last plea. Suddenly, the floors started to shake and pieces of concrete broke from the walls. A deep hum in the distance seemed to be coming closer to us. “What’s going on?” I asked, looking around. Jace’s face started to go in and out of focus.

  “They’ve found us. Everyone needs to get to the South tunnel,” Fuzz said. He looked at Dax, saying something too low for me to hear. Dax nodded and got up from his chair.

  “Is everything okay?” Jace screamed. “Answer me, damn it!” That was the last thing I heard. The feed went completely out. He was gone.

  “Everyone follow me,” Dax instructed. “We’re getting out of here.” We followed him through one of the winding halls, running as fast as we could. I cradled my hand close to my body. The punch to the desk had definitely done some damage. I was a slave to my stupidity. Now because of me, we may never know what Jace needed to tell us.

  The lights flickered overhead, before going completely dark. I slammed into the back of someone, which made my hand scream with discomfort. Red lights came on, the emergency back-ups. I learned that the first week at the training camp when I hit the button that made the alarm screech. A large piece of rock fell through the ceiling, sending dust around us like a chaotic snow globe.

  Something grabbed my arm, twisting it at an odd angle, making me stop in my tracks. Desperately, I turned to find what was holding me. A pair of eyes with silted pupils stared back at me. Its scaly skin seemed to shine with moisture underneath the light. A Snake Demon. I knew what these things were capable of. When Jace and I split for a short time, I became involved with one with the misconception he was a normal, hot guy. That night still gave me nightmares and turned me against drinking at parties. It was a bloody massacre. Pounding footsteps crunched across pieces of broken stone and rock around me, the dust making it difficult to breathe or see. I coughed, trying to clear it from my throat.

  “Hello, sweetnesssssss. You killed several of my brothers. Now it’s your turn to die,” he said so close to my ear I could feel the hot moisture from his breath. He grabbed me by the throat, his sharp claws pressing so hard I could already feel the blood tickling my neck as it ran down. My feet kicked as he picked me up off the ground. I slapped at his hold with my good hand, panic racing over me. Someone moved the gun I had tucked at my lower back. A bright light with a bang surrounded me. I dropped to my knees, a constant shrill whistle in my ears. I stretched my mouth, hoping to make it stop. I couldn’t hear anything else. The Snake Demon lay a foot from me, the top of his head splattered against the wall behind him.

  I was disoriented. The hall felt like I was on a cruise ship experiencing rough waters. I attempted to stand, but fell back to the ground. Someone grabbed me under the arms and dragged me across the uneven hallway, now polluted with the earth caving in on us. Something scraped against my back, tearing the shirt away from my body, making it easier for the rocks to slice my skin. My vision faded in and out as I slid.

  Slowly, I dropped until I lay flat on something cool. I wrestled my heavy lids open. The silvery moonlight bathed me as I rested in a patch of grass. I sucked in gulps of clean air, the taste of dust thick on my tongue. I barely managed to push myself up to see dark silhouettes moving something large from the trees. Someone ran toward me. I cringed, not knowing who it was.

  “I have to get you up, Shayla. We need to get on the boats to get outta here,” Lance said. I didn’t reply, but held out my arms for him to take. He hoisted me over his shoulder and ran toward the other dark figures. At that moment I regretted every bad thing I thought about Lance for still being here. I was thankful for him. He hadn’t abandoned us like the others had. Shame filled me as a tear rolled up my forehead and hit the sand somewhere below. The Gainestown boat landing reeked of fish as we approached the boat swaying in the water. Lance slowly put me down. “Can you stand?”

  I tested my balance. I was still a little wobbly, but could hold my own now. I nodded. Behind me, Masey, Dax, and Abby sat in one boat already floating a few feet from the bank. Savannah and Raven sat in the boat closet to me that Lance was climbing into. “Where’s Fuzz?” My chest tightened with stress as I searched for him on the bank.

  “You have to get in,” Lance commanded. His eyes flicked back to Dax for a moment. Dax shrugged and solemnly shook his head, then looked out toward the water rocking back and forth.

  “He didn’t make it?” I asked, paralyzed by grief. They were dropping one by one; slowly, everyone I loved was leaving me. For a split second I considered running back in and just ending it now. Why did I deserve to live? Fuzz needed to. Reese needed to. Steele needed to. Those were stronger needed to end this. I didn’t know how much longer I could hold on.

  “He told me he would meet us out here and if he wasn’t here within ten minutes to leave,” Dax said without looking at me. I shook my head, without saying a word. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It had to be a lie. “It’s been fifteen. We can’t wait any longer unless we all wanna die.”

  “We have to wait. We can’t leave him …” I was lost. What was the point of this anymore? They were winning. “What are we gonna do without him?” No one said anything. From their expressions, they were all having the same thoughts only keeping them on the inside. I climbed into the boat, nearly losing my balance, and pushing against Savannah. She had a cut across her cheek and dust scattered over her hair. She put an arm around me. I sunk into her, letting her rub the back of my head like my mother use to do before she left me too.

  “Everyone hold on,” Lance said. An explosion drowned out the sound of the engine. A body flew out in front of the dancing flames that lapped at their limbs. Snake Demons poured out of the opening. The figure stood up, limping heavily on the right side and held something up in each hand. I pushed away from Savannah, trying to get a better look.

  “Fuzz!” I screamed. I scrambled, trying to get to him. The boat tipped to the side, threatening to capsize. Lance grabbed my waist and pulled me back. I punched at his arms. “Let me go!”

  “There’s too many of them. We have no weapons other than the one Abby used from your back holder,” Lance said. I dropped against the back of boat. He was right. I cringed away from reality. It was too hard to face. Fuzz was going to die and there was nothing I could do to help him.

  “Get outta here!” Fuzz shouted. Tears rolled down my cheeks. He was sacrificing himself for us. We didn’t deserve it. I couldn’t think clearly. It couldn’t be real. Fuzz was supposed to be indestructible. But now, as the end was near, he was just a man. A man that would die for me to live. The dark sky lit up as he fired the guns he held. Slowly, Snake Demons dropped to the ground, but they were closing in on him. Something hit the side of his neck. He pulled it out and threw it to the ground, continuing his assault on the group charging him. Anot
her one hit him and another. He dropped to his knees, pulling a knife out and slicing one’s throat before dropping to the ground, unmoving. Lance increased the speed of the motor, causing the cool wind to lick across my face. Varcies appeared through a triumphant parted group of Snake Demons, howling over their victory. He looked down at Fuzz and back up at our boats, his eyes glowing against the dark, staring directly at me. We were next. We were already dead and just didn’t know it.

  Chapter Six

  Reese

  My eyes shot open as I gasped for air. The bright fluorescent lights illuminating the room burned my eyes as I blinked several times to moisten them. I was out. Released from the mindful prison I had been locked away in. Free. Something hit the floor near me. I turned to find a startled male nurse. My throat tightened as a tremor started in my leg. Who was he? Was he here to hurt me?

  “Sorry, I was check-checking your vitals,” he stammered obviously startled by my awakening. I didn’t reply. I continued to stare at him. He reached for my arm and I tensed. I tried to jerk away, but was unable to do so due to the leather straps that bound my wrist to the frame of the bed. He chuckled slightly and shook his head. “Doesn’t look like you’re going anywhere.” He grabbed my arm more harshly than necessary before continuing. “You people in this crazy house trip me out. All I have to do is dope all of you up a little more than necessary and I’m free to take whatever I want that your family left for you.” He picked up a necklace with dog tags hanging from it.

  Anger surged through me, waking every muscle, practically begging for use. I could feel heat radiating all over my body. Fire snaked its way out without me being able to control it. His face twitched and his nose wrinkled. He looked around for the source of the smell. The smell of burning leather.

  “What the …?” he asked when he saw the blue flames engulfing the straps. Before he could react my hand was around his throat, squeezing. I brought his face close to mine. I wanted to see his terror, feed on it. He thrashed, fighting to get away, fighting to save his life. That made me squeeze tighter. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as his skin blackened. I never felt more alive as the flames poured from my palm into his skin. I was burning him from the inside out. The sickening smell of cooked meat filled the room. When he fully turned to ash, I blew sending them swirling around the room.