The Wrath of Cain(63)

“You’re not so tough now, are you? Cain’s not here to protect you this time.”

She puts her face up close to mine.

“Do you know how long I have waited for today? A long time. I’ve loved Cain ever since I can remember, and then, Boom! Out of nowhere comes you. You stole him from me, and now you’re going to pay.”

The bitch lunges at me, clamping a vice-like grip onto my shoulder, her fingers pressing deeply into my wounded flesh.

“Aaggh!” I scream out in agony. “Fuck you!”

I spit in her face.

“You weak cunt. That’s the best you got? You’re f*cking pathetic,” I hiss.

“Calla. Shut the hell up.”

Manny speaks with a thick tongue, his words scarcely intelligible.

Royal steps in front of his brother, backhanding him across the face.

“You shut the hell up, brother. This isn’t your call. Emerald, hurry the hell up. You have five minutes to play. And guess what, sweetheart? I’ve all of a sudden changed my mind.”

Changed his mind about what? He glances down at his watch, lightly tapping his fingers on the face.

“Since the two of you are clearly testing my patience, I’ve decided to kill you both. Do what you want with her, she’s no use to me. He can watch this time,” he says, flicking his hand.

I watch in horror as he walks over to Manny whose eyes are pleading with mine to hold on for as long as I can.

“Then I’m going to f*ck her up good,” says Emerald with ill-suppressed glee.

She grabs a handful of my hair. I can do nothing but cry out. The view of the room changes as I land with a loud thud on the floor. Emerald yanks and tugs, walking backwards, pulling me by my hair. My neck and shoulders scrape across the coarse cement. I squeeze the backs of my legs up against the chair as they smack up and down.

Manny is screaming for Emerald to let me go. The farther away I get from him, the more panic arises. I feel the blood drain from my face. My mind tells me this is the end. You’re about to die.

She lets go of my hair. My neck muscles volley to stay upright. I’m left there for a few seconds, barely able to catch my breath.

“Let’s see how you like this? Three, two, one, go!” her voice squeals.

My body goes stiff as a board. I’ve lost all motor skills, though I’m entirely cognizant of my surroundings. I’ve never been electrocuted, but that’s what it feels like. My entire body starts to convulse. My side is on fire from whatever she is pressing into my skin. She’s tormenting me in raw, horrendous fashion. All I want to do is die. I grind down hard on my teeth, afraid I will swallow my tongue. And then it’s over. The convulsions stop, but the burning in my side is still there. I breathe in and out as best as I can. I hear a loud clunk next to my ear and I slant my head to the side to see what it is. She used a Taser gun on me.

One of her feet steps on my head, then both of her feet come together, squeezing so much pressure on my skull that I feel it down to my toes. I begin to choke. I feel vessels popping in my brain. All the while she laughs. She knows she has me. I’m restrained. Even if someone took the tape off of me now, I’m too weak to fight.

“Royal told me how much you love this. I love it, too. Did you know too much of it can kill you? Cause you to have a heart attack?”

I try to talk, but nothing comes out but a gurgle. The needle in her hand gets closer and closer to my neck. I feel her weight when she sits on my chest. I feel the sting of the needle, not in my neck, but in my arm. Once again, I feel the burning sensation rushing through my veins. The feeling I have... it’s worse this time. I can’t explain. I have only a second before she is up and off of me. My eyes roll into the back of my head.

My vision is blurry. I watch her stand up, her small frame towering over me now. Seconds tick by. Her foot, decorated in a pair of boots, appears over the top of my face. A cruel smirk crosses her face. I close my eyes, bracing for the impact of her slamming that boot into my face.

My lungs burn with each small breath I try to take. This is it. I’m going to die. My entire life flashes before my eyes. All those happy memories of my childhood. My parents’ excitement when I would open my favorite present on Christmas morning. Curling up on my dad’s lap for him to read me a story. Making cookies with my mom. The look on Cain’s face when he first told me he loved me. The moment he kissed me after we got married. The happiest memories of my life. I wait.

Nothing happens. Opening my eyes, I peer up at her, my mind clouded. Her doll-like features are frozen in shock, her eyes vacant and cloudy as she slumps down onto her knees. Blood and matter drip down onto my chest from the gunshot wound right between her eyes.

Emerald slumps forward, her dead body lying halfway across mine. I know I’m screaming, unable to move with her body pinning me down. I hear feet shuffling.

“Greer! You cock sucker!”

The hoarseness in Royal’s voice is strained. He’s been shot.

“Dad?” I barely manage to squeak out, beginning to gurgle. The potent taste of blood sits in my mouth.

“Manny? Dad?”

Silence. A strange sensation floats through me. All I see is white, the colors slowly shifting darker until all I see is black.

***

I wake up suddenly in unknown surroundings, blinking profusely to adjust to the bright lights shining above me. I try to talk. I try to move. I can’t do either. My memory is so confused, I begin to panic.