AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What did I ever do to you?”
“You’re withholding information that could save a friend of mine. That’s why you’re here. Have you not been listening to anything I’ve been saying?” I hold my arms out to either side in exasperation, the knife dangling between my fingertips. Blood drips down the blade since I yanked it out of him. The nerve of this man.
“Even if I tell you the location, there’s no way you’ll even make it to the front door. There are a lot of us and they’ll kill you on sight. Hate to break it to you, but your friend’s a goner.”
I stab the knife straight through his thigh and to the other side, scraping the blade against the dirt he sits on. William slaps his hand over his mouth again to quell his screams. Pressing the knife down until the hilt is bruising his thigh, I dig my fingernails into the bruised flesh of his other thigh, and lean in. “That’s the thing about you and me, doc. You see, I’ll do whatever it takes to save one of my people. But you? You were taken from the middle of your people and not one of them cared enough to stop us, or even follow. They let you go because they only cared about themselves. I’ll make it back to my friend, but nobody is coming for you, dead man.” I twist the knife and he arches his back so his body is practically hovering. He can’t go too far with his hands tied behind his back, but I swear he’s practically levitating.
William watches me the whole time, and when the man’s screams get too loud to shut off by covering his mouth, he places his other hand over the man’s throat, basically strangling him in order to silence him.
Max walks over, and I worry he’s going to ruin my fun. Either that, or turn it up a notch. There’s never telling with him. “Get anything out of him yet?”
“Nope.” I apply more of my weight onto the knife and I think he blacks out for a moment. He needs to stay awake. “William, stop strangling him.”
“I did. This is all you, Emily.”
“Oh, come on.” I pull the knife from his leg, but I slip in the spilled blood at my feet. When I regain my balance, I realize that I’ve sliced open half of his thigh. “Whoops.”
The doctor is unconscious, so William wraps an old cloth around his leg to quell the bleeding.
“Jesus fuck, you’re going to kill the guy before you even get anything of value out of him.” Max kneels down in front of the man and inspects him. “I’m impressed. I’m also disappointed I missed the show. Was she amazing, Willie?”
“William,” William says in a bored tone.
“Not on purpose,” I protest. “He’s just…he’s too easy to kill. It’s not fair.”
Max chuckles and runs his tongue along his top row of teeth. “I love your determination, but if you’re going to kill a man, you need to do it with intent. You’re the worst with torture I’ve ever seen. Take a break and let me take over. I’ll even give you lessons on the next one.”
“But I’m getting so close.”
“No, she’s not,” William says, betraying me. I’ll make him pay for that. I don’t know how. Maybe I’ll feed his food to Buddy.
“Traitor.”
“Awful torturer,” William says with a smirk.
Max inspects the hostage, lifting his eyelids and feeling his pulse before sitting back on his heels in front of him. “Have you ever tortured anyone before?”
I shrug. “Can’t say that I have.”
“That’s extra impressive, then. Most people in your position would’ve run away at the first accidental blood spilled. I’m going to have to bring in more hostages for you to practice on. It’s an art that I believe you could master.”
“Unless it’s for a good reason, I’ll have to say no thank you.” I scrunch up my nose at the thought of hurting someone for practice like that. However, if they deserved it, then it would be a different story.
Max shrugs. “Suit yourself. But for this time, let me take care of it for you.”
“Why?” I ask, curious why someone would go through so much trouble for me. I’ve only known him for a day, but this seems out of character for him. There must be something I’m missing.
He unhooks a dagger from his belt and the morning star from his back. “Because this might be business for you, but it’s playtime for me, and Debbie wants to taste fresh blood.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Debbie?”
He kisses the morning star, which is oddly clean and shiny after the brutal battle we just went through. “She’s a beaut. Now get out of here and let me play. I promise I won’t let you down, pet.”
“I’m not—you know what, fine. I’m not getting anywhere with him anyway, and I could use some puppy love. Where’s Buddy?”
“Sitting by the fire watching your every move,” Max says, turning to face the still-unconscious doctor with a growing smirk. “Although I think that dog’s blind in one eye.”
My anger and frustration diminish when I sit down with Buddy. His eyes are the first I inspect, and Max is right. Buddy’s right eye is missing the actual eye. It’s scarred over, but he doesn’t let it stop him from turning his head around and seeing everything he can. I hope that dreg didn’t do this to him. If so, then I want to go back there and stab his body a few more times until it’s mush.
