Chapter 10
Chapter 10
BEAU
A bout two hours pass with me driving, when I finally receive the text I’ve been waiting for.
Private
You’re almost there. Take the next dirt road to the south for nine miles. You’ll know it when you see it.
The realization of just how much information the society possesses and is able to see, hits me hard the second I read the text. They’re tracking me. Which means they’re aware of Iris for sure.
I drive for exactly nine miles down the dirt road, having to stop when I arrive at a gate. I recognize the symbol in the wrought iron from my childhood and exactly as the text said, I know this is it. Once I edge the pickup close enough, the gate opens and I drive slowly through it, taking everything into memory I possibly can. The road winds around for a few miles before I reach a huge cabin with a set of barns off to the side.
This feels more like Texas than it does California and I find a tiny bit of comfort in that.
Pulling to a stop, I park near the house and listen for any signs of life. Once I’m left without any clues, I glance around in hopes of solidifying that this is where they want me to end up. One of the barn doors is open, so I ease toward the opening, taking it as my cue. I’m about twenty feet in front of it when I hear a muffled moan, which sends my mind into overdrive imagining what I’m about to walk in on.
I’m from Texas, so I do what any red-blooded Texan would do... I return to my truck and pull out the pistol from under the seat, making sure it’s loaded. My gun is at the ready in my hand as I walk back to the barn and peek around the door. One thing’s for certain, I did not come here to fucking die today.
There’s a guy strapped to a chair, raising my curiosity to an all new level. He’s blindfolded and as I step closer, he starts to whip his head back and forth. He’s no doubt scared for his life but what he doesn’t realize is that we’re both in the same position. I may not be tied down with chains and blindfolds… but I’m doing this without any idea of what I’m walking in to and I’m pretty much being forced in this against my own true will. Daddy dearest is to blame for this shit.
I notice a piece of paper on the floor in front of the guy and move closer. His cries get louder with every step I take, and I can’t blame him for being terrified. After the long night and stressful drive I’ve had, I’m probably looking a little rough to him at this point.
Beau, meet Jordan.
You might want to ask Jordan how he knows your girl.
If he refuses to answer, use the remote to see for yourself.
It’s all typed, with no clues just as I expected it to be. I walk around the guy and take inventory of everything so neatly placed. There’s a table of various torture tools waiting nearby, raising my concern further than the mere mention of ‘my girl’ in the note. I wish I didn’t know deep down that the note refers to Iris… but there’s no doubt in my mind.
This isn’t going to go well for either of us if this fucker has hurt her in any way. I’ll die a thousand deaths if I have to watch it and he will die a gruesome one if he touched her with any of his nasty fucking fingers.
I grab one of the knives from the table and cut the blindfold from his face. His eyes go wide and I start to feel the adrenaline pump through my veins. Fuck, I haven’t done this in a while. I almost forgot how great the high is when I get to kill a piece of shit. Not that I know he’s a piece of shit, yet… call it instinct.
I meet his frightened gaze just to give him a glimpse of the darkness that lurks inside my soul. It’s also my way of knowing if someone is lying to me. Even a compulsive liar can’t keep their eyes from telling their secrets.
He has no idea what I’m capable of and for her… I’d do anything. “I’m going to ask you one fucking time. If you answer without me having to provoke you, I’ll let you live.” He squirms and mumbles around the gag in his mouth.
Just for kicks, I slide the blade down his cheek and watch the blood drip down his face before I cut the gag and allow him the chance to save his own life.
“How do you know Iris Kensington?” His eyes instantly dilate, and I already know I’m going to have to kill this fucker. He’s about to lie to me.
“Never heard of her.”
“I have it on good word that you do. Here… let me show you a picture of her.” I open my phone to a picture she took of the two of us last night. He looks at her face and fear wrenches through his entire body.
“I know her as Kensi.”
“No. You don’t get to call her that.” I shut him up with the flat part of the blade against his mouth. “How do you know the girl in the picture?”
“I met her in Georgia. Two years ago.” I start to pace, my patience growing thinner the longer he takes to spill the reason we’re here.
“Keep going.”
“At a bar.” I stop mid-step, not sure I can keep my promise to him now that my blood is pumping from all the dramatics of his slow-ass answers.
“Okay… keep fucking going.”
“She was the life of the party.” Dear Jesus. I can’t take this guy another second. I yank him back by his hair and look over him from behind.
“Yes. She’s a fucking blast. Tell me… did you fuck her?” He nods even with my hand gripping his hair. “Was it consensual?” His eyes dilate again, and I slice his neck before he has a chance to lie to my face. His blood squirts across the barn floor while his gurgles go on and on and before the blood stops, I’ve grabbed the remote to see what it is the society wants me to see.
A projector comes on, sending the video to the wall behind Jordan and I move a few steps back to have a clearer view. She’s dancing, her free spirit easily the main focus of the bar even if I wasn’t automatically drawn to her.
Jordan is the bartender. I force my eyes away from my girl and start to watch his every move. He flips the drinks all around for show to get the attention of the bar. Everything seems normal until he makes Iris her drink.
It’s the casual slip of the pill into her glass that sends another urge to kill up my spine.
He fucking drugged her.
The video skips to what looks like a stock room or something. I can see stacks of beer boxes and supplies all around. It’s about ten seconds into the video when I see him walking her through the door. Her sloppy demeanor is much different than it was when she was dancing.
The video continues and I have to bear witness to my girl’s lifeless body being violated while she has no recognition of the world going on around her. Vomit and nausea hit me in waves and there are times when I can’t bring myself to watch the piece of shit but it’s when he lets her lifeless body fall to the ground as he’s finished, the dark rage sets in.
Regardless of the fact he’s long gone, I spend the next hour tearing his body apart, piece by motherfuckin’ worthless piece, until he’s nothing more than a pile of flesh and bones. The gore should pull me back to reality but where I’m at is so far beyond my normal, I’m not sure what it’s going to take to bring me back.
Seething, I pace for hours, walking around the remnants of his body until it’s dark outside. I’m covered in dried blood and wearing it as proof of my kill when I get another text.
Private
Good work. Stay at the cabin tonight. You can go back tomorrow morning. Leave your clothes on the pile and we’ll take care of everything.
Keep your bag packed. We will notify you when it’s time for your next mission.
I’m well passed numb to anything they’re sending me. With one mission behind me, I’m not sure I have it in me to handle any more of what they intend to show me. Is this their way of helping me? By revealing the various people who have wronged those I love. Or is this a twisted strategy to get me to trust the society and its purpose?
“I fucking have no idea.” I answer myself while I strip down naked in the barn. I know better than to move around with the evidence all over my clothes. I use the water hose to rinse off before I go inside the cabin to get another layer of my crime off. I don’t know why I’m trying to conceal anything… I’m certain they’ve recorded what just happened. They’d be stupid not to. All the dirt the society has collected over the years is probably the driving factor keeping the members loyal for generations.
The only items I leave the barn with are my phone, the society’s necklace, and my gun. Everything else is on the pile. I don’t give a fuck if they burn it all or bury it.
The cabin is locked and for the first time of trying the keys, a door opens. I backtrack to get my bag from my truck, and then I take the longest shower of my life. The hot water has nothing on the filth my eyes witnessed tonight and even though I’ve been in here for more than an hour, I don’t feel clean in the slightest.
My phone vibrates again as I’m reaching for a towel, finally ready to remove myself from the water. This time it’s a selfie picture of King, also in the shower. He’s holding a bottle of conditioner near his face and smiling like a sick fuck, and I can’t help but laugh at his crazy ass. He’ll never have the slightest idea of how much I needed this distraction and I’ll never be able to tell him. It’s part of the rules. When it comes to society business, everything is a secret.
Until it’s not.
I guess after tonight, I’ll be playing along with all of their games… whether I want to or not.