Chapter 16 #4
And I know he finally comprehends something horrifying.
I’m no longer struggling to control the darkness inside me.
I’m letting it have him.
The clown whimpers beneath me again. Piece of shit.
Wet choking breaths spill through cracked greasepaint and the carnival lights wash over him, turning the entire room into something hellish.
For the first time tonight, he looks exactly like what he is, just a coward hiding behind paint and bells while he participated in a girl suffering.
Tyler approaches the swing tentatively, lowering his weapon as he speaks softly to the girl dressed as a jester. The chains clank while she jerks intensely from the pain still being inflicted on her body, mascara and greasepaint mixing and trailing down her face.
The clown detects my attention shift and he makes a mistake.
He pounces, but not far or fast enough.
The movement snaps something savage loose inside me.
Tyler reacts instantly, turning sharply, but I’m already moving.
I drive the clown flat onto his back again, my knee slamming into his chest hard enough to knock the air from his lungs and the horn flies out. Bells sewn into his costume explode into frantic metallic jingling beneath us while his hands scramble uselessly against the concrete.
“Reap!” Tyler starts but then he sees my face.
Because I’m gone now.
Whatever part of me that hesitated before entering this room died beneath these lights.
The clown’s eyes widen in absolute terror as I wrap my hand around his throat.
“You should’ve stayed on the floor,” I whisper.
My knife slides into my hand in one smooth motion.
The clown starts sobbing instantly.
Begging.
Promising money.
Information.
Names.
I don’t care.
All I can see is the girl shaking on that swing.
Everything we’ve seen tonight comes rushing back and plays out like a movie.
My grip compresses around my knife.
I rear back and in one slash across his throat, I take his life.
Blood gushes out and soaks us right away.
While he convulses, the bells on his costume jingle one last time before going still.
Silence crashes through me afterward so quickly it almost feels disorienting.
Behind me, Tyler says my nickname carefully, only to make sure I come back.
My chest heaves vigorously as I stare down at the body sprawled beneath the spotlight, blood covering the floor.
Then slowly, I look at the girl on the swing.
And the expression on her face hurts worse than anything else in this room.
Because she looks at me like she understands exactly why I did it.
Tyler holsters his Glock as soon as the clown’s body goes still.
He’s still next to the girl and I see her breathing is irregular and coming out in bursts.
Tyler squats as he nears her, moving with the same caution you would use around an injured animal.
“You’re going to be okay. We are getting you out of here,” he tells her, stopping next to the swing.
Hurriedly he pulls his phone out. It’s the right move to make, she needs medical assistance immediately.
What feels like an eternity but are just mere moments, three members of the rescue crew barrel inside.
Blood still drips from my hands onto the circus floor while I watch almost hypnotized, the rescue crew works as speedily and delicately as possible.
They are already helping the girl off the swing and carrying her out the door.
Tyler’s attention is solely on me and his entire expression changes.
The softness disappears and focus reappears.
“Reap,” he says firmly. “We have to leave. Now.”
Reality slams back into me all at once.
The fact we just turned this place into a crime scene soaked in blood.
Thunder shakes the building again outside.
I nod, shoving the darkness back down far enough to function.
Tyler goes over to the monitor and collects the hard drive, shutting the entire system off.
Together we move quickly through the warehouse corridors until all that remains is the storm outside and the echo of our boots against concrete.
Tyler’s hand suddenly closes around mine, pulling me out of the spiral.
“Cass.” He whispers.
I look up at him.
Rain pours through the partially opened bay doors behind him, when an alarm goes off on his watch.
Time’s up and we run for the SUV.
Cold rain pounds into us when we get outside, soaking through my clothes right away. Tyler yanks the passenger door open for me before circling toward the driver’s side.
The moment we’re both inside with the doors shut there’s nothing but silence and our heavy breathing.
“If we don’t act fast, we’ll miss our chance to corner themonsterinyourcloset868 and his friends in the middle of their poker game.” Tyler warns.
I grit my teeth, my anger boiling over at everything I’d just witnessed in that warehouse.
“We’ve seen what he orchestrates,” I continue, my fists clenching. “He turned pain into a fucking game, we end this tonight.”
Tyler glances at me, his eyes widening at the intensity in my tone. He fires the vehicle to life, punches it into drive, and buries his foot into the accelerator. Gravel sprays behind us as the SUV tears away from the warehouse and into the night.