Epilogue
THE WRAITH
Drip... Drip... Drip…
Blood pools around my boots, the scent of copper hot and sticky in my throat.
The bodies before me hang from the rafters like grotesque marionettes, their limbs stuck at odd angles from the chains, heads tilted in frozen surrender.
Some still have blood to give, the soft, rhythmic taps echoing around the room.
The screaming has long since ceased, the fight completely gone from their bodies.
They have given themselves over to the pain, to me and my wrath.
They fought it at first, they always do, but that only fueled the rage within me. My knife played along to the rhythm of their screams. The louder they were, the deeper my knife cut. And, oh, were they loud.
That's why two of the four bodies in front of me now hang limp and completely drained. They just wouldn’t shut the fuck up.
Walking over to the body hanging closest to me, I lift my knife and tap the chains, hoping the noise will rouse the pathetic man.
“Come on, Chen. We’ve been at this for weeks and I don't know how much life you have left in you. Seriously, man, I wish you could see yourself right now. You look fucking terrible.”
Chen looks up at me with narrowed eyes for a split second, before hanging his head once more. He’s completely given up, the lack of any fight has me bored with his existence.
“Do you want to end up like your friends Joe and Harper over here?” I scream, waving my knife at the two dead bodies hanging to my left.
They didn’t give me the answers I wanted either.
I figured the bouncer at the bar Wrennie works at would have more information on her comings and goings but, to my disappointment, he did not.
Joe begged and pleaded, saying the only person she was seen with was someone named Richard and that he was banned from the bar for harassment.
That fucking kid is always at the forefront of all my goddamn problems.
I killed Joe shortly after that confession, but not before I sliced him open like the pig he was. The look in his eyes as he saw his entrails fall out of his own body gave me a high like nothing else. He was useless and I didn’t have time to waste questioning fucking idiots.
Harper, however, was easier to break. The second she saw the blade in my hand she started spewing all her secrets.
Or rather, what she thought was useful intel.
I know everything there is to know about little Wrennie, so the information she gave me was pointless.
She didn’t know anything about the two guys hanging around Wrennie lately, or where she’s been the last couple of weeks.
I killed her slowly, reveling in her pain.
I bled her out slowly, imagining her as my Wrennie, letting all the anger of the past out on Harper’s body.
Long, shallow cuts litter her body, that’s my favorite form of torture.
The slow trickle of blood, the color they turn when they start to fade away, the light slowly seeping from their eyes.
I almost felt bad for her, it wasn’t her fault she looked like Wrennie.
My guys accidentally grabbed her outside of Devils Den instead of my girl, but we made do.
But these last two I’ve kept more intact. I know how close they both are to Wrennie, they know her better than even I do. They’ve been a staple in her life for most of the years I was stuck behind bars, waiting for the right time to make my escape.
I need them as collateral, and if I know my Wrennie, she'll be happy to swap places to save the ones she loves most.
“Ok, Chen. I’ll give you one last chance, only because I sort of like you. What were the names of the guys Wrennie has been playing house with?”
“Fuck… you…” Chen doesn’t bother to lift his head as he pants out the words. “I don’t… know anything.”
“You know what, Chen. I think I believe you.”
I stand beside him, the stench of rotten flesh invading my nose as I lean in close.
The blood from his split lip drips slow and steady, like a metronome counting down the seconds he has left to be useful.
His chest rises and falls, shallow and uneven, and for a moment I wonder if I’ve pushed him too far.
Then again, I’ve always had a habit of toeing that line.
“But believing you doesn’t mean I’m going to let you go,” I murmur, almost kindly. “It just means I’ll stop asking questions you don’t have answers to. Isn’t that a relief?”
He tries to lift his head then, but it lolls instead, like his neck is barely holding up what’s left of his defiance. There's something admirable about that, in a pathetic sort of way. But not enough to keep him around.
Lifting the knife once more, I press the tip into the side of his neck, right where I can see his pulse slowly beating in his neck.
With one swift movement, I slash Chen’s neck open.
There isn't a lot of blood since the poor guy has been slowly bleeding out for weeks, but it’s enough to feed the darkness in me.
“?Hijo de tú chingada madre!”
“Ah, ah, Loretta. I need to keep you alive. I’d hate for your bad attitude to spoil it for the both of us.”
Loretta is a feisty one, but not very fun to play with. She won’t give up any information on Wrennie, but unlike Chen, she needs to stay alive. I need at least one person to use to get my girl back.
She spits at my feet, defiant even now, her lips curled into a snarl like a feral dog. Chen’s blood on my hands is still warm, and the tang of iron fills the room. Loretta glares at me with fire in her eyes, but it has no effect on me.
“Do you think Wrennie will come save you?” I murmur, bending my knees so I’m eye level with her. “Because I do. And when she does, you’ll have a front row seat to my revenge.”
Loretta’s breath hitches, barely perceptible, but I catch it. A fracture in the mask she thinks she has securely in place.
I drag the knife's edge across my palm slowly, letting the blood fall between us like an offering. I revel in the high the pain gives me. Her eyes flicker to it, but she makes no noise. Her silence has been her strongest weapon down here, but mine is control.
“She’ll come,” Loretta finally whispers, voice hoarse. “Not for me. For you.”
I smile. “Exactly.”
The plan’s already in motion. Chen was just the beginning, a necessary sacrifice. His loyalty was touching, pathetic, and completely useless in the end. But Loretta, she’s the pressure point. The ticking clock. Wrennie’s moral compass is strong enough to drive her straight into the wolf’s den.
I lean closer, whispering against Loretta’s ear. “When she walks through that door, I want you to see it, Loretta. I want you to watch as I break her.”
She tries to lunge at me, but the chains keep her from moving much.
The scent of blood mixes with sweat, the tension between us crackling like dry leaves before the match is lit.
The chains rattle again as Loretta thrashes in the air, trying to break free.
But it’s futile. She's breathing hard now, her eyes glassy with repulsion. It’s a beautiful thing, really, how desperation makes even the strongest ones come undone.
The door behind me creaks open as slow, deliberate steps make their way toward me. Only one man in my crew walks like that. Donnie. He’s careful, quiet, and never interrupts my fun unless it’s important. My smile widens before he even speaks.
“Boss? She’s here,” Donnie says simply.
My pulse skips. I turn, slow and measured, locking eyes with him. “Alone?”
He nods once. “Just like you said, boss. Walked right into the trap at Loretta’s. We’ve got her downstairs.”
Loretta lets out a strangled sound, something between a gasp and a curse, and I savor it like wine.
I walk over to Donnie, the knife still dripping faintly from Chen’s blood. “Good. Don’t touch her. Don’t talk to her. Bring her up in five.”
He hesitates. “You sure you don’t want me to—”
“I said in five,” I snap, voice sharp enough to split bone. “And you better tell your fucking son to keep his hands off her, too.”
He nods and disappears as quietly as he came.
Behind me, Loretta’s breathing is uneven now. “You won’t be able to break her, again,” she whispers. “She’s stronger than you think.”
I turn back to her, crouching again. “Loretta… I don’t need to break her. I only need to break you.”
To be continued…