Revenge
Hana and I stood side by side, eyeing Michael, who sat tied to a wooden chair, still unconscious. We had set him up in the room where he had forced me to stay the first night. A few sharp knives and razor blades were splayed out on a small end table we had brought in, ready for use. Elliott was set up in the kitchen, giving us space, knowing we wanted to do this together. We would need him later, once we were through with Michael.
“You don’t have to do this, Hana,” I said, gently placing my hand on her arm.
She shook her head, her widened green eyes signaling she was as determined as I was. “He threatened me and my family. He hurt me; he inflicted a significant amount of trauma on me.” Despite the tremble in her voice, she conveyed incredible strength. “I’m doing this with you, Jackie.”
We both took a step back as Michael slowly began to move his head, regaining consciousness. I waited with my arms crossed as he blinked his eyes open, taking in the situation. His groggy gaze shifted between me and Hana, and a smile twitched on my lips as I noticed the sudden confusion and fear in his eyes.
“Hello, sunshine. Remember me?” Hana’s voice boomed in the small room, and I was thankful that she took the lead; despite my desire for this moment, her presence reassured me.
Michael’s expression suddenly changed as he narrowed his eyes at us, a smile suggesting he was anticipating something good about to happen.
“Hana. I didn’t expect to see you ever again,” he said smugly, the stupid smirk on his face never wavering.
She looked over at me with a surprised smile, furrowing her brows as if she couldn’t believe this jackass. She turned back to him and crossed her arms, mirroring my stance.
“Yeah well, I was hoping you were gonna rot in prison. But that didn’t happen, so we’re gonna help you out and end your pathetic, miserable life. Sound good?”
Michael glanced at her in disbelief before turning his gaze towards me. “Jackie, you’re gonna let her do this to me? I thought you loved me, baby? We’re getting married tomorrow.” His tone was mocking, as if he wasn’t taking any of this seriously.
But I didn’t falter. Seeing him tied up and helpless—and still trying to manipulate me—only fueled the fire within me more.
I inched closer to him, observing his rapid breaths, and a smile spread across my face. “Michael, baby…of course I’m gonna let her do this. In fact, I’m gonna help her.” I extended my arm to the table to find my weapon of choice. As I glanced down at Michael, holding the hilt in my hand, I caught a flicker of apprehension in his eyes. He wasn’t taking either of us seriously but now? Now he was starting to get it.
“Alright, fine. Let’s make a deal,” he said suddenly, casting a glance between the two of us.
Hana snickered and I paused, stupid enough to hear his proposal.
“You two can suck my cock while doing whatever you’d like to me. How’s that?” Mocking Michael was back, and I scoffed and rolled my eyes so hard I almost fell over.
“You think this is a fucking joke , Michael?” I snapped, my blood boiling. “You think you have the fucking right to mock us like this? To make light of the fact that we’re here to fucking kill you because you’re a narcissistic, evil, sadistic monster who deserves to rot in hell for eternity?”
He raised his eyebrows at me and shook his head. As he began to speak, I swiftly raised my hand and delivered a sharp slap across his face. Holy fucking shit, that was satisfying. Beside me, Hana giggled, clearly deriving pleasure from it as well. Michael kept his eyes shut, clenching his jaw.
I turned to Hana. “I don’t want to hear anything else out of his mouth. Do you?”
She shook her head. “Nope. Are you suggesting we cut out his tongue?” She laughed, looking down at Michael with disgust.
I shook my head as I looked down at him as well. He returned our gaze with contempt but remained silent.
“No, too much work,” I began, heading for the door to call out for Elliott. “I was thinking of using a ball gag. One of your favorites, right baby?” I said to Michael, then poked my head out the door. “Elliott,” I called out. “Can you go look in the bedroom for a ball gag, please?”
I heard his footsteps hurrying down the stairs to the bedroom. I waited and watched as Hana and Michael stared silently at each other, hatred clear in her eyes.
“Any last words before we silence you, then kill you?” Hana asked, tilting her head at him.
Michael scoffed and shook his head. “Killing me won’t rid either of you from me. I’ve made a mark on you both, physically and mentally, that you’ll never be able to escape—”
Hana began to flutter her eyes shut, as if she were falling asleep. “Oh, fucking please , Michael.” She opened her eyes and fixed him with a steely gaze. “Say something new —something you’ve never told anyone, something other than the fact that you’ve been a shit person that we’ll never think of again after tonight.”
He was quiet again, his face unreadable. Elliott came to the door and silently handed me the ball gag that Michael had used on me only a week before.
“Here we go!” I exclaimed with exaggerated enthusiasm, holding the ball gag up in my hand.
“I love you both,” Michael suddenly spat out. “I’m sorry. You two were so fucking unlucky to come across my path. Do your worst.” His head dropped, and he shut his eyes, shaking his head.
Hana and I glanced at each other. Her eyes were widened and tear-soaked. A sting deep in my chest told me that he was telling the truth, but that didn’t make any difference. He still needed to die; allowing him to live meant he would keep harming women. If not us, then others like Charlotte, who never had a chance to escape his grasp.
I held up the blade in my hand and Hana nodded, as if giving me the go ahead. Hana and I weren’t capable of torturing Michael, as much as we wanted to. We weren’t like him. Instead, I stood in front of Michael and lifted the knife with my trembling hand. I turned to Hana once more, meeting her gaze through our teary eyes. She nodded subtly, her expression a silent yet reassuring affirmation. I glanced down at Michael, who suddenly lifted his head and flashed a smile at me; it was an unmistakable look of pride and arrogance. It was at that moment that, with all my strength, I sliced the blade across his throat. His eyes were now wide open, staring at me in stunned disbelief, as dark crimson blood began to gush from the deep wound. I quickly stepped back and clutched Hana tightly as we watched Michael bleed, his body rapidly going limp, his eyes fluttering shut.
“We should go.” Hana’s voice sounded like it was a thousand miles away as she pulled me away and led me out the door.
My body was in shock; I couldn’t move or speak as Hana took my hand, led me downstairs to the back door, and guided me outside. The next thing I knew, I was sitting in Elliott’s car, watching as flames blazed from Michael’s house.
It was over; I was finally free from his twisted web. I will never fall under Michael’s spell again. And he will never have the power to hurt anyone ever again.