Chapter 43
“What the fuck is going on?” I ask, taking control of the situation.
I won’t let them mentally beat me, and judging by the cocky look on this asshole’s face, that’s exactly what he’s counting on.
“Your dick got tired of raping women, so you moved onto easy, cheap trash like her?”
His imposing figure stands tall and broad. His face is unmasked but full of evil intentions, with sharp cheekbones that accentuate his familiar predatory dark eyes. They flicker the remorseless malice that lurks within himself. A cascade of jet-black hair frames his face, falling in disarray around pointed, angular features.
My abductor’s sinister smile is a macabre masterpiece, a cruel twist playing on his lips. The corners of his lips curl upward in a snarl, revealing teeth that seem sharper, more predatory. The vicious glint in his dark, almost black eyes intensifies as the smile plays across his lips, a chilling tableau of wicked satisfaction.
As our gaze meets, a shiver races down my spine, for in the depth of those shadowed eyes lay a familiarity I can’t deny. Despite the mask my kidnapper always wore in the past, those eyes bore a haunting memory etched into my consciousness that would terrorize me forever, reminding me of the horrors I had endured.
“Things will get a lot darker for you, Eden Rivers.” Each word drips with an eerie rhythm that seems to slither through the air like an unseen serpent.
Even his voice is dark. It”s not deep and sexy. It’s haunting and ominous.
“No more mask or voice piece? Getting brave, asshole?”
But he’s not where my interest lies.
“Eden, I had no clue. I didn’t even realize it was him,” the familiar voice now feels like sharp nails dragging along a blackboard.
“Does he have a fucking name, now?” I ask, my voice fueled by ironic sarcasm.
There’s one thing I won’t show either of them.
My pain of betrayal.
I never had any siblings, but Brittney Davis came very close to being my sister. As teenagers we often referred to each other as sisters of a different mother, and that deep bond continued to adulthood.
“Goddamit woman!” she cries out. “I swear, I got played!”
I huff a sardonic laugh.
“I got raped by your boyfriend several times,” My upper lip sneers with revulsion of the disturbing memories. “Let’s not forget the humiliation games he played on me with his other masked minions. So, my problems top whatever your bleeding heart has to hate me this much to do this now.”
She attempts to launch forward, and the asshole violently pushes her back.
Not just violently, but literally punches her chest, and the force of his hit lands her across the room, and she smashes against the bar stool.
She whimpers, her hand holding her dislocated jaw that I think cracked upon impacting against the edge of the bar.
What the fuck?
“You’re gonna kill me,” I growl angrily. “I get that asshole. But at least tell me why. Obviously, you’re some vigilante, anarchist, some psychopath, assassin…” I stop talking because I catch the slight raise of his eyebrows.
“Who hired you?” I ask. “Was it her?”
“What I am is not your concern. I tried to fix you the first time, show you the path to righteousness, and bring you to salvation. But instead, you went against me and reverted to your old ways. You’re a natural-born whore, and it”s my purpose to rid the world of the frailties that bind.”
“You’re a fucking lunatic!” I exclaim, taking a step back to further my distance from him. “The only person who needs saving is you and her over there. I don’t know if she is senseless or just a fucking ignorant idiot! How stupid can one person be?”
“I swear, Eden. I had no clue who he was,” she cries, with actual tears as she attempts to stand up.
I look over at her. I’d love to believe Brittney, and for the life of me, I can’t work out why she’d do this. She was fucking half of LA ten years ago, working through the list she showed me to get inside the pants of every film director to add to her inventory of sexcapades. I know she would have played around with all types of genders if she needed to for her career.
Brittney’s talents lie in acting and singing but mainly in manipulating people to give her a chance to show her worth. She will willingly fuck her way to the top if she has to. I never held it against her, but it’s not a method I would select for myself.
So me fucking my four bandmates would never have been an issue for her. In fact, she, of all people, encouraged it.
At some point, I knew my stalker would slip up, and I think he just did.
“When I said ‘How stupid can you be?’ it wasn’t a challenge. Sit the fuck down,” I command angrily, gritting my teeth at her, hoping she does what I tell her.
“I’m going to die,” I say, turning to the lunatic. “So, at least you can tell me your name so I can find you in the afterlife. It might be over for you and me here, but I intend to shove Satan’s trident right up your sick, motherfucking asshole when I find you in the afterlife.”
“He calls himself Ed,” Brittney calls out, “but I heard him on the phone earlier, and the caller called him Victor.”
The stare he gives her could make anyone turn to stone, and he’s fucking pissed off to the core. He rips out his gun from his belt and makes his way over to Brittney.
“You served your role. It’s time to retire, darling.”
She tries to get behind the bar, but he closes in on her with only one intent to inflict on her.
This gives me the opportunity to do something that’s probably ultimately stupid and crazy, but we only get one chance in life to do something that will make or break us, and I’m a firm believer in jumping on the wagon with full force.
There’s no room for second thoughts. I reach inside my bra, grab the small but lethal piece of metal, flick it open, and follow Victor. There’s no second to spare as he lifts his gun and takes aim at Brittney. I dash and jump his back. The gun goes off, and before he has a chance to retaliate, I plunge the knife deep into the side of his neck.
He manages to throw me off, and even with a freaking blade in his neck, he still has the strength of an ox to throw me across the room like a paperweight.
The expression of shock and surprise is evident as his eyes widen, a look straight out of a horror movie, as the knife sticks out of his neck. From the corner of my eye, I catch Brittney scrambling away, and I feel relief knowing she wasn”t shot.
While Victor Darkspire—a name I just came up for the asshole—tries to comprehend what happened, I shout at Brittney to follow me, and we make a run for the door.
It’s unlocked, and I didn’t expect it to be. We run out of the room and find ourselves in the same hallway I came from just moments ago.
“Do you know the way out?” I ask, but Brittney shakes her head.
We’re so fucked right now.
Adrenaline surges through me as we navigate the dimly lit passages of this underground facility. The cold, metallic walls seem to close in on us, and the distant hum of the air ventilation machinery underscores the urgency of our escape. Red emergency lights flicker, casting eerie shadows that dance with every echoing footstep.
Dammit, this is straight out of some horror movie.
“You said he owned various locations. I guess this wasn’t one of the places he mentioned,” I say as we quickly maneuver our way through the passageway. Brittney remains silent, maybe still in shock.
“He doesn’t even look like a government scientist,” I add. “His fucking big muscles would have been a large indicator! How did you not see the red flags?”
“Not all scientists are Steven Hawking types,” she quips, although I’m unsure if she’s joking or serious.
“Stephen Hawking was a theoretical physicist, cosmologist, not a government scientist.”
“He was still a scientist,” she insists.
“For fuck’s sake, Brittney! I don’t fucking care! You’re a fool either way you look at it!”
“I’m sorry, okay?” her voice apologetic and pathetic.
“It’s not okay. Now just shut the fuck up.” I stop and listen.
The clatter of boots echoes behind us, punctuated by barked orders from the pursuing asshole who is still alive. Armed guards round the corners, their weapons poised, casting an ominous presence. Brittney gasps as she glimpses the harsh determination etched on their faces.
My eyes dart from one passage to another. ”This way!” I shout over the chaos,
We sprint down narrow hallways, desperately seeking an exit. Alarms blare, amplifying the tension as we dodge surveillance cameras and duck into shadowed alcoves.
As we approach a junction, we hesitate for a split second, exchanging a glance that speaks volumes. Without words, we veer left, hoping to outsmart our relentless pursuers. The facility”s intricate security system works against us — laser grids and biometric-locked doors attempt to thwart our every move.
The chase intensifies, with guards closing in, their voices echoing through the metallic labyrinth. Fueled by fear and determination, I push my body to the limit, racing against time in a desperate bid for freedom.
Despite the odds stacked against us, I refuse to give up to hopeless despair. My determination is fueled by the hope of freedom.
We’ll get out.
We have to.
Because this isn’t the end for me.
I’m not fucking dying.
Not today.
I’ll never stop fighting.
As we continue, our breaths are shallow and hurried. I turn to glance at Brittney, and panic flickers in her eyes as we race against time.
“Keep up!” I yell as soon as I begin to sense her straddling behind.
We navigate the complex maze and stumble upon an unmarked door that is slightly ajar. Abruptly, I grab her arm to stop and pull her close.
A flicker of hope ignites as we cautiously push the door open, revealing a hidden maintenance tunnel. The air is damp, and the walls are coated in a film of condensation. Moving swiftly, we maneuver through the narrow passages, bypassing surveillance cameras and dodging security patrols.
Emerging into a forgotten utility room, we find a rusted ladder.
“Where do you think it leads to?”
I shrug my shoulders, staring at it. “Maybe leading to a maintenance hatch. Maybe to your ex-boyfriend’s a-hole.”
“I didn’t know,” she whimpers.
“We’ve already established you’re a foolish idiot, don’t keep feeding into it.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re still doing it.”
“Well, what the fuck should I say, Eden?” her voice becoming intensely irritated and less of a damsel-in-distress.
“That you believe this ladder leads to a maintenance hatch.”
“Okay, this ladder leads to a maintenance hatch. Actually, in Labyrinth of Lies, we had to film under the streets of Chicago within the sewage tunnels. It was vile, and I only had a small part in the movie, but the tunnel had a similar ladder that led up to street level. I had to climb it while they shot the sequence.”
“I didn’t know you played in that movie. How come you never mentioned it?”
“It was a small part. My character was killed off, and most of my scenes were cut in production.”
“Please don’t tell me your character got killed climbing the ladder.”
“No, it was…” Brittney bites her lip and waves her hand to dismiss her thought. “Unimportant detail. I survived the climb, and it led to outside.”
With a silent exchange, I grab hold of either side, lift myself onto the ladder, and start climbing. The adrenaline that they might burst inside here any minute surges through me, and I climb up faster.
When I reach the top, I push the heavy cover aside. To my surprise, I’m met with the blinding light of the sun and have to squint as I push myself out of the tunnel.
As I gaze around at the desolate beauty of arid rock mountains surrounding us, my heart drops to my guts, realizing we’re in the middle of fucking nowhere.
Catching sight of a row of jeeps parked nearby. Desperation fuels my search for escape, and I help Brittney out of the tunnel and rush towards the vehicles. Checking each one, we discover an interesting detail – they are all-electric, equipped with a simple ignition system and a start button.
“Why the fuck are they—”
“Dunno, don’t care,” I interrupt and jump inside one, eager to get out of here before Victor Darkspire and his army find us.
Amid the stark desert landscape, my fingers fumble around the steering wheel to figure out how to start this engine. A simultaneous press of the ignition button brings the silent buzz of the electric motor to life.
“Get in,” I command, and Britteny hops into the passenger seat.
With a quick glance over my shoulder to ensure no pursuit, we speed away, leaving the underground facility behind, our escape marked by the quiet hum of tires on the dry desert ground.