70. Noah
NOAH
THREE YEARS AGO
“Here. Put this on,” I tell Monty as I hand him a black ski mask.
It's not like we coulda stopped at a Spirit Halloween with a prisoner in the truck just to grab Monty his own mask. He looks at it before looking back at me.
“Do I really have to wear this?” he asks.
“Yeah. And make sure you don't use my real name in front of James. Alex I don’t give a fuck about because that fucker is dying today but if James is awake we need codenames,” I tell him as I open the secret panel leading to the staircase.
“Aight, you be Maverick, and I'll be Goose,” he says, tugging the ski mask on.
“What is it with you and birds?” I laugh as I pull on my skull mask.
“What do you mean?” he asks as he grabs my bag off the ground and I grab Alex, tossing him over my shoulder.
“I mean, earlier you called me Rubber Ducky. Now you're Goose. And who's Maverick?”
“Jesus, Noah,” Monty laughs. “Haven't you ever watched Top Gun?”
“Is it horror?”
“No,” he says, scoffing.
“Add it to the list of movies I haven't seen.”
“Dear God. Okay. After this, we're having a movie marathon one of these nights. Deal, Maverick?” he says as he follows me down the steps.
“Deal, Goose. Now remember, no real names,” I tell him, stopping at the bottom of the steps and looking back at him.
“10-4, Rubber Ducky,” he says with a goofy salute.
How the fuck is this the same guy who hacked into multiple government accounts and three police stations? He never told me why he did it, but I guess that's a story for when I'm not carrying an unconscious body into my labyrinth.
“This place is kinda cool, but also fucking creepy,” Monty says as we make our way through the paths.
“Thanks. It's the whole reason I bought the place.”
“Welcome back, Killer. Ah, you brought another soul to join me in hell? How fun,” James says sarcastically.
I left his blindfold off the entire time I was gone. I thought we were going to be gone longer so sadly, the lights didn't fuck with his internal clock like I wanted them to.
“And who's this? Your new boyfriend?” James Parker asks, looking past me to where Monty is standing against the wall.
“Keep your fucking mouth shut, Parker,” I command as I toss Alex down into the chair next to James and begin restraining him.
He's still knocked out, so his body keeps swaying. Monty comes over quickly and grabs Alex's shoulders steadying him.
“But I'm lonely and you always kill my new friends before I even get to know them. It's boring," James whines.
“Damn, he's annoying. How have you not killed him yet?” Monty teases.
“Oh, he doesn't actually hate me. We're good pals, aren't we, Killer?”
“If by good pals you mean you're my personal punching bag, sure.”
“Now, now. I don't even remember the last time you really made things hurt. You're going soft, Killer,” James says, grinning that sadistic smile of his.
I go to reach for his throat, but Monty's voice suddenly stops me.
“Uh…Maverick? It's alive,” he says creepily.
“Wha…What the fuck? Where am I?” Alex groans as he slowly shakes his head back and forth.
“Welcome to hell, victim number…What number are you on now, Killer? Nine? Ten?”
“Ten that you've seen. Twenty-eight total,” I say calmly as I make my way back to stand in front of Alex.
He blinks rapidly, fighting against the post-chloroform haze. He stares deep into the glowing sockets of the skull mask then over my shoulder where Monty resumes his position against the wall.
“Why are you doing this?” Alex whines like the pathetic little fuck he is.
“He's like a rabid dog. Got a taste of blood once and now it's all he craves,” James says before tossing his head back and laughing when Alex whimpers.
I'm sick of hearing his voice. I don't even speak, just shift my body and punch him square in the mouth when he tilts his head back up.
When my fist connects with his jaw, some teeth shatter falling out onto the floor with spit and blood.
His head snaps back and his screams of agony are a cathartic symphony.
But I need to shut him up completely right now.
I grab a needle off the table and the vial of sedative I've used on him before.
He groans, lifting his head and spitting blood and another tooth out onto the floor.
His eyes widen when he sees the needle, but I quickly sink it into his arm and push the sedative into his system.
His eyes unfocus as he loses consciousness before his head falls forward resting his chin against his chest as he finally goes silent.
“Good. That's better. Now, where were we? Ah, yes, Alex Miller. Nice to meet you finally,” I say as I get down to his eye level.
“Please, just let me go. I didn't do anything,” he pleads.
“What do you think I think you did?” I ask coyly.
“I…” His voice stops as he glances over at Monty again. “Why are you doing this?” he asks, looking back at me.
“Molly Spruce.”
His eyes widen in horror when I say her name. He knows exactly why he's here.
“I swear I didn't mean to hit her. She just walked out in front of my car. I didn't even see her,” he lies.
“Bullshit!” Monty snaps. “You ran her down.”
“No, no! I swear. It was an accident. Ask her. She'll tell you.”
“She can't,” Monty says, stepping closer to Alex. “They don't think she's going to survive.”
“What? No. I was just there this morning. She was a bit banged up, but…”
“Banged up?” Monty shouts, getting right in Alex's face.
I stand up and move to the side. It seems Monty might need this more than I do at this point.
I can see the sweat dripping down Alex's brow as Monty continues.
“You fucking ran her over and left her for dead.
You drove off and went to your buddy's shop to get your car fixed. A deer? Really? Are you that fucking stupid?”
*Crack*
Monty's fist connects with Alex's jaw snapping his head to the side.
“I'm s…sorry,” he stammers.
“Why the fuck did you do it?” Monty asks, gripping the armrests and tipping the chair back slightly.
“I didn't…”
“Don't fucking lie to me, you worthless piece of shit. Why did you run your girlfriend over then leave her for dead?”
“I didn't mean to,” he finally screams as tears fall down his face.
“What do you mean you didn’t mean to?” I demand as I take a step forward.
“She was going to leave me. She got into Cornell University. I couldn’t…She couldn’t leave me.”
“You tried to kill your girlfriend because she got into college and was going to move away?” Monty asks with disgust in his voice.
“I just wanted her to depend on me. I wanted to show her she didn’t need to leave. She didn’t need a career. She could stay here, help me run the farm, and we would be happy. I’d always take care of her.”
The realization that this man was willing to run over his girlfriend just so that she’d physically have to depend on him to take care of her is fucking insane. It goes far beyond what any of the men I’ve killed in the past have done.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Monty screams as he smacks Alex across the face.
“I just love her so much,” he cries.
“What about all the other times?”
“She…She…” he stammers, but Monty continues.
“When you fractured her wrist, was that because you loved her so much?”
“No. I didn’t mean to fracture her wrist. I was only trying to get her to come home from the bonfire. I told her it was time to go, but she wanted to stay with her friends. I told her she didn’t need them…She had me.”
“What about her broken ribs?” I ask after Monty steps away. I think he might be closer to killing this motherfucker than I am right now.
“Broken?”
“Yes. You worthless piece of shit you broke three of her ribs,” Monty snaps, walking back to him.
“I didn’t mean to…”
The wind is knocked out of him silencing him as Monty punches him in the ribcage. Another hit, and I can hear the gasping breaths as Alex groans in pain.
“Did you punch her?” he screams
*Thud*
Another hard blow to the same area, and I can hear the sickening sound of a bone starting to crack.
“Did you kick her?”
*Thud*
“Throw her down the stairs?”
*Thud* *Thud* *Thud*
Hit after hit, landing in the same spot on Alex’s rib cage. He coughs, blood and spit flying from his mouth.
“Monty,” I say quietly as I place a hand on his shoulder.
He’s breathing heavily, and as much as he tries to hide it, I can see the tears running down his face.
“I'm fine,” he snaps as he steps away.
Alex is hunched over as much as he can be while restrained to the chair. He's gasping as blood continues to drip from his mouth.
“You know why you're here now, Alex?” I question him.
“Yes,” he manages to gurgle out.
“I've been doing this for a long time, and I can honestly say I've never had someone as fucking delusional as you. You justify your actions claiming it's out of love. Men like you make me sick. You're the reason I do this.”
“What are you…going to do to me?” he asks as he coughs up more blood.
“We're going to kill you, but not until you know some of the pain she felt.”
He starts sobbing as the realization hits…He isn't going to make it out of here alive.
“Hey, Monty. Your truck got its hitch on it right now?” I ask as I stand, walking over to my table of devices and grabbing some heavy-duty rope.
“It's in the back of my truck, but I can hook it up. Why?”
“Ever heard of quartering by horses?” I ask with a sickening grin.
He looks at me wide-eyed, and a grin just as demented as mine lights up his face then he laughs and nods.
“I think we've got enough horsepower for that.”