Page 61 of A Monster Is Coming

I never planned to tell her about my past, about who I was. My past was exactly that, in the past. “I don’t know how to be a father. I’m not going to compare or compete with your father. Your father is an asshole. My father is dead and I killed him. Don’t feel any kind of sadness or pity. My dad was evil to the core.” She didn’t make a sound. I’d always tried to avoid talking about my personal life back in Pickle Quest. “My dad was a different kind of father. To him, he didn’t want anyone weak or feeble. To him, there was nothing worse than having a weak kid, because they were going to grow into a weak adult. He couldn’t stand that. So, he came up with this marvelous idea where he would test his children’s strength. I was put through a lot of tests by my father.”

I massaged the sponge into her flesh, and waited for my words to sink in.

“I know what you’re thinking. Math tests? Spelling? Arithmetic? My dad didn’t give a fuck about how educated we were. I’ll tell you about one of the tests. None of us could learn to swim, and he always felt that the best way to learn was by throwing you into the deep end. That is how I learned to swim.”

Niamh gasped and she tried to turn, but I didn’t want to look at her while I talked about a time I promised myself I would never speak of again. This was all in the past. I was more than happy to let it go. The people were all dead.

“He grabbed me, threw me in the deep end of the pool, and told me I’d win by learning to swim and not drown. I was so tired by the end of that day. My arms ached like I’d been fighting a superhero or something. And to make sure I knew how to swim, he did it again, immediately after. So even tired, I had no choice but to fight for my life.”

“That is awful.”

“My sister and brother were not so lucky.”

This made Niamh gasp. “They died.”

“Yes.”

“Another test—he dumped me and other kids out into the woods to survive. It was freezing cold, so not only was I fighting the elements to survive, he’d also sent men in there to hunt us down.”

“You’ve got to be kidding. There is no way that could happen.”

“I got out. I killed the hunter, and I knew there were others that didn’t survive. He attempted to brand me.” This time, I did spin her around, taking hold of her fingers, and placing it at a patch of my thigh I had covered with ink. “Some of us died of sepsis. He refused to treat us, and he even left us outside. I was able to take care of myself. Others were not so lucky.” I hadn’t thought of the other boys and girls, who had struggled against the fever.

Some had gotten the wounds infected and it had spread through their bodies, until eventually they couldn’t fight any longer.

They had gone.

“You speak as if you had … so many brothers and sisters.”

“I did, or at least that is what I was told. I would later find that my father was paying an orphanage to send their unwanted children to him. He’d turned his tests into a game, and he was recording it. There were others, wealthy men and women, who were paying to watch. Seeing who would be able to survive. We were like a bunch of dogs in a cage, and they were priming us ready to fight. The only thing I know for sure is I am an Orlov.”

Niamh had tears in her eyes and she reached up and touched my cheek. “I’m so sorry.”

“You do not have to cry. I dealt with it. That man is no longer alive and he’s never going to hurt another child again.”

“But, don’t you get it? Your father. My father. I don’t imagine it stops there, does it?”

“The world is full of men that do evil things. We’re not going to be able to change that,” I said.

“Why did you tell me this?” she asked.

“I wanted you to know who I am, so you could understand.”

Chapter Sixteen

The Butcher

“Are you going to tell me why we’re not just killing this sick little shit?” I asked, turning to look at Ivan.

I pointed at the television screen that showed Finn Jr., locked up in his cage once again. He’d been allowed to attend his sister’s wedding and between myself and The Beast, I’d been able to keep an eye on him. The only time I didn’t was when I went to see what was taking Niamh so long in the bathroom.

“All in good time.”

“Have you noticed that is what you say a lot?” I asked.

“I also noticed that when you get familiar with a person, you talk a lot.”

I rolled my eyes at him, because I didn’t care what he said. I was not known for talking, apart from those that knew me well. There were few people that did.

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