Page 31 of Surviving the Darkness

Popping up from the ground, we run full-speed toward the car and, luckily, none of us get hit by a bullet. I hate running from a fight, but it’s hard to do anything when we can’t fucking see. I don’t have night vision, and the last thing we need is to shoot our own men by accident.

When we get into the car, the parking lot lights turn back on. Dead bodies litter the ground. A quick glance shows that at least none of them are our men. Where are they? No one is in sight. Not even the Irish dickhead Quinn.

“Where is everyone?” Knox asks as he surveys our surroundings.

“I was just wondering the same thing,” I wonder.

Knox’s phone rings, scaring me to death, the screen lighting up with Jace’s name. He answers and puts it on speaker when he hears Jace’s voice.

“Go home; everyone is dead. I’ll text you when I need you three. I’ve got Quinn.” Then he hangs up the phone, leaving us speechless,

Chapter 27

Meadow

Quinn is strung up on a hook in a basement with a similar set up to where I had been exiled, screaming obscenities at me. I circle his naked body, using a knife to carve him up the same way Damon carved me. I can’t kill him yet, as I don’t have all the answers, but when Jace got the SOS message while training with me, I knew it was time to put my newly acquired skills to the test.

The past few weeks have been grueling, not only mentally but physically. I called Jace a week after leaving the hospital, needing his expertise to train me. At first, he said no, but Ibegged and pleaded until he broke down and finally said yes. He and I train every night, and I’m still seeing Storm; sometimes Ethan joins my therapy sessions.

Ethan doesn’t know what I’m doing so late at night, but he knows I’m with Jace and that I am safe. It doesn’t take an idiot to figure out what we are doing together, but I’ve blossomed into a beautiful killing machine, just like Jace. I learned that he and I aren’t so different; we both have dark pasts that we try to expel from our minds, and killing is the only way to set those demons free.

Jace and I were at the docks when Quinn admitted to having me kidnapped, and I almost lost my shit, but Jace, being the good teacher he is, promised that we could take him with us to make him pay. How could I say no to that when shit was about to hit the fan? Jace cut the lights, and we killed everyone in sight, besides Quinn, of course.

Quinn’s men were easy to take out, and it left me a little sad that there wasn’t much of a fight. I lost something the night I was taken, and Quinn is about to find out how much. I’m not the same girl anymore. I’m a monster of his making, and he’s going to see just how much of a monster I really am.

“Let me show you how to torture someone without actually killing them,” Jace says with a smile on his face.

That smile used to freak me out, but now, I find comfort in it. I nod my head and let him lead me through my first torture experience. I already know how to protect myself because of Aidan’s training, but Jace just improved upon what I already knew and taught me how to turn protection into murder. I hated him at first, but once I learned he wasn’t going to take it easy on me, I put on my big girl pants and did the work.

Jace circles Quinn and shows me the areas I can hit or stab without causing too much bodily harm. Learning the right placement to stab someone so they don’t bleed out is very useful.Like stabbing someone in the lower abdomen is painful but not lethal, at least not right away. Lower legs and forearms are good but be careful to avoid the arteries. Things get tricky because of the arteries that run through the human body, and I file the information away for future use.

He goes on to show me how to create superficial wounds, then how to cauterize a wound, so they don’t bleed out too quickly. Soon, the smell of burning flesh permeates the air. It’s an awful smell, but if it keeps my victim alive longer, I’ll get used to it.

“So, we’ve got some questions, and you’re going to answer them, or it will get super painful for you,” I say as I slice a line on his arm and watch the blood well up and trickle slowly down to his chest.

“I will kill ye when I get out of here,” he spits at me.

I laugh because there is no way he is getting out of here alive. Damn, I need a dildo! He needs to get fucked in the ass like I did. Maybe tear him the same way they tore me. Ohhh, maybe I can use the knife and make a third hole. I smile to myself, thinking of all the ways I can make this man suffer like he made me suffer.

“If I shove a knife in his ass and make the hole larger, will he bleed out quickly?” I ask Jace.

“Yes, unfortunately. I’ve tried it, and they tend to die rather quickly,” he says, and I pout. Maybe we can save that for last.

“You don’t have a dildo, or something, do you? I want to shove it in his ass and make him scream like I did?” I ask again, ignoring Quinn’s squeal of protest.

Jace laughs and punches our prisoner in the face, knocking him out, so we get a few moments of peace and quiet.

“No, but I can have one delivered here within an hour,” he tells me, and I jump for joy at the thought.

He takes his phone out to message someone, and a few minutes later, it lights up again, and he tells me it’s on its way. I am so excited right now. Jace goes over ways to make himsuffer, like pulling his nails out, chopping off one toe at a time, then cauterizing the wounds. He even showed me smelling salts to wake my prey up.

I really like learning these things and can’t wait to test them on our dear friend here. The sight of blood used to bother me until I sat in my own for weeks at a time. After that, I learned to get used to it; the old Meadow would never think about torturing someone, but that girl is long gone, and I have emerged in her place. I think of myself as a butterfly. I was in a cocoon, and now my wings have grown, and I can soar free.

A knock on the door tells me our package has arrived, and I clap my hands with excitement as I wait for the goodies. Jace answers the door, and I see Hunter peek his head through. I give him the strongest glare I can manage, so he knows to keep his mouth shut. Jace whispers something in his ear, and Hunter pales but nods his head before he turns around and leaves.

“What did you say to him?” I chuckle at Jace when he comes back with a smile on his face.

“I told him I would skin him alive if he told the guys you were here.” Jace shrugs.

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