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“Please,” she whimpers.

“C’mon sweetheart, it’s fine.” He pulls her by her elbow. Her bare feet pad across the floor as he half drags her off toward the door. “We’re just gonna have some fun. I ain’t gonna hurt you, unless you make me.”

“Stop!” The chains cut into my ankles as I lunge forward. “Please. Take me!”

He stops at the door, turns back to me.

“You’re next, don’t worry.” And then he hurls my sister into the hallway and slams the door again, thrusting me back into darkness.

Only this time, I’m all alone.

Just me and the monsters.

If it wasn’t for this asshole, I would have been able to stay with Harley longer.

But I’ve never strayed from a plan before, and today will be no different. I’m just going to have to make Mr. Carpenter pay a little more for fucking up my day.

I knew Harley was special. I could sense it from the moment our eyes met in that cafe, two days ago. And then, when I saw her with her mother at that grocery store, it only cemented the idea that something deep inside of her was yearning to be released.

There’s a great pain inside her.

And I’m going to help her get it out.

But first, this fucker.

I pull my car around to the back of the barn. It’s already getting dark, but I keep my lights off.

No need to warn him I’m here just yet.

After I get the tools and things I need, I leave the car parked and make my way to the barn. The door is still bolted shut from the outside, so I’m confident he’s stilltucked inside, safe and sound.

Just like he designed.

And he is.

There he is, in all his fucking asshole glory.

Little mumblings echo from the chamber he’s tucked inside of, so I kick the lid away and peer down at him.

Naked, he sits with his knees pulled to his chin. It’s the only position he can be in, unless he wants to remain standing.

And two days of standing upright would have been hell.

I would have preferred it for him. But I have a code to stick to, and that’s what I’ve done here.

He gets what he gave.

Slowly, he turns his face up to me, wincing at the brightness of the flashlight I have beaming in his eyes.

“Please,” he whimpers, shivering from the cold. It’s hot outside, but sitting with no clothes on in an underground cell with only a three-foot circumference has left him chilled. Maybe it’s the concrete walls.

I move the light from his face to the bucket next to him. He’s utilized it a few times in the last two days.

“Please, what, Dustin?” I ask.

“Please. Just let me go.”

I roll my eyes.

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