Page 74 of Little Psycho

I reach for my knife, taking one last breath before twisting it softly in my hand.We stand here in the dark room, the smell of stale alcohol and sweaty sheets invading my senses.Marcus is sprawled out across the bed, snoring loudly, completely unaware of the storm that’s about to hit him.

Ash and I exchange another glance and share a diabolical smirk under our masks, and in the silent communication, we both know what we need to do.It’s like our minds are synchronized: he’ll watch my back; I’ll set the stage.

I pull a small, folded piece of paper from my pocket and spread it like a flag on the dresser.The list—our grim countdown to justice.Marcus’s name stands out starkly, written in a bold line just begging to be crossed off.Beside the list, I place another Ziploc baggie with a flash drive inside, making sure it’s far enough away from his body so it doesn’t burn when I set his ass on fire.

“This is the last time he’ll ever hurt anyone,” I say, speaking in hushed tones but heavy with conviction.

“Let’s make fucking sure of that,” Ash replies, gripping his gun tightly with it aimed at the councilman’s head.

I step closer to the bed, my knees hitting the edge, the adrenaline coursing through my veins blending with the anger I feel for all of the lives ruined—starting with mine and Ash’s.

With a quick glance at him, I nod, and we’re both moving in tandem, fluidly.I lean down over Marcus’s sleeping form and let the blade glint in the low light.In one swift motion, I jab the knife into his shoulder, eliciting a cry of pure pain from him as he suddenly jolts awake.

“What the f-?"He starts, but his words trail off, wide-eyed and panicked, but I cut off his words with a firm grip around his throat, pinning him against the mattress.

“Surprise,” I hiss, leaning into his face, my eyes wild with fury.“Been a long time coming, hasn’t it?”

Marcus’s features twist into confusion and then quickly morph into terror as he struggles beneath my hold, but with the adrenaline pumping through my veins, he’s no match for me.I can feel Ash edging closer, ready to pounce, and the realization of our combined presence throws all his bravado out the window.

“Who the hell are you?”Marcus yells, gasping as he clutches his shoulder, his eyes darting to Ash, who stands poised with his gun trained on him.

“A ghost from your past, but tonight, I’m very much alive.”I lean closer, forcing my voice to drop to a whisper.“Remember all those nights when you’d laugh at our pain?How you thought you’d always get away with it?”

He squints at me, recognition flashing briefly before it’s smothered by fear.“Calista?You’re fucking crazy!Please just let me go...I’ll-”

Before he can finish, Ash steps forward, his expression fierce under his mask.“You think you can just walk away from the shit you did?You’re going to fucking pay for every single thing you’ve done to her.To me.To all of us.”

The air is hot and suffocating, and it’s charged with promises of taking his life.I can see the weight of what this moment means for Ash, etching itself onto his eyes.

This isn’t just about revenge; it’s about reclaiming what was wrongfully stolen from us.

I grip the knife tighter and prepare to make my move.“This is the part where you fucking beg,” I murmur, a dark pleasure building in my stomach.

Marcus sputters, “you won’t get away with this!You don’t know who you’re messing with.”

“I think it’s you who doesn’t understand who you’re messing with,” I sneer, leaning in closer until our faces are inches apart.“It’s time to face your monsters—Boo!”With that, I plunge the knife deeper into his shoulder, twisting it just enough to elicit a scream that echoes through the room, mingling with the pounding of my heart.

Each stab is a piece of the weight I’ve carried, each slice a true liberation for Ash, for me, for all the others who suffered at his hands.And I’m not alone anymore.Ash stands with me, the embodiment of resilience and vengeance, ready to carry this burden along with me.

“Let's finish this together,” he says, his voice steady despite the chaos surrounding us.

Together, we push forward, reinforcing the armor that will protect us from the darkness that threatened to consume us both before.This isn’t just about killing another monster; it’s about finally smashing the shackles of our past.

I pull Ash closer to me and nod, silently urging him to join in on the final act of revenge.I yank out my knife and hand it to him, taking his gun in return.Together, we bend over the monster beneath us, and the air fills with the sounds of anguish and triumph—a duet that echoes through the walls.

We are no longer just the children of our trauma; we are fucking warriors and we will soon rise from this even stronger than before.The bond we share is unyielding, forged in fire and blood, and nothing will ever break it again.

Tonight is just the beginning of something fucking beautiful.

I step back and lean against the wall, watching Ash repeatedly stab Marcus all over, piercing screams ripping from his bloody chest.I lift my mask and keep it on top of my head, pulling out a cigarette while I watch the show before my eyes.Ash is losing control, but in the best fucking way possible.He’s finally taking back everything that Marcus ever stole from him.

It doesn’t take long before I begin to grow annoyed over the screams Marcus keeps wailing, so I walk over to the bloodstained bed and shove the barrel of the gun in his mouth to silence him.Covered in deep gashes from head to toe, Marcus begins to seize and go into shock, and all I can do is grin.

Looking at Ash still thrusting the knife into every part of his body that he can, I reach out and grab his shoulder, gently tugging him away to catch his breath.He lifts his mask like me, and his eyes find mine instantly.There’s an unreadable look inside them that I can’t make sense of, but he smiles, jabbing the bloody blade back into Marcus.

“Breathe, Ash,” I tell him, trying to coax gentle breaths from his already heaving chest.

He steps closer, covered in blood, a smile still tugging at the corners of his busted lips.

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