Page 27 of Black Widow's Bite

Addison

Iwoke to a horrible squelching sound, and my stomach immediately turned. I jolted up when I heard it again, wincing as my shoulders screamed in protest. The ropes around my wrists were stained a horrible brown from my blood, and my skin underneath was mottled and puffy. I looked around for the source of the sound, turning to check on Jake’s zombie friend, and zombie seemed to be the apt description. He had evidently been struggling to free himself while I’d been asleep, and when he couldn’t get the ropes off his wrists, he’d decided to just chew his hand off, like some kind of feral coyote caught in a trap.

I turned away just as he ripped another chunk out of his arm; the blood making a horrible splattering sound across the floor. “Isn’t it just fascinating?” Jake announced, making me jump. He was seated in a folding chair, watching the guy chew his own wrist off as if it was an afternoon Little League match. Jake got up and walked away for a moment, and I cried out in pain as my arms were wrenched upwards, dragging me up to stand. He left me just a little more slack today, so I could nearly stand on the balls of my feet if I tried. The pain made me dizzy for a bit, and Jake clapped his hands in front of me impatiently to get my attention.

“Come on now,” he told me. “This is the good stuff right here. Watch this now.” He walked over to the man, who seemed tonot even notice he was there. “Stop that,” Jake told him, and the man immediately dropped his arms, blood still trickling down his chin. “Tell me, what do you need?” he asked him.

“I need to get to her.” the man replied, his voice flat and robotic. His eyes focused on me, and it was like all the sanity had bled out of him overnight.

“Tell me, why do you need to get to her?” Jake asked, looking at me like I should be excited by this horror-show experiment.

The man’s face went pained, and he reached towards me with his bound hands. “She’s everything, all I can think about. I need her. I would do anything to be with her.”

“Fascinating,” Jake murmured. “Alright then, as you were,” he told him, turning away from him. The man quickly returned to his mission, and I grimaced as the sound of tearing flesh resumed. “You have quite the appeal, it seems.” he told me, circling me again. “I wonder if my brother and his little freak friends are chewing off their limbs already. Although I get the sense that we might be affected differently than the dull folks.” he circled closer, his fingers dancing out, not quite touching me.

“I can’t begin to tell you how tempting it is,” Jake sighed. “I wonder what it feels like. Is it like the need for a good glass of wine with the right meal? Or is it more like heroin, I wonder. I guess if it was that good, I could just keep you,” he offered, and I curled my lip at him. “Trust me, it would be miles above what Cain can give you. I can have anything I want,” he laughed, holding out his arms. He really thought he was some kind of God, I realized, watching him gloat.

“Not even if hell froze over,” I snapped at him, and his face dropped into a scowl. “I guess I should’ve been more clear. I can have anything I want,” he told me, enunciating each word as he moved towards me. “You’ll learn to appreciate that,” he smirked, running his finger down the side of my face. I watched his pupils dilate, and he inhaled sharply, pressing harder into my jaw. Hishand dropped to wrap around my throat, and I stiffened as he started to squeeze, but he stopped there, for now at least. “Wow, that is something,” he murmured. I moved my face away from him as he pressed closer, but he grabbed my chin and forced me to still so he could kiss me. His lips were stiff, the kiss as dispassionate as everything else he seemed to do. He tried to deepen the kiss, his tongue forcing its way between my lips, so I bit him, hard. Jake stumbled back, cursing, and I smirked at him.

He touched his lip, staring at the blood on his fingers like he’d never seen anything like it before. I spat out the blood I’d gotten in my mouth, snarling at him. “Well, we’ll have to work on that.” he sighed and backhanded me across the face. I saw stars for a minute, feeling more blood fill up my mouth. I sagged against the ropes which made my wrists burn, pulling me back into the moment as the pain cleared my head.

“It’s funny. Even hurting you felt so much better than it usually does,” he smirked, wiping blood off his lip. I flinched when he reached for me again, but he only ran his finger along my side, lingering on my hip. I shifted away from his hands and he laughed again. “You fight even when you’ve got nowhere to go. You really are something, aren’t you? I think I’ll leave you with my friend again tonight. Let’s see what happens if he manages to get free, shall we?” he chuckled, walking towards the door. He pulled out another syringe, and I struggled desperately, tears escaping as he stabbed the needle into my neck once again. I looked at the feral man in the corner, still chewing at his wrist determinedly, and stifled a whimper as the drugs made my body weak. At least I managed to catch myself this time when he lowered me down, and I sank slowly to the floor instead of crashing down, my arms sagging as the blood rushed back to my hands. I shifted as far away as I could from the crazy zombie man, laying down with my back to the far wall so I could keepan eye on him. My stomach was starting to cramp with hunger, and my throat felt dry. I had probably another day of this left in me before I started to crack, and I think Jake could probably do this forever unless maybe he got bored, in which case he’d probably just kill me and move on to hunting puppies for sport or whatever else psychopaths like him did as a hobby.

I shivered, dozing off but never fully sleeping in case the man managed to get all the way through his hand. At this point, all I could really do was pray that he’d lose too much blood before that happened. I felt bad for the poor guy. He’d just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The sounds of squelching and blood splattering on the floor continued for hours until he finally stopped. For one blissful moment I hoped he’d finally passed out, but then he started to sob. I covered my ears with my hands when the sobs turned to wails, unending except for the occasional thud of his head against the wall. This continued on into the early morning, and when he finally quit making sounds, I cried in relief, hugging my arms over my chest.

I must’ve drifted off finally in the silence of the new day, waking with a start when my body was jerked upwards. Before I could get my bearings, my head was shoved down into freezing cold water, robbing me of all thought as shock took over. I started thrashing, but the hand that held me under was unmoving. Panic began to set in as my lungs burned with the need for air. My vision faded to black, and I felt a horrible pressure as my body sucked in water, trying to get air.

This was it. I was dying.

I felt my body hit the ground, and I heaved, water pouring out of my lungs and out onto the concrete floor beneath me. I heaved again and again, until all the water was out of my body, leaving only burning pain and exhaustion behind. Laying in a heap on the ground, I shivered as the cold air mixed with thedampness of my skin, deepening the chill until I thought I might never know warmth again. A shadow passed over me, and I felt the tip of a boot in my spine as Jake loomed over me.

“There is something about watching someone drown that’s just... perfect,” he mused. He walked away, and for a moment, I believed that I might get a break from his torment.

With a jolt of agony, my arms were dragged up over my head, lifting me up off the floor. This time he didn’t bother to leave me any option to support myself, my feet dangling inches off the floor. It wouldn’t have mattered, anyway. I was too weak to hold myself up at this point.

Jake grabbed me by the hair at the back of my head and pulled it roughly, lifting my head so I faced him, and I gave him a dirty look before my eyes flitted over to the mess in the corner. He followed my gaze and smiled. “What a shame, hey? He just couldn’t get through the bone.” he shook his head, smirking when he saw the look on my face. “I don’t blame him, I had a restless night myself,” he told me, his fingers trailing over my cheek. “I wasn’t about to chew my arm off over it or anything, but I did consider coming back for you at least once.” he mused and pressed his lips to my cheek. I tried to jerk away from him, but his grip on my hair was too strong.

“Go fuck yourself,” I bit out, and he yanked on my hair, jerking my head back painfully hard.

“Here’s the deal,” he murmured, his fingers dragging down my body. “Be a good girl, or I’ll hurt you. Trust me, you’ll enjoy yourself a lot more if you don’t fight me, but I’ll enjoy myself either way.” He chuckled and grabbed my breast, giving it a painful squeeze before letting go of me completely, letting my head fall back forward. Nausea climbed up my throat, his touch making me physically ill.

“Fuck you,” I replied coldly. “Just kill me and get it over with, because I won’t play your stupid fucking game.” He cocked hishead, considering me, and he pulled his knife out, studying the blade thoughtfully.

“Or I could just break you,” Jake shrugged. “I’ve found that everyone breaks, eventually. I can play just fine with broken toys.” His eyes lit up with a feral glee that reminded me too much of the poor dead dock worker in the corner. He moved up close to me, tracing the blade of his knife over my skin. I closed my eyes as it bit into my flesh, burning a line of agony down my chest. Stars burst in my eyes as I struggled to stay conscious, the world going grey around the edges.

Jake studied my face, eyes raking over the tears that spilled unbidden down my cheeks. He caught one with his finger, considering it as a jeweller would assess a precious gem. I shivered as the knife shifted lower, whimpering as another wave of pain washed over me, his knife cutting a line down across my stomach. “Are you ready to behave?” he asked me softly.

“Eat dog shit andchokeon it,” I spat out, gritting my teeth. He walked around me until I could no longer see him, and my body shook even harder. My vision was tunnelled. I didn’t think I’d be conscious much longer. Something flashed in front of me, but before I could dwell on what it might be, the bite of metal across my shoulder blade pushed any other thoughts out of my head. I think I screamed at that point, and my head fell against my chest, too weak to hold it up anymore.

For a moment, I was suspended like that, and then the ground reached up to meet me. I landed in a heap, barely conscious. I saw Jake kneel down beside me and felt his hands as he rolled me onto my back. His breath was hot on my face, cloying and rotten, his tongue pushing into my mouth uninvited.

Rage swept through me, giving me one last burst of energy. I brought my head up, slamming my forehead against his nose. Blood spilled across my face as his nose broke against my skin and he howled, reeling back in pain. I fell back against theground, laughing weakly, and then a horrible lance of pain shot through my abdomen. I looked down to see his knife jutting out of my stomach, his face full of unbridled fury and hatred. Then he disappeared. I just blinked, and he was gone.

Huh, I guess wishes do come true.

Chapter 29

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