Page 93 of Entombed In Sin

The loud hammering of my heart is beginning to drown out all sound. My breathing comes in sharp gasps again and my fists tremble at my sides. I can hear Shannon. She’s close. Closing in on me with a stupid plate of brownies. I can smell her peace offering. As if those could actually make everything better. The tension that gathers in my limbs is swift and painful. I stiffen so dramatically that my spine straightens and my head lifts so I’m facing the tiles on the wall.

But I don’t see the white tiles.

My sight is blurred with a vision of my dismal future, telling a story of what my fate will be if I stay here any longer. It plays out like a movie. I can see the endless days stretch out before me, the repetitive visits from Shannon and her husband, Knox’s torment as pieces of him are cut off, the eventual swell of my stomach as a parasite grows in my womb, and the inevitable moment where a new monster is born.

No.

“Beatrix?” Shannon’s soft voice comes from right behind me. I can practically feel her breath hitting the back of my neck.

I don’t know if it’s a conscious decision I make as I yank the chain up and swing it around or if it’s just instinct as I struggle to survive. But the heavy metal links hit the side of Shannon’s face hard enough for her to be knocked off her feet. The chains come up and over my head before she hits the ground. They follow her, slamming into her face again. The plate of brownies goes flying, shards of ceramic scattering around my feet. But I ignore the mess. I take the chains and pull them over my head again. They give a low whistle as they come back down. Again and again I hit Shannon. Her shrieks of pain only spur me on. There’s not enough suffering in these screams to satisfy me. She doesn’t know suffering. Whatever her life is like, it can’t have been as horrible as the one she was about to damn me to.

So I continue to hit her.

“Thatta girl, Shining Star! Woot!” Knox cheers on with delight. “Fucking mess her up!Killher!”

His words of encouragement are lost as I focus on beating Shannon to a bloody pulp. I hit her everywhere. Her ankles, her face, her chest. I spare no place on her body.

The metal plate at the end of my chains strikes her in the eyes, immediately drawing blood. A wonderfully warm shiver of delight races down my spine at the sight of it. I straddle her as Shannon tries to roll and get up. I take the metal plate betweenmy hands and raise it over my head. When I bring it down, I let the sharp, rusted piece stab into her face and throat. It doesn’t go deep, but it draws blood. Something sharp hits me in the side. It’s ignored, the sudden pang there and gone in a blink of an eye. Whatever it is, I’ll deal with it later. I have a bitch to kill.

Over and over, I stab until blood coats Shannon’s skin and my hands. Her wails and cries aren’t loud enough. But maybe that’s the real problem. Maybe it’s not that I want to hear them, it's that they don’t belong down here with me and Knox. She can take them with her to hell. Dropping the plate, I gather the chains in both hands.

Beneath me, Shannon shakes her head with a dazed denial. She tries to raise her hands, but I ignore her weak attempt to protect herself. With gritted teeth, I wrap the metal links around her neck. Her eyes bulge in horror. They grow even bigger as I twist the chains in opposite directions and pull tight.

Shannon’s fingernails drag over my face. Her body thrashes beneath me, her legs kicking out behind me. I ride this bitch like a bucking bronco, keeping a firm hold on the chain. It takes longer than I expect for her to go still beneath me. But, finally, she does. The life in her eyes flickers out like a burned-out light bulb. I watch it go out while her body goes slack beneath me.

I tighten the chain and keep it around her neck a little longer. There’s no way I’m risking her regaining consciousness.

I can hear Knox saying something. The words are muffled though as euphoria washes over me. It feels like a warm shower after standing in a frigid chill or a soft blanket wrapping around my shoulders as I sit down to read a good book. It’s the pleasant tickling of a feather against my skin.

A breathless laugh slips past my lips.

It grows louder as I reach down and smear the blood on my hands over what remains of the face of the body beneath me. I did it. She’s dead! We’re going to be free soon! I just have toget Knox out of here. I’m laughing as I get to my feet. The room spins and I stumble a little.

“Beatrix!” Knox shouts.

“I’m coming!” I call back, my tongue feeling a little heavier than normal. But I don’t move right away. I stand there, basking in the thrill of a kill. My skin tingles. My laughter grows louder and tears spring to my eyes. The warmth that gathers in my cheeks and between my legs… Oh god… Being blood drunk is amazing. I close my eyes and savor the rush coursing through my veins.

“Beatrix, sweetheart…” Knox says, his voice carefully cautious. “I know you’re enjoying your moment, but I need you to check her pockets for the keys, then get over here so I can helpyou.”

Help me? I snort, my laughter, resurging. It drifts around the room before wrapping me up in its sound. I sway and laugh.

“Alright, I’m coming,” I say as my laughter slows.

With a heavy sigh, I bend down to check Shannon’s pockets. I find a ring of keys, with a total of seven dangling from a chain. One of these has to belong to the shackles around Knox’s wrists and ankles.

The room spins a little faster as I stand this time. A hand shoots out and I brace myself on the wall. Woah, I don’t remember feeling likethiswhen I killed that man in Briar Glen. Closing my eyes helps a little. I push past the dizziness, wondering if you can overdose on blood drunkenness.

“Come on, bestie. Come to me,please,” Knox urges, his voice tense with stress.

I open my eyes. He’s staring at me anxiously with his one eye. He’s probably ready to get out of here. I am, too. So, with a pleased, slightly overdrawn hum, I start his way. I get three steps in before the pain in my side takes me down to my knees. There’s another pain in my gut that has me feeling a bit confused.

“Beatrix!” Knox calls.

I suck in a sharp breath, pushing through the cloud of euphoria fogging up my mind and the strange pains in my torso, and get to my feet. I stumble over to Knox. The room tilts slightly, but I manage to close the distance between us.

“I did it,” I tell him, a grin stretching from ear to ear as I stumble into his outstretched arms.

Knox catches me as my knees give out. He smiles, but it’s tight. The way his gaze drifts over me with concern causes some of my joy to slip away.

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