Page 76 of The Savage Outlaw

Priest cut and pulled as though he were filleting a fresh piece of a fish. He paused once halfway done and backed up, admiring his work. It looked like a scene from a gory slasher horror movie.

“You know, Darrow, he hit Mara,” Priest said. “Imagine that. This fucking scum rat taking a swing at her.”

“Priest, what the fuck are you doing?” Darrow growled.

“Tear this fucker’s back right off down to his ass,” Priest said.

Darrow took heavy breaths. He looked around, waiting to see if there were any objections. Fitz hung there, crying. Openly and loudly crying. He just wanted to fall asleep, pass out, or die. But whatever Monte had given him kept him awake and alert. And he felt everything happening.

Darrow walked around Fitz and looked at Priest. “You sure?”

“Positive, brother,” he said. “You stuck up for me when I was in my coma. You proxied and did what was right in my honor. You loved Mara for a long time, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I did,” Darrow said.

“And you respected the outlaw code with that. I wouldn’t have been able to do it. You deserve this, Darrow. You need this too. This fucking rat abused the woman you love. This fucking rat could have gotten her killed.”

Darrow growled and grabbed at the folded over, huge piece of back skin and pulled with a scream. The sound of the tearing made Slade and Linc both look away. Darrow screamed and pulled even harder, until Fitz’s skin—his back tattoos—were basically in Darrow’s hands.

Priest cut the skin just above Fitz’s ass and Darrow let it fall to the floor with a thick, wetflop. Darrow bolted for a trashcan where he threw up.

Priest stepped on the freshly cut skin. He walked around to the front of Fitz’s body. Fitz’s eyes looked dazed. His body shaking as he was slipping into a state of shock.

Priest slapped Fitz across the face. “Wake up,rat. We’re just getting started with you. Speaking of which… do we have the rats?”

“R-r-r-r… rats…?”Fitz groaned.

“We got them,” Linc said.

“Good,” Priest said. “Give me one of them right now.”

Priest stabbed the knife into Fitz’s chest and carved another large chunk of skin away from his body. Another tattoo. Removed. Dropped to the floor.

When Priest heard a screeching noise he looked back and saw Monte holding a rat. A living rat.

Priest took the rat from Monte and pressed its face against the fresh cut on Fitz’s chest. The rat made a loud noise and then clawed and bit. Fitz screamed again.

Priest pressed the rat against Fitz’s chest harder and harder, forcing the rat to fight for its life. Which meant it scratched and dug harder at the open wound on Fitz’s chest. Finally, Priest moved his hand and the rat fell to the floor and scurried off, covered in blood.

“Rat’s like to make noise,” Priest said. He looked back. “Prez, want to help me?”

“Of course,” Cyrus said.

Everyone looked away as Cyrus and Priest forced Fitz’s tongue from his mouth. Priest carved Fitz’s tongue off and dropped it to the floor.

“Rat’s see things they shouldn’t,” Priest then said.

He stabbed Fitz in his left eye and twisted the knife. His eyeball popped and sprayed clear, thick juice.

“Fuck,” Cyrus said.

Dr. Smile knows only pain.

Dr. Smile knows only death.

When Dr. Smile visits…

Priest finished with Fitz’s face and stepped back. There were a few seconds when his stomach did a flip. This was what rats earned and deserved.

---