Page 42 of Demon's Prey
While Savage spoke, his back was to Faith. Faith heard a clicking sound next to her ear and realized that the man who was handcuffing her had dropped the keys. Faith quickly leaned forward and forced the keys into her mouth.
“All those men, so many of them drifting with the hope of rescue. Well, all they ended up becoming was dinner for hundreds of hungry sharks.”
The men lifted Faith to her feet. She grunted, her shoulders aching from the movement. Savage turned around and came close to her face. He took a sip of whiskey, breathing drips of it onto her.
“The sharks would pull the men down into the water and eat their extremities. Then the rest of the men who were still alive would watch the rest of the body bob up to the surface.”
Faith didn’t care to hear the story about these fucking sharks, but she knew the longer he talked, the more time she had to think her way out of it. She stood there, shaking, a look of indifference seeming to frustrate Savage.
He lightly slapped her face.
“Give this story the respect it deserves! These men were heroes, and their bodies were torn apart by fucking man-eating monsters.”
The men tightened the choke of the fabric around her mouth, then untied the rope on her feet. The concrete felt like ridiculously heavy shoes.
“And what about that water pressure? Fuck! We can’t forget about that,” Savage turned to her, grasping her shoulder. “Do you know how bubbles can form in a diver’s lungs if they come up too fast? Well, it’s a similar case for if they go down too quickly. The pressure can get to you.”
The men began to move her closer to the edge. Savage was loving the slow burn effect of anxiety this was having on her. She didn't want to drown. She didn’t want to die for this fucking story.
“If I had to choose, though,” Savage said after taking a sip of his drink. “I would choose the water pressure or drowning. At least it’ll happen quickly.” Savage smiled at her, then melted into a serious expression.
He grabbed her by the neck, pulling her in closer. “If you don’t swallow that water into your lungs, the sharks are going to eat this delicious little face.”
For a moment, Savage stared at her, unwavering. He then burst into laughter and shot back the rest of his drink. “It’s an incredible story, isn’t it? I hope I didn’t scare you too much. I’m sure you’ll formulate your own story down there.”
Savage peered over the side of the boat. The water sparkled in the early morning sunlight, appearing almost pleasant if the circumstances were different.
The men pushed her closer and closer to the edge. Faith was scrambling in her mind about what to do with the key. She pretended to fall, allowing the key to hit the deck. She lowered herself, feigning more exhaustion.
“Oh, you are afraid of fate now, are you?”
Savage spoke behind her, watching the men attempt to drag her. When she knelt, she was able to capture the key in her palms. She held it there when the men lifted her roughly by her shoulders again.
This time, the men weren’t taking any shit. They lifted each foot, one by one, over the guardrail of the balcony. Faith could feel their weight as her legs dangled over the side. The concrete was so heavy, it wanted to pull her deep into the water.
Savage slapped her shoulder, leaving his hand to rest there. He ordered the men to step away, wanting to take in the final push. Faith forced herself to focus on unlocking her cuffs and praying that Savage had another lengthy speech that would delay her downfall.
“Trust me, Faith, no one can outrun their fate. It’s a fruitless endeavor.”
Faith heard the lock click open. Her heart leapt in her chest as Savage lifted a hand in the air to strike her and send her falling into her watery grave.
“It looks like fate has found you,” Faith muttered.
Savage gasped as Faith snapped one side of the handcuffs over his wrist, sending them both plummeting deep into the ocean.
Faith immediately panicked as the heavy weight pulled her deeper and deeper. Savage was above her and was frantically trying to rip himself free from their unfortunate attachment. Despite the fact that she was drowning, Faith yielded some satisfaction from the look of sheer horror in his eyes.
Two more splashes as members of Gideon’s Brood cut through the water and swam toward their leader. One is holding a saw and begins trying to pry them apart. This proves pointless after a few attempts, so Savage grabbed the saw from their hands.
To Faith’s shock, Savage began sawing at his own wrist. Blood pooled around him like smoke as he tried to carve deeper and deeper into the bone. He was screaming into the water in high-pitched tones, bubbles surrounding him in a humorous crown.
Faith could feel herself starting to pass out. She was heading toward the ocean floor fast and felt that it indeed was her fate to die here. Her eyes began to drift closed, but before she did, she spotted a sleek swipe of grey pass her vision. She looked around slowly as blood hovered in the air of the water.
Three small sharks had started circling the sinking pair. Their barred teeth frighted Faith, who had been growing more and more resigned to the fact that this was going to be her ending. Her final resting place.
She closed her eyes and tried to let go. To let go of all of her resentments, her disappointments, her fear. She felt her lungs beginning to fill with water and imagined them like a fishbowl. It was a quiet and comforting image that pulled her into the black.
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