Page 10 of His Gift
"What's going on? Are you okay?"
I open my mouth to tell him. To ask for help. Instead, I throw up all over myself, the bed. Him.
"Come here." He ignores how gross the situation is and scoops me up into his arms. "Take big breaths. It's fine. You're fine." But I'm not. My eyes water because of how much my head hurts and I can't get enough air into my lungs. "I'll give you some sedative. Just to let you calm down. Don't getscared." He's opening a drawer and a second later I feel the needle in my neck. The headache eases up and my eyes close as he keeps telling me it's all fine, rocking me back and forth.
eight
Conrad
Iwatch the man, naked, gagged, and nailed to the wooden floor of his cabin. Tears and snot stream down his face as his body shakes with fear and shock. I punched him in the jaw as soon as he opened the door.
It will be the first man I'll kill out of hatred. The first one I'll torture. He asked for everything that's happening to him.
I have to hurry up and get back to her, but I want answers. Allof them.
"You know, my girl is not feeling well. And I have a hunch you're responsible for it." I should have seen it immediately, but I was too happy to have her with me. The unreasonable denial she could be aroused by me when we are made for each other. The constant insistence it had to be the drug, otherwise, she was a slut… Finally, the second panic attack opened my eyes.
"At first, I thought it was her ex-husband's fault. He's a cheater and an asshole, though, not a violent man. So I reviewed everything I knew about her. Nothing caught my eye until I went back to her childhood. She used to live here in State College with her parents until she was nine years old. That's when the whole family quickly moved to Philadelphia. Well, not the whole family. You, Owen,her dear uncle, stayed behind. A simple search showed you had a few problems with the law over the years. All related to your inappropriate interactions with children. You never got arrested, but you are a sexual predator. And I want answers. In a moment, I will remove the gag. If you scream, I'll plant more nails in your body. You know no one will hear you. You chose this place in the woods because you kept hoping you could lure a kid here. Am I wrong?" He shakes his head vehemently and I shoot a nail into each thigh. "Nice tool, this nail gun. And very nice of you to have it handy. I admit I came unprepared. But this," I point the gun again and shoot his right foot, just an inch from the nail already there, "really helps. And every time you lie…" another nail in his left foot, "I'll shoot."
Hunched over him, I remove the gag. Ragged, rapid breaths hitch in his chest. He's smart enough not to scream. For now.
"What did you do to her?"
"No… nothing. Whatever that little slut says, it's a lie. She's a liar." Closing one eye to improve my aim, I shoot the point of his cock. He screams. So loudly he's probably damaging his vocal cords. I'll give him a pass this time. I can't have him lose too much blood and pass out. Not before the grand finale.
"That's what happens when you insult her. And when you lie. So. What did you do to her?"
"Nothing. Nothing! She's the liar. I like children. That's all. I did nothing wrong!" I shoot both his meaty forearms and then his cock again. "I warned you," I shout, to overcome his screams. Then I leave him to it and pace up and down to calm myself. I can't lose control and end him before I have what I want. When he finally stops, I ask again.
"She wanted it. She was always seeking attention. Her parents were too busy. We spent a lot of time together. And she wanted my attentions."
I bite my cheek until I draw blood to keep my stomach in check. I'm not naïve. I know human beings are fucked up. Hell, I chose to isolate because I can't stand them. But this…
"Details," I spit out. I don't want them. But if I want to help her, I need to know. And now that he's started to talk, he can't stop. He's proud of it. Eager. Looking at me as if I should praise him. What I do instead is nailingthe short length of his cock to the floor as soon as he's done. And then I keep going until the gun is empty.
He's not coherent anymore. But I have one last surprise for him before we part ways.
"I thanked you for the gun, but I forgot to thank you for the gasoline. You know what I intend to do with it? I will pour small amounts on you before lighting it up. We can't have the fire get out of control. Or you dying too fast. I don't believe in the afterlife, or hell. But I'm more than willing to create a hell for you here on earth."
Gradually, my words break through his pain-induced haze, and as I finish speaking and begin dousing him with gasoline, he's drowning in tears and begging like a pro.
nine
Conrad
Idrive with one eye on the street and the other on my phone. She almost woke up two times already. I must be there when she wakes, but I couldn't half-ass this thing. I have no interest in ending up in prison.
After the human stain was charred to my liking, and yet still breathing, I removed all the nails—a boring endeavor—and set the house on fire to make it look like a suicide. That man had all the reasons to do so, but even if the coroner gets frisky with the autopsy, I made sure to hit only soft tissuesand they'll be burned beyond recognition. There's no proof it wasn't a suicide.
Now that I'm almost home, I can't wait. I've finally found her and no matter what she thinks now, she'll see I'm right. When we were kissing… Holy fuck. I'm no blushing virgin, but I barely restrained myself from coming in my boxers.
Another glance at the camera. After cleaning both of us and changing the bed, I set her up with an IV drip to make sure she'd sleep the entire time I was out. She'll be groggy as hell for a while, and that's not even a bad thing. She needs time to process, if, as I suspect, she's erased what happened from her memory. Will she remember? I won't force it. Or tell her what I know or what I did. I'm not looking for gratitude. I did it because I wanted answers and it needed to be done.
Selling my company is another priority. It was useful to have an excuse to be in the world and search for her, but now that she's with me, it'll just be an annoyance. As it was yesterday. Our first day together, and I was gone for most of it.
She missed me. She can deny it as much as she wants, but she did. I can't wait to lose myself in her pussy. I have to account for her reaction to what happened and what she might remember, though. It could be a while before I can have her as I want.
Maybe I should have planted a few more nails. I almost hope I'm wrong and there's a hell.
