Page 1 of His Obsession Her Cure
Prologue
The dim bulb in the ceiling swung overhead sending scattered specks of light stuttering against the damp basement walls. It barely illuminates that sweat slicked body of our prey. The wooden chair he was tied to, scraped as the dry thick ropes I used to strap him down creaked. A muffled groan followed by a small whimper leaked through the black duct tape covering his mouth. I stood still staring at the scene before me with my head tilted and eyes vacant. The faint sound of my singing drifted through the silence, honey-sweet, smooth and slow.
“Moment of honesty…” Our favorite songUnthinkableby Alicia Keys played on repeat in my head as I studied the man before me. This man who was supposed to mean so much to me. I’m not sure where the need to sing came from but I go with it anyway. I had always been told by the people lucky enough to hear my singing, how rich and melodious my voice was. But then that familiar buzzing in my head started and my lips twitched, and an eerie laugh spilled out of my throat, but the laugh that rattled my bones isn’t mine.
“Do you hear that? That’s fear, Pepper. Real fear. He doesn’t sound so big now.” She cooed inside my head smooth and sharp. “Let him hear us, Pep.”
“You know what’s funny, Taye? I still remember the first time you called me crazy and unloveable. You said I would never survive without you in my life. Remember? That I would always need your strength to make me somebody.” I said, circling him slowly. My fingers brushing against the back of the chair. My tone was flat, almost polite, nothing like my voice when I sang, full of emotion and strength. This was like I was reciting a memory instead of reliving it.
“...someone’s gotta take the lead tonight. Whose it gonna be?”The song burst from me again, the lyrics echoed and dragged out until it sounded like a dark promise.
“You were wrong.” I whispered, stopping directly behind him, bringing the knife down. “Hmh.” I almost moaned from the feeling of pure bliss as I dragged the sharp blade across his cheek, not too deep, just enough to draw blood. Taye jerked, thrashing, his muffled cries bouncing off the walls. And I continue to hum the lyrics to our favorite song.
“I was wondering maybe. Could I make you my baby…”
“You laughed when I begged. You remember? Called me weak. Am I weak now?” I said flat, almost childlike. My voice cracked, but Nyx’s chuckle steadied it.
“Oh no, baby. We’re strong. Together. Tonight, he pays.” She giggled maniacally.
“If we do the unthinkable. Would it make us look crazy?”
The knife sank into the wood an inch from the skin of his thigh. Taye flinched, shaking his head, eyes wild as I smiled at him. My lips brushed his ear as I leaned in close, wanting him to hear me.
“You should’ve locked us up and thrown away the key. Better yet you should have killed us when you had the chance.” I hissedas I ran the blade up his thigh to his groin in a jagged arch. Muted screams and the sound of my singing pierced the quiet of the room as I gave into the feeling of freedom and the power of being in control.
“If you ask me I’m ready. I’m ready. I’m ready. If you ask me I’m ready.”
The bulb above flickered once, then twice before I was consumed by blood and darkness. Only the sounds ofUnthinkableby Alicia Keys and laughter filled the room. The laughter was layered with another voice, this one unhuman and unhinged.
Not mine.
The voice I was hearing laughing manically was Nyx.
The Daily Times
August 12, 2025
Local Man Reported Missing
Federalsburg, MD– Family members are desperately searching for answers after the disappearance ofRevontaye “Taye” Williams, 35, of Federalsburg.Williams, a husband and father of two, was last seen leaving his home on Monday evening. He was reportedly headed to a nearby convenience store but never returned.
Authorities have begun a search in the surrounding areas, including back roads leading toward Denton, where his vehicle was later found abandoned with the keys still inside.
Williams’ wife pleaded for the public’s help:“We just want him home. If anyone has seen Taye or knows anything, please come forward.”
Police are urging anyone with information to contact the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office.
Chapter 1
Pepper
There wasn’t much to be proud of in my young life but graduating school at the top of my class at fifteen without going to prison for murder for the rest of my life was one. I was what my guidance counselor described as a troubled student. Too intelligent for my own good was what she said. What she meant was too smart to get caught at anything deemed uncivilized. The death of my parents two years before I graduated didn’t help with the anger I carried, but somehow, I made it through without dishonoring their memory.
Steven and Carla McKinney were the best parents that any child could have, especially a child like me. They did everything they could to give me a happy healthy childhood. My parents knew that there was always something different about me even as a child, but they never loved me any less. In fact, they did the opposite and poured more love and care into me. And for that I would always be grateful because without them my life would have spiraled much sooner.
The Daily Times
July 28, 2016
