Page 46 of Jase
Dark. Light. You couldn’t have one without the other—internally—externally. The war inside on which I should choose was real. They were completely different. My life was split in two, and either side didn’t seem right.
The Jase Colter who existed before serving his country was all light. He had high hopes. Big dreams. The one who came home wasn’t even the same person. I died in a country I had tried to help save.
“Wake up.” I slapped against the blond’s cheek as he took in my mask. “Who do you work for?”
The groan was followed by a laugh as the man’s head rolled to the side.
“Fuck you.”
“I don’t have much time so we’re going to make this quick.” My stare dropped to one of his forearms, tied to the chair’s arm. I picked up his finger, snapping my knife open. “Who do you work for?”
“Fuck. You.”
“Okay.”
I gripped the digit, pushing the razor-sharp blade under his fingernail. Screams echoed from the walls as I swept the weapon to the side, moving far under the cuticle. Four seconds to let the pain register before I pushed forward, taking it clean off.”
“Fuck! F—”
I shot past his knuckle, immediately sawing through the skin. Blood dripped down to the plastic-covered ground as he panted for breath, and I didn’t stop until his finger was dangling by a thin strip of skin.
“If you don’t tell me who it is right now, I’m tearing that motherfucker off. No more knife for that one.”
“Kiss m-my ass. Do it. I’m not telling you shit.”
“You got nine more fingers and ten more toes. We’ll see about that.” I grabbed hard, smiling as I yanked back. It didn’t dislodge. The howl that left him had me shrugging. “I guess I better try harder.”
“Jesus.”
I yanked.
“Fuck!”
“Better though, right?” I tossed it on his lap letting thedrip-dripof the blood play music I hadn’t heard in years. “Who are you working for?”
A pause. The man had sweat beading over his forehead. His hair was growing damper by the minute. “I don’t know his name.”
“You’re lying.”
I grabbed the middle finger, rearing back and slicing down with everything I had. The finger came loose, sending out another wail of agony. I tossed that one in his lap too, cocking my head as he began to turn pale.
“Your nose is crooked.”
“What?” The blond blinked, fear truly masking his face for the first time. “What are you talking about. No it’s not.”
“The middle curves slightly to the left. Let me see if I can fix it. I’ll have to remove it. Have you ever imagined yourself without a nose?”
“Hey, man, you’re fucking crazy.”
“Let’s try something new. What’s your name?”
His face drew in, grimacing in pain. “Bob.”
“So, we’re going to play that game. I hate liars.”
I brought my knife forward while he yelled out.
“Keith!Keith Andrews.”
