Page 24 of Blood and Honor

I shook my head. “Haven’t even started. Can get you get me some acid?”

Nate blinked. “Umm… let me see what I can do. How much do you need?”

“I guess enough for a person to swallow and maybe a little extra.”

Nate slowly pulled out his phone. “Okay… I’m going to have to think of a better explanation.”

I shrugged. “Tell them it’s for an experiment.” It wasn’t actually a lie.

An hour or so later, Nate entered the room with a container filled with hydrochloric acid and gloves. I slipped on the gloves and took the container. My hand moved toward the lid—

“Wait.” Nate left the room and returned a few seconds later with a gas mask. “You’re going to need this.” He put the mask on me and made sure it was snug before hurrying out the door.

I turned my attention back to Hank. His eyes went wide as he tried to make his body small. It was as if he was trying to scoot to the far side of the table—but he was a big man, and the table wasn’t as large..

I was going to say something. Give a speech about death and pain and vengeance. But the mask muffled my words and, truth be told, there was no need. He knew why he was here, and he knew what was going to happen. So why delay the inevitable?

I unscrewed the top and eyed his body. Hank wore a gray tank top and dark blue jeans. His arms and part of his chest were exposed, so I figured I would start there. I made sure to keep the acid away from my body and tried to be mindful of splatter.

Hank was tied to the table so tightly he couldn’t move. He tried to inch his body away from me, but it didn’t work.

“What are you doing? What is that?” The words came out rushed, laced with more fear than he probably intended. “Look, this wasn’t our fault. We were just doing what Lenny told us to. We had to take turns, or he would have killed us.”

I sighed, smiling. “Well, now I’m going to kill you… and I’m going to take my time.”

The fear in his eyes was a beautiful sight. I drizzled the acid down his left arm. A trail of disintegrating flesh stretched from his shoulder to his wrist. The flesh bubbled with the acid, turning white and then red.

His screams sliced through the air, bouncing off the walls until the cries wrapped around me and I heard nothing else. But it didn’t slow me down. No, I was just getting started. I made another trail down the other arm and then down his legs. The acid burned through his jeans until it reached the skin beneath. And then I poured more. I made new trails. Crossed them over his blackening flesh.

Hank screamed until he voice was hoarse. His body jerked against the table. The flesh on his chest was black around the edges and pink and red around the center. The black decayed flesh slowly working its way inward, headed toward his internal organs.

He opened his mouth to scream again, and I took the opportunity to pour the rest of the acid into his mouth. I jumped back as he tried to spit it out, but it was too late for him. The acid was bubbling and sliding down his throat.

His screams stopped, his voice slowly disintegrating, dying in his mouth. His body jerked uncontrollably, his hips pounding into the table below him. And then his body stilled. He went quiet except for the bubbling, gurgling sound in his throat. His breaths were labored. Every time he drew breath, he wheezed…until there was nothing.

No bubbling. No wheezing. No jerking movements. Nothing. He was gone. I screwed the top back onto the bottle and set it on the floor. I opened the door. Footsteps clicked down the hallway and I leaned against the door frame, still surveying the carnage.

I heard a gasp behind me and smiled.

“Damn, Addie.” Nate stepped into the room. “Damn.” He looked from me to Hank and then back to me. “You poured acid—”

“All over him and then down his throat. Whoever moves the body—" I pulled off the gloves, mindful of where it may have come in contact with the acid— “make sure they wear gloves.” I tossed the gloves onto the floor and left the doorway.

Nate stepped into the hall and whistled. The two men who had been waiting with him near the front door stood up and walked back to the room.

“Damn!” said one man.

“Shit!” The other man’s voice was louder than the first.

I smiled and met Nate back at the car. When he emerged from the factory and got in with me, he looked at me and sighed.

“We should probably just dump the body in acid and finish it off.” I looked at my nails, making a mental note to have them done. Huh… I should ask one of the ladies about a good place to go.

“Damn, Addie.” Nate shook his head, gripping the steering wheel.

I smiled. “Just saying. It would be easier.”

“What are you going to do to the rest of them?”

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