The target started muttering again, so I pointed at the screen showing the next room, where
the girls hadn't moved an inch. "I'm gonna bring them here."
And so I did. I dragged both chairs - women included - in front of him.
"Good. Now, I'm gonna ask you a question, and you've gotta answer. Got it?"
No answer, only nonsense.
I ignored it and, gun back in hand, hunched over him so I could whisper in his ear. "Okay. So, who gets to live?"
"No, No, No, please, no, not them, not...."
I pressed for an answer. "Will
you save your lovely wife? Or would you rather save little Allie?"
"I'm not a kid." Protested the girl.
I couldn't help to smile. "Kid, look, you're not exactly in a position to protest, are you?" I removed her blindfold.
Surprisingly enough, she was calm. "What will you do? Kill us? Go ahead. Do it."
I
smiled, trying to maintain my own self-control. She... had something in
her eyes, I noticed as I held her cold stare. She deserved a chance. A sick and twisted one, but a chance
nonetheless. I answered her question. "You think that's the worst I can
do?"
She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Show me your worst."
Wow.
I was amazed at her audacity. I wondered where it came from - what had
she gone through. Yes, she definitely needed a chance.
I pointed the gun at the woman's head. "So you don't care about mommy?"
She
smiled and nodded. Meanwhile, the man was in tears, still mumbling nonsense. He went quiet as I pulled the trigger, and his wife's brains and blood painted the room in red.
The girl closed her eyes as the blood splashed her, then looked back at me, smiling. "Now you can't hurt her anymore."
I
was puzzled by her attitude. Few could play that game. Then it occurred to me. Her test. Surely Andrei
wouldn't have anything against her working for him?
I untied her. "You wanna get out of this alive?"
She smiled back. "I won't do your job, mister. No matter how you ask."
Holy shit! Did she read minds too?
In that instant, the door opened. It was Andrei, beaming as usual.
He laughed at her. "Oh - you will. Let me assure you that you will."
She
seemed to consider his words, now a bit less courageous - less reckless.
But she still had that something inside her. "I won't. I've heard what
you do...."
"Heard?" Andrei interrupted her, his voice a humming whisper. "And you think you can even begin to imagine how it feels?"
"I'm not afraid." She replied calmly - but she couldn't get herself to smile anymore.
"Sandy. Open the case and show her what we do. Our man will prove an excellent test subject, I'm sure of it."
I
did. Soon, his screams resonated in the air, as I unleashed a bloody
hell. Meanwhile, Andrei was behind the girl, his hands petting her
shoulders. She had her eyes tightly shut, but could not possibly drown her father's screams. I tried to ignore them as I kept torturing the
man.
Eventually, Andrei stopped me. "That will be enough, Sandy."
I looked at them and saw it. The girl had snapped. She was now sobbing.
Andrei was grinning at her, his voice an eerie murmur. "You'll do as I say, won't you?"
"Yes, yes, but please, please, make it stop... "
"You
think it's that easy, girl? No, no - I see you don't get it. Guess you
need something else." Then he took a knife, immobilized her in a bear
hug, and crudely hacked an x into her cheek. The girl's screams pierced the air. He kept eerily murmuring into her ear. "Now, will you do whatever I ask for? Or do I have to insist?"
"No, please, please, okay, I'll do it...." she sobbed.
Andrei laid the knife in front of her. "Kill him."
She
glanced at me, and I saw her eyes, the reflection of her soul, now broken, shattered
into a million pieces, the glistening flame from before now long gone. She closed them as she realized
there was no other way. She hesitatingly took the knife, and walked
slowly to her father. I softly guided her hand to his throat, then
released it a split second before she slit his whole neck open. Blood
spurted everywhere. As she felt it, she fell to the ground, crying.
Andrei ignored her. "Take the knife, Sandy"
"But...." I questioned as I took it. Shit. No. Not her, not after this.
"No buts. Kill her."
I
looked at him, pleading without words. Again I saw the Void in his eyes, his devilish grin as a cruel reminder that there was nothing else to do. My soul shattered once more as I made up my mind and looked back at her.
She was silent now.
Broken, like a porcelain doll brutally thrown into the floor. I knelt before her, then brushed the knife's tip against her cheek,
tenderly retracing the wound. She opened her eyes, and I could see raw
terror in them. I couldn't help to smile as I slashed her throat, her gushing blood soaking me again. This was my life now.
Andrei
gave me a pat on the shoulder. I could feel his sick grin behind me. "I
knew what you were from the beginning. I could smell the blood. You
were born to spill blood, boy."
I smiled back. "I'm not a boy anymore."
