Page 158 of Sawyer

No. “Why?” I ask, my voice shaking.

“Because I knew you’d take my knot, knew you’d fit me perfectly, and here you are.” He doesn’t touch me further, only steps back. “With my son taken care of, I can now take care of all the other loose ends.”

“Loose ends?” I can’t help myself as I tremble from both fear and the chill in the air.

“Oh, yes.” He turns to the door just as the delta opens it. He drags in a man who’s cuffed with a burlap sack over his head. “Your first gift of the night.”

“Gift?” No, this can’t be what I think it is.

The delta secures the man’s hands and then, with a pulley, sets him in the center of the room, where he mostly hangs. His dirty bare feet scrape the floor, and his head hangs as though he’s already given up.

The delta grabs the sack off his head, revealing… “Freddy?” I look between him and Sal, my chest pounding. “What is this?”

“I told you, silly girl.” Sal grabs a knife from the delta. “This is your gift.”

“What?” No, no, no.

Sal runs the back of his knife across Freddy’s stomach, making him jerk. Freddy’s panicked eyes find mine. He doesn’t speak, though, and I don’t realize why until I see the blood dripping from his mouth. I don’t want to assume, but I’m pretty sure his tongue was cut out. “Freddy wanted you, Sawyer, and I can’t have that.” He pauses and turns around.

“Don’t.” Tears burn my vision. This is so fucked up. “Please don’t.”

“I have to, Sawyer. They made their choices—choices that tied my hands.” He holds up both hands, wearing an innocent expression on his cruel face. “Where do you think I got all the videos of you from?”

“What?” I look between him and Freddy, my body freezing up. Freddy jerks around, trying to find purchase with his feet, but it’s useless. However, the horror on his freckled face is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

“Oh yes. My favorite videos are the ones he took when you didn’t think anyone was looking.” A dreamy expression washes over his face. “I love watching you come undone, preferably at your own hands, but how my son and his pack made you come on the side of the street…” He moans as horror fills me. “We will repeat that.”

He watched me somehow, and that leaves an open, vulnerable wound for him to pour more salt into. I focus on the only other person in here. “Freddy?”

“Oh, he can’t talk.” Sal grips his chin, forcing it open. “No tongue. It’s better because he’s a screamer.”

“What have you done?” I press my body against the cold, damp cell wall.

“Saved you, Sawyer. I saved you.” Sal turns toward me. “Don’t you see? Freddy bargained with your brother for your hand in marriage. I saved you from him, and I saved you from the labs. Freddy here had a shrine dedicated to you, and that’s not even including the diary where he journaled how he wanted to tie you up and fuck your cunt dry.”

“Stop,” I choke out. “Please stop.”

“Is that what gets to you, Sawyer? Him fucking your dry cunt? That’s what he wanted to do. He wanted to take you over and over, and I saved you from that fate. Me. He took pictures and videos of you, and I saved you. Aren’t you thankful?” His voice steadily rises the more he speaks.

No. I’m not thankful. Not at all.

“You will be. Once we sit down and go through all the videos, you’ll be thankful. You’ll see.” All at once, Sal turns around and shoves his knife into Freddy’s gut.

A scream echoes around us—mine.

I shut my eyes tight, thankful for the pounding in my ears that keeps me from hearing.

“Shh, open your eyes, Sawyer.” A sharp blade taps under my chin, forcing it up. My eyes open, and my breath shakes out of me. “Watch, Sawyer. This is for you, after all. Don’t forget he lured Violet to the lab. You can’t let him get away with that, can you?”

He steps back and turns around.

I don’t want to look. I don’t want to see Freddy staring at me. His tears stream down his face as he stares back at me as though I can help him.

I can’t. My chains rattle as I pull at them, scratching my wrists and jerking on my joints. Blood drips down my wrists, and my throat burns as I scream and scream.

Sal doesn’t stop. He steps behind Freddy and presses the knife to his throat. Freddy’s eyes close, and acceptance washes over him. His chin rises, giving Sal better access, and then in one quick swipe, Sal slices his throat.

My knees slam to the ground, and tears stream down my face as Sal stands behind Freddy, watching me with interest.

---