Page 5 of Psycho Shifters

He liked to focus on me, to the point where I was confused why he didn’t just kill me.

Every day I caused chaos, and every day he whipped me with his belt.

It was almost like we had a routine at this point.

I was still waiting for the part where we transitioned away from violence and started a new schedule of meditating, journaling, and sharing our feelings.

Instead, it was an all-out war.

My recent plan had been to feed the rats in my room so much stolen cheese that they would band together into a small army.

Dick’s home was now the rats’ home.

I chuckled to myself as three rats scurried across the far wall of the bar, climbing under broken chairs, searching for more food.

The sight of the little buggers out and about, living it up in the tavern, almost filled my eyes with tears.

They were so cute and good at invading Dick’s home mercilessly. It was inspiring.

The bastard slammed his belt across my back again, and my smile turned into a grimace.

I bit down on my lower lip to stop the silent scream that tried to make its way up my broken throat.

My eyes burned with the beginning of tears. There was only so much pain my body could take.

He hit fucking hard.

More of my blood pooled across the mahogany floor that I was trying to clean.

Rage started to build inside me until my hands shook and my heartbeat pounded in my ears.

Yesterday, when I’d turned twenty, I’d woken up and the solution to all my problems had been obvious.

I had to kill Dick.

My plan had always been to suffer through Dick’s beatings until Lucinda came back from school in two years.

Yesterday, I had awoken with a burning need to kill the fucker.

Two years was too long.

Dick had to die. Now.

Maybe I could find the secret location of the portals to another realm, or maybe the oligarchy would execute me.

Either way, if Dick was dead, he couldn’t hurt me or Lucinda.

It was the perfect plan.

“Hit me one more time. See what happens.” My voice was rough and mangled from years of screaming and abuse.

I spat onto the ground in front of his boot.

Dick’s ruddy complexion flushed, and his eyes lit with anger.

He slammed his steel-toed boot into my stomach and swung his belt.

“Useless whore!” His beady eyes flashed, and his jowls shook with rage. Dick wasn’t the best with his words.

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