Page 20 of Beneath Her Skin

“Okay, well, be ready by four thirty then.” Cade turns to head back out the door when I remember...

“Hey, wait a sec.” And he pauses. “I–I’m gonna leave when my sets are done. To head to the next location. I don’t want to be here when... well, you know.”

“The directions and address are on the paper. I kinda figured that you would head out. And Nova,” he turns back around to look me in the eye. “I hope you know that you're always gonna besafe here, with me and all of us. If they come asking questions, just know that we’ve got your back. We’re family.”

“Family that fucks each other every chance they get.”

Stop, he’s being kind.

Softie.

"Alright, we have a little bit of time before we have to be at the main tent. Get shit ready to go; hook up the trailer so when we are done we can dip out of here.”

You don’t have to tell me twice.

Three DaysLater

“Report’s say that the body of Roy Teller was recovered from an old abandoned shack on the outskirts of the nature preserve. The body was mutilated with words carved into the flesh, among other disturbing things. The police have already cleared the man's wife, Sandra Teller, as she was with her child at her mother’s house all night. The police are urging the public to come forward if they have any information that can help catch the murderer.”

The news report blasts over the radio as I drive to the next location, smiling to myself. Wondering to myself what the look on the faces of the detectives who found Roy’s body must have been.

“Do you think any of them threw up? Or maybe they grabbed their own dicks, thinking about how much it must have hurt to have it cut off.”

I can only imagine.

As I listen to people come on to say how sad they are that he’s dead—all men, of course—I'm angry, and I am unapologetic. For too long, women have been silenced, marginalized, andoppressed, but with every man I kill, I change the narrative that we are the weaker sex. I am tired of being expected to be sweet, submissive, and silent, while the men in this world are allowed to be loud, aggressive, and dominant.

Fuck that!

I am loud, fucking feral, and dominant.

No man stands in my way. Come try me, motherfuckers, and I promise you, you’ll meet the end of my blade.

I switch the station and laugh as Otep’s “Menocide” starts up. I scream the lyrics along with her as I drive down the highway, windows down, with the wind blowing through my hair.

“How fitting.”

You’re telling me! It’s like the universe knew I needed a theme song. This one hits so hard.

“So what’s next for us? Please tell me once we get there we can find someone to fuck because we need to scratch that itch.”

We’ll see what this little town has to offer us. Maybe we can find a pretty face to sit on while we wait for everyone else to show up.

“We’re still gonna kill them though, right?”

Absolutely.

To Be Continued...

MAMA

BY LUNA K. WICKED

First, thank you for taking a chance on this wild ride with me.

Let me start by saying this is a completely fictional book. Hold on tight. You're about to enter something bloody, brutal, and raw. There will be heavy topics and major triggers such as:

Stalking

---