Page 72 of Pretty Little Fears

Irestart the process of slicing off his skin. “Iwant the name of the doctor, who examined her.You’lltell me,James.EvenifIhave to remove and feed you every inch of your skin.”I'veremoved the outer layer of his whole left hand before he finally gives in and speaks again.

“VictorFitzgerald.Thedoctor isVictorFitzgerald.FUCK!StopthisEmmett.GodDAMMIT,” he wheezes while a sharp wail sounds out, the pain finally getting to him.Sweatlines his forehead andIwonder ifI’mclose to killing him.

Imove to his chest and grab a handful of his shirt.Istrenuously yank his shirt down, sending buttons flying through the air.Withhis chest bared to me,Ikneel down and start taking off the skin right above where his heart would be,if he had one.Withevery piece removed, he sputters another name.

Myhit list grows with every new name that leaves his tongue.Iflinch when the familiar names of men who frequented our home leave his lips.Theysound like nails on a chalkboard.Movingdown to his thigh,Icut through his pants and grab the meaty flesh, beginning to cut. “You’redoing great,Dad.Andthe announcer?What’shis name?”Igrowl.

“Youare truly fucking ignorant.Youhave no idea what you’re doing.Thisis bigger than you,Emmett.”Hewheezes in between breaths.Takinga piece of his skin that's been dropped to the side,Ipush into his mouth and down his throat again.Theslippery skin, due to the blood coating it, easily slides down his esophagus.Atleast,Ithink it does.Ifthere was any restraint,Iwasn't aware due to the force in whichIshoved the flesh down.

“Unlessyou are opening that mouth of yours to tell me a name, don’t fucking speak.”Isnarl.Myvoice sounds more beast than man.Ionly stop skinning when he starts speaking again.

“Okay!Fuckinghell.Theannouncer wasAlbertWagner.He’swell known, you won't get away with whatever it is you’re planning.”Hesays through gritted teeth.

Igive his shoulder a light pat, leaving my bloody handprints on the not-so-pristine white dress shirt. “Good.That'sreally goodJames.”Ifalsely encourage him. “Butunfortunately, it's not enough.Ineed more.”Igrowl.Ihave to give it to him though,Ididn’t think he could hold on this long.Iassumed he would have caved in already.Timeis ticking andBlair’ssafety is on the line.

Gettingimpatient,Idecide it's time to change whereIskin him.I'veread that one of the most susceptible body parts to pain is your forehead.Takingthe knife,Ipinch the wrinkled skin at the start of his hairline and start to slice downward towards his eyebrows.

“F-f-fuck, it’sO-oscarP-pittman.Hewas in charge of movingStirlingfrom the auction to the buyer’s h-home.”Jamesstutters, clearly the lack of skin is taking a toll on his body.

Iturn toGrimmand spit, “Ihope you’re writing this down instead of getting off on all the blood.You’llhave time for that later.”Hethrows up his hand to his forehead, saluting me, and whips out his phone.Histhumbs fly across the screen as he types out the names my father has mentioned so far.I’llkill every one of them.Likea shark drawn to blood,I'mhungry for revenge.Hungryfor violence.

KILL.

“Youhave ruined my life in more ways thanIcould count,James,”Igrowl.

Thismakes him chuckle.Thesound, although weak, causes me to grind my teeth. “Iknew what they did to you, boy.Y-you thinkIdidn’t?No.Ijust didn’t f-fucking care.”Itfeels as if time stops when those words leave his mouth.IseeGrimmstiffen out of the corner of my eye.Thewords are too cryptic for him to understand, at leastIhope they are, yetIknow when this is all over he’ll have questions for me.

“Thosenames you wanted?Theother buyers?Iknow they sparked recognition.Ileft one out, though.RoyLogan.That’sthe last name.Ihave nothing more for you.”I'mrendered speechless as his confession washes over me.Inorder to saveBlair,Ihave to look my very own demons in their eyes.Ican’t save her from hers untilI'veslayed my own.

Thelast bit of my sanity crawls into hiding as the evil tucked away seeps out.Itpurrs and comforts me, letting me know it's here, it'll keep me company.Blockingout his malicious laugh,Ikeep slicing.

Icontinue the same pattern of slicing the outermost layer of his skin from the rest of his face.Ithink he passed out from the pain because he hasn't made a sound in a few minutes.Ihave all the names needed, butIcan't stop.Theneed to inflict absolute agony onto him grows ferociously inside of me.

Afterhe's skinned and all that’s left is his pink, raw flesh,Igrab the bottle of acid.Itilt my head and look at the bloodstained pile of skin lying next to him.Pullingon a new set of gloves,Igrab a piece of his skin and tip the acid over the top of his face.

Thesizzling sounds of his skin burning hit my ears at the same time his screams do.Huh, he was just knocked out after all.Theshrieking noise irritates me, soIshove the rest of his skinned flesh into his open mouth.Theraw skin bubbles and melts asIcontinue to pour acid over his entire body.

Alarge wheeze, followed by sputtering coughs and gurgles hits my ears.Ihold the bottle upside down until it's empty and he’s long past living.Theskin is melted to his bones in some places.It’sa beautiful sight.I’mtempted to haveGrimmtake a picture soIcan blow it up and frame it next to one of mom’s paintings at my place.

Idrop the bottle of acid and glide my tongue against the knife, licking it clean ofJames’sblood.Thetaste of vengeance is fucking delicious.

Ifeel nothing.Absolutelynothing.Thereis no sadness, no remorse, no feelings of loss asIwalk out of the shed.Ifanything,Ifeel relieved.ReliefthatIno longer have to deal withJames, relief that he's out of my life and can’t harm me or my obsession.

Withfresh energy to kill and one step closer to finding my little obsession,Iturn toGrimmand say, “Let’sgo.”Leavinghis shredded body behind, we head back to the house soIcan rest and clean up while we wait forElito dig up more information about the first asshole we’ll be paying a visit to.

Enteringthe garage,Iget on my bike and pull my helmet on, whileGrimmdoes the same.Ourhelmets have intercoms inside that allow us to talk to each other while we ride.Iturn it on, making certainIcan hearGrimm, and hit the switch to open the garage door.

“Youready?”IaskGrimm, revving my bike.

“Youknow it, let’s tear some motherfuckers up and save your princess.”Hesays, then speeds out of the garage and into the darkness of the night.

It'sbeen forty-eight hours since my little obsession was taken from me.TheacheIfeel is like my essence has been split into two.It’sharder to breathe andIhaven’t even attempted to sleep.Iwon’t be able to relax untilBlairis in my arms, once again.

Please,Blair.Holdon for me.Holdon for us.I’mcoming for you, baby.

WesentElithe list of the names we got fromJames.Ittook him some time but he retrieved all of the informationIneeded.Heasked no questions andIwonder if that is because he already knows andGrimmhas filled the others in, or if it's because he’s loyal to a fault and will just get it done.

Elisent back any information he was able to dig up on each individual.Alongwith their addresses and contact information, he was also able to dig up the schedules for each asshole, letting me craft a carefully laid out plan on how they’ll meet their executioner.GrimmandIquickly exit the university grounds and start heading toward the first person on my list.

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