Page 18 of The Filth Kings

Whenever his profits lowered with anything that he owned, he would get rid of it. He resold me then sold Emi months later when she got pregnant. They placed us in the same room, chained to walls twenty-four seven, Like animals waiting to be fed or noticed. I blocked it out and forgot most of it. I wondered how I survived it because my insides felt like it was rotten.

“I’m not going to make it much longer, Monni.” Emi’s soft, timid voice stated above a whisper.

“I’m going to figure something out to get us out of here, Emi,” I said with my eyes on her small baby bump.

She was due any day, and in my mind, I was happy but scared all in one. I dreamed of figuring out an escape route for us. I would do whatever it was that I had to do to find her and I shelter. I was ready to be a father to the baby growing in her stomach. Emi and I bonded, shared the same pain of never feeling love. In the darkness of my world, Emi was like my personal angel. She was the definition of grace. I spent countless of nights crying myself to sleep in Emi’s lap, releasing years of pain and rejection.

“Our time is up, Monni. Here.” She tossed me a bobby pin and started to cough violently.

Emi had been sick for months now, coughing uncontrollably. I begged the guards to get her help, they ignored me, and when they got tired of me asking, they would knock me out with the butt of their guns.

“I heard men talking, they plan on burning this place down. They’re not going to free us, Monni. Someone on the outside told and the cops are going to shut this place down, and then…” Emi’s words trailed off as smoke creeped into our bunker.

“Free yourself, Monni. I love you—” Emi coughed violently as I yanked at the chains.

I yanked hard, with all my might. The spikes cut deep into my wrists as my heart thumped hard in my chest. I wanted to break freak to save her, this couldn’t be the end for her and I. Chaos erupted and echoed off from down the tunnel. People screamed and banged their chains in hopes of getting someone’s attention. I didn’t hear heavy boots stomping, which told me the guards had already deserted us.

“Emi!” I screamed her name as sweat dripped from my brows.

My chest heaved as I took ragged breaths. Smoke slithered like a predatory fog, curling around my ankles then climbing higher, filling the suffocating small space that we were in.

“The pin, Monni. Use it.” Emi coughed violently.

My fingers trembled as I swallowed down my fear. The smoke started to blind and sting my eyes as desperation took hold of me. This couldn’t be the end. My muscles tensed as I yanked against the chains with raw knuckles. I winced out in pain as the bobby pin clattered to the ground. I couldn’t give up, so I got on my knees to search for it.

I coughed harshly as the smoke thickened with Emi and my safety on the line. I found it just as I started to grow dizzy. I fought against passing out.

My phone ringed from the bathroom counter. With a heavy heart I stepped out of the shower, ridding my thoughts of that day away. I thought of Emi every day. I saw her face each time I shut my eyes. If I would have saved her that day, things would have been a little different for me. Now, I couldn’t think rationally. The urge to kill and destroy breathed through my being.

I roughly tapped my phone to answer it. Jalissa liked to play little games that I never played into with her. If I spoke, it was for a reason. In this moment there was no reason to waste speaking, especially since I didn’t have the urge to.

“Well, I’m waiting for you to say something, Monster. I haven’t heard from you in weeks. When I finally call, your mute.” I shut my eyes, calming myself down.

I looked down at my bare feet, noting the way my toes tried to grip the cold tile beneath them.

“Have you been to Arkville?” She questioned me, as I counted each breath that I took.

“No.” I answered her with my gaze still on my feet.

“Well, I need more money, and you need to do what you promised! I got you in close enough to Detavio! You are the chief of his security! No way he’s keeping you away from Impurity!” Jalissa’s voice slightly rose.

“He’s not keeping me from there! I’ve been there?—”

“Yes, you have been there! You fucked it up by saving one of his whores!” She spat into the phone.

I dropped my head and shook it from side to side. My hands trembled as I went to open the medicine cabinet to retrieve the pills that would calm me from having an attack that I couldn’t afford to have right now.

“Detavio handles things differently than his father?—”

“Bullshit! He’s just like that sick bastard!”

“He’s not! I’ve been around him more than you, he’s nothing like Impurity. I’ve been to Arkville several times. Detavio keeps his business separate from Impurity. That’s what makes it hard for me to really get close to him. Detavio is my—my friend!” I rushed to say as I fumbled with the pill bottle.

My hands trembled violently as my stiff finger struggled to open the pill bottle. Seconds later after I failed to get them open, the pills spilled across the bathroom floor like tiny white confetti. The room started to spin as the bathroom walls seemed to collapse. I bent down, but my vision blurred, making it hard to see just one pill to pick up.

Panic started to claw up my throat as my heartbeat thundered in my ears. I couldn’t control me shaking uncontrollably as I tried my hardest to pick up pills that kept slipping through my rough fingers.

“Fuck this.” I mumbled lowly as I bowed my head to the ground.

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