Page 102 of Fighting Shadows

I wash my hands in the metal sink down here, placing everything back where it was, and leave the room with the other two following.

Charlie’s empty eye sockets with blood dripping down his cheeks are the last thing we see as we shut the door behind us.

“I’m going to go find my girl,” Noah mutters, and while he’s not sad, I know he needs to hold Autumn right now.

“I quite like you covered in blood,Mo grá,” Aidan says huskily, pulling me closer to him and kissing me.

I sink into his embrace and kiss him back, feeling whole for the first time since Ellie’s betrayal, “Let’s take this back to my room.” I wink, taking his hand and leading him to my bedroom.

Zander

We’ve had Charlie in Kelvin's basement for four days, Dominic slowly peeling away his skin with a knife each day and letting it scab over before moving to the next bit of skin.

I haven’t come down here since Autumn had, not wanting to be away from her even for a moment. My anxiety’s been skyrocketing the longer he’s here, and logically, I know he has no chance of getting out of the chains Dominic has him in; I’m convinced he’s going to get to her.

Taking a deep breath, I turn the handle to the door and make my way down; the bottle in my hand crinkles when I see him.

Charlie’s head is tilted down, his chin touching his chest, and for a moment, I think he’s dead until his chest rises and falls.

Old Zander would have been one of the first people down here, beating Charlie until he was half dead and his blood coated my hands, but now I just want to get back to Autumn.

I kick his leg, and he startles, jumping in the seat, and if it weren’t for the chains, he would have fallen to the floor.

His head snaps up, frantically moving around from instinct, but his empty eye sockets stare back at me like black holes.

“Who’s there?” he rasps, his voice strained from lack of water.

Tobias joins me, his steps silent, and I don’t see him until he’s stood next to me. He smirks, the broken sweet boy Autumn loves so much gone, and he steps up to the table, hitting the edge with his closed fist, making the instruments clatter.

Charlie yelps, but it comes out like a whimper as he frantically moves against the chains, “Please.”

“Did you stop when she pleaded with you?” I ask, my voice strained, even thinking about the things he’s done to her.

“No,” he sighs in defeat, his shoulders slumping, and I realize we’ve broken him, and there’s no use in fighting a broken man already.

I crouch down, lifting the water bottle to his lips, and he gulps the liquid down greedily. There may not be use in fighting a broken man, but giving him water when the only exit for any fluids has been cauterized is the perfect way for me to get my revenge, and I leave the room, leaving Tobias to lurk in the shadows for a while longer.

Tobias

Iwatch him jump at every slight noise and smile to myself.

He’s truly broken, and I can’t fucking wait to finish this once and for all.

Autumn sits upstairs with the others, refusing to come back down. Not that any of us would want her to; seeing him like this would only add to her nightmares of him. She said she wanted to be free, and she carved the words into his chest; Dominic refuses to go near it as he peels the rest of his skin from his body slowly, day by day, to stop him from bleeding out or going into shock.

Banging on the door to the basement alerts me that Sebastian will be joining me soon, and Charlie lets out another whimper, the movements from him jumping hurting his multiple wounds.

I kick my feet across the floor, my shoes squeaking against the tiles, and I stand behind him.

“She’s finally happy. She’s so fucking loved, and she’s going to thrive while yourot. She’s ours now, and we’re going to worship every single inch of her with nothing but reverence,” I whisper into his ear as Sebastian arrives, “I hope my brothers destroy the last shred of humanity you’re holding onto.”

I say nothing else, and I leave, nodding to Sebastian, and slam the door behind me.

Sebastian

Iwalk down the stairs, seeing Tobias crouch behind Charlie and whispering something to him.

As he leaves, Tobias slams the door, and Charlie jumps out of his skin at the noise, which makes me angry for some reason.

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