Page 15 of Cole

With every hunting expedition, the game became larger, until Henry was gutting and dismembering entire deer. He numbed himself to the scent of entrails and blood, along with the sensation of blood soaking his hands, arms, and clothes. Yet, he never truly “got used” to it, despite his father's assurances.

Henry believed things couldn’t get any worse—until he entered the cellar and discovered a live rabbit nailed to the board. The poor creature squealed in pain and panic, flopping against the nails that cruelly pinned it to the wood.

“What... what is this?” Henry gasped, tears forming in sympathy for the creature.

“All the other was just practice,” his dad said with an odd glint in his eye, “for this.”

Henry felt sick as his dad picked up the knife and dragged the tip of the blade down the rabbit’s soft belly without puncturing the skin. The creature’s chest vibrated under its racing heartbeat. Its dark eyes bulged in terror.

“Dad, don’t… please,” Henry whimpered.

“I’m not.” Daniel offered the knife to Henry, handle first. “You are.”

“No…” Henry ducked his head and backed away.

Sighing, Daniel stepped forward and gripped Henry’s shoulder gently. “It’s in you to do this, son,” he spoke reassuringly. “Once you do it, you’ll understand. Taking a life… it makes you stronger, powerful, in a way nothing else can.” A smile jerked his lips. “And it just feels fucking amazing.” He shoved the knife into Henry’s hand. “Now, kill it, and you’ll see I’m right.”

Henry shook as he gripped the knife—then dropped the weapon, shaking his head and sobbing. “I can’t… I can’t…”

Daniel grasped the knife and breathed out slowly. “You can.” He compelled Henry to grip the knife once more. “I told you, it’s within you to do this. It’s within you to kill. I should have trained you from the beginning, but your mama...” His face twitched, and his head tilted. “... I let her divert my attention from what truly mattered. But it’s not too late. I can still teach you and reveal your true nature.”

His words frightened Henry; what was he talking about?

With a firm grip on Henry’s shoulder, his dad guided him to the table where the agitated bunny struggled against the rough, merciless bindings. The man seemed to derive pleasure from the animal’s panicked squeals and the sheer terror reflected in its eyes. Henry felt no pleasure—only revulsion.

As with the first dead bunny he gutted, his dad forced his hand again. But this time, there was no careful precision as he squeezed Henry’s hand around the knife handle and plunged the blade into the rabbit, repeatedly stabbing the creature until it stopped squealing and struggling.

“Uh!” Henry wrenched free of his dad and stumbled back, shaking violently as warm blood coated his hands.

Panting, Daniel Pruett turned to Henry with a grin. “You felt it, didn’t you? The thrill—the power.” His grin turned monstrous. “Just wait… the real fun is about to begin.”

CHAPTER 5: TONGUE-TIED

“Jesus,” Dane exhaled,slumping in the seat beside Cole. He looked at his friend in shock; Cole had kept this to himself all these years? Too scared to share it with his friends... or even his husband. How had he managed to stay sane while keeping it all bottled up? “You could have told us,” Dane whispered.

“No.” Cole buried his face in his hands. “I couldn’t. I mean…” He lifted his head to face Cole. “I literally, physicallycouldn’t.”The despair and horror in his eyes struck Dane’s heart deeply. “How do you…” He hesitated, his voice trembling. “How do you tell your friends… yourhusband… that you’re the son of a…” His head fell back into his hands as tension gripped his body. “… of a…killer?”He lowered his hands, gazing at his forearms. “How do you tell them… that the blood of a monster courses through your veins? And maybe one day…” His throat tightened. “… one day… you could become a monster, too.” Cole looked at Dane with tear-filled eyes. “Could you… tell us? Tell… Angel?”

Dane instantly knew his answer, and Cole understood the reason—he knew Dane’s troubling history and the grave secret he had kept from everyone, especially Angel. Disclosing that secret had been his life's most challenging and frightening moment.

“No,” Dane replied softly. “I don’t believe I could have.” He placed a hand on Cole’s shoulder. “But you are not like him. You’ll never be. Hetriedto turn you into him… and he failed.”

“He’s correct,” Deputy Roland stated. “You and Daniel… you were like night and day. I noticed it even before I understood what he was.” He looked deeply at Cole. “You will never be him.”

Dane sensed an oddness in his voice, as if those last words carried a hidden insult of some form. But that made no sense. Perhaps his hyper-aware mind had misinterpreted the tone. Surely, that was it.

“Ezra…” Cole whispered, his voice unsteady. “Did you… did you find him? I-I know he didn’t…” Cole’s chin trembled. “… move away. I know my dad did something to him.”

Releasing a stiff breath, the deputy cleared his throat. “I found his foster parents in the root cellar.” He swallowed. “They had been…”

“I know,” Cole rasped. “My dad… he confessed to killing them. But Ezra…?”

“He wasn’t there,” Roland said. “And there were no traces of his blood anywhere in the cellar or the house.”

Cole trembled violently, burying his face deeper into his hands as if trying to hide from the terrifying reality.

“We combed through the woods,” Roland said in a voice barely above a whisper, his words heavy. “We came upon an abandoned cabin. In the basement, we discovered a crude, makeshift cell.” He hesitated; the air thick with dread. “There was undeniable evidence that someone had been imprisoned there recently. And perhaps… for a long, agonizing time.” Roland exhaled; the sound laced with despair. “… a very long time.”

Cole’s head snapped up, his eyes wide with horror fixed on the deputy. “Are you saying… are you saying Ezra was trapped in that place all along?” His voice cracked, and fresh tears spilled over. “Right up until my dad was arrested? Ezra vanished nearlytwo yearsbefore that. Did my dad really keep him locked up for two entire years?”

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