Page 136 of Evil Bones
“Why not.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“Because I can.” Snapped with an alarming ferocity.
I said nothing, refusing to play further into the bastard’s vile narrative.
“But. Onward and upward. Or perhaps I should say downward. I’ll soon have the others. I won’t bring them here, of course. That would be foolish.”
Before I could unravel that cryptic statement, nylon whispered. Then an object dinged concrete, skip-splashed through water, and came to rest by my head.
The boots pivoted.
As the sloshing faded to silence, I began desperately groping the perimeter around me. Found nothing in the small space I was able to reach.
Flexing and extending my elbows and knees as much as my bindings grudgingly allowed, I inched to my right and searched that area. Still came up empty.
I scooched again and again until the ropes, now deeply embedded in my flesh, refused to grant a millimeter of additional slack. Then I rolled and repeated the maneuver.
On my second soggy thrust left, my trembling fingers contacted something small and hard. Breath frozen in my throat, I grasped and drew the object toward me.
Braille-reading details, I was stunned to realize my captor’s toss-away was a pocketknife. With the nail of one semi-numb thumb, Iteased the thing open, braced it where a slight rise in the floor met the wall above the water, and started running the ropes back and forth across the cutting edge.
Progress was unbearably slow. The blade was dull, and I had to move carefully to avoid slicing my skin.
Sweating and panting, I sawed until my arm muscles cramped, my captor’s words skittering in my head.
… evil enough…
… experiment…
Snippets from earlier conversations percolated up to join the mix.
… classify an act as evil…
… manipulate variables with humans…
Where had that exchange taken place?
Red Rocks Cafe.
Lester Meloy had been present on that occasion, too.
Dear God! Was the UNCC student my captor?
I pictured Meloy. The boyish face. The neatly cropped hair.
The tattooed neck.
Quick as a muzzle flash, the inked letters reversed themselves in my mind’s eye.
LIVE
EVIL
The realization sent a sharp warning twist through my gut.
With all the force I could muster, I continued working to sever my bindings.
