Circle of Fire

Ch. 5 Torture

After the man lost consciousness from my kicks, I sat back on my heels and stared at him. There were many things I could do now, but I wanted to be careful not to hurt him too much, just cause him excruciating pain to get him to tell me everything he knows.

I pulled my hunting knife from its sheath, and looked at it in the glow of the firelight. Once more I glanced at Sally, who was now looking at me in surprise. “What? Are you sure you want to stay?” I asked.

“Oh yes, that doesn’t bother me at all. I was just wondering what you would do if he doesn’t tell you what you want to know.” She looked at me curiously when I laughed.

“Sally, when I am through with this scum, he will be BEGGING me to let him tell me everything he knows, down to his Mother’s maiden name. So don’t you worry your pretty little head about it, alright?”

I grinned at her, not bothered in the slightest when she looked a bit peeved that I hadn’t fully answered her question. This was what I did best, and a part of me even enjoyed it. My past had prepared me to be this, and once I had stopped fighting it, I could appreciate I was almost an artist in the ways I could paint pain upon a body.

I took some left over water from supper and threw it at the man so he would awaken. It was useless to torture someone when they were passed out. “Glad your awake,” I laughed when his eyes blinked slowly open. “Wouldn’t want you to miss any more of the fun, now do we?”

He continued to look at me, no expression in his eyes at all, not even a glimpse of the pain I knew he must feel from his broken ribs and bruised kidney. This was unusual for most people, even a hint of pain and they tended to speak quickly. It was rare to get one like him that knew pain as intimately as me. This was going to test my skills. I can't wait.

I took my knife and with quick strokes, sliced into his skin so that he had thin, red lines running down his chest. I watched as he winced but didn't cry out. He knew I wasn't doing much other than causing minor irritation and I could see he knew more was coming. This wasn't even the appetizer.

Then I took a stick that was nearby and went searching for what I needed. When I came back, it looked as if Sally had been talking to the man, but I hadn’t heard her say a word. I shrugged and went over to my victim. I laid the stick on his chest, and watched in satisfaction as the red ants scurried from the stick to the man’s chest wounds. This would be an uncomfortable night for him, I thought sarcastically.

I watched in pleasure as he began to writhe as the ants dug into their feast. Their bites were painful even on regular skin, but to already have it open and bleeding... oh yes, this man would be more than uncomfortable this evening. With a sigh of pleasure, I went back to my bedroll and laid down with my hands behind my head. I stared up at the sky, watching the stars as I heard him whimper and move, the sounds lulling me into a deep sleep.