Jack the Stripper

Pain

*Reader Warning! This chapter will contain strong language, gore, and violence! Not suggested for audiences under 18+! Read at your own risk!*

"If you touch her, I swear to God-" Blayne starts behind me, his "I swear to God if you hurt her, it will be the last thing you do."

A thump sounds in the corner of the basement in one of the darker corners, the sound resonating throughout the room for a few seconds. More tears spill freely from the brown eyes in front of me, a slobbered sob escaping as the squeezes her eyes shut and shakes. It was just the furnace kicking in, but they don't need to know that. I designed this house to make odd noises here and there. It helps boost their fear and make the game more fun. Everything's more fun when someone is fearful of their surroundings.

I stand up to my full height and walk behind Hadley's chair again, my body finally facing Blayne. His face is red as his eyes bulge forth with a burning glare, his arms straining against the bindings around his wrists and biceps. Even from this distance I can see the angry red welts starting up, the raw burns springing up randomly where he's pulled too hard.

"Would you like to say anything else?" I taunt him, waiting for him to snatch the bait, my body already knowing he will. He does.

"Yeah. I'd like to say a lot, in fact." He growls out the words through clenched teeth. "Like how you're a no good piece of s**t, you fuc-"

"Ah, too bad. Despite my desire to hear you endlessly rant on in your droning banter, I'm going to have to stop you right there. Unfortunately, you forgot my first rule: no talking. Want to see what happens when you disobey your host's rules? I'll show you what happens when you don't listen and forget. Just watch. I'll show you." I snicker as he pales.

In one swift motion I jerk Hadley's head back by the hair, her soft locks wrapped tightly around my fist, and force the pliers into her mouth as she opens it in preparation to scream. I secure one of her teeth between the metal prongs and give a yank, my blood boiling giddily as I feel the resistance before it tears free from the jaw bone. Her scream is ear piercing and deafening as blood floods her mouth. Her screams cut off just as quickly as they appeared as she gags and chokes on the thick liquid filling her mouth.

The tooth is small between the pliers. Bloody nerves dangle freely from the end as I thrust it over her head and towards the face of her lover. Hadley jerks her head free as I loosen my hold in her hair and hangs it in front of her, her screams of pain starting back up as she spits blood onto the concrete. Blayne's face is pale and void of color, his body now visibly shaking. I unclasp the tooth and watch as it tumbles to the floor.

I reach my arm around the chair and jerk Hadley back once more, my forearm secure around her throat as I force the pliers back into her mouth. My hands do all the work instinctively, my ears listen to her calmly, but my eyes focus on him like prey. It's fun to watch them squirm and suffer as they helplessly watch their loved one get tortured. I grasp two more small teeth together, this time from the bottom, and give a hard yank. My muscles bunch with the effort. The resistance lessens with each passing second and they slip free in no time. She bucks in pain and gasps as she tries to escape my arm. I won't lie when I say she almost made me lose my hold, but I was able to recover as quickly as she'd startled me. My arm tightens around her throat, the pressure cutting off her screams of pain and garbled breaths, as my bloody hand, the one clutching the pliers, comes up to box the side of her head. I let her go and she falls limp, her body safe from crumpling to the floor by the restraints still holding her in place.

"Anything else you'd like to say?" I slowly stalk towards him, the bloody pliers clutched by my side. The two teeth fall uselessly to the ground with a barely audible clatter. "Or are you going to finally stay quiet?"

Horror is the only emotion visibly plastered on his face at this point. His eyes are wide, the dark orbs searching Hadley and assessing the damage done with quick, but observant, glances. He doesn't try to hide the anger that suddenly swells his features.

"You bastard..." his voice is barely a whisper.

I turn and walk back towards the table, my hand automatically releasing the pliers. The blood still dripping from the ends slowly creates a crimson stain on the towel the tools are placed on. I opt for my knife before turning back to my guests, my body turning slowly towards Hadley as my feet carry me within a foot of her. I stop.

"Sit up." My voice is cold and commanding as I stand there, the blade gleaming in the dull light by my side. "I suggest you do as I say, too, and quickly. Unless you want a repeat demonstration? Or, perhaps, you want something else? Your choice, really. Either is fine by me. I'm content either way."

She raises her head slowly, blood still flowing freely from her mouth as it gapes open. Her face is red and raw with pain and her eyes are puffy. Tears still spill freely over her cheeks. While Blayne has hatred covering his face, she has fear and pain. It's stimulating and arousing, in a non-sensual manner.

"Good. Now, I want you to tell me something. Are you afraid, doll?" Her eyes quickly slide to Blayne's as she shakes her head, more tears filling her eyes. "Say it. Tell me you're afraid. Tell me what you're afraid of. I want to hear it. Out loud."

"I'm...I'm afred. Of you." Her voice is lisped and shaky as she struggles to form the words through the pain hazing her. I smile, a shark's grin in a god's face. She cringes away and squeezes her eyes shut.

"I know, though I don't see why. I have done nothing to cause true fear yet. Pain, yes, but not fear. But now I'll give you a real reason to fear me. You fear me for nothing right now, but just wait. Just you wait." I hold up my index finger and shake it with my words, putting emphasis on 'you'. She shivers and fixes her wide eyed gaze on Blayne. He shakes his head side to side and mouths some words to her. "Speak up, Blayne. What was that? I couldn't quite hear you. You know, it's rather rude to whisper in the presence of your host. If you must speak, do it out loud. Please. I'm curious to know what you have to say."

Spit flies my way and lands on my arm, a messy glob of it sliding freely down the tanned skin. He looks satisfied and pleased. I just laugh, a hearty chuckle laced with more. I stalk towards him rather than the girl. I would pull the same stunt with him that I pulled with Hadley but he has no hair to grasp. Just stubby follicles. So I try a different route. A more direct route, suited especially for him.

I stalk around his chair once, twice, the knife twitching eagerly against my pant leg. His smug look flares my anger, the fun of the chase lessening more and more with each passing second when it comes to him. He's not going to show his fear anytime soon. Hell, I've yanked out some of his precious woman's teeth, and yet he sits there, stoic faced and cocky. Granted, I made him blanch for a second or two but the arrogance came rushing right back shortly after. He's more of a bother and a bore than anything now. I halt behind him.

"You know, you're really getting on my nerves. How do you remove something that's on your nerves? Why, you cut it off, of course!" I allow a psychotic laugh to bubble free from my gut before continuing. My face is by his ear in seconds, my voice lowered to an ominous growl as I scowl at the side of his face. He doesn't turn to acknowledge me. His jaw clenches and unclenches, the only indicator that he's listening. "And that's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to cut you, filet you like a fish, gut you like an animal. I'm going to enjoy watching your blood pump free from your irritable body, watch you gasp for air that will never come to pass your lips again, watch you die slowly, watch your w***e scream and cry over your bloodless corpse. I'm going to enjoy every last second of it. Every. Last. Second."

His body shakes with laughter, the sound like coins on metal. Hadley continues to sob across from us.

"And you! Shut the f**k up already! All I've heard from you is giggles and tears, sobbing and screaming! It's grating on my nerves, and you're getting real close to getting on my last goddamn one!" my voice bounces off the walls as I whip towards Hadley, the irritation burning in my words as they reach the ears of everyone present. The knife's point is aimed towards her now as a visible threat. Her sobs slowly subside, quickly being replaced by quiet hiccups, as she quiets herself, her lips quivering as they clamp tightly together. Blayne stirs beside me and my anger flares once more. "And you! Stop fidgeting about, or else I'll make you stop fidgeting! Better yet, I'll give you something to fidget about before I stop your irritating twitching for good! Am I understood??"

My throat is raw and my voice is hoarse by the end. I normally don't raise my voice at my guests but these two are becoming more trouble than they're worth. At least they'll fill the meat locker for a little while. That's the only good thing that comes of the toys not worth playing with.

Blayne fidgets some more beside me, most likely to spite me. He twitches his hands and arms back and forth under the ropes and jerks his legs taut against the bindings. Then he starts attempting to rock his chair, the metal structure bumping into my stomach as he wiggles about. My temper finally erupts. I dart behind his chair.

Without a second thought I reach forward and splay my long fingers across his forehead, my hand jerking his head back forcefully. His eyes stare up at me as he laughs in my face once more. Don't. Don't end it too quickly. Make him suffer. He's made you suffer, so it's fair enough that you return the favor. Savor the moment. My knuckles turn white around the handle of the blade as I bring it around his body and plunge it into his abdomen, the blade disappearing up to the hilt. His eyes widen as I jerk it to the left, his muscles holding firm as I attempt to tear through his flesh. Blood spills freely down his shirt, the red quickly staining the fabric and dripping to the floor. Hadley's screams kick back up, echoing in a deafening roar, as Blayne jerks his head out of my grasp and stares down at the blade in his gut, the hand grasping it still working to tear it sideways. With an animalistic howl I manage to tear it free, bringing with it some of his innards. He gasps in pain and his body convulses.

The shiny purple of his innards is contrasted nicely by the shimmering red of his blood. I stare, as if mesmerized, as he gasps in pain again. I bark out a sadistic laugh, one that sends chills racing down my own spine, as I watch him squirm in place. Hadley's screams still ricochet off the walls, accompanied every so often by a strangled sob and occasional 'Blayne??' and 'Oh God!!'

The knife drips crimson as I raise it to my face, my tongue flicking out to run across the metal, the meaty flesh catching runaway droplets. His blood is sweet, tangy, as it reaches my taste buds. I shiver in ecstasy as I close my eyes, the taste still lingering at the back of my tongue. When I open my eyes again and return to the basement, I'm treated with a sight. Hadley has knocked her chair sideways. Her cheek presses against the cold concrete as she continues to cry and sob, but her screams have ebbed. Thankfully.

I move quickly to her chair and lift it upright with no effort, the knife tucked protectively against my side. I lean into her face, my breath hot against her skin.

"Ah, ah, ah. Do that again and I won't be so nice with my gestures." I lean forward and run my tongue across her cheek, the saltiness of her tears exploding quickly to mesh with the tanginess of blood. She cringes away as far as she can, which isn't very far, and whimpers. "Would you like to see a magic trick, Hadley? I think you'll enjoy it. It's called 'Where's the Knife Going Next?' Would you like to take a stab in the dark and guess?" I chuckle at my wit as I saunter back to my place behind Blayne's chair. He's fallen pale and taken to shaking rather than fidgeting. He still irritates me, though. I'd much rather prefer him completely still. Should I feel bad? Yes, I suppose so. Do I feel bad? Not at all.

I reach forward and grab his head again, my fingers splaying across his forehead once more as I jerk his head back roughly. This time, he doesn't resist or get cocky. His breaths are ragged as he stares up at me, the determination still bright in his eyes while fear finally lurks beneath. The skin is clammy and chilled beneath my palm.

"I'll...kill y...you. You'll pay fo...for this." His voice is ragged and wheezy, the words barely making it out at a tone loud enough to be heard. I shake my head and flick my gaze to Hadley's, one of my eyebrows quirking up wickedly as I stare her down.

"You lost."

Her screams pierce my eardrums once more as I bring the knife forward and drag it across his throat. The crimson blood spurts freely from the numerous veins and arteries, the white cartilage and bone of his esophagus peeking through the open wound. It was a clean cut. His eyes widen, the dark orbs finally filling with fear as he gasps like a fish. Within thirty seconds, give or take a few, his eyes roll back and he goes limp in the chair. His head lolls backwards over the chair to rest against my stomach as the rest of his life spurts from his jugular.

You're improving. The voices give me occasional praise, but not often enough. I smile the shark's grin once more Hadley's way as I rest my fingers lightly on the dead man's forehead. Already his skin is cooling beneath my touch, the warmth of life gone. I stare her down with a coldness in my eyes before I drop the smile and my hand and snarl her way.

She won't see what's coming.