The Thorns Under Pedals

Chapter 5:

Rebecca

My head feels groggy like I took too many sleeping pills and still didn’t sleep well. I’m not even sure exactly what happened considering one moment I was under Drake on my bed and that's all I remember. Fog clouded my mind and I really just wanted to go back to sleep. One thing was stopping me however. Splash. My eyes shot open as I felt ice cold water hitting every inch of my body.

Where am I? I wasn’t in my room like I should have been and I was sure I didn’t tie my body up to this bed that was now soaked with water. The cold air made my naked body shiver uncontrollably. The sound of my teeth chattering against each other filled my ears.

I felt weak and pulled against the rope bounding my arms to the headrest while my ankles were tied to the trunk at the end of the bed just burned. I was absolutely horrified to look down at myself to see I was completely exposed and in a position that was similar to how Jesus Christ was nailed for his crucifixion. I could not place what was happening and why. Was this something Drake thought would be pleasing? The thought was quickly thrown away when my eyes rested on a familiar figure standing beside the head rest. Shock filled my system.

“Elizabeth?” My voice came out slurred as I stared at her with wide eyes. She looked unphased and stood there silently as if waiting but my mind could not understand why. Until my skin started to sizzle and felt like I was being burnt by thousands of cigarettes. I could not hold back the scream that filled the room. It hurt terribly. Tears started to slide down my cheeks onto the bed while my body started to move on its own to try to escape or find something to help the pain.

Elizabeth just stood there watching until the pain was dulled down to an irritable rash. My voice came out a pitch too high as I asked, “What did you do to me?”

She actually smiled down at me. Smile! My heart dropped as I realized something was seriously wrong. As long as I knew Elizabeth was different by liking the movies her and Xavier watched everyday. Yet that was the only thing that I noticed was weird about her. I never thought in a million years that she would enjoy torturing people like in the horror clips she watched. What had happened to her? Sure I knew her family was killed and that she was grieving. Was this her way of grieving? Or something worse? I could not stay. I had to escape and my body responded by fighting the ropes she held me in. The rope rashed my wrists in red that burned as it dug into my skin.

“Why?” I cried to her.

This seemed to hit something in her because the smile she had dropped and was replaced by a dark forbidding look. The look scared me more than her smile had if it was possible. A cold chill creeped into my body. Was she even seeing me when her eyes were that black?

“I should be asking you that.” Her voice was low and full of hatred. “Why did you help kill my family?”

Oh no. No. She was not supposed to know. Panic filled me and desperately fought against the rope not caring if it cut through my wrists. In fact the rashes began to bleed leaving streaks of red along my arms and feet. My breath came out short.

“I’m sorry.” I tried to beg. “Please.”

I heard her growl before she lunged forward with a knife. I screamed as the blade dragged from my elbow to my shoulder. The gash it left was long but not deep enough to bleed me out. That did not make it any less painful or less likely to leave a scar. “Answer me.” Her voice was filled with rage and her eyes that were dark actually looked ready for blood. My blood.

“I…” My throat was thick with fear and pain. “I had to. They would have killed my sister.”

“So you chose to help kill four people to save one w***e who got herself buried in a grave farther than she could get out?” Her words were sharp as if cutting through my skin.

How did she know about my sister? Scarlet was my younger sister that was getting into more than she could handle. She had chosen to sleep with one of the Williams family to earn money. However Scarlet had also owed a great deal of money in the thousands that the head of the Williams family wanted back in full. I had to give them something they wanted more than my sister's death. Information on Elizabeth’s family that was getting in their way of whatever for their business. Something Elizabeth who was only seventeen would not understand.

“Your family was already on their target list.” I whispered.

“Why?” She asked with the bloody blade to my throat. I hissed at the sting from the sharp edge.

“I dont know.” I whined. She did not move. I felt her staring above me as if she was judging if she should believe me.

“Did you love my brother at all?” She asked instead.

I was thrown off by the question. I guess it was something that I should have expected but I was surprised. I guess I took too long because I felt blood flow down the side of my neck and a burning increase on my injured arm as she also poured liquid in the cut. I screamed again at the pain. It was too much. The edge of my vision was blacking out. I begged her to stop but the burning just continued until I was lost in unconsciousness.

Elizabeth

I watched as her eyes blacked out and her body stopped struggling under me. Weak. I knew Rebecca would try to fight and hide what had happened but her fighting the ropes to the point of bleeding this early on was surprising. I will leave her to rest for now so that I can check on her lover. By the time I’m done with Drake she should be waking up. I don’t want to kill her too soon either. That would not be enjoyable and doing so would leave out torturing Drake if he really had feelings for her.

As I get off the bed and head towards the door I make sure to grab a towel to wipe off the blood. Quietly I made my way down the long hall. It was dark with just a few rays of sunlight that appeared in the tiny cracks of the old building. If I listened closely I could hear the rustle of rats hiding in the empty rooms. There were at least twenty of them on this floor. I had no idea the amount on all three floors but it did not really matter. It was quiet besides the noise I could have made and abandoned a long time ago. No one would disturb me. Plus the old rooms had some wonderful torturing tools that were used when it was open as a mental hospital.

The stairs creaked under my feet as I went to head towards the bottom floor. Dust lifted as I moved revealing just how old this place was. There was a high chance that one of the stair steps was going to give out if stepped on the wrong way. Fortunately I did not have anything happen. Once I got on the bottom level I made a right to the very last door.

The door had been left shut after I had got him attached to a strapped upwards standing table. It made me think of the Frankenstein table the Doctor used. The leather straps were thick which would make breaking them extremely difficult. Not only that but I had counted twelve straps. One placed at the forehead, the throat, and waist. Two straps for each arm to hold down the forearm as well as restricting wrist movement. There were also two for each leg for the same purpose I assumed. When I had found this place and the tools left it was a perfect solution to the overpowering Drake would easily have over me.

In the middle of the door at eye level was a square window to let someone see into the room. I stayed watching for a while to judge the situation. The room was small and had barely anything in it. The few things in there were metal tables that held different surgical equipment for doctors besides some daggers I left. Drake was on the opposite end of the door in between the two small stands. Next to him was a machine that had once shot electricity into the people strapped in the chair. However, it no longer worked which was a bummer. I had an alternative though.

Drake was awake. His blue eyes took in his surroundings since he could not move. I assume Drake had already tested how little motion he actually had. I watched as the calculating gaze turned to anger. He must be pissed at himself for allowing himself to get in this situation. I knew he had let his guard down considering nothing I had left in the apartment had been messed with other than how I had predicted them to be used. Everything went according to my plan.

Knowing that Drake would not be the type to scream or plead like Miss Williams I took a deep breath as I opened the door. He moved in the direction of the door with his eyes not saying a word or sound. I could tell by the wideness in his eyes and the lift of both eyebrows that I need not introduce myself. He also told me that I was the last person he believed to have done this. Just how many enemies did the William’s family have? There was also no trace of the foggy sedative left in his gaze which meant he was fully aware.

I held back the tsk sound that wished to escape. I had wished that he would be in a state like Rebecca but that would not be so. I walked closer to him leaving the door open not caring if his screams if he made any would wake Rebecca. In fact if he made a sound it would probably terrify the girl more leading to my advantage. I stopped just short of five feet in front of him with my hands behind my back giving an authoritative stance that men used to intimidate. Drake I doubt would be intimidated however I was not going to appear weak or anything less than confident in front of him.

“You recognize me.” I started in a calm voice instead of a question. “You know that I want to kill you and everyone else that has my family's blood on their hands.”

No sign of acknowledgement or confirmation in words. His eyes gave that away for him which I doubt even he would even realize it. Nor was I going to let him know or else I would lose one advantage.

“How long did you or the rest of the William’s think I would not come to the conclusion to who killed my family? That I would not find out exactly which one killed each member of my family. Was the plan to wait a while before someone would come after me just to give the appearance that I was safe, that it was all over before striking?” My voice was a void of emotion. I truly wanted to see what the man could enlighten me with in my enemies mind. No matter what research I found it would not let me in their minds.

No response in either verbal or nonverbal signals. So be it. I figured Drake would be difficult from the start and had prepared something just for him. Shaking my head I turned to the right side table that held a syringe with a chemical mix that causes the blood to boil in a fever that would cause his body to slowly burn from the inside, a tool to pull teeth or nails along with the tool to keep one's mouth forced open, small sharp edged knives for surgery, and one of my daggers. A smirk lifted from my lips as I grabbed the syringe as if I was contemplating whether to use it or not. Though I already knew which one I would be going with.

I placed the syringe gently down on the table and wrapped my hands around the mouth stretcher as well as the dagger. If he would not speak I would force it out. With that thought I turned to him and lunged the dagger into his left shoulder. This caused him to gasp in pain. I twisted the dagger forcing his mouth to widen, letting me place the metal bar between his teeth. Leaving the dagger in him I pulled the bar to allow me to get access to the inside of his lips or gums. With that in place I moved to the other table that held some hooks from wires. I grabbed two and hooked one on each side of his mouth before using the long ends of the wires to slip through the little tightening holes in the strap belt around his throat. This caused the metal bar to drop but the hooks dug into the sides of his mouth painfully.

A groan turned to a light scream. The wired hooks began to pierce through his skin and blood was trickling down the side of his mouth. Drake had his eyes clenched shut as the pain processed through his body. I wasn’t going to let him recover too much however. My hand withdrew the dagger in his body. Drake screamed a little louder this time as the old pain came rushing forward. Just because I can I used the handle to pull the strap around his throat to let the hook end shine in their bloody glory leaving holes.

“Each question I ask I expect a truthful answer. If I don’t receive one…” I paused for effect and enjoyed the pain lined in his expression up close. “I will pull out a tooth for each time you do not give me one.” My voice whispered close to his face, blowing the words across the new holes on his face. This made him wince and turn a shade paler. “Was that clear for you?”

Drake grunted a yes that was barely understandable and I smiled.

“Good. Let’s begin then.” I moved and looked over at the tool I would use to pull his teeth.

“What part did you have in killing my family?” I asked, appearing to look at the tool in my hands but really I watched his eyes under my thick lashes.

His eyes stared at me as if he was contemplating how much he should share with me. I bit the inside of my mouth in annoyance. To make my threat apparent once again I took a couple steps forward. I could see his eyes drop to the tool and something like fear shone through his pupils. Good, I thought.

“Mr. Andrew Williams ordered me and a few others to restrain your parents in the beginning. Then we were to undo the restraints before cleaning up.” His voice was thick with pain as the simple response was given.

“Who else helped to hold down my parents? I want names and ranks.” My voice went down a level to a chilly tone. I honestly don't care what he takes from the emotion. Knowing that my parents had been outnumbered to be held down while they were to be killed angered me. Andrew had been the killer but the others were also a part of killing them so I saw them as murders too that held my parents' blood stained on their hands. They would each be my next victims before I went after Andrew.

Silence. I waited a good couple minutes before sighing. The first tooth would have to be pulled already. Drake was a loyal man to Andrew and apparently to the others or he was afraid of what the others would do once they realized he ratted them out. Though the last suggested that he thought he would make it out alive. I kept my eyes on his while I zoned out the grunts to stop from his mouth. Without hesitation or empathy I maneuvered the tool to wrap around one of his front top teeth. I yanked it with a force wanting to hear just how high he could scream or grunt. Blood gushed out landing on his bottom lip and spread to the two teeth on either side of the wound. I closed my eyes as his screams filled my ears and oddly it was a peaceful sound that eased the anger in me.

We probably stayed like this for five or more minutes. Him screaming turned to a hiss. Then came the cursing and foul name calling. I was not surprised but there were a handful of phrases or names he called me that I did not understand. Mainly because the words were spoken in Spanish. I paid no mind to this and just focused on the hooks at his mouth that were now beginning to move apart as he continued to shoot insults at me. The movement made him hiss more.

“Will I need to take another one or will you give me what I asked?” I asked as if he was not in pain and I was losing my patience. The sound of a clang was heard as the bloody white tooth dropped in a small metal bowl on the left table.

“b***h. You're lucky I can’t wrap my hands around your damn throat right now.” He growled instead of answering me.

Again I pulled a tooth but this time from the bottom row. This seemed to be worse in pain for him. His scream was harsher against my ear drums. I heard ringing a while after but it was all so pleasant that I was fine with it. We repeated this for the next hour. Drake would not give me the names but he had no problem handing out their ranks as if I would not be able to get anymore information on them. Once the ranks were given and I mentally kept a note of them I moved on to ask other questions. Three hours later I had six teeth in the metal bowl and several things to figure out later.

Blood was pouring out of Drake's mouth down to his chest. I could see his eyes glassed with pain. The man had been stubborn yet calculating in even the most intense pain. I was beyond drained and done with this game of interrogation. Maybe it was time to stop for the night or day and save it for the next. I had a feeling that Drake was boarding the line of understanding my words and actually giving clear answers instead of slurs and moans.

I gave a look over at his overall image. Drake not only had blood dripping to his chest but his shirt was soaked in dried blood from his shoulder wound. His wrists were red from the struggle to move to break free that matched the one of his throat and forehead. Soon they would probably start to peel away the skin causing blood to come forth like Rebecca. Thinking of her I would have to visit her room before I left to put her to sleep as well. No point in leaving to have them try to escape.

I pierced Drake’s arm where a vein was causing a gasp out of him. Silently I pushed a heavy dose of sleeping drugs in his system. I watched as the pain erased from his expression to be replaced with peace. The tension in his body washed away as it relaxed against the straps. His eyes dropped a second later.

I sighed heavily. The way up to Rebecca’s room was a long journey I was tempted to avoid but the nagging thought that she may find a way to escape made me travel upstairs. This was the first time I was attempting to kill two people. I was not going to take any chances. If I was not going to get any more answers from Drake tomorrow then I would just dispose of them then.

Whimpering was on the other side of the closed door. She either was just waking up or was just feeling the pain all over again. As much as I would enjoy her suffering from her wounds, it was time for her to sleep. I took out a gas container and slipped it in the food slit in the door. The thud was loud in the simi quiet room. I could hear her exclaim in fright at the sudden sound in the dark room. I wondered slightly if she could actually see the ball. I did not wait to find out if she did because I knew in the next second the sleeping gas would start to spill out from its pours and take effect. The doors were too old to keep it in just the room so it would be going into the hall. I had to hurry towards the exit to go home.