Waverly was so focused on Nicole and Nicole was lost in a fog of pain, neither of them realized Tucker was standing over them until his aura floated into Waverly’s line of vision. Without a thought, she turned her head which was a huge mistake. The blackness surrounded her, her stomach once again churned, and instinctly, she turned her body away from Nicole and dry-heaved. Tucker was furious. Swinging the end of his crossbow like a bat, he slammed it into Waverly’s head screaming, “LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO TO HER!” Waverly’s head snapped back around. Her body falling limply to the dirt.
Nicole screamed watching Waverly fall. She tried to crawl to her, but Tucker grabbed her ankle and dragged farther from her girlfriend. She clawed at the dirt trying to pull herself away but the pain from her calf and Tucker's strength stopped her. Tucker, still angry and his anger growing, dropped her ankle, swung the crossbow once again hitting Nicole’s face. Nicole didn’t even feel the pain because she fell unconscious on the ground. Tucker grabbed Waverly’s arm and dragged her to a nearby tree. Using new ropes from is pack, he tied her to the tree. As he worked, he mumbled to the unconscious woman. “It’s all because of you. I should have known better than to let you stay. I knew I couldn’t give her what she wanted sexually, but you could. It made her happy. But then….but then,” he pulled the rope tighter, “you had to take her and leave. I couldn’t watch anymore. I couldn’t see her pleasure.” Tying his final knot, he gripped her chin, “And now, since I can’t have her, neither can you.” Throwing her chin to the side, he stood and looked at the red head near his feet. He stopped for only a brief moment before grabbing one of her arms and dragging her back to the camp.
“Nicole,” she could hear her name being called from somewhere in the darkness. She moaned as sharp pains radiated from her face and leg. She tried to open her eyes, but the heaviness seemed too much. “Nicole,” she heard again. But the voice….it wasn’t Waverly’s. It was a….a man’s. She felt herself being lifted into a sitting position. She couldn’t…she didn’t have the strength to sit up. She felt herself falling again…suddenly a searing pain exploded in her leg causing her to scream. “There she is…..” she heard when she was finally able to focus. Opening her eyes, she saw Tucker. His shirt was gone. His pants blackened from the fire and smoke. His face was hideously evil looking…eyes were black, skin covered in black ash smudges and blisters along his hairline. She noticed large pussy blisters on his arms and shoulders. Her face involuntarily showed disgust.
“DO NOT LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT, NICOLE!” he screamed grabbing her around the throat. That’s when she noticed the pain in her jaw. She couldn’t move it…her mouth…her lips…..he had broken her jaw with the crossbow. “Take a good look at me….I’m ruined. No one will want me now….because of YOU!” he growled.
Nicole was trying to calm her breathing. It was difficult since his hand was clinching and pinching off the air flow limiting the amount of oxygen she could take in. Between the pain, the fear, and lack of oxygen, she was spiraling again. Suddenly, he released her snapping her head back. She cried out in pain from her jaw.
She hung her head trying to get some semblance of coherency. She heard him moving around the camp. Slowly, she raised her head and saw him near Waverly. She was still slumped on the ground now tied like a calf at a rodeo. Her hands and arms were pulled behind her with them tied together behind her back. Nicole looked at her own restraints. Her hands were once again tied behind her back with feet tied together in front of her. She also had a rope leading from her hands to her feet keeping them bent. Tucker had made sure she would be unable to kick at him this time. Tucker started kicking Waverly in the ribs abruptly. Nicole tried to call out, but only a moaned seemed to escape. She couldn’t open her mouth. Tears slid from her eyes both from pain in her jaw and fear for Waverly. He kept kicking the brunette, yelling, “GET UP, BITCH! WAKE UP!” each time he landing a kick to her midsection. Finally Waverly stirred. He stopped and kicked again making sure he roused her awake. Feeling the pain in her ribs, Waverly tried to move away from whatever was causing the pain. She couldn’t. Moaning and calling out, she finally managed to open her eyes. She realized she was back in camp. “Nicole,” she whispered.
“DO NOT SAY HER NAME, BITCH!” she heard behind her. Instantly knowing it was Tucker and what would happen if she saw his aura, she quickly clamped her eyes shut again, but she continued to struggle to move away from him. “Oh no you don’t” she heard right before her arms and legs were pulled backwards. She screamed as she felt and heard her shoulder loudly pop as she was dragged by Tucker across the camp area. She felt the gravel and dirt dig into her side as Tucker dragged her to where ever he was taking her. She felt herself being spun in a somewhat half circle. When she stopped and opened her eyes, she was staring up into Nicole’s brown eyes. She could see her lover’s jaw swollen and black. Her lip was busted and bleeding. She was tied precariously unable to move like herself. “Nicole” she said faintly. Nicole seemed to try to speak, but shook her head as if to say she couldn’t. Tear fell freely from Nicole’s eyes that were staring deeply into Waverly’s. “Nicole,” Waverly whispered again. Nicole’s eye’s shot up in fear. Tucker was behind Waverly. She quickly shut her eyes. Tucker saw her shut her eyes. He clinched her chin in his burnt, blistered hand and growled, “OPEN THEM!”
“No,” she declared definantly. “OPEN THEM!” he screamed again louder. “NO!” she screamed back at him. She felt her chin released but didn’t open her eyes. She knew she hadn’t heard him step away. “Open them or I shoot her right now,” he growled in a low angry voice.
Waverly knew she didn’t have a choice. It was either open her eyes and get sucked up in the vortex of blackness or hear Nicole die. That wasn’t an option. Waverly opened her eyes. Before the blackness settled in, the last thing she saw was Nicole’s sad, brown, scared eyes. Once again whirlwind caught her up. There was nothing left on her stomach. Dry-heaves were all that was left. She lay in the dirt gasping, praying it would soon end. Tucker watched her wallow in agony. He relished in the thought that he could affect someone that much. He didn’t care that it was painful. He embraced it. He savored it. But, it didn’t get him the effect he wanted from her. He wanted her watch as he tortured and killed Nicole. He wanted her to understand the pain that Nicole was about to endure was all because of her. He moved to stand behind her. Kneeling he pulled her up to sit on her knees. Wounding her hair around her gnarled hand, he pulled her head back so he could speak directly into her ear. “Take a good look at her, Wav…er…ly.” He pointed her head in the direction of Nicole. “Take a real good look, because this will be last time you see her……alive…”
Waverly sucked in a breath….”NO!” she said involuntarily.
“Yes,” he snarled. “And I want you to know….her death….is all ….because….of…..YOU!” “NO! PLEASE!” she begged. “Take me…not her….please…Tucker…don’t kill her…you….you …..love her….right?” Nicole nearly gagged when Waverly said that. Tucker thought for a moment before answering. “Yes…I do,…..but so do you…and we both can’t have her.” Waverly’s mind was racing. She had training. She knew what she was supposed to say to people like Tucker. But, at this moment, her mind was blank. The most important time in her life and her damn mind was blank.
“Tucker….what if…what if we..share….” Waverly gulped at her words hating herself for thinking….especially saying them. “NO, Waverly, we already tried that! You took her away!!!!” he yelled pushing her head forward pulling her hair that was tangled around his hand.
Tucker had a plan. He knew he couldn’t watch Waverly and still torture Nicole. He set up a camera behind Nicole facing Waverly and another behind Waverly so he could also film Nicole’s reaction to what he was about to do to her. He would have forever reminders of his triumph. He could watch them every day. Waverly and Nicole sat staring at each other. Waverly moved her lips and silently voiced, “I love you.” Nicole wanted so badly to move her mouth. She needed to tell Waverly she loved her too. She tried so hard, but when she moved, pain shot through her face causing her to cry out. Waverly wanted to move to hold Nicole. She earned to touch her one last time. “I know,” she mouthed again. “I know.” Tears filled her eyes and flowed over her dirty cheeks. Nicole was her world. Nicole had brought her from the depths of loneliness and taught her how to truly live. And now, here they sat tied like pigs to the slaughter. But…they were together. And now...they would die together.
