Love's Arithmetic

Termination

When death comes knocking at your door nothing is as clear as it should be. At least, it wasn’t for Caer. For her, facing death was muddled in fear and confusion. It was the lack of her senses that left her the most terrified. The pain was terrible, but being unable to see the lashes come at her was just as bad as the pain.

She was tied on her stomach, naked from the waist up, her legs bound tightly to the legs of a metal table and her arms stretched above her head. Her back was a welted mess, bruises already rising on her skin, leaving her shaking from the pain. The belt was held by a steady hand, one with no morals and no mercy.

She had no conception of time or how many times she had been hit, but she could feel the blackness setting in. She tried to fight against it, afraid that it would mark the ending for her, the end of her life. If it had been the ending, when she finally lost consciousness, it would have been only too easy.

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The little blip on the screen had stopped, but they were still too far away for Garrett’s comfort. They were still seventy miles from the stopping place and he was terrified they would not be in time. Visions of Caer, lying mutilated and dead in a pool of her own blood left flashed through his head, taunting him. He imagined that Toby would be enjoying the torture, both Caer’s and his.

There would be no way Toby would be lazy enough to leave her cell phone on, it would be one of his tactics to mock him, let him know where she was, but still too far away to get to her in time. He would know how long it would take him to get there, and Toby would make sure Garrett would be moments too late.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Welcome back beautiful,” A disgustingly sweet voice said as she opened her eyes, his breath hitting her gag reflex as she fought against the ropes that bound her. She was still tied on her stomach, but the tape had been removed from her eyes, the burning of her skin made it hard to open her eyes.

“You are so beautiful, it’s just a shame that you won’t live for very long. The world needs more beauty these days, but this way, everyone will remember the tragic story of Caer Ash.” His breath was still directed toward her face, purposely, she assumed, the pungent odor ripping across her senses. “I’m going to make sure that you’re remembered. I’ll make sure that your story is caught by all the newspapers and stations, and every time I see the news story, I’ll revel in my ultimate victory.”

He grabbed her chin and rubbed his thumb over the small part of her cheek that was not covered with the tape. “I would keep you if I could, but your boyfriend would never stop searching for you.” He sighed wearily. Caer knew he was just taunting her, knowing that even if Garrett wouldn’t search for her, he would still kill her. She could see it in his eyes; it gave him a glow of power. The kill was what he looked forward to, it was what drove him, and what was going to kill her.

“Garrett knows exactly where you are,” Toby said, stroking her face with a lover’s affection. For once his words gave her a glimmer of hope, but why would he let Garrett take her away from him? “He’s going to be too late though.” A feral smile rose on his face. The smile was so evil it sent shivers down her spine. “You’ll be dead before he even walks in the door, but just barely. He may even catch your last breath, but he’ll be too late to save you. It’s really too bad that no one else will get to witness your epic tale.”

He seemed to think for a moment, the smile growing as an idea formed in his head. “We shall make it much more dramatic for him.” The laughter in his eyes made her gag, and she fought to keep the tears at bay. She was in so much pain and the fear was so great that she could not think. How was she supposed to escape when she couldn’t think straight enough to come up with a plan?