Crimes Of The Heart

Chapter 9

Sooooooooooo, i havent uploaded in a while. Writers block, its a horrible thing, But anyway here it is. Enjoy :) xx VOMMENT please. <3

The sound of a door banging open and a sudden burst of bright light jolted Jasmine out of the light sleep she had only 15 minutes earlier, drifted into.

Mark strode into the room carrying what appeared to be a tape recorder of some sort. He placed it in front of her, just out of reach from her legs, and stood back looking her up and down.

“What do you want?” Jasmine grumbled. She wasn’t going to let him intimidate her this time. This time she was prepared, there was nothing he could throw at her anymore. She had long ago gotten over her fear of dying.

“I’ve heard you’re being very un-cooperative lately so I’ve dug up a little something that should make you more…willing.”

“What the hell are you talking about? As I’ve already said to Jayden ‘I’m not helping you!’ and there’s nothing you can do. You’re just wasting your time.”

“We’ll see about that.”

He turned on the tape.

It seemed as if all of hell had broken loose at first. A blast of noise so loud it made Jasmine hunch back into her chair.

Sounds began to fill the air. Screams. Shouts. Then…silence.  . A silence so profound that it made the hairs on Jasmine’s neck stand on end. A silence so sudden that there was only one meaning to it. A silence that was as still as death itself.  Then another noise started up; growing slowly in volume. Laughing. A twisted, self-satisfied laughing that made bile rise up in Jasmine’s throat. She knew the owner of that laugh. She scarcely dared to believe it; didn’t want to believe it, but she did. The hatred that boiled up inside her was stronger than anything she’d ever felt. Her fists shook with her need to punch something and her head pounded with the severity of her rage.

Mark chuckled lightly knowing the effect the tape was having on her. But he was silenced quickly when, with a look so fearsome it would have made a full grown lion cower, Jasmine snapped her head up and fixed her gaze onto Mark’s face. As it was the colour drained out of his skin leaving him paper white.

Suddenly, the need to escape welling up violently inside of her, she flung herself forwards in a desperate bid to break free from her bonds. All it ended up doing, however, was wrench Jasmine’s shoulder so hard she could have sworn it had been dislocated. A few feeble struggles later left her panting and Mark, having regained some of his lost composure, smiling again.

Slowly, always keeping an eye on his captive, he bent down and re set the tape, allowing the piercing shrieks and sounds of sobbing to fill the room once again.

Only when the tape was half way through the second run did Jasmine begin to feel anything apart from anger at the sadistic cruelty that had obviously occurred and horror at how these people had had to die, the agony they must have been in.

A certain phrase suddenly burst through the wall of noise swirling around her dead.

“Pl-please, d-don’t kill h-him!” a female voice sobbed.

An involuntary gasp found its way out of Jasmine’s mouth. It couldn’t be…

The shouts were clearer now and she could make out the three distinct voices.

The first was the high pitched keening of a woman, easily audible over the others.

The other two were obviously male but were also clearly definable. One was hoarse and cracked, full of fear while the other was low and frosty, full of malice.

Just then a piercing scream filled the room, a shriek so full of agony it chilled Jasmine’s very soul. The first male voice rang over it.

“No, NO please, please! I beg you, don’t hurt her. LEAVE HER ALONE, you sick bastard. Stop, kill me. Kill me instead of her, let her go.

(Sounds of screaming intensify)

It’s going to be okay, honey, look at me, LOOK AT ME! I love you…for ever. *whispered* I love you…”

The tape crackled to an end once again.

 Jasmine shook her head trying to clear her mind of the horrors she had just heard. Her effort, however, was in vain.

The sounds of screaming still filled Jasmine’s head. But it wasn’t just anyone screaming. She recognised those voices now; knew the owners of those shouts. The voices of people who had once been so cheerful and carefree were now filled with pain and terror. Her parents.

A single salty tear trickled down her face. Gulping she tried to speak past the clog in her throat but no words came out. Unable to wipe her own tears away she tried to compose herself before looking back at Mark. But even then Jasmine could feel the cracks in her armour. Her lower lip was trembling; her eyes were bright and shining, still on the verge of tears and her face had turned clammy and pale. She knew that the sounds she had heard tonight would haunt her for the rest of her life.

Again Jasmine attempted to clear her throat, this time managing to force words through choking feeling at the back of her mouth.

 “Why?” Jasmine croaked out. “Why did you do that to them?”

“Because,” Mark said, smiling evilly, “they knew too much. Just. Like. You.”

The shocked look on Jasmine’s face seemed to please Mark even more.

“Ah good, you understand.”

He slowly strode towards her and roughly wiped away the streak of tears while Jasmine tried to flinch away from his touch.

“I’ll see you soon.” He said, laughing harshly.

Taking deep breaths Jasmine managed to slow her hammering heart, but not the pounding in her head.

And as Mark left with a satisfied smirk on his face Jasmine made 2 promises to herself.

One, she swore she would never let anyone make her cry ever again. And two, that the next time she saw Jayden she would kill him. Not just for what he had done to her. But for her parents.