Redemption

Chapter 8: "Dead" End

 Chapter 8: "Dead" End

   Rain poured down from the sky, drenching every pore of her flesh, as Stacy surveyed John's every movement. She watched from the rooftops, observing him as if he were a fly caught in a spider's web.

    Her entire life seemed to be converging on this one singular moment; her thoughts and emotions giving way to unsettling numbness. She knew she had to kill him; it would be her only way of escape if she ever wanted to leave this place. Something inside of her telling her to take him by surprise now and be done with it but, one thing Stacy wasn't was a fool. She knew John wouldn't go down without a fight and if she ever hoped of winning said fight she'd have to wear him down. Make him wish he were dead. Then, when he had his heart exposed she'd rip it from his still beating chest and crush it, in her palm, in front of his face.

   Stacy was pulled from her thoughts as she noticed John change directions; his new path leading him directly toward the north containment wall. She leaned cautiously over the ledge of the rooftop; confusion spread across her face.

"Where are you going?" Stacy hissed, angrily.  "Where are you...."

   Everything froze in that moment as wheels began to turn and an epiphany struck her like a bolt of lightning. Stacy looked on at the containment wall, in silence, as everything began to fall into place. She finally knew the defining straw that would "break" John's back. She knew how she'd be able to twist him up around her little finger until, he couldn't differentiate fantasy from reality. She knew "escape" was all that he wanted and at last, she had found her ace in the hole.

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    The funhouse mirror in front her seemed to taunt her; distorting her image so that her face was barely recognizable. Vanessa tugged against her bonds, watching the guard in front of her pace back and forth; his gun wavering in his hand. She nervously fidgeted in her chair as her bottom lip quivered with fear; not entirely sure of what was going to happen next.

   She had been forced to watch them torture another man on the opposite side of the glass; a man whom she didn't know. They made her watch the whole gruesome ordeal, start to finish; laughing as they ended it all by cutting out his tongue. Vanessa wasn't sure if they had thought she might recognize him or not, but one thing stood out in her mind; the man seemed to know her. She had clearly seen him mouth her name, but that was the only lasting impression she got from him. There was nothing about him that she recognized and that in and of itself made her wonder if somehow she was supposed to.

  His dark hazel eyes had looked into hers as if he had known her for years and yet, there she was looking back at him not knowing what to say. Vanessa knew they had shown her the man for some reason, but it was shrouded in mystery for the moment.

  The guard's sudden movement toward her startled her away from her thoughts as he cupped her face in his hand. A chill crawled up her spine as his cologne invaded her nostrils. His dark green eyes met hers as he gave her a toothy grin. Something about his smile deeply disturbed her; his cool demeanor evoking a fear like response inside her.

"Hadn't noticed it before, but you're kinda cute when you're not balling your eyes out." he said, brushing her hair away from her face.

   Vanessa sucked in a short breath as her eyes grew wide and she yanked her face out of his hands. She didn't like what he was implying. After almost burying a bullet in her skull, she didn't exactly want to hear anything he had to say, especially if it concerned how pretty she was.  

"W...Why didn't you just kill me?" Vanessa asked, her voice trembling.

The guard knelt down in front of her, looking into Vanessa's dark, chocolate eyes.