Dead End >> c.h au

Chapter Ten

           Sally rose to her feet hesitantly. Leo looked her over head to toe and licked his lips, as if he were a predator examining his prey. Sally realized that was exactly what he was.

                “Leo, you don’t have to do this,” she gulped. She tried not to think of Ashton’s body by her feet. She tried not to think of the hell she had been through and how it had been all Leo’s fault. She tried to imagine a world where she had listened to Calum back at the diner. She had just wanted to make him jealous and look where that got them.

                Leo chuckled. “You’re right, I don’t,” he shrugged. “But I really want to,” he moaned, cleaning off the knife with a handkerchief. Sally hadn’t noticed it had been covered in blood.

                “Why?” Sally barely whispered. She was shaking like a dead leave in a breeze, clinging to a branch for dear life. She felt helpless. A tear slid down her cheek.

                Leo shrugged and started sauntering around the space. “It’s fun,” he stated simply. He twirled around on his heels and pranced around like a ballerina. Sally followed him with her eyes, scared that if she moved he would kill her.

                He sighed melodiously. “Have you ever hurt anyone, Sally?” Leo asked. He didn’t give her any time to answer. “Probably not; if you did you would understand.” Leo skipped around the perimeter of the room cheerfully. “There’s nothing quite like holding someone else’s life in your hands, Sally. Nothing like it,” he shook the knife towards her with a knowing expression, as if he were a grandfather lecturing a grandchild. “Real power is being able to take away someone’s most prized possession. Why not have a little fun along the way? Experiment with different methods of killing. I’ve come up with some pretty interesting ideas I’d love to try out.”

                “Please let me go,” Sally blinked through her tears.

                Leo laughed heartily. “I never let anyone go, Sally,” he answered. “No one survives my hotel.” He swaggered over to Sally and stopped directly in front of her. Their faces were mere centimeters apart. Sally should have been able to feel his breath on her skin, but he wasn’t breathing; he didn’t need to.

                “Are you dead?” Sally croaked, even though she already knew the answer.

                Leo laughed lightly. “Aren’t we all?” he snickered. “I’ve been here too long to count, Sally. No one comes here anymore. Tim hasn’t been able to book a guest since I cut out his tongue.”

                Sally gasped in horror.

                Leo collapsed in intense laugher. “Your face—” he cried out, doubling over entertainingly. After several moments, he composed himself and turned to Sally. “I couldn’t have him telling anyone about me, could I? He could stop people from coming to my hotel, and then I would be so bored,” he drawled. “I never wanted to kill Tim. I prefer killing girls, honestly. I was going to stop at the tongue, but he was annoying me one day so I knocked him down a staircase onto a bed of nails.”

                Leo spoke as if this was something that happens every day. Every fibre of Sally’s being quivered in fear. She was going to die. She knew it all along, but she didn’t want to admit it. All she wanted in that moment, oddly enough, was Calum.

                Leo came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. “You know what?” he whispered in her ear. “I’m going to give you a head start. We’re going to have some fun.” He grabbed her hand and spun her around to face him. He stepped on Ashton’s body, climbing over him like he wasn’t even there. Sally felt like she was going to be sick.