#TheGrudgeContest
"Why are you doing this?!" I yell with a raspy voice, tears streaming down my face.
"Why?" I see his grin through the darkness. "Why?"
"Yes, why!" scream, fed up with him.
"I'm doing this because..." He chuckles. "I mean, why wouldn't I? You have something I want, don't you, dear?"
"I already told you! I don't have it."
"It would be a shame to lower the guillotine, darling."
"You can't do this," I croak.
When he enters the light, the bulb flickers.
His shadow looms over me. "Oh, but I can. I do suggest you tell me where it is."
"I don't have it!"
"Who does then, Princess?" He eyes the guards.
"Carla!" I shout my friend's name, regret washing over me. The worst part is, I didn't even think twice about it.
"Yes, I do remember that girl. She might work. Hm." He scratches his chin. "Carla..." the name rolls off his tongue as if he's been practicing.
"Not her," I say. "I didn't mean that."
"Why so glum, chum? Honestly, I would love to keep you around to watch her death, but she'll just have to sit over in that corner and see your dead body."
"You won't kill her?" I ask, hope evident.
He tries to stifle his laughter. "Oh, no, hun. She'll get a much worse death then you, of course. I'm trying to decide between a hammer or a whip."
I hiccup when the tears start flowing again. "You wouldn't," I spit out.
He leans down to my face. "Would I, though?"
When I don't respond, he laughs to himself.
"It's okay. Most people don't like me when I'm going to kill him."
"Can't you let me go, now?"
"Hah! No. I can't trust you. You did live a short life, though..." he muses as he stands again. "That's almost sad."
I grit my teeth. "Please, just let me go. I won't tell anyone."
"Not even Carla? Sure. How about no? Good attempt, though." He shakes his head and walks back into the dark. The door opens and he pulls a lever. "Good luck with her screams, boys."
I sob as the blade clicks closer and closer to my neck, but I relax so it won't hurt as much. That's the thing with mechanic guillotines. They remind you how short you have to live. They cut through you slowly, leaving a searing pain behind. You'll die of blood loss before it finishes you, if you're lucky.
Just then, he walks in, again. "I did say Carla was to see your dead body, yes? Well, I forgot to mention something." Two guards drag in a yelling Carla.
I whimper as the blade is almost reaching my neck.
"Yes, dear. She's already here."
Carla thrashes around until we make eye contact.
She screams my name when her foot is chained to the ground. She looks up at me, desperately, as if I can save her. But I can't. It's too late for me. It's over.
