What They Deserve

TWELVE

Tuesday. He didn't know if he was happy about it because that was one day closer to Raven’s demise or dreading the night since he knew she'd run her mouth non-stop. She might even try to cut things short with him, just to get her revenge. If she did that, he’d have to start all over trying to win her affection and that wasn’t something he wanted to waste his efforts with. For the first time, he contemplated just abducting her.

He figured it would be best to keep the date low key this time. Maybe a movie and dinner instead of something like a club. He wanted to save a flashy restaurant for later to sweep her off her feet.

He considered the different date options he had while he traipsed around the deserted building that was a potential place for Willow. He needed to have time to make sure nobody would stumble across her final destination.

This building felt too massive. There were broken windows all over the place which would allow the possibility of her screams to be heard on the outside. He'd have to keep her gagged the whole time, which he didn't like. He wanted to hear her scream, whimper, moan, and beg. Even if the missing panes of glass weren't enough to allow sounds to escape, the echo in such a huge, empty place would. 

A heavy sigh escaped his mouth as he ran his fingers through his hair. He turned to leave and noticed there was a door tucked in the far corner of the room, almost hidden by a partition of wall. 

That could change things if that door led to a basement.

He liked basements; they exuded a natural feeling of dread. He’d used a few for some of his victims before and they always seemed more nervous, more terrified than any of the others.

The door was heavy and the hinges screamed as he wrenched it open. A blast of stale, cool air hit him in the face. He could smell the stench of rot and stagnant water as he took a step onto the metal stairs. 

A thin beam of light flashed to life as he flicked the headlamp on. The stairs looked rusted in some spots which would make it tricky to get Willow down there. But not impossible.

At the bottom, there was a long and narrow hallway, lined with rusted pipes which explained the trails of water stains on the walls. Puddles of various sizes scattered the floor, dead rats and other creatures lying in some. Roaches and rodents scurried away from the light as he walked deeper down the hallway.

The end opened up into a huge room that had no windows. Where his light didn't flash was pitch black. He noticed a large vent high up in the corner on one wall and figured he could board that up after shoving some type of insulation inside. That would help keep the noise from traveling. The ceiling was high enough that he could drill in heavy-duty hooks to suspend her from. He imagined her toes scraping against the rough cement floor.

He had a good feeling about the basement. After walking around the room and inspecting it with caution, he decided to keep an eye on the place to ensure he was the only one brave enough to explore its depths.

Once out of the building, he surveyed the surroundings to make sure he hadn't been seen. He was satisfied to see that the area seemed to be deserted and headed to his quaint apartment. 

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He sent Raven a text to let her know he would be on the way in twenty minutes and to dress casually. He expected her to ask why, but she sent heart-eyed emojis with an I’ll be waiting!

The plan was to take her to eat at a diner and then go bowling. His intentions were to offset their first date with something she found boring. However, the fact that she didn’t question his instructions on how to dress had him questioning if he had her pegged right at all. It was that or she was already hooked.