31. Fox

“I needyou at the top of your game in there,” Knight said as we ran through the forest.

“Don’t worry about me.” I was serious. I knew what it was like to be a kid dealing with this shit. I wouldn’t let him down.

He held up his fist as we stopped a quarter mile from the cabin. I took a moment to orient myself as I waited for his signal. It struck me as odd that in the past, I would have been the first to move in, desperate for bloodlust. Now, I was taking orders from another person, waiting for him to tell me we were clear to move forward.

I inhaled deeply, feeling all the negative energy flee my mind. I was in control, ready to do this.

“Let’s move. You don’t go in until I tell you we’re clear.”

I nodded and followed in his footsteps. He moved silently through the trees, sneaking up on the guard outside the cabin. I watched in fascination as he slipped behind the man just as he turned and ran a knife across his throat. The fucker never saw it coming. He lowered him to the ground and pressed his finger to his ear.

“All clear.” He listened for a moment, then nodded for me to move.

I ran for the house, prepared for anything at that moment. I gently pushed open the door and stalled in my tracks. There was a girl—no older than I was when my mom died—and she was on the ground, screaming as a man sat on top of her, tearing at her clothes.

I crept down the hall and stopped suddenly when I saw the man on top of her, a knife to her throat as he assaulted her.

I swallowed hard, watching in disbelief at what I was seeing. I shook my head, forcing the images of my past from my mind. But it didn’t help.

The man slit her throat and blood poured out onto the worn carpet. Just like that, she was choking and dying while I stood there doing nothing. My eyes slowly slid from her face to meet the man’s gaze. A strange sense of calm came over me as I gripped the statue tighter in my hand. I no longer felt like that little kid in my room, hiding from what was going on. I was all alone now, the man of the house, and this asshole had just taken the one person that cared about me.

The man on top of the little girl looked up at me, then grinned. “You’ll get your turn.”

My nostrils flared in anger as the familiar feeling washed over me. Calm spread through my body, tingling down to my finger tips, and I slowly snapped my fingers.

“You’re never alone,” I sang quietly. I closed my eyes and snapped along with the familiar rhythm. I didn’t fight it this time. I let the years of pain and anger fill me up until I opened my eyes and felt the darkness close in.

I stalked into the house, grabbing the knife off the cheap metal counter. I heard the tip slide ominously over the cool surface, and a sadistic smile spread across my lips. I hadn’t felt this calm in months. I forgot what this did for me. Maybe I just needed the break to come to terms with the fact that this is who I was. Who I always would be.

I flipped the knife in my hand, never taking my eyes off my prey. This was going to be good. I could feel it deep in my bones. When I was done with this man, he would never be able to hurt another person again.

Because he would be in pieces on the ground.

The rest of the world faded around me as I grabbed the man from on top of the girl, hauling him to his feet. I pulled him close and inhaled his fear, tasting it as I licked my lips.

“P—please,” he stuttered, staring at me with wide eyes.

“You touched her.”

He shook his head rapidly. “No. No! I swear. I—I didn’t.”

My eyes trailed down his filthy, sweaty body and I saw his pants open, his dick out. I didn’t want to look, but I had to know. The girl was lying on the ground, terrified and curled in a ball. I didn’t see any blood, but that wouldn’t erase the damage that was already done.

Raising my hand, I trailed the knife down his cheek, cocking my head to the side. “You’re a predator.” He shook his head wildly. “And predators never change. They never learn. But I will make you learn,” I whispered. “You will beg me to kill you as I tear the flesh from your body. You will promise me you’ll never touch another little girl as I press the tip of my knife to your dick. And when the blood starts to flow from your veins…only then will you truly know what fear is.”

I heard a small trickle on the ground and looked at his feet. Urine coated the floor and wet his pants. He was scared now, but he was about to find out just how scary this world could be.

Because I had starved myself of this for too long, and now it was about to come out in full force. I wouldn’t stop until I no longer craved his blood. And then I’d make it last a little longer.

“Shall we get started?”

I tossed him down on the ground and watched as he crawled on all fours, trying to get away from me. I walked behind him, keeping my footsteps light. He scrambled for the door, and I let him get close. He glanced back at me, the hope on his face real. But then I grinned at him and that hope diminished to nothing. I quickly moved around him, grabbing the door and slamming it shut. When I turned to face him, he knew it was over.

I took my time with him. I sliced his clothes from his body, promising the same fear these girls went through. He begged me just as I imagined he would. When I ran the tip of the knife along his dick, he cried out, begging for mercy. I would have chopped his dick off, too.

But just as I was about to, the girl on the floor approached me, staring at me curiously. I flipped the knife in my hand and held the handle out to her, wondering if she would take it. She reached for it, and I pulled back, warning her with my eyes.

“There’s no going back from this. It will consume your mind, make you crave justice in a way you’ve never known before. You won’t even recognize the person you used to be.”

There were no tears in her eyes as she reached out for the handle. “She’s gone,” she said in a monotone voice.

I nodded and stepped back from the man. He jerked upright, shaking his head. “What are you doing?”

I walked to his head and grabbed his arms, stretching them wide. He started thrashing as I pressed a boot to each arm, holding him down for the girl. I watched her carefully, making sure there was no terror on her face. She had to be absolutely certain about this. But I would never deny her the chance to take revenge on the man who tried to rape her.

She got to her knees and stared curiously at the man’s small penis. It was shriveled and hiding from her. Rightly so. I focused on her face as she got to work, watching for any sign that she was not okay. I blocked out the man’s screams.

Slowly, the girl looked up at me, her hands covered in blood. She smiled at me like I’d just given her a piece of her life back. I hoped I had. But this was as far as she was taking it. The rest was for me. I took the knife from her and nodded for her to go to the corner of the room.

I closed my eyes once again as the man laid on the floor, crying and snotting all over himself. It was time to get to work.

The darkness taking over fueled me forward. It gave me the strength to do what was necessary, no matter what that meant. No man like him should exist in the world, and with the statue in my hand, I didn’t let up until his brain was oozing from his cracked skull. I got to my feet and stared down at the bloodbath at my feet, and all I felt was…relief.

“Fox.”

I lifted my head, looking around in a daze at the people around me. I wiped the blood dripping from the tip of my nose and wondered how much time had passed. They were all watching me warily, waiting for me to make my next move. My eyes drifted back to the man on the floor. He was shredded to pieces. His intestines were pulled from his stomach and wrapped around his neck, strangling him to death. There wasn’t an inch of him that wasn’t covered in blood.

There wasn’t an inch of me that wasn’t covered in his blood.

I didn’t regret a thing. I felt at peace with myself, knowing I had done the right thing. Justice was doled out the way I saw fit, and I would get rid of his body like I did all the others. This girl would never have to live in fear of this asshole again.

Knight strode over to me, his black eyes matching my own. “Maybe it’s time to get those boots out again.”

I smirked at him, my face twisting into a smile.

The TV was playing from when my mom put on West Side Story just before her dealer arrived. I looked up at the screen, watching the Jets sing “When You’re A Jet”. I started snapping my bloody fingers in time with the music. “You’re never alone,” I muttered under my breath.

I was back.