“Peaches liked you,” Aby spat bitterly. “She trusted you. She said you were a good man. I had my doubts, but I wanted to believe her. Why do you have to do this? Why can’t you feel the pain we’re suffering through and stop yourself from making it worse?”
Tex sighed with a smile. “I guess it’s just in my nature, Aby. We’re all different. We all get our kicks somehow. Sex, drugs, rock and roll...it’s just less socially acceptable to say you like inflicting pain. But why? We’re predators. It’s in our nature. Just because humans have grown soft over the years, it doesn’t mean we don’t have these wonderful violent instincts…”
The woman in the corner of the room began to whimper and Tex turned toward her, tutting.
“It’s nothing personal,” Tex insisted as he bent down to touch the woman’s cheek. “I’m not doing this out of a place of hate...you didn’t do anything to deserve this. You were just too easy to prey on...and for that, I’m sorry.” Tex turned to Aby with a nonchalant shrug.”You know, I liked Peaches too. She seemed like a nice lady. But someone has to help me fulfill my fantasies. I’ve waited so, so long...why should everyone else get to find happiness, but me? Peaches had a long life.”
“And what about me?” Aby asked through gritted teeth. “I’ve got my whole life ahead of me. I have a fiance to get back to.”
Tex laughed. “Oh, Aby...you’re never going to find your fiance. Never in a million years. And if you don’t have him, what do you have left to live for? I mean, really? It’s a cruel world out there on your own. Face it...I’m doing you a favor by keeping you here. You’ll die with purpose...and it’ll give me great satisfaction.”
“Then what about her?” Aby asked desperately, pointing at the woman in the corner of the room. “She has a life out there somewhere to get back to. Let her go...you can have me, but just let someone come out of this alive. Please.”
Tex smiled at her. “But Aby...I can’t do that. If I let her go, then how am I supposed to put on a show for you?”
Aby felt her skin turn cold. Tex sauntered toward her, a knife in his hand. He put it under Aby’s chin and pressed it lightly to her skin, forcing her to tilt her head up to look at him.
“That’s right...I’m going to let you watch me at work for a while,” he hissed. “I told you you’d suffer for what you did, Aby, and I meant it. You see, you might not be very good at letting me torture you...but you’ll be good at watching it. If I can’t give you physical pain...then the emotional pain will do just fine. And if you dare to close your eyes...then I’ll gouge them out for you.”
Aby was trembling. She’d never been so terrified. Even though he wasn’t going to torture her, she felt as though being made to watch it would be almost as bad. The thought that Tex could be so cold hearted was the scariest part of it all, and as the other woman began to scream in terror, Aby was forced to watch as Tex dragged her by her hair to the centre of the room. He fetched his drill once again and secured the woman’s hand on the ground. He glanced over his shoulder at Aby with a smile.
“Now your hands will match,” he said pleasantly. And then he began to drill into the woman’s hand.
The whole thing could only have lasted a few seconds, but it felt like hours to Aby. Watching someone going through the same thing she had, screaming and writhing in pain, was almost too much for her to handle. She could still feel the intense pain in her own hand and she wondered how anyone could ever recover from something like this. Did she even want to live anymore, after the things she’d suffered?
“I hope you’re still watching the show, Aby,” Tex said sinisterly. “I wouldn’t want to take away your eyes and prevent you from seeing all this.”
Aby screamed out in horror. She couldn’t stop now that she’d started. She felt as though she’d never feel anything, but fear and pain again, and the thought was driving her insane. Tex didn’t seem fazed, however. He just kept smiling.
“No one will hear you out here, Aby,” he said smugly. “It’s just the three of us...poor Peaches can’t cry for help anymore. And it’s so quiet in these parts...who is going to save you now? Your precious fiance?”
He laughed again and Aby’s screams only got louder. It was like she was trying to drown out the rest of the world. But no matter how loud she screamed, she could still hear Tex and his terrifying laughter.
“You’ll always hear my voice in the back of your head, Aby,” Tex chuckled. “Right up until the moment I let you die, you’ll hear me when I’m not even talking. But I’m going to keep you around for a long time. The fun doesn’t end until I say it does. You’ll sit in that chair for a long time...and I’ll keep finding new friends to play with. Listen to the sound of my voice...it’s going to haunt your dreams when I let you sleep. It’s going to ring in your ears for your every waking hour. Forever. You’ll be begging me to kill you soon, but I’m not going to let that happen. You’ve made me see the light. You’ve taken this thing to a new level...a new way of torture. I don’t even have to touch you to torture you, do I?
