I woke with a start. Suppressed screams filled the room. I turned on the light and blinked against the sudden brightness until Nestore came into focus on the floor beside the bed. He must have slept down there if the pillow and blanket were any indication. His muffled screams were the result of him pressinghis forearm into his mouth, teeth drawing blood as he screamed in agony. It was a nightmare, but too close to what he’d really endured to make me feel sick. Tears sprang to my eyes and trickled down my cheeks.
I leaned over the edge of the bed and grasped his shoulder. “Nestore! Wake up!”
With a start, his eyes shot open, haunted and terrified, his expression almost boyish in its terror. He lowered his arm from his lips. The bite marks remained.
“You had a bad dream.”
He blinked slowly. “A dream.” He closed his eyes and shuddered. “It didn’t feel like one.” He gripped his head, fingers digging into the skin. “He’s in there. I want him out. I want them all out.”
“I know.”
His eyes narrowed, and he shoved to his feet. I jerked back in surprise. He wore only black sweatpants. Without a word, he stalked toward the door and left. I stumbled out of bed and chased him. I had trouble keeping up with him. When he disappeared through the door that led down into the basement, I stumbled to a halt. My heart threatened to jump out of my chest when I thought about going down there. It was a place I never wanted to see again. The walls of the hallway seemed to close in on me.
Nestore was down there.
He had survived so many more horrors.
I forced my feet to move despite my racing pulse and tightening belly, and when I finally arrived in the basement, the two guards didn’t stop me. I hovered near the stairwell, unable to move farther as the familiar stench of dankness, feces, and decay flooded my nose.
Nestore opened the cell beside my father, stepped in, and threw it shut with a resounding bang.
What was he doing?
The two prisoners in the cell with him were both men who’d picked him up for torture regularly. Nestore’s chest heaved with every deep breath, his expression entirely alien in its ferocity.
He sucked in an even deeper breath, cracked his neck, and his eyes came to rest on one of the men. His lip curled, and he lunged.
Nestore was like a wild animal as he clawed, punched, and kicked with a speed and force that took the heavier man by surprise and sent him tumbling to the ground. Nestore sank his teeth into the man’s cheek, then jerked back with a piece of flesh in his mouth. I covered my mouth with my hand as I watched Nestore once again become a monster. The first man’s life ended when Nestore rammed his fingers into his eyes.
I couldn’t bear it anymore, but before I turned my back on the scene, I caught my father’s gaze. His expression was a mix of disgust and horror, then quickly morphed to pleading. Did he hope I’d help him escape?
He had turned Nestore into this bloodthirsty creature, and I’d never forgive him for it. I’d never forgive him for all that he’d made Nestore suffer. Even my own suffering took second place to that. Maybe I could have forgiven him for my pain, but never for Nestore.
The door upstairs swung open, and Remo and a tall blond guy named Fabiano appeared at the top, backlit by light from the foyer. They stalked down the staircase and then entered the cellblock next to me. I still hadn’t felt the courage to move away from the mouth of the stairwell, my way to escape this place.
Fabiano motioned at Nestore, who sank his teeth into the man over and over again. “Fuck this shit, Remo. This is a level of unhinged that I don’t think we can control. That guy is on the verge of becoming a cannibalistic serial killer.”
“As long as he eats our enemies, I don’t see a problem.”
Did they find this funny? “Stop it,” I gritted out despite my fear of these two men, but over time, fear dulled, and six months down here had definitely dampened mine. “He’s not eating them. He’s obviously hurting.”
Cool blue eyes locked on mine. “Some people also think a dog that bites their hand off is a misunderstood creature. I would put a bullet in its head.”
I risked another glimpse over my shoulder. Both prisoners in the cell were dead, and Nestore stood over their bodies, covered in blood.
“I told you he’s evolving,” Remo said.
“He needs help, not encouragement.”
Remo’s smile became hard. “Whatever you want to see in him, it’s a fairy tale that’s not going to happen, girl. Run as long as you can.”
They moved toward Nestore, but I left.
I couldn’t bear another second of this. I rushed out. My breath came in short bursts as I sprinted up the stairs. It was the middle of the night, or I would have gone to Flavia. Instead, I went to my bedroom, toourbedroom, and cried myself to sleep.
I woke to the sound of steps and quickly sat up, then turned on the light. Nestore stood in the room, covered in blood, with a haunted look on his face.
I shuddered out a breath and pushed out of bed, crossing the distance between us. He gazed down upon me, his lips covered in blood. “Nestore,” I whispered. “You have to stop. All this rage and revenge will drag you even deeper into darkness. Please come into the light with me.”
