His confession alone won’t free me.Only one thing can.
“Who did I run over?”
“Freddy.”
“Was he the one who raped me too?”
When Smokes hesitates, I press my foot onto the handle of the blade.“No!”he cries, spittle running down his chin.
So Freddy was Whiskey, which means Jack was Lisp.
“Why?”I ask as clichéd as it is.But I need to know.“What did I ever do to you?”
“Nothing!We only did what Legs asked!”
“Who’s Legs?”I ask, as this was the only name dropped that night.
“I can’t tell you.If the family ever found out?—”
His words are slurred as he’s on the cusp of passing out.
“Tell me, and I’ll let you live.”
“We’re running out of time.Finish it!”orders Jupiter.
“Not until I find out who they are!Tell me!”
Smokes begins to sob, his body shuddering uncontrollably.“It was a welcoming home present for Jack.He came back from boot camp and wanted to pop his cherry.”
Bile rises to refer to what was done to me so crudely.
“Who is Legs?”I ask one more time, watching in disgust as Smokes continues to crawl toward the exit.
But there is no escape for him, just as there wasn’t for me.
“Brother,” he whispers, before an alarm blares.
“Please make your way to the nearest exit in an orderly fashion,” the man says over the PA.
My time is over.
Dropping to one knee, I yank out the knife from Smokes’s ass.Snaring his hair between my fingers, I arch his head back and slice the blade across his throat.Blood coats my face and chest.
I relish the feel of the warm liquid as I drain the life from Arthur Singleton.
I never break eye contact with him and watch as he takes his last breath.
His head thuds to the ground as I let him go.
I stand over the corpse and commit to memory this sight, which is one I’ll never forget.
“We have to go!”screams Jupiter, yanking my arm and dragging me from the room.
We join the panicked masses as they rush toward the exit, blending in.No one looks twice at my bloody appearance because we’re in a house of horrors after all.The emergency was apparently because a girl fainted.If only they knew what they’re about to find.
Jupiter and I disappear into the night, my hands covered in blood.
But my soul…my soul is finally clean.
