Page 19 of Burn For Me

A smile pulled up the corners of my mouth at the wide-eyed look of panic that crossed his face as I lifted the crowbar like I was out for a round of golf. The curved metal edge of the crowbar cracked into Jim’s knee, and a strangled scream left his lips. The only thing missing was me yelling, ‘fore.’

“Did you know that I’m ambidextrous?” I switched the bar to the other hand. “Those who are, are supposed to be highly intelligent.”

I brought the down from the new angle, and this time tears and high-pitched whimpering came from Jim. His second knee made a loud cracking sound as the kneecap shot off to the side under his skin, making it look deformed.

“Yet, you assumed I was crazy, and that crazy meant stupid. Big mistake Jimbo, big mistake.” I took a step back to assess my work. “That should keep you there.”

I loved the pained look on his face and how tears silently slid down his cheeks as he gulped, trying to yell or get air. The horror filling his body would create an extra adrenaline boost making it hard for him to breathe. It should feel like a boulder was sitting on his chest. I knew because I knew that kind of fear and pain, but no one came to help me, and no one would come to Jim’s rescue now.

I made my way to the dining room to grab one of the tall-back chairs when I spotted a black phone. Now that would be handy. I picked it up, but it said to put a finger on the screen.

I tried to keep up with the quickly changing technology while locked up, but my knowledge was limited to what I could overhear others talk about and the glimpses of the tablets the doctors wandered around with and used. Chair and phone in hand, I walked into the living room and sat the chair down to face Jim.

“Is this yours?” I watched his reaction carefully, but he continued to glare as he made strange noises through his compressed airway. “Not going to tell me? That’s okay.”

Walking forward, Jim’s breathing and panic reached another level. It was delightful to see the shoe on the other foot for a change. Jim’s hand was in a fist by the side of his recliner chair. Kneeling I, peeked at his clenched hand, and sighed.

“You have two choices here, Jim. The easy way, or I go get your pliers and cut one finger off at a time until I find the one needed.” There was only a moment of hesitation before his hand opened flat, and I slipped the phone under his fingers until it lit up and opened with the right one.

It was like finding candy in a candy store. There were so many little glowing squares. Some were labeled games, and others appeared to be work-related, but it was a miniature treasure trove. First to change the password. It took me more time than I would’ve liked to find the settings for the phone. Finally, a grin spread across my face as I found the needed area and once again slid Jim’s finger into the correct spot and changed the password to my own.

“Thanks for your help, I’m very excited to see what you have saved in here. Some kinky porn, perhaps? Maybe a list of all your favorite things that you’ll never get to do again, or maybe the names and numbers of all the men who raped Adalyn?”

As I said her name, Jim’s eyes grew wide, more tears brimming in the bottom of them as he silently begged. How many times had I begged? How many times did Adalyn beg to be let go?

Jim tried to scream as I lunged forward until our noses were almost touching.

“It’s a terrible thing to feel helpless, isn’t it? While you wait here, I want you to remember every time you strapped me down, every time you forced pills down my throat, and every time you beat me until I couldn’t stand. I want you to remember everything and then….” I held up my finger. “I want you to wonder what I’m going to do to you.”

A soft whimper escaped Jim’s mouth, and the defiant look was wiped clean from his face. Standing straight, I smiled wide as I stared at the phone once more. I’d never been allowed to have a phone. My parents said it was too much money, and the closest thing to modern technology the Giltberts had was a color television that still had rabbit ears and a static-filled radio. I’d always been envious of the kids that came to school with their fancy phones that played music and could look shit up like naked girls.

I was going to need a charger for it and quickly wandered around until I found the charger plugged into a kitchen outlet. Digging around in the cupboards until I found an empty grocery bag, I put all of my newfound treasures inside and sat it near the sliding glass door, my planned exit. Taking a deep breath, I needed to focus and went back to the living room and stood behind the chair I’d brought in to stare down at Jim.

“I need you to understand, Jim, that you took the small thread of kindness from my life, the little piece of happiness that kept me on the non-murdering side of sanity.” Locking eyes with the man my hands squeezed the metal back of the fancy dining room chair. “Do you know what happens to a man like me when you destroy the only thing that was keeping him from killing?”

Jim didn’t say anything, but the tears and his deadpan stare said it all.

“Yeah, you really did fuck up good this time. Does your little honey know that you raped a nurse for sport and fucked the nympho patient, Marylynn, as often as you could get it up?” Pleading eyes found mine, and I just shrugged. “I didn’t think so, but she’s about to find out. I believe that truth and confession are good for the soul before you die.”

I took a step toward the hallway and stopped to stare over at Jim.

“You’re a power-hungry hypocrite, Jim. Adalyn never fucked me, and you treated her like a whore for being nice to me while you were fucking around on your girl. Was it guilt or maybe jealousy that drove you to do what you did? Or had you always wanted a piece of her, and the opportunity simply presented itself?” I shrugged. “Guess it doesn’t matter now.”

Walking away, I shook my head. I didn’t want to hear his excuses or reasoning because no matter what he said, it wouldn’t take us back in time to fix what had been done.

Making a trip to the garage, I found two bungee cords and a tow rope and then made my way to the bedroom where the woman was still comfortably sleeping and none the wiser to what was going on a few rooms away. Walking around the bed, I stared down at her face and didn’t recognize her.

“Sorry, my dear, but you’re going to need to pay for Jim’s sins.”

In one swift move I picked her up, blanket and all. She was trapped like a caterpillar in a cocoon, and I tossed her over my shoulder like a sack of cattle feed. The screaming started immediately after I began to walk. The confused yelling turned into a high-pitched alarm sound as I slammed her ass down into the chair. Before she wiggled free of the makeshift cocoon, I grabbed a bungee, wrapped it around her body, and secured it to the back of the chair.

“Who are you? What do you want?”

I ignored her questions because she’d find out the answers in due time. The second bungee was wrapped around her legs and hooked behind the chair too. Then picking up the rope, I wrapped it around her body as well, tying it securely in place before laying out the rest and binding it around Jim in his recliner.

“Why are you doing this?” the woman repeatedly asked as she blubbered.

With a heavy sigh, I flopped down on the couch and stared at them.