Marcus stood waiting at the bottom of the stairs as if he’d known I’d be there. He looked up and I expected to see his smile but this was nothing to smile about.
“Where is he?” I asked.
“Ellie.” he said, “do you really want to do this?”
“Yes, I have to.” I replied.
“You can walk away from all of this you know.” he said.
“And if I do, my decision will haunt me for the rest of my life, I need to know.” I answered.
“Fine, you’ll only have a few minutes with him and I’ll be outside if anything happens.” Marcus said.
“Thank you.” I replied.
I made my way to the cell not knowing what to expect. Richard appeared from within the cell wiping his hands with a stained bloodied cloth, once done he threw it to the floor.
“I’ve made him more compliable.” he said.
“Uh, thanks.”
“I leave you two to it then.” Richard said.
I stood on the edge of the cell entrance, willing myself to go inside. Everything I needed to know was inside, but I felt afraid, scared of what I might learn. I gripped onto the cell bars as if my life depended on it, but I needed to do this.
“Ellie, it’s OK if you don’t want to do it.” Marcus said.
“No, I need to do this.” I replied.
The smell made its way into my nose as soon as I entered the cell. The metallic stench of blood, it filled the cracks in the stone floor making it into a beautiful red pattern. The foul stench had brought up old memories that I wished stayed locked away.
“Are you going to torture me now?” the blood-soaked prisoner asked.
The bounty hunter before me was caked in his own crimson blood he truly was broken and I had him all to myself.
“No, I’m not. I just need a peek inside of your head, that’s all.” I replied.
“Go ahead, but you may find some things you might not like.” he said.
“Now let’s see what’s inside.” I said.
I placed both hands onto his sweaty face and closed my eyes tightly. I could feel his body trembling, fighting against the thick chains that held him in place. My body tingled as I fell deeper and deeper into him mind, rooting through all of his memories as if they were my own. Horrid recollections burst into my mind, torture, betrayal and death became normal for this bounty hunter and I had a front row seat to it all. I tried to sort the important from the irrelevant as I made my way closer to the all important memory. Something in his mind gnawed at me and I tried to ignore it but it bugged me, to satisfy my curiosity I took a peek at what his old memories had in store for me.
“You need to do this and if you don’t you know what will befall you.” It was that woman’s voice again that pierced through the cloudy memory.
“Why do I need to do this?” the bounty hunter asked.
The bounty hunter was back handed for his reply and my cheek flared with pain.
“Because it is demanded!” she shrieked.
“It will be done, miss.” he replied.
“Good, that will get the wheel spinning.” the harsh voice spoke.
I pulled myself out of the memory and reached out to its connecting source. A stalling car stood parked in between the pavement and the long winding road. The bounty hunter stood next to the driver’s side captivating the young man behind the wheel with his fake visions. The driver behind the wheel revved up his machine biding his time to make his move. The bounty hunter stood back and watched as his delusional servant speeded towards the car in front, smashing into the side of it throwing the all too familiar car rolling across the road and flipping it onto its back.
I pulled myself out of his mind and stepped away from him seething with hatred, my repressed anger at myself for having thought that I was the cause of the accident that involved me and Kate was a lie. The man who kneeled before me had caused it, he was to blame.
“You!” I screamed.
“I told you, you wouldn’t like what you’d see.” he replied with a hoarse cough.
Marcus immediately came into the cell with worry across his face. “Ellie, what’s wrong?” he asked.
I ignored him and paced back and forth along the blood soaked stone, hand shaking with the rage that was bubbling away within me.
“Ellie, please tell me.” he asked. “What happened?”
I stopped my pacing and looked up at Marcus. “Get out, get out!” I screamed.
I had shaken Marcus up with my outburst and he agreed to my demand.
“So what are you going to do?” the bounty hunter asked.
This was the man who had killed Kate and he was kneeling before me, horrid ideas filled my crazed mind, but did I want this man to suffer for following orders? Yes I did. A sickening thought appeared inside of my mind and I didn’t ignore it like I had done in the past, this man was going to pay for what he had done and I would be the one to do it. Bringing myself out of my busy mind, I turned my attention to him.
“What are you going to do?” I could sense there was a tiny hint of fear within his voice.
“Ellie, talk to me.” Marcus could see that there was something wrong as he took a few steps towards me, I had to subdue him if I could have my justice.
“Ellie, I know what you’re thinking, if you do this there is no going back.” said Marcus.
“I know.” I replied. I shrieked at him throwing him against the wall losing his grip on the cell keys. I quickly snatched them from the floor and immediately locked myself inside the cell with the tortured bounty hunter.
“Don’t do this.” Marcus mumbled as he slowly came to.
I now had him all to myself and I wasn’t going to waste this golden opportunity. Slowly, I grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled his head back until he winced with pain.
“This won’t bring her back you know.” he said.
“I know, but it’ll help knowing that you are dead.” I replied.
I grabbed at his throat and delved inside for that all important part that everyone has inside of them. He struggled violently as I tightened my grip on his throat, diving in deeper into his subconscious until I could see it in my mind’s eye, dark and filled with hate.
Marcus was now on his feet and shaking the bars on the cell door. “Don’t do this, Ellie!” he yelled as he tried to gain entry. He tried to kick the sturdy lock but the steel bars held.
I grabbed at his riddled black soul and squeezed with all the strength I had and he trembled before me, convulsing in the process. He put up a bit of a fight but he couldn’t last any longer as I was slowly killing him. Between my fingers I could almost feel his broken soul crumbling within my hand, I withdrew my grip to see his sweaty dull skin turn to sold rock. The light slowly died within his eyes as his frail body succumbed to the hard substance.
“Ellie, what have you done?” gasped Marcus.
I took a step back admiring my work, the bounty hunter was now dead and his body solid. I wailed at him, shattering him into tiny pieces that scattered around the small cell. A smile graced my lips as I was showered with his rocky remains.
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