Page 7 of Off the Rails

Giving up on hiding, I made a full out sprint down the path, pumping my arms and sucking in red hot air, praying for the first time in years that I would make it out of here alive.

But no god answered my prayers.

A calloused hand knotted in my hair, ripping me back against a muscular chest. “Calm the fuck down.”

“Fuck you,” I seethed, swinging my elbows back wildly, hoping for another break.

The press of a bloody machete against my throat was her only answer. Her friends stepped in front of me, their broad shouldered bodies blocking off my view of the exit.

“Just fucking do it, then,” I spat, still wriggling against her grip.

“Do what?” the ax-wielding maniac tilted her head.

“Fucking kill me. Get it over with.”

“We don’t want to kill you,” she shook her head, and the mirth in her voice sent a shiver down my spine.

“Let me fucking go!” I bellowed, letting my body weight drop as I kicked back wildly against Stitches’ shins.

“Cut it out,” she growled, hoisting me up by my scalp.

I hadn’t realized until this moment that there were outcomes worse than death here.

I won’t do it. I’ll make them kill me.

Hot tears streamed down my face as I thrashed in her grip. “No, end it, end it now. I don’t want to⁠—”

“Ma’am, you need to calm down.” The playing card clown raised her hands placatingly, mallet abandoned.

But I couldn’t hear here through the pounding in my ears. “Kill me, just fucking kill me!”

I thrashed, pressing my neck harder against the machete’s blade, forcing the clown to lower the weapon.

“Stick her.” Stitches barked.

The splatter-mask obliged, pulling a syringe from a zippered pouch around her chest, pulling a dose of poison from an amber bottle.

“You need to cool off,” Spades tried again, but as the death I’d begged for approached, my survival instincts took over.

“FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK⁠—!”

My thrashing was useless against the powerful grip of my masked captors. Stitches and Spades held me in place, presenting my arm to Splatter as she slipped the needle easily beneath my skin.

Ice burned through my veins as the liquid disappeared into my body, eating away at all my fight. The world began to spin. My limbs went heavy as Stitches hoisted me over her shoulder, letting my head thud against her back with each step.

And as they dragged me away to their hidden lair, darkness closed in, bringing with it the first peace I’d ever known.

5

BLADE

God, she’s fucking gorgeous.

As Cyrus led the way to the jail cell, I couldn’t keep my eyes off our pretty new toy. She lay limp over Cyrus’s shoulder, head swinging with each stride. Her pretty blonde hair cascaded down the back of her head, ending in blunt, blue ends that I wanted so badly to touch.

Her makeup was smudged — who knew how long those roaches had been chasing her before we squished them? — but it wasn’t enough. I wanted to see it dripping down her cheeks, smearing while I filled her pretty little lips.

Fuck, she’ll be so fun to play with.