Page 75 of Off the Rails

Until we heard a loud yelp. “Fuck! OW!”

“Dinner’s ready.” Blade laughed.

And I felt my chest tighten with anticipation. Desperate.

Without another word, Blade and I knew exactly where the man had found a trap.

We took off in a full sprint toward Superhero Central.

We’d set a trap inside a few rides, assuming at least one of these dumbasses would think they could escape us by hiding indoors.

Clearly, this was their first rodeo.

And I would make sure that it was their last.

Running down the long dark tunnel into the depths of Mighty Meteor, we hurtled past the coaster’s cabin loading platform, and jumped down into the tracks.

With each step, we pushed ourselves farther into the darkness, only the occasional light flashing in the hallway. But the darkness was my ally, keeping my hearing sharp as I searched for our prey.

Blade was moving fast but kept her steps quiet as she canvassed the space. Her head rotated on a smooth swivel as she checked every corner.

It wasn't long before we heard the whimpers of an injured man coming from the next room.

With a quick nod to each other Blade and I moved in sync, covered by complete darkness. The deep veil of shadows made it easier to corner the Screamer as he clutched his leg.

Blade laughed as the man trembled, blood soaking his hand and his eyes wide. “Looks like you got yourself into a bit of a trap.”

The man tried desperately to back away from Blade and I. He'd already encountered us once tonight and he knew that what came next wouldn't be pleasant.

He’d stumbled upon one of our bear traps. Spring loaded, the steel-toothed trap had wrapped around the poor fuckers leg. It would be heavy, too heavy for him to move with a few gaping wounds in his leg.

As I looked at his blood, my heart raced in my chest. It had been months since The Oracle had dropped anything in Feverpoint for us to play with. And there was something about the shimmering liquid that always made my body hum.

From the looks of it, Blade was feeling the same rush.

Stepping forward, she placed her boots on the man's wrists — pinning him to the ground as she towered over him.

From her back pocket, Blade pulled out the familiar, metal case and revealed our deck of tarot cards. She let out a loud cackle that reverberated off of the walls, kneeling down to get closer to her squirming prey. “Pick a card, any card.”

Standing over them, I watched the man thrash under Blade’s boot. It was pathetic, the way he thought there was still hope for him to survive.

But they were always like this, begging on their hands and knees — finally ready to take accountability for what they'd done in this life.

But it was too late for apologies, we were going to send them to the next.

My voice rumbled out of my chest, “Looks like he's a little tied up.”

The joke made Blade hiss a laughter that rose goosebumps on the Screamers skin. “Oh too bad, I'll just pick one for you.”

I knew under Blade’s ghastly mask that there would be an eerie smile that would have revealed her twisted plans to this drug-dealing crybaby.

Keeping her boots firmly on his wrists, Blade began to shuffle the tarot cards over his body. What started as a beautiful cascade of cards bridging over each other, quickly became a waterfall of colors falling over the Screamer's body until one card remained in Blade's hand.

She flipped it around to look at it, my eyes catching a glimpse as Blade clicked her tongue. “Bad luck.” She looked directly into the man's eyes, bringing the sharp edge of her axes to the man's neck. “It looks like you're gonna die.”

Realizing his destiny, the man thrashed harder than he had before.

But Blade wasn't interested in wasting any more time, the blood lust taking over as the cards doled out the man's “fate”.