Chapter 179
Chapter 179
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Annie pulled over to the side of the dirt road and parked, just sitting there for a moment with her hands clenching the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Many hours since, the signal of the GPS had vanished, swallowed up by the desolate wilderness. The silence was deafening but for the faint rustle of leaves in the breeze of the night.
She looked at her phone–no signal.
The only thing illuminating her way was the flashlight. She took a deep, shaking breath and got out of the car, slamming the door shut.
Finally, Annie saw the old condemned house; it was just as olden and condemned as she had thought it would be.
its wooden boards rotting, a couple of roofs missing, and a faint light flickering inside. She approached it from the back, and her breath hitched in her chest at the thought of what she was going to do. Her steps were cautious, her boots crunching against the brittle grass, and her heart thundered so loud that she was afraid he may hear her approach.
She peered through the cracked kitchen window and saw him–Jim. He was alive, moving around the kitchen with an air of nonchalance, humming some.tune in a toneless voice as he prepared some concoction of food. Annie froze for a moment with anger and hatred. His threats have made her life miserable; meanwhile, he was living his life to the fullest.
She waits, crouches in the shadow, and watches him. Each second passing was like eternity to her. Her hands knitted in her backpack straps where the tools for revenge lay hidden. When eventually Jim retired to sleep and a dim light within the house was doused out. She waits for a bit more, which made him deep in sleep.
When she was satisfied that he indeed slept fast, she tiptoed to the back door–which was hardly hanging together–and eased it open with creaking hinges. She stepped inside, stopped, and listened, her heart pounding. A smell of dishes not washed greeted her like a brick, but that was hardly the worst of her problems.
In one hand, she had a dagger, its blade tenebrously luminous in the dark, and in the other, an axe.
Jim lay on a worn, ripped–up couch, head thrown back in a sideway lean, chest rising and falling very slowly in deep, unconscious sleep. It filled her with hatred and a grim satisfaction as she gazed at him, such a sorry figure. An ugly cocky smile spread across her lips as she leaned over him.
You thought you could get away from me, she muttered with shaking teeth, her body trembling from the shake of rage and adrenaline.
She raised the dagger, teeth gritted with furrowed eyebrows. And in one swift motion devoid of mercy, she plunged it into his wrist and pinned his hand to the couch.
Jim’s eyes sprang wide open in a contortion of shock and pain while he let out a guttural scream.
He started to thrash, trying to yank his hand free, but before he could, Annie swung the axe. The blade came down hard, pinning his other hand to the opposite side of the couch. Blood sprayed across the room, painting it in red.
Jim howled, his cries echoing through the night like the wails of wounded animal. He lunged desperately, trying to pull himself free, but it was futile. His wrists were trapped, and the pain rendered him weak.
“You should’ve been more careful,” Annie hissed, venomous and cold. She leaned in closer to him, inches from his face, her eyes ablaze with fury. “You thought you could threaten you. You should have asked your predecessor before pulling such a stunt. “I told you I would find you!
“Annie screamed, her voice trembling in anger and pleasure. Her face was just inches above Jim’s, and spit flew from her lips
17:43 Sat, Feb 1 B.
Chapter 179
as she yelled each word venomously. His painful cries filled the room, his face drenched in sweat.
“Where are the videos?!” she shrieked, her voice sharp enough to cut through steel.
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Jim said nothing. His body writhed against the pain that pinned him onto the couch. It was his silence that fed Annie’s anger.
“WHERE?!” she shrieked; her voice bounced within the small, condemned house.
She wheeled away from him and spun around, shaking with anger and frustration. The room was a disaster, but she didn’t care. She yanked out drawers and heaved furniture forward, hurling anything out of her path. Sharp, ragged bursts of breathing escaped her as she sought the evidence she’d been traveling so desperately to find.
It had felt like hours, but then her eyes finally caught the small, hidden USB drive under a stack of papers. A triumphant smile beamed on her lips as she grasped it, her fingers trembling with anticipation.
She marched back to her bag, inserting the drive into her laptop as her heart pounded while the files loaded on the screen. One by one, she clicked through the videos; with each, her suspicions were confirmed in a damning playback of footage right before her eyes. A satisfied smirk curled her lips as she deleted each file, erasing evidence Jim had so carefully preserved.
“There,” she whispered now, her voice almost soft, though her expression was as cold and merciless as ice. She closed the laptop, turning to him.
“You shouldn’t have messed with me, Jim,” she spat, crouching beside him. Her eyes ablaze with hated, her voice laced with mockery, she said, “We could have been so much more. We could’ve been. closer.”
She leaned forward, her hand tracing down his body in a mockery of a caress. He flinched beneath her touch, his breathing shallow and labored. Her hand found his crotch, her fingers twisting cruelly there, and a guttural scream tore from his throat.
“Doesn’t feel so good now, does it?” she sneered, her face mere inches from his as he cried out in pain.
Jim screamed in that little room, his voice echoing with the silence of the night. Minutes felt like hours to him.
His body was weakening; he was relaxing with every minute that passed.
Annie stood over him, her chest heaving as she stared at the man who had caused her so much fear. Slowly, she rose to her feet, wiping her bloodied hands on her jeans as if to rid herself of his existence.
“You’re pathetic,” she muttered, her voice cold and detached.
Jim’s eyes fluttered open one last time, his face pale and lifeless. He managed to choke out a final, rasping word, his voice barely audible.
“You’re, a loser.”
