"Come on, I broke mine without wasting a second!" Hendricks sneered, twirling the blood-stained rod in his hand.
"ARRCCCCHKKK!!!"
A sickening crack rang out, again and again, each strike more brutal than the last. The young assistant's body contorted under the repeated blows, his natural posture—a stance his friends had once admired—was now a grotesque parody of itself. He stood limping, hunched, and trembling. His shoulders were dislocated, his arm dangled uselessly at his side, and his legs were twisted beyond recognition.
His bones jutted out in horrifying angles, exposed through torn flesh and muscle.
He looked dead, yet cursed to remain alive, his breaths shallow, uneven.
"P-please..." the assistant croaked, blood bubbling from his lips. His hands clutched weakly at the cold metal railing, knuckles white from the strain. He had done everything he could—everything within his limited power—but the metal bar didn't budge, didn't even tremble. The cruel reality of his situation settled over him like a shroud of despair. Death was certain now.
But he thought of Cassie—his young daughter, the light of his life, the reason for all his struggles. Her innocent smile flashed in his mind, and his heart broke. She would be alone.
He had taken this job, endured sleepless nights and endless shifts, to provide for her, to give her a chance in this brutal world. The bills were finally being paid, her future was just beginning to look secure, and now... Now, this.
The rage inside him built to a boiling point, overtaking his fear, overwhelming his pain.
'Why is life so unfair?!'
He gritted his teeth, his vision blurring as blood trickled down his face from a wound on his temple. His gaze swept across the room, locking onto the other board members. Not a single one had moved. They all sat there, silent, tense, watching his suffering unfold.
'This Board! They say they protect us, but none of them will lift a finger for me! They're all watching like vultures waiting for me to die!'
Another brutal strike from Hendricks tore through his back, ripping a raw scream from his throat. The assistant's hands slid off the railing, his mind snapping under the pressure. He couldn't take it anymore.
With a guttural roar, he launched himself at Hendricks, pure desperation driving his every move. His arms flailed wildly, aiming for any weak spot he could find. But he was too slow, too broken.
Hendricks sneered, his reflexes far superior. The assistant's body froze mid-lunge as Hendricks swung the rod in a smooth, calculated motion. The assistant gasped as the rod pierced his gut, tearing through flesh and muscle, emerging from the other side with a sickening squelch.
The blood splattered across his face, drenching his clothes, but he didn't stop. He couldn't stop. The room echoed with the sickening sounds of flesh and bone being pulverized, and Hendricks' laughter filled the air, a twisted symphony to the violence.
"Hahahaha!" Hendricks cackled, his voice rising in pitch. "Look at you, Roman! You've become a killer! A murderer! Just like me!"
Roman's hands trembled, blood-soaked and aching, but he kept swinging. Tears streamed freely from his eyes, mixing with the blood on his cheeks. His vision blurred with grief, rage, and guilt.
He had killed Ray. His assistant. His friend.
And now, he was no better than Hendricks. Explore stories at m,v l'e-novelhall.net
"I'm sorry," Roman choked out between sobs, his voice barely audible over the sickening thud of metal against flesh. "I'm so, so sorry..."
With one final swing, Ray's face was unrecognizable, a grotesque mess of blood, bone, and tissue.
Roman let the rod fall from his hands, collapsing to his knees beside Ray's body. He covered his face with his hands, his whole body shaking as the weight of what he had done crashed down on him.
"I... I killed him," Roman whispered, his voice hoarse and broken. "I killed him..."
Hendricks grinned, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "Well done, Roman. You've earned your place among us."
But Roman felt nothing. No sense of achievement, no relief. Just an overwhelming, crushing guilt that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
He had become a murderer.
And there was no going back.
***Author's note***
Last chapter for today. I'm havinga serious Head ache, see ya all tomorrow. I think I'll do a month end mass release because we just passed the first halve of season 2.