Fiendish: A Twisted Fairytale (74 page)

“Are you going to kill me?”

“Kill you? Why would I kill you?”

“I may be a sad and pathetic fool, but I
’m smart enough to know that if you do…whatever it is that you do to people down here, there has to be only one reason you aren’t in jail. You don’t leave witnesses or victims alive to tell. You won’t risk me going to the police when you let me out of here. If, you let me out of here. So that just leaves one logical option.”

“You’
d do that? Betray me by going to the police?”

“Betray you?” she screamed
, scrambling to her feet. “You have used me. Lied to me. Probably planned on killing me from the start, yet you want to talk about being betrayed.”

“I
’ve never used you or lied to you.”

***

“Bullshit!” I screamed at him. “From the moment we met, you have seen me as some sort of, of play thing. You never cared about me! How could you? I don’t think you have the capacity to care about anything or anyone other than yourself. You are a sick murderer that gets off on the power of taking someone else’s life. That’s what you just said. You, you kill people for the fun of it. To make me believe you are a normal, everyday guy, that’s a pretty big fucking lie, Seth!”

I felt myself starting to hyperventilate the more everything became clearer.

“You need to calm down, Calida. You’re getting yourself worked up over nothing.”

“Nothing?
Nothing? Are you...how can you say that?”

I leaned back against the wall to try and settle my breathing. Listening to him talk was beyond scary. He spoke about death and murder as if it were akin to breathing, and for him
, I believed it was. Covering my face with my hands, I screamed. I didn’t know what else to do; it was too much. Screaming was all I could do, so I did until I felt Seth’s hands digging into my shoulders. He jerked me forward, silencing me.

“Yes, not
hing. Things aren’t like that. I told you,
you
make things different for me.”

Seth stared at me with a penetrating gaze which caused me to tremble harder. I was cold, and scared, and it felt like my arm was on fire from where he
’d held me.

“No! Stop talking, just stop it. I can
’t hear anymore. I’m done, beyond done, so if you aren’t going to kill me, then I need to go. I …I can’t. This is too much. I can’t. I need to go home.”

I felt lost, and confused; betrayed and hurt.
I tried to push past him, needing out of this place, needing to be away from him, but he grabbed my hair, yanking me back.

“You aren
’t going anywhere! When I’m with you, it’s different. Those feelings and urges aren’t there. Without you…well their blood would be on your hands.”

Seth stared at me with his intense eyes, and I didn
’t doubt the conviction behind his words.

“What? You, you can
’t…you do this. I have nothing to do with it. I am not responsible for your actions. I’m not. I’m not. No. No!”

“You keep me grounded and fulfilled. Without you, the little voice in my head takes over. Do you really want to risk leaving
him
in control?”

“No, no, no,” I muttered to myself.

My head was spinning, and I felt like I was going to pass out at any moment. I thought about all the times I’d been here, looked out the window at this shed. Did he have people down here while he was up there with me? Was there some poor, scared soul facing death while we ate dinner, or just hung out, or while he was making love to me? I felt the bile rising up again when I thought about everything.

“Maybe I should tell you what happened the last time you left me. Maybe then you will understand when I say you aren
’t allowed to leave.”

The look in his eyes turned cold. I was too afraid to move. I held my breath when he leaned in and kissed me softly. Gently, he caressed my face before he suddenly snatched me by the arm
, pulling me out of the room back out to that room of horror. 

“Seth
, no, please let me go!” I cried, planting my feet, attempting to pull my arm free.

I was scared of what he may be getting ready to do to me, but it was no use. He was stronger, yanking me along behind him until we stood in front of the old
, blood stained bed. I turned to look away, but he wouldn’t let me. His fingers dug into my face as he kept my head in place.

“There!” h
e hissed, forcing me to look at the bed. “There is where she laid chained for days. She tried to be brave, but towards the end, she begged like they always do. First, she begged for her life. Later, she begged for the pain to be over. Pain that was caused because you left me!” he yelled, holding my face tightly.

“What?” I cried. “What are
you talking about?” I screamed, struggling to break free of his grasp, but he only held on tighter.

“That woman, the one that you left me over.
There, right there,” he said, pointing towards the bed. “Is where she met her end.” Seth turned me around, holding me tightly by the shoulders, watching as the weight of what he said sank in. “Now do you understand, Calida? I can’t let you go. You can’t want to go knowing that you, and you alone, hold the balance of life or death for someone.”

I stood there shaking my head. My eyes roamed his face, his beautifully handsome face
, and I felt as if I were looking at a stranger. Was I so blinded by his gorgeous exterior that I missed what lurked beneath it?
No, there was no way for me to know this. Was there?
I felt myself starting to get sick again. This couldn’t be real; this wasn’t the man I loved; this was someone else.

“Let me go, let me go!” I screamed
, pushing at him wildly.

I barely made it over to the tub that sat in the room before I vomited again. My entire body
shook as my mind continued to process the horrors of what I’d heard and saw today.

“I know this is a lot to take in,” he said
, kneeling beside me. “But it will be okay.”

“Okay? Are you crazy? You just revealed to me that you kill people. Nothing will ever be ok
ay for me again! Please, I have to, I need to go,” I begged. “I won’t say anything. I promise. I just want to go,” I cried.

“You can
’t leave. Why don’t you understand that?” he asked, sounding angry.

“Seth
, please. We can get you help. I’m sure there is someone, some doctor you can talk to about your…your
problem
. But you can’t leave me locked up down here! Macy, my parents, Kerrin, someone would be looking for me” I cried, hoping to reason with him on some level.

“I have no plans on keeping you locked up down here. I expect you to be with me as you have been.”

“As I have been? You can’t be serious! I’m not like you,” I shrieked. “This can’t be normal for me. There is no way I can just pretend as though this room doesn’t exist and that there aren’t families out there missing their loved ones that you took from them! No! I can’t do it!”

My head was swarming with thoughts
, and my stomach was in knots. How could he expect me to be okay with this? How could he expect me to stay with him? I lifted my gaze towards him, hoping that he would see and understand that I couldn’t. Seth stood, and his eyes burned with a fury I hadn’t seen before as he glared down at me.

“You will stay. You are mine. Y
ou belong to me. So you will remain by my side.” He spoke the words slowly, stressing his claim of ownership over me.

“No, Seth…”

My words were cut short when his hand wrapped around my neck, snatching me to my feet. My eyes widened with fear as I looked upon his face which was now mere inches from mine.

“I will say this one last time. If you leave me, for every day that you are gone
, someone will die. To show you that I am very serious, I will start with that friend of yours. Do I make myself clear?”

He released his grip
, leaving me frozen in fear. New tears rolled down my face. This was worse than any physical abuse he could have inflicted on me. If I had to choose between life and death at this moment, I would have chosen death. He stepped back and stretched out the same hand that had just been around my throat. If I left, he would kill Macy or anyone else that crossed his path. I had no doubt that his threat was a very real one considering he’d murdered that stripper because I’d walked out on him. My hand shook uncontrollably as I lifted it to take his.

“Good girl. Now let
’s get you cleaned up,” he said, giving me a smile that made my skin crawl.

Seth led
me slowly up the stairs, talking to me, but I couldn’t focus on the words. When we got to the top, he stopped and turned to face me. I flinched when he reached out to smooth hair from my face. He leaned in to kiss me, but I freaked, kneeing him in the stomach. I shoved him back and ran for the door. The crisp night air assaulted me as I burst through the door. Once outside, I started running as fast as my legs would carry me. 

I ignored the pain in my feet from moving over the rough terrain
; I just needed to get away. I heard him yelling behind me, but I had to keep going. So, I ran as if my life depended on it, which it did. My phone, purse, my shirt, and my shoes were all in the house, but I couldn’t go in there. I had to run. I had to make it to freedom, to people, to someone, anyone that could save me. My legs felt heavy, and my lungs struggled to give me the air I needed as I pushed myself in the cold darkness.

“Calida
, stop!” Seth shouted.

He sounded close;
he was gaining. I pushed myself harder, but my breathing was erratic, and my chest felt tight. I felt his fingers brush across my arm. I jerked away and tried to run faster. I heard the crunch of the gravel beneath his feet as he chased after me. It was so dark, the light of the moon hidden behind the clouds. I could barely see what was in front of me; the tears blinded my vision, but I kept running. I had to keep running. I ignored the burning in my lungs and the pain in my feet. I could see the gate. I tried to scream, but no sound came. My forward motion was stopped when I felt a searing pain in my scalp. Seth had grabbed my hair. I was being yanked backwards. My body collided with his.

***

“No!” Calida screamed, kicking her legs wildly. She struggled against me, making it hard to get a good grip on her. “Let me go, Seth, please let me go,” she cried, scratching at my face and hands.

“Stop fighting. Just stop fighting,” I barked. I wrestled her to the ground
, holding her tightly. “Don’t make me hurt you. I don’t want to hurt you, so stop fighting me.”

“No
!” she exclaimed, continuing to fight against me.

I didn’
t want to hurt her, but she wasn’t leaving me any choice. I managed to get my arm around her neck and slowly applied more pressure until I felt her struggles start to weaken. She pulled frantically at my arm, trying to get relief, but it was too late. Calida stopped kicking, and her limbs went limp as she succumbed to the sleeper hold. I removed my arm from her neck then rolled to the side, trying to get my breathing under control. I lay in the gravel driveway beside her, staring up at the starless sky.
She didn’t leave you a choice.

Moving slowly, I stood
then picked up her unconscious body. I glanced down at her dirty, tear-streaked face. I told her she couldn’t leave me. Why did she try?

Chapter 50

The early morning breeze swirled around me as I sat on the grass with a blanket around my shoulders, watching the waves roll in and out with a gentle motion. There was beauty in the serenity of this place that should have put me at ease. If I were here under different circumstances, I wouldn’t have minded being on a secluded island with only him. Instead, I sat here, unable to take peace in my surroundings, trying to figure out what was wrong with me. There had to be something I was doing that brought this sort of craziness into my life. It had been five days spent with him, five days I’d sat and asked myself why me over and over.

I
’d told Kerrin I was sick, although she wasn’t my boss, I still felt the need to at least let her know something. I’d told Macy he was taking me away on a mini vacation and that I would be back soon. That part wasn’t a total lie. He had taken me out of town, but it wasn’t what I would call a vacation.

The first two days were the worst; even though my body was beyond exhausted, I couldn
’t sleep. I would lay lifeless in bed as he held me, and during the day, I found myself staring out the back window towards the little unassuming shed in the yard. I couldn’t eat; whenever I tried, it came back up instantly.

So
, he’d brought me here, to his private island in Maine, accessible only via a fifteen-minute boat ride. Under normal circumstances, I would have been in awe of the beauty that surrounded me. The sound of seagulls squawking in the distance, the refreshing salty air filling my lungs, and even with the warming rays of sun hitting my face, I felt cold and empty inside. At least here I was able to sleep some, although it was rarely peaceful.