The Darkness Within (13 page)

The Eighth Girl

David sprang into action, working quickly and methodically as he created his scene. First he held me down as he hooked the handcuffs through Adrianna’s wooden bedpost and then cuffed them to my wrist again. Then he grabbed Adrianna roughly, dragging her as she whimpered, and then shoving her inside of her closet. He bound her feet tightly with rope and kept her hands secured behind her back as a second precaution, although just from looking at her anyone could see she was too weak to try and escape. She hadn’t even been able to walk on her own.

I watched David, wondering what it was that made him this way as he cracked open the closet door just enough so he could still see Adrianna. She was leaned back with her head resting on the dresser she kept in her closet. I wanted more than anything to help her. She needed a doctor. I had to find some way to help her, even if it meant trying to keep David focused on me. I just hoped I could keep him distracted long enough to keep him from killing her before someone came to our rescue.

Once everything was set, David returned to me, sitting down on the bed next to me. I leaned away from him, trying to put as much distance between us as possible. The metal cuffs tightened painfully on my wrists, pinching my skin. I gritted my teeth, trying to ignore the discomfort. I would rather endure the pain for the rest of my life than be victim to whatever David had in mind for me. I didn’t even want to think about what he was planning on doing next. What I needed to do was find a way to keep him talking. The more he talked, the more time I had.

I raised my eyes, meeting David’s gaze. Squinting, I glared at him with as much anger and hatred as I could muster. “Why are you doing this?” I asked, my voice cracking slightly with all of the emotion in it.

Gesturing toward the closet, he joked, “You see, I have a few skeletons in my closet is why.”

I shook my head at his response. I wanted a real reply, not a joke. “Tell me why. Don’t I deserve that?”

“You don’t
deserve
anything. Nothing in life is guaranteed.”

“I just want to know why you are the way you are,” I urged, trying to get him to bite. Honestly, I really was curious as to how such evil was created.

David raised a trim eyebrow, his heavy gaze burning into mine. “Well, if you really want to know.” He scooted closer to me on the bed, grabbing my arm and pulling me close to him. “We can trade favors.”

I almost gagged at the thought of where this conversation was headed.

“I’ll tell you all about my past, but in return, when the time comes,
you
have to be the one to kill your little friend.” David’s lips curled upwards into a smirk. He leaned his face close to my ear, his warm breath on my cheek causing me to recoil slightly. One of his hands gripped it into my curls to hold my head in place. “And you’ll have to kill her the way I tell you to,” he whispered, his voice thick with desire.

I didn’t have to think for a second. I knew I would never hurt Adrianna, or anyone for that matter, yet my only way of saving her was to make a deal with the Devil. I glanced to the closet, seeing Adrianna’s slouched over form. If it came down to it, I would kill myself before I even raised a finger toward her. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat as I answered slowly. “I-I’ll do it.” My voice came out tremulous, but David didn’t even mention it. He just smiled, then leaned over and kissed the side of my face. I squirmed away from his touch, trying to rub off the slimy feel of his lips and scratchy stubble with my shoulder.

With a sigh, he settled back, leaning against Adrianna’s headboard to get comfortable. Then he focused his eyes on me. “Where to begin?” he asked himself, making a
tsking
noise.

I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

After a moment, David closed his eyes and began speaking. “When I was seven, my father got remarried. His new wife, Gisele, had a daughter named Isabel.” He absentmindedly twisted his gold wedding band around his finger as he spoke. Then he opened his eyes and raised his hand to brush some of my hair off of my face. Smiling at me, he said, “She was just the beginning.”

I gasped in horror. “Y-you
killed
her?” The word ‘killed’ sounded dirty to my ears; like a curse word parents would reprimand their children for repeating. I don’t know why I was so shocked. After all, David was a killer. The part that surprised me the most was his young age. He was only seven.

Laughing at my words, David shook his head no. “No, Claire. My father did. He was a great man.” He sighed again, an expression of gratitude crossed onto his face. “It wasn’t his fault that Isabel was so beautiful. She tempted him at every chance she got; wearing makeup and form-fitting clothing. Finally, my father took what he wanted—her and her life. One night he was too rough and he killed her. It was an accident. He didn’t mean to strangle her to death. He loved Isabel.” David placed his hand on my thigh, but I shook it off. Thankfully he didn’t put it back.

“Father was a good liar though, so he convinced Gisele that Isabel had run away. They even put up fliers and placed a missing person's report for Isabel’s disappearance.” He chuckled, laughing at the irony as
he began gently stroking my hair. I resisted the urge to pull away from his touch, not wanting his story to end. I needed him to keep talking. He probably thought he had until the end of the search before he had to get out of here, but he didn’t know about my mom.

“About a year later my dad and Gisele sold the house and we moved into a neighborhood not far from the old one. To make a long story short, the new owners found Isabel’s remains buried in our backyard. They were getting a pool put in,” he scoffed, rolling his eyes. “My poor father was sentenced to life in prison for her murder.” He shook his head slowly, his hand strokes becoming rougher on my head. “He gave me this when the police came to take him away.” David held his hand up, indicating the wedding ring on his finger. “I wear it to keep him with me,” he explained.

“My older sister, Natalie, was ten when Gisele and Isabel came to live with us. Isabel fascinated her. Even to this day I remember Natalie spying on her. After father was taken from us, Gisele wanted nothing to do with us, so Natalie and I went to live with our Uncle Randy on his farm. Natalie used to leave the house at night a lot and I always wondered what she was doing.”

I bit my bottom lip, waiting for David to continue. His eyes were closed again, as if he was remembering the night vividly.

“I followed her to the edge of the property, to the shed. I watched through the window as she dissected one of the farm cats. One day she caught me spying on her and invited me to join in on the fun.” His lips curved upwards into a smile. “I was nervous at first, but there was nothing to it. She was right; the blood was enthralling. Having so much control over a life like that was
extremely
satisfying.”

“That night she told me about how she used to hide in the closet in Isabel’s room and watch as our father would come in and punish her for being so beautiful and tempting. Natalie was watching them the night father murdered Isabel. She saw the whole thing.” David opened his eyes and leaned toward me. When I tried to move back, his hand in my hair gripped a fistful and pulled my face toward his. “It was Natalie’s idea to recreate the events of that night. We picked the girls together, seeking out the most beautiful ones. Then Natalie would get into the closet and watch me as I reenacted the events of that night with whatever lucky girl we’d chosen.”

His word choice disgusted me. He couldn’t seriously think that the girls he preyed on were
lucky
.

David’s smile twisted into a scowl. “Three years ago Natalie was in a bad car accident. She died on her way to the hospital. I was devastated, but I knew she would want me to continue our game. I just had to find a way to take two girls, one to replace Natalie, without being caught. That’s how my collection began—I abducted Hadley and was patient with her, keeping her until I found Rachel. Everything was perfect, until
you
came along.” His grip on my hair tightened and I let out a squeak of pain. “You made everything so difficult, Claire. If only you would’ve behaved, then everything would be fine now. You would be watching me and my beautiful Holly, from the closet. But, because of you and Holly’s escape attempt, I had to speed things along. I was rushed this time, which made me sloppy. You should’ve never seen me trying to get rid of her body that night.”

I widened my eyes at him. His statement resonated in me. “I knew what I saw was real.”

David nodded, smirking at me. “I was furious, but it worked out in my favor after all. I hid Holly in your shed and then cleaned up quickly. When the officers came knocking, I pretended to be confused. I let them inside because with Holly gone, I had nothing to hide anymore. At the end of the night, your credibility was tainted and I got off scot-free—a mere victim of your accusations.”

David loosened his grip on my hair. He looked so smug, while I was sure my expression mirrored one of hatred.
Holly’s body was in our shed.
The thought alone made me queasy. She was in my backyard and I had no idea.

“Now, enough of story time.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the cloth, shoving it into my mouth again and making me gag on the thick material. Then he produced a switchblade from his other pocket. “Hold still, beautiful. You’re number eight and I can tell you from experience that when things go smoothly, there’s less pain. So hold still.”

My eyes widened at the sight of the blade. The moonlight filtering through the curtains caused the blade to glint menacingly. I tried to scream, but due to my gag, only muted sound came out. David leaned into me, holding the blade up, but I began to thrash and move around, making it hard for him to get close to me.

“Stay still or I will hide you somewhere safe while I go and pay your mother a visit,” he threatened, his voice deep and serious.

I swallowed back my fear and stopped moving. I didn’t know whether my mom was home, but it was a risk I wasn’t willing to take.

“Good, so you do know how to follow orders.” David leaned close to me, holding my head back against the headboard as he pressed the blade to my forehead. I squeezed my fists, letting the tips of my nails bite into my flesh. It was my only distraction from the pain as David pushed the blade farther into my skin. Despite how much I didn’t want to scream and give him the satisfaction of hurting me, strangled cries escaped me. Tears dripped down my cheeks as he cut and sliced, carving the number into my flesh. The knife set my skin ablaze as it dug deeper into my flesh. The blade felt like it was scraping against my skull. It was worse than the pain I had experienced from my dream. It was unlike anything I could’ve ever imagined.

When David finally pulled away, blood coated the blade of his knife and warm blood oozed down my forehead, dripping onto my eyelashes and mixing with my tears. I didn’t know whether I was crying from the pain or the vulnerability I felt wash over me. Maybe it was both.

“Want to see my handiwork? I’ve gotten quite good at this.”

I hung my head, not wanting to see his handwork anymore than I wanted to feel it searing on my forehead. I felt a pulsing headache coming on and I was horrified by the thought of having a number forever carved into my skin.

“Well, if you don’t want to see it we can just get down to business.” I looked up, jumping back when I noticed his proximity. My quick reaction to his closeness only caused my aching wrists to tug harder on my handcuffs. “Don’t be afraid, Claire, I’m not going to kill
you
. Normally the girl in the closet is the one whom I’ve just kidnapped. She’s usually the one who comes with me when I leave, but this time is different. I snatched your friend earlier in the week and I’ve already experienced everything
she
has to offer.” He tugged on the waistband of my jeans, making my skin crawl. Yet all I could think about was Adrianna and how she must have felt—probably exactly how I felt right now. “It’s your turn now.” David leaned into me, holding my head to the side by my hair as he placed a sloppy kiss on my neck. “I knew you were the one the day you and your mother welcomed me to the neighborhood. I couldn’t keep my eyes off you. You’re just so beautiful.”

My tears came harder. I tried to speak, intending to say, “Please don’t do this,” but all that came out were muffled distortions of my words. I tried to pull away as David brought his face to mine again, but he overpowered me, holding me down. His hand slipped under my shirt, making my breathing catch. My vision turned cloudy from my tears. I wished I could control my senses and turn them off.

David pressed his lips to my forehead. “Don’t cry. Everything will be okay now, Isabel.”

I squeezed my eyes shut tight as he kissed my forehead again. Hearing him call me Isabel only made the situation more daunting because I knew how Isabel ended up. She was the start and now I was going to be the eighth girl. At least, the eighth girl David had taken on his own. He hadn’t begun numbering his victims until after Natalie died.
How many girls had died at his hands?