Page 15

“Dick?” he asks, not looking back this time. Focusing on the curve in the road.

It gives me less than a minute to unlock my ankle cuffs.

I only need five seconds.

Free at last.

My heavy footsteps rattle the van.

They grab Oswald’s attention.

“Dick, you got him?” He’s hopeful, already imagining me thrown into another cell. Locked away from Shiloh. Never. “You did, didn’t?—”

Oswald’s head is in my grip. I slam it into the driver door.

Over.

And over.

And over.

Gray brain matter mixes with his blood. Like Dick’s back there, only better.

Because Oswald’s terror is very much alive. He lives through the whole ordeal, and I get to hear his shrieks. See his arms flailing. Watch his body arch against his seatbelt when the van steers off course.

Left, left, left.

And…there it is. We’re off the road, the van skating toward the trees, about to hit one.

Despite Oswald’s fingers grasping my wrists and how the van shakes, I’m not letting go. I’m devoted, an unstoppable force as I destroy what’s left of his head. I take great pleasure in watching him paint the glass red and gray.

Eventually, the inevitable collision happens. We crash into a tree, and I fly over to the other side, leaving dead Oswald in his seat.

I land on the opposite side of the door, listening to the engine cough.

A normal person would’ve been in pain by now. Would’ve been hurt. Severely.

I’ve never been normal.

Even when my bastard father was alive and beat me up. I got bruised. Bled. But no broken bones. No cracked ribs. Nothing actually hurt. I just hated being overpowered, but I could take a beating.

Easy.

Only time I knew what real pain was, was when I met Shiloh. My obsession with her is a constant stab to the gut. A hole in my chest. Deep, hollow emptiness between my ribs.

I need to get the hell out of here. Get to her before anyone tries to stop me.

I get up, unbuckling Oswald. Next, I relieve him of his clothes. Hoodie, jeans, and shoes replace my jumpsuit and slip-ons.

Thankfully, his black hoodie hides the blood splatter.

I’m almost ready.

Almost.

The day is fading fast. Darkness settles over the forest, the road, the skies.

They’ll come looking for me in less than an hour.