Page 88 of Like An Animal

“I’m okay. I’m so sorry you got dragged into this.” Missy’s eyes narrow with confusion.

Turns out, The Fathers have been watching me longer than I thought. They have been watching me long enough that they know Missy was my best friend. Key word, was.

“So, what will it be? Will you save Miss Missy here or are you going to continue to defy me?” Isaac rasps in my ear as I beg Missy for forgiveness with my eyes.

There is no other option. I know that I will be haunted by this for the rest of my life. I will be haunted by whatever they are going to do to her because though I know they are the ones making the decisions, a part of me will always know this is my fault.

“I won’t.” The words come out as a whisper before I slam my eyes shut.

“Do it, Father Matthew,” Isaac says before grabbing my chin, shaking my face. “Open your eyes and watch or I will remove your eyelids myself. Watch what you have done.”

Tears fill my eyes as I force them open and Isaac holds my head in place. I am forced to watch as Missy screams, trying to break away from the hold that Father Matthew has on her. He uses a knife to cut away her underwear, slicing into her leg. Blood flows down her body as he forces her legs open and he proceeds to violently rape her.

Tears flow down my face as Missy begs me to make it stop, but I can’t. Even if I conceded now, they wouldn’t stop. They would use her to show me what happens when I defy them.

Father Matthew uses the knife to stab her in the side as he continues his assault. He stabs her again and again. I am forced to watch the life slowly leave her eyes until she stops moving, stops breathing. Even when she’s dead, Father Matthew doesn’t stop assaulting her body. He keeps abusing her and there’s nothing I can do to make him stop.

I’m so sorry, Missy. You didn’t deserve to die like this.

It’s not the first time I’ve seen them kill someone. I’ve lost count of the number of children I’ve watched die in this place, but it's never been an intentional death. It was always a death caused by trauma.

The body of a child can only take so much before it gives out. It almost happened to me a few times.

I swear, one day I’m going to destroy this cult from the inside out.

“Where is your defiance now, Mary Elizabeth?” Isaac taunts me, but my heart feels like it's dying from what I just witnessed.

“Fuck you.”

Someone else should’ve bombed this place a long time ago.

“Hmm. That’s too bad. I guess we have to move onto our next plan of action.”

Does that mean they’re going to let me go? It’s doubtful, but that’s what it sounds like.

Isaac looks to Father Matthew, who is busy fixing his pants. “Are they in position?”

Matthew reaches into his cloak and pulls out his phone before saying, “Yes, Father Isaac. They have the Borza boy in their sights.”

“No!” I scream, fighting the ropes burning against my wrist. “You leave Jeremy out of this!”

“Oh, what do you know? Mary Elizabeth does have a weak spot. How about we watch him die together?”

Isaac pulls out his phone and puts it in my face, showing off a view of Jeremy, Xavi, and Massimo standing in Xavi’s garage. Massimo hands Jeremy a beer bottle as tears fill my eyes.

Then, a red dot appears on Jeremy’s temple.

No, no, no.

“Here it comes,” Isaac whispers in my ear and I fucking break.

“I’ll do it!” A sob falls from my lips. “I’ll do it but only if he’s alive.”

“Call them off,” Isaac instructs Matthew and I listen to him call someone, ordering them not to hurt Jeremy. Then, the red dot disappears from Jeremy’s temple.

I sob so fucking hard I swear my throat must be bleeding. I can’t cope with the thought that they almost killed Jeremy because of me…and he has no idea of how much danger his involvement with me has put him in.

CHAPTER 37