Page 1

Max

He was strapped to the chair, naked and trembling.

A pathetic excuse of a man, reduced to nothing but a quivering mess of blood and bruises.

The stench of sweat and fear clung to the damp basement air, mixing with the metallic tang of fresh blood.

I crouched in front of him, tilting my head as I observed my latest project.

His face was unrecognisable – his nose a pulpy ruin, his left eye swollen shut.

I lifted the phone, pressing record.

The little red light blinked to life on the screen, capturing the moment his sins had finally caught up with him.

“Say it.”

My voice was steady, cold.

He groaned, spitting a mouthful of his blood on the concrete floor.

It splattered across my black heels, but I didn’t move.

Didn’t flinch.

When he didn’t respond, I sighed and stood straight, walking over to my little collection of tools on the workbench.

The hammer was still slick with his blood, but it wasn’t enough. Not yet.

“Say. It.”

I repeated, this time punctuating my words by pressing the tip of a rusted pair of pliers against his fingernail.

He whimpered, shaking his head, his breath ragged.

“I — I can’t.”

Wrong answer.

I gripped at the nail and yanked, feeling the resistance before it gave way with a sickening pop.

His scream tore through the basement, echoing off the walls, pure and raw pain pouring from him.

“That’s one,”

I murmured, flicking the nail onto the floor.

It made a soft plink as it landed in the growing pool of his own fluids.

“You have nine more chances to get this right.”

He sobbed, shaking violently, his whole-body convulsing as pain overtook him.

I crouched again, tilting my head, my bloodstained fingers tracing lazy circles over his quivering thigh. “Say it.”

His breathing hitched, his broken body sagging against the restraints.

“I— I did it,”

he whispered, barely audible.

I raised a brow. “Louder.”

“I DID IT!”

He howled, voice cracking.

“I raped her, I hurt her.

I did it!”

A slow, satisfying grin crept across my lips.

“That’s a good boy.”

I clicked the record button off and slid the phone onto the bench.

Moving my hand over I picked up the gun from the line-up of tools, raising it to press at his temple, watching as his pupils dilated.

His entire being consumed by fear.

This was the final moment, the one where they realise there is no escape.

This part was always my favourite, knowing they would never be able to hurt anyone else again.

“You said if I confessed—”

I leaned in close, my lips brushing against his ear. “I lied.”

The gunshot echoed through the basement.

Another monster wiped off the earth.

And I was just getting started.