Bloodbreeders: The Revenge (18 page)

“No one dies the same in this place. Does that mean that we’re going to do that too?” Derek asked, pushing his foot in the remains while swiping at the ash on his arms.

“I guess, Derek,” I replied looking back at the bed.

The woman was moving her head from side to side, having no clue what was going on. She had a gag in her mouth and a binding over her eyes. My heart was beating rapidly as I knelt down next to the bed. She was covered in her own blood from the top of her head to mid calve. She was so soaked that I could barely see the blonde in the hair that draped down her back. I reached out and put my hand on her shoulder, causing her to start screaming through the gag. I tried to tell her that we were there to help her, but I don’t think she could hear me past the fear of the abuse that she had already suffered.

“Help me untie her.” I began on the bindings over her eyes. “Be careful, she’s in a lot of pain.”

I whispered next to her ear that the one who had done this to her was dead and could never touch her again. I told her to just be strong and we would get her out of the restraints. The very restraint’s that held me where she now lay, not so very long ago. She nodded her head then laid it back down. I worked on the knot at the back of her head, but it was so tight that it wouldn’t budge. The closer I looked the more I realized that the material was embedded into her flesh, where her tormentor had purposely tightened it to inflict pain.

“Renee?”

“Yeah,” I said looking back at, Bo.

“I need you to come here for just a minute,” he replied, slowly shaking his head.

I told her that I would be right next to the bed, and walked the few steps to Bo. He didn’t say anything, he just leaned over and ran his fingers over the wire that led to her ankle. I followed with my eyes until I reached her leg. The wire seemed to disappear into her flesh. The only thing that I could think of was she began healing over it, after the wires had cut into her flesh. I looked up at Bo and the tears just started sliding down my cheeks and there was nothing
that I could do to stop them. I walked back up, gently putting my hand on her back and leaned down next to her ear.

“I’m afraid we’re going to have to cause you more pain. But we have to, to free you from this bed.”

She nodded and I slid my blade from its sheath. I put it as carefully as I could under the knot at the back of her head and cut. I began pulling the cloth away from her skin and then took the gag out of her mouth. She licked her bleeding lips, that seemed to be stuck to the cloth as I pulled it away from her face .She moaned in pain when the blade sliced through the material that covered her eyes, but the material stayed in place as if I hadn’t even cut it. I closed my eyes and swallowed, and then pulled the cloth back. She screamed in what I could only imagine as being pure unbridled misery as her flesh clung to the cloth, tearing away from her body in patches. Her head fell like a brick, once the full amount of presser was released off of her face.

“Thank you,” she murmured. “Please, get me out of here.”

“Can you open your eyes?”

I could see the pale green color of her eyes as she forced them open, only managing tiny slits. I warned her that what we had to do next was going to be extremely painful and that I was sorry for what we were about to do. She simply replied, “I want off this bed.” Then she laid her head back down. I looked back at Bo, and he pulled the wire swiftly through the skin on her left leg. Her head flew back as she screamed, collapsing seconds later, passing out from the shock of the searing pain. I started unwinding the wire that had grown into the flesh just above her wrist. Brandon started to do the other side, and then slowly lowered his hands.

“I can’t do this,” he explained stepping back. “I can’t cause her anymore pain.”

“She won’t feel it, if we hurry,” Bo tired explaining while he worked on her right leg.

“I just can’t, Bo.”

“Then move out of my way,” Bo demanded pushing him back.

Bo took the wire and spun it out of her flesh. She was bleeding horribly, so Brandon jumped on wrapping her wrist, after Bo took the wire off. I told them we needed to turn her over and get her ready to move. I had Derek and Bo get on one side; Brandon and I took the other.

“She’s a pretty big girl,” Derek impolitely added.

“She is a victim,” Bo snapped.

“I didn’t mean anything by it. She just looks a little heavy.”

“Shut up, Derek. Just shut the hell up,” Brandon added, giving him a look that said, ‘I dare you to say something else’.

“Lift her from that side and let’s roll her over,” I said, putting my hands underneath her.

The blanket that Brandon had covered her with while we were in the middle of dealing with the one who placed her here, slid off when we got her to her back. Gasping sounds came from each of us once we had her on her back. Now we stared in absolute disbelief. I thought we had seen the extent of the damage, but I could not have been more wrong. She had thin silver blades piercing all the way through her extremely large breast, and raised burn marks that were layered across her entire abdomen in a crisscross pattern.

Derek ran to the corner and bent down like he was going to be sick. Brandon turned his back to the scene. Bo and I began removing the sharp metal from her body. We pulled seven thin, silver blades from each breast. Her body jerked and small moans escaped, as we removed the last few. I couldn’t believe the suffering that she had gone through and survived. I had Bo help me sit her up, so I could bind her breasts to control the bleeding.

“We have to get her back down with the others,” I said, as I wrapped the strips of torn cloth around her chest.

“I’ll make a stretcher,” he replied, getting up.

“I walked in here on my own and I’ll walk out,” the woman said, trying to sit further up.

“I think your wounds are too bad,” I said, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders.”

“What’s your name?”

“Tammy. And I will walk out of here.”

“My name is Renee, Tammy. The bloods already soaking through the bandages and we really don’t need to leave a trail, if you know what I mean.”

“Well, if you’ll help me wrap them up a little better, then maybe it will slow the bleeding.
Please, Renee. Don’t let them carry me. I am a proud woman and I can make it on my own…if you let me lean on you.”

I had to smile at her statement. It reminded me of something that I might have said. I found more cloth to tear into to strips and rewrapped her wounds. Her ankles were mangled several inches up her legs.  Her wrists were just as bad. Her eyes were already starting to swell shut from the damage of the bindings, so I knew we had to hurry. I told the boys to cover the mess on the floor, just in case someone opened the door. At that point I could only hope that no one had, or would, go down to the foyer before we could do something about it.

Tammy cringed as we helped her to her feet, all of us watching her with great admiration. It was slow moving; I had her under one arm, and with a little persuasion she allowed Brandon to take the other. I didn’t even have to tell Bo to make sure the coast was clear. When he gave the okay we started moving. Tammy hissed uncontrollably when we started down the stairs. Derek followed us watching for any sign of trouble coming from behind, and looking to see if she was starting to leave smears of blood. Bo took the lead and it wasn’t long before we had her safely behind the door that led to the lower level. I saw that the time was getting close to four thirty and knew that there were several rooms left to check.

“Are you ready for one more flight of stairs?” I asked while Bo was getting the torch.

“I sure hope we don’t have to go up,” she replied doing her best to smile.

“I’m sorry to say we’re going down.”

“Yeah, and the smells gonna get a lot worse,” Derek added with a snicker.

“What does he mean?” she asked, pulling away from me and backing up. “Are you taking me to Annabel? Why?”

“No, of…”

“I want out of here,” she began to cry. “You have to let me out.”

“Tammy, please. No one is going to hurt you,” I said, wrapping my arms around her. “Bo killed Annabel, he’s one of us, and Enrique, well let’s just say he’ll die wishing he had never done the things that he did.”

“I’m Bo, ma’am,” he said, placing his hand on hers. “We won’t let anything happen to
you.”

“And I’m Derek—Brandon’s brother. We’ll all protect you.” Then he too, put his hand lightly on her back, and she calmed, crying now from relief.

“I’m the one you let help you down the stairs, ma’am. I’m Brandon, and you can trust us,” he added, laying his hand on my shoulder and reaching up and touching her cheek.

“How did you find me?”

“It’s a long story. We’ll tell you all about it when there’s time,” I replied.

Chapter Seventeen

I could understand Tammy’s fear. She was blind from the swollen eyes. She had no strength and even if she did, her hands were no good with her wrists tore up the way they were. We urged her toward the steps and she followed. This time she showed no concern about who helped her. I was so proud of the way the boys showed her comfort, it was as if they had accepted her into our little group of misfits and I was completely in awe. I felt like we had found what we were meant to do with our dark lives. Saving her from the torturous hands of that demented killer, and making him pay with his life was invigorating. The days of my innocence on the farm looked like someone else’s life to me now. A story told by a poet maybe, but no longer a life that pertained to the creature that was now using the same shell.

I wanted Annabel and Enrique to pay for what they had done to me and those that I had come to love, but I didn’t realize how much deeper my feelings would go. After the punishment of the fat man and his two goons, a little ticking started at the base of my brain. Yvette must die to bring down this estate and anyone else in this place that was harming others. That much had been established. The questions that had been attacking my mind were what we were going to do afterwards? And only if we succeeded in our attempts. Walking down with Tammy in my care, I knew. If I lived through this ordeal, I would dedicate the rest of my life to finding those like Yvette and destroying them. I would save as many as I could, doing it with the help of those who cared to follow me.

Tammy had to stop at the bottom of the stairs, so Derek went in to the ‘torture’ room and got her a chair. While she was sitting there surrounded by the boys, I went in to check on the
others. I knew as soon as I saw Ashley’s face that something was horribly wrong. She saw the look on my face and burst out bawling. Garvin stood up and put his hands behind his back like he had done something he shouldn’t have, and Tanda was sitting on her cot looking down at her hands.

“What’s going on in here? Did something happen to Sydney? Is he alright?” I asked, then headed straight for the curtain.

“Wait, Renee,” Ashley cried out.

“What’s the matter, Ashley?” I asked turning back to look at her.

“He was dying,” she sniffled, looking back at Garvin.

“Garvin, can you help out here?” I asked even more confused.

“Your young friend began convulsing, and Miss Ashley needed my assistance.”

“Renee he started bleeding from his ears really bad. He was dying,” Ashley explained, pushing the curtain back and walking up to Sydney’s cot. “He did it, because I didn’t want to lose him.”

“So you ate him?” I asked, turning my head in slow motion, looking right at Garvin.

“What was I to do?” he replied raising his shoulders. “She was distraught.”

I shook my head not knowing what to say and walked into where Sydney lay covered from head to toe. Ashley had sat down next to him with her head hanging about as far down as it would go, rubbing her hands together nervously waiting for my response. I put each of my hands on the sides of her head and kissed the top of it, and then stepped back. When she looked up I was smiling down at her shaking my head. She loved him, and I would have probably done the very same thing if put in her situation.

I took a look under the cover. Sydney was cotton white and death was clearly holding him. I could tell that Ashley had fixed his hair and done her best to wipe away the blood, so I said a little prayer and lowered the blanket. I walked back out and Garvin was still standing where I left him, only now he wasn’t looking at me. If anything, he was doing everything he could to not so much as glance in my direction. I walked over and sat down on his cot, leaving him standing with his back to me.

“I really appreciate what you did.” Then I reached up and took his hand in mine. “And I’m sorry for sounding like I didn’t.”

“I meant no disrespect.”

“Garvin, look at me.”

“I’m ashamed,” he said turning, but not looking at me.

“You did the right thing. I jumped before I thought…I’m the one that’s ashamed,” I admitted, pulling on his hand.

“So you are not angry?” he asked sitting down beside me.

“Not at you.”

Before I could finish my statement the others began coming through the door. Tammy was leaning on Brandon, and Derek was holding her other hand guiding her into the room. Garvin and I stood as the boys brought her over and helped her sit down. Once we had her settled in and introduced to the others, it was time to check the rest of the rooms. Or, at least as many as we could before the sun put a halt to our actions. I was sure now that we weren’t going to find Yvette before it rose, but we could do as much damage on the first two upper levels as we possibly could to weaken her numbers. Garvin had already said that if she was aware of us, she would have already made it known. I didn’t want that fact to give any of us a false sense of security, but it comforted my nerves to a certain extent. Once again I told Ashley she would be staying with Tanda and Garvin. No sooner than I said his name, he shot up from the cot where he sat next to Bo.