Mask of fury

Mask of fury
Rex

When I opened my eyes, all I saw was darkness.

Complete, suffocating darkness. I blinked hard, trying to force my eyes to adjust. Trying to remember where I was or how I got here.

My head felt like someone had used a sledgehammer on it. The hangover from all that whiskey was hitting me full force. My stomach was churning. 

I groaned and tried to press my palm to my temple. That’s when I felt it. Cold metal around my wrists along with the clinking sound of metal. 

“What the hell?” I whispered into the darkness.

I tried to move my arms but they wouldn’t go far. The chains were attached to something solid behind me. 

My heart started beating faster. Panic began to creep up my consciousness.

Before I could piece together what was happening, blinding light flooded the room. It was so sudden and I didn’t have time to shut my eyes, which led to a fast headache coupling with what I had already. 

When I could finally see again, that’s when I saw him.

Aspen.

He stood in the doorway. There was a grin on his face like watching me gave him so much joy. The look on gim made my heart race. 

I looked around, trying to get my bearings. The room was small. The walls were made of old wood. There was no furniture. No windows. No way out except the door Aspen was blocking.

And then there was me, changed to the wooden wall. 

Aspen stepped into the room. In his hand was a file folder. He held it up so I could see it, then opened it slowly. Then he picked something out from the file and held it up 

My blood ran cold when I saw it.

It was my police identification. My badge number. My photo. My entire official record laid out in black and white.

“You’re a cop,” Aspen said. His voice was low and dangerous. He tossed the file at me. It flew from his hand and settled right in front of me. The documents inside peeking out. 

The panic that had initially just been creeping out exploded in my body. My heart was racing like I ran a marathon and my palms was sweating.

Aspen wasn’t like Dante. Dante could be reasoned with sometimes. And most importantly, Dante didn’t want to kill me. 

But Aspen? Aspen was different. 

“I can explain,” I said. The words came out cracked and desperate. “Aspen, listen to me. I’m not doing that anymore. I quit. I’m done being a cop.”

I pulled against the chains, trying to get closer to him. Trying to make him understand.

“I just want to stay with Dante. I want to help him. I want to destroy the Mandalas just like all of you do. We’re on the same side now.”

Aspen’s grin got wider. But there was no warmth in it. Just evil.

“The family knows,” he said. He kept his voice calm and casual. “And they’ve decided. You’re going to die today.”

“No!” The word came out like a scream. “No, please! I swear on my life, Aspen. I’m on your side now. I hate the police. I hate everything they stand for.”

I was tugging desperately at the chains now. The metal was heavy and was cutting into my wrists but I didn’t care. Fear had taken over my entire body.

“I’ll do anything,” I begged. “I’ll kill cops for you. I’ll give you information. I’ll help you destroy them. Just please don’t kill me.”

“You really think Dante’s going to save you?” he asked. “You think he actually cares about what happens to you?”

My heart clenched. Dante. At least he didn’t want me dead.“Yes. He does care. He wouldn’t let you do this.”

Aspen laughed. “He knows I’m here,” he said. “He approved this. He told me to take care of you personally.”

“No.” I shook my head hard. “You’re lying. Dante wouldn’t do that.”

But even as I said it, doubt was starting to creep in. Had I been wrong about everything? Had Dante been playing me this whole time?

Aspen’s eyes were filled with hate now. He reached behind him and dragged something forward. The sound jy made from scarping on the floor made my heart almost give out.

It was an axe.

The sight of it made me start trembling. He was going to use it on me. I knew it.

“I can’t wait to take your head clean off,” he whispered, flashing the axe. “I wonder how far it will roll.”

I was shaking so hard now that the chains were rattling. “No, Aspen, please. You don’t have to do this. There has to be another way.”

Tears were blurring my vision. I was crying and I didn’t even care anymore.

“Please,” I sobbed. “I have information. I can help you. I know things about the police that could be useful.”

Aspen crouched down in front of me. His face was inches from mine. I could see the madness in his eyes. He was a deranged man. One that glorified the pain of others. 

His hand shot out and wrapped around my throat. He squeezed just hard enough to make breathing difficult.

“You want to know a secret?” he whispered. His breath was hot against my ear, making the dread rushing through me feel more profound. “I love the sound a throat makes when it snaps. That little pop when the bones break.”

He squeezed harder. 

“But yours?” he continued. “I think I’m going to enjoy the silence afterward even more.”

I screamed but no sound came out with his hand crushing my windpipe. I kicked against the floor desperately. My hands were suspended away from him so I couldn’t do anything, just watch him as he slowly squeezed the life out of me. 

Just when I thought I was going to pass out, the door burst open.

A guard stepped into the room. He had in his outstretched hand a phone.

Aspen got angry and loosened his grip on my throat. I started coughing violently, gasping for air. 

“What is it?” Aspen barked at the guard.

The guard swallowed hard. “Miss Julia wants to speak to you, sir.” He held out the phone with a shaking hand.

Aspen grabbed the phone and put it on speaker. “What do you want, Julia?”

Julia’s voice came through the speaker. “Aspen, don’t do anything stupid. Wait until the family can meet. We need to discuss this together.”

Aspen’s face twisted with anger. “Julia, you’re lying in a hospital bed with a bullet hole in you. Worry about healing, not about this.”

He ended the call and tossed the phone back to the guard.

But it rang again almost immediately.

Aspen looked at the caller ID, then at me, then smiled. He turned the phone screen to face me. 

It was Dante calling.

He answered the call but didn’t say anything at first. Just listened.

Finally he spoke. “Yes, I was about to kill him.” His voice was casual. 

Then he chuckled. The sound made my skin crawl.

“I’ll do it before you get here,” he said.

My eyes went wide. Dante was really in on this?

Aspen listened to who was on the other end. His smile got bigger and more cruel.

“You know what’s funny?” Aspen said into the phone. “Rex still thinks you love him, Dante. He has no idea it was your idea to do it like this. He doesn’t know you planned the whole thing.”

I felt my whole world collapse.

“No,” I whispered. My voice was barely audible. “No, Dante wouldn’t do that.”

The fear was tearing me apart. I started crying harder. Choking on sobs. My whole body was shaking.

“Don’t worry,” Aspen said, ending the call. He pulled a gun from his waistband. “I won’t make this slow. I hate cops too much for that.”

The gun was a Glock that fit perfectly in his hand. He pointed it at me. 

He aimed at my leg and pulled the trigger.

The pain was unlike anything I had ever felt. I screamed so loud that my throat felt like it was tearing apart. Blood soaked through my pants and flowed on the floor.

I struggled against the chains, like it would help. Gasping and sobbing. 

Aspen raised the gun again. This time he pointed it at my head.

“Time to say goodbye,” he said. His finger was on the trigger.

But before he could fire, the sound of an engine roared outside. Tires screeched loudly. And before either of us could guess what was happening, the entire wooden wall burst inward.

A black car came crashing through. It slammed straight into Aspen, sending him flying backward.

My mouth was left hanging in shock as I stared at the scene, the shack I was in was completely destroyed now and the black car sat in the wreckage.

Through the cracked windshield of the car, I could see him.

Dante.

His face was a mask of fury.