Chapter 42
Hawk's head is pounding when he comes to, and the pain is like small explosions inside and when his vision clears, he can see the wood structure in front of him and Holmes hanging from it. She is naked and her arms and legs are away from her body and there is a noose around her neck. Her face is red and she has a hard time breathing, but she is awake. Hawk is lying on the floor, his hands are tied behind his back and his feet are also tied. He tries to move, but the pain in his head is too strong so he stops. "Where is he?" he asks.
"Over there," she whispers back, her voice strangled. Using her finger, she points to the other end of the room.
"Here we go, I thought we could do with some music while we work, " says Kerry, coming back and pushing a stainless table in front of him. There is a portable radio with a CD player on it. He parks the table close to the structure and presses play.
It is not music that comes out of the speakers, but horrible cries of anguish and pain. Hawk can not be sure if they are men or women, but one scream is defiantly a child's, it's higher than the others.
"Do you hear how they sing to the god?" asks Kerry picking up a scalpel from the table and walking around the structure. He climbs a small step-ladder and places his left hand on Holmes shoulder.
"Please don't do this, " she pleads.
"And why not? Don't you want to please the god, don't you want to sing to his glory?"
"Hey, asshole, let her go, and take me instead," says Hawk.
"No, I want you to watch and most of all I want you to listen. When she is done singing, it's your turn, just lie there and wait."
Hawk can see the fear in Holmes eyes and she has tears trickling down her cheeks. Suddenly she wets herself and he can smell the urine as it splashes to the floor next to him. He closes his eyes and for the first time since the day Vivian and Victor died, he prays.
"This will sting a bit, but be brave, "says Kerry placing the scalpel against the skin in Holmes neck.
The scream is deafening in the enclosed space, it overrides the screams from the CD, it burns itself into the bone marrow of Hawk. He opens his eyes and Holmes is looking down at him, her mouth is open and she is gasping for air. Her body trembles and there is blood dropping down on the floor.
"Now, that wasn't so bad now was it?" says Kerry, while stepping down.
He walks around over to the table and picks up another instrument. He holds it up and Hawk sees it's another scalpel, but not like any he has ever seen. The blade is much longer than a normal one. He would guess about six inches long and slightly curved.
"This is a special tool, it's great for skinning. Much better than that old steel knife I learned with."
Hawk knows he has to do something and fast. He tries to pull his hands free, but they are tightly bound and so are his legs. But when he wriggles around, he notices the floor is extremely smooth and he slides easily on it. When Kerry comes around the table and is about to walk past Hawk he uses his heels and pushes himself along the floor. He slides across the short distance to Kerry and hits him below the knees with his head.
"What the-", is all Kerry manages to say before he falls across Hawk onto the floor.
Hawk is ready and when Kerry falls, he crawls on top of him and with the only weapon he has, his teeth, he bites him in the neck, going for the jugular vein.
To late Kerry realizes what is happening, and instead of protecting his neck, he turns his head, looking for the scalpel he dropped giving Hawk the space he needs.
At first his mouth fills with the taste of the skin, then his teeth sink in a little, and then suddenly he tastes the coppery taste of blood. Hawk opens his mouth and takes a deeper bite and his mouth fills with blood as he ruptures the vein.
Kerry feels the pain of the bite, but he doesn't understand what has happened. Not until he hears the other man gurgling and spitting blood as he lets go of his neck. Suddenly his arms go weak, and he can feel the blood pumping out of his body. Kerry turns his head and faces Hawk.
"You would have done well in the jungle, you have the killer instinct, " he says before he goes still.
Hawk looks at the man under him, the blood is still pumping out, but with less pressure, and then it turns to a trickle. He gets off him and looks for the scalpel.
He cuts himself a few times before he manages to cut the rope tying his hands, but the knife cuts through them easily and soon he can free his bound legs.
"Hey, hey, wake up, it's over," says Hawk while pulling the noose over Holmes head.
Her eyes flicker open and when she looks down, she can see Kerry's naked body lying in a pool of blood under her.
Hawk steps down from the little ladder and checks the wound on her back. It's not deep, but it follows her spine to perfection and ends just where her buttocks begin. He walks over to the wall and unties the ropes holding her up. He slowly lowers her and when she is on the floor, he unties her legs and arms.
After looking around, he finds her clothes and his and after getting dressed, he brings them over to her and slowly dresses her. The wound is bleeding so he covers it with a long strip of tape from a roll he finds on the table with the knives. It's not perfect, but good enough.
When he is helping her up, she says, "I'm sorry, I pissed myself."
He puts his arm around her to support her and says, "don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
He helps her up the ladder and through the cabin. When they are on the porch, he sits her down in one of the chairs while he tries to get a signal. His phone was still in his pocket of his pants where he had put it after calling the FBI.
They sit in the late afternoon sun, and Holmes takes his hand in hers. All around them is silence except the rustling of the pines. A deer walks out into the clearing and eats a little before going back into the shadows.
"This is such a beautiful place," says Holmes.
"It sure is, and I can see why Kerry chose it."
"And now what?"
Hawk turns to her and says, "when you are fixed up, you go back to university and write the best thesis you can."
"I don't know if I can," she says and tears form in the corners of her eyes.
"Of course you can, and you should. It will help you to process all your emotions. Trust me, I know about emotions, and I don't want you to end up like me."
She smiles at him and says, "why not? We can both become scarred alcoholics. My scar will be as good as yours, I suppose."
Hawk laughs and says, "I guess so, but I will still be better looking."
"Right."
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