You're Cute When You Scream

Leaning up against the wall, I took as little time as I could to regain my breath and my strength. For the last time, this doesn’t concern Katie and I’m going to make sure she stays out of it. I will not watch another one of my best friends be tortured up until they could die.

“You keep her out of here,” I growled getting up off the wall and walking right up to him.

“As cute as you are when you try to stand up to me, that’s just not going to work out in your favor,” he replied, pushing me back into the wall with little to none effort.

“Don’t get her involved.”

He shrugged, “Oops, I think it’s a little too late for that. And actually, since you just won’t give up on this, I think I’ll get you involved in this next game.” I love how he refers to practically killing three innocent girls as a ‘game.’

“Ha, yeah I’ll do that when hell freezes over,” I laughed.

Syn moved in closer, eliminating all space between us. In the blink of an eye, he whipped out a knife and held it up to my throat. “Well then, I guess it’s already frozen over because you just gave me a great idea…and I know exactly how you can help me out.”

I strained my neck in an attempt to get away from the cold, sharp blade and for a chance to breathe. “W-what makes you think I would ever help you?” I mumbled, a little preoccupied with trying to stay alive.

“That’s a stupid question. Do it because you love me,” he smirked. “And plus, I wouldn’t want to see my baby dying so early. I mean, you did just get here.”

I had to take a moment to weigh my options. If he went through all the trouble to get me here and stage this whole revenge game of his, then I really doubt that he would kill me now over something so simple. But then again, he could still do major damage without necessarily killing me. I’m still super light headed from all the blood I’ve lost so far…so I’m guessing that bleeding from the throat really wouldn’t be the greatest idea.

“What do you want me to do?”

He grinned upon seeing just how easily he can control me. “Nothing too bad – I just need you to ask Katie to get you an icepack from the freezer over there.” What the hell? Is there even any logical reasoning behind that at all? Knowing who it’s coming from…I’d say probably not.

“Is there any point to that?” I asked rolling my eyes.

“Oh you’ll see,” he said distantly as he looked out down the hall to see if they were coming.

“Zacky, dude, c’mon we don’t have all day…it’s almost night time!” What does night have to do with anything? I’m hoping nothing…

*Katie’s POV*

I cringed visibly when I heard Synyster call my name from the kitchen. Judging by the sounds I was hearing in there, I was scared for Myra’s well being…and I definitely did not want to have to be a part of any of that. I tried to cling onto the wall, and it was working out really well at first, especially since Zacky ignored Syn’s first call. But it didn’t last very long because once Syn called him again, Zacky looked up at me with seriousness in his eyes.

“We have to go in there, Katie,” he said softly, probably so that no one else but me could hear what he was saying.

“W-why?” I asked.

He sighed, “Because if we don’t then things will only get worse, trust me. I’ll do my best to protect you without making it obvious. You won’t get hurt…not while I’m around. So, let’s just get this over with.” There was such sincerity to his words that I honestly had no choice but to trust him. I nodded silently as I let him lead me into the kitchen.

The room looked like a battlefield. There were pots, pans, and utensils scattered everywhere. Syn had Myra backed up against a wall with a knife to her throat. She looked terrible…all beaten up and bloody. It was hard to even look at her, to think that just one week ago she was laughing and teasing Chris about what she got him for Christmas. That thought also made it even harder because Christmas was only a couple weeks away, and somehow I knew deep inside that we’d be spending it with these monsters.

“What do you need me for?” I spoke up glaring at Syn.

He held one hand up in defense while keeping the other near Myra’s throat with the knife. “Hey, it’s not me that needs you…it’s Myra.”

Confused, I glanced over at Myra and it looked like she was deep into thought about something. Finally, she noticed that I was waiting for her to say something and she said, “Yeah, that’s right. I…I just needed him to call you in so you guys would actually come.”

That seemed like a good enough reason to me. “Oh, ok so what do you need, Myra?”

She hesitated before saying, “Can you get me an icepack from the freezer over there? This douche bag wouldn’t give one to me.”

Did they really just call us in here to get that? Well…I mean her face is pretty banged up and I could see him not even bothering to help her in any way. “Uh, yeah I can do that.” I walked over to the freezer, feeling weird about doing so, with Zacky close behind.

This has gotta be the weirdest freezer I’ve ever seen. It was walk-in, which I thought only existed at places like restaurants or schools…not homes. I glanced around but I couldn’t find any icepacks. But I did find something all too disgusting.

Toward the very back of the freezer, I saw whole cows and pigs, still breathing I think, hanging upside down with layers of ice growing on top of them. Now, I’m not exactly a vegetarian or anything…but I do tend to have sympathy for animals and their cruel conditions. I untied the ropes and let them fall as gently as possible to the ground and let them stand themselves right side up again.

They were too frozen to move much further though. Ok, I swear as soon as I find that damn ice pack, I’m freeing these poor guys. I walked back over toward the entrance of the freezer. Where the hell are those icepacks hiding? It’s freaking cold in here and I don’t want to be in this damn thing much longer. The last thing I need now is to get sick…but then again I guess this is the least I could do for Myra, seeing as she’s already been through much worse.

Just as I found a box of icepacks, I heard a clanking noise and the light slowly began to disappear. What the hell?

*Normal POV*

Katie must’ve been in there already for at least 10 minutes…which seems much longer than it should. Even though it was clearly a huge freezer, I’d imagine that something as simple as icepacks, or even ice itself, would be easy to find. I tried to lean forward a little to get a better look, but that damn knife that was still being held to my throat restricted most of my movement.

“Ok, I did what you wanted now feel free to keep up your part of the deal and remove this god damn knife,” I said, getting frustrated with this entire situation.

“You know, if I could I would…but for some reason I can’t seem to move my arm,” he laughed.

“Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t know that was the case. Allow me to help you out with that,” I smirked as I lifted my leg up ever so slightly before slamming my foot into his package.

His arm, along with the knife, suddenly fell from being right up against my throat as he toppled down onto his knees. “Ohh Myra, that was a huge mistake,” he grunted.

I rolled my eyes, “It was in self-defense.”

He managed to get back up all on his own and then stepped behind me, forcefully pushing me off the wall. I stumbled forward, but caught my balance on the edge of the counter.

Zacky was stationed right in front of the freezer like a body-guard…except Syn never even told him to do so. Actually, as crazy as this sounds, it almost looked like he was standing there protectively in front of her to make sure that nothing bad happens to her. Weird. Does that mean he might actually care about her? Huh, who knew that Zack “Vengeance” Baker had a heart?

I’m not sure whether or not Syn saw me staring at Zacky or not, but suddenly his attention was on Vengeance as well. “Hey, dude, would you mind moving out of the way, like to the left or something? I wouldn’t want Katie’s light supply to be any dimmer in there.”

Zacky moved quickly over to the left, “Oh, damn you’re right Syn. That must’ve been why she’s been taking so long in there.”

I know that it sounds as if that was all meant to help Katie out but I just don’t think that’s the case. Zacky started to get comfortable, about to lean up against the wall. And it was in that moment that I could tell why Synyster mentioned the left specifically.

“Katie, it’s a tr–!” I started to scream, but as my mouth opened, Syn took the time to shove his knife into my mouth between my teeth, acting like a very sharp gag.

And just as I predicted, Zacky accidentally leaned back onto the controls that opened/closed the door. Katie was locked inside.

At first, I wanted desperately to run over and free her…but the more I moved, the more the knife cut into the sides of my mouth. “That wasn’t very nice of you, Myra. I feel terrible now that you ruined Katie’s surprise for her. Hmm, I guess you just never learn,” he whispered before slashing the knife across, leaving two, straight gashes one each side of my mouth…kind of making me look like the Joker.

“You’re insane! There was no reason to do that to her. Now, get her out,” I demanded.

He laughed in my face. “Nah, I’ll wait till she’s just about frozen alive and then I’ll let her go. Maybe now you’ll think before you attack me.”

No…I can’t believe I just did all of this to Katie, because I couldn’t control myself. I got out of his grasp and ran over to the freezer and tugged on the handle but it was no use. That door was practically cemented shut.

As I backed away, defeated, I couldn’t help but notice the deep look of regret on Zacky’s face. It really was kind of pre-planned accident on his part, but it’s not his fault at all. I’m sure he didn’t see it that way. Damn, I almost even felt bad for him.

I felt a sudden tug on my hair as Syn began to pull me back over to the living room. “Ah, let me go damn it!” I shouted, trying my best to keep my feet attached to the ground…but that only made him pull harder.

“It’s time to go. We’ll let Katie cool off a little before we come back.”

Zacky followed behind us, with his head hanging down. He really must like her…

*Katie’s POV*

Immediately, I ran over to the large metallic door as soon as I realized that it had been shut and locked on me – it wouldn’t even budge! The last thing I saw was Zacky walking over to the left. Wait, no he couldn’t be the one who locked the door…could he? There would be no point in doing that though.

Unless, of course, everything he’s said to me has been a lie. How could he? I thought that for once I might actually have been able to work everything out and fix this problem. But no, instead now all I get is a broken heart and a slow, cold death. If I make it out of here, I swear Zacky will be the one to pay. Now I just feel absolutely terrible for picking him over Myra and Randi.

I sat down on the frozen, hard ground next to the animals I ran into back there. I wanted to cry, it felt like I was crying, and yet the only thing I felt on my face was tears freezing on contact the moment they left my eyes. Chills began to crawl up and down my spine as I futilely tried to keep myself warm.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I can almost always handle cold situations. I used to live over in Washington DC where it actually snowed, and on our senior year field trip in high school, we went over to Alaska to climb all those snowy mountains. Cold didn’t used to be much of an issue…and yet I’m having such a hard time handling this. Maybe that’s because I’m wearing a t-shirt and shorts… But still, I can make it through this.

After a few more minutes of shivering uncontrollably, I was no longer able to move my body. I was frozen in place just like the cow and pig I was sitting next to. I never thought that I would die like this.

*Normal POV*

I couldn’t stand just sitting in this damn room while Katie is freezing to death in the other room. Randi had passed out a while ago, which was probably the best way for her to escape her pain, so she had no idea what was going on.

“You know, it’s already midnight I think you’ve had enough for today,” Shads said to me.

“Oh thank you, master,” I said sarcastically.

“Hey Ronnie, would you mind taking care of princess here for the night?” Syn asked.

Ronnie shrugged, “I don’t see why not. After all, we still have some unfinished business.”

I cringed as he towered over me and then dragged me up the stairs to his room. I wasn’t quite sure why but the thought of being alone with him for the rest of the night made me feel really uncomfortable.