Evil Be Thy Master

”Taylor, what are we doing?” Rhian whispered sharply as she followed me, lifting up her skirts to keep up with my quick pace. It was just about twilight, and I was bound and determined to find out where my fiancé kept disappearing too.

“Be quiet,” I hissed back, leading them into my father’s stables. “Now pick a horse, and hurry. We’ve got to catch them before they get to far from the Haner’s property. Otherwise we won’t be able to follow them.”

“Follow who? And why do we need horses?” Nicole asked in confusion, though she was quick to pick out a roan gelding that my father had just recently acquired. Rhian moved over to a white and gray speckled mare. She’d always been partial to her when we’d use my family’s horses to ride.

“We’re following our men. I want to know what they’re always discussing that is more important than us. I’m tired of worrying what Matthew is always doing, so I intend to go find out,” I answered smartly, securing the saddle on my black mare. She was an a gift from my grandfather to celebrate my engagement. I was marrying into a very powerful family after all. “And if you think that you can keep a trail on five men on horseback then by all means Nicole, feel free to try.”

She rolled her eyes at me and climbed onto her horse. “Do you intend on us riding sidesaddle the entire time?” she asked in a disdainful tone. She hated riding sidesaddle as much as I did, but we were ladies, it was expected of us.

“Only until we’re off of my property, then we should be clear,” I told her, climbing onto my horse, Rhian quickly followed and we tamely exited the stables. We kept our horses at a steady pace while in view of the manor, just in case my father happened to be working with the dogs for the hunt coming in a fortnight.

“I still don’t see why you insist that we follow them Taylor,” Rhian whined as she caught up to Nicole and I.

“Rhian, don’t you want to know what they’re doing? Doesn’t it worry you?” I asked, arching a brow at her.

“No, I trust James,” she answered primly. “If you are so worried about it, why don’t you just ask Matthew?”

“I have tried to Rhian. He always tells me it’s business, or he’s meeting with associates.”

“Well then, that’s probably what it is. Private business. That’s what James is up to,” she told me calmly. This time Nicole stepped in to answer.

“But Rhian, when has James ever not told you what was going on in his business. I assume Matthew has told Taylor anything she wanted to know. And I know for a fact that Brian has told me anything and everything I’ve wanted to know, telling me that his business would soon be mine also. But not this. He will not utter a word of what this is about. And I’m with Taylor, I’m tired of worrying about what my fiancé is doing with his spare time.”

“Alright, fine. You two win. We’ll follow them. But, just so you two know, I don’t approve of this idea. I think it is an absolutely horrible idea, and only bad things will come from it. So when it goes down in flames, just know, I told you so.”

“Oh Rhian, you say that every time,” I chuckled. “But now, are you ready to properly ride? We have some lost ground to make up.”

We pulled our skirts up higher, swinging our legs to the other side and sitting comfortably. I adjusted myself and gripped the reigns, turning to my two friends. “Now, are we ready?”

Nicole grinned at me and nodded, while Rhian sighed and gave a slight nod. Poor dear was still reluctant. I nodded to them myself and then we all took off with our horses at a gallop.

A smile covered my face as my body relaxed and moved with the horse. I loved riding like this, with freedom and no inhibitions. Just allowing the wind to flow through my hair and not having to care that I had a reputation to uphold. I could just be free for a little while. I saw the Haner manor approaching and I slowed my mare down to a light gait, waiting on Rhian and Nicole to do the same. We sat back in the trees and watched as the group of five men slowly piled out of one of the servants’ entrances to the manor, making Nicole frown.

“They’re not supposed to be using that door, it’s for the help! Susan would have a fit if she knew,” she said with a look of disdain aimed at the group of them. Rhian groaned.

“Well, can you save your scolding for tomorrow, I’m sure it won’t go over well if we follow them, and chastise them on the same night.”

“You two need to hush,” I whispered, “They’ll hear us. Now come on, try to stay off of the road so we don’t make as much noise, alright? We don’t want them to hear us.”

“Really? I never would have guessed,” Nicole mumbled sarcastically as we followed about ten yards behind the men, making sure to keep them in sight. They went on for quite a ways, deeper and deeper into the woods. I was starting to wonder if they’d ever stop, but then they did. They each tied their horses to the trees and moved into a small clearing.

I watched in awe as I took in what they were doing, not believing my eyes. They couldn’t. They wouldn’t be… Would they?

“What are they doing?” Nicole asked quietly as we continued watching them. I swallowed the lump that was building in my throat and shook my head, hoping I was seeing things. If they were really doing that… “Taylor, do you know what they are doing?” she asked me. I glanced up at her with a grave look, not wanting to say it for fear that I was just assuming. I wasn’t about to falsely accuse them of something that serious.

“I’m pretty sure I know what they’re doing,” I spat, turning my horse around quickly. “And I’m not going to watch anymore of it.”

I took off out of the woods in a hurry, wanting to put some space between us. I couldn’t believe that! How could they? How could they be so stupid?

“Taylor, slow down,” Nicole called after me as we shot out of the woods and back into the open. I pulled my horse to a slow walk and smoothed my hair down, trying to make my appearance look more refined. I sighed and looked over at Nicole and Rhian, knowing that at least one of them had something to say.

“I think they heard us,” Nicole said quietly, bringing her horse up to the side of mine while Rhian did the same on the other side.

“Do they know it was us?” I asked her calmly. She shook her head.

“I don’t believe so. I just know that when you took off so fast, you made a bit of noise. I heard Zachary ask if anyone knew what it was,” she shrugged.

“And?”

“Matthew said that it was probably just a deer or a coyote,” Rhian said quietly. “We shouldn’t have followed them.”

I looked over at her, for once swallowing my pride and admitting defeat. “You’re right, we shouldn’t have. And we won’t speak of this again.”

They both nodded solemnly as we slowly rode back to the manor. Oh Matthew, what have you done?

Raised voices outside of my little prison brought me out of my dream. I was so tired of having these mother fucking dreams. I mean really? I could understand my mind trying to make up some dreamland where everything is ok? But why with these guys? Especially after everything they’ve fucking done! For Christ’s sake, they killed Rhian and Niki!

As I remembered that, I brought my knees to my chest and let more tears leak out. I can’t believe they’re fucking dead. And it’s all my fault, just because I looked at that chatroom as a fucking game! If I would have just grew up when I was supposed to they’d still be here. I’d still have my friends.

“GODDAMMIT JOHNNY! You crossed the fucking line!” Brian growled viciously, making me jump slightly. I’d never heard him that angry, not even when we’d recite prayers.

“Oh fuck off Brian! You knew it was going to be like this! Why do you fucking care? She fucked you over!” Zack yelled back.

“I know Zack! You think I fucking forgot?! But look at her! She’s fucking dying! It wasn’t supposed to fucking go that far!”

“For fuck’s sake Brian, why does it matter? They all deserve to die and fucking burn in hell,” Johnny laughed.

“No, they don’t. I’m with Brian. This has gone too fucking far. We’ve broke them, that’s what you wanted. Now it’s done,” Jimmy said loudly.

“Oh no Jim-bo, the fun’s just getting started,” Johnny laughed. “See, next, we’re going to use that little blowtorch you see over there on your dear little Rhian’s skin. Then, Taylor’s going to go back in her little cage in the sky. You ought to hear her scream. You know her skank ass has got to be-”

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Matt boomed. “You’re not putting her in that damn cage again, you understand me?”

But why would he defend me? Why would he fucking care? Unless…

Holy shit.

Those aren’t dreams. That happened. It wasn’t my imagination.

But why would they have killed Niki and Rhian if Brian and Jimmy loved them? Or did they…

I jumped to my feet, ignoring the pain that shot through my body. I did however notice that I was quite a bit cleaner. I must have been given a bath while I was out.

How fucking kind of them…

I threw the door open, half surprised that it wasn’t locked. But then again, why would it be? That’s the one place that I’d rather be in this hell hole. Five sets of eyes locked on me as I entered their little ‘meeting’. Four of which contained utter anger, but Matt’s were different. He almost seemed knowing.

“What the fuck do you think you’re-”

“Fucking save it you dumb son of a bitch,” I growled at Jimmy, who out of sheer shock closed his mouth. “Where the fuck are they?” I asked in a low tone. They all stared at me blankly, most likely thinking I had lost my sanity.

They’d be right.

“I said where the fuck are they?!” I screamed, making Matt flinch. He made a move towards me but I turned at him and glared. “Matthew Sanders if you know what’s fucking good for you, you’ll back the fuck up.” He quickly moved back to his original place, looking slightly surprised. Johnny gaped at him.

“What the fuck man? You’re going to fucking take orders from her? Are you fucking crazy?!” he scoffed. “Zack, give me that blowtorch,” he said with a wicked grin. Zack made a grab for the small propane canister with the torch head on the end, but all he got was an uppercut to his nose. He grabbed his nose as he heard a sickening crunch, glaring at me malevolently. I sent him a sick smirk before grabbing the blowtorch, turning myself to Johnny.

“This what you want?” I asked him, stepping closer slowly. He nodded.

“Yea, it is. Now give it to me, and I might not make it as bad as I originally planned. If you don’t give it to me, then you will experience a pain worse than anything you could even imagine,” he snarled.

“Johnny-”

“No Matt, she wants to play this game, let her stick up for herself,” Brian laughed. Matt sent me a pleading look, wanting me to just step back, but I turned back to Johnny.

“Or really? Because the worst pain I think you could have given me was making me think I was alone. Making me think my best friends were dead,” I spat, shoving him up against the wall. “But they aren’t, are they? You were just fucking with me because you thought it would be funny, you thought it would amuse you. Well guess what Johnny boy, it’s my turn for some fucking amusement.”

Johnny actually screamed when the flame licked his skin, instantly burning not only his shirt, but the skin underneath. I laughed to myself as I burnt in the words that I wanted him to feel. I ignored the burning that I could feel and smell from my hand, it’s not like I haven’t felt it before. Besides… this is more than worth it.

“You like to fucking carve them into Niki so much, let’s see how much you like them being burnt into you,” I growled as I finished the phrase that I had seen one too many times. Murder, Liar, Vengeance, Deceit I pulled the torch away, admiring my handiwork, but I scoffed as it slowly faded away. Of course they’d heal. Why fucking wouldn’t they. I began to laugh bitterly and looked up at Johnny, who now had a victorious grin on his face. “How nice, you instantly heal. What a blessing,” I said sweetly before my expression turned sour. “But guess what asshole? I fucking didn’t!!” I growled before roughly smacking his head with the end of the blowtorch.

Johnny fell to the ground, clutching his head, but I just kept hitting him, over and over, as hard as I could. Blood began spurting out, and I heard a loud crack, letting me know I had fractured his skull, but I still didn’t stop. What’s the point, he’ll just heal again?

The rest of them just stared in shock as I did this, not sure how to react. Finally Zack seemed to wake from his surprise and walked over to me, pulling me off of Johnny.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing you dumb bitch?” he screamed, roughly shaking me, causing me to drop the blowtorch. My eyes searched around, looking for something that would get me out of this. Anything to cause Zack pain. And then I saw it. Fucking perfect. I lifted my head back up and spat in his face.

“I’m giving you a fucking taste of how it feels,” I told him, grabbing the barbed wire and wrapping it around his neck. The barbs dug into the flesh of my hands, but I was numb to it. I’d been through it so much, I don’t think I could have felt it if I wanted to.

I tightened the wire around his neck, laughing in glee as his hand shot up to his throat, trying to get rid of the item that was not only choking him, but cutting into his jugular. Blood oozed out of the holes that were forming in his neck, only making my sick smile larger. I jerked the wire roughly, making his head bounce and the barbs dig in deeper.

“You want to fucking tell me where they are yet?!” I asked viciously as his skin began to tint blue and gray from suffocation and bloodloss, jerking his neck again. “Huh? You ready to fucking do it?”

I felt gentle hands on my shoulders, slowly pulling me away from Zack. I breathed heavily as he stared at me with wide eyes, coughing and sputtering. “What the fuck was that?” he asked the others as they turned to look at me while Matt held me in place. I figured I’d probably be in for it now, but knowing that I’d caused them just a little pain, instilled a little fear, made it all worth it. It’s not like they’d kill me or anything.

“I think we’ve created a monster,” Brian mumbled, frowning as he spoke. A crazy grin broke out on my face and I shook my head.

“Mother fucker you didn’t create shit,” I spat, lunging at him before Matt pulled me back, “You just woke one up.”

“Taylor, Darling, calm down,” he said softly, pulling me back against him. I should have told him to fuck off. I should have beat his ass in, God knows he wouldn’t fight back. But I didn’t. After finding out those dreams weren’t so much dreams, I found his voice eerily calming. Matt looked at Zack and Johnny, who were still keeping their distance from me. “Now, do you think you’ve fucked with them enough, or do you need to try to break them again?” he asked angrily.

Johnny glared at me, trying to intimidate me through the stare that up until about fifteen minutes ago, would have had me trembling. But not now, oh fuck no not now. Zack clenched his jaw and looked up at Matt.

“Yea, for now,” he forced out, though his eyes told a different story. “We’ve got to wait and see what’s going to happen with Niki anyway. That and see if Rhian still out of her mind.”

“What the fuck do you mean?” I asked him, getting only a victorious grin in response. I realized I wouldn’t get anywhere with him, or Johnny, so I looked to Brian and Jimmy. That didn’t do me much good either. They were staring at the ground, guilt and grief etched across their features. Well, I know one person will spill the beans. “Matt, what the fuck do they mean?” I asked quietly, my voice dropping the lace of insanity, and breaking back down to me. “What’s wrong with them?”

“Well, Rhian’s fine. She just had a little mini-freak-out,” he shrugged.

“What about Niki?” I asked, anger seeping in. He was hiding something, and I didn’t like it.

“Niki is trying to balance between life and death,” Johnny laughed. My heart dropped and I looked up at Matt, wanting to know that this was just Johnny’s way of fucking with me now. But Matt looked to the ground, making me growl.

“You fucking bastards!” I screamed, stomping away from them. “Where the fuck is she?!”

I rolled my eyes at the five morons behind me, still not giving me the information I wanted. Fair enough, I’ll just check all the rooms until I find them. Every door I walked by I flung open, typically finding only a bare room with no windows. It makes me wonder exactly which room I stayed in.

I shoved one door open, chuckling slightly when I saw that it was filled wall-to-wall with all sorts of torture devices. “Of fucking course they’d have a storage room for all that shit,” I muttered to myself, continuing on my search. I eventually came to a staircase that I didn’t know existed.

Fuck, I didn’t know this place had more than one floor. Though I should have figured that out when I was lifted fifty fucking feet above the fucking ground.

I swear on all things holy I will fucking hurt Zack and Johnny for that one. Those fucking bastards.

I ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time, hoping that I’d find them up here. I stopped for a moment when I reached the second floor, taking in my surroundings. It actually didn’t look so bad up here. Hell, it almost looked homey, unlike the bottom floor which just looked cold and harsh.

I began walking down the hall, still throwing doors open. This time instead of finding empty rooms, I was finding bedrooms equipped with luxurious beds and furniture.

Alright, seriously, what the hell? This guys are the most contradictory mother fuckers I’ve ever had the misfortune of meeting.

I through open yet another door and literally squealed in happiness.

“Fuck! Rhian!” I yelled, running over to hug her, never mind the fact that she was showering. Her eyes widened and she stared at me in shock.

“What the hell?” she mumbled, looking me over and poking me, making me yelp when she hit a wound. “B-but you’re dead. They killed you.”

“No, I’m right here,” I said softly, grabbing the towel that was on the sink and handing it to her. She slowly shook her head.

“N-no. No, they dumped your blood on me. They killed you and Niki then dumped you blood on me,” she swallowed. “Fuck, I’ve lost it. I’m seeing my dead friend.”

“Rhian!” I yelled, making her look up at me in shock. “Rhian, I’m not dead. They lied to you! They knew it would hurt so they lied. They did the same thing to me. And I’m willing to bet they did it to Niki.”

“Niki’s alive?” she asked softly. I nodded.

“I think,” I whispered. “They said she’s about to die.”

Rhian’s eyes widened and she grabbed my arm, pulling me out of the bathroom. “Which room is she in?” she asked as we walked through the hallway. I shrugged.

“I-I don’t know. I just got lucky finding you.”

“Well how did you find me?” she asked.

“I just opened every door I came across.”

“Well then, let’s start opening,” she sighed, moving to one side of the hall and pushing me to the other.

“She’s at the end of the hall on the right,” Jimmy’s voice said from behind us. We looked over and found Jimmy and Matt staring over at us. Rhian flinched slightly at the sound of his voice and I looked over to her.

“Don’t be scared of them, that’s only encouraging them,” I told her with a chuckle, moving down to the room we were told we’d find Niki in.

“Why do I feel like you’ve lost your mind?” Rhian grumbled as she followed me down the hall. I looked over my shoulder at her with raised brows.

“Since when did I fucking have it?” I asked. She laughed lightly and shook her head.

“I have no idea how you can make jokes right now,” she sighed as she opened the door, hitching her breath at what we found.

Niki was lying motionless on a bed, white bandages wrapped up and down her arms, and stitches put in any cuts that needed it. I swallowed and walked quietly over, wondering if she was even breathing. When I got close I saw a small movement of her chest, making me let out a sigh of relief. I heard Rhian sniff beside me as we walked to the bed, sitting next to our injured friend.

“Niki, wake up,” Rhian said softly as tears streamed out of her eyes. I blinked a few times, not wanting to cry anymore now before speaking.

“Come on bitch, get up, you’re tougher than this,” I said loudly as I placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a light nudge. The only reaction I got was a small movement of her arm, but that could have just been a reflex.

“FOR FUCK’S SAKE NIKI WAKE UP!” Rhian boomed, making me jump. I’d never heard her yell like that before. She smiled sheepishly at me as we heard a small groan next to us. Our eyes darted to Niki’s face as her eyes cracked open and she looked us over, a small smile appearing on her face.

“Finally. I fucking died.”