Page 4 of Relentless Queen
"Because that's a camera, and it's currently recording," the tall man says, pointing up at it.
“An audience. Well then, let’s give one hell of a performance." The man with the knife laughs.
I watch in horror as they slice my mother’s clothing from her body, leaving her naked. They force her onto the bed and hold her down. I watch as the first man gets between her legs and unzips his pants. I can’t watch this. I’m going to be sick. I turn away just as I hear my mom’s blood-curdling scream.
I can feel ringing in my ears as my heart races fast; I can feel the wetness running down my face, and I can’t breathe. It feels like all the oxygen is being sucked from the room and my lungs. I feel the burning coming up from my throat. The burning is rushing higher and higher until I’m throwing up. My stomach is doing somersaults, and my head feels like it's going to explode. I stay on the ground with my hands over my ears, keeping my eyes shut so tightly that it hurts. I’m not sure how long I will stay like that. Then I heard him.
“Slice her fucking throat. Let’s end this so I can get home to my wife.”
I look up in time to see the man holding my mom against him. He slides his right hand across my mom’s neck, and I see her reaching for her throat. They walk out, laughing as they leave her there on my bed, naked, bloody, and bruised.
Just before their return, I reach for the switch to open the door, but stop when I see them entering. One man has my dad over his shoulder before he throws him on the bed next to my mom. His head moves to gaze at her.
“You piece of shit!!” my dad screams. “What have you done?”
“We told you what would happen if you fucked with us. You thought you could fuck us out of the deal.” The voice of the boss speaks.
“You won’t get away with this!” my dad responds.
“We already have. You should be happy your daughter wasn’t here, or you would watch us rip her apart,” the man with the knife threatens.
“Don’t worry, we made a movie for her to watch on the camera you installed,.” he grins.
“Now let’s leave our grand finale and get out of here.” The man who I assume is the leader.
The taller man of the three bends my dad over, unzips his pants, and shoves into him brutally. Then I hear the bang. Looking back up, I see my dad lying motionless. Blood sprays the walls, my bed, and my mother's dying body.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” the boss says, before turning towards the camera.
“I know you're in this house somewhere. If you weren’t home, your door wouldn’t have been locked. Make no mistake; I will find you. I'll eliminate this bloodline completely. You can count on it." He spits into the lens and turns, walking away without saying anything more. Just as he reaches the door, he takes one final turn and looks back in the direction of the camera.
“Be careful who you trust. Why do you think the alarm didn’t work?” he says, chuckling.
I watch the cameras as they leave out of the front door and down the driveway. Just then, my phone rings.
“Hello, this is the dispatcher. Is everything okay?”
I don’t respond. Watching the men enter their cars, then drive off. I push the button to open the door, and I walk out. I walked over to my bed, covering both my parents. I sit there as tears stream down my face. I am vowing that I will seek vengeance as I hold both of my parents' hands until I see the red and blue lights. I kiss both of my parents goodbye as the cops walk in, guns drawn and aimed.
“Are they still in the house?” the officer asks.
“Until the next,” I whisper. I made a silent vow to my parents that I would see them in my next life.
I turn towards the officers, look at them, and shake my head. They lower their guns and come over to me. They reach for me, and I jump back. The officer backs away slowly.
“Let me get you out of here. The paramedics need to check on you. You also don’t need to see this,” he says.
Observing his gradual approach, carefully tracking every move. The masked man’s words come back to me: “Be careful who you trust. Why do you think the alarm didn’t work?”
I walk with the officer out of my room, down the hall, and outside. He takes me over to be checked and then places me in the backseat of his car as we wait for the social worker to arrive.
“Be careful who you trust. Why do you think the alarm didn’t work?”
It replays in my mind over and over. I vow to find them, and when I do, I’ll kill them all.
ONE. BY. ONE.
Chapter Two
