Page 87 of Havoc at Prescott High (The Havoc Boys 1)
“Now get up,” Vic commands, nodding over to the bed. “We're going to make a little video.”
“Please no,” Vaughn whimpers, his body limp when Cal hauls him to his feet. “Please, I'm begging you!”
Aaron moves back over to the camera as Vaughn crawls onto the bed, a grossly pathetic sight in his underwear and nothing else.
“I want you to think of all the girls you've brought to this cabin,” Vic says as Vaughn begins to weep softly. But I have little sympathy for a pedophile and a pervert, so I stay numb as I watch him cry. Is he really weeping or is it just an act? Probably an act. There's not even a sense of satisfaction in me, watching these evil men like Don and Scott burn, just that same, easy numbness. “Think about all of them, desperate for money to pay rent or buy food for younger siblings or earn a ticket out of poverty.” Vic pauses and turns to point at me. “And then I want you to look Bernadette in the eye and say you're sorry for what you've done.”
“I'm sorry,” Vaughn sobs, shaking. “I'm so sorry.”
“We're going live in thirty seconds,” Oscar says, and Vic nods, turning back to Vaughn.
“You're going to perform the same way you make the girls do. Whatever the psychos watching this video ask for, you're going to do. Do you understand?”
Vaughn is openly bawling now, but nobody in that cabin cares.
“We're going to live stream him?” I ask, and Cal nods.
“During live cam feeds, those watching can ask the girl to do certain things and pay in tips for the privilege to see her do it. So Vaughn's going to spend an hour learning what it's like.” Cal's mouth curves into a smile. “It's nice, isn't it? Hand-delivering karma.”
I don't know how to respond to that, so I turn back to watch the drama unfold in front of me.
As promised, for an entire hour, Vaughn does what the crazy fucks online demand of him. I can't watch most of it, so I let myself outside into the cool, night air. Cal joins me, and we sit on the rocking chairs on the porch in silence.
“Aaron said the taste of vengeance wasn't so sweet as I thought it'd be, that it'd leave the taste of ash in my mouth,” I say finally, and Cal glances my way, his hood firmly fixed in place, legs folded on the chair in front of him. “But I don't taste ash. I don't taste anything at all, to be honest with you.”
“Mm.” Callum glances my way, studying me in the dark. “I felt that way, too, at first. Once you surrender to the dark, it gets easier.” He stands up suddenly, his body unfolding from that chair in such a graceful way that I find myself envious again. I've never been clumsy per se, but I've also never been particularly graceful either. Callum makes every movement he makes look like dance.
The front door opens and Aaron appears, limned in light from inside.
“We're done here,” he says, and only then do I notice the blood on his knuckles. He sees me looking and swipes them on his jeans like he's ashamed. Violence. It's what Havoc does, I'm not surprised at all. “If there's anything in the cabin you want, come get it.”
Cal heads inside, but I stay where I am. There's nothing in there I want; it's all tainted.
“You beat him up?” I ask, and Aaron shrugs.
“Not as bad as Don,” is the only response I get before Oscar appears, carrying the laptop and camera, probably to sell later. Principal Vaughn comes stumbling out next, naked, shaking, and spattered with blood. Hael shoves him in the back and he falls down the front steps.
“Go on, get the fuck out of here,” he says as the principal struggles to get to his feet. “Start running, and don't stop.” Hael glances my way and a strange expression crosses his face. “You don't want to know what'll happen if we find you.”
My entire body ripples with disgust, and I turn away.
“Let's light this baby up,” Hael continues, and I hear Vic grunt his agreement. The smell of gasoline stings my nostrils as Callum hooks a hose up to a water pump and turns it on, soaking the ground around the cabin. I guess they're looking to keep the fire contained?
“Come on,” Aaron says, and when I don't respond, he reaches out and grabs my hand.
A violent shiver overtakes me, and I tear my hand away from him, moving down the steps of my own accord and standing back while the rest of the boys douse the place.
“Burn it fucking down,” Vic commands as we gather near the minivan, and Cal steps forward with an old-fashioned lighter in his hand, flicking it on and then tossing it onto the front steps.
