She woke up groggy, with pain lancing through her body. She tried to think, to form any kind of though, but her mind wouldn't jog. It felt thick and foggy. She tried to look around, but it was so dark, her eyes strained hard though tears and swelling burned equally with weight pushing in her sockets. Trying to move she found herself bound tight. The pressure of moving against what was holding her caused new blazing pain in her wrists and ankles. Sobbing she slumped in her chair, her mouth cinched tightly with a rag that reeked of gasoline. It was tied so tightly, as were her other bindings, that it felt like it was slicing into her soft skin. It was at that point, wind leaving her, that she faded back into unconsciousness. Slipping seamlessly into the pitch that she already sat in.
She came back around to lucidity with the flicker of a light. The soft glow in the hellish blackness gave her sore and battered eyes a focal point. The light flickered and popped and snapped out when she realized tow things. Number one it was a lighter producing the ambient light, and more terrifyingly number two, she was not alone. Panting heavily in unbridled fear her eyes darted around in the dark, eventually falling on a glowing pinprick of orange ember. The lit tip of a cigarette. She sat whimpering, shaking uncontrollably, her mind now racing through terrible thoughts and realizations. She watched the cigarette move up and down as if the person on the other end was taking long deep drags off of it, but it moved no closer, not farther away. Whomever this was, they were content to sit silently in the dark with her right now. As the cigarette glowed ominously, her mind slipped inevitably to how she ended up in this chair, in the suffocating dark.
She could come up with nothing. She remembered being out with her friends, celebrating the end of finals, and the beginning of her summer break from college. Calling it a night fairly early by her usual standards, she was driving the next day early in the morning to her parents house across the country to surprise them. They wouldn't be expecting her until later on into the break. Her friends protested her leaving the bar early, but she waved them off stating her need to pack her car and get an early start to the next day. She remembered leaving the bar, but couldn't piece together anything else. Then dread washed over her with a grim realization. She would not be missed. Her friends would be thinking she left early in the morning, and because she was going to surprise her parents they wouldn't be expecting to hear from her, or more importantly, not hear from her. Anguish ripped at her in this moment. She cried, tears hot on her cheeks at the thought that she was missing, and no one knew. Living off campus she often came and went as she pleased, no on would be able to check her apartment from school, because she wasn't supposed to be there! "Oh Jesus!" She thought. Then she realized the cigarette had gone out.
She sat for some time her head swimming now. She felt like she was spinning in the dark. Waves of nausea rising and crashing from the pit of her stomach to the back of her throat. Barely audible over the sound of her weeping, the metallic click of a lighter clicked and light again flickered in front of her. Another cigarette was lit, and then two candles near other person in the darkness washing the nearby area in flitting warm light. What was revealed was a man sitting maybe ten feet away. Angular and athletic looking with dark hair and eyes he drank her in as he took a long slow drag from his smoke. Minutes felt like hours to her as the both sat silently looking at each other. She held her breath as he leered at her, looking her up and down with a slight smile on his face. As he shifted his weight and stood up, she started to thrash violently out of sheer terror at what she thought was going to happen. The man's smile broadened as he took a few steps toward her, closing the space between them. To her surprise however he didn't lay a hand on her, he moved to either side of her chair, lighting two more candles, pushing the darkness back with the light they made. She could make out the space they occupied now, but only just. It looked like they were in the back of a semi truck trailer. She looked at the ground and saw her clothes laying torn and tattered. In truth she hadn't realized she was in only her underwear until just now. The thought hit like a sledge hammer to the gut, and she coughed and sputtered vomit out of her gag as the thought came to her. The man moved his chair closer to hers, smoking and smiling as he did. So close she could now plainly see his khaki slacks and white t-shirt. She could even smell his aftershave now. He took a final drag off of his cigarette, and then extinguished it on her chest. Searing pain caused her to mutely cry out and try to pull away, but she was bound to tightly.
She cried uncontrollably as he light another cigarette. As if reading her mind he spoke finally. "Your honor is intact honey, you have my word, I haven't touched you sexually." Sobbing she looked down. His voice was harsh and demeaning. She mustered enough voice to hoarsely ask against her gag "why?" and he chuckled lightly as the candles danced throwing shadows around the enclosure. "Why?" he asked mockingly, a grim smirk on his face. "Well, why not?" His smile broadened maddeningly and as if possessed he snapped his fist quickly forward catching her squarely between her eyes bloodying her nose and tearing up her eyes. Stunned and in pain she slumped forward in her chair. Hopeless she breathed heavily to try to catch her fading wind. As he stood up he began to talk.
"Listen sweetie, I have been doing this a long time. Always people want to know why? Why did this happen? Why did they do it? Why? Why? Why?" He was angry at this point. His gravely voice fevered and loud. "How about this sweetie?" He growled. "There is no God Damned reason for any of it. I just feel like doing it. Forget psycho analyzing and the criminal theory babble. It just happens. Some people are just bad. There is no reason. No urge that needs fulfilled. No thirst quenched. Just evil. Just to do it." As he stood there talking he was tying a cloth apron on around his waist. "Like you, randomly picked, beaten, and surely you've put it together by now, killed. No rhyme, no reason. I just want to do it. So that is that." As he said that he reached down and pulled a small revolver from a holster around his ankle. She looked at it almost in relief that her nightmare would finally be over. The she saw a glint of the weapon fall as she was struck with it , again and again. He beat her with the butt of the pistol. Blood poured from her mouth, her teeth knocked loose from her head. The rush of pain caused her to fail from consciousness. She saw him striker her once more as the dark tunnel closed around her and she passed out.
She came to finding her gag removed, her mouth swollen and sore. The man was dumping fluid on her and smiling as he covered her. The stench of gasoline filled her nostrils, it was hot on her skin and scalded her open wounds. Yet she had nothing left to fight with. The man stepped back and looked at her. "You were a tough one." He said with an air of admiration. "Took a while to get all those teeth out," He started to smile "seemed like you didn't wanna give em up!" Grimly she knew why he did it, took these last steps. It was to make it harder for her to be identified after she was killed. "Oh my, look at the time!" He said jovially. "I have to get going sweetie, gotta get back for work you know." And with that he turned lightly on a heel pouring gas out behind him as he went. "The pleasure was all mine." He said as he walked away. She watched the man open up the door to the chamber, which was an old metal moving container, wave at her happily and spark his lighter, igniting the gas inside her tomb and close the door and latch it. Outside the container the man put his shirt and tie back on, climbed into his nearby unmarked police car, and drove back to his precinct in time for shift change.
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