Loki wordlessly entered the van, followed by Monster, who gave Red Jack the look of silent judgment before closing the backdoors.
Chapter 17
Loki pushed his fingers over the scars on his scalp. Even though time couldn’t erase the vividness of those three days of torture, he still found it hard to believe that even the skin on his head had been torn up, with a flap of it hanging over his forehead, bloodied and aching. Two years later, and all Loki had to remember it by was a few scars. He’d gotten off lightly, without any permanent damage to his organs. The doctors even patched up his torn insides, and if it weren’t for the ugly markings on Loki’s face, the only ones he was constantly confronted with, it would be as if it had never happened. The only scars would be in his heart.
He pulled on his thumb, looking at the traces of grime on the floor of the van as he listened to the sounds outside. It was quiet in the thatch of trees at the back of Ted’s rundown house, and so he listened to the chirping of insects, hidden away in complete darkness. He was sweating. His mouth was going dry. Now that he was to see Ted again, the weight of it had him hesitating. Maybe he should have stayed home after all? Let Jack deal with it?
But there was no turning back when the backdoor of the van slammed open, and three men in balaclavas threw a wheezing Ted inside. For a split second, Loki’s eyes met Jack’s, and there was no hesitation in them. Jack jumped in behind Ted and pulled the door shut as Sam and Monster rushed to take their places in the separate cabin at the front of the van.
Loki caught his breath, staring at the body wriggling on the floor. Ted’s eyes were so wide he could easily see them in the dark, but with a makeshift gag in his mouth, Ted could only utter unintelligible groans as he twisted around, trying to get away.
“Hi Teddy,” someone said, and it took Loki a few seconds to realize it was his own voice.
Jack pulled up his balaclava when the van drove off with a screech of tires. He sat next to Ted and watched him without a word. His bulky body, combined with the leather jacket and the rings on his fingers made for a menacing presence, but it was when he pulled out a switchblade that chills went down Loki’s spine. Ted must have had some idea what was happening, because he whined into his gag and actually crawled toward Loki. His feet and wrists were tightly bound with tape, so he didn’t seem like much of a threat. His long, greasy hair was tied into a thinning ponytail, and the sores on his arms suggested that his addiction has gotten worse. Looking at him now, Loki was ashamed Jack knew he’d been with such a loser.
Ted glanced at him pleadingly, but Loki wasn’t even sure whether the bastard recognized him in the dark. He pushed the balding head away with his shoe, shuddering at the contact. He wished he had thicker soles so he wouldn’t sense the shape of Ted’s skull through them. “Fuck off!”
“What goes around, comes around.” Jack pulled Ted back by the arm and slammed him against the floor face-first. He moved in the darkness as if it were his element, yet there wasn’t a hint of a smile on his face. “What is this maggot, Loki?” Jack straddled Ted’s ass and cut up the back of his T-shirt in one quick move of the switchblade.
Loki wasn’t sure if it was just Jack’s size that made Ted seem smaller in contrast, or if Ted had never been as intimidating as Loki remembered. He still flinched when Ted looked up with recognition in his eyes. His gaze burned, so Loki looked straight at Jack, holding on to the foldable seat he was sitting on. “He’s the guy who buried me alive.”
Jack’s lips spread into an unpleasant smile. “Therefore he is a cunt. Let’s start with that.” The moment Jack’s blade dug into the skin on Ted’s back, the guy whined through his nose and began pleading through his gag. His muffled voice was drilling its way into Loki’s mind.
Loki swallowed hard, staring at the murderous focus on Jack’s face. In the faint light coming through the dark windows at the back, he could see the curved blade dive into flesh. Jack leaned over Ted, pressing him hard against the floor as he carved, with Ted twitching and howling into the gag like a slaughtered pig. Loki leaned forward, watching blood ooze out of the cuts that formed the first two letters.
“Fucking scum,” he uttered through his teeth.
Jack nodded, and worked his blade through the letters, taking deep breaths. “You know, Ted, I’m a bit of a pig myself, but I don’t fuck fifteen-year-olds,” he hissed and pushed the blade in deeper to emphasize his point.
Loki exhaled, tightening his jaw as he watched the muscles twist on Ted’s face with more ease. He was completely safe with Jack holding this loser down. “Yeah, and he wouldn’t settle his debts with my ass either, you fuckup!”