“That one. Now.”

Adam looked over to his left, past the boozers shouting obscenities at the TV. She sure was pretty. Her tight blouse presented an ample amount of cleavage. Adam could tell she enjoyed the attention though. Her smile wasn’t merely a pleasantry, but instead a coy tease for the gawkers. And boy, were there gawkers. He took a swig of his half-empty beer. Cold. Nice and cold.

“I don’t know Neil, there may be too many witnesses.” Adam held an uncertainty. Scanning the room he saw boozers, businessmen, and gym rats who were probably shootin’ steroids up their butts. “So we wait for them to leave. Or rather, for her to leave. Man we’ve been vettin’ her fer a week. Why are you hesitating?” Neil leaned forward in his booth, anxious for a response. Adam contemplated; tapping his beer on the table a few times. “ ... Alright, let’s do this.” Neil grinned, eager to put the plan in action.

“Wait, so you just took her. Like right then and there.” I was confused. My father always hounded me about being meticulous and careful. “Like I mentioned, Neil and I had been vetting her for a week. It wasn’t just spur of the moment decision,” he said with an almost irritation in his voice. “Besides, we had a location, equipment, the whole nine yards.” “What about a back up plan?” I inquired. “Well this was when we still thought we were invincible. The shrinks call it a God complex, a lot of serial killers tend to develop it the more people they kill. It’s usually their downfall though, Ted Bundy tried to be his own defense attorney even though there was hard evidence against him.” God complex. I wondered if that was something I would develop.

0200 and the bartender locks the liquor away and walks out the back door to her car. Getting inside she inserts the key into the ignition and turns, making the car rumble. Then she feels a strap of leather wrap around her trachea from behind, with enough slack so she can barely breathe but tight enough to where she can’t scream for help. Adam casually gets in the passenger side of the car and looked at Neil who was smirking.

“Easy Neil,” Adam chuckled. “You don’t wanna accidentally kill her before we have our fun.” The bartender’s eyes were wide and tearing up. Her voice let out a faint whimper of ‘please don’t hurt me.’ Adam continued, “Here’s what you’re gonna do,” fastening his seat belt, “you’re gonna drive where we tell you, otherwise Neil will crush your windpipe in a heartbeat.”

Neil chuckled, he breathed into her ear, “I can’t wait to get my hands on you.” Her whimpers become more frantic as her hands attempt to pull at the belt.

Taking her wrists Adam places them on the wheel, “So, you are gonna steer and I am going to give directions.” He pulled out his pocketknife placing the tip at her stomach. “This here is a little extra motivation to do as we say.”

I watched my dad wash and rinse the dishes. He was so nonchalant in his story telling I almost forget why he was telling me. He hands me a dish, “Here, make yourself useful.” I dry it off and put it away. “So,” I ask him, “you weren’t hesitant about letting Neil join you?” “No not really. He had told me about his own exploits and whatnot so I knew he was a familiar with the idea.” “Exploits?” “Yeah, his construction job had him travelling to different cities and towns. Perfect opportunities to hunt for victims.” “Still, you weren’t hesitant about sharing that part of you so openly.” He pauses. “ ... I was at first ... But the more I thought about it the more I realized Neil is the same breed of monster, just with different genes.” “Different genes?” “He got off more on violence than he did fear. But the thrill was the same.” I pondered what he said. “Was it something you had to watch for?” “Not really, I knew he wouldn’t go overboard, but if you’re planning on bringing in others, you make sure they have self control.” “Yeah, I will I will ... I would love to talk to him and hear some of his stories.” “Feel free to call him, he only lives an hour away, I’m sure he’d love to share; he’s a bit of a bragger.”

He continued.

“Please ... please ... I can’t ... breathe...” The bartender gasps in what air she can. Neil holds a firm grip on the belt. “Sooner we get goin’ bitch, sooner I let go.” He tugs hard and she lets out a choked sob.

Adam looks out the window. Even in low street lighting he’s wary of witnesses who may wanna play hero. “Alright,” holding out his free hand, “first you’re gonna give me your phone.” The bartender digs in her purse and tentatively places it in his hand. Adam takes the battery out and slips the contents back in her purse. “Now...” he gives the first set of directions, looping through the city needlessly and eventually out near a field. The drive takes about an hour and a half.

The car ride is deathly quiet.

Adam has the bartender drive onto the grass a good bit away from the road. Eventually they come upon what looks like a small barn and which was most likely a granary at some point but was now abandoned. Neil and Adam had scouted for weeks before stumbling across the dilapidated building. They spent another week renovating it to their specific tastes. With Neil’s job in construction, it was easy to acquire the right equipment. Adam gives the final set of directions, “Pull up behind the barn and turn off the car.” The bartender does as she’s told, mascara streaks her pretty face. Adam takes the pocketknife and traces the tip along her jawline. Leaning in he stares into her fearful eyes; he felt invigorated. “What’s your name?” Her lips trembled, but were unresponsive. Impatient he grabs her jaw forcefully making her flinch and sticks his face right in her ear. Whispering, “I asked for your name.” “T-Tara.” Her lips still trembled. Adam then noticed she had earrings on. “Take out your earrings,” he commanded. Her hands fumbled to undo the backs. Adam put his hand out in front of her and she gingerly dropped the two hoops in his hands. He put them in is pocket. Adam waits for the tension to rise before looking back at Neil. He nods.

Neil releases the belt from her neck. She coughs and rubs her neck. He quickly gets out of the car and pulls the driver’s door wide open. “Get out!” he barks. As soon as her head is past the frame he grabs a fistful of hair and drags her to the hood of the car. Neil slams her down face first causing her to yelp in pain. Adam is already behind with hand cuffs. Shackling her wrists he forces his weight on top snarling into her ear, “Don’t even think about trying to escape.” He throws her onto the ground and straddles her stomach. Pushing his palm into the side of her face he pounds his fist into her rib cage. She grunts with each hit, the air being knocked out of her lungs with every blow. She just sobs when Adam finishes. He grabs her throat leaning in, “Just remember Tara ... I’m the nice one.” Neil chuckles and walks over, kneeling at her head he grins ear to ear. The bartender lets out silent tears.

Adam gets off and Neil is right there to replace him. He hooks his elbow around her neck and drags her into the barn. Adam trails behind. Neil tosses her onto the hard wood floor. She scrambles back as best she can with pleading eyes, “Please,” she begs, “please stop, please don’t.” Neil grins a wide grin. Advancing he pounces on her, “Go ahead, beg, it just turns me on,” he says laughing. He gets up and kneels behind her head, forcing her shoulders into the ground. Adam approaches brandishing his pocketknife.

“NO PLEASE! NO!”

The bartender struggles under Neil’s hands. Adam straddles her stomach again, smiling wide. He slowly moves the blade towards her face; she turns her head to the side. He presses the blade into her cheek. “I wouldn’t move if I were you.” He slices her low cut blouse off, tossing it aside. Moving to her skirt, he rips it open and roughly pulls them down. When he gets to her high heels he rips those off as well, tossing the skirt and heels with the blouse. He looks at her bra and cuts it down the middle, allowing her tits to move freely. He mauls her tits, hard. She begs in between the sobs, “Please stop!” her head tossing from side to side, “it hurts! please!” Adam just smirks. All he says is, “Stay.” He gets up walking over to the table of equipment. He grabs the duct tape and walks back. Ripping off a strip he presses it over her full lips. “She’s all yours.”

“You let him go first?” I ask. “We did a coin toss. He won.”

Neil grabs her hair again and leads her over to the steel table and slams her face down. “Toss me the key.” Adam does and moves over to help. Neil unlocks her hand cuffs and takes one wrist while Adam takes the other. They each stretch her arms out towards the edges of the table. Taking some rope they tie loops around her wrists. The other ends of the rope are attached to cinder blocks on the floor. With the ropes pulled taut she is unable to move her outstretched arms. She groans uncomfortably with her head turned to the right. Neil moves in behind with his belt in hand. Adam pulls a chair over and takes a seat, ready for the spectacle.

“Give me your knife.” Adam reaches into his pocket and tosses it over. Neil puts his belt on the steel table, goes over to where her head is and strokes her hair. “You have beautiful hair. You know that?” The bartender shakes under his hand. Unleashing the blade he cuts off a lock of her hair about six inches in length. “Just a little memento, it’ll remind me of all the fun I had with you.” He shoves the hair deep into his pocket and tosses the knife back to Adam. “Now, for the fun.”

Neil doubles the belt and snaps it together. The sound echos throughout the entire barn. The bartender shakes all over, her whimpers reach Adam’s ears; he breathes in the excitement. Neil rubs her naked back with his free hand. “Where’s that sweet begging you did earlier?” She whimpers louder and shakes harder. “Beg bitch!” Neil cracks the belt across her back. The bartender wails into the tape trying to move but can’t. She pulls at the ropes, the cinder blocks rattle on the floor. He brings it down again and again and again.

Crack. Mmmmhhmmm ... Crack! Mmmmhhmmmmhhhhh! ... CRACK! MMMMHHHMMMMMMMMMMMHHHMMM!

Neil opens the belt and drapes the buckle across her back. He seethes a blissful sigh. “I’m going to be honest with you,” he takes a step back, “You’re going to be in so much pain before the night’s over ... you won’t know which way is up.” He swings. The buckle makes contact with a thud. She grunts in pain. He keeps swinging until her entire back is an array of black, red, and blue. He drops the belt. His hard on now pushed against his jeans. “Don’t think I forgot about your sweet ass,” he says moving up behind her. He rips her panties off tossing them with the rest of her clothes. She cries silently now, afraid of what would come next. Neil undoes his pants grabbing his cock. “Speaking of ass,” he rubs it up and down her holes. “Ever had a man fuck you up the ass before?” Her eyes widen with a renewed energy, but the ropes keep her in place. “You’re going to wish my friend had gone first.” He spits into his hand and rubs his cock. Lining up with her asshole he grips her hips on both sides.

He rams hard.