Chapter 29: Redemption

Janet sat immobile on a sturdy dining chair, her wrists zip-tied to the arms, her ankles similarly secured to the legs of the chair. A purple bruise threatened near her brand where Brady had punched her. Red handprints adorned her cheeks where Brady had slapped her twice. Janet gasped for breath, pulling weakly at her restraints. An image of herself handcuffed naked to the post in the supply shed filled Sarah’s mind. That thought flooded her with dread, remembering the van hidden under the tower far away.

Brady stood before Janet, the pistol loose in his right hand tapping against his jeans, watching her struggle. Sarah fought to think clearly through the headache. The headache was better than the sex fog, but steady concentration eluded her.

Brady turned to Sarah.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

Sarah fought the insistent headache and forced a weak smile to her lips. “Only a headache,” she murmured.

“Do you love me?”

Sarah thought of sketches, and shelter, and mind numbing climaxes. Brady had freed her, given her purpose, given her a home, given her a place to belong.

She nodded slowly, painfully, her body beginning to fail her mental commands.

“I love you, Brady. I always will,” she managed.

He nodded once, satisfied. He handed her the pistol. Sarah held the weapon in her right hand, uncomprehending her role. Brady turned to Janet. He pulled the phone from his pocket and swiped at it, his eyes gleaming. He showed Janet the screen. She looked at it, her eyes glazed in shock and pain.

“This is Armageddon,” Brady whispered. His eyes became unfocused. “When I press this red button on the screen, this one here,” he pointed at a red disc portrayed in pixels, “the timer starts.”

“What happens, then?” Janet asked dully. If she’d been capable of speaking, Sarah might have asked the exact same question, but in the pit of her stomach, she already knew.

“In the morning, when all the sinners are sitting comfortably at their useless desks, destroying the planet, our only home, and the timer expires,” Brady smiled. “Boom.”

“Why? Because I left? Because I betrayed you?”

Brady laughed. “Perhaps, but God will have his justice regardless. As you will have your redemption.”

Janet bit her lip and pulled at her bonds again.

“Kill me if you must, but don’t kill the innocent,” Janet murmured.

Brady laughed. “Innocent? None of them are innocent. And I have no intention of killing you, my sweet Janet.”

“You aren’t going to kill me?”

Brady shook his head, smiling. He slapped Janet hard across the face again, and she moaned.

“No. Sarah will.”

Janet opened her mouth, her eyes glazed, accepting Brady’s engorged penis between her lips. Brady grunted and pushed forward until Janet visibly gagged. She struggled with the bonds.

Sarah stood swaying beside the chair, the barrel of the pistol pressed against Janet’s temple as Brady violently raped Janet’s mouth.