Ruthless Heart

I think I’m going to be sick. I stumble back, my footsteps echoing.

Nero pauses his torture. He sees me there through the open door, but there’s no reaction on his face. He just calmly turns to the other men.

“Finish the job.”

Nero steps into the hallway, heading to an office nearby. He doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t even acknowledge what I just saw.

I follow in a daze. I want to run for the hills, but what am I supposed to do? I’m in his territory. Every exit barred.

Besides, there’s no place I can hide from what I just witnessed.

Nero enters the office and goes to the ensuite bathroom area. He calmly washes the blood off his hands and strips the stained shirt over his head.

“Ready to go?” he asks, grabbing a fresh shirt from a hook on the wall.

“Go?” I echo, still unsure if I’m going to be sick. The blood… The screams of pain…

Nero looks at me blankly. “The trip upstate?” he reminds me. “It was your big idea.”

And then it sinks in. I’m going away for a secluded weekend in the woods.

With a complete monster.