Pay the Price

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: Yes the title of this chapter is a Halestorm song. Give this one a listen, you'll understand why as the chapter progresses. We'll get back to Trina's team soon.


Chapter 16 (Familiar Taste of Poison)

Denise lay in her prison cell, the bed wasn't overly comfy but she'd grown used to the walls that surrounded her. Her hands moved behind her head and she stared lazily at the ceiling above her. "I don't know if there's a God above," she whispered, "But if there is, let these kids be found." She turned onto her side and furrowed her brow.

Her thoughts raced through her brain, memories of her own crime and then having to see the son that survived suffering because of her actions as a teenager. She often wondered why it was she survived that fateful day. She was the worst of the girls, at least she always thought that, and she should never have survived.

Like Keith, she remembered seeing Erin that day. She was glaring at the campers throwing chili everywhere and running about like chickens with their heads cut off. Gracie, Micah, Kyle and Louise lay in fetal positions on the ground, covered in their own vomit and feces, their eyes wide and bodies trembling.

Even Henry was complaining about feeling hot and nauseous, Janet was walking him to the cabin.

Denise remembered asking Regina and Holly what was happening amid the confusion, neither of them knew what was going on. Thomas was busy trying to shake Kyle, asking him if he could stand and offering to help him to the infirmary.

Holly had been the first of them to spring to action, trying to find bowls and pots for the kids to throw up into and trying to find ways to ease their pain. All Denise could do was stand there, staring back at Erin, frozen under the evil, icy look in her eyes.

Over the many years in prison, Denise had time to speculate and wonder just what that mixture was that Erin had used. Her own curiosities led to her studying science and chemistry while in the prison cell. She discovered that some of the key ingredients could easily be found on the property.

Now, she kept a vial of it hidden under a brick beneath her bed. It served as a reminder, something to keep close to her and force her to think on the actions that led to the death of four people and now the torture of her own son.

Footsteps echoed down the hall, causing her to jolt upright. She raced over to the prison bars and narrowed her eyes as other prisoners did the same. Then she saw him, a man easily recognizable in her memories as he did not look all that different from the baby face he had as a child in the photographs littering Erin's cabin.

Her youngest brother, Hector. He wore prison clothes now, his expression was angry and he appeared to be trying to look tough with his shoulders broadened and chin raised. She let out a low growl, her knuckles turning white as she tensed her grip on the bars.

A voice came over the prison intercom. "Attention prisoners," spoke the warden. Denise raised her head up and furrowed her brow. "Deputy Malone wishes to make you aware that we have a new prisoner in our yard. A child rapist who forces underage minors to perform in pornography videos that are posted on internet websites…"

It was then that Hector visibly paled, the toughness on his face passing as he froze on the spot. Denise locked her jaw tight and growled as other prisoners hollered and hooted. Threats and warnings echoed off the prison walls and Denise felt a flicker of pride and anger growing from within.

"Come on," the guard demanded while yanking on Hector's arm. As Hector passed by her cell, his eyes locked with hers. She tilted her chin up and slid her thumb across her neck.

"It's personal, boy. Recess is in an hour, lunch in three. Enjoy it while you can." She narrowed her eyes at him and the guard pretended not to hear as Hector's eyes grew wide. "We're having chili today." Fear flickered in his eyes and he looked at the guard, who once again yanked his arm and walked him down the hall. Denise cackled and raised her voice out loud. "You'll love it, Hector Louis, you'll just die for more!"

In the recess yard, Denise sat in the back corner table. Her arms were folded atop the surface and she was hunched forward. Her hair was concealing parts of her face and covered her shoulders and arms. Her eyes peered through as she watched Hector, trembling as he walked to the center of the yard.

The guards were looking the other way as a group of prisoners surrounded him. "Give him hell," she whispered, "Beat his ass. Make him suffer, make him bleed." Visions of the four who perished flashed in her mind, forcing the nausea in her gut to swirl about. "These guys don't take kindly to child rapists, Hector; but their fun won't be mine. Still, you'll get what's coming to you."

Hector screamed as he was pulled to the ground. One man straddled him and pummeled his face with heavy strikes. Another began stomping down on Hector's groin. He tried to twist and turn, crying out in pain as more prisoners joined the assault.

Denise tilted her head, watching with an evil look in her eye. This man, this monster, this demon brother of Erin would soon get what was coming to him. Erin would be sent a message, no less.

"Kyle." Denise sneered, her upper lip curling away from her bared teeth. "Louise." Her fists clenched so tight that blood began streaming from the palms of her hands. "Gracie." A growl vibrated from her throat and her chest grew tight. "And Micah. Dear, sweet Micah. They will all have their day. Let their ghosts haunt you, let their ghosts haunt your sister. The way my husband and children haunt me day in and day out…I will make you remember, I will make you regret."

Eventually the guards broke up the fray. Hector lay in a crumpled heap on the ground, trembling as blood covered him. "See you in the showers later," one guard said with a vicious snarl. Hector turned onto his side, whimpering fearfully as his legs curled up into his chest.

Later that evening, Denise crawled underneath her bed and carefully removed the loose stone from the ground. "Oh sweet memory. My nightmare, my horror." She removed the small, concealed container from the ground and her eyes narrowed as hatred flickered in her eyes. "Let them haunt you. Let them remind you, let them teach you how it felt."

The prisoners were called out to the cafeteria for food. Denise made her way through the lunchroom until she found a prisoner who told her Hector was seated next to him where the bowl of chili was placed. "Where is he?" Her eyebrow rose and the prisoner threw a thumb over his shoulder.

"Restroom, probably bawling his eyes out and trying to shit."

"Trying?"

"Do you need to ask?"

"Not really." Denise removed the small container from the inside pocket that she'd sewn into her prison clothes some time ago. She casually held it over the chili bowl as the guard raised his head up high and looked around. "I hope he enjoys the chili. I can name four people who just adored the last bowl of chili they ate."

"You don't say? No guards looking this way."

She poured the mixture into the chili and smirked. "Back at camp, they all thought Regina was the worst of our little mean girl troupe. Oh Erin…how very wrong you were. You fucked with the wrong bitch."

"Why ain't you savin' that for Erin?"

"Something tells me she's not coming to our prison. Kind of surprised they'd throw her little brother here."

"Deputy Malone may have ordered that on purpose you know."

Denise flickered out her gaze and slowly pocketed the vial. "Probably." She sneered and slowly stirred Hector's chili. "Putting Erin's little brother in the same prison where one of her victims is? No doubt it was intentional."

"And not a single guard eyeballing you…"

"You know what's funny?" She walked around the table and took a seat across from the prisoner. "I would have suffered the same fate as the others that day, but I was already pissing myself all damn day. I had an overactive bladder when I was a kid." The man raised an eyebrow and Denise growled. "I had a lot of problems. Let's just say my father was an asshole and leave it at that."

"Got it. I won't press."

"Good."

"Besides." The prisoner looked at the bowl warily and started to cringe. "I would hate to wind up on your shit list."

Denise cocked her head to the right and huffed. "Kinda shitty, my father may have saved my life in a way." Her gaze turned up as she watched Hector making his way down the aisle. He was trembling with each step and had a slight limp in his gait. Her lips curled into a smirk. "Hey Hector, how were the showers?"

"Fine. It was fine." Hector sat down cautiously and looked around, his eyebrows rising. "I heard it was a coed prison, but I thought they kept the women separated from the men."

"Usually they do." Denise scowled at him. "They made an exception for me." It wasn't so much an exception as it was a demand. She was among one of the tougher inmates in the prison, could hold her own, which made her respected among both camps. She was allowed, under supervision, to move between the two camps from time to time; but when she learned that Hector would be coming to this prison, she demanded that she be temporarily moved to the male camp.

Hector slowly picked up his spoon and Denise stared with a nonchalant expression, watching as he opened his mouth and pushed the tainted chili inside. She turned her head and looked at the other prisoner with a subtle smile. "So Joe, are you enjoying your dinner?"

The prisoner nodded. "Very well. What about you? I don't see you eating."

"I don't really care for chili." Denise rolled her head slightly and sighed, her eyes glancing to Hector as he continued to eat. "You know, just can't bear it. Every time I even think of chili, I think of those four kids."

"Oh yeah, from back at your camping days?"

She swept her bangs from her eyes and whistled. "Yeah." Hector continued to eat. He was eating as though it were the last meal he'd ever have.

"What were their names again?" A cruel smile swept across her face as she watched Hector raise the bowl a little bit. Joe looked sideways, watching him as well.

"Louise, Gracie, Micah, and Kyle."

"Right, poor kids."

"Yeah." Hector paused, his spoon hovering inches away from his lips. He slowly set the bowl down on the table and his eyes drifted down to the lump of chili and beans on his spoon. Denise curled her hand in her hair and her wicked smile grew. "How are you enjoying it, Hector? Does it taste good? You're eating it like you're real hungry."

"I-It's okay."

"Does it have the familiar taste of poison?"

"I…" Hector swallowed and Denise swore she heard his stomach rumble. Denise cruelly removed the now empty vial from her breast pocket and twirled it with her fingers.

"I prayed for their souls. Prayed a part of their memory would be there, to help you and your sister remember."

Hector began to visibly pale, his skin growing moist with sweat. His hand started to shake violently and he dropped the spoon into the bowl of nearly diminished chili.

Denise looked to her nails, humming slightly as Hector jumped away from the table, holding his left hand over his stomach and his right over his mouth. The back of his pants grew brown, and the brown spot grew swift and fast, travelling down his legs.

Other prisoners began to cackle and laugh as Hector's entire body started to shake and convulse. Denise smacked her lips and looked up, watching him with nonchalance. He pulled his hand away from his lips and suddenly vomited onto the floor.

"That's how you hit the correct target." Hector dropped to his knees and planted his hands on the ground, groaning and clenching his stomach as he threw up again. "Sorry your sister, as smart as she must have been, didn't think about how to make sure the tainted chili got to the intended targets."

She stood up and walked over to him, her hands swept down her thighs as he raised his gaze to her. "Bet you're wishing right about now that she managed to kill me, huh? I think about that every fucking day of my life, and how I wish I didn't have to go to the bathroom so much that day."

"W-Why…"

"You know. That day was a special day for me." She growled spitefully and the skin creased around her nose and eyes. "Thank my father for that wonderful anniversary. Guess your sister picked the wrong day to try and kill me. Now, she'll learn…and so will you."

She flung her hair over her shoulder and walked past Hector, her face twisted in anger but an ancient pain flashed in her eyes. In her mind, she visualized the four victims standing around him. She pictured them pushing him down as he collapsed onto the ground in the pile of his own vomit and feces.

His body twitched and convulsed and his eyes moved to the back of his head.

Denise looked back over her shoulder, watching as guards rushed for Hector's body. It felt good to see him writhe, to suffer the fate of those his sister poisoned-a fate they did not deserve. For her, this was her revenge and their justice.

"Not every victim or survivor wants those responsible to live or recover. Some just want to see them burn. I hope that chili destroys your insides like it did theirs, and I hope Erin understands how lucky she is she won't meet me. Regina and Holly stopped being bitches and became upstanding members of the community, giving back…guess who didn't."


And Hector goes down hard. Guess we'll be seeing what's up with the next victim, most likely Cat.