THE SLAUGHTER HOUSE FOUR
The early morning traffic was slow, allowing the van to speed through red lights. Drops of blood started to speckle the floor of the van as the two police officers landed hundred pound punches on Jack's face and body. The van screeched to a sudden halt throwing the three of them against the back of the front seat. One of them yelled at the driver.
"What the hell was that, dumb shit?!"
"Shut the hell up! Some bitch walked in front of me!" The van took off again. The two brawny men sat back watching Jack roll over and spit out blood onto the already filthy floor. He wiped the blood off his face and out of his eyes in order to get a better look at his assailants, propping himself up against the side of the van despite aching ribs. He read their badges out loud.
"Officers Davis and Patterson... Well, it's a pleasure. Do you usually viciously attack all criminals, or is this a new custom..." The two men sat back like two heavily perspiring stone pillars, ready to explode again at the slightest provocation. Jack eyed them suspiciously, using the one eye that wasn't starting to swell shut. He pursed his lips looking at the one that seemed most likely to attack him again.
"Im not stupid. Your not cops, I knew that the second you tossed me in here." A little smirk flitted across his face. "I think its sweet, that you invited me to your little slumber party, who brought the brownies?" The man he had been looking at lunged toward him and slung him against the opposite side of the van. The other man grabbed him pulling him off of Jack.
"Calm down, alright!"
The man in the passenger seat yelled back at them."Yeah, save room for dessert!"
The van soon pulled into the fair grounds and backed into a large storage shed. The back doors flung open and Jack was dragged out. He started to squirm violently in a last attempt to break free from their steely hold. The two men dropped him onto a table and all four proceeded to tie his hands and feet to the legs. Three split off leaving the man who was sitting in the passengers seat standing alone next to the table.
"Do you know who I am?" Jack squinted, the garish warehouse lighting was blinding. Jack sighed impatiently. "No, but you need to tell your "fellow officers" to take five."
"You always thought everything was a joke, you had a good sense of humor... Thats what Sam liked about you." Jack opened his eyes and turned his head to look at the man standing next to him. He locked eyes with him and knew...
"We all had the opportunity to kill you on the way here, but thought we'd like to make you more comfortable." He said motioning to the table. Jack looked back at the ceiling.
"If your gonna kill me then just do it. Enough with the dramatic prequel." The man started in again, with the same calm even tone.
"That brings me to our second item. Myself as well as the men in this room have decided that we would make things more interesting for us and for you. I think you would agree that death can be, hmmm... boring." Jack had started to count the rivets on the ceiling, silently mouthing the numbers as he counted.
The man pounded the edge of the table in order to get Jack's attention.
"Listen to me!" he bellowed as he completely lost his cool. He pulled long razor out of his coat pocket and held it up to Jack's throat.
"How 'bout I just bleed you out right here, huh?! Like the fuckin' vermin you are! Jack swallowed hard feeling the cold blade pressing down on his jugular. The mans face was inches away from his.
"You killed him! You smiled all through dinner, when Sam gave you a seat of honor and then you killed him! You got Sam fucked over with that same grin when you flirted with Joe's girlfriend! He took you in! He did nothin' but help you and you murdered him in his own house!" The man was quivering with rage by this point. He backed off, breathing heavily as he walked over to the other three. About a minute passed when Jack asked them, "Why didn't I see any of you then? I know who was at that dinner." The man turned and walked back to the table followed by one of the others. He grabbed Jack's face. His voice was cold and deep.
"We were in the room, enough said." For the first time Jack was completely serious. The man's grip tightened.
"Lets put a smile on that face, shall we? So you'll remember what got you here." He started to pry Jack's mouth open, using the razor as extra incentive. The other man helped hold his head still. Soon the razor was pulling against the corner of Jack's mouth.
"Say bye bye to that pretty face." Jack felt a horrible tearing sensation followed by excruciating pain. His mouth started to fill with blood from the wound and blood was already pouring down the side of his face and neck. He tried to spit it out but it only ended up bubbling up and out through the new extension at the side of his mouth.
The man walked to the opposite side of the table.
"And now for the other side." Soon the same kind of cut was made to the other side of his mouth. He threw the bloody razor on the floor.
"Finish him." he ordered the other man that came with him. The other man drew a knife out of his coat and sank it into Jack's stomach. He screamed tearing the gashes up further.
The four men carried him back out to the van by his arms and legs and they sped away. The man who had done the cutting was sitting back in the passengers seat wiping his hands.
"Take him to Arkham, thats where he belonged to begin with. If he doesn't make it, then thats their problem.
It had started to spit snow by the time they arrived in the long arching front drive way of Arkham Asylum. One of the men got out and dragged Jack's limp body out of the van and on to the cold pavement, leaving him laying like a bloody rag doll. The van was long gone by the time a couple of nurses came to see what had happened.