Slaughter

Tom woke with a dry mouth and a sore throat. He thought he was coming down with the cold but later on in a month or so it would be the worst sickness he ever felt. Tom put his hand on the bed to support his hung over body. Once his hand touched the fabric on the bed it felt like somebody poured water all over it…at lest he thought it was water. Suddenly his sense of smell was sharpening by the scent of copper and sex. Through his blurry vision the room was covered in splashes of red paint. Only paint doesn't smell like copper. Somebody moaned on the bed as he helped himself up. He smiled, the sex must have been really good he couldn't remember anything, he didn't even know were the red paint came from.

As he began to think clearly, the last time he remembered he was given a strong drink then he was gone in one shot. The moaning got even louder, it sounded miserable then satisfied. When Tom heard that moan he looked to the woman on the bed. "Oh my God!" screamed Tom backing far away from the bed as possible. He didn't know if the woman was Angelique or not but, who ever she was she was skinned….and still alive.

The body was bound to the bed with chains, hooks and some barb wire. She had almost no movement on the bed, the only thing she can move was her arm. She stretched out her arm begging for help. "Tom….please help…..me!" she pleaded. Tom stood there with eyes wide with shock. Seeing this impossibly alive woman with no flesh on her bones made him realize the copper smell, the red paint on the walls and on his hands. This wasn't paint, it was blood!

"Please….make it stop. Make the pain go away!" pleaded the woman. Her voice was like nails in his ears. This has to be a dream, he thought. Tom closed his eyes, shutting out the blood soaked woman's cries. There was an urgent knock on the door. "Tom, you in there? You need to see the stable," said a servant. At first Tom didn't want to open his eyes, fearing that the nightmare would still be here. On the second knock Tom opened his eyes to discover that nothing was there.

Tom stood there both relieved and yet still terrified. The skinned woman and the blood were gone. Even the blood on his hands were gone. Tom took a sigh of relief, happy that it was all in his head….or was it? Tom heard the door open, "Tom….you need to see the stables, sir," said the servant.

"What about the stables?"

"It's the horses, sir…They've been butchered."

Tom looked at his servant in disbelief. His beloved horses slaughtered like sheep? How could that happen? "Are you sure?" he asked lamely. His servant nodded urging him to see the damage. Before they left to see the horses Tom looked over his shoulder. For some reason he had the feeling she was still there pleading for the pain to stop. Whatever was in that room it felt real.

What he saw in that room was nothing compared to the stables. There was blood everywhere he could see. The smell in the stable was overwhelming of blood and shit. The worst to see was the horses. They were skinned just the woman on the bed. The only thing merciful here was that these poor creatures were dead. The sights and smells were too much for Tom to handle. He went over to the side of the horses stable and emptied whatever was left in his stomach.

After he emptied the contents of his stomach he felt strangely weak. His throat hurt badly from purging. "Are you alright?" his servant asked. Tom looked at his servant with blood shot eyes. "I'm fine," said Tom weakly

"I just need to-" he didn't finish his sentence, his head was swimming with dizziness. "Tom, Tom, are you alright?" asked a female voice. The last thing he saw before he fainted was his wife standing there looking worried. She was dressed in gown that was a little too tight on her body. It was the kind of dress that was meant to attract attention or to impress someone. The first thing that was on his mind was why was she dressed like that.

"Merope, why are you-?" Tom didn't finish, his knees gave out on him and he was out once more but to sickness this time. As he slipped into unconsciousness, Merope was holding him in his arms saying "Tom…I'm sorry."