Page 53 of Primal

The little patch of land near the lighthouse has been in my possession for years now. I originally bought it to build rental cabins, but it’s much better as a place for other kinds of business. There are no cameras, no prying eyes, and thanks to the dense forest, basically no cell reception. Once an old cannery, the structure still standing provides the perfect shelter from whatever…stormI bring here. It’s the perfect place to make people disappear.

Unfortunately for James Allen Porter, he might be the next to go.

We step into the abandoned cannery business and make our way down the two flights of steps toward the decaying boiler room. It smells like damp mildew and rusted iron from the old machines and the lingering smell of blood. The only thing that still works in this heap of broken glass and rubble is the HVAC system. It’s older than me and barely functional, which means it’s loud and perfect to mask the screams.

The man of the hour is already chained up to a thick pipe attached to the ceiling, half-slumped over against the HVAC base. Blood drips from a cut on his forehead down his haggard face, and several cigarette burns are vivid on the inside of his arms. Back in the day, since I’ve worked with Jasper. The man is… vicious. That’s Jasper’s favorite place to put them. More sensitive, he says.

I say do whatever gets the job done, and based on James’s broken expression, he’s about there.

“Nice of you to join us.” I crouch low enough so James can look me in the eye. “Thank you for coming to meet me.”

Merrick and Braken stand off to the side. I don’t want to see their faces when I do this. And frankly, I don’t want them to see mine.

When James spits at my shoes, it’s full of blood. “Asshole. Let me out of here!”

I take a handkerchief out of my front pocket and wipe the tops of my leather shoes. “I suppose you’re not ready to talk yet. Jasper.”

Wordlessly, Braken’s bodyguard steps forward and grabs hold of James’s chin. The man struggles and tries to bite at the bodyguard, but he’s done this plenty of times and knows how to keep wild animals in check. Because that’s what men on the verge of death always become: wild animals that lash out when they think there’s a way out and whimper when cornered.

I take a seat in a fully rusted chair and watch as Jasper pulls out a pair of pliers from his pocket.

“Stop! Stop, please stop!” The pleading is desperate; the man will crack without us having to go any further. The piss running down his leg tells me as much.

I raise my hand to get Jasper to stop.

“Are you ready to talk?”

“Please, I don’t have the money, but I can get it, I can get whatever you need, I just need time, you see, I got this hookup?—”

“Shut the fuck up,” I snap. “Do I look like a street dealer? Jasper.”

“No, wait?—”

James’s scream is hoarse and broken up with his angry sobs.

“What do you want?” he cries, blue eyes bloodshot with tears and tan face covered in blood.

“For you to think,” I respond evenly, crossing one leg over the other. “Why are you here?”

Silence fills the room. I feel like a schoolteacher waiting for a student’s answer as I stare at him. Time drags on as James struggles to think, and I snap my fingers for Jasper to pull out a tooth.

“No, wait, just give me a fucking second to think!”

“Now,” I demand.

“The car,” James says, then lifts his head up and screams, “the fucking car!”

I clap my hands a few times in mock congratulations. “Bravo, James. Well done. Looks like you have a brain after all.” I glance at Merrick and Braken but not long enough to try to read their faces. I can’t let them get in my head. I can’t soften.

I’m the monster right now.

I must remain that way a little longer.

I can’t allow them to soften or tame the beast inside of me.

I push to my feet and reach into the pocket of my longcoat, pulling out my leather gloves. Even if the cleaners come and make sure there’s no trace of James after this, I don’t want any latent fingerprints left behind. Even the smallest piece of hair, sweat, or skin can fuck everything up.

“Do you even know who you killed?” I ask as I take two slow steps forward.