Wrath James White presents Poisoning Eros I & II (8 page)

“I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t know. I hadn’t been
diagnosed when we were together. We’d been separated for almost
three years before I found out.”

“I don’t give a fuck if you knew or not! What does
that change? You want me to forgive you or something? Fuck you! You
want my forgiveness? Then kill that little bastard and give me my
life back!”

There was a desperate madness in Ryan’s eyes. Fear
of his own extinction had driven him right out of his mind.

“But if you have it, then …”

“Yeah, Angela’s HIV positive, but so far she doesn’t
have any symptoms, and her kid appears to be fine. But who knows?
We all might be dying anyway.”

Gloria turned toward Angela, her eyes brimming with
tears. “Oh my god. No! Not you too!”

Angela nodded, stared at the floor. “I was diagnosed
last month. None of this matters now. You might as well just do
what they want.” The little teenager stared at both mother and
father with an expression that boiled with hatred and a bitter
resignation.

Gloria’s eyes swept the floor as she turned away
from that fearsome gaze. What could she say to defend herself? She
had left her only daughter in the care of a rapist and pederast who
had molested her and given her AIDS; a disease he had caught from
Gloria herself. She was just as guilty as Ryan.

“You’d let your whole family die just so you can
live a while longer? Even your own daughter?”

“I can always start a new family. I’m young. I’m
fucking rich. I can meet a new woman and start a new life without
the taint of your filth and disease to ruin it.”

“Then what?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, if I kill the baby, I’ll go to hell, but
eventually you’ll die too, and where do you think you’ll be
headed?”

“That’s not for a long time, sweetheart. All I’m
worried about is the here and now and right here, right now, you
need to decide which one of you is going to spend the rest of time
in hell getting their insides dug out and rearranged by that
demon’s dick.”

Unclouded by narcotics for the first time in years,
Gloria’s mind struggled to find a way out. Ryan and Vlad flanked
her on either side. And in front of her stood the daughter she’d
abandoned—and the granddaughter she was supposed to murder. There
had to be a way out of this. But she couldn’t imagine what that
was.

For the first time in years, she began to pray. She
fell to her knees and began to cry. “Our Father, who art in heaven
…”

Vlad stepped forward. “Stop that.”

“Hallowed be thy name …”

“I said stop that!”

“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it
is in heaven.”

“I said stop!
” Vlad’s fist collided with
Gloria’s jaw, spinning her like a piñata. She collapsed on the
floor in a heap. Eyes closed, facedown on the polished hardwood
floor, she feigned unconsciousness. More time to think.

*

How did things turn out so wrong
? she wondered
for the millionth time.

From her prone position on the floor, hovering above
her, Vlad and Ryan were discussing her fate—and the fates of Angela
and the child.

“She’ll never do it,” Ryan said. “She may be a whore
and a drug addict but she’s no killer.”

“Everyone has their price. Besides, she has no
choice. She may not care about her own life, but I’m betting she
cares about those little girls over there. Did you know that she’s
been coming by here almost every week for years, just to catch a
glimpse of the two of you? She knew your schedule better than you
did. She’s even gone to Angela’s school a few times. She loves you.
Both of you. Even now. And she knows that I won’t hesitate to tear
you, little Angela and her little bastard apart to get what I
want.” Vlad’s voice billowed out in a dense humid cloud of
halitosis that made Gloria’s eyes water.

Gloria’s head was turned in an awkward angle, and it
ached. But if they knew she was awake, she’d be out of time again.
She cracked her eyes open, trying to get the tiniest hint of her
surroundings. Vlad and Ryan were flanking her other side, and when
she peeked out, she caught Gloria’s attention. She was afraid her
daughter would give her away, but Angela didn’t change her
expression.

Gloria licked her lips and mouthed the word
run
. She prayed her daughter would understand, and would act
on it. How, she couldn’t imagine. Was there even a way out of that
room? Could she get past Ryan and Vlad?

“Dad?” Angela’s voice cracked.

“What? Why are you interrupting us?”

“I need to change her.” The baby was cradled in
Angela’s arm.

“Stay put. The baby can wait.”

“No she can’t. She smells.”

Ryan sighed. “Fine. You’ve got three minutes.”

Angela disappeared from Gloria’s sight.

“Let’s get this bitch off the floor,” Vlad said.
“Put her on the table.”

She felt their hands beneath her armpits and she was
lifted into the air. The table was cold beneath her clothes, and
she suppressed a shudder.

“I’ll just make her do it,” Ryan said. “Even if I
hold her hand, force her to kill the baby.”

“No. Won’t work that way. If you help her, you might
as well do it yourself—she won’t burn in hell, you will. She has to
do it herself, using her own will. Otherwise the deal’s off.”

“Fuck you, then.” Ryan slammed his hand on the
table. “You know I won’t be able get her to kill that fucking
kid—so I might as well kill this bitch right now.”

She felt the cold steel blade resting against her
neck, and she began to tremble. Tears flowed into her temples from
the corners of her eyes.

“I
knew
she was awake.” Ryan laughed,
withdrew the knife.

Gloria opened her eyes, looked up at Ryan. “Please
don’t do this,” she whispered. “I’ll do anything you want.”

“Oh, like what? Have sex with me? Kill me all over
again?”

“No, Ryan … I loved you.”

“You have a funny way of showing love, Gloria.”

She sat up, rubbed her aching head. “Can’t we work
something out?”

“Where’s that kid of yours?” Vlad asked. “She’s been
gone too long.”

“She’s changing the shitty diaper.” He glanced at
his watch. “I’ll go check.”

Gloria was sitting on the edge of the table, legs
dangling, and Vlad slid between her thighs. He leaned into her
until their foreheads were touching. “I can make this miserable for
you. I can make you suffer.”

“Your breath already is.”

“Very foolish to make jokes right now, Gloria.”

“Who’s joking?”

He leaned his head back a few inches but stayed
between her legs, pressed himself against her. “You know what I’m
capable of. You’ve seen what I can do.”

She nodded. “But I also know that you need me.
Otherwise you would have killed me by now.”

“I’m just making your transition to hell complete,
Gloria. Don’t think you ever had any hope of anything else—not with
your past.”

“So that’s it? I’m an easy target? What, do you get
bonus points for every soul you condemn to hell?”

He smiled. “Something like that.”

“She’s gone,” Ryan said, rushing into the room.
“They’re gone.”

“What do you mean, ‘gone’?” Vlad snapped.

“I searched the fucking apartment. They’re
gone.”

Vlad stepped back, his eyes slitted, his upper lip
twitching. “Where the fuck would she go?”

Ryan ran his hand over his hair and dropped his
head. His way of producing deep thoughts, Gloria knew. Or his way
of attempting to, at least. “The park, probably.”

“Central Park? At this hour?”

Ryan nodded. “Shouldn’t be that hard to find. Young
girl carrying a baby.”

“Let’s go then. What can we do with her?” Vlad
jerked his head toward Gloria.

Ryan dropped his head again, scratched his scalp
this time. Then grabbed Gloria’s wrist and yanked her off the
table, pulled her behind him down the hall and into another
bedroom. He threw her inside a small closet and slammed the
door.

The closet was pitch black. A small crack of light
tried to sneak in through the bottom of the door. She heard
something scrape along the floor and then bash against the closet
door. She assumed it was a chair or a large piece of furniture.

There was no point in yelling or crying or
protesting. They weren’t letting her out of that closet. She sank
to the floor and rested against a pile of shoes and boxes, pulled
her knees against her chest. She thought she would be terrified
right now but found herself numb, found that she was resigned to
her dreadful fate and just wished they would get it over with.

There was no way she was going to kill that baby.
She didn’t care what Vlad did to her.

About ten minutes had passed, she guessed, when she
heard the noises outside the closet door. Scraping sounds,
grunting. And a minute later, the door opened.

Angela held out her hand, and Gloria took it, got up
off the floor.

“Where’s the baby?”

“In her crib. We were hiding when Dad was searching
the apartment. I left the front door open a crack so he would think
I had left.”

Gloria hugged her daughter, held her face in her
palms. “I always knew you were a smart girl.”

Angela smiled, a blush blossoming on her cheeks.
“Where can we go?”

“Anywhere but here.”

Gloria followed her to Angela’s bedroom, and they
gathered the baby from the crib.

“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Gloria said,
leading them to the front foyer. She threw open the door, and Vlad
and Ryan were waiting on the other side.

“Good try,” Ryan said. “But I’m not stupid you
know.” He pushed his way into the apartment before Gloria could
slam the door shut.

Angela began to scream, and Vlad wrapped his hand
over her mouth.

Ryan shoved Gloria, sent her reeling down the hall.
They were headed back in the direction of that black room, the room
where they expected her to murder a baby.

Vlad threw Angela into the room, and she went
tripping in until she stopped herself against the far wall. Vlad
had already taken the baby from her.

Ryan had his hand clamped on the back of Gloria’s
neck and pushed her inside the room as well.

Vlad lay the baby on the table, unwrapped the
blanket, her small legs kicking, small hands groping air. He lifted
the knife, turned to face Gloria.

“Games are over. No more stalling. No more bullshit.
If you try to pray, I will cut out your tongue. I swear to God I
will.” He smiled at his little joke. “Listen to me, and listen very
carefully. You
will
do this, and you’ll do it now. I’m out
of patience. Do it now!”

He handed the butcher knife to Gloria, and she
dropped it to the floor. “I won’t do it.” He couldn’t stop her from
praying in her head.
God, it’s been a long time since we spoke.
Since I’ve asked you for anything at all. Please get us out of
this. Please save Angela and her baby.

She didn’t expect an answer. God had remained
strangely silent for most of her life. But if he was there, and if
he was listening, maybe he would help her. Though she knew
better.

Vlad nodded. “I expected as much. I really can’t
understand why you would choose to fight me when you know I always
win.”

His calm demeanor was more frightening to her than
his anger was.

She tried to lick her lips but had no spit. She
sucked in a breath, took a step back.

Vlad picked the knife up off the floor and slowly
approached her. Gloria had backed up into the table and clutched it
now, digging her nails into the wood.

He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to the
floor. When she was flat on her back, struggling beneath him,
kicking her legs, he planted his knees on her shoulders, pinning
her down. Grabbed her by the hair and pressed the knife against her
face.

“The Lord is muh-my Shepherd …” she said, her body
shaking, her breath seizing in her lungs.

“No atheists in foxholes. Right?” Vlad dropped his
head forward, leaned in to Gloria’s ear. “And if thy right eye
offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is
profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not
that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

“One thing at a time, I always say.”

He lifted the knife and laid it against the outside
of her eye. She cringed, tried to move her head but he held her too
tightly. She squeezed her eyes shut and felt the point of the blade
touch the lid. Less than a second later it penetrated; she felt the
blade digging around inside her eye, felt the warm fluid pour from
the wound and trickle into her ear. Heard a slight squeaky
plop.

Then the pain hit, and she screamed, writhing
beneath Vlad, wanting to escape him, wanting to comfort her wounded
eye. Then he climbed off, and she pressed her hand against her eye.
Eye
socket
, really. Nothing there but blood streaming from a
hollow point in her head.

“Mom!” Angela screamed. “No!”

Gloria leaned forward and vomited. On her hands and
knees, she tried to get up but slipped in her own blood.

Vlad handed her a towel and directed her hand to it,
pressed it against her wound.

The eye couldn’t be missing. Couldn’t be. This
couldn’t be happening.

She managed to look up using her good eye. Vlad was
in front of her, his feet planted wide. On the end of the knife he
still held was her eyeball.

“Get up, Gloria. Let’s get this over with.”

“No …” she moaned, using the table to pull herself
up on quivering legs.

“All right. It appears that torturing you won’t make
much difference.” He turned his head in Ryan’s direction. “Fuck
her,” he said, indicating Angela. “I’ll fuck her when you’re
finished.”

Not even a moment’s hesitation and Ryan was
unzipping his pants.