Four or Dead by G O A

Four or Dead

The 'doctor' shoots and kills Carlos' man before he can react and blows him a kiss. Then she winks at me

We never met until now, but I have spoken with her over the phone a lot. Beetle. One badass bitch. Her words, not mine

"Come on, chica, time to get out of here," Beetle says as she takes out a cotton dress from the briefcase and helps me put it on. Carlos gave me no clothes, saying I wouldn't need them since my only purpose is serving the Dukes

"There are too many Dukes around here during the day and...I am afraid I am only going to slow you down."

"Not today," Beetle tells me. "The Lords have demanded a truce for today, and they are holding a meeting with the Dukes on neutral grounds right now."

"But surely there are still guards," I say, not wanting anything to happen to her because of me

"T either get you out of here, or I will burn the building down!" A loud explosion coming from a distant part of the Celestial Heaven almost throws me off of the bed. "This is our signal that we have to get out

now

Screams of frightened women come from the floor above us. My room is

not on the same floor as the rooms of the women living here and who are forced to serve the Dukes

Beetle helps me get out of bed, and before we leave the room, she takes an access card from the pocket of the dead man. Walking is very painful, but knowing that soon everything will be over fuels me, and adrenaline

rushes into my bloodstream

"Who are you with?" I ask as we make it to the stairs. "And why are we going up instead of down?"

Despite the explosion, the Celestial Heaven is unusually quiet. Except for the women who are still screaming

"Mantis and a new girl that joined this week. Cricket is her name

Mantis will be the one to fly us away from here."

I have never talked to Mantis, but I have heard a lot about her. She used to be in the army until an injury to her left knee forced her to take a 9-5 office job, which she hates since she is an action girl. And she knows how to pilot a helicopter

"But we will expose ourselves too much," I try to make her see reason

"Tt is the only way to get you out of here. And you know Wasp's mantra: 'No one is left behind."

When we reach the floor where the sex slaves are kept, Beetle yells, "If anyone wants to escape, now is the time, as the explosion won't keep

the guards distracted for long."

We keep going up the stairs until we reach the door that leads to the rooftop. The door requires a pass or an access card to open, and Beetle uses the one she took from Carlos's man. And I finally hear the helicopter, the Celestial Kingdom's walls have to be soundproof

A rope ladder falls from the helicopter, and I grab it. Climbing is more difficult than I thought, but I don't give up, and once I am inside the helicopter, I cry. Beetle helps me put on the safety belts and then hugs me

Goodbye, I think as the helicopter takes me away from Veross City

Four months later

A new victim of the most feared serial killer in the last ten years, the Butcher, was discovered yesterday in his home in New York. The victim, whose identity hasn't been made known, is missing his right hand, eyes, and tongue. Sources say the man had been subjected to extreme torture for hours before he was killed

People are starting to get worried, as the Butcher has killed a total of forty-seven men in four months, five of them this week

How many more will the Butcher kill until he is caught?

I finish reading the newspaper, fold it, and put it next to my cup of coffee. I usually read it on my phone, but I felt like doing something different today

An old seagull enters the bar, and I take the remainder of my toast from the plate and throw it to him. When I moved to a small village in La Palma two months ago, he stole from the bag of chips I had in my hands. Since then, it has become a habit to feed him

Antonia, the sweet old lady who owns the bar, clicks her tongue. She is also my landlady. "One day, that seagull will move in with you."

I smile. "As long as he pays rent, he is more than welcome." Antonia shakes her head. "Nina loca." Crazy child

When I came here after my body was healed from the torture Carlos subjected me to, I was underweight, hair so short children thought I was a man, and depressed as fuck, Antonia took me under her wing, thinking I had some incurable disease. She was more than happy when I told her that I wasn't sick. She introduced me to everyone she knows in Tazacorte and even gave me a few cooking classes. I am finally able to make steaks without ruining them among other things

"Gracias por el desayuno," I say to Antonia. Thank you for breakfast. I put a ten euro bill on the table, three times the price of the food. Since I started working full-time as a freelance accountant, I make more money than before

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After grabbing my backpack and putting on my headphones to listen to my favorite radio station, I go to the convenience store. Despite it being November, it is warm outside. I may swim in the ocean today and do my yoga routine on the beach. The little house I am renting gives me all the privacy I need, as it is ten minutes away from the village on foot

Once at the convenience store, I grab a basket and look around while I think about what to make for lunch. A love song is on the radio but stops momentarily, and the DJ says something, but I am not paying attention to it as I pick up potatoes and put them in my basket

After I finish grocery shopping, my backpack, now heavy with food and drinks, weighs a lot. I put it on my back, and I head home

I am almost out of the village when someone taps me on the shoulder, startling me, as I am still listening to music in my headphones. After my experience with Carlos, I've become jumpy. During the two months I spent at the Sanctuary, I spoke a few times with a therapist, but it will take time to get over being humiliated and beaten. I will probably live with this trauma all my life

Wasp insisted that I stay longer, but I needed to find a place where no one knew me and where I could start from zero. And I could forget about my mates. I am still working on the last part, as thoughts of them haunt me day and night. A few times, I was even tempted to look up information about them and Emily online, but I walked away from my laptop and did something else until I no longer wanted to know how happy they are together

Lately, I've started listening to audiobooks. It helps when bad thoughts overwhelm me. In fact, I started a new series yesterday with all sorts of paranormal beings. The first one is about a vampire and a Valkyrie, and the shower scene was...hot. I will listen to the next part while I make

lunch. Nikolai is yummy

"That looks heavy. Do you need any help carrying it?" a man says as I take off my headphones. He is probably a tourist

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