"Wha-WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?!" Ayla pushed past Deici, who smiled and followed her with his eyes. Self-preservation washed away by her shock and sorrow, she dropped to her knees looking up into Arcadia's face, finding a single gunshot in the center of her forehand. "No!" Ayla looked over Arcadia's now still body, her blonde long hair was dyed red as it covered her arms and parts of her face. A moan escaped her lips as she noticed the multiple cuts along with her entire body, her tied arms and legs bore the most damage, her wrist and ankles were worn raw from desperate struggle to escape. Ayla fell silent, no tears came, she felt numb. There really was nothing she could do for her best friend. Arcadia's body was still warm, as if she didn't have a hole in her head, as if she wasn't dead. Ayla held her, feeling the blood soak through her clothes and stick to her skin.
"Well, she was loyal to you, I'll give her that...maybe a little too loyal," Deici sighed rubbing his neck. Ayla spun to face him her face contorted with hate and her voice dripping with malice.
"How...did you even find her? I THOUGHT IT WAS ME YOU WERE AFTER!" she stood up, stomping towards the still smiling psycho. "I THOUGHT IT WAS ME THAT WAS TAGGED. SO HOW IN THE FUCK DID YOU GET TO HER...and not me..." a sob racked her frame as she realized it was her fault Arcadia was dead, her still body cooling in the crisp air.
"Well..." Deici started, "I do love to regale you with my exploits." Bile rose in Ayla throat as he began.
~An hour and a half earlier~
-"Time to play, little kitten. Let's see how well you do." and with that the apartment was empty. Their final dance had begun.
Deici materialized at the coordinates of the second tracker, Arcadia's tracker, which had been placed in her phone the same day they met her for dinner.
He was outside a two-story cabin, if the luxurious building could be called that, he stood in the gravel driveway surrounded by a beautiful garden. The trees around the property were groomed, not native to the area and he could just make out a man-made pond at the edge of the property. "Someone's not as poor as she pretends." Deici saw a white car parked outside the two-car garage and walked over, he noticed that it had no openly discernable logos or customizations, a getaway car, not bad. He walked up to the door, lifting the brass knocker and letting it fall a few times. Wondering if she would even answer the door. To his amusement the door flew open, and Arcadia stared at him like a doe caught in the headlights. "It's nice to meet you again Ms. Gentile."
Arcadia quickly tried to close the door, but Deici was faster, with practiced ease he stopped the door and pushed it wide open, causing Arcadia to fall back. He entered the cabin and closed the door behind him, and Arcadia scrambled to her feet and sprinted to her bag. "Tsk tsk, that's not very nice," he said twisting the taser from her hands. She recovered quickly catching him of guard and running for the door. He was on her in a flash smashing the barrel of his gun against her right knee, she cried out and fell to the ground. He walked forward, tilting his head down questioningly, "Do you know why Ayla is meeting you here and did you tell anyone about your intention to skip town, hmm?" Instead of answering she got to her feet clearing favoring her injured knee, she started to back up, ignoring his questions and looking through the house to the back door in the kitchen, Deici followed her gaze, before they both looked back at each other. "You won't make it out that door, you know that, right?" Arcadia stared quietly at him before making a mad dash to the backdoor, throwing things in the path behind her as Deici gave her a two second head start, rolling his eyes before following her.
She reached the door but was roughly pulled back by her hair to the floor, "Well, she obviously told you what happened, at least vaguely, since you are meeting her here, but I will only ask one more time, Did. You. Tell. Anyone. Else?" he hovered over her still holding onto her hair, Arcadia squirmed, trying to free herself from his grasp before locking eyes with him once more.
"Go to hell." She shook herself once more before twisting herself awkwardly and kicking him as hard as she could in the groin. Deici winced loosening his grip slightly before pulling strongly once more ripping out some of her hair in a process. He smashed her head into the polished oak floor, stunning her. He dragged her to the dining room and pushed her into a chair. He tied her hand and feet to the armchair using the knotted curtain tiebacks, allowing them to fall and darken the room. She slowly came to her senses blood running down her cheek from a cut on her forehead.
He pulled a chair in front of her and sat down. "Now then you are going to answer my questions, or I will make sure you never see the light of day again in the most painful way possible." She visibly paled and her eyes showed fear before her gaze steeled.
"Do what you want...I won't tell you a thing." her voice trembled but she never broke eye contact. He went to the kitchen and found what he was looking for. He placed the knife rack on the floor between them, selecting one of the eight sharpened blades.
"We'll see about that," he took up one of the knives.
…..
By the time Deici pulled the eighth and final blade from rack Arcadia was bleeding from so many lacerations she could not pinpoint any area that hurt more than the other, she was in hell and the devil himself had come to dish out her punishment. She craved death's sweet release from her pain but he did not come. Her vision swam and she started to lose consciousness, then fresh pain brought her back to the room, cleared her vision so she could see the smile on the demon's face. He looked at his phone and stood. "Your screams have been music to my ears, but I am afraid we are out of time." He pulled out a gun and began to screw a silencer onto the barrel. "I do believe Ayla has arrived; my talents are needed elsewhere."
Her eyes widened as she realized what was about to happen to her friend and she opened her mouth to scream a warning. A pop and all thought died away with the pain; tortured tears leaked from the corner of her eyes as she slipped away.
....
Ayla heart broke, no shattered. She fell to her knees and screamed, releasing the pain that tore her soul to pieces. This was her fault! She thought that she was outsmarting him, but he had played her like a pawn. He had wanted her to flee, had wanted her to call Arcadia, he had wanted her to suffer, he was a monster. "Why?" was all she could ask, she needed to know.
"Your friend died because Typhon has a problem with his conscience, you however, you were always going to die." She looked up at him trying to understand his motive and finding nothing. "I see you don't understand, maybe it's the shock." He walked closer to her, looking down at her small form. "You saw me that day, but I didn't care, no one on that floor was supposed to survive."
"But you said…." She started.
"I meant in hell; we were to meet again in hell." He said, like that explained everything.
They both turned as the sound of tires on gravel was heard.