There's a sudden attack. Now Cassie Hart is dead. Her friends, Isabel Diaz, Galen Hooks, and new friend Rhea Morris all want to take a short break from their careers to find out who killed her.
Isabel, however, right before finding out who they are...
(Warning: this chapter will contain some cursing.)
"Let me go!"
"Now, why exactly would we do that? You're not going to be here much longer anyway."
Galen winced in pain as the leader of the men struck out with his whip and hit her on the back. She had been blindfolded while she was unconscious and once she'd woken up, she had no idea where she was. However, she heard very tiny crunching sounds, so she guessed they were in some kind of forest.
"Why are you even doing this?"
The man didn't answer and the one who was carrying her leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Shut up, unless you want him to gag you too."
Galen took a deep breath. She had been tied so tightly that her wrists and ankles were beginning to blister. Her shoulder had begun to stop bleeding, but the immense amount of blood she had lost made her feel too faint to struggle. Left in nothing but her sports bra and shorts, the lashes she had been receiving every time had hurt way more on bare skin once she'd been exposed. Eventually, they stopped, and Galen groaned as she felt herself being dropped on hard earth.
"Tie her to the tree," one of the men ordered. "That will do for now."
There was also apparently a female among them because she broke in too. "Why do we need to do this? Go high. If we get this bitch in a position like one we can afford, we can hang her if her friends try anything."
"Easy now, Johanna," another man with a really deep voice. "But that's a solid backup plan for what we already have planned for her."
"I don't f*cking care!" the woman called Johanna roared. "Galen stole my life and she needs to die!"
"Not yet, Jo," the man replied, a sly tone to his voice. "They won't find her for a while, which gives us time to do one thing, which is to get the rest of our plan going."
"So how does that benefit me in this case?"
"Because it all depends on how badly you can hurt her."
Galen felt her throat tighten and for a moment, she felt like she couldn't breathe. It sounded like this woman hated her more than anything and if they really intended to do this... she'd suffer more than anything.
"How much can I do?" Johanna purred.
"So long as you don't kill her outright, do your worst."
The blindfold was taken off of her as she was tied to the tree, but she could see nothing but darkness until someone shined a flashlight near her face. An angry female slid in front of her, with short black hair that had a few purple streaks in it and so much black eyeshadow around her eyes that she looked like a goth girl. She was wearing a black outfit and had pale skin that basically put her in a vampire look as well.
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"I'm going to have some great fun with you," she hissed savagely. "And when I finally see a sword driven straight through your f*cking heart, I'll be happier than I ever could have been before."
"I find it hard to believe you could ever be happy," Galen snarled at her. "If this is all you'd do, you never deserved the life I have."
Johanna took a step toward her, her eyes narrowing even more.
"Give me that," she told one of the men.
Galen saw Johanna take something from someone else in the group, but she was to far away for her to know what it was.
"How about you keep that sassy mouth shut?" she shouted suddenly, swinging her arm forward. A split-second later, Galen felt a blinding agony in her chest and her head snapped back against the tree. Soon after, more ferocious lashes from the whip followed. Tears sprang to her eyes with every one, rolling down her face as she tried not to cry out.
After a while, Johanna stopped and lunged forward and sank her sharp nails into her chin, bringing Galen's tearstained face close to her own.
"I want you to always remember this," she growled in a low voice. "The first time I myself inflicted the worst pain ever on you."
Pulling back again, she swung once more with the hardest part of the whip. Galen screamed in agony as it smashed into her neck, leaving a horrible red scar. Johanna laughed, watching as the marks began to bleed.
"You... will... pay for this!" she gasped out. "If I know Isabel... she will come..."
"Yes, yes, the Diaz girl." Johanna rolled her eyes. "Who knows if she'll make it this far? Until then, you're all ours." She untied Galen from the tree and she slid to the ground like a rag doll. "You're at my mercy right now, Hooks. And as far as I'm concerned, you won't ever be dancing again."
"Why do you hate me though?"
"Do you not remember who I was?"
"No..."
"I was in your dance class a a young age. I thought I could make it big just like you. But though I followed everything you advised people to do to follow their dreams of dancing, it never worked. Then everyone started hating me for some reason and I had no idea why. You became what I've always wanted to be and eventually, I turned to this to work out my frustration."
"What...?"
"My name is Johanna Matthews. Welcome to your future."
Startled, Galen fell back to the ground, holding her shoulder and clenching her teeth together in pain.
"You think you're so great, Galen Hooks, but to me, you're nothing but a stupid, worthless bitch. It's only my loyalty to my friends that keeps you alive right now. But they have now entrusted your suffering to me and I shall make sure it is glorious."
"Johanna, you're the worthless one here!" Galen roared as she got to her feet. She still had her phone in her shorts pocket, which was surprising, but she paid no attention to it. "I don't care how much you hurt me; I will not give up on my friends!"
Johanna's eyes widened in horror, then her face twisted into a dark snarl that slightly scared her. She leaned forward, putting the whip in her belt beforehand, and wrapped her hands around Galen's throat, pulling her closer to her and whispering in her ear.
"You have no idea how much I can hurt you. My friends gave me carte blanche, so I can do whatever I like. Lucas, it's your time at last," she called over to the group of men. One of them stepped out from the rest. He had short, cropped black hair and a cold, calculating expression on his tan face.
"He wanted you before," Johanna said in an evil hiss. "His now-deceased brother nearly raped you the last time he captured you and Lucas was furious." Galen shivered as she recalled the memory she had tried hard to suppress since then. "But now, you're all Lucas's. Stay still and do what he says... I'm going to enjoy watching this."
Galen trembled as she realized the gravity of the situation. Johanna moved back, took the whip out again, and lashed her enough times to bring her back to the ground. Lucas walked over her and pinned her down. Though she struggled to get away, his weight kept her back.
"Do it, Luke," Johanna ordered. "You will get what you've always wanted, while also making her suffer like she never has before."
Looking on helplessly, Galen felt Lucas press down on top of her.
Isabel... if you're there... please give me the strength to bear this...
(I honestly made Johanna a character from my frustration. Her name comes from Hunger Games cuz I just watched Catching Fire for the second time. Johanna Mason is one of my favorite characters in there. Hazel out!)
