Hands Stained Red

Fourteen ~ Rya

I cant help but feel that this is the calm before the storm.

The door opens but it isnt Mrs Smith that comes in, it's a short man and what he lacks in height, he makes up for in muscle.

I duck slightly behind my screen as I try to figure him out.

"Can I help you?" Kira says in her usual polite tone.

He smiles as he sees her, it's a predatory look and I keep low as I dont think he recognises me yet, "Kira Deeley?" She nods and he reaches behind his back and produces a gun, "I need your help in finding Rya Guerreiro."

I hear Kira gasp as she spots the weapon and she steps back towards me. The man shrugs off his bag and puts it gently on the table beside him.

I close my laptop and he spots me, "What do you want?"

"To deliver you this," he gestures with the gun towards his bag. I walk around to the other side of the desk and he picks up the bag again and moves it to beside me.

I dont give him a chance to walk away before reaching back, grabbing my laptop and swinging it at his head. It cracks as it hits his skull and his head rocks back. He doesnt lose consciousness but stumbles back onto the desk behind him.

I grab the knife Kira was using to chop up pieces of icing and stab it into the back of his hand, pinning it to the desk.

He screams and Kira makes a pained sound, "There's cameras in here!" She shouts.

A bit late for that, I've already assaulted him. Fuck my life, now I've got to go into hiding. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound.

"Who sent you?" I ask him.

He doesnt answer, just whines pitifully as he stares at his impaled hand. I grab another knife from a drawer below this desk, "I'll never talk."

"I think you will," I deadpan and as quickly as I can, I slice four fingers off of his injured hand. He screams again and I know that I've not got long before people stand asking questions, "Kira lock the door."

We're on the ground floor so I can easily get out through the window so escaping isnt the issue, being interrupted will be.

Kira rushes over and locks the door before running back to sit in the far corner away from us.

I lift his other hand and put it next to the first one, "Now you have one more chance before I move onto another part of your body that I'm sure you're a little bit more fond of." I kick his legs apart so he gets the point.

"I work for Koroleva," he says quickly. See, knew he would talk.

"I'm Koroleva and I certainly didnt hire you," I tell him.

He shakes his head, "The original Koroleva."

I step away from him, dropping the knife. He'd be stupid to attack me so I dont worry about him as I walk over to the bag.

The original Koroleva has been dead for over 30 years. He must have been told false information.

I unzip the bag and pull out a gift box all wrapped up in red paper. Theres a tag on the top and I turn it over to see that there's a message but I dont read it.

I untie the bow and unwrap the box carefully to reveal a plastic tub filled with a dark red liquid. The smell of blood hits me and I nearly gag as I unclip the lid.

Did someone really send me a tub of blood? What a wedding gift.

I see a dark shape in the centre of the tub, slightly bigger than my fist. I tip the tub but still cant make out what it's supposed to be.

Someone knocks on the door and I roll my eyes. I'm running out of time so I'm just going to have to do it.

I look at Kira who also looks like she's about to throw up, "Is that blood?"

I nod and pull my sleeve up, take a deep breath and grab the thing in the blood. Its squishier than I expected and I gag a little as I lift it up.

As soon as it's out of the box and the blood drips off it and runs up my arm, I know what it is. It's a fucking human heart.

"I think I'm going to pass out," Kira whispers and from the colour of her face I wouldnt be surprised.

"Sit on the floor just in case," I tell her and she does so. It takes about four seconds for the thud of her passing out.

I lift up the message to see if it will explain the heart in a box. I mean, I've had weirder gifts over the years but that doesnt mean I understand this one.

You owned his heart in his life.
Now own it in his death.

I drop the note and look back at the heart in my hand. Now I think I might be the one to pass out.

Its Quinn's heart.

I drop it back in the tub and seal it, putting it in the bag and swinging it onto my back. Climbing up onto the counter, I open the window and jump out before I start running.

I run and I run until I hit the woods and when no one can see me, I let myself drop to the ground.

And I scream.