The Torturer

A Story by Shade Teller

Vengeance in its finest.

Was it day or was it night? One couldn't tell in such a dull gray room. The room was only four walls, a ceiling, and a floor. All four walls were a dull gray color. Some of the gray paint had worn and faded. No part of the wall looked the same as the other and no door was visible. The ceiling was just as gray and dull. In the middle of the ceiling was a small light, glowing, and radiating small yellow beams that were one might call impure and disgusting. The floor was the only thing that was different color. Black. The floor almost felt like a hole that one might suddenly fall through any moment. In the middle of this room was a man tied up in a chair with his mouth gagged and his hands and fore arms tied forcefully behind the chair. His head drooped down and his somewhat long black hair hung over covering his bloodshot eyes. Tears, though not seen around the eyes, leaked down from eyes to his cheeks and dropping down to the black floor.

"Hello, Corey," a voice said. The man, Corey, looked up in surprise to suddenly see someone standing before him. The man over Corey stood over him like a giant with his head down and his dark blue eyes staring straight down into Corey's brown frightened eyes. The man wore a black suit with a blood red shirt underneath. His outer appearance may had read that he was a salesman and was trying to sell a car, but the knife in his right hand threw away any thoughts that might have thought him to be friendly. "My name is Robert" the man said, "but you can just call me Echo."

The name Robert didn't mean anything to Corey but the name "Echo" sent a wave of realization directly to his heart. He began to sweat and to shake. Was it getting colder or hotter or possibly both? What was this new feeling that now came to him?

"It's been a long time," Echo said, "I hope you remember me but by the way you look I'm pretty sure you do." He started to play with the knife around Corey's mouth. "Would you like the gag out?" Echo said, but without waiting for an answer he put the blade under the cloth and tore the gag.

After the gags removal Corey instantly went to begging. "Please Robe... I mean Echo, I have to live, I have a family I need to take care of, they..." he was cut off instantly with a hit across the face.

"You never had a family Corey, you never did find anyone and no one ever found you," Echo said, "So don't give me that crap about having a "family." Corey found himself at a lost of words but still tried to recover himself.

"I meant my "family" my father and my brother, both of them aren't doing well at all, my father is sick and my brother is homeless." A smile stretched across Echo's face filled with amusement and pleasure.

"You don't have to worry about your father anymore," Echo said plainly, as if it were some burden lifted off of Corey's shoulder. He began to pay more attention to the knife, petting the blade as if it were a dog, more than a piece of steel.

"What are you saying?" Corey questioned, already knowing what the answer was.

"Are you really that stupid? I mean your little daddy is dead." Echo said teasingly, "I killed him yesterday. Let me tell you I've never seen someones face go so purple." Anger now rose from Corey, and hate replaced with fear. If only he could have been untied he would have killed Echo.

"...and my brother?"

"Oh, don't worry he's safe for now but don't expect him to come to the rescue, he is in the same situation as you are." The light began to fade and Echo began to slowly disappear. The lights remained out for only a few moments when suddenly the lights came on again except in a dark red color. The walls were dripping blood, or at least they seemed to be. Echo stood in front of Corey with another tied up and gagged victim at his side. Another person about to face death. Corey's brother, Adam.

"I hope you don't mind but I brought you a little company," Echo said. He began walking around Adam. Never taking his eyes off him. The knife Echo was holding moved around anxiously.

"Your brother was almost as bad as you were, Corey, if not as bad," Echo said, still cirlcling around like a hawk, "Tell me Corey, do you love your brother?"

There was a pause, a silence that now engulfed the room almost as much as the red light. Should he tell him that he loved his brother and hope that it would at least save his brother or should he tell him that he hated him and possibly save his own life?

"He is my brother, and with him being my brother comes the natural feelings one has for a sibling," Corey said trying to stall the inevitable.

"And those feelings would be..."

"A mixture of all I suppose," Corey said furthering the stalling. An expression of annoyance was now on Echo's face. Impatience was the last thing to test Echo with.

"I'll tell you what, tell me your feelings after I kill him." Without another word Echo's knife impaled through Adam's heart. He made the sound of that of a kicked dog and slumped over dead eyes staring at Corey, glazed over and lifeless. Echo held the knife there and slowly pulled it out, while Corey screamed, hollered, cried and cursed, but what good would any of that do. He was all alone.

"Do you love your brother now?" No answered came. Echo walked over to Corey who struggled and moaned. Echo took the knife and wiped the blood across Corey's face. "Let me ask again, did you love your brother?"

The answer finally came through a choked breath. "...yes."

"Well there's no reason to love him now, now is there I mean why should one love what is dead... especially a piece of s**t like this."

"Why?! Why do you pain me like this? What could I have possibly done to deserve this?" Echo untied the dead corpse and threw it to the ground and sat down in the chair.

"I guess its time for a bit of story time." Echo said, "the reason I do this is because you have killed me."

"How?"

"A long time ago, I was in your position, tied down and tormented by you and your friends," Echo began, "And it took something from me, all those insults and names, that I cannot describe."

"You were weak, you could have stood up for yourself but you were too much of a coward," Corey said. Echo laughed loudly and got up.

"Cowardly? No. I was holding myself back, you were creating a bomb and as you can see it has been released and at this moment it is blowing up consuming its main creators." Echo got up and walked over to his prey, "All have been consumed except one." The knife now pointed at his face barely penetrating the skin. "But I have something extra special for you. Echo then took the knife and stabbed it into Corey's leg. Corey screamed out in pain trying to free himself but nothing would help. Echo went to a corner of the room and brought over a small tank of gasoline.

"Through all those years of torment that you gave me..." Echo poured the gasoline over Corey and shoved some in his mouth, Corey coughed up some of the liquid, "this was how I felt." Echo pulled out a match and without a single word he lit the flame and watched the last of his torturers burn in ashes.

"I'll see you in hell."