Wyatt felt bad getting Seth riled up. “I won’t say anything like that again.”
“Please do—I love to ramble on about that kind of shit.” Seth laughed.
“I’ll remember that.”
Seth leaned back in his recliner. “Anything else?”
Wyatt shook his head. “No. I understand where you’re coming from with the politically correct stuff.”
“Not that, the newspaper.”
“Oh… Nothing else, except for the police will be conducting a full investigation and will be working closely with a special task force.”
Seth put his arm behind his head to get comfortable. “I’m sure they are.”
Human Gastropod
Jim and his men quickly exited the elevator and took a tactical position in the hallway on the eighteenth floor. Jim motioned to Thomas. “Send the elevator back down.”
Thomas stepped inside the elevator and pressed the first-floor button, then dropped to one knee next to Jim. He brought his AR15 up to a combat ready position while utilizing the rifle’s holographic sight. When the elevator door opened, Jim signaled to the arriving officers to hold their position. He pointed down the hallway as he softly spoke into his microphone. “Our target is in the last room on the right. And remember, Mr. Carter is in there so verify your target before firing.” Jim led the group down the hallway. When he approached the room, he motioned for everyone to hug the wall and stay low. Ron slid a surveillance camera under the door. Jim was holding the monitor. “To your right.”
Ron slowly moved the flexible shaft to the right. Jim flipped a switch on the monitor, changing it to infrared. “Ease to the left… Hold. Two people. One in a chair to the right, one straight ahead sitting on a couch… There is movement.” Jim looked closer at the monitor. “The person on the right is making a strange arm movement.”
Another officer was looking at the monitor. He moved his fist back and forth next to his crotch, indicating that the person appeared to be jacking off. Jim looked closer, thinking the same thing. When he gave the signal for them to move in, two men knocked the door off its hinges, then everyone stormed the room with their weapons drawn.
“It’s a set up,” shouted Ron when he noticed it was a manikin on the couch and a deceased man in a recliner.
Another officer came out of the restroom. “The room is clear. No sign of our target or Mr. Carter.”
Ron walked up to Jim as he was staring at the man in the recliner. “Sorry, Jim. We’ll get him next time.”
“Look at this shit. This fucker never ceases to amaze me with his sadistic bullshit.”
Ron knew Jim was upset—he usually didn’t use profanity. “I don’t know what to say.”
“What the fuck is there to say?” Jim walked off.
Ron shook his head as he looked at the disturbing sight. The deceased man was naked and his body had been sewn to the recliner. There was mechanical device mounted on the side of his recliner and it had an arm that was attached to his right arm, causing it to move up and down as if he was pleasuring himself. The man had twine, or string like material, coming in and out of punctured holes in his skin. It would come out of one hole, then enter another hole where it would then run in long lengths under the man’s flesh. The twine could be seen under the man’s skin throughout his body. It was running back and forth the full length of his arms and legs, only exiting and reentering puncture holes at his elbows and knees. His chest and abdomen had so much of the twine under the skin it resembled a spider’s webbing. Twine was coming out of the man’s nose, mouth and ears, making big loops as it had been ran back and forth through the open cavities. The twine material could be seen running under the skin on his face, and it didn’t detour around his eyes; it came out from under his eyelids, crossed over his eyeballs, then reentered on the other side. Ron started to walk away, but something caught his eye. “Jim! Get over here.”
Jim and a couple of officers were examining a large box-shaped item that was covered with a blanket. Jim held his hand out. “Don’t touch it. It could be booby-trapped. I’ll get the bomb squad up here.” He walked over to Ron. “What is it?”
Ron pointed to the item that the corpse was sliding its hand up and down on. “Check that out.”
“Is that what I think it is?” He yelled at Thomas to come over.
Thomas walked up. “Yes, Sir.”
He pointed at the object. “Is that your…”
Thomas blurted out, “That’s my fucking flashlight that I had dropped. That son of a bitch!”
Jim grabbed his shoulder. “Stand guard at the door.” Jim motioned to four officers. “Check the building—he still might be here.”
Another officer walked up and got Jim’s attention. “I located the wireless microphone that we gave to Mr. Carter.”
“Where’s it at?”
“In the bathroom sitting on the counter. There’s something else, Sir.”
“What?”
“It’s sitting next to a recorder that’s playing back a prerecorded conversation.”
Jim shook his head. “Of course, it is.”
Ron looked at the officer. “Did you find Carter’s tracking device?”
“No, Sir, but the receiver indicates it’s somewhere in this room.”
“Bag the mic and recorder. We’ll find the tracking device later.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Ron turned to Jim. “That explains what we heard over the intercom.”
“Yeah, I know. This is one tricky bastard we’re…”
Suddenly the man in the recliner opened his eyes and screamed out an ear-piercing wail. Jim and Ron were shocked when they noticed he was alive. A couple of officers started to run over to him, but Ron motioned for them to stand back. “Stop! He could be booby-trapped!” He knelt and looked into the man’s eyes. “Sir, we’ll get you help. Just remain calm.”
The man lifted his head and stared at Ron with a grimace of terror. “Kill me!”
Ron turned and looked at some of the other officers. “Get the paramedics up here, now!”
One of the officers spoke out. “Already done, Sir. They’re in the elevator as we speak.”
The man was in a lot of pain and he was having difficulty moving his eyes—the twine was rubbing against them. When he noticed Jim, he pointed at him and spoke in a raspy voice. “Back off… You have what you wanted.” His arm dropped to his side and he closed his eyes, then he started moaning.
Jim felt nauseated. “What the hell was that about?”
Ron pulled the mechanical device from the man’s arm. “He’s weak and not very coherent. We can question him later.” Ron noticed a buzzing sound. “Something’s not right.” He looked around, then noticed the twine like material was running from the man’s leg to a black box mounted on the side of the recliner. He jumped to his feet and shouted, “Bomb!!!” About the time he started to take a step, the twine ignited. The man in the recliner screamed as the flame entered his body.
Jim grabbed Ron’s arm as he was turning to run. “Hold up! It’s fuses!”
Ron looked at Jim, then back at the man. “What?”
“The string like material is fuse. He’s going to burn to death from the inside if we don’t stop it.”
They noticed the flame was moving very slowly under the man’s skin between his knee and hip, heading upwards. As the flame moved along the fuse, it was burning his flesh, leaving a charred line of burnt skin behind it. Ron looked at Jim in a panic. “What do we do?”
Jim pressed his hand down on the man’s leg in front of the fuse, but the flame didn’t stop. He lifted his hand and wiped it on his side—the flame had burned him through the man’s skin. “Shit, that didn’t work!”
Ron had a horrified expression when he noticed the fuse joined with more fuses at the man’s lower abdomen. “Jim!” He pointed. “The fuse will ignite all the other ones.”
Jim pulled out a knife and started to cut the man’s flesh to sever the fuse, but the flame instantly shot up
the remaining portion of his leg, igniting the other fuses that were running to all the other parts of his body. Ron and Jim had to step back as bright flames moved quickly under the man’s skin in all directions. The man was screaming at the top of his lungs and he was violently shaking as charred marks were being created all over his body. It looked as if invisible people were drawing lines all over him with black markers.
Ron shouted out, “What can I do, Jim?”
Jim looked away as smoke bellowed from the man’s body. He tossed his knife across the room in anger. “Gosh dammit!”
Ron stared in horror as the flames entered the man’s face. He was in so much pain that he was tearing the stitches between his body and chair as he was arching his back. Ron covered his mouth when the flames blackened the man’s eyes. Seconds later he let out his last dying breath. Jim turned to Ron as the smell of burnt flesh filled the room. “There was nothing we could have done. Skull set this up to happen this way. He knew I would try to cut the fuse before it reached the others. That’s why he changed it to a fast burning one.”
Ron walked to the door and yelled to the officers. “It’s all clear.”
Jim keyed up on his radio. “What’s your status?”
“The building is clear. All the rooms have been checked.”
“Regroup here in room 1822.”
“Ten-four.”
Jim walked back over to Ron as the officers and paramedics came walking into the room. He got everyone’s attention. “I need the building swept for evidence.”
One of the officers got Jim’s attention. “Sir?”
“Go ahead.”
The man handed him a plastic container. “This was in the waste basket.”
Jim looked at it for a moment, then got angry. He held it up so everyone could see it. It was an empty package. The label showed a picture of a large afro and the description read, “Supa Mac Daddy Pimp Fro.” He tossed the package back at the officer. “Gosh dammit! That was Skull in the elevator wearing the fucking Afro.”
All the men looked at each other.
Ron got everyone’s attention. “Now you see what this individual is capable of doing. I want five of you to sweep the inside and outside of this building again. I want another five to sweep the block.” Ron turned to the paramedics. “Go back outside and wait for further instructions.”
Jim addressed the remaining group. “Let’s not touch anything else in this room. We’ll let CSI take it from here.”
Thomas yelled out. “Jim! Come quick!”
Jim looked over and noticed the blanket had been removed from the large box that was sitting in the center of the room. He walked over, then fell to his knees, shouting, “Oh my God! What has he done?”
Ron quickly ran over. His mouth fell wide open as he gazed upon the most barbaric and horrifying sight that he had ever seen. There was a nude man with no arms or legs secured in the center of a glass box that was inside another glass box. The inside box was slightly larger than the man’s torso and the outer box was slightly larger than the inside one. The inside box was being supported by numerous two-inch-long steel rods that were secured between the glass panels, creating a two-inch gap. A webbing material filled the gaps between the two boxes. The corners of the outside box were lined with angle iron and the entire unit sat on casters. The man inside was alive. He was being supported in the center of the inside box by pieces of fishing line; there were thousands of them. The fishing lines were secured to glued-attachment points on the glass and on the other end they were connected to hooks that were inserted throughout the man’s body. His eyes had been sewn open and he was looking around, but it appeared that he couldn’t see out. His body had been mutilated in ways that were incomprehensible; his tongue was missing and each of his cheeks had been cut away, leaving thick scar tissue lining the openings. The ends of his nubs had been sewn closed with thick, black thread and he had numerous scars throughout his torso, and the black thread that was used to sew them closed was left in place. He had a small tube hanging from the end of his penis and a large hose coming out of his lower abdomen. The tubing and hose both ran to a collection box under the glass box. Another tube exited the upper portion of his stomach and ran over to a port in the side of the glass box; it appeared to be a feeding port. The inside of the glass box had numerous electronic sensors, wiring and gadgets. There was a control panel behind the man that had switches and flashing lights. Multiple antique looking spear guns were secured at an angle, and they were facing the man’s body and head. There was an external oxygen tank mounted on the outside of the box, and a hose ran from it to a control box with a digital readout on the inside.
Ron reached down and grabbed Jim’s shoulder. “I have no words. This is one sick son of a bitch that we’re dealing with.”
Jim looked up. He was very distraught. “It’s John.”
“What?”
“It’s my partner, John.”
Ron turned to Thomas. “Get Jim out of here.”
Jim held his hand up. “No. I have to do this.” He stood up, looking away from the contraption. “Everyone out.” He grabbed Ron’s shoulder. “Stay.”
Thomas stopped at the door and turned around. “Sorry, Jim. I… I accidentally pulled the blanket off.”
Jim motioned for him to go. He turned to Ron. “I have what I wanted.”
Ron was feeling nauseated as he looked at Jim. “What, Jim?”
“That’s what the man in the chair said. “I have what I wanted. He was talking about John.” Jim looked at his old partner and all the wiring and devices that surrounded him. “It’s booby-trapped. I don’t know how we’re going to get him out of there.” He waved his hand in front of the glass. “He can’t see me. It appears there’s a mirrored finish on the inside. I wonder if he knows I’m here.” He tapped on the glass and yelled, “John!” Suddenly a light flashed inside the box and a buzzer sounded for a moment.
“Jim, that’s not a good idea.”
“I know. The damn thing must have sensors.”
Ron stepped to the rear of the box. “Come check this out.”
Jim walked around to the back. “What did you find?”
Ron pointed to a large brass plate with engraved writing that was secured to the box. “Fucking Skull left this as an instruction book so we would know that the box is tamperproof. It says there is pressurized gas between the two boxes. If the pressure decreases, the pressure sensors will send a signal to the control box, causing the spear guns to fire.”
“He must have done that to prevent us from drilling it.”
“It looks that way. And that’s probably why the pressure between the boxes is not stated. If we knew it, we could drill it in a pressure-induced environment. The wire webbing is another deterrent in drilling. It states the different strands of the wiring have different polarities and they will send a signal to the control box if shorted together or cut.”
Jim took a deep breath. “There’s got to be a way around it.”
“The webbing and gas pressure aren’t the only obstacles we have to worry about; there are motion sensors as well. There’s also a sensor that detects knocks, and a sensor…” Ron looked up. He shouted, “Yes.” The light and buzzer went off. “Location.” The light and buzzer went off again. Ron looked at Jim. “Word recognition so we can’t communicate with John through asking questions. He can’t even reply through a body movement for yes or no due to the motion sensors.” Ron pointed to the control panel. “See, the digital read out is now at three. I don’t know how many chances we get.” He walked back to the brass plate. “This is important. We do have control of his oxygen, feeding and waste. The digital read out will tell us when to refill the oxygen tank.”
Jim’s eyes got big. “That’s it. We can gain access where the oxygen line enters the box.”
Ron shook his head. “Skull has already thought of that. The directions state that the hose is protected by sensors that are hidden.”
“This is bullshit!”
> “We can feed him by forcing liquids into the portal on the side of the box with a syringe. His waste can be collected by simply pulling out the bottom tray.”
Jim looked angry. “It’s like a gosh damn guinea pig cage!”
Ron took a deep breath. “I know it fucking sucks, but we’ll find a way to get him out.” Ron walked back in front. “Skull must have just closed up this thing. John is wearing Carter’s tracking device around his neck.”
Jim shook his head. “Look at him. He’s going to be no better off outside this damn contraption. Skull turned him into a fucking human gastropod.”
The Molester’s Teeter Totter
Wyatt noticed the sun was coming up as light started creeping through the window. Now that the darkness of the night was slipping away, the room was becoming brighter, allowing him to clearly see Seth for the first time. He was surprised that Seth looked like a normal man. His brown and gray hair was cut short and neatly groomed and he had a medium length goatee. He was wearing a black button shirt tucked into slightly worn blue jeans and brown, square-toed western boots. Wyatt stood up and stretched. He walked over to the window and leaned against the wall. “I’m curious about something.”
“About what?”
“You carry some odd things with you.”
“Like?”
“For starters, the winch, epoxy and the cable thing that you used on Joel. It doesn’t make sense that you would be toting that stuff around.”
Seth laughed. “It does when you do the shit that I do.”
“It just seems strange.”
“Not really.”
Wyatt looked confused. “I understand the winch I guess, that’s obvious, but why would you be carrying around the epoxy?”
“I keep it and the cable handy in case I run across perverts. I can tell you some more stories about the epoxy later, perhaps about Earl since he was the one who inspired me to use it in the first place.” Seth stood up and walked to the door. “I need to go take a leak. I’ll be back in a bit.”
The complete “A Glimpse into Hell” series - 5 books, 195 chapters, 1700 pages, 600K words of pure gore Page 57
