Slashing Away: A Dark Psychological Thriller (Gushers Series Book 2)

by Chuck Buda

  He would have to fight harder.

  In Nomine Dei Nostri Satanas, Luciferi Excelsi.

  In the Name of Satan, Ruler of the Earth, True God, Almighty and Ineffable, Who hast created man to reflect in Thine own image and likeness, I invite the Forces of Darkness to bestow their infernal power upon me.

  Spencer felt his mind clearing. The fogginess dissipated. But clarity had not reached his limbs. Spencer fought against Zoe’s spell to regain control of his entire body. He glanced down at his friends upon the bed. They fucked and rocked in rhythm to their sexual activity. But none of them were responsive. They looked like robots, performing a repetitive task without feeling or emotion. Their eyes glazed over without focus. It reminded Spencer of how blind people looked when their dark sunglasses were removed. A million mile stare.

  Open the Gates of Hell to come forth to greet me as your Brother and friend.

  Open the Gates of Hell to come forth to greet me as your Brother and friend.

  Open the Gates of Hell to come forth to greet me as your Brother and friend.

  Spencer recited the protection over and over in his mind. He needed to put them together. He had to get his voice under him in order to counteract Zoe’s spell. Spencer vibrated his lips but the sounds refused to come forth.

  In Nomine Dei Nostri Satanas, Luciferi Excelsi.

  In the Name of Satan, Ruler of the Earth, True God, Almighty and Ineffable, Who hast created man to reflect in Thine own image and likeness, I invite the Forces of Darkness to bestow their infernal power upon me.

  Open the Gates of Hell to come forth to greet me as your Brother and friend.

  Spencer felt the trembling in his lips. His vocal chords thundered against the strain put forth by Zoe’s will.

  In Nomine Dei Nostri Satanas, Luciferi Excelsi.

  In the Name of Satan, Ruler of the Earth, True God, Almighty and Ineffable, Who hast created man to reflect in Thine own image and likeness, I invite the Forces of Darkness to bestow their infernal power upon me.

  Open the Gates of Hell to come forth to greet me as your Brother and friend.

  Spencer whispered. The sound of his satanic protection spell came out. It was soft but he had broken through. Spencer reached back and pulled himself into his body. His skin and bones felt strange and foreign. He wondered how long he had been banished from his soul. Spencer shook the spell off.

  He forced himself to stand up. Spencer felt his hardened cock flop out of a warm, wet home. He stepped over the bodies underneath him.

  In Nomine Dei Nostri Satanas, Luciferi Excelsi.

  In the Name of Satan, Ruler of the Earth, True God, Almighty and Ineffable, Who hast created man to reflect in Thine own image and likeness, I invite the Forces of Darkness to bestow their infernal power upon me.

  Open the Gates of Hell to come forth to greet me as your Brother and friend.

  Spencer focused all his energy on the words, using his glare to send the charms directly into Zoe’s chest. Zoe’s confident tones wavered. She must have sensed a disturbance in the room. The power of her words began to wane.

  And Spencer’s conviction grew stronger.

  The words echoed loudly as Spencer hurled his chant at Zoe. His head felt light, dizzy from the extreme swing, from lack of clarity to hardened focus. He was determined to remove Zoe from his path. Spencer had to kill Zoe.

  And then The First Cut would be all his. He would have the latitude to absorb all the powers for himself. Killing Zoe would bring his strengths to unadulterated levels. Spencer would realize the dreams he had fantasized about since he was nine years old.

  Maximum human potential.

  The attainment of things higher than mankind could ever fathom. The actualization of godlike abilities. Rising above the forces of energy which people believed the extent of human existence. Their miscalculations would be exposed. Spencer would become bigger than life. An ultimate being.

  Oneness with the universe.

  And a grasp of the hive mind.

  Spencer would control others and take what he wanted.

  Nothing could stop him now.

  Zoe could’ve stopped me.

  Spencer laughed aloud as he found humor in Zoe defeating him at the game he had studied far longer than she had. He would make her feel the pain of defeat.

  Chapter 42

  Zoe fell back against the head board. A tingling sensation traveled through her spine, causing her arms and legs to feel numb. She touched her upper lip. Upon her fingertips was a fresh trace of blood. Her nose had been bleeding but she had been unaware through all the chanting.

  Spencer shouted.

  She understood why she had returned to the moment. Zoe cowered at the boy in front of her. Spencer appeared larger than she remembered him being. His eyes burned her skin. Spencer shouted words which Zoe had never heard before. It didn’t take her longer than a few moments to understand what he was doing.

  The motherfucker broke my spell.

  Zoe tried to rise against the hateful speech. Her legs failed to respond quickly. Zoe attempted to repeat her chant but the words came out jumbled. Her thoughts felt cloudy, leaving her in a haze to figure out what she had taught herself all week.

  Spencer kept saying something about Satan and the Doors of Hell. Zoe wanted to stab Spencer right in his throat. But she had no knife. Maybe she could claw his eyeballs out with her fingernails. Zoe would eat them right in front of Spencer, squirting the ocular fluids into his face like biting into a ripe grape.

  The people on the bed beneath her groaned. As Zoe’s spell wore off, they came back to the present, looking lost and trying to figure out where they were. Zoe was grateful they were coming to. She would try to utilize them for her own purposes against Spencer.

  “Ryan! Ryan!”

  Zoe shouted at the top of her lungs. The sound of her voice reminded her of an emergency siren. It sounded shrill and panicked.

  Spencer slapped Zoe’s face. It knocked her back against the wall. She almost fell off the bed, catching her balance at the last moment.

  “Ryan!”

  Ryan blinked quickly. His focus swam back into his eyes. Ryan gaped at Zoe.

  “Wake the fuck up! He’s attacking us!”

  Zoe screamed at Ryan, pointing at her nemesis. She would turn them all against Spencer and soundly defeat him once and for all. Zoe was a bit disturbed at how strong Spencer had proved to be. She had him and the others under her power for several minutes. But he had broken out of it. Somehow. Zoe felt sick at the idea she might have bitten off more than she could chew. She had taught herself many tenets of the occult. But Spencer had spent his lifetime studying the philosophies and practitioners. Maybe Spencer was unbeatable.

  No! Everybody can be beaten.

  Zoe realized as soon as she thought it, Spencer had beaten her. So she wasn’t above the chance of losing either.

  Ryan shook the cobwebs from his head. He looked about, taking inventory of Rebecca’s bedroom and the pornographic stage it had become. Zoe willed Ryan to pay attention.

  “Spencer is trying to kill us! Stop him! Now!

  Zoe lunged off the bed. She landed on the far side of the bedroom. Spencer had been slow to follow her movements. His sway lost steam while he got distracted by the recovering bodies in the room. Zoe wanted to use the element of surprise to her benefit. But she didn’t have the strength to do it on her own. And Ryan was still emerging from his daze.

  Spencer jumped to the floor and cornered Zoe. Her instincts told her to flee via the bedroom window. Zoe fought the urge to give in to Spencer’s attack. She had to face him down and defeat him here. Even though the powers she had absorbed were dissipating, Zoe knew she still had enough juice flowing through her system to make a strong stand. If she were to flee, all the forces she had gobbled up would be gone, leaving her defenseless.

  Zoe started her chant. It was too weak to bring her friends under her will again. But it was powerful enough to put up a shield against Spencer’s satanic spells.
Zoe felt the forces collide above them in the bedroom. The disturbance in the air was real, although unseen. She needed to get help from the others. Ryan was the best chance for her to gain higher ground.

  “Ryan, get into the game. Save us from Spencer’s evil!”

  Ryan raised himself off his back. He swung his legs over the bed. His ability to stand was hampered by the remains of the spell. Ryan struggled through it and steadied himself.

  Spencer ignored Ryan. His focus never wavered from Zoe, penned into the corner. She danced back and forth to shake Spencer’s concentration. It worked enough to weaken his spell. Zoe’s spell grew while Spencer’s faded a bit.

  Ryan moved forward. He placed a hand on Spencer’s shoulder and spun him around. Spencer paused the spell, surprised by outside interference. Zoe wondered if Spencer even heard her calling for help from the others. Maybe he had been so entranced with his own words to realize there could be danger all around him.

  Spencer and Ryan stared at each other. Zoe screamed at Ryan. “What are you waiting for? Kill him before he kills us.”

  Ryan glanced at Zoe and returned his attention to Spencer. Zoe couldn’t see what Spencer was looking at with his back now turned to her. But she saw her chance. Zoe charged forward and struck at the unsuspecting enemy. She dug her fingernails into Spencer’s right eye. Zoe’s other hand slipped off his cheek bone and fell to his chest. Spencer spun in a circle, attempting to shake Zoe from his back. Her nails slid inside his socket, fishing around in squishy sinews. The temperature inside Spencer’s orbital bone felt hotter than the room temperature.

  Spencer slammed backwards into the armoire, knocking Zoe to the floor. She saw the dark blood on the carpet. A few splotches from the puddle of blood sat a brown eye, gazing back at her. The torn optic nerve slithered behind it.

  Spencer crouched down, clutching at his empty socket and screaming in terror. The rest of the members of The First Cut had fully entered reality once Spencer’s blood-curdling scream brought them around. The stunned observers tried to make sense of the room and the gore that surrounded them. Zoe could almost read their minds trying to piece together how they had gotten here, naked and aroused.

  Zoe scrambled to her feet. She pleaded with Ryan to help her.

  “Ryan, finish him off. He’s killing us. We have to stop him. You have to help me. Please! Help save me from Spencer!”

  Ryan hovered over Spencer as if he would rain blows down upon him. His posture was aggressive, his eyes wild with passion. But nothing happened. Ryan kept glancing between Spencer and Zoe. He swallowed hard, considering how to respond. Zoe was losing patience. She needed to wipe Spencer out immediately or she would have to face off with him later. And he would play for keeps after she ripped his eye out.

  “Fucking kill him now! Do it! Kill him!

  Zoe’s words broke through Ryan malaise. He nodded in acceptance of her request. Ryan gritted his teeth and set his jaw apart for the death blow. His hand rose above his head, knuckles bared, fist clenched.

  Chapter 43

  The room was a confusing scene. Everyone was naked and piled high on top of the bed. Todd wondered what happened. He thought they were having sex in Jordyn’s parent’s bedroom. One minute, it was the hottest sex he’d ever had in his life. Better than watching free porn on the internet. And now he found himself trying to figure out what happened after that. And why there was so much shouting.

  Todd saw Aiden and Leah on the floor next to the bed. They were clenched in each other’s arms. It seemed strange to Todd. It didn’t come off as two people holding each other. Instead, it looked like Aiden and Leah were strewn into the spot. Like they had been knocked over. It was all Todd could relate their positions to.

  He pulled himself through the bodies around him. Zoe was jumping up and down and screaming at Ryan to kill Spencer. Todd was confused. He thought Zoe and Spencer were on the same side, against all the others. They tried to control The First Cut together. So why would Zoe want to kill Spencer?

  Then Todd saw the blood. The carpet around Spencer was covered in blood. Spencer rocked on his haunches grabbing at the side of his face. His shrieks sounded like an animal. It was a twisted combination of fear and anger. Hurt, perhaps.

  Todd tried to feel his way to the end of the bed. The bodies were so heavy, since they were mostly lifeless. The first notion that arose was his friends had been killed. Todd’s stomach sank as he imagined the police busting into the room with guns drawn. Arresting him and his friends for the murder of their classmates. It was a horrifying thought.

  Suddenly, Zoe screamed at Ryan again. She wanted him to kill Spencer while he was down and out. Ryan appeared confused.

  Todd tried to force the cobwebs from his brain. He was scared and upset. Nothing made sense. Could this be a dream or more likely, a nightmare? Had someone slipped him a drug which fucked up his mind? Maybe all this was an elaborate hallucination.

  Zoe shouted and Ryan poised over Spencer. It looked like Ryan was going to come down hard on the back of Spencer’s skull. Todd mobilized himself to stop Ryan. His instinct was to save Ryan from getting himself into trouble. But something more than instinct warned Todd this was much more serious than a few friends fighting over a girl.

  Todd launched into Ryan’s back, knocking both of them into Spencer before toppling to the floor.

  Todd lost his balance and rolled onto his back. Ryan, stunned, paused on one knee as he took in the new battler. Zoe screamed once again. This time she wanted Ryan to kill Spencer and Todd. Ryan must have calculated his chances with each of them and chose to go after Spencer first. It would be the easy choice since Spencer was on the floor in a puddle of blood.

  Ryan kicked at Spencer’s face. His bare foot connected with Spencer’s bloody cheek in a wet slap. Spencer gasped and fell to his other side. He protected his bloody face against the carpet.

  Todd jumped up to take out Ryan. As he got up, Zoe threw a wild haymaker at the back side of Todd’s head. It connected. The thunk of her knuckles hitting his temple echoed in his brain. Todd was surprised how much Zoe’s punch hurt. She was such a small, frail looking person. Her punch felt like a solid strike from an experienced boxer. He wobbled but kept himself from going down.

  Zoe screamed at the back of Todd’s head. He ignored her and ran to Ryan, who was busy heaping all kinds of pain upon Spencer. Spencer was working himself up, oblivious to Ryan’s attacks. He grunted satanic words as he fought his way back into the fight.

  Todd shoved Ryan aside. He cocked his fist back to put Ryan down. Ryan sneaked away quicker than Todd had anticipated. Before Todd could follow his whereabouts, Ryan kicked Todd in the balls. Without the presence of pants, Todd’s loose balls smacked together like a set of Kerbangers. Todd went down to the floor in a sudden shock of pain. He held his sore testicles against his crotch while Ryan kicked his ribs a few times for extra measure.

  “What the fuck!” Todd could only scream out to soften his ache. He had no choice but to leave his swollen balls alone in order to protect the rest of his body. Ryan’s fury was unabated and his strength was nearly equal to Todd’s.

  Todd rolled away from another set of kicks. He reached up and pulled Ryan’s hair, yanking his head down toward his chest. Todd threw two quick jabs to the side of Ryan’s skull. Then he connected with an uppercut which loudly chattered Ryan’s teeth. Ryan flew backwards into the sea of people beginning to step out of bed.

  Zoe threw something at Todd. He didn’t see what it was, but it whistled as it sailed past his face. Todd knew it must have been something of substantial weight to create the whooshing sound. He ignored looking for the thrown object. Instead, he ran at Zoe. Todd had had enough of her fucking attitude. And she wanted him dead. In Todd’s mind, that was a calling card for a fight. She dropped the gloves first and now he was going to pummel her.

  Todd smacked Zoe across the mouth. She flailed against the armoire with eyes wide open in shock. Todd followed up the slap with a gut punch. Even in the rag
e of battle, Todd knew well enough not to punch a girl in the face. He really wanted to though. Zoe crumbled in half when his fist connected with her stomach. He heard all the air rush out of her lungs.

  Ryan punched Todd in the right kidney. Todd threw his head back in pain. A kidney shot was much more painful than a punch to the face. Todd related kidney punches to getting kicked in the balls. This must be my lucky day because I got kicked in the balls AND kidney punched, Todd thought.

  He held onto his side and spun to face Ryan. Just as Todd turned, Ryan tackled him into the armoire. They both smashed into the hard wood, falling on top of Zoe. She squealed soundlessly as she struggled for air. Ryan and Todd grappled along the floor. Each one of them trading places for top position. Todd never liked fighting on the ground because smaller, weaker enemies could get the best of him. It was too easy to get choked or have some asshole grab a fistful of nuts. Todd preferred to stand and trade blows. His size and strength usually won out. And if it was a close fight, Todd’s long arm reach would prove the difference, allowing his punches to land while his opponent couldn’t get close to him.

  Ryan tried hard to bend Todd’s arm backwards at the elbow. Todd’s joint screamed out as it began to stretch beyond the limitations of anatomical constraints. Todd wrestled himself out of the hold.

  But he knew the fight was far from over.

  Chapter 44

  Spencer was grateful for Todd’s interference. It saved him from Ryan. More importantly, Spencer found a window of opportunity to take the fight to Zoe.

  He felt around on the carpet for his missing eyeball. Spencer was beyond enraged Zoe had pulled his eye out. The thought of going through life with an eye patch like a fucking pirate made Spencer livid. His anger escalated when he imagined reading books with only one eye.