Try Not to Die: On Slashtag by Jon Cohn

Author:Jon Cohn [Cohn, Jon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-03-24T00:00:00+00:00

I push harder against his trachea, pouring every ounce of strength I have left into making Todd pay for what they’ve done to me. His arms flap and smack against my body, but his attempts to stop me are feeble.

Todd drives a bony knee into my stomach. It’s not enough to fully knock the wind out of me, but I stagger back and completely lose my grip on him. I’m expecting him to follow up with a fist to the head, a radio call for backup, or for the little pissant to just high-tail it out of there. Instead, he gapes at me, frozen in terror. Somehow, his complete lack of self-preservation skills only serves to send me into even more of a rage.

He stammers out a few words, begging for his life, before my anger sends me completely out of my mind. I grab his face with my large, uninjured palm and slam it as hard as I can into the wall behind him. The sound of his skull crunching against the wooden beams turns my stomach. It instantly drains me of my bloodlust, replacing it with an overwhelming crash of regret.

His body goes slack, and the panic in his eyes melts into a blank stare, reminding me of the faces of Brian and Chrissy back in the library. I let go of his head, and his dead body falls to the floor.

What have I done? My throat tightens, my chest feels like it’s being squeezed by a noose, and I take a step back, watching Todd’s lifeless body fall to the floor.

I did this. All on my own. I just wanted to escape, not to hurt anyone. Not to kill. Even when Lucy was taunting us, I never realistically expected I would be capable of taking her life. Yet here I stand, shaking over the body of some PA who just happened to be there when I came through.

I am a killer.

What’s done is done, and Arthur’s still out there. On one of the TV screens, Shiv’s trapped in the hallway leading toward the stairs. Arthur has abandoned the scalpel and instead is wielding a large axe, stalking toward her. If I don’t stop him, he’s going to kill her.

I am a killer.

I slip back into the nursery and run toward Shiv’s position. When I get there, she is writhing on the floor, clutching her injured hand while staring up at Wilson. I can only see him from behind, but he’s got the axe leveraged over his head, gripping it by the base with both hands. I charge at him, tucking low to tackle, but I fly right through him and land on top of Shiv. Recovering fast enough to push myself up, I give her a chance to wriggle free.

She looks between me and the axe-wielding maniac ghost behind.

“It’s okay,” I say, knowing what’s about to happen. Get to the box. Save yourself.”

Shiv scrambles out from beneath me just as the axe buries into my spine. My

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.