Abel reminded me of one of dad’s old high-spirited horses that liked to take off while riding the animal. I could picture Abel with a set of reins and a bit in his mouth but not behaving unless there was the promise of praise and a sweet apple at the end of the ride. I guess most of the time—I was his reins. If I weren’t, he’d be wild all the time. His impulse control was somewhere between zero and none, so I became his voice of reason. If I didn’t play that role, I would need to kill him, and I preferred not to do the latter. When it came to bonds that didn’t break, I knew ours would last through almost anything—but there was the odd exception to the rule. Like Abel doing things that would get us caught was high on that list.

“What do you think, brother? Is their bond as unbreakable as ours,” Abel asked. He circled the women, who looked to be in their late twenties.

“Please don’t do this.”

“Now, now, Jess,” Abel scolded. “Didn’t we already have a discussion about begging? Didn’t I already explain the rules of this game?”

The one named Jess nodded her head, tears a steady stream down her bloodied face. Abel turned his attention to me.

“Brother, I’m sorry I didn’t introduce you to our guests. This one is Jess, which is short for Jessica, but she prefers Jess.” Abel yanked on the woman’s golden hair, and she screamed as he twisted her head at an odd angle to show me her face. “And this is Jacqueline, but she prefers Jackie. You know, I guess that’s one thing we can thank our parents for. Can you imagine having to do this fucking stupid same-letter name thing with us?”

I gave him a nod. “So true.”

“What do you want from us,” Jackie asked, and my lip curled up as her eyes met mine.

“Why do people ask such stupid questions when they already know they’re going to die? I’ve yet to get an answer to this question. Can you enlighten me, Jackie?” Her lower lip trembled as her sky-blue eyes locked with mine, but she didn’t say anything. “No answer? I didn’t think so. No one can answer that question, but tell me, Jackie, why do you think we’re doing this?”

She shook her head back and forth, but the answer was there in her eyes. She knew. She knew what we were and why we did what we did. She simply didn’t want to say it out loud. Thinking that there is a monster under the bed and saying it aloud made the situation far more real.

A thunderous crack echoed over the next 80s hit on my brother’s ‘Kill’ playlist. Jackie whimpered as Jess’s head snapped to the side with the blow.