Toziette (Henry Bowers)(English version)

Chapitre 17

Chapter 17

The blade made its way through the young girl's skin, drawing spirals and fine lines in the flesh, letting blood flow, staining a dark red on the formerly white sheets.
The silence of the night was interrupted by the sinister "splotch" of the blade, swimming in Jane's flesh and blood.
She had tried to scream when she saw him, but her voice got stuck in her throat with fear, and she could only utter a groan that made her attacker chuckle.
He had started his work, the blade still sunk so deeply, he had drawn. Beginning with the left shoulder, he had descended on the arm in spirals and other designs, then he had continued, symmetrically, with the right arm, reproducing the same pattern and causing the same pain.

She was trapped in her bed and could only take the knife when he took it out.
When he pulled the blade out of her skin, and he straightened up, she finally looked up at him.

Patrick Hockstetter.

He had straightened up to get an overview of his work. The young girl was covered in blood, her own, her eyes wide, filled with tears, she was shaking with sobs.
He seemed thrilled. Everything was going according to plan, surely better than expected, she hadn't struggled, and she hadn't screamed.

He wiped his blood-covered hands on Jane's T-shirt - simple cotton pajamas with flowers embroidered on them - and wiped the blade on her cheek, using her tears to wash away the blood that had already started to dry, before completely wipe it on her hair, cleaning the knife of any visible traces of blood.

She had tried to shield her face, when he brought the knife near, but just squeezing her arm's muscle to lift them had caused excruciating pain all over her body, which in any other situation would have surely made her scream to death.
But that wasn't another situation, her voice was still trapped in her throat, and she could only groan, almost silently, when she wanted to scream.
Patrick chuckled again when he saw her grimace of pain. He knew he was the cause, and he loved it.

"Looks like you've finally figured out that you can't do anything against me. That you're going to die like trash, friendless, alone, and there's nothing you can do about it. "

He was speaking out loud, as if he didn't care if he could be heard anywhere else in the house.

He put the knife, Henry's, on the nightstand beside the bed, raised his fist and smashed it violently in the girl's face. He punched her for a moment, sparing every part of his face, enjoying the sensation, before picking up the knife again.

He took his time, passed it from hand to hand, as if he was considering how he had to do it. He grabbed her by the chin so that she would look him straight in the eye. He was out of breath, probably the result of the effort he had just made but also the excitement, the hatred, the pleasure of the situation
The knife in his right hand, he dug into Jane's pale throat, she had already lost a lot of blood, and she was numb, but she still felt the pain, as hard as in her arms.
He continued, slowly, with surgical precision, she felt the taste of blood on her tongue, then she felt it fill her mouth, before running down her cheeks.
He didn't stop. Gradually, she felt her lungs fill with blood. She didn't know if she was going to die from the loss of blood or if she was going to drown in her own blood.
He removed the blade and stood up again. A big smile on his lips, he watched her painfully agonize, slowly losing consciousness, her breathing more and more difficult and her eyesight blurred.

The last thing she saw was Patrick's satisfied face, before passing out.

She opened her eyes to see Henry, in shock she recoiled, surprised to be able to move, she fell from her chair.
Her chair ?
She looked around and realized that she was in Henry's room. She must have fallen asleep during the lesson. He looked worried, as she rubbed her throat to make sure the dream was over.
Her throat was intact, but the pain was still there. She grabbed her inhaler, backed up against the wall behind her, brought her knees to her chest and rested her head on them.