The Wrath

Chapter Seventeen

Karen is creeping quietly from room to room upstairs, her nervously shaking hand is clenching the knife so tightly that her knuckles are turning white.
She approaches a room which has a hand drawn sign on the door which reads Johns Room then there's a poster with all the known superheroes on it.
Karen hears muffled noises coming from inside the room. She cautiously opens the door a crack then peers around the edge. Across the other side of the room she sees the killer facing her, although completely oblivious to the fact that she is watching. In front of him, bound too a chair Karen can see the back of a young lad. Without needing to see his face Karen knew it was John. He was twisting and turning in the chair trying to free himself. The killer grabs Johns face then tips it backwards, he picks up a funnel which has a long length of clear tubing fixed too it. With one hand he squeezes Johns cheeks so hard that his mouth is forced open, quickly the killer feeds the tube into Johns mouth, then forces it down his throat as John coughed and retched. Karen bashed the door open unable to watch anymore. The killer glanced up, caught off guard. Leaving Johns side he advances towards Karen with purposeful strides. Karen ran at him holding the knife, as she swings at him, he ducks out off the way. As he ducks down he reaches for his neck knife. He removed it from its sheaf then swiped it at Karen, only managing to catch her across the back off her right hand. She looked down at the wound, already seeping blood, she swings the knife at him again, but it just scrapes off his leather coat.
The killer balls up his fist then punches Karen as hard as he can directly in her stomach, causing Karen to double over in pain, gasping for breath. As she was bent over he rested both hands on her head then brought his knee up catching her hard directly in the face, she felt her lip burst open and could taste blood, she staggered back from the force of it. He then brought his right hand up and backhanded her as hard as he could across the face. The force of the blow knocked Karen off her feet, she hit the floor with a reverberating bang. The killer lifted his foot then stamped down hard on her right hand which was grasping the knife. Karen dropped it as she heard her fingers crack. She lay where she was with blood running from her cut lip, while on her cheek was forming a very dark angry red mark.
The killer seeing that she's not able to get too her feet returns to John, who all this time has been straining at the rope binding him too the chair. The killer stands above him as John looks up at him wide eyed in fear. The disguised murderer picks up a glass jug full of clear liquid from the top of a nearby chest of drawers, then holds it above the funnel, tilting his hand he proceeds to empty the entire contents into the funnel as John coughs, gags and shakes his head trying to detach the tubing from the funnel.
Karen raises her head wearily as the killer throws the empty glass jug to the floor smashing it. He then drags the chair round so Karen has too see. He forcefully whips the funnel and tubing out off Johns mouth. Karen looks at John sorrowfully as he begins to retch, suddenly brown liquid starts to dribble out of his mouth, then he coughs and spits up bright red blood. Karen shuts her eyes, turning her face away as Johns head lowers. He stops coughing, his body relaxes, and he slumps in the chair dead with blood still dripping from his mouth.

The killer kicks the chair aside knocking it over, it tips over onto the floor with a loud thud, then the killer fixed his eyes directly onto Karen. She raises herself up onto her knees, but the killer is upon her before she can get too her feet. He wraps one hand around her neck then drags her up by it, he rams her up against the wall, his hand pushing against her windpipe. Gasping for air Karen lowered her left hand then shook it, immediately the butcher knife that she had retrieved and hidden inside the left sleeve of her jacket slipped down into her hand. With a tight grip on it she raised it, the killer saw it a split second too late, she rammed it with as much force as she could muster directly into his right shoulder.
He groans in pain and straight away his arm drops from Karens neck, she backs away from him coughing and rubbing her neck with her left hand. Her right arm was folded across her chest, her hand completely useless, the fingers splayed out at impossible angles. The killer quickly pulled the knife out of his shoulder, groaning in agony. When he had removed it, he glared at the blood smeared blade angrily before throwing it across the hallway into Johns room, leaving Karen completely unarmed. She ran across the hallway shouting at the top of her lungs

"Nadine. Kat."

She turned around to see the killer coming after her, knowing the house was locked he wasn't concerned with her getting away, so he felt there was no need to run. He walked after her watching as Karen tried all the doors upstairs.
Nadines bedroom, her parents bedroom, the killer was coming from Johns room and Karen would not want to see the sight in that room again. She hesitated unsure of where to go, the killer puts a hand into his trouser pocket, then pulls out a bunch of keys, he jangled them and shook his head at her. Knowing she was trapped upstairs Karen headed for the stairs. She started to run down when suddenly the killer made a grab for her. The only thing he managed to grasp hold off was a handful off her hair. Karen screams as she realises he's managed to get her. He pulls her hair so hard that she loses her balance and falls backwards, she cries out as she hits the stairs hard, the force of it knocking any breath out of her. Still with a handful of her hair in his fist, he reaches down, grabs her left arm then drags her up the stairs towards him on her back, as Karen is trying desperately to pull away from him. He yanks her back up into the hallway, then with what appears to be superhuman strength he pushes her against the bathroom door, which was the only door she didn't check. As she collides into it, the door flies open. Unable to stop herself she falls down, her head hitting the side of the bath. The killer follows her in, he glances briefly into the bath then at Karen lying on the floor, moving slightly, looking pained. The killer picks up the plug from the side of the bath and makes sure he plugs up the bath then turns both taps on full tilt.
Bending down, he grabs a handful of Karens hair then lifts her up onto her feet. Karen is still dazed from hitting her head so hard. The killer headbutts her and she staggers back trying to stay on her feet. He grabs her collar to keep her upright, then he drags her to the wall, he holds both sides of her head with his hands and forcefully he whacks her head against the wall twice. Then standing before her he pulls his right fist back and punches her around the face hard enough to knock Karen backwards into a bathroom cabinet. Injured and with no energy left in her, Karen just falls to the floor completely defeated, with no strength left to fight him off. As she lays on the floor, he kicks her twice in the stomach. He looks down at her, blood is still dripping from a cut and swollen lip, she has a cut on her cheek from been punched, a lump and bruise is beginning to form on her forehead from being bashed against the wall, her cheeks have changed to a dark red shade after the punches she sustained, while her hand is stained with blood from the cut.
The killer bends down, wrapping his arms around her waist he easily pulls her up, then hauls her over to the bath, with a groan he lifts her over the side and slams her down into it. As Karen lands in the bath her head immediately goes under the water, the impact makes the bath overflow sending water cascading over the sides onto the floor of the bathroom. The water seems to wake Karen. With her good hand she grips the slippery side of the bath and raises her head above the water gasping. The killer leans over the bath then grabs Karens jacket collar, he punches her around the face again, the force knocks Karens head back against the tiles that surround the bath. Then with a hand on each shoulder, the killer pushes Karens head back underneath the water. She closes her eyes and holds her breath while fighting against the killers hold on her, with her left hand she tries to pull herself up again, but the killer holds her under with one hand and with his other hand he peels her fingers off the edge of the bath. Feeling like her lungs were about to burst, Karen kicks and struggles in a final attempt to break his grip on her. Her body knowing it desperately needed oxygen involuntarily, while she was struggling so hard, attempted to inhale some oxygen through her mouth. Her body immediately started jerking as the water entered her windpipe, she began to choke, but being under water she just ended up inhaling more water into her lungs. The killer continued to hold her head under the water until Karens body became still, her hand which had been gripping his arm groping, trying to find the stab wound on his shoulder, in a desperate bid to inflict pain and disable one arm, slid from his sleeve.
Eventually when he is sure that Karen is dead, he stands, then turns off the taps which had overfilled the bath and was already spilling over the sides partially flooding the floor. There was about two inches of water resting atop the linoleum.
The killer silently backs out of the room closing the door behind himself.