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Written by Andrew Mackay
Edited by Nessie Braeburn
‘We set up a house on the outskirts of Chrome Junction in north-west London, UK, during May of last year. Our aim? To lure prospective online child predators into our investigation and deal with them.’
Peaky was sitting in front of a bank of computer screens. He was the head of the Instabate entrapment service. One of the screens in front of him showed a real-time chat that his colleague was having with a male user.
‘Using Instabate, an app developed by our technicians, our decoy poses as a thirteen-year-old girl. She has a realistic profile picture and details of her interests and hobbies. Only five minutes later, we were inundated with requests for messages from men taking an interest in the decoy. One of them, Sellman69, brought the subject of sex to her within minutes of reaching out.’
Sellman69: So, have you ever tried sex b4?
CinderellaGal: lol no. Y u ask?
Sellman69: Just curious.
CinderllaGal: I always wanted to but neva had some1 to try wit.
Sellman69: I cld be ur 1st if u like.
CinderellaGal: Rly? That wud be awesum.
Sellman69: Can I call u?
CinderellaGal: Sure, my number is ████ ███████
‘Okay, Trissa, we have a live one,’ Peaky turned to his female colleague, Trissa; a woman in her thirties and a little overweight. She slung a headset over her ears and pushed a button on the console.
‘Got it.’ She pressed her finger to her ear and took the call. She affected the persona of a playful little girl with the man on the other end of the line. ‘Hey! Is that Sellman?’
‘Nah, call me Shaun,’ whispered the male voice into her ear, ‘so, whatcha doing tonight?’
‘Aww, you know,’ Trissa giggled, ‘just home alone. My folks are out for the night and I’m kinda bored.’
‘Are you really thirteen?’ Shaun asked with a distinct nervousness to his voice.
‘Yeah, why do you ask?’ Trissa acted coyly.
‘You’re not a cop, are you?’
Trissa laughed. She nudged Peaky on the shoulder. ‘Of course, I’m not! Why would I be—’
‘—it’s just, you know, there are sting operations out there. Can’t be too careful.’
‘I don’t even know anything about that.’ She traced her finger across the onscreen chat log. Her finger arrived on a specific word that Sellman69 had suggested. ‘So, you wanna do this anal thing?’
‘You sound so fucking cute and hot,’ Shaun cleared his throat. He was very nervous. ‘You wearing panties?’
‘Yes, I’m just outta the shower...’
***
THE HOUSE STOOD IN front of a busy main road. Cars whizzed by, absorbing the attention from the giant structure. The sun was disappearing behind the electricity pylons that loomed over the house.
A red car rolled along the road. The driver kept an eye out for anything unusual as it bent into the extended driveway.
‘It was only a matter of time before the chat migrated from sex talk to an actual meeting. Here we see Sellman69, real name Shaun Rivert, aged 41, driving his car onto our driveway. At first, he seems cautious. Eventually, he settles into the idea of meeting.’
Sylvester Sibald was charismatic. He was immaculately dressed and sported silver hair. He stood in a darkened utility room and pressed his finger to his ear.
‘Where is he?’
‘Rivert has just got out of the car,’ Peaky advised through Sylvester’s headset, ‘he’s approaching the door with something.’
‘—with what?’ Sylvester asked, clutching a clipboard in his hand. He turned to a small black and white monitor in the corner of the room. ‘Is that booze?’
‘Yeah, he’s brought alcohol and other stuff.’
‘Okay.’
Shaun Rivert approached the side entrance to the detached house. He had second thoughts about knocking on the door. Something didn’t feel right to him. He set his plastic bag on the first of two steps and released the crate of beer next to his right foot.
He looked around. Nothingness.
‘Rivert was the seventh predator to arrive at our decoy house,’ Sylvester narrated. ‘But he gets cold feet, not helped any by the cold beers placed by his right shoe. To encourage him to enter the house, our physical decoy, Aliss, played by a nineteen-year-old actress, hollers at him.’
‘Hey! You made it!’
The door creaked open. Aliss pushed her nose through and spotted Shaun.
‘Ugh, yeah,’ Shaun jumped out his skin, ‘You okay?’
‘Hehe,’ Aliss giggled and opened the door, revealing her full frame; wearing skimpy shorts and a light t-shirt. She stepped back and hollered at him from within the house. ‘Oh cool, you brought beers! Awesome!’
‘Uh, yeah.’
‘Come on in, I’m just gonna change my shirt.’
Shaun swallowed hard. ‘Uh, okay. You sure it’s safe?’
‘Sure, it’s fine, my folks won’t be home for hours!’
Shaun picked up his plastic bag and crate of beer. He stepped through the door and closed it behind him.
The interior of the house was ordinary. Shaun’s heart fluttered as he surveyed the front room landing. The beige interior design was non-threatening, at least.
In front of him was a set of white stairs. To the left, a kitchen with a breakfast bar and two stools.
‘Hey!’ Aliss shouted from the top of the landing. She held out a leg for him to see, ‘crack open a beer for me! I’ll be right down!’
‘Okay!’ Shaun muttered to himself. He stepped into the kitchen and set the plastic bag and crate of beers down onto the bar.
The kitchen was brilliant white and tidy. Almost as if it was a kitchen showroom. It showed no signs of distress, unlike Shaun.
Shaun slipped his hands into his pocket. He paced around, admiring the cleanliness of the set-up. Unbeknownst to him, he was standing right in the middle of exactly that.
A set-up.
The kitchen door popped open. In walked Sylvester Sibald with his clipboard. He made a stern gesture toward Shaun.
‘Hi.’
‘Hi,’ Shaun responded, very nervous. He closed his eyes and shook his head, realising that sex was no longer on the cards.
‘Please, have a seat on that stool.’
‘Ugh,’ Shaun carefully took his seat. Sylvester placed his notes on the bar opposite his interviewee and sifted through the sheets of paper. He knew what he wanted to ask. The long pause was simply for theatrics.
‘What are you doing here?’
‘I wasn’t g-gonna do anything,’ Shaun pleaded. ‘I just c-came to—’
‘—have sex with a thirteen-year-old, right?’
‘—n-no, I wasn’t.’
‘What’s in here?’ Sylvester yanked the top of the bag apart and took out the first item. ‘Stringy cheese?’
Shaun couldn’t bear to watch; he knew what was coming next.
Sylvester retrieved a packet of Pendulum condoms. ‘Rubbers?’
‘Yeah,’ Shaun pleaded, ‘look, I swear I wasn’t going to do anything.’
‘Well, I have the chat logs here,’ Sylvester interrupted and read from them, ‘Hey, you’re really cute. Have you ever been with a guy before?’
‘No, that was just for fun.’
‘You think talking dirty to a thirteen-year-old girl is fun?’ Sylvester scowled at Shaun. It wasn’t helping his constitution in the least. He continued reading from the log. ‘So, you wanna do this anal thing?’
‘Ugh...’ Shaun shook his head and rubbed his face. Perhaps pinching himself might have woken him up from this nightmare.
Not a chance.
‘You want to fuck this girl in the arse, Shaun Rivert?’
Shaun squinted, wondering how Sylvester knew so much about him. ‘How do you know my name?’
‘Oh, we know everything, Shaun. This looks pretty bad, right? Bringing alcohol for a minor, condoms, and talking about anal sex?’
‘Yeah, but—’
‘—what would have happened if I wasn’t here and there was a thirteen-year-old girl in this house?’
‘I dunno.’
‘You don’t know?’
‘Shit.’ Shaun stood to his feet in protest. ‘I’ve seen this show before. Am I on TV or something?’
Sylvester smiles and places his hands at the edge of the bar. ‘No, no, this isn’t a TV show.’
‘What,’ Shaun became angry, ‘the second I walk out that door I’ll get arrested.’
‘No, not at all,’ Sylvester smiled, revealing his sparkling white teeth. ‘But there is something you should know...’
Shaun turned around to witness Peaky and Trissa staring back at him. Another man, Bello, emerged from behind the doors and into the kitchen. The hulking giant punched his left fist into his right hand and chuckled in a low, gruff voice.
‘Wh-what is going on?’
‘My name is Sylvester Sibald, and I’m with Sylvester Sibald Investigates. We’re doing an investigation into catching online predators who use the InstaBate app for sex with children.’
Shaun covered his face. ‘No, no! Don’t film my face!’
‘Shaun!’ Sylvester spat. ‘This ain’t a TV show.
‘What, r-really?’
‘Nawww,’ Sylvester nodded over at Bello, who grabbed Shaun’s collar and smiled and smiled.
‘Follow me.’
Shaun felt his shoulders bounce forward as the lights snapped on in another room. The light bleached out, revealing a dank, damp basement. The lone bulb swung from the ceiling, illuminating another man. He was tied to a wooden chair with a gag around his mouth.
The man’s wrists and ankles were shackled to the chair. He struggled to get free, but to no avail.
Sylvester held out his hand and chuckled. Bello kept his grip on Shaun’s shoulder.
‘MMFFGGG!’ screamed the man in the chair.
‘Shaun Rivert, meet Brian Hasher,’ Sylvester smiled and made his way over to a work bench.
‘What th-the fuck?!’ Shaun yelled. Bello slapped him across the face and yanked his head back.
‘Pick a number between one and four,’ Sylvester said.
‘Wh-what?’
‘I SAID,’ Sylvester screamed before calming down in the blink of an eye, ‘pick a number between one and four.’
‘Uh, two.’
Sylvester counted at some tools on the work bench. His body blocked Shaun’s view of the items.
‘Who’s h-he?’ Shaun asked, nodding at Brian.
‘Oh, him?’ Sylvester took a power drill from the bench. He played with it as he walked over to Shaun, ‘Yeah, he was the guy who turned up before you did.’
Shaun’s legs started to tremble. ‘Wh-what?’
‘Yeah,’ Sylvester looked down at the drill, ‘our friend Brian here is a nasty piece of shit. He came with two twenty-inch dildos and, according to his chat log, he said he wanted the kid to use them on him.’
Sylvester pushed the power drill into Shaun’s hands. ‘So, he’s a nasty piece of shit paedophile. Just like you.’
Shaun looked down at the drill and up at Bello. He was greeted with a shit-eating grin. ‘The fuck are you looking at, cunt?’
‘Wh-what do you w-want me to do?’
Brian kicked about in his chair, rattling back and forth, trying to save his own life.
‘Mfghh!’
‘SHUT THE FUCK UP!’ Sylvester marched over to Brain and yelled in his face. ‘You fuckin’ paedophile scum-cunt!’
Shaun started to hyperventilate. ‘Oh, oh, sh-shit.’
‘You see this cunt here?’ Sylvester yelled, grabbing a fistful of Brian’s hair. His forehead stretched up, widening-out his eyelids. ‘This scumbag had one terabyte of child porn on his computer and came this close to fucking a thirteen-year-old girl.’
He threw Brian’s head back against the wall behind his chair. It shut him up.
Sylvester walked over to Shaun. ‘Okay, so here’s what we’re doing. You have two choices.’
‘Wh-what?’
‘Choice A. You put the drill down and leave and get arrested by the police. We pass all the video footage to them and on social media. You’ll be famous. Your wife will divorce you, you’ll get fired from your job—’
‘—wh-what’s choice B?’
Sylvester sighed and squinted at Shaun. ‘You drill through Brian’s head. Right through the fucking skull. Into his brain and shut him off once and for all.’
‘Nnnggg!’ Brian kicked his feet and stared, wide-eyed at Shaun, shaking his head. ‘Mffggg!
A tear ran down Shaun’s cheek. ‘And you w-won’t tell nobody I was here?’
‘No. We won’t say anything. Stick the drill in his head, and there’s no police, no nothing.’
Shaun looked down at the drill. Only one option stood before him.
‘Okay, I’ll do it.’
Sylvester tapped Shaun on the back and stood back. ‘Okay, he’s all yours.’
Shaun stepped forward as Bello crossed his arms and watched. Sylvester leaned against the wall and took out a cigar. ‘Right through the temple, Shaun. No fucking around.’
‘Nghu, Nghu!’ Brian shook his head, pleading with his about-to-be killer. Shaun’s crotch reached Brian’s desperate-looking face. He held out the power drill and flicked the safety catch off.
Brian huffed heavy breaths through his gag. He blinked and begged for his life. Shaun looked down and wiped a tear from his face.
‘I’m s-sorry, man.’
WHIIIIZZZZZZZZZZZ. The power drill started.
‘Hold his head, Shaun,’ Sylvester blew out a lungful of cigar smoke, ‘you want the drill to go right through.’
‘Okay!’ Shaun cried, taking Brian’s shifting head with his left hand. The spinning drill bit whirred close to Brian’s temple. ‘I’ll do it’
‘Look into the eyes of the kiddy fiddler while you do it,’ Sylvester said.
Aliss, the young actress, ran into the room and up to Sylvester. ‘Hi, baby!’
‘Hey, honey!’
Shaun looked around and made eye contact with her.
‘The fuck are you looking at, paedo?!’ She screamed back.
Shaun turned around and angled the drill at Brian’s temple. A few strands of hair flew off the side of his head as the bit toiled with the skin of his temple.
‘Sylvester, sweetie, I think the next guy is showing up soon.’
‘What?’ Sylvester spat, alarmed, ‘Fuck, he’s early!’
‘I know, I dunno what to do.’
WWHHIIRIRR-CRRUNNCCHHH!
Gore blasted out through Brian’s temple as Shaun buried the first inch of the drill into his head. ‘Mffghhh!’
‘Well, look, go back upstairs and tell Trissa to stall him for a few seconds. We’re not quite ready down here, yet,’ Sylvester pressed his finger into his ear. ‘Peaky, man, you there?’
‘Yeah,’ Peaky’s voice came through the headset. ‘Is that bone I can hear?’
CRRRRRRREEELLLCCCHH! An ocean of blood bleached out through Brian’s gag as the cavity in his head vomited out a glob of grey matter.
‘Can you stall the next visitor, we need more time,’ Sylvester said, ‘about three minutes.’
‘Sure, man.’
‘Cool,’ Sylvester turned to Aliss, ‘get back in the kitchen. Wear the Hello Kitty pyjamas this time.’
‘Okay,’ Aliss smiled and ran out of the room.
CRULCH-SPLUUTT. The drill gorged through Brian’s cranium, killing him. His body slumped forward on the fifteen inch-drill bit.
Sylvester ran over and kicked the corpse against the wall. ‘Right, Shaun, all we gotta do now is toss the body next door and you’re free.’
‘Okay, okay,’ Shaun said, wiping away a streak of congealed blood that had splattered up his face.
Sylvester unclipped the ankle ties. Shaun grabbed Brian’s corpse under its arms.
‘Okay, let’s get the fucker moved.’
Bello walked after Sylvester and Shaun as they carried Brian’s corpse into the other room.
This room was cleaner, yet smaller. Five corpses in various states of dismemberment lay against the far corner.
‘Okay, on three, Shaun...’
Sylvester and Shaun swung the dead body to and fro. Shaun with its arms, and Sylvester with its ankles.
‘Three, two, one...’
FLING! FWUMP.
Brian’s body landed on the heap of decaying cadavers, causing a few to sidle across the floor.
‘Oh m-my God...’ Shaun muttered. He noticed that a bare right arm lay in the middle of the room next to a shirtless torso. The chest and waist were from two separate bodies. The right arm and left arm were a different skin colour.
The denim trousers underneath were from someone else, too.
‘What the f-fuck is that?!’
Sylvester smiled and turned to Shaun. He nodded over his shoulder. ‘Oh, that?’
‘Yes, that!’
Bello raised his fist behind Shaun’s head. Sylvester directed the attention back toward him. ‘That’s our project.’
‘Proj—?’
WHUMP. Shaun’s head flew forward.
Darkness.
***
‘OKAY, HERE HE IS,’ Peaky said, watching his monitors. A blue Mercedes pulled up onto the driveway. ‘Blue Merc, I guess this is our friend, Jamie Getta.’
Sylvester’s voice narrated. ‘Meet GetSome52, a.k.a police officer Jamie Getta, aged 52; a married man with three children of his own. He’d been using our InstaBate app to chat with CinderellaGal. He believes she is a twelve-year-old girl at home, alone. Getta had travelled over one hundred miles to meet her. His chat log suggests that coming over to her place to watch a movie for the evening may not be all he’s expecting. But things take a curious turn as the conversation turns to animals...’
GetSome52: So, you have a pet, right?
CinderellaGal: Yea, a dog. His name is Barney.
GetSome52: Mmm. You ever play with him?
CinderellaGal: How u mean play?
GetSome25: Like, does he lick u? Or u lick him?
CinderellaGal: Well, this one time he did.
GetSome25: That’s so fukn hot. Mebbe u cld show me?
CinderellaGal: I guess I need 2 b drunk.
GetSome52: I’ll bring drinx. X
‘Little does our police officer friend know that the girl he’s been chatting to is an adult member of our InstaBate team. He’s been asked by our decoy to bring alcohol. Law enforcement states that it shows intent.’
A blurred picture of Getta’s penis filled the frame.
‘So, you like what you see, Cinderella?’ Getta asked in a suggestive manner.
‘Oh wow, your penis is so big!’ Trissa said in her child’s voice.
‘Okay, he’s making his way to the door,’ Peaky said, switching to a CCTV shot of the landing in the house.
‘Got it,’ Sylvester hushed from the closed door to the kitchen.
Knock-knock. ‘Hello?’
‘I’ll be right down! Come in and wait for me!’ Aliss said from the top of the stairs.
‘Uh, okay,’ Jamie pushed the door open and walked into the front room. He pulled the door shut behind him.
‘Jamie’s chat log specified that he’d like to see the girl perform sex acts on a dog. We set up a tape recorder and speakers on the first-floor playing barking sounds.’
WOOF! WOOF! The dog’s voice thundered down the stairs.
‘Barney!’ Aliss chuckled, ‘be quiet, I have a guest!’
Jamie smiled to himself and wandered toward the stairs. ‘Hey, you okay up there?’
GGRRRRR-SNAARRLL. The dog’s voice grew angrier. ‘Yeah, that’s just Barney!’ Aliss giggled, out of sight, ‘he’s a bit horny, that’s all.’
‘Ha! I know the feeling!’ Jamie chuckled back.
Aliss, dressed in her pyjamas, descended the stairs. ‘Hey!’
Jamie gulped, infatuated by the young-looking decoy. ‘My God...’
‘Sorry I’m late, I was just changing into my PJs,’ she smiled, gripping the handrail as she stepped down.
‘Th-that’s okay.’
‘Follow me!’ She reached the last step and skipped over to the kitchen. ‘You want a drink?’
He walked after her. ‘Sure.’
‘What did you bring?’
‘Oh, uh,’ he said, reaching into his bag, ‘some Snappy Crisp Stix, a bottle of vodka...’
‘Wow!’ Aliss gasped, ‘Vodka!’
‘Yeah, uh, and some of these.’ He took out a packet of condoms and set them on the table. ‘Can’t be too careful, you know.’
‘Oh wow! I’ve never seen condoms before!’
The door opened. Sylvester with his clipboard which wiped the smile away from Jamie’s face. ‘Who are you?’
Aliss stepped back and folded her arms.
‘I’m Sylvester Sibald. And I know who you are,’ he said, perusing his notes, ‘Jamie Getta, a.k.a GetSome52, according to your chat log.’
‘Oh, shit,’ Jamie said, taking a seat on the kitchen stool, ‘fuck, fuck, fuck.’
‘Yeah, I’d say that was about right,’ Sylvester spat, sarcastically. He noticed the three pack of condoms on the counter. ‘You brought condoms?’
‘Yeah, I did.’
‘Why did you do that?’
‘I, uh, always have them with me.’
‘Right,’ Sylvester looked very displeased. ‘You thought coming to spend the evening with my daughter would be a good idea?’
‘Yeah, no,’ Jamie backtracked, ‘I just, I wasn’t—’
‘—gonna do anything?’
‘No.’
‘Liar!’ Aliss screamed, storming over to him and throwing the packet of condoms to the ground. ‘He wanted to fuck me!’
‘Hey, hey!’ Sylvester held the furious girl back with his arm, ‘no need for that, sweetheart.’
‘Sh-she’s your daughter?’
‘So what if she is?’ Sylvester scowled at Jamie. ‘It’s a good job I was here, right?
WOOF! WOOF! Jamie looked up at the barking noise coming from the first floor landing. He turned back to Sylvester. ‘Is that the dog?’
‘God alone knows what kind of partying would have happened with you, her and the dog.’ Sylvester perused his notes. ‘You say in your chat log that “it’d be hot to see you with your dog.” How old is she?’
‘I dunno, eighteen?’
‘Eighteen?’ Sylvester scowled, ‘try twelve.’
‘I didn’t know she was twelve.’
‘Bullshit,’ Sylvester turned to Aliss, ‘sweetie, go get ready.’
‘My pleasure.’ She ran off out of the kitchen, chuckling to herself.
Bello hulked himself from around the corner of the kitchen wall.
‘Well, it seems you’ve got yourself into a bit of a pickle here, haven’t you?’ Sylvester smiled. ‘Meeting an underage girl for sex. How long did it take you to drive here?’
‘Uh, I dunno, maybe two hours.’
‘Two fucking hours!’ Sylvester giggled and nudged Bello in the ribs. ‘That’s a long way to come for sex with a child.’
Bello roared with laughter. His tar-filled spittle landed on Jamie’s face.
‘Look, I’m s-sorry, please don’t tell anyone. I’ll never do this again.’
Sylvester squinted at Jamie. ‘Never again?’
‘Yes,’ Jamie pleaded for dear life, ‘I swear to God. I swear, never again.’
‘Okay.’ Sylvester pushed his clipboard to the edge of the table. ‘If you swear, then I guess that’s okay.’
Jamie couldn’t believe his luck. ‘What, r-really?’
‘Sure.’
A long pause occurred between the three men.
‘Although, there is one thing you might do for me,’ Sylvester broke the silence. ‘I have a bit of an issue.’
‘What, what?’
Sylvester turned to his colleague. ‘Bello?’
The hulk of a man grabbed the back of Jamie’s shirt and wrenched him to his feet.
‘Oh no, no! Please don’t hurt me—’
‘SHUT THE FUCK UP!’ Sylvester screamed into the man’s face. He slapped him gently across the cheek. ‘Come with me, I need your help.’
Darkness. Damp, and wet.
‘Wh-where are w-we?’
The lone light snapped on, swinging from the ceiling. The room illuminated, revealing a tied-up Shaun on the wooden chair. He rocked back and forth, shaking his head and screaming.
‘Mmffgghhhh!’
Sylvester stepped forward and held his hand out at Shaun. ‘Jamie Getta, meet Shaun Rivert.’
‘Wh-what the f-fuck?!’ Jamie gasped, moving his head to the left. He felt Bello’s knuckles against the back of his spine as the large man felt his collar.
‘Yeah, this is Shaun Rivert. He likes to fuck little girls in the arse. You should read his chat log, man, it’s fucking vile. Ain’t that right, Rivert?’
‘MFFGGHHH!!!’ Shaun made wide-eyes at Jamie, nodding at the work bench. A power drill, buzz saw, hacksaw and jump leads lay across the top. ‘Mfgh! Mfgghh!’
‘What k-kind of sickos are y-you?’ Jamie muttered under his breath.
Sylvester walked over to Jamie. He was livid at the accusation. ‘The fuck did you just call us?’
‘You’re sick in the head.’
‘Are you being ironic?’ Sylvester inquired with an evil glint in his eye. ‘It’s us that are sick?’
‘Y-Yes,’ Jamie gasped, realising his fate, ‘you’re sick.’
‘No!’ Sylvester grabbed his shirt collar and pressed his forehead against Jamie’s. ‘It’s not us that are sick. We don’t fuck kids. It’s you who’s fucking sick, but you know what, we have a fucking cure for that. Don’t we, Bello?’
Bello grunted and contorted Jamie’s collar tighter around his fist. ‘We sure do, boss.’
Sylvester turned to Jamie. ‘Now, paedo-fuck, pick a fucking number between one and four.’
‘Wh-wha—’
‘PICK A NUMBER BETWEEN ONE AND FOUR, YOU PAEDOPHILE CUNT!’
‘Four!’ Jamie yelped.
‘Right!’ Sylvester spun around on the spot and pointed at the tools on the work bench. ‘One, two, three...’
His finger arrived on the buzz saw. ‘And that’s four.’
Sylvester hoisted the saw into both hands and marched back over to Jamie. ‘Here, take this.’
He pushed it into Jamie’s hands. It was heavy and nearly fell through his fingers.
‘What d-do you want me to d-do?’
Sylvester cackled in the man’s face. Shaun rocked the chair forward. He lifted his rope-tied hands up the backrest, trying to free himself. ‘Mffggh! Mffggh!’
‘Jamie, it’s simple. You’re going to saw your friend’s head off.’
‘Wh-what?’
‘Wh-what!?’ Sylvester mocked Jamie. He stuck his tongue into his bottom lip and danced around with his arms hung out in front of him. ‘You fuckin’ retard, didn’t you hear what I just said?’
‘What?’
‘You’re going to saw this child molester’s head right off!’ Sylvester chuckled and stepped toward Jamie. ‘See, if you don’t do it, I’ll call the police and show them all the evidence. The chat logs. Your four-inch penis you showed her on Skype. Everything.’
Jamie closed his eyes and gasped. His knees trembled, threatening to buckle. It was only Bello holding him up that kept him sane, and conscious.
‘P-Please don’t.’
‘It’s your choice, mate.’
Jamie kept his eyes closed. The dilemma was insane. Like Shaun and Brian - and for whoever else had been before them - the choice was pretty clear.
‘How do I know you won’t kill me?’
‘You don’t,’ Sylvester chuckled and winked at Bello. ‘I can’t guarantee you much, but I can guarantee you this. If you don’t saw his head off, I will hand you over to the police.’
Jamie took a deep breath and nodded, accepting his fate.
‘Okay, I’ll do it,’ he muttered.
‘Good boy!’ Sylvester clapped his hands. He was very excited.
GRRRRRRR. A sound came from behind the closed door, followed by a deathly rumbling noise.
‘Oh shit,’ Sylvester knew what was happening. He turned to Bello. ‘Go and check on him, man.’
‘Okay, boss.’
Bello released Jamie’s collar and made his way over to the door. As he moved in, the growling sound grew louder and louder.
‘Shut up! We’re nearly done!’ Bello’s voice boomed through the door.
‘Well? What are you waiting for?’ Sylvester asked Jamie.
Shaun looked his would-be executioner in the eye. He yanked his tied wrists to the side of the chair. ‘Mfgghh!’
Jamie looked down as he approached his victim. The string tying his hands together whitened under the swinging lamp.
‘BBBZZZZZZZZ!’ Jamie started the buzz saw. Shaun shuffled in his seat and stared at Jamie right in the eyes, then down to his wrists.
Jamie nodded and screwed his mouth.
‘Fucking do it!’ Sylvester screamed, ‘Now!’
Jamie launched the saw above his head and spun around 180 degrees.
BZZZZ-SCHWIPP!
He swung the saw right across Sylvester’s neck, sending his head flying off his shoulders. It crashed chin-first to the floor.
Jamie turned around. Sylvester’s decapitated body stood upright. Pangs of blood splashed out through the neck hole.
‘MFFGGHH!’ Shaun lifted his hands. Jamie looked down and threw the buzz saw down at him.
BZZZ-SCHWWIPP!
Shaun’s wrist ties snapped in half, releasing his arms. Jamie stepped back as Shaun tore off his gag. ‘Fuck! Thanks, man!’
‘Yeah, cool,’ Jamie said, stepping toward the door.
‘Quick, let’s get out of here!’ Shaun yelped, unfastening his ankles.
BOOOM. BOOOM. A large thudding sound bounded from within the store room.
The door burst open, revealing Bello. He thumped his chest and roared, sending a rumble through the walls.
‘What the fuck is going on?!’ Jamie held the still-whizzing buzz saw. Shaun ran over to the work bench and grabbed the hammer. ‘These guys are fucking sick!’
Bello stormed toward Jamie. He held the buzz saw up and waved him away. ‘Get back! Get Back!’
It was no use, though. Bello stormed forward and lunged at Jamie.
‘Shit!’
CRACK! Shaun whacked Bello around the back of the head with the hammer. He fell forwards, chest-first onto Jamie’s buzz saw.
GWAAARRR-GGRROOLLLSCCHHHH!
The saw burrowed through Bello’s stomach and up through his chest. His guts vomited out to the floor. The saw split his body in two, releasing each half down either side of the whirring blade.
Jamie stepped back, stunned. He flicked the switch, shutting down the device. He looked over to Shaun. ‘What do we do now?’
They both turned to the stock room. Jamie looked down to Sylvester’s severed head. As if by magic, it rolled past their feet and into the room.
The dismembered arms on the floor began to shake. The dissected, shirtless torso and stomach rumbled.
The denim-dressed legs quivered to life.
Finally, Sylvester’s head rolled to the neck cavity of the piecemeal corpse.
The veins and skin protruding from Sylvester’s neck wound attached themselves like glue to the neck of the torso. The arms attached to the ball and socket of the chest piece. The legs kicked to the air.
The disembodied monster formed before the pair’s very eyes. Sylvester’s head growled and opened its eyelids. Its eyeballs were black and demonic.
The monster sat up straight and looked dead at Jamie and Shaun.
‘ROOOWWAAARRRR!’ The body pressed its knuckles to the floor and hoisted itself to its feet.
‘Oh shit,’ Shaun gasped. ‘That’s bits of paedophiles?! Like a demon?’
‘A PaeDemon?’ Jamie swallowed, wide-eyed. ‘Fuck!’
‘Shit, man, that could have been us!’
Jamie stepped back, tripping over Sylvester’s decapitated body. ‘Fuck! We gotta get out of here!’
The PaeDemon threw its elbows down and shoved its chest into the air. Its screams blew out the bulb, filling the room with darkness.
The shrieks from the Paedemon contained cackling girls’ laughter. ‘Hi, I’m PaeDemon. I’ll be right down!’ it squealed in a half demonic, half twelve-year-old girl’s voice.
‘Jesus Christ!’ Jamie stuttered, ‘quick, get to the door, it’s over there!’
SLAMM! The door burst open, revealing a shaft of blinding light from the kitchen. Aliss leaned against the doorway in her Hello Kitty pyjamas, blocking Jamie and Shaun’s potential escape.
‘Hey, boys,’ she said, flicking her hair in a threatening manner. She made eyes at the pair of them as the PaeDemon stomped behind them. ‘Do you wanna fuck me?’
‘No!’ Jamie started the buzz saw, ‘get out of the way!’
She cackled and blocked the door. ‘But Daaaaddyy!’ she pleaded with the innocence of a haunted child, ‘I want you to be my first!’
‘Get out of the way!’ Jamie ran forward, waving the saw in front of him. Shaun stopped and turned around. He caught a full glimpse of the PaeDemon.
‘Oh, sh-sh-shiiiiiit...’
‘DADDY WANNA PLAA-AAA-AAAY?’ The PaeDemon sang in its demon-girlie-infused voice. It got closer and closer to Shaun.
‘Jamie, man, we gotta get outta here!’
‘Where do you think you’re going?’ Aliss’s demonic voice echoed. She slipped off her pyjamas and ran her middle finger between her thighs. ‘Don’t you want to do anal with me?’
‘Move!’ Jamie ran, lowering the saw.
‘Come to me, Daddy,’ her voice lowered into a tar-stained rasp. Her eyeballs were dead black. She wasn’t going to move out of his path. Her voice switched to that of a teenage girl. ‘Can I suck your dick, now?’
‘ARRGHHH!’ Jamie wrenched the spinning saw between her legs and hulked the blades up through her cervix.
ZRROO-CRUNCH-CWUNK. Her pelvic bone shattered, forcing the contents of her stomach out through the chasm between her thighs.
SCHPLAA-AATCH!
The buzzing saw chewed up through her waist and chest and finally lopped off her head. Jamie booted her body away from the door frame.
‘Oh my f-f-fucking... Jeeeeeesus Christ!’ He turned to Shaun, ‘let’s go, let’s go!’
‘Go, go!!’ Shaun screamed behind him.
Jamie ran into the kitchen and kicked over a bar stool. Shaun paced after him and slammed the door shut.
‘Phew,’ Shaun gasped, ‘Got it—’
SMASSSSHHHHHHHH! The two dismembered arms of the PaeDemon blasted through the door. Fragments of wood daggered into the air.
‘Agh!’ Shaun yelped as the arms bear-hugged him around the waist.
‘Ohhh... shit, man!’ Jamie yelped as he watched Shaun’s spine break back in the PaeDemon’s arms. The monster burst through the door.
An amalgam of the remains of previous predators meshed into Sylvester’s reanimated face.
‘Why did you bring condoms?’ Its little girl’s voice asked as it folded Shaun’s body in half. ‘Have you ever tried anal?’
The PaeDemon growled, pressing the back of Shaun’s head against the heels of his feet.
‘No!’ the monster’s voice echoed like a girl, ‘how about blowjobs? Have you ever given a guy a blowjob?’
RIPPPP!
The monster wrenched the bones of Shaun’s hips out.
SCHNAPP! SCHME-ECCK.
The small of Shaun’s back snapped, shattering his skeleton. The PaeDemon scooped Shaun’s hanging testicles and penis in its claws.
‘Never gave a guy a blowjob before,’ the monster’s girlie voice giggled, ‘but I would with the right guy.’
SCHLLOMMPPP!
The sharp, tar-stained teeth from Sylvester’s bleeding mouth chomped down on Shaun’s penis. The fangs ripped out the elongated semen pipe from the underside of the shaft. The monster flung its head around, spraying Shaun’s semen all around the kitchen.
SCHPLATT-SCHPLOTT!
Shaun’s testicles exploded as the PaeDemon squeezed them apart. ‘Daddy, I don’t wanna play with you no more.’
‘Fuck this shit,’ Jamie gasped, stepping backwards ‘I’m out of here.’
He backed right into Trissa’s path. Her eyeballs had turned jet black. She stood there waiting for him with her hands on her hips. Her demonic shrieking blasted Jamie’s hair back over his shoulders.
‘You ain’t going anywhere.’
‘Get the fuck out of my way!’ Jamie stood back and threatened her with the saw.
‘You ain’t gonna kill me.’ Trissa giggled to herself. Her voice changed to that of a thirteen-year-old girl. She tilted her head and mocked Jamie. ‘Can you bring beer? That would be cool.’
‘Fuck you!’ Jamie sliced Trissa across the belly. Her intestines puked out and streaked up the floor. He placed the sole of his shoe against her chest and booted her to the floor. ‘Goddamn weirdos!’
‘PEAKY, DADDIIIEEE!’ The PaeDemon stammered like an animal from behind Jamie. ‘Whaa-aaat if I hadn’t b-b-been here, what woo-oould h-have happened!?’
The monster held out its arms, releasing Shaun’s mangled corpse. It stomped toward Jamie.
He stepped back, waving the saw around, trying to fend it off. ‘You’re sick!’
‘I’M N-NOT SICK!’ cried the monster in a girl’s voice, ‘I just want t-tooo be l-loved... hold m-me...’
The barrel of a pistol pressed against Jamie’s temple from behind. ‘Drop the saw, wanker.’
CLANG! Jamie released the saw. It buzzed away, tearing up the linoleum across the kitchen’s surface.
Jamie turned around to see Peaky holding a gun to his head.
‘Hi, Jamie.’
‘What the fuck?’
‘You fucked us up!’ Peaky cocked his gun. ‘All you had to do was take the nonce’s head off and go on your merry, kiddy-fiddling way.’
‘No!’
BANG! Jamie pushed Peaky’s arm away. The bullet hit the monster between the legs.
‘OWWWWW!’ it squealed, doubling over itself and clutching its thighs, ‘you shot me in the pussy!’
Jamie wrestled with Peaky. They crashed to the ground. Jamie reached over for the hopping-mad buzz saw rattling around the floor.
Peaky pressed his thumbs up and into Jamie’s eyes. ‘You ain’t gonna be spying on no more kids, you sick cunt!’
‘Fuck you!’ Jamie screamed, reaching for the angry buzz saw. He turned his face, forcing Peaky’s thumbs onto his cheek.
‘Arrrgghh!’ Peaky locked Jamie’s head around the crease of his elbow. He turned to the PaeDemon. ‘Get him!’
Jamie’s fingers tapped the saw. He had almost reached it.
SCHWIP-SCHWIP! Off came two of Jamie’s fingers as the saw bit right through them. ‘Arrgghhhh!’
Squirts of blood flew across the linoleum. Jamie roared in agony and threaded his three remaining fingers through the handle of the saw. He pulled it towards his chest and ran the angry device right across the middle of Peaky’s head.
BRRZZZZZ-SCHPLATTT! His skull and brains coughed up across the floor. Jamie stood up to his feet and held the saw against the PaeDemon.
‘Get back!’
‘NOOOOOO!’ The PaeDemon roared, arching its back. ‘You’re all mine, Daddy!’
Jamie stepped back and slipped across Peaky’s brain remnants. ‘Whoa!’ He climbed back to his feet and held the whirring saw up at the monstrosity standing before him.
‘I said get back!’
The PaeDemon held out its arm and stepped forward. With each step, the weight of its body thundered down its legs and crushed the floorboards. The bullet had torn through its thigh flesh, causing its vagina to hang down its thighs. The gaping hole spat out a gush of blood with each thud it took forward.
‘Daddy... hold m-me!’
‘Get away from me!’ Jamie screamed.
He turned around and made for the door. The monster stomped after him.
Jamie pushed the door open and tumbled down the two-step entrance. The buzz saw hit the ground and chewed up the grass.
KRAA-BAANNGG! The PaeDemon burst through the doors and ran after Jamie. He picked himself to his feet and ran toward the bus road.
He palmed his finger wounds on his right hand. He was in danger of bleeding out.
The cars whizzed by on the road.
‘Help! Help me!’
The PaeDemon roared and thumped its chest in a furious rage. It clambered forward, threatening to gain on its intended victim.
Jamie looked at the road. He could either stay dead still and risk certain death or run into the traffic.
He closed his eyes, feeling the PaeDemon edging closer, wanting blood.
Jamie opened his eyes and ran into the traffic. The PaeDemon screamed bloody murder from behind and picked up the pace.
NEEAAAAAAAAWW! WHOOSH-WHOOSH!
The car horns blared as Jamie ran across the road. He made it to the other side in one piece and stepped back on the grassy verge.
‘That’s enough!’
The PaeDemon stepped into the busy road, after him. ‘Don’t you wanna fuck me anymore, Daddy?!’
BWWAAAARRRRP! An oncoming hydraulic truck blare its deep horn.
‘NO, I DON’T!’
‘Awww, please!’ the monster said, looking down at its mangled vagina, ‘Look at my pretty, hairless little puss—’
NEEEAAWWW-SMASSSSSSHHHHHH! The truck ran into the side of the monster, exploding it across the windshield and sending chunks of it into the air.
An arm and a leg from the monster crashed to the road. They were obliterated by the tyres of oncoming cars.
SCHPLATT!
Sylvester’s disembodied head landed by Jamie’s feet.
It stared up at him and smiled. ‘Unless there’s anything else you’d like to tell us, you’re free to go.’
The mouth smiled and the blackened eyes rolled into the back of its head.
‘You sick fuck!’
Jamie kicked the head into the traffic. It bounced around the whizzing car bumpers. The skull broken apart with each car that hit it.
Jamie stumbled forward and held out his left thumb, trying to stop one of the speeding cars. He looked down at his right hand. His two severed fingers hadn’t cauterised at all.
He had lost a lot of blood. Most of it slopped his shirt and across his face. Jamie could feel his consciousness drift away.
A bright light enveloped his field of vision.
Then, a piercing white light slowed down in front of him. He held his left hand over his eyes, trying to block out the blinding light.
The car stopped.
A man was sitting in the driver’s seat and leaned over his wife who sat next to him. He rolled the window down.
‘My God, are you okay, mate?’
Jamie closed his eyes and nodded. ‘I’m... I’m injured and I’ve l-lost a lot of b-blood.’
‘Oh no!’ the woman gasped, noticing Jamie’s hand. ‘Quick, get in the back! We’ll take you to a hospital.’
‘Th-thank y-you.’
Jamie stepped over to the back passenger door. He opened it with his left hand and slid himself in.
THWUMP. He yanked the door shut.
The man flicked the indicator and pulled onto the road. ‘Hey, what happened?’
Jamie looked at him in the rear view mirror and held his hand under his shirt, trying to stop the bleeding. ‘You don’t wanna know.’
‘It’s okay, we’ll get you to Chrome Valley Hospital in no time. It’s on our way,’ the man said, ‘I’m Adam, by the way.’
‘Jamie.’
‘I’m Susie,’ the woman said. She nodded at the seat beside him, ‘and this is our daughter, Alison.’
Jamie turned his head to the right. A little girl was fast asleep in the seat, clutching a Cinderella doll in her arm.
‘Don’t mind her, she’s just tired,’ the woman said.
The girl absentmindedly sidled up to Jamie and used him as a pillow.
‘Aww, look at that.’ the woman smiled, ‘they grow up so damn fast, don’t they?’ Jamie tried to smile but, instead, chewed back a tear. His lip quivered.
Susie smiled at her daughter as she made herself comfortable against Jamie. ‘Ha. She has no idea, huh?’
‘No,’ Jamie sniffed and looked out of the window, ‘I guess not.’
The car flew off down the busy road.
––––––––
END
BIO: SOME AUTHORS ARE afraid to cross the line. International Best-selling author Andrew Mackay makes it his starting point.
A novelist, screenwriter and former teacher, Mackay is the creator of the best-selling, groundbreaking satire series ‘In Their Shoes’ - the hilarious and outrageous journey of fictional newbie journalist Joy Attwood, who follows a different profession in each volume.
Self-proclaimed "Antisocial Justice Warrior" Mackay is the founder of Chrome Valley Books - “The Home of Dangerous Fiction”. Never knowingly inoffensive, his works often contain a ruthless and shocking commentary on society, delving into the darker and disturbing machinations of modern life, but always with a sense of humanity and wit.
His influences include John Cleese, Tom Sharpe, Kurt Vonnegut, James Patterson, Hunter S Thompson, Douglas Adams, Imogen Edwards-Jones, Michael Frayn, Chris Morris, Jerry Sadowitz, Christopher Hitchins, Bill Maher, George Carlin, Milo Yiannopoulos and Larry Cohen.
One of the UK's most dedicated provocateurs and contrarians, his obsessions include (and are essentially limited to) unhealthy amounts of: smoking, drugs, alcohol, caffeine, sex, arguing, fighting, vandalism, daydreaming and writing about himself in the third person.