Ink's Second Chance - Carol Dawn Page 0,7

the delivery person before shutting the door.

“Can you hold this while I go get a knife?” she asks.

I nod and place the box on my lap. Whatever is inside is pretty heavy.

“Were you expecting something?” I yell.

“Nope,” Laura says, coming back into the living room.

“I can’t find a return address anywhere,” I say.

“Well, let’s open it up and see what it is.”

With the box still sitting in my lap, Laura shoves the knife through the center of the tape and cuts the seal. We open the flaps and find a black container inside surrounded by saran wrap.

“Well, this just became some Dexter shit,” Laura says.

“Maybe we shouldn’t open that,” I say.

My gut is telling me that something isn’t right.

“You’re probably right,” Laura says, smirking.

“You’re going to do it, anyway, aren’t you?”

“You betcha sweet patootie.”

I smile and roll my eyes. Laura is always a risk-taker.

“Can you at least get it off of my la…”

Before I can finish my sentence, Laura has already grabbed the container out of the box, shoved the box to the floor, and flopped the suspiciously heavy, black container back onto my lap.

“I am not a table, woman,” I chide like always when she uses me for a table.

It really never bothers me. We joke about it often. She uses me for a table, I use her for arms to reach things I can’t. It works for us.

But, right now, I really don’t want to be her table.

“Just let me get this open and I’ll move it.”

She cuts away the plastic wrap and opens the lid. I’m blasted with a horrid smell that turns my stomach and causes my gag reflex to react instantly.

“Oh, my god, what the hell is that?” I scream.

Laura finishes removing the lid and we both scream. The container isn’t black. It’s a clear container filled to the brim with blood. I jerk back, trying to get away when the container tips over and spills all over my legs.

“What the fuck is that?” Laura screeches.

I look up to see that she’s pointing at my lap.

“Blood, Laura,” I yell. “It’s freaking blood.”

“No, Rachel. That.”

I follow her finger and that’s when I see it.

“Oh god, it’s a freaking tongue,” I cry.

I’m starting to panic. I want to get out of these clothes, to get out of this chair and into a shower. But I can’t move.

“Laura, I need you to help me to the shower,” I beg.

She nods her head and finally shoves the container off of my lap. My hands have been frozen against my wheels this whole time.

“Wait, is that a note?” Laura asks.

She walks over to where she tossed the box and picks up a sheet of paper.

“What’s it say?” I ask, trying to stay calm but knowing that I’m seconds away from having a complete meltdown.

“It says, I Think you will be my first. Tell the Sons I say, hi,” she reads. “It’s signed, HC.”

“Just, HC?” I ask.

“I need to call my brother.”

I nod my head knowing she’s right. As much as I want to take a shower and scold my skin with boiling water, maybe calling her brother first would be a good move.

***Ink***

It takes us less than fifteen minutes to arrive at Laura’s house. I’ve met Laura many times, but my gut is telling me that this time will change my life as I know it.

“LAURA,” Chains screams the moment our bikes are off.

“In here,” she yells back. “I don’t want to leave her. We’re in the living room.”

I follow Chains into the house, and we make our way to the living room. The first thing I see is Laura’s hands covered in blood and holding a sheet of paper out of Chains.

I step around Chains and stop in my tracks. Rachel is sitting in her chair in the middle of the floor covered in blood. All rational thought escapes my body and I rush forward.

“What the fuck happened?” I ask, slamming to my knees. My eyes are searching her body for an injury only to find none.

“Where’s the blood coming from, baby,” I ask, ignoring that little term of endearment. “Where are you hurt?”

I want to run my hands over her body to find the injury but I’m afraid that it could only make it worse.

“It’s not my blood,” Rachel says, her voice small and scared. So different from the fierce sound that she spoke to me with earlier.

“Ink, read this,” Chains says.

I reach my hand out, not ready to move away from Rachel.

Once Chains hands me the note,