The Country Club: Ladies' Night (The One Percent Book 3) Read online

  Derek nodded. He was learning more about this place from Blake than he had from anyone so far. All he’d known so far was to keep his mouth shut and do what he was told. Turns out that had been a good plan.

  “You don’t want to fuck with Mr. Black,” Blake continued. “If he tells you to eat your own shit, you do it. Same with Camila as you’ve noticed. She’s hot as hell, but she will literally eat you alive and not think twice about it.”

  “How did you end up here?”

  “I was a bouncer at a night club. Really upscale place in Houston. Since I’m a big guy, bouncing jobs were easy to get. One night some guy pulled a knife on me. I grabbed him and we fought, I put him in a headlock and snapped his neck. They charged me with capital murder.”

  “Holy fuck.”

  “Yeah. Camila would visit the club sometimes and she used to talk to me and left me some good tips to let her and her friends in, whoever she happened to bring. I also hooked her up with some blow and ecstasy. So when I got arrested, I’m not sure who she knows where but she got the charges dropped. A few weeks later I was here for the club’s grand opening. There was only a few of us then. Now there’s a dozen or so of us. So anyway, this guy was banging some co-ed they had brought in. I knew about it, but I didn’t say shit. I know it’s against the rules, but I didn’t want any part of it. I figured if he gets caught it’s on him. Well he didn’t stop and just doing her. He wasn’t raping her either. I could tell she liked him. He’d sneak her food and stuff. Well maybe she didn’t like him. She wanted him to help her escape, which he did. Or at least he tried to.”

  “What did he do?”

  “He put her on a cart with a blanket over her and took her down to the incinerator room. That’s where they dispose of all the waste. He was going to help her get out through the air ducts that go through there. Thing is, he got caught. One of the workers down there saw what he was doing and told. I’m shocked they said anything, honestly. But those guys down there have it bad. Maybe they thought they’d get a promotion or something. So he ran to one of the emergency phone lines there and notified security, who called Camila.”

  “So did you guys kill him?”

  “Yeah. Camila had us do it. We grabbed him and the girl. We stuffed them both into a pine box and handcuffed them together. This was all with Camila there watching, telling us what to do. I nailed the lid shut and we rolled it into the incinerator.”

  “While they were alive?”

  “Yeah. It was fuckin’ brutal man.”

  “Jesus.”

  “I know. They screamed and screamed. I mean I figured the heat or smoke would kill them in a minute or two, but man. They must have been screaming for five or ten minutes. It was awful. I still can hear their screams when I sleep at night. Well I used to. Now I drink myself into a stupor when I get home, that usually drowns it out.”

  “No shit, maybe I need to do that. I barely sleep as it is.”

  “Yeah. It was no joke. But it was a good lesson. I don’t want to end up in the oven, or on their plates at a banquet. So I just do my shit and keep my mouth shut.”

  “Has anyone ever quit here or tried to just not come to work? Like run off?”

  “A couple have. They make sure they get made examples of. I came into the control room here one night and Camila showed me a box with one of their heads. I don’t know the details and didn’t ask. She said this is what happens when employees try to run away. I mean this is an easy enough job if you can stomach it. Pays great. Just don’t fuck up or you’ll die horribly. Kind of a trade-off I guess. But most of us either owe them something or we were left with nowhere else to go, so here we are.” Blake looked up at the screen in the banquet room. “Looks like they’re about done in there. You may want to head to the main hall and be at the door if Camila needs anything as they leave. Hang in there. You’re doing fine so far. Just keep your head down.”

  Derek nodded as he walked out of the control room and toward the main hall. That was good advice. Keeping his head down. Just as long as it remained attached.

  Chapter 15

  Laura closed her eyes with each bite of the stuffed baby. Trying to pretend it was something else only marginally helped the rumbling in her stomach. It took every ounce of her strength to keep the food down. She had to admit, it tasted excellent. Had she not seen these poor infants slaughtered like turkeys and cooked in front of her, she might have enjoyed it. For these crazy bitches, the torment and suffering was half of the fun.

  The other women were chattering quietly while going to town on their meals. One woman next to Laura had asked her a few things, like where she was from and how long ago she’d joined. She was glad for the distraction. After several bites, she took a gulp of wine and sat back in her chair. It wasn’t long before Camila noticed she wasn’t still eating.

  “Everything ok Laura?” Camila asked. “Your food ok?”

  “Oh yeah, it’s great,” she lied. “I’m just really full. Everything they brought out was so good. I guess I didn’t leave the room.” She braced herself as Camila took a drink of wine and looked back up at Laura.

  “I know what you mean. Simon really goes all out. He’s amazing.”

  Laura breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Where is the bathroom?”

  “Oh, it’s just through that door and to the right,” Camila said.

  “Great. Thank you.”

  Laura got up and casually made her way into the restroom. She closed the door, locked it and as quietly as she could, leaned over the toilet and threw up. The bile and stomach acid burned her mouth and throat as vegetables mixed with chunks of dead baby filled the toilet. Her stomach retched over and over until the stomach was filled with brown and yellow vomit. She stood and looked in the mirror. The sight of the greenish-brown slime on her lips and chin almost made her want to hurl a second time. Quickly she grabbed a paper towel and wiped her face off. She wetted more towels and cleaned off her face and used a paper cup to rinse the taste from her mouth before flushing.

  She hoped no one heard her throwing up as she stepped back into the hall. Thankfully the women were all still sitting around the table chatting away. Laura returned to her seat and talked to Camila and some of the other women. It wasn’t much later before the wait staff arrived and cleared the plates. Once they finished, Camila stood and smiled.

  “Well, ladies. That concludes our evening. It was so wonderful sharing this beautiful meal with each of you! For our new members, tomorrow we have a special treat in store! So be ready. Your rides will arrive at the same time. Have a great night everyone!” Camila blew them a kiss and walked out through the side exit.

  Amelia drove her home, but neither of them spoke much. Amelia asked her what she thought of the club and she said how much she enjoyed it and how great the dinner was.

  “Out of curiosity, does anyone ever like…you know. Have a problem with the dinner?”

  Amelia laughed and shrugged.

  “Once in a while. Camila is great at screening people. It’s like a gift of hers to read people.”

  Great.

  “Don’t worry,” Amelia continued. “I can tell she likes you. You’re a natural at this, I can tell. You’ll love tomorrow.”

  “What’s tomorrow?”

  “You’ll see. The fun starts. Looks like we’re here.” She said as they pulled into Laura’s drive. She climbed out and went inside. As she entered the huge house, she immediately began stripping off her clothes, leaving them strewn across the floor, and headed straight to the shower. Turning on the water as hot as she could stand it, she stood beneath the water while scrubbing herself until her skin was almost raw.

  After toweling off, she slipped on a long t-shirt and picked up her phone to call Mr. White. She wasn’t sure he’d answer this late, but sure enough he did.

  “You motherfucker!” she yelled.

  “Ahh hello, Laura. I take it the banquet didn’t go well? Must have gone well enough, you’re still alive.”

  �
�Fuck you. You knew what they were going to have me do?”

  “I’m afraid so. I didn’t tell you because there really isn’t a good way to explain that to someone. You’d have refused. So I let you have the experience. As I expected, you passed with flying colors. It’s their way of testing new people.”

  “I kind of figure that. So what is this thing happening tomorrow they won’t talk about?”

  “You probably don’t want to know.”

  “I wouldn’t have fucking asked if I didn’t want to know.”

  “Laura, please. You’re doing fine. No need to complicate things.”

  “You know; I was on the run for years before the law caught up with me. I could vanish again and you’d never find me.”

  “Yes. You probably could. Or it would take us awhile, at least.”

  “So if you want me to keep working for you, you’re going to have to give me something. I’m flying fucking blind here.”

  “Ok. Fine. Tomorrow each of you new ladies will get your own rooms with your own…um…victim I suppose. I told you this would happen.”

  “Fuck.”

  “Yes. I know. You’ll have to kill an innocent. You’ll have to make it ugly too. They like pain and suffering.”

  “This is going to suck,” she said.

  “I know. You sorry you asked?”

  “No. I had a feeling it was something like that. God. Watching that chef butcher those babies. Jesus. I’ve been through some ugly shit, but fuck. I will never unsee that. That will haunt my nightmares forever.”

  “Most likely.”

  “Thanks. You’re a real ball of fucking cheer.”

  “I’m not your therapist. We pay you enough to hire your own.”

  “Whatever. How do you know so much about this place anyway?”

  “Goodnight Laura,” he said as he hung up. Asshole.

  She went downstairs and headed for the liquor cabinet. She was glad the place had a liquor cabinet. She poured out a glass of vodka and drank it straight. The drink burned her throat, but she felt the alcohol would sanitize the things that were in her mouth earlier. She took several more drinks before the alcohol hit. Her head felt woozy and the room felt like it was moving. Despite that, she took several more drinks. Finally, she climbed into bed and pulled up the covers before closing her eyes. She hoped the booze would be enough to drown out any nightmares, or at least make her forget them.

  Chapter 16

  Laura slept most of the following day. She woke up in the afternoon and took another shower. Looking in the mirror, she realized in only a few hours she had to go back to that hell. She wasn’t sure if it was worse having been a prisoner and tortured there, or being forced to do this. She reached into her medicine cabinet and took a Xanax before getting dressed.

  It wasn’t long before Amelia arrived. She climbed in as Amelia smiled at her.

  “Hey! You ready for tonight?” she asked.

  “Oh yeah. I’m excited.”

  “You ok? You seem kind of down.”

  Shit.

  “I’m fine. Just still tired from last night.”

  “Oh yeah. You’ll get used to it. We play hard as hell at the club, as you can tell.”

  “Yeah, no doubt.”

  Amelia handed her the hood again as she pulled it over her head. She wondered how long she’d have to wear it on the way there. They made small talk the rest of the way before they arrived at the club. Amelia pulled the hood off Laura as they drove through the gates. As they walked through the front door, Camila was there with a handsome man in a suit. She was sure he wasn’t one of the staff or security. His suit looked too expensive.

  “Hey Laura!” Camila said before hugging her as she came through the door. “So what did you think of last night?”

  Laura faked a smile as she looked up waving her hands.

  “It was Ah-Mazing!”

  “I knew you’d love it here! I want you to meet someone. This is Mr. Black. He’s like my boss. He runs various parts of our organization.”

  The names Mr. Black and Mr. White were not lost on Laura.

  “Hi! Great to meet you!”

  “Hello Laura. You’re even more beautiful than Camila had described.”

  “Oh. Thank you!”

  He looked at Camila, still smiling.

  “Well, Camila, I won’t keep you any further. I have business to attend to. Thank you again for your hospitality. I’ll be sure to swing by again soon.”

  “Of course! Consider this your home, anytime you’re here.”

  “You’re a doll.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek, nodded to Laura, and walked out the door.

  “Ok! Let’s go back to the dining room. We’ll wait for the others to arrive.”

  “So what is going on?” Laura asked.

  “Remember biology in high school?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well. Today is like lab day. I’ll be your lab partner!” She took Laura’s hand and led her into the large dining hall. There were a couple of women sitting around. They chatted and made small talk for a few minutes before several more women arrived. Camila stood at the end of the table and tapped on a glass.

  “Ladies! Welcome to your second night of the rest of your lives! Last night was amazing. All of you did wonderfully. Simon made an amazing feast. Tonight is your first lab day. Each of you will be paired up with a current club member, and will get your first asset!”

  There was a round of light applause as Camila smiled.

  “Ok, ladies. One of our members will be taking each of you to your room where your asset is waiting! Have fun!”

  Camila walked over, took Laura’s hand, and led her into the main hall. They went up the stairs and down another hall before Camila took out a set of keys and opened the large steel door. It swung open, and they stepped inside. The room was entirely concrete with a single drain in the center of the floor. Also in the center was a dentist chair with a naked man strapped to it. There were leather straps around his hands and feet and one around his forehead.

  The man was conscious and looking around at them, breathing rapidly.

  “Help! Who’s there? What’s happening? Help me please! I haven’t done anything! I haven’t done anything!”

  Camila walked around to the front of the chair as Laura stood by.

  “And what is your name?” Camila asked.

  “Chris! Chris Shaver! Who are you? What is this place?”

  “Hi Chris, I’m Camila. This place is my place. It’s like a private club.”

  “So what am I doing here?”

  “You’re my special guest. This is my friend Laura. You’ll be her first. She’s losing her club virginity tonight, so to speak.”

  “What the fuck does that mean?” he screamed. Camila turned to the table behind her which had numerous tools and instruments laid out and picked up a knife. Chris continued screaming.

  “What is that? What are you doing? Why do you have a knife?”

  Camila reached up to his chest and with a swift motion, sliced his nipple off. Chris screamed as blood oozed from the new hole in his chest.

  “What the fuck! You crazy bitch! Let me out of this chair! I’ll fucking kill you! I’ll shove that fucking knife up your cunt!”

  Camila walked to Laura and handed her the knife.

  “Your turn. We’ll start off simple. I have a couple custom made devices, but we’ll stick with the knife for now. We can have lots of fun still.”

  So much for Laura’s plan to give her first victim a quick and painless death. With Camila standing right there, she had no choice but to go along with everything. Though Camila was standing just inches from her, for a moment, she considered thrusting the knife into Camila’s chest. The woman wouldn’t stand a chance. She could stab her, kill her and grab her keys, and get out. Except… getting out through the huge gate. They’d either kill her on the spot or put her back in one of these rooms. Either way, it wouldn’t solve anything. Camila would be replaced and the club would con
tinue.

  Instead, Laura took the knife and walked over to Chris.

  “Hang on,” Camila said as she slipped out of her dress. “Before we get too messy.” Camila took off her bra and panties. Laura did the same. She hadn’t expected to strip naked but went along with it. Camila put their clothes in plastic bags and sat them off to the side. Laura walked toward Chris with the knife. She’d killed many men before but usually they were executions. Quick and clean. She knew how to inflict pain; in her mind she tried to imagine Chris was Camila or even Mr. Black.

  Reaching up with the knife, she sliced off his other nipple as the man screamed.

  “Jesus! You fucking cunt! Fuck!” he yelled. Laura looked up at Camila who smiled.

  “See? Fun isn’t it?”

  “Yeah. Can I do more?”

  “Go for it!”

  Laura took the knife and made a long cut down from the top of his chest, to his navel, and back up in a large V shape. It wasn’t a deep cut, but enough to make him scream. She looked it over, and went over the incision again, but this time much deeper. He screamed and thrashed as she finished slicing and just along his collarbones made a final cut to complete a large triangle.

  She reached down above his navel and pulled the skin away. He howled as yellow clumps of fat and stringy muscle tissue ripped free. Soon she had the large chunk of skin and held it up to Camila who clapped her hands.

  “Yes! That is amazing! Girl, you are a natural at this.”

  Laura smiled as she looked at the large red triangle where his chest used to be.

  “Please?” he begged. “Just kill me! Let me go! Something. Please don’t hurt me anymore.”

  Laura didn’t know what to say, so she ignored him as she looked at the tools on the table. There was a hammer lying in the corner. She picked it up and knelt down to the foot rest and began pounding his toes. They shattered with a sickening crunch as the man screamed again. Once each toe was pounded into a blue and red pulp, she moved up to his feet and smashed them. The sound of bones snapping and popping filled the air.