Monte Vista Stories | 1.6. Cornered Animal

Content warning: This chapter contains images of blood/bruises, plus descriptions of stabby actions. Tread with care.

Carlo couldn’t see or hear anyone hanging around Bell Farm, and dread settled in the pit of his stomach. He should have had a gun with him, or waited for Franco to come. Instead he set out cross the lawn. The door to the old barn was ajar and creaking on its hinges.

The first thing he noticed was blood smeared all over the door handle and bloody handprints on the walls. Then the metallic smell of it hit his nostrils when he pushed the door open. His heart nearly stopped when he saw a pair of lifeless feet, but it was clearly a man.

The dead man still had a gun clutched in his hand, and he’d been dispatched via an expert series of stab wounds to the chest. Carlo pried the gun out of his hands, shuddering when he realised that the guy was still somewhat warm. It couldn’t be long since he died.

He stuffed the gun into his belt, sent Franco a message asking him to hurry the hell up, and then he continued looking for Vittoria. He followed the direction of the blood to the house, hand on the gun.

The doors around the back were wide open, and the floor there was smeared with blood, like somebody had been dripping and pacing around in it. Carlo stood to the side, hand ready to reach for the gun.

“Vittoria,” he said through the open doors. “Are you in there?”

A low shuffle reached him. Could be her, could be another hitman. He tried calling for her again, but this time no sound came. He gripped the gun and edged in, but he didn’t make it more than two steps before a voice told him to drop the gun. Vittoria’s voice was only barely recognisable under the cold, hard anger.

“I said, drop it,” she said, flying towards him. “Now.”

She looked like a cornered, wounded animal. Her hands were covered in blood, and her face looked like she had been dragged across the floor; in fact that would explain why her glasses were missing.

“What happened?” Carlo asked.

“Drop. It.” Her eyes were as dark as the last time he had seen her. “And don’t come closer.”

“It’s me, Vittoria.” He placed the gun on the floor slowly, her eyes following every movement he made. “I came to check on you.”

“Yeah, right. Your gang wants me dead, same as all the others.”

He tried to move towards her, but she lunged with the knife and he drew back. “Vittoria, please!”

“Don’t move,” she snarled. “I heard you talking to someone. Who’s out there?”

“Nobody, I called for help from a friend. I want to help you.”

She narrowed her eyes to little slits.

“It’s true. I came because I heard about your gang, about the Giocondos. They might be looking for you.”

“So, you know.”

He nodded. “Soon everyone else will, too. Please, put the knife down and let me help. Are you hurt?”

“You’ll kill me if I…”

“I want to know that you’re not hurt. Please?”

She stood completely still for what felt like an eternity, her eyes burning into his. The knife finally clattered to the ground, though her eyes were still angry.

“If you try anything, I can kill you so fast-”

“I know, I know, darling. Are you hurt?”

Vittoria shook her head, nodded, shook it again. Her hands came up to clutch at her head.

“I don’t know.”

She sank to the floor, curling up in a little ball, and Carlo crouched next to her.

“Did he shoot you?” he whispered, looking her over. There was a dark, wet spot on her leg, but otherwise all the blood was on her hands.

“Maybe. I think. I don’t know.”

“All that blood is…?”

“I think it’s his. I had to take him out, if I hadn’t…” She started hyperventilating, grabbing at his arms. “I didn’t want to, but-”

He embraced her. “I know, darling.”

Carlo scooped her up in his arms.

“There are going to be more of them,” she said, clutching at his chest. “They’ll come for me.”

“Not if they want to keep their lives,” he whispered. “I’ve got you now.”

Feeling lost? If you’ve forgotten previous chapters and need a recap you can find my recap page here. Be aware that it contains spoilers for the story.

Hi peeps! I am SO sorry that this is a day late. It completely slipped my mind, and I suspect that I wouldn’t have had time to do it yesterday even if I had wanted to. I had a little get-together with friends which was awesome. On the same day, my mother-in-law and her kitty moved in, and I also had to work on a paper that was due today. Safe to say, I’m knackered. In case you aren’t already tired of hearing me repeating it: I am so flipping tired!!! Man, I’m glad these past two weeks are over. They’ve been killing me.

So, yes, story. This was a short one, not because of being busy, but just because this was how I felt it would be best to do it. The next one’ll be longer, promise 🙂 What this one lacks in length, I hope it makes up for in craziness.