Chapter 5 - The Hammer's Fall
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Brandon looked down at his ruined shoe. The cruel smile vanished from his face, replaced by a flash of unrestrained, violent fury. He didn't yell. He didn't curse. He simply turned around, walked over to a decorative side table, and picked up a heavy, steel-headed framing hammer.
My breath caught in my throat. "Brandon, what are you doing?"
He walked back to me, his knuckles white around the rubber grip of the hammer. "I asked you nicely, Emily."
Before I could brace myself, before I could even flinch away, he raised the hammer high above his head and brought it down with sickening force directly onto my left knee.
The crack of my kneecap shattering echoed over the music. I screamed—a primal, tearing sound that ripped from the deepest part of my chest. The pain was absolute white-hot agony, an explosion of nerves that blinded me. I thrashed against the heavy steel chain, gasping for air that wouldn't come.
Before I could even catch my breath, he swung again. The hammer struck my right knee with a dull, wet thud.
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Agony tore through both legs like wildfire. I screamed until my throat burned and tasted of blood, collapsing against the cold floor. Tears blurred my vision, turning the room into a watery, spinning nightmare. Through the haze of my suffering, the music seemed to grow louder, drowning out my sobs.
I looked up through the curtain of my tears, desperately seeking a shred of human empathy from the crowd. Instead, I realized with a sickening lurch of my stomach that some of the guests were smiling. They were enjoying the show. I wasn't surrounded by friends; I was surrounded by monsters.
