REAPER: GOLDEN SKULLS M.C. by Rebecca Joyce (elon musk reading list TXT) 📗

my life, but the things in this room were beyond belief. Men, women, and children were chained naked to the walls, everywhere I could see. They were emaciated, starving, lying in their own feces and urine. Some were whipped so badly I could see and smell the infection emanating from them through my mask.

Ghost coughed then started to gag.

If I could wipe this room from existence, I would have instantly. Bodies were piled upon each other like discarded rags as if their lives meant nothing. Some were still moving, while others had gone onto a better existence, free of the torture they endured here on earth. Children whimpered, women crouched closer to the walls, men stared, waiting.

“What do we do?” Ghost asked.

I didn’t know. For the first time in my life, I didn’t know what to do. Looking at the survivors in the room, I wanted so much to avenge them, give them some sort of satisfaction, but I didn’t know-how. How could I give them back some semblance of their former lives? I couldn’t. All I could do was save them today and pray they found the courage to live in the aftermath of what they’d been through.

Taking off my mask, it took everything in me not to gag.

Instead, I ignored the need to vomit and said, “My name is Reaper. I am here to help.”

Walking to the closest person to me, I knelt and asked, “What is your name?”

“Matthew Riley.”

“How old are you, Matthew?”

“I don’t know.”

“How old were you when you were taken?”

“Nineteen.”

“Do you have a family?”

“Yes, sir,”

“Call me Reaper, Matthew. Let’s get you out of here and see if we can find your family. Would you like that?”

The young man recoiled, shying away from my touch. “You aren’t going to hurt me?”

“No. I’m going to take you out of this room, outside to a man called Healer. He is a doctor, and he is here to help you get better. You will also see another man named Player. He is going to get your information, so he can locate your family. Until your family comes for you, you are under the care of the Golden Skulls. We will protect you from now on. Okay?”

The man cringed, moving further away. “Stay away. You work with them!”

Of course, he would think that. The Louisiana Chapter had been the ones to torture these people. There was no way they were going to trust any of us. Doing the only thing I knew to do, I took off my cut and laid it on the dirty floor. I didn’t acknowledge the anger I felt at doing that. Instead, I looked at the young man before and said, “My real name is Max Doherty. I’m from California, and I want to help you.”

Matthew nodded but didn’t say anything more as I helped him get to his feet.

“Ghost, tell the others to take off their cuts and to use their birth names.”

Ghost nodded and spread the word.

Over the next hour, that was my routine. Introduce myself, ask their names, offer help, and get them out of there. I’d just delivered another person to Healer when Bullseye came over to me. “Reaper, you need to come, now.”

“Remi?”

“Just come.” He said, turning, heading back into the building.

I followed him down a flight of stairs into a damp, wet basement. The area was pitch black. Bullseye turned on his flashlight and led me down a long tunnel. I didn’t know how long we walked. It felt like hours but, it was more like minutes when he walked up a small flight of stairs and opened the door in front of him. I was shocked to see we were back outside.

“What the hell?” I asked, looking around the swamp before me.

“The tunnel runs under the property, to the bog up ahead, where there is a dock. The river that flows in this area leads directly to the Gulf of Mexico. Reaper, that tunnel breaks off to two other properties to the east and to the north.”

“What are you saying?”

“I believe there are more people at those properties. We can’t handle all this ourselves. We need more help.”

“I haven’t found Remi yet.”

“She could be anywhere. We are searching as fast as we can, but this place is massive. With two other properties, we just don’t know if this is the right place.”

“Gadget said she’d be here. At this place.”

“His intel was solid, but I don’t think he knew about the tunnel or the other properties. We need to search them, rescue who we can, and pray that Remi is at one of those places.”

“Bullseye, I am about to lose it man. Where the fuck is she?”

“REAPER!” Someone shouted, making me jump.

Turning fast, I stood shocked as the man I’d never heard utter a damn word came rushing towards me.

“Remi,” he gasped. “Come.”

Running behind the silent behemoth, we ran towards the main building, around to the front where several tents were lined up, to give the victims some privacy while medical staff and EMTs worked tirelessly to tend to their needs. It looked like a FEMA camp after a natural disaster. Wading in and out of the tents, I heard Grimm shout, “This way,” as he walked into a tent towards a draped-off section.

Flipping the sheet out of my way, I said nothing as Healer and two medics worked fervently on Remi. I couldn’t believe the sight before me. I’d seen some horrible shit in that house, but nothing could prepare me for what I was looking now.

She was completely emaciated, all skin and bones. Her face was hollow, with dark rings around her eyes. Her beautiful curly blonde hair was gone, shaved to her scalp, leaving deep gashes and cuts that scabbed over. Her lips were raw and cracked from lack of water. There were so many bruises, bite marks, and whip marks on her skin. She looked more like a patchwork doll than the beautiful angel I remembered. She wasn’t moving at all as she just stared