Then she saw the strange look on Selena's face. At the same instant, Maxi felt the man grab her from behind. His arms were like taut ropes that squeezed the breath right out of her. Twisting and struggling, she caught only glimpses of her attacker - saw the man's white mask as he dragged her violently across the room and---

WHAM!

He slammed her up against the wall. It felt as if her entire body had locked into one solid massive hurt. Whatever breath she had left, he had totally knocked it out of her. But even in this shocked numb state, she could feel one of the man's large tattooed hands as it roamed freely over her body. She dropped the ax.

Selena was running forward. She crouched down and grabbed the wooden handle of the fallen weapon. But before she could lift it, the man in the mask stomped one big boot down onto the wide, thin, silver blade. He let go of Maxi, letting her slump down along the wall. The man was holding something behind his back. In her dazed state, Maxi couldn't make out what it was. Selena was still struggling with the handle of the weapon, trying to pry the blade out from under the man's boots. She had almost gotten the ax free, when the man in the mask kicked out wildly, catching Selena right in the ribs.

With a low groan, Selena fell backward. The man marched forward. He started kicking her again and again. He was chuckling. Each time he let the girl get up on all fours before he let loose with the next blow. When he tired of this game, he took out the weapon he was holding behind his back. It was a weapon he had brought along from The Torture Chamber - the cat o' nine tails.

He cracked the whip. The jagged pieces of metal at the ends of the nine thongs caught Selena in the legs, the arms, and the face. She tried to dodge the blows, but the whip snapped like an angry nest of vipers. And with each lashing, at least half the tails hit home.
Her breath back at last, Maxi charged forward. Before he could lash Selena again, she seized the man's hands. The man didn't even turn - just flung her aside. She tried to hold onto him with both hands - tried to pull the whip away from his grasp, but all she managed to do was catch one strand of the rope. So that as the man lashed Selena again, the jagged metal raked through Maxi's palms. She screamed, staring down at her hands in horror. Then the man turned and flicked the whip right at her. She felt the blows - nine knives all landing. She went down.

Selena too lay in a bleeding heap. The man stomped over to her, and holding her by the collar of her blouse, dragged her over to the guillotine. He pulled her up to a sitting position. Then yanking her dark bun of hair, as if it were a handle, he threaded her head through the guillotine's wooden hole. He positioned her neck right under the path of the blade. She was lying right on top of the statue of Marie Antoinette. The force of Selena's weight caused the statue's arms to rise in the air so that it looked like the statue was giving Selena a hug - or holding her in place for her execution. Maxi struggled to her feet. She charged. With bleeding hands, she flailed helplessly at the powerful man. He didn't seem to feel the blows.

He pulled the cord to release the guillotine's huge sharp blade. It hurtled down toward Selena's bare neck.

   Friday the 13th: The Carnival, chapter 25