The wailing from the kitchen stopped all at once, the only sound now coming from me and my attacker as we struggled together. All I could hear now was the blood rushing through my ears, which drowned out everything else at my mother’s sudden silence, including my own screaming.
One of the other men stormed in and grabbed my legs, both easily lifting me into the air between them. Without another word from either man, they carried me out of my bedroom and into the hall.
As we entered the kitchen, I immediately sought out my mum, and when my gaze found her, I felt like I was going to throw up. Bile rose in my throat and the whole world slowed down the moment I saw what that silent masked man had done to her.
She was lying on her back on the dining table. There were deep, bloody cuts marring her cheeks, running from jawline up to the deep gauges where her eyes had been. Blood, there was blood covering her face, oozing from her now sightless sockets. And... Oh God… her nose… her nose was gone. There was a single, deep stab wound in the middle of her chest, which blood was still seeping thickly from, down her sides, and then off the edge of the table to the floor. The sound of it dripping, the small splat… splat… splat… as the blood hit the floor was so loud to me, it was deafening. I couldn’t tell if she was breathing or not, but she lay so still that...
I whipped my head to the side and vomited. The men holding me suddenly shouted out in disgust and let me go at once. I fell hard on my ass, but I didn’t give a shit about the pain. I rolled to the side and heaved again, spewing my dinner everywhere, tears and snot streaming down my face.
The silent one grabbed my mother’s ankle and turned, heading towards the open space where our front door had once been. Her body slid off the edge of the table with a sickening, heavy, thump. I could hear the sound of her being dragged outside by her killer. I was crying so hard I could barely see.
“No, NO! Mum, MUM!” I screeched as I tried to crawl forward to stop him from taking her. “Let her go! Stop! You fucking bastards! You sick, fucking-” As I put weight on my injured wrist, I crumpled to the floor just in time to see her hand slide out of view out the front door. “MUUUUUUM!” I screamed.
“Fucking grab her and let’s go!” the leader of the group called over to us irritably, like my grief and being sick was some sort of major inconvenience. “Get her under control so we can get moving! He wants her at the exchange by eleven!”
Their hands were on me again, but this time, I was ready. I shot up off the ground, diving for one of their knees. He tumbled back, hitting the wall with a shout, and I crawled up his body and swung at his face. The crack of my fist on his jaw sent a sharp pain from my knuckles all the way up my arm, but I didn’t care. These fucking pieces of shit deserved every bit of pain and suffering coming their way. I punched again at his masked face just as a pair of hands gripped me under my armpits and hauled me back. I twisted in his arms and pushed all my weight into him, hoping to make him fall off-balance, but he didn’t. The first guy had recovered, and he appeared out of nowhere, grabbing a fistful of my hair and viscously yanked my head sideways. I reached up behind me, attempting to claw at any part of him that I could reach, but was restrained by his companion as he grabbed my wrists and twisted them painfully behind my back. I started kicking then, and managed to get his friend in the knee. But I was in my stocking feet, and all I really managed to do was hurt myself as a result.
“I don’t have fucking time for this!” their leader shouted impatiently as he stomped towards us, reaching into his jacket pocket. “She’s a fucking teenager, not even half your size, and you shitheads can’t even hold her still? For fuck’s sake!” He withdrew a crowbar. At the sight, I began to panic, and fought even more. But the two men recovered enough to stretch me out on the floor by my hands and legs.
“No! Please! Please, don’t!” I screamed as their leader stood over me and raised the tool high over his head. “PLEASE, STOP!”
His arm swung down, the metal connecting with my right knee. My body buckled from the pain as he swung up, only to strike again. I think I screamed. I honestly don’t know, because blackness swallowed me whole, drowning out the rest of the world.
To be continued…
Afterword
Dear Reader,
We are all thrown challenges in life. Sometimes they are small obstacles that we can easily conquer. But sometimes, life throws something at us we didn’t expect, or even want. And it grabs us round our ankles and threatens to pull us beneath the surface, and every day we have to fight to keep from drowning. And we have no choice but to face these problems each day, feeling as though they are keeping us from enjoying moments of happiness or progression in our lives.
And sometimes, these struggles come in the form of a dark shadow or a malicious whisper in our mind that haunts us each day…
Please know that you are NOT alone.
Before you judge someone, they are fighting their own battles that you are unaware of. Be kind to each other. Always.
About the Author
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