Trapped (A Ticci Toby Story)

Chapter 14- Trust Me

The night wind blows frozen specks of fallen snow across the space that separates me from the barn.
I see their steps imprinted in the white perfection.
I see Marco's small prints leave long impressions into the ground.
She dragged him.
My vision burns and blurs with rage and my hand tightened around the leafy design of the candle holder.
With every touch, she earned everything I was going to do with her.
I will not be denied this.
The wind blows harder, the trees crack and crinkle as the ice breaks free from them and scatters into the wind as I make my way towards the wooden structure.
The barn groans louder as I approach it and through it all, I can hear Marco's cries.
His 'no's' and his wails and I am running.
I slam into the doors and they fly open.
All I have to see is the small boy on the ground, holding his hand up to shield himself from the woman to drive me insane.
Before she could hurt him anymore than she has, I run and swing the candle holder into the side of her head.
It makes contact with her, and she stumbles away, but she doesn't fall.
Her eyes are wild and crazed when they find me, and I am almost put off by the lack of recognition in them.
She raises what ever she was using to hurt Marco with.
My feet move on instinct and I see a trail of amber swing in an arch in front of me in the dim light.
My blood boils when I realize what it is.
It was an iron rod, glowing red hot from the lit fireplace nearby.
She was burning him.
Something inside me snapped and I no longer cared what happened to me in the process.
I wanted her dead.
I stopped dodging her attacks and grabbed ahold of the rod and swung the candle holder into her face with everything I had.
In that moment she grabs onto me and we fall into a stack of logs that fall on impact.
The wood scatters around us and I pull the rod from her grasp.
"Do it boy! I'll kill you! I'll feed you to your friends! I'll--"
"Shh!--SHUT UP!" I push the rod into her mouth, but she pressed her lips shut and denied me access entirely.
She screams behind closed lips and it only pisses me off more.
"LISTEN TO ME! Do you like this? Do you know how this feels?" I shove my hand against the burning iron and press it deeper against her lips. Her muffled screams grow louder under my hand. "I SAID BE QUIET! SHUT UP AND LISTEN! because I don't know how this feels! I don't know how any of this feels! You stupid bitch! You never figured it out, did you? You thought you knew everything, didn't you?" I grabbed onto her throat to shut her up. "DIDN'T YOU? Do you have any idea what I could do to you? I could have killed you a long time ago, but I only played along for them! But when you hurt them, I think I've had enough of your games, Cheryl!"
She chokes and my heart speeds up with excitement.
I drop the rod and grabbed a fist full of her wispy hair and slammed her head back against the stack of wood under her.
I wanted her to feel this. I wanted her to feel everything.
I wanted to do everything it took to satisfy this desire inside me.
I finally felt alive.
Powerful.
She swings a log into my head and shoves me back with a foot she pulled from under me.
I take a few steps back to regain myself, but her swing wasn't strong enough to disorientate me despite my head injury.
She was weak.
She was in shock.
Satisfied, I tighten my grasp on the rod, which was no longer red with heat, and swung it into her again.
And she falls.
And.... I watch her curl up into a ball in the dirt, shielding herself from me.
The rage inside falters and breaks for only a moment before I force it to grow over something that I wasn't ready to face yet.
White hot and unconsolable.
I swing the object into her again and again and again.
My teeth beared and my jaw clinched.
With each hit the metal makes a dull thump against her body. The same dull thump it made when she made Tom strike Alex that night.
I swing until I could feel the tears running down my face and my arms shake.
Even though I tried to hang onto my rage, it slip away from me with each swing I made.
The smells, the sounds,
I was reliving my nightmare and I could no longer handle it.
I stuck her harder and harder until the red in my vision finally subsided into grief...
I kept swinging because I wanted her to stop the painful sounds she made.
I no longer cared for revenge.
I wanted it to stop.
I wanted this to end.
I squeezed my eyes shut and brought the rod down with everything I had left to give.
It ended with a wet crack and the weapon fell from my hands with a plop.
I turned away, trying to swallow the vile that threaten to rise from my thoat... Until I saw Marco.
Terror.
My heart sunk in horror a I realize that Marco saw everything I had done. He watched as I beat the woman mercilessly.
....and Tom.
He was going to murder me once he sees what I have done to his wife.
I see him staring wide eyesd and frozen in horror at the woman on the ground.
His thin cheeks glistened with tears from the dancing fire light
"Marco..." I plea cautiously as i approached him. "We need to get out of here."
His chest moves with a small gasp and his eyes pull away from Cheryl and land on me.
The fear on his face destroys me and I begin to think of ways to drag him out of here kicking and screaming, but he nods and lifts and arm up towards me silently asking me to carry him.
I quickly gather him in my arms, careful avoiding the arm that hung limply at his side.
We were immediately greeted by a blast of wind the moment I pulled open the door.
Marco barried his face into my chest and I braced myself for the journey across the yard into the cellar.
I didn't stop running. Even when each step caused marco to cry against me.
In the cellar everything remaimed the same. My blood still lingered on the floor and Sam still sat upright on the bed, too afraid to move.
When he sees me, covered in blood, he didn't hesitate to climb into my free arm.
Now, as I emerge from the cellar, breathing frantically and carrying two boy in my arms, I see Tom approaching the barn.
And I freeze.
I watch the door swing shut behind him.
I see the first few Falling flakes of snow zip past my view.
I see the door open and everything erupt to life when he sees us from across the yard.
One....