Charlie ran up and down the passageway, not wanting to get dressed and giggling with delight every time Diana pretended to ‘catch’ her and then conveniently letting her go. No, James knew he didn’t belong with this family, despite the fact he was a twin. No, he didn’t feel as if he had a place. His place was with a tongue in his mouth and a bloody knife in his hands.
_____
Diana
Diana had never really struggled with James, but after the incident with Charlie and now trying to get him awake, she felt as though something was wrong with her son. Call it motherly instinct, but she knew something troubled James. She would ask Robbie to have a talk with him, but Robbie was always so hard on him. He didn’t understand that although James and Clinton were twins, they were the complete opposites of each other, and in her heart, Diana knew that disappointed Robbie.
When it had been announced that their first born child was, in fact, twin boys, Robbie had been so excited and made all these plans. None of those came to fruition for both boys, for only Clinton took to Robbie’s teachings and ways. James was quiet, always had been, even as a baby, and Diana knew she was soft on him.
Argh! It was frustrating as a mother to not know what to do. Perhaps she should be harder on him, but she felt that would only serve to drive him further away.
She hoped that spending some time together as a family at the shops would help lighten his mood, but this was a long shot. James didn’t like shopping at the best of times. Perhaps if she allowed him to pick out his own school stuff, he would cheer up.
_____
Diana had them all ready and out of the house shortly after Robbie left for work. Once in the car, she put on a popular song and she, Charlie and Clinton sang the whole way to the mall. James sat quietly and stared out of the window, his eyelids drooping. Diana let him be, hoping he would be more chipper once they reached their destination.
Once there, they climbed out of the car and Diana herded them inside. James kept silent the entire time they walked around until they came upon a shop that specialized in weapons. Clinton was off!
James also seemed fascinated by a few things and Diana was happy to see him taking an interest in anything, so she quickly said, “Pick something.”
James looked up at her with a smile. “Really?”
“Yes,” Diana said with an equally big smile. “Pick something, and I’ll get it for you.”
James seemed excited and quickly went through all the aisles of the shop, looking at everything available.
Clinton ran up to Diana with a knife and said, “Can I have this?”
“Yeah, okay,” Diana said, much to the chagrin of the lady behind the counter.
“Children shouldn’t have weapons,” she commented.
“People should mind their own business,” Diana said, taking Charlie’s hand. “Or I’ll see your manager.”
James came back with an expensive-looking sword, and Diana bit her lip. “Is that what you want?”
Clinton’s mouth dropped open, but before he could say anything, James said, “Yes, and it’ll count as a birthday present.”
Diana smiled. “Okay, then. Let’s pay, and off we go.”
_____
Chapter Eight
Robyn
The family was out the entire day, but Robyn was too weak to care. Bart had taken a lot out of her, and she didn’t have the energy to do anything other than hide right now. If he found her, he might finish her off.
She couldn’t take that risk. She didn’t want to expend all her energy before she had saved the family, especially Charlie - she was such a special girl.
Robyn heard him walking upstairs and decided it was time to move again. She went towards the staircase with the intent of going to the kitchen and stopped. There was Darren, hanging from the bannister with his head at his feet.
“Go away,” she said. “Go rest, Darren.”
“He’s coming again. He’s coming again. He’s coming again.” That was all the head of Darren could say.
The pacing upstairs ceased, and then there was running. Bart was coming for her.
“He’s coming again. He’s coming again. He’s coming again.” Darren’s head started to shriek.
Robyn stumbled down the passageway; she needed to hide again, at least until the family came home. The thundering sound of his footsteps coming down the stairs pushed her onward. She climbed into the kitchen cupboard and closed the door quietly.
She sat there in the darkness, hugging her knees as she tried to regain her strength, and ignored the laboured breathing of Kalli’s spirit next to her as she stared at Robyn, whispering, “He’s coming again. He’s coming again. He’s coming again.”
Robyn shook, genuinely afraid that she was going to lose the war.
_____
James
He couldn’t believe his mother let him buy his own katana. He promised to be careful with it and vowed to keep it away from Charlie and that he wouldn’t treat it as a toy. Oh, if she only knew how well he was going to handle it.
Clinton was green with envy, and it showed, as he kept huffing and puffing, no longer satisfied with his ‘little knife’ as he called it. He had whined and whined to his mother, but she hadn’t relented, saying that Clinton always got something at the shops and James never asked for anything.
“Besides,” Diana added, “it’s part of his birthday present.”
“Part? Only part?” Clinton almost yelled. “It can be PART of my birthday present as well.”
But Diana had not budged. In fact, she quickly got tired of Clinton’s attitude and threatened not to get him anything at all.
And so his dear brother had sulked the rest of their shopping trip while James walked around proudly, holding the package with his own katana carefully.
When they got home, James quickly went upstairs and laid his katana out, examining it.
The voices started immediately. They were pleased. Pleased James had taken such a bold and daring step to get his own tool, his own katana. It was so sharp it could cut through anything, especially a spine. James felt ready to secure his next victim.
_____
Secure him, he did. It didn’t take more than the day for James to pick out his next victim; a lonely boy who played by himself in the street, and in the back near the forest. James loved that the houses opened up to the forests behind them. It gave him an opportunity.
The boy wasn’t as old as James was, and he didn’t seem to have any friends. James had only ever seen him play by himself. Perhaps his parents didn’t allow him to have friends or, maybe, like James, he was an outcast, in which case James would be happy to put him out of his misery. Either way, James would oblige.
He made a game not only out of watching the boy, but also the movements of the rest of the boy’s family. He truly was left alone all day long, and well into the evening, before any sign of a parent coming home was seen. James would have ample time to remove the boy’s head from being attached to his body.
James licked his lips as he watched the mother call for him. Derrick, his name was Derrick, and James could already feel Derrick’s little tongue rolling over his own as he chomped down on it. It would give him more power, more confidence to do what had to be done in the name of the Dark God that whispered to him day in and day out.
He knew when he did well for them; the voices were silent, and he was allowed to rest. Like today, today he was allowed to sleep because he had kept notes of the movements of Derrick and his family. It was like clockwork. A fault that most humans had, sticking to a routine that could get them killed. It would get them killed.
James just had to wait for the perfect opportunity, when his own family wouldn’t be home. He had to make sure there was no one able to catch him as he executed Derrick with absolute precision.
The Dark God made him promise not to do it when he could get caught, or their game would be up.
_____
Robyn
The Butcher was preoccupi
ed with grooming James, which gave Robyn the time she needed to recuperate. She did this by hiding in Charlie’s room, having tea with her and playing with her.
Diana came in with clothes in a wash basket and set it on the bed, coming to sit with Charlie. She sat on top of Robyn and shivered, rubbing her arms. Robyn had that effect on people, so she stood up and moved to another seat, pressing a finger against her lips to Charlie.
Charlie continued to play, and Robyn watched as Diana played with her.
Her own parents had done that on numerous occasions - played with her. The number of times she had tea parties with her dad, even as a spirit she was nostalgic about it, and she grew sad thinking of all the things she never got to experience because he had taken her life away.
She blamed herself, thinking she could get away with wooing some boy from a party while her parents were out. If only she had known better, or if someone had taught her better, perhaps she would still be alive. And that poor man had gone to jail and died because they believed he did it. She felt wracked with guilt, and this fuelled her anger, which in turn fed her energy. She had to make sure he didn’t hurt anyone else. She needed to stop James.
Two could play at this game.
Once she had enough energy, and Charlie was asleep, she went to stand in the doorway to James’ bedroom. He was there and looking at her, but he didn’t rush her, knowing she had enough energy to fight him off. He had bigger plans tonight and, as long as she didn’t interfere, he would leave her be.
She watched as he continuously whispered in James’ ear, giving him all the information he needed to execute his next victim. That was the word he chose to use. ‘Execute’. As though it was somehow justified - a prisoner being punished for crimes, only this time the crime was breathing, and the prisoner was an unsuspecting boy who lived two houses over.
Robyn left the room and went to Diana, kneeling beside her.
“Diana, listen to me. Your son is in danger,” she whispered fervently. “He is going to hurt someone, and hurt himself. You need to keep an eye on him. Don’t leave him alone. Don’t leave him at home alone.”
On and on she whispered, trying to plant the idea in Diana’s thoughts, but she wasn’t sure if it would work. Children were far more susceptible to this sort of persuasion than adults, but she had to try.
She did it for hours. While Diana watched television, while she folded laundry and even while she cooked dinner. She also did it right in front of him. As he whispered to James at the dinner table, she whispered to Diana.
It was a battle of words, truly, and she knew in her heart that he was winning.
_____
Diana
She didn’t know why, but she had such an unsettling feeling about James. He seemed to be on her mind since she finished up playing with Charlie. While she watched television with Robbie, while she folded the laundry and even while she cooked, she had this niggle that James wasn’t okay. She observed him at the dinner table, while Clinton whined to Robbie that he never got a sword and James had. As Clinton moaned to his father, James seemed quite content to simply eat his food and be done with it. In fact, it almost looked as if he concentrated hard on his food … perhaps trying to tune out his brother?
“Enough, Clinton. If you want it that badly, I’ll get it for you,” Diana eventually snapped.
Clinton gushed, “Thank you,” and started on his food at last.
Diana shook her head. “And that’s your birthday present finished and done and dusted. Because you nag so damn much and … argue, I dare you …” She added the last part as he opened his mouth.
Clinton thought it a better idea rather to simply keep quiet and eat.
Robbie glanced around the table. “So aside from James getting a sword and Clinton wanting one, how was everyone’s day?”
“It was fine,” Diana said dismissively.
She didn’t mean to be flippant, but her mind could not focus on anything other than James. She felt severely distressed about him.
James looked up with big eyes. “What’s wrong, mommy?” he asked, with that innocent smile of his.
“Nothing, honey,” she murmured as she went back to her food. “Just wondering how you are feeling?”
“I’m great. In fact, if you go get Clinton’s sword tomorrow that will give me time to help with tidying up around the house.”
That was her James, always so helpful. She didn’t know why she was so worried about him. He sounded just fine, and yet there was this pull at her gut that something was not right.
“I don’t know. Maybe you should come with us, and we can all tidy up when we get back.” She smiled brightly and tilted her head to the side. “You know, we can spend more time together that way.”
“No, that’s okay,” he said, taking a big bite of his food as though the matter was closed.
Diana frowned. “Why is that okay? I don’t think you should be staying home alone with everything that has happened, James.”
“I’m perfectly safe,” he explained, reaching his hand out and placing it on top of hers as though comforting her. “Believe me, I’ll stay indoors the entire time and tidy up.”
Diana looked at Robbie for support, but he wasn’t paying attention and simply grunted when their eyes met.
She rolled her own eyes and said, “I don’t think so, James. I don’t want you staying home alone, and that’s that.”
James frowned and set his knife and fork down. “Don’t you think you’re being unreasonable?” he asked, staring at his plate defiantly. “I hate going to the shops. I made an effort to be nice today, and now you’re ruining it even though I’m offering to help.”
Diana felt admonished and was about to reply when Robbie, half hearing the conversation, quipped, “He’s right love. Let him stay and clean if he wants to.”
“Well, fine.” She stood up and took her plate to the kitchen. “But you will stay inside this house, James.”
“Of course,” he said in a low voice.
The tugging feeling Diana felt just got worse.
_____
Chapter Nine
James
She was huffy about it, but the more Diana reiterated that he was not to leave the house while they were out shopping, the more James agreed wholeheartedly. After all, what would she know about what he got up to anyway? She had no clue.
James watched them leave through the window, after proving to Diana the door was locked and then put into motion his plan. It was Wednesday, the perfect day because Derrick’s parents would be out early. He didn’t know what they did, but they were out, and on Wednesday Derrick liked to start his day by walking through the forest.
James would be waiting.
He got out his supplies, packed neatly in his kit bag, and quickly made his way out the back door and into the forest to where he was sure no one would see him, not even little Derrick.
With his trusty baseball bat to hand, he waited patiently for the sound of Derrick’s crunching footsteps on the leafy bed of the forest, accompanied by the irritating out of tune whistling he insisted on doing. God, that out of tune whistling drove James mad.
It came soon enough and James held still, standing behind a tree.
“What have you got there?”
James whipped around as Derrick spoke to him from behind and he almost cursed himself; he had overestimated where Derrick would walk and had landed up being in plain sight.
“What have you got there?” Derrick repeated, taking a step back. “What are you doing here?” he asked, taking another step back and losing his footing on a tree root, flailing his arms as he tried to regain his balance.
He landed on his back and cried out for help, tears leaking from his eyes. James made his way towards him, and Derrick screamed for help when the baseball bat came crashing down on his arms as he lifted them to protect himself. He screamed again and, panicked, James kicked him and hit him with the bat in every place he could get to, sweat breaking out on his body as he rapidly tir
ed. He wasn’t made for such exertion.
With an almighty splat, the end of the baseball bat connected with Derrick’s jaw and the boy shrieked, holding his mouth as James raised the bat and brought it down again, this time on his head. A few more times and the boy was dead, or at least James assumed so. He was freaking out and didn’t have time to check or savour the moment. Anyone could have heard the boy screaming.
He got to work with his katana, hacking at the boy’s head. Blood sprayed everywhere as he tried to get it to disconnect, but it just wouldn’t. Throwing the katana down, he knelt and cut the boy’s tongue out, with Derrick’s head hanging forward, held together by splintered bone and sinew.
James then put it in his pocket and gathered up his gear, swiftly making his way into the forest. He heard someone calling and knew the game would be up in no time. Someone would find the body and tie it all to him. He was done for. He had disappointed the Dark God, and now he was not here to whisper to him, to tell him how to fix the situation.
He went deep into the forest. Luckily he had the foresight and had packed extra clothes in case he messed on his. Once he was sure he was a safe enough distance away, he changed and stuffed the bloody clothes into his bag. He took out a rag and some paint thinners, wiping the blood off of him as best he could.
There was a loud scream - it seemed quite far away - and James knew someone had discovered the body. He had to get away as fast as he could.
He packed up the paint thinners and cloth and, hitching his kit bag over his shoulder, forged away from the screams of whoever had found the body. He walked until he was sure he was far enough and then turned to walk north, exiting the forest almost three blocks from home. He checked himself, made sure he looked okay, and then walked along the sidewalk towards his house, hoping the street would remain empty.
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