Stepmother

09 | Winners Get Prizes

JIMMY RAN TOWARDS Dana and grabbed a fistful of her shirt. His eyes were wide with fear, and his teeth gnawed away at his thumb. Dana observed Jocelyn with just as much fear.

"Looks like we have two winners here." Jocelyn advanced forward and entered the room. Her gaze darted between the little boy and the older girl.

"time for the prizes!"

"Get behind me." Dana whispered as she stepped off of the bed and stood before Jim in a protective manner, with her hostile stare on Jocelyn. The closer the woman got, the more Dana's heart pumped out of her chest. She glanced at the nightstand behind her and clutched its lamp to chuck it at Jocelyn.

Jocelyn dodged it with ease, and her playful expression hardened to reveal a bit of her rage.

"Please— mom." Dana nearly pleaded, making Jocelyn throw her head back and bark a vicious laugh. The girl's chest twisted when she felt Jim's little form flinch against her back.

"Oh, don't you pull that trick with me. I hate you both regardless."

Jocelyn stopped a hand's length away from the cowering Dana. She looked so different compared to when Jocelyn first met her at Liam's house. Instead of the mildly spiteful teenager, she was now a girl drenched in fear, with her appearance consisting of nothing but blood stains and tear-streaked cheeks.

Dana yelped when Jocelyn grabbed both her upper arms and yanked with ferocity. She caged her in a headlock as her feet kicked at Dana's knees from behind, making her lose her footing.

Dana would struggle and fidget relentlessly, but it was of no use. Jocelyn was both stronger and more agile. She had climbed on top of the girl and sat on her back, with her feet pinning both of Dana's arms down.

"Please, let go of her." Cried Jimmy as he swiftly wiped away his tears, and Jocelyn formed a small pout on her lips.

"Awe, don't you worry. It'll be your turn soon."

"Jim look away right now." Dana all but demanded, and Jocelyn interrupted.

"No, Jimmy. You're gonna watch and see what happens to winners. Okay?" She cooed, and out of Dana's knowledge, Jim nodded slowly, his cheeks still wet with panic for his older sister.

Dana sucked in a deep breath. She prepared herself for the worst. Her cheek was pushed against the floor firmly, but that was the least of her concerns.

She sensed Jocelyn shift, before something pressing up against her spine.

Then it burned.

Dana's scream touched every wall of the room, and maybe even in the entire house. The burning travelled like a single line down her entire back, before the trail ended near her waist. Her shrieks of agony went on, and her body shook because of cold shivers.

Jim's soft weeps were put to shame by the sounds escaping Dana's mouth when a second gash was placed upon her skin, followed by a third and then fourth. Jocelyn glided the knife across her flesh, and the sight of muscles tearing apart and blood bubbling up pleased her.

It felt like Dana's throat was laden with cuts because of her wails, just like her back was laden with slits because of Jocelyn's knife. Eventually she lost a large amount of her energy, and her screams died down to long groans.

At this point her shirt was in tatters from behind, and the air hitting her exposed flesh stung it like salt would.

"That's it for now! I don't plan on killing you yet."

Jocelyn's weight was lifted off of Dana when she stood up and stepped away. Even in this state, the horror of what the woman was about to do next dawned upon her.

"Stay... stay the fuck away from him." She ordered weakly, her face on the ground limply as a pool of her tears collected near the side of her forehead.

"It's your turn Jimmy! Don't worry, I'll give you just one."

Dana tried pushing herself up using both her palms, but she plopped back down after lifting just a few inches. Her body was very drained- both because of the physical and mental torture, as well as the lack of proper nutrition. She couldn't recall the last time she ate something or drank water.

No cut in the world could hurt Dana as much as the scream of her little brother did. And the fact that she couldn't do anything to stop it pained her all the more.

"I'm begging you, please stop it. He's your own son." Dana sobbed to Jocelyn when she heard Jim's bawl. Her fists clenched, and her eyelids bunched up when she shut them tightly. Dana cried like she had never before. Her cries mixed with Jim's, amplifying the sound.

Shortly after, she heard a slump. Jocelyn padded past the collapsed Jim and wandered to where Dana was. She bent down to look into her watery eyes.

"Sleep well. You might need it."

With that, Jocelyn stood back up and skipped out of the room, making sure to leave the door open. She even pulled out the key from inside the keyhole to make sure they wouldn't lock the door again.

"Jim?"

Dana heard no reply. She called for him again, but was met with complete silence.

With her thoughts heading for the horrible scenarios, it pumped adrenaline into her blood. Her heart pulsed loudly in her ears. Dana bit on her bottom lip when she tried lifting herself again, since that made her back ache.

She managed to move her knees so she was on all fours, and then, she braced herself for her next move. Dana jerked to the side so she could fall on her back, and the impact ripped another high-pitched scream from her mouth.

Dana panted as she tried to recover from the wave of anguish, and she lifted her head to eye Jim.

Jim was lying on his front on the ground just like she had been, his eyes closed as if he were in a peaceful slumber of sorts. The back of his shirt had a large and bloody rip, and some of the scarlet liquid dripped down his side.

Dana set her head down and glared up at the ceiling.

Her eyebrows furrowed. Her sight got flooded, before it would clear out and droplets would tickle both her temples. The cycle would repeat endlessly.

"I'll get you out of this mess, Jim."

When she wasn't saying it out loud, she chanted the vow in her head. With the tears still gushing out like her blood, Dana closed her eyes shut. She welcomed the sweet embrace of a forced sleep, secretly wishing it was eternal.