Stepmother

10 | A Bloody Escape

THE SOUNDS OF soft murmurs awoke Dana. Her crusty eyelids cracked open, and she squinted her eyes to let her vulnerable gaze adjust.

"Telling lies... no papa." She heard Jim's voice from somewhere. Dana had forgotten about the injuries on her back, but she was reminded when she squirmed in her spot.

"Shit." Dana hissed, before she heard the voice she hated with her entire being.

"Open your mouth..."

And Jocelyn's voice melded with Jim's as they both let out a small laugh, as part of the poem that he loved so much. Dana hoisted herself up on her elbows, and the sight she was met with disturbed her.

Jocelyn was sitting on the floor where Jim previously was. She cradled him in her arms, and Jim seemed to welcome it. The cut on his back had dried up, so had his fear for the woman. For the time being.

Dana developed the urge to scream at Jocelyn, but she decided against it. She didn't know if she could withstand another sick punishment.

"Ah great, you're awake." Jocelyn said. She set Jim down on the ground before she stood up and headed for the room's exit. On the way out, she called out a statement over her shoulder, making Dana sag with relief.

"I'm going out to get groceries for dinner. You kids behave."

Dana waited silently for the sound of the house's main door slamming shut to resonate. She waited and waited, and when she finally heard it, a loud sigh of relief left her lips.

"Jim, are you alright?"

"Yeah... I'm fine." He murmured hoarsely, making Dana's stomach twist again. Jim was nothing more than a child. He should be worrying about homework, not for his life.

Dana mustered up the energy to push herself to her knees. She breathed heavily as the tides of pain subsided, before she stood up on her feet. With slow and deliberate steps, Dana neared the bed and set a knee down to balance herself.

"What are you doing?"

"Opening the window so we can run out."

Jim watched with curiosity as Dana gripped the edges of the window and began tugging at it. Her determination for opening it overpowered the stings that her movements inflicted upon her injuries.

The events of the past few days came crashing down on her, and her pulls transitioned into bangs. Dana straight up started to bang her fist against the glass panel, with the hopes that it would crack.

Her knuckles earned a tenderness to them the more she punched. But she just wouldn't stop. Dana hit the window repeatedly, like a robot locked at a single task. Tears flowed out when she added her other hand.

Dana gasped when a crack formed in the panel, giving her more strength. She increased the force of her thumps and the cracks widened, but that wounded her hands too. Her knuckles look chewed, like someone had eaten into them. But she didn't care.

"Almost there." She grunted to herself. Her final punch shattered the window and her fist stuck outside, in the open air. Shards of glass were stuck to the top of her hand, and blood leaked from within.

Dana picked at them, all the while muttering hushed curses. She then pushed at the remainder of the glass on the broken window. They bit at her palm before crumbling away, leaving behind nothing but an empty frame of the window. Thankfully, there were no iron bars present to prevent her planned escape.

"Jim!" She called out. Her features had brightened with hope. "I'm going to jump out and land on the ground. When I tell you, you're gonna do the same. But don't be afraid, I'll catch you. You won't get hurt. Okay?"

Jim nodded. He got up and ran towards the bed. Dana stuck her head out of the window and peered at the surroundings, realizing that the drop was significant, since they were on the upper floor of the house.

"Fuck it."

Dana leaned away and gripped the window's frame. She stuck one leg out, followed by the other so she was sitting with both limbs hanging out. Eventually, she pushed her upper body as well.

The smell of the outside did its part to soothe her deeply. Dana knew she would sport a few more injuries after the leap, but she concluded that was better than death.

Then, she jumped.

Her top teeth pierced the inside of her cheek as she suppressed her scream, when she finally landed. A tremor shook her body and she gasped for air. She inhaled the scent of the grass, balancing herself using her forearms. Sweats had broken out on her forehead, making her hair stick to it.

Ignoring every burn of her wounds, Dana dragged herself to stand up. Her vision was doubled for a moment before it cleared, and she slanted her head to stare at the open window.

"Al— alright Jim, you can jump now."

The brave boy followed his sister's strategy by throwing his legs out first, then the top of his body. Dana held out her arms to motivate him even further. She could tell he was having a hard time with taking the next step.

"Come on buddy, I'll catch you."

Dana rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Jim when he was about to meet the ground. She fulfilled her promise and held him to her tightly, and he clung to her all the same.

The girl didn't let go of him yet. She buried her face into his shoulder and heaved a sigh. One of her fingers trailed over her back, her feather-like touch breezing over his cut. No blood was pouring out, so that was a relief.

Dana finally set him down. She grabbed his hand and started walking. The backside of Maddie's home was to their right, and the forest was on their left. The two took advantage of the night's darkness and walked past the houses to reach their own residence's rear.

They stopped their venture right beside their home. The real trick was to emerge to the front of the building, towards the entrance, since that would risk them being seen by Jocelyn. No doubt she was extracting her 'groceries' from Liam's corpse in the garage.

"Alright, I just need to get my hands on the telephone in our house." She mumbled, more to herself than to Jim.

Right then, her worst nightmares came to life.

"I told you children to behave." Snarled Jocelyn several feet away from the two siblings. They both turned around in shock to watch her stand where they once were, right below the window they jumped out of.

"Looks like I need to teach you both another lesson."