Stepmother

11 | Goodnight

THE ONLY PLACE where Dana and Jim had a fighting chance for survival was in the forest, ironically.

The girl grabbed her brother's clammy palm and darted straight into the woods. Branches sticking out scratched at them. Stones and sharp rocks on the earth poked at the soles of their shoes. Even their own injuries tingled with discomfort.

Jocelyn's thuds could be heard from behind them, though they were still quite far. Their unstable sprint made the two siblings collide into tree trunks, since the forest wasn't too bright. The moon shining above barely lit up the wooded area.

Jim started to fall behind. His stamina was entirely spent and he couldn't keep up with Dana's fight-or-flight instinct.

Upon taking note, Dana slowed herself down as well. She was about to hoist himself up so she could carry him, but the distant crunching of leaves froze them to their spots. Instantly, Dana tugged Jim towards herself. She found the nearest tree and aligned her severed back with it, her hands caging Jim.

Dana lifted his palm and placed it over his mouth. The little boy caught the hint and clasped his lips shut with his hand, and Dana did the same.

Being deathly still granted them the opportunity to hear a bit vividly. Crickets croaked in the dead of the night. Twigs continued to snap, but Dana had no clue where they were coming from.

"Jimmi Jimmy... yes mama." Jocelyn's cooed, her voice dissipating like a ghost's echo.

"Eating sugar... no mama."

Dana registered the muffled sniffling coming from Jim's direction. She let go of his upper arm to briskly brush away the tears, before she splayed her hand on his chest in a comforting manner.

"Telling lies, no mama."

She was at her worst right now. With her stomach eating away at her insides out of hunger, sleep clouding her mind, and a slit back- she had lost every drop of energy left in her. The fact that she stood locked in a state of never-ending fear didn't help either.

Jim shivered against her. His sniffles carried on, and his tiny fingers dug into his cheeks in an attempt to quieten himself. It didn't work at all.

He wanted to cry out loud when the audible warning of Jocelyn's presence grew closer to the point that it could be right beside them. A loud crack of wood resounded and the siblings snapped their gazes towards it, but nothing was there.

"Open your mouth... Ha. Ha. Ha."

The last verse seemed to caress Dana's neck. She had spun around to peek behind the tree.

And Dana was met with a blade to her gut.

Her mouth fell open and her eyes bulged, choked gasps leaving her mouth. Even then, she thought to shove her brother away harshly- a silent signal for him to run away.

Jocelyn ripped the knife away to charge towards the boy and grab his wrist to prevent him from escaping. Despite his protests, she dragged him along to where Dana was.

"Ah yes..." Jocelyn hummed. Jim wouldn't stop moving, so Jocelyn planted his hand against the tree trunk and stabbed the knife right through the middle of his palm, so it would get pinned to the tree.

Jim screamed so loud it rattled every bird previously present in the woods. He pulled and cried, his gaze darting between his impaled hand and his dying sister.

Dana's legs gave out and she collapsed on her back, and this time, she didn't react to the way her injuries stung. The new wound on her front captured her worry, and she brought a hand up to feel the blood gushing out.

"Goodnight darling. I did this for your sake anyway." The woman said with zero remorse. "Mother knows best, my love. Be it your own or someone else's."

Jocelyn crouched down beside Dana, completely disregarding the little boy who was writhing in pain, and she yanked Dana's hand away. Jocelyn inserted her fingers into the wound and pulled the skin apart to widen the hole, making way for even more blood and eliciting a deafening screech from Dana.

Dana coughed up mouthfuls of sticky blood. It coated her mouth along with the rest of her chin. Her body convulsed the more Jocelyn tore her injury apart, and her eyes admired the stars as they glimmered beautifully in the sky.

Eventually, Dana became motionless. Not another breath passed her lips, and not another grunt erupted from her.

"Dana!" Jim called out. His breath hitched when Jocelyn directed her disturbing gaze towards him. She stood up and eyed his hand still pinned to the tree.

"There." She said as she pulled the blade out and grabbed his wrist once more. Jim sobbed. He tried hauling himself away again and again, but Jocelyn just wouldn't let go. Her vice grip on his forearm refused to loosen.

"Hush, child."

Jocelyn pulled him to an embrace from behind. Her arms wrapped around his front, and she rested her chin upon his head. His sniffles and bawls of pain carried on regardless, and he wasn't soothed by the hug like she wished.

"You want to join your sister? Ah, alright."

Jocelyn aligned the knife's sharp end against a side of his delicate neck. Slowly and steadily, it glided across his throat, and that's when his whimpers came to a stop. In fact, his exhales ceased to exist too.

The woman let go of him to watch him crumple to the ground. A cheshire grin stretched her lips apart as she eyed the two corpses she so brutally tortured. It was all over. The products of that man's sins were erased, and Jocelyn was finally free.

Her manic cackle caressed every plant in the woods. She threw her head back and laughed like no tomorrow. Her eyes teared up, and her stomach ached.

"One last thing left."

Jocelyn was oblivious to the flashlight rays dancing around the woods, as curious neighbors ventured in to investigate the sounds they had heard.

The woman positioned the tip of the knife right above her heart, and with one final giggle, she inserted it in with force. It sent waves of agony down her body and to her mind, before she couldn't feel anything anymore.

Jocelyn fell atop the dead Jim. A faint smile still touched her lips, the smile just as lifeless as she and the two children were.

THE END.