The Cursed Shell

32

This time, Josh somehow managed to stop his father from complaining the bullies to the headmaster. Josh told his father that those bullies would beat him more if he complains to the headmaster about them. Todd Lamb hugged his son, whom he loved the most, tightly.

Josh remembered that God didn't respond to him. 'God is evil', he believed.

Standing in front of the mirror, Josh looked at the Christian-Cross locket around his neck. He pulled it off and threw it inside his closet.

Later, during the lunch, Josh's mother Isabella Lamb noticed that Josh's neck looked different than before.

"Where's you locket, Josh?" she asked, politely.

Josh kept his spoon down on the plate and turned towards his mother. He replied after a second, "I think it broke while those two were beating me."

"It's okay," Todd Lamb said after chewing a small piece of meat, "we'll bring a new one for you."

"Well, no need for that, father," Josh said, picking his spoon up, "I'm okay without it."

"Uhh... Okay then."

[4 YEARS LATER, 2004]

The fourteen year old Joshua Lamb was standing in front of a grave which was buried almost three months ago. There was written 'Isabella Lamb, A Beloved Wife And Mother' on the grave.

'The God has crossed his limits,' he thought. 'He never did anything for me. And now, he snatched my mother away.'

Now he was walking towards his home. He was on that same way with dense woods surrounding the tarred road from both of its sides. He was alone on the road. It soon started raining. Josh covered his head with his palms and started a jog towards his home.

He suddenly stopped, as he could see the boy he feared standing in front of him on the road. It was Thomas Simpson, one of the boys who bullied him.

Josh knew what he was doing there. His father had again complained about Thomas to the headmaster two days ago when Josh came home with his right knee bleeding.

"Your father fuckin' did that again!" shouted Thomas. This was his regular language.

Josh took a step back.

"I saw you in front of that bloody grave of your mother," Thomas said with a grin. "She fuckin' died a few months ago, right?"

Josh didn't say anything, but tightened his fist.

"You know," Thomas said, laughing, "she fuckin' died 'cause she fuckin' deserved to die."

Josh tried not to express his anger. Because if he had expressed that, he would have been beaten more.

"What you fuckin' thinkin' 'bout?" Thomas walked towards Josh when he saw he had his eyes pressed closed.

Josh didn't open his eyes. He had closed them tightly along with his fists.

"Tell me or I'll bury you beside your fuckin' mother's grave!" Thomas shouted.

Josh opened his eyes and with an angry cry he jumped on Thomas. Thomas fell down on the tarred road. Josh picked a rock of about his fist's size and smashed it on Thomas' head.

"Aaagh!" Thomas cried in pain.

Josh smashed the rock on his head again. He kept beating him with that rock and Thomas kept screaming in pain. But his screams were of no use as they were too far from houses for their voices to reach there. 

Josh stopped after almost thirty seconds. He was holding the rock so tight that his palms had become dark red now.

Then he looked ahead at Thomas. His lifeless eyes were opened wide. It didn't take much time for Josh to realise that Thomas wasn't breathing anymore. He could see a large bleeding crater formed on his head.

Josh stood up with his palms covering his mouth. He had killed a person. He had become a killer. Josh was speechless. He had never thought that he would ever do this in his lifetime.

Josh picked that rock which was now coated in Thomas' blood and threw it as far in the woods as he could. The rain washed down the blood from Josh's hands.

Then Josh thought for a moment. 'I haven't done anything wrong. He deserved this.'

He walked away towards his home, leaving Thomas' corpse on that wet road.

The next day, after reading a newspaper article, Todd Lamb turned towards Josh, who was having his breakfast.

"Josh," He said, "you remember that road surrounded by dense woods which goes towards your school and the cemetery? You know what happened there yesterday?"

"No, father", Josh said, trying to show that he didn't know anything.

"This boy, he was your classmate, right?" Mr Lamb showed the photograph on the newspaper to Josh. "He was found dead on that road, yesterday."

Josh expressed a sympathetic expression.

"You came home through this road, yesterday, right?" Mr Lamb asked.

"No," Josh lied, "I came through the road near the church."

Todd Lamb stood up and hugged his son. "God bless you, Josh," he said, kissing his son's forehead, "thank God that you're okay. I don't want you to get away from me."

Josh pulled himself away from his father, angrily. "Why're you thanking God for this?"

"Because you're good today just because of his blessings", Todd Lamb said politely.

"I don't need his blessings!" Josh cried. "He's the one who snatched my mother from me!"

"Josh!" Todd Lamb shouted.

"No, Father!" Josh shouted back. "You always said that a person should be on the God's side. But in my opinion, God's side is filled with sadness, sorrow, blood, death and ruthlessness!" And then he rushed upstairs, towards his room.