The PickAx House

(Chapter 3) The Unraveling

1.

Blood soaked pieces, blood-soaked pieces everywhere. All over the walls, the floor, the hay. Even the ceiling, especially the ceiling. A leg here, a leg there and the head of the bull right in the middle of the floor, in the middle of it all. Almost like a ritual of some sort. Tim stared at the massacre almost in a trance state. He could hear nothing but the blood dripping from the ceiling and the walls into singular puddles, all forming together into a giant puddle. Suddenly his wife's voice came into focus. "What could have butchered such an animal?" his wife said as she was covering her grandchildren's eyes. Mrs. Dolores was crying in the background. They had all came running to her scream.

Suddenly Tim shouted, "What the fuck is going on here?" He turned and looked at everyone. Mary turned and looked at Delores in disbelief and said, "Please take the children inside." "Yes ma'am." Dolores replied softly. Once again Tim shouted "Just what in the hell is going on here? And in my barn?" "What is wrong with you Tim?" Mary asked. "Wrong with me? You tell me what is happening here Mary!" he shouted. Confused, Mary said "I...I don't know". He just stared at her for a moment. "Do you know how much that animal cost me?" "You mean cost us Tim?" Mary said. He shouted, "Do you have any idea?" "No Tim, I don't." "Exactly. You wouldn't" as he shouted over her almost mocking her. "What are you talking about Tim? I don't understand why this is important right now." He continued to stare at her with blank empty eyes. "First the footsteps and now this?" "Footsteps? What footsteps Tim? What are you talking about?" Tim huffed, "I'll show you."

2.

As Tim and Mary walk from their barn to their old but beautiful Victorian home, they proceed around to the back. Mary can't help but notice the winds of the storm picking up blowing back against her, as if trying to stop her and the snow was getting harder and harder to walk through, as if helping the wind to hold her back. The most disturbing is Tim mumbling to himself next to her. She could not quite hear what he was saying under his breath, but it sounded quite angry. This was unusual. Mary could not believe that she had to admit to herself in this moment she was a little frightened by him and his behavior. She would never let herself believe that he would be capable of hurting her, or her children and grandchildren. Not after so many years. Lately though strange things, strange things have been...

"Where are they?" Tim shouted. "They were just right here!" Mary asked, "Where Tim?" Realizing that there were no footprints. "Right fucking here! Right here!" as he pointed at the ground. "They were coming out of the woods... Unless... and led straight to the back door of our home. I mean I had to follow them forever!" "I don't know Tim I don't see anything. I don't understand why or how someone could be out here especially in this kind of weather." "So, what are you saying? I'm a liar Mary?" "No of course not, maybe the snow covered up the footprints." Tim covered his face with his hands and softly spoke to himself... I DON'T UNDERSTAND. "Well Mary, I can't be imagining things because someone had to of butchered that animal." he said in a condescending way. "It happened in our barn! Then there was that smell." As he looked back towards the woods. "Smell? I didn't smell anything." "The dead animal, that was the reason I was in the woods in the first place." "You found another dead animal in the woods?" She said with confusion. "No, no, no. The dead animal was in the..." His voice slowed, and he came to a pause as he said "barn." "You're not making any sense Tim." "The animal inside the barn was fresh, it hadn't started to smell yet. Besides, you were in there earlier today with Dolores. If it smelled, you would've smelled it then." Tim started to feel dizzy again. He started blinking his eyes rapidly then squeezing them open and closed. "Honey, are you okay?" Tim ignored her completely trying to go through scenarios in his head, still mumbling to himself underneath his breath. This time she could faintly understand what he was saying... "They must have been in the barn and then left through the woods, so we wouldn't see them. Then circled back to the house and that's when I..." his eyes rolled up from the snow past the stairs and back porch up to the back door. "They're in our house." He said disturbingly. Mary followed his eyes to the back door and her mouth slowly opened and she covered it with her hands. She looked back at him "Who is Tim?"

Without a second thought to why, he noticed his pickaxe stuck into the porch at the top of the stairs and without hesitation he walked up the stairs and pulled it out forcefully. He placed his left hand on the back-door knob and slowly turned it. He threw the door open and peered through the kitchen. The size of the kitchen itself was impressive but humble and gave very few places to hide. Tim threw open the pantry door, turned back and proceeded to walk from room to room with his pickaxe to carefully examine each single one. The dining room, the living room, downstairs bathroom, Delores's room, then with haste he ran up the stairs and screamed out "The Boogeyman's coming to get'cha!" As he gave a suspicious grin from ear to ear. He made his way up to the master bedroom. Mary unable to see her husband anymore, hung on to the door frame halfway in and out of the house waiting on him. She suddenly realized that her grandchildren were inside the house. "NO!" she screams, running into the house. As the master bedroom door flew open, Tim quickly made his way through the room looking at all the dark corners and then to the balcony. Where he imagined someone might hide or use to get away. Normally, the master bedroom would be on the bottom floor, but Mary insisted they have a balcony from their room when they refurbished the house so many years ago. Tim hollered "DAMMIT!" from the balcony. As if he were disappointed and had failed to contemplate what would really happen if he had run into someone. Hysterically, he ran from the master bedroom at one end of the hall past the stairs and bathroom to the two doors at the other end of the hall. One to the left and one straight in front of him. He stopped and stared at them before deciding which one to go in. His hands gripped the pickaxe tightly squeezing the handle, twisting his hands back and forth. He could feel the sweat between his fingers. The door on the left was Susan and Joseph's bedroom. The one straight in front of him was Abby's room. Suddenly, he heard a quiet noise coming from the children's bedroom. He smiled. He raised the pickaxe up and kicked the door with such force it flew open and slammed the wall directly behind it, before it bounced back and almost closed again. He burst in with his pickaxe high in the air.

Looking up at him was his two grandchildren. Already upset from the events that had unfolded but now terrified as Dolores gripped them tightly in each of her arms. They all sat on Susan's bed that was right next to the door. As Mary screamed "NO TIM!" A split second had passed by where he had locked eyes with them, and a tear ran down his face.

She pushed him aside and into the wall, where he slowly slid down until he sat looking through his knees at them. She jumped in front of all of them screaming "What's wrong with you Tim? There's no one here!" Tim dropped the pickaxe and looked at his hands as if they were not his own hands. "I forgot they were in here." He said as he looked up at Mary, "but I would never hurt them. You know that." "Get out!" Mary screams "Get out now!" He looked at her and turned his head slightly, his face showing signs of disbelief and sadness. He reached to pick up his pickaxe and stood, before slowly walking out of the room dragging his pickaxe behind him.