The Banished One

Chapter 5: The Truth

The room was silent as Joseph thought of what to do. He needed to get the name of whoever this man had been talking to, as well as deal with the stranger. Jaycee was sobbing soundlessly into her knees as his son slowly crawled toward the stairs.

"Your children deserve to know the truth," the stranger said, breaking the silence.

Joseph glared at him. "These children deserve nothing, unless I give it to them. You seem to misunderstand your fate, we are going to kill you, and if these kids want to survive, they will do whatever I tell them."

The smirk finally fell from the stranger's chiseled face. "You shall not lay another hand on either of them, and if Lawrence looks at Jaycee one more time, I will rip his eyes out."

"How cute," Joseph laughed. "You have a soft spot."

Lawrence chuckled, "He thinks he is some sort of hero."

Joseph punched the stranger in the stomach but was slightly unnerved by the fact he did not wince, or flinch, and kept his eyes locked on Lawrence. The only sound other than the impact of his fist and the chair scooting on the floor, was the sound of the stranger breathing out. In one swift motion, Joseph pulled out a pocketknife and slammed it into the stranger's thigh.

The stranger laughed maniacally, still staring at Lawrence. Joseph pulled the knife out and wiped the blood onto his ragged and dirty pants. He turned to look at Lawrence, whose head shifted to the left to look at Jaycee on the stairs. Before anyone could react, the chair the stranger had been sitting on flew backward into the Harris brothers, as the stranger slammed hard into Joseph, knocking him back. Lawrence looked forward and tried to put his hands up to fight back, but the stranger was too fast. The two men collided; Lawrence let out a shout as the stranger landed on top of him.

Reaching up, Lawrence attempted to grab the man's neck. He was not prepared for how strong the stranger was as he grabbed his wrist and violently spun them outward. There was a spray of blood and two loud snaps as both of Lawrence's forearms received open spiral fractures. The stranger then released his grip and slammed his fingers into the injured man's eye sockets. With a scream and a disgusting tearing sound, the stranger ripped Lawrence's eyes from their places. He then stood, dropping the eyes onto the floor and walked back over to the chair, dripping in blood.

No one had moved, other than Joseph righting himself. Lawrence was writhing and sobbing on the floor as he began to go into shock. "What the fuck?" Joseph asked breathlessly.

"I warned him," the stranger's gravelly voice stated.

"How did he do that to Lawrence with his bare hands?" Phillip asked, fear in his shaky voice. He was also stunned that the stranger had stopped and returned to the chair. "What are we going to do?"

"Get a hold of yourself Phillip," Joseph said sternly. "Go grab my gun from the truck."

Phillip was glad that he had been asked to leave the room, worried about what might happen next. He opened the door and stepped out into the cold blowing snow. The door shut behind him and a few moments later, Phillip walked back into the house, his hair covered in snow. Phillip looked worried and confused.

"Give me the gun," Joseph said quickly.

"It's not out there," Phillip said worriedly. "I looked where you keep it, then all over, it was gone."

Joseph turned on the stranger, "Did you take it?"

The stranger smiled, "It is evidence, I could not allow you to keep the weapon."

A growl of frustration escaped Joseph's lips as he pulled back his fist to hit the stranger again, his fist connecting with the stranger's jaw. Blood flew onto the wall beside them, and he spit out another tooth. "Where is my gun?" he asked.

"Tell the children the truth, and I will tell you what I did with it," the stranger said calmly.

"You are not calling the shots here!" Joseph yelled in his face. He prepared to hit the stranger again, but the stranger caught his fist mid swing, and pushed him back.

The stranger sighed deeply. "If you will not tell them, I will." Joseph began to step forward, but the stranger stopped him with a glance. "Your mother did not leave without you."

Slowly, the boy lying on the floor sat up. "What do you mean?"

A frown spread across the stranger's face. "I am sorry Parker, but your mother is dead."

"But he said that she left, her car and her clothes were all gone," Parker said desperately.

The stranger shook his head, "She would not have left without you and Jaycee, she loved you more than anything else in this entire world."

"Did you know my mom?" Parker asked, tears in his eyes.

"I did not, but Kolanire knows whatever he desires to know," the stranger told him. "She packed her things, was ready to get your things while you two were at school, but Joseph here came home early." Lawrence was still moaning on the floor, but no one was paying him any attention. "He had these guys meet him here, he could not let her leave. To let her leave, to let her take you kids, would have been to show weakness." Fire was now burning behind the eyes of the stranger. "I won't tell you everything, but she tried to fight, she tried to survive. She wanted to get you two away from here, away from him."

"There was no way I would have let her go, she was mine, and she knew it," Joseph said. "She got what she deserved."

"No one deserves what your lot did to her," the stranger growled. "You are all disgusting pieces of filth, and I am here to ensure you are punished for your transgressions."

The hair on the back of Joseph's neck stood on end, his body's fear response activating at the way the stranger's eyes were burning into him. Carl and Barley had backed away from the man, but had grabbed objects as weapons, Carl holding a fire poker, Barley holding a floor lamp. Phillip had grabbed a hunting knife from a hutch that was by the table.

"You have no chance of making it out of here," Joseph told him mockingly. "The odds are in our favor."

"Put your words into practice you coward," the stranger snarled.