Chapter 20
Rachel clasped the rope and scratched at it, digging her nails in and trying to free herself, but it was no use.
Todd was standing at the opposite side of the room.
“Hi there, honey, shall we start our new life together now?”
“You sick bastard! Where’s my son? Where is he?”
He walked up to her, hoping to soothe her with loving words.
“Ssh, honey, don’t worry your sweet little mind. They’re gone now, just forget about them, all that matters now is that the two of us can be together.” He stroked her face with his cold, bloodied hands.
Rachel jerked her head away from him.
“Get away from me…”
His face registered shock, then sadness at her words of rejection. He paced the room, wondering what he should do next with the time he had.
‘Now what shall I do? Of course… there’s only one thing left…’
As Rachel watched his steps, up and down the room, she scrabbled again at the rope and felt it give, it was almost there, just a few more turns and she could be free.
But he saw her trying to escape, and pulled out the knife.
“You’re not leaving me, Rachel.” He approached her, intending to hold the knife to her throat but she startled him by jumping up and darting past him, making for the basement.
“You bitch. Get back here!”
Although quite lame, she made it down to the basement and managed to shut the door behind her, but wasn’t lucky enough to lock it. She fiercely held on to the door handle as Todd attempted to turn it from the other side. From the corner of her eye she could see her husband and son lying there at the bottom of the stairs.
‘Shit, what the fuck do I do now? I must see if they’re okay.’
The door was now under attack from a constant battering and she could feel what little strength she had left diminishing. She couldn’t hold on any longer and let go, half running, half falling down the stairs, where Jack lay next to his dad.
“Jack… Jack! Wake up!”
There was no response, not even the flicker of an eyelash. Suddenly, the door opened. She spun round; it was him again. She couldn’t escape him down here… there was no getting out of this now.
“You hurt me bad, Rachel and now all I want to do is hurt you back. That’s fair, isn’t it? ISN’T IT?”
She trembled with fear as he raised his voice, too scared even to speak.
‘Please don’t kill me…’
“I don’t wanna hurt you too much though, Rachel…just a little bit, huh?” Speaking softly now, he came up close and stood in front of her. He pushed her down to the floor, whispering into her ear, “I won’t hurt you much.”
Kneeling beside her, he held the blade to her upper arm, travelling upwards, stopping at her neck, very close to the carotid artery.
“Todd… I’ll do anything… please, just don’t kill me!” She was pleading now, begging for her life.
He stared into her eyes, applying pressure to the knife blade, scratching the skin below her jaw.
Rachel had seen the evil in his staring eyes; she knew he was going to kill her and there was nothing she could do to stop him. Then, to her surprise, she saw Jack move. His leg twitched and then he opened his eyes, taking in the horrific scene before him. If he wanted to try and save his mom, it was now or never.
Jack wanted to scream, to say something, but his instinct told him not to. He could see this horrible man, this evil thing hurting his mommy. He couldn’t sit there any longer without doing something about it.
Keeping low to the floor, he crawled up behind him slowly and quietly. His eyes focused on a broken bottle just to the side of him and he reached out for it, his fingers closing around its neck. Slowly, inch by inch, he drew level with Todd whose face was turned towards Rachel. Seizing the moment and with immense courage, he raised the bottle and smashed the jagged end of it into Todd’s neck with all the strength he could muster, closing his eyes before it made contact. He had seen enough bad things today; he didn’t really want to witness his own attack on the man as well.
Jack’s aim had been more random than measured but it seemed he had hit the crucial spot. Todd screamed like a wild animal caught in a gin trap and that was probably how he felt. Then, nothing. Silence.
As Jack opened his eyes he could see the man lying on the floor. A pool of blood around his head seemed to grow bigger as he watched. He dropped the bottle and screamed with terror; he hadn’t wanted anyone to get hurt, but it was the only way, and he had to save his mom.
The man’s legs and arms twitched and he began to whimper, cursing Marc, Rachel, even himself… but most of all the demon within him.
Rachel looked down at him soulfully as she fingered the cuts to her face and neck. The scars would be a permanent reminder of what had happened here.
“Marc?”
Jack turned his head and saw his dad lying motionless, but peaceful.
‘Please, god, let him be alive...’
Rachel pressed two fingers against Marc’s neck, in the very same place where Todd had held the knife against her own neck earlier and where Jack had just plunged the jagged bottle into Todd. She waited for several seconds. There was no pulse.
Jack looked up at her, a question in his eyes. One day, when she felt strong again, she would answer that question as honestly as she could. She took his hand in hers.
“It’s over now, Jack.”
And it was.
© Felicity Marsh 2011
