In Bloom

Chapter 2: Elliot

At some point in the summer of 1975, a young waitress by the name of Sandra Sherman had become pregnant. This was a time in her life she would later refer to as her "looser years". The father of this unplanned child she was never too sure of. During these "looser years", there were a lot of whiskey fueled evenings and blurry faces. Faces she only half remembered with the clearest of mind states. Most of these men were just like her father. A father who would much rather use his fists than give a proper life lesson. No, not like her father. They were her father. Maybe just with a different face and more money. All of them shared the same traits. A winning smile, intimidating stature, and meaner than the devil himself. She only discovered the third part after a month or two when picking herself off the ground. That was only if they managed to stick around that long.

By the time her son was born, she had settled down. Marrying a gruff construction worker called George Morris. The freshly hitched Mrs. Morris had again, picked her father. Although, this one only beat her occasionally. The attacks mostly occurred during his many returns from Al's Lounge late at night. She did not dare make even the slightest mistakes during these drunken episodes. Somehow, his strength found her anyway. George had a son named Ronald from a previous marriage that joined them. A scrawny, quiet boy. Capping off their twisted Brady Bunch was the accidental infant, Elliot.

They had noticed Elliot's issues as early as age 2. He was always drawn to violence. This could have been from witnessing his mother being thrown around every other day. Though, no matter how utterly beastly George got, he never laid a hand on the boys. It also could have come from a deeper, much darker place. One that nobody could even begin to understand. It started off in small doses. Such as his fixation on the decaying animals left in the road or watching Sandra stitch up her newest wounds with great interest. These behaviors took a drastic turn on Elliot's 8th birthday. His Step Father had long been passed out and his mother was pre-occupied with the fear of him waking. Outside enjoying the new birthday toys were Elliot, Ronald, Terry Crone, and another kid they simply called "Froggy". Terry made the almost grave mistake of playing with Elliot's new Tonka truck without asking. Something vicious came over the boy. Like a black cloud that would remain for the rest of his natural life. Instead of telling his mother, he left the other boys. When he came back, in his hand was a large rock. He stood over Terry and bashed it into a tangle of thick red hair. Terry let out an ear piercing shriek that caused Froggy to start bawling. Ronald sprung up with his stringy body and ran for help. Elliot was not phased. Sitting down and happily playing with the toy truck while Terry bled. He acted like the brutality had not happened at all. Terry had a fractured skull they later found out. It was only because George worked with the boy's father that the police did not get involved. Elliot never told anyone, but he liked it. He liked how the rock felt in his palm. He liked watching the pain he created.

As he grew into a teenager, his body was naturally muscular. Most likely coming from his unknown Father's side. Like many boys with homes like his, he took out the insecurities on weaker classmates. This gave him an iron clad reputation of being the kid nobody wanted to fuck with. The brave ones, or stupid as most thought, ended up with broken noses or black eyes. Elliot did not considered himself a loving person unless it came to Ronald. That was only because Ronald never questioned him. Ronald never questioned anyone due to his almost silent nature. The two had grown incredibly close over the years. Elliot was one of the rare few that Ronald felt comfortable around. He was a few years older than Elliot, but little brother ended up defending big brother most of the time. He was considered a gentle giant and somewhat of an easy target by others. This led to dozens of fights between a pre-teen Elliot Morris and boys much bigger than him. In the right light he might be mistaken for the same age. There was no doubt he could fight like them.

By age 16, his strength had increased to nearly equal a grown man. His cruelness had followed at the same rate. Now expelled for nearly beating a boy to death, Elliot was sent to Mortville Juvenile Detention Center. During his 2 year stay he had become less of a human and more of a monster. When his release finally came, he was unrecognizable. Several tattoos had replaced pale patches of skin. Scars covered his arms and most of his chest. They had been from the multiple gang fights he started and participated in. His body became grotesquely muscular. Veins were visibly popping out from various places. Above his horrid black eyes sat a freshly buzzed scalp where curly black hair used to be. This was not the son of Sandra Morris anymore, but a creature that made its home inside of him. A creature that craved destruction.

During Elliot's first week home, George had suffered a fatal heart attack. A '"well deserved" one according to his mother. Of course she did not dare say this to Ronald. He was always a bit odd to her. A little too fragile, but she loved him anyway. Elliot had been forced to get a job at the local Slaughter House to avoid anymore trouble. Though, he hoped for more. There, he met a large man who particularly disliked him. This man was Gerald Thomas. For the first time, Gerald did not despise someone for being white. He couldn't stand the boy because of the unnerving presence given off when near by. Knowing damn well he could hurt him if it came to it. Still, Gerald refused to look directly into Elliot's eyes. The sheer emptiness of his gaze could send arctic chills down anyone's spine. To much of the man's dismay, his own son had become friends with the black eyed thing. He figured it had been through their mutual hate for authority.

After quitting his job, Elliot took a liking to Vance after spending more time with him. Finding they shared countless interests such as heavy metal and horror movies. Ronald silently tagged along as they tore across the quiet town of St. Henson with their anarchist actions. Vance loved watching Elliot fight. It was free entertainment and also satisfied his own appetite for violence. Greg Pine, another unfortunate victim of Elliot Morris, had a girlfriend Called Andie. Her real name was Andrea, but that sounded too proper for her liking. They instantly became drawn to each other. Something about the way he just didn't give a shit attracted her. The four of them all became a little gang of their own. Parading around together and terrorizing the town as they did, but nothing lasts forever.