The Babysitter

Hope is lost

Tiffany began to squeeze harder on Sander's neck making him gasp for air. Her smile vanished and her face contorted from just a creepy smile to pure anger.

"If you try to run away again, I swear to fucking Lucifer that I will break every bone in your tiny body!" The monster roared.

Sander could only make little noises as he tried to breathe air into his lungs. His vision blurred again from tears and he clawed at Tiffany's hand around his neck.

"Don't kill him you idiot!" Skylar yelled at Tiffany and smacked the back of her head.

Tiffany loosened her grip but still held Sander with one hand.
Damien walked up and grabbed Sander from Tiffany, putting him over his shoulder.

"Thank you Damien," Tiffany said smiling at Damien. She then turned around and scratched Skylar across the face, catching him off guard.

"Don't you ever talk that way to me again." Tiffany ordered.

Skylar now holding his cheek in pain and disbelief just nodded at Tiffany. He checked his hand and it was covered in blood. The wound on his cheek was surprisingly deep and was gushing out blood, making the liquid drip onto his clothes.
The rest of the group said nothing. They already knew who was in charge and knew he stepped out of line.

"Well, are we doing this or not?" Blaire said impatiently.

"Blaire's right, we've wasted enough time. Let's go," Tiffany ordered once again.

Damien went up the stairs first, holding the boy that was robbed of joy. The rest followed, eager to finish what they started.

The group returned to the living room and re lit the candles that they had to blow out. Sander was dangling over Damien's shoulder basically limp. He wasn't screaming or struggling like before. He tried his best but his best efforts weren't good enough. He was going to die and there was nothing he could do about it.
Sander began to think about death, how the idea of it always terrified him. He's seen sad movies where people die, they always made him cry. Thinking about death only led Sander to start thinking about life though.
He thought about how he planned to make his parent's proud. How he wanted to research dinosaurs or be a race car driver. Whichever one he chose, he always planned he was going to be the best at it. He began to think of his hopes and dreams in life that were about to cease to exist.
Now he began to cry but not loud. He was silently crying, a cry of pure pain but not physical. This pain came from inside his soul. The pain gripped his heart with a stone cold hand and made his stomach swirl. He didn't want to die. He was too young, he had so much he wanted to do.
He wanted his mom. He wanted his dad.
He wanted to live.
But he couldn't. He couldn't escape.
And he was going to die without even knowing why.
Sander has lost all hope.