My Name is Stab

Epilogue - A Brand New Day

And as Deemo hung there, twitching and groaning, I did what I thought I would never do again.

I burst into tears.

Unsure about my reaction, Mike reached a tentative arm out towards me and, when I didn't resist, he pulled me into his shoulder.

For the first time, I could allow myself to mourn - properly mourn - the death - the cruel, senseless death and destruction - that this man had brought to my family and the sudden, brutal end of my childhood.

I don't know how long I cried but when, at last, I lifted my head, Deemo was dead and dawn was breaking. It was a beautiful, clear, sunny dawn - somehow fitting. We could hear birds singing and, in spite of the rancid stench from the corpses, the air had a crisp freshness.

Mike released me with one arm and we stood together for a while, looking out towards the rising sun. He still had an arm around me and he was rubbing my shoulder gently.

"These bastards," Mike said, aiming a kick towards Deemo's limp, dangling foot, "destroyed pretty much everything that was good and worthwhile from the first fourteen years of your life."

I nodded though I didn't have to. We both knew it was true.

"Now you have a decision to make."

I turned and looked at him... surprised and slightly puzzled.

"Are you going to allow them to destroy the rest of your life? Because that's what's going to happen unless you make a decision, here and now, that you're not going to let it. Believe me, I know all about that."

I thought about this for a while then turned to him and smiled. "No," I replied, "I'm not going to do that. Stab and Theo are starting to merge back together again... and, anyway, I've got a new little sister who I need to look after now."

We stood together for a while longer.

"And what about you?" I asked Mike. "Did you finally wear out 'The Beast' so that you can put him back in his cage for good?"

He looked at me and smiled. "You know, maybe I did," he replied. "At least until I need to let him out again. And then it will be a choice."

The sun was fully up now and we were just starting to feel its warming rays.

"So, Theodora," Mike said at last, "is it time to go home?"

"As soon as my little sister wakes up," Theodora agreed with a smile