Salvation

Departure

Jeremy ran his hands frantically over the covers, hoping that maybe the moth-bitten cloth could have somehow concealed the full shape of a body.

"Issac," He whispered, growing frantic. "Isaac. Isaac James!"

He finally built up to a soft yell in desperation.

"Jeremy, what is it?" His father asked sleepily, rousing from his slumber on the floor. Lilly followed in confusion shortly after.

"It's Isaac," Jeremy whispered. "Isaac left the room."

"Fuck," Lilly murmured, mirroring Jeremy's dismay. "Do you think that she found him?"

"I can hear water running," Daniel announced, wasting no time in pulling himself up to his feet and shaking the sleep from his limbs. "Either he snuck out under its cover, or he's doing the dumbest thing possible and letting her know he got up out of bed."

"We have to find him," Jeremy said, stating the obvious.

Lilly was already bounding over to the door.

"Wait," Daniel told her, grabbing ahold of her arm.

"Like fuck I'm going to wait," She jabbed at him, trying to yank her limb free. "My baby is breaking the rules in some sick woman's house, and who knows what she'll do when she finds him? I will not wait to find out."

"Just listen," Daniel said, pulling her into a hug. "I want you to take Jeremy and get the hell out of here. I'll go find Isaac, face the witch, and then be right outside after."

"But...," Lilly started protesting, eyes leaking fat, mournful tears.

"Just go," Daniel ordered, and Lilly dutifully obeyed.

Jeremy snuck down the stairs with his mother, treading as lightly as possible as they made their way to the door. They were both quite surprised to find it not even bolted. It was like the woman welcomed unwanted guests and mad thieves.

It took all of Lilly's willpower to open the entrance and cross over to the other side. She held on to Jeremy's hand like a lifeline.

Behind them, Daniel rounded a corner and inched down the hall towards the commotion. He jumped at the sight of the old man still seated at the worn dining table.

The geriatric male was bathed in pale yellow lamplight, and his vacant eyes slowly settled on the form in the doorway. Daniel had no time to gather his bearings before it happened. The demented old man started to moan.

He spun around quick and made to book it, chasing the sound of the bath. He didn't make it far before the water shut off, and the demon lurched out of a doorway before him.

"WHAT ARE YOU OUT OF BED FOR!?" She screamed, waving a knife around in the air. It was too dark in the hall for Daniel to notice, but blood speckled its half-rusted blade. "I DON'T APPRECIATE MY GUESTS WANDERING AROUND MY HOME AFTER DARK."

Daniel stammered out explanations, backing away from the rapidly encroaching mass.

"I'm just trying to find my son," He started. "We don't mean anything. He's only six years old. If you just tell me if you've seen my son I'll take him, and we'll leave. We'll get out of your hair."

"You know I can't let you do that, deary," She cawed, advancing on him very quickly.

The old man's moans grew louder and louder, reaching a crescendo as Daniel ducked back into the room. He had no time to think about it before he was grabbing one of the chairs and drawing it back through the air.

The elderly man wailed as Daniel swung the old furniture. It connected with the old woman's skull and filled the room with a sickening crack.

She grabbed at her shattered cheekbone, hand shaking, before losing her balance altogether and falling on to the floor. Her moans matched her husband's in harmony as she struggled her hardest to stand.

Daniel quickly swiped the knife from her reach and departed them, the wails following him into the bath.

He skidded on to the tiles, and immediately started to heave. The stench coming from the room was like no other. It assaulted his nostrils in every sense of the word.

In messy piles on the floor all around him sat bone after bone after bone. His brain processed this all in slow motion. There were skulls, legs and jaw bones, lumps of discarded intestine, and pools of dark, rotting blood. He emptied whatever was left of his stomach's contents into the blood-crusted sink.

In the area surrounding the toilet sat more rusted knives, and a large cutting board was perched on the seat. Slice after slice of old meat adorned it.

He didn't want to believe what he saw.

He was shaking and dry-heaving as he fixed his gaze on the tub. Every now and again the cacophony in the air was punctuated by a drip from the faucet. He fought the urge to close his eyes as he approached the antique claw foot.

The grief crashed over him like a tsunami when he finally peered over its ledge.

His youngest son lay inside it, submerged in water colored dark crimson with blood. He could just make out the slashes cut into several main arteries, and swatted at a fly that had perched itself on the small, open lip.

He wailed over the sounds of the couple, matching their calls in some sort of demented chorus of Hell. His feet carried him almost autonomously out of the house towards his family.

He was still wailing when he met up with them, grabbing their hands and pulling them forward, body screaming to get them away from the scene. Lilly begged him for some explanation, wondering loudly where her child had gone. Daniel simply pushed on, dragging her with all of his strength.

He led them into an alley after twenty some minutes, and dropped to the ground with a groan. His shoulders shook as the sobs wracked his body, and both in his company understood what this meant.

Lilly was but a shell of herself, grief so overwhelming she could no longer muster up tears. Jeremy shook but tried to remain strong like his father always had been, eager to protect his parents for once.

But something had been bothering him since they'd left. He knew he had to question his father if the mystery were ever to be put down to rest.

"Dad," He whispered in the faint light of morning.

"Hm?" His father groaned, not lifting his face out of his hands.

Jeremy swallowed the lump in his throat and gathered every bit of remaining courage before he continued. Finally, he spoke his worst thought out loud.

"It was human meat that we ate there, wasn't it?"

And Daniel greeted the sunrise with a scream.