What are the odds? To be in almost the same exact situation twice in one night. Unbelievable. We must run to the front door and get out of here. Mummy and Werewolf are already upstairs. It is going to take them a while to search upstairs. Gaging from their slow footsteps and the deaf noises they are making, they are taking their sweet time. This is my window! This is it!
I reach down and touch Natalie. Her little chocolate eyes stare back at me, wide and full of fear. I motion with my head towards the door and reach up and put one finger over my mouth. The Little Warrior understands, and she moves closer to me, but then she tugs on my arm. She is pointing towards Toby, and I know what she is asking. I cannot risk talking to her even if I think Ghost has passed out again.
His breathing has slowed down, and he is not moving on the bed anymore. But he might still be in a semi-conscious state, and he will sound the alarm to the others if he hears us underneath the bed. I press my lips tight and furrow my brow, and with one dry motion, I shake my head. 'No!' Her little chin quivers and her eyes swell up with tears. It dawns on her that we are leaving Toby behind. That reality is too much for her little mind to comprehend. I do not have time to deal with her emotions right now. Our time is up! I reach down, grab her from under her arms and pull her up towards me. I kiss her on the forehead and put a finger over her mouth. Tears are streaming down her cheeks, and she is fighting back sobs. We must get out of here. Her soft whimpering will soon turn into wails, and it will all be over.
I crawl from under the bed, my arm over Natalie's waist and I pull her out with me. Once my feet are out from underneath the bed, I stand up, I do not dare look back at Ghost, and I pick up Natalie and run like hell towards the door. My heart is pounding in my ears, Natalie buries her sobs in my shoulder, and I am praying to God nobody hears her. I'm almost there! Passing the living room, the front door is in my sight. I'm almost out!
A chilling, whimpering cry rips through the corridor. The familiar sound makes me stop dead in my tracks, and all the hairs from my neck stand up, and my skin prickles, and my jaw tenses. Although I know very well what is about to unfold, it still does not prepare me in time.
Toby has crawled from underneath the bed and, somehow, in his postictal state, senses the danger and his inability to protect us. There is nothing more left for him to do than to cry out in utter fear and pain. My daughter responds with a sickening sound herself and calls out his name. I freeze for just a few seconds. Unsure of what to do next. My heart is racing, my hands are clammy, and I have a hard time holding on to Natalie, who is writhing and reaching out for her beloved Toby.
I know what I must do. The logical thing is also the most inhumane. Every fiber of my being is screaming at me to get out. Yet, like a fool, I am hesitating. The weakest part of me would risk both our lives for that of an animal. I am not sure what sealed the decision. If it was my daughter's heart-wrenching cries or the hurried footsteps from upstairs running back our way. But stupid me puts my daughter down, clenches her small, sweaty hand and runs back into the house to grab Toby, who, at this point in time, I am convinced will be the death of us all.
I reach the room just in time to catch, from the corner of my eye, Werewolf's and Mummy's shadows coming down the stairs. All this noise must have woken up the semi-comatose Ghost who sees me and struggles to get out of bed. Crap! My half-assed plan was to let both Toby and Natalie go out through the window and buy them enough time so they could run screaming towards Julie's house.
Instead, I grab Toby and run towards the kitchen, and at the same time, Mummy and Werewolf are running towards the living room. Those few precious moments of confusion are enough for me to reach the back door and open it. I throw Toby on the black plastic sheet covering the sandlot we keep in the backyard for Natalie. He lands with a soft thud and a whimper but gets up and can walk. I push Natalie outside and close the door behind her. I only have enough time to yell at her to run, and the next thing I know, someone is pulling at me from behind. I throw my weight onto the door and manage to lock the damn thing, and grab onto the handle with both hands. This time, Natalie does not turn around and cry for her momma. The Little Warrior, finding courage in the presence of Toby, knows to run towards the corner of the yard. Where the wooden fence is broken and gives access directly to the few yards separating our house from Julie's.
I grab onto the doorknob, screaming like a madwoman while hands and arms are tugging at me from behind. I am amazed that I am holding on for so long, but a cold blade is soon pressed against my throat. I freeze, and Werewolf's mask appears right beside my head.
"You better let go, bitch, or I'll slit you from ear to ear," he breathes at me through his mask.
An image of me as a young girl being held down and choked flashes in my mind and destabilizes me for a second, but Werewolf's blade sinking into my skin just enough to draw a bit of blood brings me back.
Knowing my goal now is to buy Natalie some time, I refuse to listen. Only a few minutes. She only needs a few minutes to get to Julie's house. I can hold on for that long. But my sweaty hands slip on the round, metal surface of the doorknob, and I lose my grip. I fall over Mummy, pulling me from behind, and Werewolf opens the door and runs outside. My body goes cold, knowing he will chase Natalie down, and I push myself up, but Mummy holds on to my waist. I manage to turn around in a fit of rage and come nose to nose with this lightweight bastard. Our eyes lock, and all the anger evaporates from my body, like putting a hot pan under cold water. I recognize those icy blue eyes! I've seen them before! But where?
The confirmation that this set of eyes is familiar to me shocks and surprises me and makes me forget myself for a little while. I do not know if it is my puzzling stare or the fact I stopped fighting him, but he scurries away from under me, gets up and stares back at me with fixed, wide eyes. He is scared, but I do not know why. Maybe he thinks I recognized him. I want to question him, but my daughter's muffled screams bring me back to my desperate reality. She did not make it out of our yard. Werewolf must have caught up with her while she was trying to escape through the broken fence. I close my eyes and steel myself. This is not the end; it cannot be. Not for my daughter, at least. I promise.
Werewolf enters with Natalie in his arms. She is fighting back, kicking and screaming however she can. I look around for a weapon I can use. This is it! This is how it all ends. In a fight, in my kitchen, with these two low-lives. Fighting not for my sake but for my daughter's. I head towards the knife drawer, but strong arms grab me and rip my hand from the knob. It is Ghost.
I kick and scream myself, and all three of them scuffle out of the kitchen with my daughter and me in tow. They shove me into the hall closet and lock the door, then they bring Natalie to the living room once more.
But the Little Warrior will not be defeated, and she screams and kicks as hard as her little lungs will let her. I bang on the door and cry out myself. The chaos that ensues is terrible.
The door opens with a massive gust of wind, and Ghost charges me and presses his entire body against mine. He closes the door, crushing me against the back of the closet in almost complete darkness. I push back with all my might, but I am no match for this beast of a man. Just then, another image invades my mind of me fighting off big strong arms ripping away at my dress. The chaotic, frightening noises coming from Werewolf, Mummy and Natalie bring me back.
Outside, Mummy and Werewolf are in a panic. Natalie is fighting back with all the strength her little body can muster. She will not stop screaming. Beneath my fear, rage, and desperation to get out and get to her, a seed of pride blooms for my Little Warrior. But something soon overshadows that seed. They will hurt her! My worst fears are confirmed by the footsteps of someone running towards the kitchen and opening cabinets and drawers. Someone else enters the bathroom and opens cabinets and drawers there too. What are they doing? There, in that dark closet, being crushed and unable to breathe, preventing me from rescuing her, the answer comes in the worst way. The same footsteps that ran towards the kitchen and the bathroom are now hurrying back to the living room.
"Hold her! Hold her and open her goddamn mouth!" yells Werewolf.
The most sickening noise comes from my daughter, who coughs and gags and cries out. They are making her swallow something! They’re going to kill her! I have to get out! From the pit of my stomach, heat writhes its way up my body and reaches my cheeks and forehead. My heartbeat pounding on my chest and my temples, I push back with every fiber of strength I can muster, but this bastard won't budge. I manage to liberate my left arm pinned against my body and Ghost's and reach for a free hanger. I unbend the end of the hook, pulling it against the rod. In the darkness of the small space, Ghost is pinning me sideways with his large body. His right shoulder is pressing on my diaphragm, and he does not notice my movements until it is too late. The end of the hanger jams into his back, and his scream rips the darkness and sends shudders coursing through my body.
He backs away, opens the door, and reaches for the metal hanger sticking from his back. At first, I do not notice that Natalie's screams and cries have stopped in all this craziness. I grab another hanger, unbend it, and come out of the closet prepared to fight.
Mummy comes running towards Ghost and pulls the hanger from his back, making Ghost yell out in pain once more. He looks right at me and paces my way.
"You're a dead bitch!" he barks at me.
I back away a bit but stand my ground. I point the hanger towards him. Come at me, motherfucker, this one is going in your eye! At that moment, Mummy yells out, 'No!' in a clear, high-pitched voice, and the sound of that is like a ton of bricks falling over me. His icy blue eyes are wide open, and his hand is extended towards Ghost.
"Timmy?!" I call out in confusion.