It's up to Me to Make You Bleed

"You boys sure have been spending a lot of time in the basement lately,” Julianne noted when she saw all of us emerge from downstairs.

“What can I say,” I responded, “things just aren’t the same without poor Courtney around. Nothing seems fun anymore.” She bought that all too easily.

“That’s understandable…but what’s so exciting about the basement?” my dad asked.

“I guess just the privacy we have,” Brian shrugged.

“Fair enough. Actually speaking of the basement, I need to run down there real fast. I’ve been meaning to check the water heater down there. It seems like we never have hot water in this house!” he announced as he went downstairs.

I find it so amusing that he, being in the basement, would be oh so close to Courtney, and yet he’ll never know. Julianne continued with pointless small talk as she spooned some corn and tuna salad on our plates. Apparently with her daughter missing, she seems to have also lost the ability to cook tasty meals too.

*Normal POV*

A consistent dripping noise filled my ears and was slowly driving me crazy. I knew where the drips were coming from…the hole in my stomach/back, a loose pipe up in the ceiling, and probably a crack in the small window behind me.

In the approximate five minutes that have passed since they left, this whole experience feels different. I knew this room like the back of my hand now…which would make sense since I’m a prisoner in my own damn house. The room they had me in was always just empty. I’d only been in it once or twice since arriving here, and needless to say it wasn’t a very exciting room.

I was still semi-paralyzed on the floor, sprawled out, helpless, and bleeding. If I remember correctly, I don’t think that they locked the door upon leaving…probably assuming I wouldn’t be able to move. Well, hopefully they’re wrong. This is probably going to be my only chance to escape, and I’d be insane to pass something like that up. They’re going to be so screwed once I get upstairs and tell mom and Joe what they’ve done.

At first I tried using my arms to push myself up off the ground, but as soon as my body was lifted, blood – which seemed to come out of nowhere – squirted and splashed out of one of the stab wounds. It practically knocked the wind out of me and caused me to collapse, falling into my own collection of spilled blood. Clearly I need to stay low to the ground until I can find something that can cover the wounds without infecting them.

It was hard to search the room, seeing as there was a very minimal light supply. I remembered there being some boxes near the Christmas decorations back over in the other room. Now, if I could just crawl over there and – no, what am I thinking that could take hours. The only way to do this is to make a dash for it and hope I don’t lose too much in the process.

I kept one arm planted to the ground for support and used my free hand to attempt to cover the wound. In one swift motion, I forced myself up and gripped the skin around the wound, trying to keep it as closed as possible. I ran as quickly as my damaged body would let me and rummaged the other room in search of a cover.

Luckily, I found a couple of what looked like Jimmy’s old clothes from when he was younger. I shook the dust off of a small shirt and quickly used the long sleeves to tie it to my body. My hand was dyed red and already the oxygen in the air was blending with the blood on my hand, forming a crusted surface.

Once the wound was somewhat attended to, I searched around for a weapon of some sort. I grinned as I came across some of Joe’s old golf clubs. I grabbed the biggest looking one and rested it on my shoulder as I limped over to the exit.

Granted, I was just able to run a moment ago, but that totally wore my body down. As long as I have enough energy left in me to make it to the top of the stairs, or at least defend myself on the way there, that’s all that matters.

*Julianne’s POV*

Joe had been down in the basement now for at least ten minutes. If he doesn’t get up here soon, then his tuna will be cold. The boys scarfed down their food quickly and then went upstairs to Jimmy’s room.

Something just seems really off lately – and not just because of Courtney’s disappearance either. I knew that Jimmy hangs out with his friends a lot…but why has he only been hanging out with Brian and Matt? The three of them have been inseparable for nearly a week now, and the boys are always here.

My cell phone suddenly started viciously vibrating on the counter nearby. I saw that it was Suzie, Brian’s mother. “Hello?” I answered.

“Ah, I’m glad I got a hold of you, Julianne. Is it just me or are you keeping my son held hostage in your house?” she laughed.

“You know I was just thinking the same thing myself. Brian and Matt have slept here almost every night for the past week,” I replied, sitting back down at the table.

“What could they possibly be doing all the time?”

“I haven’t the slightest idea. They’re always either in Jimmy’s room or the basement. They claim it’s…it’s because of Courtney’s disappearance, but I think there’s something else behind it all.”

“Well, you know what they say – boys will be boys,” she chuckled.

“Speaking of that, Joe just wandered into the basement and has been down there for quite some time. I should probably go see what he’s up,” I said.

“Alright I’ll let you go then. Oh! By the way, could you send Brian home, at least for tonight? Tell him he has a family too.”

I smiled, “Alright I’ll let him know. Talk to you later, Suzie.”

Just as I was about to journey downstairs, Joe yelled up, “I’m almost done, sweetie. Just a few more things to look at!”

I smiled, thinking that he had practically read my mind. One thing’s for sure…he’s about ten times a better husband than my first one was.

*Normal POV*

It was incredibly hard to hear through these walls. I mean, if that door wouldn’t have been open earlier than I wouldn’t have heard my mom’s voice. Despite this fact, I heard movement on the other side of the wall and the muffled sound of a guy’s voice. It had to be one of those assholes. Lately, they’ve been the only ones down here. This was my chance to get revenge!

I tightly gripped the golf club, aiming it high above my head almost like a baseball bat. I shakily reached out and twisted the doorknob. The shadow was in range. I extended the club out of the door frame while still staying in the room itself. All of my fear, pain, and anger built up inside of me and was released with that first initial swing.

The hard club immediately made contact with his forehead and even seemed to pass through the skin. The blow knocked him down to the floor with a thud. I pulled the club back to find blood coating the top of it. Now I couldn’t be stopped.

Tears blurred my vision as I squinted my eyes shut and jumped out into the hallway mercilessly beating the man before me. I screamed as I brought the club down, presumably hitting his stomach, chest, and skull, repeatedly. He coughed and tried to speak, but I gave him no time to do so. Whoever he is, he doesn’t deserve to live after the hell I’ve been through these past couple days.

I focused mostly on the skull because I was almost positive that once that broke, he’d be guaranteed dead. I kept smashing through his skin and hit through the skull, almost having a hard time pulling the club out seeing as it was trapped between fragments of his head. I pushed it in and out, making contact with a squishy substance presumed to be his brain.

Blood splashed up on me, covering me (and the walls) from head to toe. Once he stopped trying to make noises in response to my actions, I willed myself to open my eyes and began to choke on my spit. The bloody mess before me wasn’t one of the guys.

My entire body trembled as the horror of my mistake began to settle in. Not knowing what to do, I slowly backed away from the barely recognizable human. I just killed someone. And it wasn’t just anyone…it was Joe, the closest person I’d ever had to a father.