Can't Keep Suffering

Warning, this chapter is fairly graphic. If you have trouble with torture, skip this chapter.

“Mom! Eli’s pulling on my hair again!”

Sabrina Irving was cooking breakfast for her two children, Eli and Jasmine.

“Eli, stop picking on your sister.”

“But mom!” the eight year old complained. “She started it!”

“Nuh uh!” the five-year old Jasmine whined in return.

Sabrina turned around, freshly made pancakes in her hands. “Both of you, enough, and eat your breakfast.”

Both children became silent as the were served pancakes, eggs, and bacon.

“Thank you, Mommy!” Jasmine chimed, smiling brightly up at Sabrina.

“Thanks, Mom!”

Smiling back at her children, Sabrina leaned over and placed a kiss on her daughter’s forehead. “You’re welcome, baby.”

Saturday mornings were Sabrina’s favorite. She didn’t have to worry about teaching, her children didn’t have school, and her husband worked half-days.

“Mommy?” Jasmine asked, looking up. “Are we still going on that picnic tonight with Daddy?”

“Of course, honey,” she responded, bringing some dirty dishes to the sink.

“Can we bring Stan with us? ” Eli added excitedly, looking from his mother to the golden retriever puppy wagging his tail by his feet. “I think he wants to come with us!”

Sabrina chuckled and ruffled her son’s hair. “I’m sure Stan would love to come with. I’ll ask your father when he comes home from work.”

The ring of the doorbell grabbed Sabrina’s attention from her children and the dishes. “I’ll be right back. You two behave yourselves.”

“Yes, Mommy,” the two chimed together as they continued to eat their breakfast.

Sabrina opened the door to see a young girl in a Girl Scout’s uniform and a clipboard. She had shorter brown hair and a beaming white smile.

“Good morning, ma’am,” she said happily. “My name is Carolyn and I’m a Girl Scout Senior. I’m going door-to-door selling cookies. Would you be interested in buying any?”

“Is it Girl Scout cookie season already?” Sabrina asked.

Carolyn laughed and fidgeted slightly. “Oh no, not yet. I’m just trying to get some early orders ready to go. The Scout that sells the most cookies gets a free trip.”

Sabrina nodded. “Ah ha, I see,” she replied. “Well, normally, I’d love to help, but I buy cookies from my coworker’s daughter every year to help her out. I’m sorry.”

Carolyn nodded. “Understood, ma’am. Can I just take down your name so I don’t accidently come bug you again?”

“Sure,” Sabrina responded. “Sabrina Irving.”

“Irving?” Carolyn asked, looking up from her clipboard. “Do you know a Matthew or Josh Irving?”

Sabrina nodded again and smiled. “Yes I do, actually. Matthew is my husband and Josh is my nephew-in-law.”

“Oh how neat!” she exclaimed. “I know Josh and Matthew fairly well.”

“What a small world,” Sabrina said, still smiling. “How do you know them?”

Carolyn shrugged. “Family friends,” she responded quickly. “Anyway, have a nice rest of your day. By the way, say hi to your husband for me.”

Before Sabrina got a chance to say goodbye, let alone anything else, the Girl Scout spun around and marched off the front stoop. Sabrina stood there for a minute, puzzled by the encounter she just had. The longer she stood there, the more suspicious she felt. She quickly backed into the house and shuffled just as quickly into the living room where she peered out the window. Carolyn was walking down the street, ignoring the other houses on the block.

Sabrina, feeling even more suspicious, bolted to the kitchen and grabbed the phone off the receiver.

“Mommy?” Jasmine asked, making Sabrina jump. “What’s wrong?”

Sabrina turned around and looked at both her children. The were both wide-eyed, staring at her with puzzled faces.

“Oh,” Sabrina said quietly, looking at the phone in her hands. “I just need to talk to Daddy really quick.”

Eli was the first to let it go, but Jasmine, as usual, didn’t seem convinced. “Why, Mommy?”

Sabrina didn’t want to worry her kids. What was she supposed to say?

“Someone just tried to sell us some Girl Scout cookies is all. I wanted to know what kind he wants.”

“Oh,” Jasmine said quietly. “Okay!”

Then, Jasmine joined her brother in breakfast, carrying on with her usual routine.

Sabrina looked back down at the phone in her hands and just set it back on the reciever, knowing full well that it would be better to wait until her husband came home.

A couple hours later, Sabrina was sitting on the living room couch, staring out the window, and waiting for Matthew as her children played with Stan together.

Then, a sleek black car pulled into the driveway hastily, not even bothering to pull into the garage. It was Matthew who bolted out of the driver’s seat door, rushing into the house as the sun set in the distance.

“Sabrina?” Matthew called out into the house.

The red-head jumped up from her place on the couch and practically ran over to her husband. “Matt?”

“Oh thank god!” he breathed out, relieved to see his wife unharmed. He pulled her into a hug and gave another sigh. “Are you okay? Are the kids safe?”

“Matthew, I need-” Sabrina stopped mid-sentence and looked at her husband. “Wait, what’s going on?”

“Look, Sabrina, there was a threat directed at me today. I don’t have time to explain fully, but we’ve gotta go, okay? We can’t stay here. We have to leave and we have to leave now.”

“Matt, what are you talking about? What’s going-”

“There’s no time to explain. Whoever this is knows who I am and what I do. The threat said that I needed to stop the program.”

Sabrina felt her stomach churn and her heart sink. Her voice dropped to a raspy whisper. “You mean they know about the Avengers Initiative?”

Matthew nodded. “Nobody outside of SHIELD knows about this program. Which makes me, and the rest of SHIELD, take this threat seriously. We need to move out of the state. Hell, maybe even the country.”

“Daddy?” Eli called out, coming into the front entryway with Jasmine close on his heels. “I thought we were going on a picnic?”

Matthew quickly straightened up, but relaxed ever so slightly. “I know that I promised we would, but I had to work late tonight. So we’re going to go on a vacation instead.”

“Really?” the eight-year-old exclaimed excitedly. “Where are we going?”

“On a road trip,” Matthew responded. “We’re just gonna keep driving until we decide where we wanna go.”

“Cool!”

“Yeah, I thought you’d say that, bud,” Matthew said with a forced smile as he ruffled his son’s hair. “Why don’t you and your sister go pack a couple bags, okay?”

“What about school?” Jasmine asked, cocking her head to the side and letting her brown hair fall to one side in a sheet.

Sabrina quickly spoke up. “I’ve already talked to them,” she lied. “You don’t have to worry about school for a while.”

“Awesome!” Eli shouted as he bolted up the stairs to his room with Jasmine close on his heels.

Sabrina then turned to Matthew, a look of panic on her face. “Matthew, I’m scared. What are we supposed to do? What am I supposed to say to the kids when they find out that we’re not coming back? How am I supposed to tell them that they will never see their grandparents again?”

“Shh,” Matthew said quietly as he pulled his wife into a hug. “It’ll be okay. I promise.”

“We’re going to have to change our names. I’m going to have to quit my job.”

“It’ll be okay,” he repeated, kissing the top of her head. “Nobody knows we’re leaving. Nobody’s been here today, right?”

Sabrina’s eyes shot open, remembering the Girl Scout from earlier. “Shit!” she shouted a little too loudly.

“What? What is it?” Matthew asked, looking concerned.

“There was a little girl here earlier. She was dressed as a Girl Scout and was trying to sell me cookies, but it’s not the season yet. She didn’t even stop at any of the other houses and Matthew,” she continued, barely taking a pause for a breath. “She said she knew you and Josh.”

Matthew’s arms fell slack at his sides and his heart froze dead in his chest. Both he and his nephew worked for SHIELD in the science department, but on completely different projects. “Did she say how she knew us?”

Sabrina shook her head. “She said ‘family friend,’ then took off before I could even thank her for stopping by.”

Before Matt could respond, a scream from upstairs made him spring into action. “Eli?! Jasmine?!” he shouted as he ran up to their rooms.

Sabrina followed him close behind, crying slightly in fear. “Oh god, Eli? Jasmine?!”

Eli’s room was empty, but the two parents found both of the children in Jasmine’s room with the Girl Scout, Carolyn. She was out of her Girl Scout uniform and in plain black clothes, pointing a gun at the young girl’s head and holding the eight-year-old boy by his throat.

“Drop your gun!” she barked at Matthew. “Drop it and kick it over to me. Now!”

“Oh god!” Sabrina sobbed, seeing both her children in terrible danger. “Oh god!”

“DO IT!!”

Matthew slowly put his hands up and knelt down to the floor. “Okay, I’m doing it,” he said slowly and quietly as he lowered his gun to the ground. “I’m putting my gun on the floor. Just...don’t hurt them, okay? Don’t hurt my kids.”

“Daddy?” Jasmine asked through sobs. “Daddy, I’m scared.”

Matthew pushed his gun over to the threat. “It’s gonna be okay, sweetie. I promise. You’re gonna be okay.”

Carolyn used the hand on Eli to quickly grab the other gun and point it back at the young boy’s head. “Now all of you go down to the kitchen.” When neither of the parents moved, she pushed the guns harder against the skulls of both the children. “Now!”

“Okay!” Matthew exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. “Just don’t hurt Jasmine or Eli.”

“Oh god,” Sabrina sobbed again, putting her hands up like her husband.

The five of them moved down the stairs and into the kitchen. Carolyn threw a giant pile of ropes out of the green pack on her back. “Tie them up,” she barked at Matthew. “Tie up your wife and your kids, now.”

“Where?” he asked, looking around. “Why?”

“Pull out the chairs,” she said calmly, like she had done this a million times. “And don’t ask anymore questions, or I’ll shoot one of your precious little spawns.”

“Mama?” Eli asked through his tears as the gun continued to push against his temple. “Daddy?”

“It’s gonna be okay, baby,” Sabrina said as she pulled out two chairs and sat in one of them. “It’s gonna be okay.”

“Mama, I’m scared.”

“Listen to your mom, Eli,” Matthew said as he too pulled out two chairs. “You’re gonna okay, bud.”

Carolyn walked the two children over to the wooden chair and continued to hold them at gunpoint until everyone but Matthew had been tied up. The young girl then tied up the man of the house tighter than the rest and set down the two guns.

“Now comes the fun part,” she said with an evil grin spreading across her face.

“What fun part?” Jasmine asked, looking frantically between all her family members.

“I’m glad you asked,” Carolyn said in a cheery tone as she pulled out a large, gleaming knife out of her bag. She walked over to the five-year-old and put the knife under her chin. “I’m gonna make sure your daddy’s bosses never finish the Avengers Initiative.”

“You stay away from her!” Matthew shouted. “Don’t you fucking touch her!”

Carolyn spun around and glared at Matthew. “What did you say to me?”

“Stay. Away. From. Her.”

Carolyn chuckled and played with the knife, taunting and teasing at the sharp edge. “If you insist. I’ll leave her till the end.”

With that, she walked over to Eli nonchalantly and shoved the knife into the young boy’s leg just above the knee.

As he screamed out in pain, Sabrina screamed out for her son.

Another evil grin spread across the 14-year-old’s face as she twisted the knife, listening gleefully to the grinding and snapping in the leg mixing in with the screams and cries of everyone else in the room.

Then, Stan came bounding into the room, barking at the person causing his boy pain.

“Aw, what a cute puppy!” Carolyn cooed. Leaving the twisted knife in the eight-year-old’s leg, she walked back over to her bag and rustled through it until she found an even more menacing looking filet knife. “Come here, pooch-y poo.”

She grabbed the puppy by the scruff of the neck and lifted him up to eye-level.

“Don’t hurt Stan!” Jasmine shouted, tears streaming down her face.

“Aw, his name is Stan? How precious!” Carolyn yanked off the collar, causing the puppy to yip in pain.

“Stop it!” she shouted, still crying. “Don’t hurt him!”

“What do you mean?” Carolyn asked Jasmine, a look of false confusion on her face. “Like this?” she asked as she pulled the filet knife up the dog’s back, taking with it fur and skin.

The puppy yelped over and over in pain and tried to scramble out of the teen’s grasp.

“No!” she shouted, trying to break free of her bonds.

Carolyn continued to skin Stan, looking like she was enjoying herself. Eventually, Stan stopped crying out and struggling. This didn’t stop Carolyn. She continued until the dog was completely bare and threw the corpse on the hardwood floor.

Carolyn gave a sigh and wiped the blood on Sabrina’s jeans. “Now didn’t that make you feel better?”

Eli had passed out from blood loss about ten minutes ago and Jasmine was in too much of a sobbing fit to answer.

“You’re a fucking monster!” Matthew shouted.

“Hm, interesting that you should say that. What else do you think? Do you think your wife or your son should be next to go? Or should I do a little bit of work on your daughter?”

“Don’t you fucking touch either one of them!”

“Oh I’m sorry, did you say you wanted me to give your wife a face lift? I don’t think she needs it, but if you insist, I’d be happy to oblige. I mean, they’re all the rage these days.”

“No! Please, don’t!” Matthew begged. “God no, please!”

“Then who would you rather I work on?”

Matthew felt like he was going to throw up. “Me,” he managed to choke out. “Please. Just don’t hurt them anymore.”

“Matthew, no,” Sabrina said, tears streaming down her face. “Please don’t do this.”

“Oh no, let him,” Carolyn said as she lightly stroked the filet knife across his cheek. “He wants this. So let him.”

Jasmine sealed her eyes shut and continued crying. Her eyes flew open as her face was pinched painfully.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she sneered. “You have to watch, sweetheart. This is important.”

The rest went by in a blur. Matthew didn’t stand a chance and Eli was dead before Carolyn could return to his torture. All that was left was Sabrina, bloody and bruised, and Jasmine who still remained untouched.

“Okay, carrot top,” Carolyn spat. “Say goodbye!”

“Mommy!” Jasmine shouted, throat sore and swelling from all the crying and shouting.

“It’s gonna be okay, Jazzy,” she rasped, blood pouring down her face and right eye swelled shut. “Mommy, Daddy, Eli, and Stan are all going to a better place. We’re going to go to Heaven.”

“Don’t leave me alone, Mommy,” she whimpered through her tears. “Don’t leave me.”

“Jasmine, you’re so strong,” she said through her tears. “I know you’ll be okay, sweetie. And know that I love you so much, okay? I love you, Jazzy.”

“Mama!”

Carolyn pulled the knife from Eli’s leg across her throat, a giant gash spreading across the skin and letting blood pool out.

Jasmine screamed and let sobs rack through her. “Mama!”

Carolyn, smirk still on her face, dropped the knife and went back to her bag. She pulled out a jug of gasoline and poured it over the dead bodies of the family, the stove top, the table, and the hardwood floors.

Jasmine’s cries finally caught the teen’s attention. “Oh, I almost forgot about you,” she cooed, kneeling down to the five-year-old’s level. The look of the little girl stirred something inside Carolyn. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you,” she admitted. “I don’t know if I can kill you like I killed them.”

Jasmine was out of tears, but sobs still bubbled up from her chest.

“I’ll let the fire take you,” she said with a conviction that made the matter seem final. She pulled out a Zippo lighter, lit it, and threw it to the ground. “I’ll see you in Hell.”

With that, the teen was gone. She had gathered her things and disappeared into the night.

Jasmine’s wrists and hands were slick with blood from struggling against the ropes and the chair. It took a few minutes, but the five year old managed to slip her hands out of her bonds and untie the rest of the ropes. She remember from school that she had to stay low and if she caught on fire, she was supposed to stop, drop, and roll. Once she made it out of the burning house, lungs full of smoke and eyes stinging, she just kept going, determined to get as far away from the nightmare as she possibly could.