Edge of Blackest Night

I awoke to pain. I was lying on the hard bed, no longer tied to the bedposts, but my ankles and wrists were still bound. My skin beneath the ropes was raw and bloody. Teddy had burned the bottom of my other foot with the brand, and then stabbed a box cutter into my shoulders before Robert dragged me onto the floor and kicked me until I felt ribs crack. He stared down at me the whole time, hatred simmering in his eyes. He told me I was a bad influence on Remi; that I was a worthless whore standing in the way of him and my sister. He spat the words at me. I halfway expected them to pierce my skin like poisonous barbs. Teddy finally shooed him away impatiently, grabbing me by my hair and dragging me across the cold concrete floor. There was an old clawfoot tub shoved into the corner of the basement, filled with water.

My body was throbbing with pain. Teddy had not done major damage to my shoulders, but the bodice of my dress was splattered with blood and moving was agony. But the sight of that tub had sent me into a primal sort of panic, and I thrashed and squirmed and screamed, although my voice was hoarse. It was no use. Teddy dragged me up onto my knees, shoving my face into the water. Just when I thought my lungs would burst, he pulled me out again. I gasped and greedily sucked in air. Mid-gulp, he shoved my head under the water again. I choked and jerked wildly. I was sure I could hear Teddy laughing above me. This continued for a few moments, until I was almost tempted to just suck water into my body and let myself drown, just to make it all stop.

Teddy finally pulled my face out of the water and kept it out. I was lightheaded and disoriented. Teddy picked me up this time, carrying me back to the bed cradled against his chest like a child. Repulsed, I squirmed, trying to distance myself from him.

"You're doing even better than I thought you would," Teddy said, his voice full of pride as he placed me back onto the bed.

"Why are you doing this?" I wanted it to be an indignant demand, but it came out like a whisper.

"Just kill her and get it over with already," Robert growled from where he lurked in the corner.

"No," Teddy said sharply. "Not yet."

"What is so special about her?" Robert asked, sounding annoyed.

"She's like the first," Teddy said, reaching out to touch my cheek. I turned my face away.

"This one is a survivor, a fighter," Teddy went on. "Just like she was. She even looks like her."

"I don't think she looks like Aunt Carrie," Robert scoffed, and Teddy whirled on him. "Don't question me, boy." The two glared at each other for a moment, then Robert turned and stomped up the stairs.

"You killed your own sister?" I said.

"Step sister," Teddy replied, nodding. "She was my first. She was always back talking my father. He was a bit of a bastard, you know. Drank too much, like he was expecting to find some kind of prize at the bottom of a bottle. Carrie always fought back when he put hands on her. She was strong, like you. But I accomplished what my father never could; she wasn't strong enough to stop me. None of them have been strong enough for that."

"I will be." He smiled and patted me on the head, then left the room. Exhausted and drained, I had finally been consumed by darkness. But now I was awake again. And I felt like one giant bruise. Moving hurt, breathing hurt, even thinking hurt. But I would not stay in this room, waiting for Teddy or Robert to come back and kill me. I rolled across the mattress, hitting the floor and whimpering. I was cold, especially since my hair and dress were still damp. I lay there for several minutes, shivering and fighting against the gray dots that danced at the edges of my vision. Then I started to crawl. I wriggled like some deformed snake across the floor. It was slow going, and soon tears stained my face and the whimper was a constant sound in the back of my throat.

My eyes had adjusted to the dimness, and I could make out the silhouette of a work bench across the room. That was my destination. Teddy's various assortment of torture instruments were on that work bench. If I could get my hands on that box cutter...

My shoulder banged the leg of the bench and I flinched. I lay there gasping and choking on sobs.

"Come on, Riley," I said through gritted teeth. "You're not out of the woods yet." A hysterical laugh bubbled up in my throat at that. Out of the woods. Yeah. If I didn't get out of those damn ropes I would never be out of the woods again. The woods would become my grave. Wrestling my stiff, bound limbs into a sitting position, I put my back against the work bench, took a deep breath, and started banging my back against the bench. Fresh waves of pain wracked me, and I could almost feel some part of my brain screaming at me to stop. But I kept shaking the work bench until I started hearing things clatter to the floor. I twisted, groping with my fingertips. There! It took multiple tries, but I finally got the box cutter into my hands. The blade poked me a few times as I started clumsily hacking at the ropes. Finally my wrists were free. They were chafed and covered in blood. I grimaced, then freed my ankles.

As soon as I put weight on my injured feet, another shriek tore from my throat and I collapsed back onto the floor, trembling. I felt defeated. I was going to still be there, lying prone and helpless on the floor when they returned. All this, and I was still going to die in this basement. My dad would find my mutilated corpse in the woods. My funeral attire would be barbed wire and red ribbon, and my mourners would be the maggots and worms that crawled on the forest floor.

I heard footsteps coming down the stairs and my head jerked up. I could hear Teddy's voice; he was calling up to someone as he descended the stairs.

"Make Remi some tea, Robbie."

Dread settled in my gut, then exploded in fiery hatred. The fuckers had my sister too. Fresh strength flooded my limbs, and I forced myself back onto my feet, steeling myself against the heart-stopping agony. I groped along the floor, my hands finding a tire iron. I wondered if Robert had planned to use that on me next. I stood by the door, tire iron raised above my head. The door opened, and as Teddy moved into sight, I brought the tire iron down. It made a satisfying crack as it connected with his skull, and he went down. He probably wasn't dead, but I needed to get to Remi before my burst of energy failed. I crept up the steps, biting hard on my lip to keep from crying out. My ascent was slow, and I prayed that Teddy wouldn't wake up before I even reached the top.

I could hear voices and followed them. Remi and Robert were in the kitchen.

"There was a doll in your room," Remi was saying. "It was dressed up like the dead girls."

"You must have been dreaming it," Robert said soothingly. "You were pretty out of it earlier."

The kitchen was open at both ends; one entrance was by the hallway where I stood, and the other led into the dining room. The living room and the front door were beyond that. I peeked around the partition into the kitchen. Robert's back was to me while he rummaged through the cupboards for mugs. Remi was leaning against the opposite counter, arms folded across her chest. Thankfully, she didn't look as out of her mind as she had looked back at the house. Robert turned to set the mugs down, his back still to me. I was going to have to time my attack just right. Burst of hate-fueled adrenaline or no, I was not in top form and I had no doubts that Robert could easily overpower me if I bungled the element of surprise.

I tried to catch Remi's eye, but she was facing slightly away and I wasn't going to risk making myself more obvious. The tea pot on the stove began to shriek, and I moved. Robert turned toward the stove, and I hurtled myself at him, the tire iron striking him in the cheek. He stumbled back, but unfortunately didn't go down as easily as his father. Panicked, I grabbed the still whistling tea pot, flipped it open, and hurled it at him. He made an unpleasant noise as the boiling water splashed against his chest.

"Remi, run!" I shouted. I rammed the tire iron into his stomach, knocking him back. I grabbed for Remi's hand. She looked stunned but followed me when I yanked on her arm. We made it to the front room before strong arms clamped around my waist from behind. Everything went hazy as Robert squeezed me. I wondered if he broke another rib. The tire iron fell from my hands. Then his arms were gone and he stumbled back with a grunt. Remi had broken a lamp over his head. She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the front door.

"The car?" I gasped out. She shook her head frantically. "Robert drove me here."

"Cell phone?"

She slapped at her pockets as we nearly fell down the porch steps. "It's here!" she said, relief coloring her voice. She started punching at the buttons, cursing when she messed up because her fingers were shaking. I let out a wail and fell to my knees when I stepped down on the gravel driveway. Rocks cut into my palms and knees, but it was my feet that I was worried about. The gravel may as well have been a sea of broken glass.

"My feet," I sobbed. "They burned my feet! God it hurts!" I said it over and over, like a chant. Then Remi was shoving her shoes at me, shouting at her phone. "Put them on! He's coming!" I wrestled my feet into her shoes, but I wasn't fast enough. Remi yelped as Robert grabbed her, pinning her arms to her sides.

"You're not going anywhere," he snarled. Remi headbutted him, ramming the top of her head into his jaw and then kneeing him in the groin. It wasn't a clean shot, since she was pinned against his chest, but it was enough. He let go and she wriggled free, helping me to my feet. We ran-limped across the driveway, heading for the road. But Robert was fast. He broke in between us, forcing us apart.

"This ends tonight," he said. He knocked Remi to the ground, then lifted me off the ground, heading for the woods in a dead sprint, like I weighed nothing. Nothing more than a rag doll in a white dress. I scratched at his face, trying to claw his eyes out. Finally he released my legs, instead gripping me by the waist again and carrying me. I screamed and he clapped a hand over my mouth.

"Shut up, bitch," he hissed.

I bit him. I sank my teeth deep into the fleshy part of his hand. Blood spurted into my mouth and Robert howled, dropping me. I took a decent chunk of his hand with me. Gagging and spitting, I wriggled through the leaves, reaching out for a nearby tree to haul myself to my feet. His foot planted against my back, pinning me in place. Then I felt his weight on my back, and his hands were at my throat.

"Get off my sister!" I heard Remi's panicked shriek, and then the weight was gone from my back. I rolled over and sat up. Remi was standing there, wielding a thick tree branch like a club.

"But she'll come between us," Robert said, his voice almost pleading. "She'll be in the way of us being together."

Remi scoffed. "I wouldn't be with you anyway, you sadistic freak," she spat. Rage and something almost like pain crossed Robert's features, and then he sprang up, hurtling at Remi and shoving her up against a nearby tree. He withdrew a switchblade from his pocket, waving it in her face. I clambered to my feet and made my way as stealthily as I could towards them.

"What did you say to me?" Robert asked, his tone menacing. I picked up Remi's fallen tree branch. "She said, she wouldn't be with you anyway, you sadistic freak." I struck his arm with the branch, forcing him to let go of Remi. Then I swung upwards, catching him in the jaw again. I felt a grim satisfaction that pretty soon he was going to be as bruised and torn up as me. He went down, and I leaped on top of him. We wrestled through the dirt and leaves, fighting for the knife. I could hear Remi shouting my name. We rolled, and I got the blade in my hand. I almost dropped it because the handle was slick with blood, but I gripped it tight. I slashed down, and it went into his eye. He screamed, and as I pulled the blade free my stomach rolled as I looked down at the bloody mess of an eye socket.

"You shouldn't have tried to come between sisters," I told him. Remi appeared at my side, staring down at Robert's writhing form with cold eyes. "Let me see that knife," she murmured. I handed it to her.

"Remi?" Robert whimpered.

"I never really liked you anyway," Remi said. I jumped as she moved, slamming the blade into his other eye. This time the blade sunk deep, and Robert twitched once before going still. She pulled the knife free.

"He's dead," she said. She stated it in a matter-of-fact way; she didn't sound horrified or surprised. I didn't blame her though; I felt nothing looking at his corpse either. I was about to respond, but a figure moved in the shadows. Before I could call out a warning, Teddy was there. My lost tire iron was in his hands. He swung, hitting Remi in the head. Her eyes rolled back and she collapsed against the ground beside Robert.

"No!" I pushed myself to my feet, fury and terror coursing through my blood like liquid fire. "You better not have killed her, you son of a bitch!" I moved forward to kneel beside her. While I was there, I yanked the switchblade out of her hands, hiding it in the sleeve of my dress.

"I don't care about her," Teddy said, stepping towards me. "I only want you."

I looked at my sister's unconscious form lying in the dirt, and thought about the pain that was starting to hammer against my sanity again. I was weak, exhausted, battered. But if I was going to die, I was damn well taking Teddy Pinch with me.

"You want me," I said, spreading my arms. "Here I am." I launched myself at him, slamming into him. We both went down, rolling down an incline to land in the creek.

"I've been waiting for this moment," Teddy said. The water was shallow, so it didn't cover my face entirely, but it made Teddy's voice sound dreamy and far away. His hands wrapped around my throat. He looked positively exhilarated as he drained my life away. My vision started going gray, and I slid the switchblade out of my sleeve. I brought my arm up, and the blade sunk into the side of his neck. Teddy looked shocked, his hand abandoning my windpipe to touch the blood that oozed from his wound. I pried his other hand away from me and gulped in air.

"Hey Teddy," I croaked. "You lose." He fell back, the blade coming out of his neck. He stared at me as I pushed myself to my knees, now looming above him.

"I knew you were special," he said, still pressing a hand to his neck.

"Fuck you." I went at him with the knife, stabbing him over and over; in the throat, in the chest. Even after he was dead, I kept stabbing. I hacked at him until my fingers were so slick with blood that I couldn't hold the switchblade anymore. Then I crawled out of the water and collapsed in the mud. My soul was numb but my body was nothing but pain. I closed my eyes, feeling the hand of the Grim Reaper on my shoulder. He petted my hair, calling my name softly. I hadn't expected Death to be so comforting.

"Riley! Hold on, honey. Just keep holding on. Get that medic over here now!"

Death had a familiar voice too. Why did he sound so concerned? I cracked an eye open; it felt like I had lead weights instead of eyelids. I recognized the desperate brown eyes immediately.

"Daddy," I whispered. Then the world whooshed away from me, my father's voice and face disappearing, and I fell into absolute blackness.