MADDIE ACT 2: THE WICKED WORLD

THE DAGGER

"Dear father, forsaken, you knew what you were doing.

In silence, your violence has left my life in ruin."

-Black Sabbath, Dear Father

CIRCA 2001

A few months had gone by and Maddie had been able to stay away from trouble. She was doing good in school and Tim could not be more proud of her. He had some solace with Maddie and what she had done. He also felt he somehow brought it on her by telling her about the dangers of the world. Tim felt lonely at the lab. He sat motionless in front of HEV parts on his table. He was working on Gordon Freeman's damaged HEV suit. If Maddie was with him, they would have made progress. Laura Fuller walked by the lab. He thought about talking to her but simply did not feel like it. She had a smile on her face, so she was probably on her way to see Barney. Tim wanted to go home. He hated being there. He hated every minute of it.

Maddie sat in class, listening to the teacher talk. She felt satisfied, knowing there was no one around to bother her. As she sat there, she wondered about Gordon Freeman. She dreamed of being with him on a rampage, eradicating every bad person. As the boredom sank in, she wanted to be far away from there. Black Mesa seemed as if it were the perfect place for her. Tim told her that he was working on Gordon's HEV suit. That's exactly what she wanted to be doing.

At recess, Maddie was sitting on a swing. She rocked back and forth, not really having the enthusiasm to actually swing. Then, two people walked behind her and stood there for a while. As soon as Maddie noticed two large shadows, both of them grabbed her pigtails and pulled her back. It was Belle and Anna.

"Hey you little creep," Belle said.

Maddie stared at them from the vertical position while still on the swing.

"We know it was you," Anna said.

"Yeah, you killed them," Belle confirmed.

Maddie shook her head.

"Don't lie, our dad says it was you," Anna said, "He knows 'cause he saw you running around when they were killed."

"Yeah creepo," Belle said, angrily, "Who else was it? We're gonna make sure you go away forever."

Maddie had an evil stare on her face and then she chuckled. Belle and Anna got scared. Then, a teacher saw them and approached.

"Hey!" He shouted, "Let her go!"

Belle and Anna complied. Maddie sat up.

"What's wrong with you two?" He said, "Belle and Anna, you two are in trouble.

As the teacher was talking to them, Maddie showed a grin. When he turned his attention to Maddie, she looked as if she was going to cry. He looked right into her innocent eyes and felt sorry for her.

"You okay?" He asked.

"They pulled my hair," Maddie said in a sorrow tone.

"Oh, it will be okay. Nothing to worry about."

The teacher turned his attention Belle and Anna. Maddie showed them a middle finger and smiled.

"You two, principal's office, now!" The teacher demanded.

Maddie smiled as they walked away. Maddie had forgotten about Belle and Anna and realized she needed to get rid of them. This time, she would have her father on her side, perhaps to assist in the removal and to not have the police searching for evidence.

After school was out, Tim drove Maddie home. He repeated the same political talk and conspiracy theories.

"Daddy, Belle and Anna said they know something about what I did," she told him.

Tim remained silent.

"They said their dad knew," she continued.

"Nothing to worry about," he replied, "I'll make sure no one ever finds out."

Shortly after Maddie and Tim got home, he called her into the garage. He was sitting on a stool near his tool cart.

"Maddie, I got something for you," he said.

He took out a dagger. It was all black and 7 inches in long.

"This is for you," he said.

"Wow!" Maddie exclaimed. "This looks awesome!"

"It's nice and sharp. Don't let anyone bother you and don't let anyone take it from you, got it?"

"Yes daddy."

Maddie was in awe and the incredible sharpness of the blade. She pictured in her mind licking the knife after it was covered in blood.

"I would rather you use that instead of my kitchen knives," he told her.

Tim also handed her a sheath.

"Make sure you keep the dagger in there. It has a belt clip and a lanyard to wear around your neck."

Maddie held it and swiped it back and forth with a smile on her face.

"Now listen, those two have no proof," he stated.

"What if they tell the police?" She asked.

"They won't. Just don't raise suspicions, play innocent like I know you can do. When the time comes, that's when you show them why no one should oppose you."

Maddie looked at her newfound dagger and then looked at Tim and smiled. He nodded and returned a smile.

"Maddie, how would you like to learn how to use weapons like these?" Tim asked.

"Yeah, I would like to."

"I can't guarantee you'll become a combat master, but I can help you get there."

"I wanna learn to fight."

"I have a few supplies. I can set it up for you."

Later that night, Tim was sitting downstairs on the couch. Maddie was in bed and he was watching the news. He was watching a report about Gordon Freeman missing and that the police were searching for him. Tim drifted off to sleep. A few minutes later, someone in a black mask was lurking outside. He went around to the back and used a crowbar to break the door open. The sound woke up Tim. The intruder was a large man who was wearing a black long sleeve shirt, a pair of jeans, and sneakers.

"What do you want?" He asked the intruder.

"You killed him," he said.

"No, I didn't kill anyone, please don't hurt me."

"Shut up! You killed my son!"

"No."

Tim got off the couch and backed away. The intruder swung the crowbar and struck Tim in the arm. He went down in pain.

"I'm gonna bash your fucking head in," the intruder said.

"You got the wrong guy, I swear!" Tim pleaded.

Then, the intruder felt a pain in his side. He dropped the crowbar as he felt another pain. He realized he was bleeding and dropped to his knees. Tim looked up and saw Maddie with the dagger. She stabbed him repeatedly in the arm and back. The way the dagger felt was like no other to Maddie. It went in with pure ease, caused more pain, and caused more blood. She loved the blood coming out as she pulled out the knife. The intruder collapsed dead on the floor. Maddie chuckled while Tim shivered. She noticed him.

"Daddy, don't be scared," she said, "The bad man is dead."

Tim began to calm down.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, thank you Maddie."

Tim pulled off the mask and they realized it was Morty's dad.

"We need to get rid of him," he said.

Tim had been able to fix the broken door using wood glue. It was not severely damaged. He had used a plastic tarp to wrap the body up. They were able to clean the blood off the hardwood floor. Maddie's clothing had been covered in blood as well as her arms and face. Tim washed it off her and put her clothes in the washer. After a new change of clothing, Tim drove the car into the garage to secretly place the body inside. Tim struggled with the weight of the intruder's corpse but managed to get it in the trunk. It was around 10 P.M. as they headed down a dark deserted road. Tim and Maddie remained mostly silent throughout the road trip. Maddie had her dagger with her in the sheath around her neck. She stared straight ahead into the darkness of the road.

Tim pulled over to the side and backed the car near the trees. He wore gloves so the authorities would not get any fingerprints. He pulled the body out of the trunk and dragged it near a steep drop off and shoved the body down the drop. They got back in the car and drove back home.

"Someone will eventually find the body," Tim told her. "What will you say if the police question you?"

"I don't know anything," she replied.

"Good."

Tim had his reasons not to tell the police about the break-in.

"Do you know why we are not going to tell the police anything?" Tim asked.

Maddie thought about the question.

"Because, they might suspect something," she answered, "They will…connect this to the other ones."

"Exactly."

Tim drove down the dark road.