Behind Closed Doors
A Hetalia story.
Chapter Three: A Fitting End
The rocks that construct the gravel pathway lie beaten into the ground, treaded upon so many times that they are beginning to bury themselves in the soft dirt. It creates a rather stable walk way for anyone to walk along. To an ordinary person, the serene feel to the stroll is pleasant. Looking right and left, a bountiful collection of adult cedar trees greets them, their lanky limps waving a hello. The clouds dot the blue landscape with ivory shapes that could be depicted as anything. Birds chirp merrily nearby, pleased with their accommodations. Wild flowers fight their way through the free growing grass to reach the sun, petals outstretched in a sort of hug. It is undeniable that the country side has a particular beauty to it.
But when the children look, they see something else entirely.
The birds are singing their death march, each note signifying a painful demise. The trees limps are like claws, ready to scoop them up and hold them hostage to their mother's undoing. The flowers are seeking to watch the harm taking place in their household. There is nothing pleasant about it. All it offers is a very good hiding place.
A very good shield for bright yellow hair.
Toris, Eduard, and Raivis find themselves slowing there pace, not quite ready to accept their fate. It is then, that Raivis begins to whimper. The tears do not come, instead being replaced by the repeated whimper that replicates his fears. Toris clutches his younger brother's hand tightly, finding the sound heart breaking. Finally, the marionette dolls figure out how to break the strings, and move on their own. No longer robotic in their movements, the older brothers embrace little Raivis in a hug. Whispering quiet promises, the each in turn kiss his forehead. Tears start to surface, however they refuse to spill.
In a shaky voice, Raivis asks, "C-can we… make a wish..?"
His brothers quickly agree.
Clutching one another's hand in a prayer circle, Raivis murmurs in a hopeful voice, "I wish… we will be free," He closes his eyes tightly, continuing like it is a chant, "I wish we will be free," His voice grows stronger, gaining confidence by the simply repetition, "I wish we will be free."
"I wish we will be free." Repeats Eduard and Toris.
They wouldn't be free yet.
"Ya bastard!" Their mother screeches ramblingly from the porch, clutching her concoction of alcohol like it is a weapon, "Get yer ass over here and pay what ya owe me! Jonas!"
The children freeze, breaking the prayer circle like they got caught doing a black magic sacrament. Toris is especially terrified, knowing that the man she is yelling about is his biological father. Pushing his brothers behind him protectively, he watches wearily as she stumbles off the porch, swaying under the influence of her whiska.
"Gimme my money!" She demands, throwing the bottle at the children. It explodes at their feet, making them take a step backwards as she continues her drunken approach. Raivis is sobbing into the back of Toris's shirt, the tears finally finding their escape.
"JONAS!" Their mother roars, throwing her first punch at Toris. He takes a direct hit, the momentum throwing him backwards into his brothers. Raivis squeaks in fright, but luckily Eduard catches them before they all hit the ground.
"GIMME THE DAMN MONEY YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Her hands latch onto Toris's collar and, with the strength only alcohol fueled her with, pitches him to the ground. Battered and bruised, her son lays defenseless on the gravel, accepting each kick to the rib she delivers.
"He's not Jonas!" Eduard insists, now shielding his youngest brother from the absolute horror of her abuse. Raivis's weeping is gaining volume, making his voice grow hoarse and his eyes, irritated. Rubbing his eyes hard, he is caught off guard when their mother drives her fist at Eduard, smashing her fat fist into his jaw.
"Ya owe my child support too!" Eduard stumbles from the impact, cradling his jaw with his hands. Raivis whimpers loudly, drawing the attention of their mother.
"And you!" She bellows in the terrified child's face, "Ya cut me off completely! You bastard!" She wraps her thick fingers tightly around his neck, shaking the child with animalistic intent.
"We aren't our fathers you bitch!" Eduard cries, gasping at his own use of words. Releasing Raivis, she turns her head to look at the boy who has spoken, a savage look in her eyes that only a monster is capable of. She digs into her pocket quickly for something the children knew she is always in possession of. Finally fishing it out, she whips out the blade of the pocket knife and unexpectedly, charges for Eduard.
Toris screams, he is sure of it, the unnatural sound echoing throughout the country side like a broken record. Raivis wails as a result, witnessing the barbarity of their mother. With a grip on Eduard's hair, she jabs the blade into his right eye, the one that had been ruined beforehand by her own hands. Eduard stands, transfixed, his whole body resonating with the familiar pang of agony. A thick curtain of black is pulled over the remaining vision as the knife traverses further into his socket.
"STOP!" Toris screeches, paralyzed with a sudden fear when their mother retches the pocket knife from his eye, and Eduard drops to his knees. Blood drips down his face like bloody tears he is unable to shed. Raivis clings to his older brother desperately, trying to shake him from his daze.
The monster slinks back into the house with a sudden change of heart, probably to find another bottle to satisfy her hunger. A trail of blood follows her, a reminder of the deed she just did. Toris scrambles to his feet, groaning when his body aches with the sudden assault of her fresh brutality. This horrific scene startles the boy hiding behind a patch of cedar, creating a huge blow to his ignorance. He regrets not doing something sooner, blaming himself for not acting on the instincts he felt each time Toris lied to him. Frozen he is, amongst the undergrowth, unable to uproot himself from his spot and reveal himself. He understands that now would not be the right time to show he has been spying. Stealthy, the boy recedes into the forest, trotting back home like he was never there at all. The only trace that remains of his visit are the tears drops on a lonesome leaf, like a phoenix had perched itself on a tree and wept.
The demon is breaking each child like brittle leaves in the winter, shattering them into little pieces that have no chance of being put back together. Toris is torn in so many ways, fighting a battle within himself to continue living through this torture. Raivis is deeply disturbed by the events, so far traumatized that it will take a while in order to allow himself to heal from the ordeal. As for Eduard, he is so deeply submerged in self-pity like it is a bottomless lake that he continues to sink in. Silently, he repeats every name he was ever called by his mother, even adding in a few new ones.
Toris urges his brothers inside via their window, knowing walking through the front door is like begging for another beating. He rips up one of the few shirts he has, using the strips to wrap around Eduard's head to hide the hideous disfigurement of his eye. Gingerly, he collects the stray trails of blood with his thumb, brushing his brother's skin in a loving manner like he has done many times to Feliks. Their youngest brother sits whimpering on the bed, like a kicked puppy in the brutal rain. Toris pulls Raivis onto Eduard's bed, and proceeds to have the two lay down. It is on rare occasion their eldest brother does this, but at the moment, it does not matter. He needs to comfort his brothers, and it is the only way he knows how.
Clearing his throat, Toris begins to sing softly to them. It is soothing, easing the weariness out of their bodies like it is an incantation. He rivets them with a lullaby that meets various ups and downs; guiding his voice beautifully like it is a dance. He sings quietly, to the point that his mother could not hear him, but it does not lose its intensity. As a result, despite the pain inflicted on his younger brothers, they both manage to seek slumber before the song is finished.
"Goodnight…" He mumbles, wishing once again that they could be delivered from their life.
His mind starts reeling from the events, replaying themselves like a horror story on a big screen. His mother has repeatedly made reference to their birth fathers. Maybe they have finally cut her child support off so she can no longer purchase alcohol freely. If that's the case, that explains why she was in such a drunken fit of rage towards his father, and mistaken her offspring as them.
This won't turn out well, Toris realizes.
By the time dawn's light begin to waver over the horizon, Toris has feed his brothers carnivorous appetite that developed as a result from their pains. He helps them out of there equally stained clothes, and into their final set of the week. Fridays are always the day Toris did the boys' laundry, and today would be no different. For some reason, the eldest brother feels a bit cheery. Maybe it is because of the song he had sung has uplifted his heart from the depth of the depression in which it comes from. He changes both his brothers bandages, before inspecting the damage inflicted on his own body. There is a patch of ebony ringing his rib cage, a bit of swelling beginning to inflate his cheek a little, but other than that he is alright. He knows nothing is at all broken, or stabbed like his younger brothers. Without dwindling on that thought for long, they scurry out the window. Raivis is a bit more mobile than yesterday, being able to make it through on his own. Sneaking past the open window of the living room, the only trace of their mother they could catch is her heavy snoring, probably as a result from an alcohol crash. She suffers from many of those dastardly hangovers, but Toris prays it would be clear by the time he reaches home. At least it reassures him a little, that her estranged boyfriend wouldn't be coming over if she is out cold. The bus is waiting on them per usual, and the children are eager to enter the heart of it. The bus driver gives them a questioning look, trying to remember if she dropped off the middle child in the same fashion as he is arriving in. Shaking her head, she continues the route, muttering things like 'you've just gone crazy'.
The three brothers find a seat together in the very back, returning into their individual spaces where they do not talk to their own siblings. To them, it helps the bus ride pass quicker, being trapped with nothing but their thoughts. All the children on the bus pile out once it arrives on the campus, everyone filing to their specific classroom. Toris leads his younger brothers to their classrooms, only pausing briefly to explain to Eduard's special ED teacher that he had an accident at home. He couldn't figure out why, but he is in a hurry to escape, like being around his brother is just another reminder of the life back home. Before he can make it to his designated classroom however, he is suddenly plucked from the crowd of students. Toris recognizes the boy with the naturally straightened hair dragging him away from the common flow of children. He could feel his heart beating just a little bit faster, pumping blood hard like it is suddenly unable to do that. He silently makes a resolution that he would not lapse into another panic attack. However, his body is betraying him, trembling with the very thought of what Feliks has to say to him.
"Toris," Feliks's voice is soft, almost like a plea, "Please let me help you."
Toris's heart nearly stops beating in his chest. It's not like he could know… right?
"What do you mean?" He questions slowly, dodging the question skillfully. He has lied so many times. What would make now any different?
"I saw what happened Tori. I saw what your mother did," The eldest brother's eyes widen at this revelation, but Feliks continues, "I want to help you because that was absolutely horrible." His voice is straining, coming out in a low whisper. He clutches Toris's hand tightly, feeling the tremble of his boyfriend's body.
"I... I have no idea what you're talking about." He tries to deny, but he knows he has been caught red handed.
"Please Tori. I saw the scars. I saw your brother stabbed! I want to help you so much. I want to help you get away from that."
In that instant, it feels like Toris's world has crumbled. He so desperately tries to construct an impenetrable wall to hide the truth and the lies from everyone else. And yet, Feliks has managed to slip through a crack, and completely fragmented the wall. He uncovered everything so quickly, and before Toris could notice too. It makes his head spin, the very thought of his boyfriend knowing the truth weighing so heavily on him that he could no longer breathe. He starts to choke, like the very air is suffocating him. His body trembles hard against Feliks, making him rock his boyfriend back in forth, murmuring sweet nothings into his ear. The fool proof method once again proves its reliability because within minutes, the panic attack disperses. Toris is actually grateful he had been with Feliks, and not in his classroom.
Smiling sweetly, Feliks exchanges a soft kiss with his boyfriend, "Lets, like, get to class."
Upon their late arrival, the teacher does not pepper them with questions about where they were. He has been informed at the start of the year that Mr. Laurinaitis is notorious for panic attacks that prevent him from attending class at the present moment. He simply marks the boys present before continuing on his lecture about the King's English, having to stop on a number of occasions to correct a student's southern drawl; it is rather improper to mimic it within a English classroom if he would say so himself. Feliks finds it amusing, occasional casting glances at his boyfriend to see him scribbling on the desk. He is very, very worried for Toris's well-being. He knows he wouldn't accept help either. Making a silent resolution to himself, Feliks creates a silent promise that he will help his boyfriend no matter what.
When the class period is drawling to a close, a few students take it upon there selves to ask the teacher miscellaneous question, all of which Toris vaguely listens to. Instead, his attention is divided to the unguarded windows that show the teachers' parking lot. The child notices his French teacher is getting into his vehicle, most likely in search for the roses he always hands out the female students. As for the boys, he always has a good tip or two on picking up a girl or a romantic date. Toris will admit, only silently, that he has borrowed a few ideas. To say the least, Feliks was absolutely thrilled by them. Toris smiles a little at that fond memory he carries with him. The smile that lit up his boyfriend's face was just indescribable.
Toris watches in confusion as a vehicle begins to make its way through the parking lot. That's odd. The entire faculty should be here, and the janitor always comes after school. So why is someone pulling in? He wonders, staring at the automobile closely as it pulls up next to the open door of his French teacher's car.
It is a grey pickup truck.
Observing the scene in absolute horror, Toris sees the first thing to pop out of the truck. And it is not a person. Toris recognizes the weapon that lies underneath his mother's bed, a pump action shot gun that he never did touch. He screams at the same time the man fires his weapon into the teacher's car, splattering blood on the insides of the windows like finger paint. His English teacher, a young fellow by the name of Arthur, is quick to survey the scene outside the window. His eyes widen, knowing his fellow colleague has just been shot. Yanking the blinds down without a moment's hesitation, he orders the classroom to the furthest corner of the room, away from the windows and door. Toris is frozen with a mixture of fear and shock, unable to comprehend his teacher's orders. Luckily for him, Feliks guides him back with the confused classmates. All his boyfriend could even think about is his brothers, trapped in another building, with his mother's boyfriend entering the school with the intent to kill. Arthur flicks the lights off, and locks the door, toppling a bookcase in front of it to provide another shield. He then makes it over to his desk, grabbing the phone he always has present there.
The English teacher only gets a 9 pressed into the phone before the window panes splinter, the blinds being torn with the force of a bullet. The glass sprays the floor with a shower of slivers that Arthur falls into, his chest blossoming with blood. Eyes dulled with the sharp pangs, the dutiful teacher orders the students to run with what little breath he has. Students scramble to remove the bookcase and bolt out the door before the man makes it to the window. Toris however, couldn't stop staring at the body of his English teacher, his life slowly leaking out because of him.
It's all my fault Toris realizes, his fist clenching tightly with this fact. Feliks couldn't stand the pained look present on his face, almost like he himself has taken the bullet. Grabbing his hand, he sprints out the classroom with his boyfriend in tow. His first instinct is to run for the other side of the building, and escape that way. Toris, however, has other plans.
"We have to help my brothers first." Toris says breathlessly, fighting back tears that threaten to spill.
"Like, let's do it then."
They rush the middle school quickly, scanning every possible room Eduard could be in. About this time, the intruder alert has been issued and most of the rooms are locked, but they manage to find his younger brother hiding amongst the books in the library. A quick check over reveals that he has not been injured, which relieves Toris slightly. Clutching Feliks hand in one hand and Eduard in the other, Toris plows his way to the elementary like he refuses to let anything stop him. He doesn't want his brothers to be caught in the crossfires, and he defiantly doesn't want any more teachers being killed. He has to get his brothers and run. That is the only option that remains. Toris could not handle that the deaths of some people are on his conscious, because he caused this mess to begin with.
He created it by being born.
Since it is elementary, the eldest brother knew that Raivis would remain in one classroom. Locating that classroom is easy. Getting in it is another issue. Toris pounds on the door, pleading with the hidden teacher to let his brother out. At first, the teacher doesn't believe him, but the more he talks, the more she begins to recognize his voice. Reluctantly, she releases the little Raivis from her classroom. The brothers embrace is kept short.
"We have to leave." Toris whispers.
His younger brothers do not try to contradict his decision. Walking at a brisk pace, the brothers and Toris's boyfriend set out to exit the school as quickly as possible. Toris isn't for sure whether his mother's boyfriend has entered the school yet or is patrolling the campus. He would have to take his chances though. Toris assumes he would still be by the high school.
How wrong he is.
Once they get out the entrance to the elementary, they are greeted with the steel barrel of the pump action shot gun. The man's, the alleged boyfriend's, face twists into a sick smile, like he takes pleasure in seeing Eduard and Raivis cower behind their eldest brother who is staring down the barrel. He has been so eager to meet them, because he needs a good target practice. Still targets are okay, but the best are the runners he would always say. The teachers, they are merely compensation. He was eager for someone's body to eat the hot fury of his lead casings, and they just happened to be there.
" 'Ello kids," His smiles continues to deform, his alcohol reeked breath stinging the nostrils of all who smell it, "I've heard bunches 'bout you bitches. How yer daddies just left yer mama high and dry. Well ye know what?" He chuckles at the very thought, "She's gunna kill ya! To get back at yer daddies! Hehe! That'll teach them, ay?"
The children feel instantly betrayed by their biological fathers. First, they had left them without so much as a dispute. Now, they've refused to pay child support like Toris had guessed, and is putting their children in danger. Didn't they care about their own flesh and blood?
"Back off." Feliks steps in front of his boyfriend and his siblings, directing the shot gun to his forehead. The boyfriend laughs at the opposition, before nudging him with the barrel.
"Yer a scrawny little thing. Can't be child of her can ye? Ye don't have the eyes neither."
"I'm not the offspring of that demon if you're, like, implying that." Feliks grits his teeth, swatting the weapon away from his face.
When it gets down to it, Feliks is not in the slightest the kind and gentle person he is known to be. When the lives of his loved ones are threatened, he is not afraid to get down and dirty. Toris has never witnessed this side of his boyfriend until now. The boyfriend is quick to jab him again with the gun, displeased with the reaction. Even though he is holding a loaded gun that he has actually fired with the intent to hurt, Feliks is acting as though as it is a fake BB gun. Toris prays silently that no harm would come to his boyfriend or his brothers from this altercation. If anything, at least allow that to come true. Raivis is once again drawn to the stage of crying, unable to contain the fact that he is frightened to death. Eduard wraps his arms around his brother to comfort him, but to no avail.
"Get yer asses in the back of my pickup truck before I blow the blondes head off." The boyfriend snarls lowly, testing the trigger with his index finger. Defiantly, Feliks glares back, but Toris fears for his life. Grabbing the hands of his boyfriend and Raivis, he shakingly walks to the grey pickup, the man following so close that his bitter breath could still be inhaled.
The truck is a single cab, meaning the four hostages couldn't all fit into the compartment. That would mean risking them overpowering the driver down the road. Thinking this through with a smug smile on his face, the man orders the children into the back of his truck, throwing the shotgun into the passenger seat when he climbs in.
The children get a good look of the car sitting idly next to them, the engine purring softly like it had been started for the sake of air conditioning. A few roses had fallen from the empty car door, along with a limp arm that dangles from the seat it had been stretched over. The entirety of the back seat is stained in blood, like an explosion of it happened to go off. Toris notices sickly that the blond hair of the French teacher is no longer that, but instead a rich crimson color. Their kidnapper throws the truck into reverse, causing them to tumble at the unprepared lurch of it as it begins to make its escape, leaving the scene of such a dastardly crime. He blazes down the asphalt, wasting no time on stopping at the clearly marked stop signs. As the children shiver with dread in the back, the boyfriend fishes out a half-finished bottle of beer, chugging the contents down as he drives speratically with one hand. Raivis is crying harder now, fearing the inevitable is now occurring.
Toris comes to the realization, too little too late, that trying to live this life is futile. He should've run when he first got the chance. But now, he would have to take the fall. To protect the ones he loved. Talking above the wipe lash of the wind, Toris's eyes meet each of his brothers, then his boyfriend's.
"You guys need to jump. Run for the police, someone to help you."
"We can't leave you." Raivis squeaks, sobbing so hard that his voice is contracting in his throat, and his face is turning red from the strain.
"Do it. Eduard, go with Raivis and Feliks please. Get somewhere safe." The words are coming out as a whisper now, like speaking them is a sin.
Eduard does not want to leave Toris. He would have rather stayed by his side to the very end. But he doesn't want Raivis suffering any more than he already has. So with a quiet goodbye to the older brother who had practically raised them, Eduard bails from the moving vehicle with Raivis tucked safety in his arms. His back snaps against the pavement, dazing him for a brief moment. Their youngest brother is quick to shake him from it though, and together they flee in the direction of the school. Toris now turns to his boyfriend, who stubbornly refuses to move from his spot against the cab.
"Feliks you need-"
"No." Comes the instant reply.
"Feliks this isn't your fight. It's all my fault and I have to deal with the consequences."
Feliks turns to face him, grabbing his hand gently so he could intertwine their fingers together.
"We are in these together Tori. In sickness and in health. Till death do we part." Feliks responds.
"You sound like we're married."
"I wish we could be."
The reply draws their mouths together in one of their infamous tender kisses, one so innocent that doesn't deserve to be cut drastically short. They pull apart for a brief moment, each one whispering I love you before their lips connect again.
It doesn't take long before they arrive at the house hidden in the woods.
The monster has awakened from her den.
The next few hours are filled with blood. Lots of it. It shadows the visions of anyone within the household, influencing the animal's drive to continue extracting the fluids. Various guns go off; each one with a distinct echo because of their location is unable to be heard. There is also pain. A deep, burning pain that spreads throughout their bodies like wildfire.
Then there is flashing lights, a swirl of blue and red.
Then there are fluorescent lights, bright and scowling like the walls around them.
Then there is nothing.
Nothing but darkness.
"You know I miss Toris sometimes." Eduard recalls, pushing his new glasses up his nose.
"I agree!" Raivis peeps, his voice having drastically changed over the years.
Eduard, now 21, has recently received special treatment for an incident that occurred years ago that mangled his vision. Three laser eye surgeries later, his eyes are repaired enough that only glasses are required to read. Now with his renewed vision, he always makes a point to get in contact with his younger brother, especially on the occasion that he is turning 18; besides, he enjoys their meets. It is funny to see the smile plastered on his face when the now 6'3" boy towers over his older brother. The duo has went to quiet coffee shop downtown from where they live in a housing edition, as far away as they could afford to escape the memories of their childhood. Sipping at a cup of coffee, Eduard absentmindedly reads a newspaper as his brother rambles off possible careers he could delve into when he goes to college, who he would vote for, and so on. He always loves to hear the renewed liveliness in his voice, but something else catches his eye.
"Hey Raivis," He catches his brother's attention, waving the newspaper around a little before continuing, "They have an interesting article in the paper."
"What about?" The younger asks, opening up a sugar packet and dumps the contents directly into his mouth.
"The school. Remember the one we used to go to?" Raivis nods his head, "Well they built a little memorial. You know for Mr. Kirkland and Mr. Bonnefoy. That boy in Toris's class, Alfred I think is having it constructed. It's also in awareness for cases like us."
"Do we get to cut a fancy big ribbon?"
Eduard laughs, "No, but it says if anyone still has contact with us they want to talk about us going down there, maybe giving a little a speech."
Raivis smiles mischievously, "Does that mean we get to interrupt the two love birds from their honeymoon?"
"For something like this? Nah. Let them enjoy their cruise."
"But you said you missed him Eduard!" Raivis coos jokingly, enjoying the eye roll he recieves.
"Yes I do, but our brother deserves a nice long vacation."
"But he's had like, eight years of it!"
"He still has eight more to make up."
Let me tell you, I had so much fun writing this! Thanks for reading!
-Soul Spirit-
