Jayson watched Kurin struggle to pull herself up, her hands repeatedly slipping on the pool of blood on the floor. It wasn't her blood, he knew, because there was too much of it, and aside from some marks on her neck she looked fine. Still, he blanched when he realized that the men who were there previously, were there no longer. And if the blood wasn't hers, then whose?
He thought back to the feeling of a reassuring hand being placed on his shoulder, and the soft, reassuring presence of his Father.
Was that my Father?
Kurin grumbled something incoherent, Jayson only catching the word "socks". He stepped around the blood as much as he could, only slipping in it once or twice. It surged up between his toes and painted the crevices there red. He couldn't help the gag that choked his throat, so he turned his head away from the warm pools, trying to close everything out. He couldn't do it. He just couldn't.
Kurin struggled to her knees, her head finally clearing. The first thing she realized was her soaking clothes. The second, was how warm the liquid seeping through was. And the third was the color.
Red.
Kurin sucked in a strangled breath, the smell of copper hitting her like a freight train.
This blood isn't mine… Where are those men?
She scrambled to her feet, much more in control of herself now that she was fully awake. She almost knocked Jayson over in her rush, but caught him awkwardly in her drenched, bloodied arms before hoisting him onto her hip and running from the kitchen. His blonde hair bounced chaotically around his head, the tips stained red from brushing Kurin's clothes.
Kurin sat him down on the couch, noticing how utterly still he was. A faraway look held his features in a mask of shock. She knew the feeling. She was teetering. She wasn't far behind him.
She placed a palm over his cheek, not bothering to wipe her soiled hands first. Her eyes searched his, finding nothing. They were devoid of all feeling. Shards of ice shot up her spine and her chest clenched. She bit her lip nervously before placing a chaste kiss on his forehead.
"Don't move." She whispered. As she turned to run up stairs, a ripple on the wall immediately to her right caught her eye. It looked strange, almost as if the wallpaper was warping from old age or moisture. As soon as she saw it, it was gone. She took a steadying breath, worried she may be going into shock.
Is hallucinating part of shock?
The pounding of her feet up the stairs broke the strangling silence in the house. Goose flesh rose over her arms and shivers started to crawl ever so slowly up her spine.
This is shock. This is definitely shock.
She grabbed the nearest duffle bag to her and started throwing her things into it. She had no idea where she was running to, but she was running.
Three minutes.
She gave herself three minutes to pack and leave. She wasn't keeping Jayson in this house any longer than that. Three minutes worth of frenzied snatching and grabbing and she was back down stairs. Jayson was right where she left him, same look of shock and awe plastered on his face. Jayson wasn't a baby anymore, but he was still small. She balanced sixty pounds of traumatized ten year old on her hip before throwing herself out the door.
It was still dark outside, nearly causing Kurin to trip down the steps. A hunched, dark figure stopped Kurin in her tracks. Just to her left, right off the path, was the body of the pudgy officer. He was placed neatly against the fire hydrant, propped up and hands folded over his lap. Blood trickled over his phony badge and onto the cement.
What caught her attention was his head.
Or rather, the lack thereof.
She took a step backwards, towards her home, seeking it's shelter. When she turned around to dart back inside, she noticed the token pinned to her door with a steak knife. A fresh, bloodied skull, spine and all, dripping morbid art onto her steps. The steak knife was lodged through the vertebrae at the base of the skull, keeping the jaw closed.
Something inside her twitched. A yearning to be let free. Some kind of sick satisfaction. She tamped it down, fearing she might scream out all her fear and confusion.
In the distance, a car turned a corner. Excitement roiled through Kurin in waves, nearly knocking her over. Taking a deep breath, she calmly stepped past the dead man on the sidewalk and into the street. She threw her hand up, hailing the early morning cab. A few seconds later, it rumbled to a stop next to her. She placed herself and Jayson calmly in the back seat, trying not to spook the driver. She hoped the cabbie couldn't see her blood covered clothes, but a quick glance in the rearview mirror crushed those hopes. Blood caked the entire right side of her face, plastering her hair to her head in knotted clumps. Streaks of red ran down her left cheek like war paint. The collar of her shirt stuck to her collarbone and shoulders, moving sickeningly across her pale skin.
Like a smart cabbie, he shot her a strange look before pulling away from the curb. No words were spoken, except to exchange directions.
"As far out of the city in any direction. " seemed like a good enough destination for the man, and he took over from there. Jayson's head slumped against her arm as he slept, and she couldn't help herself. She followed his lead. She situated herself as comfortably as possible, wrapping her arms around her brother, before falling asleep to the hum of the car engine.
The "cabbie" driver watched the light drain from the bloodied girls eyes. He couldn't tell the color of her hair, or her eyes, or the shape of her body, but she was pretty. She was also young, maybe a few years younger than himself at the steady age of 21.
A buzzing went off in his pocket and he reached for his phone. The message was a forwarded one, probably sent out to hundreds of agents.
"Agents" being a loose term. A better word for his line of work might be "Kirk's Kidnapping Service," or "Abductors Inc.".
"Time to wrap it up boys. Bring in the bounty." was all it read. Kirk flipped the switch for the door locks, and all the knobs disappeared into the doors with an audible 'click'. The girl and small child in the back didn't stir, and Kirk chuckled in amusement.
She was in for a big surprise come morning.
A big surprise, indeed.