Halloween
Zoe returned to Alicia Spencer's house on Cherry street the night of Halloween. She did not know that Kyle now sat on the blood-soaked bathroom floor, rocking back and forth while humming a strange melody.
"Kyle?!" she called out as she stepped into the house. No one had answered when she knocked.
"Mrs. Spencer..." Zoe said as her words suddenly trailed off. There was an odor of death that lingered in the air. It nearly knocked her over with its sickening-sweet and most unpleasant smell. Her overly perceptive senses lead her into the bathroom. The door was slightly ajar. Kyle hadn't moved from his spot beside the porcelain tub. The bloodied golden award was still clutched in his hand.
"Kyle, My God! What have you done?" Zoe gasped as she saw Kyle's mom lying on the floor.
Alicia had clearly been bludgeoned to death with the object Kyle yet held tight in his grip. *Why? Oh God... Why?!* Zoe quietly lamented. Had she and Madison created a monster?
Little did she know that the true monster lay dead on the floor. She had gruesomely met her end after trying to rape her son one last time. Thankfully, Kyle had been strong enough to stop her... this time, but now she lay dead in a pool of what appeared to be sloshy, thick, clotted blood. When Zoe questioned him, Kyle dropped the golden trophy and it hit the tiled floor with a thud.
"Ohhh Kyle," Zoe said as tears of remorse filled up her eyes. He was staring at her, looking heartbroken. She couldn't bear to see that expression on his face a moment longer. If he was a monster, then she was at fault for creating him. He had never asked to be resurrected from the dead. He never asked to be recreated with the body parts of his raping fraternity brothers. She and Madison had made all the choices ... and it wasn't fair.
Zoe reached for a towel and moistened it in the sink. Lovingly, she began to wipe the blood away from Kyle's face. He was humming softly as he rocked back and forth. He was acting as if he had gone into some sort of trance. He had disappeared into a safe place of tranquility as he often did when his mom had abused him.
"Kyle, listen to me," Zoe said as she wiped away the rest of the blood the best that she possibly could. "We have to get you back to the academy where you'll be safe. No one will notice the blood on your clothes. It's Halloween. There are trick-or-treaters out there storming the streets. You're going to fit in with all the rest."
She dropped the bloodied towel into the tub, knowing that his make-shift bath would have to do... at least until they returned to the academy and she could properly bathe him.
"Mommy," Kyle said, looking down at the bashed-in face of his mother. He wasn't moving, although Zoe was tugging at his hand.
"Kyle, you killed her. Why did you do that?" Zoe asked.
He finally rose to his feet and stared into her eyes. He shuddered. "Mommy bad," he said. He made some gestures with his hands and fingers, then he ran a rough caress over his body as tears filled up his eyes. Zoe had never seen so much pain and devastation in all her life.
"Do you mean... your mother... hurt you?" Zoe questioned.
Kyle nodded. "Kyle bad," he said. And with those words, he hung his head, thinking that Zoe would think he was evil.
"No, Kyle, you're not bad... but in this state right now, you could be dangerous. I have no other choice but to... take precautions... I'm sorry."
She held his hand tightly as she lead him out of the house. He was shrinking back, not wanting to walk to Zoe's car, because he saw all the trick-or-treaters coming towards him. Some of them were wearing scary masks. One was dressed up like a vampire. He had gleaming fangs and white frilly shirt that had been stained with a vial of fake blood.
Kyle stared down at his shirt. It too was stained with crimson splatters. He was just like these freaks who were walking down the street... and he hated himself for it. As if Zoe was reading his thoughts, she spoke to him when they reached the car. "Kyle, I want you to know, you're not a monster. If your mother was hurting you- touching you, then you were just doing what you had to do to defend yourself. But I won''t lie to you; I am scared... So scared of what the future is going to hold for you. I don't want you to get hurt."
They climbed into the car together as Zoe caressed Kyle's tangled dark-blond hair. It was matted with his mother's blood. "Let's go home," Zoe said with a heavy sigh.
~*~o~*~
Zoe lead Kyle up the staircase and into her private bathroom in which she and Madison shared. Very gently, she stripped away his soiled clothing, disposing of the garments into a trash bag. She ran the bath water for Kyle and gestured for him to step in. He settled into the bath, letting out a little sign as the soothing water cleansed away the evidence of his terrible deed. "I am so sorry, Kyle. It was all my fault," Zoe spoke as she helped him clean up. "I just HAD to have you back. And I Iet Madison talk me into resurrecting you, even though in my heart, I knew it was wrong."
A tear slipped down her cheek and lovingly Kyle reached out, gently brushing it away. "Kyle, I hope you will forgive me for what I have to do," she said solemnly.
After Kyle was clean, Zoe helped him out of the tub and dried him off with a huge, thick towel. Kyle looked so much like a child in that moment- scared and vulnerable. His eyes were huge as if he knew he'd have to suffer some sort of consequence for his brutal actions.
As soon as Kyle was dressed in a pair of jeans and long-sleeved, unbuttoned shirt, Zoe lead him downstairs and into the solarium. It was the place where Cordelia, her instructor at the academy often worked on her various potions and remedies. It was filled with beautiful flowers and growing plants. Now Zoe had no other choice but to make it into Kyle's prison - at least for the time being.
To his great shock and surprise, Zoe put shackles on him which locked at the wrists and ankles. He could move no more than four feet from the pole where she had chained him. He growled as he tugged at his bonds, wanting free. "Zoe!" he called out forlornly.
"I am sorry, Kyle," she said as the tears glistened in her eyes. "I have no other choice."
He was growling and snarling as he tried to break free, but not even he had the strength to break the chains which bound him. He continued to cry out, but Zoe just walked away, leaving him there to sit on the cold tile floor as the plates of glass all around him seemed to be echoing back his wails of agony.
About an hour had passed before Zoe came back to him, one hand hidden behind her back. He stood up quickly, eager to see her and to touch her. She hadn't left him... Zoe loved him!
He held out his shackled wrists to her as if asking to be set free, but sadly, all Zoe could do was shake her head. "I can't do that, Kyle," she said as she revealed the gun she had been hiding behind her back.
She hated to shoot Kyle after all they had been through. It just wasn't fair! "All I ever wanted to do was to LOVE you..." she said in a sob.
Her hand trembled as she aimed the weapon at Kyle's chest. She was poised to pull the trigger. "...but you're out of control. I don't know how to protect you... or protect others from your rage. I have to do this, Kyle... and it's breaking my heart."
