Chapter 10
Mauled
Point Place, Wisconsin
April 24/25/26, 1977 (Sunday/Monday/Tuesday)
Hyde hated this.
It was understatement considering the gravity of it all, but on those nights when his brother laid next to him, it
made him feel so uncomfortable. His twin covered them up with a white top-sheet; the smell of fabric softener
was the best scent his nose detected since he didn't know how long. The red, white, and blue flowers almost
made his heart happy. It was something familiar and it did give him some warmth. He was so cold. It was April
at least that's what the date on the newspaper was.
Hyde didn't want to believe the headline about Fez being poisoned. The bastard with his face said to watch the
paper for the next headline. Hyde begged for some soap and a pail of water. He hadn't had a bath since this
whole mess started and each day he lost a piece of his dignity in the process. He was never untied; the only
thing that was undone was the tape on his mouth.
"Why are you sad?"
Was he kidding?
Just another visit from the psychotic half?
"Steven, I like to cuddle. Doesn't this feel nice?"
"Don't you think it's odd if another one in the group dies so soon?" Hyde asked, he
couldn't help smiling out of a sense of relief when a packet of wet wipes was thrown at
him.
How was he supposed to open this with his hands tied up?
The doppelganger kissed his brother on the lips. "No offense, but your breath is putrid."
[Geez, I wonder why?]
I can hear you.
Hyde turned his head away. It was all he could do. He missed the joy of the scent of Mrs.
Forman's fabric softener on the sheet at least today, he didn't have to beg like a dog, but he
was going to get the hot bla-oh fuck…..he stabbed him in the leg, just below the
knee. The pain was immense the blood didn't even gross him out. His twin could just kill him now and do the
world a favor. The sheet that Mrs. Forman bought at the Sears white sale was ripped in violent shreds. How
could he tear that? Was Hyde too weak and that bastard too strong?
The doppelganger pulled the knife out and it hurt way worse than when it was put in, but he wasn't going to
say anything not a word, and he was trying his best to not think at all. His brother tied the piece of sheet
around his wound. Hyde didn't have time to process being confused, his mouth open as he watched his twin
give himself the same injury in the same exact spot. His twin had a sensual smile on his face like he just got laid,
he let out an orgasmic groan as he pulled the knife out from his wound and wrapped his leg in the same way
that he did Hyde's.
He picked up the knife and put the dull end across Hyde's face staining it with the mix of their blood, he
decided to kiss him on the lips before putting his finger down the blade and as if it were cake batter brought it
up to link index fingers with his brother. He put his blood soaked finger in Hyde's mouth; he wouldn't give him
the pleasure of a gag. Then he slid Hyde's finger on the knife and brought his brother's finger to his mouth.
"Now we are blood brothers."
Hyde didn't know if 5 seconds or 5 minutes went by when heard the familiar rip of the tape and his mouth being
silenced again, but he was glad for it this time.
The taste of the blood was awful.
[Why?]
"None of your business. Did you know your friend Kelso loves dogs? I love dogs too…" He scratched at his hair.
[No]
He hoped that Kelso wouldn't suffer, that it would be over with as quickly as possible. He anticipated that
someone, anyone would realize that it was all connected and would they please piece it together? How could
they not know, even if this scum had the Steven Hyde persona down, surely someone would realize that it
wasn't really him.
What about Red?
"Are you saying no to me?"
He straddled his body over Hyde and put his hands around his neck, "You will do what I say…..because I will
skip over Michael and go straight to Jackie…and because we share a bond, you'll be able to envision it all…." He
tightened his grip, but not too firm, "You want me to kill you now, don't you, Steven? Well, it doesn't work like
that…..when I tell you to do something, you better fucking well do it!" He knew he couldn't punch him in the
face, so he belted him in the stomach instead.
Then he took his fist and punched at his own stomach and put strategic cuts in his shirt and then pulled at them
to make holes.
His psycho brother already violated Jackie, he couldn't have anymore harm come to his beautiful girlfriend, the
gauntlet was down once more, he would do it. He would do whatever this sick, twisted asshole wanted him to
do as long as Jackie was safe.
As long as Jackie, Donna, and Mrs. Forman were the ones who were spared.
12:33 a.m.
He knew this was going to happen, the light was on the in the kitchen. It could've been the spunky housewife
making tea for someone's upset stomach. He positioned the rear-view mirror on the El Camino and closed his
eyes for a moment to remember where he was and how they couldn't know anything yet. Nope, his first instinct
was right, it was Mr. Red Forman, who thought he had the upper hand in this house. Maybe, with the others he
did. He closed the slider door and grimaced his face, because the pain in his leg didn't really hurt at all.
"Steven! What the Hell happened to you?"
"I gave Jackie a ride home after our date," always start on the truth, "And some jocks came up from behind
me before I could get to my car." He stretched his injured leg out on the other green kitchen chair.
"This would not have happened if you didn't break your curfew again. Dumbass! The rules don't just apply only
to Eric, they also apply to you too."
"Yeah..."
"Why do you smell like dog food?"
"They threw me in the dumpster behind the grocery store. I was just lucky that they didn't take my car, they did
take $10 bucks though."
"I don't want to hear anymore, you're grounded for a month, and take a shower before bed, because that scent
is just unpleasant!"
Red exited the kitchen. The doppelganger couldn't wait for tomorrow, Kitty would fawn all over him and he
would get Kelso to skip their last class so they could play with the new dogs. Like hell, he was grounded.
Like fucking Hell.
2:00 p.m.
"I thought you said we were going to the reservoir." Kelso said.
He didn't care about missing class, he was still reeling from one of his friend's dying that cutting class and
getting wasted seemed a good way to spend an afternoon.
How come Hyde didn't want Forman to come?
"I need to talk to you, man. It's very important."
"Uh, okay…"
Why would Hyde want to talk to anyone about anything?
He clutched his hands on the steering wheel, his pinky ring cutting into him, just half
a size too small.
"It's about Jackie."
"What about her?"
"She wants you back and I'm not going to fight you for her….."
"If I knew how to tone down my good looks I would!"
"Of course you would. Before we go drinking, let's go down Pine Street first, I heard the
Jefferson's got a new dog!"
"Really?"
The car was parked, "Go ahead, behind the fence there, I'll wait for you. I have nothing
better to do."
He didn't even question a thing.
Earlier this morning during another scrambled egg breakfast, Mrs. Forman wondered
why one of her good top sheets was all torn up, but after he explained
that he took it in case Jackie got cold during one of their dates, and needed to make an
emergency bandage to stop the bleeding she ate the excuse up and pampered him with
an even bigger breakfast and a kiss on the cheek for having survived
being beaten up by a gang of roughians. Red just reminded him in front of her and Eric
that he was grounded for a month for breaking curfew.
"Okay." Kelso exited the car. It was big of his friend since elementary school that he
would push himself aside, so that he could, as the most deserving after all, have Jackie
back.
It was pure luck that he found those mean dogs; dogs weren't born that way, much like
humans, they were a product of the environment, a person with a psychotic mind isn't
just born that way….
The screams that went unanswered as the boy who loved all of god's creatures, but
especially the canine ones, was music to the twin's ears as they tore him apart,
so much for being the most handsome boy in the state.
Point Place Chronicle
Local teenager mauled to death by stray dogs
Page 3
Second youth to die under mysterious circumstances
Page 5
Next day
Fuck. Kelso. Why were you so stupid?
Hyde pushed the newspaper away from him with his boot. He could only imagine the
pain everyone was going through. He made all sorts of deals with a God he didn't believe
in. If the boys had to be murdered, as horrible as the thought was, just please spare Jackie,
Donna, and Mrs. Forman.
His muscles were relaxed, even if he was untied, he couldn't fight back he was too
weak. What was he putting in his food? He injected him with something once before
but he didn't know what it was.
"Hi, Me." He had no feeling on the lower part of his jaw where the tape kept getting
put on and ripped off.
"Fuck you."
He kicked Hyde in the stomach. "If I were you, I'd show some respect. Just for that, I'm
going to skip over the nerd named Eric Forman, for now, and go straight to one of the
girls, which one should I kill next? That's after I have sex with them, willing or
not….."
"They have to be suspic," Hyde put his hand on his stomach, it was all he could do. He
knew what a steel toed boot felt like, "They have to be on to you."
"They're so stupid, even the smart ones, that's what's fun about this," He smoothed over
the Jimmy Page t-shirt with his hands, "I even love Led Zeppelin too."
Hyde hated seeing this bastard wear his clothes; they did seem a little small on him,
please won't someone catch on. Surely, Mr. and Mrs. Forman had to know something
was up.
Red had no love for Fez, but Hyde was certain he'd be shocked over his death, and Kelso
was a kettlehead…..he and Kitty had to have been just as shaken. What conversations
were Eric, Donna, and Jackie having right now, right now that his doppelganger was here
and not in the basement, what were they talking about?
Please piece it together.
Jackie couldn't stop crying.
Her and Kelso might have been broken up, but he was still a friend, part of the group, and it wasn't even a
month that Fez' dead body was being flown back home to -
"Jackie," Donna called out as she ran up the stairs to either hug Red or to upstairs to the
bathroom whichever happened first.
"I just can't believe it, two of our friends are dead within weeks of each other." Eric
said.
Donna sighed, "I know….Hyde seems even more distant…"
"But isn't that always Hyde? He never shows emotion really. Why would he start now?"
"Eric, can you stand to be by yourself for a few minutes? I want to talk to Jackie."
"I'll be fine."
He wasn't scared, well maybe a little. When Donna left the room he made sure the back
door was locked. Red even put a new padlock on it.
Donna knocked on the bathroom door.
"C-come in…"
She flushed the toilet; she knew she was going to throw up. She wiped her face
with the white hand towel that was on the rack.
"Michael was my first love, it was horrible how he died. He loved dogs!"
Jackie turned on the sink and washed her hands.
"How's Hyde really taking things?"
"I don't know, he doesn't talk much…but I think he has wanted to break up with me
for a long time, but now that Michael is dead he changed his mind."
"What makes you say that?" Donna asked
"His kisses are different…he's detached, it's like he's another person."
4 hours later
The twin smiled internally as Jackie came into his room because she "wanted to talk"
about the status of "their relationship".
"How's your leg?"
Who would do this to her boyfriend after their date?
"I'm fine."
"Steven, I want you to know that if you want to break up with me, it's okay. You don't
have to stay with me because 2 of our friends, especially Michael, are dead."
He walked towards her and held her hands, "Jackie, what makes you say that?"
"I can tell. You don't kiss me like you used to."
They only made love that one time and she wondered what she did wrong.
Bonus points for the cheerleader.
He put his arms around her and pulled her close, "Let see if I can change your
mind."
The twin thought of Donna taking a hot and soapy shower that always helped him
get into the mood of pretending to love this one.
"Hmm, that's nice…I think you would feel better if you talked about things."
"You know me, Jackie, what's to talk about? I'd rather spend all day making out with
you to prove to you that I am the man you feel in love with."
"What happened to your finger?" She noticed his pinky ring was cutting into his skin.
"Nothing, guess, I'm gaining a bit of weight," he tickled her sides so she'd lose her
concentration and go back to kissing him.
As long as he stayed focused on the red head of the group making out with Jackie was
an easy task to accomplish.
11:45 p.m.
When everyone was safely tucked in their beds, Donna and Jackie in their respective
homes, while Red and Kitty were upstairs in emergency talk mode, worried about the
safety of their precious family. The doppelganger popped open the switchblade and kissed the blade with
soft steady lips.
"Curfew this…."
1 day later in the Point Place Chronicle
Vandals go on neighborhood tire slashing spree
Page 3