Chapter Twenty Five
Evelyn was seething in anger and contempt, Murdoc's parting words repeating themselves over and over again. With trembling hands she stood from the couch, unable to shake the feelings rushing through her. Light from the single ceiling bulb cast grim shadows over the distraught teenager, accenting the anguish in her expression.
She paced the room with anxious steps, her mind clogged with worrying thoughts and scenarios. Evelyn was overwhelmed with it all, wanting nothing more than to cry out at the top of her lungs, to let all of the emotion bottled up inside out. The teen managed to keep quiet, however, as rational thought slowly returned to her frazzled mind.
Are the girls really gone? Should I believe him? Evelyn asked herself with a frown, ceasing her nervous pacing to stare at her feet. All she had to go on for her fellow orphans' fates was what Murdoc told her, and what she thought she saw. Her form frozen in thought, Evelyn furrowed her brow in concentration. I never actually saw them before I was…
The oldest teen's musings were interrupted when the only light in the room began to suddenly flicker ominously. With each flash, an electric buzz was heard, the only sound in the room.
Evelyn stared up at the dying bulb with renewed fear in her features, hoping that the light will hold out. Unfortunately it would not; with a final hum the light faded out, casting the teen in complete darkness.
Horror swept over her like unstoppable ocean waves, crashing over and submerging her in complete fear and hopelessness. She remained still as a statue, her mind reeling with panic. She felt as if time had stopped for her, the icy hand of dread creeping down her spine.
As Evelyn flailed around to find something to grab onto, a quick and sudden thud wafted through the dark room. The sound made the frightened teen's heart stop; she whirled around to face where she thought the noise originated, though she could not be certain what had caused it.
Just when Evelyn had begun to relax somewhat, an off-key melody from the grand piano completed what the noise before started. The music reverberated through every fiber of Evelyn's being, a hollow pain forming in her chest. Once again she froze, trying frantically to get her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Fortunately for the teenager, she did not have to.
First, a flash, then a series of flickers, the light slowly coming back to life. The sight sent joy and relief surging through Evelyn, now finally able to see again. What the illumination revealed, however, quickly replaced those feelings with ever familiar shock and surprise.
Standing by the piano was the strange blue-haired killer, unmoving, his solid white eyes locked onto Evelyn. His hand rested on the ivory keys, explaining the random not she had heard. Clasped in his other hand was a pair of garden shears, the blades spotted with a dark brownish red substance. Evelyn had a fairly good idea as to what it was, but forced herself not to react. Instead, she willed her trembling voice to work.
"W-who are you? How did you get in here?"
The Scissorman blinked, the first movement he made since the light came back on. For about a minute he continued to stare, glaring daggers at the confused teenager. Evelyn dared to speak again, this time taking a step back. "You must be the murderer… You and Murdoc working together?"
"It's time for you to go now. You're not needed," stated the shears wielder, pulling away from the piano and bringing his weapon of choice before him. As he limped toward Evelyn, she took more steps back. Seeing the toothy grin spread across his face sent a whole new wave of terror through the dark-haired teenager. "Mary no longer needs to watch over 'er lamb. She'll be well taken care of."
"What are you talking about?"
Evelyn was not answered. The blue-haired killer opened his blades wide, the friction between them giving off an echoing metallic shriek. Frightened, Evelyn retreated farther back, pressing against the wall. As the Scissorman drew closer, something inside her gave her the energy and the will to fight back.
As the killer jabbed his shears forward to strike her, Evelyn grabbed a three-pronged candle holder from a nearby shelf and brought it in front of her. The holder stuck fast into the middle of the blades, stopped the attack. What was only seconds before a one-sided fight quickly turned into a power struggle of sorts, both of them straining from the others' strength.
Angered, the Scissorman wrenched his shears to the side, throwing off Evelyn's balance. As she fell, the candle holder was tossed away, far out of the teen's reach. With fearful eyes, she looked up at her potential killer, his lanky form towering over her. Grinning still, the strange-looking man held up the closed blades, preparing to strike.
Before he could react, a stinging pain shot up his injured leg and he collapsed. He quickly came to realize that, as Evelyn scurried out of reach, it was she who had kicked him. His frustration showing, the killer struggled to his feet after retrieving his shears. Having the chance to take in his appearance for a brief moment, Evelyn could see that the shears wielder was quite young, perhaps around her own age. Questions ran rampant in her mind, trying to determine who this boy was and what he was doing in the mansion.
"I'll ask you again. Why are you here?" Evelyn demanded, her voice much steadier this time. Now recovered from his fall, the killer faced her with a glare.
"I've always been here."
Evelyn was baffled by his words, but had no time to dwell on it when her attacker lunged forward again. She moved out of the way just in time; the blades embedded deep into the piano she had been in front of, the wood splintering and cracking from the blow. A pang in her chest formed when she saw what had happened, holding back a sob as the Scissorman pulled out his weapon with some difficulty.
Overcome with fear, Evelyn cried out, desperate to get help. She dodged the sharp steel when it lurched toward her, the tears stinging her eyes. Finally she fell in a corner of the room, exhausted and terrified. As the killer shambled towards her, his expression appeared grim, as if he were about to recite a eulogy.
"No one can help you now, just as you couldn't help the others," he said, the bleak facial features shifting slightly as a small grin tugged at his lips. "You have nothing to lose, yet you still fight back. Entertaining, at the very least."
Evelyn felt a weight settle in her chest at the strange boy's cruel words, feeling that he was right. What did she have to live for? I see now. Murdoc must have sent him to put me out of my misery. The girls are gone, and I will finally join them.
The killer lifted his large shears as high as he could, the closed blades aimed at Evelyn's chest. The broken teenager only sat where she fell, waiting for the end to come. She shut her eyes tight, bracing herself.
"STUART!"
Murdoc's voice tore through the thick silence, surprising both the boy and Evelyn. They watched with mixed expressions as the caretaker, previously standing in the doorway, stormed across the room towards the two. The blue-haired shears wielder, a look of terror on his face, began to back away as Murdoc approached.
But his retreat was futile; a quick punch to the face sent the blue-haired boy, apparently named Stuart, to the floor. He was unable to get back up, as Murdoc was on top of him in seconds, his hands wrapped around his thin neck. A struggle ensued, Murdoc easily overpowering Stuart and landing several more harsh hits.
"Get the fuck out of here! Get out!" shouted the caretaker, shoving the badly beaten boy toward the open doorway; Murdoc picked up the discarded shears after doing so. Stuart, his injured leg painfully locking up on him, stumbled and fell again on his way to the door. This incident only served to infuriate Murdoc further. "Wot did I tell you?! Get your sorry arse out of this room!"
Stuart glared over at the dark-haired man, his thick brows furrowing. However, he said nothing and tried to get to his feet.
Evelyn, watching the scene transpire with confusion in her features, quickly stood as Murdoc and Stuart made their way to the door. It all seemed to be happening too fast for her to comprehend; she realized that her assumption for the phony caretaker and the Scissorman being in alliance appeared to be true, or at least somewhat.
Not only that… she mentally began, her expression holding a small glare as she clenched her fists and stiffened her jaw. Murdoc spared me. He robbed me of my reunion with the girls!
"Murdoc, who is that?" demanded Evelyn, though she was largely ignored by the quarreling killers. Urging herself forward, she spoke out once again. "What is going on here?!"
"Shut up!" Murdoc shouted back as he exited the room. Before Evelyn could get out, the caretaker slammed the door shut. A single click followed, a sound the teenager did not want to hear.
Beyond infuriated, Evelyn began pacing the room again, conjuring up another plan of action.
Now out of the room to where Evelyn could not hear them, Murdoc practically dragged Stuart to a different chamber to have a word with him. Releasing the tight grip he had on the younger killer's peculiar blue hair, Murdoc pulled the door closed after flipping on a light switch.
In the bright light, Stuart could see every ounce of anger in the caretaker's features, his blood running cold when his beady black eyes stared him down. He took a few steps back, his hurting leg giving out on him in the process. Stuart could only look on from where he fell as Murdoc now towered over him.
"And just wot was that stunt you pulled about? Hmm?" Murdoc was given no reply, only a blank stare from pupil-less eyes. Snarling, the dark-haired man pressed his boot-clad foot onto the knee of Stuart's injured leg, earning an agonized cry from him as he futilely tried to remove the offending foot. Satisfied with the response, Murdoc eased up somewhat. "Wot did I tell you to do? They were simple instructions!"
"You didn't hold up your end of the deal." Stuart's insolence was awarded with more pressure on his leg, to which he became quite vocal about. A cold, cruel chuckle was then heard from the phony caretaker.
"Wot deal? I ordered you to leave Evelyn alone. Yet there you were, blades drawn and ready," he stated, sneering as he spoke. He then removed his foot from Stuart's leg, seeing hardly a reaction from him. "If you weren't even the slightest bit useful to me, I'd have killed you right then and there."
"Ahh, so you do have a weakness after all. I thought you'd be over it by now," Stuart retorted, his eyes narrowing at the remark. His bold statement quickly lost its effect when the blue-haired boy flinched at Murdoc's raised fist. Despite his fear, an out of place chuckle was heard from him.
"Oh shut up you worthless little shit head," Murdoc spat before smacking the still-giggling Stuart before backing off. "I told you to never speak anything about it. We have more pressing matters to attend to."
The caretaker folded his arms behind him as he began walking about the room, falling into deep thought. Stuart watched him from the floor, his leg still hurting him too much to try to stand just yet.
"The other girls have escaped somehow. Evelyn believes they're all dead, and I want it to stay that way." Murdoc stopped, his back facing the downed Scissorman. He turned until he was looking at Stuart over his shoulder, his mismatched eyes narrowed. "Take care of it. I'll get rid of any that cross my path, and I want you to do the same."
"I'll do it. But one will be spared."
"No! I want them all gone!" shouted Murdoc, facing Stuart completely. This response angered the blue-haired killer as well; he managed to get to his feet after much difficulty.
"I will leave one alive. I saw what you did to my playmate, and I don't like it at all," Stuart stated, his tone low and level. He had retrieved his shears as he stood, the blood-speckled blades gleaming in the light. "So in retaliation, I went after your whore."
"So… that's wot this is about," pondered the caretaker, his sneer returning to his rugged features. He began pacing again, thinking over the delicate situation. With one girl left alive, it would give Evelyn all the willpower she needed to fight back, that he was most certain of. He knew how reckless Stuart could be; he would not think twice about letting the unlucky soul wander where he and Evelyn could be. He grunted, hating the idea of it. "Fine, keep your little brat. But she is to be confined at all times. Evelyn can't know she's alive. Especially her. Understand?"
"As long as you leave 'er alone, as well. Never lay a finger on 'er," Stuart added, he too holding a serious expression. The two stared each other down, searching for even a hint of weakness. When none let up, Murdoc finally replied to Stuart's terms.
"Just keep her out of my sight. Get your ass out there and get the job done."
"One last thing," Stuart began, a ghost of a grin flashing over his face. Murdoc started at him with a suspicious glare, waiting for him to continue. "The door to the music room? It's unlocked."
"Bullshit. I locked that room up tight."
"Are you sure? You were pretty angry… You could have forgotten." The devious smirk that entered the Scissorman's expression threw Murdoc for a loop. He could not be sure if Stuart was fibbing or not, knowing how attentive he could be.
Doubting himself, the dark-haired man briskly made his way to the door and swung it open. Gazing across the hall to where the music room was, Murdoc saw that the door was firmly in place, just as they had left it.
Enraged, he quickly turned to give Stuart a few more hits for lying to him, but stopped when he saw that the blue-haired killer had vanished.