Just Misunderstood

by thesilverhyena

Stranded under the unforgiving Texas heat, on the run from a deranged cult from her past, Blake McCormick and her father find themselves in Travis County and stumble into the old Last Chance Gas convenience store. There, Blake meets a large, mysterious, yet shy man. She is kind to him. She does not scream. Yet, she does not know what sort of Pandora's Box has just been opened.

9. A Clash of Cannibals

Just Misunderstood

By: TheSilverHyena

Warning:: Contains Mature/Adult Content, Violence and Gore, and Adult Language. If you cannot HANLDE these sorts of things, you might want to go elsewhere. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Chapter 9: A Clash of Cannibals

Blake blearily blinked her eyes, staring at the page of her sketchbook in confusion. While it may have started off as the two men she saw Thomas dragging off to their deaths, one of the faces had... turned into someone much different. She took in a nervous gulp, remembering that this sort of thing had happened a few times before. While drawing, Blake ended up slipping into a trace, sketching down something, or someone. More often then not, it was a warning of impending danger. The first time this ever happened to Blake, she was only nine years old. The second, when she was fourteen, and only a handful of times in between then and now. Most recent before this one, was a quick sketch of the man who formally called himself Diablo, shortly before he and his pack of fiends attacked Blake and her father at that small, rat pit of a motel.

"So... just who are you, exactly?" Blake pondered.

Long, shaggy hair, reminding her a lot of Thomas', actually. Athletically built, sharp features, spiraling tattoos similar to what her father had. But it was the eyes... Blake knew she had seen those cold, hard eyes before. It was unnerving. However, before she could explore her psyche further, the girl nearly jumped in surprise when she heard Luda Mae's distinctive voice calling for her from downstairs.

"Blake, sweetie. Come on down from up there now. We got dinner to git ready before the boys come back."

Well, to be fair, this was the longest amount of 'Alone Time' Blake had been permitted in the approximate month and a half she had been a captive of the Hewitts. Taking one last look at the sketchbook page, she let out a long sigh and set it on the nightstand, next to her teddy bear. With the distinctive sound of her tether dragging behind her, Blake left her bedroom and headed for the stairs. About halfway down, a powerful sense of absolute dread weighed heavily on Blake's senses. Granted, that sliding metal door to the basement always left her feeling uncomfortable, but it was even worse now. Thinking back to her drawing, the girl swallowed the dry lump that formed in her throat before joining Luda Mae in the kitchen.

"There ya are. Haven't seen ya hardly all afternoon," Luda Mae greeted, far too cheerfully, "Some good ol' fashioned chops with gravy and taters fer dinner tonight. Wouldja be a dear and start on washin' and peelin' them taters?"

Without a word, Blake simply nodded obediently, moving toward the sink where there was a large bowl of potatoes on the counter. Luda Mae hummed to herself, pulling a package wrapped in butcher's paper out of the fridge. At once, Blake turned away, knowing what was in there, instead trying to focus on scrubbing and peeling the mound of spuds in front of her. She wouldn't be allowed to cut them, as none of the family trusted her with any sort of blade just yet. But the cleaning and prepping of produce and the baking usually fell on her.

"I'm so proud of you an' my boy. Hoyt told me that ya and Tommy are making quite the effort." Luda Mae mentioned, in an attempt to make small talk.

As much as Blake knew what the old bat was going on about, she instead played dumb, just glancing to Luda Mae with a shrug.

"At the slightest little change in ya, you be sure ta let me know. We're gonna be keepin' a close watch on ya, so that we know when to start expectin' fer the new arrival." Luda Mae stated, though is sounded more like an order then a request.

While normally, Blake would have run through all the snarky, witty things she would have enjoyed answering back with, right now, she just found herself too distracted. Every few seconds, she'd glance back toward the direction of the basement door, her heart rate going faster and faster each time until she was panting.

'Oh no... no... not now! Not these again...' Blake whimpered, mouthing the words to herself.

Almost as soon as it begun, several visions flashed before her inner eye. There was Vex, and she was... with another man in... the basement, a man with a multitude of tattoos on his face and shaggy hair. An anguished scream echoed in Blake's ear, then the psychic found herself back over the sink, potato in one hand, older then dirt peeler in the other.

"Mrs. Hewitt..." she suddenly blurted out.

This actually startled Luda Mae, as these were the first words Blake had actually spoken to her since that night the old woman spiked her tea.

"Lord have mercy. I had begun to worry 'boutcha, child, with how quiet ya been lately."

"W-we... we need to get out of here. Now!" Blake said, with great urgency to her voice.

With a concerned and suspicious glint in her eye, Luda Mae approached the clearly distressed girl. Blake was looking a little bit on the pale side, probably hadn't been getting enough to eat despite the older woman's best efforts to keep her well fed. A slight whimper escaped Blake's mouth when Luda Mae put her hand over the girl's forehead.

"Ya sure yer alright, girl? Feelin' a little feverish again and ya ain't lookin' so good."

Blake's eyes squeezed shut as more rapid breaths came from her mouth. How would she explain that she knows someone who wasn't invited, not to mention incredibly dangerous, was inside the house... while Thomas and Hoyt were busy in the barn.

"No, I'm not alright!" Blake finally answered, struggling to keep her temper in check, "There's-!"

Before she could even finish, Blake and Luda Mae both let out a collective gasp as they turned their heads towards the kitchen door at the sound of heavy tread boot steps. Standing there, smug and confident with blood on his hands and face was that tattooed man with the harsh eyes Blake had drawn just a little bit ago. Next to him stood Vex, her blade in one hand, and a chunk of raw, human flesh in the other, which she continued to eat off of like an animal.

"Oh... oh I'm sorry... were you gonna eat that?" Vex questioned, gesturing towards where the sliding metal door was, "Nice little bed and breakfast you've got here, bitch. But honestly... you people are fucking amateurs!" she added with a hiss, before smiling at Blake, "Well, well, well... hello little kitten."

Blake remained quiet, dropping the potato and peeler to the floor out of initial shock. Then, ever so slowly, she began to reel in her chain, wrapping some of it around her white-knuckled fist and holding a length of slack in the other hand.

'Thomas?!' she cried out in her mind, wincing slightly in pain from the drain in stamina she felt, 'Thomas Brown Hewitt, grab your chainsaw and get your butt over here NOW!'

The girl silently prayed that by some miracle, the titan-sized man would be able to hear her plea for help.

"Cute operation you've got yourself here, I'll say." Darius mocked, taking a step forward, "Praised be the Darkness Below, for we are all his children." he stated, pointing at Blake with his electrified prod, "Tell you what, I respect and even admire what you're doing out here in this lonely little dust pile. Hand over the girl and pledge yourselves to our Order, and we shall leave in peace. Name what you desire and it shall be freely given for our Lord and Master is most generous. Resist, and there will be blood!"

"Luda Mae, don't listen to them, no matter what they offer. They're with the Soldiers of Eternal Damnation, that cult I told you about!" Blake warned, "He has to be, otherwise Vex would have killed him by now."

Luda Mae stood her ground, unphased, immediately shedding the "nice old lady" guise and had a look in her eye resembling that of an angry grizzly. She quickly snatched up the meat clever she had been using earlier and brandished it at the two cultists, "You heathens don't know whatcha got into by commin' here to this God fearin' house. Yer in trouble now! Blake here is one of the family, and we watch out fer our own. Thomas! Hoyt! Git to the house! Git-"

Just as she went for the door leading into the back yard, Darius whipped out a knife he had concealed in his pocket and threw it, only missing the older woman's hand by about and inch and leaving the blade embedded in the door. With a glare, Luda Mae pulled the small knife out of the door and turned back around, wielding two blades instead of one.

'You demon-peddlin' cretins is gonna git it as soon as my boy gits his hands on ya, unless I take care of it first!' Blake read, from the furious old woman's mind.

"None of that, now. Vex was right, Tsk, tsk, tsk," Darius sighed, tauntingly waving his prod in a 'no, no, no' matter, "You really are less then gracious hosts. Besides, the good sheriff and the giant retard are just a little busy at the moment, best not to disturb them."

"H-he's not retarded!" Blake stated, her mismatched eyes darting to Luda Mae for a moment, "J-just misunderstood."

There was a hint of indignant anger in her voice, which helped to fight off the frightened whimper that wanted to come out instead. She shifted her stance, knowing that a fight was inevitable. Blake was however, quite surprised by Luda Mae's gusto. While the Hewitts kept her captive, the delusion went both ways. They firmly believed Blake to be part of the family and Tommy's girl, therefore they also protected her. And apparently, Luda Mae wasn't particularly fond of the cult's devil worshiping practice either.

'If ever there was a time for you to come crashing in somewhere with that big, fucking chainsaw, Thomas, it's NOW!' Blake screamed, mentally.

"Yer right, boy. Look at me? An elderly, southern gal bein' such an inconsiderate host?" Luda Mae said, with a slight smirk, "Where are my manners? How about ya'll... stay fer dinner?"

Vex just grinned back fiendishly, "I thought you'd never ask!", right before she lunged forward.

TCM~ TCM~ TCM~ TCM~ TCM~ TCM~

Meanwhile, out in the barn, Thomas finished dismembering and packaging up the corpse he had been working on earlier and was about to move to the next one to help out his uncle. Luckily, the dogs barking helped to partially drown out Hoyt's words, enough to the point there the phony sheriff stomped toward the kennels to kick them a few times out of frustration.

"Wouldja fuckin' mutts shuddup?!" he growled, "Good God, we should just skin 'em and eat 'em already!"

Toby and Jason just growled back, clawing and biting at their prison, up until something else caught their attention. The pair of German Shepherds continued to bark and growl, though this time, their aggression was directed to something outside of the barn doors, towards the house in fact. While initially, Hoyt was just irritated, Thomas began to feel his heart rate increase and a wave of severe anxiety crash over him.

The giant of a man halted his butchering, listening as Blake's soft albeit frightened voice filled his head, as though she just whispered in his ear. It lingered there, even over the sound of the dogs (and Hoyt) going absolutely bonkers. Something was wrong!

'Pretty Blake... in danger!'

Then he felt a sharp pain in his side and an unfamiliar sensation of momentarily being unable to move, even if it was only for a split second, causing a strangled grunt to rumble in his chest. Thomas didn't know where it had come from. All he did know was that it hurt! But there were no wounds on him and all the blood staining his clothes and apron were from the bodies he had been working on cutting up and packing. Now, the massive brute knew that thinking such things was crazy, but he couldn't shake the feeling that these painful things... might have been happening to Blake at this very moment.

With a grunt catching in his throat, Thomas sheathed the flaying knife in a small pocket of his leather apron and picked up his chainsaw off the table. Hoyt just crossed his arms, glaring at his nephew as he inexplicably abandoned his chores and stomped for the barn doors.

"Where do you think yer goin', boy?!" Hoyt demanded.

He was about to reprimand Thomas again for being lazy and sloppy, right up until the beast of a man went to push open the barn doors... and they wouldn't open.

"What it the hell?!" Hoyt questioned, trying the door himself only to find that the lock bar out front had been lowered.

While the dogs continued their barking, Hoyt checked the side doors to the barn, only to find that they too had been locked or barricaded in some way from the outside, indicating that some sort of funny business was going on, "Change of plan, boy! Make us a door, wouldja?"

Before Hoyt even finished, Thomas was already pulling the cord to his chainsaw to start it up. While he normally used it for human flesh, the mechanized saw blade effortlessly ate it's way through the wood panels of the old barn with a ferocious roar. Once there was a hole large enough to fit his bulk Thomas pushed his way through and charged across the lawn towards the house, chainsaw revving. Hoyt was right on his heels, yanking the nightstick off his belt. The two German Shepherds yelped and bayed, pawing at their makeshift prison of wood and metal, unable to aid their mistress.

TCM~ TCM~ TCM~ TCM~ TCM~ TCM~

Back at the house, chaos ensued! With a wild scream, Vex leaped on top of the table like some sort of deranged cat, then pounced for Luda Mae. The two women collided violently, the knife Luda Mae had taken jabbing into Vex's leg while the cultist tried to pin her opponent up against the door and bite. With a startled yelp, Blake backed away, narrowly avoiding the meat cleaver and machete as they clashed. Darius meanwhile, stalked forward, a sadistic grin spread across his face as he switched on his prod, sights set on Blake.

Those eyes, that particular weapon, now Blake remembered where she had seen them before. Long ago, one frigged night in Crystal Lake! She could hear a name whispering in his mind over and over again,

"Darius Gordon..." she whispered, eyes wide.

"My Grandfather would send his regards, Blake..."

Darius shoved the table out of his way, sending it sliding across the old tile floor with a loud groan, "But he's dead because of you!"

When he lunged, Blake caught his wrist in the chain she had at the ready and kicked him in the chest with quite a bit of force, causing Darius to let out a pained grunt as he stumbled back. The cultist wretched his hand and weapon free and charged again. While Blake's chain-wrapped fist collided the side of his head, Darius' prod jabbed into her outer thigh. Blake was only able to get out a partial scream before the electric current coursing through her body silenced her. Unable to momentarily control her own movements, she fell back towards the counter, twitching involuntarily, leaving her open to more attacks by the prod.

After three more times of having that cattle prod electrocute her, leaving their cruel burns on the different parts of her body where they struck, Blake gasped for breath, each one becoming progressively more painful. She was only granted a momentary reprieve when Luda Mae managed to shove Vex off of her and bury her meat clever into the cultist's chest. Not enough to kill her, but enough to cause severe pain and copious amounts of blood to pour from the wound.

"You fucking old bitch!" Vex howled.

But before Luda Mae could finish Hoyt's former 'plaything' off, the elderly woman felt a sharp pain in her back as Darius rammed his prod into her. A look of absolute shock crossed her features when she convulsed from the electric current. Unable to respond in the moment, there was little Luda Mae could do as Vex bit her on the shoulder like a vampire and dragged her to the floor.

However, all that noise in the kitchen woke up Monty, who had been enjoying his mid afternoon nap in the living room and was not at all happy about being woken up.

"Jus' what in the hell is goin' on in there? Causin' such a ruckus? Luda Mae, that girl-?" Uncle Monty growled, as he wheeled himself up to the kitchen door, "Oh shit!"

A look of shock and anger crossed the old, disabled man's face when he saw Luda Mae on the floor with Vex on top of her and a tattooed man take another chain-wrapped fist, this time to the gut, from a barely recovering Blake. Panting heavily, the girl's eyes met with Monty's, if only for a moment.

"GET THOMAS AND HOYT!" Blake screamed, using what voice she had left.

When she took another swing at Darius, the girl was acquainted with the business end of his electric prod once again. The male cultist whistled to get Vex's attention, then gestured toward Uncle Monty. Just as Vex looked up and over her shoulder, Monty began to reach for something on the back of his chair.

"Don't go anywhere bitch!" Vex hissed, before licking up the blood leaking from Luda Mae's neck, "I ain't finished with you yet!" she added, snatching her machete blade up off the floor.

Before Monty could reach the shotgun he always kept in the holster attached to his wheelchair, Vex and Darius were already upon him. While the female cackled and dragged a terrified and disoriented Monty back towards the living room, Darius kicked over the wheelchair, giving the old man a taste of the prod as he did so. Monty cried out in pain, unable to reach the shotgun that had fallen out of his wheelchair.

"What do you think, love? Maybe... start with the arms next or what's left of his legs?" Vex cackled.

"Whatever you want, Milady." Darius answered, heading back towards the kitchen, "I for one am looking a for a little kitten to skin!"

Blake, meanwhile, frantically searched through Luda Mae's pockets, on both her dress and apron, praying that the key to her shackles was somewhere in there. A guilty feeling weighed in the girl's heart, but she knew that if she was going to survive, she needed to get these shackles off!

"Sorry... but I can't stay any longer." Blake breathed, quickly.

The elderly woman began to stir opening her eyes and catching Blake in the act. Though when Luda Mae caught Blake's wrist, the old lady's eyes widened when Darius loomed above the two of them and grabbed the smaller girl by the arm,causing her to scream. Roughly, the cultist dragged Blake to her feet and practically threw her out of the kitchen. He ignored Luda Mae's agonized and startled cry, along with Blake's own pained yelps. Unsteady and growing weaker by the minute, the girl collapsed to the floor in a heap, only to get a sharp kick in the ribs from Darius to scoot her further into the living room.

Painfully, she looked up at him, holding onto her side, taking in a strangled breath. Every part of her was hurting at this point and she was loosing strength.

'Thomas, where are you?' she pleaded, mentally.

Darius shoved Blake onto her back and climbed on top of her, which immediately caused Blake to buck and squirm with what energy she had remaining. The man's breath in her face was revolting and she could feel the growing bulge in his pants. He pinned her arms down to the old, rickety wooden floor, examining the shackles locked around them.

"Which one of 'em has the key, little kitten?" Darius demanded.

"Don't you dare call me that! You DON'T get to use that-!" Blake began shouting, only to be interrupted by Vex.

"Come now, sweetie," she purred, wickedly as she held up her blade after giving Monty a few nasty cuts, "Who needs a key?"

Blake screamed and struggled as hard as she could, realizing just what these two planned on doing with her. They were going to cut off her hands! Those sick, demented fiends were going to cut off her hands so that they could take her to their coven! Darius jabbed the girl beneath him with the prod more times then Blake was in any condition to count, leaving her completely helpless as Vex lined up her machete to begin the forced amputation.

"The new Lord of the Coven spoke of you, of what you were capable of, child. Well... not so dangerous without your doggies or daddy dearest, are you?!" he snarled, spitting on Blake's face.

"N-n...no," Blake strained, as that familiar buzzing of a revving chainsaw approached closer and closer, "Because... -cough- I... I also have... him!"

Before Darius could question Blake about what she meant, exactly, he too could hear the angry snarl of the chainsaw motor, accompanied by a heavy 'THUMP-ing' of large footsteps rushing up the stairs. When he turned around, Darius' face became pale and Vex let out a terrified shriek and scrabbled backward. The front door was flung open with such force, it dented the wall it smashed into. Standing in the doorway was Thomas, larger then life, full murdering garb on, and chainsaw roaring with fury.

"Go on and git 'em, boy!" Uncle Monty cried out, as he struggled to crawl out of the way and reclaim his shotgun, "L-look, h-he done try an' take yer girl away from ya!"

Taking one look at the sight before him filled Thomas with absolute rage. This strange man, on top of Blake, pinning her down in such a position as to have his way with her while that woman Vex, (who belonged down in the basement,) was getting ready to cut off Blake's hands! Thomas' heart pounded wildly in his chest and he snarled from beneath his mask before charging forward.

Distracted by the initial shock of seeing the angry giant left Darius wide open as Blake kneed him in the gut before shoving him off of her. Free of his body mass, that allowed the girl to roll out of Thomas' way, lest she accidentally get caught in the blast, so to speak. She shook and coughed violently, watching from her hands and knees on the floor while Thomas and Darius tangled with each other. The cultist skittered to his feet, just barely, leaving Thomas' chainsaw blade to eat the wooden floor. With a precise stab, Thomas got to feel the sting and electric shock of the prod first hand, a strained howl of agony coming out from his throat.

"Thomas!" Blake cried out, in panic.

By this point, Vex figured that she'd cut her losses and run, abandoning Darius to his fate, when an all too familiar face blocked the exit. Hoyt glared bitterly at the woman and the carnage she helped cause in his house. He already held his nightstick in his hand and figured some real hands on punishment was in order. When Vex tried to run for the kitchen side door instead, Luda Mae had finally managed to get back to her feet, one hand grasping the wound on her neck, the other, her meat clever.

"Hoyt! What'd I tell ya about keepin' that whore in the house?" Luda Mae growled, "Git rid of her!"

"Too bad, you was a nice fuck!" Hoyt glowered, taking a swing with his nightstick, striking Vex in her previously injured leg, "Butcha heard Mamma!"

With a pained yelp, Vex swung her machete, narrowly missing the fake sheriff, "Pity... I can't say the same... about you!"

Back in the living room, Darius had been putting up a pretty good fight against a seriously pissed off Thomas, but the cultist's luck was about to run out and the demons would come to collect. He tried to nail Thomas in the gut with his electric prod, only for the metal prongs of the device to get caught on the brute's heavy leather butchering apron. When the two separated, the prod was yanked from his hand and went skittering across the ground, rolling well out of reach.

"Y-you ugly, motherfucking son of a bitch!" Darius snarled, reaching for the handgun he had previously tucked in his waistband, "I'll enjoy serving your head to my Lord on a fucking platter and wear your skin as a God damn trophy!"

He staggered back, unwittingly putting his foot in a loop made from the slack of Blake's chain. In a quick motion, Blake crawled forward with a pained grimace, grabbing as much of the slack as she could before giving one hard yank, catching Darius off guard and effectivly tripping him. There was a loud 'BANG' as the gun went off, sending the speeding projectile through the wall instead of the upright landmass in front of the cultist. He didn't even have a chance to take aim again.

'Hurt family. Hurt pretty Blake, try to take pretty Blake away! Mine... MINE!' Thomas snarled, in his mind, 'She... is... MINE!'

'K-kill him, Thomas! Y-you can't let him leave. He'll bring others to attack.' Blake screamed, mentally.

With a merciless, hate-filled roar, Thomas stomped on Darius' chest to hold him still while bringing his already bloody chainsaw down upon his right arm, severing it at the elbow. The male cultist howled in absolute agony, blood pooling on the floor from the brutal wound. Blake huddled on the ground, hands over her ears to drown out the horrible noises Darius made, but that amputation was just the start. Although horrified and trembling uncontrollably, the girl couldn't take her eyes off of the scene in front of her.

"V-VEX! Vex, Milady!" Darius called, reaching out with his left arm in a feeble attempt to grab what wasn't even there.

The noise from the chainsaw drowned out what was happening in the kitchen, were Vex tangled with both Hoyt and Luda Mae. But now was hardly the time to worry about that. Growling low in his throat, brown eyes full of rage, Thomas wrapped his bear paw-sized hand around the smaller male's neck and hoisted him up into the air, pulling back his chainsaw with his other arm. Darius couldn't even scream when the saw blade mercilessly chewed and spit out skin, flesh, and blood, carving through his midsection like a hot knife through warm butter. Hot, sticky blood spattered everywhere, including all over Blake and Monty. What remained of Darius' limp husk was frozen in horror as the chainsaw ate all the way through, leaving the lower half of his body to tumble to the floor, followed by a messy torrent of entrails, blood, and other bodily fluids that splattered all over.

Blake could no longer hold in the contents of her stomach and vomited all over the floor, trying to look away from the grotesque sight, but found herself unable too. She... she had asked Thomas to kill... and he did. Looking at Thomas' imposing figure, still holding the top half of that cultist, Blake couldn't believe what she just did.

'You couldn't let him leave! He would have brought the rest of them here. You did what you had to do, Blake. It was him or you.' she tried to justify in her mind.

Was it any different then setting her dogs on people that tried to harm her? Had she really 'told' Thomas to kill or would he have just done it anyway? Before Blake could answer those questions racing and pounding through her head, there was a loud 'thump' as Thomas dumped Darius' top half on the floor before letting his chainsaw roll to a low sputter. Cautiously, the giant approached the tiny, huddled form on the ground and knelt down beside her. He gently used his shirt sleeve to try and wipe away the blood spatter on Blake's face, along with the bile still dripping from her mouth. Granted, his sleeve was already quite soiled, so all it did was move the mess around. However, those fierce eyes that once held rage were now filled with concern.

'Pretty Blake hurt?' he questioned.

"I-I'm okay..." Blake partially lied.

She was still alive but far from 'okay'.

"Y-you -cough, cough, cough- g-got t-to him b-before... -cough- h-he w-was able... t-to do anything."

Thomas simply stayed by Blake's side in an attempt to comfort her. Then, a badly beaten and bloody Vex was abruptly shoved out of the kitchen and into the foyer, ruining the tender moment between the two of them. The female cultist yelped painfully and hissed, raising her machete only to have it knocked from her hand and slide across the now incredibly messy floor. Hoyt stood over her, panting heavily, torn and bloody himself after scrapping with the dangerous woman, but the poor living conditions he had kept Vex in for the last month gave him the advantage. Vex was nearly completely spent and exhausted.

"I've been bored with ya fer the last week and a half now," Hoyt spat, raising his nightstick to strike again, "Ya try to take... a bite outta Mamma... bring yer boyfriend to fuck with us?! You don't know shit, ya blasphemous little cunt!"

Vex let out a anguished cry when she was sent reeling backwards, though it quickly became an insane cackle as she dragged herself into a sitting position, spitting out a mouthful of blood, "S-sorry sheriff. N-not my fault... y-y-you don't have... much of a cock f-for me to choke on!"

She didn't have long to make many more remarks about Sheriff Hoyt's manhood, as when she turned her gaze to see Thomas, shifting himself to hide Blake from her view and reach for his chainsaw once more. Then there was Darius, in pieces on the floor, guts spattered all over the place, face frozen in a silent scream. Luda Mae came in and stood behind Hoyt, bloody meat clever in hand and worse for wear, but very much alive.

"Merciful heavens!" she shouted, "Tommy... Thomas Brown Hewitt... finish the job! I want this one ta suffer fer what she's done!"

Hoyt took the opportunity to kick Vex again, splaying her out on her back and broke a few of her ribs in the process, "I'm too much of a pussy fer ya? That's whatcha always said ta me! Well my nephew Tommy ain't no pussy, maybe you'd like to play with him?! Yer boyfriend there looks like he had a hell of a time!"

Blake clung to Thomas' shirt sleeve, not wanting him to leave her. Tenderly, the giant freed himself from her hold, reassuring her that he'd be right back. There wasn't much Blake could do, as the fury and rage set upon Thomas once more, especially when he saw what happened to his beloved Mamma among everything else. Over the orders being barked at him to "kill the bitch" from the other members of his family, Vex's mad cackling filled the air, rivaling even the snarl of the chainsaw.

"MY SOUL IS PREPARED FOR HELL! HOW ABOUT YOURS?!" she screamed, in challenge, before turning her demented and wild gaze to Blake.

The shadow Thomas cast over her darkened Vex's eyes and insane grin, though there was a hint of a faint, unnatural amber glow to them, if only for a second. Just as the chainsaw blade was plunging for her body, the female cultist blurted out, "OH LITTLE KITTEN, I KNOW WHO REALLY KILLED YOUR DADDY DEAREST! AHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"T-Thomas! Wait, stop!" Blake screamed, holding out her hand.

It was too late, Thomas impaled the heathen right between her breasts. Vex laughed insanely for as long as she could, up until the relentless metal teeth of the chainsaw blade tore through her lungs and heart, silencing the cultist forever. For a brief moment, Blake heard the white noise, mocking laughter, in her ears, but then it was gone. The Soldiers of Eternal Damnation pledged themselves to devils and demons, and upon death, their souls were claimed. There would be no lingering spirit, leaving Blake with a burning question that would not be answered. Or Vex could have just been saying such things to torment the girl and make her question her dwindling sanity. Blake would never really know. Vex's lifeless body just lay there in soup of her own blood, gore, and bodily fluids, her face stuck forever in a twisted, sadistic smile.

Blake lowered her head and sobbed violently, clenching her fists. While the two soldiers may have been slaughtered, there would be more eventually, that's how it always happened.

"Good riddance!" Hoyt spat, kicking at Vex's limp, lifeless leg.

Luda Mae nodded, and while Hoyt helped Uncle Monty up off the floor and back into his wheelchair, Thomas took the opportunity to give his beloved mother a hug. The massive brute grunted and nuzzled against her, uncaring of the fact that he was getting a mixture of blood and dirt all over her.

"Good boy, there Thomas. That's a good boy, now." Luda Mae praised, taking in a deep breath, before casting her gaze down at Blake, "I-it just looks worse then it is. Mamma's fine. Y-you should look after yer girl now, be a good husband."

The girl was half-delirious from the severe pain she was in and the fact that she was surrounded by pieces of a corpse, a corpse she had ordered to be created. Blake ended up vomiting again, screaming incoherent words about her father, screaming for the lifeless, mangled corpses to answer her before finally collapsing out of pure exhaustion, unable to keep up the fight any longer. Coming so close to being permanently mutilated, ritualistically butchered by those freaks or worse?! Maybe if she wished hard enough, she'd wake up from this living nightmare. But that would never happen, because THIS was her life now. Thomas' massive form bent over her and picked her up, holding the distraught little female close to his chest.

'See? Pretty Blake understand? They hurt family. Hurt pretty Blake. Thomas never hurt Blake. Thomas loves Blake. Take care of Pretty Blake now.' his gravely voice grunted in her mind.

"I... I lo-t-thank you... Tommy..." she mumbled, in between her ramblings.

Blake continued to cry and scream into his chest, then struggled to catch her breath when another fit of coughing struck. Her head swam and she felt dizzy, the heavy smell and feeling of decay mixed with sticky blood causing her already upset stomach to churn with discomfort. Thomas grunted softly, tilting his head. H-had he... heard her correctly?

He couldn't be certain. But one thing that was for sure... there was going to be one hell of a mess to start cleaning up!

::To be Continued::

Author's Notes: This was a REALLY fun chapter to work with. Action, drama, tension, and I got to play around a little more with Blake's reforming psychic abilities.

The whole "Trance Drawing thing" was used in both "Guardian Angels" and my NoES short fic, "Emerging Powers". I personally think it'd be a cool ability to have, and I've never seen anyone do anything quite like it before.

We also have a first in this chapter. While it may be in her mental plea to Thomas, Blake actually swears for the first time. Normally, I keep her pretty cleaned mouthed, but this... well, this was an emergency. Two Soldiers of Eternal Damnation, armed with only her bindings and her wits.

Vex actually attempting to EAT part of Luda Mae while she was still alive, I figured it'd be ironic, give the cannibals a taste of their own gruesome medicine. It also occurred to me that despite their human flesh eating ways, kidnapping, torture, and the like, the Hewitts have this kind of bazar relationship with religion. I mean, in TCM, The Beginning, Luda Mae learns that Charlie/Hoyt murders and cooks the REAL Sheriff, serves him up, and Luda Mae scolds the guy for "Not saying Grace first." Hoyt also screamed about blasphemy when one of their sharper tongued victims screams "So do you fuck all of your cousins, or just the ones you find attractive?" So, I figured that the Hewitts would be at serious odds with the demonic/devil worshiping/Satanic ways the Soldiers of Eternal Damnation run.

Thomas meanwhile is starting to figure out that there's a little something more to Blake. He can't put a name to it, but he knows there's something far more special about that girl then he initially thought. While he may be a brute and the runt on the totem pole (a really BIG runt) I personally think that Thomas is smarter then most people give him credit for. He's often treated like a dumb animal, even by his own family, but Blake treats him as a person, despite all the horrible things he's done.

As for Blake... well, there's a lot on her mind right now. Did she actually have Thomas slaughter Darius, or would he have done it himself anyway? Was Vex just screwing with Blake upon her death, or is there something more to Tobias' murder? Remember, reviews are like my coffee, I love them to bits. I'm always up for a chat as well.

Disclaimer:: I do not claim to own The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or any of it's characters. The references to Jason Voorhees and Lisa Voorhees are from Lady_Vorrhees' story, The Strange Good Girl.