Chapter 50: Torn Apart
The wind and rain howled around the two figures standing still in the road, facing each other. The butt of Jack's scythe slowly sank into the heavy mud of the dirt road. The red blood ran quickly from both clothes and blade under the torrent of purifying water. But the rain couldn't wash away what Mary had already seen. The bloodstains were now gone, leaving a freshly cleaned steel blade that shone brilliantly with every flash of lightning, but the blood was still on Jack in her mind.
With a loud squishing plop, Jack pulled his scythe free from the mud and awkwardly slipped it into it's strap on his back with his left hand. He didn't want Mary to be afraid as he walked towards her.
Mary stood still and unmoving as the wind carried her drenched hair in a wild dance, slapping her across her face from time to time. No emotion showed in her eyes.
Jack stood in front of her, his right arm hanging limply to one side. He looked down at the ground between them, "I'm sorry Mary. Please forgive me for what I have done. Don't be afraid. I wouldn't hurt you."
The only answer was a loud crack from a nearby tree branch being violently ripped from it's trunk. Jack looked up at Mary, but she didn't return his gaze. There was a hollow look in her eyes as she stared through him, her world falling apart. "Mary?" Jack asked cautiously as he reached to brush away several strands of wet black hair sticking to her face.
At Jack's touch, Mary recoiled and reflexively slapped his hand away, "Don't touch me!" she cried out in anguish, "You murder my other! You murdered all of them, didn't you?" she didn't stop long enough for Jack to answer. "How can you touch me? My mother is dead..." Mary suddenly began weeping.
Jack reached out again, "I'm so sorry," he said as he started to embrace her.
Mary shoved Jack, knocking him backwards to the ground. He cried out as his already injured arm twisted painfully beneath him. Mary's outcry hurt Jack more than his arm. Mary's voice escalated to a fevered pitch, "I said don't touch me! Just leave me alone!" Her last words echoed out in a shrill cry of misery.
She turned and began to run away. Jack stood up quickly and followed her. He didn't know where she was going, but he had to get her. He had to stop her. Jack whispered softly to himself as he chased her, "I'll love you, no matter what I do."