Blood Rush

Chapter Eight: Finale

Lila awoke with a start, blood-shot, dark eyes staring wildly ahead. Daylight, and the sun was beating down on her head. Ahead, she could see the big tent, the trailers in a circle, the commotion of the evening show ready to begin. She had to get moving—but when she tried to move, a surge of pain broke through her legs and she uttered a cry of pain, writhing on the grassy knoll on the hill. Legs broken. She was going to call for help—a gag in her mouth. Lila reached with a hand to pull the cloth out.

The cloth was a satin, orange and red—and a single bell tinkled when she removed it. Delilah…

"I'll kill that girl…" Lila breathed.

"Oh, Mom…You're such a kidder, you," said Jerome, coming up from behind her. He waved at her. "Hey, how you doin'? You look terrible."

Lila turned to him from her laid position on the grass, bleeding from the nose, a gash oozing from her head. "Jerome, you need to help me. Delilah, she's crazy—She—"

"First of all," said Deedee, suddenly appearing at her side, bending low to the ground with some difficulty due to her injury, wearing a sardonic smile, "I think that we should clear the air, for just a moment. Personally, I'd like to just shoot you in the head—you know, get it over with—" She shrugged, "But Jerome, you know how he is. Did you know that he's quite the showman? Probably not, you would never recommend him as being the fore front of the Circus, but I digress."

Lila stared at Jerome and then Deedee, aghast.

"You two are plotting against me—" Lila said, tearing up, reminded of her own mortality—

"Will you just shut the fuck up for like two minutes." Deedee retorted. "I mean, really…Just shut the fuck up for two seconds. Could save your life. Look at my brother, Mom. No, really, just look at him."

Lila glanced up at Jerome.

"See, I didn't care who you slept with, how much you drank—Hell," said Jerome, grinning, "I didn't even care when you found out about Deedee and me. You know what really sent me, though? I'll tell you." He sunk down to his knees, pushing up the legs of his trousers to squat in front of Lila. "Nobody likes a nag, Mom."

"But you can't really want me dead…" Lila breathed.

"Oh, yes." Jerome said playfully. "I really do. See, the plan was to bring you to Arkham Bridge—That's where Deedee and I first, ya know," he clicked his tongue suggestively.

Lila's face scrutinized into a look of revolted horror, shaking her head furiously. "That's disgusting."

"It was beautiful," Deedee cooed, her shoulders rising in the memory of the delicious tryst.

"Anyway," Jerome pressed on, "The plan was to take you to the bridge, for sentiment, you know? But you just kept pushing with the chores and the nagging and the incessant bitch moaning from the boning—"

"Why bring your sister into this!" Lila said, glancing at Deedee desperately. "No, if you want to kill me, you make sure Delilah isn't a part of this. She's had a hard enough life as it is—"

Deedee smacked Lila across the mouth. SMACK! Lila uttered a cry of pain.

"Shut up." Deedee hissed through gritted teeth, lowering her face inches in front of hers. "Shut up. You made it hard—You sent Jeremiah away in the middle of the night without him saying goodbye. He was my family too! You sent him away, believing his fibs."

"For good reason," Lila remarked waspishly, pointing at Jerome whom was palming a hatchet in his hand. "Look at what you've done to me!"

Deedee's cheeks turned beet red, "LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME!"

"Deedee," Jerome soothed her calmly, gently grabbing his sister around the forearm to pull her up to her feet, away from their antagonizing mother. "Deedee, you're kind of ruining this moment for me."

Deedee glanced at him and Lila momentarily. She nodded, licked her bottom lip. She pulled a ribbon out of her hair, letting her red locks fall down to her shoulders. The way that she pocketed the ribbon made Lila wonder if that was going to serve a purpose—why else wear it only to pull it down? Unless it was the next step in whatever sadistic show they had planned…Lila stared, dumbstruck, at the interaction between the pair of them. Look at that...

"Oh, you're right, Brother, you're right." Deedee practiced a few heavy breaths. "Guess I got caught up in the moment."

"Feel better?" Jerome asked.

Deedee nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. You go ahead, Jerome."

Jerome thumbed her chin, "That's my girl."

Lila Valeska couldn't figure out exactly which one posed the most threat. Her daughter had a violent temper, explosive even—an epitome of rage and sex cobbled together to make one twisted compound. But Jerome…He had laughed when Deedee had struck Lila, found it amusing. Things were funny to him. And Jerome could calm Deedee with such ease. Jerome, a psychopath…and Deedee, a sociopath. And they were siblings. And they were fucking. Why was the latter so much worse than the former?

"You two…" Lila said, shaking her head. Deedee and Jerome glanced down at her. "…are so fucked up in the head. Where did I go wrong?"

Jerome gave the hatchet a few practice swings.

"What do you think, Deedee? Like this…Or like this." Jerome demonstrated the highs and lows of the swing.

"I mean, this is your moment." Deedee shrugged. "But you're killing daylight, Brother. So…"

"You're right, you're right," said Jerome. "Well, do your thing."

What? What does he mean? Lila made to move, terrified to find out what he meant; however, Deedee bent down, shoved the gag into Lila's mouth and slapped a hand over her mouth to stop her from pulling it out. No one would be able to hear her muffled screams. Lila tried to grab Deedee's hair with flailing hands.

"You're gonna be able to keep her still, or…?" Jerome said flatly, slinging the hatchet over his shoulder patiently.

Deedee pulled the ribbon out of her pocket, quickly tying Lila's flailing hands together. Jerome observed her with interest; there she was, restraining Lila Valeska. The small grunts that came out of her trying to stop their mother from escaping—The bitch was strong, he had to give her that.

"Sorry, Mother," said Deedee in Lila's ear, "but you had to see this coming eventually."

"Now the finale!" Jerome said, raising the hatchet.

He swung the axe…