NOTE* Here it is my friends, chapter six! Sorry about the suspense, but more to come ;) Hope you all enjoy! Please don't hate me! XD
Chapter Six:
Gut Feeling
Drip…
Drip…
Drip…
Drip…
Alfred woke to that sound in his ear.
Drip…
Drip…
Drip…
His entire body hurt as he attempted to sit up.
Drip…
Drip…
He cracked open his eyes taking in his surroundings.
Drip…
He just wanted the pain to vanish.
Alfred knew his mother had been angry at him for his defiance. She had been even angrier with him for purposely taking his brothers punishment. It hadn't helped either that he had flinched when she had first walked into the room at the hospital. That little move itself had caused him at least a third of the current pain.
The running water beside him on the ground made him shiver as he looked around the basement where his step mother had thrown him after she had finished beating him. It hadn't helped she had been wearing high heels either when she had gone about kicking him. No doubt it had left some rather nasty marks on his skin.
Closing his eyes as a wave of dizziness came over him, he pushed back against the cement floor until he was somewhat standing. Stumbling more like it, but he tried to move towards the door. He stopped, when a handcuff pulled at his ankle which he noticed was attached to the leaky pipe.
He sighed as he collapsed against the wall. Guess this was where he would be staying for the rest of the day if not longer.
It wasn't that he had never been chained in the basement before, but it had never been in the colder part of the year. Again he shivered as he rubbed his bare upper body. He could feel the welts on his skin scream in protest of the rough feeling the wall gave against them, but the memory of that belt coming down against him like a whip made him shudder and lean into more, if just for some support.
Al glanced down at his pants which were soaked in water and…well, she had really scared him. He was glad Matthew wasn't here to see him like this. He knew his brother would never have let him endure both of their punishments had he been present. He was just glad for now, his brother was still safe in the protective care of Arthur Kirkland.
Arthur… the man reminded him a lot of how his father Allen had been before their mother had passed away. The man had been stubborn and demanding, yet he had also been kind and protective. A hero who had once been a soldier for their country. Now just a drunken good for nothing. The very thought made Alfred even more depressed in his dank, dark prison.
"Awake are we?" came a voice from the stairs.
He looked up the stairs at where his step mother stood. He noticed someone standing behind her and grimaced when he noticed both his father, holding an almost empty bottle of beer in his hand, as well as his Uncle, Ivan, his step-mothers brother. The man was known for his enjoyment of…well, rough treatments to men, women, and children alike. It was no wonder his step mother was the way she was with an older brother like that around.
"Hello Pipsqueak", his father drunkenly bellowed before stumbling down the stairs, barely catching himself before nearly falling face first. He glanced at the handcuff around his foot and frowned as he turned to look at his wife. "Do we really have to chain him?"
"Of course darling", his wife grinned, "he is a very naughty boy. Aren't you Alfred?"
Al just sat there, silent.
"I said…aren't you, Alfred?" she said again, a hard look coming into her eyes.
"Oh the worst", he commented dryly with a glare.
She glared right back.
"You know Ivan here thinks little boys shouldn't be so disrespectful to their mothers, don't you brother dear?"
"Da", his uncle agreed, a strange darkness came into the man's eyes as he stepped forward, however his step mother held him back.
"Now, now brother dear, we can't have you killing the poor child. He admitted he was bad, I think that is enough for now. You will remain in here until tomorrow night Alfred. You have until then to answer me one question."
"And that is?"
"What will be your apology gift to me", she muttered with a smirk.
Alfred scowled. He really wanted to you give her his own idea of a gift, but he knew if he did she would only allow his uncle to beat him within an inch of his life. He couldn't give her that satisfaction and yet he couldn't…no, he wouldn't ever say sorry to a monster like her.
H~H
Arthur had been having a bad sick feeling his stomach since yesterday, but it wasn't a secret to him the reason behind the feeling. Ever since Alfred F. Jones had walked out the front doors of the hospital lobby, he had been feeling horrid. Francis had checked him over, but they both didn't need any clarification as to why the feeling remained even with medication. It wasn't a physical illness. Then of course there was the situation with his youngest patient. Matthew Williams. The boy had refused to eat ever since his brother had walked out and even now, an entire twenty fours house have passed and not a thing has been consumed.
"Matthew", Arthur said walking into the room, "you really need to eat lad."
Matthew just shook his head as he burrowed further into his blankets. He was hungry, but he couldn't only imagine what was happening to his little brother right now. The thought made him lose his appetite.
"Want to tell me why?"
Matthew did. He really wanted to tell Arthur about why he felt horrible and why he needed to get to Alfred as soon as possible, but Alfred would be angry. They might be separated or even worse…they might fail to take them out of the home, resulting in them being sent back into that hellish home.
Would he risk it?
Could he?
Should he…
"Arthur", he whimpered out as he clutched onto the doctor and burrowed his head into the white lab coat, hiding his tears as they sprang lose like an old facet.
"Easy now lad", Arthur comforted, "What's wrong?"
"I…" Matthew swallowed, "I am worried about Alfred."
Arthur hesitated, knowing this might lead down a path he might not want to go. However his own bad feeling rocketed and he knew what he needed to do.
"Would you like me to stop by the house and check on him?"
Matthew paused. If Arthur went to check on his own…would they think Matthew sent him? Would it really work out like that?
Matthew nodded nervously.
Arthur didn't move as he his hands continued to rest on the child's shoulders.
"Alright then", he finally said, "Tomorrow morning before I head home, I will run by and check on Alfred. Sound fair?"
Matthew could only nod as he prayed with all he had in him that everything would turn out alright in the end. Surely, he thought to himself with a large swallow, surely…his brother would be fine and this might just all be a horrible dream.
He knew deep down, this was not the case.
H~H
"Have you decided on your apology gift?" his step mother asked as she walked down the stairs the next morning. It was early, but she couldn't wait to see what type of present he had come up with.
Alfred hesitated before he nodded.
"Of course mother", he replied lovingly as she smiled and opened her arms to him.
Alfred just smiled a large fake grin as he shuffled forward, his bones and muscles protesting. He could do this…he thought to himself, he could be a hero like he always wanted to be. All he had to do…was stop her from ever hurting them again.
It was a big thing to do. It was a serious thing to do. Murder. Could he do it? He had thought about it all night, whether he should do it. However the question always came down to the final thought. Could he do it? Could he really kill his own step-mother, no matter how bad of a person she was?
The answer was simple in his mind. Yeah. He had to protect his brother and for now…that was all that mattered.
He hid the pocket knife he had kept in his shoe for emergencies behind his back as he she embraced him as though he were a long lost son. He wasn't fooled of course. She always did this. Beat the living soup out of him only to hug and kiss him the next time she met him after a beating. He was used to it and he no longer believed it.
Who knew the same pocket knife his step-mother had bought him would be the same one he would use to take her life. Or at least…he would definitely try.
He stumbled forward, leaning into her embrace and closed his eyes as he lifted his hand. He was just about to bring it down into her stomach, when a tight grip clenched around his wrist.
"Wrong move…nephew", a voice spat.
His entire body crumpled as the large knuckles of his uncle sank into his rib cage. He heard the crack that came after and gasped in pain as he was literally thrown back down the stairs into the basement and onto the floor. His step mother stared at him in shock before she looked down at the pocket knife lying at her feet. She stooped down and picked it up. She ran her fingers over it as her eyes turned hard.
"My own gift to you…you little Indian giver", she spat as she marched down the stairs.
She grabbed the same hand that Ivan had, causing the bruises to scream in agony before she raised the knife and brought it down through the middle of his hand.
Never had Alfred felt such pain as black spots drifted across his eyesight.
"Do what you like brother", she spat as she left the knife sticking through his hand, "just don't kill him."
As his step-mother walked away, Ivan just grinned as he turned back to the boy lying on the floor at his feet.
"We will have some fun, Da?" he asked and reached down towards Alfred.
The child could only close his eyes and embrace the pain as he felt all sense of reality fade into nothing.