T

T

     “Fuck, I can’t think.” Sean said.

     “What do we do now?” His little sister asked.

     “I don’t know. I never killed our father before, this is new to me.”

     “Well, I got the hammer for you and I’m covered in blood.” Trish said.

     “Fuck! I didn’t know any blood got on you. You can’t have blood on you when they come. They’ll know you helped. I did this to free you, not put you away with me, Trish.” Sean said.

     “I wish you wouldn’t say that bad word.” She said.

     “I know, I’m sorry. Listen, take your clothes off in the back yard and throw them in the fire pit, I’ll burn them after you take a shower.”

     “Okay.” She said.

     Trish went into the back yard and did as her brother asked. She went back inside, took a shower and put on her new clothes. All clean, she goes to check on her brother.

     “Why are you smiling?” Trish asked.

     “I decided to cover this up. We’ll tell the cops someone came in and killed him while we slept, and that we found him like this in the morning. Father was into drugs and a lot of people came through here wanting money. I’m sure someone wants him dead. I think we have a good chance at getting away with this. And who knows, maybe aunt Becky that lives in California will take us in.” Sean said.

     “Aunt Becky?! I haven’t seen her since I was little! She looks just like mom too!” Trish shrieked.

     “Little? You’re only 9.”

     “Well, I was younger than I am now. That means I was little.”

     “You have a point there, little sis. I’m going to burn my clothes and I will be back. Stay out of father’s room!”

     Sean went out back and put his clothes over his little sisters and set them ablaze. While covering himself with a towel, he watched the fire burn the clothes until they were ash and went back inside.

     “I’m taking a shower, and I will tuck you in.” Sean said.

     “I can’t go to sleep.”

     “You have to be in bed when they come, Trish.” Sean said.

     “When is that?”

     “In the morning, maybe 5 hours. I’m going to call them when we normally wake up for school and tell them we found him like this.”

     “Will they believe you?”

     “I think they will. Sad thing though, they will never know how badly he treated us. I had to do this, T, I had to. Otherwise he would kill us both in time.”

     “He whipped us every day and yelled at me all the time.”

     “I know he did. He always makes me change mom’s clothes.”

     “Mom?! I thought she left us. Let me see her!”

     “She ‘left’ us years ago, T. He kept her in the forbidden room.” Sean said.

     “I want to see her right now!” Trish screamed.

     “You can’t see her right now because I don’t know where he hides the key and trust me, you don’t want to see mom like this, Trish.”

     “Is she dirty?”

     “Yes.”

     “Well, I don’t mind. We can break the door down. We can do it, Sean!” Trish said with tear filled eyes.

     “Remember the last night you heard them fighting?”

     “Yea…”

     “Remember the bad smell we had in the house for a few weeks?” Sean asked.

     “Yea. But Dad said it was a dead skunk outside.”

     “Trish, he killed mom that night and stuck her in that room. And makes me change her clothes every other day.”

     Sean held Trish as she threw her head and arms around until she fell asleep.

*

     “Sean!” Trish whispered loudly.

     “What? Is it morning yet?”

     “No, but there is someone in the house.”

     “There can’t be anyone in the house, I locked all the…”

     Sean heard shuffling in the kitchen then heard his dad’s bedroom door squeak open and something hard hit the floor.

     “Fuck! Someone is in the house and going in dad’s room. Wait here. Where’s the hammer?”

     “On the table in the hallway by the forbidden room.” Trish said softly.

     “That’s right by dad’s room. Great. This is going to be fun.”

     “Can I co…”

     “No! Stay here and act like you’re sleeping. Do not open your eyes until you hear my voice. Promise?” Sean begged.

     “Promise.”

     Sean swung their bedroom door open as softly as he could, careful not to make any noise at all. Old houses tend to have old, rusty hinges. The floor cold on his bare feet, he makes it to the table with the hammer. He reaches out and takes the heavy hammer in his hand and slips back in the shadows of the house. There are sounds coming from the bedroom where his dad’s lifeless body rests and he walks closer. Each step is thought carefully where it is placed. Sean lays on his stomach and looks into the room and watches two men go through his dad’s things.

     “You hear that?” The tall man said.

     “Yea. Let me check it out. I’m pretty sure who killed Mark wouldn’t stick around. His kids were sleeping, right?”

     “Last I looked. If they see us, we have to kill them.”

     Sean got to his feet and swiftly went down the hallway to the dark cold kitchen and crawls under the table. Looking down the dimly lit hallway, Sean watches the man peek in the room his sister is pretending to sleep, then walks outside to the backyard. While crouching, he follows the short, fat man outside, hammer in hand. Creeping as quietly as he could, Sean raises his bloody hammer as high as he can and hit the man standing in front of the ember filled fire pit in the back of his head. The man fell onto the pit and Sean made a puddle out of the man’s skull, putting out the embers.

     “No! Let me go!” Sean hears from inside.

     “Fuck. Trish.” Sean says out loud. He runs inside and hears his sister putting up a fight in her room. Running through the kitchen and down the hallway, he grips his slippery hammer tightly. The door is cracked when he reaches it. Pushing softly on the door, he tiptoes inside. Knuckles white from squeezing the hammer, he says, “Hey, Asshole.” As soon as the tall man turns, Sean swings the bloody hammer as hard as he could, breaking the tall man’s jaw. The man drops Trish.

     “Go to dad’s room and lock the door with his big lock and wait for me!” Sean yelled.

     “I can’t go back in there, Sean!”

     “You don’t have a choice. Go!”

     On the way to the door, the tall man grabs her ankle. Sean swings the hammer and breaks the man’s arm. Tall man lets out a scream that shook the room. Sean watches his sister get out the room safely and turns his focus on tall man.

     “Why the fuck are you here, you tall bitch?” Sean asked softly.

     “You’re dead, boy. I was just here to kill Mark, but you got him already, huh?” Tall man mumbled.

     “Yea. Trust me, he had this coming. Just like you do for putting your fucking hands on my sister. Close your eyes and I will make it quick.” Sean said.

     Sean raises his arms. The tall man pulls out a gun with his left hand and shoots Sean in the stomach. With his ears ringing and eyes full of stars, Sean falls to his knees and swings the hammer, hitting the floor and breaking his hand. Tall man fires another shot, ripping through Sean’s shoulder. Sean throws the hammer but missing him and hits the door…

     “I think I will let you bleed out and pay your little sister a visit. I noticed that big lock on the inside of the door and won’t take me long to get in there. I’m sure she is lonely in there. I will be right…”

     He is cut off by the lethal blow Trish gave him with the hammer.

     “Keep hitting him, Trish!” Sean yelled.

     She hit him in his head and neck until she couldn't swing her little arms anymore.

     “Okay… I think he is gone. Keep your eyes closed and come here. Don’t look at him.” Sean said.

     “I heard the shots and had to come help you. Are you going to die?” Trish said with tears in her eyes.

     “I don’t know. My stomach hurts and I broke my hand… oh, and he shot me in the neck or shoulder, I can’t tell. I think it’s time to call 911. What do you think?”

     “What do I tell them?”

      “Tell them they came in, killed dad and I had to protect you. The hammer was never in your hand. Okay?” Sean said.

     “Okay. Come with me to the phone.”

     “I can’t get up, T. I can’t keep my eyes open anymore. Get me a towel after you call 911 to soak up this blood.”

     Trish watches her brother close his eyes while clutching his stomach as she leaves the room. She walks over the tall man with her eyes closed and runs down the hallway to the kitchen. She looks outside and sees the short guy on the fire pit not moving. She can’t reach the phone, so she uses the broom to knock the phone off the wall. With shaky fingers, she gives each number a firm press and dials 911.

     911 Operator: 911, what are you reporting?

     “They are all dead.”

The End