avid dilf enthusiast (✿◡‿◡)

     “Bubba! You git over here! You gotta job now!” Nancy’s voice rang through the house. Johnny was frozen for a moment, crouched like a statue. It was only when he felt his mother’s manicured hand gently scratching onto his bare shoulder that he found himself lulled away from his thoughts.

     “Don’ forget the other one in the basement! Just put her in the freezer for later, boy!”

     The young man stood up, his muscular form towering over the woman that raised him. Her hand caressed his arms, gently scratching up and down, not unlike a lover.

     “You did so good, baby… my Johnny… I’m proud of you…” Heavy stomping footsteps flooded the house, running up some stairs, down the hall and joined the mother and son in the dining room. The man that emerged was Bubba, the second youngest, and yet significantly bigger than anyone in the family, both in height and width. The family’s personal butcher.

     “Git her up, that’s gon’ be dinner.” The woman ordered, her voice switching harshly from the previous sickly sweet tone. The woman vaguely gestured to Maria’s lifeless corpse, slowly growing colder by the second. Nancy had a strong lack of regard for any of the family’s victims; once they were dead, they were merely meat, like they were never human at all.

     Johnny stood back, watching as Bubba easily picked up the girl's body, blood now getting all over the shoulder of his button up shirt. The big man whimpered and nodded gracelessly as Nancy shooed him away. She turned away from Johnny, mentioning he had to find ‘that damn cook’ to talk about the new piece of meat on the menu.

     The blood pool seeped further down into the wooden floor, staining it deeply. Just another permanent mark of another victim. This wasn't the first blood stain in this large farm house, and it was not close to being the last. Johnny watched the blood slowly ooze outward, the stain growing and moving around the floor, like it was still alive somehow.

     Before he knew it, Johnny was left alone in the dining room. He heard the ambient noises of his family throughout the house. Voices, banging, footsteps. They all morphed into the same auditory fog. With his knife in one hand, and Maria’s hair in the other, Johnny simply walked out of the house, right through the front door. He didn’t shut it, and just walked his heavy footsteps down the dirt path onto his personal property; his body moving purely on muscle memory in the haze. His ‘house’ was a modest shack in his mother’s backyard. She hated that Johnny didn’t live with her; she always tried to get him back into his old room, but he preferred solitude.

     The man stopped into his shack only for a minute. It was a small one room building that had a fridge, counter, bookshelf and a couch for him to sleep on. The couch held a simple pillow and a thin sheet; the wall above it held random papers, news articles and a single missing person poster framed perfectly in the middle. Johnny looked at it while he put the chunk of hair onto his couch, shoving it between the side cushions. As the hair wasn’t bound in any way, it fell into a messy pile before he covered it back up with the old stained pillow. He then sheathed his knife back into a special leather pocket Nancy sewed onto his jeans, and clapped his hands together.

     His gloves were mismatched now. They both held dirt and grease from all his hard work over the years but now only one was dark shades of red and brown, as the blood dried into the leather. Johnny ran that bloody, dirty glove through his hair, pushing all but one strand out of his scarred face. His lungs filled with a deep, warm breath of the morning air.

     The hunter spent the rest of the day in the family’s joint yard, which was his favorite place to be. It was filled with endless cars, broken and fixable, and right next to the barn that held all of his tools. Johnny tried to focus his mind on his busy work; fix up this van, change the oil on that truck, collect spare parts for his ever-growing collection. Every time he looked down at his hands holding a wrench, or pliers, he got distracted once more by his own gloves. By the memory of what his mother forced him to do. He forced himself to ignore it, to keep busy.

     Two cars later, Johnny felt something in the air change. A subtle shift he couldn’t put his finger on. The late afternoon was still warm, only starting to cool when the fluffs of white clouds covered the sun for moments at a time. There was only a gentle summer breeze every once in a while, and yet a shiver wisped through Johnny’s tan body. He grabbed the rag from his back pocket and wiped his damp brow, looking around to see what he was feeling. It only took him a few seconds to pinpoint the sensation; he was surrounded, at least on two sides, and he knew exactly by whom.

     Behind him, most of the car graveyard stood with a smaller barn that held some livestock. In front of him, his own truck’s open hood, and the sunflower field that lined the family’s property. The same field that he first saw Maria in, where he hid from her, stalking and watching her explore their property. She even took his picture, unknowingly, as she was too enraptured by the beauty of the flowers.

     To the average person, there was nothing out of the ordinary to notice. But the average person was not an experienced killer, a hunter who has been trained since he was a toddler. Johnny could feel the eyes watching him, he called out, his temper short.

     “If you boys don’ leave me alone, I’ll kill ya.” His attitude was sharp, his voice deep and leaving no room for questions. Laughter broke out in the sunflower field; Johnny watched as the movement became clearer as his ‘cousin’ stumbled out, tripping and making his way closer to Johnny. Behind him, more laughter and obnoxious singing as the other twin emerged from behind a car.

     “You can’ kill us……” The one from behind sang.

     “Y-yeah- D-Drayton wouldn’t like that!” The one from the field laughed even louder, continuing on as Johnny’s face contorted more into a grimace by the second.

     “Do that an-an’ he won’ let you- you have any dinner~!” He shouted, knowing exactly what happened in the dining room earlier. Secrets were never held for long in this house. The man behind them started laughing so hard he was doubled over, nearly on the ground.

     As fast as a shot, Johnny’s hand flew out and grasped onto the young man’s shirt so hard, it was stretching the already visible holes around his neckline. Johnny pulled his older ‘cousin’ in very close and looked directly into those manic, dark eyes.

     “You.” He started, jerking the man with emphasis. “Don’t talk about her.”

     Johnny’s anger rose higher and higher, his patience melting away the longer he heard both twins laughing all around him. Before anyone could say anymore, Johnny’s fist smashed into the stomach in front of him, knocking the wind out of the man. He sputtered and struggled to breathe, while still being restrained by his collar.

     “Nubs!” The other one shouted profanities and jumped onto Johnny's back. The older twin gripped and reached everywhere; scratching, pulling and hitting wherever his pale arms could reach. It was only then that Johnny let go of Nubbins, with one more punch to the face. He was sent to the ground reeling, before trying to recover as quickly as possible to help his brother.

     “C-Chop!” He yelled as he pulled a straight razor from the small pouch that hung around his neck. Flicking it open, he went for Johnny, slicing at his arms. Johnny, and his already scarred arms, were pulling off Chop-Top and throwing him to the ground, he went for Nubbins again, this time with his own knife.

     In a split second, the Bad Man took over. All of his anger, his rage, at his mother, at the situation. At his lost pet… All of it burst from his guarded heart and ran through his arms, swinging wildly at the twins and screaming all the while.

     “You damn- You fools! Never say- Don’t talk to me! We ain’ friends, ya sonuvabitch!” Johnny's deep voice ripped from his throat, blood sliding down his biceps and new holes being cut into his favorite tank top.

     Chop was laughing as he attacked and Nubbins looked more sad, but like he was still having fun. He got a good cut across his cheek from Johnny and yelped.

     The trio was too distracted by their fighting to hear the dinner bell ringing. The bell was hung on the front porch and was only rung for meals, signifying when the whole family had to go sit down for a meal all together. The bell kept ringing, but Johnny’s own head was too loud, the Bad Man could feel the adrenaline from being cut, from seeing blood and throwing his body around for a fight. He could feel the thumping, the beating of his own heart deep between his ears, not hearing the bell, nor the twins that kept yelling at him to stop.

     “JOHNNY! SAWYER!” It was only then that he was broken from his rage-induced trace. The man froze, not noticing the smile that had snuck its way onto his face. Johnny's broad chest heaved from the scuffle, looking at the twins that stood by him; they were antsy and twitching.

     “Johnny Sawyer. You hear that damn bell? You listen to me- to it!” It was Nancy coming around the corner of the big white house, she had an apron over her floral dress and a knife of her own in her hand. The twins moved to stand by each other, behind Johnny, as to be further away from the aggressive matriarch. Johnny could vaguely hear them giggle at him being reprimanded.

     “Mama, they was-”

     “I don’t care what they were doin’! You’ve been testing my patience all day, boy!” She waved the knife around in the air, glancing around at the twins.

     “You boys don’t get inside and you’ll be dessert.” Her voice was solid, hard.

     Nubbins started hopping his way around Johnny to the house, energetic as always. As Chop-Top followed him, he shouldered Johnny on his way. The man’s face broke and he grabbed at the thin man.

     “You-!” With one hand he pulled the back of the man’s shirt towards himself, and with the other, his knife came around to the man’s throat.

     SMACK!

     Before Nubbins could make a move, Nancy interrupted. Using her free hand to reach around Chop and smack the side of Johnny’s head, messing his slicked hair. The man then let go of his ‘cousin’, Chop-Top scampering off with Nubs back to the house, the older boys knowing Nancy's wrath all too well.

     “You stupid boy! When I tell you to do something, you do it! I am your mother, you listen and you obey!” Nancy stood, looking up at her son. His brown hair looked nothing like her black curls; his dark, yet warm, brown eyes held something that her grey irises lacked. They were so different, and yet Johnny was raised to be her clone, her faithful minion.

     “Mama, I don’ wanna ea-”

     SMACK!

     “You know better than to talk back to me.” Johnny’s rage boiled, but his face melted away into neutrality. That glaze washed over his dark eyes as he looked at his mother, but didn't see his mother. The side of his face was quickly turning red, the scars looking agitated and just as angry as he was. Nancy didn’t take the time to appreciate her work.

     “Now. I don’t wanna hear ANY backtalk. You will go inside. You will sit down and you will eat your damn dinner without any fussin’. And if you have anything to say about it, I’ll make you regret that.”

     Johnny didn’t say anything, he stood as still as a tree.

     Nancy held the knife up to his cheek, the same red, mangled one. Before Johnny could respond with any affirmation, she slid it deeply across his cheekbone, leaning down towards his mouth. He flinched but didn’t dare move away from his mother’s weapon. The line started pink and then grew angrier as his bright red blood started to gather and ooze down his face.

     “Oh, my beautiful boy…” Her voice softened, lowering her knife, looking at the blood that was now leaking from his cheek. She smiled as she moved the knife to scrape against the wound, catching the blood and gathering it on the steel.

     Johnny's mouth opened, he looked at his mother, his eyebrows turning up in the corners.

     “The next words out of your mouth will be ‘Yes, Mama’.” Nancy cut him off, her voice sweet and scary. A silent moment passed, there was only the squeaking metal of the windmill atop the nearby barn.

     “Yes, Mama…” He said in a small, dismissive voice, averting his gaze. Nancy's hand fell to gently rub his chest, feeling his racing heart. She smiled proudly, he was trained so well.

     By the time Nancy walked back through the front door, with her son in tow, the rest of the family was already sitting down at the dinner table. Drayton was standing about to slice into the big hunk of meat that sat in the middle of the table.

     Walking behind his mother, Johnny glanced at the floor of the dining room. Most of the blood pool was cleaned up– the floor was dry now, visibly stained with memories of Maria for the rest of time.

     “Hang on, Drayton.” Nancy made him jump. His wrinkled face twisted into a pout.

     “I would like to do the honors.” She said as she walked to the head of the table, pointing her sharp nail at the seat beside her for Johnny, glancing at him to assure his obedience. Nancy snapped at the old man to sit down so she was the only one standing. She fake coughed and got everyone's attention.

     “I am so happy to say that our house is pest free, and that Drayton and I have made this lovely meal for everyone.” Her smile didn’t meet her eyes.

     “Now, without further ado…” She said as she raised the knife that held Johnny’s blood above the roast. Nancy made sure Johnny could see exactly what she was doing, while not being too obvious. The other members of the family started talking, interrupting each other and reaching over the table to grab various sides.

     The matriarch sliced into the roast, cutting off a sizable piece, and moving it over to Johnny's empty plate. She made sure to rub the rest of his blood off of the knife with the meat itself .

     “Eat.” Nancy’s voice was once again low and threatening. No one else heard the exchange. Johnny only looked at the meat on his plate, his arms in his lap, making no movement.

     After Nancy cut everyone's pieces and sat down with her own, she noticed Johnny, not eating, nor moving.

     “Johnny…” She trailed off, getting his attention. “Don’t you wanna make Mama proud?”

     “Yes, Mama…” Nobody was watching when Johnny picked up his fork. He sliced off a bite size piece of meat, it had some herbs and the killer could see salt and pepper on it, as well as his own blood. He didn’t dare wipe it off; he knew his mother would notice.

     With only minimal hesitation, and a surprisingly steady hand, he put the bite of meat in his mouth. The first thing he tasted was his own blood; not only from the meat, but from the cut on his face that leaked over his soft lips. It was metallic and warm, he tasted the black pepper and the parsley. Then the juicy meat itself. He could just tell it was her; it felt like her. It was more lean, she didn’t have much fat on her. She had a slight athletic build so the muscle was built properly. She was… delicious. They were delicious together.

     It was no different from all the others. He tried to tell himself, closing his eyes for a long moment to gather his thoughts. That’s when he heard his mother’s voice, directing her normal temper at Drayton, the cook.

     Johnny kept eating. He only had meat on his plate, ignoring the sides of potatoes and fresh bread. He ate at a slow and steady pace. He told himself that each bite was forced, as though he wasn’t forcing himself away from scarfing down the whole plate. Just the thought of it being Maria… his heart was racing once more. The excitement flooded his veins while he savored her taste on his tongue paired with the obscurity of knowing this euphoria was wrong. He was infatuated with her, he wanted to keep her. He would’ve kept her, she could’ve been his forever.

     “It’s good for what it is… You did what you could, old man. Bad meat is just bad meat.” Nancy’s voice was cold and factual. Drayton started arguing, very loudly, to defend his cooking skills. The twins joined in and it only got louder. Most of the family said it was a good meal, and Nancy disagreed.

     Johnny finished his plate in silence, ignoring his family. With one last swallow, he breathed heavily, his body feeling like a live wire. Every nerve on fire and his heart pumping faster than he’d ever felt before. Over the years, the young man had taken the lives of countless humans and animals. The rush of adrenaline was addicting, running through his veins. He would savor Maria as long as he could have her.

The woman could hear an ambient yell from upstairs, it sounded like multiple voices in anger, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. 

The large man kept on his path, running out of the dirt passageway and towards the large metal door that the woman snuck through. 

He slammed it shut and locked it with a loud bang. The woman was trapped. She could only hope that her son was somewhere in this hellish basement. 

The woman waited an extra minute to see if anybody else was around. When she heard nothing but the quiet ambience again, she pulled herself out of her hiding spot. 

Before speaking again, she moved in the opposite direction that the man ran in. With only mild concern for her own safety, the woman moved further into the basement, away from all of the possible exits. 

“Hello?” She whispered again, looking around, scoping out the rooms and various gorey decorations. 

That’s when she heard it. It made her stop in her tracks and perk up her ears. A whimper. 

She stayed silent to try to hear it again, and when she heard nothing, she moved closer toward that direction the small noise came from. 

“Jesse?” She asked, moving to open a rusty old door. 

When she moved inside, she did not see her son. Instead, she saw another woman. She was younger and hung up by her wrists to the ceiling. Her long dark hair was messily hanging over her shoulders, nearly covering her face. She was wearing only a ripped blouse and underwear. 

The blonde woman gasped as she shut the door behind her and moved closer to the other woman, accessing the situation. The brunette has cuts all over her body, bruises and dark blood covering her skin. Her eyes were shut and brows knit. 

“Hello? Can you hear me?” The blonde asked in a gentle voice, not wanting to alarm the woman. 

The brunette lifted her head in confusion, only to nearly jump at the sight in front of her. 

“Who are you?!” The brunette asked, terrified that the blonde was a new captor she had yet to meet. 

The blonde held out her hands in a passive defence. She looked around the room, trying to find useful items, before focusing back on the girl. 

“My name is Virginia. I came here for my son. Are you okay?” Virginia asked the brunette, focusing on the various wounds covering her body. The woman grunted and thrashed in her restraints. 

“I’m… I’m okay. Can you help me?” She started, a pleading look in her eyes before she realised she had forgotten something. “I’m Maria.” Virginia tried to smile at Maria, nodding at her before she moved over to a shelf full of random garbage. 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Maria.” A few moments later, Virginia came back towards Maria, holding what looked to be a makeshift knife. 

“Alright, let me just cut this…” She whispered to herself, focused on cutting the rope bindings and not Maria’s already destroyed skin. Maria flinched in her bindings, though Virginia was very careful and never so much as nicked her skin.

“Have you seen my son? How did you get here?” Virginia asked as she finally cut Maria free from the ropes, her body dropping gracelessly on the floor. Virginia caught her weak body before she could fully collapse on the ground. 

Maria rubbed at her red wrists, looking down at her lap. She eyed the rope burn on her wrists and ankles, and all the cuts and bruises on her arms and legs. She sucked a harsh breath through her teeth as she prodded at a particularly deep cut on her thigh. 

“Maria, honey? Have you seen my son? Jesse?” Virginia asked again as she untucked her flowery shirt from her slacks and ripped off the bottom portion , leaving her shirt to sit a few inches higher than before. 

“Hold this right here.” Virginia said, placing the fabric on top of Maria’s bleeding thigh. Maria did as she was told as she watched Virginia work. 

“I… No, I haven’t seen anybody. Ah-!” Maria gasped as Virginia wrapped the fabric around her thigh and tied it tight enough to stay put and stop the bleeding. 

“I’ve only seen those… people . That family.” Virginia gave Maria’s less-injured leg a light tap when she was done wrapping up the wound. 

“C’mere…” Virginia stood up and gestured for Maria to grab hold of her outstretched hands. 

“Did they bring you here?” Maria asked as she stumbled to her feet, clutching onto Virginia’s body. The blonde wrapped Maria’s arm around her own shoulder and held it, wrapping her free hand behind Maria’s back. 

“No. I snuck in.” Virginia started. 

“Can you walk?” She asked, before she made any moves forward. 

“Yes… not very fast though…” Maria trailed off, ashamed of her current weakened state. 

“How did they not catch you?” Maria asked, confused. 

“I know how to be quick and quiet, I guess… I didn’t have a choice, I need to find him.” She had a certain distant, lost look in her eyes. It was as if the more time went on, the less hope she had… and the more anger grew within her broken heart. 

The women stumbled out of the room, leaning down beneath the windows in front of the door. Maria whimpered at their movements but tried to hush her own pain, instead focusing on trying to walk as quiet as possible. 

“I know how to get out the way I came in. But the door to the stairs is locked.” Virginia tried to keep a level head, to prove herself as the worthy, strong maternal figure she knew she was. “I need to find Jesse before we can leave.” She added, looking around, taking in every horrible detail of their surroundings. 

Blood was everywhere, there were bones hanging in doorways and random limbs on counters and hanging out of barrels. There were plenty of weapons and tools to help the wounded women. 

The pair moved forward, investigating down another hallway and looking around. 

“Alright…” Maria trailed off, also scoping out the tools and weapons strewn around the elaborate basement. 

“Do you know how many there are?... Up there…” Virginia looked at Maria, her brows knit tightly, worried about their futures. It was one thing sneaking into a dangerous place… it was an entirely different thing to sneak out of said dangerous place. 

“Uh…” Maria hestated, not wanting to think back and remember her encounters with the family.

“I don’t know for sure… I’ve… seen three.” Maria’s mouth formed into a thin frown, angry at her situation. “There was this girl, a big man with a mask… and another man who hunted me down… Johnny… he…” Virginia nodded as she leaned over and looked through a blue toolbox on a table. 

“I think if we can get up the stairs, we can sneak out the way I snuck in.” She said as she pulled a screwdriver out of the toolbox before she put it in her back pocket. 

“Let’s try through here.” Virginia gestured to a crawl space next to the toolbox’s table. 

“Can you make it? How’re you feeling?” Maria kept most of her weight on her less injured leg as Virginia gently sat her down on the ground. 

“Not great… But I can do it.” No matter the amount of pain and soreness that her body endured, she was determined to make it out. 

“Let me go first.” Virginia said, making sure to close the squeaky door to the room first, not wanting to have a direct trail leading to them. 

Virginia knelt down and gave Maria a little pat on the leg before she crawled forward and through the small space. She gave the room a once over before turning around and holding out her arms for Maria. “Alright, it’s fine in here. You can come through.” Not without struggling, Maria crawled through the space, a lot less gracefully than Virginia. Virginia helped Maria stand again, only to help sit her down on one of the beds in the small room. It was less of a room and more of a vaguely enclosed space. The three dirty bunk beds were separated by large door frames that held no doors. There were some barrels and tables scattered around the room. Virginia let Maria sit down for a bit while she checked over all the supplies. 

“How did you know how to patch me up?” Maria asked, tightening the knot in the fabric on her thigh. The blood darkened the yellow flowers, but it wasn't nearly soaked through yet. Virginia was successful in helping stop the major bleeding. 

“I’m a nurse.” Virginia stated, looking over a desk that had a bunch of junk on it. She turned around with nothing in her hands. 

“Okay. Next room.” The blonde spoke, growing aggravation clear in her tone. Her patience was starting to slip, she just wanted to take her son home. 

The mother walked over and held onto Maria again, hugging her body close. 

“I hope we find your son… What’d you say his name was?” Maria started, trying to be optimistic for Virginia’s sake. 

“Jesse.” Virginia was struggling to stay focused and hopeful. She wanted to tell Maria about her son, it was just incredibly hard for her to stay strong when she thought about the situation. 

“Jesse. That’s a great name. How old is he?” 

“Twelve.” 

“Oh, that good troublemaking age.” Maria tried to joke, smiling at the thought of a child that young. “I don’t have kids, but I have a little sister… I remember when she was that age.” Maria tried to focus on positive memories but her brain only led her back to the thought that she might not ever see her sister again. 

Virginia looked at Maria as they slowly walked down another dirt passageway. 

“What’s her name?” Virginia reciprocated Maria’s first question. 

“Ana.” Maria looked down, her face holding a sad smile on her lips. 

“That’s beautiful.” Virginia lightly squeezed Maria’s shoulder, a small moment of comfort in their situation. 

“How old is she?” 

“She’s eighteen, I’m twenty-one. She’s still in highschool… I wish I could’ve taken her to college with me….” Maria said, holding onto the dirt wall, attempting to put less weight on Virginia. 

“Maybe you can show her around campus when you get back…” It was now Virginia’s turn to try and keep Maria’s thoughts hopeful. 

Maria’s eyes started to water as the depressing, cynical thoughts became too much. She wiped them away before they could fall, looking in the opposite direction of her new friend. 

“I… would love to…..” Maria’s voice shook. She stayed quiet after that, trying to calm herself down and focus on getting out. For Ana.

“C’mon, honey.” Virginia gently patted Maria’s side, gesturing to a bin against the wall. It looked like it was holding a pile of dirty clothes. 

“Let’s find you some pants.” Virginia said, pointing to the box. The blonde gently let go of Maria, helping her grab hold of the dirt wall behind her, leaning most of her weight on it. 

The older woman kneeled down and started rifling through the bin of scrap fabric and clothes. Some of them were so dirty and torn that they could barely be seen as clothing anymore. Some of them were less torn and only half bloody. 

Virginia held up a pair of white bell bottoms. She spun them back and forth to examine them before holding them up for Maria to see. 

“Are these good?” Maria nodded and pushed against the wall, moving closer into the open, limping a bit but still walking on her own. 

“Yeah, they’ll be fine. Thank you.” Maria put a hand on Virginia’s shoulder, lifting up her bad leg. The nurse was sure to not bump or hurt her thigh even more. She held onto the pants as Maria held onto her. Maria winced as the fabric rubbed against her thigh, it was better to have something pressed tight against it, than have it open and bleeding. 

Maria struggled to put her weight on her bad leg; she gasped at the pain, but pushed through it. 

Everytime her body was racked with another wave of pain, all Maria could think about was her little sister. Getting out of here and back to her family, her friends. That’s all that mattered. 

After the pair successfully returned some modesty back to Maria, they kept moving around the basement. Room to room, gathering whatever they could. Virginia gave the screwdriver to Maria to hold, as the blonde found a possible weapon. A broken bone with a horribly sharp edge on it. Both women ignored the thoughts of where it came from, and why it was just lying around on the ground, in a pile of other bones surrounding it. 

Virginia whispered a quiet thank you to their unwillingly weapon donator, before moving forward. The pair eventually circled the whole perimeter of the basement and arrived at the red room again. 

“Last room…. Come on, Jesse…. Where are you, baby?” Virginia was getting more and more anxious and irritable. If her son wasn’t here…. 

They walked through the room, to help Maria sit down on the little wooden steps that led to a raised platform that took up the corner of the large room. 

As they were walking, they stopped in front of a large wooden arch that held a meathook on the top beam. 

The girls looked around in separate areas when they both collapsed. Maria nearly shouted in pain as she was dropped onto the dirt floor. Virginia let out a large gasp, as if she were in pain. 

“JESSE!” Virginia completely ignored Maria, leaving her alone and confused to pull herself up on an old apothecary table. Virginia was on her knees, crawling as fast as she could to her twelve-year-old son’s lifeless body that was crumpled on the ground between the meathook’s arch and the large wooden table in front of it. 

Virginia started hysterically babbling and crying into her son’s hair as she hugged him. Maria said nothing, only watched the grieving mother as she bawled for her only son. 

“My baby…. My baby!.... Jesse, honey…” Virginia held his body tightly, rocking him like she always loved doing. She was hoping, praying, to feel a pulse. There was none. 

It was only when Virginia started to wail too loudly that Maria said something. 

“Virginia! Please!” Maria started, a hushed yell as she stumbled to her new friend’s side, holding her shoulders. Virginia didn’t look up, she kept her face buried in her sons’ forever unruly hair. Maria rubbed her friend’s back, trying to shush her as to not alert their captures. 

It was only then that Maria truly looked at Jesse’s body. He was sickly pale, like most of his blood had left his body. Maria gagged at the sight of a missing forearm and whole leg. The wounds were crudely cut and messy, leading to a large puddle of mostly dried blood beneath where he lay. Maria could see Jesse’s little forearm on the table beside them, a large butcher knife stood in the table next to it. However, his leg was entirely missing from the area, nowhere to be seen. 

Virginia continued to wail, completely ignoring everything going on around her. The true state of Jesse’s body. Maria begging her to calm down…. She didn’t even hear the heavy footsteps running down the stairs. 

It wasn’t until the large metal door was thrown open, causing a horrible crash, that finally broke Virginia out of her hysteria. 

The blonde’s head jumped up. Both women’s faces were frozen in fear when their heads whipped around to follow the large footsteps. 

“Johnny.” Maria said his name like it was the most awful thing she could call him, her tongue coated in venom. 

“Ho ho…” Johnny scoffed out a laugh as he slowly pulled a large skinning knife from behind his back. 

“Looks like my lil pet made a new friend.” He said, eyeing up Virginia still clutching her child’s corpse and crying. Her face was full of pure anger and hatred when she looked at him over Jesse’s shoulder. 

Johnny held out his arms, like he was welcoming Virginia into his lovely abode.

“Oh, is he yours?” Johnny used his knife to gesture to the little corpse in Virginia’s quivering arms. The woman was shaking in pure fear, adrenaline and rage. Maria glanced at her friend, worried for what was about to happen to them. 

“Yeah…. He didn’ last very long…” The man spoke with a cruel smirk. 

“Tasted great though!” He laughed and patted his stomach, thankful. 

Maria finally realised where Jesse’s missing leg went. Her blood ran cold and her heart fell into her empty stomach. 

“Virginia…” She started to speak before the man cut her off, pointing his knife at the pair. 

“If you really his mama, I’m sure you’ll taste just as fine…” Johnny’s eyes turned darker and his smile turned from a light laughter to a darker, devilish one. 

His dark brown eyes bore into Virginia’s, waiting to see what she would do. He quirked an eyebrow as he watched the final moments of logic and resolve flicker away from her watery eyes. 

Before anybody else could speak, Virginia jumped up from the ground, no longer holding her son. She bolted towards Johnny and screamed in rage, pulling the makeshift knife from her back pocket. 

Johnny jumped to the side, avoiding the mother’s rage. He grabbed one of her wrists and yanked it in the opposite direction of her momentum, causing her to stumble and scramble to find her footing. 

“Maria! Run!” Virginia called to her friend, not seeing where she was, just hoping that she could escape in time. 

Maria hobbled as fast as she could past the fight, making her way up stairs into the rest of the house. 

The tall man swiped his knife against Virginia’s stomach, making the woman scream and double over. She could hear the man’s sadistic laugh clearly in her ringing ears. 

Johnny used the opportunity of having Virginia bent over, to stab her in the back. Her already dirty outfit began to turn bloody and warm as blood began covering both her front and back sides. 

Virginia stabbed the air next to Johnny, the pure pain disorienting her completely. Johnny stabbed her back again and took a step backward to see what he’s done. All the while, the man laughed and taunted the poor, bleeding woman. 

“Aww, look at you, hotshot! You bleed just like yer boy!” Johnny roughly shoved a hand toward the large slice in Virginia’s stomach, prodding at the wound and covering his yellow gloves in blood. He brought the glove to his mouth and smiled as he watched Virginia stumble. He took an extra moment to lick the blood off of his skinning knife, making a show of it for the woman. 

“Mmm-mm!” Johnny faked a moan, congratulating the dying woman. 

“Damn, you do taste fine !... Better than yer boy…” Johnny shoved the knife into her stomach again, pulling Virginia’s face close to his own, holding her neck with his bloody glove. Slowly, the man pulled his large knife out of Virginia’s stomach. Her shirt was no longer yellow, now it was only a dark red and black. 

The man chuckled as he pushed her away from his knife, forcing her to stand on her own. The woman swayed back and forth, trying to grab onto his arms. Johnny finally grabbed her arm that held the makeshift knife. He nearly crushed her wrist bones in his grasp, forcing her to drop the knife and yelp in the ever growing amount of pain she was receiving. 

The blonde collapsed to the ground, her knees crumbling under her trembling torso’s weight. 

As Virginia fell to the ground, she realised it was over for her. There was no getting out of this one. There was no running away from this fight. 

She thought of Maria, she could only hope that her attacking Johnny was enough distraction for her new friend to escape, or more likely, hide. 

She thought of her son. She thought of his first birthday, and his last one. His wide smile and silly jokes. The way he would hug his mother and spend time with her. She thought of when he would play too rough outside and get hurt. Virginia was always there to clean him up and take care of all of his injuries. 

Now, there were no more wounds. No more she could fix. Nothing more she could do to save her son. 

The mother felt her heartbeat slowing down, she felt her life being ripped from her. Her chest heaved as it hurt her to even breathe correctly. Instead of focusing her last feat of strength on the man standing over her, laughing. She could only look at her son’s cold, lifeless body mere feet away from her. 

Virginia began to use the last of her strength to pull herself along the dirt ground, toward her son. 

“Jesse… my baby…” Her voice was quiet, as if even her words were slowly dying along with her. 

“Oh, ain’t this sweet…” Johnny walked around her, his big heavy boots echoing in her heart. 

“Mama just wants ta be with her boy again…” He was smiling. Why was he always smiling?

Johnny took one of his large boots and dropped it unceremoniously on Virginia’s back. The woman jumped and yelped in pain. The wounds on her stomach were being rubbed into the dirt. The ones on her back were now being ground into by a dirty work boot. 

“You thought you could fight me? Yer even dumber than ya look, mama!” The man taunted, pushing his foot harder onto her back, not allowing her crawl closer to her son. 

“Oh, ya tryin’ ta get somewhere?” He jested, taking his foot off of her, letting her move forward a few inches. She was using all her brain power to ignore the man and focus on her Jesse. 

“Baby…. Please…” She whimpered, her tears flowing again as she could see the way her son’s eyes were flat and lifeless. 

Virginia outstretched one of her dirty hands, trying to touch her son, to grab onto his little hands one last time. She wished she could hold his face and give him one last kiss. From a mourning mother. She only wanted to say goodbye. 

“Here.” Johnny started, moving to step over Vigrinia’s body so he now stood with one foot on each side of her. He leaned forward to reach her. 

“Let me help you!” He laughed maniacally as he shoved his knife through her shaking hand just before she could reach out and grab her son’s arm. There was barely a couple inches between her warm fingers and Jesse’s ice cold ones. 

Virginia screamed again and begged only for her son. 

“Please! I just want my baby!” She cried and cried, babbling nonsense towards both Johnny and Jesse. 

Before the woman could pull herself up and move toward her hand that was now nailed into the dirt, Johnny stabbed her again in the back. 

“We’ll serve you right up for dinner, mama! Your boy can be dessert!” Johnny laughed as he used his bloody hand to grip harshly at Virginia’s hair. 

Johnny was too focused on torturing and yelling at Virginia to hear his name being called from upstairs. 

“Ain’t you having fun, mama?” He laughed as he pulled her hair further up, forcing her back to bend and contorting her wounds. 

“I know I am!” Virginia couldn’t even speak, her breath was starting to fade from her lungs completely. 

“JOHNNY!” Johnny’s head perked up and looked towards the open basement door, not letting go of Virginia just yet. 

“Boy, if you don’t git your ass up here!” It was a woman’s voice. Johnny could hear another woman screaming and other ambient shouts and bangs. 

“Sorry to end our playtime so soon…” Johnny let go of Virginia’s hair, letting her head drop onto the ground with a dull thump. Virginia could barely hear his voice through her thumping ears. 

“They always try to fight! And they never win!” He added, forcing his large knife once more into her wounded back. He yanked it out while laughing before stepping on her back again. He continued laughing as he ran up the stairs and into the tv room. 

In Virginia’s last moments, she could feel her heart struggling to pump blood out of the many stab wounds that covered her body. 

The dying mother tried to reach out to her son once more. 

Her shaking, bloody hand dropped to the ground as her heart finally gave out. Her body now left on the dirty ground, only merely inches away from her son’s corpse. 

-

“Johnny!” The woman screamed once more. 

“‘M comin’, Mama! Gadammit!” Johnny shouted as he ran through the house, knife in hand. 

Following the scuffling noises, Johnny ran up the basement stairs and through the main hall. He turned into the living room and stopped his tracks when he saw Maria in the middle of the room, on the ground. 

Maria was shaking from anger and fear, her white pant leg now red with her reopened wound. The running strained her body so much that she was heaving to breathe correctly. The girl yelped when her hair was yanked back awkwardly by an older woman. Maria was being forced to look up at the doorway, at Johnny. 

“What the hell were you doin’?!” The older woman in a soft floral dress asked Johnny, gesturing to the direction he came from. The man merely shrugged off his explanation as he walked toward Maria with a sinister smile on his lips. 

“We had another rat in the basement. Took care ‘a her.” He switched his grip on his knife from his right to his left, using his newly freed hand to wipe a finger down the side of Maria’s bloody face. It was almost… sweet, the way he caressed her face and studied her features. 

“Oh, my girl…” He started, ignoring his mother, even though she stood within arms reach of the man. 

“I’m gonna have ta teach you some manners. Can’t have you runnin’ away like that.” Johnny suddenly gripped Maria’s jaw tightly and jerked her face around, forcing her big brown eyes to focus onto him. Maria yelped as she was being pulled around like a ragdoll, she gasped through her teeth while she tried to move her legs into a more comfortable position. Her leg was throbbing and bleeding onto the wooden floor beneath her, she threw her hands up and attempted to pull the hands away from her face. Neither of the hands on her face or hair even budged an inch. 

As Johnny tried to pull Maria forward, the older woman pulled her hair further back, away from Johnny. It was only then that the man looked up to meet her hard gaze. 

“Mama…” He started talking when her harsh voice cut through him. 

“No. You ain’t keepin’ this one. I don’ like her.” Her voice left no room for discussion. Maria could see a change in Johnny’s attitude, like he was a rogue dog who had finally been reigned in by his master. Johnny’s hand slowly fell from Maria’s face, like he didn’t want to let her go. 

The man kept his gaze on his mother, but his eyes unfocused. 

“But-”

“But nothing! I said ‘no’, Johnny!” She used her free hand to adjust her glasses, almost casually. She gestured down to the wounded girl beneath them. 

“Now… if you don’ kill her, right now!... I will do it myself, boy.” 

“Nancy, the hell’s goin’ on in here?!” A man rushed out from the same doorway Johnny ran through, wielding a wooden spoon in his hand. He was dressed in grey slacks and a white button up, his shirt had a few specks of red blood on it. 

Johnny and his mother both looked at the man, annoyed at his entrance. The elder man pushed past Johnny and tried to grab at the girl on the ground, her body trembling violently. Nancy cut the man off before he could yell anymore nonsense. 

“This one’s tryin’ to escape. Johnny’s gonna kill her.” She said it like it was fact, like whatever words she said was law. Johnny made sure not to interrupt his mother, he waited until she was done to then interrupt the elder man and add his side into the mix. The man opened his mouth, but Johnny’s voice came out instead. 

“Mama, I told you. I’m keepin’ her. ‘Scuse me, old man .” Johnny shot a horrible side eye at the man as he nearly elbowed him out of the way, putting distance between the man and Maria. 

“Why, you-!” The man started but was cut off by Nancy once more. 

“Drayton. Go get my pick. I left it in the kitchen.” Nancy looked down at Maria for a moment, seeing the girl watching the three strangers surrounding and threatening her. 

“Mama, you ain’t-” Johnny started without missing a beat, reaching to grab onto Maria’s hair and moving Nancy’s hand away. Nancy pulled Maria away from Johnny once more, making her whimper in pain and reach her hands onto the ground, wiggling around uselessly. 

“Drayton.” She refused to look at her son, instead staring daggers at the man who was stumbling through protests as he left the room, grumbling to himself and shaking his wooden spoon in the air disapprovingly. 

As soon as the old man left the room, Johnny turned back to his mother quickly. 

“I said I’m keepin’ this one. I’ll go out and get another one for ya, Mama…” Johnny’s normally cold voice wavered a little before he took a breath to compose himself again. He never allowed himself to ever show his true emotions or intentions, it’s been too many years since he built up his walls. Johnny kept glancing between his mother and Maria, taking in random details about his victim. From the cuts on her face, to the blood still slowly oozing from her thigh, staining the wooden floor. 

Finally, after what felt like hours to both Johnny and Maria, Nancy looked at her son. What Johnny felt in that moment was not relief, as he heard Drayton’s footsteps nearing the living room. 

“Johnny.” Nancy started, raising her free hand to gently caress her son’s mangled cheek. She had a sweet smile on her face, like she wasn’t about to give Johnny a horrible job to complete. 

“My sweet, beautiful boy…” Johnny didn’t dare open his mouth until she finished her thought. His deep brown eyes fluttered closed for a moment as he let himself indulge in the warmth of his mother’s touch. 

“I’m givin’ you a choice now…” Nancy pulled her hand away from her son’s cheek, his eyes popped open and saw Nancy gesturing for Drayton to hand her the pickaxe, not without grumbling more insults that Nancy chose to ignore in the moment. 

Nancy held up the pick for Johnny to get a good look at it. 

“You either kill this rat right now… Or I will do it myself.” The smile disappeared from her face as she stared deep into her son’s eyes. Her eyes felt dead, flat and blank, devoid of all sympathy for her beloved son. 

“Bubba! The hell are you, boy?! Git yer ass over here now!” Drayton yelled throughout the house. When in any doubt, Drayton never hesitated to sick his brother on any poor victims that happen to cross the family’s path. 

Loud, booming thumps began to rhymically bounce throughout the house. The biggest, and yet youngest, brother ran at the sound of Drayton’s yells.  

“NO!” Johnny’s voice boomed, his anger towards his mother instead came out directed at Drayton. His voice dripped with venom as he continued. 

“You keep that big idiot away from here… she’s…” Johnny took a moment to breathe, he looked once more between the two women in front of him. Bubba thumped into the room behind Nancy and Maria, in the opposite direction that Drayton resided. He held his dead chain saw close to him as he whimpered and grunted, looking around at all the people, assessing the situation. 

Nancy cocked one eyebrow and tilted her head, awaiting his answer. 

Johnny thought about his options. One of them would be the more gruesome and messy of the two. It would leave Maria a disfigured and unrecognisable pile of tan flesh and red blood. He’s been working with and witnessing his mother’s aggression for so many years now, he knew exactly how this would end if she had the chance. 

He thought of the only other option. His knife was smaller than his mother’s pick, it would be cleaner and easier. He could keep her pretty with his knife. The guilt would be less if he didn’t let his deranged mother within an inch of his pretty Maria. 

Nancy lifted the very tip of her pick to Maria’s throat. The young woman flinched at the feeling of the cold metal. She tried to pull away, but she did not cry. She did not beg. She did not speak. Maria’s brain was slowly processing her exact situation and the incredibly small likelihood that she would make it out of this nightmare house alive. The young brunette was accepting her own fate, as she finally accepted and thought about what happened to Virginia. 

“She’s… mine.” Johnny’s voice broke the deafening silence. It’s like Maria was snapped out of a trance. Her eyes focused on Johnny standing above her, just out of reach. 

Bubba whimpered and Drayton made snarky comments, Johnny was too focused to hear any of them. However, he did hear the sound of Nancy turning and briefly talking to Bubba, handing him her big red pickaxe. 

With her hand free once more, she brushed a finger over her son’s face, moving a stray hair to nearly tuck behind his ear. She traced over his scar, all the way from his hairline. His mother’s perfectly polished fingernail dragged down below his jaw and even further down onto his neck. Her touch was light enough not to inflict pain, but her nail was sharp, and her strength was threatening. Johnny knew what her hands could do all too well. 

“...Yer gonna be good and kill her for me?” Nancy’s voice was lighter now, but just as cold and emotionless as before. 

At first, Johnny didn’t say anything back, he just looked into his mother’s eyes and nodded gently, barely visible to anyone watching. He slowly fixed his strong grip onto his large skinning knife. 

“Good boy.” Nancy said with a sickening smile, the hand residing in Maria’s hair finally released the girl. The mother pushed her forward, forcing her to fall into Johnny’s large work boots. Nancy took a step back and kept that devilish smile on her face, watching and waiting to see her loyal son do her every bidding. Maria caught herself before her face hit the ground. She tried to push herself up, but Johnny crouched down before she could.

“You…” He started, lifting a gloved hand to grab underneath the girl’s chin, pulling her face to look up into his eyes, dangerously close. Johnny’s eyes no longer flicked back and forth between anyone, not even his mother. They were only glued to Maria, watching as she came to terms with her fate. 

“I wanted to keep ya… You woulda had it good here, I was gonna take care ‘a ya…” His hand held her cheek gently, rubbing a gloved finger down from her cheekbone, down to her neck. 

Maria’s eyes began to fill with tears. After all her time of remaining strong and stoic, her resolve was finally rumbling. All of her strength was crumbling right into Johnny’s hands. Yet she still would not beg, she would not say anything. She only made noises as she struggled to breathe and ambiently writhed around on the uncomfortable floor. 

The grip on Maria’s jaw grew tighter, slowly but surely. Johnny’s movements teetered back and forth between being confident and hesitant, like he was fighting an internal battle between his two sides. 

“An’ now…” He paused, taking a gulp of air before continuing. 

“Now you’re gonna meet the bad man… the man your little friends met…” Maria’s mouth opened, but she closed it before saying anything. In her final moments, she decided not to entertain these criminals and their crazy antics. There were only silent tears flowing down her cheeks, soaking part of his gloves to be a darker shade of yellow than before. 

“I don’ wanna do this, darling…..” Johnny held her face and held his knife up to her neck, still holding her jaw tight enough so she couldn't move away from him. The man momentarily glanced up at his mother. He saw no smile, it had faded away when he started talking to Maria directly. He wasn’t supposed to apologise to his victims. Surely, Nancy had taught him better than this. Nancy’s one good eye was staring into his soul, Johnny felt like his entire being was on display for his own mother to judge. The man hesitated in his movements with his knife. For a moment, he faltered, lowering it as he stared into his mother’s disapproving eyes. 

Johnny looked back to Maria’s face to find her eyes squeezed shut, branching for some type of impact.Without letting go of her jaw, Johnny used his index finger to gently tap on her cheek, getting her attention back on him. Maria’s eyes opened back up and met Johnny’s. Neither of them wanted this to happen, they both had drastically different plans for how this would end. 

“Family comes first…..” Johnny whispered, his voice rumbling deep in Maria’s chest. 

Instead of hesitating again, Johnny lifted his knife and stared deep into Maria’s eyes as he slowly slid it across her neck. The girl jumped and sputtered, flinching and thrashing against his grip, but he held her. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, trying to finally find words to say to the man in front of her. Johnny held her only mere inches away from his face as he watched intently as the deep gash on her oozed and the light slowly faded from her once bright and happy eyes. 

Maria tried to lift up a hand to reach for her neck. It fell abruptly and her body went limp before she could reach anything. The blood puddle beneath her body only grew as Johnny felt the frantic heartbeat in Maria’s neck slowly fade into nothingness.

The girl looked around at the camp around her; the dried fountain in front of her, the food wagon to her left, the horses off grazing in the field. The scenery was peaceful and yet the camp held a tension within its occupants. Pearson was trying to continue to cook, but glanced over at the girl, and she could tell he wanted to say something. The rest of the gang members were quietly talking in spread out locations; the gazebo, the scout fire, the field. The girls, Tilly, Mary-Beth and Karen, were still sitting around their beds. It looked like they were gossiping about what just transpired. Karen looked at the girl with concern, and slight judgement, meanwhile Tilly glanced over with genuine pity in her dark eyes.

The hat thief felt horribly out of place, like everyone was looking at her with a magnifying glass. The tension made the girl’s skin crawl. She tried to ignore all the people and relax, but that’s when she saw it. The white, now more brown than before, cowboy hat near the log bench beside the fire. Micah’s hat. The tiny thing that caused all of this drama. The girl walked over and grabbed it, dusting it off as much as she could. The white was now permanently stained a light shade of brown in some spots. The girl turned around to try to find Micah, but he was nowhere to be found.

She may not be extremely close to the man, but she knew his favorite spots to sit and relax away from everyone. She didn’t put the hat on her head this time, opting to just carry it in her hands. The thief walked around to the left side of the house, nearest to the swamp. When she saw nobody, she kept looking around the little sheds and structures behind the old house… and there he was.

Micah was leaning against the little wooden shed, resting one hand on the wooden beam, and the other rubbing at his jaw. He was stretching it and trying to massage the pain away.

Even from her distance, the girl could see the dark blood that leaked from the blonds’ nose and dyed his thick mustache. It dripped down and Micah didn’t bother to even clean himself up. He just gracelessly rubbed the back of his hand under his nose and kept focusing on the water and big trees that surrounded the land’s perimeter.

A large pang of guilt shot into the girl’s gentle heart. She is the only reason why they fought, why her father was angry at her, and why they both shed blood. It was all on her behalf. Micah didn’t notice her walking up behind him.

“You alrigh’?” Her voice was quieter than she meant it to be.

“Go away.” Micah didn’t even turn his head, he just spat some blood from his mouth onto the bright grass, staining it red.

“Mr. Bell, I-” The girl tried to reason, to speak up, but the man wouldn’t have it.

“I said ‘go away’. Don’ yer ears work, Morgan?! I ain’t dealin’ with yer daddy again cause you decided to come over here an’ cause more trouble! Now, go on.” The girl opened her mouth but her voice ran away. Maybe in her right mind, she should’ve ran away. Back to her father and she would be patching him up with Charles at this very moment. But she didn’t.

Micah felt the girl’s presence move close, but he still refused to look at her. Then he felt something bump his arm, only then did he turn his bloody face toward her. He looked even worse up close. She could already tell he would have a black eye to match his already crooked nose.

“Here.”

Micah didn’t say anything, he just grabbed the hat with the hand that didn’t have blood on it, not wanting to stain the white material even more. He slammed it on his blond hair, almost too roughly, and just looked back ahead.

The girl stood there for a minute longer, debating what to do next.

She looked back toward the house. From where they were, by the shed, nobody who was hanging around outside could see them. With this thought, she took a step closer, to in front of Micah’s face, so he couldn’t avoid her gaze.

“Mr. Bell…” She started, looking up at his eyes, eyeing the bloody nose and glancing down at his arms, hands and chest, quickly seeing if he had any other visible wounds. There was none she could see, but she was sure his body would have more bruises come morning.

“I’m… sorry.” She took a deep breath before continuing.

“I was just playin’, I didn’t mean fer this all to happen. I’m sorry Daddy did that. You feelin’ alrigh’?” The words flew from her mouth faster than she could think about them.

“Does it look like I'm feelin’ alright, kid?!” Micah turned his head to the side and spat another glob of blood into the grass. As he spoke, the ‘kid’ could now see that her father must have hit his mouth pretty hard, as his teeth were being stained red by his own blood.

“Not really...” Her voice was small again. She took a moment and untied the neckerchief that was tied neatly on her chest. She pulled it off and folded up a corner. She took a step closer and reached up, trying to gently clean the blood from his nose. Micah jumped, not expecting it and grabbed her wrist, stopping all her movements.

“The hell you think yer doin’?” Micah looked at the girl like she was crazy for even attempting to show kindness to the gruff outlaw. And yet her face stood as stone; she kept her composure and spoke quietly, like she was trying not to spook a wild animal.

“This’s my fault, Micah. I’m cleanin’ you up.” It was so rare that anyone said his name with anything but venom in their tone. This was the first time anyone had said his name with such genuine kindness and concern. That unto itself felt like an apology to the man.

Micah didn’t say anything. He just made a low, affirmative noise and looked away from the girl, letting her wrist go. 

With his consent, the thief turned into the nurse. She wiped away the fresh blood dripping from his nose. There was a nearby barrel full of rainwater that she tapped into. The water grew some red spots as she cleaned up his face more and more. Micah winced when she used her small fingers to slowly caress his nose. She was checking if it was broken, but Micah didn't see it that way. He jumped at the pain. 

“Shit, Morgan!” The girl pulled back, not touching him as his own hands flew up to feel his nose. 

“As if yer nose wasn’ already crooked.” She said quietly, trying to turn the energy from tense to their normal playful banter. 

“Ain’t the first time I broke it.” Micah grumbled as the girl gestured for him to move his hands away and he actually listened. 

“Oh, ‘M sure.” The nurse gave out a light chuckle as her free hand came up and gently grabbed hold of Micah’s unruly mutton chops. She could feel Micah's slight alarm, but he quickly recovered and acted like nothing was happening. 

The nurse turned his face to this side, and then that side, making sure she cleaned up all the blood from his tanned skin and blond hair. It was good enough for now.

“Yer eye’s gon’ be black and yer nose’ll still hurt but yer blood’s all gone.” She confirmed as her soft hand softly pulled away from his rough face. 

There were a few moments of silence, nobody wanted to break it. 

“....Daddy said he don’ want me ‘round you anymore.” Micah didn’t respond, he just watched the girl’s face contort as she spoke, like it was hurting her to say those words. He could tell she was saying things that didn’t align with her own interests. Her daddy gave her lots of orders, but she didn’t always listen to them. Micah knew there was more to her thoughts than she was saying. 

“So why you here?” He said in his rough voice. 

She took a step back and grabbed his bloody hand with both of her own. Micah watched as her trained hands rubbed over his rough flesh, gently wiping away any evidence of his fight. The only thing she couldn’t wipe away was the new redness that was found on his knuckles. For once, they both felt at peace. It was quiet, there was a faint rumbling of talking from the camp but the winds blew through the trees and rustled leaves louder than any one voice. Micah watched how less shy the girl was when she was patching him up. It’s like she just goes into muscle memory and is solely focused on the wounds, instead of the person they’re attached to. 

“‘Cuz I wan’ed to.” She said, having a staring contest with his hands. 

“Cuz… I’m real sorry, I feel bad. An’ ‘cuz yer…” She tried to continue but got embarrassed. 

Micah watched as she bit her lip and continued to clean him up. Time seemed to be moving too slow and too fast at the same time as Micah watched the hot, southern wind blow through the girl’s hair.  

When she was finally finished, the nurse dipped her neckerchief in the water one last time and rung it out, cleaning any leftover blood from the soft material. 

Micah took this quiet moment to actually look at his nurse. He could tell she was guilty, but he still was confused why she would even take care of him like this. No one else would even get this close to him. 

When there were no words exchanged in a while, Micah took it upon himself to do something about it. Even though it technically was the girl’s fault, Micah took a moment and mumbled thanks under his breath. 

“What was that?” She watched as his light eyes flew away from her form, his newly cleaned hand rubbed against his broken nose once more. 

“Didn’ say nothing.” Micah stole a glance at the girl one last time and refused to meet her gaze. 

“Oh, okay…” The nurse trailed off, knowing how stubborn Mr. Bell could be. 

“Guess I’ll just be goin’ now…” She added awkwardly. 

“Guess so.” The man said slowly as the girl awkwardly turned back towards the big house. As she was walking away, she looked over her shoulder, wanting to say more than she did. 

The girl didn’t see the way Micah turned his head and stole many glances at her form walking away. He took a deep breath looking at all of her and looked back out to the water, finally releasing it.