Insania

Chapter One.

his eyes, they held such magic. such wonder, such beauty.
yet his soul? so black and ugly, such evil permeated his divinity and he was struggling to keep it within.

"ma? I’m going out, see you later", he slammed the door shut behind him and stepped out into the brutally harsh winter temperature.
geo should be waiting for him in the forest as she promised last night. his heart raced with excitement and he quickly walked towards the woods beneath blackening skies.
the clouds curdled above, turning into a murky grey. the wind howled and he pulled his coat around his neck tighter.
"psssst", geo peeked her slender face out from behind a gnarled tree. "psssst, Mikey. over here", she stepped out into the opening.
he felt a smile spread across his face all toothy and twisted. his trademark.
"hey beautiful", his gangly arms wrapped around her body and pulled her into his thin chest.
"baby, I missed you so much. does your Mumma know?" her worried eyes peeked at him from behind her artificial red fringe.
he shook his head. "she knows nothing. I promise. and I missed you too", he pulled her pale face up to his and kissed her gently on her cracked pink lips.
they walked hand in hand down the cracked path, dodging puddles and the odd dead bird.
"how are you today? you seem, better?" geo sat down gingerly on a rotting tree stump.
"I am feeling better. mainly because I got to see you", he smiled again and kneeled in front of her.
"Mikey, oh Mikey", a single tear slipped down her rosy pink cheek. he brushed away the wetness.
"don't cry, please. I'll make this better, I promise you geo", he kissed her trembling hands.
soon enough the rain started splattering in heavy droplets against their shaking bodies.
"we better get going now", he pulled her off the stump of wood.
"when will I get to see you again?" her blue eyes stabbed his heart. he loved her, with everything he had, but it was all becoming too much for him. his mother just kept making this a whole lot harder.
"I'm not sure baby, I'll try my best, promise" he lead her down the track that was slowly turning to mud as the ain got heavier.
"you make a lot of promises Mikey, I hope you can keep them", geo kissed his cheek and turned in the opposite direction as they reached the worn tarmac that was Holy Crescent, the street in which they both lived.

"where have you been?" his mother smacked her foot against the wooden flooring, arms folded.
"I went for a walk, okay?" he squeezed past her and into the hall. she followed him.
"if you were out with that girl mike I will find out about it! you know how I feel about her!" she shouted through the door that lead to his bedroom.
"go away mother!!" he buried his face amongst the sheets on his messy bed. he heard her footsteps slowly fade away and he knew she would be in the kitchen making yet another dinner he would hate.
he pulled out the diary he kept, that not even his mother knew about, and she knew everything.
flicking through the pages he heard the clatter of pots and pans and a lot of cursing. he shook his head and looked through the battered book. newspaper clippings from the last three years were stuck neatly onto each page. dogs beaten to death, cats impaled on fence posts, squirrels mutilated and skinned. he pondered over each and every article until he heard his mother call him out for dinner.

the sound of his truck stopped midway up their drive. mike knew what was coming. it had been 3 months since the last time he saw his father and nothing would have changed. blankets pulled up around his ears he listened as his mother shouted at him to go away and that he wasn’t wanted here. it was no use, because he never listened. Mikey slumped further down into his lumpy bed and tried to drown out the sounds of the nearing footsteps. the door to his small bedroom creaked open and was suddenly filled with light. "Mike, I know you're in here. come give your dear old daddy a hug", he snarled and pulled the duvets off mike's quivering body. he cringed and awaited the blow he knew he would receive next. it hurt less every time.

the sweat slid down mike's thin chest and gathered in the ridges of his protruding rib bones. his breath shuddered as he drew in damp air. pushing the matted hair from his sticky forehead he regained control of his breathing and calmly reassured himself that his father wouldn't be visiting anymore. it wasn't long before mike drifted back into a fitful sleep and dawn slowly dipped in through the rotting curtains.


Chapter Two:

Mikey awoke dazed and confused. it was going to be one of those days. he ripped the sweat drenched sheets off his clammy body and swung his feet onto the dirtied, once pale blue carpet.
"okay, I’ll do it today", he had been putting off this task for the past week and it needed to be done.
he put on some clothes he thought might be clean, trotted down the stairs and into the kitchen. he stared at the mess. flies buzzed erratically around the rotting food, a mouse or two scampered off as he made his presence clear. the smell, which he was used to now, lingered thickly in the damp air. condensation slicked most of the surfaces in the room and the pool of congealed blood on the cream linoleum had dried in places and turned a dark muddy red. he stepped past the counter and looked down at his mother's decomposing body. remorse was no where to be found in his empty green eyes.

mike sat across from his dead mother's body at the kitchen table. her empty eye sockets peered at him accusingly. the smell was now quite overwhelming due to the fact that he was just inches from her, but he didn't mind, it was the smell of victory. his slender, bony fingers drummed the oak table as he considered his options. he could wait until night and bury her in the woods, he could dismember her and flush her down the toilets (he saw that in the movies), or he could stick her in a rubbish bag and put her in the coat closet. mike liked that idea; he hated his mother but he didn't want to be lonely.
so he grabbed a couple of rubbish bags from a kitchen drawer and laid her out on the floor.
it was a great struggle, getting his mother who was such a tall woman into the bags. he had to cut her legs at the knees to make her fit, then he dragged the bundle into the hall and forced it into the closet. mike, proud as ever, stood there and brushed his hands off on the fronts of his dirty jeans. "job well done I think", he laughed to himself and went back into the kitchen to get rid of the mess he created.

"dinner's ready mike, don't forget to wash your hands", Rosaline shouted up the stairs at mike who was, as usual, hidden in his bedroom. mike stood up slowly, without enthusiasm and wandered down the stairs into the kitchen. "what's for dinner then?" he moved towards the stove to see what was cooking. "ham steaks and potatoes", Rosaline turned around to face her son.
mike could feel the anger rising in his body, feel the sudden rage boiling in his blood. without thinking he grabbed the frying pan off the stove, ham still sizzling in the hot butter and with a force he never knew he had, swung the hot pan into his mother head. she fell to the floor before a gasp could even escape her lips. he knew she was dead after that single blow, he heard the sickening crack of her skull. but he couldn't stop. the hot metal seared her milky flesh, left her bloody, battered and bruised.

the mop swirled the sticky blood around creating a red sea among the linoleum. flies buzzed around mike's ears noisily as he worked furiously to clean up his mother's mess. there was much to do tonight, he knew this would be over soon.



Chapter Three:

mike flipped through his diary as he laid in bed Tuesday morning. he turned to his favourite clipping and read it:
DOG FOUND MUTILATED IN MACARBRE MANNER:
late Wednesday morning Mrs Jade Patel opened her front door to retrieve the morning paper only to find her beloved family dog dismembered and skinned, hanging from the small apple tree in her front yard.
this is the fourth animal found murdered in some horrific way in the past 3 weeks. so far three dogs have been found and one cat.
there has been no traceable evidence found among the bodies of the poor animals and police have warned animal owners to keep their pets indoors at night and under a watchful eye during the day.

he smiled and closed the diary before slipping in back into his pillow slip. he was feeling alright today so he arranged to meet geo at the park after lunch. he supposed he should shower and find some clothes that were actually clean.
after tidying himself up he made sure the door was locked behind him and headed off to the small neighbourhood's park. geo was perched on the top of the monkey bars and swung herself down gracefully as she saw mike enter the playground.
"Mikey baby, hi. I missed you", she hugged him tightly and nestled her red head into his chest.
"I missed you too geo, I can be out longer today, mother's busy", he smiled and kissed her forehead. the wind was chilly and whipped the fallen leaves about in a frenzy.
"oh", geo sounded her surprise and grinned, "that's brilliant. but we should find somewhere warm, I’m freezing!". the two walked hand in hand across the park until they reached a little rain shelter for bus kids. geo huddled against mike and sighed. "it's boring without you at school Mikey", her blue eyes wide with sadness. "i'm so lonely and the kids all make fun of me because I’m a loner".
mike stroked her hair from her face, "I know, I’m sorry. but i have my mother to look after and my paper run. plus, at least you don't get as much grief at school as you did when i was there. you were popular before you started dating me, geo". a bit of anger started to bubble beneath mike's skin, but he pushed it down and hugged geo tighter against his lanky body.
"I know, but I don't care. I just wish I could see you more often that's all. when you were at school I saw you every day, and I was happy. I just miss you too much that's all", she sighed again.
Mikey felt guilty for leaving geo behind at that retched school, but he couldn't stay there, not with this, problem of his.
"things will get better baby", he whispered in her ear, "I promise".
he felt her hand tighten on his. "Mikey, you always promise me things, but you never come through with it", she stared at him with those big, blue eyes.
he swallowed. "it's just, just. mother's always nagging and -" the anger started to bubble again and this time he didn't try to push it down. mike jumped up and sprinted across the park without looking back to see the shock on Geo's pale, slender face.

mike slammed the door shut behind him and starting kicking and screaming at the closet door where his mother was hidden. his fists collided with the wall leaving his knuckles torn and bleeding. he stared at the blood oozing from the fresh wounds. the pain, it was, it was amazing. he walked slowly to the kitchen, the wonder of the self inflicted pain running through his mind. unconsciously, or maybe consciously, mike grabbed a knife from the bench, clean or not, he didn't care.
the metal slid across his pale flesh easily, a fresh cut appeared followed by a thin trail of crimson liquid. he cut again and again and again until there was no pale flesh left to see from his elbow down. everything was smeared with his blood. and he couldn't have been more satisfied.

mike walked through the front door and mumbled a mere "hi" to his mother busying herself at the dining table. he trod upstairs, not looking forward to doing the excessive amount of homework he had accumulated over the past few weeks. his bedroom was messy, he shuffled his clothes to the other side of the room with his foot and dumped the papers on the floor.
mike sat there for over an hour working on one history assignment. he hated this stuff but he knew it had to be done. Rosaline called him down for dinner and he reluctantly left his massive pile of work. after the horrible meal his mother prepared, apparently with love and kindness, he trudged back upstairs to continue his mission. the door, slightly ajar didn't seem odd to mike who strolled straight in and caught his dog, zephyr munching quite happily on his history assignment. mike didn't hesitate. he had a baseball bat leaning against his closet door, he picked it up and in one swift movement slammed the rounded end into his dog's back. it yelped in pain and he quickly proceeded to bludgeon the dog to death before his mother could figure out was going on. mike slumped to the ground and stared in disbelief at what he had just done. but he had never felt so good. never felt so in control and alive.

Mikey come-to lying in a ever growing pool of his own blood and a throbbing pain in his numbed left arm. he gradually made it onto his feet and talking to himself, or to his mother, made his way to the bathroom to clean himself up.





Chapter Four:

mike sat at the dining room table holding his wounded arm. after cleaning the cuts he found a bandage to wrap it in, but the blood had quickly seeped through and there was now a small puddle of blood forming on the oak. his head felt light and fuzzy, he wondered if he could be suffering from severe blood loss, but only momentarily. there was knock at the door.
panic arose in mike's throat, he glanced at is arm and quickly put on a coat hanging off the back of the chair. "Who, who is it?!" his voice was rough and he stuttered slightly.
"it's geo, Mikey. please come out and talk to me".
his hands shook as he put the chain in place and slowly opened the door.
"go away geo, you can't be here, mother's upstairs and she'll be down any minute". his knees were trembling.
"I just wanted to see if you were okay, that's all. are you?" her blue eyes pleaded and the rims were wet.
"yes, I’m fine, just, just leave me alone okay, mother will be down soon you have to leave!" mike closed the door abruptly and sunk down against the heavy wood. anger, frustration, hate; it all burned beneath his skin. and he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to contain it for long.

mike was lonely. he felt it seething beneath his pale flesh, felt it squeezing his heart with a tight grip. he paced backwards and forwards in front of the closet, his mother slowly decomposing in plastic bags behind the door. resting his hand on the cold metal handle he knew he needed his mother now more than ever, even though he couldn't stand the woman. Rosaline was the only person who knew and understood the way Mikey was, and he desperately needed someone to talk to. the hinges squeaked as he pulled open the door, a heavy, putrid smell hit mike with a force he didn't expect. he backed away quickly and held in the burning substance that threatened to escape his trembling lips. calming himself, mike grabbed the knotted end of the black rubbish bag and dragged it out into the dining room. he gagged again and controlled his breathing. a slick fluid of a disturbing colour and smell had leaked from the bag and left a trail from the closet to the dining area. mike dismissed the thought of cleaning it up and hurried to get his mother up and out into the chair, his loneliness was consuming him.

mike always did his paper run first thing in the morning, when the small neighbour hood was still sleeping. the satchel slung over his bony shoulder swung to and fro as he hurriedly marched down the sidewalk. the air was crisp and the grass was slippery with dew, mike made his way down Holy Crescent and stopped immediately outside a big old red brick house. a tiny ginger cat strolled proudly across the lawn with a sparrow twitching slightly in the grip of it's bloodied jaws. Mikey had thought constantly for days about the way he beat his dog to death. only now did he feel the urge to kill again. the satchel filled with the day's papers dropped to the concrete path with a dull thud. before mike knew what he was really doing, he was stalking across the wet lawn and coming up closely behind the cat. busy with it's miraculous catch, the cat sat eagerly picking at the feathered bird, too distracted to notice mike creeping up from behind. he pounced on the ginger feline, causing it to screech in pain. flustered, mike picked up the flailing cat and twisted it's neck, the sickening crunch it caused sounded loud in the quiet morning air. mike stared at the limp figure and walked straight over to the pointed wrought iron fence and slammed the cat's head onto the sharp tip. he wiped his hands on the dewy ground and marvelled at the bloody mass of ginger fur. a smile, twisted and toothy broke out across his long face.

mike awoke to the sweet pungent smell of death. he didn't feel lonely anymore.



Chapter Five:

the day was surprisingly sunny, maybe spring was on it's way at last. but mike didn't particularly care, he had the curtains drawn all day everyday, the doors locked and he never went outside. mike was happy and content inside with his mother. for hours on end he sat at the stained oak table talking continuously to Rosaline. he brushed the limp black hair from her eyes and made her comfortable when she complained. mike even made her breakfast, pancakes were requested most mornings and a hot coffee. he wasn't lonely anymore, and even though she still fought with him about geo and how he wasn't allowed to see her, he didn't mind because his mother's company was all he really desired.

mike was happily chatting away to his mother and tidying the kitchen when there was a knock at the front door. startled he quickly moved to the window and peered out the curtain; a man dressed in a suit stood there holding a black leather briefcase. mike decided not to open the door or let him know they were home, so he went back to the dishes. 5 minutes later the man was still knocking and mike was angry. picking up the nearest object he could find he sauntered to the front door. removing the chain he opened the door and the man eagerly stepped forward just as Mikey brought the wooden meat tenderiser up to fall heavily against the man's balding head. quickly he pulled the slim body into the hall and hastily shut the door. the man in the grey suit groaned loudly and began to roll over. with his mind, twisted and working over time, mike dragged the light man into the kitchen and lifted him up so his head was above the full sink. "wha- wha- wha-" the words tumbled uselessly from his mouth as mike pushed his head fiercely into the hot soapy water. when the last of the air from his lungs bubbled to the surface mike let go and allowed his limp body to slump onto the floor. Mikey's arm was burning and fresh blood had seeped through the clean bandage, he knew the infection that sat in the cuts was growing and the pain was beginning to get worse the more activities he did.

"mother I uh, I have a friend for you", mike eased the dead man's body into a chair next to Rosaline. he set his briefcase on the table and opened it, pamphlets and books were piled up and mike realised this poor man was a Jehovah’s witness. "ma he want's to talk to you about god and Jesus and uh, stuff". he gave Rosaline a few pamphlets and told her he needed rest.
mike looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, his face was gaunt and he was growing thinner everyday. his eye sockets looked awfully sunken in and there were black rings around them. he removed the bloody gauze from his arm and rinsed the cuts under warm water in the sink. in total there were 15 cuts on his arm, mike didn't know how he did it, he didn't remember anything. he slathered some ointment his mother used to put on his grazed knees over the weeping wounds and wrapped it back up tightly in a new bandage.

"where have you been?" mike's father sat at the dining room table, smoke in one hand, beer in the other. "ou- out", he stuttered. his father, a big burly man, rose from the chair and walked towards him. mike awaited what he knew was coming next, but it didn't come just yet. "get me another beer", his father slammed the empty bottle against mike's chest. he obeyed of course and fetched his father another drink. "sit", that was and order and mike quickly sat in the hard wooden chair. "where's your mother?" his words were slurred and Mikey wondered just how many beverages his father had had to drink. "I don't know", Mikey lied.
"don't you lie to me boy!!" the man sitting across from him roared and spit went flying into the air, his breath smelt of ale. "I’m no- not", he stammered and his father knew he only messed up his words when he was lying. the large man heaved himself off the seat and reached over to grab mike by the collar of his school shirt. the air was quickly pushed out of his lungs as mike's father threw him against the kitchen wall. big hands wrapped around his little arms and he was swung into the marbled counter with such great force that mike heard his jaw crack. he tasted the metallic flavour of blood just as his father smashed his beer bottle over his head.

mike looked down at his hand, shards of glass clung to his torn skin and he realised he had smashed the bathroom mirror. he heard his mother call him down to the kitchen and he thought it must be dinner time.




Chapter Six:

mike smiled at his mother and the man (who’s name he found out is George), as they chatted intensely. the kitchen was tidy as Rosaline asked it to be and he had made a pot of fresh coffee for the two of them. mike was pleased and, he was no longer as lonely. for a while has sat and talked with Rosaline and George but he soon realised that they would want lunch and dinner and there was nothing left in the cupboards. an uneasy feeling settled in mike's stomach and he stood up and put on his long coat. trying to conceal himself as much as possible he found a hat and some glasses to wear and his mother's old woollen scarf. taking some money from Rosaline’s purse and grabbing the car keys he muttered a quick goodbye to the two sitting at the table and locked the door behind him.

mike kept his head down as he wandered through the isles of the crowded supermarket. he grabbed things at random and chucked them in the small rusty trolley. his stomach was curling and turning with unease and sweat trickled down into the creases of his neck. he strolled quickly to an empty checkout and piled the items onto the counter. "good morning, how are you today?" the woman behind the counter, named Cheryl if mike was correct, spoke cheerfully to him as she scanned his items. "uh, good, uh thanks", he looked awkwardly around the store trying not to make eye contact and praying she'd hurry up. she loaded the stuff into plastic bags and pressed a few buttons, "that'll be 96 dollars and 78 cents please", she smiled at him and held out her hand waiting for the money. he paid her, told her to keep the change and hurried out of the humid store as fast as he could.

mike unloaded the groceries onto the kitchen bench and hurried to go shut the front door. there was an old woman standing on the porch holding a bunch of flyers. mike shook his head, "not interested", and went to shut the door.
"these are the flyers you have to deliver on your paper run?" her voice quavered and she held out the bundle with shaking hands. Mikey quickly snatched them away and closed the door with a thank you or good bye.
Rosaline and George were demanding dinner but mike really wasn't up to it, his arm was throbbing and he was in so much pain. he knew the infection must be getting worse, and he cursed himself for not getting some antibiotic cream when he was out. stumbling up the stairs he could here the two of them down there shouting for him to cook dinner, "WAIT!" he shouted and went into the bathroom. he took off the dressing and tended to the wounds. his arm was red and swollen, it was constantly weeping a yellowed discharge which he gathered wasn't a good sign and now he felt hot. his temperature was up and he had a slight headache. mike swallowed a handful of pills and cleaned the wounds again before re-dressing it. mother needed her dinner and he shouldn't keep her waiting any longer.

geo kissed him firmly on his mouth and smiled, "I love you, you know?" his stomach dropped.
"I know", mike tried to smile but he couldn't. she frowned and pulled away slightly.
"you don't love me, mike?" he could she the hurt in her bright blue eyes. awkwardly he shrugged and shuffled his feet. "it's, it's not that I don't geo, I just don't feel ready to say it", his eyes shifted to the ground and she put her hand to his face, making his gaze meet hers.
"it's okay to be scared Mikey, it's okay to feel vulnerable".
"I don't! and I’m not scared!!" mike pulled away and stormed off down to the river bank. geo followed him.
"mike! what is wrong with you?! you've been weird all day! it's your bloody mother isn't it?! I know she doesn't like me mike! I know she doesn't! I’m never allowed over to your house and you're always sneaking out to see me, which is hardly ever may I remind you!!"
mike sat down on the cold hard ground and refused to answer her, or agree with her. not long after he heard her footsteps fade away and he knew she'd gone.
mike called her the next day, "I’m sorry okay. it is because of my mother. i don't want to get too attached to you because i know it'll never work. I’m sorry geo". mike listened to her sob on the other end of the line and he felt a horrible sick feeling in his stomach, he hated his mother with a passion. and he knew he loved geo, he just couldn't bring himself to say it out loud because he didn't want to make it real.
he hung up the phone and jogged down the stairs, Rosaline was standing at the bookshelf in the living room running her slender fingers across the backs of ancient books. without thinking Mikey shoved her against the shelves and shoved her again, and again. he pushed her around until she was bruised. his mother was weeping, "don't become your father Mikey, please".

mike bent down and kissed his mother's forehead, it was clammy and sticky. he whispered goodnight to the two of them and went upstairs to bed, where he fell asleep for the first time in 5 days.


Chapter Seven:

mike awoke to a loud banging sound, coming from down stairs. he jumped out of bed and flew down the carpeted stairs. someone was at the door, he glanced over at his mother and George sitting at the table chatting casually. mike looked through the curtain, it was geo. "don't worry ma I won't let her in, I promise".
geo knocked furiously again and again and again. "go away geo!" mike's heart was pounding hard against his frail rib cage.
"Mikey I’m not going away until you talk to me!" his eyes shifted uneasily from his mother to the door. he unlatched the chain and slowly opened the door, allowing a crack of light to slither in.
"geo, what do you want? you know mother doesn't like you", mike breathed shallow and fast, sweat gathering on his brow.
"I’m worried about you Mikey, someone told me they saw you leave the house yesterday and you looked terrible. are you sick?" she tried to move closer but mike held the door shut.
"I’m fine, i just can't be bothered seeing anyone, and i have to look after mother, she's not feeling too well". geo looked unconvinced. without warning she shoved forward and barged into the hall.
mike was startled and it took him a moment to react. geo was already standing in the dining room screaming bloody murder when Mikey managed to regain his balance.
"MIKEY WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Geo's face was pale with fear, her eyes wet with tears. her small pink mouth quivered and she stared in horror at the boy whom she loved.
"I haven't done anything", he strolled towards her, "baby, it's fine. mother has a friend now". mike went to embrace geo but she slipped past him and shrieked, "ARE YOU CRAZY?!" her eyes were wild with fear and something inside mike snapped. he lunged at the petite red headed girl who he adored so much. his bony fingers wrapped around her throat and she fought fiercely to get his body off hers. she tried to choke words from her constricted throat but the harder she struggled the more energy she lost. mike stopped just as Geo's eyes began to flutter shut, she gasped for air and rolled over quickly to retch clear liquid onto the wooden floor.

mike tied Geo's skinny wrists together behind her back and sat her down on a chair next to his mother. he pulled her hair back from her neck and kissed her tenderly, she flinched and tried to pull away but he held her hair in a tight grip. "baby, I love you. don't you love me anymore?" he whispered in her ear and shoved her head away. mike walked around her chair and crouched down beside her. "I don't want you to runaway. we love each other, right? so we'll stay together forever", mike held the long axe up for her to see. "I promise it won't hurt much".
he stood up and swung the axe above his head and brought it down on her bare foot. he heard the bones crack and saw the blood spurt. geo cried out in pain, but the gag stopped the noise from being too loud. "sssh, we'll be together forever, okay?" he brought the axe up once again and let it slam into her other foot. tears streaked Geo's sallow cheeks and her hole body shook.
mike dropped the axe on the floor and walked into the kitchen to prepare lunch.

geo had passed out before mike got to serve lunch, he placed the huge pile of pancakes in the centre of the table. "lunch is served", he announced.
he set out plates and gave a helping of food to everyone, then he sat down to eat.
his arm throbbed and his head ached. the exertion had torn the cuts more and the bandage was now soaked in fresh blood and pus. the food Mikey had consumed didn't stay down for long, he rushed to the kitchen sink and heaved. he knew he wasn't well, the infection must have gotten worse and now he had a fever. mike downed a glass of water and a handful of painkillers his mom kept in the top cupboard.

mike left the house silently and walked down the dark footpath of Holy Crescent. the moon was out and gave just enough light to allow him to see where he was going and what he was going to do. he'd seen the dog earlier this morning on his paper run, small and tied up at the front of the house. it had been a bad day, mike could still feel the hate flowing through his veins and he needed to vent. he couldn't believe his mother, talking to him like that. who did she think she was? she had no right to treat him the way she did. he touched his cold fingers to the bruised bone beneath his left eye, it was still swollen but at least the cut had started to scab over. his mother had hit him, the gold ring with the diamond centred in the middle left a cut along his cheekbone. rage flared beneath his skin and he walked faster towards the house at the end of the cul-de-sac. mike saw the dog curled up in a cardboard box on the front porch, sound asleep. not wanting to wake the occupants of this ramshackle house, mike quietly coaxed the old dog over with a bloody bone. the dog lapped happily at the bone and was unaware of the knife mike held above it's shaggy head. the old dog didn't even yelp as mike rammed the knife into the back of it's neck, blood spurted onto his face and he savoured the rich warmness. after the tedious process of removing the animal's skin, mike hacked the limbs effortlessly from the limp body. in the bag he brought he pulled out pieces of rope and tied the ends to the dog's skinned limbs. a small apple tree in the front yard as just short enough for mike to sling the rope over and string the limbs from. he nailed the skin to the trunk and packed up his things.

mike knew he had overdosed on the drugs he took, he could feel them surging through his bloodstream, his vision blurry and his movements sluggish. 


Chapter Eight:

mike was awoken by low moaning coming from the dining room, he had passed out on the kitchen floor and was stiff and cold. he crawled towards the table and saw dark brown blood pooled around the mutilated feet of geo. she fought with little effort to slip her hands free from the rope. Mikey dragged himself off the floor and stumbled towards her writhing body.
"good morning my darling, did you sleep well? are you hungry?" he pushed stray hairs off her extremely pale face. geo didn’t even make eye contact with him, just directed her head in his way and spat on his shirt. mike lunged at the frail figure, his hand slamming into her face, her nose cracked and she cried out in pain.

"you're a sick bastard mike! I don't know what I ever saw in you! I can't believe I felt the way I did about you, you monster! I hate you!!" geo thrashed about in her chair, she jolted to the right and the large oak chair toppled onto the wooden floor and she felt the pool of blood oozing beneath her face. mike stormed into the room with a small box. "what are you doing?! get away from me you freak!" he kneeled down next to her helpless body and held her face in his hand.
"you will never speak to me like that, ever again", he lifted the chair upright and set the tin box on the table.
carefully threading the nylon through the needle mike muttered soothing words to his mother, "it's okay ma, it's okay, her words won't hurt anymore, I promise". his hand never faltered as he pinched Geo's delicate lips together and shoved the needle through. shrill noises grumbled in her throat as mike worked slowly and precisely to sew her mouth shut, "word's can't hurt anymore".

the air was cool and damp, it was freezing and mike wish he'd worn his mother's scarf. the satchel filled with flyers was heavy on his shoulder and he struggled down the pavement with it. his arm was on fire with pain, fresh blood had seeped right through to his long sleeved shirt and his head was pounding loudly against his skull. mike reached the end of Holy Crescent and opened up his bag, his hand shook as he pushed the paper into the letter box. before mike knew what was going on, his head was colliding with the wet concrete.
a woman walking her dog saw mike lying on the ground, she ran over to his still body and shouted to the people in the house to call an ambulance.
he was conscious, but couldn't muster up the energy to mutter words. "it's Rosaline’s boy", a woman leaning over mike's quaking body whispered to the neighbours who phoned the ambulance.

Mikey felt the warm scratch of woollen blankets being pulled over him and then he was shuffled onto a stretcher and lifted into the back of the wailing vehicle.
"I’ll tell his mother!" he heard a woman shout from outside just as the doors were shut and a sick feeling of dread pulsed through mike's veins before he passed out cold.

the feeling of being beaten drummed into mike's broken mind. his vacant eyes stared up at the man he was made to call father and another swollen hand smashed into his bruised skull.
he could hear his mother sobbing quietly in the corner, trying not to be too loud so that her body wouldn't undertake the wrath of which mike's was. his eyes were drooping, becoming hazy and beginning to flutter shut. the throbbing beneath his forehead overpowered everything else in the room. his body faltered and he sunk to his knees, head slamming into the cold wooden floor.
"shush now, shush, you had a nasty accident on your bike", Rosaline dapped at the numerous wounds with iodine on Mikey's face. he winced with pain and shook his head. "no, dad beat me", tears fell down his pale blue cheeks. his mother scowled and grabbed his tiny wrist, "no mike, you crashed on your push bike, you hear?" and mike knew there was no point in arguing so nodded sullenly and let his mother tend to his father's handy work.

there were too many bright lights and people. there were cold gloved hands prodding at his face and poking needles into his flesh.