8th October 2014;

Mark pushed her down making her trip in the process and land on her bum. Then, he pulled her by the feet and grinned at her, his breath reeking of alcohol and cigars.

She shoved him, dug her nails in his skin, clawed his face and bit him hard on the arm... But that only seemed to turn him on even more. Her struggles were to no avail. Her dress was torn in half as the monster drove her to the cliff of death, then pushed her off of it.

She wanted to die.

Madeleine reached for her husband with bloody fingernails. She whimpered, squirmed and wiggled trying to break free from this devil's hold. But that only caused the pain to grow. She shouted for help. She pleaded the men with her eyes. Nothing. Even a statue would've pitied her and run to her rescue.

Drained from all sorts of energy, she felt empty, sick and disgusted. There was nothing for her to do but to turn her head to the side and smile up at Joshua suppressing her gasps and moans. He was watching them. His mouth agape, eyes as wide as they could get and heart wildly drumming, pumping the blood out of his vessels to pool on the ground.

Joshua could hardly move. Yet, he dragged his broken arm and finally reached for her hand. She did the same and they held each other smiling as if nobody else was in the room. They were insane. But, so was this entire situation.

"Wow! That was wonderful. We could've done this, years ago." He pouted, mock sadness clouding his features for a second before wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. No one bothered to reply or spared him a glance. "You two are all lovey-dovey in here and I was just having the time of my life." Mark placed his hand on his heart feigning hurt then smirked as he rose to his feet.

Madeleine, frantically, put her legs in awkward positions, trying to cover herself. But they were like jelly and she couldn't keep them crossed. She was exhausted. Numb. Repelled.

Mark laughed. "Don't be shy." He murmured biting his bottom lip in a way he thought looked sexy. But it was anything but. "The show is over boys, finish up quickly." At least he the decency to throw the dress on her legs before heading to the bathroom to clean up.

The giants also disappeared. Soon after, noises of stuff breaking filled the heavy silence.

"I'm sorry, love. I really am." Joshua croaked, finally able to choke words out.
She nodded numbly, "I love you, Josh." He wanted to reach and wipe her tear-stained cheeks as his own got soaked too, watching her dull eyes.

The devil incarnate smirked slyly, leaning on the doorframe. "Next time, mind your own fucking business. Oh wait," a dramatic pause followed by a mock gasp, "there won't be another time." Then, he erupted into headache-worthy laughter.

"Go to hell, Mark." Joshua muttered, gritting his teeth.

"After you, ba-," interrupted by a grunt, Mark chuckled. "After you, after you." He hummed on his way to the front door. "Oh and save me a spot next to the fireplace." He chuckled at his own lame pun.

"That bastard," Joshua hissed, fighting to keep his eyes open.

Mark stopped at the first step then waltzed back in. "I almost forgot," he huffed, shaking his head. "You were amazing, honey. Too bad, it's not going to happen again." And in a blink of an eye, he took out a gun and shot Madeleine in the head. She went limp before any voice could escape her mouth, eyelids heavy and eyes bloodshot.

Joshua let out a deafening shriek and Rho flinched at the sound and pressed her palm harder against her mouth. The poor husband was trying, with all his remaining power, to reach her. "I'll pass your greetings to your daughter," Mark sneered, "genuinely." He winked and left.

"Stay away from her!" Joshua shouted on top of his lungs. And, he kept shouting, shaking his wife. He hugged her despite his broken bones. And he wept, hoping with every cell in his body that his daughter would be able to get away from them.

The men spilled fuel all over the house then started the fire. And as they got out, Mark called for them. "Find the girl, and kill her." He ordered them. "No mistakes! Or I'll kill you with my bare hands. Got it?" He threatened them.

"Yes, boss." They spoke in unison.

Little did they know, Rho was there. She was hiding behind the bushes listening to their every word and trying desperately to prevent any voice from leaving her throat as she sobbed quietly.

After the taxi dropped her off by the gate, she strolled along the garden humming. But then, she noticed the black van outside the house. And, as she peeked through the window, she saw unfamiliar faces standing in a circular shape, blocking the scene in the middle of the hall.

She hesitantly moved to the door, her heart wildly drumming, and was frozen to the spot. She couldn't bear the sight of her mother getting sexually assaulted and her father lying limply not so far from her.

And though, nobody noticed her presence outside, she'd considered going in. But when she moved her legs, her father shook his head slowly as if it might fall off. The way he looked at her, the desperation and fear in his eyes, the blood smearing his swollen face...killed her. She wanted to run to him and hug his body to healing again.

But, what could she have done other than present herself to them on a silver platter? After all, they wanted her dead as well. She shivered, shame engulfing her.

Hiding behind a bush while your parents were getting assailed wasn't particularly prideful or courageous. It was torture. Every pained sound she heard, every mocking laugh, scream...and the gunshot. She almost came undone at the sound of gunfire.

"Now, scram. Go look for her." They ran around searching but came back empty-handed.

They couldn't find her as she'd climbed the old tree that led to her bedroom when they started piling out. What she'd considered using as a route to sneak out someday, was turning now into her house's main entrance. Unfortunately, she couldn't use that as a way in for the room was blazing with fire.

Gritting her teeth, she crept up slowly to the gigantic tree and hid behind the branches grateful for the camouflage it offered.

"Nothing, boss." They spoke in unison again.

"She's obviously not here, you idiots!" Mark shouted. "She's supposed to be here by now," he grumbled. "Take a look around...Fuck! Just go find her. She must be somewhere nearby. The mission is a failure if she's still breathing by dawn." His finger pointing at them with a silent threat, they swallowed. And so, they went.

He got in the car, slamming the door shut. The vehicle speed away and the hurried footsteps disappeared slowly. Then, she carefully climbed down and sprinted to the door, her heels clutched in each hand.

The sight of her parents tore her heart to shreds. She gasped leaning on the wooden entry, suddenly feeling dizzy. Tears rolled down her face, her hand cupping her mouth.

Her mother was barely covered with a bullet between her eyebrows. And, her father was beaten to a pulp. She gulped, her mouth suddenly dry. A lump almost choked her. Both of her parents were in a pool of blood, fire surrounding them.

After a heavy and abrupt intake of air, Rho sunk to the floor and burst into sobs, the house starting to fall apart just like her.

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