Red (Part Seven)

A ball of raging fire was engulfed around Adam’s neck. His hands flailed, trying to grasp the fire, release it from his burning throat.    

  "You stupid boy!" The ragged nails on a chalkboard voice erupted from the fire and with it came Marjorie. The flames dissolved an in its place was leathery skin, and blood as red as the eyes that pierced Adam. She wrapped her decaying hand tight around his throat and before Avani touched her toe to the top step to fight the old hag again, Adam was already flying across the length of the porch, landing hard on the glass table, shattering it. Deep red blood trickled out of Adam's mouth and down his chin. His back was bent too far over the steel frame of the table. Broken. He was broken. 

"Noooo!" Avani's throat burned as the scream scraped out of her mouth. She ran to her brother's body. Her hand cupped her mouth and her legs crumbled beneath her dropping her knees to the wooden floor as the last bit of happiness was drained from her body. With shaking hands, she held her head, pulling at strands of her hair as she watched her brother's twisted body release its last breath. She clutched her stomach and rocked her body back and forth on the front porch while hysterically sobbing. 

"Pest." Marjorie spat. "Maybe I will be eating your eyeballs after all," Avani heard the old woman's footsteps as they approached her brother and rage boiled beneath her skin. With a tear tracking grief down her face, she turned to Marjorie and whispered, "Touch him and you're dead."

Marjorie rolled her head on the heels of her neck and let out a cackle that shook the ground. Her eyes were glowing scarlet as she gazed into Avani's grey corneas. "When will you ever learn child," her voice was like gravel and she placed her long, frail, scaly fingers on Avani's face, delicately tracing the anger that coloured her cheeks. "I can never die." her voice broke at the last word and she reversed her hand from Adam's face.

"NEVER say NEVER!" Avani yelled and remembering a self defense move her dad had taught her, she stomped on the hag's right foot as hard as she could and brought her knee up to her nether region. Marjorie screamed out, her gums shining in the moonlight, then with a swift move, Avani brought her foot up, her thigh almost touching her chest and she slammed the heel of her foot making direct contact with the sicko's bloody head. As another shriek echoed through the deserted street, "That was for my brother" her breath ragged. "I'm ending his tonight! No more children will die because of you." Avani spun on her left foot and with her right foot out, she was about to jump kick Marjorie in the chest, but was caught by the ankle and spun five times diagonally before falling to the ground. Avani groaned as she slowly picked herself up, but a soft crack made her wince. A sharp pain stabbed at her ankle and warm fluid escaped wrapping her bones, but Avani kept a poker face and hid her fear that she was going to die tonight. Bu sh ill die fighting.

"You were always foolish, child!" the hag said as she advanced on Avani. Her voice was almost melodic now as she tickled the tips of Avani's black locks with her fingertips. "But you are beautiful...and your blood will make me beautiful again." Marjorie's eyes widened like it did the first day she met Avani. She must have heard the galloping from Avani's chest as she licked her lips and took a step closer to her. "Don't worry, you're juices won't go to waste, i'll make sure of that. With your porcelain skin, you will keep me young for a whole year!" She was so close to Avani that she could smell the dog blood on her breath.

"Would you at least let me see my mother before..."

"NO!" Marjorie snapped."You will see no one!" She grabbed Avani by the shoulders and pressed her ear against her chest. There was a soft growl in her throat and this agitated Avani and she pushed her off with all her might. 

"You took my brother's life!" she said turning around to look at her brother, bent beyond repair.

"He was a waste," replied Marjorie sneering at Adam's dead body. Rage boiled inside Avani and watching the pieces of glass on the ground, an idea stirred in her head. "Let me at least say goodbye to him before you slaughter me like a p..."

"Oh would you stop babbeling child!" said the hag who was growing impatient. She spun Avani around and dug her nails deep into her chest with excessive force, breaking through her skin like it was made of paper, and pulled out her heart on its last unsteady beat.

"Finally, some quiet." Marjorie dropped Avani's lifeless body to the ground and licked her dead heart in her right hand like it was a lollipop.

"Mmm, I knew you'd be delicious," she held Avani by her ankle again and started walking down the front steps dragging Avani's lifeless body behind her.

A strong mist polluted the air concealing the moon until it was almost out of sight. Avani's eyes stood open wide with horror, as her limp body disappeared into the darkness. All that was left of her, was a trail of red.