Hi. You may want to take some deep breaths before you read *evil laugh*

Chapter 31:

  Aaron had expected himself to waver a little before he'd drop down. Not because he was hesitant of the purpose—he was one hundred percent sure of himself—but because he thought he'd be slightly scared of doing it; he thought he'd be wary as he'd stare down at he ground beneath strewn with the scattered pillows and quilts. Their presence was comforting, but Aaron had thought he'd fear a little longer the sudden prospect of falling down on his neck and cracking it: potential death.

  But that hadn't happened. None of those thoughts had been anywhere in his mind when he'd quickly flung himself and Leo down. He hadn't worried the slightest bit about any damage—or maybe it was that he hadn't had the time to worry; he'd just done it. Without thinking. His brain had been far too occupied dwelling in the horror of that look on Daddy's face that it had blocked out any other thoughts.

  The first thing that brought Aaron to the fact that he was already down crumpled on his side with all his weight on one arm was the explosion of pain that shot through it. Jolts crept in his bones, up his shoulder and down his spine and pounded there. His throat rumbled with a thousand grunts and groans at the pain, but then the situation settled and his eyes snapped open.

  Aaron jerked up, completely disregarding the pain that he realized could've been worse had it not been for the hump that had cushioned the drop; he'd fallen onto the backpack itself, so his arm had benefitted but the side of his face had crashed with the gravel and dirt—he could already feel the blood gathering there and trickling down his cheek.

But there was no time to waste.

  So Aaron jumped to his feet, holding his aching arm for a second as he stumbled over to Leo who, thankfully, had fallen mostly on top of the quilts and a pillow.

"Leo," Aaron said, his voice urgent as he glanced back over his shoulder. Leo shifted, but before he could even speak Aaron had pulled him to stand, briefly assessing him for injuries. Only a cut or two. He was sound. Aaron was surprised Leo wasn't bawling about the blood.

Leo's eyes were wide and frightened; it broke Aaron's heart. "Aar, please, let's go back—"

"No. Leo, now you need to run. Don't stop running whatever happens. Now!"

  Aaron caught Leo's arm, forcefully tugging him behind as he hastened forwards. They bolted into the woods, right between the menacing labyrinth of trunks and beneath the twinkling moonlight that streamed through the leaves of the towering trees above them.

The clinking and clunking of gravel beneath Aaron's feet, the howling of the brisk air past his ears as he raced forward, the sound of his rapid breaths as they wrecked his chest—they were all nothing compared to the sound of his thudding heart harder than ever before. That was all he could hear.

  They hadn't gone too far in the woods before a loud noise echoed from the back. Metal ground against metal for a second, then something squealed: the hinges of the large gates in the iron fence as the two slabs inched open, ready for the captors to flood through. Ready for them to come and get Aaron and Leo back.

  Aaron craned his neck, and he saw lights shining from the top of the fence, shadows of the captors dancing right beneath it as they already scurried after him from afar.

The sight of their shadows alone gripped Aaron's razor-sharp nerves and tugged. His front came right down in clash with a tree trunk he hadn't paid attention to, face slamming into the splintering wood.

He tumbled out of balance and fell down, but he quickly scrambled back to his feet without even allowing himself the satisfaction of expressing the horrible pain that exploded across his jaw and nose. In a second, he was already running again, Leo's arm captive in his hand as he dragged him behind.

  Leo hadn't even had the time to process the fact that Aaron had even fallen down in the first place; all he heard was a tiny grunt, then flashes of someone stumbling, and the next thing he knew Aaron was dragging him and running again. Leo's legs were getting tired, and he felt himself slowly succumb until his weight was being mostly hauled along by Aaron.

"Aar," Leo whined, now trying to tug Aaron to a stop. "Where's the treasure? You look scared. Let's forget about it and go back."

  Aaron didn't budge. He kept running. "Just a little and we'll get to it." Aaron was surprised that he managed to speak a word so easily taking in the horrific situation; the captors were behind, and he had a feeling they were getting closer.

"But what was that sound? And what was the sound when we first jumped?"

"It... it just means that the treasure is close."

"But why are Daddy and—"

"Leo, for God's sake, stop asking!" Aaron shouted. But he didn't mean it, and as he watched the amount of hurt that filled Leo's face even beneath the darkness, his heart shattered and he wished he'd controlled himself.

Aaron stopped running for just a second, rubbing his face and panting for a proper breath. His apologetic eyes caught Leo's, pleading him to just go along. He knew Leo didn't understand what was happening. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout at you. Please, just trust me. It's going to be worth everything once we get to it."

Leo nodded tentatively, but just before they continued running, Aaron saw a flash of clarity in his eyes as he gave him a sad look.

"Aar, this isn't about a treasure anymore, is it?"

  It surprised Aaron far more than he'd expected: that knowing look in Leo's eyes yet still that child-like obliviousness threaded through.

Aaron didn't answer; he just gripped Leo's upper arm again and made him run behind, both charging deeper into the woods. Footsteps grew closer behind them, strong menacing strides that crunched the gravel progressing forwards, and the sound quickly reminded Aaron of the time he'd first gotten kidnapped, when they'd followed him at night.

And now it was happening all over again.

Aaron just prayed they wouldn't catch him this time.

  Aaron sped up, yet the sounds were still close behind. His ears somehow could tell that there were three pairs of feet running behind; two pairs wouldn't make all those scurrying footsteps that weren't even remotely synced. He knew all three captors were running right behind.

With a startling jerk, he took a sharp turn to the left and ran just a little forward before taking another turn to the right, a helpless attempts to disorient them. Lose them.

"Aaron! Please, stop running, you're going to get lost. This place is bigger than you think. There are wild dogs around, you don't know how dangerous this is. You're risking yourself and Leo. Just, p-please. Come back, baby. Please."

  It was Mommy who had spoken; Aaron could tell from the feminine voice that cracked in the middle as she'd spoken, every inch of her shaky vocals thick with worry as they echoed in the vast space, bouncing between the trees until they reached to Aaron's ear and sent a sharp shiver down his spine, especially the part including wild dogs. 

They're just scaring you, he thought. Don't fall for it.

Leo beamed as he heard her. He smiled and stopped running, jerking Aaron back with him. "Heard that, Aar? That's Mommy—"

Aaron immediately clamped a hand on Leo's mouth then pushed him forward as he forced him to keep moving in front, his eyes nervously flitting over his shoulder. He leant closer to Leo's ear. "I said don't talk. Please."

  Leo didn't argue much, maybe because he was scared of Aaron's attitude. Aaron had always been kind with him, and it was his first time experiencing him so aggressive.

Soon both were running again, so far dominating the upper hand in the chase because they were the ones in front, concealed by darkness.

Aaron thought he was winning, until something changed behind him.

  The rapid sounds of footsteps frantically approaching from behind suddenly shifted; at first, the sound of crunching gravel of the captors' feet had been all coming from right behind Aaron, like they were all gathered in a tight pack as they ran after him, but suddenly, the sounds drifted apart, no longer close to each other.

Aaron's heart lurched to his throat when he noticed the change. He knew something was happening and that they certainly hadn't given up.

  He could hear only one pair of feet behind, but the other two hadn't disappeared or stopped. Instead, to his horror, the captors had split up, now each of the them progressing towards him on different tracks. One remained running right behind, but one started circling to the right of Aaron and the other to the left. But they weren't close enough to get him; they could only hear, they hadn't exactly located him.

Aaron immediately understood what they were doing: trying to limit the directions he was taking—he could no longer take sharp turns because he'd clash with a captor on either side, and now he could only run straight forwards. He cursed each of them internally as he continued. He felt like he lost the privilege of the upper hand in the chase, now being aligned right along the captors with nothing but luck to save him.

But life to him had proven that he'd never been and never will be lucky.

  A large, massive boulder mounted up between two thick trees just little distance in front of him, and now as the captors had progressed even nearer to him at each side, he knew he couldn't attempt a sudden stunt because he'd fall right into their arms. He had to keep going.

So he did.

  Sweat had risen to the surface of every inch of his skin despite the cool air that surrounded him, and he despised how the coldness felt against his moist skin. His lungs writhed in exhaustion yet they remained sucking in greedy amounts of air just to keep his muscles moving. At this point, Aaron's legs were pounding and his knees were throbbing, both pleading him to stop and give them a rest. And he could only imagine how Leo was feeling.

  Just when the boulder was too close, both sides and behind blocked out by the captors, Aaron jerked to a stop and Leo almost faltered to the ground helplessly. Immediately, he pressed his back flatly against the nearest tree behind, pulling Leo towards him until he was pressed right to his front. Aaron's hand reached forward and clamped Leo's mouth shut, forcing him to be completely quiet and motionless as he listened to the captors; they hadn't stopped, they were still progressing but now stopping and slowing every once in a while—they were confused perhaps at where the boys had disappeared, nowhere in sight especially in the darkness that drowned out everything around them.

"Aar, why are we running from—"

"Shhh!"

   Aaron remembered the injection in his pocket; but right then it was pointless when there were three of them at once. If he'd drug one, the other would pounce at him. Right now, he needed a weapon. A real, sharp, weapon. He strained to scan the dirt around his feet, a little to the front and around. His eyes hurt with effort and the faint light the moon offered wasn't helping. 

But then, just as he was about to give up, he noticed something with sharp teeth and blades half buried beneath the dirt and gravel, and he knew it was his chance. Flashlights shone from a little behind him and somewhere around his sides, but they weren't too close.

  He kept one hand on Leo's mouth as he carefully bent forward with his feet still planted in place, his hand groping around for the weapon he'd found.  He clutched it, but in doing so his sliced his skin, and he couldn't hold back the little pained grunt that left his lips as he determinedly remained holding it, even with the searing burn that shot through his small cut.

Once he neared it to his eyes, he realized he was holding a broken saw; the handle was gone, and it left him with the sharp blades that were covered with grime and thin trickles of his blood.

The captors were still milling about, but then they suddenly stopped. Aaron held his breath.

"Careful. He's somewhere here. Close. I heard him."

  The sweat on Aaron's skin froze to a crispy dried layer as the cold harshness in Daddy's voice wrapped around him. He shivered, his shoulders shuddering and his hair bristling wildly on his arms; Daddy had never seemed or sounded to him as horrifying as he did now.

But Aaron knew it was his cue; the captors were still a good distance away and their flashlights danced just a little around him, slightly close to throwing him right beneath the blinding spotlight.

Aaron was determined on playing his cards right. He had no other choice. He needed to startle them. Not the opposite. He couldn't let them find him hidden. And he couldn't stab them; if he'd manage to hurt one captor with the saw, he had two others to pin him down in the meantime. It was pointless; he had something else in mind.

  That was when Aaron moved away from behind the tree, now standing exposed for the flashlights to catch him and their eyes to find him. He pushed Leo behind him protectively, blocking out any stunt he'd think of to run towards the captors. The saw was between his fingers, and he squeezed it nervously as the captors all froze right where they were at an average distance away from him, trying to locate him.

And then, instead of pointing the saw at them, Aaron pressed the rusty blades to his own neck.

"If one of you moves one more step I'm going to kill myself."

  At first, the air thickened with silence, and everything froze except for the beams of yellow light that swept around the ground as the captors tried to locate him.

Leo let out a small distressed noise, but Aaron immediately shushed him, the grip he had on his wrist tightening as he warned him to stay quiet. Soon, the first flashlight caught him, and as Aaron's squinty eyes traced the narrowing rays back to the owner, they fell open Mommy standing to his right.

  Her eyes were wide and the green of her irises appeared nearly black with disbelief as she carefully took in the blades grazing her baby's soft skin. They were just against his throat, a swipe away from slitting it open.

A strangled cry tore her throat, the flashlight dropping from her hand as she quickly brought it up to cover her mouth. "Baby, please take it away from your neck. You're going to hurt yourself." Her voice was strained and shaky, and he could almost tell she was already crying.

  A burst of confidence swallowed Aaron's heart. Her reaction had proven to him that he'd played his cards precisely correct. Killing himself was a threat that tied them down helplessly. He knew his captors well. "If you don't step back, it's going inside my neck. And I'm not messing with you. It's easy, I can do it before you even try to move to me."

  Lou and Daddy had found him with their own flashlights, and they both stood shocked as they watched. No one moved. Everyone just stayed still and solid, their eyes set on Aaron in a calculating stare, as if wondering how they'd snatch the weapon from his hand.

Aaron kept the saw tightly against his neck. "I said step back. Now."

  The three shared concerned looks. Finally, Mommy and Lou listened, stepping back a little as they waited for Daddy to do so as well. But he didn't. Daddy remained in his spot directly juxtaposing Aaron. He'd been the one running right behind, and he didn't look like he intended to move back like the others. Something about the icy shade concealing his dark eyes made it clear that he wasn't buying the play Aaron was putting.

"Step back if you don't want to see me dying right in front of you."

  Daddy narrowed his eyes, glaring at Aaron. And the longer he did, the more Aaron felt like the strength he'd gathered in him was melting.

Then Daddy spoke, and his voice was thin and low, just a tiny thread of doubt laced through it. "You wouldn't do that."

"He has a..." Lou squinted at Aaron. "Saw. That's a saw in his hand. On his throat. Don't challenge him. Step back."

  Lou was trying reason; he looked as worried as Mommy, but he could contain himself better.

Daddy shrugged, his eyes still daring. "He wouldn't kill himself. I know my baby well. He's playing us around." Even with the words Daddy spoke dripping with confidence, Aaron could tell there was at least a particle of uncertainty somewhere in him—that little skepticism that maybe his baby would really do it and kill himself, and it was what kept him in place, not stepping back, but also not pouncing forwards.

And Aaron knew that if he stayed any longer not hurting himself, that little particle would vanish, and Daddy would be soon pinning him down. And he'd expected this. But he knew his way around Daddy's head.

So he had to.

"I wouldn't?" Aaron laughed humorlessly, and he surprised himself with how poisonous it sounded. "You have no idea."

  Daddy didn't budge. Mommy gave him a death glare as she shifted tensely in her spot. "Listen to him. Step back," she whispered. Her eyes trailed back to her baby, taking in how Aaron was pressing the sharp blades further against his skin. They needed just a prod and they'd tear open a bloody wound, and her heart lurched when he continued adding pressure.

"Aaron, baby, no... No!"

  Aaron tore a shallow wound in his neck.

The blades dug into the skin and clawed at it. A burst of pain pulsed through his veins. He grunted, squeezing his eyes shut at the throbs of the blades still pressed against the open wound. Thin streams of his blood oozed down the cut and rounded around the rusty metal, trickling down and dripping onto his fingers.

"Aar, no! Please!" Leo tried reaching towards the saw, but Aaron easily blocked his hand out. He turned to him for a mere second, whispering don't worry. But those two words didn't comfort Leo in anyway. "Don't want my brother to die, please Aar."

   "He's going to kill himself because of you! Just step back already!" Mommy shouted. Her voice, even as it cracked and tumbled over each word, was a ruthless warning directly against Daddy. She looked at that point fully eager of marching herself to Daddy and shoving him back just so she'd protect her baby. Seeing him so close to killing himself was tearing her apart.

Daddy hesitated, although he seemed surprised. He hadn't thought his baby was capable of actually hurting himself like that. He stepped back, away from Aaron. "Aaron, calm down," he said. "You're out of your mind right now."

  Aaron just stared for a moment. He wanted to speak, but he couldn't form words or let out a sound except for another bitter laugh: loud and brazen, what was supposed to signify amusement showing nothing more than a spurt of anger.

"Are you kidding me?" Aaron finally blurted. "I'm out of my mind? Yeah, right, 'cause I'm the one kidnapping teenagers and making them act like babies!" He couldn't believe they couldn't see the bizarre situation; it made him wonder just how far they were in the grasp of insanity. "Actually, you're not out of your minds, now that I think about it. You don't even have minds to be out of them! You're just some crazed psychopaths with absolutely no sense of sanity!"

Aaron controlled himself; he took a deep breath, then gestured Mommy aside. There was no point talking to them. "Make space," he said. "Go back."

"Aaron.. Aaron look at me," Lou spoke for the first time, voice steady but eyes wavering. His baby actually tearing a wound in his neck had startled him far beyond expectation. It scared him how different Aaron was now. He'd grown grown familiar to his sweet little nephew. Sweet little Aaron.

But now that Aaron wasn't there. All Lou could see was a boy so furious standing there with wild grey eyes darker than the sky above them and lips that let through their part words so sharp and cutting yet laughter afterwards like he hadn't been so angry just a second ago. All he could see was bloodied fingers, a wound on his neck and saw to his throat. Silky black hair disheveled and slender shoulders tense.

He'd never seen Aaron so angry.

Lou continued, "I understand that you're angry. I understand that you want to get out. But not this way. Not with a saw on your neck. You're bleeding. Put it down and let's talk about this like normal people."

"You're talking like everything is nice and peachy. Yeah, sure. I'll put it down. Then we'll have a nice little talk over some coffee—or wait, milk for me, because I'm a baby! Isn't that what you think!"

  Aaron's frown was sharp and unforgiving as he shouted, metallic eyes shone with the rage he'd been trying to compress all the time. But he couldn't anymore. His breath was working only through his nose, his shoulders heaving with each intake.

After a battle for order in his mind, Aaron could finally gesture Mommy further back and aside with his free hand. "Move away. Now."

There was a brief moment of silence, but then Daddy, of all, spoke. "You want to go? Alright. Go. But give us Leo first."

Aaron found himself laughing again. "No way. Leo's coming with me."

"He has a choice in this. If he wants to go back, you can't stop him."

"A choice?" Aaron snorted, loud and bitter. "Like the choice you gave him when you kidnapped him? Or like the choice you gave him when you decided to brainwash the hell out of him? Now you're talking about giving choices?"

  Aaron felt Leo try to step out, but he quickly crossed a leg in front of him and pressed his elbow into his stomach, pushing him back. The saw remained on his neck, and he stared at them all. "Move away. Go back. Trust me, I'm not scared of showing you my bare throat."

The captors shared looks again, and Daddy's eyes lingered on Mommy's, like they were communicating in some sneaky way. Then, Daddy looked back at Aaron, slowly stepping further back with the other two until they made enough space to his right.

Aaron began moving to the open space with Leo in tow, the saw still pressed firmly against the aching wound. He kept his eyes trained on them cautiously.

"Aar, please," Leo whined as Aaron continued forcing him to walk along. "Let's go back. And please stop hurting yourself. You're scaring me, Aar."

  Aaron barely even heard what Leo had said. All he could focus on was keeping his feet moving steadily even though his knees were trembling, and the odd sight of the captors all frozen in front of him as he moved further away. Slowly, the three of them became shadowy little figures in the distance, and it was then that Aaron turned fully and began sprinting through the woods as fast as possible.

He knew they wouldn't give up. They certainly had something in mind. And that scared him.

"Aar, I'm tired.. please stop."

"I'm tired too," Aaron said. He kept on racing forward, yet a part of him felt horrible about the way he was treating Leo. With the strong grip he had on his arm, Aaron suddenly feared he'd accidentally detach it off his shoulder.

Aaron knew everything would end when he'd find police—he'd tell about the captors, and he'd let Leo tell about whoever gave him all the scars; it was clear the boy had been abused, he didn't even need to speak, his battered body would do it all without even a word from him. There was no way he was letting him go back to whoever abused him.

I should tell the police about my father too, Aaron thought. It would happen inevitably.

  Soon afterwards, Aaron found himself stepping onto a vast land with no trees scattered across the dirt and gravel, and if any, they were old and their bare branches gnarled hideously. The place was barren and wide, like an exit from the woods, just open space with no hindrance save for the chunky lumps beneath Aaron's feet that were slightly hard to maneuver through. He found himself stumbling a couple of times, regaining balance just before he'd fall face first into the rough ground.

But then, as he ran, he heard something.

Humming.

  A low, distant hum: it came from behind, and Aaron's heart dropped as he strained to figure whether it was his brain messing with him or that the noise was indeed there, quiet and menacing. His arms flared with goosebumps, hairs standing on end. The low hum slowly became more prominent, and it intensified progressively until it resembled a constant roar—like that of a working engine.

  Something glowed against Aaron's arm, and he instinctively flinched and pulled it away, holding it protectively to his chest. Until he realized something. His heart dropped out of his body as he turned to his side; just there shone a bright yellow light that came in a large expanding beam from behind. He craned his neck, taking a quick glance over his shoulder. Something was advancing towards him, dark and shadowy. But then, as the sound became closer, he realized with horror what it was.

A vehicle.

They were coming for him in a vehicle.

  Aaron's face paled and his taut nerves twitched. He could clearly make out what each noise meant now. The loud groan of the engine as it was boosted; the wheels spiraled against the rough terrain beneath them, indenting the dirt in a trailing line and spewing out gravel to the sides as it tore through and charged forwards.

"Shit shit shit," Aaron mumbled and ran faster. Helpless, Leo tumbled behind, straining to keep up.

Aaron decided he needed to hide now rather than run further, but the open space gave him no chance. The beam of light expanded forwards, and soon a dark motorcycle raced by his side, almost knocking him and Leo out in the process, but Aaron kept himself grounded. He dug his heels into the ground as the wind the vehicle had brewed blew into him, looking away from the dusty particles that stormed to his face like a hurricane.

  Aaron almost thought whoever was driving accidentally went past him, but the motorcycle took a sharp turn from where it was a little ahead of the boys.

The engine roared and the wheels screeched as they suddenly changed direction and chuffed forwards, the strong beam of light now casting directly towards Aaron's face. It blinded him for a second; the sharp yellow color took his eyes with a burning pain, and he brought his arm up to hide them. His eyes were squeezed shut, yet that blinding yellow broke past his lids and flooded the inky blackness there, both colors swirling together—it was disorienting, far too much.

  The vehicle screeched to a stop just before the boys, and Aaron tumbled and fell on his back. The saw in his hand fell. He forced his eyes open but his vision was too bleary to recognize who was there.

But Aaron knew he had to get away. "Leo, go behind the tree. Quick!" He patted around blindly for Leo, then took his arm when he found it and shoved him further back, away from the captor. He knew he would see him going away, but he just wanted time.

  Leo didn't move along for a second. "Who's that, Aar?" he asked, voice wavering. The shock and disorientation and fear were all a clear mix in it; Aaron hated how the situation shook him, yet he was surprised that he didn't just sit there and burst out crying. Leo turned out stronger than he thought.

"That's a stranger. Go, now!"

"Come with me, I can't leave you!"

"I'm coming, Leo. Just move already!"

  One final harsh shove had Leo scrambling to the tree a little further back and hiding behind. He peeked at Aaron nervously from there, waiting for him to come.

Aaron had barely managed to get to his knees when a hand grasped his ankle; strong, powerful fingers locked the frail joint between them then tugged back harshly. Aaron lost balance and crashed again onto the ground facedown. A pebble jabbed his temple, slitting open a tiny cut across the skin through which a thin line of blood trickled down.

  Aaron pulled his face off the ground, extending his arm and digging his hands into the dirt. He tried to grasp onto anything to keep himself stable, but now the hand on his ankle was joined by another one that quickly took hold of his leg, both dragging him back as his hands scraped down helplessly.

The harsh friction burnt his fingertips; his skin singed beneath the dirt, jolts of pain expanding through his hands every time something sharp sliced them along the way. He looked back, only to find Daddy crouched down just a little behind Aaron's feet, all his weight thrown onto his heels like he'd just now gotten down.

"Hello, baby. Did you think we'd give up on you so easily?"

Daddy's voice sounded to Aaron like some evil demon from a horror movie. The hollow repercussions of each word through the silent night haunted him.

"Do you even realize that you just almost ran us over!" Aaron shouted. He kicked his foot up, and it caught Daddy in the jaw.

The captor grunted, his fingers loosening from Aaron's ankle and leg just enough for him to slide out of his grasp and quickly scramble forwards. For a moment, a small sense of satisfaction eased the tension in Aaron's nerves; he had been craving to kick that psycho in the face for a while.

  Leo reached over to Aaron and caught his arm, pulling him towards the tree as he squinted at whom Aaron had called a stranger. But then, as he took in the dark features and the tall, sturdy build, the acknowledgment flooded him.

"That's not a stranger, Aar. That's Daddy!"

"Oh great, we're saved!" Aaron didn't even understand how he managed the sarcasm midst the situation. "That's the problem, Leo. That's exactly the problem!"

  Aaron finally got to his feet, and just as he prepared to run, Daddy's arm hooked around his torso tightly from the back, trapping his arms down, and forced him towards him again. He lifted his feet off the ground, half carrying him away as Aaron continuously thrashed, kicking and swinging his legs back to hit him.

"Shh, baby," Daddy said. "It's all fine now."

  Aaron stopped for a mere second and stared with resentful eyes. His hair was damp with sweat and it stuck to his forehead, both his chest and shoulders heaving with the effortful, ragged breaths for air that wrecked his lungs.

Daddy tried to comb his hair away from his forehead, but Aaron bit his fingers. His sharp canines plunged into the skin as deep as possible, trapping his hand until he felt the dense, gooey liquid rise from the small cuts and soak the tip of his teeth.

Daddy grunted, but he easily brushed it off. "Guys, I got Aaron. You get Leo. He's behind the tree." He smiled at Aaron, the skin by his eyes crinkling blissfully like the situation didn't even brother him. Like he was so sure he wouldn't fail this fight. "My little angel can be a really bad boy sometimes. Thought you won, didn't you?"

Aaron's eyes were filled with disgust as he looked back at Daddy. His chest rumbled with swelling anger, and he couldn't even hold it back anymore. "You make me sick."

  Daddy tutted. Aaron ducked his head, now grasping the arm around his torso between his teeth. He bit, trying as hard as possible to sink his canines past the fabric of the sweater Daddy was wearing and to his skin. He barely managed, but his attempt was enough for Daddy to flinch again, but he didn't let go of him.

"We got Leo!" Mommy said, raising something in her hand for Daddy to see. "Look what I found. What's the injection doing out here?"

  Daddy slowly lowered Aaron until his feet touched the ground, but he kept his restricting arm around his torso. His free hand reached over and took the injection. The cap had dropped off, the long, sharp needle now bare and exposed, glistening beneath the faint moonlight.

Aaron's heart squeezed past the gaps between his ribs and fell at the sight of it just by his head. It must've dropped from him at some point, and as he watched Daddy's face contort with skepticism as he turned it around, his burnt nerves flared and his brain blared with a warning alarm. 

Daddy definitely was thinking of stabbing him with it, or at least Aaron feared so.

  Throbbing adrenaline poured through the blood in Aaron's veins. The strengthening effect of fear gave his muscles a powerful boost, and the next thing he knew he freed one arm from beneath Daddy's constriction. He grasped the injection, tried directing it towards Daddy's neck, but the captor didn't even panic. In a terrifyingly relaxed manner compared to the consequence of getting stabbed, Daddy shoved Aaron's hand off and kept the injection for himself.

  Aaron fell down on his back. Before he could do anything, Daddy's hand on his shoulder was pinning him down like some weight thrown over. He curved his knees up and tried to kick, but Daddy moved away from his feet and shuffled closer to his side with the injection still in his hand.

  Daddy laughed, head thrown back and teeth exposed. He focused back on Aaron after the fit, his dark eyes carrying oceans of crazed amusement that suffocated Aaron like his head was shoved underwater. He couldn't understand why he was so happy.  His fingers trembled at how psychotic he looked at that moment.

"You wanted to stab me with it, baby? How about you try it now? Open your mouth for me."

Aaron didn't understand why Daddy was directing it at his mouth rather than stabbing his neck or something, but the terror got to him either way. He whimpered and kept his mouth closed, kicking and moving his head away.

Daddy gripped Aaron's jaw, gently trying to pry his lips apart as he neared the injection to his mouth. But seeing the needle so close to his face, Aaron almost lost it. His entire body convulsed against the ground as he thrashed violently, his torso lifting and dropping helplessly.

Daddy stopped when he saw how terrified Aaron was. "Relax, baby. Relax," he said, gently holding his shoulder down against the ground.

Lou stepped nearer pulled the injection away from Aaron. "How the hell is he supposed to relax when you're shoving an injection right in his face!"

"Careful with the language in front of the boys, Lou," Daddy said in a calm voice. "Okay, I'll try it if he doesn't want to. Look, baby." And then, Daddy brought the needle to his own open mouth, squirting some of the liquid onto his tongue. He swallowed naturally, chuckling as he watched Aaron's reaction: dark brows furrowed, grey eyes narrowed, yet the muscles of his chest remained working with strained breaths as he stared. "That's just water, baby! Do you think we're idiots to put an actual injection right in front of your eyes? It's just to scare you."

  Aaron was partly relieved for a second, but then he caught Mommy walking closer from the corner of his eyes. When he turned his neck towards her, he realized she was holding in her hand a soaked white rag. They wanted to sedate him. But no way was he returning to that house.

"No!" Aaron said, thrashing and kicking. His back rose from the ground it was pressed against as he continued, and he twisted his torso around desperately until Daddy's hand slid from his shoulder to his abdomen. It pressed down right there, forcing him to drop back onto the ground.

  Mommy knelt down by Aaron's side, and her teary eyes widened as she took in the countless cuts on the side of his face and his temple. Burning tears slid down her cheeks as she gently let her fingers sift through his tousled, sweaty hair as if she were trying to ease his pain. Her index slid to his face, grazing the cuts.

Her eyes found his neck. The blood from the open wound had trickled down his skin until it gathered in a spot on his sweater; the fabric just below his neck was distinctly darker, and she cried at the thought of her little son in pain. So she leant in closer, kissing his neck just below the wound. "I'm sorry, baby," she said. "I'm so sorry."

And then she brought the rag up, breaking out into strangled sobs and countless tears that blurred her vision as she pressed it against Aaron's nose and mouth, all while Daddy harshly held him stable.

Aaron sealed his lips closed and held his breath, trying hard not to inhale whatever drug they planned to ambush his lungs with. He kicked again, shaking his head firmly from side to side and trying desperately to slip the cloth off his nose.

Couple minutes passed. Mommy watched Aaron; his movement didn't die. He was still thrashing, although the drug must've kicked in by now. "How isn't he... why isn't it working?"

Daddy sighed. "Because he's smart enough to hold his breath. Give me, I'll show you how you do it to someone trying to mess around. Hold his legs down."

  The cloth was removed for a second, and Aaron let out a sharp breath. He turned immediately, burying his face into the dirt so they wouldn't be able to do it. But then, a hand gripped his shoulder and flipped him back, and another held the back of his head with painful force. His skull felt like it was about to crack. Then, a knee pressed into his abdomen to keep him stable, and he yelped as it dug painfully deeper into him. He choked on thin air, coughing as the pressure just about suffocated him.

"Daddy, no! You're hurting Aar! Stop!" Aaron almost thought it was Lou who spoke, but no one other than Leo called him Aar. It surprised him; he'd never heard Leo's voice so loud and harsh, so angry. The usual softness wasn't there to ease down the edges of his words.

But then Lou really spoke; he cursed at first, loudly and blatantly before he could form an actual statement. "Get the hell off of him! You're one hundred times his weight! You're going to crush the kid!"

  Daddy didn't relent. He knew how much pressure he could put without making it dangerous. His hand came with the rag towards his baby's face, but Aaron brought his hand up for one last attempt and held his wrist, then he turned to Lou. Daddy let him say whatever he wanted to.

"Lou, please," Aaron said, his voice now a soft whisper. "Please don't let this happen."

Lou's heart shattered, but he couldn't respond. And as he watched the expression on Aaron's face falter from pleading to disappointed, he wished he could end this all in some way. "I'm sorry, Aaron. I'm sorry."

Someone held Aaron's hand down against the ground again. Aaron gave each of them a lingering look; every bit of the fury and loath and wrath he'd gathered from everything they'd made him undergo blazed in his eyes.

"I hate you," Aaron said. "I hate all of you. You're all just like my father. I hate you just as much as I hate him."

Daddy sighed sadly as the words sank. You'll understand us at one point, baby, he thought.

With one hand still holding the back of Aaron's head stable, Daddy shoved the rag harshly against his nose and mouth and pressed as hard as he could.

Aaron could only hold his breath for so long beneath the strong, constant pressure, and soon he lost the battle. The drug slowly crept through his nose to his lungs, and soon, it kicked in.

Aaron felt it clearly: how his muscles relaxed on their own, how his eyelids blinked without him even trying, and he knew he was about to blackout. He wished that all the sounds and the hassle would've caught someone's attention, that police would come and put him out of his misery.

And then, like the blood that leaked from his wound, his consciousness did too.

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