Chapter 17 - Blood.

"This doesn't look like the way we came," Caleb said, being the first to break the silence that had set upon the three.

Carson tried to keep quiet, ignoring the burning hole in her chest, the usual feeling she got when she felt something bad was about to happen. And, usually, she was right.

"We shouldn't be here," Bradley's voice brought her back form her thoughts, his cough sending a wave of concern over her features.

"You're the one that made us leave," Caleb reply, stopping and pointing the torch towards his brother and the girl.

Bradley took a second to recover from his coughing fit before replying.

"I mean we shouldn't have come out here in the first place."

"You wanted to shoot the gun, too."

"Yeah, I know, but..." Bradley took a breath, glancing over towards Carson for a moment. He could see right through her tough facade by now.

She was staring at the snow, twisting the loose string that hung from her thin jacket. How she wasn't freezing to death was a secret that was never to be revealed to him.

"If we had left when I said, none of this would have happened. You were just too busy trying to be dad's best friend."

Caleb stared at his brother, slightly shocked by his words.

Carson was looking at Bradley as well, but she wasn't surprised like Caleb. Angry, yes. Angry about the fact that Bradley had just made Caleb feel as if this situation were his fault when it clearly wasn't. If it were anyone's fault, it was hers. She's the one that could have easily stopped Elliot from dragging the two boys out into the woods. She knew the man, she knew he would screw up, but never would she have thought that they would end up like this. Either way, she could have found a way to get them out of the situation before it ever even started. And she hadn't. She may have been angry at Bradley, but she wasn't nearly as mad towards him as she was towards herself.

Caleb turned around, walking away from the two.

"Oh come– I'm sorry, Caleb, please, look–" his eyes landed on Carson, who was now two steps ahead of him, following his younger brother. The brunet didn't hesitate before reaching forward and grabbing the girl's wrist.

"We gotta stick together if we wanna get outta here, ok?"

The words were supposed to get to both Carson and Caleb, but the girl heard the undertone of the message as Bradley's eyes stared into the back of her head. She gently pulled her arm away from his grip, choosing to not look back at him. She didn't have time to get lost in his brown puppy dog eyes. She probably never would.

"You don't even know where you're going," Bradley spoke again, this time directing his words more towards his brother than the blonde that had just tore a little piece of him by ignoring his words.

"You think somebody's just gonna come and save us?!" Caleb yelled, making both older kids jump.

Carson held a slight expression. She had been waiting for the moment in which Caleb would eventually break, she just didn't think it would have been now.

"No," Bradley replied, "but you don't wanna get any more lost."

"We can't get any more lost," Caleb snapped, turning back around.

Carson looked towards the snow again, stepping forward to follow Caleb, but her head snapped up when she heard him gasp. The girl took a step back, her eyes widening once she found the source of Caleb's surprise.

Elliot walked towards the kids, his face contorted by the shadows being cast by the trees, the moon giving a sickening glow to his already pale face.

Carson stood next to Caleb, noticing Bradley move by her side out of the corner of her eye. Elliot was looking down at them, pure madness filling his orbs as he looked into Carson's eyes. She wanted to look away, but she wasn't about to let Elliot know he intimidated her. That would be the end of them. She stared back at him, a neutral expression filling her eyes. Her pride always got in the way of her safety. Even around a madman.

Elliot finally moved his gaze to Bradley, then Caleb. When he spoke, his voice came out forced, as if he hadn't used it in days.

"You just left me."

"We... we were gonna t–try to find help," Caleb said, Carson not being the least bit surprised that the younger boy would find a way to make his father feel better. It's the waver in his voice that gave the lie away.

Luckily, Elliot chose to ignore that.

"We gotta stick together," the older man said, looking over the three. "You can't just leave me."

"Yeah, well, we were gonna come back for you, dad," Bradley said, finally speaking up. Carson wouldn't dare admit it to him, but he was a much better liar than his brother.

"I promise."

Elliot looked into his son's eyes. His orbs widened, and as the moonlight hit his face, Carson had to choke back a gasp. Bags coated the skin under his eyes, making it look like he hadn't slept in days. Maybe he hadn't. He looked around, his head moving with a slow rythm, he resembled a rabid animal smelling the blood of his prey for the first time in months. He was giving in to madness, slowly going insane. It took everything in the girl's body to stay put instead of running into the snow covered forest, as far away from the man as possible.

"Say something," Caleb pleaded, snapping Carson out of her thoughts.

"Do you have any idea what could happen to you out here?" Elliot asked, anger making its way into his voice.

"Look, we're sorry–"

"Look, I'm your father!" Elliot snapped, cutting Bradley off. "It's my job to protect you."

Carson bit her tongue, forcing herself to not remind the man that he wasn't her father.

A laugh came from her side and the girl's head snapped to Bradley. A humourless chuckle fell from his lips, and the girl's face paled. He really shouldn't have done that.

Elliot's eyes slowly moved towards the boy. "You think that's funny?" He asked, his voice sounding foreign. Every cell in Carson's body was telling her to run. She could easily outrun him, she had more experience in the woods than Elliot did and she was used to moving through the snow. But there was no way she was going to leave Caleb and Bradley behind.

"You got something you wanna say to me?" Elliot said, taking a step towards Bradley.

Bradley shook his head, turning back towards the man that called himself his father.

Elliot walked towards the boy, the brunet taking a step back with every step the man took forwards. He glanced at Carson for a moment, taking in her features. The second Elliot had turned away from her she'd dropped the neutral facade, and now she was looking at Bradley with a worried expression. Scared, even.

Elliot was standing right in front of him now.

"You got something you wanna say to me?" Elliot asked again, his breathe forming vapor in the freezing air.

"Say it."

When Bradley kept quiet, Elliot started pushing again.

"You think I'm a shitty father?"

Bradley kept his mouth shut.

"Hm? Say it." Elliot brought his hand down of Bradley's cheek, shoving him downwards.

"Elliot," Carson said, warning lacing her tone.

The man ignored her, instead stared at his son as he gathered his balance, standing straight, staring at Elliot's chest.

"Hm? You think I'm a shitty dad?" He shoved Bradley again.

Bradley opened his mouth to reply, a silent 'yeah' falling out of his mouth.

"Say it. Yeah?" Elliot said again.

Bradley gave a small nod.

Shit.

"Say it," Elliot pushed.

"You're shitty dad," Bradley said, his voice just above a whisper. He looked up, meeting Elliot's gaze.

"There you go," the older man said. "You gonna say it like a little pussy, or are you gonna say it like a man?"

When Bradley didn't reply Elliot shoved him again, harder than the past two times.

"Huh?"

Bradley stood his ground, not saying a word.

Elliot shoved his face this time.

"Say it again."

Another shove to the shoulder.

"Say it. Say it! Say it!" Elliot was yelling now, and that was the last straw.

Bradley went to shove him, making the man take a step back.

"There you go. There you go!"

"Fuck you!" Bradley screamed, punching the man's stomach repeatedly, not really doing much damage.

"Come on!" Elliot yelled.

"Fucking–" Elliot grabbed Bradley's arms.

"Say it!"

"No!"

"You think I'm a shitty father?" Elliot yelled again, the words cutting through both Bradley's and Carson's throats. This was too much for her. It was almost exactly like what had happened between her and her father. Only that time she'd been able to get away. Elliot wasn't going to let them go that easily.

"No!" Bradley yelled back, refusing to say the words.

"You think I'm a shitty father? Say it. Say it!"

"Get off me!"

"Say it! Huh, say it. Say I'm a shitty father, say it."

Elliot grabbed Bradley's coat, holding him in place.

"Get off me, please!" Bradley begged, his voice desperate as Elliot clung onto his neck, nearly blocking his airway.

"Dad!" Caleb yelled.

Carson kept quiet. She knew what she had to do, but she needed the right moment to do so.

"SAY IT!"

"YOU'RE A SHITTY FATHER!"

"There you go!"

"Let him go, please!" Caleb begged.

"GET OFF ME!" Bradley yelled again, gripping Elliot's arms.

Bradley kept struggling as Elliot held him in place, his back pressed against his chest, stopping any movement from the squirming boy.

Bradley coughed, air finally filling his lungs. He leaned towards the ground, Elliot still holding onto him.

"Fuck off." Bradley pushed Elliot away, the man finally letting go of him. He started walking away, still coughing.

Carson finally felt her limbs move forwards, her feet dragging her towards the boy.She placed a hand on his back, making him flinch slightly, but he relaxed once he realized it was her.

The girl looked at Bradley, her eyes fuming with rage as she saw what Elliot had done to him. She couldn't help but think of what might have happened if Bradley hadn't spoken. Elliot would have more than likely knocked him out.

She turned towards the man, disgust and anger filling her eyes

"What is wrong with you," she spat, more as a comment than a question.

Elliot's eyes landed on her, madness showing clearly on his features.

"What did you just say?" He asked, his voice just above a whisper.

Carson took a step towards him, moving her body so she was completely facing him, Bradley still bending over behind her.

"What are you thinking, Elliot? You're going insane. And don't start telling me you're doing this because you care about them, about me. There's nothing you care about. Nothing."

Elliot stood, shock filling his body as he looked at the girl.

"Get away from him."

Carson kept her surprise hidden under her skin, her face showing no emotion as she stood her ground.

"Excuse me?"

"Carson, get away from Bradley. Now."

"Who the fuck do you think you are, Elliot? Cause last I checked, you're nothing but a madman. You're going insane. Slowly, but surely. You've lost your fucking mind."

It took everyone a second to understand what happened next.

Elliot was on Carson in a second, a small pocket knife that had been well hidden under his coat being pressed to her throat as he held her still, his arm around her throat, blocking her airway.

"Dad!" Caleb yelled, going to move towards Carson, but the girl held a hand up, signalling for him to stop.

"Go ahead," she said, taking everyone by surprise.

"Go ahead, kill me. Choke me, slice my throat, gut me like you did that deer. Let's see what the fuck happens then."

"Dad," Carson's eyes snapped towards Bradley, who had finally gotten up, the girl's words bringing him back to his senses.

"Let her go."

"Or else what?" Elliot snapped, "what, you think you can save your little girlfriend? This girl is a nobody, a nothing that got beat by her dad and went to others for pity. A stupid child that thought she could just do some shitty stuff for some shitty people. She thought she could get away with anything. And now here she is, with a bad ankle, and no one to save her. And this time, she can't save herself. And now..." Elliot moved the knife closer to Carson's throat, the girl trying her best not to start panting and loose more air. She could hold her breath, but with someone blocking any way for air to get into her lungs, there was no way she wouldn't start panicking.

"Now it's time for you to join your brother."

Carson's eyes widened, a jolt of adrenaline going through her. She let out a scream, the cool blade slicing the skin right under her jawline.

Then it all stopped. She took quick gasps, grasping and rubbing her throat, hoping to make the main go away. When she brought her hand back, a red splotch appeared on her skin, the scarlet liquid making a horrific contrast to her paleness.

She looked back, only to wish she hadn't.

Elliot was standing still, the bloody blade in his hands as small droplets of the girl's blood made their way to to snow, marking the place in which the man had officially lost his mind.

Bradley stood in front of him. It took a second for Carson to figure out that he was the one that had shoved Elliot away from her before he could do any real damage.

Caleb was already at her side, lifting her arm so she could stand up.

Memories of her father came rushing out from the back of her mind, making her remember things she'd hoped would stay buried deep within her past.

But she was hellbound. And the past always catches up to people like her.

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hey beanssssss

alright so FIRST OFF i'm sosososososo sorry for not updating but i've been concentrating a shit ton on school, cause, you know, SCHOOL.

butttttt i really really hope you guys liked this chapter cause it took me so long to write lmao.