Page 53 of Starving Butterfly
“Hello my pretty little bitch,” his voice dripped with venom, but he wasn’t close enough for me to do anything.
“Get away from me,” she spat towards him and jerked her hands. A cry left her when she couldn’t pull away.
“Not so brave now, are you?” He taunted.
“Get away from me! You’re just a big bully.” She tried to kick him, but it didn’t land.
“I think I’m going to enjoy having you all to myself.” He whispered. Red dotted the edges of my eyes; it was taking every inch of restraint to wait for the right moment.
“Don’t touch me!” She screamed as his hand came up, caressing her cheek.
“Oh the fun I’ll have with you.”
“No, I don’t want you to touch me!” I heard her plea, the broken sobs, and the unmistakable sound of a zipper as it slid down.
His hand closed around the bar above her head, and that’s when I moved.
I lunged forward with all my might, grabbing hold of his arm and jerking it through the bar.The man yelled out in surprise as I bent his arm against the steel.
“Close your eyes trouble,” I snapped towards her. She was crying, tears streaming down her face, but the second I saw her pinch her eyes closed, I moved.
“Help!” he screamed. His arm snapped beneath my weight, and I dropped it like putty. My hand gripped the back of his head.
The chain wrapped around his neck a moment later, choking him as I pulled with all my strength.The chain bit into my already sore, broken skin as I stepped closer to my wall; it was a slight pain that meant nothing to me.
There were strangled gasps and the loud thunk of the bars as he tried to free himself. It was no use. I jerked myself towards the wall, and his body twitched and fell silent. I released the tension a moment later. His body fell to the ground in a broken mess of limbs.
My breath came in pants as I made my way back to her. Shivering and panicked, but still closed-eyed. My hand landed on her shoulder with a soft gentleness.
“It’s over.” I rumbled, sitting down against the bars. I ripped the zip ties that held her hands above her head, watched as she rubbed her wrists, tears raining down from her eyes.
“Thank you,” she cried, her soft hand coming up to caress my face. Blood spattered against the floor in rhythm with her tears. It didn’t look good. She hadn’t stopped bleeding. It concerned me, but she just smeared the blood away from her eyes.
“Can you reach the keys in his pocket?” I asked after she’d calmed down enough to listen to instructions.
She moved slowly towards his body and shoved his side to find his pocket. I held my breath as she reached inside and withdrew a dirty set of keys. Her eyes landed on mine, and she seemed unfocused.
“I- I’m dizzy.” She whispered.
“That’s okay, just try your best to watch me.” My hand was outstretched towards her, and locked around the keys. I fiddled with the keys, trying to fit each one into the locked cuff of the chain and my hands shaking with each failure.
On the last key, the cuffs clicked open. I quickly undid the other hand and made it to the door. The keys slammed in the lock and turned; with a groan, the metal hinges released the door.
Little hands wrapped around my legs as she hugged me tightly, “thank you for saving me Scar.”
I picked her up, holding her to my chest as we walked up the stairs away from the hellhole, leaving the scummy guard to rot. She didn’t make as many sounds. When I glanced down at her, she was quiet but still conscious.Hold on, trouble, Almost there.I thought as I peered around the first corner, checking for guards.
Moving forward, I crept down the fancy hallways, checking for a door that would lead us to freedom. I paused, hearing a high-pitched sound, unsure of what it was. I leaned against thewall. I smoothed the hair away from her face. But she looked at me with such adoration. The pressure changed, and in an instant, I was thrown forward. The girl screamed as we flew through the air.
Debris and drywall dust rained around me as I shielded the girl. Confusion broke out as flashes of gunfire sparked to life. Ears ringing and vision blurred, I stumbled upright towards the hole in the wall, daylight just inches away, like freedom for us both.
The snow covered the ground as I tripped out into the fresh air; fire and ash rained down as the bright light caused my eyes to water.We made it.I started walking towards the center of the lawn, not really sure where to go from here. She was fading fast, her pulse slow against my arm.
I blinked away the dust as I tried to see what had caused the explosion. There was gunfire everywhere, screams and shouts as I crept forward. In the distance, I saw figures running towards me. Blurry outlines that I couldn’t make out. The image cleared enough for me to see a blonde woman rushing forward, a heavily tattooed man beside her.
Something pierced my calf, and a scream ripped from my throat as I fell forward to the ground. The little girl’s arm bounced upwards. I gripped her hand tightly. “We made it trouble,” the relief in my voice clear as day.
A small smile framed her face as her hand reached towards mine, “Daddy…”
