though it was fruitless.
Something crashed in the basement.
He bolted for the basement door and down the stairs as if he floated. Elton was there, his back to Perry. Marge was in the corner, down on her knees.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked.
“Because I have a father who left me to die. I believe in divine justice.”
“You think what you did to my husband was divine justice?”
Elton kicked out the step ladder legs and sat down on it. Perry walked around in front of his son and saw the weapon he held. It was one of Perry’s drills.
“Okay, we have a little time. I’ll explain. My mother was a whore. Do you know how many men she would bring home? They would beat me for fun. I lost my fingerprints at the age of eight because one of the men my mother brought home didn’t want people to be able to identify me. How did he know I’d live a life of crime?” Elton held his free hand up and showed Marge his fingers. “He burned them off on the kitchen stove while my mother laughed at me. She also said dental records help to identify people so they never took me to a dentist. I lost almost all my teeth and never had the money for those fake ones until I was in jail. The system paid for it. See.” Elton opened his mouth, displaying a white band of teeth in a wide smile.
“I’m sorry. I’m terribly sorry,” Marge said. “No one should have to live under those conditions.”
“You’re astute. Got my high school diploma in prison.”
“Are you doing this to hurt the people that hurt you?”
“Something like that.”
Marge wiped her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“Your husband, my father, left me with that woman DNA calls my mother. She had two other girls that were beaten and raped more times than I know how to count. They were really twisted. I’m the only sane one to walk out of that house from hell. I killed them all to end their pain. Now I’ve killed my dad for allowing that pain in the first place by not stepping up to the plate. You’re the last one who has to die.”
“Why me?”
“The rule for me goes like this.” Elton massaged the drill like a pet cat sitting in his lap. “You hurt me, I hurt you back. You take something from me, I take something from you.”
“I haven’t taken anything from you.”
Elton lifted his head back and moaned as he looked up at the basement’s ceiling. “You people. Nobody gets it. Okay, I’ll explain and then we can get the show on the road. My dad hurt me bad, so I hurt him. He took away my life. Now I take something from him and that’s you. Then everything will be right with the world.”
Marge was losing control again. She sobbed heavier and bobbed her shoulders as her old body shuddered.
“Good. I like seeing your fear. And you know what, I don’t care about it. I’ll tell you why. I lived in fear all of my life because of my father. He could’ve brought me here and raised me with you, but he didn’t. Instead, I feared waking up every morning. Do you want to know the worst thing that happened to me?”
Marge shook her head back and forth. “No. I’m so sorry for you.”
“Shut up! I don’t want your fucking pity. You’re nothing to me. The worst thing was when I was ten. My mom was out whoring somewhere and she had her current boyfriend babysitting me. That night I almost died. I was in the hospital for two weeks. I look back and still can’t figure out what set him off. He was drinking and then he was violent. He ripped all my clothes off and did things to me that are unspeakable. I bled in my shit for over a week. He knocked teeth out, broke three fingers and almost cost me one of my eyes. And you know what my mother did? She said I probably deserved it. I was ten years old and already I wanted to murder people. That man died in some gang robbery two months later. I was so happy that I even thanked a God that I don’t believe in. Crazy
Something crashed in the basement.
He bolted for the basement door and down the stairs as if he floated. Elton was there, his back to Perry. Marge was in the corner, down on her knees.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked.
“Because I have a father who left me to die. I believe in divine justice.”
“You think what you did to my husband was divine justice?”
Elton kicked out the step ladder legs and sat down on it. Perry walked around in front of his son and saw the weapon he held. It was one of Perry’s drills.
“Okay, we have a little time. I’ll explain. My mother was a whore. Do you know how many men she would bring home? They would beat me for fun. I lost my fingerprints at the age of eight because one of the men my mother brought home didn’t want people to be able to identify me. How did he know I’d live a life of crime?” Elton held his free hand up and showed Marge his fingers. “He burned them off on the kitchen stove while my mother laughed at me. She also said dental records help to identify people so they never took me to a dentist. I lost almost all my teeth and never had the money for those fake ones until I was in jail. The system paid for it. See.” Elton opened his mouth, displaying a white band of teeth in a wide smile.
“I’m sorry. I’m terribly sorry,” Marge said. “No one should have to live under those conditions.”
“You’re astute. Got my high school diploma in prison.”
“Are you doing this to hurt the people that hurt you?”
“Something like that.”
Marge wiped her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“Your husband, my father, left me with that woman DNA calls my mother. She had two other girls that were beaten and raped more times than I know how to count. They were really twisted. I’m the only sane one to walk out of that house from hell. I killed them all to end their pain. Now I’ve killed my dad for allowing that pain in the first place by not stepping up to the plate. You’re the last one who has to die.”
“Why me?”
“The rule for me goes like this.” Elton massaged the drill like a pet cat sitting in his lap. “You hurt me, I hurt you back. You take something from me, I take something from you.”
“I haven’t taken anything from you.”
Elton lifted his head back and moaned as he looked up at the basement’s ceiling. “You people. Nobody gets it. Okay, I’ll explain and then we can get the show on the road. My dad hurt me bad, so I hurt him. He took away my life. Now I take something from him and that’s you. Then everything will be right with the world.”
Marge was losing control again. She sobbed heavier and bobbed her shoulders as her old body shuddered.
“Good. I like seeing your fear. And you know what, I don’t care about it. I’ll tell you why. I lived in fear all of my life because of my father. He could’ve brought me here and raised me with you, but he didn’t. Instead, I feared waking up every morning. Do you want to know the worst thing that happened to me?”
Marge shook her head back and forth. “No. I’m so sorry for you.”
“Shut up! I don’t want your fucking pity. You’re nothing to me. The worst thing was when I was ten. My mom was out whoring somewhere and she had her current boyfriend babysitting me. That night I almost died. I was in the hospital for two weeks. I look back and still can’t figure out what set him off. He was drinking and then he was violent. He ripped all my clothes off and did things to me that are unspeakable. I bled in my shit for over a week. He knocked teeth out, broke three fingers and almost cost me one of my eyes. And you know what my mother did? She said I probably deserved it. I was ten years old and already I wanted to murder people. That man died in some gang robbery two months later. I was so happy that I even thanked a God that I don’t believe in. Crazy
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