Craaven

Chapter 13: Mortemville, Montana 1979 October 31st

*TW: MENTIONS OF SH, S**CIDE IDEATION, AB*SE*

I was woken up the next morning to a pained wail and I immediately flew into action to search for whatever hellish scene was occurring. My heart was pounding and I felt sick to my stomach from the fear that filled me first thing in the morning.

I searched the halls frantically and, thankfully, the scene wasn't too far away from the Crematorium. When I arrived, I arrived in time to watch Ally's mother land a hard kick to Ally's gut. Ally was sobbing on the floor and trying to crawl away to safety. Her father held his wife back by her arms and was yelling for her to stop but nothing worked and the woman continued to stomp Ally until the poor girl was struggling to even keep her head up.

"Lucy! Stop it!" her father yelled desperately and his wife, fed up with her husband's refusal to support her, turned and wrenched an arm out of his grasp to elbow him in the face. He cried out in pain and clutched his nose and, in his momentary daze, the woman freed herself from his other arm and picked Ally off the floor by her hair. The girl screamed in pain and grabbed for her mother's hand to pry her fingers off, but the woman's grip was strong.

I was stuck watching in absolute horror as the beating took place. I had no idea why it was happening but it was far more vicious than anything I'd seen in this family and it scared me to think there were people like this. I wanted to intervene to help Ally but my legs were as heavy as lead and I couldn't move them.

Ally's father grabbed for his wife again when he recovered from the blow to his nose and he grabbed her wrists in hopes that she would let go of Ally. The woman held strong though, and wriggled out of her husband's grasp, pulling Ally every which way as she did so and causing the poor girl to wail in pain and fight for her hair to be free.

"LUCY!! STOP!!" Ally's father yelled as firmly and as loudly as he could.

"THE DAMN BITCH DESERVES THIS, DANIEL!! GET OUT OF MY WAY!!" The woman screamed angrily and pulled Ally into a chokehold. The girl scratched and grabbed at her mother's arm but it was a pointless feat and she continued to remain trapped. The woman's husband grabbed her arm as well and pulled with all his might to force the woman to let go and I guess watching the man fight for his daughter's safety was what finally knocked some sense into me.

The man wasn't just standing by and letting the abuse happen, he was trying to stop it and I realised that if I jumped in, we would both be able to get Ally to safety much quicker. So, after taking a few deep breaths to calm my nerves, I turned human and sprinted toward the group. I practically body-slammed into Ally's mother and the force knocked her to the floor. She let go of Ally but the girl still stumbled and fell as well.

Her parents exclaimed in surprise when they both landed eyes on me but I didn't stop to let them take in my existence. I simply grabbed Ally by her hand and pulled her back up to her feet to run to safety. Behind me, I could hear her mother screaming for us to stop but once again, her husband was pulling her away to let us go.

I ran all the way back to the Crematorium and once we were safe, I stopped and collapsed to the floor for air. Ally fell to the floor as well but more out of weakness than breathlessness. Her skin was red as the beginnings of countless bruises began to develop and her eyes were red and puffy from crying hysterically. She was shaking and I felt my stomach drop from the sudden wave of sadness that I felt for her.

Without saying anything, I hugged her gently and held her until I could feel her shaking slowly disappear. She hugged back after a while and cried quietly into my shoulder. For once, I didn't mind her holding or touching me in general. I felt comfortable and I knew she needed me at that moment. For once in a long while, I found myself welcoming the idea of having a friend.