The Devil's Son

Fifteen

Maddie

It's Wednesday. I've been in here for two days, just about. Marduk and I left last week. 

He tricked me. He led me to believe that he really cared about me and wanted what was best for me, when in all reality, he wanted or kidnap me and possibly kill me. Also, he killed Kendall.  

Or, at least that's what I think. I've spent two days with James and Grace. Grace has gotten a little more sick over these past two days, and I'm worried about her. Obviously, in a barn, there's no treatment for her cancer. 

Grace is sleeping off a nausea spell while James and I talk on the other side of the barn. 

"Your Dad still isn't back yet," I tell him. He looks up with a grin on his face and nods.

"Yup," He laughs, looking back down at his book. "And I don't want him to be back."  

"Neither do I," Grace coughs from the dirty matress we set up for her. I laugh and I see James smile.  

All the sudden, the door flings open, startling James and causing him to throw the book at it. The book almost hit Marduk, but Marduk caught it before it could. 

"James?" He questions. James looks up. 

"Dad!" He exclaims, his voice cracking. He looks at Grace. Grace sits up weakly, her face sunken in and her hair a mess. "I was just reading, and you scared me. I didn't mean to throw the book at you. I'm sorry." His face is red and he smiles nervously. Marduk rolls his eyes and looks over at Grace. 

Grace smiles at him, before an expression of pain takes over. She lays down the matress and groans, holding her stomach. 

"She's sick," James says. "Dad, did you hear me? She's SICK." 

"I heard, James," Marduk replies coolly, ignoring Graces cries and sitting down at a desk. Eric, Beck, and Justin run in. 

"Sorry! We were fixing part of the car," Justin says, looking at me and smiling painfully. I nod and look over to see Marduks reaction. 

"Idiot," he mumbles, grabbing a folder and opening it. He takes a pen and starts filling out paperwork for something. 

Grace sits up, her face gone pale. She turns to her side, vomits, and then lays back down, gasping for air. 

Marduk looks at her, and for the first time, there's an expression of pure sadness in his eyes. He feels sorry for her. 

He looks at me, and with only a slightly shaky voice, but not too much, whispers, "she doesn't have long." 

James and I nod. We turn to her, and she's shaking and sweating. And crying. I turn away, wincing at the thought of her dying right in front of us. She can't die. I've only known her for two days, but she was bubbly, happy, funny, carefree, and definitely didn't seem like she was sick. But she is. Very sick. 

"Water," she gasps. Marduk grabs a water bottle from the fridge and tosses it at her, with no mercy at all. It hits her in the stomach, and she screams and begins sobbing again. Marduk cringes and turns around, going back to the paperwork. 

"This is ridiculous," I say, and I'm speaking to fast to stop myself. "Your daughter is sick, Marduk. Very sick. CANCER. You need to take her to a doctor, because you're right, she doesn't have long to live without a doctor. She's going to die here, and you will have second handedly murdered your daughter. How does that feel, Marduk? Huh?

Marduk stares at me, a completely plain and neutral expression on his face. Then, very slowly, he steps over to me. He towers over me. 

And he slaps me so hard I hit the ground. I scream and wince in pain as my body slams on the floor. My eyes are closed from the pain, and when I open them, Marduk is walking away.

James helps me up. 

"Are you okay?" He asks. I try to be strong, and I try to say yes, but I can't. I burst into tears.

James pulls me closer and hugs me. I hug him back, and tears are pouring out of me, making his shirt soak. I look up at him, because he's also a bit taller than me, and then burrow my face in his shoudler and cry again. 

James just holds me. Marduk had left the room, the barn as well. I draw back from the hug and look at Grace. 

She's laying completely still, and her eyes are squeezed shut. I walk over slowly and bend down to get a better look at her.

 

Grace looks up and smiles weakly. "I think today's it," she chokes out, the smile slowly fading. She lays down again and groans in pain. 

"No," James says, his voice all the sudden detirmined. "No. You're fourteen, and you're getting out of this alive. Well find a way to get you out, and we'll take you a doctor. You're going to be fine, Gracie." Grace just shakes her head weakly in reply. 

"No, I'm not," Grace says. "I've been in here for too long...the treatments won't do anything anymore." She coughs and lets out a cry of pain. 

"I said you're going to be FINE!" James screams, and he has lost complete control. I jump back and stare at him. He looks at me, tears sliding down his face.

"You can't die," He says, his voice thick with tears. "Please, Grace. Please just hold on a little longer." 

"I'll try," Grace says. Her voice sounds faded and distant. 

"James," I say as he stands up. He looks at me. 

"What could you possibly say, Maddie?" He seethes. "What could you know about this? You don't know what it's like to live with someone who has cancer, Maddie! So what could you possibly say to me to make it better?" 

"That's not what I was going to say," I reply, "What I was gonna say, was that if she can't hold on, let her..." I don't want to say the word die. It will hurt too much.

James nods. "I get it. Die. You just want her to die." 

"Please stop, guys," Grace pleads. I look at her. She's staring at us, her eyes shining with tears. I nod and turn around, and a tear slides down my cheek. 

Marduk comes back in. "Sit down, guys." He says, his voice a mess of panic and worry. "Sit down, and shut up." 

We sit down and stare at him. Grace struggles to sit up, and James holds her up. 

"We need to leave," Marduk explains. "We need to go somewhere that's not here." He clears his throat.

"Kalani found us."

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A/n: guys this is so fun. I have an early release so I'll be super active. Bye! ❤️