Guidlines

EIGHT

Today was the opposite of yesterday, I woke up with a sharp pain in my lower back from the hard floor and the sound of Izzy a morning loudly. I'm surprised that I hadn't been able to hear her the night before she was so loud. When I finally did look at my fine it read three o'clock. In the afternoon, not in the morning. I hadn't expected to sleep so well and i did, sleep well but now my back is paying the cost for taking the floor. See, I told you. Boomerang effect.
A kind gesture like offering up a bed to an emotional friends brings it's own pain. I couldn't hear any voices but I got up anyway leaving Izzy asleep.
All the doors in the hallways were still closed, I creep past trying my hardest not to make any noise.
Only two of my friends were in the living room, Clay sat face down on the kitchen table, probably asleep. Kian had his feet up on the table his nose poking into one of the three books from the bookcase. I rest my hands on the back of the green couch and watch him read, waiting for him to look up at me.
"Can we talk mate" i ask him when he looks up at me after several minutes.
"Busy" he says coldly looking back down to his book.
"Come on, I just want to apologise"
"Then do it" he snaps closing his book,
"Alright, I'm sorry I hit you"
"And that you thought I'd fuck your girl" he demands. I nod to the door and walk to it, he follows behind me. He leans against the wooden fencing of the porch and looks at me. Willing me to talk.
"Okay look, I'm sorry. It was more about her than you" I tell him, he takes a step to the side as I move closer. I tell him about what me and Izzy had seen last night. His jaw falls open ready to catch flies.
"Shit man, that sucks, I sorry" he says taking long pauses between words. I hadn't been paying to attention. I could bearly look at him but his hand appeared on my shoulder. Quickly he pulls it away looking ashamed with himself.  He apologise
"Oh shut up" I say pulling him in and wrapping my arms around his back. My chin rests on the top of his head with his face burried into my chest.
"You know I don't give a shit right" I whisper, the heat of his body mixed with the heat in air was becoming increasingly violent. What would people think if they soor us. Two masculine men, embracing in the most unmascaline of ways. He shrugs his shoulders against my closed arms.
"Your the same Kian you always have been" I tell him, his body trembles, I hold onto him as his legs give way beneath him. I help him to the swinging chair. His tears turn into giggles. He only speaks when he sees the confusion on my face.
"Its been so hard Gray, now it's like I'm lighter, it sucks that it happen like that but I feel good, for the first time in years" he says looking up at me, he did seem happier. All the pieces fall together in my mind. The only other times I had seen him with this smile was when he was around Jordan. When the returned from the walk up the mountain, when they sat next to each other around the fire.
"Were you really gonna let me hit you and not say anything" I ask him.
"Yeah" he admits hanging his head.
"Why would you do that" I ask.
"It would of just been easier" he goes on to tell me how it was in two minds. On one hand Jordan had no right out him like that but on the other he had only done it, so Kian hadn't been punched and in doing so he also outed himself. Kian knew he should forgive him but somthing was holding him back. Now that we all knew, it was real. He didn't know weather he was ready for it to be real. His journey had started and now he would be forced to sprint down that path.
"I'm always here" I tell him strokeing his shoulder.
"Have you spoken to Jordan" I ask him.
"Nope, yano when we first got here, we pushed the beds together and when I get back last night he'd pushed them apart again, I don't know if he thought he was giving me space but it hurt man, really hurt" his voice had started to crack. But he kept his posture straight and looked on at the tree line.
I could hear someone moving around inside the cabin, knocking somthing over. The commotion must of woken Clay becuase now he groaned looking out of the window at us. Kian must of noticed too becuase he changed. His face straight. The rest of the afternoon went by quickly.
Izzy stayed in my room, she didn't even come out for food when we called her. It was late by the time Tasha knocked on Dalles's door, when neither him or Sharla answer she walks in to find both of the beds empty.
"There not here" Tasha says coming back out of the room. No one says anything and we sit around the table. Gen takes her plate to her room cutting her eyes first at Kian and then at Jordan as she walks away. The lights inside the cabin were bright and the curtains had been pulled on the three windows that it had.
"Gen's really pissed ay" Jordan asks Tasha the whole time keeping his eye on Kian while he pushed fries around his plate with a fork.
"Its tough on her, I wish she hadn't found out that way, but she'll get over it" Tasha replys. Kian drops his folk down.
"Hard on her" he says sarcastically.
"Would you rather she found out when walking in on somthing" Jordan adds.
"You know I didn't mean it like that" Tasha says.
"I don't need to fighting my battles Jordan" Kian snaps.
"Its not just you she's mad at dude" Jordan says.
"Well she wouldn't be mad at all of you had just kept your mouth shut" Kian bites back, both of their faces turned red with anger. Kian leaves the table and heads to the front door, cursing under his breath.
"You started this Kian, you carnt just storm off like a child" Jordan rushes to say before the door slams shut. In that moment it was hard to remember how any of us were friends, three nights and three arguments, it was becoming hard to talk to each other without someone getting offended. It was clear to see how so many of us had changed in the past year. We were a family and family's argued, it was that or we had all thrown some major shit out into the universe and fate was coming to claims his prize.
A heavy bang from the door startles us all, a big heavy fist thumping hard against the door frame. I look back and forth at the others, who would be knocking at the door. The banging comes again, this time bringing Gen and Izzy out. Tasha mouths for me to get the door, the floor boards creak bellow my feet, one step after the other. The tips of my finger reach the handle as a third round of aggressive knocks slam against the door, I flinch back. I open the door revealing a figure standing in the door way, the light from inside illuminating his face. He looked familiar, somthing about his defined brow bones and large hairy chin, glasses sat at the end of his nose. His hair was wet from sweat.
"Grayson" he breaths heavily, then it clicked, I knew him and he knew me. His name was Chester Oacks. The man who slaughterd my family, the man that slit my mother's throat, stabbed my father in the back and threw my sister out of a window with bed sheets wrapped around her neck. The next thing I knew I was on the ground dragging myself away from the door towards the hallway, legs kicking out in front of me, He still stood in the doorway, only Gen and Izzy had their eyes on him. Izzy was by my side in less than a second pulling at my coller her lungs on full power, I could hear what she was screaming, I couldn't hear anything. He still stood in the doorway, his face coverd in alarm. Jordan's entire body slams into the back of the door, hitting it to hard not giving the latch time to catch. The door slowly swings back open revealing Chester again. Clay had Tasha shoving her towards me, not towards me, towards the bed rooms. Towards safety.
"Grayson, you need to listen to me" he says still breathing heavily. I only now noticed his outfit. An all in one prison issued orange jump suit. A random set of numbers printed in black on the chest.
"You need to listen to me, I didn't kill your mother" he says stepping forward, now placing a hand on the back of the couch. I had frozen still. Izzy still trying her hardest to pull me into the closest room but without progress. Everyone else had hidden away with the exception of Jordan you had pulled himself into the corner behind the door.
"Who the hell is this" Sharla says appearing behind him in the door way. Dalles came in to view next a couple of steps behind her.
"Sharla, run!" Izzy screams her fingernails in the back of my neck.
Chester turns to grab Sharla but is met with a fist, Dalles's first socking him in the side of his head, he falls to the ground landing to close for Jordan's liking. He kicks out planting another blow on the side of his head. Then Dalles is on top of Chester fist after fist smacking against his face cracking his nose with a crunch. His arms went limp falling beside him.
"Dalles, stop your gonna kill him" someone shouted.
"Wouldn't that be a fucking shame" he growls through clenched teeth. Hitting him again and again. I was dragging him away from Chester before i knew what I was doing. He lay there still, for a second I thought he was dead but I noticed his chest rising and falling.
"Kian" Jordan whispers. He ran to the door shouting his name louder. Jordan's voice echoes through the cold night air with no response. He turns to look at us, his face painted with fear and anger.  Without speaking he runs a away into the night air to find Kian. Dalles leaves too while Izzy retrieves the shotgun from the draw angling it down towards Chester's head.
"What do we do now" she asks, shaking from the shock.
"Tie him up" Dalles says appearing with a long rope looped around his wrist. I had fallen back to the ground, trying my hardest to focus on my breathing. Clay had emerged from whoever's room he had gone into and helps Dalles hoist Chester onto one of the wooden chairs from around the dining table. It all played out like a movie, my eyes had become a screen, it was impossible for any of this to be happening, I dig my fingers into my thigh willing myself to wake up from this horrible dream. He begins to stur once Dalles ties the finale knots, groaning, spitting blood down himself, his face was terribly bruised and bloody from Dalles's fists. Nose crooked and bleeding into his mouth.
"Grayson, you have to listen to me" he gargles.
"We need to call the police" Gen cries somewhere out of sight.
"No, not yet, I want to hear what he has to say" i speak without thinking. He was unarmed, nothing so much as a rock on him, there had to be a reason for him breaking out of prison and tracking me down, somthing told me it wasn't to kill me. I move around the room until I stand in front of him, he looked worse from head on. His head looked oddly shaped. I hadn't seen him apart from on television. Now that I was standing in front of him, I wanted to say all the things that had built up inside my mind for the last year, none of them would come out though. He didn't look like a killer, even on his mugshot he looked like primary school teacher. Izzy still holding the gun steps forward placing the barrel against the back of his neck.
"Try anything, I'll blow your brains out" she threatens. I don't think she would, her hands were still, focused but the rest of her seemed on the verge of falling apart.
"Speak then" she barks.
"It wasn't me Grayson, I swear it wasn't me. I loved your mother" Chester sobs, tears mixing with his blood. I felt sick, like my insides would soon be on the floor displayed out in front me. Flashes of my mother bounced around my vision.
"Liar" I scream.
"They found your finger prints everywhere"
He brakes down into a sob moaning, speaking to god in some prayer under his voice. Gen looked physically sick after witnessing his prayer that she had to sit down on the yellow couch, Tasha went with her, holding her tight.
"I was there that day, but I didn't kill them, I promise you" he begs.
"Your dad hated me, remember" he urges.
"Why would he let me in, think about it. He knew somthing was happening"
Chester was right, dad had been off for weeks, making subtle comments about mom's work life and a mystery man, I'm sure I heard him says Chesters names once or twice. Dad did know somthing was going on with them. Dad hated him. He would never let him in the house and neither would mom, not while dad was home.
His tears were honest, i didnt know what to think, it all made sence but it didn't, all those things could be explained.
"Then who was it" I ask him, his face looked up at me, weak and exhausted.
"I don't know, someone your folks liked" he groans falling unconscious. I believed him, it was hard for me to admit but I couldn't help but wonder. It had taken them months to identify any finger prints or to get any evidence for that matter. I wonder if they just found an escape goat. I tell the others one by one I watch as their faces drop. Their expressions changing like I had lost my mind. Loud footsteps bang against the dirt outside like someone was running, Kian rushes through the door panting like a dog on a hot day, his eyes fly around the room crazed. I had to grab him to stop him from jumping on Chester and tearing him apart. Jordan rushed though next, less out of breath than Kian but till somewhat so. they too looked at me like a crazy person. I didn't know how to explain it but I knew that somehow he was innocent.
" well either way we still have to call the cops he escaped from bloody prison" Sharla says chirping in.
"Actully he escaped from a transport vehicle" Izzy bites back a her bitterly. Everyone was tense and none of us knew what to do with the escaped convict tied up in the chair. Smart option would be to call the police but I wanted to know more, I needed to know more, I desperately needed him to wake up so that I could speak to him.
" I can't stay here, not with him" Gen squirrels beginning to freak out she leaves the cabin, Tasha runs after her shouting her name.
"They're right Gray, we can't just sit around and waiting for him to wake up, we have to call the cops, I can call my mum, she can sort all of this out" Izzy says still with the gun pointed at Chester.
"Okay, do it" I tell her. She relaxes lowering the gun to her side and pulling her phone out of her pocket. She scrunches up her face.
"No signal, someone's going to have to go to main reception and use the landline, we're not going to get any signal up here" she says looking around for any volunteers.
"Well I'm not leaving this thing with any of you" she says shocked gesturing to the shotgun.
"We'll go" Kian speaks up pulling Jordan towards the door.
"Take her with you, to press the button" I tell them nodding towards Sharla, she shoots me a disapproving look and makes her way over towards them. The silence in the room grew deafening, it was strange how the silence could be louder than anything else. The cold breeze drifted in through the still open door, Izzy didnt take her attention away from Chester. It was truly fascinating how in control she was.
" I think Sharla is back" Clay says breaking the silence, he must have heard something outside and was heading to the door. The noise I heard wasn't Sharla. His face had lost all of its colouring, he ran past me faster than I had ever seen him move. He didn't speak he just ran.
"What the fucks wrong with him" Dalles says stepping forward to look down the hallway. Then it happened, a large shape crashed through the door frame. Thick brown fur. A grizzly bear the size of a car stood on its hind legs. Growling. Teeth the length of my fingers. I too had started to step backwards, slowly. Izzy began to panic moving cautiously towards me with Dalles in her heels. Every hair had raised on my body. Izzy was frozen, her fear preventing her from pulling the trigger.
"Izzy, shoot it" Dalles whispers between his clenched teeth. She didn't hear him, her lips were shaking. The bear growld again, slamming down onto all fours. Even from six feet away I could feel the power of his lungs on my skin. A scream filled the air, Chesters eyes were open, open wide. Panicked. He screamed again louder. His voices sent the frizzy bear into a frenzy, thrashing around, swatting at Chesters bound legs.
"Izzy fucking shoot it" Dalles yells, the bear turns his attention to us in the hallway, taking an angry step towards us. The air was full of screams and growls. The bearvwas heavy, every step it took vibrated the flooring.
"Give it me" Dalles yells taking the gun with his hands.
"No" Izzy screams fighting him for the shotgun. The bear stepped closer. I could see down his throat while he growled mouth open wide. The shotgun swong back and forth between Izzy and Dalles, neither of them wanting to give it up.
"Give me the damb gun" Dalles screams as the bear rises to it's hind feet. The gun goes off with a loud bang, grazing the side of the bear. It lets out a whimper, backing away from us. Izzy had released the gun. Stepping forward Dalles pulls the trigger again but nothing happens.
"Izzy, where the shells" he asks.
"In the draw" she tells him. The shells wernt needed. The graze had been enough, the grizzly takes off through the doorway. It wasn't until it had gone that we noticed the blood covering the walls and windows. Lumps of somthing mixed in with it. Izzy fell back letting out a scream, destroying my hearing. Dalles had closed the door and now stood hunched over with his hands supporting his knees, a heavy flow of liquid escaping from his open mouth. I couldn't unsee it, Chester was limp. His head gone from his shoulders, chucks of his brain flung up the wall. I didn't feel it coming. Vomit projected out my mouth landing in front of me covering my red jumper.
His heart still pumped, forcing blood through non-existent arteries, blood came out of him like a sprinkler wetting the lawn.
"What have you done" Dalles screams slumping down against the door.
"What have you done" he screams again.
"Dead, he's dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead" he says repeating the words, trying to convince himself that it was real