AS SHADOWS SCREAM (BOOK ONE)

Chapter 10: 'Abel is weak, Cain is strong'

God forbid that anybody saw their disgraceful little mistake and looked down at them.

When Abel was eleven things went from bad to worse. The Abercombes starting feeling financially insecure. The private tutors, specialist psychiatrists and house maids, Abels upbringing was costing them more than they wanted to tolerate. They still had money, just not enough to though the expensive lavish parties they had been known for.

They found themselves donating less at charity events, then not going to every event and eventually they found themselves at home brooding and cursing their decision to ever have a child.

Friday night and the Abercombes sat at their large dining table silently picking at their meals and avoiding eye contact. This is how every meal was, the only thing that changed was Abel's appearance. He ate at the table only on the days when his medication kept him quiet and placid. Abel cut a slice of peppered roast chicken and put it in his mouth slowly.

His eyes grew wide, his face went red and tears welled up in his eyes as he started choking.

Mrs Abercombe put down her eating utensils in disgust and glared at her son for disturbing her meal. Edward Abercombe continued eating, not even paying attention to his choking son until Abel spat out the food onto the table. Mrs Abercombe let out a small yelp of shock and Mr Abercombe threw down his eating utensils and rose from his chair.

He looked at Abel angrily. His nostrils flaring, eyes squinted and his teeth clenched together tightly. All his pent up anger and contempt for his mistake of a child boiled to the surface.

He undid his belt, folded it in half and slashed it through the air and shouted out angrily,

'You useless, pathetic excuse of a human being! You have no decency, no respect, no decorum! You have ruined our lives and now our meal!'

He grabbed Abel by the scruff of his neck jerking him up off his seat violently.

Abel screamed loudly as his father pushed him back and swung the belt through the air hitting Abel across his cheek leaving a throbbing red mark. Mr Abercombe swung again and again, hitting Abel on his shoulder then on his back as he crouched trying to defend himself.

Mr Abercombe kicked Abel off his feet and swung the belt repeatedly and furiously at Abel who curled up tightly in the fetus position, screaming and crying out loudly.

Mr Abercombe stopped whipping Abel with his belt and stood heaving and trying to control his breathing. Beating Abel had taken all the energy out of him. Mrs Abercombe had sat and watched the whole scene with her nose in the air. during the beating she couldn't help but smile, something she did very rarely.

Abel was weak. Abel was fragile. Nobody loved Abel. He laid on the floor sobbing, weak and pathetic. He had no power, no strength. Nobody cared for Abel.

Then a heard a voice, faint but soothing. A voice in the back of his head that whispered,

'I care. I will protect you, always.'

Abel closed his eyes and let go. Darkness taking over his whole body. Then his heart started beating rapidly. The room started spinning and he was gone. Abel was gone and Cain rose.

He rose quietly and swiftly. His hands curled in tight fists and a look of steel determination in his eyes. Mr Abercombe waved his hand in the air dismissing Abel and saying, 'Get out my face you pathetic little shit. Go now or I will beat the life out of you Abel.'

'Not Abel. Abel is fragile. I protect him. I am Cain.'

Mr Abercombe turned and opened his mouth to talk but wheezed as Cain hit him hard in the chest then followed with an uppercut to the jaw that caused him to stumble back into the dining table. Mrs Abercombe screamed and rushed to her husband's aid.

Cain moved fast grabbing her by the back of her neck and shoving her head forward into the dining table hard. She screamed and fell to the floor as blood gushed from her broken nose.

Mr Abercombe screamed furiously and swung at Cain. Cain easily blocked his feeble swing with his left hand and with his right hand he picked up a knife off the table and lunged at his father stabbing him in the stomach. Cain saw the blood, heard the scream and saw the shocked expression in his father's eyes and it made him smile. He felt an ecstatic rush of energy coursing through his body and he lunged again. He wrapped his fingers around Mr Abercombes throat with his left hand and squeezed tightly and thrusted the knife into his stomach over and over again until Mrs Abercombes loud screams caught his attention.

He let go off his father and put down the knife. Mr Abercombes body fell down in pool of blood, still alive but bleeding out fast. It took him seven minutes to die. In that time he witnessed Cain sitting down on top of Mrs Abercombe with his knees on each side of her and his hands tightly around her throat. Cain smiled wickedly as he squeezed the live out of her. He felt powerful and strong as she choked and her body writhed around struggling to break free. He kept squeezing until her eyes rolled back her skull and she stopped struggling.

They would never hurt Abel again. Abel was fragile. Abel was weak but Cain was strong and Cain would protect him, always.

*******

Abel looked at the bloody shirt, crawled towards it and picked it up looking at the blood.

Abel did not like blood, he did not like it when Cain killed people but he knew Cain killed for a reason. Cain killed to protect Abel. Aimee had to die just like his parents had to die because he was fragile and Cain was protecting him like he did all those years ago when he freed him from his mean parents. He took in a deep breath and put on the bloody shirt.

Abel then stood up and found a pair of pants on the stairs. They were stained with blood as well. He put those on as well and walked down the stairs slowly. He stopped at the entrance of the lounge. The television was still on. Light from the television flickered on the back wall.

Abel smiled. He liked the pretty colours. His favourite television show was Scooby doo.

Sometimes it was a little bit scary and loud but most of the time it was colourful and silly.

Sometimes he wished he could go on adventures and ride roller coasters and trains.

He carried on walking down to the basement while quietly humming the Scooby doo theme song. He turned on the basement lights and closed the door behind him as he walked up to the hospital bed slowly.

Abels eyes opened wide in shock and he turned and puked violently. Throwing up all that was inside of him. He felt dizzy and nauseous. Aimee didn't look like Aimee anymore.

She was ugly. Cain had made her ugly. Segments of her body lay scattered on the hospital bed. Her legs were separated at the knees and her arms separated at the elbows.

Every single toe and every single finger had been cut off and the wounds burnt closed.

Her stomach was cut open and her insides spilled out onto the table.

Aimee's head was severed from her neck. Her eyes had been cut out and the eye-sockets burned. Her lips were cut off and her tongue cut out. Her ears were cut off and laid next to her body in small dried up pools of blood. The bed and floor was stained with blood, just like his shirt and pants. So much blood. Her beauty was gone and he didn't want her anymore.

Cain was right. Cain protected him. Abel wanted her when she was beautiful but she didn't want him. She pitied him, looked down at him. Poor, sad little Abel. He would of loved her with all his heart and she would of left him. She would of broken his heart so Cain broke her.

Cain protected him, always. Abel looked at Aimee's corpse with disgust, turned and walked away. He turned off the light, closed the door and walked to the lounge humming the Scooby doo theme song.

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