Page 2 of Axe
CHAPTER ONE
Axe
My father was a drunk piece of shit. My mother was a weak bitch. It wasn’t bad enough that she stayed there long enough to meet her end, but she also brought a kid into that ugly world. I hated both of them, but at least my mother did her best to shield me and show me some kind of love.
For the circumstances, she did the best she could, I guess. When she was home, which wasn’t a lot considering she was the only one in the house working, she talked to me and made sure I was fed.
I remembered when I was little, after my father had passed out, she would come in and sing me to sleep, doing her best to chase away all the monsters that called out from inside the walls.
But those monsters were always there, it didn’t matter what time of day, and when her lyrical words stopped, they came back roaring with a vengeance. She couldn’t stop them, or so I wanted to believe.
As I grew, I began to realize that she could have, only she was too weak to even try. I should have been the one, but then again, I was just a boy. I didn’t know the first thing about defending myself or my mother. Some days, I wished that I could have saved her. But others, I was thankful that she was gone.
That night set off a chain of events that changed my life—and hers. If I were being honest, I would say it was a blessing in the end. I got a new life and she got to be free, in a way. I wouldn’t say that the images and sounds of that night didn’t haunt me to this day. In fact, I relived them more than I was able to escape them, and I had a feeling that I would never truly be free of them.
We all make choices. My father made his that night. My mother made hers. Yet, somehow, I was the one left to suffer.
Chop.
I did my best to chase the monsters away with every swing.
Some days were better than others. Today was one of those days that I knew I’d be swinging until my arms gave out.
“What the fuck is yer problem, boy?”
The overplayed memories rushed in, clouding my brain like a sandstorm.
Chop.
The sound of the wood splintering did nothing to soothe the anger in my veins.
“Yer momma’s not here to protect you, you little shit!”
His terrifying tone rang in my ears just as loud as it had been that night. It was as if I were right back there in that dirty, dilapidated house
Chop. Chop.
My breaths rushed out of my body with each swing.
“Get yer worthless ass out here! Don’t make me come find you, boy!”
Odd as it was, I could see myself in the memory. A scared six-year-old boy in a dirty shirt. Snot dripped from my nose and I wiped it away with a bony hand that wouldn’t stop shaking. My body was so frail it hurt just to stand up, but it was worse sitting down. My stomach was in a constant state of caving in on itself and I prayed to a god I knew nothing about to not let it release a hungry growl at that moment.
Chop.
His footsteps hit hard on the old wood floor and by the sounds of the creaking boards, I could tell exactly how close he was. I knew how many seconds I had left until the closet door flung wide open. My hiding never did any good, but every time I still tried my hardest to be quiet.
“You can’t hide from me. You get out here and take yer punishment like a man.”
His staggered breathing told me he was right on the other side. The door flew open and my frail body was jerked out with such force that I heard my shoulder pop. The pain shot throughout my body but I bit my tongue to keep my cries at bay. I cowered, doing my best to prepare for the punishment I didn’t even deserve.
Chop. Chop. Chop.
“Axe!”
My head jerked towards the back of the compound building. Everyone knew not to bother me when I was out here. I pushed the rage down as I yanked the ax out of the tree and made my way to Loch. I had no doubt that if he was out there then it must have been something important.
Sweat dripped from my brow and as the wind blew I realized that the temperature had dropped a few degrees.
