Page 69 of Ashes to Ash’s

“Listen up, fuckers, you’re about to die. Do you wanna hear why?”

I groaned. Ethan was a loose fucking cannon.

“Thought you wanted to tell them what we did first, Eth.”

His grin widened. I swear, my sister married the fucking Joker.

“Oh yeah. You’ll like this…” He crouched down in front of Cal’s father, and I cast a glance at Cal to make sure he didn’t mind Ethan taking the lead, but he just smiled, nodding at me. He slipped his hand into mine, and I squeezed it gently, trying to offer him whatever support he needed, even though he didn’t necessarily look like he needed any right now.

“That asshole Gordon… you guys know him, right? Religious zealot, likes raping kids to try and make them straight?”

Their gasps were like music. I wished we’d recorded this so I could use them as my ringtone. Was that fucked up? Nah. Probably not.

“What did you do?”

Ethan turned to grin at us. “I was covered in blood, wasn’t I? Not that it was his. Blaze was the one covered in his filthy monstrous blood. He died crying like a little pussy, and then? Then he was burned to ashes, along with that entire fucking evil compound of his.”

The yell of outrage from Cal’s cowardly father came seconds before him trying not to be a pussy, as he lunged at Ethan and tried to best him in a scrap. Fucking idiot. We ignored Cal’s mother, because she was just screaming and crying, but we watched the attempt at fighting back with laughter.

“This is the guy you were afraid of?” I asked Cal, knowing it was probably a callous question, but he needed to see the fucker the way the rest of us did. He was a coward, pure and simple. Pathetic. Evil, but lame.

“Seems so stupid now, but kids are weak,” he said, darting to the side suddenly as his mother tried to run for the door, “Ah ah ah… don’t try being a hero now, mother. That time passed long ago.” He guided her back down to the floor, a firm grip on her shoulder, and she stared up at him in horror, tears pouring down her cheeks. I’d say if I had a heart, I’d feel bad for her, but it turns out I do have a heart, just, I don’t feel sorry for cunts, so yeah. Whatever.

“I’m your mother! Why are you doing this?”

Ethan stopped playing with the father, and knocked him back on his ass with a bleeding face, and a definitely broken nose.

“Bored now. When do I get to gut this fucker like a fish?” Ha. His insanity was playing right into their fear, so it was perfect.

“Soon, former teach, soon.”

“WHY?” Cal roared, in response to his mother’s question, as he dragged his t-shirt off, and turned to show them, and all of us, the scarring on his back. I heard Em and Ethan both suck in a gasp of shock, and I nodded at them. My nod to them was full of words I didn’t need to say out loud. Yes, he was abused. Yes, his parents are total fucking monsters. Yes, this is all deserved. Yes, they die right here.

They both nodded back, as if they could hear or read everything I was thinking.

“You needed correction,” Cal’s dad said firmly, still unapologetic, even in this situation where he had to know that remorse might be his only way out.

“You need murdering,” Cal replied, backing up to me again, my hand instantly settling on his back, trying to soothe the past pain from those scars he’d wear forever.

“Want Ethan to do it, babe? He’s itching to get a knife in that cunt.”

“How DARE you!” Cal’s father roared, and honestly, at this point, I think we were all getting bored.

Cal shrugged. “Don’t care. I’ll watch from the office.” I kissed his forehead, and watched as he punched in the code I’d given him on the way down, and the door hissed open. His mother made another dive for safety, but this time, Em took her down, slamming a fist into her face, with a savage grin.

“No escape for you, bitch! You’ll pay for every scar on our new brother’s back!”

Her words sunk in, and I sighed with happiness. Mock my family all you want, but we’re the real deal. Full of love and protection for each other. Willing to fight to the death for our family. Willing to accept anyone if one of us wants them. That’s what family is.

Cal

I couldn’t be in there, and not because I was weak, or felt any kind of guilt for it, but because I didn’t need to be the one dealing the killing blow. I’d had my time of taking a life, and I didn’t want to do it again, even theirs.

“I’m bored. What’s going on?” Fuck! I spun on my chair as Ren stepped into the small office, his eyes immediately finding the screens as the screaming began in earnest. I stepped in front of them, lifting my hands.

“You don’t need to see this, kid. Go back upstairs and watch some TV or something.”

He folded his thin arms and glared at me. “I’m not a kid.”