Her Edge

Gone

Elaine.

She downs another glass. Her mind blanking as tears trickle down the side of her eyes. Her mind travels back to that night.

"...I don't want to be controlled by you". She says rising to her feet.

"Sit down!" He yells.

"No!" She screams. She runs up to her room and shuts the door. She goes to her bed, falling face flat on her pillow.

Her shoulders are trembling....

That sour memory...may not seem so sour anymore.

She laughed hysterically as she reached for the bottle on the table.

'Can't believe I thought of calling you..." She groaned.

Fuck, she was a mess .

-Present-

She places her arm on the table and pulls herself up. Her head is spinning and the chaotic screams aren't helping.

Suddenly, it hits her. 'N-no...ugh! The children!" She gasps. Reality hitting her hard.

They're gone. She doesn't think they survived that blast. There is nothing left of the wall in which whatever that was, came in.

The tables are turned over, there's smoke in the air.

And something else... it's making her feel nauseated.

How did it all come to this? She asks her self, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Everything is gone.

It's over.

The children....

She rises to her feet, trudging through the chaos. She could still find them. She could...

Her eyes widen in both in horror and relief.

His legs are caught under the fallen bookshelf. Leo is trying to pull him from under.

She rushes over to both of them.

"Miss Elaine! You're okay!" Jacob gasps.

"Yeah..." She raises, supporting it with her shoulder and Leo pulls Jacob from under.

"You're a strong kid" She pushes the shelf in place. "Let's get you guys outta here". She crouches next to Jacob. "Can you walk?"

He's sobbing profusely." Nooo. I think I broke my leg!".

She immediately hoists him up with one hand and grabs Leo with the other.

"There's a fire...". Jacob whispers, fear lacing his small voice.

She glances at the flames outside her classroom. There's not a single soul.

The sprinklers must be jammed.

"Yeah and I'll get us out. Just_"

"Hand over the kid and I'll make things simple".

She whips around. Fear gripping her lungs.

He's standing by what was once their wall in a blue overall and a black mask. He's is pointing a pistol at her.

Her grip on the children tightens. She shields Leo behind her.

"What?" He scoffs. "b***h, I can see you're confused. I'm talking about the one behind you, I couldn't give a f**k about the Blonde. He's all yours". He deadpans.

Her heart is pounding from the anxiety, but she's not sure if it's just hers. Jacob's face is buried in her neck. He's trembling.

Think.

She's trying to think. It feels like her brain it's slamming itself against her cranium.

She'd rather die than give Leo or Jacob up.

"L-leo. Have you got your inhaler?". She can feel his trembling fingers bore into her hip.

"Y-yes". He says in trepidation.

"Good". She pulls him to her side, he's still grasping her skirt.

He c***s his head to the side. "Don't try anything funny with me b***h, or I'd kill you before your kids even blink". Her guts bolt.

Elaine rubs Leo on the head. Trying to calm him down.

"I'm not. I'll give you the kid, just don't hurt me or Jacob". Leo freezes. "Please".

He laughs. "You're a smart blonde".

She looks down at him,"I'm sorry Leo". She painfully whispers, tears brimming in her eyes. He's staring at her in disbelief.

Leo starts crying. "I thought you loved me!" He yells, hurting. Disappointment ripping him from within.

"I'm sorry!" She sobs. Pushing him away. He's kicking and screaming as the man comes to take him. He refuses to let go of her skirt and rips it with his grip.

"What a brat!"

Bam!

She drops Jacob on the desk.

In a split second, with all her strength. She slams her fist into his arm, disarming him. Then swiftly, she pulls Leo away, telling him to hide with Jacob.

He's cursing at her in pain. He reaches for the gun and she kicks him hard in the face. Immediately swiping the gun, unloads it and tosses it out.

He straightens up. Still, in pain.

"They never said anything about you being this much of a b***h". He scoffs.

"Hah" she exhales. "Well, you're the i***t for underestimating bitches". She steadies her shoulders, relaxing her toes.

He lurches at her with a knife. He swings, she misses a critical hit but he cut her arm. It's not too deep but it stings.

He'll pay for that.

She kicks him in the side, then grabs him by the head, ramming it right into the rail by the table. She slams it a couple of times.

She was having_

Bam.

A normal_

Bam

Class_

Bam

Until_

BAM.

These psycho...

''Ugh!"

He grabs her by the arm and slams her back first, onto the next table. She gasps when her spine meets the edge, her face contorting from the pain.

He pulls her and pins her head to the table with her butt to his groin.

He completely rips her skirt, revealing her black tights. She's struggling but his grip is too strong.

He leans into her ear, groping her butt. "I'll make this quick". He grabs her by the jaw and forces her to face Leo who's hiding with Jacob by the bookshelf.

Her gaze meets his. He's frozen and terrified with tear filled eyes.

No. Not infront of him....!

He pins her head to the table again. She's wriggling really hard. His grip is strong.

They can hear the sirens and relief washes over her. Finally, They're here.

The cops are asking them to surrender. He scoffs. His fingers, slipping through her tights. "Don't worry, we've got hostages. I would screw you over before anyone can come to your aid". His words brimming with conceit.

She has to do something. Anything.

He's feeling her up, moaning into her ear before he even starts.

"f**k!" He cusses as he desperately reaches for the buttons of his overall by his waist

Stab.

He gasps. He lets go of her, reaching for the pencil stuck by the side of his jaw. He staggers backwards.

She can't tell his expression through that mask, but she can see the blood oozing out from both sides of his jaw through his suit, where she stuck the pencil. She stabbed him in the cheek.

She was lucky pencils were scattered on the table adjacent the one she was pinned.

He groans out from the pain, about to seize her by the wrist. She takes a step back and gives him a deadening kick to his jaw. He falls out the broken wall with a thud.

She cringes. There's no point in looking out, that'll only traumatize her.

A gasp snaps her out of it.

Not hers.

She whips around, Leo is gasping for air. She goes pale.

"W-where's your inhaler?!".

He doesn't answer, or rather he can't. It must have dropped during the scuffle.

In panic, she searches where they were standing. Dropping down, she eagerly feels the floor as tears flow down her cheeks.

No, She can't let him die.

Oh God... Please...

Her fingers scrape through numerous particles and pieces, her eyes desperately trying to see through the smoke.

She finds it.

Her heart is still beating like a bonfire in her chest. She grabs him, his head on her laps as his teary weak eyes meet hers.

She places the inhaler to his lips.

Two big puffs and he's no longer struggling. She sighs, her arms going limp.

She carries him and grabs Jacob too. He's still crying.

She places both of them between her thighs with her arms over them. Trembling from fear, anxiety and pain.

"You're safe. They'll come for us...." She kisses them on their heads.

There's still chaos. The noise.

Gunshots.

It's like a nightmare that will never end.

"Hey! We've got a woman and two children over here!"

She's crying really hard, tears of joy.

That's all she's got strength to do now.

Finally.