Chapter 84

Andrew sat on the window side of the bus staring out to nowhere. He frowned when he noticed the familiar brown car speeding past them towards Vredenburg. What would Victor and his friends be doing in Saldanha and why were they in such a hurry?

When Andrew got off the bus, he had a feeling that something was not quite right. There was no time to wait for Emily and Patrick. Not today. He had to get home. His mother was home alone.

You've done well today Andrew. The ice is broken now and you need to continue until the end. Remember the one you share your mother's womb with. The voice echoed in Andrew's head as he ran towards their house. It felt like he was running for hours when he came around the corner of their street. He could see their house in the distance. Everything seemed fine when he started to relax a little, but still, he had a feeling something was out of place. As Andrew approached the house, he knew the feeling he had was a sixth sense, a warning that was too late. Both the security gate and the front door were wide open. Andrew dropped his school bag and ran toward the front door.

He entered the house. His heart felt heavy when he saw the amount of blood on the floor.

'Mom!' Andrew shouted. There were no blood trails towards the rest of the house, only in the TV room. 'Mom!'

Andrew ran through the house searching each room hoping to find his mother, but there was no trace of her. He unlocked the side doors and searched the backyard as well, but his mother was nowhere.

Andrew ran back into the house and noticed Emily holding her hand in front of her mouth. Her face was ghostly. For a blurry moment, he thought she was going to scream.

'Emily, don't panic now, please. Phone dad,' Andrew said.

'What the fuck happened here?' Patrick asked and dropped his schoolbag at the front door without realising it. 'Where's mom?'

'God help us,' Andrew said. He looked up at Patrick and noticed how life had drained from his brother's face.

'Oh dear Jesus,' Emily said and her eyes started watering up. Her hands were shaking as she operated the phone.

Andrew walked towards Emily and held her tight. 'Don't panic now. We will get through this. I promise.' The phone dropped from Emily's hand. She grabbed hold of Andrew, buried her face in his school jersey and cried.

'Who would do such a thing?' Patrick asked. His voice sounded defeated and shaky. For a moment Andrew thought that Patrick's legs might collapse from underneath him as he stumbled across the TV room floor avoiding the blood.

'I know who,' Andrew said. 'I saw their car driving towards Vredenburg on the bus ride home.'

'What car?' Patrick asked looking at the blood.

Emily had pushed herself away from Andrew. She was looking at him expectantly. He looked down at her swollen eyes for a moment and then at Patrick. 'Victor and his friends.'

Patrick said nothing. Instead, he plumped into the nearest couch looking at Andrew.

'We need to phone the police,' Emily cried.

'Not yet Em,' Andrew said. 'We must phone dad first. We have much to discuss. The time has come. I need you guys to stay focused okay.' Andrew expected resistance from Emily, but instead, she picked up her cell phone from the floor and started working it. It had a large crack over the screen, but at least it was still working.

'Hi dad,' Emily cried over the phone. 'It's mom. She's gone.'

Andrew heard Craig's voice over the phone. The screaming of the woman and children was back in his head again. He looked at Emily. The world slowed down around him. He could see Emily's lips moving but he could not hear her voice. A new tear made its way down her cheek. It was followed by another running down the same trail. They accumulated on her chin before they slowly fell to the floor where they splattered. Andrew looked up towards Patrick whose eyes brimmed with tears as he stared at his mother's blood. His head was gently shaking from side to side. Andrew could hear muffled voices. He looked at Emily again. Somehow she had finished her conversation with Craig. Her voice was too distant to hear, but her lips moved which he could make out as Dad's on his way.