Ninety-Nine
Ruby felt as if she were melting. The hard shell of anger she had constructed was dissolving.
Her mum loved her. Her parents loved her. They were going to make everything better. And Mouse would be safe, too. All the anger and bad thoughts she had hidden behind, trying to convince herself that she was tough, drifted away from her like snowflakes in a breeze. She had never wanted to hurt anyone, let alone kill them, the planning had simply been acting out. The only life she’d wanted to take was her own, but now… now, perhaps, she could see a happy future.
The nightmare was going to be over soon – and she could even see Harry again. She wrapped her arms tighter around her mother, still gripping the shotgun awkwardly between them. Everything was going to be okay.
There was a shout outside. Her dad, roaring unintelligibly in anger.
Ruby leaped free of her mother’s clutches, swinging the shotgun up and around on pure instinct.
Harry fought with Ruby’s dad for all he was worth. He didn’t want to hurt him, so tried only to defend, not attack.
‘Get out of my way!’ he begged. ‘You don’t – ow! – understand—’
An elbow to block a blow. Raising his knee to ward off vicious kicks. Harry kept shouting, kept trying to explain that he was attempting to help. But the old git kept lashing out and he didn’t have the chance to be heard.
He got Mr Thomas in a headlock. A jab to the kidneys made Harry yell, and loosen his grip. Kicked at the man in anger. His lace-less boot slid off his foot and flew through the air, hitting Ruby’s dad on the shoulder with a soft thud then bouncing who knew where. It didn’t slow Mr Thomas; he was huffing like a steam train, but didn’t seem to be giving up.
If Harry didn’t get past him soon, things were going to end in disaster.
‘Listen—’
Another punch.
Mouse stood in her bedroom, scared. She clung to Ted, hoping he would make her brave enough to know what to do.
Shouts came from outside her bedroom. Banging, crashing, and Daddy’s voice raised in anger. He sounded furious. Her heart thundered. She scurried towards her wardrobe, flinging the door open and staring at one of her favourite hiding places.
No, she couldn’t hide away. She had to warn Ruby that something bad was happening, even if Ruby used bad words at her like she usually did. Sometimes she really hated Ruby, but that was because she loved her so much, too.
Giving the hiding place one last longing look, she started to shut the door, then had a thought. Gave Ted a final hug and kiss before settling him in, and covering him with a blanket.
‘You stay here, I’ll be right back when it’s safe. Don’t make a sound,’ she whispered.
Ted gave her a long hard stare of agreement. That made it easier for her to block out the shouts and icy fear. Feeling reassured that Ted would do as he was told, she closed the door on him, then opened her bedroom window wide. The early morning air made her shiver. She’d get cold feet, and then Mummy would tell her off. She slipped on her slippers once more, then sat on the windowsill and eased herself out, as she had so many times in summer.
Dom heard shouting and scuffling. Ruby looked terrified, reduced momentarily to the child she had been before she disappeared beneath the mask of warpaint. The shotgun bumping against Dom’s side as Ruby jerked from her embrace.
‘Ruby, please. Just hand me the gun.’
Myriad emotions flashed kaleidoscopically over the teenager’s face.
‘Mum, I think that might be Harry. He… he might be here to do what I can’t.’
Dom’s innards solidified with horror. Harry was going to kill them all. Just like the dreams she had been having.
‘Give me the gun, Ruby. I’ve got to defend us.’
‘You can’t hurt him.’
‘He’s here to hurt us.’
‘But I love him, Mum…’
The yells of the men were punctuated with grunts of pain.
‘Please, sweetheart. Give me the gun.’
Dominique stepped towards Ruby, beseeching. For a moment, her daughter hesitated.
‘Okay, here, I’ll give it to you,’ she said.
Her expression as she lifted the shotgun was unreadable.
Benjamin’s limbs were heavy; it was like fighting in treacle. Every swift punch he tried to throw landed slow and ponderous. Harry dodged as a fast as a whippet. Wiry, though luckily not as strong yet as a full-grown man. Strong enough, though. Benjamin was scared.
Why had he taken those damn pills? He should have fought for his family the way he was now, not given in. So what if they had no money? So what if they lost everything, as long as they had each other? He’d been such a fool.
He didn’t want to die.
Another punch cracked on his jaw. Dizzy. He tried to shake it away. Punched out again.
Two things kept him going. The first was the thought of saving his family. The second, that his blows must be having some impact on the kid, even in his weakened state, because he kept shouting: ‘No. No. Listen to me.’
He wasn’t falling for that trick. If he slowed the teen would use that moment to deal a killer blow.
Benjamin wasn’t giving up when he was winning something for the first time in a long time.
All that mattered was being there for his family. He had to save them.
‘Okay, here, I’ll give it to you,’ Ruby said.
She stepped towards her mother, shotgun still at her shoulder. Lowered it. Started to remove her index finger from the trigger while twisting the whole rifle in her hands, inexpertly, trying to pass it butt first. Nerves making her fumble. It slipped from her grasp, tumbling to the floor, wrenching her finger. Down, to the side, bone going snap, crackle, pop.
Bang.
A shot rang out.
Normally, Mouse did the climb along the ledge in summer, with bare feet, and it was easy. Especially with the trellis as a ladder.
But right now, Mouse was scared. The bottoms of her slippers were all shiny and slippery, which was great for doing big skids along the hall, but not good for climbing. Her feet kept slipping from beneath her, and she had to concentrate really, really hard as she edged along.
She could hear shouting, and she wanted to see Mummy and Daddy, and be safe with Ruby. She wanted to hide with Ted in the cupboard.
Her muscles trembled with the effort of holding herself in place. Almost there. Her foot slid from beneath her again, making her gasp, but finally she reached her big sister’s window. Carefully, oh, so carefully, she wedged the fingers of one hand beneath the sill, then let go of the brickwork with the other hand and went to tap against the glass.
Screaming. A big bang. Deafening. Hurting her ears.
Mouse slipped in shock, slippered feet scrabbling at nothing but air. The trellis – Daddy had torn it down. One slipper fell, tumbling to the ground with a soft thump.
Mouse hung on to the ledge with one hand. Arm hurting, fingers burning and breaking.
‘Mummy! Daddy!’ she screamed.
Nails clawing at nothing as she fell.
The air shocked from her as she hit the stone slabs.
Pain.
Darkness.