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“What did I tell you?” Ted asked calmly. “I guess you will only learn one way.”
With that Ted walked towards the twins.
I didn’t know what he planned to do but there was no way I was going to let this bastard touch my children. I’d hide them where he could never find them if I had to.
I rushed at him. I thought I was fast but he was faster.
Ted whirled around, lowered his elbow, and pushed into me. I flew across the room like a ragdoll. My body was out of control. I flailed my hands trying to grab something to stop my fall, but my bruised feet were not working properly. My heels hurt so badly that I could barely walk.
I suddenly had the sensation that I was falling. The floor below me was rising towards my face. I commanded my arms to move in front of me to at least soften some of the blow, but nothing happened. I was free falling with no safety net.
My head collided with the nightstand hard just above the temple.
For a moment I felt no pain as the hurt already throbbing inside of me began to subside. But a second later it was replaced with a sharp, stabbing pain in the center of my brain. I heard a constant, loud beeping in my ears, like a phone that would not stop ringing, and I saw darkness.
Beneath the beeping sound I could hear movement and a voice, but I couldn’t make out what was being said. Ted was talking to the kids. Now he was moving. NO! NO!
I tried to move. I tried to say something, but the pain in my head would not let me. I could barely even think or make sense of what was happening around me.
I heard footsteps as Ted returned. Opening my eyes, I could fuzzily make out that he was taking one of the twins out of the crib and then carrying him out of the room.
“I….no…” I moaned. I wasn’t sure that sound had even come out of me, but the pain was suddenly worse. Every single thing I tried to do made this nightmare far more severe. I had to get up. I had to help my babies. What was going on? Where was he taking them?
A few moments later I heard Ted’s footsteps again. The fuzzy haze surrounding my head and fogging up my eyes was getting slightly better. I could now make out that Ted was doing something around the room. Tossing something… kicking some things over…?
He was moving around rapidly. What was he doing?
“Wait…” I managed. “What…”
Ted stopped and smiled at me. It was ghastly. I would never forget that evil smile for as long as I lived.
“Sweet dreams,” Ted said.
Then he left the room.
And all was quiet for a moment. This silence was followed by a couple metallic clicks.
I tried to stand. My legs were so shaky, and every time I tried to balance, the pain in my skull grew more immense. I tried to hold my head with my hands to keep it still and steady, but it was to no avail. The nausea and the pain were inextricably linked together. I felt like I was drowning.
And there was something else now… a weird smell… something charred…? Charcoal…? Matches…? Yeah… that was it… someone had lit matches…?
Smoke.
The room was being engulfed in smoke. It was thick and smelled horrid, but somehow it had the unintended side effect of pushing enough adrenaline through my body that I was now much more awake and aware.
But I was still hurt. I might have had a concussion. I felt like I was stuck between being asleep and awake and I couldn’t get out of it no matter what I did.
The room was on fire.
I could clearly make out the bright flames that were rapidly engulfing the nursery.
Ted had set the place on fire. My God…he really was out of his mind. He was trying to kill me.
Somehow I found enough strength in the panic that I felt and pushed myself off the ground enough to stumble blindly towards the door. I grabbed the doorknob and twisted hard but it refused to move in my hand.
I tried it again even harder, but it was still not budging. The door was locked.
Balling my fist tightly I pounded on the door as hard as I could. “Help me! Please! SOMEONE HELP ME!”
I knew my screams were futile. The only one who might still be there was Ted. I’d sent the staff home and there was no one who lived nearly close enough to the huge acreage of my family’s estate who had a chance in hell of hearing me. My only hope was that someone might see fire, but by the time they did I would surely be dead.
