Chapter 9: Blood on the Floorboards
Chapter 9: Blood on the Floorboards
"No!" Elena shrieked, launching herself down the stairs. She didn't try to run; she threw her entire body weight forward, completely out of control, aiming directly for David's back.
David heard her coming. He spun around, raising the gun, but he was a fraction of a second too late. Elena collided with him like a freight train, sending them both tumbling down the remaining stairs in a chaotic tangle of limbs.
They crashed onto the landing right next to Sarah. David’s gun skittered across the polished wood, sliding underneath a heavy decorative credenza near the front door.
Elena scrambled to her feet, ignoring the searing pain in her gunshot shoulder. David was faster. He rose up, his face contorted in sheer rage, and backhanded Elena across the face. The blow sent her crashing into the wall, her vision exploding into white stars.
"I am going to enjoy this," David spat, wiping a trickle of blood from his lip. He didn't go for the gun. He stepped toward Sarah, who was weakly trying to crawl backward, pulling Leo with her, leaving a horrific smear of blood on the floorboards.
"Stay away from him," Sarah gasped, her face ashen, her strength failing rapidly.
David reached down, grabbing Sarah by the throat with one hand, lifting her upper body off the ground. With his other hand, he reached for the baby.
"He’s mine," David hissed. "He will never remember you. He will only know the story of his weak, crazy mother who couldn't handle the pressure."
Elena shook her head, forcing the stars from her eyes. She saw David choking her sister. She saw the blood. And a terrifying, cold calm washed over her. She wasn't just fighting for survival anymore; she was fighting to destroy him.
She looked around frantically. Above them, hanging from the high ceiling of the foyer, was a massive, ornate crystal chandelier. The heavy winch chain that held it was anchored to a thick brass cleat bolted into the wall, right next to where Elena was standing.
"David!" Elena yelled, her voice dropping to a low, dangerous growl.
David paused, turning his head slightly, his grip still tight on Sarah's throat.
Elena didn't say another word. She grabbed the heavy brass pin securing the winch chain and yanked it out with all her remaining strength.
The chain whipped through the pulley system with a deafening screech.
David looked up, his eyes widening in horror as three hundred pounds of crystal and solid brass plummeted directly toward him.
He let go of Sarah and dove backward, but he wasn't fast enough. The edge of the massive chandelier clipped him, sending a shower of razor-sharp crystal shards exploding across the foyer. The heavy brass rim struck his leg—the same leg Elena had stabbed—with a sickening crunch of breaking bone.
David screamed, pinned under the massive weight of the fixture. The house went dark as the wiring ripped from the ceiling, leaving only the pale moonlight filtering through the windows.
Elena didn't wait to see if he was dead. She scrambled over the broken glass, ignoring the cuts on her hands and knees, and grabbed Sarah.
"We have to go," Elena gasped, hauling her sister up. Sarah was slipping into shock, her skin clammy and cold.
"The door..." Sarah whispered weakly, clutching Leo. "It's locked..."
Elena dragged Sarah to the front door. She looked at the electronic deadbolt. It was armed. She needed the code.
Behind them, a low, guttural groan echoed from the pile of broken crystal. David was moving. He was pushing the heavy brass rim off his shattered leg, his eyes burning with an unholy, murderous light. He began dragging himself across the floor, reaching under the credenza for the gun.
"The code, Sarah! What's the alarm code?!" Elena screamed, punching the keypad randomly.
"I... I don't know," Sarah sobbed, her eyes rolling back. "He changed it..."
David’s hand closed around the grip of the handgun. He pulled himself up on one elbow, aiming the weapon directly at Elena's back.
"You... lose," David choked out, spitting blood onto the floorboards.
Elena closed her eyes, shielding Sarah and the baby with her body, waiting for the impact.
But suddenly, the house was bathed in a blinding, strobing array of red and blue lights.
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A heavy, amplified voice boomed from outside the front door, rattling the windows.
"Police! Drop your weapon! We have the building surrounded!"
