Savage Night - Allan Guthrie [94]
***
TOMMY SAID, "YOU want to take Fraser out of your bag now, Jordan?"
"No."
"Go on. He wants to watch."
"He's dead, Dad."
"Look, Phil's watching." He was, too. His eyes were wide open."Dad?"
"Son?"
"Fraser doesn't want to watch."
Tommy wasn't sure he believed that. "Pass him to me," he said.
Jordan looked at the bag by his feet.
"Come on. He won't bite."
Jordan bent down slowly, picked it up. Scurried over to Tommy, dropped it at his feet, scurried away again.
"Thank you," Tommy said. "Wasn't so bad now, was it?" His arm felt numb. He didn't know if it could take the weight. He flexed his fingers. They seemed okay. Reached into the bag, grabbed a fistful of Fraser's hair. Eased him out. Fraser in one hand, Phil in the other. "So," he said to Fraser. "Your brother says you don't want to watch. Is that true?"
Fraser shook his head.
"You do want to watch?"
Fraser nodded. Phil nodded too.
"See?" Tommy said to Jordan. Then bent towards the heads. "What's that you say?" Paused. "You want me to put on a video?" He straightened up. "I know the very one."
He turned to Park, whose head was lowered. Might have passed out again, for all Tommy knew.
"Just give me a second," Tommy said to Fraser, placed him on the floor.
Tommy knelt in front of Park, lifted his head up. Park had his eyes shut, screwed tight, desperate not to see any of this. Tommy placed Phil in front of him, so their noses were inches apart.
"Hey," Tommy said. "Open your eyes."
Park blew his cheeks out, kept his eyes shut.
"Come on, you fuck," Tommy said. "Phil wants to say something to you."
Park's eyes stayed shut.
"If you don't open your eyes," Tommy said, "then Phil's going to have to give you a kiss."
Park shuddered.
"And I don't think you'll like that."
Park still wouldn't open his eyes.
"I don't think Phil would like that either, but you're not giving him much choice."
Park said, "Fuck you."
"Fair enough," Tommy said. "Here we go then."
Park's eyes sprang open. He saw Phil and started to gag.
Tommy pushed Phil's face into Park's, angling it so their lips would touch.
Park yelled. Tried to get his face out of the way.
Tommy copied his movements so Phil's face remained right in front of Park's.
Park moaned, his eyes fluttered, his head lolled to the side.
Looked like a genuine faint, but Tommy slapped him hard on the cheek just to make sure.
No reaction.
Tommy picked Fraser up, crossed the room, set down Phil and Fraser next to the laptop and beckoned Jordan over.
"Right," Tommy said to his family. "It's about time we got this done, boys."
"No," Grant said.
"You shut your mouth," Tommy said. "You're fucking dead."
***
AS MUCH AS Effie knew she had to lie here quietly, not moving a muscle, breathing as shallowly as possible, awaiting an opportunity, something inside her wanted to cry out that she was still alive. And she didn't quite trust herself not to.
Taste of petrol on her lips. Burning pain in her chest. Felt like her whole left side was swollen. Had to keep her eyes shut, her mouth shut. Couldn't cry out. Mustn't cry out. Breathed through her nose. Couldn't keep it up much longer, though. The fumes were getting to her.
She'd been awake long enough to hear Savage taunt Dad. Didn't dare open her eyes to see what he was doing. But she'd heard enough to know that he'd removed the heads from the van and was talking to them. Loony fucking tunes. He'd snapped.
Effie tightened her grip on the handle of the sword. She could do this. Dad was counting on her. Mum was counting on her.
***
"LOOK AWAY," TOMMY said to Jordan.
Jordan looked away.
Tommy dug out Milne's lighter, moved over to the prostrate figures on the floor. Wondered if they'd go up with a whoosh. He'd light Park first.
As he was bending over, he noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye. Then, a punch in his gut.
A white-hot pain, all the way from his stomach to his back.
Effie was sitting up, panting, arm outstretched towards him.
He looked down, saw the handle of the katana. Most