Now the mother is running back towards the center of the warehouse with her son Andy hand in hand and right beside her. As they get closer to the bloody mess surrounding the table the mother slows to a walk.
“Close your eyes sweetheart.” She says to Andy, “Just follow me.”
She walks towards the headless corpse lying near the mangled steel chair and the various splashes of blood, bone and flesh. She kneels down over the body and lets go of Andy’s hand while saying, “Keep you eyes closed honey.”
The mother sticks her hands in the left pants pocket of the headless gunman. Nothing. She leans further over the body and sticks her left hand in the right pants pocket. She grips a steel ring with her index finger and pulls. The clanging sound of little steel objects smacking against each other is a beautiful sound. The mother happily examines the headless gunman’s keys and gives a, “Thank God,” at the sight of one key with the side profile of a galloping horse engraved on it.
The mother stands and grasps Andy’s hand. They walk a short distance and she says, “You can open your eyes honey, but don’t look back, okay. Don’t you dare look back behind us.”
“Okay…(sniff)…mom.” Andy finally says while opening is eyes.
Andy’s vision is blurry. He blinks several times and whips his eyes with the sleeve of his blue pajamas. The corner of his right eye has stopped bleeding but still stings. The sensation reminds Andy of what could have been.
“Don’t look back sweetheart. Mommy’s got you.” She says trying to sooth her child. She knows what’s coming. Andy is so young.
As soon as they are outside the warehouse the mother picks up her son and embraces him. Andy loses it. He cries aloud over her shoulder. Holding his mother so tight with a mixture of relief and fear Andy’s soft, sweet, five-year-old-voice sobs.
“I thought he was going to kill me mommy. He was trying to kill me.”
Andy’s cries over her shoulder bring the mother back to that place where humans know they are human by how they feel. The mother lets out her own tears.
“I know honey,” she says soft and warmly. “But, he is gone now. He can’t hurt you. The boogieman is dead.”
“I was so scared mommy. I thought they hurt you too. Did they hurt you mom?” Andy sobs.
“They didn’t hurt me sweetie, I promise. They tried but the big one with the black hood saved me.”
“He said he would.” Andy cries.
She is taken a back by Andy’s statement.
When? She thinks.
But the mother considers how traumatizing the last day has been for her son. Instead of enquiring about any encounter Andy may have had with the big man they called Albert, she just holds her son tighter. With all that she has been through her son, Andy is going to have nightmares about a greasy, fat, old man holding a spoon. What could she possibly say to him now?
She switches to holding Andy in a way that he can see her eyes.
“Andy?” She asks. Are you okay?
“I’m so scared mom.” Andy says wiping the tears from his eyes.
“You don’t need to be afraid. I am going to protect you honey. I’ll always be here to protect you.”
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