Page 7 of The Eraser

"What?" the woman hisses. "You're married?" she asks.

I laugh. "Yep. He's been married for the past fifteen years. Probably longer than you've been alive."

The woman glares at my da and rushes into the house. I catch sight of the tears rolling down her face. I've hurt her with my words, but it's better than her being caught in this man's grip. Once she's in, he'll never let her go, just as he's not let Ma go.

"You're dead," Da snaps as he stalks toward me. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"A friend of mine gave me a lift home. Imagine my surprise when he pulled up outside this house instead of our home. I was intrigued. Colour me surprised, Da," I taunt.

Before Da can respond, the woman rushes out of the house, her feet moving a lot faster than I thought possible with her being pregnant. She runs past where me and my da are and around the corner.

"You little shit," Da growls. "Look what you've done. Now look at what's going to happen. She's gone and it's all your fault."

The sound of a car engine starts up and I smile. I guess she's gone, and I doubt she'll be back.

"You cunt," he snarls.

I move toward the wood chipper and he follows me, his eyes wide and the vein on his forehead throbbing like it does whenever he's angry.

"Look what you've done. You've ruined everything."

I chuckle. I can't help it. "I did?" I ask, wondering where the hell he got that shit from. "You did. You wrecked Ma's life and you've wrecked mine. Had you fucked off with that whore ages ago, we'd be better off without you."

He edges closer, his nostrils flaring. "That was my meal ticket out of this shit hole of a life. You think I want to spend every day listening to your mam whining about getting drugs? Listening to her tell me that I'm being too hard on you?" He bares his teeth. "You think I want to spend the rest of my life wondering which woman I'll be waking up next to?"

"What?" I ask, completely confused by his words.

His laughter is cold and it angers me even more. "Your mam, she's got a serious brain injury. One day she's happy and remembers a lot, the next she's in pain and can't remember much. Those are the days she's the angriest. I can't deal with it any longer. The woman's driving me insane."

"You did that to her," I snap. "You made her that way. Not only did you cause the crash, but you got her hooked on drugs. It's all your fault and I doubt she doesn't remember. I bet she's angry because she has to put up with you."

He lunges for me, but I'm so fired up and filled with rage that I'm ready for him. My hands push against his chest as he gets close to me, and I use every ounce of strength I possess to push him off me.

I watch in shock as he stumbles backwards, his back bowed and his feet slipping from under him. I'm rooted to the spot as he falls into the wood chipper. The scream that rents the air is horrific, and the wood chipper chugging against his skin and bone is a sound I'll never forget. I can't move. I stand where I am, watching in fascination as the man I hate more than anything is crushed beneath the metal prongs of the machine. His arm's gone, completely mangled, and blood coats the silver machine as it spits out dusty parts of my father's ripped apart arm.

"Christ, son," I hear Jer say from behind me. "You can hear his screams from a mile away."

I lift my shoulder and shrug. I don't care. This man has caused me so much pain, and now it's his turn. I never intended for this to happen, but I can't say that I'm sorry it did. He deserves everything he gets.

"Alright, Stephen, we'll leave him there. I guess people really do get what's coming to them," Jer tells me as he places his hand on my shoulder. "It's time to get you out of here."

I shake my head. I want to make sure he's dead. I don't want him anywhere near my ma again. No fucking way. It's not happening. He's caused enough pain and suffering in her life. It ends today.

The screams quiet down but the machine's in full force. It continues to churn out my father's mangled bones. There's so much blood, it's like something out of a horror scene. I guess this would be something like that. It would be most people's worst nightmare if they were to ever see it happen in real life. But I find the sound of the metal whirring as it breaks down the flesh and bone of my father oddly soothing.

I always knew there was something wrong with me. I guess today I finally figured out what it is. I'm a killer. There's no other way around it. Sure, it was an accident, but Christ, I’ve loved watching every second of it so far.

"I’ve gotta say, Stephen," Jer says, not once letting go of my shoulder, "this is one of the most horrific deaths I've ever encountered. You've not flinched once, not even when your father was screaming. This shit doesn't faze you, does it?"

I shake my head. "No."

I guess I'm used to the violence. I was born into it. My father was a bastard and did whatever the fuck he wanted. He didn't care about anyone but himself. Well, today he finally understood what happens when you hurt people. He got his just desserts. They may be a little messier than expected, but the man must have known he'd never get away with all that he's done.

"Alright, Stephen, if you still feel as though none of this shit fazes you when you're older, I may have a different job for you."

I raise a brow as I take my gaze away from the wood chipper. "Why not give it to me now?" I ask.

He grins. "I want to see if there's any hope in changing you."