The Protector of children

Chapter one: Survived in body but not in mind

Little boys and girls should be protected and cared for always and all the time. They should be kept in soft cozy rooms and away from harm. That’s all I am doing. I help little boys and girls by protecting them from those that would do them harm. Even from themselves…

They don’t act bad because they are bad. Oh, my no. They act bad because they just don’t know any better. They needed a firm hand in discipline to make them change from being bad to good.

I would never hurt my little ones on purpose. I love them and they love me. Sooner or later.

Of course, I do get the occasional little rebel that pushes my love just too far. To the point that I would accidentally snap and duel out the punishment too far. But I am getting better. Oh. My yes. I haven’t snapped in such a long time.

Not since Little Lance. He was refused to do what he was told to do. My little spitfire with hair of actually fire. Little Lance had the face of an angel but a mind of a devil. He had received the most whippings then any of my children, past and present, and took them like they were nothing.

His eyes were like two little moonstones shining behind golden lashes. I have never thought that there would anything that could ravel the beauty of the moon. Not until I had those eyes starring at me for the first time.

He was beautiful even with his back marred. He was about the one of the few that I ever tried tasting. Oh, my little angle of fire tasted so wonderful. Nothing of his wasn’t enjoyable.

His tears.

His blood.

Even his dirty juices tasted like heaven.

But it wouldn’t last. No, it didn’t. I pushed him too far one night when he tried to punish me! Ha! He thought that he was going to get away with using a piece of broken glass to stab me with. I showed him. I used that same piece of broken mirror glass and cut his little chest to pieces.

I regret it to this day. Yes, I do. In the end, I dumped his bleeding corpse in the park lake. But I marked his final resting place with a tulip that matched his fiery hair.

Oh. Why am I telling you this, you ask? Because that’s what I’m going to have to do with you, Little Cassandra. You pushed me too far, making me snapped. Breaking my personal record of ten years. Ten years and you destroyed it by hitting me in the face with a hot frying pan!

My other children knew how to behave and they don’t fear me ever hurting them. But you had to be a bad egg…

****

He picked up the small bundle from the bed of his truck and tossed it over his shoulder. The snow was beginning to sprinkle down as the man in the big flannel overcoat made his way down to the slowly icing over lake in the far end of the City park. He was luckily that he had beat the snow that was threaten to come for days. No-one but the extreme joggers and bikers would dare to come out during a snowfall. So no-one would ever notice that there was something in the lake besides the normal aquatic wildlife till maybe around spring.

But then, all traces to him would have disappear due to decomposition and the nibbling of hungry fish. Of course, even they do find his little dead girl. Not like they would even begin to think of suspecting him. After all, no-one ever suspects the happy go lucky Todd Micaville of Micavilla’s coffee and ice cream.

He was too nice of a guy to be kidnapping little children. Certainly not killing them and then dumping their dead bodies in a lake or a quarry. Just before he left when the snow had really started to come down, he pulled out a yellow rose to place on the stone barrier that kept people from falling into the lake.

A yellow rose to match Little Cassandra’s locks of golden curls. She wasn’t the first but she won’t be the last.

****

There was something heavy laying on his chest. Slowly, a bluish-grey eye open and then another. Both of them blinked a few times before they could focus on the view before them. Then they zeroed in on the big pile of blubber that had decided at some point during the night that his chest was a quite the perfect little bed.

The little guy was cute an all but he really need to find somewhere else to sleep before he finally crushed him to death. I guess that’s what you would get for overfeeding bulldogs.

The master of said bulldog tried pushing the sleeping animal off but only succeeding in getting a disapprove grunt for his troubles.

“God-dammit, Slone! You’re….cru-shing..me!” It took all of his strength but finally the massive beast had been moved. More like, he had leaped off due to the fact he was being rudely interrupted in his sleeping.

But hey, a victory is a victory. That’s what counts.

Bain took a breather from his battle and stretched his aching back, to rid some of the cramps in it that came from sleeping on the stiff couch all night. He didn’t fell asleep on the couch because he had a tiring day and was too exhausted to make that one last couple of yards into the bedroom.

It was just that any bed had terrified him enough to the point that he refused to sleep in one. His therapist, ex-therapist to be precise, had told him again and again that it wasn’t the bed that scared him but what had happen on one that drove him to cringe at the sight of one.

Whatever. His mind said that all beds were bad and he was going to listen to it then some state-appointed shrink that drinks out of a Snoopy coffee mug.

A hand reached up to his head to tame the hair down a bit. Then he noticed that it was shorter then it was at dinner. Oh, that’s right. He had a panic attack while watching that Ashley Judd movie. The one where a sick psycho kidnaps girls because he loved them so much.

A really bad movie to watch when you were the ex-victim of a psycho pedophile and you still can’t handle someone touching you without going a little crazy yourself.

Last night, a memory from those days flashed in his mind. The fucker was petting his then red hair like he was some damn cat. Telling him that it was one of the many things that he ’loved’ about him.

Bain had to rush to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face in order to calm down. Then he looked up while drying the water off with a towel, even through his current hair color was snow-blonde with traces of cobalt blue and plum purple within the strands. It still triggered that God awful memory.

So taking a pair of scissors, the tiny ones used for snipping paper from his desk drawer, Bain cut off the locks till they were just above his shoulders, uneven and non-too flattering for him but that was the idea.

During the ten long years of recovering from that nightmare, Bain went out of his way to appear un-appealing and acted unapproachable so no-one would think of him as boyfriend material. Sure he had friends from work but with friends, he didn’t expect to be touchy and eventually sleeping with them like you do with lovers.

Cause that would led to a whole can of worms that he didn’t ever want to open. Not since the first and last that he had went that far with someone. But that little bedtime story as to be told at much later date for the blonde was going to be late for work. Again.
****

After a through wash in the shower and quick dry with the towel, Bain went into the bedroom to grabbed clothes for the day and rushed out of there before he had another panic attack. He dressed in front of the cast of the morning show.

A black, no shoulders, long sleeves shirt with red laces down the arm and a picture of broken red heart on the front. Dark blue jeans with purple knee patches and safety pins all down the sides of the legs to keep it together. Black sneakers with pink and black striped laces that poked from under the jeans.

After that was done, he went into the bathroom to pick out from the small plastic box on the tiled counter: two black and red rings for the corners of his mouth, a smiley-face sphere for under the lip, a two silver spikes for both ends of the rod in his pencil thin eyebrows and two rainbow spheres for the one in the bridge of his nose. He often doesn’t change the nine earrings in his ears and the neon pick sphere in his tongue or the black rose in his navel. But it was uncomfortable to sleep with the other piercings so he took them out be beddy-bye.

He snapped a black spiked choker around his neck and fasten several other chains under it, including a razor-blade pendent that he bought as a to make fun of himself. Being an ex-cutter and all. His shrink did say that he should to make light of things.

One of the few things that he actually paid attention to.

Next were the leather wrists cuffs, one to match the choker and an other with small handcuffs all around. Plus some black and blue jellies and sliver bangles. Those he slept with all with the rings that adorned his fingers. A quick look at his nails and Bain made a mental note to repaint them when he got home later on today.

He dry-swallowed his morning pills before he located Slone’s black and fire printed sweater and stuffed the dog in it. Then he grabbed the matching leash and collar and snapped it around the bulldog’s neck just above the jowls. Grabbing a black wool winter coat and rainbow scarf and a black and white knit cap since he could see outside his window the white icy snow falling, and his blue shoulder bag across his back and Slone tugging behind him, Bain whisked out the door and locked it before rushing to the elevators. Cause Slone hated taking the stairs.


****

The morning walk to the book-shop where he worked/co-owned with a high-school buddy by the name of Alan was just him with his ear plugged up with two white earphones and his imported songs blasting in his ears, avoding from eye-contact with anyone except for the guy at Starbucks that sold him his daily-required venti cinnamon latte with extra caramel and whipped cream and the holiday special of Pumpkin spice latte for beast that panted at his heels.


Today was a good-day to be deaf and blind to the morning traffic or he would have a break-down from the morning buzz on the streets of someone finding the dead body of young girl in the city lake.

***

The door rang as Bain walked in, holding the door for the tired Slone that immediately went to his little corner behind the sales-counter where he had his little blue doggy bed with sleep and moons all over it and several chew toys and a two doggy bowls.. One for food and the other for lattes.

“Hey, Sloney.” His little fan-girl, Cady greeted with a smile and a pat and was given a slobbering lick in return. She was a brunette petite that wears only Carebears or Strawberry Shortcake tee tops and the tightest jeans and the shortest skirts on this side of the sun.

Today was the “Don’t be blue” Carebear shirt and the jeans that had patches on knees, thighs and the seat. And today, she decided to go with the sporty ponytail with bells on the hair ribbon that went “jiggle”, “jiggle” every time she moved.

It was Alan‘s, the lecherous pig, idea to hired her. Bain wanted the old woman that resembled his old high school English teacher. Something about being life to the shop. At least when she moved, there were no bells.

“Hey, guess what. Bain!” She said with such glee. The old woman would have just said what’s on her mind without being sounding like a hyper-chipmunk.

A focused smile was given as he said “What” while he removed his winter wear and hanged it on top of one another on the wooded coat hanger, parallel to the way too bright yellow coat with faux fur hood.

“Next week, I’m hosting a Christmas party for some (many) of my friends and I think you should come.” She hoisted herself up on the counter, swinging her legs back and forth like a small child.

“Sor-”

“Alan said that you would try to get out of it by using excuses.” Cady interrupted her boss. “Just stay for an hour, and if you want to leave then leave. You don’t have to bring anything except yourself.” She then used the cute puppy-face that all girls were born with and said “Pwease?”

Just to shut her up about the party, He said that he’ll try to make it. She gave a too cherry for a cold December Tuesday morning ” yay!” and made to give him a victory hug but decided to forget it since her moody boss hates being touch with a passion.

So instead, she went over to little TV that hanged overhead the sales-counter to turn it on. The news came on with today’s biggest headline.

“The mutilated body of young girl was found today on the City Park by some morning joggers. Nothing has been said of who the girl was or why she was in the lake except to being dumped from being brutally murdered much earlier. There was nothing that could be linked to a killer has of yet. Except for a single yellow rose found not far away with the name “Sweet Cassandra” written on a card found with the rose. Our sources say that it could be linked to a murder about a few years ago where a boy was found in the very same lake with a wreath of baby’s breath and a card with the name “Little Alexander” written on it. More on it once more information has been released.”

Cady snorted as she shock her head. “That’s just too sad for Christmas, don’t you think Bain.” When she was answered with the common ’Hn.” She called out her boss’s name as she turned around.

A sharp startle gasp was let out as she hurried to catch the blonde man as his kness gave out from under him. She noticed that his normal pale skin had turned deathly white and his moonstone eyes had went dimmed and unfocused. His breathing came in overactive pants.

“Shit!” The little brunette hooked her arms under the slightly heavy but still too light for a man his height and age’s arms and dragged him backwards behind the counter so she could call her other boss for help.

The only words that came from the shocked man was a mantra of ’Oh God” and the occasional, “I can’t breath.”

As she waited for help to come and undone the necklaces and the choker since she was worried that the man couldn’t, Cady can’t help wondering what was it that drove her boss into such a state. Slone had trotted up to lay a comforting chin and paws on his owner’s leg.

He had witnessed his owner acting like this so many times before and come out of it a little shaken up but fine. But it didn’t mean he liked it and he wanted to be a good guard dog for the human that gave him lattes and big chunks of meat and sweet food. It was just a little hard to do that when he couldn’t see, hear or smell what he was protecting the human from.

Slone the massive bulldog gave a whine and waited for his master to wake up.

***

Slone the dog says: "you review and Shippa updates. But Flame and I take a bite out of your ass."