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*April 1982*
The little boy shook uncontrollably as he cowered in the darkest, deepest corner of the closet. His hands covering his ears, he tried desperately to block the horrid sounds coming from just beyond.
"You can't do this!" a woman's voice cried feebly. She let out a few shrieks as the thick, heavy leather belt came lashing down, down on her milky white exposed flesh.
"I'll do whatever I damn well please, you worthless bitch!" the yelling man replied, following one of the whips of the belt with a deeply cruel laugh.
The child squeezed his eyes shut, a soft whimper escaping him. He didn't know how it was that he wasn't peeing in his pants right now. He hoped the man wouldn't overhear him and come looking for him. He knew exactly what was about to happen, and it tore at his eight-year-old little heart...
... His mother was moments away from dying. He knew it. He'd *seen* it.
"No! No! No!" he repeated to himself in a loud whisper. He didn't want his mom to die. She was a good lady, a good mother. She worked two jobs to support them, as it had always been just the two of them up until this horrible man had come into their lives. She treated him like a grownup most of the time rather than a little kid, talked to him like a friend. Yet at the same time, she was still *Mom* and was the best one in the world.
And he'd tried to warn her... Mike was not a good guy. He hadn't seen that at first, but over the course of his mother's relationship with him, the boy had seen... His visions had revealed a whole other side, a dark one, of the man.
"No!" This time, it was not the little boy's voice but his mother's, to shout that short but very mournful word.
He dared to peek out from the slightly cracked open closet door, his eyes widening at the sight he beheld. The bad man had the belt wrapped around his mother's neck!
That finally prompted him into action... Pushing the closet door open as fast as he could manage, the boy ran out and yelled at the top of his lungs.
"You leave my mom alone!" He hit the cruel man with his tiny fists, but it seemed to have little or no effect - although Mike did release the belt with which he was choking the woman. He heard her coughing and sputtering.
"Why, you little bastard!" The man made a lunge for him and grabbed his arm. The little boy finally started crying.
His mother had regained some of her strength as Mike's attention was off of her. She flung herself at her boyfriend and hit and clawed at him, most notably his face.
"Let him go, you monster!" She slapped him. "You do *not* touch my son! Adam, run!" she yelled.
He stared wide-eyed into her face... She looked terrified, but he knew she was much more so for him than for herself. If he ran, he could go get help. Someone would save his mother.
"Run! Go!!!" she screamed, and the frantic tone of her voice helped him decide.
He ran. He ran as fast as his legs would move, his eyes blinded by a torrent of tears as he went. He ran straight to the nearest neighbors' house, his heart pounding so hard and fast, he was scared it would break...
... On the contrary, it had already broken - because he knew his mom would be dead in a matter of minutes. He knew it was going to happen, that he was too late. He should have called 911 as soon as he'd heard Mike yelling at her. His mother was going to die, and it was all his fault, all his own fault, as far as he was concerned. He cried and cried, knowing he should have been able to save her.
As he reached his neighbors' front door, he pounded on it and shouted for help, all the while looking frantically back over his shoulder. He knew that once Mike was done with his mother, he would go after him as well.
The door opened, and he almost tripped as he rushed over the threshold and inside, breathless as he told his story
to the shocked listeners.