Read Slash (Novella I) for Free Online Page B

crawling over logs. She caught up with her mother when the woman came to a stop near a downed tree. Her mother mumbled as she stared out at a group of people dancing nude around a barn fire.
    MT pulled her mother downward by the arm and they continued to watch the strange scene from behind the downed tree. All the dancer’s clothes were laid out on their cars, drums were being played and they were chanting words in a language MT couldn’t identify.
    Four nude young men dragged a screaming man dressed in construction gear from the darkness of the woods. The others started to dance around the cowering man as the four nude young men who carried him started to tie him to a tree.
    MT decided it was time for her and her mother to leave before anybody noticed them. She tugged at her mother but Fran didn’t budge. Her mother kept looking on and mumbling to herself.
    The chanting got even louder as one of the nude dancers revealed a blade from a black silk bag. The dancer cut himself on the arm and passed the knife to the others who mirrored his action. They took turns wiping blood from their wounds onto the construction worker.
    “ What are they doing,” MT whispered.
    Once all the dancers doused the man with blood, the dancer last with knife drove the blade into the construction worker’s heart. MT’s jaw dropped and her momma let out a deafening scream. She tried to calm the woman and cover her mouth, but Fran’s screams were too loud for the dancers to not notice.
    A few of the dancers started to make their way toward MT and her mother.

Chapter 6 – Mother
    Fran caressed her daughter’s cheeks. “Sweetie you’re so cold. Something’s missing. I can sense a change in you.”
    “ I miss daddy,” MT said as she colored in her arts and craft book only using the black crayon.
    “ Don’t lie to me, MT. What happened to you? You don’t even play with your toys anymore.”
    MT shrugged. “I don’t like them.”
    Fran kissed her daughter on the forehead. “I’ll fix you. I promise.”
    “ I hate preschool, momma. If I’m broken can I stay home?”
    Fran looked deep into her daughter’s eyes. “I think you need to be around other children, you’re going.”
    Fran focused all she did on fixing her little girl. She knew her late husband wouldn’t sit back and ignore the change in their daughter’s behavior and neither would she. Fran was starting to forget what it was like to hear her daughter laugh or smile. No medical diagnosis was given; Fran could only suspect madness.
    Fran had to balance researching her daughter’s condition and making sure MT led a normal life.
    “ Alright, Kenneth, I want you to kiss her on the cheek,” Fran said as she aimed the camera.
    “ Mom, this is stupid.” MT tugged at her prom gown. “I’m ready to get this night over with.”
    Kenneth hugged his arms around MT. “Hey, it’s going to be a great night. Don’t say that.”
    “ Smile,” Fran begged. “Please MT, for me.”
    MT forced a quick smile and Fran snapped the photo.
    Her daughter headed off to prom and Fran went back to her now years’ worth of research. Fran would try to question MT but she barely could get MT to sit down with her and have a conversation anymore. Fran refused to give up. She felt she was close to uncovering what happened to her daughter. Day and night, Fran worked to fix MT.
    “ Mom, wake up,” MT yelled.
    Fran eyes snapped opened to find her daughter standing over her in a black cap and gown. “What is it?”
    “ I had to walk from graduation. You were my ride, remember?”
    “ You don’t graduate until next week, MT.”
    MT wagged her diploma before her mom’s face. “No, you’re just losing your mind.”
    Fran tried to line up the days in her mind, but would get sidetrack by pieces of information from all her research. She didn’t have time to keep track of the hours; she needed to fix her daughter. Fran didn’t want to send her daughter out in the world in her current