Blood, blood, everywhere blood. He'd forgotten just how much people could bleed. Funny, considering he'd been bleeding almost as much only hours earlier. But there were large amounts of blood and Tom paused to take in the sight.
He hated it.
He couldn't really explain why. The more he looked, the angrier he got, like he was being accused of this horrible crime. But it wasn't his fault! James was a monster! He had to be! He worked for and lived with Drake, after all, and Drake was a monster. So James had to be one as well. Right? And besides, Tom hadn't wanted to kill James at first. It was the voice! The voice told him to it. That's right, blame it on the voice. Because the voice did tell him to do it. And he obeyed.
It was Monica all over again. Tears and blood and screaming. He hated it. "Shut up!" He swung the knife but missed. Stupid, clumsy fingers! "It's not my fault!" This time the knife hit, cutting deep into the leg once more. At least the sobs had quieted, making him feel a bit better. Only a bit, though. Not enough to calm his anger. "It's not my fault!" He didn't try to swing the knife this time, but instead wiped at his own tears as he pulled himself to his feet. What was the point of swinging a balded object if you couldn't see what you were trying to hit?
"God Tom, what are you doing?"
Tom twisted, tightening his grip on James' sleeve. The hell was Deget doing here? She shouldn't be here! She shouldn't- She couldn't-
The voice, sensing his sudden distress - and perhaps something more - whispered, Now, now, Tom. Calm down, relax.
Tom watched as Deget inched toward him. His eyes were wide and he looked like a trapped animal. That should have been the all the evidence she needed to back away. But she didn't. She didn't even stop, but just kept on coming. Coming closer to the monster.
No, correction. She was coming closer to the monsters. Plural. Because people didn't kill other people over and over for any reason. Only monsters did.
"Ya don't want to do this." How right she was. Tom really didn't want to do any of this. And yet, the situation he was trapped in made it impossible for him to not do this. Because everyone was a threat and he wanted to keep Deget safe. And to do that, he had to make sure there was no one left to hurt her. "You don't have to kill James. Not him, no. Tom, just-- just stop."
No, he didn- Wait. What? Deget was... protecting James? She had sided with James? The monster? She wanted to help James?! No. Nononono. This was all a mistake. She couldn't want to... But she did. It was written all over her. Her expression, her voice, the way she moved so carefully, and what she said. It's couldn't be true, but it was. Did that mean... she was a danger as well?
Yes. Yes it does. Damnit! This wasn't supposed to happen! Tom tightened his grip on James' shirt and clenched his teeth. His whole posture changed from frightened to angry. This. Wasn't. Supposed. To. Happen! This wasn't in the plan! This wasn't- But she- How dare she!
This had to be fixed. Quickly. Well, she was siding with the monster, was she? That meant it was too late to save her. But everyone else would try to kill her and Tom didn't want that. No, only he had the right to take her life. He hadn't planned on doing so, but plans changed. His right arm lashed out, stabbing at James, before he began to advance on Deget. He didn't care if he had killed the butler, mortally wounded the man, or missed entirely and stabbed the wall. If he missed, it would only take a minute to fix that mistake. But first...
First he had to take care of Deget.