Snippet #1732747

Listening to the sound of Deget's voice, Tom found himself calming down just a bit. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make himself feel horrible about what he was planning. No! He gave a quick shake of his head. He couldn't waver now, not when everything was starting to fall into place! He eyed her bag warily but shrugged it to the back of his mind. The voice in his head cautioned him, warning him that she had something up her sleeves. Whatever. As far as he could tell, Gepetto was the only person that didn't carry a weapon of some kind. No, wait, he had his liquor bottles. Nevermind.

Deget's hand reached for him, offering him a lifeline to sanity. Oh, if only he realized what she was trying to do. Guilt would come later, he knew. The guilt would be overwhelming and violent. There would be no telling what he would do afterward. But that would be later. Now, he was strong for just a little while. He had one shot to do this.

One shot.

One try.

One.

Tom grabbed her hand gently with his left hand. His whole arm trembled, afraid of what he was about to do. There was a moment of hesitation - only a few seconds, really - before he jerked sharply and jabbed at her with his knife.

With the sharp tug, one of two things would happen. Either Deget would be pulled down toward Tom, or Tom would be pulled up toward Deget. Either way, Tom had a strong grip on her wrist, and nothing short of an outside force would get him to relinquish his grip on her.