ESCAPE FROM INSANITY

He invited Bentley and her parents to supper to resolve their grudge. A bitter resentment that stemmed from their teen years. Throughout their relationship, Cosby had experienced jealousy whenever men stared at Bentley, fearing they planned to take her from him. He had decided to take his girlfriend’s virginity. Fortunately, upon passing by her bedroom, her parents spotted them half naked and Bentley’s efforts to resist Cosby’s rough touches.
Within a second, they called the police, who arrested Cosby. Since that day, Bentley had tried to erase Cosby from her mind. Yet, here she was, standing in front of the man who had tried to violate her body like a wild beast.

Frustrated by his many attempts to gain her attention, Bentley freed her hands from her ears. Cosby’s soothing voice assured her, ‘After treatment from the prison therapist, I have moved toward a progressive future.’ His baby face mesmerised her and made it impossible to resist his pleas.

She decided to give him one more shot. After Bentley visited her parents and convinced them to accept Cosby’s invention, they agreed to attend the supper as long as she would not rekindle her romance. Yet the dinner did not go as planned. There was no supper.

Instead, Bentley found herself tied to a chair, like her parents in front of her. She trembled like a lamb and her words were muffled by tape. She flinched when Cosby pointed the tip of the knife at her father’s neck. Even when he did not cut his skin, staring at the knife made Bentley sweat. His tone threatened Bentley. ‘If you do not bend your pretty head at me, then I will cut your parents piece by piece before sending them to hell.’ Bentley flinched and immediately bent her head at Cosby.

He threw the kitchen knife on the freezing floor. Cosby freed the knots from her parents before they clumsily rose from their chairs. They spread their arms and stepped towards Bentley, hoping to share their last warm embrace. Cosby grumbled and picked up the knife. He pointed the cold weapon at the pair, warning them, ‘Get the hell out or I will change his mind.’

They yelped and dashed up from the gloomy basement. Bentley raised her head and glared at him through tears. She vowed to herself that she would escape from this beast by playing his hideous games.
 


Bentley opened the creaky door and approached Cosby, who sat on his chair in front of the antique mirror. From behind Cosby, Bentley embraced his neck and kissed it softly. No matter how much Cosby tried to mimic her expression in the mirror, his curved smile lasted for two seconds. As Bentley’s palms roughly rubbed Cosby’s throat as if going to choke him, he winced from the pain and struggled against her touch. Bentley leaned into his left ear and whispered sweet words to him. ‘If you don’t relax your body, I will scratch your neck with my long nails.’

Cosby jerked out from her soft tone. Obediently, he shut his eyes and took a deep breath. Bentley freed her palms from Cosby’s arms and silently stepped away from his room.
 


A bitter aroma floated around the hall. Bentley pressed her back against the wall and raised her head at the camera’s red light. Suddenly, her eyes detected a black wire. She pulled to herself with force before the camera flinched and dropped to the ground. She swiftly proceeded to the indoor door until her eyes detected a lock on the doorknob. ‘What are you doing here?’ Bentley flinched at Cosby’s stern tone. She slowly turned her head, and he approached behind her.

He stopped in front of her and roughly grasped her shoulder before pulling her to himself. She kicked beneath his knees, which caused him to shriek in pain and fall to the ground. Bentley grasped his messy hair and slammed his face towards the lock. When Cosby’s smashed face broke the lock, she tossed him on the ground. Without hesitation, she opened the creaky door and stepped onto the outside carpet. She jumped out of the house with a big grin and did not look back. Finally, freedom!

A freedom from this beast that kept her captive! She stomped on a piece of newspaper. Bentley bent over and took the piece of paper from the ground. Without a warning, her smile vanished. A text appeared in front of her trembling eyes, informing her of an infamous serial killer, Baby Face, aka Cosby, who murdered an elderly couple two months ago at the park.

A sketch portrait of a Cosby with a predatory stare appeared near a B&W photo of Bentley’s parents who lay on the fresh grass, their empty chests cut open and their hearts tucked inside their throats. Below Cosby’s portrait was info about his past crimes and that he was currently on the run. Inside the mini Ziplock bag, a strand of black hair was glued to the left side of his photo. Testing using Polymerase Chain Reaction DNA confirmed that it was the same colour as his hair. Bentley covered her mouth and drooped on her knees before she threw up on the ground.

‘After I kept you safe from sinful society for three months, you escaped from me?’ Cosby approached from behind Bentley and crossed his arms. ‘Did you even realize how much it broke my heart?’ He grasped his chest.

Bentley bit her lip and clenched her fists. ‘Well, h-how dare you kill my parents? I chose you for the sake of their safety!’

‘They ruined our teenage relationship. All because they accused me of being over-possessive towards you!’ Cosby stomped his right foot. ‘But all I did was secure you from those filthy guys so they would never steal you from me!’

‘So it is all because of a bitter grudge?’ She chuckled hysterically.

‘I am going to fucking kill you!’ Bentley turned around, and dashed towards Cosby before grappling for his throat. However, he caught her hands and tightly rounded his arms around her back. No matter how much she struggled against his touch, Cosby ignored her plea for freedom. Instead, he reached into his left pocket and pulled out his gun. He pointed the weapon at Bentley’s back and clicked the trigger until the bullet flew towards her back and into his stomach, causing them to fall to the ground. They choked out from their blood before their eyes shut. Poor Bentley never fled from insanity, even after death.