The Skull Man: Part 11 (The Ending)

HAZEL

The screams were bulldozing every wall she had built to keep them at bay. They wouldn't let her concentrate. The loud pitches of their agonizing screeching shattered her eardrums enough to make them bleed. She was back under his reign of terror. After all this time, how could she have let herself end up back in this cage?

Desperation, she thought. Nobody tells you it's the number one silent killer for people like her and the Skull Man.

"I killed you...I killed you...I killed you...." Hazel chanted underneath her breath as she held her knees against her chest and tried to clear her mind.

"Open your eyes, Hazel. I have a gift for you," the deranged killer announced. Hazel shook her head, unwilling to witness anymore horrific acts, from within her memories or real life alike.

"Do it or I'll slit his throat before you can blink," he threatened briskly and Hazel fluttered her eyes open, obeying his orders. Dante was knocked out cold in the center of the room, blood oozing from his temple. She hurried over to the entrance of the cage, reaching for the lock, yanking it as hard as she could, but she knew it was futile. She wouldn't be released until he decided it was time.

"Mommy?" the voice of a young girl filled her ears and Hazel sat paralyzed in her cage. The Skull Man escorted the raven-haired little girl into the room and her bright brown eyes settled on her. Something changed within her then. The rage that had once fueled her shaking hands was gone and was now replaced with a force so murderous, she was afraid her heart might give out. The sheer will to keep this child safe was enough to break her out of the hell in her mind.

"What did you do to her?" Hazel asked with as much tranquility in her voice as she could. She didn't want to startle her daughter enough to cause her any reason to mistrust her. God only knew what he had told her about her all these years.

"I gave her the parent she deserved. The parent you and your friends would never amount to be," the man claimed sharply, growing closer to her cage. Good. She was going to need him to get closer for her plan to work.

"My friends, they were all pregnant back then. I remember now," Hazel mentioned as her little girl crouched down in front of her and reached for her hand. There were still sparkles of innocence in her eyes and she silently prayed she hadn't been subjected to the same things the Skull Man had forced her into. "What'd you do to their babies, Tobias?" she added, using the name he went by before his crazy wife drowned all of their children, as she squeezed her daughter's hand against the rusty bars of the cage and she stealthily gestured towards the keys that hung on the wall full of old newspaper clippings. Her daughter nodded carefully as Tobias snatched her away.

"Buried them of course. They had no business rotting in the river like my children did." Tobias Freeman was still completely and irrevocably mad with grief. Although Hazel wish it would excuse half of what he had done to all those people, playing judge and executioner was no cure for the anguish his soul was in.

"You executed those people because you saw them unfit to be parents?" Hazel asked, stalling time, coaxing his ego enough to distract his attention away from her daughter.

"Don't forget you enjoyed watching them die too, Hazel. You displayed such ecstasy in your eyes when you thought you had killed me," he began, growing closer to the cage again as his cold eyes pierced her own, "....that I almost made a mess in my pants just by looking at you cut that man's throat," he finished and Hazel's expression of disgust made him chuckle. It all made sense now. The blood on her hands and clothes that night she showed up at Dante's estate, the distorted nightmares of her violently cutting through people's necks until all the blood squirted out of their bodies, the conviction in her voice as she repeated that she had killed him.

Hazel had killed the copy cat killer instead and Tobias had witnessed it all somehow.

"Why didn't you kill me like you...like we did the others?" she asked in a hushed tone and watched his expression change to the same one he had greeted her with the day they met at her family's funeral home. She was still his prized possession, the lily in a garden full of dying flowers.

"You did what you had to do to save your child. They didn't. Killing one woman or a hundred more didn't matter to you. And you'd do the same again to save her now," he answered confidently, as he squeezed his hand through the metal bars and reached to touch her cheek. Hazel kept still and tried not to react to Elle, who was looking through the cracked opened door, blood dripping down her forehead as well. Tobias must've attacked her and Carter on their way over here. Elle's finger lifted up to her lips, signaling that she shouldn't alert him to her presence and Hazel shifted her gaze towards her daughter, who looked to be a pro at playing the cool cat. She obviously got that from her father.

Dante. Oh god, he was bleeding out. She had to get him and her daughter out safely before she unleashed her madness onto the Skull Man one final time.

"Did you enjoy killing your wife, Tobias?" she questioned softly and watched his sad eyes droop for a moment before he spoke.

"How did you know she was my first?"

"No one kills as artistically and precise as you do without reason. I only assumed she was your first trial run but looking into your eyes now, I can see you still grieve for the woman she should've been. A woman who'd do anything to save her family. A woman like me," Hazel described, and as soon as his eyes met hers again, she pulled the older man closer to the cage, slamming his head over and over again against the bars until his skin started to split with cuts. Her daughter's screams momentarily distracted her from her task while blood trickled down his pale face and he tried to pull himself away from her. She was glad her daughter managed to throw the keys inside the cage with shaky fingers, and chose not to let her violent tendencies scare her from helping her.

"Elle! Now!" Hazel yelled, keeping a struggling grip on his cold hand as he winced in pain. Elle ran towards her daughter and dragged her out of the room, closing the door behind them. Dante was starting to wake up and Hazel took the opportunity to release the aging man and hurried to find the keys behind her. Once she did, she opened the cage and flew straight towards Dante.

"Dante! I need you to wake up!" she pleaded as she cradled his head on her lap and rested her forehead against his.

"Did you ever...wonder...why you never told him you loved him?" Tobias asked in between ragged breaths. Old age had caught up with him over the years, which she suspected was the reason why he trained the copy cat to begin with. He needed someone to continue his work.

"Shut up," Hazel exclaimed sharply, as she looked down at her first love and ignored the pain his words were causing.

"People like you and me...we can't feel love...only pure indignation," he finished with a violent cough. She wouldn't listen to a dying man's last words. Even when they held some truth to them.

"Hazel...don't do it," she heard Dante's warning, right before he reached for the back of her neck and brought her down to kiss her. She melted into his kiss and nodded as she pulled away. She needed the encouragement behind the words if she planned on resisting the urge to kill the man who caused her so much pain.

"He could never love a monster like you. No one will when they figure out what you are," the man spit more his venom, and Hazel turned to smile at him in return.

"Is that why your wife drowned her children? Because she didn't want them to turn out like you?" Hazel countered and it infuriated the old man enough for him to charge at her as she stood up. His hands were at her throat, using what was left his his strength to deprive her of air.

"Your life is worth nothing with all that blood in your hands." he said angrily, as Hazel caught the sight of both Dante and Carter, who's hand held a gun aimed at the Skull Man as soon as he entered the room.

"Let her go or I'll shoot your brains out," Carter warned fiercely, before a S.W.A.T team followed in behind him.

"Where'd you bury the bodies?" Hazel asked as his grip on her neck loosened and one of the S.W.A.T team members brought his hands behind his back to handcuff him.

"Don't you mean where did you bury the bodies?" Tobias argued, as he laughed and coughed out the blood spilling from his mouth while they dragged him out of the basement of the cabin.

"Are you okay?" Carter asked as he placed his gun behind his back and reached for her. Dante held her gaze as she hugged her fiancé, nodding before he left to go look for what she assumed was their daughter.

"I'll be fine. Where is she?" Hazel inquired as she pulled away from him and headed towards the metal door.

"Lily? She's safe with Elle," he answered and a gnawing feeling crippled her enough to stop right on the front steps of the cabin when they reached it.

"How did you know that was her name? No one else knew that except for him," she asked suspiciously and Carter shrugged it off nonchalantly as she pointed towards Tobias, who was being escorted down the path that would lead them to the road.

"You probably said it during your sleep," he replied, staring straight into her eyes as he spoke. Hazel wasn't buying it and she couldn't help but wonder if he was underneath the influence of Tobias as well.

"You know they never found the body of his oldest child. They just assumed the current of the water had tore his body into shreds. Or so the reporters claimed," she mentioned, watching his expression for any sign that would confirm her terrifying theory.

When his eyes held nothing but silent shame, Hazel held her breath and stepped away from him.

"How could you not tell me you were his son?!" she exclaimed loudly and he reached for her then, desperate for her to keep her voice down.

"You've had a long night, Haze. Lets get you checked out before we go home," he insisted, but she snatched herself away from him, in complete disgust as she recalled their time together and what it all meant now that she knew the truth.

"You knew where she was this entire time, didn't you?" she continued as he pulled her to the side, away from prying eyes of the other officers and he responded with a nod when they were alone.

"As far as I'm concerned, that madman is not my father. And I'd appreciate you keeping this quiet. Unless you want the police to find out you killed the copy cat. Not that I blame you. You're about as crazy as a bag of cats but the asshole still deserved it." Carter joked, and while she found none of this humorous, she found herself even more bewildered at her ability to ignore what was right in front of her.

"You followed me that night?"

"I followed you every night. Made sure you didn't get your hands dirty until you needed to. The copy cat was about to fold and kill Lily. But I led you straight to him and you did what you had to. Or what your mind compelled you to do. I even gave Elle and Dante a little push with the last note he received."

"And those other murders? Why'd you let those happen?"

"Those were out of my hands. Tobias' drone was craftier than expected. But he was incredibly sloppy and he would've been caught eventually."

"God, this is all insane," she said, bending her knees as she rubbed her hands against her face.

"If its any consolation, you won't be going to prison for the murders you did commit during your captivity. They were done under duress and according to Minnesota state laws, you aren't at fault," he explained when she stood up and shoved her hands into her coat pockets.

"Are you really a firefighter? You sound more like a detective."

"Part time. I help Elle with her cases sometimes when she asks. Didn't plan on falling for one of them though." Carter stated softly as he reached to touch her cheek but Hazel looked away. She had too much to process tonight, but she knew one thing was for sure. She had to give her ring back.

"Carter, I—"

"I know," he interrupted as she placed the ring into his palm and he closed his eyes, a tear streaming down his cheek.

"I'd like to see my daughter now."

"Of course," he said, as he sniffled and wiped away his tear with his thumb, "...and Haze? Happy birthday."

Between the court proceedings against Tobias Freeman, her mandatory therapy sessions every week and running a business, Hazel was worn out to the bone. Combine that with trying to figure out how to be a mother after ten years and she could honestly say things weren't easy. But they were the beginning of a new chapter in her life. One without constant paranoia, night terrors, and the fear of something snapping inside of her at the sound of Tobia's name.

She wasn't alone. As much as Tobias had infused that into her young and naive mind years ago, she didn't believe it anymore. And she had Lily Jones to thank for that. Granted, she didn't spend as much time as she wanted to with her since Dante had full custody of her until her therapist determined she wasn't a danger to those around her. He never made her feel like she wasn't welcome into his home to see their daughter whenever she got the chance. For that, she was thankful and planned on making a thank-you dinner in his honor after her much tired body got some rest.

"Your vacation starts in five minutes. But you don't look as excited as you should be," Elle stated as her head peaked through her opened office door. Their relationship had gotten a little rocky during the trial and of course whenever they were around Dante, but she was learning to let lost battles go. Giving her best friend the choice to date her daughter's father was one of them.

"I just need to get these papers signed and then I'm closing up," Hazel answered, curving her signature onto the last few pieces of paper before she started to pack up.

"Are we still on for a girls night at your house tomorrow before I leave for Miami? Lily is persistent in binge-watching Scooby Doo." her best friend inquired and just the mention of her daughter's name calmed her enough to smile.

"Yes. Is Carter taking you to the airport?"

"Unfortunately. He's on the new case as well. Apparently we make a good team. No offense," Elle claimed with a wolfish grin. Hazel laughed at her incorrigible personality and reached for her purse as she stood up from her desk. "Have you two spoken since the arrest?" she asked, beginning her interrogation.

"A few times. I'm still pissed at him for not telling me he knew where Lily was."

"He wanted to. But he needed to make sure you wouldn't be a danger to her. At least that's what he claims," Elle defended and Hazel pondered who's side Elle was really on. She was the wildest of the cards in her deck and if anyone bet against her, they'd be out of luck.

"You don't believe him?" Hazel asked as she turned off the lights in her office and locked the door behind them.

"I believe there's more to the story."

"Isn't there always?"

Elle didn't know the half of it.

Hazel didn't want to keep Carter's secret about him being Tobias' son, but she had a secret of her own and that meant she had to keep her mouth shut, unless she wanted it to come out and ruin everything she worked for these past couple of weeks.

"I'll see you girls tomorrow," Elle said her goodbyes when she pulled up into her driveway after the fifteen minute drive, with a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. Hazel took in her newly renovated childhood home and closed her eyes, picturing the sounds of her siblings laughing and chasing each other around in the backyard with water guns. She only hoped her own kid would do the same one day and that her brother's and sisters were watching over her, protecting her just as fiercely as they did her.

"Are you going to stand there all night or are you going to let me in?" Dante's husky voice startled her as his figure stepped out of the shadows darkening her front porch, and met her at the top of the steps.

"What are you doing here? Is Lily okay?" Hazel asked worriedly.

"She's fine. She's at home finishing up some homework with Lena," he answered and his dark brooding eyes hypnotized her underneath the moonlight enough to make her step closer to him.

"Then why are you here, Dante?" she repeated, clearing her throat as she started unbuttoning her winter trench coat and fished for her keys in her purse.

"I wanted to see how you were doing."

"You always were a bad liar," Hazel teased, sending him a sharp grin as she pushed in her door and turned on the lights. He took her coat from her, and held her eyes as he hung it up on the coat rack. She'd seen that predatory look in his eyes before. It made her knees grow weak and her feet unable to move from place, while he finished undressing her with just a gaze.

"You're dating Elle," Hazel said, building her wall of excuses not to get close to Dante again. She was bad for him. Everyone knew it and so did he.

"I'm not dating anyone at the moment. Lily comes first," Dante corrected firmly as he stepped closer to her and smiled at the look of relief she saw reflected in his eyes.

"I completely agree. You're going to fuck me now, aren't you?" Hazel asked bluntly and Dante wasted no time in bringing his fantasies to life. He ripped open her blouse, being the impatient man he'd always been and tugged down the jeans that hugged her wide hips. Hazel chuckled when he got on his knees, groaning as he realized she hadn't been wearing underwear.

He dove right into her slick opening with his tongue, and she held onto the back of his neck so she wouldn't fall from the pull of his hungry lips. Spreading her legs a bit further, she braced her back against the sideboard in the hallway next to the stairs, and gripped the corner of the wood when he suckled on her clit hard.

"Harder," Hazel ordered and when Dante complied, he used the tip of his tongue to flick at her nub furiously, causing her body to convulse with the pleasure of an intense orgasm. He didn't bother licking off the remains of her juices. If she knew him like she knew the back of her hand, she knew he was going to use it to fuck her back into madness. He liked it raw and wet, warm and inviting. Hazel wouldn't hesitate in giving into him. Her body had gone weeks without any sexual release of any kind, not even with her vibrator. It was part of her rehabilitation, but right now, she was willing to throw out all the rules for the man who was about to thrust into her with his hard cock.

She held her breath when he slipped into her, his hand at her throat squeezing, urging her to reach the state of euphoria erotic asphyxiation usually brought. His free hand pinched and tweaked at her nipple spilling from her bra, his swollen dick thrusting faster and deeper into her core. She gasped for breath as he released her neck and he spilled his hot seed into her aching womb. Dante's hands ran through her hair as he held her close and continued to pump all that he had into her. He used the tip of his shaft to tease her clit this time, slowly circling it with the mixture of their juices, bringing her into another mind-blowing climax.

While she admired the view her mirror provided her of his exposed backside, Hazel's eyes widened when she saw the tattoo of the skull on the back of his neck.

"Why that tattoo?" she asked him, remembering her panic attack at the restaurant that night when she saw it reflected against the window. It had been him wearing it on his skin all along.

"It's a big middle finger to everyone who thought I was the monster," he answered, carefully turning her around, to gain access to the big behind he always loved to spank.

"You'll always be my monster, Dante Jones," Hazel clarified, moaning into the wall as he took her from behind.

"And you've always been mine, Hazel Nash."