Shadow settles over the gazebo as I stood deadened by the scene taking place a few feet ahead. The madness of it all was much too real to handle, all too familiar.

I pushed myself against the creaking wooden planks, each one acting to help keep me upright while the rest of me threatened to fall apart any minute. I felt my mind racing, troubled by the emptiness in this man's eyes everytime he looked at me.

I should have done something, anything! But all I did was watch this innocent person's bones began breaking. I witnessed him stand there as silently as possible aside from occasional wails and low screams, taking on every hit and whip those men threw and thrashed at him. He started blocking off punches with his arms, only to be shoved down with a crashing thud.

I couldn't do a thing to prevent any of it. Nothing I'd sought doing would have come to any avail in the end. I knew that if I were to try stepping forward, I'd stumble directly into the chaos. But the longer I watched, the more I felt the urge to scream until my tonsils split.

My eyes widen, contracting around my pupils and mouth dropping as I listen to him cursing out in pain. Snow floods into my hair and lashes, speckling my vision white to cover everything else that wasn't varying in red.

I shook, but I can't remember if it was from the cold or not. All I could feel in those seconds of endurance was the stabbing knife going through my soul, wrenching it of all good feeling left inside its already rotten walls. The sensation of sickness rose into my throat as the monster stared at me with only one socket opened when they finally allowed him to stand.

His expression should have been loathful, or at least that's what I was suspecting. I was expecting him to give me a look of pure hatred and spite. I expected him to try and fight my father back, or at least threaten him the way he did before but-. But he didn't.

When he glanced down at me, all the anger that had been there before had expired. He looked at me with pity while I stood just feet away, unable to share a wavelength with him.

I felt horrible for just watching them do this to him, and I felt sick in the thought of him just standing solid as stone while the rest of the world was still spinning. How come I'm the only one feeling this way?

I'm the cause of all this violence. I'm the one who is supposed be feeling sorry for it all. But the way he stared me up and down delivered the impression he was pitying me.

Why? Why did he suddenly have that look on his face? What did I do to earn that look?

I wanted to crawl away and shout right then, but I can't comprehend why. I get those faces so often it's become normal. Why is it bothering me so drastically now? And in a circumstance like this of all occasions? Things such as this have happened before; A monster is punished just feet ahead of me, and I am forced to watch, unable to pry my eyes from the sight. I view until it's ended, and allow myself to be on my merry way. It's grown to be somewhat of normality for me, so why do I want to rip out my eyes just from looking at him?

As I stumbled down the concrete pathway back towards the patio, Muffet eagerly awaited my return with an expression of dread. Once she saw that I was beginning to inch closer, she sprang from the doorstep and over the broken glass bottles, tossing her arms around my neck and drawing me into an embrace.

"You insane, disobedient brat you!!" She cried, pulling away and patting me down head to toe, her hands reaching back up to my cheeks and pinching them roughly. The way a grandmother would her grandbabies, but in a harsher way. She hurt me, though I know she was just afraid for me since I hadn't the sense to be fearful myself.

"Just what on earth did you believe that would do, Francine? It's deathly cold and your out here taking part in such an unimportant matter! Why didn't you listen to me?!"

Tears welled in each of her eyes as I bite my cheek, shoving her hands away pathetically. My voice was calm, though it felt like my heart was going to burst.

"It is too important. Father was yelling at that monster, so I thought I'd-"

"Keep your distance from them! You remember last time, dear. We can't have the same mistake happening again."

"Muffet-"

"Francine, please. You've turned to ice." She practically demands to me as our hands met and hers attempted to yank mine through the door.

Refusing to move, I shift my weight to gaze behind me, my eyes landing on four ruffians just down the way. I question the idea to assist, but am caught in between a rock and a hard place as another set of orbs lingers on mine, hovering over and around my figure lewdly.

Scowling at the human man, I give in and follow the spider, listening to the sound of thudding footsteps and that of a limp body being dragged across the ground and to the shed under my bedroom window.