“But what about us, Colin?” a now distressed Eloise asked her youngest child. “What about me and your father? What did we ever do to you?”
“You ignored me my entire life. That’s what you did! It was all about Eddie and Tasha. My entire life.” Then his entire expression became darker and more menacing. “It’s my time to shine now,” he said.
Maude knew they had to get out of that house before he pressed that button. That was why, when he made that last statement, she knew she had to act and act now. Her fear was that he was too far away for her to do it. But she had no choice. She had to try.
She lifted up her Christian Louboutin big, stiletto heel and kicked Colin as hard as she could right in his groin.
He screamed out and buckled just enough for Edmund to leap over and grab his hand that was holding that remote control. Then he began wrestling with Colin to remove his finger from that button.
“Untie Maude and get her out of here!” Edmund cried out as he wrestled with Colin. But Natasha was already running out of that guesthouse: saving herself.
Samuel pushed Eloise toward the exit. “Get out now!” he yelled to his wife, “and go get Donnell!”
“What can I do?” Samuel then asked his son as he began untying Maude.
“Just get Maude as far away from this house as you can get her. Go!”
Samuel was trying to untie her as quickly as he could, but his heart was hammering with a bundle of nerves that caused his hands to keep slipping off of the thick rope she was tied with.
Edmund didn’t want to take it to the next level until he knew Maude and his father were out of that house and safe. Because Colin was still holding onto that remote for dear life. Because when Edmund looked into his kid brother’s eyes, he knew he was willing to burn it all down, their father included, rather than let Edmund live. He was not removing his finger. Edmund was keeping that finger a mere inch away from that button. But he couldn’t move it any further away. Colin had that death defying, herculean strength in that moment.
After Samuel untied Maude, he began running with her out of the guesthouse. But Maude didn’t want to leave Edmund. She was trying to break free of Samuel’s grasp. “Edmund!” she cried out. “Edmund!”
“Get out of here, Maude!” he yelled at her, even though his heart was breaking too. “Get out now and I mean it!”
“No!” she cried as she kept trying to break free from Samuel. But she couldn’t do it. He was too strong. He corralled her in his arms and all but carried her out of that guesthouse.
And as soon as he did, and Edmund was confident his father had her far enough away, he utilized all the strength he had within him and flipped his brother down to the floor, slamming his hand down so hard that he had hoped to dislodge the remote.
He knew the reverse could happen and it could connect, but he had no other options. Shooting Colin could easily cause a reflex press that would be too fast for Edmund to catch. Besides, he had no gun handy anyway. And somebody else attempting to assist would only make it worse.
But Colin had a death grip on that remote control and that hard fall didn’t dislodge it at all. He still had his finger within an inch of pressing that button.
Outside, Samuel was all but carrying a screaming Maude away from that guesthouse. “I’ve got to help, Edmund!” she cried. “We can’t just leave him there!”
“There’s nothing that can be done,” Samuel said, crying for both of his sons. “There’s nothing more to be done!”
But Maude would be damned if that was true. She finally broke free from his grasp and began running with everything within her back into that house. She was not leaving Edmund in there to die! She could not live with herself if she didn’t help him.
When she got back inside, she saw them wrestling on the floor. They didn’t even see her. Their entire focus was on that button. Edmund had managed to hold Colin’s finger an inch away from that button. But he was losing ground. That inch was barely a half inch now. Colin was closer to pressing that button. And Edmund couldn’t stop him. His strength was failing. He could see his entire life flash before his very eyes.
Maude could see the predicament Edmund was in. And she knew she could be more harm than good. That was why she decided not to try and help him by touching any part of Colin’s hand. She, instead, got on Colin’s back, took his free arm and bent it back so violently that it began snapping and breaking. He cried out so loud that in that brief second, his strength failed because of the agony, and his grip loosened. Edmund was able to snatch the remote out of his hand as soon as his grip loosened.
Maude kept pulling on his arm to keep him immobile while Edmund was able to get on his feet and remove the batteries out of that remote. Because he knew no matter how sophisticated it was, it was nothing without batteries.
Then Maude finally released the broken arm of a still-screaming Colin, and Edmund didn’t hesitate. That house was wired. He was taking no chances. Let the authorities deal with his brother. He was getting Maude out of there.
“Didn’t I tell your ass to get out?” he was yelling at her as he grabbed her and ran out with her. But inwardly he was thanking her for saving his life. But scolding her for risking her life. But in the end he was thanking God that both of them were alive.
They ran out of that house just as Don and Wyatt were running up to them.
“Don’t go in,” Edmund said. “Colin has it wired. Get away from here,” he ordered and they all began running away from that guesthouse. Sirens could be heard. His parents had already called the police.
But before they were completely out of sight, Colin appeared at the guesthouse door. “I have another one,” he yelled out. They all stopped and looked at him. And sure enough, he displayed another remote control in his hand.
But why would he have two? Then Edmund realized why. “He’s got other guesthouses wired!” he yelled. “Get away from the houses! Get away from the buildings!”
Edmund, Don, and Wyatt were running with Maude and waving for the parents to get away from buildings.
