The forest comes to an end, forcing me onto the warmed tarmac, wincing with each step searing my raw skin, but the first house is ten steps in front of me. I just need to knock on their door, beg them to let me use their phone and internet to search for the club Kane mentioned. Noctem. That’s what it’s called. Someone called Niko will pass a message to my sisters.
There aren’t any streetlights or movement in any of the houses as the sun gets lower in the sky, fully covered by the trees. It could be a small island. They have power cuts from storms, so I’ll be fine. But as I hobble to the first door, peering through the mesh-covered windows, I can’t see anyone. I hold the bottom of my elbow as I bring my hand up to knock, the sound echoing through the house. It’s eerily still, like everyone has disappeared.
I knock again, harder this time as I call out, “Hello? I’m sorry, I don’t know if you speak English, but I don’t know where I am.”
No fucking answer.
So I drag myself to the next house.
Still no answer.
The next is the same.
Everyfucking house is empty.
I’m too dehydrated to cry, so I can only make a pathetic sound as I rest my head on the last door. My fist is still raised as I beg, “Please. I’m not going to hurt anyone or steal anything. I just want to go home.”
Without the sun illuminating the island, I don’t know where it would be safe to hide. A weak laugh leaves me because I’m not afraid of any wild animal inhabiting this place or what made everyone disappear. It’s the people I’ve met I’m terrified of.
My parents, grandparents, and Helene.
Those five are worse than any creature who could attack me. Animals will only act within their nature. At worst, I’ll beeaten alive to give back to the cycle of nature. However, with the people I know, I’ll be left with invisible wounds. They’ll put me through the sound torture, the months of being strapped to a bed and drugged to an extent that I can’t even remember my own child. All of that is premediated, calculated, fucking horrific. Death is, at least, an end.
I don’t have the energy to lie to myself anymore. Kane’s dead. I know he is. I know in those final moments I hadmyKane back, who wouldn’t have left me alone. Not when he tried so hard to keep me safe from Helene, not when he promised to make everything better.
He’s dead.
I’m alive.
I don’t know where my baby is.
The last point is what I focus on. I can’t change the past or bring Kane back to life, but I can make sure my baby is safe, make everyone feel the pain they’ve put me through. Then and only then, will I be in a position to give up because I’ll have nothing to lose.
Soft cries haunt me, reaching through my memories with an accusation as I walk through the derelict streets. I battle them with a plea. “I won’t forget you again. I’m sorry, baby.”
My eyes close as I catch my breath beside a tall metal fence. I can clearly see the baby in my memory as I hold one of the spokes running from the bottom bar to the top. Light brown hair, rosy cheeks, and a pacifier. They’re so beautiful, innocent. I have to press my knuckles to my chest as the memory of Helene coming into my hospital room plays.
I open my eyes, so I don’t have to relive her taking my baby away from me. Stupid fucking bitch. The one murder I committed is not a justification for everything they’ve done when they started this game, which pre-exists me. Killing Asherwas spontaneous, killing everyone else is going to be thought out—maximum pain, maximum enjoyment.
Lights flicker in the distance, so I push myself against the metal bars, expecting the twisted cunts to be in front of me. Following the soft orange glow, I stare at a house similar to Helene’s with the same stone walls, same gates, but everything is smaller. There aren’t any spikes on top of the gate, nestled amongst the trees.
Creepy plastic doll eyes stare back at me, almost as if they’re glowing in the dark as I tilt my head to read the boards hanging from the thick branches. Shadows cover the majority of the signs, but I can make out “ward” written in large green letters. I look at the building again, noting the height, how wide it spreads. My father’s ego always meant he needed someone to show off to when he was putting his toxic claim on new hospitals, so I look at the building for any resemblance to what I’ve seen before.
A hospital, like the old asylums in Europe he would purchase.
This has to be a hospital. They’ll have generators, bandages—things I’ll be able to use to clean the soles of my feet so I don’t get an infection. Scalpels to kill the cunts.
Making my way to the building, I stick to the fence as the eerie feeling intensifies. I try not to focus on the dolls as I squeeze through the gap in the gate. There aren’t any cars, abandoned ambulances, or signage, but I can’t hear anyone moving around the grounds as I walk to the back of the large building, peering through the windows I pass.
Everything inside is dark, apart from a low flickering light beside the front door. The furniture resembles a house. None of it is recognizable, so it can’t be Helene’s, as there’s no dead animals framed on the walls.
I slow down, making sure there’s no shadows of anyone inside before I begin testing the entry points. It doesn’t takelong for one of the windows to become loose from my jostling. I wince as I slide it up, feeling the ache in my muscles. It’s not any better when I climb over the thick stone ledge into the icy house, instantly greeted by hushed voices. I’m in the furthest room from the people sitting in the room located beside the front door, but they’re not going to be very open to helping me after I’ve broken in.
I’m about to climb out to drag myself to the front door and knock when I recognize one of the voices.
“Melantha, I’ve worked for your family my entire life,” Anna tearfully whispers, the fucking traitor. “This is the only thing I have asked of you.”
“I understand, my child.”
