by A. A. Vacco
An icy blast electrocuted Kat’s body. Screaming, she shot up and gulped air into her appreciative lungs. She jumped back, curling up and frantically attempting to relocate her near-killers. Instead, she saw the tear-soaked face of Elle and panic-stricken countenance of Alex surrounding her. In Alex’s hands was an empty bucket, and Kat realized, she was sitting in a puddle of cold water. 37
37
Elle tackled her in a hug. “God, you need to stop doing this to me," she sobbed into Kat’s shoulder.
Still reeling from what happened, Kat hugged her back and murmured, “Sorry, Ellbea, but I’m afraid it isn’t over just yet.”
If it was one thing that Elle knew about Kat, it was that her temper trumped any other emotion when fully activated. This moment, Elle knew, was one of those moments. Elle was still putting the pieces together to what just took place. Kat, however, seemed to already know.
Rolling to the side, Elle planted a kiss on her cheek and whispered back, “Don’t you dare die, you feisty bitch.”
Kat smiled at her, but to Elle, even her smile flashed fury. Jumping to her feet, Kat broke into a sprint. Elle and Alex tried their best to keep up. Kat unlocked the front door, ran out and leaped from the Valor’s porch screaming, “Unlock the trunk, the trunk, Alex!”
Alex fumbled through his pocket as he continued running through the entryway and out of the front door. He aimed the remote key at the car and it ‘dinged’ as soon as Kat reached it. She flung open the trunk and grabbed both dolls. With her two fists full of hair, Kat sustained her run. She headed down the driveway, and yelled over her shoulder, “Catch me along the way!”
Panting, Elle and Alex reached the car just as Kat disappeared at the edge of the fork in the drive. Alex glanced at Elle, “Think she’s lost it completely?”
“Not yet, but if we don’t follow her, she might. Drive!”
Alex made a swift three-point turn and followed the narrow drive to the fork. He caught sight of a very determined Kat still sprinting with both dolls in tote toward the Marionette Mansion. “This can’t end well," muttered Alex, as he caught up to her.
“Get in!” he yelled.
Kat paused, and hopped into the back seat. “Go, go, go! What are you waiting for?”
Alex sped down the degraded, gravel path and pulled up to the mansion. Without further explanation, Kat jumped out of the car and again opened the trunk. Alex kept a spare canister of gasoline in there for emergencies. She took this and placed both dolls onto the gravel. Saturating them in fuel, she muttered something about a match. Alex and Elle exchanged glances. “Uh, Kat?” started Elle.
Kat turned toward them, blue eyes blazing. “Get me a mother. Fucking. Match.”
With her golden hair flying around her face and eyes wild with rage, neither had the courage to argue. Elle reached into her purse and produced a book of matches. “Cigars," she explained, as she handed it to Kat.
Kat took a running start and rammed her shoulder into the front door. To Elle and Alex’s amazement, the door opened. The damn dolls really did want to go home, thought Elle.
Stumbling forward from the door’s give, Kat steadied herself in the main entrance, both dolls soaked and hanging by their hair in both of her fists. She lumbered past the desk and paused just before leaving the entryway. She slammed both dolls onto the formal room floor, and doused more gasoline on top of them. Ignoring them when they both sat up, she kept the canister of gasoline tilted, trailing the fuel after her as she exited the mansion. A familiar and horrifying roar echoed behind her as she did this. The main door slammed behind Kat as she stepped onto the porch, but she could still hear the groans and howls of the house. Without hesitation, Kat lit a match, bent down, and ignited the line of fuel that stopped just inches from where she stood. Turning to face Alex and Elle, who remained at the foot of the porch, mouths gaping, Kat smirked and jumped from the top step.
The three linked arms and watched as a whirling rage of orange blaze engulfed the rotting wood, producing a mass of black smoke. From inside, each of them swore they heard faint shrieks from that first-floor dining area. The flames consumed the mansion over the next few hours. A cacophony of crackling and snapping droned out any other sounds from the surrounding woods. Once the fiery beast reduced the home to a charred, smoking foundation, Kat stepped forward, and for the first time in months, sported a genuine grin. Gripping Kat's arm, Elle followed her gaze and noticed the smashed figures of Lucy and the doll from Aubrey’s mom. Elle gave Kat’s arm a squeeze, and the two turned to head back to the car. Alex breathed a sigh a relief and said, “Well, Ladies, can I count on you not to stir up anymore shit for at least a decade? Cara really will kill me if it’s any sooner than that.”
With a weary nod, both agreed a decade was an appropriate waiting period before anything close to this could re-emerge.
38
A warm, soft breeze whispered through the leaves of the maple tree in Alex's backyard. My new backyard, he thought smiling, and turning to face the white brick ranch home that stood several yards away.
They moved in four months ago, but this was the first weekend of the summer Cara felt it was in acceptable condition to have visitors. Turning from the house, Alex arranged and rearrange the splintered logs in the black metal fire pit. A circle of lawn chairs surrounded him. In those chairs sat Kat, Walt, Elle, Calvin, and Justin. Cassie and Cara stood over the grill roasting veggies and hamburgers. "Kat, would you do the honors?” asked Alex, handing her a lighter and winking.
Kat smirked and took it from him. "You know, this won't be as impressive without a gallon of gasoline," and lit the crumpled newspaper at the bottom of the log pile.
The group stared, mesmerized as the small flame licked the paper, increasing in size as it crept toward the wood until a small fire engulfed the metal basin. Several pops and snaps echoed across the yard accompanied by the comforting smell of burning wood. Dusk dimmed the yard enough for a warm glow to appear on the surrounding faces. "Alex!” called Cara, "Did you spray the lawn before you put up the fire pit? You know it's been a dry summer. We don't want one of the sparks to catch the grass and--,"
Alex shook his head and laughed. "I watered the lawn, Dear, fear not."
Cara turned to them in a blue sundress patterned with daisies. She wobbled as she attempted to balance the food and walk in her wedges across the back yard. Cassie followed with a pitcher of lemonade that Kat and Elle added a hint of vodka to prior to joining the circle around the fire. They just had to be sure the kids didn't take refills. They ate dinner and toasted marshmallows until the fire and the moon were their only sources of lighting. Standing, Elle collected the paper plates and empty plastic cups and made her way toward the house. Kat got up to follow her, kissing the top of Walt's head before she did.
Back inside, Elle started to stuff the trash as best she could into the black garbage bag tied to the refrigerator handle. Kat hoisted herself onto the countertop next to Elle, watching her struggle with the final disposal of some plastic dishes. Without looking up, Elle said, "So, coffee and some shopping tomorrow?"
Kat shrugged. "I could go for a new pair of shoes."
"Cal and I are meeting RJ for happy hour. He said you're welcome to join that, too. Walt's presence contingent on your approval."
With a smile, Kat said, "We're doing better, you know, Walt and me. Started some counselling bullshit."
"Is it working?"
"Obviously."
Elle stood up and faced her. "I'm glad. And you're safe?"
"I bought a gun."
"Is Walt safe?"
Kat laughed. "We're both safe. Like I said, doing better. It'll be a long road, but I don't give up that easily."
"No, you definitely don't.”
Elle gave a final tie to the stubborn trash bag and motioned Kat to follow her. They made their way back out to the bonfire, lemonade refills in hand. As they sat down, Walt asked what they decided to do about the burnt property in the back of the woods. Elle took a
sip of lemonade and said, "We just put up a warning sign stating No Trespassing."
With another grin, Kat added, "Superstitious as she is, Elle also insisted we pour a ring of salt around the perimeter."
"That was an entirely logical--,"
"Five canisters of kosher salt!" interrupted Kat.
Everyone giggled. "So that's where it all went," Cal mused.
"Costco, Babe," replied Elle. She paused, and then added, "You know, I gave serious consideration to hanging onto the diary in that Lucy doll's backpack."
When a stunned silence and horrified stares followed her statement, she quickly added, "But, I didn't. It burned with the rest, don't worry."
"Why would you keep it?" asked Cassie.
Elle shrugged. "Despite everything that happened, it's still a small doorway to the past; a piece of history."
Cassie nodded. "I feel safer knowing that you destroyed it."
The rest of the party nodded and murmured in agreement.
"It's always intriguing to have a connection to another place and time we weren't a part of," said Alex. "I get the reasoning."
Kat raised her plastic cup and clicked it against Elle’s. They smiled and resumed staring into the hypnotic flames dancing over the glowing embers. As they watched, Kat touched the small, sapphire stone dangling from a delicate chain around her neck and echoed, “Some doors are meant to stay closed."