“Yes, I’m afraid so. There was actually one survivor, YOU. You’re the lucky one, honey. You are safe and alive.”
I nodded, still overwhelmed.
“I’ve seen cases like this before and I must warn you, please don’t listen to what the tabloids are going to say. Speculation, it’s all they have to go on so they’ll point fingers everywhere — maybe even at you.”
“Me?” I looked back at him.
“Just ignore them and stay strong. I personally promise you, we’ll catch whoever did this. They’ll never get away with it.”
I was the only survivor. I tried processing it. Nothing really made any sense. Minutes passed and one clear thought came into my mind. “Ginata, I need to tell her. She’s lost just as much as I have tonight.” I gave the officer her address.
“Okay,” he agreed. “It has to be just between us. I could get in a ton of trouble for this.”
I agreed to keep the secret and he turned his cruiser around. We headed to Ginata’s house and pulled up into the driveway. Before he could even let me out of the car, Ginata burst through the front door and raced down the front path towards us.
“What’s going on?” she demanded.
He lifted the handle and my door opened. I overheard as the officer tried gently explaining what had happened. I got some strength back in my legs and climbed out of the cruiser. I got out just as Ginata collapsed into a heaping pile on the ground. I stood watching as all of her brightness went completely dark. Her body shook as though she was crying, but no sound came out.
I watched in silence as my best friend fell to pieces. Suddenly, it felt like I couldn’t breathe and I started getting really dizzy. The crazed world around me spun faster and faster — I hit the ground — blackness.
When I awoke, I was in a very different place. Everything was white and sanitized. I jolted upright in the bed when I realized where I was. This was a hospital. What was going on? Why was I in here?
Just as I tried to get out of the bed, a nurse came into the room and spoke calmly. “You’ve taken a spill and hit your head. We’re keeping you here for observation. So just lie down and relax, you’re safe, get some rest. You’ve been through a lot tonight, poor girl.”
Everything came flooding back. I remembered the events of the night and the fact that I was alone. I had no family left. I was eighteen, not exactly a child anymore, but not quite ready to be considered an adult. What was I going to do?
Hysterics flooded out of me and before I could react to what I was doing, the nurse pinned me down and gave me a shot. I felt the slight burn of the sedative as it made its way through my system. I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer.
While under sedation, my dreams decided to take a new path. Darkness became my friend. I didn’t have any pain or sadness in the dark and I wasn’t afraid of being alone. It brought me comfort by wrapping me in its arms and keeping me there, safe and calm. Soon though, I noticed I was no longer alone. I saw the silhouette of what I thought to be a man over and over again. He wasn’t clear to me because I couldn’t see his face. Wherever this figure went, the blood followed. Then I realized, the figure was death and it was in the darkness.
That morning I woke up and came to terms with the fact that my family and my best friend’s parents were gone. It hurt, but I didn’t cry.
The nurse came into my room and glanced over at me. She looked as if she was mentally preparing herself for our daily dealing. What was today going to bring?
I looked up and gave her a quick smile. I saw that she was stunned by my gesture. “Hello. What is the date today?” I used my typical voice not the hysterical one she’d recently become accustomed to. I wanted to gather my bearings. I had no idea how long I had been in and out of consciousness.
“Today is Saturday, October twelfth.”
I watched her studying my every move. She looked like she was ready to pounce on me.
“Oh…” was all I managed to say. I didn’t cry or turn into a raging lunatic as I had previously. I simply sat there quietly processing how long I’d been in a daze. I felt numb; I couldn’t have managed more tears even if I’d wanted to.
My reaction took her off guard and she took a few steps closer and spoke in a softer, sweeter voice. “You’ve been in here for a few days now, Shanntal. You had a horrific thing happen, but you are strong and have already gone through the worst of it. We have doctors here that can help you should you ever need it; I mean whenever you need someone to talk to.”
“I’ve been sedated for days?” I looked at her completely confused. I tried piecing everything together. That dreadful night, my dreams and the darkness played over again in my memory.
Then a happier memory came into my mind. It was about Ginata. I needed to speak with her; she’d understand everything I was going through because it was happening to her too. “I need to call my friend. Please, may I use the phone?”
The nurse helped me to the long desk a few feet down from the doorway of my room. I called her number to find it disconnected. I called 4-1-1 to see if I could track down another number. No luck. My heart broke as I wondered what had happened to my friend. Where did she go? Was she okay?
Now, I really was by myself, though this time I remained strong. When the thought of isolation hit me, I didn’t breakdown, instead I stood tall. I survived that horrific night and I owed it to all of them to live my life to the fullest and make them proud.
Later on I spoke with a helpful doctor. He taught me ways to overcome my fears and coping methods, which enabled me to deal with the loss of everyone who had meant something to me.
A few more days passed and the doctor finally decided I seemed to be in control of my thoughts and emotions. I was free to go, but only as long as I was under supervision.
Free to go? Supervision? Where was I going to go? Who was going to keep an eye on me?
Just then two people came though the double doors of the hospital and I recognized them at once. “Auntie Stephanie, Uncle Danier!” I tearfully ran over to them, opened my arms up as big as I could and gave them a joint bear hug.
I was so incredibly relieved and happy to see them. I wasn’t alone anymore. I still had a family. Maybe not the family I wanted, but they were without a doubt, the family I needed.
Elements
~ Chapter Two ~
After leaving the hospital Uncle Danier and Auntie Stephanie took me over to the police station where I spoke with the officer who had helped me that dreadful night. I needed to find out for myself if he had any leads, versus what the papers were saying. He confirmed that the means of the deaths remained a mystery. But, he told me something the papers didn’t. He told me the bodies had been drained of all liquids and all of the victims sustained various bites, including our pet cat that also perished. Before we left he suggested it might be best for me to leave Greyton and move to Blackwood where Uncle Danier and Auntie Stephanie live.
This was all very weird. My family died from bites? And the cat? We didn’t even have a cat. They must’ve been confused, or a stray had wandered in while the door was ajar. Poor thing. So now I was left with no suspects, drained bodies and a dead cat.
We passed by a newsstand after leaving the station. On that terrible night, the policemen had tried to warn me about what was to come, but this was simply horrible. The headlines said it all. Guilty! Who really did it? Coincidence — A lone survivor.
A reporter stepped out from behind the rack. “How’d you do it? What kind of weapon did you use?”
“I didn’t do anything,” I stuttered, pushing the microphone away from my face.
“What was your motive? Were you abused? Ignored?” He pried.
Uncle Danier stepped in and shouted at the reporter to leave us alone and go away. I turned my head, just in time to see more reporters gathering. Uncle Danier also saw them and hurried us to the car. Auntie Stephanie hopped in first and fired up the engine, while we climbed in the backseat.
“Why are they doing this?”
My world spun. Why were people being so cruel?
“They’re grasping.” Uncle Danier said, placing a protective arm around my shoulders as we drove away. “It’s all they’ve got to help them feel better. A monster is loose out there. They’ve got to place blame somewhere and this is easier than not knowing.”
Their deaths remained a mystery with no real suspects or clues. No one had any ideas of how my family died, so the tabloids did what they do best and created their own story.
The headlines pointed to me as a person of interest because I was a teenage girl that wore black clothes, worn jeans, had piercings, highlights and tattoos. Obviously… that meant I did it. What a joke! How could they get off doing things like this? I’d just lost everyone I cared about, why couldn’t they just leave me alone?
The suggestion of moving away came up again and this time I didn’t object. There wasn’t much left for me in Greyton, other than a few friends I never really saw and a lot of memories I needed to put some distance between.
We proceeded to my house to collect some of my things for the move. I couldn’t bring myself to go in. It was too painful. The memories of that night flashed fresh in my mind.
Uncle Danier went inside and Auntie Stephanie sat in the rental car with me. She reached back and held my hand as she assured me over and over that everything was okay. No one else was going to get hurt and I was safe.
My heart beat sporadically waiting for my uncle. I found it hard to breathe; my body trembled from fear. I needed him to come out now. Just when I was about to start screaming my face off, he emerged with two suitcases.
The sight of him almost made me cry. I was so relieved that he was safe and made it out of my house. He walked towards the car and put my bags in the trunk and got in the passenger seat. He turned to Auntie Stephanie, giving her a fake smile. I saw right through it. He was insinuating that he would never go back in the house again. Then, he turned around to me. “I didn’t grab much, just some of your clothes and a few other basics. You can check it out when we get home.”
We silently made our way to the airport. I sat thinking about all the good memories I was leaving behind. Sadly, they were now outnumbered by the bad memories residing in their place. I found myself almost relieved to be leaving. It would’ve been too difficult to put myself back together with all this uncertainty in Greyton. Uncle Danier was extremely quiet and I assumed it was because of what he’d witnessed inside of my house. I was glad no one spoke. I wanted to forget about all the bad — all of the unknown.
We arrived at the airport, dropped off the rental car and then proceeded to the airline counter and checked in. The airline took our bags and we made our way through security. As we boarded the plane, I felt more and more apprehensive about the flight. What about Ginata? I already missed her so much, could I leave her behind? Was this the right thing to do? I was leaving everything I’d ever known. This was a huge change. I took a deep breath trying to get back in the right frame of mind. Change was good, I reminded myself as I sat down in my seat. A fresh start was what I needed. I took another deep breath in and invited the change.
**********************
“Well, this is it,” Auntie Stephanie said, and I realized the small island where my aunt and uncle lived was now considered home.
Uncle Danier took our suitcases out and hauled them up the front walkway. I was about to offer him some assistance, when he stopped and I noticed him wipe his eyes. He’d been crying. It dawned on me that he’d lost his sister, just as I’d lost my mom. I went up to him, but before I got a chance to say anything, he said, “Awe, kiddo. I’m glad you’re here.” He hesitated, and then added: “I really wish it was under different circumstances, though.” He attempted a smile, but it didn’t hide his pain.
Auntie Stephanie gave me a warm smile, and to my surprise, her small gesture made me feel a tiny bit better. She wrapped her loving arms around Uncle Danier and myself.
“Me too.” This was going to be a hard adjustment, but at least we didn’t have to do it alone.
We entered the brightly colored home with painted walls in shades of deep cranberry reds, rusted oranges and welcoming yellows. Furniture made up of prominent dark woods and leathers decorated the home along with various vases, pictures, statues and masks. There were so many interesting artifacts. I’d forgotten how stylish their house was. As I looked around, past visits with my family came into mind, putting a lump in my throat.
Uncle Danier led me down the hall. We entered the bedroom on the right. He placed my suitcases on the bed. “It’s not as nice as your old room, but we can fix it up however you like.” He patted me on the shoulder before leaving me to get situated.
I took a deep breath and looked around. Unique sculptures of couples were positioned on the driftwood shelves, while scented candles sat on both corners of my dresser. The bed was made with dark wood and covered with deep red and black linens.
I sighed and started unpacking my clothes. I pulled a picture of my family out of the bag. Staring at it, I kept wondering what happened to them. I ached to be back home with them and began crying as I put their photo on the dresser.
I continued unpacking and was just about to put my bags in the closet when I heard a dull jingle. I scrounged around looking inside the suitcase and something tangled around my hand. I pulled it out and found a necklace. It was my amethyst sphere sitting on a black strap of leather. Tears stung my eyes as I remembered how my parents had given it to me. I’d been having a difficult day; my parents wanted to cheer me up and did, with the necklace. They’d told me how the sphere held special powers of luck and protection. I placed the necklace around my neck. I would treasure it forever, keeping their memory close to my heart.
Days, weeks and months passed. I settled in nicely and felt like I belonged somewhere again. Auntie Steph and Uncle Dane were all too easy going, even welcoming the new nicknames I’d given them.
I had the occasional roller coaster mood swing every now and then, but tried to overcome them so I wasn’t a burden. My dreams haunted me, however they were starting to become fewer as each night passed.
Either Uncle Dane or Auntie Steph was constantly with me, but I missed my sisters and Ginata. Their bond was hard to replace. I’d been in Blackwood for almost three months before finally feeling settled enough to go out and brave the would-be shopping center alone. There really wasn’t too much to it, unlike the malls back home.
Uncle Dane dropped me off at the front entrance. “Call me whenever you’re ready to come back home. Here’s a bit of cash. Go buy yourself some lunch or clothes. Have some fun!” He sat in the car watching me as I approached the main door. I could feel his eyes on me so I turned giving him a wave. I turned back around and entered the mall.
It was a lot busier than I expected; I braved my way through the crowds, moving back and forth out of the way as the others passed. So many people, yet I knew no one. A few sets of eyes looked in my direction, but the faces didn’t smile.
I remembered what it felt like to be alone and this brought up thoughts I didn’t want to think about. My thoughts were too strong and I found myself wondering why didn’t I die? Everyone else did, why did I have to be the only one left? I shook the dark thoughts from my mind. I’d done enough self-dwelling over the past few months; it was starting to get on my own nerves.
‘Friends, you’re here to make friends,’ I told myself. I felt incredibly lonely and decided I’d accept friendship from anyone who offered. I’d become desperate for some kind, actually any kind of companionship.
I ambled over to a rack of clothes. The colors were too bright, but it was the group of girls standing nearby that I was actually drawn toward. I began sorting through the shirts. I looked up and smiled at one of the girls, but she turned her head. This wasn’t going to be easy. Hesitantly, I pulled a black tank top from the rack and held it up to me. Then I said, “Can I have your opinion?”
A girl with brown hair looked me up and down and laughed. “I woul
dn’t be caught dead wearing that.”
The group snickered as they walked away.
Flustered, I turned around and walked in the opposite direction. I debated calling Uncle Dane to come pick me up. I pulled out my cell and checked the time. It had only been twenty minutes since he’d dropped me off. I sighed and shoved the cell back in my purse.
Food. I went up to the counter, waited in the short line and ordered a sandwich and bottle of water. After paying, I sat down at a table on the far side of the food court. I glanced up every now and then with a smile and watched as the strangers passed by.
“Grrrrrr. I hate this,” I said under my breath. “Never knew I was so invisible.”
I looked up in time to witness an extremely good-looking, brown haired guy with a baseball hat come straight over and sit down at my table. He was wearing a black t-shirt, blue jeans and had a patch of hair just under his lip. My heart raced as I looked at the tattoo covering his muscular arm; it was some kind of Celtic knot going down to his elbow. He was dangerous, delicious and downright irresistible.
Escaped the Night Page 3