No matter how dark his desires may be.
***
When Aspen awoke, the first thing that registered was the sound of weeping. Multiple weeping female voices. And one angry shouting male voice and some sort of clanging metal. She struggled to drag her eyes open. Her face was pointed to her right, and she became instantly confused as she recognized Nicholas Monarch bashing himself into the bars of a cell. At his feet, Ella Cinder cowered on the floor bawling. And in a cell right next to them, Cailyn Pure did the same.
"UNTIE HER!" Nicholas raged. "GET IN HERE YOU SICK MONSTERS! UNTIE HER!"
She shook her head, struggling out from under a fog. Aren't the three of them supposed to be missing, Aspen thought. And why is Nicholas so angry? Who is he talking about? Who is tied up?
But then Aspen tried to move her hands. And her feet. And then she realized, she was the one who was tied up.
She began to scream.
Part V
The Big Bad Wolf
Chapter 16
Miss Marple looked at the famous, the beautiful, the successful Jane Helier and nodded her head gently.
"I see, my dear," she said very gently. "I see."
Kimberly Crimson closed the Agatha Christie collection as she read the final lines of "Miss Marple: A Christmas Tragedy." She sighed and looked down at her grandmother. Other than the steady beep beep of grandma's medical equipment, the room was deathly still and quiet. Grandma's eyes remained closed and there was no indication that she'd heard a single word Kimberly read; though it had always been one of her favorites.
Contemplating the title of the story made Kimberly think of the real life Christmas tragedy that had spiraled out of control in Faraway. It was three days after Christmas, and the town was in shock over the mysterious disappearance of Aspen Briar. Since both Mr. and Mrs. Briar had been discovered dead from inhaling toxic fumes during a gas leak in their home, police were working with the theory that Aspen had killed them and run away. However, given the other terrible disappearances of local teens, the more popular theory was that Aspen had been kidnapped by a psycho killer. Everyone assumed she was also dead. Police worked around the clock to try and discover a link between all the terrible happenings, to no avail.
The town was beside itself.
People looked to Police Chief Jiminy for answers, only to find none. The kindly old fellow had been the head of the Faraway police department for as long as anyone could recall. He had a loving heart and people had formerly felt safe with him watching over them. However, now they wondered if he should really be holding the post anymore. Perhaps his advancing age had led to a slip up in security. In truth, they just needed somebody to blame. And definitely, they demanded that the guilty party or parties be apprehended and the missing kids returned safely. Most of all, the townsfolk desperately feared anymore children being taken.
"Grandma," Kimberly said sadly. "Everything sucks right now."
She forlornly regarded the tiny frail woman in the bed. Before grandma had fallen ill, Kimberly would've shared all her woes with the caring woman. Grandma would've had advice on what to do, and would've made Kimberly feel so much better somehow, even if nothing really was better. She missed her grandma dearly. But there wasn't much she could do about it.
Kimberly stared through grandma's lacey eyelet curtains into the snowy night while she poured her heart out to the woman. She described all of her school acquaintances who were now absent. Kimberly was a loner and hadn't been particularly close to any of them, but she still felt bad about the apparent tragedy that had befallen them all. And of course, she didn't know if the streets of her town were safe any longer.
In the end, even though her grandma had nothing to say, Kimberly felt better just having talked to her.
Chapter 17
Kimberly sat before her bedroom mirror that night studying her reflection. She wore her dark brown hair long with silky waves. She had freckled cheeks and a slight tan still left over from summer. Her dark eyes were wide and serious with slightly furrowed eyebrows. She mostly always had a pensive, serious expression; one of those faces that even when she did don a rare smile she still somehow looked forlorn. She looked exactly like her mother, and from having seen pictures of her grandma as a young woman, she knew she looked like her as well. She imagined her grandma young and well, certain that if she could've known her grandma as a young girl, they would've been great friends.
Tears burned in her eyes as she shut out her light and got into bed. Dozens of memories cycled through her mind of times she'd shared with her grandma. And now she was catatonic following a stroke, and confined to her bed in her little forest cottage, with nothing but shifts of nurses in and out to look over her. Kimberly had begged her mother to bring grandma home to live with them. But her mother felt there wasn't room for grandma, and that the old woman would want to stay in her own beloved home. Kimberly spent as much time there as she could, but she felt terrible leaving her grandma out there, virtually alone.
When sleep found her, Kimberly fell fast to dream. She found herself strolling hand in hand with her grandmother next to a lake with a surface calm as glass. The sun high in the sky glinted on its surface, and trees all around it swayed gently in a warm breeze. She looked over at her grandma and found her exactly as she recalled her from when she was a young girl. A bittersweet pang of regret stung her, as she realized she was dreaming, and wished she'd enjoyed such times more.
As they strolled, chatting and laughing at shared reminiscences, a wolf lumbered out of the trees on the other side of the lake, and a rolling black cloud passed over the sun.
Kimberly and her grandmother stopped short, staring at the beast. So huge it was it stood almost as tall as a grown man. Its muscles rippled under bristling fur. Its nostrils flared and it grunted and snorted with each heaving breath it took. It glared at them with angry, bloodshot, glowing red eyes. Kimberly's heart sped.
"Kimberly," her grandma said urgently. "Beware the wolves. They lurk where you least expect them."
She tore her eyes away from the unnatural creature and stared at her grandma.
"What? What do you mean?"
"Beware the wolves!" grandma said again, her voice shaking, her eyes wide with fright.
Kimberly became anxious and quite upset. "Grandma, I don't understand!"
"Run, Kimberly," grandma said. "RUN!"
Grandma gave her a shove just as the wolf sprang forward with huge, super strides. Kimberly's knees went weak. But, she dashed off into the trees.
***
Kimberly rose before the dawn.
After a night filled with troubling dreams, she decided to get an early start and go spend the day with her grandma again since she didn't have school. She packed herself a lunch and selected several of her own books to read to her grandmother. Veronica Roth's Divergent might not exactly be grandma's speed, but she didn't seem to have much of a preference anymore. She was tucking items into a basket in the kitchen when her mother walked in.
"Don't you know that teenagers are supposed to sleep in?" asked Ms. Crimson.
"I'm spending the day with Grandma," Kimberly said, her tone containing much more than just a hint of judgment. "You should really try it sometime!"
Ms. Crimson sighed. "Come on, Daughter. Cut me some slack, will you?"
Kimberly glared angrily at her mother. "I will not. She's YOUR mother. We probably don't have much time left with her."
Hurt showed on Ms. Crimson's face. "She doesn't even know we're there, Kimberly."
"Yes she does," Kimberly said firmly, frowning deeply. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. We owe her our time."
"I have to work, Kimberly."
"Well, come over after work!"
"I have to go to the grocery tonight and then sort out the bills. I don't have time today. I'm sorry."
Kimberly gave her mother an evil stare. "I suppose you don't have time to drive me out there or pick me up either, do you? That's OK. I'll walk, Mom. I mean, there's a serial
killer on the loose, but I'm sure I'll be fine, right?"
Turning her head to the side, Ms. Crimson gave Kimberly a frustrated look and groan. "Just because some kids ran away doesn't mean there's a serial killer," she snapped. But then her tone softened. "Just be careful, Kimberly. Don't talk to strangers, and don't take rides from anybody."
Ms. Crimson turned and strode from the room.
***
The day passed uneventfully and by nightfall, Kimberly's eyes drooped heavily. She kissed her grandma and packed her belongings back into her basket. Bidding Nadine, the nurse on duty that evening, farewell, Kimberly set out into the snow.
She wore a scarlet colored hooded cloak which she pulled tightly around herself to shield herself from the swirling snow. It wasn't exactly fashionable, but her grandmother had painstakingly sewn it for her two Christmas's back and she wore it religiously in the winter time. Kimberly trudged briskly through the heavy snow.
Soon, approaching headlights shone into her eyes. The car moved slowly, she assumed because of the detrimental driving conditions. However, when it reached her, it rolled to a stop. The tinted driver's side window slid down and she beheld a handsome, dark man.
"Hi there, could I offer you a ride?"
"No thanks," Kimberly said shortly.
"Oh come now, its terrible out here, you shouldn't be walking. You're probably a friend of my son, Benjamin Bar. So, I'm not a stranger."
Kimberly glared at the man and began to walk. "He's not my friend, sir. And you are a stranger."
She quickened her pace and strode away, hoping beyond hope that the man would just go on.
Chapter 18
The next day, Kimberly's mother assigned her chores to do that occupied most of the day. She conducted her business with aggravation, since they delayed her from making it to spend time with her grandmother. By the time she was finished, darkness had fallen again. But she was determined to still get a visit in.
She packed her basket and donned her red hood. "Mom, could you give me a ride over to Grandma's?" Kimberly asked grudgingly. By that time, her mother was home from work and reclining leisurely watching TV.
Ms. Crimson sighed. "Oh, Kim, let's just stay in tonight. It's freezing and awful out, I don't want to go back in the snow."
Kimberly frowned. "I'm going to Grandma's, mom. And you're right. It is awful out. So it would be nice if you gave me a ride!"
"Not tonight, Kimberly," Ms. Crimson snapped, giving her a warning glare.
With a groan, Kimberly turned and walked out the front door. She was angry with her mother, and decided she would just stay overnight at her grandma's house.
She traveled as quickly as she could in the frigid weather. It was only a mile and a half trek to her grandmother's place just outside of town. But in the snow and wind, it still seemed to take ages. She was chilled to the bone by the time she swung open the white picket gate in front of the cottage.
The windows of the cottage were all dark and seemed to stare down at her like empty eyes. An internal alarm began to chime inside Kimberly, as it was unusual to not see warm light spilling out onto the snow covered shrubbery. She rushed for the front door.
Once inside, she stomped the snow off her boots and shed her cloak. The place was utterly dark. She stood for a moment listening intently to the quiet. It was too quiet. Something was missing. Usually there was sound from the TV as the evening nurse watched in the living room. That sound was absent. But something else should've been there as well but was not.
It was the beeping of her grandmother's machines. The sound was an increment part of her grandmother's environment now. Where was the beeping?
"Nadine?" Kimberly called out hesitantly to her grandmother's nurse.
"Up here, dear!" came the reply.
Relief washed over Kimberly. All was well apparently. Nadine must've simply elected to spend time at Grandma's side since she hadn't made it over earlier in the day. Kimberly happily bound up the narrow stairway to find her grandma. Knowing every nook and cranny of the little cottage by heart, she didn't even bother to turn on lights as she went.
But she stopped dead in her tracks when she burst into grandma's room.
"What are you doing here?" Kimberly exclaimed.
Mr. Bar was perched on her grandmother's bed, comfortably reclining against the lacey pillows. Next to the bed, Mrs. Bar, her school guidance counselor, stood with her hands demurely clasped before her, and smiling pleasantly.
Blood rushed to Kimberly's head, causing her ears to ring and her heart to pound. "WHERE IS MY GRANDMOTHER?" Kimberly demanded.
Mr. Bar smiled handsomely. "You know, when someone is polite to you, and offers you a ride, you should accept young lady," he said in a curious, hollow tone that was at odds with his nice looking face. "I would've just taken you home, like I said that I would. But, you went and hurt my feelings."
Tears clouded Kimberly's vision. She turned to run.
But, when she reached the top of the stairs, Benjamin Bar stepped out of the shadows. And, with a wicked, childish smile, he shoved her down.
***
"Try not to move."
Kimberly writhed and moaned as consciousness found her in an alarming level of pain. She opened her eyes and looked around frantically. She saw Nicholas Monarch and Ella Cinder crouching nearby, looking at her from the other side of some rusty bars. To her right, she noted Aspen Briar, slumped in a corner, leaning against a stone wall, bleeding, and staring ahead with glassy eyes.
Cailyn Pure knelt right next to Kimberly and clasped her hand. "Kimberly, shhhhh," Cailyn said softly. "Stay still, sweetheart. We think your leg is broken. And you won't be getting any help…"
Part VI
Bad Hair Day
Chapter 19
"Hello?" said Stella Rampion, picking up her cell.
"I have some bad news," said her boyfriend, Eric Prince, without any prelude.
Stella's heart sank. Faraway had been entirely consumed with bad news of late, and she'd been taking it hard. She didn't know if her psyche could withstand anymore.
"Have you heard already, Stella?"
"No," she said bleakly after a tense pause.
"Kimberly Crimson's grandmother has been found murdered, and Kimberly is missing."
Stella instantly dissolved into tears.
"Ah, shhhh," Eric said. "I'm sorry, Stella. Please don't cry, I should've told you in person."
Kimberly was a loner, and Stella wouldn't call her a close friend by any means. All the same, she was a nice girl and a fellow student of Faraway High. Stella simply couldn't believe this was happening. Where were her classmates? Were they alive? Or dead? Were they safe and unharmed? Or injured hungry and cold somewhere?
And who would be next?
"So," Stella sobbed. "What are they saying about it?"
"Well," Eric continued soberly. "They've pretty much given up on any sort of murder-runaway scenario. Because of all that's transpired, they've even released Cailyn Pure's father from lock up. Even though they still haven't touched on how all this ties together, they are sure that it does. Tie together."
"I'm gonna ask my parents if you can come over tonight, OK, Eric?"
"Sure, Stella. Sounds good. Call me later."
***
Stella led an extraordinarily sheltered life.
She was her parents' miracle child. She'd heard the story a hundred times, at least. They'd attempted to conceive for five years before finally having success. They'd been through every conceivable fertility treatment to no avail. Every sort of alternative therapy. They even once spoke with a self-proclaimed witch who cast magic on them. And still they did not conceive.
It wasn't until her mother's best friend, Madre Bar, gave her a special pill that the magical event finally occurred. Madre found some sort of supplement extracted from the petals of a flower that had allegedly helped mothers conceive since the beginning of time. Mrs. Rampion consumed the flower for only a week when she became pregnant with
her blessed daughter.
Stella always smiled politely when her parents happily recalled the story. Truth be told, she assumed that one of the many other medical treatments they underwent at the time had finally taken. But it was a nice story. And Madre Bar was her mother's most beloved friend and closest confidant as a result. Despite the close connection, they rarely saw Mr. Bar, nor had Stella ever particularly befriended their son, Benjamin. She often wondered how such a nice, normal lady had ended up with such an oddball family.
Not that she had much room to judge. Her folks were plenty strange. Friends at school often asked Stella if her parents were super religious because her shining blonde hair grew past her knees, just like the girls from Faraway's apostolic church. Though it was beautiful, it was so long it was a nuisance and she mostly kept it in a single braid down her back. In fact, her parents were not particularly religious at all, certainly not in any fundamental, old fashioned way. They were just so desperate to keep Stella in a safe little box that they never liked for her to change in any way they could prevent. So, they had never once, in all her sixteen years, allowed her to cut her hair.
She had the parents who accompanied her to every single school event. Every practice, every club meeting, every study group; at least one if not both of them would be there for Stella. Sure, it was nice to have such supportive parents, but it certainly got tedious. She was also never allowed to go to friends' houses. She was a popular girl among her peers, but the only way she was allowed to socialize with her friends was if they came over to her house under her parents' watchful eyes.
Stella knew Eric Prince most of her life. They grew up together in the same class at school and as they aged, they came to love each other. It had thoroughly astounded her the year before when her parents allowed her to officially become Eric's girlfriend. Of course, she wasn't allowed to actually go anywhere with Eric. But they allowed her to have him over from time to time.
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