The orderlies tried to calm her, but she pulled away from them.
“Your family isn’t safe, she’s a killer! Your family is not safe! Get them out! Get them out now!”
The nurses approached Karen and insisted she leave. Karen was shaking as she picked the photograph up and left the day room. She could hear Amari screaming as the orderlies led her down the hall.
The children started off by making breakfast together, simply ignoring each other as the four of them sat around the table and ate their food. After that they split up to do their chores.
Evelyn opted to clean the twins’ room and their parents’ bedroom, because Braydon would be downstairs for most of the morning doing the living and the dining room. That way they could avoid each other.
They managed to make it all the way to lunch without a single fight and Evelyn believed they might just make it through the day.
“I need the mop,” Braydon said to her as she cleaned the bathroom.
“I’m almost done with it,” Evelyn said, still mopping.
“I want it now,” Braydon responded and grabbed it with both hands, tugging it.
Evelyn tugged it back. “I’ll literally be done in five minutes, Bray.”
“Don’t call me Bray; that’s what my family calls me,” he sneered.
“Oh, sorry, Braydon Andrew Aubrey Junior Jones,” she said, knowing that using his full name irritated him most.
A massive tug of war ensued over the mop. Evelyn held back, scared that if she tugged too hard Braydon would get hurt. He had no such qualms.
Eventually Evelyn got annoyed and decided to tug hard, and Braydon let go at the same time. Evelyn fell backwards, knocking her head on the toilet, and everything went black.
Kiara didn’t care about the animals that lived in the forest. She would kill them all. She would kill this entire forest …
Her father brought home that pale woman, Raven, as his new wife … as though she could control Kiara. What a ridiculous notion …
Kiara killed Maggie and felt so thrilled by it; everything she ever wanted was falling into place.
She killed her mother and enjoyed the feeling of warm blood gushing into her hands as she slit her throat from left to right …
Kiara dominated everything. Kiara would not be stopped.
Evelyn woke up on the floor, acutely aware of who she had been in her previous life. Kiara. Free from that damned book that Raven had trapped her in. She remembered everything from her past, her true past. She remembered where she had gotten rid of her parents, her sister, and then Amari’s parents.
Kiara remembered murdering Amari’s parents and then leaving the farm lands, looking for somewhere new to settle, but there had been an accident and she hit her head. She suffered memory loss and that was how she landed up at the orphanage.
Now this lovely family had adopted her, but oh, if they only knew what Kiara actually was and what she was capable of.
She opened her eyes and found Braydon standing over her with a scared look in his eyes.
“I thought I’d killed you, Evelyn,” he said. “Please, please don’t tell mom and dad.”
Kiara sat up; it felt strange being called Evelyn, but that was how they knew her now.
She shook her head and muttered, “It’s okay. I won’t say anything.” She got up and Braydon hovered, worried he had really hurt her. “Now, now,” she added, “let’s just hug this out and everything will be okay.”
Braydon let out a sigh of relief and came to Kiara for a hug, mumbling into her, “I’m so sorry I was so mean. I won’t do it again.”
“No, you won’t,” Kiara said, before she grabbed his hair and started slamming his head into the tiled wall. She didn’t stop until she knew he was dead and his body fell to the floor.
In the parking lot Karen took out her phone and dialled the house.
Evelyn answered. “Hello?”
“Evelyn, is daddy there.”
“Not yet, mommy,” Kiara answered, smiling. “Do you want me to ask him to phone you?”
Evelyn sounded different and suddenly Karen was afraid.
“Where are your brothers?” she asked as she walked towards her car, her hand shaking terribly.
“Asleep, mommy,” Kiara answered. “They are all asleep.”
Karen bit her lip. “Okay, I’ll be home soon.” She ended the call.
She sped away from the hospital, racing home.
Kiara couldn’t believe she had lost over a year of her life because of hitting her head. Now that the idiotic boy was out of the way, she needed to find a way to dispose of the rest of her so-called family.
She felt nothing for these strangers that had taken her in, not even as she went from room to room, inspecting the family photos taken in the last year. The way they held her, kissed her, comforted her - it meant nothing to her, because Kiara simply didn’t feel.
Walking past a mirror, she saw Raven standing there, staring angrily at her.
“Still after me, then?” Kiara said, laughing aloud. “You fool of a ghost. You can’t hurt me now. You’re dead.”
Kiara moved away from the mirror and went to the window, looking down at one of her little brothers playing in the forest behind their house. He darted from tree to tree, no doubt playing some sort of imaginative game he had created to keep himself entertained.
It brought to mind the puppy she had killed, except, instead of feeling guilt, now she felt a sense of glee. It filled her with intense happiness to know that she had killed that disgusting little rat of a dog. The method was a bit gruesome, but Kiara had a knack for crushing heads; it was, after all, how she had disposed of Maggie.
Maggie.
She had seen Maggie in the forest and, as she looked down now to find that little boy again, she saw both Raven and Maggie standing there, staring up at her.
Mickey, oblivious to their presence, ran through them, peeking around a tree and then running for another.
It was strange to see him pass straight through what looked like a solid human being, but they were just ghosts. Manifestations that came with being who she was; they could not hurt her. That was possibly the most important thing of all - they could not hurt her.
A door opened and closed downstairs and she heard Aubrey call out, “Kids? I’m home.”
She put on the sweetest smile she could and went downstairs.
“Hello, Daddy” she said sweetly, giving him a hug. “I missed you!”
“Did you guys fight while I was gone, Evelyn?”
Kiara shook her head. “No, daddy, we didn’t fight at all. Braydon was tired, though, so he’s having a nap right now.”
Aubrey nodded and went to the living room, tossing his jacket on the back of a couch. “Okay then. Do you want to watch a movie?”
“No thanks, daddy, but you relax; I’m going to go make you some coffee.”
Aubrey smiled. “Thanks, sweetheart. Now this is the behaviour I expect to see.”
Kiara gave him another award-winning smile before hurrying to the kitchen to make coffee.
While she waited for the water to boil, she perused the cupboards, looking for the perfect weapon to use on her new ‘daddy’ to end his suffering, just like Braydon’s.
The one locked kitchen drawer just screamed perfection to her. She opened it and found some serious knives in there. Selecting the sharpest one she could, she set it aside.
After making the coffee, she brought it to Aubrey and put it down next to him, before going back for the knife so she could end him.
On her way back the phone in the kitchen rang again. Previously it had been their mother; she was probably calling once more to make sure Aubrey had arrived.
Somehow, Kiara didn’t know how exactly, Karen knew the truth. Kiara needed to do this quickly and quietly if she wanted to ensure that she killed everyone in the house before Karen got home. What a lovely sight it would be for her to walk in and see the death and destruction Kiara had created, right before Kiara snuff
ed out her life as well.
She went to the phone and answered it. “Hello, mommy,” she said, confident that she knew who it was.
“H-h-hi, darling,” Karen said, clearly nervous. “Is Daddy not home yet?”
“Daddy’s home,” Kiara said, smiling as she played with the knife in her hand, the phone in the crook of her neck.
“Can I speak to him, please?”
“Daddy can’t come to the phone right now,” Kiara replied. “He’s busy.”
She hung up and went back to the living room, where she found Aubrey on his favourite sofa, the sports channel on.
“Who was that, darling?” Aubrey asked without turning around.
“It was mommy.” Kiara came to stand behind him.
“What did she want?” Aubrey asked, mostly focused on the moving pictures in front of him.
“To save you,” Kiara said before she raised the knife and quickly slit Aubrey’s throat open, the blood spraying high and far as she cut through the arteries and veins in his neck.
He grabbed at his throat and got up, stumbling around and choking on his blood as he looked at her, wide-eyed. He fell to his knees, one hand still trying to hold his neck together as he crawled forward, trying to reach her.
“There, there, Daddy” she said, “it’ll all be over soon.”
She leaned down and kissed him just before he collapsed on the floor, bleeding out on the rug. She stood there for a moment, simply watching the blood pool around him. It was extremely satisfying to watch. She couldn’t resist, and kneeled, touching the blood lightly with her fingers before bringing them to her lips to lick clean. It was warm and thick and tasted metallic. It was as good as she remembered it being.
Mickey laughed from somewhere outside and it brought Kiara out of her reverie.
She went to find him.
Karen drove like the devil was chasing her. She had not liked the sound of Evelyn’s voice when she answered the phone. In fact, it hadn’t sounded like her beautiful daughter at all. A stranger had answered the phone, fear had flooded Karen’s body and she was sure Amari was correct - her family was in danger.
The sound of police sirens behind her made her look into her rear-view mirror and then check her speed. She cursed softly and slowed to a stop.
The officer climbed out of his car and walked to her side.
“License and registration, please,” he demanded.
“Sorry, Officer, I know I was going a bit fast, but I’m concerned about my children.”
“License and registration now,” he stated.
Karen reached into her glove compartment and pulled out her papers, passing them over to him, saying again, “Please, I need to make sure they are okay.”
“Do you know how fast you were going, ma’am?” he asked her, ignoring her statement. “Fast enough that I can either arrest you or give you a fine.”
He looked at her over his sunglasses and she fell silent, hoping to be done with this so she could leave.
The officer took his time writing out the ticket, sounding out each letter as he wrote it as though deliberately trying to irritate her. Karen did her best to keep her temper in check.
He returned to her side of the car and handed her the ticket. “Now you need to stick to the speed limit.” he said.
Karen looked at him desperately. “Look, I’m really worried about my kids, so if you could please accompany me to my house. Please.”
He sighed. “I’m going to make sure that you stick to the speed limit. I’ll leave you at your house.”
Karen nodded politely and put the ticket in her bag before starting her car again. She waited for the officer to pull out in front of her before she moved back into her lane, driving the speed limit behind him. All she wanted to do was overtake him and race back home, but she knew the officer would arrest her and then she would not be able to help her family at all.
Chapter Seven
Kiara left the house and headed towards the forest, ignoring Raven and Maggie standing just outside the door, staring at her. They didn’t scare her anymore. She was free of them.
She stopped to listen and could hear footsteps retreating between the trees; Mickey was still playing his game.
Kiara moved towards the noise and found him playing near the stream. He looked up as she approached.
“Hey, Evelyn, have you seen Braydon? He promised to play with me, but he hasn’t come out yet.”
Kiara smiled sweetly at him. “Braydon decided he wanted a nap, so I came out to play a new game with you.”
“A new game?” Mickey enquired. “What new game?”
“Hunters,” Kiara decided on the spot.
“How do you play it?”
“Well, it’s real simple. You’re the deer and I’m the hunter; you have to escape me or I get to kill you.”
Mickey giggled. “How will you kill me?”
“By cutting out your heart, Mickey,” she answered.
Mickey giggled again, not taking her seriously at all. “Okay, but you have to give me a five-count head start,” he declared before taking off.
Kiara smirked and started after him immediately, muttering to herself, “Five.”
Mickey hopped from rock to rock and turned back frequently to see if he was being followed. Every time it looked like he was going to look back, Kiara hid behind a tree. She wanted to prolong this; she wanted to enjoy her hunt and her kill. She would kill him in the end, as she had promised him.
Mickey continued to move in front of her and when she realised where he was going, she changed direction to cut him off. The knife she had hidden behind her back while she spoke to him was now out in front of her, in case she ran into him earlier than expected.
She saw him up ahead, crouching behind a rock and looking the opposite way to see if she was following him.
Kiara suppressed an excited giggle as she sneaked behind him, wrapping an arm around his throat and saying, “Got you.”
Mickey squirmed to get away, but Kiara was too strong.
“Evelyn, you’re hurting me,” Mickey whined as he tried to pull away. “I’ll tell Daddy.”
“I’m not Evelyn,” Kiara whispered into his ear, “and Daddy’s dead.”
She stabbed him in the throat and pulled the knife sideways across, so that blood sprayed in front of them like a sprinkler turned on full blast. She pulled the knife out and turned him to face her, his blood seeping onto her hands. He gargled a few times, trying to take a breath, before collapsing to the ground, dead.
When she looked up, Maggie and Raven stood there, glaring at her with empty eye sockets.
She inclined her head and took a step towards them. “You can’t hurt me now.” Kiara smiled brightly.
Raven disappeared, but Maggie remained.
“Where’d she go? She scared?” Kiara asked.
Maggie shook her head.
“Then what? What is she going to do?” Kiara asked, but Maggie just smiled at her. “What is she going to do?” Kiara yelled at the ghost of her little sister, but nothing was given away.
Maggie slowly faded away in front of her eyes and just for a second Kiara experienced a twang of fear.
She shook it off and started the walk towards the house. She had one more person to take care of before her mommy got home. She wanted to make sure Karen saw everyone dead before she was dealt with. She hadn’t realised how far out she had gone until she made her way back. She would have to hurry if she wanted to be done in time.
Nicky loved lying in bed and reading; it was his favourite pastime. It was the reason he wasn’t really that mad at Evelyn for breaking his arm. Sure, it hurt, and now that it was healing it was itchy, but for the most part it just meant he got to hang out in bed and read all the time, instead of being forced to play stupid outside-games with his brothers.
Braydon always dictated what they played and he hated it; it was why he went to Evelyn’s side when the fight started. Mickey would always be on Braydon’s side.
N
icky thought he heard something and put his book down, going to look out the window. It was Evelyn, coming out of the forest covered in something dark and red. It looked like blood.
What didn’t make sense to Nicky was that she somehow looked like Evelyn and didn’t look like Evelyn, all at the same time.
Nicky was frightened, and wasn’t sure why. It was his sister, he knew her, he loved her. Still, something was off.
He left his room as quietly as he could, cradling his arm, and went to hide under his parents’ bed. He soon heard her footsteps as she came upstairs, calling his name softly.
“Nicky … Nicky …”
It didn’t sound like Evelyn and he was petrified now.
Whatever that was, it wasn’t his sister.
Kiara entered the house and went upstairs slowly, calling, “Nicky? Nicky?”
She had seen him at the window and knew he had seen her coming towards the house. She was sure he was hiding. She sensed his fear from the way he looked at her.
Kiara investigated the twins’ room, but didn’t find him there.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” she called. “It’s me. It’s Evelyn.”
She didn’t expect him to actually come out; he obviously knew better, but still, she would find him. It was getting darker outside and she heard the rolling thunder of a storm starting.
“Nicky?” she called again, before heading to Braydon’s room.
She heard shuffling in her parents’ bedroom and smiled to herself as she quietly made her way there.
Karen pulled up to the house and waved at the officer who had followed her. “Will you come in with me?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Look, ma’am, I’m already way out of my jurisdiction just being here. I’m going to have to call this in to the locals. I’ll be back with help in a few minutes. You just wait right here.”
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