Catharsis (Book 3): Catastrophe

by Campbell, D. Andrew

  “I can do that,” he tells me. “Easy ‘nuff. I brought a book.”

  “Thanks,” I tell him and when he makes no move to reach for the bill, I just let it go so that it flutters down onto the passenger seat. I’m not sure if he’s just being too nice to reach for it, or if offering someone money to wait is an insult. I’m not real sure how this works, and my only reference is having watched movies in the past. I can only hope I’m doing this correctly.

  “If I take too long and you need to leave or that money’s used up, then no hard feelings,” I tell him. “I completely understand.”

  “I’ll be here, miss,” he says slowly and gives a small, broken smile. It shows some of his teeth, and the look in his eye just verifies my earlier assumption about his inherent kindness. There’s not enough people like this left in the world.

  Nodding my head, I just mumble a thanks and turn to drag my oxygen cart up the stairs and into the building that is housing the single most evil being I’ve ever known to exist. A being that I am getting ready to confront.

  Checking in at the registration desk is much less intimidating than I’d feared it would be. Ren was right about my disguise working to set people’s minds at ease. It isn’t just that I’m not viewed as a threat, but most of the guards and employees I encounter look at me with pity and as someone who needs to be helped. It is a complete disconnect from my normal world, and it throws me off balance.

  Luckily the Hunger is nearly non-existent as I move around the crowds of people in the waiting room. Between my feasting last night and Ren’s preparation to filter my senses and the Darkness’s mild presence dulling my appetite, I can almost feel like a normal person. It’s almost pleasant being around humans in a semi-social situation and not feeling an impulse to attack them.

  It isn’t an activity I would want to repeat on a regular basis, but I do enjoy knowing it’s a thing that can exist.

  After giving my name and signing the official Duncan Correctional Facility log book, a guard steps out from inside the small glass-windowed office to examine my oxygen tank. He only gives it a cursory scan before looking up at me and asking, “Will you be ok in there? Would you like any help?”

  It’s nice of him to offer, but assistance is probably the last thing I’ll need. “No,” I tell him. “But thank you.”

  He nods and then points through a set of glass doors which are marked with the words “VISITING AREA” in large, red capital letters. “Your uncle will be through there, dear,” he says. “But you’ll need to hook to your left as you go through. He isn’t in the normal visiting area. He’s in the ‘seclusion section’ which means you’ll be talking to him through a glass wall. He isn’t allowed physical contact with visitors.” His eyes soften a bit as he says this, and then adds, “I’m sorry.”

  “Thank you. It’s fine,” I tell him. “I’ll be ok.” He nods and steps back into the little office as I walk past him trailing my oxygen cart.

  “You ready for this?” Ren’s voice pops up in my ear for the first time this entire trip and it startles me. I gasp a bit at the surprise, and he apologizes. “Sorry, Cat. I was just waiting until you were finally alone. I didn’t want to talk when you had people around you.”

  “It’s all good,” I tell him as I push open the thick glass and metal door that leads into the visiting area and look around. “I’m just glad to know you’re still there.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere,” he says reassuringly. “And good thinking with the cab. I should have thought of that.”

  Finding a hallway to my left that indicates something about prisoners in the “Secluded Area”, I turn and begin walking towards my next door. “Everybody makes mistakes,” I continue. “We’re all human.”

  The joke makes him shuff out a small, involuntary laugh. “Yes, I guess you could say…”

  My sudden inhalation of breath as I push open the next door silences Ren and cuts off whatever he was about to say. As I step through the door, I come face to glass-separated-face with Chadwick Morrin. The room is similar to any number of typical, old prison visiting areas that have been seen in movies or TV shows for years. Pairs of chairs facing each other with only a glass wall and small metal table between them. In my peripheral vision I pick up about six other booths lined up across the room, but there is only one that pulls my full attention. It’s in the exact middle of all of them. And sitting on the far side is the man I have come to hate and hold responsible for the pain in my life.

  Chadwick is leaning back in a chair and looking incredibly comfortable and smug. His already evident smile widens even further when he sees me, and he moves forward just the slightest amount as he readjusts himself. His light gray top looks like the scrubs I’ve seen any number of nurses or doctors wear in hospitals. I had seen him wearing the prison uniform before when he was out in the yard, but up close it comes across as more comfy than punitive. He does not look like a man who is suffering in this place at all. He looks content. He looks confident. And seeing him like this causes something inside of me to flare up so strongly that the Darkness quickly works to dampen it back down. If I hadn’t been letting the Darkness use some influence on me, then I might have lost it as soon as I stepped through the doorway. I would have rushed the glass wall and begun beating on it with my bare hands.

  But I don’t. Instead I let out a hiss of breath and relish the tingle that flows through my body as the Darkness works to keep me in control of myself.

  “I’m here and listening,” is all Ren tells me before going silent again.

  Standing in the doorway, I just stare at Chadwick without moving. I am roughly ten feet away from this man that I have sworn to kill. That I have dedicated the last several months of my life to thinking about. My inability to get to him and end his existence while he is this close is intoxicatingly painful.

  Chadwick leans forward onto the little desk built into the alcove and waves me towards him like an old friend beckoning to a person they haven’t seen in years. His smile reflects a twinkle in his eyes as he stares at me.

  I’m not sure why he’s so happy or what he has planned, but neither translate to any level of enjoyment on my end. Pulling out the small metal chair across from him, I move the oxygen tank and cart so that they’ll rest next to me and I sit down.

  Ren picks up the little telephone on the cubicle’s wall and motions for me to do the same.

  As soon as I do and lift it to my ear, he begins talking. “Catarina Perez,” he purrs at me in that voice I have only heard a handful of times and yet it haunts me on a daily basis. “I’m glad to see you got my invitation.”

  “Anna Belluck?” I say. “Nice.”

  “Did you like that? I thought it was pretty crafty myself. I’m always one to try and work the system if I’m able to,” he says and winks at me.

  Instead of responding, I just stare at him for several seconds. “What do you want, Chadwick? Why am I here?”

  “Well, I had thought we could just talk a little bit instead of all that awkward staring we keep doing, but apparently you’re not much of a conversationalist. That’s too bad,” he tells me with a shrug. “I guess we’ll just have to get right to the point instead of enjoying ourselves for a bit.”

  “I’m not enjoying any of this,” I tell him. “What do you want?”

  “What do I want?” He repeats. “That’s easy. I want out. I’m bored in here. I can’t really do anything fun. I’m too limited. I need to stretch my legs. Out there,” he says and indicates my side of the table with a sweep of his arm.

  My eyebrows rise a bit involuntarily. I’m surprised. This wasn’t what I was expecting. I’m more than happy to have Chadwick out in the world. If he’s out where I am, then I can get to him. And remove him from this world. I’m faster than I was before. And I’m stronger and I’m better, and I won’t get beaten by him a second time.

  I let a smile creep up onto my face. “I can get behind that. I’d like you out here, too. How do we make that happen?�
��

  “Cat,” Ren says softly into my ear. “I don’t like this. Be careful.”

  “Shhh,” I say just loud enough for him to pick up. I am being careful. But just to make sure I’m extra alert, I bring up more of the Darkness and give it control of my senses to help me pick up on anything I might normally miss.

  Shaking his head with mock disappointment, Chadwick continues. “See, that’s the problem. I can’t come out while you’re still free and waiting for me. That won’t do me any good at all. I need you gone so that I can move around. So that,” he pauses to give me another small wink. “I can get back to having fun. You’re not good at letting me have my fun.”

  “Well that’s not gonna work,” I say. “I’m not going anywhere until you get out. I’m going to be waiting over here just on this side ready for the day you step out. Then I’m going to guarantee that’s the last step you take.”

  “I was afraid you’d say something like that. Be all single-minded and such. Not be willing to let bygones be bygones and move on with life. Haven’t you heard the adage about forgiving people, Ms. Perez? You should try it.”

  “No. You don’t get to be forgiven for what you did to my sister.”

  “What I did?” He gasps and looks surprised. “Why, Catarina, I was not the one who did anything to your sister. If I remember correctly, she was still alive when I left.”

  “Catarina,” Ren whispers again in my year. “Don’t let him bait you.”

  A low growl erupts from deep within me as I pull harder on the Darkness to keep myself calm. Its grip pulses with my heartbeat as it tries to handle the emotions raging inside of me.

  “Maybe you’re blaming the wrong person,” he says flippantly as if we were discussing where to eat for dinner when we head out next. “But I can tell you are concerned with helping people and their safety, so let’s think about that shall we.”

  I glare at him instead of responding and focus on controlling the turmoil that’s punching its way through my internal organs.

  “We have already lost a dear sister. Leyna,” he says. “And that was tragic. And probably avoidable if not for certain decisions that were made. Decisions that could have been avoided,” he says and watches me for any reaction. I do my best to give him none.

  “Do you ever think about that, Catarina? The decisions you have made that have led to the pain of others. Do those decisions ever bother you? Do they haunt you?” He asks with an upbeat lilt to his voice. He’s enjoying this.

  “Cat,” Ren begins, but I cut him off.

  “I know,” I hiss.

  “Sometimes our decisions can hurt those around us. Or they can save,” he says lightly, and then his demeanor shifts and he becomes serious. “If you could do it again but do it differently, would you? Would you make the choice to save her? Let me go, but save her? One life for another. Wouldn’t that be worth it?”

  My breathing becomes shallower as I continue to stare at him and listen.

  “What about if you could make it two lives for one?” He says suddenly after letting me stare at him for several seconds. “Instead of saving one life when you leave me alone, you could save two.”

  “What?” I finally manage to respond once I’ve processed what he’s said.

  “It’s simple. You leave me alone once I’m out of here, and you get to save the lives of two people this time. You’re getting a do-over. You get to make the right decision this time, and everyone comes out of it a winner. It couldn’t be better.”

  It feels like he’s having a conversation that I’m only getting part of. What is he talking about? What two lives am I saving? Why would I possibly agree to whatever demands he puts forth?

  Again, I thank my foresight for letting the Darkness take some control during this encounter. Without its influence I don’t think I could remain calm. I’m still not exactly sure what is going on, but I do know that I’m not attacking the glass with my bare fingers like a raving lunatic which is what my heart desires, and that is something.

  “Walk away,” Ren says suddenly into my ear. “Now. Stand up, turn around and walk away.”

  “What?” I blurt out a bit shocked. “Why?” What does Ren know that I don’t know? How is he ahead of me on this one?

  “Cat, go now,” he pleads, and I can hear the strain of emotion in his voice. “Before he can talk again.”

  “Why?” Chadwick says before I can stand as he apparently thinks my question was aimed at him. “To save your parents, of course. You may have lost your sister, but you still have them. Your decision now can keep them alive.”

  “No,” Ren says quietly into my ear, and I can hear the defeat in his voice.

  “What are you talking about?” I ask quietly and ignore the little voice in my ear.

  “Your parents. Once I’m freed, all you have to do is leave this city. This state. And never come back, and never look for me. You just pretend I don’t exist, and as far as your parents will be concerned,” he says and then stops to look me in the eyes. “Well, we’ll just say they never have to know the truth about what happened that night.”

  “You can’t touch them,” I hiss. “I’ll kill you before you ever get near them. I’ll end you with your first breath of free air.”

  Chadwick raises his eyebrows in surprise. “Well, that doesn’t sound like you’re conceding to the terms at all. I think this is where we’re supposed to negotiate and come to an agreement.”

  “No agreement,” I say and let my hatred for him flavor the words. “No negotiation.”

  With a shrug he says, “Yeah, I kind of figured it would go that way the entire time, but I had hope you’d see reason. Guess I was wrong.”

  “Dead wrong,” I agree and lean forward so that I can smile and show my teeth.

  He waves his hand towards me like I’m an annoying fly. “Just remember, Catarina, this is your choice,” he says and then leans back and away from his side of the table and raises one arm and snaps his fingers. “It could have all been avoided. I gave you the choice. You made this decision. Like with your sister, you are responsible for what happens next.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  “What are you talking about?” I ask and look at him dumbfounded. Why is he not intimidated by me? Why is he not bothered by me at all? How is this not going how I planned at all?

  “I don’t like this,” I hear Ren say into my ear.

  Me either, I think, even though I have no idea what this is yet.

  Suddenly a guard comes into view on Chadwick’s side of the glass wall. His approach was blocked by the tall metal walls of the neighboring alcoves, but Chadwick was apparently expecting his arrival. Maybe that was why he snapped?

  The man sitting in the chair across from me leans back and away from the little phone and speaks to the guard. Normally, a person wouldn’t be able to pick up on what was being said. But I’m not a normal person.

  “Phone, please,” Chadwick says in a jovial tone.

  The guard pulls a cell phone out of his pocket, unlocks it and hands it over before walking away.

  Leaning forward again and tapping on the screen, Chadwick brings the little prison intercom phone back up to his face.

  “See, I’ve made some friends while I’ve been in here,” he says. “I don’t have to be free to still have some of my fun. I can take care of my end of the bargain without ever stepping foot into the free world.”

  “Bargain?” I ask a bit confused.

  “Well, implied bargain, really,” he says. “You ignore me and your parents live. But since you’re not going to ignore me, then that means you’ve chosen for them to die. You, Catarina,” he says and the lightness of his attitude evaporates for a moment. “Have made this decision. It could have been avoided.”

  “How?” Is all I’m able to say as I watch his fingers continue to manipulate the phone. How can he possibly get to my parents from in here? It has to be a bluff. But what if it’s not? How can I stop him?

  I start looking around the small r
oom for a way to get to where he is, but the glass wall meets both the ceiling and floor and disappears. I see no easy way to abuse seams. It’s a solid barrier between us. It’s almost like the state prison system anticipated something like this.

  Chadwick notices my distraction, and he follows my eyes around the room.

  “You can’t get to me in here,” he says with a slight chuckle. “It’s why I chose it. I’m perfectly safe. Unlike others.”

  “Anyway,” he says and picks the conversation back up like we’d just been chatting. “While I was in here I spent some time listening when others spoke. Wasn’t always easy since I’d gotten myself put into solitary to stay away from the undesirables. But there were times when I would deem it appropriate to be social. And one of those times I happened to overhear a conversation that piqued my interest.”

  He pauses to raise his eyebrows at me, but I don’t respond. I just simmer and let the Darkness continue to flood my system in an attempt to keep myself calm.

  “I hear these guys talking about how they’d gotten arrested after getting attacked by some crazy, superhuman monster. According to them, this monster took the form of a small, Hispanic girl, but it moved with the speed and strength of no human they’d ever seen. No matter how much these guys tried to impress upon the others how fearsome this monster was, people would just laugh at them at the mention of it being a small girl. And a Hispanic one at that.

  “But I listened. And I asked questions. Turns out this all happened the same night that your sister died. Weird coincidence, right?” He asks and looks at me. “According to them, whoever this girl was had been creating quite a bit of stress for their bosses and others even higher up in their particular, let’s call them…organizations. Bounties were being created and rewards offered. But no one knew anything about her or how to stop the attacks.

  “I hear she’s even still out there today causing more trouble. And that word on the street is starting to pick up about people trying to track her down. It’s no longer that one group looking for her. It is many groups. There is a whole army of underground thugs just trying to figure out who this person might be.