Page 24 of Traces of Kara

Zoo. Zoo. Kara remembered a story she’d made up when she was younger about the zoo—a little boy who wouldn’t leave her alone. She remembered telling her mother. They’d moved shortly thereafter, and Kara had forgotten all about it until now. What was happening to her? Was she losing her mind? She had to focus, to stop overthinking whatever the crazy man said.

“Remember Mom?” He laughed.

Mom? Who is he talking about? Oh, God, Mom. Mom, I’m so sorry I treated you badly. I love you.

He looked at her expectantly. “You were her gift to me, because she had slippery fingers.”

Mom. I need you. Kara listened to him ramble on about his mother, their mother, and how she’d slipped and burned his face.

“She didn’t mean to do it. We were making all this noise, and she was cookin’, remember?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “You shrieked and she turned with the pot of boiling water and it slipped.” He looked toward the ceiling. “I was just in the way of that water, that’s all.”

Kara’s body trembled. His words played in her mind like a movie. Or was it a memory? A little boy standing in a cramped kitchen with a round metal table and three metal chairs that looked like they belonged outside. A woman in a housedress, a lit cigarette hanging from her lips. Was she making this up? Was it real? What was happening to her? Was she becoming too entrenched in his world while trying to befriend him and get herself free, or was it something more? I’m definitely losing my mind. Her lower lip pushed up, and words tumbled out. “She burned you,” she said. Tick, tick, tick.

Roland’s head snapped up. “An accident.”

Kara wrapped her arms around her head, mewing like a hurt lamb. “She burned you! Oh, God, she burned you!” Did she remember? Was it real? What was happening to her? Was he brainwashing her? The tick, tick, tick of the clock grated on her nerves. “That clock is driving me crazy. It’s echoing in my head.”

“She didn’t mean to!” he roared. “She moved us away so she wouldn’t slip and burn you, too.”

“No!” You’re lying! Her voice was not her own. Tick, tick, tick. She wasn’t forcing the words from her throat, and yet they spewed out like lava, fast and venomous. “It was on purpose! You’re evil.”

“That’s them talking, not you, Marissa!” he yelled. “Don’t say that!”

“I’m not Marissa! I’m not your sister! She’s not my mother! My mother is Mimi Stone. She loves me. She raised me!” Tick, tick, tick. Kara screamed. Memories plucked at her nerves—memories, or suggestions? They clawed at her, taunting her with pieces of stories. Kara pushed them away, unable to decipher if they were real or implanted by Roland’s suggestions. She was going mad. Kara wiped her tear-streaked face with her hands.

Roland was on his feet, pacing, the blood on his clothes a dark menacing reminder of what he’d done. He wrapped his arms around his stomach and bent over. “Don’t you ever say that. That’s them talking, not you.”

Kara held onto the pole and heard her agonizing cry fill the room. “I’m not her! My mother loves me!” Tick, tick, tick. “Shut that damned clock up! I can’t take it anymore. My head is going to explode.” Kara kicked the clock across the room. It slammed against the wall. Pieces of metal scattered across the floor. She faltered backward, her head reeling, her body off balance.

“No!” Roland fell to his knees, picking up the pieces. He looked at the shards of metal in his palm. “Now you’ve done it,” he said through gritted teeth, and threw the pieces at her.

Kara backed into the corner. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean—”

His icy stare bore into her. He rose to his feet, standing within a few inches of her trembling body.

She cowered.

“That damned clock marked how much time we had left.”

“Left?” she whispered.

“Until we die.”

Chapter Nineteen

Mimi called Kara’s cell phone again. It was already two p.m. and she still hadn’t heard from her. She dialed the main number of the power plant. Maybe Kara had showed up late for work after all.

“Hey, Betty, it’s Mimi. How are you?” she asked the secretary. There was no need to bother Jackson. Betty would know if Kara was there or not.

“Oh, just fine, you know. How are you, Mimi? I heard about Daryl. I’m so sorry.”

Mimi rolled her eyes. Does everyone know? “Yeah, well, he’s a pig. What can I say? Bet, have you heard from Kara? Did she show up for work today?”

Betty rustled papers. “She wasn’t scheduled today, hon.”

“But Jackson called. He said she was supposed to be there.”

Betty sighed. “Hold on a sec.”