Ripple Effect: A Novel (25 page)

Seeking time to think and a quiet place to be, I leave my home in the evening hours and go to the church. Perhaps someone in the sky will listen to me. Or not.

After speaking to Kelly on the way over, I realize that I really need to reevaluate my options now. Even he protested involving Sheriff Copper in this scandal with the three girls and Leison. Leison has an in with the sheriff already and will manipulate him to get what he wants. Just when I am feeling hopeless, Kelly suggests one person. It’s his uncle––a federal agent, or detective, or something. So, I gave him the go to call the guy. Only because I trust Kelly.

Now I sit in the chapel on a white bench. It is time for me to really do some searching, maybe brainstorm on things. Really, I don’t know why I’m here. I just am.

I stand up, light a candle, and I kneel down to pray.

Almighty Dude, why have you set this burden upon my shoulders? One day I wanted to commit suicide. Thanks to some force of wonder, I decided not to. Why? I swear that I saw an angel save me that night, I just know it. The bridge of gold keeps appearing in my mind and I swear I’ve walked upon it. Why are these things happening to me?

And the girls that Leison has captive . . . are they alive? Is he going to kill Sabrina? Is it going to be my fault that he does it? Most importantly, do you believe that I can stop this? Do you have faith in my bravery, in my personal might, that I can stop Leison and save the lives of the innocent that he has trapped?

I don’t know if you can hear me, or if you care to hear me. I don’t mean this disrespectfully, Almighty Dude. I just don’t know if you are really there.

My eyes open and I realize I’m crying. I stare at a stained glass window that depicts Jesus with the angels, all clothed in white. I wonder if my Papa is one of those angels now, watching me. It’s just a thought, though.

“Cecily?” someone asks from behind me.

I turn around and see Sabrina—just standing there watching me. She’s still in her designer jeans and leather jacket, but she’s slouching and looks sloppy. An instant glare forms. “I’m praying,” I say rudely.

“I want to talk to you.” Black hair covers half her face, showing one black eye. “I
need
to talk to you.”

My eyes close and I count to ten to find my patience with her. “I don’t want to talk to you.” Then a picture of her enters my mind, the one where she is buried alive. I cringe from within.

“Cecily, please,” she begs.

I stand up and look at her. She is so fragile and broken, such an extreme comparison to the usual stone-faced, black-hearted, domineering brat she always is. Did she see Leison recently?

“I can’t fight any more! All I do is cry,” she whimpers.

Mad at myself for feeling sympathy for her and her antics, I storm past the pews and benches, through the front door, and onto the yellowing lawn of the church grounds. Striding past the glowing sign—with its encouraging phrases and crosses and all—of the building, I round the side of the church to the side that faces the forest, where no one can see us talking.

“Cecily,” Sabrina cries as she follows me out. “Please!” She’s sobbing and I think it could be real.

I stop for a second and look back at her. “I will never help you! You are a bad person!” My hands smooth through my hair as I try to find my patience again. Yes, she picked on me ruthlessly, but perhaps I am being too tough.

Sabrina drops to her knees and whines loudly, like she is in real pain. “I have no one!”

Pacing the grass for a minute, listening to her cries, I debate running away or actually hearing her out. I look at the white building before me and my mother’s voice sounds off in my head. “
What would our Redeemer do?
”

Angrily, I move to Sabrina and stand above her. “You sold me to those freaks, Sabrina! You think I want to help you?!” I yell, before pacing again. “I was some sort of bounty for you! You wanted to hand me to the sharks at that party.” I stand in front of her again. “You wanted to use me for your own personal gain . . .”

Sabrina forces herself to her feet and I see a huge welt on her face, amidst the lines of black makeup that run down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, okay!”

Sympathy tries to fill me, but I push it away with anger. “Liar! You’re not sorry!”

“It was my last resort!” Sabrina screams. I’d never seen her like this. “He wanted you! More than he ever wanted me . . . !”

I shake my head in disbelief as I fight back the vomit that burns my throat. I refuse to believe such horrible lies! What she said echoed through my mind over and over and I just stood there, frozen.
Wanted me for . . .

Sabrina grabs my shoulders, jolting me back to reality. “I’ve been jealous of you, Cecily Wolf. My entire life! And I wanted to get payback at you because you were happy and I was miserable!” I just blinked at her, confused. “My brother died. Then my mother ran away from me. And then my dad remarried. And then you took my best friend.” Covering her mouth, she stifles her whimpers and those pain-filled, gray eyes of hers are gleaming.

“Hazel,” I whisper. “I didn’t take her––you chased her to me, Sabrina. You can’t control people!”

“I know!” Sabrina screams. “I’ve already tried with you! The party was a fail. And now, I am left to beg and plead with you on my hands and knees for help!”

“What was in it for you? Freedom? A soul for a soul?” I step back warily.

Sabrina nods as her lip quivers. “He told me he’d replace me with you!” She gasps. “I was selfish! I didn’t think of what it could have done to you!”

“That’s crap!” I yell. “You know exactly what he would have done!” My heart sinks in my chest as I stare at her, hurt. “Replace? Yes, Sabrina.” I get right into her face. “He would have killed you and I would have taken your place . . .”

“I know,” she whispers. “I was so wrong!”

“It’s not just you, Sabrina. He has others.”

“So he says,” she replies. “He’s hiding them.”

I bite my lip anxiously and look down. “He says he’s going to bury you alive.”

A loud gasp escapes Sabrina. She shakes her head in fright. “Please, Cecily! Don’t let him do that to me!”

“How do I know that you won’t turn on me,” I ask her, “to save yourself?”

Sabrina begins crying again, her eyes red from all the tears. “I don’t cry. I don’t get scared. I don’t beg. Yet, here I am, begging you to help me. No one could have set me up to this. I’m not a beggar!”

“Say sorry,” I demand. “For everything.”

“Sorry for everything,” she says. “And most of all . . . for calling you a selfish slut.”

I step away and examine her––bruised, broken, torn, and barely holding on. She seems legit, but Sabrina can’t be trusted. She is a master of lies and always has been.

“If you see Leison once behind my back, I swear that I will personally bury you myself.” I point to the forest. “Or, if you can’t handle that . . . leave my sight. I know it’s hard to give up your selfish ways and think of others, but you’ll have to if you want my help.”

Sabrina wraps her arms tightly around me. “Thank you so much!” She cries on my shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Cecily, for everything!”

Slowly and with reluctance, I embrace her in my arms. Tears fill my eyes and I stare up at the full moon in the sky. “What have we gotten ourselves into?” I whisper.

“How do we get ourselves out?” Sabrina releases me and wipes the tears from her cheeks.

He has three girls kidnapped somewhere and she hasn’t told anyone. Did she just find out as well? My eyes narrow. “How long have you known about the girls, Sabrina?”

Guilt is written across her face. “A few weeks.”

I want to punch her. “A few weeks!? Well, they’re dead now, aren’t they? Why didn’t you tell anyone?!”

“Shh!” she motions. “And risk dying too?” That was not an acceptable excuse in my book. “Besides, no one ever believes me––no one serious, at least.”

She’s right. She’s a lying, cheating, attention-seeking brat. Honestly, I don’t know if I can handle her lies.

“Did he say where they are?” I ask her quickly.

“Maybe it’s a trick. To manipulate us . . .”

“Sabrina, did he say where he’s keeping them?” I ask again, annoyed. She was right though. Perhaps it was a trick . . . perhaps not.

“Somewhere dark where there is no light, food, or water. They’re still alive . . .”

Silence fills the space between us as I think of where they could be. There are numerous abandoned mines around here and they could be trapped in any of those. Or they could be trapped underground. Or in an old colonial basement. Who knows where he put them?

Maybe he feeds them just enough to keep them alive. Maybe there is hope. Or . . . maybe there are just piles of rotting and decaying flesh, skeleton, and left-over remains of the young women he’s attacked. If I could get the officers to help, maybe we could rescue the girls . . .

“Don’t let him do to you what he’s done to me.” Sabrina is staring down, her arms wrapped tightly around her torso. She doesn’t look well.

“I had no intention of letting that—”

She lifts her shirt to show me her stomach. “Look.” Bruises cover it in all shapes and sizes. I touch my own stomach, recognizing only a fraction of the sight. “My father caught me coming in late and he saw my bruises and he flipped.” She shivers. “I had to lie to him, Cecily! I couldn’t cry on his shoulders or ask him for help, because Leison would kill us all! He even grounded me, but I had to go the party or I’d be in deep––”

“You had to turn me in,” I say, cutting her off.

She starts crying—again. “And you weren’t there. So I got a horrible beating. Then when I saw you, I was so angry. Something dawned after we fought and I realized that instead of using you to replace me, I could join forces with you to stop him.”

“Why me?” I just want to rip my hair out. “Why does he want me?!”

Sabrina grabs my hands. “Because you were dark then—a victim. You were the perfect target.” Her brow creases, like she’s confused. “But now . . . you’ve changed into something strong. You’re a fighter. He knows that if he wants to keep you silent, he’ll have to use death. He will have to threaten you with the lives of others, like mine or the three girls. He will dig a hole in your psyche and make his playground there.”

“How do you know that?” I ask her.

“He’s done it to me,” she whispers.

My eyes close. “I was supposed to commit suicide that night.” I look at her seriously.

Sabrina doesn’t believe it. “Why would you do that?”

I look down. “The same reason you turned into a conniving brat. But instead of trying to rule everyone, I thought I’d be better off dead.” Our gazes met. “Everyone said I was turning into Sabrina.”

“I guess we’re one and the same,” she says quietly. “Maybe that’s why he wanted you.”

My jaw clenches. I am not Sabrina! “Did you really sleep with him, Sabrina?” It is my way of proving that the two of us are nothing alike!

“It was supposed to be cool, posh. Sleeping with a teach––like wow, right?” Sabrina drops her head, ashamed of herself. “He’s a psychopath, Cecily . . .”

“Ew.” I can’t help but to judge a little.

“Watch yourself, Wolf. You’re the one that asked about it.”

My brow lifts and I give her a look to go on. Tender subject apparently.

“The first time was something else, something amazing.” She’s referring to the experience with Leison. “No high school boy is that good in bed.”

I gag. “Sabrina, that’s nasty!”

Shrugging, she continues, “But then things got weird, like beyond kinky. How do I say
no
to the man when he threatens my life?”

“Whips and chains?” I ask sarcastically. “Duct tape?”

Sabrina sends me a terrified look. “That was the least of it.”

My stomach twists into knots.
What if he does it to me?

“I’m eighteen and I should be chillin’ with my friends, having slumber parties. Instead I’m forced into horrible things. I have no friends! They ditched me!” Sabrina’s face contorts and her eyes fill with tears. “I’m alone . . .”

It’s a miracle that she even wanted out, that she could seek a way out. Maybe it is possible for us to work together—for enemies to come together to stop a greater evil. Maybe it’s the only way to stop Leison from attacking anyone else. But we have to be smart; we can’t ask just anyone for help. Leison is smart, a serial killer who has had practice. He has made us practically invisible to the law enforcement in town . . .

And that is why Kelly’s uncle is so important to us. He’s the outside man who hasn’t been corrupted by Leison––yet. If he wasn’t Kelly’s uncle, then we wouldn’t be using him either. I feel that we can only trust this guy because of his ties to Kelly.

“And everyone knows that I do what I do, Cecily.” Sabrina brings my attention back to her. “At first I was so cool for doing it . . . well still am . . . but I am paying the price. Sabrina, the duchess, so cool, so skank . . . so dead.”

At least she knew that she was an idiot––I didn’t have to point that out for her.