9

"Frederick is coming here," announced Kayler, bringing in the suitcases. It wasn’t right to lie to him, but I still couldn’t get my head around the fact that he was involved with Darla. He says to trust him, but why does it have to be her? What does she have to do with him... with us?

I put my cell phone away and tried to relax a bit. It’s not like I’m the queen of lying, but I had to do something so he wouldn’t find out.

"And... why is he coming?" I pretended to be looking at the lamps in the house. He put the suitcases in a corner and took out his cell phone.

"There's something he’s bringing...," he read something on it, "... but we need to do something else," he put the cell phone away and looked at me, "We’ll be out for a while, I promise to come back early."

Him going out was the best thing that could happen to me right now; it would leave me alone, and I could go to that address. Meet that man. Find out what he wants.

"Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. You can take as much time as you want... I...," I calmed myself, "will study a bit."

He scanned me with his eyes but nodded. I think he believed me. Then a horn sounded outside, and Kayler opened the door.

"Are you coming?" he looked at me, "I have a surprise for you," he smiled sideways.

I squinted in his direction, walking toward him. When I got outside, I saw Frederick getting out of a white car. I wondered what surprise Kayler had for me. The guy handed Kayler the car keys.

"Everything's ready," he said.

Kayler walked towards me, handing me the keys.

Could it be...?

"You need to move around in something while I’m not around," he explained.

I looked at him expectantly. Was he giving me a car? A luxurious and expensive car? I couldn’t believe it; I never thought someone would give me a car.

I took the keys, a bit hesitant.

"Kayler, how...?" I was going to ask how he got it, but he interrupted me: "Shhh, hush, just enjoy it. I’ll tell you later." He winked at me.

I didn’t know whether to thank him or distrust him. I didn’t know where he got so much money from. First the house, now the car. I don’t know, all this is very strange. However, I smiled, you know, so he wouldn’t suspect anything.

"I suppose I have to thank you," I shrugged, "but later you’ll have to tell me how you..."

"It’s okay, we have to go now," he gave me a soft kiss on the lips, "and remember," he looked into my eyes, "trust me, okay?"

I always had a bad experience doubting him, when he knows what he’s doing. Besides, it’s not like he’s involved in anything shady, right?

I nodded.

"Good," he sighed, "Let me know when you’re on your way back. Maybe I’ll have a surprise for you," I lied. We were starting with lies.

He smiled mischievously.

"Alright," he kissed me again.

After Kayler and Federico, or whatever that guy's name was, left, I hurried back into the house. I was ready, so I just had to wait a bit. I was sitting on the couch, thoughtful, deciding if it would be good or not to go alone to see that man. I still had the address in my hand. I didn’t know what would happen.

I didn’t know anyone here to back me up... well, only Rafael, but that would mean telling him what I did, and I didn’t want him to see me as a monster who can’t control themselves. I had been sitting there for a while, the worry and nerves were killing me. I felt like vomiting from time to time, I felt dizzy.

Horrible things had happened since I arrived here, and worse, my animal appetite was getting hungry again. That scared me more. I didn’t want to kill again without realizing it. I was a little comforted by the thought that Kayler would be with me at night, but speaking of...

Kayler, where could those two have gone? And if they went back to Darla’s window? Just thinking about it made my blood boil.

Calm down, trust Kayler. Maybe they suspect something about Darla and that’s why they’re watching her. But what does she have to do with it? I shook my head and got rid of those torturous thoughts. I looked at my cell phone, noting it was a quarter to nine. It was time to go. I put on my black coat, took the house and car keys, and left.

The car was a white convertible, the kind that has a removable roof. It was comfortable for me. I got in, put on my seatbelt, and started the engine. Ready to face God knows who.

It was night, the journey seemed endless. I carefully located the address since I wasn’t familiar with this place, but I managed to get there. I noticed it was a seedy neighborhood; the walls of the buildings were deteriorated and covered in graffiti. I saw several gangs posted on some corners.

But after a while, I arrived at my destination. It was a deserted street, with just one small streetlight illuminating part of the road. There was a dark alley ahead.

I must be crazy to do this.

I got out of the car and looked around, expecting to see someone else. My phone started ringing with the ringtone I had set hours before to identify the number of the unknown person. Have you seen Riverdale, the second season? I was using the same ringtone Betty used when the masked man called her.

It took me a few seconds to answer, but I finally did.

"Yes?" I whispered. The streets were deserted, and there was no moon.

"I met Dereck," the man replied in his same macabre tone, "he was a good boy." I felt something in my chest.

"I... I’m so sorry," I murmured. My eyes were filling with tears.

Don’t cry, Carolina, you’re strong.

"A simple sorry isn’t enough. It’s not going to bring him back to life," he said. "But we can do something. Have a little fun, or the police will know what you did."

"They won’t believe you," I blurted out. "They won’t know it was me. To them, it was an animal."

That was true, why didn’t I think of that before?

"But they don’t know what kind of girl you are, Carolina," he muttered. "Walk straight into the alley," he ordered.

"What?"

"Walk straight into the alley," he repeated, a bit exasperated.

"Alright," I obeyed, walking into the darkness of the alley, "what will you do to me? Where are you?"

"I’m close," he sighed. He sounded exhausted. "Just keep walking until you reach the end."

And so I did. It was a long way, there was a stench of stagnant water in the air. There were even puddles, and I saw a few cats by the edge of the wall. It was a dead-end alley; at the end, I saw a wall, preventing me from going further.

"I’m here," I stopped in front of the wall.

"Pick up the black bag to your left, Carolina."

I looked to my left, noticing there was indeed a black bag on the ground. It seemed to have something inside. I wondered what it could be, maybe something good or something bad. I ruled out the possibility of it being something good.

"Done," I muttered.

"Open it," he ordered, excited.

I knelt, placing the cell phone beside me, and with trembling hands, I untied the knot. Once it was untied, I reached inside and grabbed whatever was in there. I felt something slimy. Then a rotten smell started emanating from inside. I suppressed the urge to vomit.

When I finally pulled out what was in there, I immediately dropped it to the ground, stifling a scream and stepping back. My heart was racing, my hands were trembling. There was a rabbit’s head in there, dead and bloody. My hand was covered in blood too. The rabbit seemed to have been dead for days.

I picked up my cell phone and brought it back to my ear.

"What does this mean?" I questioned. My hand wouldn’t stop shaking.

"Just wait a moment... Now, do you see the box in the other corner?"

I looked at the other corner, where I was, and there was a small box there.

"Yes."

"Open it."

"I won’t fall for it again," I attacked.

"Relax, it’s not something dead. It’s just a reminder that you can’t tell anyone about this. Or what’s to come."

I bent down, thinking there couldn’t be anything worse in there. In a quick motion, I opened it, which was a bad idea because there was a rattlesnake about to strike. It was sticking out its tongue and rattling its tail. I was petrified, immobile. It was long enough to attack me, but I carefully stood up and took a few steps back.

"It was a pleasure playing with you today, Carolina Lane," was what the man said before hanging up.

I reacted, taking more steps back until I was far enough to run out of the alley. When I got to where I had left the car, it was gone.

But where is my car? Damn it.

However, the nerves, the fear, and the disgust I felt in such a short time caused me to feel dizzy, seeing everything distorted. I stood there for a moment, but then I just closed my eyes and let myself fall to the pavement.