Her first thought when she opened the door was that it smelled like burning. Something in the house was burning. Her next thought was that it was cold, as though all the windows had been left open. She walked through the hallway, bypassing the floorboards that she knew would give her away. Stopping by the living room she listened with every fiber of her body for something, anything that would give away where Kelly was and if her son was alive.
She heard a small sound coming from the back bedroom where her parents had slept and where she now kept her desk and assortment of projects she always meant to find time to do. Holding her breath she crept closer, hugging close to the wall as though some picture frame would protect her should anyone come from that room.
As she drew closer she heard the sounds of muffled whimpering mixed with the shuffling of furniture. The smell of fear flowed through the passage, massaging each smiling picture and photo of family memories, hitting Rita with the realization that her son was alive, but that she had no time to stage an elaborate plan for his freedom. A sound she could not recognize filtered through the mix, leaving Rita suddenly without confidence as she crouched before the door. Stilling herself she could hear her friend’s voice above the noises of the room, explaining to her son what would soon happen to him.
“Why don’t you understand Brian? This is for you, to save you from what is about to happen. Children are so pure when they are young. There is nothing to cloud your mind, heart or soul with evil. Your innocence is your greatest virtue. It’s something that you can’t hold on to but only notice it’s lost when you look back and find it gone. Now you will have it forever. You will live forever with your innocence. Don’t you see? Don’t you see why I have to do this for you? You must be pure when you leave here. I’m guaranteeing you will be saved. Your soul will be saved. Aren’t you so grateful?”
Kelly’s voice was filled with compassion and joy as she delivered her blessing on the boy. Rita peeked around the door frame to see her son standing tied to a chair as a small fire flicked across the floor. She was going to burn him alive, Rita thought. How am I going to do this? Rita tucked her head back behind the framing but not before Brian caught a glimpse of her hair.
“Mommy!” He sobbed out, his tears resuming control of his face.
“Oh Rita. You’re just in time.” Kelly called. “Why don’t you come in here so you can understand?”
Rita hesitated but then thought to herself that this may be her chance to save herself and Brian and possibly even the murderess herself. She mustered up her strength and walked through the doorway. Kelly stood behind Brian’s chair with both hands on his shoulders, the littlest move would push him into the flames now licking at the rug beneath the chair’s feet. Brian’s face was contorted by tears and fear, his eyes begging his mother to rescue him from the death he was not ready to face.
“Its ok honey. Mommy just needs to talk to her friend.” Rita locked gazes with Kelly as she straightened and stepped toward her.
“No. You don’t need to come any closer, unless you are planning on joining him in there.” Kelly said, tightening her grip on the chair and repositioning her body.
Rita put up her hands in a symbol of submission. “Ok, ok. Just tell me what’s going on.”
Kelly looked up to the ceiling as if searching for support then took a deep breath and began.
“Mom told me before I left for college to be careful. That those cities could change you, could hurt you but I left anyways. I was so excited. But living there, living with those girls. It twists you and leaves your soul naked. I went to parties, I kissed boys and one night something happened. I don’t know what it was or remember anything. But when I woke up the next morning I realized I had lost my self. I had sacrificed my soul. I had lost my innocence in that place. So I came home. I had to prove myself purified, I had to re-find my faith and see where I had lost it. I knew I was damned. I had nothing left but to pray for all forgiveness. And then I realized. If I could help others attain their true salvation maybe I too would regain acceptance.”
“But all those children. Why? Why not let them have the ability to chose.”
“Because man is destined to fail. We have been failing since we first emerged from this earth. It is only a matter of time. No. The best moment has to be when we are still children. Only then are we pure and sweet and our innocence is at its highest. Before we lose it we still have a chance to attain greatness.”
The window behind Kelly reflected both the chaos within the house and serene quiet of the neighborhood street. Kelly’s eyes glowed with the flames reflection reminding Rita of a cat caught in a flashlight beam. Almost unnatural she was both stunningly beautiful and terrifying to behold. Rita couldn’t take her eyes off her but for a second she had seen a shape behind Kelly in the glass. She wasn’t sure but she could have sworn she had seen a large man. Jack! It must be Jack, she thought and refocused on Kelly in case her attention, too, would be diverted. Out of her peripheral vision she saw him lift one of her large metal trashcans and as the metal hit and shattered the glass Kelly went down to protect herself while Rita flew to Brian, tackling the chair away from the flames. Kelly screamed as she lifted herself to stand, holding one hand over her face as blood leaked down her arms. Glass was imbedded deep in her head and covered her hair glittering like diamonds in the dim lighting. Kelly turned in time to see Jack rush at her, a shard of glass clutched in his hand as a knife. As he imbedded it in her flesh she looked up to the ceiling and said only one word before she met her death. “Why?”
Jack pulled away from the corpse to find Rita. “Hurry, get Judy. She’s in the attic.” He rushed down the hallway searching each door for the passageway down and went to get the girl who had been hiding with her tears as her only comfort throughout the confrontation. Jack lifted Judy over his shoulder as he ran out to the street, meeting Rita and Brian just in time to see the house of Rita’s childhood collapse into a pile of burnt beams.