Disclaimer:

This is chapter contains strong language, violence and situations that some may find disturbing. To put it bluntly, it’s pretty hairy. So please don’t read if you think it may upset you. Also the town is fictional as well as the characters and they are not meant to reflect on the South or on Alabama as a whole. So before you send me any hate mail…I’m a Southern woman…and the devil is in the details.

Deeper

By Ronica Black

Chapter 2

She reached out to the left of the steering column, fingering for the wiper switch. Thunder ricocheted softly around her, not quite ready to demand its presence. The small droplets of rain dotted her windshield falling, from the blackening sky.

Alan Jackson crooned from the radio, proudly singing "Where I come from." The song was more than appropriate and she couldn’t help but see how it closely paralleled the small town in which she was raised.

She slowed the rented SUV down to a crawl as she approached Arcane and its narrow two way road governed by a single swinging stoplight. The light changed to green and she continued through her home town, over the train tracks and up to the abandoned cotton mill. The vast brick warehouse stood where it always had, reminiscent of the town’s better days when the mill had been a thriving and important part of Arcane.

Her grandfather had worked his fingers to the bone in the mill, sacrificing his lungs and eventually his life when he could no longer pull in enough air to breathe.

Across the street from the mill sat a string of old buildings, most of them equally vacant. A cardboard sign in the window of the old library offered the space for rent. Similar signs adorned several other windows in the town square.

It wasn’t a surprise that the town stood beaten and defeated, it’s pride gone out with the mill. It had been this way for at least fifteen years, giving cause to the remaining residents to have to travel the ten miles to the closest neighboring town for groceries or a glimpse of civilization.

Her vision went back to her dashboard as the Alan Jackson song faded out giving way to a male deejay who reported that the weather was worsening and the current temperature was 88 degrees.

She continued to drive and listened mindlessly as Terri Clark came through the speakers declaring that life was a "Catch 22".

With the heart of Arcane in her rear view mirror she drove a little faster and watched as the small white homes streaked by. Many with people occupying the front porches, sitting and rocking with the rain.

She felt their questioning stares and knew that even if she had wanted to; her wave hello would not be returned. She was no longer a recognizable face in the town and strangers were seldom welcome. She turned off the radio, and eased down her windows to smell the rain.

If the storm was going to hit with force, it would have to catch her first. For the time being, it loomed behind her hanging above Arcane, randomly dotting her with sporadic sprinkles.

As the small houses became fewer and farther between, they gave way to the lush green vegetation of the Deep South. The summer song of the insects buzzed outside her window as she drove by, safely hidden in the thickets of the woods.

She slowed the SUV once again and turned left at the sight of an old faded blue mailbox. The name Adams had long since disappeared under the harsh elements of the Alabama seasons. The vehicle left behind the paved road and began to tackle the rich red mud of the road before her. Although she knew the path she was traveling well, she continued to mark her speed, not knowing the road half as well as the one about two miles back, closer to town. The road that led to her childhood home.

She drove carefully, winding her way through the overgrown kudzu looming down over the trees across the road as if it were waiting to envelope her. The road she now traveled was on her grandfather’s property and where the private detective said Jay would be.

After driving on the tunnel like road for at least a half a mile, it eventually opened up into a clearing. She brought the SUV to a stop and killed the engine. The smell of rain hung heavy in the air, not yet falling where she now sat.

She looked through the windshield at the house before her. It stood just as she remembered it. Smaller than the one she was raised in, but a hell of a lot warmer.

Thunder made itself known in the distance as she climbed out of the vehicle and sank her hiking boots down into the lush green grass around her. The ground was rich and soft, giving way to her weight as she walked up to the old graying house. The front porch steps squeaked their protest as she made her way up them, walking between the pillars overgrown with more hungry kudzu.

The screen door stood equally as old and a little more tattered on loose hinges and she carefully pulled it open to knock on the door.

A dog barked in the distance, somehow hearing her light knock and determined to alert everyone around him. Getting no answer she knocked again and then let the screen door bang to a close as she walked to a window and tried to peer in. She cupped her eyes, blocking at the surrounding light and squinted into the dark house.

From behind, a twig snapped, followed closely by the unmistakable sound of a shotgun cocking, ready for fire.

She straightened up slowly and raised her hands before trying to turn around.

"Don’t you move an inch." The voice warned from the yard below. "This is private property."

Adams tensed a little, recognizing her sister’s voice, but worried that she had failed to recognize her.

"I know…" She started to say but was interrupted.

"Well if you know then I ought to shoot you right here and now where you stand." Her southern accent had returned full fledge, reminded Adams of times long since past. Bad times.

"Jay, it’s…"

"How do you know my name!" The voice was loud and shrieking, alarming Adams and calling for desperate measures.

She turned quickly on the front porch and ducked just as a shot rang out and shattered the window behind her.

"Jay!" She shouted over the echo of the discharge. "It’s me, it’s Lizzie!" She was shouting from her crouch, praying that her sister would hear her before she fired again.

Silence prevailed and she dared not to even look up from her crouch. The steps creaked as Jay ascended them slowly, reloading the shotgun as she went.

Adams opened the palms of her hands and stared at the muddy boots of her sister as they came to a rest before her.

"What did you say?" Jay demanded, but not nearly as fierce.

Adams raised her eyes very slowly to meet those of the coiled rattlesnake standing before her in filthy overhauls.

"I said, it’s me. It’s Lizzie, your sister." She met the eyes that so closely resembled her own.

Jay stared at her long and hard, contemplating as to whether or not to believe her. That maybe it was her sister’s body, but not her soul. She continued to look at her, the shotgun raised, waiting for the alien in her sisters body to show itself. When it didn’t happen she lowered the gun a little and spoke.

"You come alone?" She asked jerking her head around to make sure there was no one else hiding in the surrounding woods or sneaking up on her from behind.

Adams took full advantage of her Jay’s wayward attention, springing up from her crouch to grab the barrel of the gun while sweeping Jay’s feet out from under her.

The shorter sister fell hard on her back side, releasing her grip on the gun.

Adams quickly disarmed the weapon and tossed it out onto the grass.

She approached her sister and stepped on her throat, demanding that she stay down. Jay grabbed instinctively at the restraining boot on her neck.

"Easy, Jay. Quit squirming and I’ll let you up." Jay struggled for a few seconds more before finally allowing her hands to fall at her sides in defeat. "Now what in the hell are you doing running around here shooting at everything?" Adams removed her foot and reached down to help her older sibling up.

Jay stood and rubbed at her back side. "I didn’t know who you was." She answered, upset at the pain shooting up through her tailbone.

"You’ve been drinking." Adams stated, smelling it on her breath and knowing full well that her sister’s paranoid behavior worsened when she drank.

Jay glared at her, upset at being pegged. "Maybe."

Adams scoffed. "There’s no maybe about it." She took a step towards the screen door, raising her hand to pull it open and was surprised when Jay grabbed her hand, halting it.

"What are you doing here Lizzie?" She wiped the sweat from her brow with the forearm of her other arm, still holding tight to her younger sister.

Adams watched her and noted how filthy her skin was, her fingernails embedded with dirt.

"I came to see you." She answered knowing that she needed to reach her sister soon or she would be lost forever. Sucked into the dark abyss of her own mind and held prisoner there for the remainder of her life. And it was already happening, starting with the drinking and the personal hygiene, and leading into paranoid behavior.

"Why?" Jay was skeptical, showing off her paranoia.

"Because you’re my sister and because I need answers." Adams answered in her straight forward manner.

"Heh…I knew it. I knew there had to be a reason for you coming all the way out here. You hate it here."

Adams looked around at the green, rich woods surrounding the house. "Yes, I do." She agreed with a whisper.

"Let’s go for a walk." Jay stated and bounded down the steps, not waiting for an answer.

"No." Adams declared, remaining firm on the porch.

Jay picked up the gun and began searching her pockets for shells. "You want to talk, Lizzie? Then you’ll come with me for a walk." She found a shell and opened the shaft for reloading. "Sides…" She looked back up at Adams who stood motionless on the porch. "You ain’t still afraid of the woods are you?" With the bullet in place she closed the gun and cocked it.

Adams stared her wild eyed sister down, knowing she was trying to harass her, pushing her with mockery.

"I’ll go, but only if you leave the gun." She squared her shoulders and waited as her sister thought about the proposal.

"You got something on you in case we run in to trouble?" Jay asked, completely serious.

Adams shook her head yes and Jay disarmed the shot gun and set it up against the house.

She then led the way around the back of house and out to the tiny path that led into the mouth of the woods.

Even though it was early afternoon, the darkening storm clouds had snuffed out the majority of the daylight, casting a dark and ominous feel throughout the woods.

Adams swallowed hard as she followed her sister, childhood memories reaching out for her from the wicked looking tree branches.

"Why did you kill those men in Valle Luna, Jay?" She asked from behind, hoping the topic would help to distract her mind from her current surroundings.

Up ahead of her Jay had stopped walking and she turned to look at her sister.

"Cuz, they was messing with you." She reached up and pulled off a Hickory twig and began shedding it of it’s leaves. She turned and continued her trek through the woods as she groomed the Hickory.

Adams stood watching her for a moment before she started walking again, following her.

"You can’t just kill people, Jay."

"I did it for you." She said as she began flicking the flexible switch, making quick whooshing sounds in it’s trail.

"But can’t you see that you made things worse for me, by doing what you did?" She was trying guilt now, desperate for something to reach that last grain of reason deep within her. And she knew how much Jay loved her.

Jay stopped and turned once again, fingering the switch in her hand as if were alive and a pet that needed comforting.

"But I thought it would help you…those men were hurting you…" Her eyes grew wide as she spoke, excitement straining her voice.

"What about Kristen then? Was she hurting me too?" She was growing angry at the ludicrousy of her sister’s mind.

Jay looked away, flicking the switch.

"You have got to stop this. I can take care of myself now Jay. You don’t have to worry." She spoke calmly, swallowing back her anger hoping to sooth her into some sanity.

Jay looked at the ground as if mesmerized by the fallen leaves. "You can’t Lizzie, the bad people are everywhere."

Adams sucked in a quick breath of air upon hearing the words. "Let’s go back." She suddenly knew that she needed to get out of the woods, to get Jay back to a hotel where she could sit her down and talk some sense in to her.

These woods, they held too much. They were crawling with the sins of the past.

Jay raised her eyes slowly from the ground as an evil grin spread across her face. "No, let’s not. Let’s keep going."

She turned and jogged ahead, laughing as she trotted through the woods. "Come on Lizzie, just a little bit further!"

Adams clenched her fists and debated calling the police on her sister herself. She was almost willing to do anything to avoid having to follow Jay further in to the woods.

"Come on!" Jay shouted from up ahead.

Thunder growled again and she looked up, knowing it was almost directly overhead.

"Jay, wait up…it’s getting ready to storm." She jogged after her sister, hoping that the promise of the storm would cause her to turn back.

She found Jay a few yards up ahead, her tracks in the soft mud leading off the path to where she stood atop a large rock, the switch hanging at her side.

"You know where we are Lizzie?" The grin once again claimed her face.

Adams looked around but knew at once exactly where she was. She looked down into the ravine.

"Let’s go back, Jay." She said again, meaning every word.

"And miss all this?" Jay waved her stick in the air. "Not a chance. Let’s reminisce, Lizzie. Relive our youth." She laughed out loud at herself.

Adams shook her head and clenched her jaw. "No."

"I gotta remind you of the bad people. To show you that you still need protecting."

"I don’t."

"Think back Lizzie, to that day. Remember that day?" She jumped down off the rock and walked over to ledge that overlooked the ravine. She took the stick and pointed down into it’s heart, overgrown with ivy, weeds and bushes.

Adams stood next to her and as she looked down into the embankment, her mind flashed back in time, to the day Jay spoke of, to that hot summer day not long after she had turned ten.

"Come on." Jay demanded. "We gotta go tell someone."

"Lizzie, baby, let me look at your arm." She sat down next to her on the sofa and reached carefully for her arm. "Oh lord," She could hardly bring herself to look. "We need to get you to the doctor."

She never knew exactly what happened to the bad man from the woods. When she had returned home from the hospital a few days later, there was no trace of him. Only the blood stained rag that had been used as a gag.

And whatever the man had done to Jay during the few hours he had her also remained a mystery. Jay had never told her. She only knew that from that day on, Jay wasn’t the same.

The light sprinkles of rain fell cool on their warm skin. She looked down and ran a finger across the scar on her left arm. An eternal reminder of that terrible day.

Jay looked up at the dark sky letting the drops tickle her face. She lowered her head and looked at her sister.

"I never told you what happened that day, with him."

Adams met her gaze, feeling such empathy for the young girl who had sacrificed herself in order to protect her. Such sympathy for the young girl who at the same moment in time sacrificed her innocence.

"No you didn’t."

They began walking again back towards the house.

"I’ll spare you all the details. Lord knows even your worst thoughts couldn’t come close to what he did to me."

"I’m sorry, Jay. It should’ve been me. He should’ve taken me." She said, meaning it.

Jay laughed and swatted at the rain with her stick. "Nah, Lizzie. It shouldn’t a been anybody. Not me, not you…not that poor dead girl."

Adams remembered that the girl had been from a neighboring town, her murder never solved. Not in a legal sense anyway.

Thunder cracked loudly directly overhead. And Adams picked up her pace as the electricity in the air pricked the hairs on her arm.

"But that son of a bitch got what was his." Jay stated, seemingly unaffected by the close proximity of the storm.

"You mean with Jerry?" Adams asked, startled that her sister seemed to know more about the disappearing man from the woods than she did.

Jay shook her head, a smile spreading across her face. "It was the only time in my life when I can remember that drunk piece of shit doing right by me."

Adams nodded her understanding. Jerry hadn’t exactly been the best father figure for her and Jay, but he hadn’t been the worst either. He had been a man hell bent on control and he had ruled their aunt and their home with an iron fist. Always quick to dominate, he took no excuses and offered none either.

"That night, after they had found me and chased him down in the woods…" She tossed her stick aside suddenly finished with it as she concentrated in memory.

"Jerry come over to Doc Hills to get me. The doc had told Dayne that you needed surgery and to take you on to the hospital."

Adams shook her head, able to remember leaving Doc Hill’s that night.

"Well, Doc Hill told Jerry what all he thought the man had done to me and Jerry liked to have killed him on the spot for saying such things. He grabbed me by the shirt and yanked me outside the whole time yelling at Doc Hill not to tell nobody." She continued walking by her sister’s side, relaying the story.

"He drove me home in silence and I almost thought he was gonna whip me. But instead he took me out back to the shed. And they had that man in there, all tied up. They were taking turns beating him and burning him with lit cigarettes. I didn’t know what to do; I think I was in shock. I just stood there staring, feeling nothing. And that’s when Jerry did it. He handed me his shotgun and told me to shoot him."

"Jesus." Adams whispered as she thought of her raped and battered eleven year old sister standing there, gun in hand.

"Yeah, that sick fuck started talking about Jesus. Started begging me not to shoot him, crying and wailing like Dayne used to do when her and Jerry fought. I just stood there watching him, the gun feeling real heavy in my arms. Jerry bent down next to me and asked me if what Doc Hill said was true. I shook my head yes and he said then it was my right to take back from him what he took from me."

Jay paused and breathed in deep, shoving her hands down deep into the pockets of her overhauls.

"So did you shoot him?" Adams asked looking over at her.

"I did." Jay responded looking at the ground. "I nearly blew his head clean off too."

"My God." Adams shook her head, wishing she could take it all away, to be able to give her sister a clean slate in life. Instead of the tarnished and scarred one she had been forced to make do with.

They walked in silence for awhile and Adams tried her best to make sense of Jay’s life. The events of her past had done more than enough to steer her in the wrong direction, as she herself had suffered from many times as well. The only difference between them was the fact that she hadn’t ever killed anyone. She wished she could say the same for Jay.

"Jay, will you promise me something?"

Jay looked over at her and shrugged. "Don’t know. Depends on what it is."

"I want you to stop killing."

"But what if…"

"No. No what ifs. I can take care of myself, Jay. I don’t need you worrying about me."

Jay looked away suddenly as if the words had stricken her physically.

"Can’t you see that it’s because I love you?" She asked, almost pleading.

Adams shook her head. "And can’t you see that it is because I love you that I ask you to stop? You’re going to get caught someday and sent away to rot in prison. How long do you think it would actually take them to find you here? Not long, Jay. Not long at all. And the only reason they haven’t come for you is because I asked Erin McEnzie not to tell."

"And she hasn’t?" Jay looked up at her completely surprised. "And I didn’t think no one would know to look for me here at Papaw’s." She said the words in a meek manner, completely oblivious to how obvious the location was. Their grandfather may have been long dead but it wouldn’t take much at all the find out who his two grand daughters were.

"I can’t figure out why she hasn’t said anything." Adams confessed. "Maybe they still think I’m responsible and if you continue to kill, they will eventually start arresting me for the crimes."

"NO!" Jay said, whipping her head around. "I won’t let that happen."

"You can’t control it Jay. None of it. Just let it go. No more."

She didn’t respond and Adams looked up as they approached the house.

"And there’s one more thing I need you to do." She said with certainty. "I want you to promise me that you’ll leave Erin McEnzie alone."

"Who? The cop! She lied to you Lizzie!"

Adams held up her hand to stop her rant. "She didn’t tell about you, did she? And that’s after you tried to kill her." She raised her eyebrows, finishing her point. "Promise me."

"Tell me why." Jay said, unconvinced. "The way I see it, I should off her so she could never tell."

Adams stopped walking and looked at her sister. "Because I care about her, Jay."

"I don’t believe it! All the women in the world and you go and care about a lying cop…" Jay threw her arms up in the air unbelieving of what she hearing.

"If you have any respect for me at all, you’ll honor this." She cut in, stopping her sister’s rampage.

Jay looked around the yard, avoiding her sister’s intense stare.

"I mean it Jay; I need to make some things right in my life."

part 3

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