Chapter Four
Roland walked along the river, thinking about what he’d say to Marissa when he finally saw her.
He envisioned her maybe being startled at first, but then her excitement would take over, and she’d throw her arms around his neck, embracing him so tightly, he’d barely be able to breathe.
He could see the power plant stack above the trees. His final destination was near.
For months Roland had struggled with the logistics of how he and Marissa could be together.
Maybe they’d move to a town where no one knew them, or perhaps they’d fight the police and stand up for their right to be together.
They were brother and sister, after all.
Wasn’t it odd that they’d been kept apart for so long?
Roland thought about Mr. Lowrey, and how he’d told him the protection order had been necessary.
Memories of those brief moments when he’d finally found Marissa flitted through his mind.
It was a few years after they’d been separated.
They were six, and he’d been on a field trip with his class, visiting the local zoo.
She’d been standing with that tall blond kid.
Jealousy had stolen his thoughts. His body remembered the anger he’d felt.
His muscles grew tight and the hair on the back of his neck prickled.
He’d only meant to scare the kid, and he hadn’t been trying to hurt Marissa, as the police had claimed.
She’d screamed—at the cops, he was sure—and when they finally tore her from his grasp, she’d pretended she was hurt, feigned her fear.
He knew why; if you didn’t obey the police they put you in bad places.
He found that out a few years later when he’d broken the bedroom window where Marissa lived.
It was after that he’d lost track of her.
They’d stolen her away and didn’t even tell him where they’d taken her.
Juvi Hall sucked. They’d watched him like a hawk after that.
Mr. Lowrey, the son-of-a-bitch, had filled everyone’s heads with lies about Roland.
But Marissa loved him. She’d told him so.
Roland’s blood simmered as he thought of Mr. Lowrey’s rectangular head, his thinning grey hair strewn like strings across his forehead.
Roland shook his head, as if he could shake the memory loose so it would fall away.
There was no other way, he reasoned. Someone would always stand between them.
Not this time. Roland knew how to bond them for eternity, and their birthday was the perfect time.
Born together, die together. Forever bound.
The grass receded from the water’s edge, leaving thick puddles of mud.
Roland dragged his boots along the grass, and walked further up the bank, into the small forest of trees.
He scratched at his hands, and reached for the photo.
Marissa. The wet leaves shuffled beneath his lumbering gait.
The hum of the power plant grew louder as he approached the fence. High Voltage signs hung from it.
He made his way along the edge of the fence, stopping to reposition the supplies he carried.
Roland leaned against a tree, looking up at the red blinking lights of the stack.
Massive generators roared atop the building’s roof.
Roland knew each of those generators well.
He’d spent the last eight months stealthily weaving his way through the plant, laying the groundwork for his plans.
Once he’d found a way in, the rest was easy, and the last few weeks, there were hardly any employees around.
He’d found a room in the bowels of the plant.
He’d staked it out, watching it for weeks before setting up his supplies.
He smiled at the thought. It had been so easy.
Something shuffled in the forest and Roland spun his head around, scratching his face on a branch.
Blood oozed from a thin line just below the mangled skin of the scars that warped his face. Damn.
He reached up, touching the warm liquid, and wiped it away with his hands. He thrust his hand into his pocket and withdrew the photo, rubbing his thumb along the image of Marissa’s hair. A slow calm enveloped him.
A loud thud echoed in the night.
Roland snapped his head around, clutching the photo in his palm.
A woman stood atop the iron balcony overlooking the forest. Her blond hair blew around her face, carried by the cool breeze. She pulled a white mask from her face, shaking her head from side to side as the mask pulled free. Roland’s breath caught in his throat. Marissa.
He released the photo and wiped his eyes. His chest rose and fell with each excited breath. He took a step closer.
She looked down.
Roland backed against the tree, the rough bark cutting into his back.
She glanced in his direction, moving closer to the edge of the walkway.
It was her. He was sure of it. He recognized the way she moved her bangs from her forehead, just like she did when she was younger.
She looked in his direction, craning her neck toward the forest. Roland’s throat swelled. They’d be together on their birthday. It was all he’d ever wanted. He bit back the urge to call out to her.
She wrapped her arms around her middle and retreated inside.
Roland crouched by the mechanical building at the rear of the plant, where he’d disabled the outside cameras.
The dead camera leered in his direction.
Child’s play. Even if Marissa were happy to see him, the police and Social Services had kept them apart.
He was taking no chances. No one would stop him from being with his sister.
He followed the fence line into the forest again, and stopped in front of a metal conduit coming from the plant.
He followed the line with his eyes, then walked the twenty feet to where it snaked around another fenced generator and met the building.
He peered around the perimeter. The hum of the plant and the sound of the water flowing through the canal broke through the darkness.
Roland climbed over the conduit to the other side.
Just beyond, there were heavy metal Bilco doors.
Roland grabbed the cold metal handle and yanked.
Locked. He’d expected this, of course, but had hoped he might get lucky.
Trees lined the path ahead of him, enclosing the rest of his walk into pitch black.
He slid his hand along the concrete wall, feeling his way, step by step.
He touched the metal fence, flinched, and quickly withdrew his hand—there was no electricity, he remembered.
He had disabled that in the mechanical room as well.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart, and moved a shaky hand toward the fence again.
Dead. Nothing. He ran his hands up and down the fence, catching his palm on a jagged edge.
He wiped the blood on his pants, breathing fast and hard in anticipation.
Roland followed the edge of the fence down toward the ground.
The opening ran the length of the fence.
He tucked his sweatshirt sleeve into his palm and grabbed the ragged edge, driven by one thought—Marissa.
Sweat beaded his forehead. Eight months he’d planned this, and now it was happening.
Chills ran down his arms. He had to get to her.
He ripped the fence back, leaving an opening just wide enough for him to push through, then slipped the board from the window frame, and climbed in, feet first. He dropped four feet to the concrete floor below, landing with a muffled thud.
The cold, dank smell of earth and coal permeated the cool air.
Roland walked through the bowels of the power plant, following metal air handlers that ran along the low ceiling.
A constant vibration rumbled beneath his feet as he wound his way through each cavernous room.
He listened, but could hear nothing beyond the clanking and humming of the equipment on the upper floors.
His pulse raced. There was no turning back.
His mind was wrapped tight with determination.
He’d found her. He’d never lose her again.