Chapter Fifty-Two
An invisible fog of gas infiltrated Mimi’s senses.
Her skin burned with fear. She listened as the shots rang out—and a body thudded to the floor outside the room.
She could barely think past the rush of blood in her ears.
She prayed it was Roland, but what if whoever had challenged Roland was down?
Ted? Jackson? There would be no one there to rescue them.
Mimi jumped as Roland stumbled against the door, sending it crashing against the wall.
She bit back a mounting scream and tried not to bolt from the room.
Everything inside her told her to run, to flee the gruesome scene, but she would not leave Kara.
She lay across her daughter, praying that the blood pouring from Roland’s gut would lead to a quick death.
Blood spurted forward with the heavy rise and fall of what Mimi hoped would be his last breaths.
Mimi watched him reach for the doorknob, and miss.
His body fell in a heap to the ground. Please, let him die.
Guilt and anger coalesced, leaving Mimi praying for his demise and hating herself for doing so.
Roland reached for the doorknob and pulled himself upright, his cheek pressed flat against the wooden door.
Mimi watched him flinch with each breath, and cry out in painful, guttural moans.
Mimi squinted. Her eyelids trembled. She had to remain still.
A rumble like an earthquake shook the ground beneath them.
Play Sleeping Beauty. Mimi shut her eyes, begging God to let her breathing slow.
The lights of the plant beamed to life. Mimi willed herself not to flinch.
A groan, a gasp.
Play Sleeping Beauty.
Scratching—grating—dragging across the concrete floor.
Heavy breathing.
Another groan. “Hmph.” A gasp of air. A whisper, “Born together.” A deep breath.
The twisting of a bottle cap.
“Die together.”
Roland’s weak whisper filled the room. Her muscles tensed. She clenched her mouth shut to restrain herself from making a sound.
A slosh of liquid.
A loud, desperate swallow.
A hindered inhalation of air, as if sucked in through a kinked hose.
A slurp, a suck, a lick.
Mimi listened, stifling the urge to gasp air into her lungs.
Another desperate swallow.
The thin sound of plastic hitting the concrete wall.
Mimi breathed in shallow, silent breaths. She listened to Roland’s halted respirations.
He made a sound somewhere between a groan and whimper.
Mimi’s heart beat in her ears like a drum. She held her breath, waiting for him to reach for her. The urge to open her eyes gnawed at her. Fear consumed her. She felt as though her head was twitching, moving ever so slightly, so that Roland might notice. She remained prone across Kara’s body.
Kara’s chest jumped beneath her, as if she’d been startled.
Mimi’s eyes involuntarily flew open—a mother’s innate response.
Her heart thumped against Kara’s pulsating chest. She tried to remain still.
Her body would not abide her desire. Her head turned, her eyes meeting Roland’s zombie-like stare.
His body was slumped against the wall three feet from where Mimi and Kara lay.
Blood oozed from his gaping mouth. A deep hole ripped open his belly.
Blood spread across his shirt and pants, seeping crimson onto the floor.
His arms hung limply by his sides. His neck was cocked at an odd angle.
Mimi’s skin prickled. Tears welled in her eyes.
She remained on Kara, feeling her daughter’s heartbeat against her chest.
Roland didn’t blink.
Roland didn’t move.
Mimi wondered if it was at trick. Was he playing dead, too?
Her eyes scanned the room. The door, propped open by the toe of Roland’s boot, was splattered with blood, dripping to the floor in slippery red streaks.
Dark red dots sprinkled throughout the small room, as if someone had shaken a wet paintbrush.
With trembling hands, Mimi pushed herself off of Kara, her eyes trained on Roland.
She looked back at Kara, then drew her eyes back to Roland’s still body.
Mimi squinted, tilting her head forward to get a better look at Roland’s chest. It was not rising up and down.
Mimi’s teeth chattered. She bit her lower lip in an effort to quell the noise of her teeth battling each other.
She had to pass by Roland to leave the room, and she couldn’t carry Kara.
She had no choice. She had to get help before Kara died.
Mimi stood on spaghetti legs and took a shaky step toward the narrow path between the machinery. Roland did not move. His eyes looked beyond her as she moved toward him.
The first step was like stepping into fire.
Her nerves burned with tension. The second step brought needle sharp pains as she stepped directly in front of Roland.
She hesitated and felt her face soften. In his relaxed state, it was easy for Mimi to see the boy he once was rather than the maniac he had become.
Mimi raised a trembling hand to her lips.
Sobs climbed from deep in her chest as she looked at the man who had stalked her daughter.
How could he have come from the same womb as Kara?
Kara. Mimi whipped her head around. Kara lay still, her skin shockingly white against the dark concrete floor.
Mimi wiped her eyes on her sleeve and walked toward the door, stepping over the largest puddle of crimson blood.
Scratch…slide…Roland’s large palm gripped Mimi’s ankle.
She screamed, kicking at his hand with her left foot.
Her right leg was chained to the ground with Roland’s great weight.
She screamed. Roland’s body lay sideways on the floor, his large fingers wrapped around her ankle.
She kicked at his hand, crying out in fear. Mimi reached for a large slab of metal.
Footsteps thundered toward the room.
Grant appeared in the doorway, gun aimed at Roland.
“No!” Mimi yelled, her face a twisted mess of fright. “No, no, please, Grant, no!” She knew Roland was going to die, and she couldn’t take seeing him shot before her eyes.
His grip on her leg loosened. His eyes shot toward Kara as he let go of her leg completely, then slipped onto all fours and pulled himself in his sister’s direction, his eyelids drifting opened and closed.
Mimi gasped, her heartbeat quickening with every inch he moved. “No,” she said quietly. “No,” her voice escalated. “No!” she screamed.
With her next breath, she raised the slab of metal above her head.
“No!” Grant yelled, diving for Mimi.
The metal came down hard upon Roland’s skull, reverberating against Mimi’s hands. Roland sucked in a breath. His body swayed right, then left, before collapsing face first inches from Kara’s legs.
Grant grabbed Mimi and shoved her behind him, his left arm out like a fifth grade safety patrol, his right wielding the gun.
Mimi dropped to her knees, her body wracked with sobs.