Anchor

Part 1 - The Loss

I couldn’t stop staring at them as they trembled beneath me. They didn’t look like my hands anymore. The throbbing in my head had subsided and the room was still and silent.

Tears streamed down my cheeks and had merged with the blood on my lips, leaving strangely beautiful pink droplets on the wooden floor of my bedroom. I steadied myself to rhythm of sirens in the distance. Someone must have heard my screams. I scurried across the floor to my father. His soulless eyes called out to me.

Sirens grew louder and I knew it was time. I leaned in close and planted one final kiss on his forehead.

As flashing lights beamed through the window, my muscles tensed and I darted towards the front door, almost stumbling over the second body strewed across my once cream rug.

“SOMEBODY HELP, PLEASE HELP ME!”

My vocal cords tore and my knees crashed down hard on the grass, leaving the earth shaking beneath me.

 A man with a gun in hand sprinted towards me. His dark hair stroking the underside of his brows as he crouched at my feet.

“Miss, my name is Stellan. I’m an officer for the Brimwood police department.”

Warmth from his hand spread over my shoulder like wildfire. Another police car arrived and two more gentlemen with guns approached us and Stellan gestured them to go inside the house.

“Can you tell me what happened?”

“I … I” I looked up and caught a glimpse of his green eyes.

He was a young officer – maybe early thirties.

A voice echoed from behind, one of the officers – bald with an accent I just couldn’t place – had exited the house, “Sir, you’re gonna want to come see this. We’ve got multiple bodies in here.”

Multiple bodies. I held back a silent whimper feeling my heart breaking in my chest. As if on cue, the heavens opened and cleansed me of the blood splattered over my silky silver camisole.

Like rats, my neighbours gawked from behind twitching curtains as they came to feast on my misery.

Without warning, Stellan removed his jacket, rain dripping from his almost black locks of hair. He draped it around my shoulders, ignoring the barrage of water on his shirt.

“Can you tell me your name?”

The words dissolved on my tongue.

“It’s OK, we can come back to that. Look, I’m going to take you to over to the hospital, have a doctor check you over”, an uneasy smile left his lips. “Now, let’s get you out of this rain. My car is just over there, you’re safe now.”

He turned and pointed to his squad car, the only one in the driveway.

“See, there’s nothing to worry about now, I won’t let anything happen to you.” His voice sympathetic.

The copper taste in my mouth was strong, enough to know going to the hospital was in my best interest but as I tried to stand but my legs caved under me. Stellan gingerly placed an arm around my waist, drawing me closer as he pulled my arm over his shoulder. With every step, my bare feet sank deeper in the mud.

As we reached the car, I clambered into the back seat.

“Miss, I’m going to have to leave you here, just for a moment.” He turned and faced the house.

“No,” I whimpered as I grasped the back of his shirt.  

As he glanced back at me I loosened my grip. I didn’t want to be alone, but he had kind eyes, and as much as I knew I shouldn’t, I trusted him.

“I promise, you’re safe now.”

The words lingered in my head long after the door had closed behind him. Adrenaline had subsided and the weight of my eyelids grew heavy. Pain radiated through most of my body which kept me focused on staying awake. Inside my house, laid my father and a stranger, both empty vessels, and I didn’t come this far to end up another fatality. I turned to the rear window and began eyeing up the vultures hovering in their doorways, gossiping.

At the end of my street stood an unfamiliar face. He wasn’t like the other vultures, he stood in plain sight, almost wanting to be seen. I tried to take in as many details as I could, but the streetlights were just dim enough to only make out the basics; broad shoulders, a little over six foot, maybe. He was tall, I knew that much. I sunk further into the seat, feeling consumed by his penetrative stare.

The door to the driver’s seat swung open, breaking my concentration. In slid the same gentle, green eyed officer as before and as the car pulled out onto the street I felt myself fading, like a baby being rocked to sleep, my head nestled into the seat belt like a hammock. Everything screamed uncertainty, would I be OK? What would become of me without my father’s unconditional love and protection? Before I drifted into my nightmares, I let out a soft whisper, “Kitty.”

“Sorry?” Asked Stellan.

“My name, it’s Kitty.”