Page 28 of Make Her Scream

“What about the blood all over the ground?” Ophelia asks.

“I will clean it,” the sister says. “I’m good at it. Now that my brothers are dealt with, I’ll also get into the computer system and delete your emails.” She glances at us. “Whoever Roman is, your correspondence will be gone.”

Her face is drawn and she looks more tired than anyone her age ever should.

I can’t believe it. We really are free to go.

The sister lights a match and tosses it into the tent. For a moment, there’s nothing, and I think it’s gone out, but then it alights with a whoosh of flame.

“I’m leaving,” she says. “Please don’t tell anyone about me. Pretend I never existed. Let this place fall to ruin or be packed up by the owners of the land. Trust me, once I’ve finished here, they won’t find any signs of anything untoward, just a strange, abandoned carnival. They might sell it. Someone one else might take it on.”

“You could run it,” I say even though it’s a stupid idea. What will she do with herself, though?

“I never want to see a carnival again.”

“But will you be okay?” Ophelia presses.

She smiles grimly. “I have some money. My brothers hid it. Anyway, no matter what happens to me now, it’s almost guaranteed to be better than this. Please go. Let me finish cleaning up any signs of my brothers, and don’t ever speak about this to anyone.”

She saved our lives; we owe her that much.

I nod. “Done.”

Inside the freak show, bodies burn, formaldehyde boils, and glass shatters. Perhaps someone will note the smoke from a distance and call the fire department and the cops, but we’re so far from civilization that I doubt it. It’s much more likely it will just burn itself out.

“Come on,” Cain says. “Let’s go grab our masks and robes, then find the truck and get the hell out of here.”

Roman shakes his head. “It will take ages to find them. Leave them. We can get new ones.”

“No, they’re evidence that we were here. Besides, I know exactly where they are. Have faith.”

He dashes off and sure enough returns in a couple of minutes with them bundled up in his arms with our masks. Thank God. Now we can leave.

18

OPHELIA

For the entirety of the journey back in the truck, we are all silent. The air between us is heavy, and even though I’m relieved we’ve gotten away, my heart aches for all the people who didn’t. I thought my time spent in a cult was bad, but the end those women in the freak show met was truly horrific. And most of them were women, as is usually the way. I don’t feel an inkling of guilt about the lives of the brothers that were taken tonight. As far as I’m concerned, we did the world a service. I do believe that as time goes by, I’m becoming more and more like my men. Sometimes, the end really does justify the means. I believe true evil exists in this world, and to defeat evil you must kill it.

I’m sitting in the back of the truck holding Roman’s hand. I’m worried about him. He’s staring out of the window, but his leg is jiggling the entire time. There’s a nervous energy building in him, and I know what that can lead to. The last thing I want to happen is for Roman to hurt himself, the way he used to. It’s been a long time since he did anything as bad as the scene I stumbled upon once before. It happened a while ago now, when I found him in the gym at a safe house we were staying in. Back then, his back was shredded and torn from the damage he’d done to himself. I think sometimes he still likes to feel pain, when emotions threaten to overwhelm him, but he has much healthier ways of handling it now.

When we reach the grounds of Verona Falls University, Cain slides down the window just a crack, hopefully meaning the guard can’t see the fact that we’re all covered in blood inside. With the bright light in his guard box, and no lights on in the truck, I send up a quick prayer. A jovial guard, who we’re all familiar with, smiles and leans out of the guard box a little way, not really paying all that much attention to us.

“Lovely evening tonight, isn’t it?” he says conversationally as he looks out beyond the vehicle. “Where have you kids been?”

We are hardly kids, and any other time him calling us that would probably make me laugh. But right now, the last thing we want are any questions.

However, Cain answers him in a completely normal, casual tone of voice. “We just went for a drive. The moon’s full and the night is beautiful, so we thought we’d take advantage. We went to the lake and watched the moon on the water.”

“It was really beautiful,” I add.

“Well, enjoy the rest of your night.” He glances at his watch, and I wait to see if he’s going to say anything about how late it is. It’s not as if we’re not allowed to come and go. We don’t even really attend classes anymore, and an agreement has been made between us and the other gangs within the college, as well as the dean. We live on the grounds permanently now and probably will for some time until we decide exactly what we want to do with our lives. However, the guard doesn’t say anything; he just smiles and waves us on by.

Halfway down the drive, Cain turns the truck right and we head toward the water tower. I’ve never been so relieved to see a building in my entire life as I am when the looming tower appears with the upper windows lit up. They’re a beacon of home, with the glow of the lamps we’d left on, appearing through the thick trees.

We have a well-worn path now, because Cain’s truck has taken this journey so many times. He parks outside the front, jumps out, and comes around to hold my door open for me. He takes my hand and helps me out of the vehicle. I’m okay, shaken, and more than a little upset, but I am going to be all right. Roman, on the other hand, is an entirely different matter.

By the time we all get inside, the adrenaline crash is well and truly upon me. I’m so exhausted, I can barely stay standing. My legs feel shaky and my arms are weak. The three guys don’t seem to be doing much better. All of them are paler than usual, and Malachi keeps yawning and scrubbing a hand over his face.