The Vengeance of Children: Intro
My name is Camille, and I knew from the start that something was wrong in my mother's life; I just never expected her strange behavior to lead our family to a funeral with an empty casket… a casket she was supposed to be inside.
My brother was hugging me, a rare sign of affection from any junior high student but even more so for one who was always trying to prove that he was as much of a "man" as the boys who already had their growth spurts. I tried to rub his back to comfort him but instead a strangled whimper came from his small frame and he began to shake. He was still a little boy, in every way, why was Peter making him sit through this fake funeral? I pulled him into a tight hug and made quieting noises as the priest continued to give his blessing.
Peter scooted closer to us from his seat next to Marco and put his hand on Marco's lap so that he could grab it for extra strength if he wanted. Marco saw his father's hand from the corner of his eye and turned just enough to firmly grasp it in his own before burying his face into my hair and sobbing. Peter covered Marco's tears by giving him a way to show strength to the crowd and the ones that were harder to hide were buried in my hair where his swollen face was sheltered.
We were all devastated. It had been ages since she went missing. We refused to have a funeral, refused to give up hope, but when you find a completely decimated boat that belonged to an unseasoned sailor who went out by herself into a storm… the facts all added up to a 1% chance of survival. Peter thought that this ceremony would give us closure, but it only opened the wound. Yes we had been bleeding to death before, but at least no one had to see the gash it was coming from; until now.
Peter was hollow and unsure. I watched him stare at the priest and noticed how his bottom lip was trembling. The love of his life was gone. Marco was trying to let all of his emotions out. If he had been younger I wouldn't have been surprised to see him throw himself on the floor and pound his fists into the ground. Me, I wanted to run. I wanted to scream everything that I knew about my mother instead of listening to others speak about her. Then I would run as far away from the cemetery as I could until common scene washed over me again and all the adrenaline was drained from me.
I looked back at Marco. I looked at Peter. If I ran for even a second they would both collapse. I had to stay as close as possible to keep them safe, but school would be starting soon and I was already accepted at the local university with a good scholarship. I even had a deposit on a small apartment near the campus.
I knew then I would probably not be able to save my family, but as the last matriarch I had to try.
~Two Years Later~
"Cami! Jesus H Christ will you pick up your food?!" Carl screamed from behind the line as he smacked his tongs against the stove in anger. I had heard him screaming from the dining room; how nice for my customers.
I wasn't that late picking up my food, it had probably been up for two seconds, but Carl liked to show power so screaming to the world that I messed up was the thrill of his life.
"Well Jesus Christo to you too!" I grumbled "I heard you holler before you even bothered to page me." I had just stepped into dangerous territory. See, you don't fight with someone who has the power to fire you, and you definitely don't fight with someone who can make you look like you're doing a bad job, and if they happen to be the people who make your food… well there's a reason why they say not to bite the hand that feeds you.
Thankfully I had worked at The Primrose since I started school and had been working in restaurants since I was fifteen. I wasn't irreplaceable by any means but it was easier to sort things out then to fire me over something stupid and go through trying to train someone. I gave Carl a smile as his eyes glimmered; he might not fire me but he sure as hell loved a good fight.
"What you've worked here for 2 years and you still don't know how things work? Do you want me to-"
"-Love you Carl! Mwah mwah mwah!" I said grabbing my food and making kissy faces as I backed out of the kitchen laughing. A little laugh, a little flirt, I was set for a few more hours.
I dropped off my food, and made small talk with a couple of regulars before starting my side work. It was a slow night, but even a terrible night at The Primrose meant over $60 in my pocket. I had probably made about $80 off of the business I had during the five hours in worked tonight; God bless regular customers!
"You're saving that for your brother aren't cha?" Katrina asked as I flipped through my money. Katrina had come to California from Dallas in hopes of being an actress, but after a couple of low paying commercials and two kids, she was too concerned with paying for her kids school clothes to memorizing lines for whatever new show HBO was hiring for. However, she loved her job as a waitress and the customers loved her back. She could talk anyone into buying whatever special the chefs wanted to be sold out of and had just the right amount of devilish smile for the men at her tables that the women they came in with felt lucky to be with them. Having Katrina as your waitress was like hiring someone to convince you that you were God's gift to earth, and the customers ate it up. However there was one thing Katrina could never sell me into.
"Darlin' you know The Sharing has plenty of programs and scholarships for kids like Marco. They can even help you dad find a new job, they-"
"Really Katrina? How much have they helped you with getting your career as an A-list celebrity going hm? Oh wait, they-" Katrina's face fell. "Katrina I'm sorry, I just… we aren't looking for charity. This family has been through a lot since my mom went missing and the last thing we need is to be a made into the poster family for the welfare system."
"It's all right Camille I know you don't mean anything by it, but honey this is a good opportunity for you. The Sharing is very discreet about the way it helps people, we would never make your family into a publicity stunt. Eva used to be a member and she loved it." Wow, Katrina had bounced back from that quickly. I probably would have been in a mood if someone had snapped at me like that, but here she was acting like solving my problems was her only purpose in life.
"I know she did. I just… well it feels strange to go back there." Strange was right. A couple months into joining the sharing my mother had started to act like one of those people who claim to be 'born again'. She bought a boat, she set goals and loudly announced the dreams she was going to conquer. She was the definition of an optimist, and the love she gave us was overwhelming; especially towards me.
She spoiled me and, until The Sharing, a spoiled child was something she had raised me to never become. She would take me out for 'girl time' every Sunday after church, buy me expensive clothes, pay for me to get my hair and nails done, and I told myself that it was all just a fear of losing me once I went to college; but I knew there was something more. I had woken up quite a few times to find her sitting next to me and stroking my hair. That in itself was strange, but then again, I had seen parents do that with their little ones in their cradles; but I wasn't a child when she started her odd habit. In fact, throughout my memory, I could only recall her doing it when I was a teenager.
As much as I knew I should pretend to still be sleeping, I could never keep my eyes from opening when I heard her mutter or felt her hand stroking my hair. Sometimes I would catch her lips twitching as if she were about to speak to herself, or responding to something she had just thought of. When she realize I was awake she would giggle out an embarrassed apology like a school girl getting caught in the boy's locker room, kiss me goodnight, and leave me confused and strangely frightened.
I didn't know what to think. I guess I was frightened that one day I would wake up and find her standing over me with a butcher knife; I wouldn't have been surprised to hear her say she wanted to wear my skin. She was my mother, I loved her, but her eyes were always on me; even when there seemed to be nothing to see. It was like a stalker trying to figure out everything about a victim they barely knew. There was nothing new about me to learn, yet somehow I had become fascinating; something she coveted. I didn't know why it was happening, but I did know that it started after she joined The Sharing's inner circle.
"Just think about it okay? We consider our members family and having your family back with us would be a beautiful miracle. Until then we'll always be sendin' you and your family positive and energy," and as she said it she grabbed my hands and gave them a squeeze while giving me an understanding smile.
I smiled back at her as she walked away. 'Cult! Poisoned Cool-Aid! Human sacrifice! People rejected from Scientology for being too extreme!' was what my mind scream at me as I watched her retreating figure, but for some reason I couldn't help but consider her offer. Not because I wanted to be a part of The Sharing, but because maybe I could figure out a little more about my mother's behavior before her death, and honestly, we could use the money they had to offer.
The Sharing had made my mother change in unexplainable ways. Most of them were pleasant changes… but those late night mumbling were more than concerning. If you tied that in with the fact that she bought the boat she died on because her stupid cult told her to follow her dreams of being a sailor then it seemed clear that they had something more to them than being a family friendly organization.
"Katrina wait up! Is- when does the sharing meet?" Katrina grinned from ear to gaudy earring-ed ear.
"Oh Cami! You have no idea how happy that makes me!" she squeeled as she ran over to embrace me. "We have a meeting this Wednesday, have Sasha cover your shift and I'll pick you up around 4:00, and uhh…wear something cute. Nothing too special, just a little sundress or something. There's a lot of cute boys your age, you might catch a few eyes" she said with an overdramatic wink and a giggle.
I laughed and rolled my eyes at the thought. I didn't realize that I really would be catching some eyes at The Sharing; and I definitely didn't realize that they wouldn't be human.