A/N: For this chapter it's all in third person.
Chapter 10: Custody Battle
Keira had never felt so much pain and heartache in her life. She wanted to get angry. She wanted to scream, to shout, to yell. She wanted to let loose all she was feeling and so she did.
All aimed straight at Harper.
"How can you do this! How can you act like nothing happened! How can you be heartless!" Keira wasn't sure if anyone else was close enough to hear her shouts but at the moment she didn't care. She was too angry, too broken, too afraid that it wasn't just her mother she lost when that shot was fired.
"I do what needs to be done, Keira. I do what my job is to stay alive. It doesn't mean I like it or don't like it. I just do what I need to in order to live another day." Harper didn't look up once at Keira as she continued sealing the body in a bag.
My mother, that's my mother in there. My dead, lifeless, corpse of a mother.
Keira shook her head in rage as tears streamed down her face. "Another day, one life gone is it really worth it Harper? Is it really worth being cold and distant in order to do this, in order to live? You know you're not doing this to live another day because the fact is this isn't a life Harper. Killing people, murdering them and acting like nothing is wrong isn't a life." Harper didn't respond and with a short pause Keira added, "What would your brother think of you?"
This statement seemed to have pressed pause on the universal remote. Everything was still and silent. There was no sense of time anymore as Harper just stood there.
Then in an instant she looked over at Keira anger deep in her eyes, more hatred and emotion than she had ever seen. "Don't you dare bring him into this," she said it slowly, venomously. "You have absolutely no idea what happened. What I've went through Keira. You were never stuck standing still watching your brother's life disappear from his eyes. Yours is still alive, more or less." She walked past Keira heading towards the staircase to tell Elicia the body was ready for transport.
"More or less?" Keira asked as Harper paused at the doorway.
The next words that left Harper's mouth weren't as vicious but there was still a fading undertone of the venom from before in it. "Face it Keira it's not so much me you mad at it's more at your family. And your brother who might not be so much as the brother you used to know." With that Harper walked out and into the halls while Keira fell against the wall and slid down. Her legs no longer felt stable.
Oh God, oh, god, get us out of here.
She wasn't sure if she had spoken the words or simply said it in her mind. She no longer had much of a grip and reality anymore and she felt…hollow.
---
Days Later
Rachel Roberts had arrived unexpectedly at the door to the Gates home. She was the sister of the late Camille Gates and she had arrived there for a specific reason.
It wasn't such a shock to Mr. Gates who graciously let her and the friend she brought inside the house. Mr. Gates had been expecting her for some time for he knew what he she wanted. However bringing Dr. Bowers threw him but only slightly.
"Ms. Roberts it's nice to see but such a shame for the reason," Mr. Gates replied as Rachel watched him tensely.
"Yes," Rachel responded and shook his head with great caution. "Well this is Dr. Bowers," she said turning and introducing the person next to her. "He's a therapist and I brought him to check on my niece, nephew, and maybe even their friend to see how they are all coping with the tragedy of losing their mother." She watched Mr. Gates closely to see how he would react.
Only Mr. Gates continued playing it calm with a slight smile. "Of course, we have our own here but if you like you can have yours talk with them." And with that Mr. Gates led Mr. Bowers to talk to the three teenagers leaving behind a very confused, worried Ms. Gates.
Rachel waited patiently outside for Dr. Bowers. When he finally stepped back into the living room he was shaking his head. Taking in a deep breath Rachel walked over to him. "So, how are they?"
"Are you sure you want to hear it?" he asked gaze cautious.
Rachel tensed upon hearing that. She had a feeling that the diagnosis would be bad but now it seemed worse than what she expected. A minute later she nodded and said in almost a whisper, "Yes."
Dr. Bowers nodded pulling out paper from his folder and taking his glasses out from his pocket. "Well, Mr. Robert Gates is in a very…suicidal position at the moment."
"You think he's going to kill himself?" she asked in a harsh whisper. She was quite startled by this.
Gravely Dr. Bowers nodded his head. "If you don't take him out of here then I'm afraid that might be a possibility that or he could turn very violent on someone else. There is quite a lot of hatred and self-doubting he has buried in himself as well as a lot of self-hatred that is somehow connected to his mother. Somehow he feels guilty about her."
"Why?" Rachel asked.
Dr. Bowers shook his head and replied, "I don't know Miss. Roberts that will take more than a one hour examination to figure out." He flipped through his pages before continuing. "As for his sister she's not as suicidal, but more of a mental and emotional breakdown waiting to happen. But if anything happens to Robert, if he actually does end up killing himself, then I'd be afraid for how Cordelia would react."
That was expected for Rachel knew how dependent the two siblings were on each now more than ever since their mother had died. Holding back tears she asked, "Did you talk with Eleanor as well?"
The look that crossed the therapists face surprised Rachel and she wasn't sure what to make of it.
"Eleanor…I've never met anyone so unemotional, so unattached to the world. She's almost robotic in a way." Shaking his head he closed his folder with the papers intact. "She is the one who worries me the most, more than any of the kids."
"But you said Robert was the suicidal one, the violent one. Shouldn't you be most concerned with him?"
"True he's the one he would most likely kill himself in the group. But with Eleanor she's lost practically all her humanity. However, my biggest concern," Dr. Bowers had dropped his voice down into a whisper. He gestured for Rachel to stand closer to him and she did. Dropping his voice even lower he continued, "I'm wondering how these kids became this way. There is more to it than your sister's death this go much deeper than that."
Rachel's eyebrows narrowed. "You think they're doing this on purpose. That they're turning…" Rachel didn't finish the sentence she wasn't sure how.
Dr. Bowers however finished it for her. "They're turning these kids into murderers and detached, psychotic murderers at that."
For the longest time Rachel had been worried that this was what had been happening. That somehow Camille had got herself wrapped in this mess. She and her brother never did like Rodney their brother-in-law. But Rachel wanted so desperately to like him for her sister's sake. She realized that was a mistake one that cost Camille her life and her children's future. She had to get the kids out of here.
Something she thought would be a problem and was even more concerned when Rodney willing handed all three kids over to her when she threatened to take him to court. She thought he would fight, but maybe the idea of the law getting involved frightened him. Only he didn't seem that way when he gave Rachel a knowing smile. She knew that this was too easy, that it was rigged but she didn't care. Her only mission was to get all three kids out of there as far as she was concerned her mission was completed. Her next was to get the kids far, far away from home.
