Cards of Fate

By Springborn

Prologue

Three years ago, October 3, 2014. Two days before the demise of Annabelle carrier ship…

Kara sighed as she stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around her chest as she toweled her hair dry. She had only been up for an hour as she got ready for work that night. Working as a bouncer at the local bar had been interesting, though it scared off any potential dates for her. Her boss often kids with her that if she ever got in a fight with her future boyfriend, she could scare him away with her motor mouth alone.

Her father had been worried about her safety when she told him she took a job as a bouncer, a job suited for men and not women. Her stepmother, Nova, scoffed at the idea and had little trouble telling her stepdaughter she was a fool.

'Whatever' Kara thought running her fingers through her hair and untangling the red strands. 'Like I care what you think, bitch.' She never got along with her stepmother and it only got worse after her father married the woman, the same day as her eighth birthday. Since that day, she refused to acknowledge their anniversary and celebrated her birthday on her own.

A beeping sound from the laptop on the desk interrupted Kara's thoughts, alerting her there is a message waiting for her. Kara made her way over and sat down in her chair, clicking on her mail. "Mia? Oh, that's right, she's away on her babysitting job" she said, remembering the conversation she had with her cousin a week prior on the phone and clicked on the play button.

There was a crackle of static on the video before clearing up and showing a pale blue ground. The sound of waves could be heard as they hit the ship. Her older cousin popped into the frame, smiling widely.

'Hey, Kara!' Mia said excitedly, her wispy black hair flying over her face for a second, covering her eyes before Mia pushed them back. 'I wanted to check in with you and see how you're doing with your bouncer job. Don't let Nova get you down, okay? You've been taking martial art lessons for two years now, almost three! You're very capable. How's your brother, Levi? I bet he's getting big!'

"Oh don't you know it" Kara chuckled, knowing her cousin wouldn't hear her as this is a recorded message. Her father, Bernard, and Nova welcomed a baby boy six years ago and looked just like their father, pale skin, chocolate brown hair, and eyes. Sadly the boy inherited his mother's entitled attitude and will be tall like both of his parents.

Kara had inherited her mother's red hair and green eyes and her father's freckles and big feet. She also had her mother's short height, only standing at five feet and six inches.

'I heard you also started doing ghost investigations on your own? I know you can use your abilities to communicate and get visions but PLEASE be careful' Mia cautioned, her smile dropping a little. 'Getting involved with the supernatural isn't safe.'

Oh yeah. Kara knew that had gone over so well with her parents! Nova wanted to send her a specialized home for mental people and her father wanted her to be on meds. Since Kara turned fourteen, she could hear voices that weren't there and had small, cloudy visions of possible events. Granted most didn't come true but those that did disturb her. She knew Nova was pregnant with a boy long before the announcement was made.

Kara sighed, leaning back in her seat. 'Not a gift I asked for' she thought. It took months of therapy and changing therapists during her high school years till she found one that didn't think she was crazy and helped her to control her abilities.

Mia looked over her shoulder and sighed, looking exasperated and irritated before looking back at the screen. 'Listen, I gotta go. The kid I'm looking after is a real handful. I'll try to get in contact again. Bye!' The recording went on for a bit longer before stopping completely. Near the end, Kara could have sworn she saw something behind Mia. A child?

Kara fiddled with the back button for a few minutes, trying to catch the image, and paused. "A kid?" she wondered, squinting her eyes to get a better look. It was a kid, a young girl, between the ages of eleven and twelve. She has long ebony hair, pale blue eyes, almost clear, and gave the girl a ghost-like appearance with her already pale skin and a dark dress.

A cute girl, Kara thought, wondering if this is the kid that Mia had to look after. And for a moment she was confused by Mia's words. How was this kid a handful? Maybe Mia wasn't as good with kids as she thought or there was some medical condition the girl had that made her hard to handle? Whatever it was, Kara was almost sure her cousin was exaggerating the details. A sudden chill settled over her and she shivered as a weird feeling grew in her gut.

While the child looked sweet and curious, something about her that didn't seem right like there was something wrong. It was unsettling. That feeling only grew in the pit of her stomach as Kara stared at the child. The pressure behind her eyes made her wince as a vein pulsed, a familiar feeling she got when getting a migraine or the start of a vision. Neither happened and the pressure eased but the unsettled feeling refused to leave her. Something was wrong or bound to go wrong.

"Stay safe Mia…" Kara bit the inside of her cheek, hoping the feeling she was getting was just an upset stomach or the familiar cramps of her monthly. She checked the clock and knew it would be too late to call Ethan, her cousin's husband. They weren't close but knew Ethan is a good guy from what little interactions she had with him during family events.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Mia," Kara said standing, giving a small glare at the child in the background. The smile on the girl's face seemed to be hiding something dark, dangerous. While Mia never mentioned her employer, she had the feeling that someone big had hired her for this so-called job.