Chapter 64
Roughly an hour had passed since Lee's sudden disappearance. As twilight continued to cast it's shadow over the small residential Peach Creek neighborhood, the two youngest Kanker sisters remained outside, both completely focused on the dire problem they were currently faced with.
The temperature was below freezing, around 20 degrees Fahrenheit, and due to these unfavorable conditions, the cul-de-sac was completely devoid of life. In addition, the weather forecast called for flurries later that evening, progressing to around an inch of snowfall, set to arrive overnight.
May and Marie seemed completely unaffected by the cold weather and windchills. Both girls stood in silence, as they had for the last hour, periodically checking their phones as they displayed expressions of distress.
"So what do we do now?" asked May, "She's been gone for an hour, and it doesn't seem like she's coming back..."
At that moment, tears began slowly pouring down May's face. Marie walked towards her younger sister, comforting her as she too began crying.
"Don't talk like that!" said Marie, her voice wavering slightly, "She's fine and safe, I can feel it."
"What are we going to do," said May, "Hopefully she didn't get pulled over and arrested! If mom and dad find out, she won't drive again until she's eighteen! Or worse, she could get into an accident and get hurt."
"Shut up!" yelled Marie in a scowling manner, "At this point, Lee getting in trouble with Mom and Dad is the least of our worries. I never thought we'd have to deal with this again, but here we are...at least last time she wasn't able to leave our sight, and we caught her just in time."
Both girls remained silent for a few seconds, as Marie removed her cell phone from her pocket.
"It's time to pull the alarm," said Marie, "We have to call the police and report her missing. Then we have to tell mom and dad what happened. It's our only hope at this point."
May hesitated momentarily, after which she nodded her head up and down in agreement. Marie then slowly lifted her phone into the air, pressing the call icon on the touch screen with her thumb to bring up the key pad. She slowly pressed her finger in sequence to three buttons: 9-1-1. After a deep breath, Marie began moving her thumb towards the "call" icon.
Just as Marie's finger was about to press the button, a message stating "incoming call" appeared on the phone screen. At the same time, the phone began vibrating and playing a familiar tune, a fast paced swing bass line in G, accompanied by an upbeat melody consisting of short whistles.
May lifted her hand to her face, biting her nails as she stared at the ringing phone in a nervous manner. She slowly made her way towards Marie, deciding to pose the inevitable question.
"Who is it?" asked May, "Is it Lee, or someone we know?"
"No," said Marie as she held the phone up for May to see the caller ID, "It's Father Sevino."
Both girls remained locked in eachothers gaze for a few moments, pondering why their priest would be calling them at this time. Eventually, Marie regained her focus, answered the phone, and placed it up to her ear.
"Hello Father," said Marie, pausing in between sentences awaiting the other parties response, "...Is she?...Yeah, well there was an argument, and I guess she had to get away for a while and seek Gods help...No, no don't worry about it...No, we'll come pick her up...Thanks Father, we'll be right there...Goodbye."
Marie ended the phone call, and placed the cell phone back into her pocket. She then glanced towards the sky, letting out a sigh of relief as she turned towards May.
"Lee's safe," said Marie, "She's at the church."
"Thank God," said May.
"Father Sevino said she's been sitting in the front pew for an hour," said Marie, "He said she hasn't said a word, not even responding him when he tried to talk to her. She just keeps staring at the cross, occasionally crying for a few minutes. He also said he tried to call Mommy, but he couldn't get a hold of her so he called us to see if we could come pick her up. I told him we'd be right there."
"But Marie," said May, "The Church is all the way in the city! How are we gonna get there?"
"If there a will there a way," said Marie as she reached into her pocket, "Looks like our only way right now is public transit. We can take the bus to the train station, take the regional rail to 69th street in the city, and catch the el to Somerset. It's gonna be about an hour, but it's our only shot. How much money ya got?"
"Nada," said May as she reached into her pockets, turning them inside out to display.
"Damn it," said Marie, "I only got two dollars. That ain't gonna cut it!"
"There's gotta be something we can do!" yelled May in a distressed manner.
"Well unless we are blessed with some kind of miracle," said Marie, "We're gonna have no choice but to call Mom and Dad."
At that moment, the girls thoughts were interrupted as they noticed a cream colored light appear in the distance, it's intensity growing as the vehicle it was mounted to made it's approach. The increasing intensity of light was accompanied by the sound of a two stroke 50cc engine, growing in volume as the vehicle approached.
The two girls watched in surprise as a Lavender Genuine Buddy 50 gasoline scooter approached in a brisk manner, eventually pulling to the side of the road, stopping directly in front of the two girls. As the motor idled, the girls eyed the individual operating the vehicle; their entire head was hidden from view by a full-face motorcycle helmet, concealing their identity. On their torso was a thick, black motorcycle jacket, depicting the logo for "Harley-Davidson" on it's back. Their legs were covered by a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of black motorcycle boots adorned their feet. On their hands were black leather gloves, protecting their extremities from the extreme wind chill that was inevitably felt when riding such a vehicle in the winter. The mystery person seemed to be of a rather large frame, further augmented by the thickness of their jacket and the apparent long length of their legs.
A few seconds passed, at which point the individual began to speak over the moderately loud idle of the engine. The voice was of a bass tone that seemed to be quite forced, as if the user had a much higher voice and was attempting to lower it, and contained a strong trace of Peach Creeks parent city's characteristic accent.
"Get on," said the driver, as they moved slightly forward on the seat, compressing their leg room while simultaneously opening an area for Marie and May to sit.
The two girls stood still, glancing towards each other with utter confusion, after which they turned their attention back to the street.
"Excuse me," said Marie, "But do we know you?"
"Youse want to get to your sista, don't ya's?" said the individual, "Get on and let's go, we're wasting time here."
Marie and May glanced at each other once again, after which Marie shrugged her shoulders and cracked a smile.
"Let's go," said Marie.
"What!?" asked May, "Are you crazy, we don't know this guy?"
"What have we got to lose?" asked Marie, "We've done much worse before. Besides, we got all those nice little lessons Daddy taught us if he tries anything."
May paused for a few seconds, after which she nodded and followed Marie to the scooter.
In a matter of seconds, the girls have lifted themselves up onto the seat, with Marie sitting directly behind the driver, clutching her hands on their torso, while May took her place behind Marie in the rearmost position, holding on to her sister in a similar manner.
"We're going to the city," asked Marie, "Can you get us there?"
"Sure thing doll," said the driver, "I gotchya covered, St. Bernard's Parish, I know exactly where that is."
"Wait, how did you...?" asked Marie.
"No more questions," said the driver, "Just shut up and hold on."
At that point, the driver throttled the engine, causing the scooter to accelerate. Marie and May held on tight as the driver made a quick u-turn, proceeding to drive the scooter down the cross street at a brisk 35 mph.
After a forty-five minute ride, (the length primarily due to the scooters inability to access major expressways), the trio had made their way through city. It was a long, confusing, and scary ride for the two Kanker sisters, who had taken a major risk by boarding a vehicle with an unknown stranger. Nevertheless, the girls were relieved as they saw the tall spire of their beloved church appear in the distance.
A minute was all it took for the scooter to reach the parking lot, located on the side of the large, gothic styled building. The parking lot was quite desolate, save for a few vehicles including a minivan, and a small sports car. As the girls scanned the parking lot, they easily spotted their mothers Honda Civic. It was parked in a crooked fashion, taking up two parking spaces, it's front left tire partially buried in the flower bed lining the side of the lot. It was quite obvious that Lee had parked it while she was in a panic, as the girl typically had no problem parallel parking when the family visited the city, let alone parking in a standard space.
The sun had fully lowered below the horizon by the time the scooter came to a stop near the path leading to the front entrance of the church. Marie and May quickly dismounted, at which point they turned back towards the operator.
"Thanks a lot!" said May enthusiastically, "We could have never..."
May was unable to complete her sentence; with haste, the operator throttled their engine, causing the scooter to accelerate towards the exit of the parking lot at a rapid pace. Within seconds, the scooter had turned back onto the Main Street, and disappeared from view, leaving the girls quite bewildered. Nevertheless, the two girls nodded toward each other, and proceeded to make their way up the path leading to the main entrance.
The inside of the church was well lit, and spacious. Several stained glasses fixtures hung from the high arches, illuminating the long aisles leading to the altar. In addition, the wooden walls were adorned with several stained glasses windows of multiple colors, each depicting various biblical stories.
The church was as silent as can be; the large room appeared completely deserted, the many rows of pews normally populated by worshippers were completely empty. Almost empty, for as the girls scanned the room, they eventually spotted a tuft of red curly hair rising above the frontmost pew.
Wasting no time, the girls made their way up the aisle to the front of the church. Turning left, they encountered Lee, sitting by her lonesome next to her black handbag. Just as Father Sevino had stated, she sat with an emotionless expression, staring up at the statue of Jesus Christ mounted on a large ornate cross. Her hands remained folded on her lap as she kept both of her heels planted on the floor, her black eyeliner smeared all over her face due to her profuse crying.
Marie and May slowly made their way over to their sister, taking seats on her right and left side with somber expressions. Lee showed absolutely no reaction as both girls placed their hands on her shoulders.
"Lee?" asked Marie in a gentle voice, "Are you okay?"
Lee remained silent for a few a seconds, after which she swallowed and delivered a reply in a shaky voice.
"I...I...don't know w...what to t...think anymore," said Lee, as tears began slowly streaming down her face, "I really like him, he's my first boyfriend, but I lo...care about him, more than anything in the world. I don't want it to be over, but he just doesn't understand. And I'm too scared to tell him because...it...it hurt my feelings so bad!"
At the conclusion of her statement, Lee began bawling profusely. She lifted her glasses, and placed her hands over her eyes, resting her elbows on her knees as she sobbed.
"We know Lee..." said Marie as she rubbed Lee's shoulder, "We know...everything's gonna be alright."
"Lee," said May, "Do you want me to go get Father Sevino? Maybe he can help you understand why God decided to..."
"Shut up about that!" yelled Lee rather brashly as she sprung to an upright position, "I've lost my faith in God! What kind of God puts me on the verge of losing the only guy that's ever treated me with respect!? What kind of God makes me take on the role of a mother at five years old! What kind of God allows me to be beat every other night for three fucking years! And what the fuck kind of God takes the best friend I've ever had away from me and forces me to see her everyday, suffering as a puppet to some fucking whore of a mother that wants to live her life through her!"
Lee slammed her fists on her knees out of anger, after which she placed her eyes back into her hands, continuing to sob loudly. Marie and May glanced at each other with melancholy expressions, both having tears in their eyes due to Lee being driven to question her faith.
Eventually, the two girls wrapped their arms around their sister in a full embrace; Lee replied by lifting her hands from her eyes, and placing them around her sisters; holding them tightly in a loving embrace as she continued spilling her emotions.
After a few minutes, Lee calmed down, and with a sniffle, began speaking once again.
"I heard the voices again," said Lee, "The scary ones, telling me to do bad things. I thought I was done with them once I started taking my medication, but all of this craziness brought them back. I considered listening to them...but then..."
Lee lowered her head and continued sobbing, unable to finish her sentence.
"It's okay Lee," said May, "We understand."
Lee sniffled slightly, at which point she glanced down toward her handbag, on top of which sat an orange pill bottle.
"I took my medication around an hour ago when I got to the church," said Lee, "It stopped the voices, but I'm starting to feel it now. Those pills always make me feel loopy...and...instantly...put ...me"
Lee emitted a long drawn out yawn, at which point she leaned her head backwards, resting it on the back of the pew.
"To sleep..." said Lee in a groggy voice. She then proceeded to seemingly pass out from a combination of sheer emotional exhaustion, and the effects of her medication.
As Lee drifted off to sleep, her eyes closed and mouth wide open towards the ceiling, Marie ran her fingers through her sisters ginger hair.
"Sleep all you want Lee," said Marie, "You had a long chaotic day."
Marie and May remained seated for a few moments, observing Lee sleeping peacefully. Marie eventually decided to break the silence.
"Well," said Marie as she stood up, "Now we just have to figure out how to get Sleeping Jesus back home."
"That's easy!" said May, "We can just call Daddy to come get us. We can say that we decided to go to mass this afternoon, and stayed after to chat with Father Sevino. Piece of cake!"
"That's an excellent plan May!" said Marie, "But there's just one small problem with it."
"What's that?" asked May.
"What did Mommy and Daddy use to get to the fireman's ball?" asked Marie.
"Daddy's truck!" said May with a smile.
"What did we use to get here?" asked Marie.
"That guy helped us with his scooter!" said May
"Right again", said Marie, "Why did that guy need to help us get here?"
"Because Lee drove Mommy's car here!" said May.
"Is Lee taking Mommy's car something that could get her in more trouble than she needs to be in right now?" asked Marie.
"Oh yeah," said May, "Mommy and Daddy would be sooooo mad if they found out Lee stole the car, and drove it all the way here without a license."
"Okay, final two questions," asked Marie, "Where's Mommy's car now, and where does it need to be in order for us not to get in trouble when Mommy and Daddy come home."
"That's easy." said May in an air-headed manner, "It's parked right outside just where Lee left it, and it needs to be back home in the..."
May paused prior to completing her sentence upon realizing her and her sister were in a much bigger predicament than she had thought.
"Oh..." said May, at which point Marie reached into Lee's pocket book.
"Bingo, we have a winner," said Marie sarcastically as she fished through Lee's pocketbook, "Please allow me to present to you, your grand prize."
Marie removed Tabby's car keys and promptly tossed them towards May. The blonde, pony-tailed girl juggled them in her hands for a few seconds, finally gaining control of them as she stared at the metallic items with a nervous expression.
"You're up." said Marie.
