CARRIE: Atonement 2
Chapter 2
A Lone figure in a grey hoodie walked down a side road toward a busy truck stop on the outskirts of Atwater. Her thoughts were in turmoil, as were the few strands of blonde hair that stuck out from under the hood and whipped about in the breeze. On the one hand Carrie was thankful to be free after being at the Glendale psychiatric ward for a year, on the other hand the eighteen year old wasn't sure that she should be. She was head toward Atwater because for last two nights she had been aware that someone in this area had been somehow reliving her memories with her in her dreams she had felt him there watching. She didn't feel that he was a threat oddly enough more like a friend calling out to her.
At present her thoughts were the day that the kindly Dr. Cathy Weller, a tall dark haired lady, with soft grey eyes had come into her room and told her that the President of the united states himself had gotten wind of her story and after thoroughly researching everything about what had happened and why it happened had issued a full pardon for her on the condition that she completed her treatment at Glendale.
Carrie had not been sure what to think of Dr. Weller at first. Especially the first time she was brought in for a session by the orderly. Dr. Weller had been reading the bible on her desk when Carrie was shoved roughly through the door by the orderly. Dr. Weller jumped up and got in the orderly's face and told them that if she ever saw that again she would have him fired. The she ordered him out of the room with a look that dared him to argue with her.
After he was gone she sat down in front of Carrie took both of Carrie's hand hers and smiled at the girl.
"I'm here to listen to tell me whatever you feel like you can!" over the next few days as Carrie began to feel more and more at ease with Dr. Weller she began open up more and more about the extent of her life and everything she had been through. The abuse from her mother, the torment at school the cruel pranks and finally the one that led to the Black Prom Massacre.
It was during the first discussion of the black prom that Carrie noticed a picture of a smiling 17 year old boy on Dr Weller's desk and pinned to the frame was a black ribbon. Carrie's breath caught in her throat and ice filled her lungs.
"Who is that?" She asked in a small voice.
Dr. Weller turned and looked at the picture. She gave a sad smile.
"That's my nephew Mark," she said, "I raised after his parents, my brother and sister in-law died in a plane crash when he was three. They had left him with me while they went on a second honeymoon. He was the closest thing to a son of my own that I ever had."
"The black ribbon," said Carrie almost afraid to asked, "What happened to him."
"He died at the black prom," Dr. Weller said quietly
Carrie began sobbing. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and began to rock back and forth. Tears streamed down her face and onto the wooden floor of the office.
"You must hate me." She choked out. Dr. Weller sat down in front of Carrie and placed her hands on Carrie's shoulders.
"Carrie look at me," she pleaded. Finally Carrie looked up and theirs met.
"I don't hate you," she said, "I never did." Carrie gasped in wonder as she looked into the older woman's eyes. In her mind there was some sadness, but no hatred, not even anger, and there was something else too something that Carrie certainly never expected, forgiveness!
"You've forgiven me?!" she gasped in wonder.
"Yes I have," said Dr. Weller, "Because that's what God and Mark would want me to do. I don't blame you for what you did, you were tormented beyond what any human being could mentally and physically withstand. it made you sick. And Carrie regardless of what your mother told you, God doesn't hate you either, he loves you and he never stopped because He is the personification and source of love, life, and forgiveness."
At these words something inside of Carrie White changed forever. It was like she could see clearly for the first time in her life. This woman not her mother was a true example of a Godly woman. Carrie could do nothing but throw her arms around her, cling to her and weep fresh tears. Dr. Weller held the girl and stroked her hair gently until the sobs stopped.
Now she was free. To her surprise very few people in Chamberlain begrudged her, her freedom. It seemed that for first time in history an entire town was ashamed of itself. John Hargenson opposed her release at first until the evidence of what Chris had done was brought to light and the resulting embarrassment quieted him down quickly. Still to make things easier on everybody Carrie had elected to leave town.
All she had to her name was a change of clothes in her backpack, 2,000 dollars from her mother's bank account and the Bible and 50.00 dollars that Dr. Weller had given her. Even in her uncertainty about whether she should really be free, she was much more at peace with herself than she ever thought possible. This included her telekinesis, as Dr. Weller said, it was an ability. and an ability is not inherently good or evil it's how you use it. She glanced down at Jeans as she approached the truck stop. Hopefully this one had a place where she could wash her clothes. The ironic thing about the hoodie she was wearing was that the hood itself had a blood red inner lining. She discovered that with her telekinesis that she could cause the particles of red light to vibrate around her face giving herself an eerie otherworldly appearance that was usually enough to intimidate anyone who tried to cause her trouble. Her telekinetic ability to levitate, which she used mostly at night allowed to cover exponentially greater distances that anyone else on foot could. Oh she could have bought a plane ticket to Florida, but since she still didn't fully trust John Hargenson not to cause trouble she decided not to make it that easy for him to track her.
She adjusted her hood and stepped inside the truck stop. He made her way among the shelves until she found what she wanted. She selected an apple, bottle of water and a Snickers bar. After she made her purchases she left the truck stop and started across the parking lot toward the road to Atwater. She was about halfway across in the darkest part of the lot when she came upon a heated argument between a burly red haired man and a wiry woman with dreadlocks.
"You're violating a restraining order," the woman snapped, "Now get away from me."
"I not going to let you marry that guy," the man snapped grabbing he arm
"You can't stop me," the woman snapped back, she pulled out her phone, "now get out of here before I call the cops."
The man flew into a rage, grabbed her arm, twisted the phone out of her grasp and threw it away Then he produced a switchblade knife. He raised the knife to strike when before the woman could scream three eight inch glass shards shot out the shadows and pierce his hand his wrist and his forearm. The man screamed in pain and dropped to his knees holding his now bloody arm.
The woman looked up wide eyed to see Carrie stepping out of the shadows.
"Go," said Carrie, "Find your phone and call the police." The woman nodded and went find her phone. Carrie turned to face the man putting on her eerie red face effect as she turned.
"I want you to remember something when you get out of jail," she said, "And that is to stay away from that woman, because you won't enjoy seeing me again." Carrie put her hand on one of the glass shards and gave it a twist to accent her warning. Then she turned and walked away into the shadows.
TBC
Let me know what you think.
