Chapter 3: The Bat
(Meanwhile…)
For the most part, the drive home in the car was quiet for both Margaret and her daughter Carrie. They say in tense silence, the likes of which that normally occurred with any kid who's had their parents called for any form of trouble at school. The car rattled and sputtered as they drove through a more rundown section of town.
"I'm sorry you had to come to school today, Mom." Carrie apologized.
Margaret turned toward her for a second, placing a hand upon Carrie's. The car's brakes squeal as it pulled up to their home, the blue house which its neighbors dread passing every day. Margaret sighed in resignation, while Carrie looked down with dread.
"Let's go inside, little girl." Margaret replied plainly. "You need to come inside with me."
"Mama, why didn't you tell me?" Carrie asked in concern. "I was so scared, Mama. I thought I was going to die. Mama, they laughed at me… and they threw things at me."
But Margaret gave no form of response to satisfy 'any' of her questions. She merely stepped out of the car while Carrie looked on.
"We'll talk about this inside, Carrie." Margaret responded.
Carrie got out of the car, but she was still upset and confused.
"No." Carrie spoke loudly.
(Later at the White's Residence…)
Margaret turned and faced Carrie, surprised over the sudden outburst. Yet there her daughter stood, trying to sound braver than she ever felt in her entire life.
"I want to talk about it right here." Margaret continued. "I don't… I don't want to go inside with you."
Margaret merely turned and walked into the house. Realizing her own mother would not give her the satisfaction, Carrie sat back in the passenger seat of the car. She tried to think, to make sense out of 'everything' that happened in one day, but no answer she could think of would satisfy the strange happenings in this town.
"The Bat." Carrie replied.
All of a sudden, a bratty neighbor boy on a bike slapped the driver's side window, startling poor Carrie.
"Crazy Carrie, Crazy Carrie!" The boy replied.
The boy pressed his face to the glass with a snort. Carrie merely sighed in annoyance, for this wasn't the only time a neighbor referred to her as 'crazy'... especially to her face. But kids such as this one... they were far worse. The boy rode his bike around the front of the car shouting.
"Crazy Carrie, Crazy Carrie." The boy replied.
One glare from Carrie and all of a sudden the boy's bike flew over, sending the boy rolling on the grass. Carrie's eyes went wide, as she wondered, 'Did I do that?'. The boy, slightly scared by her expression and the 'coincidental' fall, picked himself up, grabbed his bike, and rode away. Carrie looked up toward the sun peeking through trees, then back toward the house. Eventually, Carrie decided to go into the house knowing her mother would be waiting for her.
(Inside the house…)
Carrie looked around all of downstairs, but her mother wasn't downstairs. Carrie then heard a slight banging noise from upstairs.
Suddenly, as she set the book bag on a chair, a heavy thud drew her attention upstairs. She climbed up the steps, growing more upset. She went into her mother's bedroom only to find Margaret sitting in a corner, muttering to herself, and striking her head against the wall.
Carrie then went upstairs, and saw through the crack of her mother's bedroom door, her mother was gently banging her head against the wall, while whispering religious words and sentences…
"Oh, Lord, help my child." Margaret prayed. "She's lost."
"Mama, Stop it… MAMA!" Carrie called, as Margaret stopped, looking at Carrie… "I don't want to upset you!"
"So, you're a woman now…" Margaret said quietly…
"Mama, stop it." Carrie said, as her mother stopped.
"And God made Eve from the rib of Adam, and say it Carrie…" Margaret said, trying to get Carrie to go along with her words…
"No, Mama." Carrie said, trying to respond kindly.
"Say it. Talk to me! Please just talk to me! And Eve was weak…" Margaret said, trying to respond kindly. "I just want you to talk to me!"
"And the first sin was the sin of intercouse." Carrie replied nervously and sternly. "Mama…"
"Say it!" Margaret insisted.
"Why didn't you tell me, Mama?" Carrie asked in concern.
"And God visited Eve with a curse. And the curse was a curse of blood." Margaret asked in concern.
"I'm not going to say that!" Carrie replied, trying to reason with her mother. "That's not even in the Bible! It doesn't say that anywhere."
"Oh, lord! Help this little girl see the sin of her days and ways. Show her if she had remained innocent, the curse of blood would not have come upon her as it did on Eve." Margaret asked sternly.
"I'm not Eve, Mama!" Carrie shouted. "I didn't sin."
"You showered with those other girls!" Margaret shouted. "You had lust-filled thoughts."
"Everyone has to shower, Mama. Everyone. That's just the rules." Carrie replied.
"No, no, you must be different, because He can see you." Margaret replied.
"I don't want to be different, Mama. I want to be like them." Carrie shouted.
"He can smell the sin on you!" Margaret shouted.
"I want to be like them…" Carrie replied.
"And He will punish you!" Margaret shouted.
On the word 'Punish', Margaret hit Carrie in the face with a large bible book, causing Carrie to fall toward the ground in a daze. Margaret knelt down beside her, trying to hold onto her as she prayed.
"I will not let that come down upon you." Margaret declared. "I will not. Lord have mercy…"
"NO!" Carrie shouted, picking up the book. "'The Lord is good. His unfailing love endures forever, and his faithfulness continues through all generations.' Psalms 100, verse 5!"
But Margaret just drowned out Carrie's words with her own prayers as she stroked her daughter's face.
"I'm going to keep you away from that school." Margaret spoke determinedly.
"You can't." Carrie replied.
Carrie jumped up, running out of the room and down the stairs. But Margaret was hot on her tail.
"We'll pray. We'll pray together." Margaret rambled. "To save our women-weak, wicked, sinning souls."
"You didn't tell me, and they laughed. I did not. I didn't sin, you sinned!" Carrie replied.
Margaret stopped on the staircase, and her expression coldly furious.
"I did not..." Margaret spoke slowly. "I did not sin."
Margaret calmly walked down the stairs. Poor Carrie looked very scared, realizing she just made a big mistake. Margaret opened the door under the stairs revealing a small cupboard with a crucifix hanging inside...
Carrie jumped up, before she quickly ran out of her mother's room, and down the stairs, only for Margaret to follow and grab her by her hair… Carrie & Margaret kept fighting, causing Carrie to scream, as Margaret opened the Prayer closet door, and pulled and pushed Carrie into the closet, before locking the door on her...
"No, Mama." Carrie replied.
"You pray, you pray for Forgiveness." Margaret called, as lay against the closet door, so Carrie couldn't get out, as Carrie continued to scream, with then quickly turned into more aggressive…
"NO! YOU PRAY! MAMA! HELP!" Carrie cried.
Carrie's perception of the closet may as well have been the open mouth of a giant beast about to eat her, the stuff of nightmares.
"NO, MOMMY!" Carrie still cried.
"Come one." Margaret grunted.
"PLEASE HELP!" Carrie cried out.
Margaret finally got to the closet and threw Carrie inside. There's a loud thump of Carrie striking the wall inside. Margaret proceeded to shut the door, but Carrie tried to push her way out. With a hard shove, Margaret shut the door on Carrie and locked it with a single deadbolt. Carrie banged upon the door and cried out, begging to be let out.
"You pray, little girl." Margaret demanded. "Pray for forgiveness."
"Mommy, let me go!" Carrie cried. "Let me out!"
The door and the lock rattled, as Carrie banged on it demanding to be released. Margaret held her hand to the door, struggling to keep it short. While doing so, she scratched her own arm, drawing blood and leaving scars. By now, Carrie was practically in tears trying to get out.
"MOM!" Carrie cried out. "GOD, YOU SUCK!"
"Help me..." Margaret begged, facing the sky. "Help me..."
(Meanwhile, later…)
Meanwhile, deep in the woods near a gentle flowing creek, Sue and Tommy, parked their car out on an old dirt road. The two teenagers were currently partaking in events rather... steamy to say the least. However, Sue wasn't feeling it as all she could think about was how horrible she and all her friends were toward Carrie today. Tommy noticed this and looked at Sue worriedly.
"What?" Tommy asked in concern.
"I'm sorry." Sue apologized.
"What?" Tommy asked in concern.
Sue and Tommy stood outside the car, getting dressed as Sue looked miserable. Tommy was rather confused, if not worried about Sue. As Sonic hid in the tree and looked at Sue and Tommy.
"Hey. What's wrong?" Tommy asked in concern.
"I really messed up today, Tommy." Sue admitted guiltily.
"What, that thing with Carrie?" Tommy asked in concern.
"You know about that?" Sue asked in concern.
"Yeah, everyone knows about it, but you're not responsible for what Chris does." Tommy assured her.
"Yeah, but it was me, too." Sue retorted.
"You threw tampons at Carrie White?" Tommy asked in concern.
Sue gave no response as she just turned away, ashamed. Tommy couldn't stand seeing Sue so upset. So he decided to tell her something he hoped would ease her guilt.
"I kicked a kid in the ribs once." Tommy confessed. "Yeah, while he was knocked out. Because this kid, he used to beat the living shit out of me every day in sixth grade. Danny Patrick."
Tommy scoffed, laughing over the memory. But Sue still looked guilty, and Tommy took her hand.
"Did you apologize to Carrie?" Tommy asked in concern.
"Did you apologize to Danny Patrick?" Sue scoffed.
"No, but we're not in sixth grade anymore." Tommy replied.
Sue started to walk away, but he swept her into his arms in a bridal carry and Sue couldn't help but chuckle.
"Don't." Sue laughed.
Sonic laughed a little.
"He was a dick to me." Tommy chuckled. "What did Carrie White ever do to you?"
"Chris & her friends threw some tampons at Carrie, But I stopped…" Sue said reasonably too.
"You threw some tampons at Carrie?" Tommy asked reasonably.
"No, I did not threw some tampons at Carrie." Sue replied.
"You're right." Tommy replied.
"Tommy, we saw something and the bat." Sue replied.
"What happened?" Tommy asked in concern.
"Chris's phone was destroyed by the bat." Sue replied.
"Too bad. The Bat." Tommy replied.
"Yet." Sue replied.
(Meanwhile…)
Billy's car revved up to the biggest, expensive house on the block. The house of which just happened to belong to Chris herself. Speaking of which, Chris practically angry in excitement.
"Whoo! And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why he lost his license." Billy told his girlfriend and friend.
"Then why are you still driving?" Tina asked curiously.
"I don't need a license if they can't catch me." Billy replied.
Once the group were inside, the three teens made a dash upstairs toward Chris' bedroom.
"My Jackie's email, my Jackie's email!" Chris called.
Chris practically sprinted those stairs just to get to her own bedroom. Chris jumped upon the bed, but Tina wrestled her for the laptop. Billy soon strolled in to see them all over each other.
"Chris, no." Tina squirmed. "NO!"
"Wow." Billy smirked. "Why don't you two kiss or something while you're at it?"
"Oh, baby." Chris replied.
Chris and Tina laughed, as the former leaned down to 'fake' kiss Chris. Chris laughed and pushed her away, sitting herself up.
"Don't be stupid." Chris remarked.
"Who destroyed your phone?" Tina asked in concern.
"We saw the bat. That's a bastard." Chris replied.
"Are you stupid." Billy replied.
Chris turned her head and growled at Billy.
"All right, fine." Billy replied.
"Stop it." Chris replied, as she angrily.
"Chris's fault." Tina replied.
"The bat." Chris replied.
"The Bat film." Billy replied.
"What?" Chris asked in concern, as she turned her head to her boyfriend.
"The Bat film?" Tina asked in concern.
"Yeah." Billy replied.
"My phone was dropped and destroyed by the bat." Chris replied.
"Yeah, I know." Billy replied.
"No way." Tina replied, as she was shocked.
"The Bat." Chris replied.
To Be Continued…