Darkness For Eternity

Kat knew the sun was shining even before she opened her eyes. Squinting against the glare, she could see dust mites flying through the air, even though there was little hint of a breeze. A quick glance at the clock informed her that she had little time to snooze. Her mother would be home soon from working the night shift. This was how it had been Kat's entire life. Having five children and putting them through Parochial school, two of them now in college and one moved away, took its toll on the family finances. So mom had always worked the graveyard shift, and Kats father worked days so they didn't have to hire babysitters.

Rubbing sleep from her eyes, Kat slowly sat up on the side of the bed. It had been a long night, a frightful night. The kind of night that made Kat prefer prison camp torture. At least what she thought prison camp torture was. At the age of 12, she knew she didn't have a grasp on the actual details, but she was sure it was better than her life. It was the waiting, and the not knowing when it would happen, or if it would happen tonight, that made the darkness last for centuries. She must have only gotten little over an hours sleep, perhaps ten minutes at a time, and was still groggy as she made her way to the bedroom door. Carefully, and as quietly as she could, she removed the iron, glass cups and bowls, and silverware from the ironing board and put them in the box in the closet and covered them up with old clothes. Next, she pulled the ironing board out of the way so the door could open without obstruction. If her mother arrived home and found the door blocked again, she would never hear the end of it.

Kat put her ear to the door and could hear her father in the master bathroom with water running from the shower. Grabbing her clothes, she quickly ran across the hall to the other bathroom and locked the door. After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she glanced in the mirror to see two swollen red eyes looking back at her. Borrowing her sister's compact, she tried to hide the damage so her mom wouldn't get suspicious.

But her sister had betrayed her. A pact had been broken, and trust had been destroyed. She and all four of her sisters had made a blood oath five years earlier. No one girl would be left alone in that house. Not ever, no matter what.

Callie had been invited to a slumber party last night. She had just started high school, and really liked the new friends she had made there, and really wanted to fit in. Kat had asked a friend to spend the night with her, but at the last minute her friend had gotten sick and couldn't come after all. But Callie didn't change her plans. And Kat had no one to ask for help. She had been left alone, all alone, with him.