Salem Snippets: A Collection of Silver Society Shorts

RIKKI'S JOURNEY

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This one-shot explains Rikki's history. It give some insight into how she became what she did. If you haven't read book seven yet, this will contain a few big spoilers.

RIKKI'S JOURNEY

It was cold. Rikki Henley struggled to get warm beneath the tattered blanket that covered her body. She was covered in dirt from sleeping in the woods for the last week. She was trembling, thirsty, and starving. She was probably going to die soon, but somehow, that was still better than staying in the group home would have been.

At least I'll die on my own terms, she thought.

Maybe she should just end it. No one would even notice if she took her own life. There wasn't a soul alive who cared about her.

No, she scolded herself. If I die, they win. I'm sick of them winning.

She forced herself to come out from under the blanket as the sunlight burned her eyes. She struggled to get on her feet. Her legs shook violently, threatening to give out, but she managed to remain standing.

She took a tentative step forward and was pleased when her leg held her weight. Encouraged, she continued walking. She held the backpack that contained her only belongings, a couple of shirts, a few pairs of underwear and socks, a hairbrush, a toothbrush, her tattered blanket, and a photograph of her with her mother.

Rikki somehow held her head high as she left the woods. The world had been trying to break her since she was three. That was when her mother was murdered and she ended up in foster care. Rikki had been too little to fully remember what happened, but the few flashes of memory she had were enough to give her nightmares. Between that and the things she'd endured in foster care, she never slept peacefully.

She kept walking after she found her way out of the woods. She wasn't sure where she was going, but she knew she had to get there soon.

There was a park outside of the woods. Rikki spotted a water fountain and quickly pushed the button, but it didn't turn on.

Work, she silently begged. Please, work... I'm dying. I need water.

Nothing happened. Frustrated, Rikki cried out, "Work!"

Suddenly, water came out of the fountain in a powerful burst. She chose not to question this, instead drinking gratefully until her throat didn't burn so much. Since the water was still flowing, she used some of it to wash her face and hands off. The rest of her would have to wait, but at least her eyes, nose, and mouth weren't covered in dirt anymore.

She found her way to civilization. There was fruit on a stand outside of a bodega. No one was watching it, so she cautiously grabbed a couple of apples and kept walking, keeping her expression blank and her eyes forward.

She walked three blocks before she dared to taste her prize. After going so many days without food, she had almost forgotten how to chew, but she managed to swallow the first bite. It tasted sweet, like salvation, and she quickly finished the first one. She wanted more, but she chose to save the other one for later. She didn't know when she'd find more food, so she had to make it last as long as possible.

She kept walking. It was as if her feet knew where to go even if she didn't. She ended up in front of an abandoned house. It was familiar, and Rikki soon realized why as the door opened by itself. She cautiously stepped inside and immediately recognized the interior from her nightmares.

"This was our house," she realized in shock.

She began exploring. It was clear no one had lived in the house for the last decade. Blood still stained the carpet where her mother's body had been found.