October 2, 1973
"I came to see someone you're harbouring with you," the voice spoke. The voice spoke with no sign of ignorance or mission, only of weariness as of coming from a long way. She peaked her head through the threshold, her nosy habit was sure to get her hurt. Sebastian turned around to take a peak at what made noise.
"What are you doing?" He asked, when he approached her. "Who is that," she responded.
***
A little while later, Sebastian and Evelynne were sitting on the couch, while the mysterious man stood, hands behind his back and a stony look on his weathered face. Evelynne, to Sebastian's shock, was the first one to speak up, "What's all of this about, sir?"
His expression didn't change in the slightest, "Are you kin to Zachary Michael Powers, by any chance." The mention of that name sent shivers down her spine; she didn't want to answer him, but she figured that she had no other choice. "Yessir, I'm his little sister." She cringed at the way she had worded that. He nodded in acknowledgement, his face softening only a smidge.
"So you were the one who was assaulted on July 18?"
She was taken aback at the bluntness of the man. Straight to the point, she realised, sighing internally, "Yes sir, that was me." Sebastian leaned in and patted her shoulder, while the man took out a small spiral notepad. She shot the man a quizzical look, "What is all of this about, if I may ask."
He shifted his feet, just as she looked at her own. Her shoes were on the verge of falling off, from years of wear and tear, scuffed from asphalt from the concrete porch at 'home.' "There was a tip that you know where Zachary Powers is. Is this true?" His face hardened again.
She sighed as her hands wrung together, "No Sir, I do not." He looked like he didn't believe her, "Well, did you see where he went after the assault? Any clues to where he might be, or anything he might have said to you to know where he was planning on going?" He tapped his notebook with a black ink pen, looking for her to answer.
She leaned forward, and had her head in her hand, "He didn't tell me anything. But if I'm being honest, I don't remember everything that was being said to me, I was focused more on getting away without dying. If he did say something like that to me, which I highly doubt he did, I really don't remember." She pushed her head deeper in her cupped hands, "I don't try to remember that anyway. I can handle a lot, but this is beyond what I can take."
He stopped writing to look at her, "Thank you for your honesty. But you stated that he may have told you something," he paused. "Can you try to think about it for me?"
Her breathing got heavier and heavier, her past thoughts invading her mind. She felt herself being grabbed and pulled down into the depth of her dark past, losing grip and all control, seeing no way to climb out of her subconscious. She stopped fighting and let herself fall.
* * *
July 18, 1973
Evelynne was walking home with two of her more popular classmates, Tiffany and Cassandra, talking and laughing at the last thing they heard before school let out. She had no memory of her home life at that very moment, she was on top of the world. "Hey, do you think your brother will let you go to the mall with us," Tiffany asked her in between fits of giggles. She made a face, thinking. This is a make or break moment Evelynne, don't blow it, she scolded herself mentally. "Hey, earth to Eve! Are you with us?" Cassandra waved a perfectly manicured hand in her face. She snapped back into reality, "Sorry, I'll have to ask him."
The driveway to Evelynne's house neared closer and closer, much to her unease. She walked up the steps towards the door, the other two girls in tow. Taking out her key, she jammed it into the keyhole and went to turn the knob to open the door. Before she had the chance, she came face to face with her brother, his face had a light sheen of sweat, and a wooden baseball bat in hand. She opened her mouth to greet him, before being struck on the side of the head by the bat.
The girls screamed and ran, while Evelynne, seeing stars, wasn't as quick to react. She was grabbed by the collar of her shirt, stained with crimson, and yanked forcefully into the house, hearing the nearly unhinged door slam shut. She was thrown onto the scuffed wood floor, feeling her skull crack by the force of the blow, as her brother came mere centimetres away from her face, his breath hovering over her. "You think you're so cute, coming home with friends?" A strike to her abdomen from the bat was followed by her face being grabbed by chapped hands. "I'll make you pay for this, Eve!" Now it was his hands delivering the sharp, painful blows. One to the face, stomach, shoulder and neck. How she wished it would just end. He got up and walked over to his desk drawer, while she was silently cursing the two girls. What else did I expect, she wondered, when the invisible mouths in her head stopped screaming in agony.
She wished they would stop screaming and devise a plan, seeing as her life was on the line here. Running away was the textbook escape plan, but it was the best one she had. Zachary walked back to her; an object shining in his hand. The jaded confidence in the plan quickly faded away at the sight of the object, and in that moment all hope seemed to be lost.
"I will make you pay," was the last thing she heard, until everything went silent, except for the ringing in her ear with every fatal blow.
Invisible hands took her and held fast, nearly crushing her.
* * *
YOU ARE READING
Take The Long Way Home
TerrorAgain, another story that I had been writing for about a year, but finally got to publish. Evelynne Powers, aged 13, was near-fatally assaulted in the summer of 1973 by her brother Zachary, aged 16. While in the hospital, she meets 21 year old Vince...
