Out of the Dark

Chapter 6

The grocery store in downtown Paradise was already bustling early Saturday morning when Aella and Virgie pulled into the lot. Without even looking for a closer spot, Virgie parked in the back row.

Aella didn’t argue. Virgie preferred to park away from people, just like she preferred to live away from people. And the parking habit was, in part, because they drove their dad’s truck. Virgie spent a lot of time and took great care in making sure it stayed in pristine condition, just as he had done. She took it in for regular maintenance and paid top dollar for only the best oil and parts. It was a miracle she was able to save it after it was thoroughly flooded that awful night. It would be a cold day in Hell before Virgie allowed even the smallest of door dings.

The girls moved quickly down the bright linoleum aisles of the small store, Virgie pushing the wobbling cart and Aella scanning the list she wrote as she plucked item after item from the shelves.

Now and then, someone would smile or wave and the girls would return the gesture. There wasn’t much of that, though. To say they didn’t get out much was quite an understatement. Most of the people they ran into were parents or grandparents of their daycare students. The girls specifically went early in the morning to avoid as many people as they could.

As they stopped on the bread aisle, a store employee stood talking with a customer she must have known. Aella tried not to eavesdrop, but couldn’t help overhearing the troubling dialogue.

“Don’t know. I heard she was seeing a doctor for postpartum. But I didn’t think that made someone rave about voices in their head,” the stocker was saying in a hushed tone to the older woman standing with her hand-basket hanging over her forearm.

The older woman shook her head, her hoop earrings swinging beneath short gray, curled hair. “Bless her heart. And those children. Just awful.”

Aella put a loaf in the basket, looking to Virgie. But her sister was staring past the two ladies to the end of the aisle. Aella looked in that direction and found a man and woman discussing something. They could have been talking about the weather for all she knew. Whatever it was, it didn’t look particularly distressing, but Aella knew it was the body language for Virgie. The woman was standing with her back to the shelves and the man towered over her, his large arms waving in short circles. Aella silently prayed the two would move on as she didn’t think she’d be able to move Virgie if they didn’t. She made a point to ruffle her paper list and said “Just got to get some eggs and milk and we’re done, V.”

Virgie’s eyes darted to her own as she nodded and pushed the cart forward down the aisle. The couple moved on together and the fog seemed to lift behind Virgie’s eyes. Aella breathed a sigh of relief.

In a matter of minutes, Virgie was pushing their squeaky-wheeled cart full of groceries through the parking lot.

“Did you hear those ladies in the store?” Aella asked as they climbed into the truck. “Someone else went crazy.”

“What's going on with the world?” Virgie asked, her voice just above a whisper. “It was never perfect, but lately it just seems to be getting sicker.”

Minutes later, they were pulling up the long, caliche driveway when Virgie suddenly turned to Aella. “With the world going to Hell in a hand-basket, maybe we should take stock of the things in Dad’s closet.”

Aella shrugged, non-committally. It wasn't her favorite thing to talk about. It involved going through an Army vet's veritable armory of flashlights, flares, matches, lighters, and ammo. But she couldn't argue that it would be peace of mind to know what was there. Still, she didn't want to talk about it and she stayed pointedly silent.

Virgie sighed as she put the truck in park and set the brake at the top of their hill. She gazed out at the valley and the bright blue expanse of sky, the blue-green hills in the distance. Aella had a bad feeling about where this was going. She climbed out of the truck and started unloading the groceries out of the back. Virgie went to unlock the house, but paused at the doormat, looking down.

Catching up to her, Aella saw the dead mouse Virgie stared at. “Oh Cat,” she said, rolling her eyes. She set her bags down and picked the tiny rodent up by the tail. She was about to toss it aside when she spied that damned falcon sitting in a tree nearby, watching her. She stared back at it flatly. After several moments, the bird clicked its beak at her. She stretched her arm in the falcon’s direction. “Weird ol’ bird want a snack?” She cooed, shaking the small mouse at the falcon.

The falcon turned his head to the side.

“Fine then. Weirdo,” she said under her breath, chucking the mouse. As she picked up the bags again, she called to Virgie, “V, have you seen this crazy falcon? It does the strangest things. I’m wondering if it was somebody’s pet—” She stopped when she saw Virgie frozen, unpacked grocery bags sitting in front of her on the kitchen cabinet. Virgie stood at the counter, staring out the wide window. Aella wanted to crawl into herself.

“He was on his way back from buying rounds,” Virgie stated, hollow and distant.

Aella counted to ten before she spoke. In hushed, clipped words, she warned, “Don't go there, V.”

Virgie was slow as she returned to the groceries, emptying one bag then stopping. “He was always buying things. Always stocking up. And he taught me how to shoot as soon as I could hold a gun.”

Aella rolled her eyes. “That's not exactly new-age parenting around here,” she replied.

Virgie was silent as she bowed her head, looking down at her hands. After several tense moments, Aella heard her sister's pained voice. “He only started doing all of that after your mother disappeared.”

Aella’s breath caught in her throat, her bubble of control threatening to burst. Flatly, without a shred of remorse, she seethed “She left, Virgie.” She set a can of beans down on the counter with a little more force than she intended.

“I don't think she did, Aella.” Virgie turned and faced her sister, her face the perfect portrait of caution and quiet resolve. “She loved you too much, loved Dad too much. And me. It wasn’t like her to up and leave.”

Aella closed her eyes and reminded herself to breathe. The wind was picking up outside; her blood pressure rose. “Virgie.” Her voice was quiet, but strong. “Dad told us she left.” She ground out every word, trying to focus on putting the groceries away, ignoring the dark clouds sweeping in on a cold wind.

Virgie’s eyes were stormy, imploring. “He didn’t want us to wonder or worry about her, to go looking for her. I’m telling you; she didn’t leave.”

Aella was a force of nature, capable of shifting extremes or gradual change. She turned her bottle-green eyes to Virgie’s slate ones. Thunder rumbled low in the distance. “She left, Virgie. She was Fae. She took a little field trip here one day, fell in love with a human man, never intended to get pregnant. I was a mistake.” She spit the word out like it was venom on her tongue. “She didn’t want a responsibility; she wanted the fun kind of love. Not the hard kind. So, the new wore off and she left.” She didn’t have to look out the window to know the sky darkened above the house.

Virgie only stared into her sister, the compassion dripping from her even as her face registered the hurt.

Virgie nodded, not defeated, but giving in for now. “Ok, Aella. I’m sorry. It’s hard for me to let it go.”

Aella bowed her head and sighed. She willed her temper to cool, took slow, measured breaths. “I know. I don’t expect that it will get any better.” She emptied the last bag of groceries and balled the plastic bags together for their daycare stockpile. She was relieved to hear that Virgie was moving now, hanging her purse on the hook by the door. When she heard a soft curse erupt from her sister, she glanced back.

Virgie had books in her hands. “I forgot to go by the library. I need to return these books today. I think I’ll grab some new ones too. I’ll be right back.”

Aella snorted, knowing full well that her sister could spend hours looking for the next book to read. She heard the screen door shut and she left the room to gather her laundry.

From the corner of her room, where she picked up her hamper, she heard the screen door squeak open again.
Aella huffed a laugh. She called out “Back so soon?”

She was answered with silence. Aella knew her sister was probably still raw from the heated exchange. She carried her hamper out of her room, brainstorming appropriate apologies.

Between “Hey Virgie,” and a sincere “look, I shouldn't have said those things”, Aella entered the kitchen and was suddenly thrown into shadow.

Raising her eyes, she found two rugged shapes stooping in the kitchen