The Forsaken

Chapter Fourteen - Fleeing from Reality

To her surprise, Cara isn’t waiting for Gwen when she gets home from school. In fact, she is nowhere in the house or even in the backyard. Gwen checks next door at Cara’s friend’s house, but Mrs. Cooper tells her she that hasn’t seen Cara at all today. Gwen grows concerned; it is now eight o’clock on a weeknight and getting dark out. She is just about to go back into the house when she hears a noise coming from the shed behind the house.

Cara knows better than to play in the shed, doesn’t she? Gwen asks herself, walking around the side of the house toward the red and white barn style shed--Dennis Keller’s personal retreat and workshop. None of the family is allowed in that shed except for him; he has warned Gwen on several occasions never to go in there. More out of fear of incurring his wrath than out of respect, Gwen has listened and kept her distance from her foster father’s personal oasis. That is, until now.

Gwen looks around for any sign of Mr. Keller before approaching. Quietly, she creeps up to the side of the shed to peek through the dirty glass window. There are several paint cans stacked on a shelf just below the window, blocking Gwen’s view of the room with in.

“Gainien Raisa,” she whispers under her breath. Suddenly, she becomes weightless, her feet floating off of the ground. Her body rises upward, suspended in midair. Now, from her elevated vantage point, she can see over all obstructions inside.

She can see several workbenches and tables lined up against every wall with tools and auto parts strewn about on every table, except one. A kind of video recording and editing station is set on the desk on the farthest wall. Sitting in a swivel-back office chair is Dennis himself. Before him, a digital video camera is set up on a tripod. Thirty-something Dennis watches the flip down screen before him, enthralled with the images before him. She sees Mr. Keller first and his behavior makes her look around the room, curious what he could be filming in a tool shed that could possibly be so amusing.

Then she sees it. Gwen gasps, putting a hand over mouth to stifle the noise, afraid the three occupants of the shed might be alert to her presence. At first, Gwen doesn’t believe what she is seeing. After several minutes, the shock wears off and a sense of revulsion and anger creeps up her spine into her skull. She knows there are plenty of things about life that she still is too young to understand, but she knows without a doubt that what is happening now is the very reason Mr. Keller wanted everyone to stay away.

Standing in the middle of the room stands Aaron, wearing only a shirt, his pants down around his ankles, looking uncomfortable; his face is pale yet blank, as if he is trying to keep his mind off of what is happening to him. Kneeling before him is Cara, crying and shaking, completely naked.

“Go on, Cara. Don’t make me ask again,” Mr. Keller commands in a dark voice, promising violence if she disobeys.

Cara turns to look at her foster father, a pleading look in her eyes. Through her whimpers, she shakes her head “no”. A dark look crosses Dennis’ face as he gets to his feet. Pouncing, he crosses the five feet between him and the little girl.

Suddenly Gwen is distracted, releasing her hold on the spell and falling abruptly to the ground below. She hits the dirt with a jarring thud, but wastes no time recovering from the impact of the fall, and jumps to her feet. Inside she hears Cara screaming and crying while Dennis Keller curses and shouts at her. Panicked, Gwen races to the door with inhuman speed. Reaching out, she takes hold of the door handle and tries pulling the door open. It’s locked and won’t budge. With a guttural growl, Gwen yanks on the handle with all of her superhuman might; the door squeaks and groans as the wood breaks off of its hinges. She rips the door clean off and throws it aside.

Without thinking, she enters the shed. She finds its three occupants frozen in place, staring at her in shock and amazement. Dennis Keller has the naked seven-year-old Cara by the neck, welts and cuts on her shoulders where he has hit her, his other hand still in mid-air, raised for another blow.