The Mark
Written by Ryan Mains
Lara Washington
floated down the river. The darkness of the water contrasted her hair, a
flaming red. With a slashed throat, she was almost certainly dead. Of course,
her friends and family didn’t know this yet, so she was also, to them at least,
alive. A Schrodinger’s Girl, if you will. Of course, they would find her
eventually, and that’s when things will really go downhill.
* *
*
Kira groaned as she walked to the broken-down trailer in
front of her. This was Chuck’s house. She really didn’t like Chuck. She stopped at the
door, and briefly considered walking away. In spite of herself, she knocked.
There was an uncomfortable long pause, and then the door opened. Kira was
greeted face-first with a horrid, almost certainly drug-related stench. She
frowned once she set eyes on Chuck. Everything about Chuck just oozed sleaze.
The yellow teeth. The bloodshot eyes. The greasy wifebeater and jeans. He
grinned. “Kira, what brings you to my humble abode?” She ignored his false
charm. “Where’s Lara, Chuck?” Chuck looked confused. “Why would I know where
she is?” Kira scoffed. “Because she’s your girlfriend? Don’t try this crap with
me, Chuck.” Chuck shrugged, “I haven’t seen her since the party at Dan’s house.”
She raised an eyebrow, disgust visible in her tone. “You took her to
a party?” Chuck was insulted. “Before you ride away on the goddamned high
horse, I’ll let you know nothing happened. Some other guy drove her home.” “Who?”
Now he was angry. “I don’t know. I was high, could barely tell where I was. All
I knew was that the guy gave me the creeps. Now we gonna play 20 questions or
are you gonna get off my porch?” She pulled out her notebook and scribbled down
some notes. “Goodbye, Chuck.” She stepped off of the porch, not bothering to
turn at the sound of the door slamming. She wasn’t surprised that Chuck was
less than helpful.
Suddenly, her cellphone buzzed. She answered. “Hello?” “Where
are you, K?” Kira cursed silently. “Hey, Dad. I’m, uh, I’m staying after at
school.” There was silence, then a sigh, on the other end. “Where are you
really?” Figures her dad would see her through lie. “I’m at the trailer park. I
was talking to Chuck about Lara.” Her dad sighed again. “Alright, I’m coming to
pick you up.” “No, you don’t have to-““Yes, I do. Stay there, K.” She hung up. “Damn
it.”
* * *
It took 20
minutes for Officer Frank Andrews to pull up to the trailer park. “Hey, Dad.” “Hey,
K. Get in.” They drove in relative silence for a few minutes. Kira broke the
silence. “Look, Dad, I only went over because-““You don’t think the cops can
handle this? We already shook own this Russo scumbag. I doubt he told you
anything different. You-“ He pointed at her with his gloved hand. His hand had
been badly burned by the accident that had killed her mother. “-need to stay
out of this. You don’t know what kind of stuff Lara was wrapped up in. I lost
your mom, but I ain’t losing you.” If this hadn’t been the hundredth time she’d
heard this speech, it would’ve had actual weight. “Look, Dad, I’m sorry.” Frank
hesitated. “Alright, honey.” They pulled into the driveway of the house. “So I’m
still working for a bit. I’ll be home around 9 or 10, alright?” Kira nodded,
then stepped out of the car. “Hey, K?” She turned. “We’re gonna find her. Ok?”
She smiled, thin and largely forced, but it seemed to please her father. She
stepped into the house, left her keys on the table, went to her room. Taking
out her notebook, she tore out the page of her notes on the meeting with Chuck
and stuck it to her wall. The information was lacking. “Where are you, Lara?”
One part of her said, “Alive and well.” But everything else said, “Dead and
gone.”
* * *
Kira awoke
in the middle of the night to the sound of something the wall of her room. Her
window was open, as always. On the floor lay a rock with a note tied to it. She
bent over and picked up the note. “Meet me at the tree afterschool-T.” Kira
frowned. She didn’t recognize the writing. “T?” She closed the window, then
left the rock on the windowsill and went back to bed.
* * *
Kira felt a
sense of loss as she walked up to the tree. Located at a nearby lake, she and
Lara had played here as kids. Whoever wanted to meet here obviously knew the
two of them well. She checked her watch. “It was 2:30, and there wasn’t any
sign of “T’. There was rustling in the bushes, and she turned to see a teenage
boy in a green jacket, a Doctor Who t-shirt, and jeans stepped out of them. If
she hadn’t figured it out by then, the partially broken glasses and messy dark
hair helped Kira figure out the identity of “T”. “Theo?”
Theo Marcellin was
something of a loner. He rarely spoke up during classes, ate lunch alone, and
didn’t seem to care much about other people. Lara had taken it upon herself to
bring him out of his shell. The efforts, for the most part, weren’t successful.
He looked around nervously, and then said,”Hey, Kira.” She looked at him with
interest. “Why did you throw the rock through my window?” He chuckled, then
replied, “Because you have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.” She looked
confused, and then replied, “And you do?” He nodded. “Alright then, where’s
Lara?” He shook his head. “Can’t tell you that.” She got angry. “Why not? How
do I know everything you say to me isn’t a lie?” He got even more nervous. “Because
I can’t tell you anything beyond clues, or bad things happen. I can give you
pieces, but not the whole puzzle.”
Kira rolled her eyes, but got out her
notebook anyway. “Alright, give me a “hint” then.” He nodded, and replied,
“Your friend was wrapped up with very bad people. Kira frowned, “You don’t
think I already knew that? Are you saying Chuck-“Theo shook his head. “Not him.
Bigger.” She started to ask who, but realized he wasn’t going to ask that. “That’s
all I have. I’ll contact you if I have anything else.” He turned to leave, but
Kira stopped him. “Why are you helping me?” He seemed to form a response, but
stopped himself. “Maybe I’ll tell you later.” He walked back into the bushes. “Alright, then.” Kira scribbled down
some notes, then left.
