Kevin O'Brien - One Last Scream

For some reason, she thought of Karen Carlisle. The last thing Amelia remembered was falling asleep in Karen’s spare bedroom, while Karen sat in that rocker in the corner. Had Karen decided that she was so dangerous she had to be locked up? Had Karen shorn her hair like a convict and then stuck her in this makeshift little prison?

Amelia couldn’t think of any other explanation. Maybe that was why she had this sudden, inexplicable contempt for her therapist and friend. She was as close to Karen as she’d been to the family she’d just lost. Amelia remembered having had this same loathing for her brother, Collin, before his accident, and for her parents and Aunt Ina the night they’d died in this house.

All she could think about was slitting Karen’s throat.

Wrapped up in the blanket, she sat down on the edge of the cot and stared at the jagged piece of glass. She told herself that she could never hurt Karen. Amelia started to cry.

But she didn’t let go of the glass.

She stared at Karen and shook her head. “How could I feel things from this twin I didn’t even know I had?” she asked. “How could I have forgotten all about her?”

Karen took her eyes off the road for a second. “Well, you have to consider, you were four years old when you last saw her.” She searched for the little inlet off Holden Trail, but she couldn’t see much beyond the headlight beams in front of her. It was a treacherous drive at night with no guardrail along the side of the road, nothing to stop the car from tumbling downhill if she overshot her lane.

They were both silent for a moment. The windshield wipers squeaked, and rain tapped on the roof. Karen wasn’t sure what to tell her. There was so much to explain. She’d decided Amelia didn’t need to know about her father just yet. That could wait. But she had to understand what was happening now. It was very likely they’d need her to talk to her twin sister, and reason with her.

“A lot of bad things happened to you, Amelia,” she went on. “I think you made yourself forget most of it. That’s how you were able to survive. But your twin didn’t forget you. She still has you on her frequency. I think she’s had a very hard life, too. You must have experienced some of it secondhand with those phantom pains and the nightmares.”

“So you’re saying this twin sister killed my parents, and Aunt Ina and Collin?” she asked, incredulous. “And I was on her frequency ?”

Karen nodded. “Yes, I’m sorry, Amelia. But I think you were picking up those violent sensations and images from her. That’s why you blamed yourself for everything she was doing.”

She shook her head. “I’m still blown away. Why is she doing this?”

Karen sighed. “I don’t know for sure. Obviously, she has a grudge against you or something. Maybe she resents that you’ve ended up having a better life.”

“Or maybe she feels I abandoned her.”

“Well, whatever her reasons are, Amelia, you need to remember it’s not your fault.”

“So her name’s Annabelle,” she murmured. “My God, all this time I thought I had a split personality or something. “

“No, you’ve just been picking up on the things she was doing. You didn’t know it, but you have a window into her world.” Karen saw a turnaround on the left. “Isn’t this it?” she asked.

“Um, yeah,” she said distractedly.

Karen pulled into a small alcove, but she didn’t switch off the ignition. “Listen, before we go down there, I need to ask you again, Amelia. Are you picking up any kind of feeling that something’s wrong at your Uncle George’s house? Do you sense that George, your cousins, or Jessie are in any kind of trouble?”

She looked back at Karen and shook her head. “Why do you keep asking that? Are they in trouble?”

“Your Uncle George is worried, and so am I.” Karen glanced at her wristwatch. George would be landing in Seattle within a half hour.

She turned off the ignition. “Listen, Amelia, on our way back, I want to stop by Danny’s again and phone your uncle. Then I might have you call his house. If Annabelle is there, we’ll need you to talk to her.”

She let out a stunned little laugh. “Karen, I don’t understand any of this. Are you saying my sister’s at Uncle George’s house?”

Karen nodded. “We think it’s possible. Are you sure you’re not sensing something? You’ve always known ahead of time what your sister’s planning. You’re not feeling anything?”

She shook her head. “Nothing about Jody or Steffie. Right now, I just feel this very strong need to go to the lake house. Please, Karen.” She opened the car door. “Don’t worry about the trail at night. Just hold on to my hand. I know it by heart by now.”

Karen got out of the car and paused at the top of the trail. In the darkness, she could barely see the path through the trees and shrubs. But she was thinking about something else that didn’t seem right. She’d figured Amelia would have been far more concerned right now about the safety of her only surviving family members. Instead, she was bent on visiting the lake house one more time for closure . Karen was waiting for George’s plane to land before calling and consulting him on their next move. But Amelia didn’t know any of that. It didn’t make sense that a final trip to the lake house was such a priority.

There had been a moment back at the diner, when she hadn’t recognized the waitress. A tiny alarm had gone off in Karen’s gut, then.

She thought about all the other people Annabelle must have duped before killing them. Did the Faradays, George’s wife, or Shane ever realize before their violent deaths that they were staring at Amelia’s twin?

“C’mon, Karen.” She smiled and held out her hand. “I’ll lead the way.”

Karen hesitated, but then grabbed her hand. Engulfed in darkness, she started to follow her down the trail. She took cautious little steps in the direction she was being pulled. Around her, she heard raindrops pattering on leaves, and branches rustling in the gentle wind.

She thought about her dad’s old revolver in her purse. “Amelia, remember what we were talking about in your last session?” she said, hating the nervous little wiggle that crept into her voice. She cleared her throat. “Um, you were telling me how you really resented Shane sometimes, and for no apparent reason. Remember that?”

She paused. “No, Karen, I don’t. I don’t recall saying anything like that.”

In the dark, Karen couldn’t see her face, or her expression. Did Annabelle know she was being tested again? Or was this Amelia , quite understandably, not remembering a conversation that had never happened?

“Actually, it’s weird you should mention Shane, right after you asked about those premonitions,” she went on. “I can’t help thinking something might have happened to him. And I–I feel I’ve caused it somehow. What do you make of that? Do you suppose I just feel guilty, because I borrowed his car without asking him?” She started moving again, pulling Karen’s hand. “Anyway, I’m worried about him, Karen. He’s not answering his cell, and he hasn’t returned any of my calls.”

Karen could hear the vulnerability in her voice, and it sounded so much like Amelia. She wondered how she was going to tell her that Shane was dead. There was so much Amelia still didn’t know.

Karen continued down the slope with her, blindly following her lead. She could only make out shapes in the murky blackness around her, and every step seemed precarious. She had to put all her trust in her guide.

“Careful, Karen,” she heard her say. Her grip tightened. “It’s a little slippery here. And there’s a big ditch on your right.”