Laiken

A shiny black car is parked beside our cabin.

I've never seen that kind of car. I've also never seen any car here besides Dad's Jeep. As I'm gawking, Kara grips my hand tighter. I glance at her, spotting how she's gone pale. I wasn't scared, but now I am.

Our front door on the porch is open. There's a man I don't know hovering there, his broad back resting on the hinges. He's wearing dark sunglasses. It makes him more intimidating.

He turns his head, spotting Kara and me. His mouth tightens then he leans into the house—my house—like he owns it. I can't catch what he says, but soon, three more strangers appear on my porch. Just behind them, half in the shadows of the cabin is my father.

The raw distress in his eyes cuts me to shreds.

“Let's run,” Kara whispers in my ear. God, but I'm tempted. Whatever is going on here isn't good; I know it in my trembling guts. But I can't abandon my family. Running wouldn't make these men vanish.

Holding her hand fiercely, I tug my sister towards the porch. Everyone watches us as we stand at the base of the steps. “Dad?” I ask softly.

He pushes through the men, dropping to his knees so he can hug us both. It's not a warm hug. It drives ice into my bones, it makes me sure something is wrong and it might never be right again.

“Kids,” he says thickly, his forehead pressing to mine then Kara's. We're too close for me to see his eyes, and I wonder if he's been crying. I've never seen him cry before. I didn't know he could. “Let's go inside. We need to talk.”

“What's going on?” Kara asks before I can.

“Let's sit down first.”

“No,” I say, sliding out of his embrace. He looks at me, and the redness in his tired eyes tells me he has been crying. “Where's Mom? Where's Dean? Are they okay, who are those people?”

He glances over his shoulder. “Your mom and brother are fine. Everything is fine.”

“It isn't,” Kara whispers. “Don't lie.”

One of his hands lands on my shoulder. The other is on Kara's. I feel like we're all that's keeping him from collapsing. “You're right, I'm sorry. I don't want to lie... but I don't know how to explain what's going to happen. I just—I'm so sorry. God, I never thought this would happen. I was so careful, and—” he chokes, unable to finish.

Whatever childish anger has taken hold of me evaporates. Grabbing his arm, I squeeze it roughly. I cling on, my face buried in his sleeve. It smells like him, all smoke and pine and safety. I don't want to let go.

“Joseph,” a voice I don't know says. I lean away just enough to see a woman behind my dad. She's taller than my mother, her body sharp on the corners, made sharper by her dark jacket and hemmed pants. I've never seen anyone like her in my life. She's beautiful, but when she looks down on me, fear makes my tongue numb.

“I know,” Dad whispers. He's frowning severely - it highlights all of the wrinkles in his face. Lines I only notice now. “Girls, please. Let's sit inside. I'll tell you what's going to happen.”

The woman smiles. I hate her.

Kara grips my hand. This whole time, we haven't let go. We pull apart as Dad stands between us, guiding us up the steps. The men move aside so we can enter, and I think, this is our home, not yours. Don't act like you're allowing us inside!

Mom is waiting on the couch in the living room. Dean is sleeping in her arms. I wonder if he woke up from his nap, or if he did, then went back to sleep. It amazes me that he can be so peaceful with all these strangers in our cabin.

She watches us as we enter. She hides her fear better than Dad. Enough that I wish I were stupider, because then, I could believe everything was fine. Even if it were only for a few seconds, I'd relish those seconds.

“Sit,” Mom says, patting the couch beside her. I go to her, leaving tearstains on my father's sleeve. When I get close my stiff steps become a leap—I land with my arms around her neck. “Shh, shh,” she murmurs in my ear.

I lift my head and see that Kara isn't sitting. She stands over Dean, her fingers perching on his swaddled blanket by our Mom's wrist. That blue striped blanket hides his still too-skinny limbs. He's really small. Hannah, the midwife, told Kara and me that preemies are like that. I thought it was a funny word, “preemie.” Especially the way Hannah drawled it out.

Then I understood that it was short for premature. No one said it out loud, but I got the impression Dean's lucky to be alive.

He stirs; his little face scrunching, then he falls back to sleep. Dad is fidgeting near us, unable to sit, barely able to stand. “Girls?” He chokes the word out. I look at him; Kara doesn't. “I—I'm trying to think of how to begin.” His hands are wringing. “I love you both so much.”

Of course he loves us. Why is he saying it suddenly?

Tension sways over the room. He stops talking, his jaw slack. “For God's sake,” my mother snaps. She fixates on the tall, sharp woman. “Don't make us do this, Annie.”

Annie is too sweet of a name for her. Her pale face is smooth and still as a buried onion. “It's the only way to keep him in check, Violet. You and Joseph both know it. Now choose, or I'll do it for you.”

“You cold hearted bitch,” my mom growls. I gape up at her. She's never been one for cussing. What is going on?

“Please,” Annie sighs. “I'm being as kind as I can be. Or did you want me to take the baby?”

I jump off the couch, arms thrown wide to shield Dean behind me. “No one is taking my little brother!”

The strange woman gazes down her nose at me. “She's got your fire, Joseph.” Crouching gracefully in her heels, she levels her eyes with mine. They're brown like molasses. She's smiling sweetly, curiously... but I know better. “What's your name?”

I don't blink. “Laiken.”

“Well, Laiken.” She cocks her head, the tight bun of hair not moving. “I'm here to take either you or your sister back to my nice big house.”

It takes me a second to register her words. In that time, Kara grabs my shoulder. “You're going to take us away?” Her voice cracks as she speaks.

“One of you. That's right.”

“But why?” I demand, my arms falling to my sides limply. Annie glances past me; I follow, noticing how my Dad's hands are balled in red fists. His mouth is quivering. He's upset but I'm furious. “Daddy! Why is she taking us? How can she take us?”

Kara's hand leaves me.

Our father is grimacing now. Mom is sitting there looking at Dean. Her chin trembles, large tears dampening the baby's blanket.

But no one is talking.

No one has answers.

“I won't let you!” It's Kara—her outburst shreds the awful silence. She retreats to the kitchen entrance, where the back door is. One of the men starts to reach for her but she's already running.

“Kara!” I cry, dodging the man as I chase my sister. As I run, I hear Annie say, “Leave them. Just wait a minute.” The door is open and I shove my way through. Outside, the last ray of sun is gone. The gray clouds and dampness makes our property feel like another world.

I scan the flat dirt with its stacked logs. Kara is easy to spot - she's crouched behind the wood with her hands over her ears. “Kara,” I say, kneeling on the cool ground. I grab her shoulders, hugging her fiercely. “Oh, Kara.”

“This isn't fair,” she sobs, putting her forehead to mine. “It doesn't make any sense! One of us? And where to?”

“She said a house,” I whisper lamely. I know it won't help to say it.

“It could be anywhere.”

“I know.”

We stay like that, listening to the sky rumble above. Footsteps come next. “There you are,” Dad pants, crouching in front of us. This time, neither of us moves to hug him. “Come back inside.”

“No.” I shake my head firmly. “We won't.”

“Please,” he says. The word steals the last of his strength. In front of our eyes he deflates, his head falling into his hands, elbows on his spread knees. “This was never supposed to happen. I was so sure no one would find me. Find us.”

Kara lifts her head. “Daddy, what did you do?”

He stares at the ground between his shoes. “It's better you don't know.”

That seems like a bunch of bullshit, but I bite my tongue. Kara doesn't. “Then what do we need to know?”

Her cruel words clear some of his defeat. He scans our faces, as if trying to read us while we struggle to read him. “Girls... this is a tricky situation. Annie won't leave without one of you.” My mouth opens; he raises a hand, silencing me. “Whoever it is will have to live at her estate in Massachusetts. Do you... did your mother teach you where that is?”

Our school lessons were brief. Kara and I preferred playing to academics. “Miles and miles from here,” Kara says. I nod once.

He breathes in then lets it out. He's still torn to pieces but he's working to keep it together. “It won't be so bad. You'll get to see new things, eat amazing food. It'll be—” he hesitates. “Life changing.”

“For how long?” Kara asks.

“I just don't know, sweetie.”

“Then why?” I snap.

His smile is pained. “To keep me from vanishing again.”

I don't know what he's talking about. I don't need to. Seeing the haunted look etched into the face of the man that taught me how to fish... the man who lied with me beneath the stars as he told me their names... my anger slips away. I wrap him in a tight embrace. A second later, Kara joins me.

Wetness taps the back of my hand. Overhead, the clouds have split, assaulting us with cold summer rain. “Joseph?” our mother calls gently from the back door.

Dad clears his throat. “Inside, before we get sick.”

I'm already sick. It's been writhing in my stomach since I saw the strange car. “Give us one minute,” I say.

He squints down at me, eyebrows knotting.

“Please.” My fingers wrap in my sister's between us. Dad sees, and he inclines his head. When he vanishes into the cabin, I see that Annie is hovering inside. She watches us as if she's confident we can't escape. She's right.

If we ran, they'd take baby Dean instead. I'm sure of it.

Cringing at the idea, I pull Kara back to the logs. She fingers her wet hair, watching me closely. “We have to decide,” she whispers. She's always been the strong one. The challenger—the center stage star. But now she looks like the rain itself will crush her bones. Like she'll dissolve if we stay here too long.

“No, we don't.” I lock my fingers in the spaces between hers. “I'm going to do it.”

“What?” she gasps.

I shrug, like this isn't a big deal. Except my heart is quaking... my brain buzzing with how my whole world was turned upside down within minutes. “I already decided it would be me.” It's a brittle lie. I didn't think about offering myself up until I saw how this was breaking my sister apart. She's protected me my whole life. It's my turn to return the favor.

“You're strong,” she says softly. “Stronger than me.”

I hope she's right.

My wet hair sticks to my cheek. I brush it away then pause. “Let's make a promise.” Kara waits patiently, not breaking her stare. I hold my hair between us. “We said we wouldn't cut our hair until next year. Let's swear not to do it until we see each other again.”

Kara considers my frayed brunette ends. Everything looks darker thanks to the downpour. The noise of it muffles every word we speak. Still, I hear her clearly as her pinkie wraps around mine. “I swear it.”

“I swear it,” I repeat.

She holds on, looking at our hands. “You should know that I’d still win.” Her eyes dart to mine, sparkling with tears and familiar pride. “My hair will be longer than yours. Just wait until you see.”

My smile becomes a toothy sob. I'm crying with my mouth open. “I'll wait as long as I have to.”